The defending Eastern Conference Champions took on one of the teams that would like to wrest that title away from them last night, when the Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics, 114-113 at Quicken Loans Arena. As usual, LeBron James was the star, missing a triple double by one rebound, but the wine and gold had many contributors, even with all the injuries the squad has suffered.
Boston supporters will point out that the green was without its best player, MVP candidate Kevin Garnett. However, the Cavs were missing their best defensive big man in Anderson Varajao, and lost Drew Gooden in the third quarter with a groin strain. I understand neither player is the caliber of The Big Ticket, but they forced Mike Brown to find other alternatives on the front line. Just as Boston got a big game off the bench from Tony Allen, the wine and gold had some others step up last night, most notably Ira Newble.
Newble, little used for much of the year, was thrust into the starting lineup after the foot injury to Sasha Pavlovic. He took that spot basically because Mike Brown did not want to upset his bench rotation of Daniel Gibson, Varajao, and Devin Brown. However, the Miami (OH) alum has made the most of his opportunity. He made some key plays in the road win at Los Angeles against the Lakers, and last night pitched in with 15 points, including a key dunk down the baseline late in the fourth quarter last night. A championship contending team needs players like Newble to step up.
Newble’s play has meant less time for Devin Brown, which is curious because he has been a key contributor all season long. This is the second time this season that Coach Brown has lost track of D. Brown on his bench. He isn’t flashy, but he is one of those players who do the little things. He comes up with loose balls, get the key rebound, plays good defense, and does the things that don’t show up in the box score to borrow a cliché.
What does the team do if Gooden can’t go tomorrow night against Houston? My guess is that Dwayne Jones would get the start, but the coaching staff would go with a small lineup much of the night, using LeBron as the power forward, and giving additional time to Donyell Marshall as well. Marshall heeded the call last night, grabbing five rebounds in his time on the floor. That’s what the Cavs need right now from the veteran, not sitting around outside of the three-point arc.
All the injuries aside, the wine and gold are in pretty good shape. They sit at 27-20, with a two game road trip this week. After returning from the road, they will have 33 games remaining, of which 19 will be at The “Q”. They are also eight games ahead of the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference. After all the hand wringing in November and December, the Cavs will cruise into the playoffs. And with that many games remaining at home, getting into the top four is a pretty good bet unless the injury bug continues.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 