People need to stop with all the Mike Brown hate. I know he's no Popovich or Larry Brown, but not much can really be blamed on him today. Here are the reasons why the Cavs got blown out:
1. LeBron James was awful. Whether he was hung over, injured, lazy, or some combination of all three, he did not play like an MVP.
2. Overall defense was awful. No more needs to be said other than Rasheed Wallace had 17 points. Mike Brown has proven that he preaches championship-defense, but it's not fair to blame him for the team not following his teachings.
3. Individual defense was bad on Garnett and Rondo. Mo and Jamison are obviously the team's weak links on defense, and there's nothing Brown could have done to slow down either. It's not like starting Delonte would have stopped Rondo's double-double. What we're seeing in Rondo and Rose is what other teams see every game against LeBron - it's hard to stop any of the great players in this league. As for Garnett, Jamison was needed for his offense so Mike Brown had to leave him in. Antawn did finish with 16, and KG only had 2 more.
4. Mo didn't have any rhythm (or dunks). He couldn't make a shot today. Are you seriously going to blame Mike Brown for that too? Mo is capable of scoring 20 a night, it's just that he's inconsistent. So as long as that scoring threat is out there, Mo has to be guarded. This opens up the floor for LeBron, but LeBron was playing like crap. Delonte didn't have much of an impact either, and he only played 3 minutes less than Mo.
5. The Cavs missed FTs. Most of the time the team is blamed when the Cavs miss FTs, but it's usually LeBron's fault. He missed 5 today, but no other Cavs missed more than 2. But still, the misses pile up. This again, can't be blamed on Mike Brown.
6. The Cavs lacked intensity. It's up to LeBron to motivate the team. He's their leader on and off the court, so when he doesn't care about the game, the other players don't feel like they need to either. I'm sure Brown was screaming at someone, but it starts and ends with LBJ.
Give credit to Mike for leaving JJ in during the 4th. If Andy's out for the rest of the series, at least JJ has proven that he can be a difference-maker.