Deb
06-03-2007, 09:35 AM
As LeBron grows up, teammates step up
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6880136_7_2.jpg
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 6 hours ago
In order to get behind the obvious headlines, let's zero in on some of the participants who played leading parts in the Cavs' 98-82 drubbing of the Pistons.
Rasheed Wallace started out like he owned the low-post and was poised to take Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao or Drew Gooden to the cleaners.
But Rasheed couldn't maintain his edge, becoming distracted as soon as he missed his first shot (at 4:40 of the opening quarter) and the refs failed to call a foul on his defender (Varejao). From there, Wallace's game went into the toilet.
In the end, he wound up shooting only 5-for-14, scoring 11 points and accumulating as many technical fouls as rebounds (two each).
Think back with me...
After several seasons of registering superior numbers and inferior clutch performances in Portland, Rasheed played stupendously for a half-season after he was traded to Detroit in February of 2004. But he didn't play particularly well in the Pistons' ensuing run to the championship — shooting a mere 41.3% and scoring 13 points per game. In his subsequent three seasons in Detroit, Wallace was a consistently undependable, moody malcontent who routinely argued with his teammates and his coaches whenever the Pistons didn't play well, though he did step up his play in the opening two games in the recently concluded series versus Cleveland.
Except for the instances noted above, Wallace has been the league's most underachieving player.
No surprise, then, when he lost what was left of his composure late in the deciding Game 6.
With the entire season on the line, Wallace simply wimped out.
Again.
And once again, he'll blame somebody else for his own miscues.
Chauncey Billups played like a no-star — 3-for-7 FG, one assist and a mere nine points. He seemed profoundly disinterested all series long. It seems that Billups can't wait until July 1 when he's officially a free agent and has the opportunity to get as far away from Rasheed as possible.
Rip Hamilton tried to pick up the slack, going 10-for-20 for 29 points, but the majority of his points resulted from isos, and were more of a testament to his own earnest skills than to any team-wide coordinated offense.
These were not the kind of points that the Pistons' offense had to produce in order to establish the offensive rhythm necessary to beat the bigger, longer, stronger Cavs' defense.
Tayshaun Prince had a miserable game to cap off a miserable series.
For sure, defending LeBron had to wear him out to a certain degree, but like Hamilton, Prince was compelled to create his own scoring opportunities — which isn't, and never was, his specialty. Especially not against stronger, bigger opponents.
It was Chris Webber who actually provided a hint of things to come early in the first quarter. That's when his gratuitous shove of Anderson gained him a technical.
The foul was as blatant as it was uncalled for. What it really was, however, was a demonstration of Webber's — and his teammates' — false bravado, which was a poor substitute for both genuine confidence and gut-level intensity.
Flip Saunders has to assume much of the blame for the Pistons' unexpected collapse. Yes, he finally succeeded in taking the ball out of LBJ's hands with a pesky "twelve" defense that doubled him at every turning. But the Pistons would have been much better served by sticking with this trapping 1-2-2 zone during the deciding portions of Game 5.
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Saunders can also be faulted for his stubborn insistence on playing matchup offense almost exclusively.
Detroit concentrated on various post-ups (they were 4-for-13 here, plus two free throws), as well as clear-outs (9-for-16, plus four free throws). The only adjustments they made in Game 6 were to have cutters flash down the middle when these individualistic schemes were either crowded or outright two-timed.
Big deal.
The Pistons used motion plays only three times, and scored only once. Perhaps Saunders shunned this type of offense because Larry Brown had used it so much (and with such great success).
Who knows?
In any case, Detroit's offense was stagnant and predictable. And the ball was rarely reversed.
And another brief dynasty bites the dust.
CLEVELAND
What could LeBron do for an encore after his incredible scoring heroics in Game 5?
How about a complete about-face that sacrificed his own scoring in favor of setting up his teammates.
He shot a mere 3-for-11 from the field, but was 14-for-19 from the stripe, pulled down 14 rebounds, dished out eight assists and notched 20 points.
With the Pistons' doubling him ASAP, LBJ concentrated on drawing as many defenders as would adhere to him before passing to open shooters.
In truth, his total of eight assists is misleading, only because several recipients ended up at the foul line, and he also executed numerous set-up passes that led to assists by someone else — like Larry Hughes and Damon Jones, who had four each.
In other words, LeBron refused to force anything and, like a wizened veteran, took what the Pistons' defense gave him.
His play in Game 6, then, was equally as masterful as it had been in Game 5, but for other reasons. These include unselfishness, maturity, discipline, and above all, having unlimited faith in his teammates.
Bravo!
The man-child has officially become a master.
Young Daniel Gibson's sensational 3-point shooting (5-for-5) proved that LBJ's trust was well-placed.
If James is the King, then Gibson is the Crown Prince.
Mike Brown (and his staff) out-coached the more experienced Saunders from one end of the series to the other. He took full advantage of the overwhelming size and strength of his front-line players.
In Game 6, for example, the Cavs out-rebounded Detroit 53-33, including 16 to 6 on the offensive glass.
Brown also utilized Eric Snow's savvy defense in perfectly limited doses that maximized the veteran's effectiveness. Brown got Zydrunas Ilgauskas involved early in every game and reaped the benefits of Z-man's work on the offensive glass.
He wasn't afraid to plug Gibson into pressure situations. And he had Anderson Varejao on a short-enough leash so as to control the youngster's wild intensity.
Indeed, had the Cavs been tested more against Washington and New Jersey, they could easily have won Games 1 and 2.
