CAVS RECORD: 19-63
Semi-Shocking Happenings During the March Doldrums
The Cleveland Cavaliers are finally getting good at making their wins against the Detroit Pistons entertaining to watch. Or at least, entertaining early on . . . before fans watching at home decide to pick up a multi-tasking activity to do on the side.
Unfortunately, this epiphany came after the Cavaliers played the Pistons three times in the span of one week.
(Correction: Upon actually doing the research, it turns out it was the Cavs’ third Pistons game in just over two weeks . . . no matter how much it seems like the Cavs have been playing against sexy Swede Jonas Jerebko every single night.)
The final score was 104-79 . . . and for once, the destined-to-be-lopsided score actually did end up lopsided, and it didn’t just become lopsided in the final four minutes. No. For unknown reasons (that I am very thankful for) the Cavs seemed wholly interested in winning this game . . . and doing it right.
That, as out of the blue as it was (against a bad opponent that they’ve already beat two previous times this month), was . . . well, semi-shocking.
Here are a few other semi-shocking happenings:
#1.) Leon Powe led the team in scoring.
That is not a typo; I did not accidentally mistype “LeBron James led the team in scoring.” Leon had 16 points (on 5-of-8 shooting and 6-of-10 from the line). He also had seven rebounds and a steal.
In my opinion, this was a breakout game for Leon. I know that’s easy to say after he does something crazy like leading the team in scoring, but I had been hesitant to join all the excitement over Powe.
While I was very impressed with how he looked so soon after some major knee operations, it’d seemed like he was a long way off from being comfortable enough to be a legitimate rotation option for the Cavaliers. Apparently, he’s much closer than I realized.
He played tough, and even drew two charges.
There were five other Cavaliers in double-figures: LeBron – 15 points, Delonte West – 15 points, J.J. Hickson – 13 points, Mo Williams – 12 points, and Anthony Parker – 11 points.
#2.) Anthony Parker scored 11 points.
Leon Powe leading the team in points with 16 would have been a Vegas-busting bet. AP scoring in double-figures, though, wouldn’t be that far off . . . these days.
AP hadn’t scored over 10 points in his previous 10 games. He was only averaging 6.0 points in March, with a cold 36.8% field goal percentage, and a freezing cold 30.3% from beyond the arc. Not the best numbers from your starting shooting guard . . . regardless of what kind of option he is in the offense.
On Sunday, he looked comfortable both looking for his shot and for his teammates. He had five assists, which was also a number he hadn’t reached over his past 10 games.
#3.) Speaking of looks, why isn’t Antawn Jamison getting any?
Out-of-towners got the Chicago feed on NBA League Pass on Friday night. And one of their announcers was ripping the Cavs for not making Jamison more of a focal point in the offense. At first, I scoffed.
Clearly, this dude was just looking at stats, and hadn’t really seen much of the Cavs this year . . . both their successes in balanced team play (like they did against Detroit on Sunday), or their troubles in solidifying set plays within what has been a turbulent roster over the past two months.
But maybe he has a point.
Not sure what’s up, but in the last two games, Jamison has only shot the ball 10 total times. Against Chicago, he was 1-for-4, and against Detroit he was 3-for-6. A lot of those shots came on mop-up duty and bail-out shots . . . meaning that he’s having virtually no plays called for him. If any.
In Chicago, he still had nine rebounds (in 27 minutes). Against Detroit, he only had two (in 24 minutes).
Two games is nothing to lose your lunch over . . . but you do have to wonder if there’s some sort of conscious effort going on that’s temporarily squeezing Antawn, if it’s purely a meaningless coincidence, or something else.
#4.) Darnell Jackson may have scored his last two points as a Cavalier.
The Cavaliers can begin talking to Zydrunas Ilgauskas today . . . and if things go as expected, things will go very quickly. That means the Cavs are about to lose someone from their current roster (to make room for Z). The only options are Darnell, Danny Green and Sebastian Telfair.
(And because of his position and contract status, Darnell is the most likely to be let go.)
If it is the end for Darnell . . . well, at least he got into the game. He played just under five minutes, and had two points (on free throws) with a turnover.
