It's been over an hour since I turned on the computer, searching for something to say about today's loss.  I'm tired, jetlagged from an amazing week-long stay in Israel, but that's not why my brain is paralyzed right now. 

Immediately after the game ended, I drove to the AT&T store to buy a new phone charger and attempted to think about anything other than basketball.  On the way back, my brother (a user here) called from Israel and asked "What happened?"  I tried to explain the game as calmly as possible, describing the Cleveland's 18-point run in the second quarter, the Wizards' slow comeback, Arenas' ridiculous game-tying shot, West's three, the rebounding, etc.  I rambled on without a point, not sure what else to say.  Eventually, clearly dissatisfied by my answer, he cut me off and asked "Now what?  They have to make some changes."  I remember saying something about how the series wasn't over, that I'd think about the offseason when it officially arrived, but eventually, I ran out of things to say.  I had no ideas, no answers, and neither did he.  The conversation eventually turned away from basketball, but I hate leaving questions unanswered, hence the writer's block.

Sportswriters are trained to look for the "key factor" or the "turning point," the thing that altered the game in such a way that the result would be strikingly different without it.  The thing could be a play, an area of the game, or even an abstract theme, but it it always tends to be a singular thing.  The singular thing leads one to blame one person for everything, or at the very least for an unreasonable amount.  Even as I've hated this way of thinking, I lapse into it.  That's just how we're trained, and while it may be incomplete, it isn't wrong to look for the turning point.

As I sit here hours later thinking about this game, I realize there were several of these in this game.  There were the two layups LeBron got in transition early in the second quarter, which gave him the rhythm necessary to push Cleveland to a double-digit lead.  There was the ugly missed three by Arenas late in the fourth that would have tied the game; instead, Daniel Gibson trained a trey to push Cleveland's lead to six.  There were DeShawn's two missed threes on key fourth quarter possessions, when the Wizards should have been more patient.  There was that possession to end the third quarter, when LeBron overpowered Caron Butler for an offensive rebound, and after another miss, Joe Smith, sandwitched between three Wizards, came up with the rebound, score, and foul at the buzzer.  It was a three-point play, and the margin was three points, after all.

Those are just a few big plays, and already, you can see how it's impossible to find a scapegoat for all the problems.  Gilbert sucked in the first half, killing the Wizards with his turnovers, and it was his man (Delonte West) who hit the game-winner, but if he doesn't hit that impossible shot, we don't even have a chance to win.  DeShawn did an admirable job on LeBron, forcing him into the right spots in the Wizards' zone, but his terrible shot selection down the stretch caused wasted possessions.  Caron Butler was the man in the fourth quarter, and also played great defense on LeBron, but he was nowhere to be found in the first three quarters.  Jamison and Haywood both played admirably offensively, but provided no resistance as Cleveland grabbed all the offensive rebounds they needed.  Roger Mason and AD were great, but didn't play enough,  Darius Songaila was awful on the glass, and Andray Blatche even worse, but both helped the offense with their movement.

Eddie Jordan, meanwhile, demonstrated why Wizards nation is so conflicted about him as a head coach going forward.  Few are better tacticians than Jordan, and this year, he's also dramatically improved his in-game coaching.  He masterfully switched between a man-to-man and a zone defense, throwing off LeBron's rhythm and forcing other Cavaliers to beat them.  Had he not done that, this game wouldn't have even been close.  He deserves tons of credit, and if the Wizards let him go, they will miss all his strengths tremendously.  But as far as inspiring his team, Eddie continues to come up short.  Surely it's not his fault that we couldn't rebound, but this is the third time in four games that players blatantly lose their composure at key points, abandoning the offense and not hustling back on defense.  And with the game entering its key points, Eddie didn't have the balls to sit Gilbert and go with Roger Mason or Antonio Daniels, both of whom played very well today.  Gilbert rewarded Eddie's faith with a couple big plays, but that was besides the point.  Good ol' Eddie went predictable again, and the end result was just as it has always been.

So when my brother raised the question of changes, I don't know where to start.  Something must be done, I know that.  We can't just trot out the same crew with the same coach anymore, otherwise we'll be losing in the first round until 2028.  But as this game indicated, who stays and who goes?  Gilbert?  Eddie?  Someone else?  Everybody had their moments today, and everybody struggled at times.  Is there anyone in particular you can really blame for that? 

If this sounds melodramatic, it's because it is.  There will be a time to review tactics, but for now, I'm coming up empty.  All I know is that we need to think about making changes, and it's impossible to tell where to start.  This loss was about everyone strengths and flaws showing up at different points during the game.  Our inability to have our strengths occurring at the same time is a deficiency that has defined this team over the last three years.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

I had some pre-game thoughts at the beginning of this game blog, but they were getting a little lengthy, so I posted them on TruthAboutIt.net . Read if you would like.....

