Time for Camakazee's neat-o stats of the night.
Round 2 Game 4 Vs. Hawks
The Countdown.
With the second round all wrapped up and the Cavaliers five days away from playing again, I figured it would be a useful exercise to countdown the days until game one of the eastern conference finals. So here is a Cavalier-themed countdown, dealing with the notable accolades of game four and the first two rounds altogether:
- Last season, as arguably the Cavaliers second best scorer, Delonte West had seven games in double figures (out of 13 games, 53.8% of his games he scored in double figures). Tying a playoff career high with 21 points in game four versus the Hawks, Delonte now has seven games with double figures this postseason already (out of 8 games, 87.5% of his games he has scored in double figures). He also has had
five straight double figure games after his 2 point performance in Detroit (3 straight was his longest streak last postseason).
- After averaging only 5.0 rebounds per game versus the Detroit Pistons in his first four playoff games, Anderson Varejao quickly rebounded (no pun intended) against the Hawks. He now has had at least 8 rebounds in his last
four games. That's not all, however, as Andy has picked up his all-around defensive intensity from the first round to now. Here are his splits:
AV vs. DET (4 games): 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 block, and 1.0 steal per game.
AV vs ATL (4 games): 9.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game.
- Helping secure the Cavaliers bench, Joe Smith recorded his
third postseason game with at least 6 defensive rebounds. Playing at least 19 minutes in all eight playoff games, Joe Smith is averaging 7.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20.9 minutes, his highest averages since the 2006 postseason.
- Starting with game four of the first round, Zydrunas Ilgauskas dipped into a three game streak where he scored only single-digits (7.0 ppg average). However, the last
two games he has scored 14 points in each, his highest point total in back-to-back playoff games since games 2 and 3 versus Boston last year.
After failing to shoot better than 50% from the field in a single game during his first six playoff games, Ilgauskas is shooting 12-22 (54.5%) from the floor in his last two games combined.
- After getting
one steal in the game four win over the Atlanta Hawks, LeBron James has now recorded at least one steal in seven of the eight games so far.
This marks a ridiculous streak of at least one steal in 19 of LeBron James' last 20 playoff games and in 30 of his last 32. So far LeBron is averaging 2.0 steals per game, a career postseason high.
- The Cavs are not only the sole team to lose
zero games in a select series this postseason, they're the only team to lose
zero games in the first two rounds since the 2005 Miami Heat.
Patiently Waiting.
While Cavs fans may be impatiently counting down the days to Wednesday, May 20th, I'm sure the Cavaliers players are patiently practicing and keeping an eye on that date. One very important aspect of the wait is undoubtedly the rest that Cavs players will receive. Here is a look at how some Cavaliers respond to the time off:
- Upon returning from a broken wrist, an injury that sidelined Delonte West for over a month, Delonte exploded for 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists on 8-11 (72.7%) shooting, including 5-5 from three. While the 25 points marked a season-high, the 5 made three pointers tied a career-high.
- After suffering an ankle injury in Philadelphia, Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned strong against the Nuggets for 23 points after nine days rest (the same amount of rest in between game four vs. the Hawks and game one of the ecf). However, after discovering a bone chip, Z had to sit out longer, but once again came back with a vengeance versus the Clippers after a month-long absence. Here are his numbers when resting longer than a week:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (2 games): 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds on 19-30 (63.3%) shooting, including 2-4 (50%) from three.
- Lastly, for those still worried about the rust, it is important to remember the players that rested in the season finale versus the Philadelphia 76ers. LeBron James, Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Joe Smith, and Ben Wallace all sat for the game, receiving five days of valuable rest in the process. Here are some of their notables from game 1:
LeBron James scored 38 points to complement his 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 65.0% shooting.
Joe Smith was the second-leading scorer for the Cavaliers, tallying 13 points in only 19 minutes off of the Cleveland bench.
Finally, Mo and Z each scored 12 points, combining for 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
- Ultimately, four of the five Cavaliers that received that five days rest accounted 75 of the team's 102 total points.
Simply put, only four of the players with double-digit minutes that played in that game (out of nine, 44.4%) accounted for an astounding 73.5% of the team's points. In conclusion rest = good.
View from the other side:
- Joe Johnson tallied 18 points in game four, but it was a case of too little, too late. His 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 made free throws were all personal bests in the series. Johnson also recorded 0 turnovers for the first time all postseason.