Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

osugrad21 · May 22, 2006

Cleveland PD

5/22

Pistons' defense overwhelms Cavs in Game 7

<table class="byln" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="428"> <tbody><tr valign="bottom"> <td class="byln" width="328">5/21/2006, 6:43 p.m. ETBy LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press</td><td width="3"> </td><td width="97">

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — LeBron James made things rough for the Detroit Pistons. In the end, the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions got it right.
Coming back from a 3-2 deficit, Detroit eliminated James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 79-61 win Sunday in Game 7 of their second-round series.
"Our slogan is, 'If it ain't rough, it ain't right,'" Richard Hamilton said. "So it was rough for us, and we got the win. Now we're looking forward to the next series."
James was often sensational throughout the series, but ultimately, the 21-year-old phenom could not help the Cavaliers overcome Detroit's defense, experience and home-court advantage. The Pistons proved — again — that being down does not mean they're out.
The Pistons held Cleveland to the lowest-point total in a Game 7, and to its worst quarter offensively in franchise playoff history.
In a rematch of last year's conference finals, Detroit hosts Miami on Tuesday night in Game 1. The Heat have been resting since eliminating New Jersey last Tuesday.
Detroit, which never trailed, took command of Game 7 with a 19-6 run that started in the third quarter and ended with it ahead 67-52 midway through the fourth.
The Pistons have been among the NBA's elite for the past four years by clamping down on defense when necessary. That time arrived in the second half against a franchise in the second round for the first time since 1993, and with James in his first postseason.
"Detroit showed why they are champions, when they turned it up a notch," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
James carried the Cavs in the first half, scoring 21 points and outscoring the rest of his teammates, but Cleveland struggled to find open spots on the court to shoot after halftime.

The Pistons held the Cavs to a franchise playoff-low 10 points in the third quarter, and James didn't make a field goal in the second half until it was too late. His three-point play with 4:42 left in the game cut Cleveland's deficit to 12 points.
James finished with 27 points, and his teammates failed to give him much support, with only reserve Larry Hughes scoring in double figures with 10 points.
Meanwhile, the Pistons had their usual balance on offense, with Tayshaun Prince's 20 points followed by Hamilton (15), Rasheed Wallace (13) and Chauncey Billups (12).
The previous 12 times the Pistons had a chance to win a series, dating to the 2003 playoffs with four of their current starters, they lost only once — last year in Game 7 at San Antonio, where they fell just short of repeating as champions.
Detroit's current nucleus is 4-1 in Game 7s, with that lone setback last year motivating them to win a league- and franchise-best 64 victories during the regular season.
The Cavs are 2-1 in Game 7s, with the last decisive game coming in 1992 when James was a 7-year-old kid.
When the Pistons' seasoned team is in a must-win situation, opponents are usually stifled on offense — and the latest example was no exception.
The Cavs made just 31 percent of their shots and scored fewer points than any team has this postseason.
Detroit started and closed the series strong. In between, the teams had one of the tightest matchups in NBA history.
The Pistons won Game 1 by 27 and the next game by six points. After the Cavs won Game 3, they took the next two by two points each and the Pistons avoided a playoff flop with a two-point victory at Cleveland on Friday night.

Boston and Philadelphia, in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals, were the only teams to have more than three straight games decided by two or fewer points, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Pistons went for a first-quarter knockout, scoring the first seven points and taking a 19-6 lead with 3:30 left in the period.
Then, Cleveland punched back.
The Cavs — with Hughes playing for the first time since Game 2 — scored nine of the last 11 points in the quarter, pulling to 21-15.
Midway through the second quarter, James slammed an alley-oop lob that Hughes tossed from beyond the 3-point line and made a turnaround jumper to tie the game twice.
The Pistons clung to a 40-38 lead at halftime.
James had 21 points in the first half on 10-of-15 shooting, while his teammates combined for just 17 points and missed 19 of 24 shots. Hughes rejoined the Cavs for Game 6, three days after his 20-year-old brother's funeral, but he didn't play. In the first half, the shooting guard had three points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
James wasn't outscored by the rest of the Cavs until Drew Gooden made two free throws in the middle of the third quarter to pull Cleveland to 46-45. Detroit responded by building its first comfortable cushion since the opening minutes, scoring 10 of the last 12 points of the third quarter to go ahead 58-48.
Notes:@ NBA teams are 77-17 at home in Game 7s. ... The Cavs' previous worst quarter offensively in playoff history was 12 points, a low they reached twice. ... Rasheed Wallace was at the arena more than three hours before the game to get treatment on his right ankle, which he injured in Game 4.