In fairness, unlike the rest of the Cavaliers, Darnell was on the second night of a back-to-back. He played in a D-League game on Saturday night . . . and had a huge stat line. In 41 minutes, he had 32 points (on 14-of-21 shooting) with 11 rebounds, two steals, and a block.
That monster line was almost identical to his only other D-League game this season. In 42 minutes in that one, which happened on February 25th, Darnell scored 34 points (on 14-of-22 shooting) with 12 rebounds, four steals and a block.
You probably couldn’t have two lines that similar if you tried. It could also either be a testament to D-Block’s potential . . . or his dominance at that level of play. If he must leave, I’m sure he’ll catch on somewhere.
#5.) LeBron had zero turnovers . . . for just the second time this season.
With everything that LeBron does for the Cavs, it’s hard to rip him for turnovers . . . especially considering how much he handles the ball, and all the plays he tries to create with phenomenal passes.
But on Sunday, he had zero turnovers (in 31 minutes) for just the second time this season. The other time happened in the home, losing streak-busting win over New Orleans last month. He played 44 minutes in that one.
The Cavs Aren’t Good At Free Throws
Fox Sports Ohio color commentator Austin Carr has a saying (naturally) for when a Cavs player fools a defender into biting on a pump-fake, leaving the ground, and fouling the shooter on the way down.
He says: “He got himself a bird.”
And he usually follows that up with a sing-songy: “Time to go to the line for two.”
But there hasn’t been anything sing-songy about what actually happens at the line: Which, at least recently, has been a split of the pair . . . hopefully.
It’s become so much of an adventure, or misadventure, that – with the way the Cavs have been scoring from the field – you kind of just want them to forget the song, forget the bird, forget the pump-fake and just take the shot and live or die with that.
I realize that isn’t great basketball, but it sure beats bricking free throws.
Cleveland’s free throw shooting has been atrocious all season . . . and as of late, it’s been even worse.
In November, the Cavs shot 73.4% from the line. In December, they made 74.7% . . . in January, it was 71.5% . . . in February, it was 72.8% . . . and now in March, it’s 65.4%.
And Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t even played since February 25th.
Sunday’s game against the geriatric Boston Celtics was a 104-93 win. It’s wasn’t a blowout . . . although it easily could’ve been, if the Cavs would’ve made some free throws. They went 31-for-48 from the line, which means they missed 17 “free” throws for an abysmal 64.6%.
So, no, the Cavs couldn’t even cover their 65.4% average for the month.
[I just Googled "average high school free throw percentage." The very unofficial answer? "About 65%." That seems a little high, but in any event . . . 15 feet is 15 feet. It's always the same. It's a shot these guys have been shooting all their lives . . . a shot the coaches have spent their careers coaching.]
On Sunday, Leon Powe went 6-for-6 and Delonte West went 2-for-2 from the stripe . . . and it went downhill from there. Antawn Jamison missed six (2-of-8), LeBron James missed five (11-of-16), Anderson Varejao missed three (5-of-8), J.J. Hickson missed two (4-of-6) and Anthony Parker split two shots.
Here’s some perspective:
On the season, the Cavs are shooting 72.1% on free throws. That’s 29th out of the 30 teams in the league. The only team that’s worse is the Detroit Pistons, who shoot 71.6%.
The median, the Toronto Raptors, make their free throws 76.5% of the time. The L.A. Lakers are 10th in the NBA at 77.1% . . . and the Dallas Mavericks lead everyone at 81.8%.
The Cavs are being out-free-throw-percentaged by their opponents 76% to 72.1%.
In the last 10 games, the Cavs’ free throws are going in at an embarrassing 69.6% clip, which is 28th in the league. The lottery teams Sacramento and Detroit are worse. Over the last five games, the Cavs are shooting 64.9%, which is, by far, the worst in the NBA in that stretch.
So, who needs to pick it up? Well, everyone.
Last season, the Cavs shot 75.7% at the line, while their opponents shot 77%. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember anyone thinking that the Cavs were lighting the world on fire from the line then either.
