Game 8 | Cavaliers @ Magic | November 11, 2009 | 8:00 PM EST

[Bob Loblaw]

I thought the key was our big men and Wince nullifying Howard. Only 3 field goals, and he wasn't hitting his free throws. They are a completely different team with Carter and without the players they lost from last season. Obviously Lewis will make a difference.

 

[Noonan]

This is a better result than any game last year against the Magic. Yes, it's a big win.

 

[bucksprime99]

JJ still has some kinks to work out to be sure, but heck, he is starting to do some things well.

I feel bad for Z...I think his day may be done. It's a very good thing we got Shaq this summer, to say the least. Andy's improvement has helped make up the gap too.

Moon's athleticism was BIG at times during the game tonight too.

Last year, if Delonte had been out for this game we'd have gotten DEMOLISHED. This year, Delonte is out and we win. Props to Ferry.

 

[DougHeil]

I like JJ starting with Z and Andy plus Delonte off the bench. This totally works on a number of levels.

Nice game.

Some can and will say that Lewis didn't play, but gosh; Delonte didn't play either. We played with tons of desire AND that's without our most energetic player.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Vince Carter may be a better ISO guy than Hedo Turkoglu.....

but I'll take him ISO'ing over Hedo's Pick&Roll play all day.

 

[NarlCavs]

Even if it's only early season the Cavs needed a win like this. They had to beat a top on their court. It's still a quality win even with Lewis being out. Cavs also did it without Delonte.

In the 1st half the offense looked the best it has all season. Cavs put their time off to good use. LeBron was moving better off the ball than he has all season in the 1st half. Got a little more stagnant in the 2nd half though.
Strategy and quick double teams of Howard worked very well.

Biggest surprise numbers of the night were Hickson with a +/- at +13 and Z at a +11. Z was getting really screwed over by the refs tonight but still fought hard under the basket.

If we can get a consistent performance like this from Hickson all season it will be a huge bonus.

 

[JayP146]

And to think that we managed this blowout win WITHOUT Delonte ...

Not super convincing, but a statement win nonetheless. Looking forward to the Miami game, should be a good one.

 

[moohead]

No double on Howard means no open look 3's. Saying this game means nothing, is a blatant disregard of basketball knowledge.

Howard averaged a point per minute last year against Z in the playoffs. We were forced to double him and scramble to cover ball movement initiated by Howard and Turkaglu.

Carter cannot pass, Bass has an ugly J, Jameer is shoot first, and no one was initiating open looks for them. Rashard is a catch and shoot guy. He will not help passing the ball.

Contested 3's=losses for Orlando.

Orlando with Lewis gets beat tonight. We physically whipped their behinds on the boards for 3.5 quarters.

Moo

 

[Typhoon]

Damn server...when i was trying to post my gamethread. It will be up soon, gotta re-write some stuff again

 

[Pioneer10]

We'll have to see what happens when Rashard gets back. Maybe there offense in the half court with him stretching the floor will open up. That being said cross our fingers if Hickson can keep this up: we'll make him work on both ends even if there offense improves.

That being said neither Carter nor Nelson seem to be as big of a threat as Hedo was in the Orlando system. Those guys may score more then Hedo and maybe even have better percentages doing it but damn Hedo if he wasn't bailing Orlando out with the jumper was finding Howard on the roll or a guy like Redick on the wing off penetration into lane. They no longer have that guy on the wing who can see over the defense and just pick the defense apart because he can get into the lane. They better hope Nelson picks it up but even if he can penetrate like Hedo he doesn't create the same havoc as Nelson is too short to create the same passing lanes.

 

[Fursdon]

Jameer is shoot first, and no one was initiating open looks for them.

Moo

This is what will eventually kill Orlando again this year. Where Turk acted as a point forward who could setup offense (especially in clutch time), this year they lack a 'point' who can do so. Hell, even Alston did well enough for them last year, as was evident in the back half of the year, and any 3's he made, solid or lucky, were just gravy after that.

Now it's on Jameer's shoulders to be a full time star.

 

[Silky Smooth]

JJ played like he was Ben Wallace 2.0+offense

 

[flamez]

I was very impressed with Hickson. Some of the shots he missed were a clear result of fouls but the refs did not call it. I loved his movement without the ball, him and Lebron have chemistry on the court.

Hickson's help defense was great. I loved his energy and attitude. He knew what he had to do and followed the game plan to perfection, IMO.
I would love to see him continue to push the pressure on the inbound pass. I remember at one time when Orlando cut it to 8, Hickson put incredible pressure on the inbounds pass and Parker was able to get a steal out of it.

Hopefully MB continues to start him. Hickson is going to have setbacks but it doesn't matter. He will learn from his mistakes.

Have to give Mo credit as well. His shooting was amazing but the thing that impressed me was his dribble penetration. I've been saying it like 100 times over the last few days that when you have a quick point guard let him penetrate with that ball. Lebron moving without the ball was a beauty.

