The San Antonio Spurs completed their sweep of the Cavaliers last night at the "Q", winning 83-82.  Even though the wine and gold finally took a fourth quarter lead in the series for the first time, it was too much Manu Ginobili down the stretch as he poured in 27 points to lead the Alamo city boys to their fourth title in nine years.  Tony Parker, who was unstoppable for the entire series, was named The Finals MVP, and deservedly so. 

 

The Cavs simply could not make big shots, or any outside shots on a consistent basis.  LeBron James seemingly couldn’t score unless he drove through the entire San Antonio defense to get to the basket.  He lacked confidence in his mid range jumper, and why shouldn’t he, I don’t think he made more than one or two in the series.  The best thing I heard after the game was James’ admission that he needs to get better.  He wasn’t satisfied by getting to the Finals, nor was he happy with his game.  When he can make that 15 footer jumper on a regular basis, he will be impossible to defend.

 

Game 4 pointed out the Cavaliers’ biggest problem.  They have too many players who are one dimensional.  For example, in the fourth quarter, Mike Brown went with Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall to try to spread out the floor for King James, so he could get to the basket easier.  However, the trade off was that the two veterans are not strong defenders and it allowed Ginobili driving lanes which caused havoc for the Cavalier defense.  It was written here at the beginning of the season, had Shannon Brown been used early in the year, he may have been able to contribute in the playoffs.  He didn’t, and perhaps the wine and gold could have used another perimeter defender. 

 

The other problem was the complete lack of outside shooting by Cleveland in the Finals.  Although the Cavs are not a great shooting team, they were down right dreadful in this series.  Marshall made some inside hoops in the last stanza yesterday, but couldn’t spit in the ocean from the edge of the boat.  Daniel Gibson hit some shots in Texas, but apparently left his shot there.  Sasha Pavlovic hit some shots here and there, but mostly there.  In fact, the best shooter the Cavs had in the series might have been Drew Gooden, and he wasn’t in at crunch time last night, because Brown doesn’t have confidence in his defense of the pick and roll.

 

Where do the Cavs go from here?  First, this is a very good defensive team and that is a credit to their head coach.  However, Danny Ferry needs to find a point guard, so LeBron can be a finisher.  It was nice to see the Cavs finally put James in the post against a smaller defender, because it is one more area in which he can be unstoppable if he works on that area of his game.  Next, Brown needs to bring in an assistant coach who has an offensive concept.  The team needs some set plays that they can lean on when they need a hoop.  The spread the floor and let James take his defender doesn’t work against good teams.  We just saw four games as an example.

 

The also need to remove some of the dead weight from the roster.  Since Ira Newble has only one year left on his deal, he could be a nice chip for a team looking to clear cap space.  It will be hard to unload Jones and Marshall, but both are limited and aging.  The team doesn’t have a draft pick this year, but since Brown played so little this year, he could almost be considered a new player.  It would be nice to get another big man who can play, since obviously the staff has no confidence in Scott Pollard. 

 

There’s no need for a celebration.  The Cavaliers didn’t win the NBA title.  They will get to add a banner to the rafters signifying an Eastern Conference Championship.  However, the headline in The Plain Dealer this morning was wrong.  It read "Final Chapter", it should have read "First Chapter".  The beginning of hopefully a long run as a title contender with LeBron James as the main character.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

The good news is the Cleveland Cavaliers did a better defensive job against the Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, holding them to just 34 points.  Unfortunately, the wine and gold picked a horrible time to go ice cold from the three point line, hitting just 3 of 19 from behind the arc, and two of those were in the last three minutes of the game.  The end result was a 75-72 loss, leaving the Cavs one game away from elimination.

 

Counting on the three is a dangerous offensive strategy, but many of these looks were wide open ones.  Even Daniel Gibson, the unsung hero of the playoffs, couldn’t hit his open shots from three point range.  The story of the game was San Antonio hit 10 3’s to the Cavs 3.  End of story, and likely the end of the series will come Thursday night.

