Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Cleveland Cavaliers”

24 May 2010
3 Comments

What’s the Next Move Dan?

“It’s a mess, ain’t it?“

“If it ain’t, it will do until the mess gets here.“

Now that Dan Gilbert has taken the easy path and fired Mike Brown, sacrificing him to appease the hoople heads, we’re left hoping that the next mess doesn’t arrive.

As we explained last week, firing a coach is the easy part. Terry Pluto made the same, correct point in today’s PD. Zydrunas and Mo Williams also agree.

Now Gilbert has to find the answer to the question: who are you going to hire? And if he can’t find someone who will produce better results than Brown, then what was the point, exactly? Brown was not only the most successful coach in franchise history, he was the sixth winningest coach in NBA history, percentage wise.

Read that sentence again. Only five other coaches in NBA history have had a better winning percentage than Brown. Think that will be easy to replace?

Brian Windhorst ran down a list of possible replacements in today’s PD: Other than Phil Jackson, who’s not coming to Cleveland, the list shouldn’t inspire confidence or excitement among the fan base. Consider the “accomplishments” of some of the names on that list:

  • Byron Scott, .498 winning percentage, only eight playoff wins in his last seven years as coach.
  • Dwayne Casey, .434, no playoff wins.
  • Maurice Cheeks, .498, five playoff wins.
  • Lawrence Frank, .483, no playoff wins in his last three years as coach.
  • Mike Fratello (please, no), 20-42 career playoff record, only two playoff wins in his last 10 years as a coach.
  • Sam Mitchell, .452, three playoff wins.
  • Terry Porter, .460, one playoff win.

You really want one of them running the team for the next three years – because, let’s face it, that’s about how long one of them would last if they were hired. Is there anyone on this list that gives fans any reason to hope that they will be the ones to lead the team to a championship?

And let’s not even go down the road that would end in disaster if the Cavs hired a college coach.

But I guess it’s not all bad. We still have Manny Acta (.385 career winning percentage) and Eric Mangini (.438) in the Cleveland coaching fraternity. That will put an extra hop in your step.

So now the search is on and Dan Gilbert faces the latest in a seemingly never-ending list of “most important decisions” facing the franchise.

“The expectations of this organization are very high,” Gilbert said Monday in published reports. “Although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment. This is one of those times.”

We have to all hope that Gilbert is correct. Who knows, maybe he is the owner that can break the championship drought that has hung over Cleveland for almost 46 years.

If not, there’s no telling what kind of mess the Cavs will find themselves in.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, dispair, Eric Mangini, hoople heads, hoplessness, Manny Acta, Mike Brown
16 May 2010
6 Comments

Look Before You Leap

Dan Gilbert is a smart man. We know this because he didn’t listen to the hoople heads and fire Mike Brown on Friday in an emotional, reactionary decision. Instead, Gilbert came out and said he will take his time and evaluate everyone before making a decision.

And really, what’s the rush? Do the Cavs have a game this week that we don’t know about? Or course not. Plus, it’s not like the list of available coaches is long or distinguished: does Mike Woodson, Lawrence Frank or Vinny Del Negro get anyone excited? Well, those are at the top of the list of the current coaches who are looking for work.

Thankfully Gilbert is acting like what he is – the responsible adult in the room. What would the Cavs gain by firing Brown now? The only reason would be to find a scapegoat to appease the mob.

Brown deserves his share of the blame for the Cavs loss to Boston – but just his share, no more no less.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy hit the nail on the head when talking to ESPN:

“Mike Brown’s one of the most successful coaches that there’s been in this league for a long time,” Van Gundy said. “But it becomes scapegoat time and you’re not going to see many people other than coaches stepping up and taking the responsibility. The players are absolved. It’s sad, but it’s the way it goes. None of it is surprising.

“Mike’s been in a very difficult situation, again because the media created the expectations that that was a team that couldn’t lose, and so when they did, he pays the price. Instead of people maybe just saying, ‘The media was wrong.” … the inevitability of it. The ‘Win a ring for the king,’ and everything, it just made it inevitable that if it didn’t go well, Mike would be the one to pay the price. I don’t know if that’s fair, but that’s the way it is, that’s business.”

So we really have to question if the Cavs should fire Brown at all.

Here’s a small sampling of what Mike Brown has done:

  • Won the third-most games in team history with 272 wins;
  • Won the most postseason games in team history with 42 wins;
  • Coached the team to the playoffs five straight years;
  • Coached the team past the first round of the playoffs every year;
  • Posted at least 45 wins five straight years, the first time in team history;
  • Posted back-to-back 60-win seasons;

And here’s an even smaller sample of what Mike Brown hasn’t done:

  • Won an NBA title

If that’s enough to be fired, then just about every coach in the NBA should be canned immediately. Since 1984, only eight coaches have won NBA Championships: Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Chuck Daley, Gregg Popovich, Rudy Tomjonavich, Doc Rivers, Larry Brown and KC Jones. That’s it. Eight guys in almost 30 years.