That number would still have the Cavs in the bottom half of the NBA this season . . . but it was their best average at the line since they shot 77.2% during the 2001-2002 season. (Shout out to Andre Miller.)
Anyway, fast-forward eight seasons.
Take a look at the rough chart I built for the ’09-’10 individual players’ free throw averages below. If I had better skillz it would be awesome . . . but since I don’t, it is what it is.
[It begins with the players' career averages, then lists their percentages for each month this season, then lists their total makes/attempts up through Sunday's game, then lists their season average, then lists the differential, or "The Diff" as The Q likes to call it, between this season and their career average. A positive number is an improvement.]
So what do we get out of this?
Well, good or bad, there isn’t one or two guys that are really under-performing.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson and Shaquille O’Neal have drawn plenty of free-throw groans . . . but not recently. Shaq hasn’t played in almost three weeks, and I can’t really remember the last time Boobie or Z shot a free throw.
Powe’s sample size isn’t quite big enough yet . . . but Jamison’s is. And he’s been a train-wreck at the line. In 13 games with the Cavaliers, Antawn is 20-of-46 from the stripe. That’s 43.5%. That’s sub-Shaq-esque!
Most of the rest of the Cavs . . . including LeBron, who’s up 2.8% to 77% . . . are actually shooting at their career average or above it, which basically means one thing:
The Cavs don’t have a lot of great free throw shooters.
Remember how I said the Toronto Raptors are the median team in the NBA right now with a 76.5% free throw percentage as a team?
Well, the Cavs only have three players on their roster with a career average of 76.5% or better. Mo, Delonte and AP. And when Z comes back they’ll have four, although he hasn’t been shooting close to 76.5% this season.
Since stellar (and in some cases, acceptable) free throw shooting isn’t in the Cavs’ DNA, there isn’t a quick fix to snap them out of the funk. The coaching staff (hopefully Chris Jent) is probably working with individual players on their form . . . and the players themselves need to remain focused and relaxed.
There’s been a lot of talk about how LeBron and Mo (and others) have some pretty intense competitions in practice involving three-point shooting. If there isn’t one already, would it be lame to suggest that they come up with one for foul shooting?
Not everyone has it in them to be a great free throw shooter, but you can improve. Take LeBron . . . over the past five seasons, he’s shot 73.8%, 69.8%, 71.2%, 78%, and now 77% from the line.
The Cavs can do it. They’re currently third in the NBA in field goal percentage (48.7%) and second in the NBA in 3-point percentage (39.1%).
They’re talented enough to hit some 15-foot freebies.
And I hope they start doing it soon . . . because when you get a bird, the bird should be the one that’s in trouble. Not you.
The Cavs’ Stellar Record While *Not* At Full-Strength Is About to Be Tested
You never wish injury on an opponent.
On Thursday night, the Boston Celtics were without Paul Pierce due to a right thumb injury. Paul, of course, has served as the linchpin of Boston’s “Big Three” (copyright 2007, 2008).
You also never wish injury on yourself.
For fans in other cities, that’s an obvious joke.
For fans in the success-starved city of Cleveland . . . it’s often a temptation, especially when it seems as though an injury is the only way to banish an overpaid, under-performing veteran who was brought in, almost inexplicably, to block the ascent of the younger, potential-filled kid waiting in the wings.
If an injury does not occur, the stubborn Cleveland coaches / front office may never unseat the fading vet to get a good enough look at the prospect. Then, undoubtedly, that kid leaves or is traded to have an opportunity elsewhere. And with uncanny frequency, a star is born and Cleveland is burned.
It’s the modus operandi of the Cleveland Indians . . . but it’s happened to the Cavaliers and the Browns as well.
Relax.
This is not an anti-Shaquille O’Neal / pro-J.J. Hickson (with a slice of Anderson Varejao) article, but if the Cavaliers weren’t being run by a smart coach and an elite front office . . . it could’ve been.
In the middle of the second quarter of Thursday’s 108-88 win in Boston, Shaq went down with a “significant right thumb sprain.” The extent of the injury won’t be known until sometime Friday, after Shaq gets the results of an MRI.
