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Do IT this week: Layering
66-win season seems like an eternity ago as Cleveland faces elimination
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 06:08 p.m. EDT, May 27, 2009
ORLANDO, FLA.: The Orlando Magic seem to have put us all in some sort of weird netherworld.
All the happy Cavaliers postseason news conferences . . . the awards . . . the puppet commercials . . . plans for the parade . . . the end of the hex . . . the misguided anger at Charles Barkley . . . heck, even LeBron James' game-winning shot in Game 2 . . . it all seems so long ago, or so far away.
One hates to go on limbs, but it's probably safe to say few in this area expected things to go this way in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Cavs are down 3-1, staring at an early summer vacation.
The series might not be over, but in Cleveland, where each loss weighs heavier than it should, it might feel that way.
But . . . as James often says, a series is never over until a team wins four games, and the Magic have won three.
By any mathematical equation, three does not equal four.
The Cavs have the next game at home, and the half-full view points to the fact that the Cavs have been stellar at home, and the Magic are one of the eight teams in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead.
That was a much different Magic team, but it shows it can be done.
When James met the media Tuesday night, he barely seemed fazed. Tired, perhaps, but not fazed.
If James is weary, who can blame him, given he has been carrying the entire team on his back?
He's having an all-time playoff series, averaging more than 40 points per game, but his team trails 3-1.
The flip side is that the series easily could be 2-2, or even 3-1 Cavs.
The Cavs scored 100 points in regulation in Game 4, a figure that usually equals a victory.
The Cavs have played defense the way they want to play defense, and it hasn't worked at key moments.
They've even scrambled the lineups.
Coach Mike Brown has tried Wally Szczerbiak, then gone to Sasha Pavlovic before coming back to Szczerbiak.
Through three games, he used Joe Smith, but in Game 4, he went with a small lineup and used Daniel Gibson.
The Cavs lost, so one could say it didn't work.
But the Cavs had the lead with seconds left, and Delonte West was run over/missed a loose ball, which allowed the Magic to set up an in-bounds play that freed Rashard Lewis for a 3-point that put the Magic ahead 100-98.
Many questions were asked why Ben Wallace was covering Lewis.
My question: Why not Wallace?
His size should give a shooter like Lewis problems. The problem was Wallace was bumped off the coverage by Dwight Howard, who stuck his hind end out as Wallace chased Lewis.
No Cavs defender could have avoided that pick, not even James and especially not the other options like Pavlovic or Szczerbiak.
Blame has become a big game, but in this case, the other guy made one heck of a clutch pick, and clutch shot.
To overcome this large deficit, the Cavs need to forget a lot of stuff and remember some other stuff.
They have to forget what happened the first four games and win one game. They need to remember their crowd, which (hopefully) will show up and be loud and supportive.
A win sends the series back to Orlando, where the Magic will feel the pressure of not wanting to return to Cleveland for Game 7.
Mo Williams somehow needs to remember how he played in October, November, December and the rest of the regular season.
With all their troubles stopping the Magic — and they are many — the Cavs would have won two more games had Williams merely shot 50 percent.
He has competed and, in Game 4, showed hints that he was coming around, but in the end, finished 5-for-15. The loss made Williams' between-game words and guarantees the object of ridicule.
If Williams is going to talk, he's got to back it up.
Either that or his words will ring in his head through a very difficult offseason.
The Cavs also might need to forget everything they've practiced and preached and believed on the defensive end for the past few years.
Their approach is to take away the interior, to pack the middle.
The Magic, because they have the inside presence of Howard, are built to counter that approach. The Magic spread the floor and set up 3-point shooters so that Howard then can operate inside more freely.
Still . . . when regulation ended in Game 4, Howard and the Magic's two other main weapons, Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis, all had fewer than 20 points.
Even with Williams struggling, the Cavs had scored 100 points — mainly due to the non-stop effort and excellence of the league's MVP.
Those are the kind of games the Cavs want.
Those are the kind of games the Cavs win.
They didn't because, as James said, they did not come up with key and needed defensive stops at key moments.
The Cavs have continued to double-team certain players. They have continued to start games with James on Rafer Alston.
It's not working.
As well as James has played, Alston drove right into him for a second-half layup that James did not challenge. Usually, he blocks that shot.
The Cavs might need to Velcro defenders to the Magic's shooters. Take away the 3-point line. Eliminate the disparity that has seen the Magic make 42 3-pointers to the Cavs' 24.