Quarter One

Off we go....

Gil starts and is matched up on Delonte West, he was on Wally last game. Butler is still on James and DeShawn is on Wally.

Hubie Brown likes the defensive aggressiveness to start as Arenas is working on deflections.

10:16: Wiz get a steal, DeShawn takes it all the way gets the foul and a goal-tending on LeBron James. The Lock Smith throws up the Rocafella diamond in the direction of the Cavs bench. Not going to talk trash about Jay-Z, huh? 5-2 Wiz.

9:48: Butler gets going early too with a baseline jumper on LeBron....good stuff. The fans seem to be making a nice showing on Sunday afternoon too.

Nice drive by DeShawn past LeBron and a drop off to Haywood for a dunk. 9-4 Wizards.

Gil pulls the chair out from under a posting Wally...loose ball, Cavs get it, lose the ball again but the Wiz can’t take advantage as Gil's lob past was a little too long for Jamison. Turnover.

8:01: Haywood is killing two birds with one possession. Draws a foul on the floor on Big Z and then gets a baby hook. 11-6 Wizards.

7:46: LeBron has hit his first two outside shots....and that's okay, he can score all he wants, just don't let him pile up assists.

7:20: Arenas drives on Wally...easy.....the double must come over and AJ is there for the dump off. 13-8 Wizards.

6:57: Wally hits a fadeaway deuce over Arenas, but Arenas is playing with more intensity on D that I've seen out of him before.

While I like the hot Wiz shooting so far, 7-8, I am not fond of the 4 turnovers, 3 by Gil....but none of them have really been bad turnovers.

3:53: Gil tries to force the ball to Caron who is posting LeBron at the 3 point line....bad idea, LeBron pokes the ball away and ends it with a wicked windmill dunk. 18-15 Cleveland.

1:22: AD hits a jab step back three...huh? 23-22 Wizards.

1:06: The Brazilian Spaz = Mr. Softy miss a lay-up.

0:58: AJ hits another crazy running hook and has his angry game face on. 25-22 Wiz.

0:16: AJ rolls home a trey ball. 11 first quarter points for the man.

LeBron then gets called for an offensive foul as he throws the arm out into Jamison's chest...the tears start streaming. LBJ has 2 fouls and 8 points.

Looks like he may have the case for a measly touch foul. After the last 0:00.7 ticks away, Bron Bron puts on his pacifier in the form of a long sleeve navy blue shirt and whines in Joey Crawford's ear.

Wiz up 28-24 after 1. They were boosted by 11-14 shooting, 2-3 from deep, but we're held back by 6 turnovers, 4 by Gilbert in 8 minutes. The Wiz need to reign it in on their gambles.

Quarter Two

AD, AJ, Andray, D-Song and the Silent Assassin start the 2nd for the Wiz.

10:53: Bad call...the Cavs get a steal, at least Jamison manages to accidentally clock the Brazilian Spaz with an elbow, Devin Brown leads the break, Mason hustles back to attempt a strip, but they call a foul in the act of shooting. The replay reveals that Brown lost the ball going up before he was even touched. Oh well. 29-28 Cavs after FTs.

9:43: Damn...Roger Mason misses an open three, his second. C'mon Rog, you can do this...it was a transition 3 attempt, Hubie Brown would rather him go to the basket.

It's a physical game within legal confines. Mike Tirico points out that there is a lot of bumping, banging and whining happening on each trip.....he fails to point out that Cleveland is doing a majority of the whining.

9:15: MaseOn with a trey ball...that's a way to keep shooting fella. 33-29 Wizards.

9:03: Gilbert checks back in......keep that knee loose and warm - not sure if he was riding the bike during his down time.

Eddie Jordan's small lineup of Daniels, Mason, Arenas, Songaila and Butler is giving up some offensive boards , but Cleveland is not adept at taking advantage. Cleveland has Z, LeBron, Wally, Brown and Gibson on the floor.

7:34: The Silent Assassin's bullets are locked and loaded...very tough shot on the baseline fading out of bounds on the right side of the court (facing the basket) and with the right hand, of course. 37-29 Wiz.

7:17: Haywood comes back in to boost the rebounding game...for AD.

6:50: LeBron James is intent on taking it to the hoop to make Cleveland's 5 point total for the quarter 7, their first points in about 4 minutes. 37-31 Wiz.

6:28: D-Song takes LeBron in the post...a foul is called, but it's not LeBron's 3rd. They somehow call it on Benny Wallace, who was second to foul......the fans give LBJ the overrated treatment.

6:15: "Delonte West out to lunch." Mike Tirico on a Cleveland turnover.