In a Twitter post Thursday night, Brian Windhorst made an “amateur guess” that Shaq could be out two to three weeks if the ligament was only partially torn . . . up to six-plus weeks if it’s completely torn.
That’s devastating news, especially because of the timing.
If Zydrunas Ilgauskas (who was just bought out by the Wizards) is indeed coming back to the Cavs, he won’t be able to rejoin them until March 21st . . . which is 30 days from when his trade to Washington was approved by the league.
So the Cavs went from two beloved, huge, slow centers to no beloved, huge, slow centers.
Curiously though, the Cavaliers went from weakly falling down 13 to the Celtics – giving up 60% first half shooting (70% in the first quarter), and generally looking very push-over-able – to slamming the game into reverse, and rocketing themselves out of the TD Garden, with a 20-point shellacking.
When the Cavs came out for the second half, they started their second-best player, Anderson Varejao, for Shaq. Andy and LeBron kept the Cavs in the game for the first seven minutes of the quarter, but with 4:26 left, the Cavs were still down by seven. (They were down by six at the half.)
Then J.J. Hickson entered the game for Andy. Then Jamario Moon replaced Anthony Parker. Then Delonte West spelled Mo Williams. (By the way, during all this, Jamison hit three straight shots.)
The Cavs picked up the tempo, and at the end of the third, they were only down one.
And then Mike Brown gave LeBron his usual fourth quarter blow, and went full-on small ball . . . with Mo replacing LeBron . . . and, well, you could say that was successful. Thanks to big plays by all five (Delonte, Mo, Jamario, J.J. and Antawn / Andy), the Cavs outscored the Celtics by seven in the first four minutes of the fourth, putting them up by six.
Then LeBron re-entered, and found Mo for thee straight 3-pointers . . . yes, three straight (I’d say he’s back). LeBron, Andy and Delonte made shots here and there to keep the Cavs rolling, before Mo iced it with yet another three. He finished with 19 points (on 7-of-13 shooting) with five threes.
Then, in the garbage time no one could have foreseen, Leon Powe, in his first action of the season, scored a basket, and later added two free throws to finish with four points in four minutes.
Check out these plus/minus numbers for the game: Delonte (+27), J.J. (+27), Andy (+18), Jamario (+13), Mo (+11) and then LeBron (+9). Shaq, for the record, was -10.
So what about this small ball phenomenon, right?! The defense picked up, the offense was freed, the Cavs seemed to be in the driver’s seat over the last 16 minutes, completely controlling the game. Over that period, the Cavs outscored the Celtics 46-19.
That’s pretty dominant.
So have the Cavs been screwing around with too much Shaq and Z and not enough J.J. and Andy?
No, not at all.
But thanks to Dan Gilbert, Danny Ferry and Mike Brown, the Cavs are an extremely deep team, which is constructed in a way that it can be successful in numerous styles of play, including small ball. They have the pieces and they have the talent. And, obviously, that’s how they’ll have to be playing until either Shaq or Z is able to return.
The Cavs can be successful at small ball, they can be exciting, and they can grow.
But as LeBron said after the game:
“We need him out there. We play faster without Shaq in the lineup . . . but in the playoffs you can’t play fast all the time. You need to establish the half-court offense. That’s what he does for us.”
As Windhorst talked about in his postgame blog, the small ball antics work well to mix things up and surprise teams not expecting it . . . and to slip past un-athletic teams like the Celtics . . . but it isn’t a formula that’s going to win games for you night-in and night-out. At least, not in the playoffs.
So if Shaq being out isn’t a sign of future success for the Cavaliers (and J.J. Hickson) . . . what is?
The fact that someone is injured. The Cavs play better when someone is unavailable due to some significant physical or (in Delonte’s case) mental problem.
Why is this the case? I don’t know. Maybe the Cavs rise to the challenge. Maybe it makes them more focused. Maybe the disturbance in the usual lineup releases them from over-thinking their offensive and defensive plays, and they just . . . play. Or maybe it’s complete link and coincidence.
