Preseason Game #7 vs. Mavs.

[imshakheisshaq]

Good game... now, let's give BOS an example of what's to come!

 

[udilicious42584]

Look at Moon & Parker too... 18 points between the two tonight. Great production!

Sometimes Ben Wallace + Sasha + Wally would take 2-3 games to total that amount. Ferry did a great job upgrading without sacrificing any major assets.

 

[kovanovich]

Much better job by Cavs taking down the Mavs scrubs than the Mavs did with the Cavs Saturday, even though LeBron was evidently off. 11 assists for Mo in 28 minutes -- stat line of the game.

Too bad Delonte didn't get into the game, but good to see that other than him all of the top 11 players were healthy and played. 27 minutes for LeBron and 26 for Moon so apparently they played together some. Disappointing to see Hickson with only 14 minutes, getting his shot blocked a couple of times during garbage time.

I didn't see any of this game, but from following much of the ESPN GameCast, it seems Beaubois can get into the lane and to the basket...And Kris Humphries had pretty impressive production, 20 points and 9 boards in 29 minutes. He may end up getting most of the minutes Bass played for them last year. I had thought it was going to be Singleton.

EDIT: Z deserves stat line of game with 16 points on 7-10 shooting in 20 minutes with 7 boards, 3 blocks.

 

[DougHeil]

I know Green played, but how about Karl and Barrett? Did they see some minutes?

 

[rabman_gold]

No, just the 11 guys.

Mike Brown was trying to coach a real game here, even though it was over before the 3rd quarter really began :chuckles:.

 

[kovanovich]

No, just the 11 guys.

Mike Brown was trying to coach a real game here, even though it was over before the 3rd quarter really began :chuckles:.

I think that's right, and we shouldn't read anything into the fact that Karl, Robinson, and Barrett didn't play (or Jawad for that matter).

The other possibility is that none of the 3 will make the team (I think we agree Jawad seems to be safe), and that they are planning to bring in someone else to fill out the roster.

 

[Gunther]

Windy short take:

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/10/cavaliers_reset_1.html

Cavaliers reset
By Brian Windhorst
October 20, 2009, 10:24PM
Game reset

CAVS 96, MAVERICKS 66

Preseason Game No. 7, at Peterson Event Center, Pittsburgh.

What happened

Playing their starters and top reserves the most minutes in the preseason, the Cavs turned things up as they prepare for the regular season. Five different players scored in double figures as they played their best offensive and defensive game of the preseason by far. The Mavericks rested most of their top players.

The star

Guard Mo Williams scored 16 points and had 11 assists and six rebounds in 30 minutes.

The co-star

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Highlight

During one play in the third quarter, Williams threw a backward pass to Anthony Parker, who threw a backward pass to Anderson Varejao for a layup.

Lowlight

LeBron James went just 3-of-13 from the floor.

-- Brian Windhorst

Edit: Update on article

And here is the expanded version (same link):

Cleveland Cavaliers get serious, have no trouble with Dallas Mavericks
By Brian Windhorst
October 20, 2009, 11:44PM

PITTSBURGH -- The point the Cavaliers were trying to make Tuesday night was driven home at the expense of Matt Carroll.

Early in the third quarter of the Cavs' 96-66 preseason win over the Dallas Mavericks at the Peterson Events Center, Carroll found himself free on what he thought was a breakaway. He should have known by looking at the scoreboard that the Cavs had gotten serious about preparing for next week's regular-season opener. But, instead, he had to learn it the hard way.

As Carroll headed for the rim, LeBron James came soaring in from behind and slammed the ball off the backboard. Carroll did a belly flop on the court, the victim of James' first "chase down" block of the season. By the time Carroll was back on his feet, Shaquille O'Neal was hanging on the rim at the other end after a dunk.

Carroll pleaded for goaltending, but James just gave him a dismissive head shake. Then, two minutes later, James swatted Carroll again from behind, perhaps just for insubordination.

"I'm getting back there," James said. "Both of them were clean."

That's how it went in the sixth preseason game, when the Cavs decided to get serious in playing their front line heavy minutes for the first time.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, perhaps in a bit of gamesmanship after the Cavs rested seven of their top players last Saturday in Dallas, didn't play most of his best players, including Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki. That kept the game from being close and kept the Cavs from playing their starters into the fourth quarter, which coach Mike Brown had wanted.

