Running Thoughts - Cavs v. Celtics
Posted April 12th, 2009 by Michael Curry
Running and Thinking while the Cavs deal with the Celtics today at the Q:
- My only concern going into this game is a slow start. The Cavs have come out of the gates a bit uninspired the past two Sundays; they don’t want to get themselves into an early hole this afternoon.
First Quarter:
- Z with the Cavs first four points, going inside first then knocking down his patented 18-footer. The Cavs need to exploit the fact that the Celtics are missing Kevin Garnett inside.
- LeBron leaves the ball for Andy for a monster two-handed slam, then knocks down a three on the next possession. Cavs are out to an early 9-4 lead, and they are executing well on both sides of the ball. And before I finish that sentence, LeBron hits another three. If LeBron is scoring from the perimeter, the Cavaliers are unbeatable.
- Mo Williams with a terrible 22-foot miss to “finish” a 3-on-2 break. Cannot do that in the Playoffs Mo, especially if you have LeBron James on the wing. At least if Mo would have taken a three there was extra potential value; settling for a running jumper with his foot on the line is about the worst way that possession could end.
- Halfway through the first quarter, the Celtics can’t hit the broad side of a barn. They are just 2-for-10 from the field, and the Cavs have an early 14-6 lead at the first break. Andy and Z already have 8 rebounds between them.
- The Cavs are doing a good job of getting out and running so far this game, which is a great plan. Use the energy of the crowd to push you faster and wear out the Celtics.
- LeBron with another transition block, erasing a Ray Allen layup. No one else in the league can do things like that folks.
- Cavs roll out a new play, having Z make the entry pass to LeBron on the post, then rolling to the basket when the double team follows the ball to LeBron. It turned into a basket and a foul for Z, and it’s just another weapon for the Cavaliers. Like they needed one. At another Celtics timeout, the Cavs lead is up to 21-8. Lots of game left, but the Cavs look fantastic so far this afternoon.
- Yes, I smile every time Paul Pierce misses a shot. Doubly so when he misses free throws.
- Great ball movement from LeBron to Joe Smith to Daniel Gibson in the corner for three. Then Gibson adds a little something extra, knocking down a second three from the same spot, this time with Eddie House right in his face.
- Ben Wallace heads to the free throw line off a loose-ball foul. If you’ll remember, last time the Celtics were in town Doc Rivers employed the Hack-a-Ben strategy down the stretch long past its usefulness. It was an utterly classless move by Rivers, and the way things are going right now, the Celtics might need to employ it for the last three quarters. And I don’t put it past Rivers.
- At the end of one, the Cavaliers are putting on a clinic, dominating both ends of the floor for a 22-point lead, 33-9. The offense is rolling, while the Mike Brown defense has held the Celtics to just 3-for-20 (15%) shooting in the first quarter.
Second Quarter:
- ”That’s a cold crowd when they boo a little baby wearing a Boston Celtics jersey.” - Joe Tait.
- The last time these two teams met, it was Joe Smith’s first game back in a Cavaliers uniform, and he had a terrible game. Smith has been a completely different player this afternoon, as he already has five points and 3 rebounds, while drawing fouls on both Mikki Moore and Kendrick Perkins in the last two possessions. If Joe can bring this kind of production off the bench in the Playoffs, then he is this year’s P.J. Brown.
- It’s midrange jumpers for Mo and Delonte, and it’s another Celtics timeout. The lead is out to 27, 38-11. The Celtics have no energy, no execution, no fight and no answer for the Cavaliers.
- We’re halfway through the second quarter, and the Celtics are getting nothing going to the basket. Everything is a jump shot, and they’re being taken by guys like Glen Davis and Eddie House, not Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. You’d think that super-duper-he’s-so-wonderful-even-if-you-can’t-really-tell point guard Rajon Rondo could create a few more shots, but apparently he’s saving himself. Wouldn’t want him blowing your mind too soon or anything.
- We’re at another break, and the Celtics have managed to stop the bleeding at just a 27 point deficit, 45-18. At least the Celtics should score more than 11 points this quarter.
- No way Doc Rivers finishes this game without picking up a technical foul.
