Recap: Celtics 120, Cavs 88
2010-05-11
Overview: The Boston Celtics outscored the Cavaliers 70-44 in the second half of a 120-88 rout. The Celtics now lead the series 3-2. LeBron James had one of the worst games of his career, going 3-14 from the floor. Ray Allen led all scorers with 25 points. It was the worst home playoff loss in Cavalier history.
Game Summary:
Everything started out nicely enough. The Cavs looked to go inside early, establishing Jamison and Shaq down low and using some outside jumpers to keep the floor spaced for them. With 9:52 to go, the Cavs took an eight-point lead and Doc Rivers called timeout. The Cavs were outscored by 40 points after that time-out. I don’t know what Doc said in that huddle, but it must’ve been good.
After the time-out, the Cavs did not score a point for the next six minutes of play. Shaq turned it over. Delonte turned it over. LeBron missed an open three. Meanwhile, Boston’s big three began to get into a groove on offense. By the time Cleveland finally scored a point thanks to LeBron throwing himself into some defenders and getting a foul, Boston had taken an eight-point lead.
Then Ray Allen took the game over. Cleveland finally started to get some baskets (this was LeBron’s one good stretch of the game), but Ray Allen answered by draining a jumper every time Boston had the ball. He’s one of the best shooters of all time. He does stuff like that.
Here are a couple of key plays from the stretch that was the beginning of the end for the Cavs in this game:
-After the Cavs force Pierce into missing an 18-footer, Big Baby comes up with the offensive rebound and finds Allen for a three. The lead goes from five to eight.
-After Mo (IDIOTICALLY) heat-checks after one made three, Rondo finds Allen for a three in semi-transition. The lead goes from four to seven.
-After halftime, the Celtics open the half by going to KG in the post. He misses a fadeaway, Allen comes up with the offensive rebound, gets it back, and drains a three. The lead goes from six to nine.
-On the next Celtics possession, Paul Pierce misses a mid-range shot. Rondo tips the rebound to Pierce, who finds Allen for a three. The lead goes from nine to 12. The Celtics lead by double-digits for the rest of the game.
After that, it was all misery. The Cavs couldn’t get a stop. The Celtics couldn’t miss a shot. The team waited for a LeBron takeover that never came. Game over. Complete and utter embarrassment.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-I’ll start with this. I’ve had some tough moments as a Cavs fan. I remember how close the Cavs came to beating the Pistons in game six back in 2006. I remember how LeBron was completely overmatched by that Spurs team right after the best moments of his career. I remember how the Cavs just couldn’t get over that hump in Boston in 2008. I remember the Cavs blowing that lead, wasting a career performance by LBJ, and watching that Lewis three go down in game one last year. I remember how close they came to taking game four in that same series. The Cavs have disappointed me. They have made me profoundly miserable.
All that said, this is my lowest moment as a serious Cavalier fan. Why? Because I have never been ashamed to be a fan of this team or LeBron James until tonight. I am now. There’s no excuse for that type of effort. I’ve defended LeBron a lot in the past. I can’t, in good conscience, do so tonight. He couldn’t hit a jump shot. He wasn’t aggressive enough. He couldn’t do anything against Boston when they collapsed on him in the paint.
I don’t know why it happened. Maybe he was just off. Maybe he started doubting himself. Maybe he doesn’t care that much. Maybe he’s already thinking about where he’ll be next season. Maybe it was the goddamned elbow. Maybe he still hasn’t evolved his game enough. Maybe he couldn’t deal with the pressure. Whatever it was, he had maybe the worst game of his career in a huge playoff game. You don’t see that on the resumes of many legends. I still support the guy. I still want him to come back to Cleveland. At the end of the day, I do still believe he’s the best active basketball player. But good lord, this was terrible and inexcusable. He can turn it around in game six at Boston, or he can have this game follow him to his grave. It’s his career. I just write about it.
-Well, Mike Brown pulling Mo for Boobie right as Mo was actually getting in the paint and dropping dimes to Shaq for dunks reeked of desperation, didn’t it?
-This may have been one of Shaq’s better offensive games as a Cavalier. Good for him. Although I’m not sure how he only managed four rebounds in 27 minutes.
-The Cavs’ four best young players combined to go 5-14. Splendid.
Bullets of Randomness:
-I’m really starting to think Ray Allen isn’t going to sign with the Cavs this off-season. I’m also starting to think he’s somehow one of the most underrated players of his generation.
-Glen Davis had as many points as LeBron did.
Alright, that’s all I can give tonight. This was the low point for me. Game six could make everything all better. It’s not over yet, even if it feels like it. Until Thursday, try not to think about basketball. I’ll see you then.
