Recap: Cavs 104, Celtics 93 (Or, of new dynamics and old legs)
2010-03-14
Overview: The Cavaliers once again proved too relentless and too deep for the aging Boston Celtics, putting the Celtics away with a 15-2 run in the second half of a 104-93 victory. The Cavalier bench outscored their counterparts 27-15.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-First bullet goes to Anderson Varejao. What a game by Andy. The Celtics’ frontline is still formidable, but they don’t move the way they use to and prefer to play physical rather than use their quickness. Anderson Varejao was built to make life miserable for opposing bigs who don’t move well and like to clutch and grab.
Varejao beat KG on cuts when he watched the ball, he snuck under guys to grab offensive rebounds, he beat guys to the spot on defense, and he tangled everybody up and frustrated them to draw five fouls over the course of the game. The Celtics had no idea what to do with Varejao’s quickness, energy, and physicality, and it gave the Cavs a definite advantage inside.
-LeBron started the game off being very passive, looking to control the game with his passing. Hickson, Varejao, and Jamison were all able to get open looks against the Celtics’ frontline, and LeBron was looking to utilize those matchups instead of daring the Celtics bigs to rotate on the ballhandler, which they’re still very good at.
In the second half, LeBron got more aggressive, and broke out a beautiful array of finishes to deal with the Celtics’ weak-side help. He went up-and-under, he used his off-hand and switched sides, he uses some floaters from inside 10 feet, and was able to punish the Celtics in the paint. The one downside was that LeBron did get forced to take too many tough jumpers, and he went 1-8 on deep twos. Also, the one three LeBron made might have been the toughest shot he’s taken all year. That was just nuts.
-Mo Williams continues to impress, nailing some cold-blooded threes and looking good running the offense. And the best part is that Rondo didn’t torch Mo on the defensive end. I’d still like to see Mo get some layups in a half-court situation sometime soon, but he looks to be getting his confidence back.
-Antawn Jamison got the looks he wanted, but couldn’t get them to go down. His open threes went short, his funky floaters couldn’t find the rim, and he went 2-8 from the free throw line. (Something is now officially wrong with Antawn on the line. He’s in his own head now. I don’t know how this one will end.) He was doing all the right things, but the ball wasn’t going in for him.
–Nobody else was doing great things for the Cavs, but just about all the rest of the role players had their moments. Definitely a team effort to wear out and eventually break the 2008 NBA champs.
-After Antawn Jamison hit a layup to put the Cavs up 17 with 6 minutes to go, the game definitely loosened up. It wasn’t quite garbage time, but it was far from full intensity. I’d call it “stuff in the attic time.” The Cavs got outscored 19-13 during that time, and LeBron missed four long jumpers during the final half of the fourth. Just one of those things that tweaks the final score and the box score after the game.
Bullets of Randomness:
-Anyone catch when the Cavs PA played the “wish-wish-woosh” after Rasheed made a free throw? Maybe he was just tired of waiting for the Cavs to make one.
-I saw it happen, and I still can’t believe Michael Finley managed to get 7 shots up in 16 minutes. Combined, him and Rasheed went 3-15 in 33 minutes.
-I can’t describe how happy I get when Rasheed goes to kneel at the scorer’s table. It’s a very pure sense of joy.
@Brian, for the season he is, but if I were to go dg up say the last 15 games, It’s going to be way below that..as a matter of fact I think I will
I love Andy as much as anybody, but that elbow wasn’t from out of the blue. Andy threw Ray down to the ground. The elbow was an over-reaction, but it was retaliation for a less-than-squeaky-clean play from Varejao.
As far as this game goes, fantastic job by allthe Cavs! How anybody can claim the Celtics are better than us is a mystery at this point, but if they don’t believe now they will in the playoffs!
P.S. I’d like to add the infamous elbow of ray allen to the list of unwarranted punk moves by the Celtics. I guess it just makes me love the Cavs more that they’re not a bunch of delinquents.
