Recap: Nuggets 118, Cavs 116 (Or, Losing! I Remember That!)
2010-02-18
Overview: The Nuggets snapped the Cavs’ 13-game winning streak, beating them on a Carmelo Anthony jumper with 1.8 seconds left in overtime. LeBron and Carmelo had one of the best duels of the regular season, combining for 83 points between them.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-Well, the streak had to end sometime. And if it was going to end, this was a pretty spectacular way for it to happen. Regardless of the final outcome, this one was a pleasure to watch.
To have a 13-game winning streak, some breaks have to go your way. The Cavs won against Oklahoma City, Miami, and the Lakers during the streak, and all three games could’ve easily gone the other ways. Tonight, Denver made the shots when they needed to. Something that happens over the course of a season.
-No Z tonight, and no Antawn Jamison either. That left the Cavs thin in the froncourt, and it hurt them. Normally, the Cavs dominate during Z’s first stretch of the game, which comes in the second half of the first quarter. The Cavs’ regular starting five has a negative +/-, but the Cavs have the best scoring margin in the league in the first quarter. What that means is that the second lineup of the first quarter generally has a hammer party.
Z hasn’t looked very good when the game gets tough this season. But during that first quarter, when the ball is moving, everyone’s loose, and the game is prettier, Z has been very effective.
-Tonight, the Cavs had problems in the first quarter after Shaq went out. They tried a small-ball lineup. It did not work. When Shaq went to the bench, the score was 14-13 in favor of Denver. At the end of the quarter, the score was 31-21. 10 of the 17 points the Cavs gave up were on free throws or shots at the basket during that stretch. Things will greatly improve when Jamison joins the roster on this front, but it was a problem in this game.
Speaking of Shaq, he was a beast. He got the team back into the game in the second quarter. He was aggressive every time he got the ball in the first half. He missed some bunnies at the beginning of the game, but didn’t let that tweak his confidence. The free throws were bad, but that’s Shaq. The last two weren’t even close.
-This one came down to the little things. Too many missed free throws, and too many offensive rebounds for the Nuggets. Those extra possessions killed the Cavs in overtime. Denver shot the ball 100 times, 14 more times than the Cavs. When you factor in that the Cavs shot more free throws, the Nuggets still got 7 more attempts. Uncharacteristic for the Cavs, and a killer in a close game.
Microcosm of the issue: early in the fourth, the Cavs were up seven. They sent Chris Anderson to the line. Anderson split the pair, and Denver grabbed the offensive board. LeBron blocked the birdman, then turned it over in the backcourt. ‘Melo hit a three on the ensuing possession. The Cavs were about to start running away with the game, but they let the Nuggets back into it by not securing the ball. I had a bad feeling around then.
-One of the worst things about blogging the Cavs is when LeBron plays a phenomenal game and the Cavs lose. You’re supposed to act like it doesn’t count, but LeBron was incredible tonight. He only shot 3-15 from outside of 10 feet, but he was getting to the rim at will and his passing was spot-on.Nobody does that skip pass better than LeBron, and he was finding cutters all night long. He showed some post moves and some nice shots cutting through the lane. And he did make tie the game with the Cavs down by three with 48 seconds left in regulation and 23 seconds left in overtime. Of course, he missed an off-balance 28-footer as time expired. What a choker. By the way, 43/15/13 with two steals and four blocks has never been done before.
-Daniel Gibson’s defense has been one of the best surprises of this streak. He was in Chauncey’s kitchen all night long, and Billups finished 7-20 from the floor. Gibson has become very effective as a defender, and that will be what keeps him in the rotation.
-On the final possessions: the threes by LeBron didn’t go. They were the right play to make, though. The chances are never good when a team is down by three points with less than a minute to play. Best to go for it all. With 1.8 seconds on the clock, there aren’t great looks available. LeBron slipped, and didn’t make the crazy shot.
Denver took the shots Cleveland wanted them to take in overtime. Carmelo got three contested mid-range jumpers, and the degree of difficulty on Chauncey’s three was very high. They’re great shooters, and they made very tough shots. Tip your hat to them.
On whether or not the Cavs should’ve given their foul on Anthony: Anthony had LeBron faced up. He’s a very smart player. He had LeBron faced up. If LeBron tried to give the foul, he could have easily gone into his shooting motion. LeBron got him to take a contested 21-footer, one of the worst shots in basketball. Carmelo’s a great player, so he drained it. Carmelo shoots 37% from the 16-23 foot range. He was 3-3 from that range in overtime. Again, tip your cap.
-Delonte made some good hustle plays in that second quarter, and had a nice post-up on Ty Lawson. Unfortunately, he didn’t do much after that, and finished with only 3 points in 28 minutes.
