Preseason Game #1 | Cavs vs. Raptors - 7PM (ET)

[Jon]

We didn't score many points in the 4th quarter.

At this point, what you do in the 1st quarter while you still have something like a team on the floor means more ... but you'd hope our improved depth would help.

 

[Silky Smooth]

JJ looks even bigger than summer league!!

 

[Douglar]

Hiickson looked OK most of the time, but there were definitely moments on defense where he was putting him self where he thought he was supposed to be but he looked really really uncomfortable doing it. Anyway, JJ showed a lot of hustle, a good nose for loose balls, his trademark knack for finding the hoop, and a sweet one man fast break off a steal.

I got a kick out of the 4thQ lineup with Kinsey at point, Dupree at SG, with Jawad, Darnell and JJ in the front court. It was a 5 forward lineup. It certainly confused toronto for a bit until they figured out how to swing the ball to the open three point shooter.

 

[B Mac]

Took these from my seat under the basket..

 

[Silky Smooth]

Took these from my seat under the basket..

Is that your job? You take photos. I would love to have that job

 

[PIP]

That picture of Hickson screams: "I must let the Danny Fortson inside of me out"

 

[Douglar]

Here is the Windhorst recap--

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2008/10/cavs_run_fast_tire_fast_in_lop.html#more

 

[theSTEREO.]

My quick thoughts on the game:

- Extremely impressed with how Mo played. Other than LBJ, I've never seen a Cavs player push the ball with confidence like that. One play in particular off a miss, Mo beat the entire Raps team down the floor before they even noticed he was gone. Easy 2 for Mo.

- Mo also looked very adept at running the offense. His penetration in the lane led to a good number of open looks for the other guys. Also, when the offense broke down, Mo seemed very comfortable taking it himself, and had some pretty spectacular finishes.

- Not sure if this is going to be regular, or just while Lebron is taking it easy, but Mo brought the ball up 80-90% of the time.

- Z was pretty much automatic. His touch seems even better than normal. He couldn't miss.

- JJ was very active, and made some great plays. He was hustling for every rebound, and got a steal, ran the floor and dunked starting from the foul line. I thought the rim would reject the dude he took off from so far away.

- Sasha looked plain awful, at least from what I saw. Soft play, looked lost. We could have been up pretty big in the first quarter had he not forced some pretty unfortunate shots.

- In my opinion, Wally played a much stronger game than Sasha. His stroke was very confident, and I think he played better than his stat line showed.

- Daniel struggled tonight, yet still managed to put up a dozen points. I don't expect to see him handle the ball a whole lot. Willie Solomon harrassed him to no end, and he didn't handle it extremely well. However, he was definitely more aggressive than he was last year, and several of those missed shots really look like they should've dropped.

- Ben was a bummer. He had a real solid catch 'n dunk, but other than that, passed up a lot of bunnies as usual, and forced a few post moves. I should've payed more attention on defense, but didn't. Sorry.

- The full court press came out several times, and it seemed very effective. At least 2 occassions I saw forced the Raps to wait til 12 sec on the shot clock to even start their set.

- Andy played very very well offensively. Took only the shots he should've, kept his head up and finished well a couple times. Free throw stroke looked good too. He actually got beat to several rebounds by very-aggressive Hickson and Mo.

- When the usual lineups that we'll see in the season were in full effect, the team structure looked pretty strong.

- I'm looking forward to see some games with Lebron playing regular minutes, and to see how Delonte fits in.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

To add on to the theSTEREO said, what I saw from each player.....


Mo - looked really good out there on offense. It was refreshing to see someone else on our team able to dribble a basketball. He really made a good first impression.

Sasha - I basically agree with STEREO. Toronto was running Parker off of a lot of screens and Sasha was trailing way behind most of the time which led to some easy looks for Parker. He did have a very impressive block on O'Neal I believe. :thumbdown

LBJ - Didn't really get to see much of him tonight, but that's a good thing. When he was out there I didn't really notice him much. He airballed a mid-range jumper and clanked one out of two freethrows, which always pisses me off. I know he's great, but just imagine if he could shoot (it really bothers me, just had to say it).