The Cavs are 45-14 . . . so any split of that record is going to be pretty lopsided, but check out these numbers . . . which I configured manually, so let’s leave a one-game margin for error.
- The Cavs are 11-0 without Mo Williams
- The Cavs are 16-2 without Delonte West
- The Cavs are 6-1 without Shaquille O’Neal
- The Cavs are 7-2 without Jamario Moon
- And the Cavs are 44-14 without Leon Powe
All told, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 25-5 (.833) without at least one rotation player (not counting Powe, or Moon’s DNP-CDs) . . . and they are 20-9 (.690) at full-strength (not counting Powe, obviously.)
If you want, you could add Z . . . but that would kind of screw this up. If you include the win against Dallas in November where Z didn’t play on the night he was supposed to break Cleveland’s record for all-time games played . . . the Cavs are now just 3-3 without Z.
You can pray for Z to come back . . . and then you can wait until he does.
But you should never wish an injury on anyone . . . including yourself. But since we’re in the throes of what could be an extended period of time without Shaq, we might as well make the best of it.
Mike Brown Shrinks the Rotation . . . and the New Cavs Grind Out a Win
Once the playoffs hit, Mike Brown’s tendency (like a lot of coaches) will be to shrink the rotation down to seven or eight players . . . and barring any injuries or severe lop-sidedness, that’s it. That’s the team.
If Zydrunas Ilguaskas comes back, he gets the final spot in that Top Eight. That sure leaves a lot of talent on the bench. This deep, deep depth is a good problem to have, but it doesn’t exactly output easy answers. The nagging question will always be: Are my Top Eight really my Top Eight . . . right now?
Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets was a “must win.”
Not in a playoff, do-or-die way, of course. And actually, not in any sort of real, necessary way either. But it was nonetheless, and Mike Brown celebrated that fact by using a tight, playoff rotation.
To explain the little extra playoff-like seriousness, consider Cleveland came into the New Orleans game on a three-game losing streak.
The Cavs were 0-3 since the All-Star Break, they were 0-3 with Mo Williams back, they were 0-3 with Antawn Jamison on the team, they were 0-2 with Jamison actually playing, and 0-1 with Jamison playing and not going 0-for-12 from the field.
The Cavaliers were already on their first three-game losing streak since March of 2008. A loss would be their first two-game home losing streak since April of 2008 . . . and their first four-game losing streak since December of 2007, when they lost six in a row.
[LeBron sat out five of those games with a sprained left index finger. If you want to go back to the last four-game losing streak with LeBron, you have to go back to the 2007 NBA Finals sweep. The last regular season four-game losing streak with LeBron happened four years ago, in February of 2006, when the Cavs' starting backcourt was Eric Snow and Flip Murray.]
Yes, the rotation has been a revolving door recently, with Jamison, Mo, Delonte and Powe coming in . . . and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, along with players like Jawad Williams, Jamario Moon and Daniel Gibson going out. It’s definitely a major transitional point for the team.
But at some point, the Cavs were just going to have to get the Moondog off their backs, so that they could go back to improving and working on their game like they’re used to: While winning.
Mike Brown wanted this game more than anything. (Well, maybe more than anything except being able to see the team finally start playing some freakin’ defense again, which didn’t happen in this game.)
Fortunately, the Cavs ended up beating the Hornets 105-95.
Perhaps fittingly, Brown achieved the win while firmly sticking to a tight eight-man rotation. It included the Top Seven listed above, plus Jamario (in what would probably be Z’s spot).
Was it Bown’s Top Eight players right now? Maybe not . . . Mo is still playing himself into game shape, while Daniel Gibson is arguably better on both sides of the ball right now. And although J.J.’s defense is usually a roller-coaster ride, his overall game is bigger than Jamario’s right now.
And no, Leon Powe did not get into the game . . . although he was active and available. [It'll be interesting to see if he makes his debut on Thursday night in Boston. He'll probably be pretty rusty . . . and hasn't meshed with the team in an actual game . . . but you know he wants a piece of that.]
LeBron played 44 minutes, Jamison played 37, Delonte played 32, Mo and Shaq played 31, Anderson played 28, AP played 27 and Jamario played nine minutes.