 

Defensively, Mike Brown devised a scheme to cut down on Parker’s penetration and it worked for the most part.  The Spurs’ point guard put up more outside shots than in the first two games, and was held to just 17 points.  In order to stop Parker from getting into the lane, Brown gave up defending some of the Spurs’ role players on the perimeter, and they answered the call.  Bruce Bowen hit four of five from behind the line, and Brent Barry (a good shooter) and Michael Finley chipped in with some big shots as well.   San Antonio hit over 50% of their three point attempts, a tremendous percentage.

 

Offensively, once again the Cavs’ lack of structure cost them down the stretch.  They had open threes, but after hitting just 1 of their first 15, they probably should have taken the ball to the hoop more often.  The biggest gaffe was Anderson Varajao’s ill advised attempt with 14 seconds remaining.  Varajao got the ball because LeBron James had no where else to go, and LBJ wanted it right back.  Instead, the Brazilian forced up a ridiculous attempt with the game in the balance.  The lack of an offense allows the players to do the thinking, and in this case, it was the wrong thought.  I doubt Francisco Elson would have taken a similar shot in the same situation for San Antonio.  He would have known to get it back to Parker.

 

LeBron wound up with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, and likely would have had more had his teammates hit some of those open threes.  James tried to will the Cavs to victory by driving to the basket repeatedly in the closing minutes, but he hasn’t found the range on his mid range jumper, missing all of them last night.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas grabbed 18 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end, and played good defense on Duncan.  However, Drew Gooden committed two dumb fouls down the stretch leading to Varajao being in the game at the end.  The bench didn’t contribute much, except for Eric Snow’s defense on Parker.

 

It is very likely the series will win Thursday night with a Spurs’ sweep, and I don’t want a celebration for winning the conference championship.  However, no one thought the Cavs would get this far this year, so in fact, the wine and gold overachieved this season.  So I don’t want to hear how Mike Brown is an idiot, or how LeBron isn’t Michael Jordan.  Instead, let’s concentrate on how the Cavaliers can get back to The Finals next year.  The experience gained in this series will be a huge benefit if they can get back in 2007-08.

 

JK 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals was one of those games that was not as close as the final score indicates.  The margin of victory for the Spurs wound up being 11 points, but San Antonio dominated the game in every way until the final six minutes.  Once again, the Cavs had no answer for the Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, as the trio combined for 78 of their team’s 103 points in the 103-92 victory, putting San Antonio up 2-0 in the best of seven series.

 

Mike Brown simply has to find some way to slow at least one of these guys if the Cavaliers have any hope of winning one game in the series, let alone four.  It must start with stopping Parker, who is on his way to the Finals MVP trophy, with another incredible performance.  His penetration at will is causing breakdowns all over the place in the wine and gold defense, as they resemble the boy sticking fingers in the dyke to stop the flooding.  Brown put LeBron James on Parker to start the game, since Larry Hughes cannot stop the lightning quick guard, especially with his foot injury.  The best hope might rest in a combination of Eric Snow and Daniel Gibson, with Snow using his brain and Gibson his quickness to stop Parker.

 

Although I never liked the thug tactics of the "Bad Boy" Pistons, or Pat Riley’s Knicks, one thing the Cavs have not tried against Parker is a hard foul.  The point guard waltzes through the paint like he’s on a Sunday stroll down the boulevard, with no fear of getting mugged.  Perhaps Parker is too quick to catch for a hard foul, but none of the Cavs’ big men have dared to knock him on his butt on one of his forays to the hole.  The wine and gold have to send a message that this will no longer be allowed, and also to give Parker a second thought as he goes to the basket.

 

Offensively, the Cavs’ lack of a set offense is killing them against an excellent defensive team.  One way to combat good defense is running crisp sets, but the wine and gold doesn’t have that option.  San Antonio is doubling and tripling James, and recovering quickly enough to contest shots when LeBron finds open people.  Gibson is the only consistent shooter when left open, and he continues to impress.  It makes you wonder why he didn’t play more in the regular season (Brown’s love of veterans).  Many are calling for Hughes to lose more and more time, but how about Donyell Marshall, who outside of Game 6 against New Jersey has contributed nothing in this playoff run.

