Worst game of the season? Worst game of the season. It wasn't exactly a surprise unless you were ignoring the obvious signs. The Sixers came out with way more energy and jumped out to a big lead in the first half. The Cavs kind of hung around and didn't let the game get too out of hand, but were never able to cut into the lead. It ended with a 99-84 loss to Philadelphia and dropped the Cavaliers to 10-16 on the season.
Cavs Leaders: Points: Jamison, 20; Rebounds: Jamison. Thompson; 8, Assists: Sessions, 8
Quick Thoughts:
The idea that this game was going to be horrible was pretty clear to me. It was Cleveland's fourth game in five nights, the Sixers are a really good team, and the Cavs were without their two best players. Initially, it seemed the Anderson Varejao merely had a sprained wrist, but an MRI revealed that he had a fracture in his wrist. Ugh. Once this was announced, it seemed like much of the excitement and energy around the Cavaliers dissipated. Without their star rookie and emotional leader, the Cavs had nothing to offer and sleepwalked through this blowout.
Semih Erden is terrible. He's really really bad. He's damn near useless, actually. Starting in place of Andy, Erden had 0 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 fouls. Impressive. He basically just stood there, fouled people, and occasionally accidentally had a rebound fall into his lap because he's tall. Way to go, Semih.
Ben Uzoh made his Cavaliers debut, but by the time he entered the game, I had basically stopped paying attention. He was in for just 5 minutes and didn't do a whole lot. He played well in the D-League so he should be able to provide some decent minutes while Kyrie Irving is hurt and if we trade Ramon Sessions. An aside about Irving: he should be good to go for Wednesday's game against the Pacers. WOO!
Remember my key matchup for this game? If you don't, it was between Daniel Gibson and Evan Turner. Unfortunately, I was wrong about this one as neither guy played very well at all. I'd go ahead and say that Turner ultimately won the battle because Boobie shot a miserable 3-11 from the field. Bleh.
Tristan Thompson went 0-6 from the field. He did grab eight rebounds, but otherwise it was a rough night. He seems to be having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after his injury.
Notable Performances:
Anyone want to guess the three guys that had a notable performance? (Hint: it's the only three good players left alive). If you guessed Alonzo Gee as one of them, you're right! You win...uh..something. Gee played decently well and had 17 points and 6 rebounds. He's consistently improving and almost becoming some sort of offensive threat on the perimeter. That's crazy.
Antawn Jamison continues to play some pretty solid basketball. Once again, he doesn't care at all about whether he's even facing the basket when he shoots, but they tend to go in. Tawn paced the team with 20 points and did it on 50% shooting. He might just play himself into a deadline trade.
Fear The Sword's Player Of The Game:
Ramon Sessions
You've got to love the way Razor Ramon is playing right now. With Irving going down, Sessions continues to prove that he can competently run an NBA offense. He had 19 points and 8 assists to just 3 turnovers. Sessions is going to get traded eventually and if he keeps playing like this, the Cavs will get a pretty nice return for him.