Cavs-Pistons Second Round Playoff Series

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/10/06

Better, but not good enough

Cleveland's rally falls short against Detroit. Can LeBron James' team find way to stop Pistons from winning Game 3?

By Terry Pluto

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - Are the Cavaliers just happy to reach the second round of the NBA playoffs?
That's the question hanging over the team after the 97-91 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The good news is the Cavs didn't quit, and the Pistons began to coast. That's what led to the Cavs' outscoring Detroit 31-19 in the final quarter, making the game interesting, especially since they were behind by 22 points.
The bad news is, in the words of Pistons coach Flip Saunders, ``We go to Cleveland up 2-0, and we did what we had to do in the first two games. No one will really remember the final score.''
They now prepare for Game 3 at 8 p.m. Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs simply must win or they have virtually no chance in the best-of-seven series against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
``We just have to win Game 3,'' said Cavs coach Mike Brown, conceding the obvious.
Here's why the Cavs can be optimistic for their next two games at home.
LeBron James is beginning to understand the Pistons' tactics. Yes, Tayshaun Prince is a terrific defender for them, but he's getting plenty of help. The Pistons like to force James near the sidelines, then rush Prince and another defender at the Cavs star.
The idea is to use the out-of-bounds line as a third defender, pressing him up against that line. The Pistons are not about to allow James to score 40 points and beat them -- other Cavs will have to help.
30 points for LeBron
James finished with 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting. He had 14 rebounds and seven assists, realizing that he needs to do more than score. He forced few bad shots in the second half.
Drew Gooden scored 17 points on only nine field-goal attempts for the Cavs, and Anderson Varejao had 10 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
There was life for the Cavaliers.
They need more than a beating heart, though. More than a glimmer of second-half hope. More than the Pistons' Saunders forgetting about his bench, especially in the second half, which led to his starters' playing a weary fourth quarter.
They need to begin to play smart, mature basketball.
The Cavs lost this game early as the first quarter was another 16-point disaster, just as in Game 1.
They had a three-second call, a five-second call and a 24-second call.
All in the first nine minutes. All utterly unnecessary.
Consider that the five-second call came after the Cavs called timeout, set up a play -- and then guard Eric Snow could not get the ball inbounds.
How does that happen? Either the coach drew up a lousy play, or the players didn't pay attention in the huddle.
Either way, that just can't happen in the playoffs.
They had a 24-second violation when no one in a Cavs jersey seemed the least bit interested in that little shot clock above the basket. They engaged in a silly attempt to stop the Pistons late in the second quarter by fouling Ben Wallace away from the ball.
Wallace probably leads the NBA in airballs from the foul line, but he makes 51 percent. He split 2-of-4 during that feeble attempt. It seemed a desperate act by a rookie coach who didn't know what else to do.
The reason to bring up these early-game malfunctions is they were all self-inflicted. Just as quick, long shots near the Canadian border led to the Pistons' moving from an 18-16 lead to 37-18 in the middle of the second quarter.
In this game, the Cavs made seven more field goals than the Pistons. But the Pistons scored 16 more points from the foul line, as they would drive hard to the basket when they needed to score.
On the attack
The Cavs have to get Flip Murray and Larry Hughes ``to attack, attack, attack,'' in the words of Brown. He was talking about the entire team, but it's especially true for these athletes who are far more effective going to the rim rather than taking lazy jumpers. Murray is 0-for-11 from the field in this series, Hughes is 8-for-24.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas was a little better with 10 points (4-of-9 shooting) and eight rebounds in 27 minutes, but the Cavs need to get him back to the center who averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds against these same Pistons in four regular-season games.
The Pistons are not the Washington Wizards. Easy shots for James will be few. Tough defense is the norm. The next level of the playoffs has arrived for the Cavaliers, and they have three days to figure out how to handle it.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/10/06

