Cavaliers sleepwalk to 86-85 loss to Bulls
by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Nov 5, 2009 10:17 PM CST
in 2009 Post Game Recap
11 comments
Maybe this is the new motivation for the Cavaliers this season. Last year, the Cavaliers seemed to be on a mission the entire regular season to get the 1 seed in the East, to win every game they played. The result was 66 wins, 39 of those at The Q. It also ended in a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.
No need to worry about that this season - at least through 6 games.
In a game that the Cavaliers seemed disinterested in playing for large parts of the final 3 quarters, a late LeBron James energy boost was not enough to beat a young Chicago Bulls team. First of, credit the Bulls. There were several times a young team could have folded - they didn't. Instead it was the Cavs that played poor perimeter defense. It was the Cavs that turned the ball over at key times and it was the Cavs that couldn't hit the big shot when needed.
Even the final play was flawed - especially in design. With 4.3 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers trailing by one, Mo Williams inbounded the ball to LeBron, with Shaq setting the pick to clear him. Nothing wrong there - except for the one guy I would imaging Shaq was supposed to get to - Joakim Noah - was the weakside help that caused LeBron to lose the ball out of bounds, ending any hopes the Cavs had of winning.
Many will say there should have been a foul called - and in truth we have seen less get called at times. Fairly speaking, however, the officials did a good job of swallowing their whistles for both sides late in the game and there was very little contact - just a lot of long arms.
Even if you think there was a foul, the Cavaliers played poorly enough - for long stretches - to hardly deserve the win. The Wine and Gold had plenty of opportunities to take the game over in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters but failed to pt the Bulls away. It was a team effort for Chicago, with 5 players in double figures lead by Luol Deng's 15. Derrick Rose added 14 points and 11 assists.
For the Cavaliers, it was LeBron leading the way with 25-7-6. His play, at times, seemed uninspired, perhaps because of two nasty falls - one when he rolled his ankle running off the court after a foul - the second when he landed hard on a seat diving for a ball out of bounds. Both shots seemed to take LeBron's energy away, at least until the final seconds when LeBron single-handedly nearly pulled it out for the Cavs.
There was more trouble for an offense that looks more and more like it misses John Kuester. Kuester, now the Head Coach in Detroit, ran the Cavaliers offense last season. The offense lacks creativity and movement, either focusing on giving the ball to Shaq, or LeBron.
The Cavaliers shot just 40.7% from the field, and just 12-20 from the FT line. The Cavs committed 12 turnovers as well. Chicago turned the abll over just 7 times, leading to ZERO points for the Cavs. The Bulls were the faster team right from the start.
The struggles for the bench continued as well - Daniel Gibson scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting. Everyone else? A combined 1-18 for Z, Delonte and J.J. Hickson. Z was 0-9 from the field and once again appeared to have no clue on either end of the floor when paired with Shaq.
Meanwhiles, Jamario Moon was a DNP. Wasn't Moon brought to Cleveland to match up with teams like Chicago that are long and athletic? Something has Moon firmly planted on Mike Brown's bench while Ilgauskas and Anthony Parker(4-9, 11 points) waste their minutes on the floor(Z played 21 minutes, Parker played 35).
One bright spot for the Cavaliers was Anderson Varejao. Andy seems to have found his groove playing next to Shaq, putting together back-to-back double-doubles. Tonight's 12 points, 13 rebounds was a solid effort. Varejao also lead the team with a +11. Shaq added 14 points and 10 boards, along with 5 blocks.
All in all it was an ugly loss. Perhaps it was the way the Cavaliers lost the game - sleepwalking - that bothers me the most. we have heard many times this summer that the Cavaliers can't do anything during the season to make up for their playoff loss. I agree, to a point, but Champions play championship basketball all the time - not just in April, May and June.
Up next is my favorite time of year - LeBron's yearly flirtation with the New York media as the Cavs get right back on the florr tomorrow night against the Knicks.
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Call me crazy...
But after reviewing that final play (which I don’t think warrants a foul call by the way), it seems Lebron takes 3 steps.
An offensive player may end his dribble by alighting off of one foot and landing simultaneously on both feet.
He gathers the ball, takes a step, jumps off that foot as if to be doing a jump stop (which requires that you land on both feet simultaneously, but he instead lands on one foot, immediately followed by the other which counts each foot landing as a step, making it steps 2 and 3. It was not a legal jump stop, so to me, he traveled even before he got not-fouled.
The only gray area is when he gathers the ball, using NBA rulebook terminology, and it certainly stops dribbling and gathers the ball with one hand by palming it, then alights off one foot to make an illegal hop step.
I’d love to start a YouTube channel dedicated to Lebron’s travels. They would be CHALK FULL.
My swag was phenomenal.
by se7en on Nov 5, 2009 10:33 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
And when it is called consistently
For every player in the NBA, all the time, then its an issue. It’s not.
