AP Photo/ Alan Diaz MIAMI, FLORIDA - This evening two of the NBA's superstars went head to head in the most popular city in the country, and one man came out head and shoulders above the other. That player was not Cleveland's Lebron James, who has been a shadow of his former self this year. Lebron now falls to 0-7 in Miami for his career, and went a miserable 3-for-8 from the free throw line tonight to go with 6-for-18 from the floor (Maybe he should take lessons from D-Wade, who consistently went to the basket all night long, got to the line, then actually made his free throws, and took over a very important basketball game for his team). Dwyane Wade outclassed, outwilled and outplayed Lebron during this contest, and even went as far as outscoring the entire Cavs team 24-23 in the fourth quarter. I don't know about the rest of you Cavs fans, but I'm getting real tired of watching Lebron miss clutch free throws down the stretch that cost us games (Let's not get started on the flagrant foul that was totally unnecessary and pointlessly gave the Heat a two-possession lead). Perhaps we got spoiled with Lebron last year (Remember the guy who went to the basket, seemed to have a will to win, and wasn't lazy on both ends of the court), and it's starting to become apparent that he may not be the same player until he realizes that he's not a jumpshooter.
Bright spots for the Cavs were the career-high 19 points from Daniel Gibson (who inexplicably wasn't in the game with 3 seconds left when we needed 3 points to tie, but yes Z was in the game), and the continued impressive offensive game from Sasha Pavlovic. Cavs coach Mike Brown, who seemed to have found something in the third quarter and early into the fourth with his bench bunch, came back with Z and Lebron at the end and that proved to cost us the game. Just a thought: The high pick and roll with Z and Lebron DOESN'T WORK, nor does it take a very intelligent basketball mind to figure this out. Clearly that is why we ran that miserable play on every possession in the last 6 minutes of this game. It should be interesting to see if Lebron gets suspended by the league for his hit on Wade, considering how Kobe Bryant just received a 1-gamer for something not nearly as bad. If so, the Cavs will probably win another game without him when they host Charlotte tomorrow night, and then we'll find ourselves wondering again "Are we really better without Lebron right now?"
Bright spots for the Cavs were the career-high 19 points from Daniel Gibson (who inexplicably wasn't in the game with 3 seconds left when we needed 3 points to tie, but yes Z was in the game), and the continued impressive offensive game from Sasha Pavlovic. Cavs coach Mike Brown, who seemed to have found something in the third quarter and early into the fourth with his bench bunch, came back with Z and Lebron at the end and that proved to cost us the game. Just a thought: The high pick and roll with Z and Lebron DOESN'T WORK, nor does it take a very intelligent basketball mind to figure this out. Clearly that is why we ran that miserable play on every possession in the last 6 minutes of this game. It should be interesting to see if Lebron gets suspended by the league for his hit on Wade, considering how Kobe Bryant just received a 1-gamer for something not nearly as bad. If so, the Cavs will probably win another game without him when they host Charlotte tomorrow night, and then we'll find ourselves wondering again "Are we really better without Lebron right now?"
3 comments:
Yo dog..you boyz got hustled and straight up crunked on the tellie. Go fetch some shoot'n lessons and go get some. Mighty hard to get them w's when yo cat bron bron be missin them buckets.
Maybe the King should worry less about commercials and worry a bit more about winning ball games! The fame will come naturally especially when you win a title or two.
Bottom Line, if the cavs get to the eastern conference finals and LeBron plays like he did in last years playoffs, his shaky regular season will be forgotten. Lebron has clearly taken it easy thus far in the season. But I am reserving judgement until later in the season to see if lebron turns it on for the stretch drive and playoffs. Lebron and D-Wade have played a ton of basketball in the last year, I would much rather have a 100% Lebron in the playoffs than him wearing himself out winning games like last night's. We'll see how both guys are looking come April.
Additionally, I am completely fine with running the high pick and roll with Z. Especially agains Shaq and Zo. It my not have worked last night, but Z has proven over his career to be on of the top shooting centers in the league from the top of the key. It draws the big men out of the paint, opening it up for Lebron to get to the hole.
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