Recap: Cavs 109, Knicks 102 (Or, HOLY CRAP THE CAVS WON.)
2010-12-18Overview: The Cavaliers broke their 10-game losing streak with a 109-102 overtime win over the New York Knicks. Mo Williams led the Cavs with 23 points and 14 assists, and Anderson Varejao grabbed 17 rebounds and held Amar’e Stoudemire to 8-19 shooting from the field.
OH MY GOD WE WON Bullets:
– Wow. That was awesome. It didn’t look good for the Cavs, especially since the Heat pulled a win out of their behinds just before the end of regulation — that was a bad omen, considering the concurrent streaks. But they pulled it off. Let’s break it down.
– It looked like the Knicks were on the verge of blowing the game open in the first half. They were pushing at every opportunity, capitalizing on every Cavs turnover, and making their threes. The Cavs stayed in it by pushing the break themselves and matching the Knicks shot-for-shot. The team looked comfortable in the full-court game, and Razor Ramon and JJ even had their moments.
– In the second half, the Knicks stopped making their threes, and their spacing got out of whack. Just like they did on Friday night, the Knicks responded to offensive adversity by relying on Amar’e isolations. On Friday night, Joel Anthony was able to stop Amar’e in isolation. On Saturday, Anderson Varejao made Stoudemire’s life a living hell all night long. Amar’e got his 23 points, but he needed 19 shots to get them, and he committed eight turnovers in the process. As bad as the Cavs have been defensively this season, Varejao has been bringing it all year. Not many teams run their offense through their center anymore, but every team that’s tried it against the Cavs has had serious trouble scoring on Varejao.
– While Varejao carried the defense, Mo Williams carried the offense. He hit the game-tying basket with three seconds to go, racked up assists, and absolutely carried the team in overtime when he smelled victory. He wanted this one more than the Knicks did, and now the losing streak is finally over.
– Props to Jamison and Parker as well — they were scoring from everywhere on the floor, and the Cavs needed both of them to keep up with the Knicks’ relentless offensive pace.
– That’s really all I have right now. The Knicks were a perfect matchup on a back-to-back, but even still it feels really, really good to win. Let’s see if the Cavs can actually start a winning streak now.
Full rebuild (in my dreams) 1. Trade Mo Williams for a 2011 first round draft pick. 2. Trade Andy in a 3 team trade with Nets and Thunder. Nets get: Jeff Green, Thunder 1st round draft pick. Nets lose: Nets 1st round draft pick. Cavs get: Nets 1st round draft pick, Thunder 2nd round draft pick Cavs lose: Andy, 2013 Miami 1st round pick, 2 2nd round picks. Thunder get: Andy, Miami 1st round pick, Cavaliers 2 second round picks. Thunder lose: Jeff Green, 1st round draft pick. 3.Trade Antawn Jamison and trade exception for a mid 1st round draft… Read more »
@ Ben: Actually, Boston was terrible after Bird retired and Reggie Lewis died (which is how they drafted Paul Pierce); the Lakers were briefly a lottery team before getting Shaq & then Kobe; the Pistons had their low point after the Bad Boys got old; the Spurs were awful at the right time, twice, to draft David Robison & then Duncan; and Miami was bad before drafting D Wade. And Rich, Boston’s not an exception to the “draft your franchise player” norm, since they drafted Pierce (their best player in ’08) and Rondo (their best player now). I think the… Read more »
Ben, I’ve been a Cavs fan during the “usually very good, but not quite great” Price-Daugherty years; the “just good enough to get to the playoffs” teams of the mid-to- late ’90s; the absolute stinkage that preceded drafting Lebron; and the great title chase of recent years with Lebron. To me, the toughest time to be a fan was the mid-to-late 90’s. They always had a decent record, but there weren’t exciting to watch, and you knew they’d get swept in the 1st round of the playoffs. I’d rather see them truly rebuilt, even if that means another season like… Read more »
everyone’s all about trading our best guys in HOPING we get solid first round picks….the okc model worked cuz they got f’n kevin durant and green in same draft….they got lucky…then next year they get russell westbrook who turns out waaay better than people imagined…so we are basically counting on that kinda luck….the best player in college is irving who is hurt or we trade our guards and try to land kemba walker from uconn or we hope one of the msu guys are solid dudes…but most spartans dont translate well to the pros….shannon brown needed right system to be… Read more »
I was at the game. A couple thoughts: As I watched, we turned the ball over as if we were trying to lose. Luckily Stoudamire had an off night and Andy had an “on” night. At one point when Stoudamire came to the bench, he threw a towel, shouted some words which were probably uncomplimentary and sat there for a portion of the 3rd/4th quarter. When watching live, Andy does more than you even think while you are watching on TV. Amazing effort. And, as I said above, mercilously annoyed Stoudamire into taking him out of his game. Stoudamire got… Read more »
BTW, Varejao would be fantastico on the Thunder.
