2009 - 2010 Preseason Game #4 VS Wizards

[Marcus]

Gibson with 4 more turnovers. Worst ball handler for a guy his size in the whole NBA.

Didn't get to watch the game. First bad game out of JJ by the stats.

How impressive was Jawad?

How did Boobie and AV get hurt?

Jawad filled the role of LeBron tonight, scoring 21 points in 25 minutes. He appears to be shaking off some of the negative play that has hurt his chances of making the final roster, and he looks like he'll be a lock to make it at this point by default, along with Coby Karl (Lurch is obviously not gonna make it, Kurz is worthless on defense, and Robinson and Barrett have been crappy).

JJ looked uncomfortable out there tonight. Only 8 points, and as someone before me said, more turnovers than rebounds. Unacceptable, as he also played more minutes than anyone on the team.

Boobie and AV both sustained minor injuries, but neither of them are serious.

 

[rabman_gold]

Box score doesn't tell the whole story. Jawad was okay, but clearly not much more than a 15th man. Took shots out of offense like AI, didn't use sets too well with relevant players, and mostly just shooting when it least mattered. Better than the other four.

On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best):
Jawad: 5
Andre Barrett and Russell Robinson: 1.5
Kurz: 0
Nevill: -3

Basically, Jawad was the only one not to look TOO bad, but he wasn't great, thus the whole "empty stats" argument.

 

[Otsego Mar]

• Jawad played well enough to make the cut. He wasn't spectacular by any means.
  
• O'Neal is looking like he's ready to be a 20/10 player this year.
  
• Z looks like he's lost another step, already.
  
• AV was back on the bench at the end of the game...he should be good to go.
  
• The stats don't do Hickson any justice. He was out there with a putrid line-up most of the time and he kept getting the ball 20 feet from the hoop.
  
• Jamison (WAS) looked like he might have hurt his shoulder pretty bad in the 1st quarter (shoulder sprain). He didn't return.
  
• Parker looked smooth as usual.
  
• Moon was the player of the night if you ask me. Coming back from dental surgery, his jumper looked sharp. One of the things I heard about him was that he couldn't create his own offense, but he was forced to tonight and he did a very good job.
  
• Kurz looks like he's on the outside looking in, with (IMHO) Karl and Jawad slipping in the final 15.

 

[Damien O'Connel]

i was at the game and the stats don't do jj justice. i thought he had a body on someone all night, and he scored or got fouled just about every time he received the ball below the free throw liine. i was very impressed.

 

[MDLT]

Am I the only one who is concerned about Mo's groin problem? All jokes aside, those things can linger a long time. And didn't he have an issue with this in Milwaukee?

 

[Da_James_Gang]

i was at the game and the stats don't do jj justice. i thought he had a body on someone all night, and he scored or got fouled just about every time he received the ball below the free throw liine. i was very impressed.

I thought he played poor defensively, i really have no problem with the way he played on offense though. I know he should have one less turnover and 2 extra points because that travel call was bs.

 

[Otsego Mar]

For as cocky as the Wiz are, their announcers were pretty fair, in context and evaluation.

 

[udilicious42584]

Just got back from the game. Glad to see the injuries to Boobie and Andy don't look too serious. This team can't afford anymore injuries/illnesses.

Can't win them all: Shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers absorb first exhibition loss
By Brian Windhorst
October 14, 2009, 9:36PM
UPDATED: 10:45 p.m.

Joshua Gunter/The Plain DealerShaquille O'Neal displays a finger roll beyond the reach of Washington's Dominic McGuire for a second-quarter basket during Wednesday's exhibition game at The Q. O'Neal finished with 13 points and six rebounds in less than 20 minutes of action.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There was supposed to be a preseason game Wednesday night at The Q. Considering the body count, it more resembled an '80s B horror movie.

By the time the game was over there were nine Cavaliers players out nursing injuries on the bench, in bed with the flu or practicing on their own. The list of maladies ranged from the bizarre to the sublime, making the team thankful it was only a meaningless exhibition.

Playing against a rather deep Washington Wizards team expected to contend this season, the Cavs couldn't keep up. Getting 18 points from Gilbert Arenas, 24 from Mike Miller and 21 from Randy Foye, the Wizards left town with a 109-104 win.

Seven players were known out before the game including LeBron James, who was home sick. Then during the contest Anderson Varejao suffered a wrist contusion and Daniel Gibson bruised his tailbone.

Varejao said he's hoping to play Friday when the Cavs visit San Antonio. Gibson said he was sore, but was partially saved by wearing padded compression shorts under his uniform.

