This has been the week of streaks for the Wine and Gold. Actually the week of broken streaks. On Sunday the Cavaliers lost their first home game of the season to the Los Angeles Lakers after 23-straight wins. Tonight, the Cavaliers lost 2 straight games for the first time in 2008-2009, falling to the Indiana Pacers 96-95 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Let me get the obvious out of the way early. The two fould called in the last second were what can be good and bad in the NBA. First, LeBron was fouled on the first play by Danny Granger. Granger bodied LeBron, not allowing him to go and get the ball. The 2nd call, the one on LeBron, was simply a bad call. LeBron went straight up and blocker the pass. It was a make-up call and a bad one at that. I know it is easy to think, since I am a Cavs fan, that I am biased, but I'm being objective. All I ask is for the officiating to be consistent, and in the NBA, it isn't.
Now that I have that out of the wya, the Cavaliers didn't deserve to win this game. They have beomce the Cavaliers of 2006-2007 all over again. They play some defense when they want to, they take alot of perimter jump shots, and they rely on LeBron to score points. LeBron socred 47 points tonight, in a game that Cleveland scored 95. The Cavaliers are not going to be successful if LeBron James is scoring 50% of the team's points. Period.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the injuries. Wally Szczerbiak has done an excellent job this year. He has a role, however, and the Cavs need to keep him there. Wally played 41 minutes tonight because of all the injuries to the backcourt and scored 6 points. Add that output to Daniel Gibson, who hasn't gotten going all year, and the Cavaliers got 12 points on 4/15 shooting from the two-guard. The Cavs won't be successful if that is all they get from 2. Period.
The All-Star Break cannot coe fast enough. The Cavs look tired and have lost their focus, especially on the defensive end. Indiana has played the best team in the Association tough this year, especially on their home floor where they have beaten LA, Boston, Orlando and now Cleveland. The Cavs won't have much time to think about it as the Phoenix Suns come to town tomorrow night. Then, its off to Phoenix for Mike Brown, LeBron James and Mo Williams. For the rest of the team, get some rest and get ready for the stretch drive. It's gonna be one helluva ride!