[CLE/ORL] - Eastern Conference finals
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Which is a worse coaching decision: having Anthony Carter inbound the basketball with Lamar Odom defending, or not telling Rashard Lewis to immediately sprint toward Lebron as soon as Mo Williams received the ball? Could Cleveland have actually passed the ball to anyone else on the floor at that point? Pavlovic? Big Z? West? Nope. Hedo got stuck with guarding Lebron over the entire right half of the floor with a two-point lead. With one second left, the inbounder can't do anything other than throw the ball in, so as soon as Mo was handed the ball, Rashard should have been shading Lebron to run to the 3 point line so Hedo could prevent Lebron from getting the ball on a cut to the basket (which is how Hedo played him).
Maybe it wasn't SVG's fault, but if he didn't tell someone on his team to double Lebron before he tried to catch the ball, that's bad coaching imho.
Still, the Magic have to be pretty pleased with the way they've knocked most of the air out of the Cavs-to-win-the-ECF-easily balloon. So long as they don't play a terrible first quarter similar to games 1 and 2, I agree with most others here that they should win game 3.
Maybe it wasn't SVG's fault, but if he didn't tell someone on his team to double Lebron before he tried to catch the ball, that's bad coaching imho.
Still, the Magic have to be pretty pleased with the way they've knocked most of the air out of the Cavs-to-win-the-ECF-easily balloon. So long as they don't play a terrible first quarter similar to games 1 and 2, I agree with most others here that they should win game 3.
Rashard was blocking Mo Williams view prob in an attempt to force him to pass the ball to someone not named Lebron.Or at the very least in an attempt to force Lebron to recieve it as far away from the basket as possible.
It was a tough shot and Orlando played good defense on that posession,cant blame SVG for Lebrons miracle.
I agree that at some point there's nothing a team can do to prevent a superstar from making a play to win the game, but Rashard was not blocking Mo Williams view at all, at least not from making the pass he made to Lebron (which Mo made in an overhand soccer-style throw-in manner). Rashard was standing below the 3-point line at the time Mo threw the pass to take away a potential diagonal pass to Lebron at the elbow, but he was looking at Mo. To me that seems to be too limited of a use for Rashard in that situation since he could've just been face guarding Lebron instead with no concern for where the ball was going to actually go. If one of those other 3 guys ties the game to send it into OT or beats you with a 3, then it probably just wasn't meant to be. But why let Lebron have a chance to beat you?
I think Rashard was trying to prevent the lob and after HEdo cut off LeBron, he did a poor job of readjusting to Lebron's move to the three point line. I do agree with you that LeBron should have been doubled though - maybe Rashard should have stayed in front of Mo to bother the pass, but someone else should have left their man and came to LeBron. There was only one guy on the Cavs that was going to make that shot and the Magic should never have let him touch the ball; make someone else beat you.
I agree that Hedo played Lebron properly by not letting him make a cut to get closer to the basket, and maybe an other-wordly defender like Dennis Rodman or someone of similar size and athletic ability could've contested Lebron's 3-point attempt more closely than Hedo, but I don't know if the Magic have that type of guy on their roster. I don't really fault Hedo's defense of the play, but the strategy devised by the coaching staff. Lebron could not have gotten that type of a look if Rashard or someone else was face guarding Lebron's move back out from the free throw line to the three point line. Oh well. At least Lebron's shot will presumably make this a more competitive series than it may have been had he not made it, and I'm all for as many basketball games as I can get at this point in the season.
Hedo contested that shot about as well as anybody can in that situation -- he was right there, hand up no more than a foot away. Kept it back and stayed on his feet so that there was no chance of the bailout foul. Really he did everything you can do in that situation without blocking the shot, which obviously isn't happening there. Sometimes guys are just too good.
Yep. On that subject, am I the only one here who:
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
Yep. On that subject, am I the only one here who:
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
Given the season we just completed, b) does not worry me at all. By the time we are ready to even play Washington Generals to LeBron's Globetrotter act he'll be in the latter half of his career. You figure Sac is in the West -- for LeBron's dominance to matter to us, we'd have to put together the first Western Conference Champion for this franchise in 50 years.