Lebron “Knickerbocker” James
Oh how well you play the game
With your 30 ten and ten
Over and over again
You say you’re better than Bryant
But the stats are defiant
Cause the Mamba’s got you beat
Stats mean nothing in defeat
To all you Cleveland Cavaliers fans, Henry Abbott has a word for you. My question is the wame as his: What’s wrong Cleveland fans?
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/15845/forget-lebron-whats-wrong-with-cleveland-fans
Please support your team and your player going forward.
What hurts even most about this whole debacle is that we directly contributed to who we wanted to play in the first and second round. And we couldnt handle it.Am going to be bitter about this for a really long time.
Well said, Rich. LBJ is a POS.
I’ll end with this on LeBron. Very interested to see what he is made of now. This will absolutely be the first time in his career where everyone puts the blame squarely on his shoulders. The team follows its leader, and when its leader goes out and performs like that, the team will follow as well. The natl. media is going to kill him, they have before. But for the first time ever, his biggest supporters, you and I, are going to kill him. Also, for maybe the first time ever (at least involving a basketball game. We all remember… Read more »
Funny how Lebron called out the Raptors for their lack of effort when they were trying to get into the postseason.
Now I’d like to hear his words on a comparison between the Raptors play and their effort last night. The effort would be the same, marginal at best, but the difference is Cleveland has one of the highest payrolls in the NBA but they got spanked by 30 at home!
Well, it looks like Celts will win and LB will put his tail betw his legs and run to NY. Start buying Knicks jerseys.
I’m not relegating him to T-Mac status. I still concede that he might be the best player in the world. But the gap isn’t nearly as big as we have made it out to be. But you bring an entirely different problem that is becoming more and more apparent and sadly was pointed out by a Laker fan earlier. Maybe you can’t win a title w/o a real offensive system. Maybe just giving LeBron the ball and asking other guys to play off of him doesn’t work. Jamison looks so innefective out there but maybe that is because he is… Read more »
Rich, I’ve got to disagree with you on your LeBron theory. All the evidence we’ve compiled on LeBron in the playoffs to-date has been the exact opposite of your conclusion. He has been mentally tough. He’s taken a team full of (mostly) worthless bench players to the NBA championship. He consistently out-performed every great player he came across in the playoffs. I don’t these three games can overturn that large pile of evidence. Go youtube some old playoff performances from 2006, 2007, 2008. I do believe the elbow is probably an issue. One, you can’t really take his word for… Read more »
And I just gott say about this whole supporting cast thing that Chris Broussard argued. Let me break it down like this, if LeBron was on that Chicago team the way it is constructed right now, they would also lose if he decided to just not play in the 2nd round of the playoffs. If he went 3-14 against the Celtics playing for Chicago, they get blown out as well. Your stars simply can’t disappear in the playoffs. They have to play even better than they did in the regular season. Jordan did it. Shaq did it (In his prime),… Read more »
I thought the Woj article was good. It’s defintiely harsh, but sums up a lot of my frustrations about LeBron from the past couple years. He does have a sense of entitlement, and gets caught up in his own image when he should be focusing on winning basketball. We’ve all seen it, especially this season.
Jesus christ, so we’re supposed to be happy if LeBron puts up the same numbers as a role player? Get that weak stuff out of here.
How would you feel if I could compare Dwight Howard’s box score to Ilgauskas? Would you be “spoiled” and complain about Dwight’s bad game or would you say, gee, I’m glad Dwight (hypothetically) played 10 minutes, grabbed three boards and shot 2 for 6?
Wow, all it takes are a few games to make everyone start calling the greatest player in the NBA overrated (and I’m not talking about the lame ass trolls that decided to show up and classlessly spit on a man while he’s down, nor am I just talking about people who have commented specifically here — I reference the whole NBA blogosphere). I’d like to echo Todd on the Hollinger article – there’s quite obviously an issue with the elbow that has (rightly or not) taken him out of his game. Compound that with rotation and chemistry issues, and you’ve… Read more »
Oh good lord. John, if we got those same numbers from Anthony Parker we’d be celebrating too.
Would you be celebrating if Dwight Howard went 3-14 from the field? Plz, tell me how you think that game turns out this late in the playoffs? Not well. Just because Matt Barnes plays the same position doesn’t mean that he has to have the same type of production. YOur star player plays a different position, and if he went 3-14 against the celtics, you guys are losing.
