Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “May, 2010”

08 May 2010

The James Gang Returns

“I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished … was accomplished collectively.” – Golda Meir

As the Cavs prepare for Game 4 today against Boston, there are several positive signs that the team has finally entered playoff mode.

In Game 3, LeBron James showed the Celtics why he is the league’s MVP. James scored 21 points in the first quarter to break the will of Boston and the crowd – handing Boston its worst home playoff loss EVAH and retaking home court advantage.

Just as important was the Cavs remembering what they are – a defense-first team that is clearly superior to the Celtics. And it was a team effort that carried the Cavs in Game 3.

The Cavs defense returned as the Celtics missed 10 of their first 13 shots and shot only 27 percent in the first quarter. The Cavs held them to 42 percent shooting for the game and outrebounded Boston by 15. James once again used Paul Pierce as his personal whipping boy, holding the Celtics alleged top gun to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. For the series, Pierce is shooting 13-of-42 as he is completely unable to deal with LeBron on either end of the court.

Anthony Parker’s work on Rajon Rondo was huge and helped swing the series back in Cleveland’s favor. Sticking to the Celtics’ shooters was also key, as the Cavs were able to force Boston to settle for outside shots that were not falling.

Shaq had his best game of the series, Antawn Jamison was back to doing what he does best, and the guard trio of Mo Williams, Delonte West and Parker were solid.

Boston knows they have a huge problem on their hands. The question is, with only one day off to fix things and rest their tired legs, will it make any difference?

The Cavs have a chance today to put a lock on this series with a win. If they bring the team effort again from the opening tip, they have a very real chance to come home for Tuesday night’s game up 3-1.

And there’s no telling what they can accomplish going forward if they work together.

10 wins to go.

Posted in Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, NBA playoffs | Leave a comment
04 May 2010

T.I.C. This is Cleveland

Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price. – Vince Lombardi

Following an ugly loss in Game 2 of their playoff series against Boston, the Cavs have a lot of hard work ahead of them in the days leading up to Friday’s Game 3.

“We did not fight back until late,” coach Mike Brown said after the game in published reports. “We’ve gotta decide if we’re going to take the fight to them and take these games. Nothing is going to be given to us at all. Ain’t a … damn thing going to be given to us at all in this series.”

“I had a lot to say to the guys about our performance,” Brown said Tuesday in published reports. “I thought we need to develop a sense of urgency in this series and throughout our run. I thought why not have last night be a good start to that.”

With the series tied 1-1 and the next two games slated for Boston, the Cavs seem to be in trouble. But history and math tell us otherwise.

Consider:

  • Teams with home-court advantage that win Game 1 are 256-40 overall in the history of the NBA playoffs, an 86.5 winning percentage.
  • The Cavs have never lost a seven-game series when they win Game 1.
  • Teams that win Game 2 on the road after losing Game 1 have only gone on to win the series 28 percent of the time.
  • In 168 best-of-seven quarterfinal series, home-court teams have won 78.6 percent of the time.
  • If you are going to alternate wins in a seven-game series, it’s best to be the team winning the odd-numbered games, as the 1997 Indians so painfully taught us.

However …

In the movie Blood Diamond, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, a Rhodesian diamond smuggler, tries to explain the way things work to a naive American reporter by saying, “T.I.A. This if Africa.”

Well, T.I.C. This is Cleveland. And in Cleveland sports, things rarely go as they should.

Now we sit and wait for Game 3, really the most critical game in a seven-game series. The team that loses Game 3 is either down 3-0 or 2-1 in a series and immediately faces a must-win situation in Game 4.

Hopefully the Cavs are ready to pay the price for success.

11 wins to go.

Posted in Blood Diamond, Cleveland Cavaliers, Leonardo DiCaprio, NBA playoffs, Vince Lombardi | Leave a comment
03 May 2010

That Rascally Rex

The National Football League is often criticized as being the No Fun League. The Commissioner’s Office has legislated a lot of the personal displays of excitement out of the game, turning it more corporate.

That’s why Rex and Rob Ryan are a breath of fresh air. Over the weekend, Sexy Rex talked about the Jets top draft pick, cornerback Kyle Wilson, and mentioned how the Browns, especially defensive coordinator Rob, wanted Wilson over Florida cornerback Joe Haden, whom the Browns selected.

