Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate. OK, I'll try not to lob anymore historical metaphors at you. But you might want to get ready for a whole lot of consternation from the great state of Ohio, because the team with the best record in the league last year has started out 0-2. The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors in Toronto 101-91 to remain winless, and the same problems that surfaced Tuesday night in their loss to the Celtics reared their head again.
You don't touch the button with the P-word on it yet. It's only the second game, of course. But in an Eastern Conference where both of their opponents seem to be ready right off the bat, the Cavs look like they may have a steeper learning curve.
Stop me if you've heard this one, but LeBron James was brilliant in the loss. The reigning MVP earned his 25th triple-double tonight with 23 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds and 2 steals in another exhibition to strike fear in the hearts of Cavs fans. The most disturbing trend from the first two games of the season is the regression to pre-2008 (or if you prefer, Eastern-Conference-Finals-esque) offense from the Cavs. The Cavs starters shot 33.9%, which is only slightly worse than the entire team's 34.9% mark.
Worse, they looked flat-out slow for the second night in a row, as the Raptors consistently got penetration on pump fakes and created open looks with effective ball rotation. Andrea Bargnani started his first year after the monster extension he received this summer, going 11-15 for 28 points and 5 rebounds. Bargnani murdered the Cavs, driving to draw fouls, kicking out to start rotations, and working both inside and out with his remarkable range. Chris Bosh was his usual All-Star self with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points in his Raptors debut while proving to be instrumental in calming the Raptors during a furious third-quarter comeback bid for the Cavs.The Raptors led 57-39 at the half before the Cavs staged a furious barrage of three-pointers in the third quarter, outscoring the Raps 32-21. But to start the fourth, instead of capitalizing on the momentum, Mike Brown elected to sit LeBron James until the 8:40 mark, resulting in a 9-3 run by Toronto to start the fourth. From there the Raptors offense awoke from its third quarter slumber and put the game away.
It was a great start for the new-look Raptors, and a bad-to-worse development for the Cavs, who are only getting marginal production from Shaquille O'Neal so far (12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 fouls). Brown has used the lineup of both Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaq on the floor at once in both of their games and thus far it has exposed the Cavs' vulnerability to the fast break.
It's better to struggle now than later on in the season, but to shrug off both of the Cavs losses as flukes is to ignore the vulnerabilities that a squad that was expected to contend for a title must resolve if it wants to rediscover the dominant team from last season. Because it sure doesn't look like Orlando or Boston are having identity crises.
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And the Magic and Celtics are not at full strength. Rashard Lewis is suspended, Jameer Nelson hasn`t played remotely well since he was injured last season, from Orlando. Big Gentleman Glen Davis is out injured, from Boston. But Cleveland also isn`t at full strength. Wild West is in the doghouse. Maybe they better let him out, let him play off the bench. Maybe he`ll overcome their team depression, if not his own. Losing to Boston, even at home, is not a shock, but Toronto is clearly not a championship contender. Their center, Bargnani, got 5 reboudns! Guards can average better than that! Poenix didn`t play Shaq in back to backs in his all star season last year, so his off game isn`t a shock, but he`s 37, what is the rest of the team`s excuse? Every hold over guy on the team is quickly becoming expendable. The new guys may need some time to settle in, but Mo Williams, shouldn`t have been an all star last season, the east lost, but still, two assists? Shaq is a 60% shooter from the field, but only James can do much of anything on either end of the court? How is nothing worthy of an all star berth, or a championship? And how can James be getting all these dozen assists if his teammates aren`t hitting shots? Lack of speed with two big, older, centers on the court at the same time isn`t a shock, but where is the perimeter shooting to play in and out with the big guys? In Wild West`s doghouse, getting its chain yanked? Maybe the Cavs better just sit James games until other guys decide to play or the team decides to waive them (I know that is more than a little extreme this early for games, but maybe it is not too early for practices already). To quote that eloquent authority, Bill Walton, "DO something!", get your assets in gear, move your feet. Maybe they think there is a savior in the draft for when James signs with a Sun Belt team with an all star or two, but it seems a bit soon dogging it trying to get the first pick. Then again, other teams are floating, pretending they think James will sign with a frost and rust belt team with NO all stars, like THAT will happen!
Bargnani is a center the same way Mehmet Okur or Matt Bonner are centers. Boozer and Dunacan do the dirty work for those teams, just like Bosh is expected to for the Raptors.
The scary thing is that the Raptors starting PF/C combo got 21 boards, while the Cavs got 11.
Mike Brown better get one of his assistants to work on the offense again. Now that Kuester's gone, they're on their way back to the bad old days of the LeBron's starting their offense 35 feet from the hoop.
no one with any sense believed that that fat old washed up center would fit into Cleveland's offense. The Magic are going to be the team to beat in the East. Even their aging stars have young thunder cat's raring to go right behind them. If the injury bug stays away. I pick Orlando over the Lakers in the finals
Of course only time'll tell, but unfortunately it seems everybody believed (and by everybody I mean a lot of ignorant fans and Kobe-LeBron Finals manipulated media and analysts) that the Cavs were the one. Hell, NBA.com picked them to win the Finals!
Now it is only two games, but they look sloppy. And slow. As I figured. Shaq isn't a game breaker, nor is he a reliable option these days. Mike Brown is by far one of the most overrated coaches in history, and the supporting cast has issues hitting their open looks. Sounds an awful like the Cavs of last year.
But, only time'll tell.
GO MAGIC.
If I was LJ, I would demand a trade right now to the Knicks. Get a couple of rings, (assuming Kobe & friends have a bad year), and then retire.
Shag must really need the money........lol
If James wants a couple of rings with the Knicks, he`ll have to buy them, or make them himself, no one is going to earn championship rings with the Knicks for the forseeable future. Lee is the only Knick with much chance of still being on the team by the time they might become a championship contender. The most likely way for James to move to the New York area is if the Cavaliers move to the hockey Islander`s new arena in Nassau county. Then there weren`t be an Ohio team for James to escape to. Other than that, James isn`t likely to voluntarily leave Ohio for anything less than a sun belt team with at least one or two all starters he can team with (as I said earlier).
80 Games left...
"Now that Kuester's gone, they're on their way back to the bad old days of the LeBron's starting their offense 35 feet from the hoop."
um...wasnt that their offense even when Kuester was still around?
Shaq said two years ago, he is fulfilling his commitment to his contract, and after that, we`ll see. It has been a very rought start to the season for every Cav not named James, not just for Shaq. In the unlikely event things continue to go this badly all season, Shaq has a rap group and can be hired to act, be a basketball announcer, etc. He`ll find ways to keep busy. If he plays like an all star this season, like he did last season, just about any team in the association would be crazy not to try to sign an all star to at least one more season. Howard can play forward alongside of Shaq. Ming and Shaq played together one winning all star game. Shaq and LeBron both should post down low, either side of the lane, and pass out a lot, as well as Shaq posting low, LeBron cutting weakside to the hoop. The biggest difference from preseason to now is Hickson start and gave them mid range shooting exhibition season, but Varajao has started in the regular season, and can`t hit from mid range, so the half court offense bogs down. And Varajao is also a trailer, not a runner on the fast break, so the Cavs are walking the ball up, where there ran in preseason, getting some easy baskets for the smaller, quicker guys.