Regardless of his old boss' intentions, Brown treated the game like a full dress rehearsal and for the first time the team seemed to show some purpose. It was especially clear on defense as the Cavs collectively began to show effort.

They held the Mavericks to 34 percent shooting and picked off nine steals by getting into passing lanes and applying pressure in the half court.

Offensively, the Cavs took the wraps off some new looks, most of it with Mo Williams at the wheel. It turned out to be by far the most productive night individually for most players in the preseason.

Much of it started with Williams, who moved freely in the half court against the Mavericks' second string and repeatedly and easily kept setting up teammates. In 28 minutes, Williams racked up 11 assists and also scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds. In all, the Cavs had 29 assists on 38 baskets and 19 fast-break points.

"We got into a little groove as a team," Williams said. "Going into a game knowing you're going to play a lot of minutes, it feels good."

The wicked blocks aside, James still looked a little less than his best as he continues to recover from the flu. He missed some good looks and even missed a dunk at one point. He finished just 3-of-13 from the field with 12 points, although he did have seven assists and two steals.

O'Neal had his lowest-scoring game of the preseason as the Cavs looked to work on offensive sets that didn't involve him as much. He finished with six points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

After showing good form last Saturday in Dallas, Zydrunas Ilgauskas continued his solid play by scoring 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, with seven rebounds and three blocks. He was especially effective in hitting his midrange jumper off the weak side, a look the Cavs haven't shown much in the past. Usually, they have gotten Ilgauskas looks with direct pick-and-rolls.

Anderson Varejao returned after missing two games with a wrist injury to have his best game of the preseason. Finding seams when the Mavericks loaded up on O'Neal and James, Varejao scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Three different times he scored and was fouled.

The Mavericks, who used just nine players, were led by Kris Humphries' 20 points.

"We're taking baby steps," Brown said. "But we're getting there."

 

[Otsego Mar]

It was actually Shaq who through the first pass to Parker (not Williams).

Shit looks good, though!

 

[camakazee]

Just got back from the game and I have tons of work to do, so this will be brief.

• First off, this is just a disclaimer of sorts, but this game obviously wasn't competitive. Dallas was without their best players and you could tell from the first two minutes that anything good from our players needed to be taken with a grain of salt. With that said, any positives and/or negatives that I continually speak of will be within the context of a preseason game versus a depleted Mavs lineup. So without further ado...

• Anderson Varejao looked great tonight. There's really no other way to state it. Twelve points, 9 rebounds, and four and-1 plays (despite only finishing off two of them :chuckles. There were quite a few people upset with his deal, realizing that 12/9 would be bordering on Andy's best averages. But with the energy he gave tonight, 12/9 will go a very long way on this team if he can keep it up.

• Two other players I was impressed with were Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. Parker played a relatively risk-free game where he knocked down his shots and did his job. His 10 points on 4-5 shooting were only highlighted by his 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds. As with Varejao, this type of production will go a long way for this team. Parker has the potential to put up 20 in some wins. Also, LeBron has great confidence in Parker when he dishes him the rock. On two separate occasions, he slung a pass Parkers way, put his head down and his hand up as he jogged back up the court. Once he didn't even look back to see if he had made the shot, just held up 3 fingers when he heard the crowd react.
  
  As far as Moon goes, I love the effort this guy gives. Like other fans, I'm also impressed with his seemingly improving jumper. The thing I love the most however is his rebounding. Despite only grabbing 5 boards tonight, Moon is in position for every play, climbing the ladder to the point where it looks like he's just waiting for the ball to fall from the rim into his hands. He's very disruptive for offensive players when he helps from the weak side. Parker+Moon may be a much bigger addition than Shaq as far as I'm concerned.

• Despite the poor shooting performance, LeBron was LeBron. For the foolish person worried about LeBron losing his vertical, ask Matt Carroll if he still has it. Two filthy chasedown blocks on Carroll where it looked like he was just waiting for him to put the ball up. Solid all around game by James.
  
  Mo Williams did it all out there. While I was irritated at first that he wasn't looking for his shot and then forcing layups in transition, he settled in and killed it with the second unit. Like last year, Mo does most of his damage when leading this unit and tonight was no different. Great line with 16, 11, and 6.
  