Ben I honestly think you have that backwards. When you haven’t won a title in forever, settling for being good really isn’t an option. At least that’s how I feel. I could honestly care less if we win 45 games 5 straight years and make the playoffs w/o any real hope of winning a title. Maybe other CLE fans feel different, but I speak for a great number who feel like I do. It’s titles or nothing. As for OKC, good lord, they’ve had one good season and are now entering number 2. Can we give them ANY time before… Read more »
The worst part for the Thunder is that they HAD Tyson Chandler for nothing two years ago… then he fails that physical and they back out of the deal.
Bet they’re kicking themselves now…
For a city that hasn’t won a damn thing since 1964, I think most of us would be happier to have a “good” team than a consistently awful team with the future chance of being “great.” It is probably frustrating for Jazz fans, for example, that they haven’t won anything despite having a good team almost every year. Despite that frustration, it must be a hell of a lot more entertaining than having a god awful team that spends half the season playing for better lottery chances. If you have a good front office, you can build a very good… Read more »
Why do you trade Andy? Because he’ll bring back the biggest haul, and he’s already 28 meaning by the time the Cavs do get back to contending, he’ll be washed up. THAT’S why you trade him now.
Even if (and i don’t think they are) they are that close to being “good” with another piece, that only puts the Cavs further away from being great.
Go Cavs!! Great to get a win and to watch Andy giving Stoudemire fits. Keep up the good work Krolik and Colin.
Good win for the Cavs!
Having multiple players in double figures is the way this team is gonna get some wins.
Hopefully the momentum swings their way and they get a couple more for a confidence builder.
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds
We’re back up to 0.1 percent in Hollinger’s playoff odds!
Also, how was Varejao +0 in 41 minutes? That pretty much never happens in Cavs wins, however small a sample size we may have.
No, we actually aren’t far away from being good. We are far away from being great and we have been accustomed to being great for that last few years. But good? Not so difficult. Really, if we had a good wing player who could hit an open shot AND play decent defense, we would be right back in the playoff hunt. We still won’t win anything big, but we could squeeze in. We cannot, under almost any circumstanced trade Andy and expect the fanbase not to revolt. (led by me) Seriously. Z and Andy have been my favorite players for… Read more »
I see what you’re telling me HoopsDogg, and I’m not buying it. Teams that lose 10 in a row are a little farther away than one player from being good.
I don’t quite get why we’d trade Andy. He’s Joakim Noah. He’s the kind of guy you need once you get a good player. I’m telling you if we can con someone into giving us a wing player we could be good. Also, why is Manny Harris buried again?
I don’t understand how someone like Varejao can be such an ace on defense. It actually boggles the mind. Yep, right here: mind is boggled.
ANderson Varejao, slowly becoming worth more than a mid first rounder. It’s gonna take a serious deal to get this guy.
I loved this game. Really liked what everyone did, even boobie who did not have a good shooting night played hard and got 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
ANDERSON VAREJAO!!!!! absolutely great game from him. and thats all that needs to be said.