The Cavs Were Rusty, but That's Not Their Only Problem

Cherry Picking recaps yesterday's NBA playoff action.

Were the Cavaliers rusty or simply overrated? Anyone who watched the Magic go into Cleveland and steal home court advantage by winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals is pondering that question today. The answer, as unsatisfying as it may be, is likely somewhere in the middle.

Coming into the game, most of the talk centered on whether the Magic would be fatigued after their grueling seven-game series with the Celtics that ended only after the Magic staved off elimination in back-to-back games. In hindsight, more attention should have been paid to the fact that the Cavs had played a grand total of four games in 24 days entering Wednesday evening, which didn't seem to affect them early but clearly messed with their conditioning late.

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Sure, the Cavs had all the energy in the world jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, but NBA playoff games are a marathon, not a sprint, and the Magic slowly chipped away at Cleveland's lead in the second half until ultimately taking control in the fourth quarter. Despite four lead changes in the final minute, the Magic held on to win the game.

LeBron James was simply brilliant -- he scored a playoff career high 49 points on 20-30 shooting with eight assists and six boards -- but it was obvious he overexerted himself, literally doubling over with cramps moments after the final buzzer. In hindsight, it seems likely he was feeling the burn for several minutes, which might explain why he settled for jump shots late in the game instead of continuing to attack the rim.

It's hard to critique a guy who finished with the type of numbers that James did, but Cleveland's offense obviously grew stagnant in the final minutes as James repeatedly held onto the ball on the perimeter as his teammates stood flat-footed waiting for him to heave a long jumper. Attacking the rim would have resulted in higher percentage shots, or at the very least free throws, stopping the clock and allowing the Cavs more time to take the lead.

That said, the Cavs were far too good over the first 82 games of the regular season and eight games of the playoffs to get too worked up about a single loss. It was never supposed to be this easy in the first place, and a night like Wednesday's was bound to happen sooner or later -- better now against a potent club like the Magic than against a weaker opponent, which would have caused everyone to panic.

But while the Cavs can rely on their conditioning (and, subsequently, their late-game ball movement) returning over the next few days, they must also ready themselves for the likelihood that the Magic will get better, as well.

Orlando chipped away at Cleveland's lead over the course of two quarters, and that was without completely unveiling their vaunted three-point attack -- the Magic finished with just 20 attempts from beyond the arc, or six fewer than they averaged in the regular season.

Rashard Lewis (22 points, seven boards) and Hedo Turkoglu (15 points, 14 assists) are matchup nightmares, especially considering Cleveland's frontcourt is already being abused by Dwight Howard (30 points, 13 boards). Those brave few who predicted the Magic would win the series were banking on the fact that Orlando simply had too many weapons while the Cavs would need to rely on a lopsided effort from James. After one game, it's hard to argue with that logic.

I'm still not ready to concede the series to Orlando -- the likelihood that Lewis, Turkoglu and Howard all come through with big numbers in the same game is probably the same as James topping 40 in any given night -- but the pressure is on James' supporting cast to find the bottom of the bucket. The Cavs never allowed the Pistons or Hawks to score more than 85 points in a game, but the Magic can't be so easily contained. Simply doing what they did the first two rounds won't be enough.

Doing Lines

Given the ending, it's easy to dismiss James' big scoring night as a hollow accomplishment, but he was deadly efficient, despite his misguided decisions late to shoot jumpers. Also of note: he needed two overtimes to rack up his previous playoff career high of 48 points, which came in his epic Game 5 against the Pistons in 2007.

Dishonorable mention: Cleveland's bench combined for just five points, or 20 fewer than the Magic. Everyone knows the Cavs will only go as far as LeBron will take them, but the man needs to be allowed to take a few minutes to rest now and then. [Box Score]

Watching Film


Nothing could go wrong for the Cavaliers in the first half, evident by Mo Williams adding insult to injury with this ridiculous three-quarter court heave at the buzzer. As it happens, he came oh-so-close to what would have been an even more impressive shot at the buzzer in the fourth, narrowly missing a would-be game-winner after LeBron tipped the ball in his direction following a jump-ball with just one second left on the clock.

Had Williams converted both of those shots in one game, he would have earned a permanent place in NBA playoff lore. Instead, we'll likely forget about this shot in a week. Williams finished the game with 17 points on a pitiful 6-19 night from the field.