Running Thoughts - Cavs v. Raptors
Posted February 3rd, 2009 by Michael Curry
Running Thoughts from tonight’s game against the Raptors, as the Cavs go for their 23rd straight win of at home to start the season:
First Quarter:
- No Sasha Pavlovic, Lorezen Wright, or Joe Tait tonight, as the flu has apparently turned the Cavs’ chartered jet into the wagon from Oregon Trail. When Darnell Jackson goes down with diphtheria, I’m going to get worried.
- While certain Cavaliers may be struggling with the flu, the guys are the court are off to a fantastic start. The Cavs are bombing away from the perimeter, and the Raptors have no interest in defending them out there.
- This is getting ugly quickly. At the end of the first quarter, the Cavs lead 37-15, as the Raptors apparently traveled to Cleveland in the aforementioned Oregon Trail wagon. The Cavs shot 61% from the field and 70% from beyong the arc in the first quarter, while holding the Raptors to just 33%. After watching the Cavaliers let the Clippers back into the game on Friday, I’m not willing to call this one over quite yet. But with the way the Raptors have been playing of late, it’s possible to argue that the Clippers are actually better than the Raptors at this point of the season.
Second Quarter:
- At least Chris Bosh made the trip, as he starts this game with 10 points on 5-6 shooting. Maybe he’ll decide just to stay in Cleveland when this one is over.
- Daniel Gibson with an embarrassingly bad flop on a three-point shot that gets him the foul and three free throws courtesy of Jason Kapono. I understand that it’s all part of the game, but it always drove me nuts when Allen Iverson would do it, and so I can appreciate Kapono’s consternation at picking up a foul like that.
- The Cavs went through a little bit of a lull in the second quarter when it became clear that the Raptors weren’t going to fight back. Then LeBron put on a show to end the half, scoring five straight points on a superhuman and-one play, a ridiculous fall-away jumper, and a fingertip block to end the half when Jose Calderon snuck out to try to steal a final bucket in the last three seconds of the quarter. LeBron finished the first half with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and the Cavs head into the half with a 59-40 lead.
Third Quarter:
- With all due respect Austin Carr, NBA continuation allows the player to complete the move in which they are currently engaged. LeBron absolutely should have earned an and-one on that play, as it was part of his move towards the basket. It was a questionable call at best by the official, and certainly not one deserving of praise. And while we’re at it, I really hope Carr stops desperately searching for catch phrases.
- I won’t call too many Cavalier games “boring,” but there are few other adjectives to describe this one. While the Raptors have 15 assists on 20 made baskets, it still looks to me like everyone on the Toronto squad is out for themselves, rather than sacrificing for the good of the team. The talent level between these two teams isn’t that great, but the Cavs are dominating this game.
- Color me disappointed that the NBA sold out on the player towels. While the towels used to be team specific, if a little generic, these Gatorade “G” towels that the Cavs and Raptors are currently using are downright obnoxious.
- Well, that was fast. The Cavs were ahead by 21 with 6:06 left to go in the third quarter, then were outscored 20-7 down the stretch as the Raptors cut the Cavalier lead to eight at the end of three, 74-66. The Cavaliers scored just 15 points in the quarter, while they allowed the Raptors to score 26 points. The Cavs had a significant concentration problem in the quarter, and we’ll see if it really comes back to bite them in the fourth.
Fourth Quarter:
- Give the Raptors credit, they exploited their biggest advantage by leaning on Bosh and O’Neal to do their scoring inside, and it allowed them to put points on the board efficiently, while the Cavs have been taking low-percentage jumpers as they watch their lead trickle away.
- Jermaine O’Neal was definitely moving on that play that was ruled a charge on LeBron James. The restricted area has certainly changed the NBA game, but in that case the official was far more worried about O’Neal’s feet than he was about determining if O’Neal was set. He wasn’t.
- The Cavaliers, like all great teams, have the ability to stretch a lead quickly. They can defend brilliantly to keep you from scoring points, then they move the ball, find the open man, and rain shots down upon you. There aren’t many things more deflating than watching your six-point deficit balloon up to 15 points in four or five possessions. The Cavaliers can do that, and if you’ll recall the losses to the Lakers and the Magic, they did that exact thing to the Cavaliers to put those games away.
- And the Cavs put it together and finish off the Raptors 101-83. Chalupas for everyone and 23 straight wins for the home team. I suppose you could argue that this game was closer than that, but I don’t think so. When the Cavs were focused, they were a solid 20-points better than the Raptors. Yes, they should have put the Raptors away sooner, but a win is a win, and the Cavs will take it on the front end of a back-to-back.
Go Cavs.