osugrad21 · May 22, 2006

AP

5/22

May 22, 6:05 AM EDT
Pistons' Defense Overwhelms Cavs in Game 7
By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
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</td>  </tr>  </tbody></table>  AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- In a single half, the Detroit Pistons taught LeBron James everything he needs to know about defense in the playoffs - and finished off yet another series comeback.
While Detroit moves on to its fourth straight Eastern Conference finals, the 21-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers superstar is left to ponder his dizzying lesson.
"They trapped me, they went under screens, they went over screens," said James, who was held to one second-half field goal Sunday in the Cavs' 79-61 Game 7 loss to Detroit. "I've seen almost every defense that I could possibly see for the rest of my career in this series.
"That's why they're Eastern Conference champions, and that's why they keep winning."
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</td>  </tr>  </tbody></table>  Playing in his first postseason, James was sensational at times for Cleveland, pushing the NBA title favorites to the brink of elimination.
"There's nobody on his level that can get his teammates involved like he does," said Tayshaun Prince, who led the Pistons with 20 points. "He sees the plays before they even happen, and no one else does that. That's the reason this went seven games."
The Cavs were down by only two at halftime; then Detroit simply smothered James in the second half and took command with a 19-6 run that started in the third quarter and ended with a 67-52 lead midway through the fourth. James and the upstart Cavaliers were rendered helpless when it mattered most.
Typical Pistons.
 The Cavs led 3-2 in the second-round series and had a chance to eliminate the Pistons at home in Game 6 largely because James, who didn't live up to the hype - he surpassed it. But what the Pistons can do on defense - when they choose to play with intensity, like in a closeout game - probably is just as frightening for opponents.
Detroit held Cleveland to the lowest-point total in any Game 7 in NBA history; the third-lowest total in any playoff game since 1955; and 23 points in the second half, which tied the fewest scored in a postseason half since the shot clock was introduced a half-century ago.
The Cavs made just 31 percent of their shots and scored fewer points than any team has this postseason.
Take a look at low-scoring records in NBA history, and you'll see Detroit frequently on almost every list.
  "In a pressure situation, you do what you do best, and for us, that's defending," Detroit coach Flip Saunders said. "We locked down."
In a rematch of last year's conference finals, Detroit hosts Miami on Tuesday night in Game 1. The Heat have been resting since eliminating New Jersey last Tuesday.
"We can catch our breath for about eight hours," Saunders said.
The Pistons are the first team to reach the conference finals in four straight years since the Chicago Bulls did it from 1990-93. Detroit has remained among the NBA's elite in recent years by clamping down on defense when necessary; that time arrived in the second half Sunday against a franchise in the second round for the first time since 1993.
  James carried the Cavs in the first half, scoring 21 points and outscoring the rest of his teammates, but Cleveland struggled to find open spots after halftime. James finished with 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting.
The Pistons held the Cavs to a franchise playoff-low 10 points in the third quarter, and James didn't make a field goal in the second half until his three-point play with 4:42 left in the game. By then, it was too late.
James' teammates didn't help much, with the only double-figures scorer being Larry Hughes, who scored 10 points in his first action since his 20-year-old brother's funeral.
Meanwhile, the Pistons had their usual balance on offense, with Prince's 20 points followed by Richard Hamilton (15), Rasheed Wallace (13) and Chauncey Billups (12).
The previous 12 times the Pistons had a chance to win a series, dating to the 2003 playoffs with four of their current starters, they lost only once - last year in Game 7 at San Antonio, where they fell just short of repeating as champions.
Detroit's current nucleus is 4-1 in Game 7s, with that lone setback last year motivating them to win a league- and franchise-best 64 victories during the regular season.
The Cavs are 2-1 in Game 7s, with the last decisive game coming in 1992 when James was a 7-year-old kid.
Detroit started and closed the series strong. In between, the teams had one of the tightest matchups in NBA history.
The Pistons won Game 1 by 27 and the next game by six points. After the Cavs won Game 3, they took the next two by two points each and the Pistons avoided a playoff flop with a two-point victory at Cleveland on Friday night.
Boston and Philadelphia, in the 1981 Eastern Conference finals, were the only teams to have more than three straight games decided by two or fewer points, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
James shot 10-of-15 in the first half, while his teammates combined for just 17 points and missed 19 of 24 shots.
James wasn't outscored by the rest of the Cavs until Drew Gooden made two free throws in the middle of the third quarter to pull Cleveland to 46-45. Detroit responded by building its first comfortable cushion since the opening minutes, scoring 10 of the last 12 points of the third quarter to go ahead 58-48.
"They took it up to another level in the second half," Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "We got real stagnant on offense and they showed us a level we hadn't seen in these playoffs."
Notes:@ NBA teams are 77-17 at home in Game 7s.. ... Rasheed Wallace was at the arena more than three hours before the game to get treatment on his right ankle, which he injured in Game 4. ... Until Prince came out of the game in the final minute of Game 7, the last time he had a break was in the third quarter of Game 4.

OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

ABJ

5/22/06

A tough loss to witness

Cavaliers foiled by better team in playoff finale

By Terry Pluto

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - For Cleveland Cavaliers fans, there will be no more late nights worrying about the next game, no more X's and O's on napkins as amateur coaches try to come up with a plan to stop the Detroit Pistons.
The playoffs are over, ending with no excuses, no real heartbreak. The Cavs were rudely exiled from the NBA postseason by a decisive 79-61 verdict to Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
For fans, there is plenty of room for anguished second-guessing.
Just how can a team with LeBron James score only 23 points in the second half? And make only five field goals? And seem to spend minutes that felt like months unable to get off a decent shot?
Some of the fault lies with coach Mike Brown, who never really came up with strong strategy on offense this season.
When Pistons coach Flip Saunders saw James score 21 points by halftime, mostly on strong drives to the basket, he threw up more roadblocks and orange barrels on defense than you find in your worst nightmare of a construction zone.
Saunders seemed to tell his team, ``LeBron is not going to beat us making layups. Let the other guys do it.''
Little support
The players around James struggled as they shot 23 percent, scoring only 34 points. That was the output from eight other Cavs covering 193 minutes of playing time. Brown could never figure out how to shake James loose with the ball. Other than the mandatory timeout, Brown didn't call one to try to change the flow of the game. It's a reminder that like most of the Cavs, this was his maiden playoff voyage as a head coach.
Then there was James, who couldn't find a detour around the traffic jams. In the second half, he had only six points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Credit also must go to the Pistons, who have been to the NBA Finals the last two years -- and know what it takes to win these games.
The fact is the Cavaliers lost to a better team.
The truth is the Cavs gave fans far more than they reasonably could have expected, winning 50 games in the regular season, knocking off Washington in the first round and taking the Pistons to this Game 7. If you like basketball, you had to feel like you were in hoops heaven for the last month.
The hope is there will be more playoffs like this to come, more springtime basketball where it seems every shot, every rebound, every bounce of the ball gets your heart beating just a little faster.
But for now, this just hurts.
``It should,'' in the words of veteran guard Eric Snow.
Down 40-38 at halftime, the Cavs were in position to keep it close, to make the Pistons nervous, to turn the pressure on the home team that was such an overwhelming favorite in this series. At halftime, the Pistons were 6-of-16 from the foul line. That was a sign they were edgy, vulnerable, unable to place the kind of early game exclamation point they wanted to on this playoff novice of a team.
But it was the Cavs who wilted. It was their palms that sweated, their shots that slipped every which way but into the rim. This was a chance for the Cavs to do something remarkable, to pull off perhaps the greatest upset in the 35-year history of the franchise.
Instead, they played some of their worst basketball.
``We need to learn that when we have a good team down, you have to keep them down,'' said Snow, the only member of the current Cavaliers to have played in the NBA Finals (with Seattle in 1996 and Philadelphia in 2001).
Home court advantage
The Pistons were low. They had lost three in a row to the Cavs. They came into Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for Game 6 and squeezed out an 84-82 victory Friday to set up Game 7 in an arena where they had a 42-5 record this season.
``That's why you work hard all year for the home court,'' James said.
There is a reason the home team has won 82 percent of the Game 7s in NBA history. The Pistons showed it in the final 24 minutes, when they held the Cavs to 10 points in the third quarter, 13 in the fourth.
With a face bleached white, looking like he had just lost his last friend on earth, Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had no real explanation for what happened in the second half.
``We had them on the ropes,'' he whispered, shaking his head.
The 7-foot-3 center had a depressing game with eight points and only three rebounds in 33 frustrating minutes. Veterans Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones were imported for their outside shooting to take some of the burden off James. They shot 0-for-10 -- and the Pistons were leaving them open.
Other than Larry Hughes (10 points, six rebounds, five assists), none of James' teammates had even a decent performance.
After the game, Brown said he was proud of his team, but not satisfied with what happened on this day. James gave a realistic assessment that before the Cavs can have a rivalry with the Pistons, ``We have to get better.''
That day is coming.
As Saunders said: ``LeBron is a phenomenal player. To think that he should be a junior in college... He has the poise and control and understanding of a veteran player. It's kind of scary.''
Not if you're a Cavs fan, and that is reason enough to smile a little bit today.

OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

ABJ

5/22/06

Pistons' defense decides series

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - There was no Miracle of Auburn Hills.
Just a debacle.
The Detroit Pistons punched the Cavs' offseason ticket Sunday with a 79-61 Game 7 win, an outcome that was foreseeable but not one that should be forgettable.
In a three-day span, wildly emotional as it was, the Cavs were taught two hard postseason lessons: close out a series when you get the chance, and when the pressure is at a climax, flaws always are exposed completely.
Sunday was a pretty good undressing as the Pistons denied the Cavs their hope of trying to keep the game close to let LeBron James win it in the end. The Pistons played excellent defense -- as they always do in such situations.
The Cavs' defense matured wonderfully as the seven-month season aged, to the point they virtually shut down the mighty Pistons' offense for the last 5 ½ games in the series.
The offense, on the other hand, degenerated toward fetal status by dinner time Sunday evening.
When the end comes in the NBA playoffs, it can be ugly.
But what happened to the Cavs reached the undesirable historic stage.
Cut off by the Pistons' refusal to let James play superhero, the Cavs were left to pick-and-roll themselves into offensive oblivion.
Detroit threw two defenders at James whenever he got the ball. The Pistons went under picks to keep him from thinking of driving. And they used his unselfishness against him. He had 27 points, which is solid, but just six in the second half -- two quarters that will live in infamy.
Getting negligible help from his teammates save for a rusty, sick and drained Larry Hughes, and almost nothing in the form of offensive ingenuity from the bench, James became the star of a tragedy play.
The Cavs tied an NBA playoff futility record by scoring just 23 points in the second half on 5-of-19 shooting. The 61 points easily rewrites the NBA record for fewest in a Game 7; the New Jersey Nets managed 69 in 2004 against the Pistons.
``They doubled me as soon as I got the ball,'' James said. ``I had to give the ball up and rely on my teammates.''
On this day, his teammates were 9-of-41 shooting for 34 points. Take out Hughes, who had 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals despite fighting a virus, and the numbers were grisly.
That's how a game goes from being a bad-looking-but-competitive 46-45 with six minutes to play in the third quarter into a blowout. During the following 12-minute stretch, the Cavs went 1-of-13 from the floor and didn't take a shot inside, where they made just three baskets in the second half.
``They turned it up a notch and we have to give them credit,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``They had great team defense on LeBron.''
On this day, it was team defense on James and not much from everyone else. It has been a growing issue for months, one the Pistons just exposed totally during their 4-3 series win. Surely the Cavs enjoyed a breakout season with 50 regular-season wins and their first playoff series win since 1993. They pushed the top-seeded Pistons to the limit.
Through it all, James' scoring average increased from last season and his assist average went down. The four free agents signed in the off-season -- Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones and Zydrunas Ilgauskas -- all saw their scoring averages dip from last season's marks with their various teams. Sunday, James had two assists, none after the first quarter, and that quartet was 5-of-24 shooting.
Despite all that, the Cavs were still in the game because of their defense. This game taught them, however, that good defense isn't enough. The Cavs averaged just 80 points a game in the series.
``What we'll learn best was to get LeBron going in these situations,'' Hughes said. ``The other guys on the court have to make them play honest. We have to figure what makes the team run smoothly.''
The Pistons worked their way through the Cavs' defensive challenge by getting the ball in the post to Tayshaun Prince, who had 20 points, and to Rasheed Wallace, who had 13. The Cavs didn't attempt many post-ups in the second half and didn't make a single shot off one after halftime.
Even considering they were underdogs, those failures will last into next season.
``You can take positives from anything, even if it doesn't look that good,'' James said. ``We did a wonderful job in this series and the playoffs. We have no reason to hang our heads.''

OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

ABJ

5/22/06

Cavaliers' loss shows need for new offensive approach

Meltdown includes nine-minute stretch without James attempting a shot

By Tom Reed

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - In a region where they are renewing a 30-year-old search for the remains of missing Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, the Cavaliers' offense disappeared in plain sight Sunday afternoon.
Five field goals in the second half of a Game 7. An NBA playoff record-tying 23 points after halftime.
LeBron James not only failed to make a basket in the third quarter, but also endured a nine-minute stretch without attempting a shot.
Where did coach Mike Brown have his superstar placed? Witness protection? And so an inspired playoff run, which carried the Cavs further than anyone expected, ended with a 79-61 loss to the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Cavs battled the NBA's best team to a virtual standoff for six games and nearly three quarters before succumbing to offensive breakdowns problematic since training camp.
They averaged just 80.9 points in this series, a tribute to the Pistons' defensive tenacity and the Cavaliers' lack of offensive ingenuity.
Brown and his players deserve credit for forcing the Pistons to expend maximum energy while fighting off two elimination games. If playoff failures produce learning lessons, however, the Cavs must realize they cannot return next season with a stagnant offense that bogs down at the first sign of defensive adjustments.
James had 21 points at halftime Sunday. He finished with 27.
The kid is too talented to be hamstrung by an offense featuring less motion than your average waterbed. Brown's defensive adjustments helped the Cavs get back into the series, but the staff's struggles offensively suggest the need for a coordinator next season.
The Pistons deserve full marks for their Game 7 dragnet, but what happened in the third quarter Sunday -- James scored one point and had only three field-goal attempts -- also occurred several times against the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards play defense with all the passion of a man carrying trash to the curb.
Remember Game 4 in Washington? The third quarter Sunday was a chilling replay: James drawing double coverage and staying on the perimeter; the pick-and-roll seemingly the Cavs' only option.
The result was a playoff franchise-low 10 points as the Pistons pulled away in the final three minutes of the quarter to build a 58-48 lead.
``They doubled me as soon as I got the ball if I was in half court or if I was in full court,'' James said. ``So me being the player I am, me being the person I am, I had to give the ball up and rely on my teammates.''
Larry Hughes, who returned to the lineup after missing four games because of his brother's death, was the only other Cavalier in double figures with 10 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was James' only teammate with more than two field goals.
The paucity of production doomed the Cavs. Its ancillary causes are subject to debate.
Brown said James' second-half offensive dry spell might have been caused by fatigue from his volume of playoff minutes. Asked if he agreed with his coach's assessment, James dismissed it with the terse response, ``No.''
The Cavs didn't post up James in the second half the way they did during stretches of the first and second quarters. How could they not take more advantage of a matchup of Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter on James during stretches of Games 6 and 7?
Hunter is listed at 6-foot-2. Yeah, and I was runner-up to Matthew McConaughey for People's ``Sexiest Man Alive.''
The Chosen One against the diminutive one should have returned more dividends.
The Cavs' only fluid span of offense came when Hughes was inserted at point guard late in the first quarter and James moved to the low block with Anderson Varejao. The trio turned a 13-point deficit into a 31-31 tie in a 10-minute surge.
``We were executing, that's all,'' James said. ``We found some comfortable spots.''
Why did it take the coaching staff so long to reunite that group in the second half? Hughes played less than four minutes in the third quarter. Varejao, who scored six first-half points, didn't see the court until the 1:30 mark of the third. By then the Cavs trailed by nine points.
Curious.
``Defensively, they turned it up a notch, and offensively we couldn't make shots and we didn't execute the best way we could,'' James said.
Fifty regular-season wins and a strong second-round showing against the Pistons are evidence of a rapidly improving franchise. James' supporting cast needs to be upgraded, however, and the coaching staff requires tweaking.
Brown became the 14th rookie coach to participate in a Game 7. None emerged victorious.
So give a bright young coach time to grow into his job, while demanding that second halves like the one Sunday never again can be deemed acceptable.

OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

ABJ

5/22/06

James gets lesson in first playoffs

TOM WITHERS

Associated Press

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - With a colorful NBA-logoed towel draped across his shoulders, LeBron James waited for the final horn and bolted for Cleveland's locker room without shaking hands.
His first postseason as a pro had ended inside Detroit's defensive dungeon, and James wanted out. He wasn't going to hang around and watch confetti sprinkle down on the Pistons and their noisy fans.
The star witness had been dismissed.
James, who had carried Cleveland in the regular season and past Washington in the opening round, couldn't get his team by the powerful Pistons, who shut down the Cavs' 21-year-old phenom in the second half of their 79-61 win Sunday in Game 7.
"We can't hang our heads," James said. "We were right there."
James' initial run through the playoffs concluded with 58.2 seconds left when Cavaliers coach Mike Brown sent in reserve forward Sasha Pavlovic to replace James, who spent the second half fighting his way out of double- and triple-teams.
As he got to bench, James was first hugged by guard Larry Hughes, who had been embraced by all of Cleveland following the death of his younger brother, Justin. Then, James shared a moment with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who pulled the third-year player close and whispered in his ear.
"I told him to keep his head high," Ilgauskas said. "We're going to be here for many years to come, so there's nothing for him to be ashamed of."
James bit his lower lip and seemed to be choking back tears as he dropped into a chair.
He had dominated the first half, scoring 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting as the Cavaliers - down by 13 early - withstood a finishing flurry from the Pistons, who were only up 40-37 at halftime.
But in the second half, James didn't have room to breathe and finished 1-of-9 from the floor. He got his only two assists on Cleveland's first two buckets of the game.
The Pistons rushed two defenders at him. They ran three defenders at him. They stopped him from taking a shot for more than nine minutes of the third quarter and held him to one point in the period.
At times, James was buried under a tidal wave of white Detroit jerseys.
"'Bron was kind of having his way in the first half, he had it going," Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. "We made a couple of adjustments at half time. We shut everything down. It was our defense."
It suffocated the Cavaliers, who scored just 10 points in the third, only 13 in the fourth and either set, matched or approached several NBA playoff records for offensive futility.
"The Pistons are so good at moving to the ball on defense," Ilgauskas said. "We had some open looks, too. It's not like we were shooting fadeaway 3-pointers. That's why they are the Pistons."
Cleveland's locker room was somber following a game that many never thought they'd ever play.
The Cavs were blown out in Games 1 and 2 before James scored a triple-double in Game 3, and hit clutch free throws down the stretch for a victory in Game 4. In Game 5, he whipped a pass underneath to Drew Gooden for a game-winning layup as the Cavaliers handed the Pistons just their fifth loss at home this season.
James, who averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 13 playoff games, pushed the Pistons to the edge in Game 6 before losing by two points.
For nearly three quarters on Sunday, it looked as if he might be able to give the Cavaliers an historic win. But for now, James' history is on hold.
"He'll be back," Drew Gooden said. "And we'll be back with him."
As he dressed following Game 7, James paused for a moment in front of his locker and stared off into some far away place. Maybe it was to the day he's crowned an NBA champion.
Michael Jordan needed four tries before finally slaying the Pistons in the playoffs. He almost did it on the first try.
"He's a tremendous young talented kind," Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter said. "The best 21-year-old I've ever seen in my life. Still, he's not Michael Jordan, though. But he's great."
Following his news conference, James had just passed Detroit's locker room when Billups grabbed him by the arm. Detroit's Mr. Big Shot gave Cleveland's young superstar a hug and some encouragement.
"He's a phenomenal, phenomenal talent," Billups said. "He grew up a lot in this series. We're going to be facing him for some years to come because he's not going nowhere. He's a terrific player, he's a good dude. I'm a huge LeBron fan, but when you're playing against him, you've got to give it your all."
After a few hugs from family members, James, wearing a New York Yankees cap pulled down low over his eyes, left The Palace and the playoffs.
There's little doubt he'll be back.

OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

Canton

5/22/06

It’s been a tough year for Hughes

Monday, May 22, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]CAVALIERS NOTEBOOK MIKE POPOVICH[/FONT]

- AUBURN HILLS, Mich. Larry Hughes does not know yet if he wants to put an “X” through the past several months.
The Cavaliers guard missed 45 games during the regular season because of a fractured finger. Two weeks ago, his 20-year-old brother Justin died.
“This is life,” Hughes said. “I’m not the only guy who has been through adversity, trials or whatever. I have to build on it.”
Hughes returned to the court for the first time since his brother’s death Sunday. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists off the bench for the Cavs, who lost to Detroit, 79-61, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I didn’t want it to end, but I have a lot to look forward to and a lot to build on,” Hughes said.
After taking the Pistons to a seventh game, the Cavaliers do, too. No one expected them to reach the brink of the conference finals. And this year’s postseason battle probably will not be the last in the years to come.
“We know so many guys in the other locker room,” Hughes said. “We’re friends off the court. It makes it fun to go out and compete and see who’s the better team.
“We can play with those guys. ...But we haven’t done anything yet to say we’re on their level or this is a rivalry. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
STERN IN TOWN NBA Commissioner David Stern attended Sunday’s game, one of three Game 7s in the conference semifinals. Tonight, Dallas will face San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers will meet Phoenix in deciding games. “We’re seeing various teams come of age before our eyes,” Stern said. “The Clippers, the Mavericks, the Cavaliers ... it’s a lot of fun if you’re a fan.”
BROWN’S EYE VIEW Cavs Head Coach Mike Brown has only watched “bits and pieces” of the playoffs. He has an interest in the Spurs-Mavericks series, because he was on Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio. But most of those games were played the same day as Cavs-Pistons games. “Coach Pop and I have stayed in touch,” Brown said. “I have gotten a lot of updates from him.” Brown is not surprised there have been so many close series. “It’s a testament to the league,” he said. “All the teams have a lot of talent. If you play hard and with a sense of urgency, you have a chance to win down the stretch. A lot of guys are doing that.” NOTABLE Sunday’s win improved the Pistons’ record to 12-1 in series clinching games since the 2002 playoffs. They also are 5-1 in Game 7s since 1990. The only loss came to San Antonio in the 2005 NBA Finals. ... Stark County resident Joe DeRosa officiated Sunday’s game with Joe Crawford and Mike Callahan. Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]

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OSUBasketballJunkie · May 22, 2006