The scoring and shot distribution also had a nice, even playoff-type feel.
LeBron and Shaq led the team with 20 points each. Jamison had 18, Anderson had 14, Delonte and AP both had 13, Mo had 6 and Jamario had 1 point. And here’s how the shots and assists broke down:
- LeBron: 7-of-16 . . . 13 assists
- Jamison: 7-of-14 . . . 2 assists
- Shaq: 9-of-13 . . . 0 assists
- Anderson: 6-of-12 . . . 0 assists
- Delonte: 5-of-10 . . . 3 assists
- Mo: 2-of-9 . . . 8 assists
- AP: 4-of-7 . . . 1 assist
- Moon: 0-of-1 . . . 2 assists
Oh, and six of the eight players had between four and seven rebounds: LeBron (5), Jamison (6), Shaq (7), AP (4), Delonte (4) and Anderson (7). Jamario added a couple and Mo had one.
The offense as a whole was intermittent. It looked great in the first quarter . . . and in patches throughout the rest of the game. The good news is, Jamison is clearly well on his way to finding his place within the offense.
Now, if only the Cavs’ defense could come together.
Once again, they allowed an opponent to shoot 50% . . . and once again, they made a star out of a rookie. Make that two. Marcus Thornton went off for 37 points, and Darren Collison had 22.
It’s hard to say how much the tightened rotation had to do with this win . . . if anything. Mike Brown prefers to have his players work out their wrinkles on the floor, so his decision probably had more to do with giving Jamison, Delonte and Mo as much playing time as possible with LeBron and Shaq to give them an opportunity to get a feel for each other and inspire more on-court chemistry.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the rotation throughout the rest of the regular season (at least, in games where the score remains within 10 either way).
Will we see more tight rotations with the eighth spot sort of an open slot to try someone different in each game, depending on the match-ups . . . or, once things settle down, will the rotation be expanded once again, to play around with all the possible groups and lineups?
There are threesomes, foursomes, and fivesomes that will be magical and lethal for the Cavs . . . even against the top teams in the league . . . it’s just a matter of discovering them, and finding how and where they fit.
Regardless, if Z comes back . . . and a healthy Cavs team is legitimately 13 deep . . . Mike Brown has both the easiest job in the league and the hardest.
He has the talent to win. Now he must configure it so they do.
An Epic Game Lost at the Line(s)
Allow me to be cute for a moment.
If the Washington Wizards buy out Zydrunas Ilguaskas, the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up Antawn Jamison for free on Wednesday. On Thursday night, the Cavs weren’t getting anything for free.
Yes, this is yet another recap of the Cavaliers’ 118-116 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets that hinges on missed free throws. If you read a lot of Cavs blogs . . . like you should be doing during a special season like this . . . you’ve probably heard this before:
This was an epic game . . . and the Cavs could have won it, if they’d hit their free throws.
[If you missed it, first: Shame on you. You should at least be DVRing these games. This is an exciting season, kids. If you did record the game, but haven't watched it yet: Oops. Well, since it's already spoiled, the game came down to Carmelo Anthony nailing a tough shot with one-point-something seconds left in overtime . . . and Cleveland half-court inbounding to James, where he slipped and missed a three.]
But it shouldn’t have got to that point.
The Cavs as a whole shot a very Shaq-like 57.5% (23-of-40) from the stripe. (Actually, Shaq is at 50% for the season.) And they would have been OK, if Shaq was Shaq-like.
Here are the missed free throw culprits:
Shaquille O’Neal . . . 0-for-6 (0%)
Daniel Gibson . . . 1-for-3 (33%)
Anthony Parker . . . 3-for-5 (60%)
LeBron James . . . 12-for-17 (71%)
Meanwhile, Mo Williams went 2-for-2 and J.J. Hickson went 4-for-5 from the stripe.
The Cavs also had twice as many turnovers as the Nuggets . . . but it was just 10-to-5. Denver only had five turnovers in an overtime game. That’s pretty impressive. (The Cavs average 14.5 a game.)