Yep. On that subject, am I the only one here who:
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
a) has a biggest "mancrush" on LeBron (basketball-wise, of course) while at the same time...
b) fears that if LBJ wins a title this year, without a "Robin" - without a Pippen (MJ), or Kobe or Wade (Shaq) - it's all over for the next 5-8 years, we can all take our ball and head home?
I am really conflicted about it. Unless of course he comes to the Kings in 2010.
haha, check out these newscasters...
Cavs Win!!
And then watch it a second time and see the dude in the background celebrating behind the "Cavs win!" guy.
Cavs Win!!
And then watch it a second time and see the dude in the background celebrating behind the "Cavs win!" guy.
Lebron's shot was great, as was Lewis' in game one.
However, I am wondering if I am the only one around here that is not at all shocked by these things. Last second shots to win big games are pretty common in this league. In fact, I told the person that I was watching this game with during the last time-out that I thought Lebron might sink the 3 if he got a good look at all. He knows that being down only 2 that the defender is going to give him at least a little distance so as not to foul on the 3 point shot.
My reaction was about the same as SVG.
While I love last second heriocs, they are almost too common in the league IMHO. It takes away from the "specialness" when it happens with regularity. I personally think that taking the ball out at mid-court after a made basket and time-out should be eliminated.
Am I a cold, wet blanket or what?
However, I am wondering if I am the only one around here that is not at all shocked by these things. Last second shots to win big games are pretty common in this league. In fact, I told the person that I was watching this game with during the last time-out that I thought Lebron might sink the 3 if he got a good look at all. He knows that being down only 2 that the defender is going to give him at least a little distance so as not to foul on the 3 point shot.
My reaction was about the same as SVG.
While I love last second heriocs, they are almost too common in the league IMHO. It takes away from the "specialness" when it happens with regularity. I personally think that taking the ball out at mid-court after a made basket and time-out should be eliminated.
Am I a cold, wet blanket or what?
I'm always amazed at game-winning shots.
The thing that is truly amazing me right now is how well the Magic are doing. I honestly did not expect them to give the Cavaliers much of a run for the money.
I had fully intended for both the Nuggets and Magic to bow out gracefully so the league could get to the long-anticipated matchup between Lebron and Kobe. I have to face the actual possibility, however, that it's not set in stone... I just don't see a Denver-Orlando finals, but it would certainly put an end to conspiracy theories.
Oh wait. That could be the master plan. Have a finals between Denver and Orlando specifically to knock out all the conspiracy theorists.
The thing that is truly amazing me right now is how well the Magic are doing. I honestly did not expect them to give the Cavaliers much of a run for the money.
I had fully intended for both the Nuggets and Magic to bow out gracefully so the league could get to the long-anticipated matchup between Lebron and Kobe. I have to face the actual possibility, however, that it's not set in stone... I just don't see a Denver-Orlando finals, but it would certainly put an end to conspiracy theories.
Oh wait. That could be the master plan. Have a finals between Denver and Orlando specifically to knock out all the conspiracy theorists.
Yep. At age 24 MJ was about where Lebron sits at his current 24 years of age. Also, and this is probably most critical, MJ did not start his string of NBA championships UNTIL he got a big time star next to him by the name of Scottie Pippen. Finally, MJ had a head coach by the name of Phil Jackson after his first couple of years under Doug Collins. Mike Brown was horrible tonight. How on earth did he win COY '08-'09. Stan Van Gundy may not be a greatest of coaches but he's WAY better than his opposite in this series. Brown never called a time-out down the stretch (last couple of minutes) but finally saw fit to burn one with game hopelessly lost in the final 20 seconds or so.
Horace Grant too, and he had to wait til Ho and Scottie had developed skillwise and became hardened mentally. I have to give Bron/Cavs credit for doing what they have this year w/ that supporting cast, more credit that I'd give to my own damn team, aamof. But I gotta think that even he's gonna get restless if he's anywhere near as competitive as Jordan (breaking point 1990) or even Kobe (breaking point 2007).
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