As we’ve learned all to well in Cleveland, firing a coach is the easy part. Just look at the Browns. And if the Cavs do fire Brown, then what? The national media has read the tea leaves and come up with the ridiculous conclusion that John Calipari should be the Cavs next coach.

Oh really? Pop quiz, hotshot: What do the following have in common?

  • Lon Kruger
  • P.J. Carlesimo
  • Rick Pitino
  • Tim Floyd
  • John Calipari
  • Leonard Hamilton

They are all college coaches who moved to the NBA and failed, miserably. The last college-bred coach to win the NBA championship was Paul Westhead, who as an NBA rookie led the Lakers to their 1979-80 title after taking over the team in midseason.

Do you really believe a team based in Cleveland is going to buck those odds? Are you ready to gamble the next 3-4 years of the franchise on that?

Thankfully, the Cavs are run by a highly successful businessman who doesn’t make decisions based on emotions, or fear or to appease the mob.

As fans we couldn’t ask for, or stand for, anything less.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Dan Gilbert, hoople heads, Mike Brown, NBA coaches, responsible ownership
13 May 2010

All Together

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill

For better or worse, we’re all optimists tonight.

This can’t be the end. Not this way. Not against this team.

It won’t be easy. It may not be fun to watch. But, if the Cavs can pull this out tonight, all the pressure shifts to Boston.

A win tonight. That’s all we as fans want.

Is that really too much to ask?

All Together.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA playoffs, optimism, Winston Churchill | Leave a comment
12 May 2010
1 Comment

What Did We Just Witness?

Was it really just four days ago that the Cavs left Boston for dead, rolling over the Celtics in Game 3 in the worst home playoff loss in Boston’s history?

It sure seemed like a lot longer than that Tuesday night as the Celtics returned the favor and put the Cavs season on the brink.

We’re now left to wonder what went wrong, how did the Cavs lose control of this series, and what’s next with Game 6 looming Thursday night?

Maybe the Cavs believed they broke Boston’s will after Game 3. If that’s true, the last two games should have told the Cavs that they need to do more than just show up to win this series.

The Cavs now face a must-win game in Boston to force a Game 7 and salvage the season. They were in the same spot last year against Orlando and we all remember how that turned out.

The team is also faced with the possibility of being the only team in NBA history to post consecutive 60-win seasons and not make it to the NBA finals. Just another feather in the cap of Cleveland sports. We can put that one up there with the Indians being the only team to lose a World Series to Atlanta.

Can the Cavs win two consecutive games against Boston? Sure. Will they? Well, here are two trends to ponder:

The Cavs are 0-4 when they trail 3-2 in a seven-game series.

The Celtics are 31-1 when they lead 3-2 in a seven-game series.

Since T.I.C., which trend seems most likely to continue?

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, despair, loss of hope, NBA playoffs, witness
10 May 2010

This is Fun, Yes?

Cavs fans were left disappointed after last year’s playoffs. But it wasn’t so much because the Cavs lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, but because the team had so few home playoff games.

With homecourt advantage for the entire playoffs, just like this year, Cavs fans were looking at a potential 16 home playoff games if the team went to Game 7 of the finals. But thanks to sweeps in the first (Detroit) and second (Atlanta) rounds, and the eventual loss to Orlando, fans were only treated to seven home games.

Well, the Cavs are working on fixing that problem this year.

Following the Game 4 loss to Boston, the Cavs are heading home for Tuesday’s Game 5 – the sixth playoff game at home already this postseason. And more home games means more opportunities to appreciate a team coming off its second consecutive 60-win season and featuring a two-time MVP in LeBron James.

At least I think that’s the plan, right?

When the Cavs have come ready to play in this series, they have shown they are clearly a superior team to Boston. Even with all the hysteria over the play of Rajon Rondo, that’s not why the series is tied 2-2. In both Boston wins, it was bench players Rasheed Wallace (Game 2) and Tony Allen (Game 4) who had once-a-year games that made the difference.

Wallace hit the Hot Tub Time Machine in Game 2, scoring 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. In the other three games, he’s scored a total of seven points.

Allen scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in Game 4, after scoring just 19 total points in the first three games.

Safe to say that neither of them are going to match that output the rest of the series.

And, before this series ends, someone will deliver a playoff foul on Rondo to slow him down.

And Mo Williams (31 percent) and Delonte West (33 percent) are certainly going to start shooting better than they have over the past three games.

There are plenty of more home games left before this postseason comes to a close.

Right?