“There is somebody that I really know well for a long time that basically said that he was their guy and they picked a lot earlier than us,” Rex Ryan said in published reports. “You can probably figure it out. That’s who he wanted and then after practice, I’m like ‘Yep. I guarantee you were right because this guy is the real deal.'”

There were several reports on draft day that the Browns were debating between Haden and Wilson, which, as pointed out here, is a good sign for the team.

Disappointingly, the Browns would not let Rob Ryan respond to what his brother said, which is surprising given the new air of openness that is blowing through Berea after last year’s black cloud of misinformation and distrust.

In any event, this gives the Browns, and Rob Ryan, a little more fire for what is sure to be a crazy fun week when the Jets come to Cleveland on Nov. 14.

We may just have to wait for the response until then.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, fresh air, National Football League, New York Jets, Rex Ryan, Rob Ryan | Leave a comment
02 May 2010
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I’ll Stop the World and Melt With You

Saturday we found ourselves on the Westside and decided to stop at Melt Bar and Grilled in Lakewood for something to eat. We’ve been wanting to go there ever since we saw Melt featured on the TV Network show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

When we arrived, we were told by the staff that it would be a 90-minute wait for a table and that the kitchen was currently running about 60 minutes for food orders. So we were looking at about 2.5 hours until we would actually see any food. We had somewhere to be so we had to bounce and couldn’t wait to be served.

Oh, did I mention this was 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon?

I guess this is a positive sign of the growing food scene in Cleveland that people are willing to wait almost three hours on a Saturday afternoon for a restaurant’s food. I can’t imagine what it is like on a Friday or Saturday night, though. And I do want to stress the staff was courteous.

We’ll go back when we have time that can wait. I just suggest blocking our your entire day if you plan to do the same.

Posted in Diners, Dives, Drive-ins, food, Food Network, Lakewood, Melt
02 May 2010

How do you like it – Mo, Mo, Mo

Hey, nobody said this was going to be easy.

Trailing by 11 in the third quarter and on their way to losing homecourt advantage – just like they did last year against Orlando – the Cavs roared back after Mo Williams dunked on Paul Pierce in the third quarter, igniting the team as it went on to post a victory in the opening game of the series.

The Cavs went on a 21-9 run to end the quarter after Mo’s dunk – his first as a Cavalier and part of his 14-point third quarter – to take the lead. The Cavs closed out the game with a 43-24 run and completely shut down the Celtics in the fourth quarter, holding Pierce to three points, Kevin Garnett to two points and Ray Allen to zero in the final quarter. Nice work from the self-proclaimed “Big 3” for Boston.

This was a big game for Mo as his struggles last year in the playoffs really hurt the Cavs. Maybe he’s finally refinding his place back in the offense following the acquisition of Antawn Jamison.

There were several positives the Cavs can take from this game and, if they continue like this, should make it a short series:

  • They held Pierce to just 5-of-17 shooting
  • Garnett took 20 shots, which I’ll take every day
  • The Cavs bench had a 26-12 advantage
  • Shaq delivered a couple of playoff fouls on Rajon Rondo and split Kendrick Perkins’ lip open with an elbow
  • The Cavs held Boston to 31 percent shooting following Mo’s dunk

There were some bad things, though, that if they continue will stretch this series out:

  • Rondo scored 27 points. If he keeps up that pace the Cavs will be in trouble
  • Shaq had early foul trouble
  • Shaq, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker combined to go 7-of-21 from the field
  • Boston shot 52 percent from the field in building their 11-point lead.

And not to beat a deadhorse, but the Cavs missed 10 free throws during the game. So far, in six playoff games, the Cavs have missed 52 free throws. Considering they only missed two in Game 2 against the Bulls, that means they are missing, on average, 10 free throws a game. There’s no way they can continue to leave points on the floor like that and not have it eventually come back to bite them.

The Game 1 win does look good, though, as the Cavs are 10-0 in seven-game series when they win the opening game.

Game 2 is Monday night at the Q.

11 more wins to go.

Posted in Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Mo Williams, NBA playoffs | Leave a comment

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