|
Photo: Jon Fobes/Cleveland.com
No one wanted to say it, but everyone was feeling it. The Cavaliers were clearly missing something in their first couple of games, but tonight the Cavaliers became whole again when they welcomed Delonte West back into the rotation. The impact was immediate, and the Cavaliers used a strong shooting night combined with a determined defensive effort to score the eleven point victory over an improved Charlotte Bobcats squad, that has still never won in Quicken Loans Arena.
Early success for the Diesel: Project "Feed O'Neal" continues and makes a few strides each game. In this contest, Shaq made 3-of-4 shots for a quick six points against the the favorable matchup on the skinnier Tyson Chandler. Although Shaq finished with just 8 points on 3-of-7 shooting, he had 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and played solid interior defense. More importantly, he looked much more comfortable in the offensive flow, and while the mission to count on him as a reliable scoring option continues, the progress is slowly coming.
Hot Sauce in his Bag: The much-anticipated beginning to Delonte West's season came with 4:22 in the first quarter. West checked in for Anthony Parker, and he received a standing ovation from the Q faithful. West immediately brought perimeter defensive intensity and offensive movement and spacing. In his 24 minutes, Delonte provided a little bit of everything in his opening act: 5-of-7 shooting for 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and hard-nosed defense. He did most of his damage in the late third quarter through the late fourth quarter in a stretch of 11 minutes where he scored all 13 of his points and seemed to find his stroke, getting into that mode that Cavaliers fans fondly remember. When he's feeling it, Delonte becomes a second player on this team that can create his own offense consistently.
Cavalier Killer?: If I were picking a Cavalier-killer unit of current NBA players, Raymond Felton would garner serious consideration for the point guard position. Despite the Cavaliers' overwhelming success against Charlotte, any time the Cavaliers have tripped up, Felton has been a main culprit. Furthermore, he keeps the Bobcats in the games that they've lost as well. Mo Williams has faced four very quick point guards in the first four games this year (Rondo, Calderon, Flynn, Felton), and Felton gave him early fits as well. Felton made his first three shots as the Cavaliers struggled to defend the pick and roll. However, give the Cavalier defense credit for making an adjustment by more actively hedging the picks, forcing Felton to give the ball up. After his first three makes, Felton shot just 2-of-9 for the rest of the game and committed a whopping eight turnovers in all.
Something old to something new: The Cavaliers' first bench lineup tonight looked quite familiar. That's because when Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West replaced Shaq and Anthony Parker, it reunited the starting five from last season's 66-win season for the first time this year. In my view, that's the perfect lineup to go with initially off the bench. There's a complete chemistry there, and everyone knows what to expect from their teammates out there after playing heavy minutes with them in tight spots.
Ilgauska-licious!: Look out opposing benches! Because it appears that Zydrunas Ilgauskas is beginning to find his niche with his new role. In his second solid performance, Big Z did about all you can ask him to do in his current role. The man in the middle made all five of his shot attempts for his 10 points, pulled down three rebounds, and added an assist. The most impressive stat though was his five blocked shots in just 20 minutes. Ilgauskas, combined with O'Neal and Varejao, protected the paint very well, and in the words of Austin Carr, "he's guarding the paint like his life depended on it". This terrific effort by Ilgauskas made me proud to sport my Zydrunas Ilgauskas Halloween costume tonight, complete with gold throwback Ilgauskas jersey, matching shorts, and a bald cap.
Boiling Over: The Cavaliers showed a slight lack of discipline in racking up two technical fouls. Ilgauskas picked one up for slapping at one of the Bobcats after a made basket, and Delonte West picked one up for complaining about an offensive foul called on J.J. Hickson. Most likely, he was complaining not only about J.J.'s foul, but his own offensive foul on the previous trip down. I liked neither call, but Hickson's was incredibly tough since even though the defender was out of the restricted area, J.J. had gathered already and was trying to complete the slam. Also, the camera angle was not great, but it did appear that his back right heel could have been on the restricted line. With Delonte's current state of affairs, I'm sure the Cavaliers will take the occasional spout-off if it results in a performance like tonight's.
Halloween Hustle: One thing is for sure, Cavalier hustle has made a complete 180 from the first half of the Toronto game, where they were getting beat on "50-50 balls". Last night, two of the more memorable plays were dynamic hustle plays. The first came when Z sent a Bobcat packing with a rejection that bounced out near the sideline. Delonte West saved the ball from going out of bounds, lofting a toss towards LeBron James at midcourt. LeBron then quickly chucked a quick bullet behind his head to Varejao before the lone Bobcat defender could foul him. Andy finished the feverish play off with a powerful dunk. The next play, involving Andy as well, came when a loose ball trickled near the scorers' table. Andy, instead of chasing after the ball to try and pick it up with a Bobcat defender hot on his trail, dove out full extension and slammed the ball off the defender's leg and out of bounds. These two plays stuck in my mind as the type of plays that not only get the crowd excited, but help spawn the running, forcing turnovers style that the Cavaliers execute so well at times.
Hot Tamale Shooting: Obviously, on a night when the team shoots 58 percent, it's going to be pretty hard to lose, regardless of the opponent. That's exactly what the Cavs did, including a sizzling 9-of-16 from behind the arc (56 percent). Williams and Parker together accounted for eight of the nine Cavaliers threes, and LeBron played a large part in setting the starting backcourt up for those open looks. Anthony Parker shot much better, and it looks like he has the ability to knock down that corner three with regularity. Mo in turn looks just so much more confident out there now, which is a key for him and the team.
Quiet Night for the King: Lost in all this was how little LeBron had to exert himself on the offensive end. LBJ shot just 11 times, hitting five shots on his way to 14 points. His floor game was excellent with 7 rebounds and 9 assists in 37 minutes. That's right, Coach Brown was able to keep LeBron under his goal of 38 minutes per night with just 37 minutes of action. A key factor in that will be if the lineup of Mo, Delonte, Parker/Moon/Gibson, Andy/Z, and Shaq can consistently score. My personal choice of the LBJ-less lineup would be Mo, Delonte, Parker, Andy, and Shaq. My explanation is that small-ball works best with LeBron out there (sorry, Boobie) and I cannot count on the twin towers in there together without LeBron for an incredibly long stretch (sorry, Z).
 goes to: Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Mo's sweet shooting was an obvious choice for game ball, as was Z's aggressive paint defense and on-target shot, but Delonte deserves one as well. It's no coincidence that Mo had such a spectacular game in West's return. Mo and Delonte play off of each other so well, and together they are a force to be reckoned with on the court. When Delonte is in the game, Mo can switch to more of a two-guard role where he absolutely thrives, and Delonte can run the offense, one of his greatest strengths. There was likely no one more happy to see Delonte in action than his backcourt running mate. Finally, the Cavaliers are a completely different team with #13 present, no doubt about it.
Team Grade: B
Hot shooting and offensive movement carried the team through this one, but they also had a startling 17 turnovers. Another disappointing stat was the 10 offensive rebounds for the Bobcats. Against better teams, the wine and gold will pay dearly for those offenses.
The Cavaliers get a couple of days off before taking on one of their familiar foes from the playoffs, the Washington Wizards, Tuesday in the Q.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 