GAME 11 | Cavs vs Nets | Nov. 18, 2008 | 7:30 PM

[djlofi]

Cavs were money last night! A few observations:

• Trading Ben Wallace for Larry Hughes has really worked out for the Cavs so far. He's an excellent cog in Mike Brown's defensive schemes (low-post FORCE). Wallace's game may have tanked in Chi-City, but we're seeing a revival of sorts from him in the early going.
  
• Resigning Delonte West has also proved to be a smart decision by Danny Ferry. The Cavs haven't had a jack-of-all-trades type guy in the rotation in years (the closest was maybe Larry Hughes who's best ability seemed to be getting injured for 20 games every year). Delonte's been having a real nice year, especially shooting the ball and playing defense. He gives up height to some of the bigger guards in the league but he makes up for it with his foot speed and active hands. Last night he really frustrated Carter and Harris, especially in the second half. It helps too that Cleveland is the first place where Delonte has felt like he's at home. He's a natural shooting guard an dhas bought into the Cavs' concepts. I said that Mike Brown would have a scheme to neutralize one of the Nets guards and Delonte carried it through. From the PD:
  

  Not to be overlooked was his defense against Vince Carter, who came into the game averaging 23.8 points per game. Carter finished with 12 points, making just three of 12 shots.
  
  "It's a very tough matchup," West said. "He's still a top-tier player in this league. I'll take it as he was taking a night off. Normally, he comes out firing. We stayed with our team concepts and tried to run him into other defenders, and it worked."

• That was an MVP-like performance again by LeBron.
  
• Mo is really settling in with this team. He takes bad routes on defense when he's beat, but he's making an effort on the defensive end. Offensively, having Mo helps because he's directing traffic, which keeps LeBron off the ball, which makes LBJ even harder to defend.
  
• Sasha has been playing some meaningful minutes lately. He's got back to his "Euro" style of play. Not forcing anything just sort of gliding through the game and making the right decisions, which is key. He's not trying to force anything, which is what he did all of last year. Plus, he was shooting with his legs last night, which I really liked seeing considering last year he would just shoot with his arms and brick. If he comes on strong, then you have two viable options off the bench as the fourth guard/fourth big in him and Wally.
  
• I like how JJ, TK and Wright get pumped on the bench. It's good to see end of the bench guys stay in the game like that. Speaking of TK, his defense looked great last night...the offense...not so much. Still having a quick lanky guard like that can help.
  
• The D is unreal. 108 points in the second halves of the last three games...that's phenomenall. Throw that together with the way the offense is clicking and you have yourself a bonafide contender. Can they keep it up? We'll see ... it's a long year, but key guys are getting rest when it counts (notably LBJ, Z and Wallace). Hopefully that aspect carries over for tonight's game.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Fun stat of the day: The last three games, the Cavaliers opponents have scored a combined 108 points in the second half. The Cavs have been averaging 107 ppg over the same span.