And then there’s the other line. Cleveland is the second-best 3-point shooting team in the NBA at 40.2%, but it wasn’t going in for them (read: LeBron) in this one. They only shot 30%, 7-for-23, and a lot of the misses were bad shots taken late in the game.
Here are the missed 3-pointer culprits:
LeBron James . . . 1-for-9 (11%)
[He took a full-court three at the very end of the third quarter, and then there was that three attempt with one-point-something seconds left at the end of the game. But he took four total threes in overtime and missed them all. And in the third quarter, he made one and missed four. So he went 1-for-8 in the second half. It's unnecessary, this offense doesn't need to be that desperate.
Anthony Parker . . . 2-for-5 (40%)
[Obviously, that's a decent percentage, although his last three attempt,with 12.9 left in regulation, was not a good shot. But that falls on LeBron too. He walked around for 18 seconds, dribbling the ball 30 feet away from the basket, before finally throwing it to AP. The game was tied at that point. A two-pointer would have worked, and in retrospect won the game.]
All in all, this was one of those average Cavs games. They played amazing offense for stretches, and then reverted to static ball movement at the end of the game . . . and they played good defense, but only at the end of the game, when they needed to.
The Wine and Gold Rush Awards:
[We'll be giving these out after each game.]
Most Valuable Player: LeBron James.
I gave LeBron a few jabs earlier, but he had a phenomenal statistical game that has never happened in recorded history. He had 43 points (on 15-of-33 shooting) with 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks.
“Cleveland Plain Dealer” beat-writer Brian Windhorst wrote:
“According to Elias Sports Bureau, he’s the first player in recorded history to record at least those numbers in a game. Key word there is recorded because they didn’t start keeping steals and blocks until 1973. My guess is Wilt Chamberlain had quite a few better efforts.
“To me this is more impressive: LeBron’s the last player to have at least 40 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists since Oscar Robertson on Feb. 13th, 1962. The Big O, who was at the game tonight, had 42 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds that night.” [link]
For what it’s worth, at halftime LBJ had eight points (on 2-of-9 shooting) with four rebounds and seven assists.
Interesting stat: Anthony Parker had a plus/minus of +15. The only other player with a positive number was Shaq, with a +3. They were both on the court when the Cavs went on a major run in the third quarter.
Least Valuable Player: Jamario Moon.
This is unfair. Jamario didn’t get into the game.
But that’s just it, he didn’t get into the game. As you saw, Mo was a late add to the active roster. He didn’t start, but had eight points (on 2-of-5 shooting) and three assists in 18 minutes.
Apparently, Jamario is the odd man out . . . at least for now . . . with both Delonte West and Mo back in action. The Cavs’ minutes will contract even further when Antawn Jamison and Leon Powe are ready to go. And although nothing is certain, that could happen as soon as tonight in Charlotte.
Random Note: Jawad Williams played 16 minutes in this one. So unless something is wrong with Jamario that we don’t know about, Jawad has moved in front of Jamario on the depth chart. At least for now.
“The Diff Award” (for the difference maker, even in defeat): Anderson Varejao.
This was one of those games that Anderson is there to win for you. And he did a lot right; it was the rest of the team that couldn’t come through at the ends (of regulation and overtime).
I can tell you that Andy had six points (on 3-of-6 shooting) with nine rebounds, a steal and three blocks . . . but as usual, that doesn’t do Andy’s impact justice. He may not have been the second-best player on the team, but with a clutch steal and four big-time offensive rebounds, he gave the Cavs some extra chances to win it.
J.J. deserves a shout out here. His biggest drawbacks this season have been his defense and horrible plus/minus. Against Denver, he defended the pick-and-roll well . . . and succeeded, most of the time, with his own pick-and-roll at the other end. Can I say that he looked a little like a diet Amar’e at times?
He finished with 14 points (third on the team) on 5-for-7 shooting. He had two assists and only two rebounds, but he played 30 minutes . . . and had an even plus/minus (third-best on the team).
Also, aside from the free throw problems, Shaq had 18 points (on 9-of-15 shooting).
Oh, and FYI: The Cavs win streak ends at 13 games, tying last year’s team record.