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Whizzinators at Cavs Wed. April 30th - Supersized Edition

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_amon _ones

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Whizzinators at Cavs Wed. April 30th 6pm TNT- Supersized Edition

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
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vs.
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on the road to claim
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RECORDS
Cavs: 3-1 (4th seed in Eastern Conference)
Wizards: 1-3 (5th seed in Eastern Conference)

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6:00PM EDT

AT
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INSIDE
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HEAD COACHES
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Mike Brown | Eddie Jordan

Cavs Starting 5
Delonte |Wally World | James |Big Ben |Zadrunas
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vs.
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Agent Zero|Who? |Butler| Jamison | Haywood
Pistons Starting 5

Cavaliers Rotation
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Devin | Wild Thing | Smith | Boobie

Cavaliers Bench
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DJones | DwJones | Allred | Thomas

Cavaliers Injuries
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Sasha| E Snow

· Sasha Pavlovic (Foot Sprain) is out.
· Eric Snow (Left Knee) is out.

Wizards Rotation
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Daniels | Songaila | Blatche| Mason

Wizards Bench
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Young | McGuire | Pecherov

Wizards Injuries
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Etan Thomas

· Etan Thomas (Heart Surgery) is out.

Series at a Glance
Game 1: W 4/19/08 Cavs 93, Wizards 86 at the Q
Game 2: W 4/21/08 Cavs 116, Wizards 86 at the Q
Game 3: L 4/24/08 Cavs 72, Wizards 108 at Verizon Center
Game 4: W 4/24/08 Cavs 100, Wizards 97 at Verizon Center

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Cavaliers Notes
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·The Cavaliers have won eight of the past nine games against the Wizards in the playoffs. Cleveland’s eight straight wins from May 3, 2006-April 21, 2008 tied for the sixth-longest winning streak against one opponent in the playoffs in NBA history.

·The Cavaliers are a perfect 3-0 in series in which they have taken a 2-0 series lead (2007 Conference Semifinals versus New Jersey – won series 4-2; 2007 First Round versus Washington – won series 4-0 and 1992 First Round versus New Jersey – won series 3-1). Cleveland won the first two games of this series.

·Since the start of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, Cleveland is a perfect 3-0 in games following a loss to the Wizards. In those games, LeBron James has averaged 40.0 points on 41-76 (.539) shooting and 8.0 rebounds per game.

·The Cavaliers are 6-3 in the game following a loss in the Eastern Conference playoffs dating back to the start of the 2006 Playoffs.

·With his 34 points on Sunday, LeBron James is at 1,019 for his postseason career. James and Tracy McGrady are the only two active players with at least 975 career postseason points in fewer than 40 career playoff games. As of April 28, McGrady has 1015 points in 36 games while James has 1019 points in 37 games.

·Over his last eight playoff games against the Wizards, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has averaged 16.5 points on .542 (52-96) shooting and 9.4 rebounds per game.

·Lebron James continues to amaze, as he leads the Cavs in points (29.5), rebounds (8.5), assists (6.5), blocks (1.25), and field goal percentage (51.2%) per game.

·The Cavs have 4 players averaging at least 7.5 rebounds per game: LBJ (8.5), Z (7.8), AV (7.5), and Big Ben (7.5). Joe Smith (5.0) and Devin Brown (4.3) add an additional 9.3 rpg. As a team, the Cavs are averaging 46.0 rpg, while the Wizards are averaging 35.8.

Wizards Notes
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<---Onterrio Smith is a huge fan!


Top Eleven Excuses for the Wizards 3-1 record in the Post-Season (I could list at least 100, but that would make this boring):

11. "Our crappy SG is happier that Jay-Z made a song about him than the fact the Wizards are on the brink of elimination."
DeShawn, on the song: "That would never happen in Cleveland. I mean, if I even walked into a Cleveland club right now, I'd have two black eyes and I'd be on crutches. And they'd tell me I deserved it too. So, we're boycotting Love. No loyalty....[Jay Z's] worth about $500 million, and he's writing songs about me? What does that say about DeShawn Stevenson? Ballllllling!"
10. "Our best player is coming off an injury."
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9. "The basket is throwing up the 'You can't see me' sign for long stretches of games."
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8. "A 2-bit hack who is starting because the team sucks shouldn't open his mouth and awaken the Vengeful Beast."
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7. "Our best player is more concerned with his blog than his team winning."
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6. "Our team is much better when Arenas is doing this:"
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5. "Agent Zero is as clutch as his name in the playoffs."
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4. "The officials are getting paid off."
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3. "LeBron's right; Soulja Boy isn't Jay-Z...he isn't even J-Quan...the dude who raps for change on the Green Line."
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2. "The NBA wants LeBron to win."
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1. "No, the reports are true...we actually do suck."
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·Caron Butler was one of four NBA players (K. Bryant, L. James, V. Carter) to average 20+ points, 6+ rebounds and 4+ assists per game, and was the only player to average 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

