Game 39 | Cavaliers @ Lakers Jan. 19th, 10:30PM (ET)

[kookoo]

I'm a girl.

Cool. How you doin'? Jk, good to have you on board.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

On a positive note, JJ played REALLY good IMO. He actually did a good job on Odom (tough cover for any PF), had a couple nice blocks and scored well.

Also, Sasha played above average IMO too. Ill take 5-11 for 12 points and 3 assists from him any day. He also played Kobe really well. I think Kobe scored more on LeBron than he did on Sasha. A few of Kobe's points on LeBron were just on crazy well defended jumpers though.

On a negative note.... What happened to Big Ben? He had 6 boards in the 1st quarter and ended the game with 19 minutes and 6 boards. Also.... damn it hurts watching Lorenzen Wright.

 

[hn3108]

Ok with the game being said and done. For us not having Z and DWest it wasnt as bad as it should have been. Thats 28 pts of production plus Dwest's D woulda been there to prevent all those open looks from that scrub with long hair and that girly headband. Then Z is there to prevent all those offensive boards and pts in the paint the Lakers got. Theres no way Bynum and Gasol play that good with Z in the game. Look at the players we absolutly needed to play good and win. Wally&Andy played like garbage. So if we get the homecourt over them we sweep that team as long as the nba and refs dont get involved. This game was extremly frustrating to watch because even though there wasn't alot of calls. Kobe was getting all the calls Lebron didnt get nothin. Even when Lebron got close lined by Bynum a flagrant should have been called that looked more intentional than Sasha's play going for the ball.

 

[wuck]

Yeah I see what you're saying.. you sort of have to credit the Lakers for that.. it still hurts when watching it.. I mean, Varejao isn't that much shorter then Gasol or Bynum, but Ben gives up quite a bit of height..

I was actually thinking more about the moments when Sasha failed to block out Gasol as well as he could. (I admit that is a heck of a lot to ask)

 

[LUPE FRESH]

Guys this is why I love the NBA. We haven't even played 40 games left. We have the pieces to get better via trade ala the Los Angeles Lakers did. Until then we have the depth to get through the regular season and when we get to the playoffs we handle our business.

Bad game. Looking for better performance vs, the Blazers

 

[wuck]

On a positive note, JJ played REALLY good IMO. He actually did a good job on Odom (tough cover for any PF), had a couple nice blocks and scored well.

I am glad JJ was in there for good minutes, but he had a -18 plus/minus rating also, perhaps some of which he can blame on those fun times when he was in there with Lorenzen and the Cavs plummeted. But that number, which was worst on the team, suggests that there were some serious problems with the 2nd unit and during that ugly last few minutes.

 

[wuck]

If [they] were to put Ben on Bynum he would just shoot over him.

In retrospect, when all decisions are easier, I would have been happier to have Bynum shooting than Gasol doing so. But I follow the idea of putting Ben on Gasol to disrupt him.

Fortunately, the Cavs should have some more options to try if they're fortunate enough to see the Lakers in the Finals.

 

[cav jvl]

Lorenzen cannot be in that much...too many minutes tonight. I don't expect too much from him , but 0 rebounds?

 

[wuck]

Our guys DIDNT knock down shots, that's why Lebron had only 4 assists. .

This is a pretty common refrain for the Cavs on the road. If they depend on jump shooting, they have to be awfully fortunately to get road wins. I mentioned that LeBron couldn't find "effective teammates" but I suppose one could say that none of his teammates were effective tonight at coming through. Although they were a whole lot more effective for one half.

I didn't like how the pace of the game favored the Lakers. Mo Williams has got to assert himself more as the floorleader, I think.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

I am glad JJ was in there for good minutes, but he had a -18 plus/minus rating also, perhaps some of which he can blame on those fun times when he was in there with Lorenzen and the Cavs plummeted. But that number, which was worst on the team, suggests that there were some serious problems with the 2nd unit and during that ugly last few minutes.

I think that had more to do with that lineup consisting of LeBron out there with JJ, Wright, Wally, and Boobie. That is asking for trouble.