Posted in Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, fixing a problem, LeBron James, NBA playoffs | Leave a comment
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
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
26 Apr 2010

Surrounded by Conspiracies

The secret kabal that is behind the scenes of all the LeBron to New York scenarios has struck again, this time roping in a headphone manufacturer in, of all places, Utah.

According to The New York Times, Skullcandy, based in Park City, Utah, has produced a run of NBA Limited Mix Master headphones, a continuation of its NBA Player Series of headphones.

The signature models – Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, David Lee (seriously?) Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade – are available on the company’s website and at Apple stores in the players’ hometown cities – except in Cleveland!

So you are going to the trouble of making a LeBron James signature product but you won’t make it available in his home city? Are you serious?

Then The Wall Street Journal New York sports section (yes, there is such a thing because New York sports needs more coverage) read the tea leaves and came up with this:

“Speculation about where the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James will play next season, and whether the Knicks and Nets are on his list, is starting to bubble. But one big New York sports figure says he’s not counting on it.

“Mitchell Modell, chief executive of Modell’s Sporting Goods, one of Nike’s biggest accounts in New York, said the apparel giant isn’t planning to push huge amounts of LeBron merchandise for the fall.

“From what we hear, there’s a very, very long shot of him coming to New York,” Mr. Modell said. “We speak to our retail partners about our athletes on a regular basis,”

“Nike spokesman Derek Kent said. “At this stage, there is absolutely nothing specific or out of ordinary relating to LeBron and NYC.”

Gotta go to Mo’s!

The conspiracies aren’t limited to just the Cavs, of course.

When the news came out that Ben Rothlisberger was suspended for six games it was good times for Browns fans. But as details came out, it was revealed that the “six game” suspension could be reduced to four games if Rothlisberger behaved.

So when the suspension is reduced to four games, which you know it will be, Rothlisberger will return during the Steelers’ bye week, just in time to prepare for Pittsburgh’s Week 6 game against – wait for it – the Browns.

Of course.

Cleveland sports baby. You gotta’ love it!

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, conspiracies, LeBron James, Nike | Leave a comment
26 Apr 2010

Are we not entertained?

The Cavs apparently brought their “A” game to Chicago for Game 4, rolling the Bulls to take a 3-1 series lead.

Or did they?

While it feels like Chicago has been competitive in this series – just ask the Bulls, they’ll tell you just how close they are to leading the series – the numbers don’t back it up. Last year, during the Cavs’ first-round sweep of Detroit, Cleveland won the four games by an average of 15.5 points. This year, in the three wins so far against the Bulls, they are winning by an average of 15.3 points. Not a big difference. In the three losses, the Bulls have shot 42 percent, 44 percent and 37 percent.

So, while it seems like a more competitive series, it really isn’t.

After posting a triple-double, there’s really not much more to say about LeBron. Nothing he does amazes me any more. According to Brian Windhorst in the Plain Dealer:

“Including his triple double in the Cavs’ Game 4 victory over the Chicago Bulls Sunday, James is off to the most well-rounded first-round performance of his career. That includes averaging 32 points and 11.3 rebounds in last season’s sweep of the Detroit Pistons.

“James is averaging 35 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Bulls, which are numbers no one else currently in the playoffs can match. Beyond the numbers, it is James’ efficiency that has been so impressive … James is shooting 59 percent (50-of-85) from the field and 55 percent (12-of-22) from 3-point range. He’s also averaging 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals.”

And after Game 2, ESPN had this to say:

“LeBron James made 16 of his 23 shots to finish with 40 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds in the Cavs’ 112-102 victory over the Bulls in Game 2 of their first-round series. How does LeBron’s game compare to some of the bigger performances in recent playoff history? Let’s take a look at this using John Hollinger’s adjusted game score, essentially a single-number summary of how good a player’s game was, in terms of his box score statistics, adjusted for pace.

“The numbers can be roughly thought of on the scale of points: 30 is very good, 40 is great and 50 is spectacular.

“Last night, LeBron’s adjusted game score was 42.55, which is:

  • The best single game by any player in the first three nights of this postseason
  • The fourth best single postseason game of James’ career
  • The 13th best single game performance in the first round since 1996
  • The 24th best single game playoff performance in last 15 years”

Simply incredible. And LeBron has never had to miss the end of a crucial game because of menstrual cramps, the way Dwyane Wade had to in Game 3 against Boston.

I also am continuously surprised at the play of Antawn Jamison. It’s incredible how, time and again, he gets into position under the basket for a pass and an easy layup. I don’t know how the defense forgets about him so often, but the mid-season trade for him goes down as one of Danny Ferry’s best moves.

Game 5 is Tuesday.

13 more wins to go.

Posted in Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, NBA playoffs | Leave a comment

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