The Cavaliers had interesting back-to-back games last Friday and Saturday. In these games, they lost to the now 7-9 Charlotte Bobcats, who have not yet qualified for the playoffs in franchise history and currently sit at 7th place in the Eastern Conference; and defeated the Dallas Mavericks, runners-up in 2005-2006, owners of the league's best record in 2006-2007, and currently 3rd in the Western Conference with a record of 13-5.
In Friday night's game, the Cavaliers came out flat. This was likely the cliche "trap game", in which the Cavs overlooked the Bobcats in favor of Saturday night's opponents, the Mavericks. Also, the game against the Bobcats took place the day after Thanksgiving, meaning that the lethargy of the team could be linked to heavy eating, including the consumption of tryptophan-containing turkey. Still, as Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, and others declared during the 2007 playoffs, the Cavs are a "no excuses team". The performance was beyond lackluster; it was arguably the team's worst game of the year. In addition to committing 25 fouls and 17 turnovers, the Cavaliers only earned 14 assists, which is well below their season average of 20.8 APG. On the other hand, Charlotte managed 19 assists versus 12 turnovers. The aggressive Bobcat defense held Cleveland to 87 points (allowing 87.9 PPG versus Cleveland's 99.1 PPG scored), while Cleveland's defense also surrendered its average of 94 points, but to a much lower scoring Charlotte offense (Cleveland defense allowing 94.6 PPG versus Charlotte's 88.2 PPG scored). Surprisingly, the Bobcats cooled off on the offensive end, as Cleveland outscored them by 8 points in the second half. The Cavs also outrebounded the Bobcats 46-35.
In Saturday night's game, the Cavaliers looked much, much better. While LeBron James looked sharp with a double-double in points (25) and assists (12), it was the play of Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao that spoke volumes. Varejao, especially, looked as focused as he has been all season; his only noticeable miscue was a miscommunication with James in which he crashed the boards on what he expected to be a shot attempt only to mishandle what turned out to be a pass. Jamario Moon and Delonte West also contributed major minutes and points off the bench. With Dallas playing a smaller lineup for much of the game, Shaquille O'Neal played well when needed at center, leaving Zydrunas Ilgauskas having to wait until Wednesday to break Danny Ferry's franchise games played record. Aside from Z having to sit out, the Cavaliers played arguably their best game of the year--probably better than the win over Orlando a couple weeks back.
Most likely, the upcoming Cavaliers performances will be a balance of the bad from Friday and the good from Saturday. As a friend of mine told me on Friday night, it is better for the Cavaliers to play their best basketball at the end of the year, when the championship is on the line. Sure enough, the Cavaliers are still developing chemistry in the midst of multiple roster changes and other issues. Perhaps the recent wins without Shaq and the win without Z are showing the Cavaliers that they can save the two big men's energy for the playoffs, when foul trouble could limit either of the players' minutes. With that said, the Cavaliers continue to work their way to their first championship, with Friday serving as a reminder of their room for improvement and Saturday serving as a preview for what is in store in the weeks and months to come.
In Friday night's game, the Cavaliers came out flat. This was likely the cliche "trap game", in which the Cavs overlooked the Bobcats in favor of Saturday night's opponents, the Mavericks. Also, the game against the Bobcats took place the day after Thanksgiving, meaning that the lethargy of the team could be linked to heavy eating, including the consumption of tryptophan-containing turkey. Still, as Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, and others declared during the 2007 playoffs, the Cavs are a "no excuses team". The performance was beyond lackluster; it was arguably the team's worst game of the year. In addition to committing 25 fouls and 17 turnovers, the Cavaliers only earned 14 assists, which is well below their season average of 20.8 APG. On the other hand, Charlotte managed 19 assists versus 12 turnovers. The aggressive Bobcat defense held Cleveland to 87 points (allowing 87.9 PPG versus Cleveland's 99.1 PPG scored), while Cleveland's defense also surrendered its average of 94 points, but to a much lower scoring Charlotte offense (Cleveland defense allowing 94.6 PPG versus Charlotte's 88.2 PPG scored). Surprisingly, the Bobcats cooled off on the offensive end, as Cleveland outscored them by 8 points in the second half. The Cavs also outrebounded the Bobcats 46-35.
In Saturday night's game, the Cavaliers looked much, much better. While LeBron James looked sharp with a double-double in points (25) and assists (12), it was the play of Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao that spoke volumes. Varejao, especially, looked as focused as he has been all season; his only noticeable miscue was a miscommunication with James in which he crashed the boards on what he expected to be a shot attempt only to mishandle what turned out to be a pass. Jamario Moon and Delonte West also contributed major minutes and points off the bench. With Dallas playing a smaller lineup for much of the game, Shaquille O'Neal played well when needed at center, leaving Zydrunas Ilgauskas having to wait until Wednesday to break Danny Ferry's franchise games played record. Aside from Z having to sit out, the Cavaliers played arguably their best game of the year--probably better than the win over Orlando a couple weeks back.
Most likely, the upcoming Cavaliers performances will be a balance of the bad from Friday and the good from Saturday. As a friend of mine told me on Friday night, it is better for the Cavaliers to play their best basketball at the end of the year, when the championship is on the line. Sure enough, the Cavaliers are still developing chemistry in the midst of multiple roster changes and other issues. Perhaps the recent wins without Shaq and the win without Z are showing the Cavaliers that they can save the two big men's energy for the playoffs, when foul trouble could limit either of the players' minutes. With that said, the Cavaliers continue to work their way to their first championship, with Friday serving as a reminder of their room for improvement and Saturday serving as a preview for what is in store in the weeks and months to come.