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Photo: Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer
In what could be a preview of a 2nd round playoff match-up, the Cavs got help from video replay to seal their victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Cavs and the Bucks were involved in a grind it out game all night. Cleveland had a problem stopping John Salmons most of the game, but the Cavs forced Salmons to turn the ball over in the final minute when it counted most.
Jackson back in the Q and Injuries- Former Cavalier Darnell Jackson returned to the Q for the first time since he had been waived by the Cavaliers to make room for Z; the Milwaukee Bucks claimed Jackson off of waivers. The Cavaliers were without energy man Andy Varejao as he continues to rest his hamstring, and center Shaquille O'Neal was out as he continues to rehab his thumb. The Bucks were without Carlos Delfino (neck injury) and Michael Redd, who is out for the season.
Salmons Gets Going - John Salmons has been a terrific addition to the Bucks lineup, and he continued to play well in this game. Salmons got the Bucks started early; Salmons had 11 points in the 1st quarter on 4 of 5 shooting. Three of those baskets were layups and were uncontested. Much of Salmons's early success can be attributed to Anthony Parker's poor defense. Parker seemed to be wearing cement shoes; Parker's play is starting to become a growing concern... more on that later.
Mo Asserts Himself - Mo Williams must listen to the media because lately there has been much chatter about Mo not producing. In this game, Mo came out and was aggressive. Mo scored 7 1st quarter points and looked to push the ball early. Mo has recently lost some of his scoring opportunities to the addition of Antwan Jamison, but Mo needs to continue to play like he did in this game because he may be the X-factor to the Cavaliers winning it all.
Quick Fouls - The big names in this game were on the bench early in foul trouble. The Bucks rookie point guard, Brandon Jennings, picked up his 2nd foul four and a half minutes into the game and sat on the bench for over 12 minutes after that. LeBron James also picked up his 2nd foul early. LeBron committed his 2nd foul with 5:58 remaining in the 1st quarter but only sat until the start of the 2nd quarter.
Contract and Expand - The Cavaliers' rotation has been shrinking lately in anticipation of the playoffs, but this game forced Mike Brown to make early substitutions, and the Cavaliers played 9 players more than 13 minutes. Also, Leon Powe got 7 minutes of playing time.
- Parker's Demise - Part of the reason for the expansion of the rotation was the poor defense of Anthony Parker. Parker's play has been rather worrisome lately. Parker is in a no doubt offensive slump. In the last 10 games, Parker is averaging 6.4 points, shooting 24% from 3-pt range on 10-41 attempts and getting 26 minutes. It's not only Parker's offense that is hitting a wall, but AP is looking slower and slower on defense. It showed in this game as John Salmons blew by Parker on numerous occasions.
- Wad and Moon clean up Parker's mess - Jawad Williams and Jamario Moon got some run tonight to make up for Parker's failure to show up. If Anthony Parker had not started every game this year, I would think long and hard about starting Jawad Williams over him or even Moon. Both Moon and Williams are more agile defenders and will be helpful when the Cavs play teams with an elite shooting guard.
Whirlpool Time Machine - The Bucks had a couple old vets contribute big minutes for them in this game. Kurt Thomas (37 years old) and Jerry Stackhouse (35), have a combined 28 years of NBA experience. Kurt Thomas scored 10 points, 8 of which came in the 2nd quarter and grabbed 7 rebounds. Stackhouse only scored 6 points but played 25 minutes and hit a big 3-pointer to keep the Bucks in the game late.
Costly Throws - The Cavs' performance from the free throw line was downright sickening. Cleveland shot 29 of 45 from the stripe. Cleveland missed 16 FREE throws. The Bucks only took 9 free throws; when you miss almost double the amount of free throws your opponent attempts, you have a problem. It may not have cost the Cavs this game, but if Cleveland continues that kind of shooting from the stripe, they will lose a couple playoff games because of it.
Bucks Close the Gap in a Hurry - The Cavs held an 8-point lead until Ersan Ilyasova tipped in a miss for the Bucks to end the 3rd quarter. To the start the 4th quarter, the Cavs went 0 for 6 from the floor while the Bucks tied the game up at 77 only 2 and a half minutes into the quarter. The Bucks used 9 4th quarter points from Ilyasova to hold a lead on the Cavaliers until the final minute of the game.
After Further Review - After a pair of Mo Williams free throws, the Cavaliers stretched their lead to 4 with 13 seconds left. Cleveland then tightened up the defense and caused Salmons to turn the ball over out of bounds. Originally, the call went against the Cavs, and the ball was to be inbounded by the Bucks; however, the refs referred to the video replay to confirm the call. After further review, it was obvious that the ball went out of bounds off on Salmons's knee. The Cavs were awarded the ball and Mo Williams sank two more free throws to seal the game.
 goes to: Mo Williams. Mo came into this game looking to assert himself in the offense, and he did just that. Mo scored 21 points, handed out 6 assists, and snagged 3 steals. It was not just the stats that made this a good game for Mo, but it was the clutch play that made this game gameball worthy. Mo hit a big 3-pointer with less then a minute and a half left to give the Cavs a 1-point lead. Then, Mo went on to assist LBJ on the winning lay-up. Also, Mo hit 4 free-throws to ice the game. LeBron and Jamison both had kind of quiet but effective games. LBJ scored 23 points, grabbed 9 boards, and handed out 7 assists. Jamison scored 12 points and grabbed 12 boards.
Team Grade: B-
The Cavs ended up pulling this game off, but there were areas of concern especially this close to the playoffs. The way Cleveland shot free throws in this game was just awful. The Cavs are now in a tug-o-war match for worst free-throw percentage in the league with the Pistons. In this game, they went 29 for 45 with 16 misses. That is unacceptable. The Cavs also lost the points in the paint battle 42 to 36, but Bogut only scored 19 points. So, it was not just post play that killed the Cavs; it was blown defense for lay-ups and offensive rebounds. Cleveland also continues to have unforced turnovers; J.J. Hickson needs some stick 'em on his hands because he can not catch a pass unless it is an alley-oop. LeBron is turning the ball over via stepping on the baseline and dribbling off his leg and feet. That needs to stop. As much bad as the Cavs experienced tonight, they still pulled out the victory against a team that has been hotter than anyone.
Cleveland travels to Atlanta on Friday for another possible second round match-up with the Hawks.
BURN ON!
-J.V.
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