Playoff Game #2 | Wizards @ Cavs | 4/25/2006

[G-MAN]

personally i think they let haywood double hand him in the post. i thought they had some rules during the regular season not allowing that but z has been called for it a few times but haywood has been an angel.

lebron got caught in the air about 7 or 8 times and created turnovers. i hope brown and lebron see that when he drives they double and jump back to their men. solve that and we'll be alright.

plus lebron missed many short layup type shots. he has had trouble vs. indy, nj because they play him physical and he's missed many of those shots against them. he's going to have to figure out a way to be pushed and finish those shots.

 

[Dungong]

No one was shooting tonight except for Gooden, and he doesn't really get anything run for him. But I think Gooden does have a decent matchup offensively in this one, maybe moreso than Z on Haywood. Gooden is the type of scorer that could give Jamison trouble especially if hes hitting that jumper, which he seems to have worked on. Z's jumper has just not been on since his finger injury earlier this year. The ankle may have just amplified things.

James wasn't hitting the stuff he normally makes. The fast break dunk was the first James dunk I've seen him miss. He was also getting all sorts of post up looks that he can normally convert or get fouled on, but none of that was going down.

The Wizards were also playing better this game, actually hitting shots. They still got problems at the foul line, but so do the Cavs. This game would be much different with a free throw percentage of 80. 72% wasn't bad this game though.

It wasn't just Z or Lebron though, after Gooden, the best Cleveland shooters were Donyell and Eric snow, who both shot .333. Flip wasn't in form tonight, only going 1-8. We might want to give Damon a shot out there. Also, I'd really like to see Flip in during the 4th quarter when the game is on the line. He's proved time and time again this year that he's a viable go to guy down the stretch reguardless of how he's been playing.

Now its time for Mike Brown to make some adjustments and try to steal one from the Wizards in Washington.

Some positives, the transition D was still generally good. Heck, the half court D was pretty good. The problem was lack of finishing down the stretch, thats on the players, not Mike Brown. Also, a HUGE reason why the Cavs controlled game 1 was because they took care of the ball. The Wiz are a turnover causing team, so you gotta slow it down a bit and just get good shots out of your possessions. The Cavs were suprisingly sloppy in transition at times and definately threw some lazy passes. Lebron's shot wasn't falling, so his "bail out" offense where he just jacks up a jumper from wherever on the court with 4 seconds left on the clock wasn't cutting it today. He did keep shooting though, he can't let this performance shake his confidence.

Next game I'd play Larry a little less, and Flip a lot more. I'd also let Damon in for a few minutes the first half, just to see if he can stretch out the defense and maybe hit a 3 pointer or 2 to open up the court a little bit. Mike Brown is also going to have to decide between clogging up the middle and closing out the perimeter. The Wizards shot 40% from 3 point land, and definately stretched the floor to loosen up the defense.

 

[G-MAN]

well lebron almost had the infamous triple double. if he would have had one more rebound you would've had plenty of ammo for lebron. espn would've played that one up pretty good. two games in a row of triple doubles.

10 fricken turnovers. better watch some tape lebron. they did the same type of defense in the last blowout win. i can't believe they could'nt solve it.

they also lost that big lead tooooooo quick. brown needed to do a better job at controling the end of the first half.

 

[Style]

Ahhh I see..Bow Wow musta stole that line from a Snoop Dogg song....

Even though you're just 19, I'm still shocked your first thought was of Bow Wow. Wow! Kids these days.

Another positive. How about AV answering the hard foul on Lebron with a hard foul on Arinas? It was just a minute or two later, and looked nearly identical to Haywood's foul. I love this kid. He should of never even been out there in the last 20 seconds, and then James should of never passed him the ball, so that wasn't his fault.

 

[Kypus]

z has never got his rythem back since his ankle injury. i've posted it somewhere that haywood gives z trouble and his jumper didn't go down for the last 6 or 7 games.

You know what...this goes back even further to the dislocated finger Z had in February. His deep jumpers from the corner of the key had been an absolute weapon before that happened. So add the ankle injury to that, no wonder Z isn't hitting outside. Once again, %$#@! you Dalembert for stepping under Z's foot.

 

[cdt]

Well I caught the game at the hotel last night. When we crushed the Wizards LeBron got the praise and he deserves to be the scapegoat after this one. He had 10 turnovers, that is unfreakingacceptable in the playoffs. Missed about 5 chippies from point blank. Including a layup and a breakaway dunk. Thats 10 points right there, add 10 to our score and we're winners. Plain and simple.

 

[KingJamesMVP]

Even though you're just 19, I'm still shocked your first thought was of Bow Wow. Wow! Kids these days.

Yeah I'm a little retarded..I've never heard THE CHRONIC, unfortunately..

I wish I could say the same for that God-awful "BOW WOW" song...

 

[PIP]

Even with all the uncertainty following tonight's game (will the Cavs rebound from a tough loss?), one thing remains absolutely 100% certain:

Bean bags = the ultimate in seating luxury.

Damn straight...

Oh yeah, come on now, this is rap 101. "the Chronic" with Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, one of the best rap albums ever.

I think Ill throw it in and forget about this shitty game......

"Rat-ta-tat-tat late at nite with my gat, on the streets of LA, wonder where the pussy at......

See, this is what happens when I run through a thread... I miss a quality post such as this... :chuckles:

 

[Style]

I've never heard THE CHRONIC, unfortunately.

It's classic. I'm sure you've heard some of the tunes, and just didn't realize they were from that album. The Chronic II is pretty stout as well. Dre = bomb.