 

Eric Snow is challenging his teammates to match the Spurs intensity, but so far only a handful have listened.  The Cavaliers have the look of an intimidated team.  It doesn’t help that the Spurs execute offensively and defensively with the precision of a surgeon.  At least the next three games are in the friendly confines of the "Q", which should help some guys play with more confidence.  The Spurs have the look of a team wanting to get a ring, many of the Cavs look like they are dazed by the bright lights.

 

It would help if Mike Brown treated the games more seriously.  This is not a regular season game.  Holding the King out for nine minutes in the first quarter while he had two fouls is an inexperienced coach’s mistake.  As soon as the Spurs started building a lead, James should have been put back in.  Cleveland has no chance unless LBJ is best player on the court.  That’s impossible if he’s seated next to the coach.

 

San Antonio is the better team, one of the league’s best.  However, the Cavs are not the worst team ever to get to The Finals, the Allen Iverson Sixer team and the Knicks who had the 8th seed in the strike season are worse.  They just need to play stronger and harder on defense.  Down 0-2, it would be okay for Mike Brown to make some changes.  Give Gibson more time, and perhaps some minutes should be given to Ira Newble as well. 

 

Most of all, the Cavaliers need to realize this is for the championship.  Without smarter and harder play, this series will never go back to the Alamo City.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

During this playoff year, the Cavaliers have done a good job of defending the opponents’ star players to gain victories.  For the most part, if one big gun was scoring, the defense held the other two in check.  However, last night San Antonio’s big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili scored 67 of the Spurs’ 85 points as the wine and gold lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 85-76.

 

The biggest night was by Parker, who scored 27 points, mostly in the paint.  The lightning quick guard broke down the Cavs’ defense repeatedly and if he wasn’t scoring, he was finding the open man, leading to easy buckets by Duncan.  As we said in a previous blog, if Cleveland cannot control Eva Longoria’s husband to be, it will be a short series for the Cavs.  They simply must make Parker beat them with outside shots.  Yes, Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry hit a couple of threes, but if 80% of the opponents’ points are coming from their three best players, a defensive adjustment must be made for Game 2.

 

Offensively, LeBron James had a bad shooting night, hitting just 4 of 16 shots, scoring only 14 points.  Mike Brown has to feel that the King will play better the rest of the series.  Daniel Gibson continued to stay hot, leading the wine and gold with 16 points.  Sasha Pavlovic was agressive going to the basket, something that has to continue if the Spurs are going to concentrate on stopping James.  The big men have to be stronger inside, powering the ball to the basket and drawing more fouls.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas went 1 for 8, missing from outside and inside.  These guys have to make Duncan work harder on defense, which may take a little steam off of his offense.

 

The Cavs lost the first two games to Detroit, but the Spurs are most definitely a better team.  Mike Brown has to make adjustments to try and stop the penetration that killed the Cavs last night, and make Parker shoot from outside.  The Frenchman is too quick for Larry Hughes, so Gibson may get more time because he is quicker on defense, than his hot shooting.  Brown has shown he can make those changes, so it will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday night.

 

Cleveland was missing shots when they were open, so you have to have to think at least some more will fall in the next game.  If they do, the Cavs can stay in the game longer and make it come down to the final possessions.  That’s where having LeBron gives the Cavaliers the advantage.  Brown also has to get James running off of some screens, because if you can rub Bruce Bowen off some picks, it will free him up.  I would also post up James and see if Bowen can handle him in the post (I don’t think he can), but it will cause the Spurs to bring some help.

 

The Cavaliers now know what the Finals is all about.  They need to be better offensively and defensively in Game 2.  If they don’t show that improvement, the Spurs will cruise to their 4th title in nine years. 

 

JK

 

 

 

 

With all of the excitement in town regarding the Cavs first appearance in the NBA Finals, the success of the Cleveland Indians has gone under the radar.  Still, the Tribe sits in first place in the AL Central with a 35-21 record and have a 3-1/2 game lead over the Tigers after last night’s 1-0 victory over the Royals.  At this time, GM Mark Shapiro’s moves over the off-season has worked out.  The 2007 Tribe has more depth in hitting, but still there are some question marks. 