  Shaq was solid out there in his 20 minutes and Z looked great in his role off the pine. He looks so much more relaxed when he's expected to simply be the pick-and-pop/spot up shooter. In fact, the only time I remember him trying to make moves in the low post, he traveled. With Shaq this year, look for Z to make a killing as the second-unit mid range threat. He seems very comfortable with this role.

• JJ Hickson... not sure where to start. After hyping him up to my friend he came out and completely lost the offensive patience he had gained all preseason. You know it's bad when you're telegraphing your moves to Kirk Humphries, who then proceeds to block you several times. I heard it was because Brown was trying to prove a point that he didn't get in until late?
  
  Regardless, I'll let JJ slide for two reasons. First his time was limited and he was out on the court with the 2nd/3rd unit instead of LeBron, Mo, Shaq, Parker, or any creator. Secondly, Darnell Jackson is assy. Assy as in the adjective of ass. He doesn't have a go-to post move, loses the ball about 40% of the time he touches it, and has a suspect midrange game that has seemingly worsened. The kid gives good effort, but I just don't think it's enough. So in my eyes, at least until Powe returns, JJ will have more than enough chances to solidify his role and get his minutes.
  
  Also, as another positive, despite rushing his offensive progressions, JJ did look solid defensively. Every time I looked he was properly boxing out and beautifully sealed off a surprisingly tenacious Gooden a couple of times.

• Lastly, I was really surprised that we saw none of the guys who were duking it out for the last roster spots in the lineup. I'm not sure what message you're trying to send by keeping rotational players in until the final whistle when you're already up 30 points against a team resting its starters. I can understand wanting to get your guys ready for the start of the regular season a week from tonight, but it didn't seem like the appropriate time to do so against significantly inferior talent.

Alright guys, I'm off to do some work. Enjoy!

 

[Damage]

For the foolish person worried about LeBron losing his vertical, ask Matt Carroll if he still has it. Two filthy chasedown blocks on Carroll where it looked like he was just waiting for him to put the ball up. Solid all around game by James.

I played against Carroll in 7th/8th grade and summer league ball. Dude was disgusting. Could dunk in 8th grade. I checked him one game held him scoreless for a quarter. Next quarter? Lit me up for 28

 

[camakazee]

I played against Carroll in 7th/8th grade and summer league ball. Dude was disgusting. Could dunk in 8th grade. I checked him one game held him scoreless for a quarter. Next quarter? Lit me up for 28

:chuckles:

There's no doubt about it--he was killing out there. Before the game I was watching him shoot in the corner and he was like 9/9 from three. Anytime he got a look from the corner I mumbled "cash" before the ball left his hands. He had a pretty solid game tonight and looked to be in good shooting form.

 

[Damage]

If there's one thing Carroll will always be able to do, it will be shooting. He should open up a clinic or basketball camp and teach.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

A few quotes. Same old stuff from LeBron and Shaq. The media needs to come up with some new questions.

HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On the third quarter):
“Our guys were really focused in that third quarter. At one point, we had 10 straight possessions where they only scored two points. It doesn’t matter who you play on this level, if you do things like that, you’re headed in the right direction.”

(On his rotation tonight being close to a regular season rotation):
“It was close. I was hoping to get it close (to the regular season), but with the score being what it was, it didn’t make sense to play those guys into the fourth quarter. I was hoping to play all the guys a bit longer. It just didn’t work out that way.”

(On the team’s 29 assists):
“We did (execute offensively) at times and it will be fun to go back and watch the tape to see some of the good things we did. To have 29 assists and with Mo having 11, it was a good night.”


LEBRON JAMES
(On what Shaq brings to the team):
“He brings a presence to our team that we haven’t had before: an interior presence, a guy that can attract double teams and also score on the low post.”

(On not playing Dallas’ usual starting lineup):
“It doesn’t matter. We’re ready for Tuesday. We’ve got one more preseason game against the same team that we open up against on Tuesday. We’ll be ready.”


SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
(On being the missing piece for the Cavaliers):
“We realize that expectations are very high; that’s what you play for. Hopefully, I am that missing piece to get this franchise, get this city over the hump.”

(On his health and how he’s feeling with the season approaching):
“I had a long summer off, so I think my legs are well rested. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll be fine. The good thing about this year is that I got a good guy (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) backing me up, a guy that started for 10 years now.”