Big Ben - Don't even get me started on this guy. I honestly believe it will be Ben Wallace's fault if we are not a very good team. The guys lack of offense just KILLS us. I can not and will not ever understand why MB runs pick and rolls with Ben. The outcome is the same every time. Ben's guy leaves him and harasses the man Ben set the pick for. We either just pass to someone else helping out whoever got trapped or turn the ball over. He was right next to the hoop a couple times and passed up easy 2 foot shots. He also forced up a couple shots in the post. He airballed TWICE from about 3 feet away. If his defense was as good as it once was, I could put up with him. But IMO, his defense is highly overrated. I hope I am wrong, but I think he is gonna kill us this season. :thumbdown

Z - Looked very good. Started out right where he left off last year. Knocked down a lot of jumpers. A couple were almost threes too.

Wally - I thought Wally played much better than Sasha as well. He hit a couple jumpers and played better D than Sasha too.

Gibson - Man, he just had a bad night. I have always thought he was overrated, but he just sucked tonight. He shot 4-13 and played pretty bad defense. Willie Solomon lit him up. What I was hoping for the most from him was for him to improve his dribbling. Nope, not at all. I honestly believe he might be the worst ball handler I have ever seen for someone his size. Toronto was pestering the heck out of him the whole way up the court, and Boobie really struggled with it. He should definitely stick to standing in a corner waiting for a spot up 3. :thumbdown


Kinsey - Wasn't impressive on offense, but I watched him a lot playing defense off the ball. I was pretty impressed with him on D. He was hustling and playing pretty hard defense. I was actually kinda impressed with him. I think he is a good player to have for an emergency SG.

Hickson - From where I was sitting, the guy looked huge. I was very impressed with his athleticism. His role on the team won't be what he did tonight. We threw him the ball in post a few times and just let him go. I highly doubt we see much of that this season. When he did get the ball, every time he went right and forced up a tough shot. He also fits right in with his poor FT shooting. He jumped every time someone gave him a little pump fake. When he did jump though, he got up very quick, which is exciting.

AV - I was really impressed with Anderson. He looked good. He had a dunk which was nice to see because after he got hurt last season, I can't remember him dunking at all. He made all 3 Ft's and took smart shots. If we get the AV we had at the beginning of last season, that would be huge.

Dupree seemed pretty solid for the time he was out there. I actually thought he was an ok player when he was in Detroit. Darnell didn't do much. Allred looks like an even clumsier Z with no talent.


Overall, there was good and bad. I hate watching the pick and roll with Ben Wallace, it never works. I really hope we stop running that play, even though I know we wont. :thumbdown

LEBRON SET A PICK FOR MO ON ONE PLAY! I couldn't believe my eyes. Mo found LeBron for a wide open J on that play but LBJ missed. I think all of us want to see a lot of this. A Mo, LeBron pick and roll should be very very very hard for the opposing team to defend.

 

[PIP]

- Sasha looked plain awful, at least from what I saw. Soft play, looked lost.

No way...

 

[Randolphkeys]

My recap:

Antwan Jamison was injured playing in a Wizards preseason game. That goes along with a wobbly Arenas to start the season.

Play our stars sparingly so that we don't have this problem, and I could give a skinny crap about the scoreboard.

 

[Karma]

We could have been up pretty big in the first quarter had he not forced some pretty unfortunate shots.

Thats was your comment on Sasha. Just curious as I didn't see the game, but he was 2 of 3 in the first quarter with 2 assists and no turnovers. Just wondering how that would be considered "unfortunate shots". I seen he struggled getting around some picks which needs to be sorted quick smart if he wants rotational minutes.

Just think people are just looking for mistakes from Sasha moreso then any other player. He is flawed just like every NBA player. Anyways.....

 

[macbdog]

Hickson is already learning lessons from Big Ben- he has developed Wallace's free-throw shooting prowess.

 

[Joe Henderson]

sounds like Z could have a career year. that's really exciting.

 

[Wally World]

Guys,because the game was not on TV we cant comment about plays....I thought that Wally played good but i am not sure...