 

Bullpen.   Joe Borowski is among the AL leaders in saves, and Rafael Betancourt and Tom Mastny have done a good job for the most part in setting up, but the bullpen still is a large question mark.  Aaron Fultz was very good early in the year as the left handed specialist, but recently has developed the nasty little habit of walking guys with the bases loaded.  Roberto Hernandez and Fernando Cabrera have struggled to throw strikes, so Eric Wedge has to be hestitant to bring either into any game that is close.  Lefty Rafael Perez has been effective in the few games he has hurled, but hasn’t been put into a tight spot as of yet.

 

What to do?  If Hernandez doesn’t start throwing strikes, he could wind up being released.  Cabrera showed signs in his last outing that he might be able to start finding the plate, but his performance has to be evaluated on an outing by outing basis.  Matt Miller has been throwing well lately at Buffalo, and considering he would have made the team out of spring training if not for an arm injury, he could rejoin the big club soon.  I would have like to have seen Edward Mujica get more of a shot in his brief time here, but Wedge did not have the confidence to bring him in in anything but a mop up role.

 

Utility infielder.  Mike Rouse is a left handed hitter.  That’s about the only thing he has going for him at this point.  Nobody expects him to hit .300, but .200 would be nice.  Rouse is currently batting .122, which is pretty close to being an automatic out.  He simply has to hit better than that to hold a major league job.  Eric Wedge has to hesitate to give Jhonny Peralta, Josh Barfield, or Casey Blake a rest with Rouse hitting like he is currently.

 

What to do?  The only options would be lesser defensive players, which I don’t think the organization wants.  Joe Inglett is a switch hitter and can provide a little offense, but can’t handle SS defensively.  Hector Luna has proven he can hit at the big league level, but he has been a mess defensively no matter where they put him.  Luis Rivas started for the Twins at 2B, and has played SS at Buffalo, but hasn’t played third base recently, if at all.  My guess if any move is made, it will be for Rivas.

 

Starting pitching.  The first three starters have been outstanding.  C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, and Paul Byrd have combined for a 21-3 record.  After that, the starters have been disappointing.  Jake Westbrook will probably be out until late June, and you have to hope he will be better than he was before he was injured.  Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers have become lefties that Wedgie hopes he can squeeze 5 or 6 innings out of.  Neither have shown the command they showed in the past.

 

What to do?  Sowers is the likely candidate to be sent back to AAA when Westbrook returns.  He might already be there if Adam Miller had not injured a finger.  Lee will likely remain in the rotation as the fifth starter, but needs to change his pitching patterns.  He might be trade bait if the Tribe can find someone to upgrade the bullpen.  Sean Smith has also been pitching well at Buffalo, and perhaps the team might give Perez a start, since he was starting at Buffalo. 

 

Minor problems, sure.  However, in the tough AL Central, once again the best division in baseball, these things need to fixed in order to stay ahead of the pack.  Remember, the depth of the farm system could be a key in taking care of these problems.

 

KM 

 

 

 

They did it!  The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history with a resounding victory over the Pistons on Saturday night.  After his 48 point performance in Game 5, LeBron James knew he was going to be double and triple teamed in the sixth game and he needed someone to step up.  Rookie Daniel Gibson answered the call, scoring 31 points by hitting 5 of 5 three point shots in the third and fourth quarters to put the game on ice.  I only wish the fans in attendance had started chanting "Cleve-land Bas-ket-ball" toward the end of the game to send Detroit fans a message that their era is over.

 

Although there is no question James is the superstar of this team, he does need help to win games.  He has received that help, although it is not always the same guy.  One night it’s Drew Gooden, another it’s Daniel Gibson, still another it’s Sasha Pavlovic.  He doesn’t have a Scottie Pippen, but he does have a bunch of players who can make solid contributions.  If one of them does, it’s usually enough for the wine and gold to get a victory, even against elite teams.  By the way, Kenny Roda, does Z still stink?