·Antawn Jamison had a career playoff-high 19 rebounds in Game 1. He recorded a career-high 44 double-doubles this season...Was one of five players in the NBA to average 20 points and 10 rebounds per game...Averaged a career-high 10.2 rebounds.

·The Wizards have 5 players averaging 10 points per game in the post-season. Antawn Jamison leads with 17.5 ppg, followed by Butler (15.5), Haywood (13.8), Stevenson (11.8), and Arenas (10.8).

·Jamison leads the Wiz in rebounding at 11.5 rpg. Only 2 other Wizards averages over 4.3 rpg (Brendan Haywood, at 6.3 and Andray Blatche at 4.3).

·Brendan Haywood ranked 10th in the NBA in blocks per game (1.68).

·DeShawn Stevenson scored a career playoff-high 19 points in Game Three.

·Stevenson is also has the second longest streak of consecutive regular season games started (250); behind only Tayshaun Prince.

·Gilbert Arenas missed 69 games this season due to injury (knee surgery, 11/17-3/31; precautionary reasons, 4/5, 4/14-16). He averaged 14.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 21.8 mpg in five games as a reserve in the month of April.

_amon's Keys to the Game

·Attack the inside. Haywood and Jamison are good in the frontcourt, but they cannot do it alone against the Cavs very deep 4 of AV, Z, Big Ben, and Joe Smith. Add LeBron, and the Wizards are virtually helpless against them, as the 46 to 35.8 rpg advantage shows. Getting the starters into foul trouble early will help set the tempo for the Cavs offense. Despite the Wizards keying on the inside, and especially LBJ, the outside shooters of Wally, Delonte, and Boobie should have a field day and each end up in double figures.

·LeBron needs to be aggressive from tip-off. This team feeds off of King James, and if he is not in attack mode, the rest of the team's attitude suffers. The stronger James' approach, the more involved and more intense the team, as a whole, plays. LeBron going for the kill to wipe out the Wizards will go a long way towards the hopeful matchup for the semi's. Let's end this. Now.

_amon's Prediction

Cavs 102, Wizards 93

·The Wizards had the same regular season road record as the Cavs (18-23). The Cavs are a much better team at home than on the road. Much better. After the Wizards failed to even the series on their home floor, while, in game 4, they came back from large deficits twice...got the ball in the hands of their supposedly "most clutch" shooter...held the monster that is King James to a very poor 4th quarter...and were on their home floor with 20,000 rabid fans screaming their lungs out...and still couldn't win...and could only hope for a tie on a desperation heave. This bodes very well for the home Cavaliers.


·The true difference between LeBron and the Kobes/McGradys/Arenases of the NBA can be seen in the final 10 seconds of the game 4 victory. With the game on the line, LBJ drew the defenders to him, and left West wide open. Instead of forcing up a shot, he showed not only his split-second decision-making, he also showed his trust in his teammates...one of which has only been with the Cavs for 2 months...and he nailed the game winning 3. LeBron will always choose the option that gives his team the best chance to win; not the one that will increase his personal glory.

Now look at the Wizards final shot: Arenas gets the ball, then dribbles for 3.5 seconds trying to shake his defender, only to force up a shot because he was too busy thinking of himself instead of his team. He missed horribly. For a guy that is supposedly so clutch, Arenas has missed a number of clutch shots against the Cavs in the playoffs, including free throws (career 81%) and 3 pointers (career 35.5%).

·Another point about Arenas...the Wizards are much better right now with him off the floor. He has played so little before the playoffs, that he has hurt their flow, especially on offense, immensely. The ball stops moving in his hands. He still doesn't have lift on his shots, and is hurting his team on both ends. Fortunately for the Cavs...and to the detriment of the Wizards, they have no real choice but to play him. If they don't, and lose, there will be questions from the FO wondering why he wasn't used more. If they do play him, and lose, they will be questioned for letting an obviously still injured Agent Zero slow down the team. In any case, the Washington fans (and the team, in general) have another built in excuse as to why they will have lost for the 3rd straight year to the Cavs (should the Cavs finish off the series).