 

[flamez]

This is a pretty common refrain for the Cavs on the road. If they depend on jump shooting, they have to be awfully fortunately to get road wins. I mentioned that LeBron couldn't find "effective teammates" but I suppose one could say that none of his teammates were effective tonight at coming through. Although they were a whole lot more effective for one half.

I didn't like how the pace of the game favored the Lakers. Mo Williams has got to assert himself more as the floorleader, I think.

We do depend on jumpshooting though. What options do we have for the inside game?
Lebron is the only consistent option and today he was getting hacked but got no calls.

We have no low post option. AV got the ball several times at the same spots Z would get it but the difference is that Z could take and make those shots. AV did not make those shots. He also couldn't finish around the rim.

Wally and Sasha missed several GREAT LOOKS which could've further cut the lead down and given us momentum. I just think it is a proven fact that our roleplayers play MUCH BETTER at home.

If Lebron has an off night on the road as does Mo williams and we are without Big Z and Delonte we will likely lose.

 

[wuck]

We do depend on jumpshooting though. What options do we have for the inside game?

From time to time, I'd like to see Lebron post up, even if that's not a refined part of his game yet. And you might as well feed it to Hickson from time to time to see if he's improved from his blockitis disease. I agree that the team as a whole doesn't have a low post option now, which does not bode well in the short or long term.

I just think it is a proven fact that our roleplayers play MUCH BETTER at home.

Yeah, the road numbers are pretty ugly. Although the shooting by the bench tonight was actually better than usual. Enough to win usually for them. Mo and LeBron carried the load of missed shots tonight, perhaps in part because they trust the bench players less and less as a road game goes on? I thought there were too many "win it by myself" plays tonight that ended up in turnovers or in other ways contributing to the loss.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

We do depend on jumpshooting though. What options do we have for the inside game?
Lebron is the only consistent option and today he was getting hacked but got no calls.

We have no low post option. AV got the ball several times at the same spots Z would get it but the difference is that Z could take and make those shots. AV did not make those shots. He also couldn't finish around the rim.

Wally and Sasha missed several GREAT LOOKS which could've further cut the lead down and given us momentum. I just think it is a proven fact that our roleplayers play MUCH BETTER at home.

If Lebron has an off night on the road as does Mo williams and we are without Big Z and Delonte we will likely lose.

We really are an outside shooting team. That is why I don't get why everyone is hating on the Magic. Everyone is saying stuff like "oh well their going to struggle in the playoffs because they shoot too many jumpers". Well so do we. If our jumpers aren't falling, we don't win. That has been the way the whole season has gone so far IMO.

 

[Taki]

We really are an outside shooting team. That is why I don't get why everyone is hating on the Magic. Everyone is saying stuff like "oh well their going to struggle in the playoffs because they shoot too many jumpers". Well so do we. If our jumpers aren't falling, we don't win. That has been the way the whole season has gone so far IMO.

This is why it would be great to have a slasher like Gerald Wallace, but, I think you are exaggerating on how many 3 pointers Cavs take, Orlando takes way more. Sasha could take Wally's role if he were the one traded.

edit:
oh and now I am right again at least! I predicted vs hornets Sasha would score double digits, now I said he would get double digits again, and he got 12 This is important because there was a guy here(college) who bet with me that he would not exceed 10.

Sasha is a role player and he played a good game, so no one should complain about him because he's not supposed to carry the team, the team played bad and was obviously missing out on depth in the front court.

I don't think the team should get John Salmons, he is your can of worms, larry hughes part 2, good stats on a bad team. Wally could average 15 on the Kings just from jacking up shots all game if he were a starter there.

 

[Photon]

We really are an outside shooting team. That is why I don't get why everyone is hating on the Magic. Everyone is saying stuff like "oh well their going to struggle in the playoffs because they shoot too many jumpers". Well so do we. If our jumpers aren't falling, we don't win. That has been the way the whole season has gone so far IMO.

If jumpers aren't falling, it is very difficult to win for any team. Defense cans sag of, clogs the paint, game over. Every team needs jumpers to fall.