We should always beat the Knicks. But the team seems to think the same thing and take it easy. (EDIT: Looks like we^H^H Lebron came to play tonight!)
This article does a great job explaining the lose-lose nature of the Knicks, even though the Cavs don’t fit into the model.
This article and this article encapsulate my opinion on Kobe vs. Lebron. Ori can attest that I’ve been a Kobe lover for a long time. I want nothing more than a Cavs vs. Lakers finals. Kobe Bryant is the perfect basketball playing human being. Lebron James is just superhuman. GI Joe can’t take down Superman no matter how well trained he is.
To start the follow up on my last entry and respond to GMoney’s comment:
Counting on Sasha making a stronger return that his early season start, he will play for one reason: Defense. Who is running through all of Detroit’s screens? Who will chase Ray Allen? Who is quick enough and strong enough? Boobie playing the 2 could chase but couldn’t contest with his stubby little arms. Wally could get through screens… eventually. Devin Brown is the closest thing we have to Sasha, but he’s 3 inches shorter and much less athletic. I am convinced that DB is holding Sasha’s starting spot in the same way Ira started, after being the 11th man, simply as a placeholder. If Sasha comes back and can’t play, we’re that much weaker counting on Devin Brown.
I love DJ, and I want to see him play a lot, too. Sure, his defense sucks, but he makes up for it on the other end. But he’s so streaky! When he gets minutes every night, that mohawk glows and the opposition crumbles, but when he comes in cold, houses get built. With Boobie, we’re at least 10 deep. How many minutes can DJ get? Who does he play before? Maybe by then Wally starts in place of Devin and DJ gets those bench minutes? And the Cavs just concede 40 points to any shooting guard? Compound his potentially erratic minutes with the fact that playoff games only happen with each full moon. How will his stroke be playing 12 minutes every 28th day? I hope he drops 30 like ‘07 Boobie, but would you bet on that?
We’re still down Z, Sasha and Boobie. The Knicks have a menacing front court (if Zach Randolph plays) so we could easily be seeing more Dwayne Jones than anybody but his mom would like. On the other end, that should mean lots of minutes and open shots for Joe Smith. Let’s all watch for the defensive intensity and hope it starts picking up.
Go Cavs!
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Back!
You know what’s on right now? Fluminense FC RJ vs. Arsenal de Sarandi
You know what’s not on? Cavs vs. Knicks
Travesty.
If the season ended today, the Cavs would have home court in round 1 against the Raptors. Barring the unforeseen, we’re slotted in for the 3rd, 4th or 5th seed and a matchup against Toronto, Orlando, or perhaps Washington, with a healthy Gilbert Arenas. Philadelphia has also been playing well, so I guess that means our playoff opposition runs 6 deep, once you add in the heavyweights: Boston and Detroit. (Jersey? Atlanta? Climbing to 6? Yeah right.)
Philadelphia
Does anybody on the Sixers scare you? Can Iguodala explode in a meaningful game against a solid team? Does Lebron guard Iggy so our 2 can stick to Willie Green? I’d be interested to see Lebron shadow Andre Miller, disrupting him with length, while Delonte checks Green and Sasha chases Iguodala. That won’t happen though, since we can’t trust Lebron to stay out of foul trouble. I’d also expect to see us go small, with Lebron at the 4, but I don’t think Mike Brown will subject him to banging with Reggie Evans.
Washington
Ditto for the Wizards, huh? I guess I have to assume Caron and Gilbert will be healthy, for them to be a threat. Delonte can probably stay in front of Gilbert, which could mean the joy of a 30 shot game. Sure, he might get hot once over 7 games, but I’ll take on that offense.
Toronto
The Raptors are the first team we should be scared of. They can penetrate, they can shoot, they can throw it inside; they can do all sorts of things we can’t do much to defend. I like Andy or Wallace matching up against Bosh, but then who chases Bargnani? Do we put Z onto Bosh? Who can Joe Smith defend on this team?
The Raptors are a prime case for the Cavs going small. With one big to handle Bosh and Lebron chasing Andrea, we can space the floor, shoot with the Raptors to keep it close, and stick with the gameplan of counting on Lebron. We’ve seen Jose Calderon tear us up on the drive and kick and TJ Ford will offer more of the same. Our small lineup might not be much for weakside shot blocking, but I’d rather count on our quickness to show against the penetrating guard and get back to defend the perimeter.
Orlando
The Cavs take a different tactic than most teams who manage to take down the Magic. Check a box score the next time the Magic lose, and you’ll likely see Superman close to a 20-20 game, with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu shooting poorly under duress. The Cavs, in each matchup this year, have collapsed on Howard after he gets off to an explosive start. That leaves the door open to Lewis and Turkoglu to kill us from the perimeter. It’s similar, in theory, to the Raptors, but Howard is much more difficult to box out than Chris Bosh.
