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Coach says key principles broke down in Game 1, leading to poor shooting
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, May 08, 2008
BOSTON: It has been seven months and 89 games, but as the Cavaliers prepared for Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, they were going back to the basics from training camp.
After reviewing the game video, Cavs coach Mike Brown said some of the team's standard offensive principles of ball movement and of general rotation broke down in the 76-72 loss in Game 1.
It was surprising considering that the Cavs have been running the same plays for months and, in Game 6 against the Washington Wizards, displayed some of the best movement and execution all season.
That is what the pressure of the playoffs and rough defense from the Celtics' can do to ruin comfort zones. The Cavs shot just 31 percent and struggled getting into the sets. Their spacing, countermeasures and reads were sloppy, which led to turnovers and bad shots. One main issue was with the Cavs keeping the ball on one side of the floor instead of moving and making the Celtics move and adjust.
Most of it centered on LeBron James, who was a terrible 2-of-18 from the field. Almost as hurtful were his 10 turnovers, many of which came when he didn't seem to react well to double-teams that he has seen for years now.
''I wasn't satisfied with the
way we played,'' James said. ''I expect it to be like this every night, and I have to be better prepared for it.''
Brown said he and his assistant coaches picked out 49 clips from Game 1 to show to the Cavs before practice Wednesday at the TD Banknorth Garden. Many of them focused on the way the Cavs didn't move or put themselves in the proper positions to attack the Celtics' defensive schemes.
''They've got a lot of athletes who cover a lot of ground and make up for a lot of mistakes,'' Cavs guard Daniel Gibson said. ''We have to figure out where the shots are going to come from. Sometimes it takes a game or two to figure out how the team is going to defend you.''
The only Cav who seemed to be able to find spots to get shots off was center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who tied his playoff career high with 22 points. Many of them came on jumpers when he set up opposite James.
''They were pre-rotating to us off pick-and-rolls, and it made it tough,'' Ilgauskas said. ''Some of our shot selection was good; they are good but part of it is us just not executing.''
In the past three postseasons, the Cavs have proven to be effective in making adjustments from game to game. In the series with the Wizards, they responded to both losses with better game plans and cleaner execution. After a practice, film work and a shoot-around, there is hope they can continue that trend.
''We can't shoot 30 percent again. We're looking forward to playing better,'' James said. ''We're not down, we've been down in a series before; the series hasn't really started yet.''
Z explains hit
With 52 seconds left in the game Tuesday, Sam Cassell and Ilgauskas got tangled up attempting to get a loose ball. Ilgauskas was called for a foul, and then as Cassell was getting up, Ilgauskas kneed him in the head. Ilgauskas said Wednesday that it was completely accidental and that he wasn't looking at Cassell, he was protesting the foul call with an official.
''I didn't even see him. I definitely wouldn't do anything on purpose in that situation because that is not smart,'' Ilgauskas said. ''I've never done that. I don't kick a man when he's down.''
Dribbles
Gibson and Rajon Rondo of the Celtics will be guarding each other quite a bit in this series, but that is nothing new. Gibson said both guards, who are in their second NBA seasons, have known each other for years. They were in the same age group and played in numerous AAU tournaments and all-star games together. . . . After struggling at the foul line early in the Wizards series, James is 33-of-38 in the past three games, including going 8-of-10 in Game 1. . . . James has at least nine rebounds and seven assists in the past four games.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
BOSTON: It has been seven months and 89 games, but as the Cavaliers prepared for Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, they were going back to the basics from training camp.
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