Canton

5/22/06

Remember what you saw Sunday

Monday, May 22, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]SPORTS SPOTLIGHT TODD PORTER[/FONT]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.
Witness.
The one-word marketing slogan became a popular pitch for Nike during the last month. Cleveland fans loved it. The plain black T-shirts are on back order. Even the haters in Detroit got creative with “Witness” signs handed out in Cleveland.
One Pistons fan used White-Out to make the sign read: “Not a Witness.”
Cavs Head Coach Mike Brown has a team that can return 13 trial-tested jurors next season.
They were witnesses to a beatdown Sunday afternoon, one of the worst offensive performances in NBA playoff history.
But today when you’re looking for something positive to take from a 79-61 thumping, think of experience.
Yes, this was about as ugly as it gets. But there is the good, the bad and the ugly of Sunday’s season-ending loss.
First, let’s get the complaining out of the way.
For the first time in the playoffs, Brown didn’t push the right buttons.
It’s hard to second-guess a guy who drew up four game-winning plays, but Larry Hughes should have played more. Cleveland’s usual starter at guard missed more than a week following the death of his younger brother. Hughes returned to the floor Sunday.
Brown put him in after Cleveland started Game 7 shooting 3-of-13. With Hughes, the Cavs outscored the Pistons, 23-10, and got back in the game.
Why not start him in the second half? He was an offensive catalyst for a team that lacked offense.
Anderson Varejao had a tomahawk dunk in the second quarter and was heating up. He scored 6 points in the first half but sat on the bench until 1:30 was left in the third quarter. Cleveland was down 7 and sinking fast at that point. The Cavs shot just 2-of-13 in the third.
The bad? LeBron James needed to knock down jump shots in the third and fourth quarters. Detroit isn’t the best defensive team in the league by accident. The Pistons packed the paint and dared James to shoot from the perimeter.
“We looked up and saw he was the only guy in double figures,” Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter said. “We were like, ‘OK, somebody else has to do something.”
He scored 6 points in the second half. He shot 1-of-9 from the field.
Brown said playing 48 minutes a night finally caught up to James.
The star disagreed.
Whatever it was, James didn’t play well when his team needed him most. He tried to carry them.
He did enough carrying this year.
“We did a wonderful job in this series and the playoffs,” James said. “So we have no reason to hang our heads about anything.
The good?
There is plenty of it.
Let’s start with James.
Remember the look of disappointment, perhaps even anger, as he walked off the floor at The Palace of Auburn Hills. He walked off the way Michael Jordan did when he wasn’t on the winning team.
Competitors hate losing. They detest it. It’s like the shingles. James didn’t congratulate the Pistons on winning this Eastern Conference semifinal.
“I was disappointed that we lost, of course,” he said. “We were right there. We had a chance to win the series at home, but things happen. This is a great team. You’ve got to give much credit to the Pistons. ... They took care of business the other night in Cleveland, and it paid off for them.”
He still wasn’t happy.
As pampered as James is — and he is — he has a competitive fire only special athletes are blessed with. He hates losing.
The Cavs, no matter how you look at this season, ended it the way every team that doesn’t win the championship does.
They did, however, drink from the cup. It’s the holy grail of competition.
“I learned a lot,” James said. “I learned you’ve got to play every possession, because every possession counts in the playoffs.”
In the postgame locker room, there weren’t any smiles. There weren’t any handshakes.
There were long faces and low voices.
“I’m not satisfied,” Brown said. “It hurts me, and it hurts everybody in that locker room. I told our guys I’m not satisfied, and I hope they’re not satisfied. Looking in there eyes, the feeling in that locker room, I don’t feel like any of us were satisfied.”
There is a fine line between pride and satisfaction. It is, sometimes, the difference between winning and losing. Satisfaction doesn’t get a loose ball. Satisfaction doesn’t knock down a 3-pointer with a hand in your face.
Pride keeps you working for it. Detroit went the extra half-inch these last two games.
“They took it to a whole new level that we haven’t seen,” Drew Gooden said. “We haven’t seen a style of basketball they played in the fourth quarter.”
It’s called stepping on their neck.
Detroit stepped on Cleveland’s neck when the Cavs were down. Cleveland didn’t do that in Game 6, which led to a Game 7.
The Cavs learned a tough lesson.
Veteran Eric Snow said it best.
“I think you can be happy we had 50 wins and took the team with the best record in the NBA to seven games,” Snow said. “You can be proud of that. There is only one thing you ultimately want, and that’s a championship. You can be proud of what’s been accomplished, but you can never be satisfied with it.”
Cleveland has a feeling of what it takes to win in the postseason. There is no doubt the Cavs will be back.
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas believes this team is a mainstay in May. He should. Z didn’t play well in the postseason. He had moments, but seven-year veterans are supposed to have more than moments.
He knows this.
He also knows his young teammates sipped from the cup. They tasted Game 7 in the most adverse conditions. They played in it for a while. They had a chance.
“The core of this team will be together for a very long time,” Ilgauskas said. “For us to try to close out a very good team at home ... to win some of these games like we did, things like that are good experiences. It will pay off for us in the long run.”
Yes, the Cavs were witnesses. Their verdict? They want more. Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: [email protected]

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WestEnd · May 22, 2006

ouch. cavs hung with the pistons till 3 minutes left in the third, then they fell asleep and let the pistons pull away. If you would have told me that with 2 minutes left in the game, the pistons would have 75 points, I'd have really liked the cavs chances. The defense was there, but the cavs just couldn't hit a shot.

If you are shitting on the supporting cast right now, you are an imbecile. If you are bitching about the officiating, you are an imbecile. If it wasn't for the supporting cast, the cavs don't win games 3-5. They played great defense after game 2, and took advantage of their opportunities when they came for 3.9 games (minus flips "rebound" at the end of game 6). Obviously they aren't the showtime lakers, but they played well and deserve credit for their play as a whole during this series and the playoffs.

Bottom line, the pistons aren't a significantly better team, basketball wise, than the cavs. The pistons are, however, in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT league when it comes to mental toughness, and that's why they beat the cavs yesterday, that's why they should've beaten the cavs in this series, and that's why they are the perenial favorites to win the title year in and year out.

buckeyeboy · May 22, 2006

WestEnd said:
If you are shitting on the supporting cast right now, you are an imbecile. If it wasn't for the supporting cast, the cavs don't win games 3-5.

My complaints with the supporting cast are that they are not good enough to help LeBron win the NBA title. Therefore, your comment that they helped the Cavs win three games in a series that they ultimately lost is non-responsive to my previous post. Maybe next time you should read an entire post and thoughtfully consider what it says before you call someone an "imbecile."

Brutus1 · May 22, 2006

buckeyeboy said:
It seems that if the Cavs' management is serious about making a run for the NBA championship (and hence keeping LeBron in Cleveland), it will have to change things drastically. LeBron needs one or two solid players around him to challenge for the NBA title, and right now he has zero. Z has shown he's not to be relied on in the playoffs, Hughes has greatly disappointed and hasn't shown anything to convince me he's worth $90 million (although maybe he will show more next year if he's not injured), and Gooden as well as the rest of the players are nothing better than middle-of-the-road role players in the NBA. I'm sorry to say it, but with this supporting cast, LeBron's not going anywhere, notwithstanding how great of a player he is.