If we continue previous tactics, we’ll stick with our standard lineup, dropping a big down to help on Howard and counting on the rotation to get to any shooter. None of the Magic’s guards are a big threat to penetrate regularly, so we would probably coach whomever is on Howard to stay home. Still, I think we’d be best going small more often. Dwight Howard’s biggest liability is his free throw stroke, and using one big at a time gives us more flexibility to hammer him on any move to the hoop. Plus, it would be a chance for Devin Brown and Sasha to shine alongside one another, as they could match up reasonably well against Hedo and Rashard.
Boston
I said it before, I’ll say it again: Boston doesn’t scare me. At this point, that might have the same depth problem that we do, only triple the “stars”. But despite what Bill Simmons says, Sam Cassell isn’t matching shots down the stretch with Lebron. It will be vitally important for Lebron to assert himself throughout this series, since each ounce of exertion wears down the hobbled old Pierce and Allen much more than it affects Lebron.
On the opposite end, somebody will need to keep a hand in Ray Allen’s face. As I suggested way up above, Sasha is much better suited for that than Devin Brown, but if we can count on either offensively, their going at Allen could lead to easy points and tired legs. As long as they come close to matching shots, Wally on Allen wouldn’t even be a painful matchup. Boston won’t run the number of screens that Detroit does, so Wally will just need to stay home, and he seems more than willing to bust his butt when he needs to.
As for matching up against Cassell, does anybody see him putting his head down and driving, or is he just holding out for those long threes? As long as we can keep Rondo out of the lane a bit with West, I feel good having anybody matched up on Cassell. Boobie has the length, DJ has the “veteran savvy”, but I’d even like to see Devin Brown on the floor to play a little more physical while Lebron runs the point and Delonte sits.
We have the depth to keep a fresh body on KG and I have much more faith in our bigs than I do in their rotation. Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe have all been ok, but none are a threat. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Doc Rivers go veteran and play useless old PJ Brown excessively. Or, if Lebron is aggressive non-stop, we’ll probably see the Celtics go small, to bring in James Posey without losing one of the big three.
Detroit
The Pistons must be pissed right now. They’re pissed that the Celtics get all the headlines. They’re pissed that Lebron embarassed them. They’re pissed to live the cesspool of Detroit. They beat the Lakers way back when because they wanted it that badly, and I think this year that edge will be back.
Last year, the Cavs did a remarkable job shutting down Chauncey Billups. A lot of that credit has to go to Boobie Gibson. Fortunately, Billups isn’t much of a threat to drive, instead starting the offense by creating space around a pick while Richard Hamilton does the same. The real onus for the Cavs will fall to whomever chases Rip. Sasha did a solid job last year, and his strength and length are our best assets in doing it this time around. Wally doesn’t have the speed, Devin would get lost in the screens, and DJ is just hopeless. I guess one alternative is to outscore the Pistons. If we can count on Sasha to help us get a few stops late in the game, we can run with Wally, DJ or Boobie off the ball early, matching the Pistons shot for shot.
At the end of the day, I’d much rather have Chauncey or Tayshaun Prince taking 20 shots than Rip. I think if the Cavs sag back into the lane, giving up midrange jumpers to the 44% shooting trio of Prince, Billups and Rasheed Wallace, we should be able to contend until Lebron inevitably takes over.
As for Rasheed, we’ll call him the X-Factor. He’s indisputably talented and dangerous on the block, but he’s awfully happy to shoot the 3, averaging nearly 4 per game this year. If the Pistons are happy turning into the new Bulls, a jump shooting team with no presence, I don’t care how hungry they are, it’ll be the Cavs eating them for lunch.
So thinking it over, I’m worried for my boy Damon Jones. I just don’t see how he fits in. Unless Wally keeps up this shooting touch (1-7 so far tonight), DJ isn’t getting those minutes. Unless Boobie isn’t the same, he isn’t getting those. And at the end of the day, whether we keep up 100 to the Knicks in March or not, we’re winning with defense because we don’t have the weapons to outscore our opponents for 4 rounds.
But remember, good things can happen in 14 seconds.
(ESPN’s video was “unavailable”. grrrr)
As for tonight, Lebron just made consecutive 5 pointers to put away the Knicks. What, there are no 5 pointers in basketball? Alright, he’s just hitting from anywhere and everywhere. He can’t miss form 40 feet out!
Alright, I’m just killing time until it’s official.
Lebron has been downright sick, coming up just short of matching Kobe’s season high 52, but he did add 10 assists, 8 boards and 4 steals. The shooters spaced the floor to the tune of 10 on 10 shots for Delonte, 14 on 9 for Devin, 8 on 6 for Joe Smith and 15 on 8 for the Mohawk.
We moved the ball, limited turnovers and outrebounded the Knicks. REally, I need to scratch out “we” everywhere and just write Lebron. Aside from shooting 69% from the line (71% without Wallace), our only knock was some great shooting by New York. It’s worrisome – but it goes to show we still need to work on handling quick guards, as Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford nearly matched Lebron with 49, 7 and 5 between them.
Think about that. Two Knicks had great games. And Lebron outplayed them across teh board. And that, folks, is why we won. Long live the King.
Now I just need somebody to show me some photos of the game. I’m sick like Lebron so I’m getting out of here and going to lock down like his biggest fan.
Go Cavs!
