Postgame Quick Hits - Cavs v. Rockets
Posted December 24th, 2008 by Michael Curry
The CavsHQ Postgame Quickhits from last night’s big win over the Houston Rockets:
The Mistletoe:
1. Merry Christmas Ohio, you have LeBron James under the tree. LeBron had a common 27 points, 9 rebound and 5 assists, and came up with a huge block against Yao Ming in the closing minutes, conducting the only effective defense on Yao during the entire 4th Quarter. Say what you will about the improved supporting cast, but LeBron was the difference in this game. While Tracy McGrady was stumbling his way to 4 points and Yao sat out the first three quarters with foul trouble, the Cavalier star was carrying his team to victory.
2. Mo WIlliams was the stocking (and basket) stuffer, dropping 23 points and getting to the hoop again and again against a Rockets team that was playing excellent defense. Mo Williams comes with some defensive deficiencies (Rafer Alston with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting), but in his role as second scorer, Mo has been everything the Cavaliers could ask for.
The Fruitcake:
1. LeBron was surprised by the intensity of the Rockets defense, which forced him into 7 turnovers on the night. A few were offensive fouls (the one called when Ron Artest ran into LeBron from behind and flopped seemed particularly aggregious), but generally speaking LeBron didn’t adjust his ball management to cope with the Rockets’ defense, and it cost him. Still, we’re nitpicking.
2. Ron Artest was…Ron Artest. And I couldn’t have a fruitcake topic without including Ron Artest.
The Questions:
1. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, where are you? Like I said, McGrady had just 3 points, and Yao sat out most of the first three quarters with foul trouble. If the Rockets are going to win anything (and they have as good a chance as anybody going against the Lakers), they need to get more out of those two “superstars.” Yao was very productive in the fourth, where he abused the Cavalier defense and got to the free throw line, knocking them all down (13-for-13).
2. When do the Cavaliers lose again? The Cavs have lost just one game in the month of December, and have three games left; two against the Miami Heat, one against the Washington Wizards on Christmas Day. I don’t see the Cavaliers losing those games, though Miami has been a much better team than expected. That would leave them with a December record of 13-1. Enjoy this Cavalier fans, it does not get much better than this.
Merry Christmas Cavaliers fans.