Great win for the Cavs. Nice to see Andy really stepping up. I think I hate Boston as much as any team in the league in that they are talked about (until recently) like they are still title contenders. They are even mentioned in the same breath as the Cavs, I’ve even heard they’re still better than the Cavs from some. Their players also talk so much crap and they’re just dirty. Last night K.G. took a swipe at LeBron’s face, Paul Pierce pushed LeBron like a little baby. Then there’s the Glen Davis/Shaq thing. Finally, lets not forget the… Read more »
@Rich: Lebron’s shooting 77% from the line. He’s not the problem. But I agree the Cavs cannot afford Jamison doing a Shaq imitation at the line, come playoff time.
Re; Mo, you know what’s better than a layup from the half-court offense? An assist off of Mo driving the lane. To my recollection, he had at least 2 big assist in the 4th quarter off of dribble penetration. Boston played him to shoot, so he passed off for an easy layup by a teammate. No need to take the tougher shot in that situation, very good play by Mo. He could have zero layups, but if he dishes to Cav bigs after driving the lane all will be good
@NUPE – I’m pretty sure the last time I heard about the Shaq situation is that the team doctors actually told him to stay home until the cast is off or something to that effect. He’s just supposed to stay at home for two weeks doing nothing that could potentially put the thumb at risk. I think he’s supposed to be rejoining the team sometime this week.
It’s sad that the Celts seem to be playing so much dirty ball. But I guess frustration and lack of athletecism etc. can be a bitch.
Only real question/complaint about the Cavs I have is where is Shaq? Eventhough he’s injured, why isn’t he with the team – giving JJ pointers about what to do as center? I would think he would still be working with the team and staying mentally connected. Anyway, I hope at the least he’s staying in game shape.
Powe contributed well in this game and could have been given a bullet of his own.
If Lebron hadn’t sat out Milwaukee, the cavs would be on a 10 game win streak right now, and I see no games in their remaining schedule that even really worry me:
-Detroit, indiana, chicago, detroit, new orleans, san antonio (not even scary anymore),sacramento, milwaukee, toronto, indiana, chicago.
-Atlanta twice, boston and orlando once more each.
If they really want to, and mike brown doesnt sit Lebron at the end of the season again, I reckon they could have another great win streak to close out.
I’ve given up on FT shooting for this team. It’s in Jamison and LeBron’s heads. I dunno if they can turn it around this season..just might have to be something to overcome, but it will be a mighty something to overcome. 3 guys in the starting lineup (shaq is one when he gets back) who are just flat out shooting TERRIBLY from the line (obviously, this is expected of Shaq)….not good at all.
Andy for 6thMOY! Seriously, it’s nice that he’s getting more appreciation from the media, but he should be winning this award hands down. Every time I hear or read something about the 6th man race, Jamal Crawford is the frontrunner and Andy is lucky to get a mention. You would think the leading rebounder on the NBA’s best team (how often is that guy a bench player?) would have the inside track, especially when he’s clearly been the team’s second-most valuable player all year. And if you won’t give it to him, at least give it to Lamar Odom, the… Read more »
I too love it everytime ‘sheed would get subbed into the game; its just laughable at this point. Oh , and that goes double for big fat baby; just a pleasure to watch him try and guard anyone.
Best parts…LeBron gets interviewed by Lisa Salters about his real weight. LeBron gives a cryptic answer, smiles and begins to walk off. Lisa, unsatisified, asks LeBron what he really weighs as he walks away. LeBron shrugs and heads to the locker room. Nice try Lisa Salters.
Gilbert’s fake teeth were awesome.
Winning. That too was a good part.
