A disappointed LeBron James left the court without shaking hands with the players who ended his dream of going back to the NBA Finals. He left the playing surface alone, ironic in that he competed in the contest pretty much without any help from his teammates. Sure, Delonte West played hard, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is always a constant, but the rest of the Cavaliers abandoned their leader. The result was the end of the season for the wine and gold, as the lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, 97-92 yesterday.
James put on a show for the ages, scoring almost half of the Cavs’ points (45), and getting almost half of the team’s assists (6 out of the 13 that Cleveland had). James sat out just a minute and twelve seconds of the contest, in which his teammates were outscored 5-0. Those five points just happen to be the difference in the game. It’s an indictment on the entire team that LBJ can’t even sit out a minute of such an important game without drastic consequences. Of course, his coach didn’t help in that regard, either.
This has been alluded to the entire series, but why didn’t Devin Brown play more in this series. Mike Brown gave (the proper choice, because they weren’t earned) Sasha Pavlovic 35 minutes of playing time in the most important game of the season. He played more minutes than Ilgauskas. The only Cavs who played more were James and West, who played hard the entire game. Pavlovic hit three of his eight shots, including a three pointer, but contributed just three rebounds and an assist. Devin Brown contributed in so many ways during the regular season, playing defense, passing, rebounding, and scoring. It is difficult to understand why he rusted on the bench during this series.
Also, the staff is at fault for not establishing Ilgauskas early in each of the last three games. Z is a rhythm player, and getting him going early is important to the team. That didn’t happen in Games 5, 6, and 7.
The mega-trade Danny Ferry made at the deadline wasn’t a success because the Cavs didn’t return to The Finals, but Delonte West might just be a contributor on the next Cleveland team to get that far. West was arguably the only other Cavalier who didn’t let the game seven pressure get to him. He scored 15 points and had five assists, but more importantly was willing to take the shot. At his size, he could wind up being the starting two guard if the team acquires a point guard, or he could stay at the point with an entire training camp in Cleveland under his belt.
Ferry probably wishes that Ben Wallace could have made as much of a contribution for the Cavs in yesterday’s game as P.J. Brown did for the Celtics. The veteran hit all four of his shots from the floor, scoring 10 points and grabbing six boards. Wallace did play solid defense on Kevin Garnett, but his inability to play offensively hamstrings the team. Late in the fourth quarter, Wallace got the ball in the post with single coverage, and didn’t even attempt an offensive move. In 29 minutes, he scored three points and had four rebounds. It wasn’t enough. The Celts’ Brown also delivered two hard fouls down the stretch, something Wallace never gave the wine and gold.
Joe Smith did a nice job, but I’m sure Coach Brown didn’t want him guarding Garnett late in the game. Wally Szczerbiak picked a poor time to play a simply awful game. The bottom line is LeBron James didn’t get enough help from his teammates and his coaches. As a result, the Cavaliers are going home for the summer. Hopefully, the front office will not be taking a summer vacation.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 