 

It’s on to The Finals, where the Cavs will take on a truly great team in the San Antonio Spurs.  Tim Duncan is one of the game’s all time great, and has led the Spurs to three titles in the last nine years.  They are looking for a fourth ring.  Besides Duncan, who might be the best player in the league, the Spurs have two very good players in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  They have productive veterans in Michael Finley, Brent Barry, and Robert Horry.  They have one of the league’s best defenders in Bruce Bowen.  Sounds bleak, doesn’t it?

 

There are two keys for the Cavs.  One, they cannot be satisfied with getting to the Finals.  If they are, the series will not be close.  I don’t think that will be the case.  LeBron isn’t complacent, so the rest of the team won’t be either.  The second key is defense on Parker.  The Cavs have to keep him out of the lane as much as possible.  If Parker can break down Mike Brown’s defensive scheme, there will be too much pressure on the Cavs’ big men to keep both the point guard and The Big Fundamental under control. 

 

The thing in Cleveland’s favor is their younger legs.  Although Parker is young, the rest of the squad is older.  The Cavs feature several players under 25 years old:  James, Pavlovic, Gibson, Varajao.  So, the Cavs can win the series.  However, because of the 2-3-2 format in the final series, it is imperative that the wine and gold get one of the first two in the Alamo city.  I doubt the Cavs can beat the Spurs three times in a row at the Q.  So, to win the series, the Cavs need to win twice in San Antonio.  Can it be done, of course it can.  The further along the playoffs go, the less home court advantage means.  LeBron and company had a chance to win all three games in Detroit. 

 

The Cavs are four wins away from Cleveland first major sports championship in 43 years.  The Indians got to the World Series twice in three years, and were expected to win both times.  This time, it’s the Cleveland team flying under the radar.  Nationally, the wine and gold are big underdogs.  The Spurs play in the mighty West, the Cavs in the JV-like Eastern Conference.  The Spurs have three titles, this is LeBron & Co.’s first visit to the Finals.  It seems like it’s stacked against the Cavaliers.  Hopefully, for Cleveland, the third time is the charm.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Pistons last night in double overtime, 109-107, behind an unbelievable performance by LeBron James.  This victory sets up the biggest game in the franchise’s history at home on Saturday night.  Never before have the Cavs been one win away from the NBA Finals.  In their two previous trips to the conference finals, the team lost in six games.  So, they have never played a game with a chance to clinch a berth in The Finals.

 

Does anyone still think LeBron James isn’t one of the best players in the world?  After last night’s stupendous performance, there shouldn’t be.  The King took over the game midway through the fourth quarter, scoring the wine and gold’s last 25 points and 29 of the last 30 tallies.  He hit big shot after big shot in the greatest performance by a Cleveland athlete in recent memory.  LeBron had an answer for every Piston big shot.  The biggest up to the game winner, may have been his three pointer following Chris Webber’s traditional three point play in the second overtime. 

 

Still, Game 6 is going to be the most difficult game to win for the Cavaliers.  These Pistons have won a championship and have the heart associated with a title winner.  They are not going to roll over for Cleveland tomorrow night.  They will fight and claw and stratch to avoid elimination.  We know LeBron James will be up to the challenge, hopefully the rest of the team, spurred on by a raucous crowd will be ready as well.

 

Despite the lack of scoring by anyone not named LeBron down the stretch, other Cavs contributed to the victory.  Eric Snow provided great defense on Chauncey Billups in the fourth quarter and overtimes.  Anderson Varajao forced a key miss by Rasheed Wallace in the second OT, and may have gotten a piece on Billups’ final attempt of the game.  Daniel Gibson continued to play well, and Mike Brown did a great job for the most part subbing offense for defense and vice-versa. 

 

Tomorrow night will be a happening at the Q.  The Cleveland Cavaliers might advance to the NBA Finals for the first time.  20,000 fans will be there.  There will also be many former Cavs in attendance in spirit.  Guys like Austin Carr (who will be there in person), Bingo Smith, Jim Chones, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and World B. Free who could never take this franchise to this level, will be watching to see if the King and his Court can seal the deal.  However, it will not be easy and we should expect the Pistons best shot tomorrow night.

