Some would caution: It's November. And it is, so no complaints there.
But if saying that it's November is meant to take anything away from Wednesday night's victory in Orlando . . . which it is, at least to some small extent . . . then I have a little problem with that.
Yeah, neither the Cavs, nor the Magic are playing at the level they'll be playing at come spring. Neither of them even have all the players they hope to have come spring. So, no, this was not a game for May of 2010.
It was a game for May of 2009.
The Cavaliers were back in Amway arena, with it's nightmare-inducing soo-joo-joo-joo-joo sounds when the Magic players make baskets. It's the building where the Cavs' run came to a screeching halt last season . . . in a hard to handle, four-games-to-two Conference Finals series.
Even though it's a new season (and yes, November of a new season), the Cavs really needed to break free of that disappointment . . . and they did so with a huge performance from the one player that needed to break free from his own, personal disappointment: Mo Williams.
After a fantastic, all-star regular season last year, Mo famously struggled in the postseason . . . especially against the Magic, when he shot just 37% (and made ill-advised guarantees).
Well last night, Mo responded by shooting 100% in first half. He made all nine of his baskets, for 22 points. He also had four assists. And he was playing spectacularly.
There were drives to the basket, pull-up jump-shots, three-point bombs. And none of them were assisted, which means he was creating his own offense off the dribble.
Think Mo had something to prove?
Like his shots, none of his four assists went unnoticed. He had three great passes to a cutting LeBron James for easy baskets. And in another play, he found a cutting Anderson Varejao. He was brilliant.
At halftime, ESPN's Heather Cox asked him, "A perfect nine-for-nine from the field . . . Mo, what's gotten into you?" And he responded, "Nothing. Just playing basketball."
I love that.
(All downplaying aside, I'm not sure what Heather was expecting him to say. Maybe: "Well, a mystical woodland nymph came up to me just before the pre-game shoot-around and asked me to open my mouth. I thought, what the hell, so I did. She placed a tiny golden object, that was lit up and shaped like a glow-worm on my tongue. She closed my mouth with her index finger and told me to swallow. And before she disappeared she said: 'You will be invincible for 24 minutes. Teehee Teehee.'") (???)
By the end of the game, Mo had 28 points, six assists a steal and a block.
The other main storyline of the night was the Shaquille O'Neal / Dwight Howard match-up. It wasn't exactly everything Cavs fans could've hoped for . . . but it definitely did go well. Shaq wasn't always able to guard him one-on-one, but in the end, Howard only had 11 points and seven rebounds.
That's an improvement over the Conference Finals when he averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds. However, the experiment was truncated by early foul trouble for both of them.
Late in the game, ESPN ran a stat comparing Shaq and Howard's numbers, when guarding each other. Shaq had 10 points (on 3-of-3) shooting with five fouls drawn . . . and Howard had one point (on 0-1 shooting) with two fouls drawn.
Speaking of big men, in the second quarter both the Cavs and Magic were playing "Twin Towers" lineups. Four centers . . . Shaq, Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Marcin Gortat . . . were all on the court together, for around five minutes. So if Mike Brown's insane, Coach Stan Van Gundy is a little crazy, too.
Overall, this was the Cavs' best game of the season. The defense wasn't in lockdown mode (if that's even available for a team playing the Magic). They allowed 45.1% shooting, which is the second highest percentage they've given up this season. But they were frustrating the Magic offense with timely, active, energetic defense.
At times, the offense was dynamic, especially in the first half when Mo was running it. There weren't a lot of assists, but there was movement . . . and the team was able to consistently get the ball into the paint.
Mo and LeBron combined for 64 of the Cavs' 102 points. That's 63%. It'd be nice to have more players involved, but it's hard to argue with production like that. Plus, the bench was not really anywhere near being involved. They shot just 2-of-15.
The Magic were without Rashard Lewis (suspended) and the Cavs were without Delonte West (inactive), and both teams have some growing to do. So, it is too early to say how they would match up next May . . . or even in February, when they face-off next.
But with the Cavs' rocky start, this is a win that can't be swept under the rug. It's a well-played road win, against an elite team, that came with tangible evidence that the Cavs are turning the corner. (Or at least, some corner.)
It was also against the Magic, the team that took last season from us. It was on national TV. And it gave us our first important win of the season . . . which, by the way, can officially begin now. In November.
The Wine and Gold Rush Awards:
[We'll be giving these out after each game.]
Most Valuable Player: Mo WIlliams.
When Mo "just plays basketball" . . . the Cavs look ridiculously difficult to defend.
Least Valuable Player: Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Z is still in his slump. He missed all six of his field goal attempts, and had just four points (on 4-of-4 free throw shooting). He also had six rebounds.
"The Diff Award" (for the difference maker, even in defeat): LeBron James.
For the second time this season, a mammoth effort by LeBron has been overshadowed by Mo. Granted, it's not really lost . . . you don't miss 36 points (on 13-of-23 shooting) with eight rebounds and six assists during the game.
But you know what I mean. This game was yet another example of how potent LeBron can be when he has a sidekick that's on fire. LeBron also made a few sweet shots to ice a (somewhat) harmless run by the Magic in the fourth quarter.
"Z is still in his slump." That's an awfully nice way to say Z is "old." I'm pretty sure he'll be "in a slump" untile retirement does he part.
Posted by: Ross | November 12, 2009 at 07:42 PM
Haha.
Yeah, I know. Maybe I'm too much of an optimist, but I'm hoping that he'll be able to regain that automatic shot from outside.
I think the addition of Shaq presents a challenge for Z that he hasn't dealt with in his career yet. And not just when they're playing together. Z's role is changing, and he's not going to get regular shots close to build his confidence. He has to settle himself and become a bench guy that can hit that pop-out shot with regularity.
If it can happen, we shall soon see.
Posted by: J.D. | November 13, 2009 at 03:40 PM