- I know this is going to come as a surprise to some people, but Tony Allen is not a suitable replacement for James Posey, and has no chance when trying to guard LeBron one-on-one.
- Uh-oh, another break, and this time the Cavalier lead is down to 26, 49-23 (though Anderson Varejao free throws are coming after the break). At the moment there’s not much more to add, the Cavs continue to hold the Celtics at bay, holding Boston to just 26% from the field (9-for-35) while executing well on offense. LeBron hasn’t even had to do much in the second quarter, as he doesn’t have a point in the period.
- The Celtics go on an 11-0 run late in the quarter, as the Cavalier offense has stopped attacking, and they’ve gotten a little careless with the ball. They’re also in the penalty, so they will need to avoid giving the Celtics points at the free throw line.
- Three more points by Ray Allen after an offensive possession where LeBron didn’t touch the ball, and the lead is down to 16. LeBron took his foot off the pedal in this quarter, and as a result this group that is used to having him creating everything on offense was pretty direction-less after LeBron came back into the game in the second quarter.
- Fortunately, LeBron restores order with an And-One basket with 3.7 seconds left in the half, and three points later the Cavs head into the half ahead by 19 points, 52-33. When LeBron is aggressive, the Celtics have no answer this afternoon. Still a great first half, a dominating performance from a team that is putting the league on notice.
Third Quarter:
- The Celtics cannot get the close shots to fall this afternoon. Give the Cavs some credit for that, but Boston is failing to convert even their good looks into points with NBA-level proficiency. Glen Davis couldn’t even take advantage of Mo Williams defending him at one point.
- LeBron adds his 18th point on yet another basket-foul-flex triumverate, and the Cavalier lead is back out to 27, 65-38. Even with the Cavaliers running away with this one, the scary part is that they LeBron is capable of taking the offense to another level if he needed/wanted to.
- Somehow LeBron James found himself alone in the middle of the key, where Mo Williams found him for a monster right-hand crush of both the basketball and the Celtics. Still quite a few memorable moments for a game that has been nothing short of a coronation for this excellent Cavaliers team.
- Well Mr. Varejao, you are a better man than I. I don’t know how to explain what happened to Andy in a family-friendly blog, but let’s just say that Andy withstood a blow that would have most men calling it a day and looking for some ice.
- Though I have no idea how the refs could give Andy a technical foul after that play.
- LeBron James with back-to-back ridiculous threes to put the capper on this one. He’s pretty good folks.
- At the end of the third quarter, the Cavs lead by 26 points, 82-56. The Celtics continue to shoot just 33% from the field, and the Cavs are outrebounding Boston by 17, 38-21. Just an all around pummeling administered by the guys in white.
Fourth Quarter:
- The Cavs have started the fourth quarter with the normal rotation, with the exception of Ben Wallace who left in the second quarter with a knee issue. Darnell Jackson is filling in for Ben to start the period. I don’t expect LeBron to play in the fourth, but I wonder how long Williams and West will play.
- Cleveland starts the fourth with an 8-2 run, and the Cavs have their biggest lead of the game, 90-58. Hopefully all of those people who saw the Cavalier losses in Boston and Orlando as evidence of major weaknesses will notice that the Cavs can and are just as dominant when they are playing host to the rest of the league’s elite.
- After getting throughly worked by Louis Williams on Friday, Daniel Gibson has had one of his best performances of the season, exploiting the unenthusiastic perimeter defense of the Celtics to score 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
- Delonte West has a +/- of +32 today.
- Hey, Tarence Kinsey got into the game, and winds his way to the rim for a nifty left-handed layup and chalupas for everyone. I guarantee that a good chunk of the Cavalier fan base will be calling for Kinsey to get more minutes after the first Cavalier loss in the Playoffs.
- Wally Szczerbiak pulls a LeBron James and blocks a transition layup by Bill Walker. The bench, as expected, goes crazy.
- And that will do it, the Cavs destroy the Celtics by 31 points, 107-96. Huge win for the home team, and a great exclamation point on what has been a fantastic and historic regular season.
More as it comes later, but for now, Happy Easter, and Go Cavs!