What the Media is Saying
Game 4 in Four Pictures:
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Arenas Rethinks Final Shot

By Ivan Carter
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 28, 2008; Page E13

The ball was in the hands of Gilbert Arenas with the game on the line yesterday at Verizon Center. With 5.4 seconds remaining and the Wizards down by three, DeShawn Stevenson inbounded the ball at midcourt to Arenas, who received it at the top of the key and found himself defended one-on-one by Delonte West.

Arenas squared up on West, took two dribbles to his left and released an off-balance three-point attempt that grazed the left side of the rim. On Washington's previous possession, Arenas drove around West and made a difficult fadeaway jump shot that banked in off glass and tied the game.

West answered that shot by making what turned out to be the game-winning three-pointer after a pass from LeBron James.

Arenas, who has made plenty of clutch shots in his career, was kicking himself afterward for his decision-making on his final shot. From the moment the ball left his fingertips, Arenas knew it was off target.

"I should have shot it the first time, when I bumped off" West, Arenas said of the moment when he initially received Stevenson's pass. "I should have taken that shot, but I really don't like fading back. Looking back on it, I had a better shot when I first caught the ball."

Arenas missed a potential game-tying three-pointer from almost the same spot at the end of a Game 3 loss in the 2006 first-round series against Cleveland.

Cleveland Coach Mike Brown elected not to foul on the final possession, and even though nearly everyone in the building expected that the ball would likely wind up in Arenas's hands, he didn't call for a double team.

"We said no fouls and make them take a tough shot," Brown said. "I'm not the guy that likes to foul at the end of the game. I trust my guys and I trust my defense, so I would rather them take a difficult shot at the end of the game and contest it and get the rebound than foul."

Wallace Makes His Points

Despite not making a single shot attempt and failing to score a point in 33 minutes of action, Cleveland's Ben Wallace had a major impact on the game. He finished with 12 rebounds, including 4 offensive rebounds, and added 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

"He just doesn't care about scoring at all," LeBron James said. "He's got to be the only power forward in the NBA who can dominate a game without taking a shot and that's what he did tonight. He was big for us."
Source

Poised Performance In His Recurring Role

By Mike Wise
Monday, April 28, 2008; Page E01

LeBron James, the 6-foot-8 rock of a physical specimen, has nothing on LeBron James, the mentally superior athlete whose annual rite of spring is to psychologically crush the Washington Wizards in their own building.

Don't get caught up in the numbers, because his 34-point, 12-rebound, 7-assist statistical line does not illustrate why the Cleveland Cavaliers are one game away from pulling down the curtain on "The Gil, Caron and 'Tawn Show" before May.

It's not the production; it's the poise, the ability for a composed 23-year-old to weather boos from 20,000 people. It's the focus to overcome chants and vulgarities and an open-hand, windmill flagrant foul from his rumble-at-the-park nemesis, DeShawn "It's On" Stevenson.

It's the single-mindedness to push past the late-game resilience of his yakety-yak opponents. It's the ability to withstand a circus prayer from Gilbert Arenas that tied the game and was described in the official play-by-play as "Unknown Shot," to win.

It's LeBron fooling an entire arena into believing he would take Cleveland's last shot of Game 4, not that rail-thin southpaw Delonte West hanging out beyond the arc on the right baseline.

On the seventh day, in the fourth game, he passed.

"That's why he is going to go down as the best player ever in this game, because not only can he score, not only can he rebound, he has the ultimate trust in his teammates," Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said of James, who drew the defense before kicking it out to West for Game 4's winner, a three-pointer that may have pierced Washington's hope of ever beating Cleveland with this roster of players.

Brown is a bit hyperbolic, if only because James has no real supporting cast now, even less of one than last season when he willed his team past Detroit and into the NBA Finals.

After Zydrunas Ilgauskas, it's generous to call Cleveland "LeBron and the Extras"; King James and the Key Grips is more like it. Until he has a genuine secondary all-star, he has no immediate chance of winning one NBA title, let alone three championships, to even think about entering the Michael-Magic-Larry debate.

