GAME #6
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) @ Washington Wizards (2-3)
Friday, 5th May, 2006
8:00 PM ET
TV :ESPN
Washington
Head Coaches
Mike Brown / Eddie Jordan
Starters
Eric Snow / Gilbert Arenas
Larry Hughes / Jared Jeffries
LeBron James / Caron Butler
Drew Gooden / Antawn Jamison
Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Brendan Haywood
Cleveland Cavalier's Bench
Ronald "Flip" Murray / Anderson Varejao / Donyell Marshall
Washington Wizard's Bench
Antonio Daniels / Michael Ruffin / Etan Thomas
A Look Back From Down Under
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) @ Washington Wizards (2-3)
Friday, 5th May, 2006
8:00 PM ET
TV :ESPN
Washington
Head Coaches
Mike Brown / Eddie Jordan
Starters
Eric Snow / Gilbert Arenas
Larry Hughes / Jared Jeffries
LeBron James / Caron Butler
Drew Gooden / Antawn Jamison
Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Brendan Haywood
Cleveland Cavalier's Bench
Ronald "Flip" Murray / Anderson Varejao / Donyell Marshall
Washington Wizard's Bench
Antonio Daniels / Michael Ruffin / Etan Thomas
A Look Back From Down Under
What a series thus far. It has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride with many twists and turns and up and downs. Game 6 was one for the ages. Two of the finest scorers going stroke for stroke, with neither James or Arenas taking a backward step. Gilbert could not be stopped from the perimeter, whilst James was either too strong down low, or nothing but twine with his step backs. The Cavalier's controlled the game in general but could not put the killer blow into the Wizards who continually fought back with an untempo offense that had Cleveland scrambling throughout. In the end it came down to an old school game of whoever scores last wins. Step on up LeBron James.
Watching the Wizards
Washington play the game at an extreme tempo. This is a team that will not only run of turnovers and misses, but off made baskets. This team is made to runout, and by playing small ball will cause trouble if the game flows. Washington are rolling with star guard Gilbert Arenas. He will continue to shoot when you think there is nothing on, or penetrate just when you think he's pulling the trigger. The Cavalier's made some nice adjustment and threw Eric Snow at Gilbert to assist Hughes. This forced the ball out of Arenas hands which lead to a couple of Cavalier mini runs. Antawn Jamison continues to tease the Cavaliers inside and out. he hits the long J enough to be drawn out, but then hits that floater so well that he has periods where he cannot be stopped. Jamison though is only a shooter on a kickout. If the Cavaliers can stay with him whilst on the perimeter he can go quiet.
The Wizards will also run many post up plays for Butler. He is matched up by Snow who gives up alot of inches. In general Snow has done a decent job, but Butler has exploded for periods. Caron, like Jamison is not a guy who create his own J from the perimeter. He is a set shooter only, in which he could cause problems if Snow continues to be the designated pressure man on Arenas. Turn this game into half court and Butlr becomes a very average player. He excels on quick offense in which he is shooting on scrambling defenders. Bench spark Antonio Daniels continues to pester the Cavaliers with scoring in bunches. Works very well off picks and gets into the paint a little too easily. He hasn't hit enough jumpers to play over the screen, but the Cavaliers bigs have been guilty of not holding him up enough for his man to get back in front.
Defensive specialist Jared Jeffries has to be watched once the ball has been shot. He is very active on the offensive boards, but lacks the polish to finish off some opportunities. The Cavs must continue to play off him as he is quite a good dribble penetrator, but will rarely knock down any range J's. Washington big man Brendan Haywood has become a victim, like Ilgauskas, of an untempo game which almost makes him redundant. The Wizards running game and quick offense rarely allows Haywood to set up position in the post. You'll see the Wizards playing a lineup of Jamison and Jeffries up front, with Butler, Arenas and Daniels on the perimeter.
The Cavalier's must mix up their defense again in game 6. It's hard to imagine Arenas getting as hot early like he did at the Q, so playing some zones early may be an option. If they are shooting their way out of that, then look at that half court trap defense with Snow and Hughes getting the ball away from Gilbert and forcing others to hit the big shots. Transition defense again is amazingly important. Snow and Hughes have to be very alert in getting back quickly and closing out on Butler and Arenas. They are not affraid to pull the trigger with 20 seconds on the shot clock. Limiting that quick offense, and we threaten to steal this game in 6.
Watching the Cavalier's
Until last night it was watch LeBron, and LeBron only. Finally Hughes broke from his funk and was knocking down 18 footers like they were going out of fashion. The Cavaliers other shining light on offense was the unlikely Eric Snow, who mixed it up with penetration and deadeye shooting from mid range. But the Cavalier's hero was again LeBron who again will be the main focus in game 6.
With Washington playing with such a skinny rotation, LeBron must stay aggressive and draw contact early. He has proven so effective from the left block that it has to be option 1 on offense. He is matched up on Jeffries who is long and can handle LeBron quite well at the perimeter. However the deeper James gets on the block, his strength becomes too big an issue for the lean Jeffries. Getting some early fouls is big. Mixing that up with some early pick'n'roll offense with Ilgauskas should have the Cavaliers rolling. I would prefer to see Snow and Larry handling the ball up court to allow James to find his spots on the floor he prefers, and those guys doing everything possible to find him there. From there spacing and movement off the ball and LeBron shows us why he is King!
In what has thus far been a frustrating and disappointing post season, Ilgauskas still remains a key component in the Cavaliers offense. Running some early post plays for James and maybe even some for Drew Gooden may allow some defensive focus off big Z. From there some pick'n'rolls and see if he can find some touch on the previously dangerous jumper. Instilling some confidense in Z is vital. Washington have been able to shutdown James for segments and we cannot rely on another night like game 5 from Larry and Eric. However if both teams are unable to limit runouts, you'll likely see another low minute game for Z. If this is the case, Brown should opt for Anderson in a small ball lineup over Gooden.
From the perimeter, Cleveland must have some aggressiveness from Murray, Hughes and Snow. Game 5 showed if they moved off the ball, and really pushed hard off the dribble around picks that there can be some easy offense on Washington. Snow must continue to attack the hoop when given that space rather then pull up. Murray should look to come off the off ball screens down low and find the ball on the angles where he is potent. Larry is very effective bringing the ball upcourt as he can call for an early pick and create from there. He and Snow though must look to get James the ball early, and hopefully that is down low.
With the game being played at a phenominal pace, the Cavs will rotate their bigs often. The game is rarely in half court for any significant period which leads to Ilgauskas seeing plenty of bench time. This gives Gooden, Marshall and Varejao time at both frontcourt spots. Brown to me made the mistake of playing Drew too long down the stretch. With the game being so up and down, Drew was forced to make decisions on defense. This is his biggest weakness and led to many breakdowns. Varejao is the better fit there unless it is free throw time. He like Drew isn't too defensively aware, but he knows when to foul and rarely allows "and 1" plays. Marshall to me was under played on Wednesday. He may not be the athlete, but he makes good decisions and works well on the boards. Marshall also has began getting position in the post rather then camping in the corner giving Cleveland an alterntive look.
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