This would require forgetting everything Brown has taught since he has been coach, and going away from his system.
But it might be necessary.
If Howard scores 40 points, he scores 40 points.
Making a 3-pointer with a hand in the face is a little more challenging than making a 3 with a Cavs defender racing cross-court to try to somehow disrupt the shot.
James might need to guard Turkoglu or Lewis the entire game.
It's asking a lot of him, but much is asked from those to whom much is given.
The Cavs are down 3-1. Holding steadfast to a system just because it has been the system might prove to be nothing but stubborn. The idea is to win.
The Magic have dictated the pace and play of the series.
They have not been forced to adjust, or to deviate from their plan.
The Cavs have done a lot more right than the 3-1 deficit would indicate. But they've done enough wrong to be down 3-1.
It's high time the team that won 66 games during the regular season dictated some of the terms of this series.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
ORLANDO, FLA.: The Orlando Magic seem to have put us all in some sort of weird netherworld.
All the happy Cavaliers postseason news conferences . . . the awards . . . the puppet commercials . . . plans for the parade . . . the end of the hex . . . the misguided anger at Charles Barkley . . . heck, even LeBron James' game-winning shot in Game 2 . . . it all seems so long ago, or so far away.
One hates to go on limbs, but it's probably safe to say few in this area expected things to go this way in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Cavs are down 3-1, staring at an early summer vacation.
The series might not be over, but in Cleveland, where each loss weighs heavier than it should, it might feel that way.
But . . . as James often says, a series is never over until a team wins four games, and the Magic have won three.
By any mathematical equation, three does not equal four.
The Cavs have the next game at home, and the half-full view points to the fact that the Cavs have been stellar at home, and the Magic are one of the eight teams in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead.
That was a much different Magic team, but it shows it can be done.
When James met the media Tuesday night, he barely seemed fazed. Tired, perhaps, but not fazed.
If James is weary, who can blame him, given he has been carrying the entire team on his back?
He's having an all-time playoff series, averaging more than 40 points per game, but his team trails 3-1.
The flip side is that the series easily could be 2-2, or even 3-1 Cavs.
The Cavs scored 100 points in regulation in Game 4, a figure that usually equals a victory.
The Cavs have played defense the way they want to play defense, and it hasn't worked at key moments.
They've even scrambled the lineups.
Coach Mike Brown has tried Wally Szczerbiak, then gone to Sasha Pavlovic before coming back to Szczerbiak.
Through three games, he used Joe Smith, but in Game 4, he went with a small lineup and used Daniel Gibson.
The Cavs lost, so one could say it didn't work.
But the Cavs had the lead with seconds left, and Delonte West was run over/missed a loose ball, which allowed the Magic to set up an in-bounds play that freed Rashard Lewis for a 3-point that put the Magic ahead 100-98.
Many questions were asked why Ben Wallace was covering Lewis.
My question: Why not Wallace?
His size should give a shooter like Lewis problems. The problem was Wallace was bumped off the coverage by Dwight Howard, who stuck his hind end out as Wallace chased Lewis.
No Cavs defender could have avoided that pick, not even James and especially not the other options like Pavlovic or Szczerbiak.
Blame has become a big game, but in this case, the other guy made one heck of a clutch pick, and clutch shot.
To overcome this large deficit, the Cavs need to forget a lot of stuff and remember some other stuff.
They have to forget what happened the first four games and win one game. They need to remember their crowd, which (hopefully) will show up and be loud and supportive.
A win sends the series back to Orlando, where the Magic will feel the pressure of not wanting to return to Cleveland for Game 7.
Mo Williams somehow needs to remember how he played in October, November, December and the rest of the regular season.
With all their troubles stopping the Magic — and they are many — the Cavs would have won two more games had Williams merely shot 50 percent.
He has competed and, in Game 4, showed hints that he was coming around, but in the end, finished 5-for-15. The loss made Williams' between-game words and guarantees the object of ridicule.
If Williams is going to talk, he's got to back it up.
Either that or his words will ring in his head through a very difficult offseason.
The Cavs also might need to forget everything they've practiced and preached and believed on the defensive end for the past few years.
Their approach is to take away the interior, to pack the middle.
The Magic, because they have the inside presence of Howard, are built to counter that approach. The Magic spread the floor and set up 3-point shooters so that Howard then can operate inside more freely.
