Red Right 88

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

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

1 Comment

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

29 Apr 2010

The Opposite of Love

Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, with takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice. – Historian Arnold Toynbee

The Wall Street Journal New York reported this week that the Indians are the most hated team in Major League Baseball. On a sentimental scale of -5 to 5, the Tribe scored 0.9.

When I first heard this I was outraged. Or at least I thought I should be outraged. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I just don’t care. Like the Indians or dislike them, it doesn’t matter to me. Apathy has set in – the worst thing than can happen to a team’s fan.

I’ve come to the realization over the past few years that I’m really not a baseball fan, just an Indians fan. I don’t consider myself a fair-weather fan, I’ve seen too much bad baseball since the late ’70s to only be interested when the team wins, but my interest does peak when the team is successful – like in 2007 & 2005.

When the team crashed in 2008, interest started to wane. Then, in 2009, by the time the Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs and I checked, the Indians were struggling along and had no chance of being competitive. I found myself drifting away from the team.

And as the team sinks into the abyss of irrelevancy, either because they are unwilling (not likely) or unable (much more probable) to spend enough on payroll to compete, it gets harder and harder to follow the team on a daily basis.

That point was driven home with the cover story in this week’s Sports Illustrated, featuring the Yankees’ Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. I have no intention of reading the story, I mean c’mon, but the coverline implies that the foursome being together on the same team for most of the past 16 years won’t be repeated again in baseball.

That’s true for any team that’s not the Yankees. One of the biggest misconceptions about the Yankees is that they have an advantage because they can buy any player they want. While that’s certainly true, the real advantage they have is that they know they can retain any player on their roster that they want. They’ve never had to worry about Jeter, Rivera or anyone leaving in free agency. If the team wanted to keep them, they always had the money and, with no salary cap, could spend as much as they want.

Think about how different it would have been for the Indians if they never had to worry about Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez, Cliff Lee, Bartolo Colon, etc., leaving in free agency.

But that’s not reality, so we’re stuck with a team hitting .238 with four regulars hitting below .200 – Jhonny Peralta (.190), Travis Hafner (.190), Grady Sizemore (.192) and Luis Valbuena (.196). And there’s no hope of help from the minors as the front office won’t promote younger players because they don’t want their service time to start and put them closer to free agency and the first train out of town.

As the Tribe finishes another disappointing opening month, fans are left to wonder when the team will come up with a definite, intelligible plan that we can get enthused about.

Posted in Cleveland Indians | 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

24 Apr 2010

Brilliant!

Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert hit a home run in their first draft with the Browns. From filling major holes in the secondary with the picks of Joe Haden and T.J. Ward, to playing the waiting game perfectly and landing Colt McCoy at the exact right time, this has been one of the best draft days since the team returned in 1999.

It’s heartwarming for Browns fans everywhere to finally have credible, knowledgeable, NFL-caliber people in charge of the team. With their years of combined NFL experience working in harmony to rebuild the team, the Browns are finally on the road out of the NFL’s wasteland.

The team formulated a plan and stuck to it, rejecting the urge to over trade or overrate players and take them too high. Holmgren and Heckert also made a point to select players in the first two rounds who can step on the field in September and play – not in a couple of years but now – and who will not be inexplicably placed on the inactive list on a weekly basis.

In fact, Tony Grossi of the Plain Dealer reported that “all the Browns’ draft picks so far are considered by the team to be serious contenders for starting jobs as rookies.”

What a novel approach, not redshirting your draft picks but actually allowing them to play.

Finally, Holmgren and Heckert saw the late-season win streak of last year as the smoke-and-mirror show it was, so they wisely determined that the team can’t have any long-term success with the QB play it was receiving. So they waited patiently for McCoy – accepting the possibility that they would miss out on him – again showing that not only do they have a plan, but that they understand the reality of quarterback play in the today’s NFL.

“I wasn’t going to force-feed it that much,” Holmgren said of the waiting game for McCoy. “Sometimes it just kind of falls to you. If it was going to happen, that’s kind of the way I wanted it to happen.”

And they know that if you can give a rookie QB a few years to mature the odds increase dramatically that he will succeed. So there will be ridiculous quarterback competition this summer in Berea and no chance that McCoy will be named the starting QB this fall. Jake Delhomme and/or Seneca Wallace will handle the position this year and possibly even next. McCoy will be given the time to mature and the opportunity to succeed that is vital in the NFL today.

And Brett Ratcliff can start working on his resume.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Colt McCoy, Joe Haden, NFL draft | Leave a comment