But the Cavaliers' corn-silk-thin bench speaks even more about what kind of player could even fathom having faith in his teammates with their postseason in the balance. After Arenas hit that unorthodox bank shot to tie the game with 28 seconds left, LeBron dribbled downcourt. The Phone Booth exploded with noise, everyone standing, hollering. He cocked his ear toward the stands, essentially imploring a city whose basketball heart he has annually broken for three years now to hope and dream one more time -- just a little bit more -- for his and his team's demise.

And as everyone collapsed on him, LeBron merely found West, a throw-in player in the trade for Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak, with 5.4 seconds left. Eleanor Roosevelt High's own rose, fired and released, in almost the same place Damon Jones last hit a shot that mattered in 2006 for Cleveland.

Ballgame. Again. Deja lose.

"It means a lot more for Delonte, him being our starting point guard to make that shot," LeBron said. "Because at times, he's been tentative, trying to fit in."

Between dueling guards, rappers and teams, this first-round series probably should have been held under a tent, next to a sign that read, "Come See the Bearded Lady."

Through it all, LeBron was the one serene soul amid the carnival and chaos, the one player grounded and centered enough to realize he couldn't get into a scrap and lose his head because, well, there goes the series.

"Me being the leader of this team, I can't allow myself to get unfocused or our whole team will unravel. It's been some extracurricular activities . . . going on outside and inside this series, but I've been able to stay focused on what's at task and trying to win ballgames."

Yes, LeBron still gets frequent-flyer miles on his forays to the rim. He often takes more steps than the stairwell in Georgetown used in "The Exorcist." And like any physical, star player in the league -- from Shaquille O'Neal on down -- he gets the benefit of the doubt from officials at the end of taut games. It's not surprising that he gets those calls; it's amazing that at just 23 he has earned that respect.

He seized the most important game of the season again from Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison -- three all-stars who, irrespective of their health and hubris, cannot seem to scale Mount LeBron.

After all the mean-mugging, Stevenson's hard foul, the physical and mental intimidation, the guy who did his job better than anyone, who used the game of basketball to settle any beefs, was James, who played the testosterone game afterward.

"If we was on the park, something definitely would've escalated," he said of Stevenson's foul. "If we was on the park, where I grew up playing a lot basketball outside, something definitely would've happened."

"I guess that's what they want to do," he said. "They want to hurt LeBron James this series. It ain't working."

His act has a few flaws, especially when LeBron James refers to LeBron James in the third person. But all the kids do that. Bottom line is, he did it again, leaving all those hoopheads in the District crestfallen about their team.

"I think Washington definitely probably had a flashback," James said. "We've hit some big shots in this building. Damon hitting a bit shot to close out the series. Then you've got Delonte who knocks down a big shot today in front of his home town. Guys around me know they are always going to get shots. We just have to step up and knock them down."

He was asked if he thought the Wizards had any shot of becoming the ninth team in NBA history -- out of 174 others teams -- to rebound from a 3-1 deficit, a 4.5 percent chance statistically.

"Do I think they can do it?" LeBron said, staring coldly at the questioner. "No."

From Arenas's impending free agency to Eddie Jordan's job security, Ernie Grunfeld, the Wizards' team president, will soon have to make hard decisions about this team. Chief among them: Grunfeld has got to wonder if the roster he composed to be among the East's elite is genuinely capable of ever making a run toward the NBA Finals.

After his virtuoso performance in Game 4, LeBron has all the answers. If he closes out Washington in Game 5 at home, he will be more responsible for a makeover of the Wizards than any executive or player unable to crawl beneath his thick skin and inside his focused, rattle-proof mind.
Source

Tough to spin lack of effort
By Tom Knott
April 28, 2008
With the season hanging in the balance, the Wizards inexplicably lacked energy, focus and determination in Game 4 yesterday.

The Wizards allowed themselves to be pushed around in the three-second lane by the Cavaliers. They allowed senior citizens Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to amass a combined 20 rebounds, nine on the offensive end. They allowed the Cavaliers to collect 18 offensive rebounds that resulted in 20 second-chance points.

And that was difference in the Cavaliers' 100-97 win over the Wizards.

And that essentially is the series, with the Cavaliers up 3-1 and looking to close the deal on their homecourt in Game 5 Wednesday night.

Antonio Daniels tried to spin the unacceptable, as if he were channeling James Carville, who was in the house.

"We gave a good effort," Daniels said. "There is nothing to be ashamed of. We have to take care of business in Game 5."

