Links To The Present: December 21, 2010

“I thought our guys were focused. I thought we played hard. But there were still too many mistakes defensively, and they took advantage of pretty much every one of them.” [Byron Scott via Mary Schmitt Boyer]

“The way they played, they pretty much plugged the paint up. They want you to shoot jump shots. We took what the defense gave us. I thought at times we still could have maybe made the extra pass or taken one more dribble to the paint to force them in a little more, but it wasn’t offense. It was just the fact that they did a pretty good job of clogging us up on the defensive end and it’s a part of our game that we have to continue to work on.” [Byron Scott on the Cavs’ 28 three-point attempts]

“Can the Cavaliers continue to take and convert double-digit three-point attempts to bear fruit?  During their three-game winning streak earlier this season, the offense was predicated upon shots at the rim (30, 22 and 23, respectively) with less focus on long-range.  But since December 15th, a night which may very well be a turning point in efficiency and effort, the Cavaliers are averaging only 18 shots at the rim compared to 25 three-pointers.” [Scott Sargent]

“I know that the Princeton offense is predicated on offensive players taking what the defense gives. I just can’t believe that the only way to beat the Utah Jazz is to keep firing up 3-pointers and hope they go in. Surely the nine teams that have beaten the Jazz so far this season have done more than that. I also can’t believe that after the performance Anderson Varejao put on against the New York Knicks on Saturday he’s a complete afterthought on Monday. Yes, the Jazz defend a lot better than the Knicks, but the problem I see is that the Cavs never seem to do the same thing well for two games in a row _ never try to do the same thing well two games in a row.” [Mary Schmitt Boyer]

“Hickson was the one guy who was not going to be traded, the one Cavalier who is young and gifted enough to be an impact player. Handed a chance to start in front of veteran Antawn Jamison, Hickson discovered what life is like for most NBA players. The easy layups and dunks left town with James. The soft approach in the dressing room departed with Brown.” [Terry Pluto]

No Twitter today. I’m currently in a train station with terrible wi-fi after having been on a train from Chicago to NY for 15 hours. Take pity on me, dear readers.