Cavs' run might pay dividends later

Close only adds up to another loss, but lessons learned could be vital

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - The Cavaliers' learning curve took three halves -- simply longer than circumstances allowed.
After staring another blowout in the reddened face, the Cavs finally found some holes in the semiconscious Detroit Pistons in the second half on Tuesday. In the course of the evening, they went from desperate to upset-minded, miraculous in many ways, but piled together, it still added up to a 97-91 loss.
The Cavs left with a little momentum heading into their two guaranteed home games. The Pistons didn't walk away proudly, but they're safely ahead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Living off more sensational outside shooting and their usual gritty defense, the Pistons constructed a 22-point lead in Game 2. Making some key switches that might be seen again in Game 3, the Cavs battled back behind LeBron James and cut the lead to five points with a minute to play.
It ultimately was a failed run at victory, though there's some potential for it to alter the course of the series.
Using a zone defense and trapping entry passes to the post, the Cavs were able to force the Pistons to take jump shots out of rhythm. On offense, the Cavs isolated James to make it harder for the Pistons to double-team him, and it left James freedom to find space for drives and pick-and-rolls.
The Cavs outscored the Pistons 31-19 in the fourth quarter and held them to 31 percent shooting in the second half. James scored 23 of his 30 points after halftime and filled the stat sheet with 14 rebounds and seven assists.
In reality, though, all that will only be meaningful if the Cavs somehow can duplicate the performance later -- because it still wasn't enough to win on this night.
``You can't get down on this team because it's so hard to come back,'' James said. ``We've got to be more mentally focused.''
Overall, it was still sort of like Groundhog Day, Auburn Hills style. In February, the Cavs allowed a 25-4, first-half run in a 20-point loss. In Game 1 on Sunday, they watched a 21-4 run in the 27-point loss. Tuesday, there was a 19-2 run in the first half that gave the Pistons enough space to cruise home.
Rasheed Wallace led the way offensively for Detroit, scoring 29 points. Tayshaun Prince added 20 points, and Billups had 15. Richard Hamilton made just one field goal, in the game's final minute, but got to the foul line 18 times and scored 17 points.
Still unable to close out on the Pistons' shooters, the Cavs allowed a bevy of open jumpers early. Detroit shot 53 percent in the first half, energizing the crowd and forcing Cavs coach Mike Brown to swallow his defensive pride.
Late in the second quarter, after already having called three timeouts to stem the repetitive tide, Brown ordered his players to foul Pistons center Ben Wallace, who is one of the worst free-throw shooters in the NBA.
Brown sent in Alan Henderson for one second to commit the first foul and had to beg Zydrunas Ilgauskas twice to get him to go along.
It didn't exactly work. Ben Wallace made 2-of-4 free throws, and it just magnified the distance between the two sides.
``I was shocked,'' Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. ``I guess when you're a young coach going against a team like us, you can get a little desperate.''
Brown defended the move.
``I don't like doing that,'' Brown said. ``I was trying to stop the bleeding.''
The Cavs were able to do that in the second half, but it still didn't mask all their problems.
James wasn't aggressive in the early going, and neither were his teammates, avoiding Ben Wallace whenever he came to the middle. Ben Wallace didn't have a blocked shot and didn't have a foul until there were eight minutes left in the game, because the Cavs almost never challenged him.
The Cavs shot just 22 free throws to the Pistons' 42.
Yet they still walked away with some resolve.
``Hope is not the word. We have to make sure we're a confident ball team,'' Brown said. ``We've got to win Game 3, it is as simple as that.''
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

