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Hawks provide next test after second-half collapse against Pistons in defeat
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Saturday, Nov 22, 2008
INDEPENDENCE: Cavaliers coach Mike Brown hopes that his players learned something they can use from their loss Wednesday to the Detroit Pistons, beginning tonight with the Atlanta Hawks (7-4) swooping into Quicken Loans Arena.
Going into halftime against the Pistons, the Cavs (9-3) led by 11 only to let the Pistons take it away in the second half by ramping up their defense, something that didn't make Brown particularly happy.
''They didn't do anything different in the second half. They just turned it up and took the game from us,'' he said after practice Friday. ''I didn't like the way we responded to that; that's what I was more upset about than anything else.''
LeBron James echoed Brown's disappointment.
''It's never just another game. You want to try to get better. We took a step back. That's something we don't want to do moving forward,'' James said. ''It's going to be nights when you don't win basketball games. It's going to be nights when you don't play well.''
The Cavs aren't planning to have too many of those nights. If they want to return to their winning ways, they have to cage the Hawks, a team that began the season with a six-game winning streak, only to come down with four consecutive losses. They got back to winning Wednesday against the Washington Wizards.
Led by guards Joe Johnson (25.3 points, 4.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game) and Mike Bibby (15.4 points, 4.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds) , they're a dangerous team.
Brown and his players realize this. After all, the Hawks took the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics to seven games last season when little was expected of them in the playoffs.
''They've got some very good pieces. Joe Johnson is probably one of the most underrated guards we have in this league,'' James said.
''Coach [Michael] Woodson has done a great job of preparing this team to play.''
Brown agreed and said there might be something else at work, too, primarily that playoff performance last year.
''The experience they went through to get to that Game 7 is invaluable,'' Brown said. ''To know that they were able to do that gives [them] added confidence.''
And after winning Wednesday on a buzzer-beater by forward Marvin Williams, the Hawks surely will arrive feeling better about themselves.
As for the Cavs? Brown can only hope they learned something from their most recent game experience.
''Great lesson. Great lesson for us early in the season. Am I sitting here saying a scenario like that won't happen for us again?'' Brown said.
''No, it could happen again, but it was a great thing for us to learn as a team — starting with me.''
Green with envy?
Zydrunas Ilgauskas hit another 3-point shot this week, going 1-of-2 against the Pistons. Don't think a couple of his teammates haven't noticed Z's occasional foray deep to the perimeter. Chief among them: Anderson Varejao.
As the two of them worked on their outside shots in practice, Varejao said: ''If he shoots one more 3-pointer in a game; I'm shooting it, too.''
Yes, he was joking.
Quick shots
Wally Szczerbiak missed the Pistons game with permission to be with his father who underwent successful open-heart surgery. He returned to the team Friday. . . . James videotaped a special 16th birthday message for Trey Smith, actor Will Smith's son.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
INDEPENDENCE: Cavaliers coach Mike Brown hopes that his players learned something they can use from their loss Wednesday to the Detroit Pistons, beginning tonight with the Atlanta Hawks (7-4) swooping into Quicken Loans Arena.
Get the full article here.
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