Jonathan, Liked the article, was maybe a little too condemning but sums up a lot of how I feel. Ive gone through a lot of emotions since last night. Sitting at the bar I was horribly depressed, then I was angry (had quite a bit to drink after so that helps), and when I woke up this morning I felt very much betrayed. As a Cleveland fan I am accustomed to disappointment, but this feels so incredibly different. I feel like with this team I don’t deserve to be let down, I feel like Ive waited long enough to win,… Read more »
Breakdown of what I saw will come later, but I gotta say I’m sad this place has been reuced to ESPN comments. Let this remain a site where people who actually feel like talking basketball are able to talk basketball and not where any troll is able to come in and make any silly comment that he wants.
I’m a Magic who has been quietly rooting for Boston during the series (primiarily because Cleveland has more pieces that could get Dwight in foul trouble, in my opinion). I think the Cavs have a few problems primarily associated with the players that surround LBJ. First, there is no defensive stopper besides LaBron in the starting unit. Mo Williams is inconsistant and has disappeared in the series. The offense grinds to a halt when Shaq posts, turning the other 4 guys into well-paid observers. Jamison is as much of a liability against Garnett as Varejao was against Rashard Lewis. Parker… Read more »
Hollinger posits it’s the elbow in the PER Diem on ESPN.com, and his theory makes sense. The success Lebron has with his jump shot is directly correlated with the number of off days between games. I wish everyone was an ESPN insider so they could read it for those who think Lebron is “not trying.” The only silver lining is that if they can somehow win Game 6, he’ll have an extra days rest for Game 7.
Wondering what people’s thought are to Woj’s article on Lebron? Not trying to troll, genuinely curious what Lebron fans think.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AhF8Dem5Lm5_sgQbqoiLLvi8vLYF?slug=aw-lebroncavs051210
If you saw game 3 you know were not overmatched. If Lebron hits his averages, we win this series. Lebron seems incapable of adjusting his game to deal with the injury. He feeds off the big dunks, so do the fans and his teammates. He’s been reduced to essentially laying it in. I think it’s emasculated him to sone degree. And because he lives in a world where he is bigger than the team, in his mind if he’s not 100%, then were screwed. I just wish someone could explain Game 3 to me. I’d agree that we were screwed… Read more »
He’s been throwing Mike Brown under the bus in slight, small ways for years now. LeBron essentially runs the team and Brown knows it. He knows it’s a lot easier to get another coach in instead of replacing LeBron, so he lets him do what he wants. The whole organization lets LeBron do and say what he wants. Brown rightly got angry when they blew Game 2 and LeBron just shrugged it off. Usually a coach will save his anger like that for when it really matters, but LeBron completely diffused it with his comments after that game. “I got… Read more »
Does anybody think LeBron will turn it on in game 6? It looks like he has other plans.
My theories… 1. Lebron has given up knowing getting thru this series and the next and the next to win a championship with this group is a lost cause. After 7 years of carrying this team night in and night out, seeing what his efforts have amounted to when he goes all out and nobody else is able to help, maybe he finally has had enough. 2. Lebron is hurt more than he’s letting on. 3. Locker room issues with either the coach or the scrubs who (as some say) need to feed off Lebron and have him be 100%… Read more »
@duron
Erm……………
ANYBODY remember shaq dissing kobe rap from a few years back?
Shaq’s song needs a rewrite for 2010…
This song is entitled:
STALEMATE
ITS MAY 2010 Cavs vs Celtics..Cavs will lose again!!!
ITS 2010… Shaq couldn’t win without him…
ITS 2010…Shaq couldn’t do it without him…
SHAQ without kobe…falling from grace…
SHAQ without kobe…Remember your own *** taste…
SHAQ without kobe…coming in last place.
SHAQ without kobe…with the fake king.
Lebron wins mvp…will never wear a ring.
shaq without KOBE. couldn’t win without him.
Lakers 2010 CHAMPS…doin it again!!
As a Laker fan, I’ve seen this kind of thing from our team – just an inexplicable lack of effort, and a terrible game from your superstar. I didn’t watch the game, but listened on ESPN radio. Jack Ramsay was at a loss for words. From my perspective, it seems LeBron is worn out. It’s one thing to not be aggressive, but to miss like that… LeBron may not be a shooter like Ray Allen (few have been), but missing shots mostly has to do with tired legs. The question is why. Maybe it is the elbow. My other thought… Read more »
Russell Branyon hit two HRs yesterday and Jake Westbrook went 6 IP, 1 ER.
Oh wait, was there a basketball game last night?
LeBron’s body language and comments after the game just seem like a guy who knows his team is overmatched and cannot win. He is playing, but not leading. It’s like the Orlando game last year, everything seems to go right for these teams against the Cavs. The Cavs look completely out of sorts. No idea on offense or defense. LBJ needs a change of scenery imo. He knows it. We know it. I just can’t believe it’s going to end this way. Apathetic. He doesn’t even seem to care.