Coach Mike Brown was upset with his defense, which allowed 55 percent shooting, and his offense that turned the ball over 22 times.

"I'm OK with taking some lumps because we're not where we need to be right now," Brown said. "We want to get better little by little and today we took a step backward defensively."

Overall, though, the situation left the Cavs (3-1) in a gray area.

On one hand, this is the midway point of the preseason, the time when coaches start increasing starters' minutes and put in more offensive sets and start to develop rotations. The Cavs can do nothing of the sort -- by the second half Wednesday, they were on their fourth-string point guard and missing four potential starters.



On the other hand, this has been a time for the Cavs to test their depth. The results on that end, at least for the players who could be called during the real season, was generally positive. That and the play of Shaquille O'Neal, who is steadily increasing his energy and focus as opening night approaches, were the two tangibles the Cavs took from the experience.

O'Neal was moving well, working on his positioning in the offense, and fine-tuning his moves around the basket. He seems to have played a little better in each of the four preseason games and this was no exception. In just over 19 minutes on the floor, O'Neal made six of eight shots to score 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and came up with a block and a steal.

"I don't really turn it up in preseason and just protect myself out there," O'Neal said. "I'm not going into all my tricks yet. I'm shooting the ball well, feeling loose out there."

Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, who played for the first time in three games, both played well. Parker had 11 points and four assists and Moon had 12 points. However, the defense on the perimeter wasn't a highlight, and they were part of it.

Getting his first start as a Cav in place of James, Jawad Williams increased his chances of making the team for a second season by scoring 21 points, hitting four of six 3-pointers.

Before he was injured, Gibson made two 3-pointers and is now shooting 43 percent from behind the arc in the preseason. Andre Barrett, battling for a roster spot at point guard, had eight points and eight assists in 26 minutes.

"We've got four games left before the big show starts," O'Neal said. "Hopefully we can get injury free."

 

[chrisrich91]

JJ looked uncomfortable out there tonight. Only 8 points, and as someone before me said, more turnovers than rebounds. Unacceptable, as he also played more minutes than anyone on the team.

Stop and think about why JJ looked uncomfortable out there. He was playing mostly with a squad of scrubs who can't take advantage of his abilities like our starters can. No matter how well JJ has looked during the first few preseason games, he's not a star yet by any means. He's growing into a nice role player at the moment, and a lineup with 5 role players, like we had tonight, is going to make guys look bad. JJ looked uncomfortable because he was playing with a bunch of D-leaguers against a legit NBA team.

He'll be fine. He's looked great the whole preseason thus far, and with LeBron and Shaq playing more minutes with more aggression during the season, he'll prosper.

 

[Showmeyourbolt]

Stop and think about why JJ looked uncomfortable out there. He was playing mostly with a squad of scrubs who can't take advantage of his abilities like our starters can. No matter how well JJ has looked during the first few preseason games, he's not a star yet by any means. He's growing into a nice role player at the moment, and a lineup with 5 role players, like we had tonight, is going to make guys look bad. JJ looked uncomfortable because he was playing with a bunch of D-leaguers against a legit NBA team.

He'll be fine. He's looked great the whole preseason thus far, and with LeBron and Shaq playing more minutes with more aggression during the season, he'll prosper.

One other thing about JJ. The refs called him for traveling at least two or three times tonight, and you could tell that it was frustrating him somewhat. This had a lot to do with what you pointed out, in that it seemed like JJ was trying to hard to force up shots late in the game because the quality of players around him was even worse than it was in the prior three preseason games.

 

[Cavatt]

Jawad was shooting so much because no one else could score at all. JJ was getting the ball too far from the basket, and the pg's were doing a horrible job of getting into the offense. Jawad did not do so well defensively, but the perimeter was breaking down the entire game. Realy bad defensive effort. Arenas got to the paint at will.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

Some quotes from post game....

HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On tonight’s game):
“I thought offensively we had some good moments, but for the most part, we had too many turnovers. To turn the ball over the way we did tonight is not good. You can’t win basketball games because it affects your floor balance and transition defense and other things. Secondly, we were really bad defensively. We pride ourselves on being a physically defensive team and tonight I saw more layups and more easy shots than since I’ve been here. Guys have to do a better job staying in front of the basketball, making other players work, making them feel us and making them work for shots instead of the easy shots they got tonight.”

(On whether he’s concerned on the team’s progress during preseason):
“I would be, but I’m okay with taking some lumps, because we’re not going to be where we need to be right now. We won’t be where we need to be by even December 15th. We just want to get better little by little, day by day and I thought defensively we took a step backwards. That’s something that we have to work on because no matter what day it is, what the score is, we can at least be a physical defensive team and not turn the ball over.”


SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
(On how the team’s defense is improving):
“It’s coming pretty good. We have just got to be a little more consistent. We have just got to play a little harder. Tonight we didn’t have all of our guys, but that’s not really an excuse. We work hard every day. Mike Brown is an excellent defensive coach and we just have got to continue to work at it.”

(On if he and the team are ready to move on to the regular season):
“Yeah but like I said, we have to continue to work hard and stay injury free. I’m out there playing but I’m not really going into all of my tricks. That will come. After the first game, you will see everything. I am shooting the ball well, feeling really good out there and feeling really loose. I’ll be ready to play.”

(On if he considers the Wizards a threat in the Eastern Conference):
“Every team that plays against us is going to be playing way above their head because of what LeBron brings and with the addition of me, because of what I bring. Everybody is going to want to beat us. Every team we play against in the East this year is a threat. They have a lot of guys that can get hot and they can become a dangerous team. If we do what we are supposed to do, the only ones that can stop us is us.”


JAWAD WILLIAMS
(On if he proved tonight that he can be a scoring threat):
“I think everybody already knew that. I was just struggling. I was fortunate enough to have good people in my ear telling me to play hard and be aggressive and things worked out today.”

(On what the team needs to work on after tonight):
“Defense. Like I said, they shot 60 percent from the field at one point. I know from being here last year that is unacceptable. I have to take accountability for that because I was here last year.”

 

[The Oi]

The fact that Jawad knew the Wizards were shooting 60% at one point tells me a few things that impress me:

(1) Stat guys relay info to the coaches quickly. Camakazee's internship is clearly paying dividends. :chuckles:

(2) Mike focuses on things like that with the team to keep them motivated and to maintain goals

(3) Jawad listens. That's probably a big reason why he's a lock for the team.

 

[raisen]

Bob Finnan's recap

Wizards 109, Cavaliers 104: Split-squad effort falls short

Published: Thursday, October 15, 2009

By Bob Finnan

RFinnan@News-Herald.com

It wasn't exactly what one would call compelling basketball.

In fact, it was almost unwatchable at times.

Much of the interest in Wednesday's preseason game ended when the Cavaliers announced that superstar LeBron James would be sidelined with flu-like symptoms.

The Cavs were missing seven players for the opening tip. Two more were injured during the 109-104 loss to the Washington Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena.

James, Darnell Jackson and Coby Karl were stricken with the flu.

Once the game started, forward Anderson Varejao bruised his left wrist and guard Daniel "Boobie" Gibson bruised his tailbone.

In all, four starters were missing by the end of the game, including James, guard Delonte West (personal reasons), guard Mo Williams (groin) and Varejao.

Varejao said his injury wasn't serious.

"It was just a bruise," he said. "It happened in the first quarter. I don't think (I'll miss any games). I'll be fine. I'll put some ice on it."

Forward Jawad Williams, starting in place of James, contributed a team-high 21 points and five rebounds. He made 4 of 6 3-point shots.

Williams might have solidified a spot on the 15-man roster with his performance. He said he refuses to think about roster spots or individual stats.

"My performance doesn't matter because we lost," he said. "That's all that matters."

Williams, who prepped at St. Edward High School, had been struggling with his shot. He had made just 2 of 16 field-goal attempts entering Wednesday's game.

"Everyone knew that (I could score)," he said. "I was just struggling."

Center Shaquille O'Neal added 13 points and six rebounds.

"I feel good," he said. "I don't turn it up in the preseason. Our team is looking good."

Coach Mike Brown was upset with his team's defense and turnovers. The Wizards (3-2) shot 55 percent from the field. The Cavs committed 22 turnovers.

"We didn't have all our guys," O'Neal said. "We just have to play a little harder. We'll continue to work on (our defense)."

Brown said it's difficult to get in any kind of flow with all the players sidelined.

"I'm OK taking some lumps," he said. "We won't be where we need to be come Dec. 15. We want to get better little by little, day by day. We weren't good defensively."

Forward Jamario Moon returned after a two-game absence and fired in 12 points. Guard Anthony Parker added 11 in the Cavs' first loss in four contests in the preseason.

But it came back to the defensive effort for Brown.

"Tonight I saw more layups and easy shots since I've been here," he said. "We have to do a better job of staying in front of the basketball and contesting shots. We have to make guys feel us."

Two guards who came over in a trade with Minnesota paced the Wizards on Wednesday. Mike Miller had a game-high 24 points, while Randy Foye added 21.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/10/15/sports/nh1571418.txt

 

[JayP146]

Post game interview with Shaq and Coach:

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