NBA Playoffs 2007

[Mal Brossard]

Seems to be the general consensus at every board I post at-- everyone wants the Cavs to win and another Spurs victory would be boring.

Feel free to jump on the Cleveland bandwagon, god knows we need both the help and someone to empathize with us if and when the Spurs win.

[sandman]

go cavs! i wasn't a lebron fan but he earned alot of respect in the last week. although i didn't like his comments after the game.

i think the spurs will win in 5.

[w.axl.rose]

Spurs will win it at Game 6. Spurs - 96 Cav's 89 

[GeorgeSteele]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Lebron will react to Bruce Bowen's defensive tactics. ?

[Eazy E]

although i didn't like his comments after the game.

After which game?  He didn't talk much after Game 5... certainly from exhaustion...

[sandman]

although i didn't like his comments after the game.

After which game?? He didn't talk much after Game 5... certainly from exhaustion...

game 6.

"Something had to go right for Cleveland sports. Something had to go right," said James, who mentioned what he had promised Cleveland four years ago when drafted as a high school phenom.

"I was going to light it up like Vegas," he said.


when i first heard it, it seemed like he was satisfied. the city hasn't won a championship in 40-some years. just making it to the finals doesn't mean anything. you have to win it all to say that something has "gone right" for the city.

[Mal Brossard]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Lebron will react to Bruce Bowen's defensive tactics. 

Bowen has had some trouble handling the bigger, more powerful guys, and Lebron at 6'8" 250 fits that mold.

[GeorgeSteele]

I'm looking forward to seeing how Lebron will react to Bruce Bowen's defensive tactics.?

Bowen has had some trouble handling the bigger, more powerful guys, and Lebron at 6'8" 250 fits that mold.

True, I'm expecting that they'll use him as a help defender (at least for the first 3 quarters).  Either way, Bowen will do what he does (grab, kick, trip, undercut, step on achilles tendons, etc. - all purely incidental contact, of course) to try and get under his skin.

[Krispy Kreme]

I am not  usually a Cavs fan, but that series  with Detroit  was great TV! LeBron was awesome. First  time I watched him several times. Game 5 was just incredible.

Having said  that, I fully expect SA to win. The coach and  the team are too smart, too experienced, too savvy for it to turn out any other way. On the other hand, my heart would love  to see a Cavs victory. When was the last  time Cleveland won  anything?

[sandman]

the cavs coach is awful. he is so over-matched in this series. it's gonna be sad how badly he gets out-coached.

[Krispy Kreme]

I agree, it will be embarrassing. Did you see how he fucked up the time out situation in regulation Game 5--almost cost them the game. Popovich will make mince meat of  the Cav's coach. Mike something or other, who even knows? Did he ever play ball? Never even heard of him.

[pilferk]

I'm just like almost everyone else:

I want the Cavs to win.

I think the Spurs will win.

But in the end...my Celtics still suck.

[Krispy Kreme]

Plus, the Celtics didn't even get the top pick in the lottery. They will remain bad for the foreseeable  future, it would seem.

[Eazy E]

Plus, the Celtics didn't even get the top pick in the lottery. They will remain bad for the foreseeable future, it would seem.

... and the West will remain powerful for the foreseeable future.  As a Raps fan, I guess it's a good thing that Oden or Durant won't be in the same division. 


I didn't catch either of the regular season games between these two... What did the Cavs do that gave them the Ws?

[pilferk]

Plus, the Celtics didn't even get the top pick in the lottery. They will remain bad for the foreseeable  future, it would seem.

Unless Bird, McHale, and Parish all find the fountain of youth and return to their 20's, and they find some way to resurrect DJ (man, was that sad...) and get him to drink from the same fountain....that's probably the case.

That team has been so mismanaged since their glory days it's depressing.  Once Red stopped having day to day influence....ye gods it got bad fast.  They've never recovered from losing Reggie Lewis (heck, or Len Bias)....and Ainge has sucked during his regime.

[Mal Brossard]

When was the last  time Cleveland won  anything?

1964 Cleveland Browns were the last major team to win anything more than a divisional or conference championship.  1999 if you count pro indoor soccer.

I agree, it will be embarrassing. Did you see how he fucked up the time out situation in regulation Game 5--almost cost them the game. Popovich will make mince meat of  the Cav's coach. Mike something or other, who even knows? Did he ever play ball? Never even heard of him.

Mike Brown never played pro ball, but he was the defensive specialist assistant coach under Popovich for 2000-2003, winning an NBA championship in 2003.  The highest level he played was with Mesa Community College.