-Mo returned! He didn’t look confident creating his own shot, but stuck two nice threes. Also, he was second on the team in assists, getting three of them in 18 minutes. Yes, LeBron had more than half of the team’s total assists again.
-AP looked really comfortable out there the entire game, and was making some really good cuts to the basket instead of only setting up for corner threes. He got the short end of the stick on the Cavs’ last possession of regulation, but a very nice game for him overall.
-Yes, Carmelo walked on Denver’s last basket of regulation. Not something to file a protest over. (Cue Wizards fans yelling about LeBron’s footwork.) It’s hard to tell how many steps guys taking going to the basket, especially on that spin move. It’s a great move if they don’t call it, and they didn’t.
-For all the flak Mike Brown gets for not being creative late in games, three Denver possessions ended with Kenyon Martin taking jump shots. Say what you will about LeISO, but it’s better than a Kenyon Martin jumper.
-Hickson showed why the Cavs didn’t want to trade him. He looked positively Amare-like with those finishes over Nene early, and he added a dunk from an odd under-the-basket angle later on. The biggest thing Hickson should be working on is finishing effectively from odd angles right now, so that was a great sign. Hickson did get quieter as the game went on. That’s the product of a lack of experience. Jamison won’t have that problem.
-66 points in the paint for the Cavs, but only 2 off Denver turnovers.
Alright, that’s all for tonight. Until tomorrow, everyone.
Also did anyone else think that the play for the last shot was terrible? even if he hadnt slipped, LBJ was launching a contested three from well beyond the arc.
I dont think anyone is worried that the Bobcats will win a series in the playoffs; its more that they will grind the series out, and it will hurt the team in the next round/s.
Colin says: February 19, 2010 at 12:40 pm Z has been a bigger factor than you are giving him credit for, Rich. I think Jamison is going to play tonight…. at least I hope he is since that’s what I wrote in my blog post today, haha. I can always go back and fix it, but I don’t really want to. —— Someone needs to point to some empirical evidence on how much of a factor Z has been this year. Krolik posted stats earlier in the season on how Z was responsible for the fewest amount of wins in… Read more »
Rich, they still seem to pose a matchup problem for the Cavs. Since it seems all but assured that the Raptors will take the 5 seed and somebody else (Bulls/Bucks) the 8, we likely won’t have to worry about them, but we still have to play them tonight. If this is the reaction to losing to the Nuggets by two… This is one such instance, though, where I am glad Cleveland’s depth is at the level it is – Jamario and Antawn will not have played last night, so they’ll still be fresh for this game. Still waiting on Powe.… Read more »
Z has been a bigger factor than you are giving him credit for, Rich.
I think Jamison is going to play tonight…. at least I hope he is since that’s what I wrote in my blog post today, haha. I can always go back and fix it, but I don’t really want to.
If the Wiz don’t buy out Z he is going to retire, but we also need to stop pretending that Z was a huge factor in our success this season. He has had less of an impact than Jawad Williams or Delonte West, and I don’t think either guy have been primary components in much of anything this year.
Oh my goodness people need to stop worrying about the Bobcats. There is somewhere around a 1.5% chance they can actually beat us 4 times in the playoffs. They are a whopping 26-26 and we act like they are the second coming of the 1995-96 bulls. They have a guy in Stephen Jackson who has been to 0 all-star games and a guy in wallace who has been to one…the roster does not have nearly the talent we seem to think it does.
Guys, the Cavs lost by TWO points in overtime to the team with the fourth best record in the league. It’s the regular season, and there’s no way you reasonably expect to go 82-0, or even 20-0 over stretches. Last night happened to play into a bunch of factors – missing Z/Jamison, among other things. The fact is, the Cavs can still hang with anybody. Close games are usually crapshoots, and the Cavs have shown that they can both win and lose close games, as expected. Denver’s outscored Cleveland by 2 points in 96 minutes of regulation, and managed to… Read more »
And the two sides of the LeBron arguement. We have people here hating LeISO and wishing LeBron would pass the ball when it counts. And we have people here who are saying LeBron doesn’t have that killer instinct like Carmello Anthony does. LeBron can’t be all things at once.
Anyway, 17 missed FTs is the easy thing to point too. JJ Hickson…2 rebounds in 30 minutes. I mean was he even trying on that end of the floor or what?
For a contrary opinion on the Jamison trade, so that you guys will have something to scorn, click my username link for the negative opining. I made it a 2 parter, so you’ll have to scroll down one entry to read it in a linear way. I figured you guys should at least see the other side of the trade, from a Cavs fan, no less.
