Running Thoughts - Cavs v. Bobcats
Posted January 7th, 2009 by Michael Curry
Fanatical running thoughts tonight:
- Seeing these blue jerseys in action, I’m going with thumbs down. The Cavaliers have a great variety of jerseys to choose from, and these, while not awful, aren’t good enough to take precedence over any of them. I’d rather see any other uniform over these. But again, that says more about the general quality of the Cavalier jerseys as a whole than it does about these royal blue things.
- Guys in crab costumes at the game tonight. I have no idea why this crab dribble thing has garnered so much attention, but I’m pretty sure that it’s more proof that a star like LeBron doesn’t need a big market to be a media icon.
- The Cavaliers are refocused, the Bobcats are winded, and after the first quarter the Cavs lead 29-12. LeBron has 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and he is abusing the Charlotte defense, getting into the lane at will.
- Kudos to the bobblehead doll makers getting the star in Daniel Gibson’s head. And Gibson is obliging on his night, knocking down his first two threes and turning a rebound to a nice alley-oop to J.J. Hickson.
- The Cavaliers can’t miss at the moment, as Wally Szczerbiak just hit two threes in a row to stretch the Cavalier lead to 43-14. The Cavaliers look like a hungry, well-rested team, and the Bobcats look like a team that knows it is overmatched. All that barking that the Bobcats were doing last night after the victory (looking at you D.J. Augustin) is gone for the moment.
- Do you think Wally Szczerbiak looks at Matt Carroll and Adam Morrison and thinks “This is easy. Is this what other guys feel like when I’m guarding them?” Yes Wally, it is.
- I got on J.J. Hickson for getting a cheap goaltending violation last game after a foul that cost the Cavaliers two points. Just now he did the same thing, only this time it was a bad call by the officials, as the ball was still on its way up and had not yet touched the backboard. So better play, same bad result. Which means HIckson should probably just stop trying to block shots after the whistle.
- Daniel Gibson with a dunk! That’s it, we’re having bobblehead doll night every night. We’re going to get 15 points out of Tarence Kinsey yet!
- Three times the Cavaliers have goaltended a shot after a shooting foul. We’ve got to be closing in on some kind of record. Someone needs to let them know that Kevin Garnett and the Celtics only do that on shots well after the stop of play, those practice jumpers that guys take as everyone else is milling around. They don’t hand free points to the offense.
- I don’t know if people have noticed, but the Cavaliers are currently offering 3-game ticket packages which include either a game against the Celtics or the Lakers. But if you try to buy single game tickets to those games, you’ll find that they are sold out. So the Cavs have held tickets to two very coveted games in an effort to force fans to buy tickets to other, much much worse games - the Lakers tickets come with the Kings and the Grizzlies for crying out loud, two teams that are a combined 33 games under .500, a number that is only likely to be greater by the time they come to Cleveland. I know the Cavs want to take advantage of those big games, but holding tickets from the pool just to sell others seems…dishonest.
- Good thing we’re getting to halftime, because the refs are clearly cranky and in need of a quick nap. Two technical fouls on Juwan Howard who was sitting on the bench, and two straight delay of game technical fouls on the Cavaliers, the second for an untucked shirt for Daniel Gibson. That makes it closer at the end, but at the half the Cavaliers lead 60-42.
Second Half:
- More of the same in the second half, with the Cavaliers stretching the lead back out to 28 points at 76-48. The rebounding has been solid as well, as the Cavs currently enjoy a 27-19 lead on the glass, with a 6-3 lead in offensive rebounds.
- Don’t look now, but the Celtic currently trail at home to the Houston Rockets, 52-49 at halftime.
- While the Cavaliers haven’t opened up a bigger lead in the second half, they are keeping the Bobcats at bay and getting plenty of rest for LeBron James, who will once again get to spend a fourth quarter on the bench. The only thing I don’t understand is why Anderson Varejao isn’t joining him there, as Andy is right now the second-most important player on the team. The Cavs have Darnell Jackson and Lorenzen Wright on the bench and an insurmountable lead, it’s time to call it a game for Varejao. Cavs lead in the fourth quarter, 98-72.
- The Cavs oblige me with around 5:30 left, bringing in Jackson and ending the night for Andy and Daniel Gibson. Varejao finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Boobie had 15 points and 3 assists. While the supporting cast has been bad in the recent struggles, they looked very solid tonight, exploiting the tired Bobcat defense. The bench bunch of Gibson, Szczerbiak and Hickson has combined for 41 points tonight, just a huge lift for the team.
- Tarence Kinsey is coming in with 2:25 left in the game. Any chance he ends the game without a turnover (last time the Cavs played the Bobcats, Kinsey gave it up 3 times in 4 minutes)?
- And that’s the game, the Cavaliers prevail 111-81. You don’t need The Diff to figure out this one was a blowout. The Bobcats didn’t have much of chance tonight, and the Cavs jumped on Charlotte early to take all the fight out of them. The Cavs shot incredibly well (60% from the field, 50% from beyond the arc), rebounded effectively (41-32), and moved the ball arount to the tune of 24 assists. Good, solid win for the Cavaliers as they get ready for the Celtics on Friday.
Go Cavs.
Update: ”He’s not a cookie, he’s not a cracker, he’s Von Wafer!” The call from Houston radio announcer Gene Peterson (I think) when Rockets guard Von Wafer knocked down a three to give the Rockets a 2-point lead late in the game. The Rockets picked up a few more points, and beat the Celtics in Boston, 89-85. The Celtics have now lost 6 of their last 8 as they come into Cleveland on Friday.
As much as I was rooting for the Rockets at the end of this thing, this now changes some of the dynamics of Friday’s game. If the Cavs win, they are just one of a list of teams to beat the Celtics of late, a list that includes the Knicks, Bobcats and Warriors. If the Celtics win, they re-establish their supremecy in the East despite their recent struggles.
I’m still psyched for Friday, but these kinds of things always bother me, especially when ESPN is intimately involved. Look at what that Celtics loss on Christmas did to them. But I have to admit, I’m shocked that this game on Friday now means more for the Celtics than it does for the Cavaliers. What a difference two weeks can make.
Finally, Carmelo Anthony stole DeShawn Stevenson’s red velvet blazer.
January 8th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I still think that dishonest Lakers ticket scam (making you buy two other lousy games) will be more successful than the other promotion of getting the new Wit / ness shirt when you call “right now” and order tickets. That is the ugliest T-shirt I have seen in quite a while.
And the T on Boobie for not having his shirt tucked in…that was definitely an insane makeup call for kicking out Juwan Howard. I mean, Juwan was on the Fab 5 for god sakes, he should be held to a different standard. The ref must have realized his error and made up for it.
In other NBA news, I found it funny that ESPN decided to switch NBA/College announcers last night. Watching Dickie V get all riled up every other possession about the horrendous defensive effort was quite entertaining.