It is funny Daniels should mention the team's effort. Rebounding the ball is usually about effort. It is true that sometimes there are bad bounces off the rim or long bounces that are tracked down by the guards. But unlucky bounces do not justify the Cavaliers finishing with a 51-31 rebound advantage on the Wizards.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan certainly did not try to justify the incriminating discrepancy.

"It was a game where we didn't rebound," he said. "If you don't rebound, you put yourself in a bad position."

The Wizards, for whatever reason, just did not have a fire in their belly for much of the game. They did not attend to the gritty details that do not show up in a box score, such as performing the box-out maneuver on the Cavaliers after a shot attempt.

The Wizards eventually made a game of it after falling behind 67-52 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. But they could not overcome their game-long struggles with securing the ball.

Perhaps no sequence underlined the ineptitude of the Wizards more than Smith's three-point play off an offensive rebound with three-tenths of a second left in the third quarter. His putback followed two offensive rebounds and staked the Cavaliers to an 80-73 lead.

It was that kind of afternoon for the Wizards, who desperately needed this game to show they have matured since making a habit out of losing to the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

Alas, the game ended in the manner of all too many playoff games involving the Wizards and Cavaliers. There was LeBron James with the ball on the perimeter and the seconds ticking down. And there was Gilbert Arenas drifting to James to lend defensive help.

So James passed the ball to an open Delonte West on the left baseline, and the Greenbelt native hit a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left.

It is understandable if you felt a sense of deja vu on that gut-wrenching play. Damon Jones hit a similar shot that sucked the life out of the Wizards two years ago in Game 6.

The sight of James with the ball in the final seconds poses a defensive quandary. Do you let him try to beat you, or do you make someone else do it?

"You're between a rock and a hard place with LeBron at the end," Jordan said. "We made a decision, and we will have to live with it."

The Cavaliers finding a way to defeat the Wizards is old news. It did not matter that the Cavaliers shot 41 percent, committed 18 turnovers and were outscored 36-24 in the three-second lane. It did not matter that James was held to three points in the fourth quarter and was 0-for-3 from the field.

The Cavaliers outworked the Wizards at the rim. The Cavaliers brushed off their 36-point whipping in Game 3 and dared the Wizards to be the aggressors.

And the Wizards blinked in front of the home crowd that, in all likelihood, will be waiting on next season after Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Source

LeBron goes West, Cavs go home up 3-1
Cavs 100, Wizards 97
BW

–By my count, this game was the sixth time LeBron James has beaten the Wizards with a pass or a shot in the final minute of a playoff game. His short jumper in Game 3 in 2006, his baseline layup past Antawn Jamison in Game 5 the same year, his pass out of the double team to Larry Hughes, who passed to Damon Jones for the winner in Game 6 (hockey assist). Last year in Game 3 he hit Sasha Pavlovic out of a trap for a 3-point to clinch Game 3 here at the Verizon Center. Then this year his two shots in Game 1 and the pass to Delonte West today. Wizards are sick of this stuff.
–In Game 3, Cavs were 2-of-16 from 3-point range, which made their handling of the double teams on LeBron seem weak. Today they were 13-of-28 (though that is a lot of 3s, man) with Delonte West and Daniel Gibson going 9-of-15. Major, major difference.
–After the game, LeBron said DeShawn Stevenson hit him with a closed fist on the flagrant foul in the first half. I have since seen some photos that support that but it was not clear. Also, he seemed to go for the ball. I suspect the Cavs will push hard to have him to have the foul upgraded but it probably won’t happen. Here is the thing, people who know DeShawn have told me they think he’s crazy enough to attempt to go head hunting for LeBron in Game 5 if he thinks it is over just because of how personal this has all gotten. We’ll see.
–Seemed to be three emotions coming from folks at Verizon Center. One, they were frustrated they’d just lost another close game to the Cavs, who they are still sure they are better than. Two, they think LeBron is a cry baby for complaining about the fouls. Three, this series is over.
–I am not sure Gilbert Arenas taking the final shot was the best move for the Wiz and Eddie Jordan said as much after the game. He thought he should’ve maybe used him as a decoy considering he has not made a 3-pointer since Game 1. Plus Caron Butler was hot at the moment. But I guess you’ve got to give the ball to the superstar in that spot and ask to make a play. That’s what the Cavs did with LeBron and he passed.
–A factor down the stretch was that LeBron had five fouls. That is why he pulled up for a 15-footer on the second to last possession because he was concerned about an offensive foul. The officials had already called him for two in the game. He was more prone to shoot jumpers, which is why he was not as effective in scoring in the fourth. Especially in the last three minutes after he got the fifth.
–Earlier this season Daniel Gibson told me he’d never had a technical foul called on him in his life. Now, he’s got two including one today after he shoved Brendan Haywood in the, ahem, man area. Boobie said that Haywood was hanging on the rim and sort of in his face if you know what I mean so he pushed them away. I’ve seen the replay and he’s right. Haywood has had some good games in this series, but he’s also been, um, staying over people in a disrespectful manner to quote LeBron.
–A huge factor in this game was Joe Smith, who had more rebounds himself (8) than the entire Wizards bench. Plus he threw a great pick on Antawn Jamison to make sure Delonte West had shooting room on the final shot.
Source