 

JK

 

 

 

Last week, we took a look at the upper levels of the Cleveland Indians farm system.  Today, we examine the fortunes of the two Class A affiliates, Kinston (Carolina League) and Lake County (South Atlantic League).

 

Kinston  Among the position players, Max Ramirez, acquired last year in the Bob Wickman deal is having the best offensive year, hitting .295, with 7 HR and 29 RBI.  The rap on Ramirez is that he is a catcher who struggles defensively, which will necessitate a position change.  3B Wes Hodges, a high draft pick in last year’s amateur draft is hitting .278 with 5 HR and 24 RBI.  Hodges did not play last season due to a foot injury.  Former #1 pick, OF John Drennan has come on after a slow start and has his average up to .249 with 6 HR and 30 RBI. 

 

The pitching staff has been the story at Kinston.  Last year’s top draft choice, LHP David Huff has a 4-2 record with a 2.10 ERA.  He has fanned 43 hitters in 55-1/3 innings.  He was recently listed in Baseball America’s hot prospect report which comes out weekly.  RHP Jeff Stevens, picked up in the Brandon Phillips transaction last year was recently moved to Akron after going 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 37 K’s in 35 innings.  Stevens has an outstanding curveball.  Sung-Wei Tseng, a righty the Tribe signed in a high profile international signing is also pitching well.  The 22 year old has a 3.47 ERA despite an 0-5 record. 

 

Lake County  The Captains have been an offensive juggernaut in 2007.  Led by the recently promoted 3B Jared Goedert, Lake County has scored runs in bunches this season.  Goedert, 22, hit .364 with 16 HR and 51 RBI in 46 games for the Captains, before moving up to Kinston.  C Matt McBride, who has a good defensive reputation, is hitting .288 with 3 HR and 27 ribbies.   1B Matt Whitney, a former high draft pick who severely injured his knee three years ago before spring training is finally healthy and batting .309 with 11 HR and 44 RBI.  Now 23 years old, he still has time to make an impact.

 

On the mound, Josh Tomlin has been one of the bright spots.  The 22 year old righty started the season in the bullpen, but has moved into the rotation and is now 5-0 with a 2.51 ERA and 45 whiffs in 43 innings.  2006 2nd round pick, Steven Wright has struck out 54 in 43 innings and has a 3-5 record with a 4.40 ERA.  Wright missed last season after being drafted with an illness.  Another 22 year old, Luis Perdomo has fanned 31 in 25 innings in a relief role.

 

With three of the Tribe’s four minor league teams within close proximity to Cleveland, Tribe fans can keep a close eye on the young players being primed to wear the big league uniform some day.  Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that Fausto Carmona was pitching in Lake County. 

 

KM

 

The reason for the title of this blog is this is the perception in the national media, that the Pistons are losing these games rather than the Cavaliers winning them.  After each game, the TNT and ESPN crews tell us how exactly Detroit snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  Chauncey Billups didn’t make shots, Chris Webber looks old, etc.  It doesn’t occur to any of these guys that perhaps the Cavaliers have done something to make these things happen.

 

Part of this thinking is the mentality of the NBA.  The championship mystique.  The Pistons have won a title, albeit three years ago, and they went to The Finals and lost just a year later.  Until you win something, in their eyes, you haven’t done anything.  That’s where the Cavaliers sit.  If and when they beat the Pistons, they will get all the credit in the world.  It’s like boxing.  The champion has the belt and the challengers have to take it.  These guys forget Detroit didn’t win the East last year, the Heat did.

 

Billups has not only played poorly, by his standards, in this year’s series, but he also did not play well in last season’s seven game set against Cleveland.  That’s not a coincidence.  That’s good defensive strategy by Mike Brown and execution by Eric Snow and Larry Hughes.  What is it definitely not is a fluke.  The wine and gold have become a good defensive team.

 

The Cavs are trying to quicken the pace of the game and have succeeded a little bit in Games 3 and 4.  That’s when they play their best and have opened up some leads as the game opens up.  LeBron James has played very well in the two games at the Q, but he has had a productive second man in each of the games in Cleveland.  Sunday night, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas made a difference.  Last night, it was Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson who were the co-stars of the game.  Gibson played his best game as a pro in the Eastern Conference Finals, and Gooden hit several big shots down the stretch and played good defense on Rasheed Wallace. 