Gil misses a deuce...not in the offense....LeBron gets a power slam on the other end. The Wizards come down, but the offensive flow is clogged. Eddie Jordan timeout. 39-33 Wizards.

Hubie Brown is composing Valentine's Day cards for Darius Songaila.

4:51: The Wiz offense has gone a little cold. Not a FG since Roger Mason at 7:34.

4:20: Haywood is not helping the effort to keep the Cavs off the glass.....they now have 12 second chance points and a 9-1 edge on the offensive boards. 3 on one possession leads to a Delonte West trey. 39-38 Wiz.

3:54: Jamison gets blocked by Wallace and the Wiz can't recover in time to get an attempt before the shot clock goes off.

3:30: West steals the ball from Haywood at the FT line from behind.

3:25: Cavs come back down....LeBron goes hard. Stevenson takes a swipe.....looks to clip ball first but then gets a whole lot of LeBron's face. LeBron gets mad...bodies up....some pride is displayed as DeShawn gets off the floor..the refs do a good job to make peace. Cleveland fans will be pissed at the Lock Smith's swipe, probably calling it cheap head-hunting. He did look to be going to for the ball, but the motion can definitely be taken as an act of aggression as LeBron's headband went flying. A flagrant one is called on Stevenson. Mike Brown sprints out to check on his son, his paycheck, LBJ.

3:08: Wiz play good D....get the ball...but ANOTHER careless turnover. LeBron nails a trey to cap an 11-0 Cleveland run. 42-39 Cavs.

2:43: Caron misses a baseline jumper and then fouls LeBron attempting a long 3 on the other end. The Wizards are losing their composure on both ends. They are making LeBron mad and he is starting to channel than into a display of skills. Thankfully there is a TV timeout.

2:25: The Wizards are even having trouble passing the ball to each other.....nothing is crisp. Finally, AJ earns a trip to the FT line. 44-41 Cavs.

Hubie points out that the Wizards had 14 points in the paint in the first quarter....none so far in the 2nd. What right did they have to become complacent?

1:54: CRAP! Gil takes and misses a trey ball for no good reason.

People on Bullets Forever are calling for an Arenas exit and Mason entrance.

1:33: Jamison shoots a three with 18 seconds on the shot clock. What the hell was discussed during the timeout?

Down the court...Cavs o board....no points...Wizards turnover....huge dunk by LeBron. 51-41 Cleveland.

1:11: Daniels misses an open three...just because you're wide open....eff it. Finally the Wiz get second chance points with an AJ putback.

0:55: Transition D? Seat's taken......Boobie nails a trey. 54-43 Cavs.

0:38: Caron takes another outside jumper...luckily Jamison works on the boards and earns two FTs, but makes only 1. Yup, the extent of the offense in the past 6 minutes amounts to Jamison earning 3 FTs and a putback on offensive board work.

0:05: Daniels drives.....but Stevenson misses an open trey. F-ING OUTSIDE SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!

Wiz were up 8 around the 6 minute mark, but the Cavs made a run....ABC is crediting the hard foul by DeShawn. 54-44 Cleveland at the half.

Run Down

1. Eddie Jordan needs to get real in his halftime speech.
2. 2nd quarter = 5 turnovers, 4-21 shooting.
3. Game: 26-16 boards in favor of Cavs.
4. Double-U, Tee, Eff?
5. Jon Barry thinks that DeShawn should have been thrown out.....dork.
6. Amare Stoudamire looks to be sporting one of the worst blue jean outfits I've ever seen (as if I've seen a "good" blue jean outfit) -- it looks akin to a prison jumpsuit.
7. Gut check time.

Continue reading this post »

The Essentials:
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 4 (Cavs up 2-1)
1 p.m. (That's 8 p.m. if you're in Israel.)
ABC

Key Links (drop any others in the comments)
This rivalry just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Akron is hatin' on DC now.
Arenas will try to make a go of it today.
A nice profile on Haywood.

Today's Lines
Cavaliers at Wizards: Wizards by 4
Over/Under on Total Points: 187

After all of the hijinks and craziness of the first three games, this is where the series takes a turn for the serious.  With each team trading beatdowns on each other, everyone's gotten their laughs and whatnot out and it's time to focus on the games, and it's a good time to do it, because like every best of seven, Game 4 is key.  If Cleveland wins they're only a game away from clinching, and if Washington evens it up, we've got a whole new series on our hands.  The team that can settle down and play their brand of basketball today will get the W and set the tone for the rest of the series.

I'm predicting a fairly even, defensive battle like Game 1, just with the Wizards pulling it out at the end.  If the Wizards can keep the focus on doing what they do and not getting caught up in trying to be something they're not, they should win today.

This is an open thread, so debate how bourgeois or un-bourgeois the dunk contest is here.

GO WIZARDS!