Ryan – I could not agree more that we will have the “Curse of Z” until everyone’s favorite 7’3″ Lithuanian returns (hopefully). Question to John or the board – Will the Cavs have to cut a player if Z comes back? My math skills tell me the team currently has 15 on the roster and Z would make 16. I believe the league max for players under contract is 15. If that is the case, who would the Cavs cut? Telfair, Green, or Jackson would be my guesses, but I doubt Mike Brown would want to lose wither Green or… Read more »
Regarding JJ falling off later in the game, he continued to cut and look for his seams, but the Nuggets were paying attention to him more and were cutting off his lanes.
Which is fine, it keeps the defense honest and forces them double-team Shaq or LeBron at their peril.
That nasty dunk of his in the first quarter made me feel a lot better about not getting Amare!
Seriously? Complaints after that game going to the wire with half a Mo, no lineup continuity, or the all-star PF we just traded for? Not to mention no Z to put more pressure on their bigs. Denver hit brutally difficult shots down the stretch (and had their full team), we shot terribly (FT and 3’s), and LeBron was only about an inch left on the game winning three, or this is a victory. Chicken Little called guys, he said it’s going to be okay. And I can’t wait till next season when the Knicks get the 2nd pick on one… Read more »
Statistically speaking, those three-bombs should have gone. I’m not real good at stats, but Lebron shot 1 for 9 from three land last night. If his shooting had reverted to the norm (30 something percent) he would’ve been more like 3 for 9, which would have done the job.
Oh and by the way, Mike Brown’s career winning percentage is .665. Mike D’Antoni’s is .558. And D’Antoni had Steve Nash, so don’t even say MB is just riding Lebron.
was i the only one who was disappointed to not see the ball touch boobie’s hands behind the 3 point line during the final stretch at all?
@DJ i have come to calmly accept that Lebron is going to do what lebron wants. I dont even think MB has any say in that. He did his LeISO thing at the ALL-Star. THE ALL-STAR. and then during this game he kept chucking up threes even when they were clearly not going to in. I think he somehow reasoned if i do this long enough at some point its gotta go in. Inspite of the fact that even my 10 y/o cousin knows by now it wont.I guess when he ridiculously fills up the stats we cant really say… Read more »
John,
I’d like to be the first to introduce everyone to a new term….”The Curse of Zydrunas Ilgauskas”
Hey John, have you seen the comments Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson made about the Z buyout and potential come back.Check it out. I think instead of making the point they were trying to make, they might have just exposed the depth of their hypocrisy. If he does come back, am glad he’ll cause some sleepless nights with some people.I still dont understand why people are so upset.probably because they just cant fathom the idea of Shaq getting some rest.Or maybe its the Z jumper from the corner.Oooh Well.
No, LeBron can blame the crappy coach and crappy supporting cast. Wait ’til he comes to New York where he’ll have D-Wade and Mike D’Antoni. They won’t lose games like this.
Well if LBJ is so upset about the loss, he can only blame himself. (What?!? Didn’t you see that crazy line?!?) His one glaring weakness (besides insisting on LeISO at the end of games) is horrible FT shooting. 12-17 IS INEXCUSABLE. PERIOD. Especially for someone of his capability. Shaq going 0-6 and AP 3-5 don’t help either (especially SHAQ…WTF?), but LBJ should be an 85% FT shooter. Minimum. And he’s not. In close games, that, offensive rebounding and turnovers are where games are won/lost, not the last :30. Cavs must get better at all three, because those are their only… Read more »
@JP I agree, Lebron was very upset with that lost. It was written all over his face. Where I disagree is the killer instinct. I think it is a false narrative that Lebron doesn’t have a killer instinct and that to have one, you must take every shot. Lebron “controls” the game like no other in the game today. I think this team is successful because of the trust Lebron has in his teammates, and because they know of his trust, they perform better. I just believe killer instinct is more than scowling, barking at teammates, and taking every shot… Read more »
I really think that the longer a streak such as this goes, the more a team starts feeling invincible and faceplants against a worse team. Was worried about a post-trade adjustment period, but this was more of a mid-trade thing, really. Luckily, we’re still 1 game ahead + tiebreaker on the Lakers. Our final record itself shouldn’t matter, except to ensure that we have homecourt. I’m afraid that this gives confidence to the Nuggets, though. I know the Lakers are the supposed juggernaut, but they know they can beat the Cavs on the road as well as at home. I… Read more »
Cavs have to win 14 straight… LeBron knows it, watch this next stretch, i don’t care who it is against, the next 14 games will be phenomenal.
It was good to see LeBron hurting after the loss – it was all over his face. I am a massive LeBron fan but the thing that really bothers me about him is there is a big question mark over whether he has that killer instinct – there was that space of play either near the end of regulation or midpoint through OT where Melo was demanding the ball every time down the floor and LeBron went back to “Magic” mode trying to find players -it would really be good to see him up the competitive fire in games –… Read more »