Still . . . when regulation ended in Game 4, Howard and the Magic's two other main weapons, Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis, all had fewer than 20 points.
Even with Williams struggling, the Cavs had scored 100 points — mainly due to the non-stop effort and excellence of the league's MVP.
Those are the kind of games the Cavs want.
Those are the kind of games the Cavs win.
They didn't because, as James said, they did not come up with key and needed defensive stops at key moments.
The Cavs have continued to double-team certain players. They have continued to start games with James on Rafer Alston.
It's not working.
As well as James has played, Alston drove right into him for a second-half layup that James did not challenge. Usually, he blocks that shot.
The Cavs might need to Velcro defenders to the Magic's shooters. Take away the 3-point line. Eliminate the disparity that has seen the Magic make 42 3-pointers to the Cavs' 24.
This would require forgetting everything Brown has taught since he has been coach, and going away from his system.
But it might be necessary.
If Howard scores 40 points, he scores 40 points.
Making a 3-pointer with a hand in the face is a little more challenging than making a 3 with a Cavs defender racing cross-court to try to somehow disrupt the shot.
James might need to guard Turkoglu or Lewis the entire game.
It's asking a lot of him, but much is asked from those to whom much is given.
The Cavs are down 3-1. Holding steadfast to a system just because it has been the system might prove to be nothing but stubborn. The idea is to win.
The Magic have dictated the pace and play of the series.
They have not been forced to adjust, or to deviate from their plan.
The Cavs have done a lot more right than the 3-1 deficit would indicate. But they've done enough wrong to be down 3-1.
It's high time the team that won 66 games during the regular season dictated some of the terms of this series.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/. Follow Pat on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/patmcmanamon.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:33 PM, 05/27/2009
Let the Cavs insults begin.
Tepplin, DC
Posted 08:37 PM, 05/27/2009
F*ck Orlando
Akron, OH
Posted 09:28 PM, 05/27/2009
If the Cavs share the same fans as the Browns then Jester I'm afraid you're dead-on.
I imagine the 5th post will be someone calling for Quinn to replace James.
Canton, OH
Posted 09:49 PM, 05/27/2009
"HERE WE GO BROWNIES, HERE WE GO !!!! "
CLEVELAND, OH
Posted 10:29 PM, 05/27/2009
YOU GUYS I WAS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING...DO YALL REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD CHANCE TO SIGN SHAQ!ALL THIS DOUBLE TEAMING AND RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES TO BLOCK SHOTS WOULD'NT BE GOING ON...DANNY FERRY AND MIKE BROWN BLEW IT!SHAQ HAD ONE OF THE BEST SEASON .HE WOULD HAVE GAVE US THE DEPTH WE NEEDED.WE SHOULD HAVE GOT SHAQ NO MATTER HOW MANY YEARS HE GOT LEFT IN HIM,WITH LEBRON DRIVING TO THE WHOLE,SHAQ DUNKING ON DUDES LIKE HE INSANE,MO WILLIAMS THROWING UP THREES,DELONTE IN THE PAINT.WE HAD OUR CHANCE...WE HAD OUR CHANCE...
Cleveland, OH
Posted 12:21 AM, 05/28/2009
Fishmeer is LOUD, but correct (turn down the caps fish!). I think we all would agree Cleveland is a Football town. Then comes baseball and, as of recently, basketball is a very close third. CAVS have (still do) the unique chance to steal this town and be right up there with the Brownies if not take over #1 in our hearts as Cleveland's #1 sports team.
But Noooooooo they want to make us bleeeeeed and try to 'get by" with just James at the helm.
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy - but HE DESERVES a quality team mate like a Pipen or a Shaq - someone who can be counted on to contribute.
Until then we can only dream, Cleveland sports will remain in the shambles it is, and LeBron will move on. *sniff-sniff*
Naples, FL
Posted 07:23 AM, 05/28/2009
It's time for the Cavs home crowd to become a factor as the "6th man". Not just after a LeBron slam or a Mo 3 but when the Magic are on a run and things are not looking good. There can't be silence in the Q no matter how things are going. It only takes one game to turn it around and the Magic can't keep these stats up. One game at a time baby! Go Cavs! Go Cavs 6th man!
Bluffton, SC
Posted 07:25 AM, 05/28/2009
Believeland! Don't fret! Keep the faith! If any team can, the Cavs can!