 

The reality is both teams are thinking they could have swept this series.  Actually, the Cavs have outscored the Pistons in this series by a grand total of four points.  The old joke about watching the last two minutes of an NBA game is true here.  Every game has been decided in this manner.  Don’t expect anything different the rest of the series.  The wine and gold need to make the big shot in the closing minutes at The Palace to steal one in Motown.  They have to get one there to advance to The Finals.  That they could have won either of the first two games should buoy their confidence.

 

The Pistons will make adjustments to combat the quickness of Gibson.  This means a new player has to step up, whether it’s Pavlovic or Gooden or Z.  James cannot do it on his own.  Cleveland’s best bet to win in Detroit comes tomorrow night.  It’s highly unlikely they could get a Game 7 win on the road. 

 

JK

 

 

 

 

If you are one who believes that Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Capitol of the World and Detroit, headquarters of Motown, are more natural rivals than say Cincinnati and Cleveland, it was a good Memorial Day weekend for you.  Not only did the Indians move into first place by sweeping the Tigers at Comerica Park, the Cavs won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals by knocking off the Pistons at the Q, Sunday night.  It might alleviate some of the angst fans of North Coast sports normally go through.

 

The Tribe used power and good starting pitching to take three in the Motor City.  All three starting pitchers (Paul Byrd, C.C. Sabathia, and Fausto Carmona) worked into the seventh, allowing Eric Wedge to minimize the use of his bullpen.  The skipper showed he has confidence in only Rafael Betancourt and Tom Mastny is tight situations, and he treated all three games like they were playoff contests.  He used Betancourt for 1-2/3 frames in the series opener.

 

With Travis Hafner struggling during the month of May, Victor Martinez has quietly putting together a tremendous season.  Martinez had big HR’s in each of the first two games in Detroit, and is hitting around .320 with 8 dingers and 40 RBI.  The catcher is also much improved in terms of throwing out would be base stealers.  He’s getting more time off from his catching duties, playing 1B when Kelly Shoppach goes behind the dish.  Martinez sometimes gets overlooked because of Grady Sizemore and Hafner, but he’s definitely having an All Star campaign. 

 

The two teams go after each other against in a four game set at Jacobs Field this weekend.  This time, the Indians will not be able to pitch their three best starters, as Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers will go on Saturday and Sunday.  The Indians have done very well against their division foes in 2007, with a record thus far of 13-4 against Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago, and Kansas City.

 

Meanwhile in Cleveland, LeBron James’ poster dunk over Rasheed Wallace highlighted the Cavaliers’ game three victory to put them back in the series.  LBJ was aggressive, satisfying his critics, but also dished out nine assists in the win.  The wine and gold still need to win the fourth game tonight to even the series and give themselves a realistic chance to get to The Finals.  They will have to accomplish that without guard Larry Hughes, out with a torn muscle in his foot.

 

It is likely that Daniel Gibson will make his first start in the post season tonight, and Eric Snow will also get off the bench as well, after getting a DNP in Game 3.  I would like to make another personnel suggestion to Mike Brown.  That would be to anchor Donyell Marshall firmly to the bench and give Ira Newble some playing time.  In a series where the defense is king, Newble would provide better "D" than Marshall, and outside of his heroics in the clinching game in New Jersey, the former UConn star’s offense has been missing in action as well.  There really isn’t anything to lose in giving Newble some minutes.

 

Much has been made of the subpar performance turned in by Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton the other night.  However, the Cavs didn’t get good games from Anderson Varajao and Hughes missed much of the game as well.  It seems a lot of "experts" like to point out what Pistons are not playing well, but fail to observe the Cavs who are not playing up to par. 

 

Regardless, this is a must win game for the Cavaliers.  If they lose, the series and the season will most likely end Thursday night at The Palace.  If they win, the team should have confidence since they could have won either of the first two games.  LeBron was not correct about Sunday’s game being the biggest of his career.  Tonight’s contest will supercede that one.

 

MW