But playing experience doesn't mean everything-- Out of the NBA's list of the 10 greatest coaches, five of them never played pro ball.  And if you look at other sports, very few great managers were anything more than marginal players: Tony LaRussa, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Lasorda, Earl Weaver, Tom Kelly, Bobby Cox, and Jim Leyland were nothing more than marginal major leaguers and in some cases never made it at all.  In the NHL, Scotty Bowman, Ken Hitchcock, Peter Laviolette, John Tortorella, Pat Burns, and Bob Hartley never played in the NHL-- that's every coach to lead a team to a Stanley Cup victory since 1997 (the only exception is Larry Robinson, and I don't count him as he was coach for only 8 regular season games the year sthe Devils won it; however he did take over for former NHL player Robbie Ftorek).

I still say Spurs in 6, but the Cavs did beat them in both of their regular season games against each other.  So we'll see-- that's why they play the games.

[Krispy Kreme]

When was the last? time Cleveland won? anything?

1964 Cleveland Browns were the last major team to win anything more than a divisional or conference championship.? 1999 if you count pro indoor soccer.

I agree, it will be embarrassing. Did you see how he fucked up the time out situation in regulation Game 5--almost cost them the game. Popovich will make mince meat of? the Cav's coach. Mike something or other, who even knows? Did he ever play ball? Never even heard of him.

Mike Brown never played pro ball, but he was the defensive specialist assistant coach under Popovich for 2000-2003, winning an NBA championship in 2003.? The highest level he played was with Mesa Community College.

But playing experience doesn't mean everything-- Out of the NBA's list of the 10 greatest coaches, five of them never played pro ball.? And if you look at other sports, very few great managers were anything more than marginal players: Tony LaRussa, Sparky Anderson, Tommy Lasorda, Earl Weaver, Tom Kelly, Bobby Cox, and Jim Leyland were nothing more than marginal major leaguers and in some cases never made it at all.? In the NHL, Scotty Bowman, Ken Hitchcock, Peter Laviolette, John Tortorella, Pat Burns, and Bob Hartley never played in the NHL-- that's every coach to lead a team to a Stanley Cup victory since 1997 (the only exception is Larry Robinson, and I don't count him as he was coach for only 8 regular season games the year sthe Devils won it; however he did take over for former NHL player Robbie Ftorek).

I still say Spurs in 6, but the Cavs did beat them in both of their regular season games against each other.? So we'll see-- that's why they play the games.

I agree 100%--experience  is  one  thing, and a lot of  good managers  were  marginal  players. But to not play at  all? That is something completely different. I don't know a lot about  Mike  Brown, but the few games  I have seen, I have not been impressed. Popovich will run circles  around him.

[Mal Brossard]

Thursday, June 07, 2007, 9:38 PM
NBA Finals, Game One

Time for a recap. The good, the bad, the ugly, and how to turn it around for Game Two.

Call me a homer on this, but this was not the Cavs we saw tonight. No calls going Cleveland's way in the paint, LeBron James with an oh-fer from the field in the first half, and seeing Zydrunas Ilgauskas trying to shoot from 19 feet? Really?

As the ABC announcers said at the start of the fourth-- the Cavs played well enough defensively to win it, but the offense just wasn't there. And don't give me this bunk about it being the playoffs and the team being nervous. You need to treat this like what it is-- just another game against a team you've beaten twice this year and three times in a row dating back to last year. Before tonight, the Cavs last loss to the Spurs was November 4, 2005, also in San Antonio.

First off, the Cavs failed to control the boards. In my Finals preview, I mentioned the Cavs had a better average in rebounds per game in the playoffs than the Spurs did. Tonight the Spurs out-rebounded the Cavs 43-32, and 13-9 on the offensive boards. It seemed like every time a shot went up, the Cavs big guys just stood back and watched as a San Antonio player came away with the ball.

Next up, a lack of offense. While a lot has been made of LeBron's willingness to get his teammates involved, that willingness was lacking tonight. He attempted the most shots of any Cavs player with 16, and had the third lowest field goal percentage (4 of 16 for 25%; Larry Hughes was 1 of 5, Ilgauskas was 1 of .

Third, Daniel Gibson. Why is he not starting? Why is the ball not getting to him nearly enough? He comes off a 31-point performance, and shoots 7 of 9. Why is he not the one taking the 16 shots per game? He has the hot hand, so why is it not getting used. Think about it: the Cavs lost by 9. Lets take about half of those shots LeBron missed (That would be 6) and put them in Boobie's hands. So he's 5 of 6 from two, 2 of 3 from three. So of those 6 shots, two would be from three-point land, four would be from two. Playing the odds, we'll say he hits one from three and three from two. That's 9 points. Let Boobie shoot, and this is an even game. Something has to change in the game plan to get the ball into his hands. Oh yeah, he had four steals too. Shoots better than Hughes, plays better D than Eric Snow... why not play the guy?

