The fans are hurting the team

[KI4MVP]

It's just unbelievable. Here we are at 20-12 - the 2nd best record in the east. We've beaten the Heat, Pacers and Pistons, we've lost to the Hawks, Rockets and Knicks. What was the biggest difference between the Pistons win and the Knicks loss. It's not the loss of Larry Hughes, it's not the play of Damon Jones, it's the lack of support from the fans at the game.

In the Pistons win, the fans were behind the team, cheering them on, giving them energy. The Q was the loudest it's been all season. It started from the player intros, and was there the whole game. Loud chants of De-Fense on nearly every possession. The team feeds of that energy from the fans. There is a reason that NBA teams generally have much better home records than away records. Do you think we dominate the Pistons the way we did without the fans energy? Do you think we win as easily had that game been in Detroit?

Last night couldn't have been more different. Instead of cheering the team on, giving them support and energy, instead quite a few fans were actually booing their own player during the player intros. It's just totally unbelievable. Why intentionally deflate someone before the ball is even tossed? Many fans booing during the game don't even understand what they are even booing. The coach wants Damon Jones taking the wide open 3s because the threat of the 3 opens up the offense. Damon is going to come out of this slump. And I bet with better fan support, he'd be out of the slump already. The fans are making it a bigger issue than it really is.

And sure, Damon isn't the quickest defender, but he also gets booed there for things that aren't his fault by fans who don't understand the game. There was a play in particular last night where Damon led his man to the help defense, which is what you are supposed to do if the guy you are guarding is quicker than you are. The only trouble is on that play, the help defense wasn't where it was supposed to be. Drew or Donyell blew their assignment and we gave up an easy basket. The crowd loudly booed Damon.

Where was the crowd that play? Where were the chants of de-fense, de-fense before the Knicks scored that help the team focus? Where was the crowd the whole night. The team was already flat and instead of building them up, the crowd only further deflated them. Then they wonder why we lost.

This 6 game road trip couldn't have come at a better time for the Cavs. They don't need anymore home games right now. We need to get out on the road and away from our own fans for a while. Maybe in 2 weeks the fans will appreciate the team again. Right now, the fans are just embarrassing themselves. The team is 20-12, you'd think we were 12-20 the way the fans are behaving. The fans last night made me embarrassed to be a season ticket holder.

Keep it up and the guy the fans run off won't be Damon - we have him for 4 years regardless. The guy the fans will run off will be LeBron.

 

[acesclone]

The biggest difference was we played HARD against the Pistons. The team got the fans into the game.

Jones woes are his own fault. Yakety Yak about how great you are and when you go into slump you have no support. Cleveland fans in general don't like showboats.....let alone ones who don't live up to their mouth. What players are still popular in C-town after all these years? Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Jim Brown, Bernie Kosar, Hanford Dixon to name a few. Guys that left it all on the court or field and kept their mouths shut. Not mediocre players who don't play hard and act like they belong in the HOF.

About Jones "leading" his player to the help. That is fine BUT NOT ON EVERY POSSESSION! Dang, you have to defend SOMEONE! The other guys get burnt out having to help every possession. Heck, he isn't even slowing the progress of his man at ALL. Help defense my ass! He wants everyone else to defend HIS guy.

I understand basketball VERY WELL. The Knicks stink and we let them beat us in our house. Without effort. That's what brought out the boos.

Who are you? Damon Jones?

 

[KI4MVP]

No, in teh pistons game, the fans were into it before the opening tap. The fans helped the team play hard, not the other way around.

And I was just talking about that one play on defense, not the overall game.

Also, Damon Jones is supposed to be our Steve Kerr. It's not surprising he's not doing as well as Larry Hughes did - Steve Kerr couldn't fill in for Scottie Pippen and do the same job he does either. It's not like we have a lot of choices. Ira isn't ready for big minutes and Luke isn't getting it done. It would be far, far better for the team if the fans would get behind the guys we have.

 

[acesclone]

No, in teh pistons game, the fans were into it before the opening tap. The fans helped the team play hard, not the other way around.

And I was just talking about that one play on defense, not the overall game.

Also, Damon Jones is supposed to be our Steve Kerr. It's not surprising he's not doing as well as Larry Hughes did - Steve Kerr couldn't fill in for Scottie Pippen and do the same job he does either. It's not like we have a lot of choices. Ira isn't ready for big minutes and Luke isn't getting it done. It would be far, far better for the team if the fans would get behind the guys we have.

I agree to a point. I always support the home team. It HAS to be that way, BUT you can't expect everyone to be that way. The team should know this and be playing harder. Last night DG is the ONLY player who played hard the whole game. Everyone else was taking plays off.

