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Cavs have no banner night, lose opener big
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Nov 01, 2007
CLEVELAND: Opening night had plenty of pageantry at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, complete with the unveiling of the Cavaliers' Eastern Conference Championship banner.
By halftime, though, they might have wanted to hide behind it.
The cracks that littered the preseason are not yet close to being fixed, which was grandly illustrated by the visiting Dallas Mavericks in a 92-74 blowout.
The Cavs didn't just look inferior, which is understandable going up against a powerhouse such as the Mavs, but the team didn't even give itself a chance to compete.
From awful individual performances, led by LeBron James, to shaky defense to the absence of focus, the Cavs played like they were in a pointless preseason game. It was plainly a bad show, and not just because Jerry Springer was sitting courtside.
''We didn't do anything right, we didn't play hard and we didn't execute,'' James said. ''It's the first game; hopefully we can put it behind us.''
That was the same sentiment after a woeful 1-6 preseason, when the Cavs dealt with the same demons of stagnant offense, slow-moving defense and long periods of lethargy. But the light
hasn't come on yet, which showed from the outset as the Mavs' first six baskets came in the paint and the Cavs missed 15 of their first 22 shots.
For the first time in his career, James did not score in the first half. He was saddled with fouls, also a rarity. The Cavs often set him up in the post, a new facet of their offense, but when the double teams came, he often made the wrong decision, or his teammates didn't take advantage of his passes.
Dallas defenders Trenton Hassell and Eddie Jones did a good job of staying in James' face, while Gana Diop (four blocks, 11 rebounds) defended the basket.
James finished with a lowly 10 points and had more turnovers (five) than baskets (two) or assists (four). He didn't get his first rebound until six minutes were left in the third quarter. Combine his 2-of-11 shooting with Larry Hughes' 2-of-12, and it's easily explainable how the Cavs shot 36 percent.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks shot 53 percent in the first three quarters and built a 25-point lead.
''Our energy level just hasn't been there consistently,'' Cavs coach Mike Browns said. ''We're not playing with any snap; we're not playing with any firepower.''
Jason Terry led Dallas by coming off the bench and nailing 6-of-8 3-pointers on his way to 24 points. Jerry Stackhouse put up 17, and reigning Most Valuable Player Dirk Nowitzki squashed James' production with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The only Cav who seemed to play with constant fire was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who kept his team somewhat in the game with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Drew Gooden also put up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. But they were by far the exceptions.
''I don't think it can get any worse than that; we were pretty bad,'' Hughes said. ''We have to play harder, and we have to play smart. We have to take a look in the mirror.''
Dribbles
It was the Cavs' worst home-opening loss since 2001, when they lost by 19 to the Boston Celtics. It was the most lopsided loss at Quicken Loans Arena since April 5, 2005, a 21-point loss to the New Jersey Nets. . . . After making a layup in the first half, Hughes fell hard on his left side, banging his chest and hip, but he stayed in the game. . . . Hughes tied his career high with seven steals. . . . Ilgauskas became the first player in franchise history to make eight opening-night starts.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: Opening night had plenty of pageantry at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, complete with the unveiling of the Cavaliers' Eastern Conference Championship banner.
Get the full article here.
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