Fourth, officiating. Every possible call in the paint went against the Cavs. From obvious charges not being called to Manu Ginobli flipping and falling everywhere like a fish pulled out of water, everything seemed to go the way of San Antonio. Not much you can do here, just ride it out. As the numbers have shown, in spite of the calls going the other way, the Cavs were right in the thick of things.

Fifth, the third quarter. What the HELL is going on with the Cavs falling apart here? It happened in the Detroit series, and the New Jersey series (outscored in the third in five games out of six, outscored by 8 or more in three of six), and badly in one game of the Washington sweep. Even looking at averages from the regular season, the Cavs outscored their opponents by an average of at least eight-tenths of a point (0.8 points) in every quarter-- except the third. Why? Is it as the TNT announcers said in the Detroit series that not enough teams do a serious warm-up after the half?

So what needs to change? First off, cut the crap with the nerves. I don't care that it's the first Finals appearance for everyone on the team not named Eric Snow. Treat it like just another game. There's nothing at stake here any more than just another win. Second, grab some rebounds. Fight for the ball! Third, shot selection. I never want to see a guy who's taller than 7' putting up 18-foot jumpers (Yes Z, I'm referring to you). If Lebron can't get a decent shot, look elsewhere. And if Daniel Gibson keeps draining shots, then for the love of all that is good in the world, GET HIM THE BALL! Fifth, driving the lane on Tim Duncan usually results in disaster, as evidenced by his five blocks. Lastly, on defense, quit letting a guy stay open forever. The Spurs will find him, and he will shoot, and he will drain that shot. Usually from long distance.

It ain't over. The Cavs have shown they belong here. But now will they learn anything from Game 1?

[Thorned Rose]

Seems to be the general consensus at every board I post at-- everyone wants the Cavs to win and another Spurs victory would be boring.

Feel free to jump on the Cleveland bandwagon, god knows we need both the help and someone to empathize with us if and when the Spurs win.

The fact is, as we saw last night... the Spurs are dominant.

It would be boring to see them win again? Are you stupid? Dynastys is what sports are about and I love it. The Cavs are a young punk team led by a 22 year old punk.

LeBron James is great yeah, but he isn't there yet. I don't like the guy. Very cocky in a quiet way. Spurs got this one in a sweep. Cleveland has a few more years before they pull that out.

Lebron heroed us with his game 5 antics, which were impressive, but the guy isn't Michael Jordan or King James. Who in the hell goes 0/7 in a half?

It's really the big time and Duncan, Parker, and co. have too much XP and way way way too many rings to let them win...

SPURS in 4!!!

99, 03, 05 champs!!!!

[Mal Brossard]

Dominant?  Please, the Cavs made poor shot choices, the Spurs got away with everything in the paint, and the Cavs' rebounders gave up very easily.

Tomorrow night will be a VERY different game out of the Cavs.

And it would be very boring to see them win again.  No one wants to see the Yankees win.  Or the Red Wings.  Or the Pistons.  Or the Lakers.  This is a boring team that's built on defense.  Teams like that are a total snooze-fest to watch in any sport (New Jersey Devils, Baltimore Ravens... wake me up when it's over).

Just wait on Lebron.  Give him something of a supporting cast and it's no contest.  Every great player has had someone with them.  Jordan and Pippen.  Shaq and Kobe.  Magic, Kareem, and Worthy.  Bird, Parish, and McHale.  Shaq and Dwyane.  Nash and Amare.  Duncan and Robinson.  Duncan and Parker.  Thomas and Dumars.  Olajuwon and Maxwell.  Lebron needs someone else around him.  Daniel Gibson is on his way there, but Brown needs to start the guy and get the ball into his hands.

There's no way this series is a sweep.  Cavs played well in game 1, their offense was just crap.  I'm sticking by Spurs in 6; the Cavs proved they can hang in.  By the way, with a Game 1 victory and home-court advantage, the Spurs are currently 4-1 favorites to win the series but only 5-4 favorites to win tomorrow night.

Don't forget, last year Dallas won Game 1 at home.  So did Utah in 1998.  Both went on to lose.  And the Cavs lost Games 1 and 2 on the road last series and won.  One game is meaningless in the big picture.

Jumped on any other bandwagons lately?