• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

Game #49| Cavs vs Lakers| Sunday Feb. 8th, 2009| 3:30pm [ET]

Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Benedict_Boozer said:
Honestly, the Lakers just have better personnel. Outside of LBJ & Kobe, they just have better players. Don't like to admit it but after both games against them..they just own us in the paint and on the boards and just have more options offensively.

It is what it is...hopefully we can get another big man at the deadline
Click to expand...

you underestimate mr. west. He's one hell of a basketball player, and we need him back.
 
FUNDAMENTALS

that's why we lost this game. boxing out, closing out on shooters, proper defensive rotations etc...we just didn't play our best cavalier basketball against one of the best teams in the league, we're not going to win that way.


the taste is bitter but we all know that our defense and fundamentals have been lacking the past two weeks. this loss presents a grand opportunity to regroup and get back to that.
 
This loss sucks. 3rd qtr killed the Cavs. They did a horrible job rebounding and allowed the lakers to get a ton of 2nd chance points and off. reb's. Varejao has been terrible blocking out lately and Hickson was abused today. Wallace had an invisible day. Some very questionable calls in the 3rd didn't help either but is in no way an excuse.
The Cavs can't think that they don't need to do everything within reason to add another solid big.

LeBron with a very off day today. Poor shot selection and nothing, even shots at the hoop were falling.

The Sasha injury did hurt a lot. This is the type of game where he's needed badly. Killed backcourt depth.

Tough loss but there's a little overreaction here. Cavs are still 39-10 and a legitimate championship contender. There should still be a ton of confidence in this team and for the playoffs.
 
RchfldCavRaised said:
Also... its sickening that whenver an injury or something to that nature happens during a game, Mike Brown looks COMPLETELY loss and unprepared to make any kind of adjustment to his preset gameplan.

Every game that we loose someone during the game, we loose, and its because the team doesnt adjust on teh fly at all.

Hell, I think if Sasha had not got injured and LA had changed teh way they play for some reason, like Kobe being sick, then we would have lost anyway.
Click to expand...

Agreed, gotta commend Brown for the job he has done overall this season but when we need him to work his magic on the fly, it's a consistent foul up.
 
Brandname said:
I think this team, if healthy, can win a championship.

But I still would like to see us pick up a quality big.
Click to expand...

So what part of getting worked twice by the Lakers this year and being 1-4 against the 3 other best teams in the league makes you think that?

I think we need to make a BIG trade splash.
 
speakupman said:
lmao @ ben being a "worthless turd" just because of this loss.


we already KNEW what ben & andy's limitations were and despite that? they have been great for us the entire year, to the tune of one of the best records in the nba. let's NOT start dissing ouri players because we lost to an elite team on our home floor.


TWENTY THREE straight wins is awesome but all good things come to an end. now it's forget about the streak let's just play solid cavalier basketball
Click to expand...

:thumbdown
 
The difference in this game was Odom. He came out and played with so much intensity and energy that we just did not match. After Odom recorded his 7th rebound for the 3rd quarter I started just watching him after a shot went up. No one, and I mean NO ONE attempted to box him out, not andy, not Lebron, not Z, not JJ, not Ben. Absolutely no one. It was one of the most frustrating things I have ever seen. The only box out I saw on Odom was by Wally in the 4th quarter with around 3 minutes left I believe.
 
r10lbjphan3 said:
you underestimate mr. west. He's one hell of a basketball player, and we need him back.
Click to expand...

exactly. i mean feet to the fire? sure i can agree with benedict that the lakers are a more talented team but all that other stuff is nonsense about them owning us. delonte is a HUGE a part of what made this team successful on both ends of the floor....we have him and it's a different ball game guaranteed.
 
cmstophe said:
So what part of getting worked twice by the Lakers this year and being 1-4 against the 3 other best teams in the league makes you think that?

I think we need to make a BIG trade splash.
Click to expand...


and how many games against elite teams were we healthy for? 1.
 
Lebron didn't lose this game, the whole team did...

That's what separates great teams from "one man teams"...when your superstar is struggling, there have to be help. All was good in the first half, there was no help in the second. The whole team sucked. The freaking refs calling every bad call in the Lakers favor didn't help either...
 
RchfldCavRaised said:
Also... its sickening that whenver an injury or something to that nature happens during a game, Mike Brown looks COMPLETELY loss and unprepared to make any kind of adjustment to his preset gameplan.

Every game that we loose someone during the game, we loose, and its because the team doesnt adjust on teh fly at all.

Hell, I think if Sasha had not got injured and LA had changed teh way they play for some reason, like Kobe being sick, then we would have lost anyway.
Click to expand...

That seemed to happen when Delonte went down against the Bulls, but yeah we have to be quicker to making adjustments.
 
If the 3-point percentages were anywhere close to even, the Cavs would have lost by 15-20. With how badly they shot (below 40% at home), they were lucky to be in the game.

I'm more concerned about their defense and rebounding, even if they were playing perhaps the league's best offensive team. They also played at Lakers pace much of the time, and LeBron just didn't have any touch today after his first shot. That happens. Not being able to block out or letting guards into the paint over and over - that shouldn't.

Sasha was on the bench with his injury in the 1st half, and the Cavs still built a 10-point lead. I wouldn't blame a lack of good rotations (only) on the loss.
 
jim jim 23 said:
This is why we need somebody not named Wally, yea he hit some shots in the first half, then he disappeared in the second half, That seems normal. And he can't put a body on someone like odem. Odem abused us today. Plain and simple, we never blocked him out. I Think we should have possibly thought about putting Ben in there to put a body on him. Ben didn't even really play in the second half.

30 pts in the second half, absolutely pathetic. The Lakers are not even a good defensive team.
Click to expand...

Bull. They're the best. Don't be fooled by statistics.
 
glockcoma said:
The difference in this game was Odom. He came out and played with so much intensity and energy that we just did not match. After Odom recorded his 7th rebound for the 3rd quarter I started just watching him after a shot went up. No one, and I mean NO ONE attempted to box him out, not andy, not Lebron, not Z, not JJ, not Ben. Absolutely no one. It was one of the most frustrating things I have ever seen. The only box out I saw on Odom was by Wally in the 4th quarter with around 3 minutes left I believe.
Click to expand...

yeah odom was awesome out there today, gotta give credit where it's due. he was a tough matchup for us out there.


and our boxing out was god awful i screamed at my tv so much i'm hoarse lol.


ahh well.....when they watch tape of this game they'll kick themselves trust me.
 
breanna said:
We didn't rebound.Simple as that.
Click to expand...

Lakers and Cavs had the same amount of rebounds, both giving up tons of offensive rebounds. Cavs actually got more offensive rebonds than the Lakers, although it never seemed that way.

The Lakers made the Cavs pay for the offensive rebounds they got. Cavs just got more opportunities to miss shots...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-15: "Cavs Survive and Advance"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:15: Cavs Survive and Advance
Top