The Cleveland Cavaliers started their four game road trip with a loss to the Dallas Mavericks, who were playing without all star Dirk Nowitzke. That loss seemed to fire them up for the rest of the sojourn because they followed it up by giving Phoenix their first home loss, beat Sacramento in overtime, and then saved the best for last.
They hammered the Los Angeles Lakers 102-87 at the Staples Center before what turned out to be an angry LA crowd and a national television audience.
The Cavs were physical from the get go and Shaquille O’Neal showed exactly why GM Danny Ferry acquired him from Phoenix in the off-season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, and also being a brick wall in front of the basket that not even Kobe Bryant could leap over.
By the end of the contest, the Lakers were a thoroughly frustrated team, with Lamar Odom Kardashian getting ejected, and Bryant and Derek Fisher also picking up technical fouls. The latter two players seemed offended that the Cavs didn’t just allow them to do whatever they pleased offensively.
Bryant scored 35 points, but took 32 shots to do so, and was upset a couple of times when he drove to the hoop only to run into a stationary O’Neal. When Bryant bounced off, as smaller things do to larger things, he was incredulous when no foul was called.
Defensively, he spent the fourth quarter doing things to James and the other Cleveland players that would have been called fouls had someone done them to Bryant.
Fisher was jacked up because Mo Williams abused him for 28 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, including a barrage in the third quarter when Mo scored the Cavs’ first ten points.
The Lakers weren’t used to the physical play.
Last season, the Cavs lost twice to the Lakers because LA’s size inside was a huge factor. Not yesterday. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Odom combined for just 21 points and 17 boards, and O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Anderson Varajao beat them up for 22 points, but 25 rebounds. The size advantage was nullified.
The x-factor was Jamario Moon, who scored 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting, and played solid defense on Bryant, where is length and athleticism challenged Bryant.
Mike Brown used O’Neal and Ilgauskas together at times, but this time it was appropriate because of the height the Lakers can put on the floor. Brown coached like this was a statement game, and the Cavs, who have seemed to be drifting through the regular season at times, played with playoff intensity.
James said the Cavs used the game as a measuring tool to see where they stood against the defending champs, but make no mistake, they sent a message to Bryant and the Lakers that they can play a physical game now with O’Neal and the other big men.
Keep this in mind when you look at the NBA standings. Of the so-called elite teams in the league, nobody has played more road games than the Cavs (18). The Lakers have a better record, but they have played 19 of their 28 games at home. In the East, all three of the other contenders for the best record in the conference have played equal amounts of games at home and on the road.
This is a big advantage as the season is heading to the halfway point.
The wine and gold come home after delivering a great gift to the city on Christmas Day. That had to put a smile on every basketball fan’s face in this area.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 