What happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and whom were those guys wearing the wine and gold last night against the Washington Wizards? A little over a week ago, the blog predicted a first round loss to Washington based on the Cavs play over the past several weeks. After last night’s 116-86 blowout to give Cleveland a 2-0 series lead, I can’t eat enough crow. Either the Cavs have put it together, or the Wizards are not a good playoff team.
For all of the complaints about Mike Brown regarding his playing rotation, offensive strategy, etc. in the regular season, he is a much better coach in the post-season. He does a very good job of designing schemes to take away what the opponent likes to do on offense. This can’t be done in the regular season because you are playing different teams every night, but when you are going to play the same team seven times, this strategy is a key to advancement.
The Wizards seem to be more preoccupied with committing hard fouls than playing basketball. LeBron James is in their heads, and their frustration with not being able to beat the Cavs has never been higher. Brendan Haywood’s flagrant foul against the King in the third quarter was thuggery. The Wizards can paint it as hard, aggressive basketball, but Haywood made no attempt to play the ball. It was a cheap shot plain and simple.
It is amazing how good any basketball team looks when they make shots. Yesterday, the wine and gold did just that. Wally Szczerbiak looked like the guy Danny Ferry traded for, hitting some shots early, and taking it to the hole with a beautiful finger roll at the end of the first half. Daniel Gibson looked like the Boobie who lit it up against Detroit, and overall the team shot 52%. Any time they shoot that well; it will likely mean a victory for Cleveland.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, the Cavs held the Washington big three of Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison to 10 for 36 shooting. There were no mysteries to the defensive effort. The Cavs had just six blocks and six steals. They just played hard-nosed, solid defense. That wins in the playoffs. And everyone contributed to the effort.
Thursday night, we will see if this re-energized Cavalier team is for real when they hit the road in the playoffs for the first time this season. The wine and gold did not play well away from The Q since the big trade was made. However, the way they approached both Game 1 and Game 2 gives us hope. Washington now needs to win four out of five to win the series. Based on the way the first two games were played, that doesn’t seem possible. Remember though, since they reshuffled their roster, consistency and the Cavs have not gone hand in hand.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 