Links To The Present: March 15, 2010
2010-03-15
“After taking just four shots and scoring just six points in the first half, the game broke open when James did. He started calling plays for himself, especially a middle pick-and-roll. The Celtics, in an situation no one is used to seeing from them, couldn’t defend it.” [Brian Windhorst]
“After making 6-of-8 shots against the Celtics, Varejao is now shooting a sizzling 75 percent (47-of-63) in the nine games since O’Neal went down. He’s even shooting 71 percent from the foul line (17-24), which is rather strong for a guy with a 60 percent career average.” [Brian Windhorst]
“Celtics coach Doc Rivers used the word “frustrating” four times while describing Varejao’s impact.” [ESPN Boston] When do we get an ESPN Cleveland?
“You control him and you control all of that – the offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls,” Kevin Garnett said. “He’s high energy, they have more of a rhythm out there, and he sticks to his role. If you’re going to beat this team, then you have to control him.” [Boston Herald]
Dr. Jack Ramsay thinks bringing Z back is a bad idea. He also thinks the Cavs are the best team in the NBA.
Windhorst on Rasheed Wallace: “Anyone who watched him in the Cavs-Pistons playoff series last season, when he was supposed to be highly motivated, knew he was never going to be an All-Star again.”
“Probably deserve more kudos than they’ve been getting. Only nine of 20 respondents in ESPN.com’s preseason polling picked them to win the East. Don’t remember many (if any) predicting an East runaway for the Cavs.” [Marc Stein’s Power Rankings]
The next time someone says “The Cavs are only good because they play in the East….” You can let them know the Cavs have (by far) the best record in the NBA against the West.
“Worse for Boston, Cleveland’s not exactly a top-flight offensive team, though they have been sneaking up the rankings after a slow start, and Boston is tops in defensive efficiency (giving up about 102 points per 100).” [Ball Don’t Lie] Cleveland is a top-flight offensive team.
“The Cavs? They are now 29-4 at home. They’ve won nine of 10. And they are 28-9 when playing teams with a .500 record or better. They also will get O’Neal back in the next two-to-four weeks.” [Pat McManamon]
“For a few minutes, Marquis Daniels took a turn in defense of James. The result was a travesty, with LBJ using his 2-inch and over 60-pound weight advantages to simply power his way to the rim as though Daniels was made of straw.” [Charley Rosen]
“If the Bobcats (34-31) meet the Magic in the first round of the playoffs, it will be the third consecutive year Ratliff will have faced Howard at playoff time. He was back with Philadelphia last spring for their six-game series, which gave the Magic some surprising problems. He was with Detroit two years ago when the Pistons blanketed Howard and beat the Magic in the second round.” [Tim Povtak] I think we need to start rooting for Theo Ratliff in Cleveland!
The Bobcats beat the Magic @ Orlando without Crash. They’ve now defeated the Cavs and Magic on the road and only lost by 2 points @LAL (won at home against LAL too)
Since the trade, Bill Walker has averaged 11 ppg on 60% shooting while Nate Robinson has averaged 7 ppg on 40% shooting. Ouch!
Why Can’t Boston get a guy like…
Danny Granger would bolt a championship contender to play for NY. His chucking abilities would fit in perfectly there.
Fun Tweets:
“Dear Cavs fans: Mentioning LeBron’s free agency is not the same as predicting he will leave, or rooting for him to leave. That is all.” [Howard Beck]
“Cavs win 104-93 behind LeBron’s 30 (24 in 2nd half) then play Celtics’ victory song (Bee Gee’s U Should be Dancing) to rub it in a little.” [Brian Windhorst]
“Oooo-weee RT @IronJ146: I heard it. Seriously, though…what up wit dat?” [Lang Whitaker]
In the Coaches Rankings (Road Wins minus Home Losses):
Cavs +19
Magic +13
Lakers +13
Nuggets +12
Mavericks +12
there is an ESPN Cleveland, though they obviously didn’t put much effort into it
http://www.espncleveland.com/
He said she said me said we said
oooowweeeeee
What up wit dat? What up wit dat?
Guess who the Cavs’ two best shooters on long 2’s are?
#1: Delonte West
#2: Anderson Varejao
Wat up wit dat?
Wat up wit dat?
What offense wouldn’t be good with LeBron? What offense woudln’t struggle without LeBron? Should Mike Brown and the Cavs apologize for being good on offense because they have LeBron? I gotta say…
Wat up wit dat?
Krolik owned the “offense” argument a while back in his “Mike Brown’s a good coach” piece. The Cavs have better offensive players now, so they play better offense. There’s no way the Cavs have better offensive players than the Lakers though – and their offense has been WAY better than the Lakers this year. Same with the Magic.
The Cavs have plenty of memes that won’t go away. So does the city of Cleveland.
Thanks for rebutting two of my least favorite sports memes all in one links to the present: (1) The Cavs have a middling to bad offense and (2) Mike Brown is a middling to bad coach. Oddly enough, I think LeBron is the reason why these ideas won’t die–I think there is an implied “The Cavs would have a middling to bad offense without LeBron” and “Mike Brown would be a middling to bad coach without LeBron” in each of these types of comments. Unfortunately, those of us who think these implications are as faulty as the actual statements have… Read more »
“When do we get an ESPN Cleveland?”
As soon as someone besides the Cavs are relevant… which means not for about 50 years or so considering the moves the Browns and Indians have made.
(Seriously, Im not a Browns fan, but what in the hell are they doing?)
…about as redundant as ESPN New York.
ESPN Boston? Isn’t that redundant?