I’m very interested in hearing what Shaq has to say about this when it is all said and done. Don’t count out people who speak the truth. We may have our answers yet.
Regular season: LeBron in form, Hickson superfast cuts, Varejao hustling off the bench, team is young, vibrant, healthy and fast.
Playoffs: LeBron off, Varejao off, no sign of Hickson, team looks old, injured, slow and tired.
MVP: Money Versus Pride
Well, they finally put Boobie on Rondo and he did a good job. Except they did it when it ceased to matter anymore.
As far a Leborn staying or going, how could he leave after stinking it up like this? It’s one thing if he played up to his ability and they lost like last year in the ECF and decided to leave. But this? I feel like he owes it to The Cavs to stay after this. I don’t know any other way to say it, tonight he wet the bed… C.H.O.K.E.D.
Well, they finally put Boobie on Rondo and he did a good job. Except they did it when it ceased to matter anymore.
As far a Leborn staying or going, how could he leave after stinking it up like this? It’s one thing if he played up to his ability and they lost like last year in the EC
Now we know what it’ll be like trying to win w/out Lebron next year.
Was linked on balldontlie i think (yahoo)
When did this blog turn into the ESPN comments board? Were you linked in the dime or something, Krolik?
I promise you, the cavs WON’T win game 6.
I watched the game, Lebrick did not care at all – plain and simple. As a Houston fan, and having to deal with the same crap from Tmac (except this is one game for LB, tmac did it all season every season) – You can’t hide the body language Honestly, i feel kinda bad for lbj typing this, cuz he is an unfair advantage that only a few teams get and the cavs don’t know how to truly use that advantage but ya if the cavs do win game 6, they will win game 7 if celtics win game 6,… Read more »
With regards to LBJ- I had flashbacks to Kobe in 2006 in Game 7 vs. Phoenix. That was around the time that Kobe started having games like LBJ did last night- an odd lack of energy, fire, and aggressiveness– in Kobe’s case, tied to frustration about his inadequate teammates. Can only hope that a similar sentiment wasn’t driving LBJ, because we can be assured he’ll be leaving Cleveland if so
Wow! I thought it was bad when Gilbert left a deuce in a teammate’s shoe. What LeBron did to the city of Cleveland may be worse. Enjoy the Knicks!
hahahahahaahhahahhahahahhahahahahhah
@LBJFanInIndia@ -Shhh… Don’t be scared of the magic or jameer. the cavs won’t see them at all this year. :)
@LBJFanInIndia: so have been the cavs as well…theres no surity that cavs will win game 6 “AND” game 7
we still got this, the Celtics have been inconsistent on their home floor!
i’m scared of the magic with jameer nelson back though…
I’m going to defend Lebron, and that’s tough on me because I’m a die hard Lakers fan and an absolute Kobe homer. But here’s the thing. I’ve been saying this to anyone who will listen for years. Until Lebron is comfortable playing off the ball, his teams will not win. Your primary scorer cannot also be your primary facilitator. The exception being Kobe/Jordan only because the triangle forces them to play off the ball a majority of the time even as the primary scorer/playmaker. That system limits their control. If you have one player responsible for the entire flow of… Read more »
hey cleveland ya still have…..oh yeah the browns and indians suck too!!! i forgot. oh well cleveland is still cool. me and noah are going there on vacation
bye bye cavs. bye bye lebron.
They brought in all this help to get past Orlando – well they can’t use it unless they get PAST BOSTON
Damn it all…
Blah, was going to comment on the whole elbow thing, but I’ll save it for tommorow. No one needs to more anti-LeBron stuff at this point.