CAVALIERS INSIDER
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, Washington Wizards' DeShawn Stevenson have another moment

Monday, April 28, 2008
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter

Washington -- The feud between LeBron James and DeShawn Stevenson had a moment in the first half when Stevenson committed a flagrant 1 foul on a James drive. James and Stevenson walked toward each other, but they were quickly separated.

There has been tension between Stevenson and James since Stevenson's "overrated" comments and since James compared himself to rapper Jay-Z and Stevenson to Soulja Boy.

But the gloves almost came off after the hard foul. It reminded James of the no-blood, no-foul summer days at Elizabeth Park in Akron.

"I saw DeShawn coming and I didn't even know he hit me with a closed fist until one of my teammates told me," James said. "If we were in the park where I grew up, something definitely would have escalated. I guess that's what they want to do, hurt LeBron James in this series. It's not working."

What did work was how the play sparked the Cavs, who were down by one with 3:25 left. Thanks in part to Stevenson, the Cavs rallied and closed out the half with a 10-point lead.

"[After the foul], I just wanted to be more aggressive," James said. "They continue to try to hurt me, but I continue to get up. It definitely sparked me and sparked our team. We went on a good run, we played some good defense, and we hit some 3s. We made big plays to close out the half."

Big boards:

Prior to Sunday's game, the key to victory for Cavs coach Mike Brown was being aggressive. The Cavs answered the call. Not only did they outrebound the Wizards, 51-31, but the Cavs had 18 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points.

"Both teams were equally aggressive and that's why down the stretch the game could have [gone] either way," Brown said. "Our guys made enough plays at the right time at the end of the ball game."

Charity stripe:

James tries to improve on different aspects of his game each summer. Last season, it was his outside shot. This coming off-season, he hopes to improve his free-throw shooting. James, a career 72.8 percent shooter, is shooting 59.2 percent from the line in four playoff games.

"I'm not happy with it, but it's continuing to get better -- it's a work in progress," James said. "Late in the game, I've been able to make the ones that need to be made for us to move on. It's something I'll continue to work on and get better at."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

bwright@plaind.com, 216-999-4671
Source

Obligatory Cavs Dancers Shots
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Jesus that was long, good job though.

Can't wait for this game =-)
 
Man I can't wait for this one - place is gonna be nuts.

I'm liking that poised article by Knotts - I wasn't aware he could write articles with any truth to them.

Being able to waive bye-bye to Arenas, Haywood and Stevenson would make my day.
 
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Amazing how a city so crappy and ugly can look so good at night!

haha
 
Outstanding game thread.

Hopefully I can watch this game instead of going off to work. I wanna see LeBron slam one over Deshawn and Haywood so bad.
 
What time is the game?

I've been looking over the forum, and NBA.com the last few days but there's nothing.=/
 
What time is the game?

I've been looking over the forum, and NBA.com the last few days but there's nothing.=/

NBA has not determined a game time or what network they are putting this on yet...The dreaded TBA.
 
Excellent young grasshopper.......Excellent!

Great info!
 
Excellent work here _amon.

I believe I heard the game will either be at 6:00 or 7:30. At this point it depends on the Lakers/Nuggets outcome. They are set to play Game 5 on Wednesday if the Nuggets win tonight. Then the game would be at 7:30. But if the Lakers win there will only be two games on Wednesday with the Cavs/Wiz starting at 6:00 :mad: and the Celtics/Hawks at 8:00. Take that for what it's worth.
 
I did hear we're the early game..6pm..thats sick..it should start at 7..man I gotta lot to do while it's on.
 
Yep, official start time is now 6:00 pm. Thanks a lot for showing up Nuggets. :thumbdown
 
Do we get any national coverage?
 

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