Eastern Semi's Game 5 - Boston 120-Cavaliers 88 - The Silence of the Cavs
by AncientMariner on May 11, 2010 11:05 PM CDT
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To say more than is absolutely necessary about tonight's game against the Celtics would be an exercise in futility. There was nothing good to be seen tonight, with the exception, I suppose, of Shaquille O'Neal stepping forward with a pretty good game. In fact, the big man had 21 points to lead the Cavaliers. But, as I said in the game thread, when Shaq is your leading scorer at this stage of his career in any game, you've got some major problems.
So tonight I will dispense with numbers and percentages, and will instead ask about one thing that does not show in any box-score or stat-sheet...
Heart.
I saw a Celtics team tonight that knew what had to be done, who came in to a frenzied environment and took not only the fans, but the Cavaliers, completely out of the game. As I also said in the game thread, I saw the heart of a champion tonight, and unfortunately, it was in the team with the green jerseys.
Do the Cavs have that kind of heart? I would like to think that they do. I would like to think that Cleveland will go into Boston on Thursday night, into that same frenzied, hostile environment, and send a message that we are not going to go down quietly, that although we have not, collectively, won any championships, that does not mean that we do not have the heart to become a champion.
But that message has to be sent on Thursday. There is no more room for error, there is no chance of bouncing back from another loss, it is now or it is nothing, and if the message is not sent Thursday, it will be October or November before any more messages can be sent...and, whether we want to think about it now or not, the messengers might not be the same by then.
Heart. That is all that is left, and it will be shown now, or other hearts will hurt, or be angry, or break.
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost tonight. The Cleveland Cavaliers must win their next two games or the season is over. That is all that needs to be said, or thought about, for the next two days.
C'mon Cavs, got to make it happen!
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It was ugly...
wonder which Cavs team will show up Thursday?
by inquisitiveman on May 11, 2010 11:12 PM CDT reply actions
not a cavs fan, came here to read comments
Tough loss guys, sorry. Real topsy-turvy series you guys have. Celtics blog said you were all shooting each other or drinking kool aid or something, wanted to see if it was true.
Anyway gl rest of the series, you still got the MVP, anything can happen.
Celtics Blog can go take a flying leap.
Marte = Victory
by woodsmeister on May 12, 2010 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Just because Turk says something doesn’t necessarily make it frikkin’ so, now does it?
by JulioBernazard on May 11, 2010 11:32 PM CDT reply actions
I still believe.
"You are an LGT success story" -- Jay
by Turkmenbashi on May 12, 2010 6:30 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Disappointing. We can only hope that now that we’re one game away from being out of the playoffs every player will be focused and at their best, and that we’ll play at our best…like we did just two games ago. Either Lebron shows up playing like the mvp he is, and the supporting cast from Mo to Jamison to Varejao and everyone else plays like the fine-tuned unit they can be or we’re looking at an early summer that could potentially take us from contender to lottery team.
You're right, Ancient Mariner, it is Do or Die time
You’re right, Ancient Mariner, it is definitely Do or Die time.
Another terrible performance. At first it looked like “Lebron on Rondo” was a good idea, but over the course of the game, it clearly backfired. What we gained in Defense, we more than lost in Offense.
By now I know that everyone is sick of numbers and stats, but at the risk of further angering a legion of disappointed Cavs fans, I will throw this out for consideration:
In last year’s Conference Semifinals, the Celtics won games 2, 4 and 5, and then went on to lose Game 6 and Game 7.
Can we raise a chorus of Steely Dan for the Celtics? “Do It Again!”
by BrownsCavaliersIndiansForev on May 12, 2010 1:00 AM CDT reply actions
Playoffs is about one thing—matchups. Not stats. Defense and rebounding win championships. Varejao did a better defensive job on Garnett than Antawn, but Jameson still needs to be out on the floor. Shaq is winning his matchup with Perk, put Varejao on Garnett, Parker on Ray Allen since AP is hitting nearly 60% in 3’s and is still hustling, and LeBron is the only one that can matchup with Pierce. So that leaves Jameson to guard Rondo, and Jameson can’t do any worse than anyone else has on the Cavs. Give Rondo the outside shot by having Jameson sag off into the lane. This is the best defensive matchups that the Cavs can put on the floor against those five of Boston…
Matchups Are Important, But Intensity Rules!
Matchups are clearly a big part of game strategy, but when all is said and done, INTENSITY is what wins championships. The type of Intensity that Lebron and the Cavaliers brought to Game 3.
Boston is a great team, but they can be beaten in Game 6, and they can be beaten in Game 7.
by BrownsCavaliersIndiansForev on May 12, 2010 2:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Not a Cavs Fan
But that was a tough loss for you guys I’m sure.
I was really just curious about how everyone on this forum about the open disappointment and booing of the team from the fans at the Q. Do you all feel that it was warrented because of the team’s play, or do you feel it was inappropriate for fans boo the team. It seems like a trend that has been developing lately that home fans will boo their team if they are losing, and I have never been witness to anything like it here in the Northwest. I’m used to teams like the blazers being down 16 with 4 mins left in the game and the fans standing and cheering “lets go blazers” to show we are with them.
Sorry about the soapbox, but I’m really curious what this community thinks about the action of the fans tonight.
Good Luck on Thursday
by oregonsportsaddict on May 12, 2010 5:18 AM CDT reply actions
I think it’s a perceived lack of hunger that’s calling down the boos. The fans want to see the team giving 100%, especially at this point. As LeBron said, we’ve seen this team at their best, and this is a far cry from it.
If the fans felt the Cavs were playing to their full potential, you’d hear nothing but cheers.
The way the team played yesterday, they deserved to be booed. They were horrible in every phase of the game. They got outplayed, outhustled and outcoached.
Marte = Victory
by woodsmeister on May 12, 2010 8:35 AM CDT up reply actions
Not to be contrary . . . but I guess to be contrary . . .
Wasn’t the Portland fans booing the team during the Jailblazers era?
Taking a 20-30 point deficit late in the game is rough, and I can understand the booing. Especially since I’m assuming the Cavs fans despise the Celtics and this was on their home floor.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
Celtics fan here
Just came on to see how everybody is holding up. kinda want to see the reaction of the cavs fan do you guys turn your back on Lebron who has gave his all and stuck through all the bad teams he was apart of because of a sucky postseason game?i hope the celtics win in 6 because we do not want to go back to the Q for game 7, well i would wish you guys goodluck but then i’d be lying
as for match-ups
I don’t know if I like the idea of Jamison on Rondo. Sure the length is great, but AJ is 34. Asking for a lot there.
I really think Brown should go bigger, slide Moon or Jawad in at the two have them annoy Rondo with their length. Take Mo Williams out of the game, he needs to ride the pine for this series, imo.
Looking back on the series, the most game-changing play was Shaq fouling the living crap out of Rondo. At the point, I think Shaq can take (or better put, give) one or two for the team.
I’ve always defended Mike Brown int he past but I think I’m at my limit. Why aren’t we running? Why isn’t Brown using Shaq and Z to deliver hard fouls to Rondo to discourage him from entering the lane? Why is Mo still playing most of the game?
In the end though, if the players don’t start playing with more fire changes in strategy will be meaningless.
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