That was your story. LeBron James and Paul Pierce put on a show for the ages, scoring 45 and 41 points respectively in a win or go home game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It was probably one of the most enjoyable games in this year’s playoffs, and the Celtics pulled away late to meet their imminent doom against Detroit.
What I am going to talk about is how Cleveland blew this game. Yes yes yes they never had the lead, but with 2:20 to go, they were down 89-88. Paul Pierce was held in check for most of the 4th quarter, Kevin Garnett was hardly a factor offensively, they were in a position to pull off the upset and send Boston fans home in disbelief. Instead, they made PJ Brown look like a legend. PJ Brown scored 10 points and hit a huge jumper to give Boston a 91-88 advantage. Delonte West’s game tying three was off, LeBron was unable to hit a three in the dying seconds, game over.
The difference in this game however, was the lineup Mike Brown had. This was their season, either they face Detroit for a 3rd straight season, or go home again. In the final minute of the game, this was their lineup:
LeBron James
Ben Wallace
Delonte West
Sasha Pavlovic
Damon Jones, eventually Joe Smith
What is the key here? NO BIG MAN! I know Zydrunas Ilgauskas was doing zippo scoring wise, and Anderson Varejao is not exactly great either, but they needed 2nd chance opportunities in the event that a missed shot occurs. Kevin Garnett is skying over everyone, Ben Wallace is 6′9, that was your tallest man on the court for the Cavaliers. No wonder they were outrebounded 39-29, and mustered only 7 2nd chance points.
Mike Brown, as great a defensive coach he is, cannot get it done offensively. His schemes are terrible, they broke 100 points a grand total of 4 times in the playoffs, and he keeps fiddling with the rotation. Now it’s too late, they are going golfing. This loss is mostly on him, because that’s not exactly what I would call a winning lineup out there….even with Daniel Gibson’s injury.
For Boston, they may end up getting swept by the Pistons if they are not careful. Cleveland nearly won 3 games in Boston, and the Pistons have won 3 road games. Ray Allen is stone cold, they haven’t won on the road even after having a 31-10 regular season away from the Garden of Whatever They Call it Now. Doc Rivers has to know they’ve survived big time, and now they finally have a team that can match their level of play. See ya Boston, the Pistons will have this one wrapped up by game 6.
Finally, getting back to Cleveland, LeBron James can’t do everything, but he carried the team (AGAIN!) and set them up for an upset. He needs a competent supporting cast next year. Not just any, he needs another shooter to work with, and an athletic big man, because Varejao is trade bait, and Ilgauskas is getting old. If they can pull strings maybe Kevin Love is a Cavalier. During the offseason, they need to get off their lazy butts and sign a straight up consistent shooter. No way should James be making half of the team’s field goal attempts. I think if he can get at least 20% of the workload off of his back, then they can become a contender. If Mike Brown would just learn about the world of offense in basketball, maybe they could go back to the finals.
Good season for Cleveland, it’s over, for Boston, it should be over soon…
Oh yeah, I’ve got Hornets 115 Spurs 101.
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