It's AMAZING how quickly the fortunes of a sports organization can change, at every level. Whether the star quarterback of the high school powerhouse gets hurt and has to miss the season, a great college basketball coach resigns or chooses to go to another team, or a baseball icon is suspended for taking performance enhancing drugs. At the drop of a hat, things can go wrong that have a resounding effect on an organization as a whole. And as the level and the stakes get higher, the impact of the adversity gets more severe. And at the moment, the Cavaliers happen to be the biggest case study. Two weeks ago, everyone and their mother was carving their names in the NBA Title. They were the prohibitive favorite, enjoying the coveted rest that many former champions put a precedent on getting during the playoffs. They weren't throwing away games. They crushed everyone in front of them for 2 weeks. They were in the driver's seat. It wasn't hard for the Cavaliers management team to get up everyday and go to work. This was fun. Everything was going according to plan.
Well, do you remember in the Dark Knight, when the great Heath Ledger, as the Joker was in the hospital with Harvey Dent? And he went into that soliloquy about everything going according to plan? Nobody panics when things are going according to plan. We stop evaluating and thinking, because everything is going according to plan. Well the Orlando Magic in the words of the Joker "took our little plan and turned it on itself."
Now this post is not a memorial service for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Far from it. When the Cavs season is over, whether it is following a parade in downtown Cleveland, or a dramatic depressing loss in the ECF or NBAF, I will provide my take on where the Cavs go from here. As many of you know, I have very strong opinions and beliefs about how a sports organization should be run and administered. And I take the business side of the NBA and NFL very seriously as a an interest. I have topics and thoughts about this series that can fill your screens 20 times over. I don't have the time or inclination to do that. I will give you one thing. Here is my biggest fix for Thursday night. I am sure everyone can agree with this.
In the National Basketball Association, the number 1 defensive commandment over the last several years, whether you look at San Antonio, the Boston Celtics, or the Cleveland Cavaliers is: NO ONE IN OUR KEY ! That's what all the successful teams have in common. Just think about all the elite teams. If you keep guys outta your key the whole season you're gonna win 45-60 games. You let guys live in the key, you're gonna win 30-40 games.
And I don't know for a fact that this is the Cavs big rule, but I am sure it is up there. And we have seen this ad nauseam this last week and a half. Our idiot players are helping so hard on drivers and Dwight Howard, that guys like Pietrus, Skip, Lewis and Turk have all day to catch drive and kicks and shoot 3's. Have you ever in your life seen guys so wide open?
Our guards and wings have so far to close out to get back to their men after helping deadbeat on the ball defenders. Most of the time its a full 2 steps, sometimes 2.5 steps. You can moan and complain that the Magic are unbelievably hot and the statistics have not caught up to them yet blah blah blah. It's as simple as this: If you gave Rudy Kirbus 100 3's and let him set his feet and look at the basket with no heat on him, hes gonna make 70 of those. Rudy is not a professional. So what do you think professional basketball players are gonna make if they have tons of time, no heat and have seen the ball go in the basket a few times? Yea, the Magic made 17 3's last night. But we're lucky they did'nt make 25 because they could have cause they are that wide open.
And yea, I saw overtime, where they stuck a little tighter to shooters. And I saw D12 put up a quick 10 points. That's not the point. Andy was dead tired because he was busy keeping us in the game, and had 5 fouls. The Cavs were dead tired and in big trouble at that point. The point is that the Cavs have to stay tight to their shooters and cut down the length at which they have to close out on shooters. They gotta run them off the line at all costs. They gotta make them drive by them and scored contested two's. I am not convinced that guys like Pietrus and Lewis can get run off the line and make great contested 2 point finishes consistently. And you'll never convince me because they can't do it. Dwight Howard has 2 40 point games in his career. That's about 100 short of all the other elite players in this game. Let's see him score 40 the next 3 games. And let's make him uncomfortable. Let's put Darnell Jackson get in there and rake his arms hard 3-4 times. I know Mike Brown is one of the best coaches in the world. I know he has made adjustments. A lot of the adjustments we are not smart enough to see. But there has to be a much bigger premium put on disallowing 3's and welcoming 2's. Not straight line 2's. Not bail out foul, stop the clock and shoot free throw 2's. Just pressure layup/pressure finish/hard hand in the face 2's. Easier said than done I know. But there has to be a significant adjustment or the topics that involve the Cavs become much more severe.
But hey, the Cavs have to win Thursday. Then they have to play the best game of the season in Game 6. Then hopefully, they get to come back and play a game 7 in front of a great home crowd, where the best player on the planet is gonna get EVERY CALL. It should be interesting.
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