Running Thoughts - Cavs. v Pistons - How Auburn Were My Hills?
Posted February 1st, 2009 by Michael Curry
Running Thoughts for today’s afternoon matchup against the Pistons:
First Quarter:
- The Pistons have been almost as bad on Sundays as the Detroit Lions were during the NFL season. The Pistons are just 1-7 on Sunday, with the one win coming against the woeful Clippers.
- Mike Brown has LeBron James defending Pistons point guard Rodney Stuckey to start the game. That will allow Mo Williams to guard Allen Iverson, who is a better matchup size-wise for Mo.
- If you’re listening to Mark Jackson’s praise of Allen Iverson, you can tell that he feels completely uncomfortable admitting when a player has lost as step. While I don’t think that Iverson is the sole cause of the Pistons’ slide this season, it’s patently ridiculous to act like he is really helping his team win right now. Just keep that in mind next time he’s so sure that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the world. The guy relies on reputation more than he relies on a player’s actual performance on the court.
- Mo Williams with some more complaining to ABC about not making the All-Star team. Once again, I would love to see Mo Williams on the team, but he doesn’t have the statistics to back it up. And he’d make a much better argument for being snubbed if he would actually make some shots in these nationally televised games. He has started this game 0-for-4, and that’s been par for the course in the first half for Mo.
- Not a pretty first quarter for either team. The Cavs are short on all of their jump shots, and are shooting just 30% from the field. The Pistons have not been much better (37%), but they are at home and the longer you let them hang around, the more dangerous they will be. At the end of one, the Pistons lead 18-16.
- I’m not a big Tarence Kinsey fan, but I am disappointed that he sprained his ankle simply because it means Daniel Gibson has to play more minutes. I would love for Gibson to snap out of his funk, but he’s been nothing short of awful over the last few weeks. And he picked up two fouls in just two minutes in the first quarter.
Second Quarter:
- Antonio McDyess with a dirty elbow to the face of Anderson Varejao to start the second quarter that leaves Andy on the deck for a little bit. He’s getting some stitches and he’ll be back soon. I’d have an easier time believing that McDyess’s elbow was inadvertant if he hadn’t been flinging his body at everyone in the zip code on that play.
- Wally Szczerbiak isolations continue to lead to success. Mike Brown is using this setup to keep the Cavs within striking distance when LeBron is on the bench, and it has worked over the last three games. And Szczerbiak continues to shine with a beautiful outlet pass to a leaking Mo Williams, who outruns the Pistons defense to a layup and his sixth point of the second quarter.
- We’ve been noting how the Cavs have struggled with LeBron on the bench in the second quarter of late. Well that changed tonight, as the Cavs turned a 2-point deficit into a 3-point lead while LeBron was catching his rest.
- LeBron is back to his short-hop three-pointers, something he messes around with at some point each season. I don’t like the idea of doing a repeated-motion action differently depending on the situation, but it’s almost as if LeBron treats it like a free-throw shot, something he only uses from behind a high screen at the top of the circle. My problem with the shot is that LeBron shoots it at a shallow arc, and LeBron’s regular jump shot is always at its worst when he’s not putting enough air under the shot.
- The Cavs offense needs to be put out of its misery after that awful first half performance. The defense has been excellent, and when you hold a team to 39 first half points, you should be winning the ballgame. But the Cavs got absolutely no penetration into the lane in the second quarter, and as a result were constantly forced to hoist contested jump shots late in the shot clock. And now they trail 39-36.
Third Quarter:
- This one is getting dangerous. The Cavs still don’t look like they’re locked in, and while they have mounted a few runs, the Pistons are outplaying them so far today. Ben Wallace’s awful goaltend is just the best example of how the Cavaliers are making too many mental mistakes right now. The Pistons are on an 7-0 run, and at the timeout the Cavaliers trail 54-49.
- LeBron is making his jump shots, and he is keeping the Cavaliers afloat while the rest of the team is standing around and doing nothing. Someone else needs to create some offense for the Cavaliers, but instead it seems the lackidasical energy from the Pistons and their fans is contagious.
- Amir Johnson is killing the Cavaliers on the glass, as he has negated at least three good Cavalier defensive possession in the third quarter. Johnson had seven rebounds in the third quarter, and helped the Pistons stretch the lead to eight, 66-58 at the end of three.
Fourth Quarter:
- Daniel Gibson explodes for seven points to start the fourth quarter? Yeah, I don’t believe it either, but he has been the offensive firestarter that the Cavs desperately needed. Add four points from Mo Williams to follow, and the Cavs erased the eight-point Pistons lead in the first two and a half minutes of the fourth to go ahead 69-68. LeBron will be coming in after the timeout, and we’re looking at a frantic finish here in Detroit. *Check that, apparently LeBron will sit until the next break. I admire Mike Brown for rewarding the guys who led the comeback, but there are limits… *
- But apparently Mike Brown is a genius, as Rodney Stuckey misses two free throws, Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace miss jumpers, and Mo Williams comes back with two hoops to stretch the Cavalier lead to five, 73-68. WIth the exception of Z, who is setting up too far from the basket and continues to struggle with his shot, the Cavaliers are making the shots they were missing in the first quarter. The Cavs have scored 15 points in the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, after managing just 16 points total in the first quarter.
- Is there something about LeBron being on the floor that physically hurts Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson? They went from being Supermen to taking turns handing the ball back to the Pistons without getting a shot. And Gibson is back to getting abused defensively. Fortunately, LeBron and Z finish what Williams and Gibson started, scoring 8 straight points (on 3 possessions) and stretching the Cavalier lead out to seven, 83-76. If it seems like I’m being hard on Williams and Gibson, I am. When the Cavs are struggling to score, one of those two players has to step up and make plays, not just for themselves but also for others. Too often the offensive performance of Gibson and Williams comes in a vacuum.
- This one is over, as the Cavs hold the Pistons to just 14 fourth quarter points and the Cavs win this one running away, 90-80.
- Solid road win for the Cavaliers, miserable home loss for the Pistons. There is something seriously wrong with the Detroit Pistons, but since they are the only decent competitor for the Cavaliers in the Central Division, I won’t be shedding any tears for their misfortune. Have a great night, and enjoy the Super Bowl.
Go Cavs.
February 1st, 2009 at 4:57 pm
nice 4th quarter. i wish mcdyess had signed with the cavs and used his elbow in the lakers and magic games. lebron desperately needs an enforcer. that is how you counter the no-calls he gets on the road.