5/10/06

Russell's prophecy is worth fulfilling

By Tom Reed

<!-- begin body-content -->AUBURN HILLS, MICH. - The lord of the NBA rings dropped in Tuesday night to distribute some hardware to Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace and a tantalizing possibility to Cavaliers' fans.
Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion, said if the Cavs surround LeBron James with quality teammates ``he's the guy who can come closest to our domination.''
Wow!
Then again, Magic Johnson once labeled the Cavs the ``team of the '90s'' and we recall how that turned out. Those Cavs' teams couldn't get past Michael Jordan.
This time, however, they have No. 23 on their side and he gave them another glimpse of what could be in a 97-91 loss at the Palace.
James was heroic in defeat, scoring 30 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and registering seven assists. He displayed mental toughness and basketball skills of the highest order in rallying the Cavs from a 22-point deficit.
He had 14 fourth-quarter points. The Cavs cut the deficit to five points with a minute remaining before the Pistons' experience allowed them to weather James' flurry and take a 2-0 series lead to Cleveland.
``We were being aggressive on the offensive and defensive ends,'' said James, who scored just seven first-half points. ``We forgot about everything. We forgot about the crowd, the Pistons. We were aggressive.''
It wasn't enough, however, and it probably won't be enough to extend this series beyond five games.
The Pistons can beat the Cavs any way they want. That's the theme through two games. They buried the Cavs with 3-pointers in Game 1 and supplied a solid all-around performance Tuesday.
James and his teammates are up against a well-engineered machine. If the Big Three made cars as well as the Pistons play basketball, nobody would have heard of Toyota.
``We did some nice things in the second half, but if we don't translate that to 48 minutes, we aren't going to beat the Pistons,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
The Cavaliers were completely stifled in the first half.
You think master illusionist David Blaine was gasping for air Monday night in his unsuccessful attempt to hold his breath underwater?
You should have seen the Cavs in the first 24 minutes of this game. Fans were witnessing a nationally-televised suffocation as the Pistons built a 52-36 lead.
They forced 24-second shot violations. They clamped down on the Cavs' backcourt. Eric Snow and Larry Hughes finished with a combined 10 points.
The Pistons, meanwhile, were showing their versatility. They dominated at both ends. Brown resorted to intentionally fouling the free-throw challenged Wallace, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as a means to slow the Pistons' momentum.
Detroit was on the verge of posting its second consecutive blowout. James was 3-of-10 from the field. His face was a mask of frustration. He was tied up for a jump ball by Rasheed Wallace and Maurice Evans.
A heckler shouted at James: ``LeBron, you could be our sixth man and win a championship.''
``I think the impressive thing was that early, there weren't many (driving) lanes there,'' Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.
James doesn't like to force things, but with teammates such as Hughes (4-of-11) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (10 points) continuing to struggle, he decided to take control.
He shot 13 times in the second half, converting eight attempts. He grabbed 10 rebounds. He distributed six assists. James willed the Cavs back into the game.
He drove the basket. He hit jump shots. He repeatedly found Anderson Varejao (10 points) for easy buckets. It sparked memories of a young Michael Jordan against the Celtics.
The sellout crowd of 22,076 fans got a little tense. The heckling stopped and shouts of encouragement started.
``I still wasn't forcing the action, but I was able to get in some single coverage and get into rhythm,'' James said.
Cavs fans should not be fooled into thinking the strong finish guarantees momentum for Game 3.
What's encouraging, though, is James can make the best defense in the Eastern Conference look like the Washington Wizards when he gets into a zone.
Just imagine when the Cavs put a strong supporting cast around this 21-year-old star.
Russell's prophecy might be worth revisiting.
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

5/10/06

Cavaliers notebook: Gilbert goes ‘home’ as Cavs fan

Wednesday, May 10, 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. - Dan Gilbert spent a lot of time at The Palace before he bought the Cavaliers last year.
The Quicken Loans chairman and founder grew up in Detroit and used to be a Pistons season-ticket holder. He celebrated NBA titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004.
With allegiances switched to the Cavs, Gilbert had an odd feeling after he arrived for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“It was kind of crazy,” Gilbert said. “When I was going to interviews before the game, I could actually look at the seats I was sitting in for the Lakers-Pistons final two years ago. I felt like I was traded.”
Gilbert hopes to see the Cavaliers play in the finals real soon. But his purchase of the team does not mean he will never be a Pistons fan again.
It’s just out of the question during this series.
“A way to look at it is the Cavaliers would be a son and the Pistons would be a nephew,” Gilbert said. “You love them both, but you’re going to go with your son for sure.”
Make no mistake: The Quicken Loans office is dominated by Pistons fans. Some of them gave the CEO a little grief after Detroit’s 113-86 win in Game 1.
Gilbert responded jokingly.
“I said, ‘That’s it. No more raises,’ ” he said.

CLEARING IT UP In an Associated Press story out of Detroit, Donyell Marshall was quoted as saying the Pistons’ knowledge was going to overtake the Cavaliers’ youth. Before Tuesday’s Game 2, the Cavs forward said he was taken out of context. “I never said they were going to beat us, or they’re experience was going to beat our youth,” Marshall said. “The question was never about us vs. them.” Marshall said the way he was quoted makes him look like he is giving up on the Cavaliers or has no confidence in them. “I’m one of the biggest believers in this team,” he said. “I’ve said that from day one.”
Z FACTOR After two tough games at the end of the Washington series, Zydrunas Ilgauskas played well in Game 1 against the Pistons. Ilgauskas finished with 14 points and five rebounds. “It was good to see Z come out a little bit,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “He has to keep continuing to step up for us.”
BIG BEN LeBron James said Pistons center Ben Wallace deserves this year’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. “He keeps this train going defensively,” James said. “You have to go in with aggressiveness when you go to the hole. He’s capable of blocking shots, capable of stripping you — doing anything.” Wallace became the first player in the league history to win the award four times in five years.
BAD DAY May 7 has not been a good date in Cavs postseason history. Sunday was the anniversary of Michael Jordan’s series-clinching buzzer beater against Cleveland in the first round of the 1989 playoffs. The Cavaliers also lost by 17 to New Jersey in a 1993 first-round playoff game and were beaten soundly by the Pistons on Sunday.

Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]





Game 1
Pistons 113
Cavaliers 86
Detroit leads, 1-0
Game 2
Pistons 97
Cavaliers 91
Detroit leads, 2-0
Game 3
at Cleveland
Saturday, 8 p.m.
ABC
Game 4
at Cleveland
May 15, 7 p.m.
TNT
Game 5
at Detroit
May 17, TBA
(if necessary)
Game 6
at Cleveland
May 19, TBA
(if necessary)
Game 7
at Detroit May 21, 3:30 p.m. (if necessary)


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[tibor75]

Did anyone else catch Barkleys halftime comment?

"Well we are witnesses, witnesses to an ass kicking."

How many championships do you have Charles?

Based on that astute logic, no ex-Cleveland player of the modern era can ever criticize another team or athlete - because no ex-Cleveland player of the modern era has ever won anything.

 

[Piney]

I am also pissed that Tayshaun is scoring as much on LBJ. That is just sickening, b/c as much energy as he should be wasting on the defensive end, he is still able to eat up LBJ on the offensive end.

Saw an article that explained this perfectly. LeBron is playing Tayshaun as if he has 5 fouls on him the whole game. He knows how important he is and he cannot sit due to foul trouble. So he plays loose defense to keep his fouls down, Prince is seeing this and taking advantage of it.

But back to the series. I actually liked how they played in Game 2. Well, not the first 2.5 quarters of it. But the last 18 minutes. That confidence should be able to carry over to Cleveland. Throw in a few days off so they can get their legs back and heads screwed on tight I see a win Saturday night. Also me have a feeling for some reason the game will be officiated different like any home game. Detroit will get into foul trouble as the Cavs will get the calls and shoot twice as many free throws.

Plus I will be at the game so that means we have to win

 

[OH10]

how many do you have? Or is skill not a necessity before having an opinion?

they were playing scared and getting drilled. Then they started playing nba basketball and gave the pistons a run for their money...

It's not an opinion that Sir Pancake was giving. I've rarely, if ever, seen Barkley give Lebron any credit for anything. When he hit the winner in game 5, he was laughing because it was terrible defense. What he said was a deliberate shot at Lebron and his hype. I don't know if it's jealousy or what because he's so talented at such a young age. But Charles wants to see this guy fail and cracks jokes when this ultra young team gets beaten badly by an experienced, championship team.

If he had won some championships, maybe his act would be a little more tolerable. But since he hasn't, and he was himself an annual playoff flameout, maybe he ought stick to giving intelligent opinions about Lebron.

 

[ScarletBlood31]

http://www.thebrushback.com/witness_full.htm

Lebron James A Witness To Somebody Actually Playing Defense



DETROIT--During the first round playoff series between the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the world was a witness to the awesomeness that is Lebron James. However, in Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons, James was a witness to something he didn’t see against the Washington Wizards: defense. The result was a 22 point performance, including zero points in the second half.
“We were all witnesses to Lebron’s ascent to greatness during the Washington series,” said Pistons coach Flip Saunders. “Now, Lebron is a witness to a team that plays defense. We won’t let one player beat us, no matter how wealthy he is. Lebron, you are now a witness – to the sight, sound, and smell of a multiple defenders suffocating you.”
Saunders and his team have the utmost respect for James but refuse to stand in awe of him, despite his exciting television commercials. To the Pistons, he’s just another talented scorer who needs to be shut down.
“Lebron is tough but he is not a God,” said Tayshaun Prince, who is the main defender assigned to James. “We think he got a little spoiled in the Washington series. They don’t play defense over there. They don’t even pretend to play defense. They just stand around and watch. Here it’s a little different. We’re going to elbow him, we’re going to triple team him, and we’re going to force him to find his teammates, who can’t shoot anyway. On the bright side, Damon Jones does wear some fun jackets.”
After Game 1, James and the Cavaliers made no excuses about the way they played in the 113-86 drubbing. James knows that the road to the finals goes through Detroit and he will have to solve the Pistons stellar defense to advance to the next round.
“It was a tough game for me, that’s for sure,” James told reporters after the game. “The Pistons definitely threw a few wrinkles at me that I wasn’t used to, like trying to defend me and not asking for my autograph during time outs. I’ll have to make some adjustments. It’s a shame, though, because I am a much more God-like player when the opposition is the worst defensive team in the history of basketball. I don’t know why. Just a coincidence I guess.”
James acknowledged that he sometimes has a hard time living up to the expectations and hype that have surrounded him since high school
“Expectations are high for me,” he said. “Every move I make is under the microscope. It doesn’t help that Nike is presenting me as some kind of superhero with these ‘we are all witnesses’ commercials. I mean, I’m not that good. I don’t know if I can ever be that good. I’m just a basketball player. The way they're carrying on, you'd think I actually mattered.”
Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night and James is expecting another difficult, grueling game. The Pistons are also expecting James to rebound and play better than he did on Sunday.
“We’re not taking anything for granted. We know what Lebron can do,” said guard Richard Hamilton. “This guy is one of the best players in basketball. He was amazing the other night when we were triple teaming him. Did you see what a great job he did finding the open man? It was an honor to witness it. It's just unfortunate that the open men were Ira Newble and Larry Hughes. ”

 

[buckeyeboy]

I've rarely, if ever, seen Barkley give Lebron any credit for anything.