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/6880136_7_2.jpg
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 6 hours ago
In order to get behind the obvious headlines, let's zero in on some of the participants who played leading parts in the Cavs' 98-82 drubbing of the Pistons.
Rasheed Wallace started out like he owned the low-post and was poised to take Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao or Drew Gooden to the cleaners.
But Rasheed couldn't maintain his edge, becoming distracted as soon as he missed his first shot (at 4:40 of the opening quarter) and the refs failed to call a foul on his defender (Varejao). From there, Wallace's game went into the toilet.
In the end, he wound up shooting only 5-for-14, scoring 11 points and accumulating as many technical fouls as rebounds (two each).
Think back with me...
After several seasons of registering superior numbers and inferior clutch performances in Portland, Rasheed played stupendously for a half-season after he was traded to Detroit in February of 2004. But he didn't play particularly well in the Pistons' ensuing run to the championship — shooting a mere 41.3% and scoring 13 points per game. In his subsequent three seasons in Detroit, Wallace was a consistently undependable, moody malcontent who routinely argued with his teammates and his coaches whenever the Pistons didn't play well, though he did step up his play in the opening two games in the recently concluded series versus Cleveland.
Except for the instances noted above, Wallace has been the league's most underachieving player.
No surprise, then, when he lost what was left of his composure late in the deciding Game 6.
With the entire season on the line, Wallace simply wimped out.
Again.
And once again, he'll blame somebody else for his own miscues.
Chauncey Billups played like a no-star — 3-for-7 FG, one assist and a mere nine points. He seemed profoundly disinterested all series long. It seems that Billups can't wait until July 1 when he's officially a free agent and has the opportunity to get as far away from Rasheed as possible.
Rip Hamilton tried to pick up the slack, going 10-for-20 for 29 points, but the majority of his points resulted from isos, and were more of a testament to his own earnest skills than to any team-wide coordinated offense.
These were not the kind of points that the Pistons' offense had to produce in order to establish the offensive rhythm necessary to beat the bigger, longer, stronger Cavs' defense.
Tayshaun Prince had a miserable game to cap off a miserable series.
For sure, defending LeBron had to wear him out to a certain degree, but like Hamilton, Prince was compelled to create his own scoring opportunities — which isn't, and never was, his specialty. Especially not against stronger, bigger opponents.
It was Chris Webber who actually provided a hint of things to come early in the first quarter. That's when his gratuitous shove of Anderson gained him a technical.
The foul was as blatant as it was uncalled for. What it really was, however, was a demonstration of Webber's — and his teammates' — false bravado, which was a poor substitute for both genuine confidence and gut-level intensity.
Flip Saunders has to assume much of the blame for the Pistons' unexpected collapse. Yes, he finally succeeded in taking the ball out of LBJ's hands with a pesky "twelve" defense that doubled him at every turning. But the Pistons would have been much better served by sticking with this trapping 1-2-2 zone during the deciding portions of Game 5.
Here's your chance to fire back at Charley Rosen. Got a question or a comment
Subject:
Saunders can also be faulted for his stubborn insistence on playing matchup offense almost exclusively.
Detroit concentrated on various post-ups (they were 4-for-13 here, plus two free throws), as well as clear-outs (9-for-16, plus four free throws). The only adjustments they made in Game 6 were to have cutters flash down the middle when these individualistic schemes were either crowded or outright two-timed.
Big deal.
The Pistons used motion plays only three times, and scored only once. Perhaps Saunders shunned this type of offense because Larry Brown had used it so much (and with such great success).
Who knows?
In any case, Detroit's offense was stagnant and predictable. And the ball was rarely reversed.
And another brief dynasty bites the dust.
CLEVELAND
What could LeBron do for an encore after his incredible scoring heroics in Game 5?
How about a complete about-face that sacrificed his own scoring in favor of setting up his teammates.
He shot a mere 3-for-11 from the field, but was 14-for-19 from the stripe, pulled down 14 rebounds, dished out eight assists and notched 20 points.
With the Pistons' doubling him ASAP, LBJ concentrated on drawing as many defenders as would adhere to him before passing to open shooters.
In truth, his total of eight assists is misleading, only because several recipients ended up at the foul line, and he also executed numerous set-up passes that led to assists by someone else — like Larry Hughes and Damon Jones, who had four each.
In other words, LeBron refused to force anything and, like a wizened veteran, took what the Pistons' defense gave him.
His play in Game 6, then, was equally as masterful as it had been in Game 5, but for other reasons. These include unselfishness, maturity, discipline, and above all, having unlimited faith in his teammates.
Bravo!
The man-child has officially become a master.
Young Daniel Gibson's sensational 3-point shooting (5-for-5) proved that LBJ's trust was well-placed.
If James is the King, then Gibson is the Crown Prince.
Mike Brown (and his staff) out-coached the more experienced Saunders from one end of the series to the other. He took full advantage of the overwhelming size and strength of his front-line players.
In Game 6, for example, the Cavs out-rebounded Detroit 53-33, including 16 to 6 on the offensive glass.
Brown also utilized Eric Snow's savvy defense in perfectly limited doses that maximized the veteran's effectiveness. Brown got Zydrunas Ilgauskas involved early in every game and reaped the benefits of Z-man's work on the offensive glass.
He wasn't afraid to plug Gibson into pressure situations. And he had Anderson Varejao on a short-enough leash so as to control the youngster's wild intensity.
Indeed, had the Cavs been tested more against Washington and New Jersey, they could easily have won Games 1 and 2.