Cleveland Cavaliers 102, Washington Wizards 90

Highly disappointing…

I’ve really always wondered why referees are protected by the league in an impenetrable shell. Ever since the Donaghy scandal we were promised more information regarding the referees and how they’re trained and scored. It really calls into question the fairness of the league and Stern’s interest in the league’s brand. Now, I understand the game is tough to call and call correctly, but when you favor some players over others… it makes for a lame product.

That being said, the Wizards got away from everything they did right in the first quarter. DEFENSE. CONTESTING shots. They weren’t spectacular on offense, but they played a hell of a game on D. Towards the end of the game Gilbert just broke plays and called his number way too much. He, and I’m calling out him personally, needs to get Miller into the game so that if the defense sags to him, he’s got a knock down shooter ready to spot up. Frustrating and I sure as hell do not want to be in the locker room right now getting an earful from Flip.

Curious if you think Javale could help with guys like Shaq or is he not ready yet?

Anybody catch that foul on Stevenson by Shaq? A little much by Shaq I thought lol.

Definitely disappointed me tonight. I wasn’t even necessarily looking for a win tonight, but it seemed like the score should have been worst than what it was based on the way we played in the second half. I was expecting us to just barely beat them, or for them to just barely beat us, but that definitely wasn’t the case tonight.

I know we’re missing Jamison, but I have a feeling that we still would have lost the game. Like Mike said, you can tell that the Wizards aren’t one of the true contenders in the NBA. However, as Mike also said, it was only game 4 and it’s a long season so you never know.

the teams reaction to a few bad calls and other things not going their way. I know the crabs are a very good defensive team. But how did the wiz stop doing everything that worked for them early? It was odd, and disturbing to see the loss of composure. Miller and Foye need to be a bigger part of the offense. I could ramble on but I won’t – one game, long season, blah blah.
At least Miami and Orlando finally lost, and ATL is down early against Portland.

single worst call in the history of organized team sports?

We’re still missing Antawn. If Antawn plays this game I think it’s a little closer. He’s a guy we can throw it to when the offense bogs down and he also helps that little problem of front court depth you mentioned.

I was disappointed in the physical nature of the game. Shaq put two very hard fouls on us (Stevenson and Miller) and I saw no response from the Wizards. I felt like once we lost our swagger we backed down. That can’t happen. If Shaq is going to take a Wizard down at the head, we need to respond in kind. If they are going to commit playoff fouls we need to as well.

I’d like to not hear anymore that this isn’t a rivalry. The Cavs announcers and fans clearly get up for the Wiz, and obviously the Cavs do too. That’s a rivalry.

This reminded me A LOT of some of the MD-Duke games of 5 or 10 years ago (not a rivalry either, of course), where some questionable/bad calls would help change momentum and get Duke back in the game, but then the fatal part was when MD just couldn’t get back into its game plan and execute and would give up a big run. Coming out of halftime, it felt like the Wiz were down 10, not actually leading, and the body language really looked like it too. And things just never got back on track.

Of course, eventually MD did break through (after some really crushing losses).

but we had all our fouls early to the big men during our lead. If anything Jamison would have added another body. It was a horrible game to watch after the 18 point lead we had, but Cavs went 9-14 from 3 in the second half. That can’t be expected everytime and we got in horrible foul trouble.

Oberto only ended up having 2 fouls so I don’t know what he wasn’t doing to not earn some.

Shaq used his quickness to beat McGee which shouldn’t be. One thing that definitely can improve by the end of the season is McGee’s footwork and positioning because he has 4 rebounds so far this season and tries to rely completely on his jumping ability for them.

Gilbert was disappointting because he took so many contested shots and didn’t look for teammates. Credit good defense and Gilbert on some nights will make them, but I was crossing my fingers for Nick Young in the 4th quarter because no one was hitting and why not take a chance.

1. Make sure you are playing at home….. check
2. Make sure you’re an elite team….. check
3. Pound the ball inside in the 1st quarter – and allow the Referees to help you out by calling every tick-tack foul… check
4. Once you have all the Wizard’s big men in foul trouble…start attacking the rim … check
5. In the second half, go back to pounding the ball inside…. running over, through and generally brutalizing anyone in the way….. check (Oh by the way, don’t worry about fouls – there will be none called)
6. In the 4th quarter, when the Wizards have packed the lane, chuck up wide open 3-pointers…. check

this is exactly what I was worried the Wizards would be. I’ve said time and again, very few jump shooting teams are dominant. And that’s what we are. Other than Gilbert, we have no slashers. Caron has turned into solely a jumpshooter, Foye is a jump shooter, and Miller is a spot up shooter. I was hoping Young would turn into a slasher, but he doesn’t even get off the bench. Sometimes this will work, but it won’t work consistently, especially against good teams. The bottom line is, the Wiz aren’t prepared to challenge Cleveland, as much as we want them to.
And you can’t blame that loss on the refs. Were they atrocious? Absolutely. I think those guys should be ashamed of themselves for that performance. But they didn’t lost us the game. We lost the game when our jumpshooters went cold. Which is what happens to EVERY jumpshooting team. And sure Shaq got some pitiful calls. But does that REALLY surprise anyone? As old and decrepis as he is, Shaq still commands a lot of attention in the post, and the Wizards aren’t equipped to handle him.

Now, about Shaq. I remember being ostracized for suggesting we should look into trading Haywood for him. Truthfully, I never really thought we should, I just wanted to see a discussion on the topic. But last night is the REASON I thought the trade would be viable. I know how a lot of people on here love Brendan, but he is simply mediocre at best. He’s near useless against really good post players, staying in foul trouble most of the time, and he’s a liability on offense. I know, I know, he’s got that devastating jump hook now. But he’s shooting fall away jumpers. If you are 7ft, 260 lbs, you should be going to the going to the basket aggressively, not falling away.

they weren’t shooting too many jumpers, than we watched a different game. And I guess Glenn Consor was on the same channel as me, because he said the same thing after the game. I believe we had something like 22 points in the paint. That is unacceptable. I saw us hitting jumpers in the first half, and missing them in the 2nd half. Sure, there were a few drives to the basket here and there, but it was mostly jump shots.
As for Haywood, I guess I came off wrong. I don’t fault him. I know he can’t guard Shaq straight up. Shaq gets everyone in foul trouble when he plays aggressively. The problem goes back to what we talked about before the season started. There is no viable backup for Haywood in that instance. Maybe Oberto will be better as the backup 5 when Jamison gets back, but is he going to be better against Shaq? Or Howard? Or Elton Brand? No, no, and no. Of course, I DO realize that nearly every team has problems with these guys. But other teams have multiple options. We have no one behind Brendan. So no, I don’t really fault Brendan for his defense on Shaq. (now, watching Varejao score on him at will WAS a little frustrating) But I DO fault him for his offense. You can defend him all you want. A 7 footer should NOT be taking fall away jumpers. Period. In fact, I’ll bet if you asked Haywood himself that, he’d tell you the same.

Now, I apologize for being all doom and gloom earlier. I actually had to go before I could finish. What I wanted to end with was the fact that I still think we are capable of being a very good team. We may even be able to push 50 games. I just don’t see us stepping into elite status without more help underneath.

Oh yeah, speaking of help underneath. Is anyone else following how well Dejuan Blair is doing? Popovoch loves the guy. Can’t blame him.