I guess I’ll share my thoughts on LeBron while I’m at it. Clearly something is wrong with him, physically, mentally, or both. He did not attack aggressively. His shooting was a disaster. And he had no fire–in fact he almost looked scared through the whole game. We know he’s dealing with the elbow problem. People have been saying that game 3 proved it’s not an impediment. But it seems significant to me that game 3 was the only game to come after extended rest. That seems to suggest a physical problem, and a physical problem could also be affecting his… Read more »
I actually got to watch most of this game. Needless to say, I’m stunned, but this is the same team I saw in game 4. I don’t even know what to think about LeBron. I’m going to reserve judgement on that cause there’s no way we know the whole story at this point. But there’s other things to be upset about, a lot of other things. The plus-minus numbers tell a story for this game. We were doing well with the last-year frontcourt of LeBron, Varejao, and Big Z. Varejao actually looked healthy and effective in this game, and in… Read more »
Well, I can’t say that was the best 110$ I’ve ever spent in my life and 8 hours of driving time was probably a waste too. Had a good time with my friends though. Really have nothing to add. Krolik pretty much laid out my feelings. There is no point in me piling on LeBron right now, I can do that tommorow. I will say this though, I was wrong about Jamison. Thoroughly destroyed by Garnett at both ends tonight. The rest of the introspection of this team can wait for another day though. For now, I’m just going to… Read more »
LeBron had been playing at such a high level these playoffs that a clunker was bound to happen. We, as fans, should not take it personal. He definitely looked off tonight. A step slow and tentative, tired even. The big problem is that the team had a collective clunker of a game. Shaq picked it up on his end but it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for everyone else. Boston is a smart group of vets. Even keeled. When they were getting blown out at home during Game 3, you couldn’t look at them playing and tell that they… Read more »
Im desperate here, but how about they just go back to a rotation they are totally comfortable with: the one they had the crazy awesome small ball win streak with. Whats to lose, after all? Doesnt seem like they can win this series with shaq getting so few rebounds, varejeo and hickson never getting into their games. Just a crazy thought.
Never have I ever been as confused as a Cavs fan as I am today. This whole series has been so backwards and unfitting of the team i watched 82 times this season. I realize the playoffs are a different beast, but what the hell was that tonight. There is no possible way you go from an 18 point home loss to a 29 point road win to a lackluster road effort to a completely effortless 30 point home loss all within the same series. Something is up and I’m not afraid to say I am deeply worried. Lebrron has… Read more »
Alright, since no one else is saying it, I will… Maybe Boston is just better than Cleveland? Let’s face the facts, they’ve led by double digits almost the entire series. Looking back at game 1, the Cavs needed a number of things to go there way to overcome that deficit (Mo going off, Rondo in foul trouble, Cleveland hitting tough shots while Boston missed open ones). In game 3, the Cavs shot 59%… amazing considering they’ve shot 40%, 40%, 41%, and 49% in the other four games. Boston’s D, with the exception of game 3, has been extremely good. Rondo… Read more »
keep your chins up guys, we still got this. i’ve never seen so many glum posts throughout the season :(
The most important question is…if the Cavs lose this series to the Celtics, will Lebron congratulate the Celtics players or go straight to the locker room like last season when they lost to the Orlando Magic???
@mos: Let’s hope you’re right.
@Eh: well said.
Bron’s in a funk right now and some day we’ll know why. He is very hard to read at those press conferences. This recap however, was not hard to read because you speak the truth…Always a fan, John.
Oh man, wait til Rich gets back from the game, he’ll have an earful. lol
Let’s not blame LeBron & co. We all have bad days. This one just came at the wrong time. GO CAVS!
I spent many hours trolling the LA boards after The Lakers lost by 40 to the Celtics in the Finals. Karma I guess
John, I agree with everything you wrote, especially the part about shame. There is no rational explanation for his playing THIS tentatively except for the possibility that the elbow is either a) more seriously injured than they are letting on or b) enough to throw him off mentally. Simmons podcasted that it is possible that he doesn’t know how to deal with injuries and needs to feel 100% to be dominant. I thought it was silly but how else can we explain this? Who would have ever thought that he could tarnish his legacy in THIS way? Hopefully I’m wrong.… Read more »
Fellow commenters, please do not feed the trolls.
John, I’m sorry, man.
I’m just some random guy who wandered in here – and here feels like interrupting your friend’s parents in their kitchen fighting when you’re 12 (I am a Celtics fan, after all), but that was one solid recap and an honest self-evaluation. Also, kudos for the perceptive words about Ray Allen. I can’t say I wish you future happiness, but know you will earn an honest satisfaction through the honest introspection that brings true wisdom.
LOLOL….well im sorry but now people in cleveland might be able to see why folks in LA dont cosider lebron the best player in the league, but merely the league best athlete….now every1 is talking about how weak the cavs role players are when they were applauded all season…please…it comes down to lebron and his will to win…I DONT SEE IT….cavs fans probably hate me and this post but hey they know its true…32 at home…wow
Well, there’s no where to go but up, right? RIGHT?
(Looks around, hears birds chirping) Hello?
Krolik, I was waiting for your take before I hit the hay. Sadly, I won’t sleep any better having read it. I think your closing advice is apt. See you Thursday.
Well, it looks like I was profoundly wrong about my Cavs in 6 prediction. Looks like I’ll have to turn it into Cavs in 7.
Well, Cavs in 7 as long as LeBron plays like an MVP. If he chooses to have a repeat performance on Thursday… then I guess it’s going to be a LOOOOOOOONG summer for us.
I agree. This was the low point for me, too. This was positively painful.