Sometimes, the most unlikely event shakes a team out of its doldrums. The Cleveland Cavaliers were struggling in game one of their conference semi-final series, until it happened.
Mo Williams, coming off a steal, dunked on the Celtics’ Paul Pierce. Forget about dunking on someone, the fact that Williams dunked at all was a shock. The unlikely event provided a spark to put Williams en fuego. He scored 14 points in the quarter, and the wine and gold, who were trailing by 11 at one point, took a one point lead at the end of the quarter.
The first half was a worrisome affair for Cavs’ fans. First, LeBron James looked very tentative at the outset, appearing to favor his ailing right elbow. He didn’t shoot effectively from outside, and the Cavaliers were down by 11 going into the locker room. Was something more seriously wrong with his right arm, or was he trying to get his teammates involved.
Also, Rajon Rondo was kiling Cleveland. He scored 19 points and dished out 8 assists. He got into the paint at will, scoring and creating excellent opportunities for the other guys in green. He went past Williams as if he were a statue. No one could control him, and it appeared to be big trouble for the wine and gold in the first game of the series.
They were still down 11 when Williams dunked occurred. And from then on, the Cavailers took control, outscoring Boston 43-24 for the rest of the game.
James said his elbow loosened up in the second half, and he discovered his jump shot, going on to score 35 points to go with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Shaquille O’Neal contributed three big baskets in the fourth quarter, and J.J. Hickson played well too, winding up with 11 points.
The Celtics showed, however, that they will not be a pushover in this series. And there is no doubt, they will come hard after the Cavs in game two on Monday night. Another loss means they would have to take four out of five from Cleveland to advance, and that is highly doubtful. If they are going to win this series, they need to win the second game. The Cavs have to match their intensity.
The Celtics big three of Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen all shot under 50% from the floor in game one, and that will probably not happen again. Boston will play better, but the wine and gold have room for improvement as well. Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varajao played okay, but they are capable of bigger things.
The Cavs usually need just one other player to step up with a big game along with James to win. On Saturday night, it was Mo Williams. Someone else will need to do the job on Monday.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 