Those last 10-12 possessions were a microcosm of what always goes wrong for the Cavs and showed yet again that there are errors in the way the team is constructed. It's the same problems, the players just change. It's a perpetual deer in the headlights position, with LeBron at times shining through and providing unforgettable moments.
Everything I needed to know about the game happened on back to back possessions. I picked the game up with the Cavs down 5. The Cavs got a stop on defense, grabbed the board and got nothing in transition. Mo Williams got involved with a high ball screen from Shaq and couldn't get anything going off of it (shocking huh?). The ball eventually got swung to LeBron, who, (and get ready for this suspense folks) pounded the ball into the hardwood 11 times in a row (how bout a post game?) with the shot clock getting into single digits and settles for a 23 footer off the dribble (never seen that before huh?) Brick. Rebound Celtics. Paul Pierce walks the ball up the court, gets a high ball screen from KG, walks to the key untouched, to the elbow and nails an 15 footer that he is going to make 9.5 times out of 10 in the clutch. Timeout Cavs. Ball game. The camera flips over to Danny Ainge whose talking to some drunk slob probably saying something like "I would rather have PP in the last 2 minutes than any other player in the NBA." And there you have it. A microcosm of game 1 of 82 in 2 possessions. A tale of 2 elite teams. The Celtics being in complete control. The Cavs being in a constant state of uncertainty.
It's hard to bury to Cavs and put them way behind the curve after one game played and 81 left, but at the same time, for me it is very easy. It is clear to me that they have not changed many of the urgent and important things necessary to get the Cavs playing at a championship level. They have a lot of work to do and moves to make as we enter this marathon season. They are clearly the 5th best team in the league, and will have to make a lot of changes in their approach if they want to get back into the discussion of potentially playing in the NBA finals.
1 comment:
wow. very bashful! If you would have seen the first 10 min you would realize we have alot of positives that outweigh the negatives. Our biggest problem is defendign the pick and roll. our next bggest is our coach mike brown. He has no clue how to use a rotation and never has. we are in good shape. typical fan you are to panic after game 1. we were 1-2 last year and went on to win 65 of 79. Shaq and Z cant be on court at the same time. We need Hickson o play well but Mike Brown refuses to put him in. We need ot get young athletic bigs out on the floor to guard the pick and roll. i say fire mike brown. We missed Delonte badly as well.
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