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Photo: Darron Cummings/AP
The stars shined once again for the Cavaliers once again in Indianapolis, and it didn't take long to dispatch of the Pacers, who jump-shot and token-defended their way to a big loss tonight in the best defensive effort for the Cavaliers this season point-wise. The Cavaliers have now won seven in a row and still sit one-half game ahead of the Lakers for the best record in the league. As for Indianapolis, at least they have the Colts playing in the Super Bowl to ease the pain of a lackluster season for the Pacers.
Who's setting the pace?: Jumping out of the gate strong is something Cavaliers fans are mildly used to at this point, but rarely do the Cavaliers explode for a first quarter such as the one tonight on the road. The Cavaliers doubled up the Pacers 36-18 in the first on the legs of 13-of-21 shooting (62%). Meanwhile, the Pacers and their All-Star Danny Granger were having trouble even drawing iron. Indiana shot a dreadful 31% (8-of-26). In fact, I think the Pacers may have thrown up more that missed the rim than the Cavaliers threw up that missed total in the quarter.
If the shooting's poor, pass the rock: In the previous two games against Miami and Minnesota, LeBron failed to make a field goal in the first quarter. In Indianapolis tonight, he did end that trend, but he shot just 1-of-5, scoring 4 points in the first. That's not the noteworthy part of James's first, however. He nearly broke yet another Cavalier franchise record for assists in a quarter. LeBron's nine first quarter dimes were a career-best for a quarter, and he fell one short of Mark Price's assists record in one quarter with ten (twice). He might have had a couple more if not for a couple of open shots missed by Anthony Parker. LBJ was well on his way to a career-high in assists, but he fell short of his career high of 15 (Memphis in '05) with 13.
Shaquille O'Neal's "The Time Machine": What else can you say about Shaquille O'Neal's inspired play in the last week? Shaq has responded well to his increased workload, total minutes, and late in the game minutes without Mo and Delonte. Shaq went to work on Roy Hibbert and Troy Murphy all game long, especially in the second quarter. What has been most encouraging is his ability to get to the middle of the paint just outside the charge circle and make that half hook shot of his. His ball fakes are more believable, he is picking up less offensive fouls, and he is doing a much better job of getting consistent post position close enough to the bucket for him to operate. If you're waiting for Shaq to pour in 20 points in four or five consecutive games, you're probably overdoing it. Although, what you can expect is more 14-15 point games and less 6-8 point games that were a little too common in the first half. The thing I hope the Cavaliers take away from this stretch of games is that Shaq's touches should not go away, even when the team returns to full strength. The highlight of the night by far was a Shaq block that turned into a Shaq-led fastbreak. Shaq's no-look pass resulted in a turnover, but it was worth it for the entertainment value.
Murphy watch: One of the names repeatedly discussed in the Cavalier trade talk is Pacers forward Troy Murphy. The talk stems back to last year and this past offseason as well, because on the surface, Murphy provides the stretch four element currently lacking from the Cavalier personnel. If he was auditioning for a role on the Cavalier roster tonight, he didn't do much to help his cause. Murphy looked soft, too perimeter-oriented, and a poor defender. Murphy is averaging 14 points and nearly 10 rebounds per contest, but tonight he managed just 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals in 28 minutes. T-Murph also didn't start the game, and he was replaced with a smaller lineup of Earl Watson, Brandon Rush, Danny Granger, Dahntay Jones, and Roy Hibbert. It was only Murphy's third non-starting appearance of the season, and perhaps it is a sign that the Pacers are willing to get rid of him. The two low points of the night for Hibbert were being chasedown blocked by LeBron and failing to attempt to score on Anthony Parker on the block. Instead, Murphy dribbled it back out instead of attacking AP. Does that sound like the type of toughness this team needs? I don't think so.
TOs holding Cavs back: The only real blemish on the Cavaliers in this game was... their turnovers. It's getting repetitive, but it's something that is going to continue to hold the wine and gold back. In this game, it was more carelessness than anything with a big lead trying to make spectacular plays instead of smart plays. A flurry of Cavalier miscues came in the second quarter (nine of them, in fact), and the Cavs finished with 23 total.
Pacers cordially invited to LeBron James's block party: LeBron's assists were impressive in the first half, but his blocks were earth-shattering in the second half. LBJ had four in all, and the most impressive was his rejection coming from the weakside on Danny Granger. The Cavs blocked 11 shots in all, and this isn't the first time the team-wide effort to block shots has netted them double digits in that category.
Increasing the Pace(rs): The only time Indiana got any sort of rhythm going was in the third quarter when they used transition offense to catch the Cavaliers a step or two slow. The Pacers closed the gap to ten with four minutes left in the third. It didn't last long though as the greatest cut on the Pacers had to be their incredibly timid interior defense. Shaq destroyed Hibbert, LeBron overshadowed every defender, and just about everyone else was getting open looks.
Wild stats: This game was oozing with staggering statistics. The first one that sticks out is the rebounding disparity. The Cavaliers won that battle a startling 61-38. Six Cavaliers had seven or more rebounds in this one, and the Cavaliers only had 9 offensive boards. That means the Cavaliers did a great job of keeping Indiana off of the offensive boards (Indiana had 7). Another odd stat is that the Cavaliers made just one more field goal than the Pacers, but the Pacers took 33 more shots than the Cavs (92 total). They did this by shooting jumper after jumper after jumper early in the shot clock most of the time. Finally, one more thing that plays into that is the Pacers shot just five free throws in the entire game. That's compared to 44 freebies for the wine and gold.
Game ball goes to: Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James. Shaq was, well, Shaqtastic, in this game. He made 8-of-10 shots for 22 points, notching 8 rebounds, and blocking 2 shots in 25 minutes. LeBron didn't lead with scoring, but with assists and blocked shots. He still scored 22 points, but he shot just 6-of-18 from the field and 10-of-17 from the line. James also contributed 9 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks.
Team Grade: A-
The only two things that kept the Cavs from an A in this one were their free throw percentage and turnovers. Shooting 23-of-44 (52%) and turning it over 23 times are both unacceptable.
The Cavs head home for a stretch that will take them through the All-Star break. The first team coming into the Q for that duration will be the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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