 

[Pioneer10]

Steve Kerr never started and was never expected to. However we have a coach who is putting his players in positions where they aren't supposed to be.

D. Jones is a shooting PG and that's what he is. He is not a SG as he doesn't have the size and lenght to guard 2 guards. He also cannot create anything for himself as a SG next to Lebron needs to do. Why in god's name was he on Crawford in the first place as we know that is a mismatch: get him out of the game or put a double on Crawford

It's time to stop blaming the player and put some of it on the coach who is putting Jones in a position where he shouldn't be. Start Newble and give Luke some PT for heaven's sake

 

[PIP]

LJ4MVP -

Not every fan is so happy go lucky/gee golly, like yourself...

Nobody is really booing Donyell even though he is struggling as well...Damon Jones gets booed because he's a dumbass....

I hope a reporter asks LeBron: "Hey, the fans are booing Damon Jones, so we can expect you're probably leaving as soon as that contract is up, right ?"

 

[Mac]

I hate Damon Jones and Ill boo the shit out of him every chance I get.

His ego is bigger than the city of Cleveland and he wants fans to cheer him? For what? He cant play D, he can't shoot, he is a cry baby and wouldnt even talk to the media at the begining of the year.

He is good for getting dunked on, thats about it.

 

[acesclone]

It's time to stop blaming the player and put some of it on the coach who is putting Jones in a position where he shouldn't be. Start Newble and give Luke some PT for heaven's sake

I am glad I am not the only one thinking the same thing. Jones may snap out of it coming off the bench. As it is he can't handle the 2 spot.

Coach Brown is getting a free ride on all this like you are saying. I haven't decided wether or not the team is wishy-washy and not listeneing, or if he just has a crappy game plan. It seems like whatever we do that WORKS......we ALWAYS stop doing. Sometimes the BEST COACHING is NO COACHING. I think sometimes these guys THINK themselves into a LOSS.

I am an old school coach/fan. If the fullback dive is working, you keep doing it until the other team stops you. Period. When we move the ball and drive to the basket we do GREAT. When we slow down and try to use some clock we STINK. The answer, don't slow down and keep rotating in fresh bodies. We have the players to keep a solid rotation going throughout the game. If you run the score up 10 points, don't rest, run it up 20, 30, whatever.

Early in the game when we were attacking the paint NY looked like a HS Team. By slowing the speed of play we gave them their chance.

 

[KI4MVP]

we have the 2nd best record in the east. Sure, things aren't perfect with this team, but they are a heck of a lot better than people are acting. I listen to the post game call in shows every night we have a home game on the way home. We won by a blowout opening night and most callers called to complain about the team. We beat the heat a couple of weeks ago and the first two callers called to complain about the team. The only game all year where we didn't have complaints was when we beat the pistons.

We are ahead of the pacers and bucks - do you think their fans constantly complain about the team the way so many of ours do? Booing a guy in a slump before the opening tap is a sure way to get a bad night out of him. Booing Z for missing a foul shot is just completely absurd.

Shooters have slumps. You don't think Damon Jones had a slump before? Last year he had a string of games where he went 2-10, 0-2, 1-2, 1-11, 1-6, 2-7 from 3. Later in the year he had a string of games that went 6-10, 6-8, 3-4, 8-10, 3-7, 2-6, 2-5, 6-10. He ended the year leading the league in eFG%. I highly doubt heat fans constantly booed him during that first string the way cavs fans are doing this year.

Also, I heard on another board that the knicks announcers said during their broadcast the same thing about our fans last night that I'm saying.

 

[Mac]

Damon Jones didnt play with a fat contract last year either.

Damon Jones wasnt giving up huge amount of points for his terrible defense either.

 

[Karma]

I agree with LJ4MVP to an extent in that we should not neccessarily be booing a player, particulary before the game has even started. I'm not say we should pretend to love him and chant his name, but give him a chance each game.

However Damon has put himself in this situation. He sulked early in the season because he was chosen behind Eric. Fans do not like players who cannot just get on with the job. He has repeatedly disrespected the coach when being pulled. At least this fan does not appreciate that type of player. Damon has in most cases lacked effort on the defensive end. Fans can handle poor defenders to an extent, but when no effort is added to that mix, you get a negative feedback. Fans also will continually be on Damon when he reacts to them in such ways as he did a few nights back.