Well, since Hughes injured the finger in the preseason, how could he have shown anything ? He played with that finger hurt all year. When healthy, he'll prove that he's a great complement to LeBron.

Gooden and Murray are gone.

Varejeo proved in this series that he's a nice complement and will be a big contributer in the future. He's a banger, and outhustles everyone on the court.

Jones and Donyell can be servicable off the bench.

What do you want? A team full of all starts? It can't happen. You need those role players to win championships. Aside from MJ and Pippen, the Bulls were loaded with role players. As long as guys know their role and play decent defense, they can win.

Help! Any decent point guards out there? Anyone?

Get a point guard, another rebounder and another shooter and this team will be more than ready to compete for a title.

Piney · May 22, 2006

BuckinMichigan said:
Cavs can offer James an extension this summer. No other team can offer him until 2008. The maximum offer is 5 years, $75 million. No other team can offer more years or more money.

The Cavs have two more years to show significant progress in helping James reach whatever his goals are, which I hope include bringing multiple championships to Cleveland.

LeBron ain't leaving! He would ruin his image that he has created. Really, they almost made the Eastern Conference Finals in his 3rd year? How could he explain that he is leaving his hometown team for what??? And also noting that if LeBron leaves the Cavaliers you can bring in the moving vans because Cleveland will be the first team to relocate. Does LeBron want to be known as the man who forced the Cavs to move out of Cleveland?

tibor75 · May 22, 2006

What a great series. Lebron came into his own.

The Cavs Head Coach will be another Doug Collins. He'll be fired in a year or two before the team wins any championships.

Piney · May 22, 2006

Now to the offseason.

Gooden is gone, not because we wouldn't want him back, but he will demand more than we should pay him. Hopefully we can swing a sign & trade. Then we have to find a backup PF/C that can be an enforcer.

Flip is gone too, everyone wants him back but why? We just forgot what Hughes did at the start of the year. As long as Hughes is healthy where does Flip get minutes? And Flip wants minutes more than anything and he is parlaying his time here to a decent pay raise and minutes for the Charlotte Bobcats or some other bad team.

Salary cap wise we are tight. We will have our mid-level exception and that is about it. So if we want to totally change this team it will come through trades. But do we really have to totally makeover this team overnight? Or what we need is Larry Hughes to be fully healthy for the playoffs with no distractions?

I say we just need to tweak this year. If Gooden is gone and we can bring in a tough bruiser backup we should be fine there. LeBron is LeBron and Hughes is hopefully healthy. The big change will be at Point Guard. Can we trade Gooden away for a real PG? Can we sign one for the mid-level? Do we trade someone else and move up in the NBA draft to get a young PG?

Now everyone's favorite whipping boy, Z. Z won't be traded. Really who would take him? Actually his salary isn't bad to prevent a trade, but what would we get in return? Also without Z who plays center? That leaves a bigger hole than you can imagine. Yes Z has limitations but we have to find a way to utilize him. We rarely ran plays for him and big centers like that NEED to have plays ran for them. They need to be involved or else they look like Z in these playoffs.

Which leads me to our biggest need. An offensive guru to help Coach Brown draw up an offense to truly take advantage of our talent. This year our whole offense was "Give LeBron the ball and let him make up plays". Coach Brown has gotten them to sell out for defense but his problem is he is not a great offensive minded coach. He needs help and someone needs to be brought in to create an offense to get this team moving.

NJ-Buckeye · May 22, 2006

I'm still concerned... about the designated shooters.. and the fact they disappeared when it meant the most... if we had a Scotty Pippen.. we're still alive..

I have gone full circle on most of these guys... I was thrilled with getting Jones and Henderson.. and was happy with Gooden...

Jones is a MAJOR disappointment... he can't defend a pole... I now worry when he's on the floor.. the Best Shooter in the World was MIA when it counted...

I'd rather think Gooden was not his best because of his injury.. but it was his brain injury that disappointed me most... dumb stuff.. real brain fart stuff.. I was very impressed with Marshall... who I was not happy with during the season.. but he really showed up in the playoffs... Same for Snow.. Snow was awesome...

I see no reason to believe Hughes can stay healthy... track record belies it... Will Jackson ever appear...

Z is OK... Verejo is OK... but if we're going to be merely slightly above average in the middle we really need a lights-out shooting guard and/or a monster PF.. neither of which do we have... and I'm not sure how you get there from here...

Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

osugrad21

Capo Regime

osugrad21

Capo Regime

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

OSUBasketballJunkie

Never Forget 31-0

WestEnd

look ma no shoelaces, and I'm down with the KIIING

buckeyeboy

Still fortitudinous

Brutus1

Don't be penurious, donate to the BP Spring Dr.

Piney

Stay thirsty my friends

tibor75

Banned

Piney

Stay thirsty my friends

NJ-Buckeye

Be cool-everyone dealing w something u don't know