Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Cavs/Warriors
If anyone else is watching (jake?), we should live-blog here. An interesting early season matchup between two teams with a lot of pressure already to demonstrate that last year was not a fluke. I'm really hoping the Cavs can pick up a W to get some momentum on this tough west coast swing.
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The Warriors look kind of slick offensively, but Gibson and Z look unguardable. Could this be the best mismatch Ilgauskas will face all year? 14-7 Cleveland.
Lebron's been hit in the peepers! That's ok, we play better without him. But he's in my hearts and prayers.
22-17 Cavs.
Lebron's back. This was mostly a very great first quarter, in spite of only a 6-point lead. Though this is on the road so no reason to complain. Gooden looks really awkward, but Lebron, Gibson, and Pavlovic are collectively in excellent form. I love the tempo control and the relative sophistication of the plays, which actually attack the defense and commit to any of several shooters rather than wasting clock with no plan except to let Lebron take whatever shot is available, or work desperately to make one.
31-25 Cavs.
Well-played game so far. Lots of scoring, attributable to good shooting, creative plays and hustle rather than lack of defense. Both teams will be tough to solve if they continue to click like this. Gibson is the Cavs' number one weapon right now, and the piece they've needed for quite a while from the perimeter.
48-41 Cleveland.
Quiet but thorough comeback by GS gave them a 4-point lead - done with excellent defense plus a couple of key shots. A take-charge play by Lebron and a steal leading to a bucket have it tied again at the half. A little disappointing given the previously convincing lead, but again, on the road, not too bad.
Tied, 54-54.
Cavs really in a rhythm now, and Lebron's been the catalyst. A great move and a foul started an efficient little run that has them up by a nice bit. Gibson has adjusted to a defensive shift that's designed to keep him from hiding in the corner, and Devin Brown looks strong as well.
Cavs 78-71.
Powerful run by the Warriors to close the quarter, including a heart breaking 3 by Davis. As the 10-point lead eroded, Brown sat Lebron to keep him fresh for the fourth. We'll see how that works.
GS, 81-80.
Warriors very much in control now, though the lead is still pretty slim. We're trading baskets and it's becoming increasingly hard for the Cavs to gain a foothold.
95-91 GS.
Really nice late-game work by the Cavs. In foul trouble, they're keeping Jones available on the perimeter but not over-relying on him at all. Z is the default option, and it's working. The rebounding/size advantage is coming up big, and the Warriors are now playing for fouls rather than trying to execute.
Cavs, 103-98.
Lebron TRAVELED with 46 seconds. Baron presently taking over. That was quick. Cavs must score here, or else produce a defensive stand against a team that appears unlikely not to, at least, draw a foul and get to the line.
CLE, 103-102. 36 seconds.
OH! Warriors triple-team Lebron, he kicks it to Gibson, and Gibson DRILLS IT!
CLE, 106-102
Davis misses a possibly ill-advised three, and now it's Gooden to the line with 12 seconds to go and a four-point lead.
Hits the first, 107-102. Misses the second.
Harrington drops one in, 107-104. Lebron fouled immediately.
Misses the first. Silly. Hits the second, mercifully. 108-104. Warriors presumably going for two now.
Barnes airs a loooong three in traffic, which'll end it.
Gibson clearly the MVP tonight, though Z's height advantage didn't hurt. I liked what I saw from the offensive rotations, as well as the grit on the road.
Well-played game by the Warriors, though. Their 0-4 start will be forgotten by mid-season, if not by December.
HEY!! i missed it.
i mean, i watched the whole game, but i missed the live blogging possibilities...
frustrating game -- here was the problem.
in the first half, monta was in command. in the 3rd quarter, harrington. in parts of the 4th, baron. and with a 6 point lead and 4 minutes to go, they decided to congratulate themselves on their 1st victory of the season. OOPS. cavs win.
i have to give daniel gibson a lot of credit for making shots, especially the last one under pressure. but, i have to wonder -- is this guy still going to shoot a high percentage if he ever gets guarded? i mean -- it's like a phoenix-steve-nash thing. or, a jason kidd-mikki-moore thing. i'm not sure i've ever seen him shoot the ball with someone even close to him. and he shoots (and scores) quite often!!
The word on Gibson this year is that he has room to grow physically, and may be able to develop some ability to drive. This would obviously change the way he'd be guarded.
But more pertinent to your question, I think Lebron drawing double and triple teams will FINALLY pay off with Gibson having developed into a real perimeter threat, as opposed to Damon and Donyell, and it's precisely this scenario that allows him to be so wide-open so often. That coupled with his quickness, which allows him to shake defenders in a way that Cleveland's other three-point threats (ha) generally cannot. This also gives them an extra weapon against the zone.
It's presumably a catch-22 for opposing teams to choose to stick a good defender on Gibson at all times, since you really need to focus on Lebron with more than one body. But presumably someone will think of something. I'm sure Gibson'll see tighter defenses as the year goes on. Still, I think he'll sustain 15-17 ppg.
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