I agree on this one. I usually like Charles's commentary, but with LeBron, his comments do always seem to be sarcastic and seemingly driven by jealousy. As a result, I just turn the channel to something else during TNT's halftime or postgame show.

 

[BuckeyeBiz]

I have been a fan of the Pistons the last couple of years until my Cavs made the playoffs and squared off against them. They do have great team chemistry and have so much depth. If they only would have picked Carmelo or wade instead of Darko. I am happy that the Cavs made the playoffs and won a series but I am not expecting anything more than 1 or 2 wins in this series. Lebron seemed to disappear for a long time last night but I was impressed with how he played in the 4th quarter. This year’s playoffs are really going to help Lebron in his progression and I have no doubt he will win the MVP next year. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

 

[jwinslow]

maybe Charles is a jealous tool (tho he had a ton of skill in his day).

honestly I enjoy someone who speaks their mind and doesn't rattle off tired, rehashed propaganda. I think Lebron is an incredible talent and worth plenty of hype, but when he's involved with a game he dominates the studio panel coverage.

So many on this board, including myself, became nauseous when ESPN geared all of their programming towards SC. Difference in that case is that they had actually won two championships already.

So as much as Charles may not be giving LBJ his due, the rest of the media is more than compensating.

 

[OH10]

maybe Charles is a jealous tool (tho he had a ton of skill in his day).

honestly I enjoy someone who speaks their mind and doesn't rattle off tired, rehashed propaganda. I think Lebron is an incredible talent and worth plenty of hype, but when he's involved with a game he dominates the studio panel coverage.

So many on this board, including myself, became nauseous when ESPN geared all of their programming towards SC. Difference in that case is that they had actually won two championships already.

So as much as Charles may not be giving LBJ his due, the rest of the media is more than compensating.

You'll receive no argument from me about the media coverage of Lebron. It's absurd. But that doesn't give big bad "no-championship" Charles Barkely the cushion to be such a condescending prick towards Lebron.

I'm going to go ahead and say that I think CB is jealous because he's old, fat and ringless, while Lebron is young, athletic and destined to have a few rings in his career.

 

[Brutus1]

Regardless of the final score, they've been totally hamered the first two games. The Pistons play such great defense while most of the Cavs seem to be playing scared/tentative.

They need everyone to contribute every night. You can't have Hughes scoring 8 points a game. Gooden needs to get 17 10 almost every game, not once every 3 games. Z needs to shit or get off the pot.

Maybe when they get more time playing together, they can play much better. How long have the current Pistons been playing together? It seems like 3 or 4 years.

Hopefully they get a couple of good players in the draft that can contribute on offense and defense. You can get away with beating the Wiz with
Snow at the point, but never against the Pistons.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

im not going to make a comment on barkley, but what he says is true, but overstated. but so much overstatement is the other way in which lebron walks on water.
to this point in lebrons career hype=/production. that being said what does a 21 year old kid have to do to match the hype he has been given? whether you like it or not lebron has feed the hype machine, with nike, his tat on his back, and what not. the only question will be what he does over his career. willingness to buy into a team structure will dictate where he goes along with ownerships willingness to make good choices and spend some $.

that being said-does lebron play defense? yes, but its piss poor. that i agree with.

 

[exhawg]

You all are saying the Darko pick was bad, but looking at the situation right now the Pistons would be having some problems resigning if they had drafted anyone but Darko. Do you play Prince or Melo? Wade or either of their guards? Sheed or Bosh? Now the Pistons pick up an extra lottery pick this year so that the player will be ready in a few years when they might need to replace one of their current stars. If they had picked Melo, Wade, or Bosh instead of Darko they would have had a much harder time figuring out who to keep when contracts are up. I don't think Darko will ever be as good as those other 3 players, but he showed that he could play down in Orlando, and has the chance to be a really good addition to their front court with Howard. The biggest problem with Darko is that the Pistons had no business getting the number 2 pick in the draft with the team they had.