Also, I hope we continue to see Lebron setting picks for Mo. Lebron rolling to the basket after the picks is pretty much unguardable, especially if Mo is hitting that perimeter shot. We've seen Mo set screens for Lebron and then catch the ball and shoot open jumpers. It was nice to see Lebron setting screens for Mo.

 

[MYoung23]

This game means nothing

- Biggest problem we had last year was defending the 5 & 4.
- Orlando was able to stretch the floor with Lewis and when the double came, Lewis made us pay for it. Today, J.J or Andy were able to double or trap Howard because they had like Bass out there playing the 4.
- Orlando was missing their top 2 players at the 4. Lewis and Anderson.
- Orlando was coming off a back-back game. Cavs had a 4 day rest.

wah, wah, wah

Here is

for the Orlando Magic.


The Magic have a dilemma. If they go back to the small lineup they cant hide Howard and the Cavaliers pound him with Shaq. The Magic stay big it makes them immenently easier to defend for the Cavaliers. Also, the Cavaliers more than ever are more prepared to play small with Parker and Moon.

So pick your poison Magic and stop crying.

 

[Gunther]

From the AP:

LeBron, Cavs smack Magic in Orlando
Updated: November 12, 2009, 1:50 AM EST

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - LeBron James didn't storm off the court this time. Instead, he shook hands with teammates and anyone who offered, walking to the locker room slowly with an ever-so small grin.

He also departed Orlando with the most important thing this time: a win.

James scored 36 points, Shaquille O'Neal provided an inside presence and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 102-93 on Wednesday night in a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals.

Only this one had a different look.

O'Neal battled boos and bruises to score 10 points and keep Dwight Howard in foul trouble for most of the night, giving James and Co. all the inside strength they sorely lacked last season. Mo Williams added 28 points to help the Cavs take a 15-point halftime lead, go ahead by 20 after three quarters and roll to an easy victory.

"I think we just played with a sense of urgency," James said. "We're in attack mode. The whole game we put pressure on their defense. Shaq put pressure on (Howard). We were able to get him into some foul trouble."

O'Neal did not speak with reporters after the game.

Vince Carter had 29 points, and Howard had only 11 points for the Magic. Orlando was without suspended All-Star forward Rashard Lewis, and his replacement, Ryan Anderson, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle.

The Magic didn't want to offer any excuses.

"We're not playing great basketball right now," Carter said. "For us to win and be as good as we want to be, we have to want it. We have to go get it."

Cleveland's Delonte West was inactive for the game for what coach Mike Brown said afterward was an "internal matter." West was indicted Tuesday on additional weapons and traffic charges stemming from his Sept. 17 arrest for speeding on a motorcycle and carrying multiple weapons. He also has been treated in the past for bipolar disorder

But this one had all the muscle and tussle.

O'Neal and Howard were banging bodies on the inside, their 500 pounds of combined weight jostling, their powerful elbows swinging large with every move. Each team even went with two centers on the floor - Howard and Marcin Gortat, O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas - at the same time for stretches that crowded the paint and made rebounds a physical punishment.

It was Superman vs. Superman. Past vs. Present.

Showered with boos on every touch, O'Neal gave glimpses that he could be Cleveland's missing piece even though the 37-year-old is no longer the unstoppable force that put the Magic franchise on the map. But he helped put Howard in foul trouble for most of the first half, helping the Cavs build a 66-51 halftime lead.

Howard took the loss particularly tough. He dressed slowly in the locker room and didn't speak with reporters until more than an hour after the game.

"I feel better than I did an hour ago," he said.

"It's tough," Howard said. "You want to go at a guy like Shaq. But I understand it's not all about individual stats. It's about getting my team going."

The former Magic big man soaked up all the attention, too. He had amped-up Amway Arena at his pulse, even leaving his hand up a little longer after making free throws and scoffing at the Superman anthem played after Howard's dunks.

"I think Shaq always plays a big game when he's matched up against one of the big centers," Williams said.

Orlando fans have long considered O'Neal their biggest villain.

O'Neal helped the Magic to the 1995 NBA finals, returned them to the conference finals in '96, then bolted for Los Angeles that offseason. He won three titles with the Lakers and another with the Miami Heat. Orlando was left in ruin.

O'Neal's new team isn't so dependent.

The Cavaliers made the move for O'Neal after the Magic eliminated them in six games in the conference finals last season. The loss was so demoralizing that James left without shaking hands with Orlando players and skipped his post-game news conference.

While O'Neal is no longer an unstoppable force, his presence allows the Cavs to guard Howard one-on-one. That alone helps Cleveland avoid those matchup problems on the perimeter that was last season's downfall.

After the Lakers defeated Orlando in the finals, the Magic felt they also needed help. So they acquired Carter from New Jersey and parted ways with Hedo Turkoglu.

But this one was just a sneak preview.

The Cavs and Magic don't play again until Feb. 11 in Cleveland, perhaps the first time both will be at full strength and in their groove.

"It's just one game," James said. "We will see them later on this season."