That was Ooogly
Man, that game was an eyesore. However, do not blame San Antonio. I repeat do not blame San Antonio. That was a Cleveland Cavaliers game through and through. I have watched enough of their games this season to notice their style of ugly-ball. Plenty of standing around on offense, hoisting stupid shots, and multiple offensive rebounds to kill time. Check, check, and check. On the defensive end, they clogged the lane and clobbered drivers. It looked a lot like the old Spurs when Popovich first started coaching the team.
With all that said, the first few minutes of the game were exciting. The young Cavs came out firing under the roar of their home crowd. Heck, even Big Z showed signs of life. Then everything went to slop, until the final 2:30 of the game. To be perfectly honest, there is not much else that I remember about the game. I even put together the road bike I just purchased for my future Mrs. Hoops while the game was going on. (This was my way of getting her to train with me for a mini-triathalon).
I do have some thoughts on the final play. I think Mike Brown played it properly when he told LeBron to push the ball in the final 40 seconds of the game in the hopes that the King could create a transition bucket. Then, he should have taken a timeout. There was no reason for the Cavs to dribble around and kill 18-20 seconds before the awkwardness that is Anderson Varejao attempted a pivot move in the lane against Tim Duncan. That was bad.
LeBron did get fouled on the final play. The ref swallowed his whistle, like they always do at the end of the game, and Bowen actually waited too long to foul James.
Drew Gooden had six fouls last night, and none of them ever should have been committed. I am really starting to dislike the Gooden-Varejao tandem for LeBron’s future. Sure, they grab a lot of offensive rebounds, and Varejao draws a lot of charges, but they are so spastic on the court. Gooden is a complete liability on the defensive end, and he too often plays like a four-year-old who forgot to take his Ritalin. Sure, you can tell him something, but there is no chance he’s listening or comprehending it. And 99% of the time he’s just going to run out there and do whatever he wants. Varejao, on the other hand, is so limited in what he does. He’s a hustle guy, but he has no offensive abilities whatsoever. (Clearly, this was evident at the end of the game).
I can’t imagine why Daniel Gibson could not hit a thing last night. Perhaps, it has something to do with the fact that his minutes had been so limited this season that his legs just weren’t ready for the playing time he got last night. It is a shame too, because everyone was calling for this, and Gibson just did not have the stamina to keep up his lights-out shooting. He did contribute a great deal on the defensive end, though.
The most efficient players for the Spurs on the offensive end last night were Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry. If Cleveland couldn’t win last night, they OFFICIALLY have no chance to win a game.
Did you ever think that the current Donyell Marshall could be the corpse of Big Smooth Sam Perkins? Marshall moves as well now as Perkins probably does, and nobody ever attacked the rim at a slower pace.
Rumor mill: The Celtics may be making some plays here. They are rumored to be working on a deal with Phoenix and Seattle to acquire either Shawn Marion or Rashard Lewis. From the looks of it, Lewis would go to Boston if Gerald Green (another H-town boy) were not included in the deal. I’m not sure what would make this deal work, but I’m assuming Boston would have to put together a package that included Theo Ratliff’s deal, a young player like Rajon Rondo, and something else to sweeten the pot (pick #5 may be too much to ask for Lewis though). If the C’s can get Robert Swift or Johan Petro out of the deal, more power to them.