I watched the first half and came away somewhat annoyed that the Cavs let them hang around. I started watching again in the third just as Ray Allen tied the game, and even then I wasn’t concerned. Just knowing LeBron was on the team was comforting. I tried to get mad when the Celts started resorting to some “questionable” tactics, but I just couldn’t. At the end of the game, I just feel bad for them. They were good. They were really good. And now… they’re not. And they are trying so hard to hold on. Ainge needs to blow… Read more »
JK – I did notice the swoosh-effect after Sheed’s FT. I too was perplexed. But what I really loved was at the completion of LeBron’s game-winning interview, as he makes a break for the tunnel you see Dan Gilbert put a pair of joke teeth into his mouth. I think his hope was TheBron would see these and crack up as he went off to the locker room. It looked like he never noticed, but there he is – billionaire owner of the Cavaliers – wearing these: http://www.toothfairyteeth.com/proddetail.php?prod=chester
I loved how at the end of the 2nd quarter LeBron had Perkins on him and Mike Brown called a 20 second timeout and Mo threw his hands up and went “AWW NAWW!!!!!” That was awesome.
Cavs are a far superior team to the Celtics. They need to worry about the Magic and the Bobcats in the East.
The Cavs are looking good for their first NBA title. They outplayed the Celtics again. Orlando seems to be the one team that could give them trouble, but I don’t see them beating the Cavaliers in the playoffs. LeBron is the key to this team and it is scary, when you realize verything depends on him. He is a beast and can take a beating, but no one is invincible. Another serious poke in the eye and the Cavaliers season could be over.I hope that he can stay healthy. Check out this article: “LeBron James Has Hopes High in Cleveland:… Read more »
I would like to point something out. Jamison had an off game and YET he still had a double double. Before Jamison, the only Cav that could have an off game and still post decent numbers was Lebron!
Jamison will be the key to the championship this year. Great trade!
I attended this game and I came away disgusted with the play of the Celtic’s. Just so many plays that they call “hustle” or “energy” to use fat baby’s own words seem dirty. Watching Ray Allen run up behind Andy in the lane in the second and pull a football block into his back at almost full speed, this is not a basketball pick, was horrifying. Watching Kendrick Perkins “innocently” trip two Cavs on the way back to his basket and then run through LeBron in a 5 second sequence also completely amazed me. I was just waiting for KG… Read more »
^ I’ve hated ‘Sheed ever since back in his ‘Blazer days when he threw a towel in his own teammate’s face (Arvydas Sabonis) during a huddle because he made some mistake (am I the only one who remembers that?); & his couple hundred toddler-liike tantrums also helped fuel my opinion.
My brain is still catching up to the fact that a team featuring KG, Ray Allen, Pierce, Rondo, Rasheed, Perk, and Findlay could suck this bad. 5 years ago, that crew would have been unstoppable (ok, Rondo would’ve still been in puberty but still). I never had a moment’s doubt we’d win this game, which (as a lifetime cavs fan) is rarely true. Even during the Philly game on friday, I was saying “we’re one missed jumper away from losing this one”. In this game, I was smiling every time the C’s banged in a 3 – “way to go… Read more »
It’s so great to see Andy getting his due in the mainstream media. For years now Cavs fans have seen what he can do off the bench and it’s now time for everyone else to catch up. The ABC crew were absolutely gushing over him and they even threw up a +/- chart (do they do that often?! I’m sure they’re afraid that the casual viewer will get confused) that had him second in the league…behind LeBron of course. Big Baby is the new Rasheed Wallace, as in a guy that I really hate. I don’t hate ‘Sheed anymore because… Read more »
I wonder when we will get the obligatory column on ESPN that the Celtics are still favorites “when healthy.” Fact is that teams window has closed faster than anyone thought possible.
When big baby landed on Jamison, I laughed so hard. That was, hands down, the funniest play I’ve seen this year. Somebody still needs to make that fat loser pay for intentionally hurting shaq, though (eventually).
I know LeBron prolly wanted to beam the ball at KG’s face after he took that swipe at his eye. & same for Jamison after Big Baby (Yea I Said It!) jumped on him. The Cavs played basketball, but I was equally impressed by their restraint.
My reaction early on to Varejao’s mid/long range jump shot…
No, don’t
OMG HE MADE IT..
well, this is andy’s game now…