FTS
SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers Blogger
by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Nov 5, 2009 10:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
This loss wasn't about LeBron
making or not making the last shot or whether or not he was fouled..It’s about this being TWO entirely different teams….MB has to realize that trying to make Shaq “fit into the Cavs mold” will only result in disaster…when Shaq is on the floor, they need to pound the ball inside and run the offense through him…when Shaq is on the bench, they need to play like the Cavs of last year…as long as they continue to settle for outside shooting as the first option, they’ll be in a lot of games like this one
by cavslandrocks on Nov 6, 2009 12:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
an outsiders question: wouldnt it make more sense for shaq to come off the bench than Z?
i mean, Z, Andy, LBJ, west, mo, that was a 66 win team. why cant shaq just look for his own shot when LeBron is tired or on the bench? his ability to create his own shot could bolster the second unit, which seems to struggle at times. right now the offense just looks awkward.
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by TheMoon on Nov 6, 2009 12:50 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Z and shaq
I think the reason the second unit looks so awkward is the presence of the ‘twin tower’ experiment. I don’t think Z knows what his role is. and its painful when he struggles to put in chippies and grab those rebounds about 5 feet from the rim.
I woudnt have minded seeing moon , especialy when Z’s outside shooting wasnt dropping.
hindsight 20/20 i guess. Im confident they’ll learn to mesh with each other before the end of the year.
by apod on Nov 6, 2009 1:21 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I don’t think Z knows what his role is.
I think this is exactly right. We’ve really diminished Z’s relevance on this team and how he fits is a great question.
by Western Reserve on Nov 6, 2009 11:18 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I’m not going to lie, I know that it is ridiculously early, but I’m starting to get a little worried.
Just start Delonte West already. I’m also hoping this isn’t going to be one of those seasons where each night we wonder: “Ok, which Cavs team are we going to see tonight?”
by Simmsinns on Nov 6, 2009 2:08 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Michael "Alias Doug Collins" Brown
needs to be out of here. He doesn’t have clue, although probably a nice guy. Moreso Danny Ferry is making so many mistakes it’s brutal. Shaq!
Both Shaq and Z ages add together would place them in elderly care facilitiy, therefore it would match their similiar slow playing ability.
LBJ will be history in CAVS town, and it really is warranted because MB and DF don’t have a clue. Many teams are being run in the back office and coaching staff (Bull’s incl.) by individuals who are making this NBA a sub par bush type league.
No offensive strategy, just give the ball to your best player and let him go 5 on 1.
I’m not really a CAVS fan, but I’m a LBJ fan, and it’s painful to was this style of basketball being played by the CAVS. Both the CAVS and Bulls aren’t even entertaining to watch, college games are even more strategic and played better with offensive coordination.
The CAVS will improve a bit, but I don’t see elite team status. The CAVS picks up over the last three years are just flat out puzzling? (Mo Williams? Ben Wallace? Shaq?)
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by exult463 on Nov 6, 2009 6:29 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
The Bulls were very entertaining
to watch in the playoffs back in April and the Cavs have shown flashes of being the team they were in 08-09…As for MB…Most people readily acknowledge that he is very sound defensively but bash him for his (lack of) offensive understanding…..This is such an oxymoron since in order to stand out defensively, you have to have a deep understanding of how different offenses work….It is after all the same set of Xs and Os just from a different perspective…Have all of you people who continue to bash this man stopped to consider that it just MIGHT be the inability of the players to consistently execute-for whatever reason-the game plan laid out for them??…Case in point: Do you really believe Brown wants a 1 on 5 as much as it happens?..It happens because the four guys on the court not named LeBron suddenly grow roots… Or do you think that he’s happy with Moon or Parker or JJ getting a quick outlet only to pull up for a three or a long jumper with no other Cavs in the vicinity of the basket to rebound while the shooter stands there admiring his errant shot?…As opposed to attacking the basket…With as many athletic players as Cleveland has and their ability to seemingly “turn on”(and off) the ball movement schemes that made them so successful last year, anyone who really pays attention to this team has no choice but to lay the blame for losses like this at the feet of the true culprits….The players themselves…The one thing I will fault MB for is his inability to use Shaq correctly…get him the ball when he is in a position to hammer it home….NOT for baby hooks and 5 foot “jumpers”..They can’t continue trying to imitate the Magic’s “jump shot barrage attack” and be successful…this team HAS to be an inside-out team especially when Shaq is out there….whether it happens because of dribble penetration or pounding the ball to Shaq when he’s on the floor, or a combination of both
by cavslandrocks on Nov 6, 2009 7:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Bench
At some point we have to get better bench play out of everyone not named Daniel Gibson. The “Twin Towers” ideal is just bad, how long before they see this and change up the rotation?
by KYBengalsFan on Nov 6, 2009 8:10 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
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