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:48 AM, 05/28/2009
Season ends tonight and countdown to bye bye BronBron begins. Cleveland will always be Cleveland when is the last time this franchise won an elimination game? 1976 seem plausible?
Hiram, GA
Posted 07:54 AM, 05/28/2009
Slovensko, you are kidding,right? Now look for the tribe in the World Series this fall!
Akron, OH
Posted 08:20 AM, 05/28/2009
A message to the Cavs: Guard the 3. Take the shots and don't hesitate. Draw all the fouls you can and make your free throws. Don't go for the big shots if you can't make them. And every once in a while, take a glance up to the top of the arena to look at the ECF Championship banner from 2007. And GET IT DONE.
Posted 08:49 AM, 05/28/2009
I hope all the whiners don't hurt themselves jumping off the bandwagon.
medina, oh
Posted 09:29 AM, 05/28/2009
Z, 7' 3" and can't dunk. Can't guard a guy much smaller then him. Can't hang on to the basketball. Can't make a bunny. Doesn't have a bread and butter shot from the post. Get rid of him. Immediately. Then get a true power forward to replace wild man. Get one good guard that can shoot and who is over 6' 2" tall. Do all of that, and you might win a championship. Don't do all of that, and you'll never win a championship. It's that simple. Oh, and by the way, get a coach.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Posted 10:07 AM, 05/28/2009
I think you just might see Mike Brown resort to the defensive set that Patrick suggests in his article - an all-out effort to contain the perimeter shooting, with Howard basically left to do his thing in the paint. If it works, it would be great, but unfortunately it would be an adjustment made way too late in the series. I'd like to try and be a good sport and say "thanks for the great season" to the Cavs, but that kind of also-ran gesture just isn't in my playbook anymore. The wry humor that is connected with being a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan just ain't funny at all anymore. Having said that...Go Cavs.
Posted 11:57 AM, 05/28/2009
Miracle in Richfield it ain't.
Posted 11:58 AM, 05/28/2009
Don't throw in the towel yet people, we can have our own "magic" on our home turf. Time for the fans at the game to really turn it on at the game. Bring your flags, tambourines, cymbals, trombones -- whatever it takes to distract Orlando (especially during their fowl shots!) Just to return the kindness that we received at their games in Orlando.
Ravenna, OH
Posted 12:38 PM, 05/28/2009
Look who they beat in the playoffs, a bunch of old men from Detroit and an injured team from Atlanta. Now they are facing some real competition and the King is about to be dethroned.
Posted 12:50 PM, 05/28/2009
Shaq was not going to help this team. The truth is that several players have been playing below their talent level in this series. Mo Williams, Delonte West and Z have all been doing poorly. They way they played all season and through the first 2 rounds the Cavs would be up 3-1 or 4-0 at this time. But they aren't scoring, and aren't defending as well (the wide open 3s are killing them).
Posted 01:02 PM, 05/28/2009
I think the fact that they're up against Orlando is the biggest factor in that, not that the Cavs are playing below themselves. Their record against the top teams hasn't exactly proven that they're the best team out there. The playoffs are a different animal than the regular season.
Paradise, Oh
Posted 01:10 PM, 05/28/2009
Lennie Wilkins and Austin Carr made a sweet backcourt there for a little while. It was classic.
Tallmadge, Oh
Posted 02:12 PM, 05/28/2009
Lebron needs a sidekick - a wingman, someone to take the heat or help start the fire. He can't do it all alone - Williams, West and Z just aren't cutting it.
Posted 04:30 PM, 05/28/2009
Hannaman,
You are correct that part of it is Orlando, the Cavs just don't match up well with them. But what other teams this year (top or otherwise) had a winning record against the Cavs? I don't have the numbers but could look them up. I believe that the Lakers were 2-0 vs. the Cavs, but how many other teams had a winning record or even .500 vs. the Cavs.
The truth is the supporting cast just hasn't been playing very well in this series. In game 3 the Magic played horribly, Howard on the bench for many minutes, Turkoglu couldn't make a shot. But what happened, the Cavs couldn't capitalize on that poor play with Mo and Delonte shooting a very low percentage.
They need to play better, and make some changes on defense. They are not out of this series yet. How many people thought they could win game 2 down by 2 with 1 second left?
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 10:00 PM, 05/28/2009
Well, so far in tonights game, they (Cavs) were up by as much as 12 for most of the half and then at halftime, they lead by 1. Go figure.