These are just a few reasons why the fans are irate and are expressing it quite vocally. I personally hope this drops off, but the pressure on Damon though should increase from the media and coaching staff. This effort should not be rewarded with 30+ minutes, and the media have to report this. If this is done, changes are made, and the fans will be content to see a proactive team that does not stand for any of Damons antics.

 

[acesclone]

Damon Jones is NEVER going to be a fan fave here. C-town doesn't like posers. We like and applaud IMMENSE EFFORT.....win or lose. Give effort. DJ gives ZERO D-effort.

BUT I agree booing this team is stupid. Z should not be booed at the foul line. NOBODY should be booed at introduction. However, you can't do anything about it AND I doubt ANYBODY on THIS BB was doing the booing.

You're preachin' to the choir man.

 

[Karma]

Even respected Cavalier journalist Terry Pluto states we should be concerned.

Cavs need offensive help for James
By Terry Pluto
CLEVELAND - If you're a Cavaliers fan, you should be worried.

Your team is headed on a six-game trip, and it's a team that suddenly doesn't know what to do on offense besides heave up hopeless 3-pointers. It's a team whose starting backcourt scored only five points in 70 minutes Tuesday night, a team that asked Mike Wilks to play most of the fourth quarter.

That's how your team scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter, losing 92-84 to the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena before 18,064 fans.
Coach Mike Brown has a problem.

He'll spend the next two months without Larry Hughes, the under-
rated guard who was averaging 16 points and doing a respectable job handling the ball and defending despite playing with a broken finger and an inflamed Achilles.

The Cavs are headed for a six-game trip west, and they are leaving home having lost two of their last three games. They take to the road not knowing who should be the starting shooting guard, and having lost all sense of what works on offense besides giving the ball to LeBron James and hoping he does something good.

The other strategy is to just stand around and shoot 3-pointers. They were 6-of-28 from behind the arc on Tuesday, 20-of-81 in the last three games. The problem is 33 percent of all the shots taken by the Cavs in that span have been 3-pointers, which creates a stagnant offense that draws few fouls. Nor does it inspire the passion needed to grab offensive rebounds.

The Cavs' offense is in danger of becoming all LeBron, all the time. He scored 36 points, shooting 14-of-31 from the field, including 0-of-7 on 3-pointers, in 46 heavy-duty minutes. He also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Cavs are now 2-7 when he takes at least 25 shots.

The reason is no one else is doing much. Brown's offense does not seem very imaginative when it comes to putting the ball in the hands of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, which is one way to help snap the team out of this funk.

Drew Gooden has some low-post moves, but rarely seems to get the ball near the basket. Often, that's because the Cavs only throw one pass before someone cuts loose with a jumper from the bullpen at Jacobs Field.

When Hughes went down, Brown was probably more concerned about replacing his defense than scoring. He has free-agent guard Damon Jones, the self-proclaimed World's Greatest Shooter. If nothing else, Brown had to believe he'd at least get some offense from Jones.

But all Jones has done since signing that four-year, $16 million contract with the Cavs is give a clinic on how to create a personal public-relations nightmare with his ego running amok, his skin getting nearly as thin as his production.

Brown is desperately trying to find a way to revive Jones, who is in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. He played 33 minutes Tuesday, and scored his usual three points, shooting his typical 1-of-6.

Jones is 6-of-37 in the last seven games, and he's been averaging 30 minutes. He doesn't get fouled. He doesn't pass well. He doesn't drive to the basket. He struggles to defend.

Right now, he's just a shooter, not a scorer. Early in the season, he seemed in a funk because he wasn't starting. Brown told him to stay ready, his time was coming. His time is here, and he's wasting it.

Brown found himself playing little Mike Wilks down the stretch, the 5-foot-10 point guard who would have been considered the 14th player on a 15-man roster at one point this season. This is his fifth team in four years.

It's not a knock on Wilks, who is probably overachieving. But it is a comment on the desperate state of the backcourt.

Brown's other shooting guard options are Ira Newble and Luke Jackson. At least Newble brings some determined defense to the court. It would be nice to see if Jackson can make an impact. He's an athletic 6-foot-7 who handles the ball well and plays with passion.

Right now, some decent minutes for Jackson can't make this situation any worse, and the Cavs just might find out if they have a player in their 2004 first-rounder.

Terry Pluto

 

[acesclone]

Right now, some decent minutes for Jackson can't make this situation any worse.

Terry Pluto

Truer words have ever been spoken

 

[PIP]

It would be nice to see if Jackson can make an impact. He's an athletic 6-foot-7 who handles the ball well and plays with passion.

He played less then a minute, following an inspiring effort in the game prior to last night's...

Damn you Mike Brown :thumbdown