Back at Zero

So, it's now a best of three series with the Pistons still having home court. On paper, you have to still give them the edge. That having been said, if the Cavs haven't earned their respect at this point, the Cavs will beat them in this series. I never thought I'd sing the praises of Charles Barkley, but he seems to have finally been convinced of this. When asked post-game about what he would take away from the two games in Cleveland, he said something to the effect of: you can't take anything away, because the Cavs should be up 3-1 or should have swept. They have outplayed Detroit in all four games, but just couldn't finish games 1 and 2, but were able to finish at home.

So, what does this mean? Are the Pistons still disinterested and not playing their A-game? I would agree that the Pistons haven't fired on all cylanders (ha!) yet, but some credit has to go to the Cavs' defense for this. Billups was second in the league in the regular season in assist-to-turnover ratio, and now he's got 16 assists and 22 turnovers in four games? He looked positively rattled in the fourth quarter last night, which is uncharactistic of him.

So, using that as a thumbnail sketch for the entire series, is it that the Pistons just aren't playing up to their potential (whether it be for lack of respect or concern for the threat the Cavs pose, or what have you)? Or, could it be that the Cavs are actually frustrating them just a bit? To me, it's not a coincidence that the Cavs have had considerable leads at some point in all 4 games, and the Pistons' biggest lead at any point in the series has only been 5 points. For a team that most claim can just "turn it on whenever they feel like it" against an "inferior" team like Cleveland, they sure seem to be struggling to do so. If the Pistons don't believe they're in a good, close, tight series yet, then they're ripe to get beat. And I, for one, would really enjoy seeing that.

In my head, I still think Pistons probably win in 7, as I truly think both teams hold serve at home the rest of the way. But, if the Cavs can put it together on Thursday night in Detroit, all bets are off. I don't think the Pistons can just put it together and muster wins in both games 6 and 7 like they did last year if the Cavs again can win game 5 on the road. We shall see.

Highlights from Tuesday night for me were:

• Getting inside Rasheed's head. Gooden made a good foul on him (a little rough, but fuck Rasheed if he can't handle it - there's just no way you can let him go up for an and-1 there, so I think Drew did a good job), though at the time I was nervous (as Lars pointed out, it could have been a flagrant with 2 shots and the ball). Somehow it seemed to fire up Drew and fluster Sheed (who later got T'ed up for yelling at Rip and throwing his headband, which was hilarious to me).
  To my reader(s): please tell me you all saw the repeated coverage of Sheed in the tunnel throwing his jersey in disgust and drilling an assistant coach in the face. It was priceless!
  
  Plus, Windhorst says in his blog this morning that he heard from a reliable source that the Pistons are having "chemistry problems in the locker room right now." Could the armor be cracked just a bit?


• James' fade-away/step-back J late in the fourth quarter. How demoralizing to play great defense for an entire possession only to have that shit dropped on you.


• LeBron nailing his free throws in the crunch, AND not letting Rip Hamilton get in his ear. While it wasn't a big push or anything, LeBron shoving Rip out of the way and maintaining his focus--to me, anyway--was huge. After having his clutch abilities and focus questioned ad nauseum after the first two games, it was nice to see both on display again in game 4. You know Gilbert Arenas was watching, too.


• This isn't really a moment, but how can you quantify how good Daniel "Boobie" Gibson was last night?? I don't know if they can have him start or not in game 5 (which will depend on how gimpy Hughes is going forward), but he showed the team's only willingness to drive consistently. I know he's not Hughes on defense (but probably as good or better than Gimpy Hughes, in all honesty, and did take an very important charge on Billups late in the fourth quarter), but he got to the line 12 times.
  If he can consistently make foul shots and get calls on their bigs, he's GOT to play more the rest of the series. I honestly can say that, for a rookie who's 21 and playing in the biggest series in franchise history, he's surprisingly calm. Something the Cavs need when they inevitably gag on their breakfast in the third quarter each night.


• More on Gibson: he looked calm and aggressive. He was driving right at Webber and Wallace and getting them up in the air to get the calls. He showed some touch on mid-range shots (he did a sweet step-and-fade-away shot that looked just like that shit that Billups and Hamilton do, and it was positively beautiful). It was like Gibson saw what was working, and kept doing it until Detroit stopped it (ahem, LeBron). He was making his free throws, so he kept going at them and getting more. He scored like 9 or 10 straight points at one point in the second quarter, and it just kind of snowballed for the team. He really got the crowd into the game, too, which was huge. Like I said above, I don't know if you can start Gibson in game 5 (think Varejao in last years' playoffs... his role off the bench was perfect) and put too many minutes on him, but Boobie played like 30 minutes last night and more than held his own.

This sets up a positively HUGE game 5 on Thursday night. More importantly, these last two games have energized a city and fan base to the point they haven't been since October of 1997 for the Tribe, and more specifically, than they've ever been for this franchise (you could argue the 1992 conference finals, but there was no way they were getting past Jordan in his prime). Cleveland fans CARE, and if this team could somehow get past the Pistons, it would be a huge weight off the shoulders of a fan base that generally collectively sits and waits to inevitably lose in some heart-wrenching fashion (for this team, think game 6 last year when they just *couldn't* get a rebound to save their lives).

I'm not saying they'll win. I'll say again, I still think this series is the Pistons' to lose, since they have home court. But, the Cavs (and their fans, really, as well) have gone from "just happy to have taken the next step this year and to be here in the conference finals" to honestly feeling like they have a shot (I'm reflecting my own feeling back, here, obviously).

I will again defer to Windhorst:

In the fourth quarter [last night], there was 21-year-old Gibson, 22-year-old James, and 23-year-old Sasha Pavlovic out there making plays. While the Pistons have the experience advantage and have been together longer, you can see the Cavs core for years to come developing. Not to mention Drew Gooden is just 26, Anderson Varejao 24 and Larry Hughes 28. It is said in the NBA, you win with men. The Pistons have men, but the Cavs have young guys who are turning into men.

Indeed.

This Just In: LeBron Still Pretty Good

Oh, shit. I will never, ever get tired of watching that replay.

@#&* the NBA

^{Note: I'm writing this as soon as I got home from BW's to ensure that I was still as angry as possible about the results of Game 2}

Now, I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I'm sure we walked on the moon, and I don't think the government somehow pulled off this elaborate 9/11 conspiracy.

That said, FUCK the NBA. Seriously. Four years ago before the Cavs had LeBron, the Cleveland Basketball Fan was an endangered species. I say this because I know it's true. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a complete and total LeBron bandwagon fan. I didn't give a shit about the Cavs from the time the Price/Daugherty/Ehlo team disbanded until we got James.

So, how does it look to the casual johnny-come-lately NBA fan to watch a game that appears to be so fucking lopsided in the officiating? How am I *not* to think the NBA has some vested interest in seeing the Pistons advance?

As I said in Tuesday's entry, I thought the Game 1 officiating was equally loose for both teams. Tonight, not so much. Example: Anderson Verejao has the ball not once, but twice, under the hoop for a layup. On the replay (I will see if I can somehow find this, but I doubt it will make YouTube) you can see Chauncey Billups swat his arm at Verejao's not once, not twice, but three fucking times. No foul. But, sure enough, within the next minute or so, when the Pistons were on offense, the refs call a fucking hand-check. What the fuck is that?

Then, the cake-taker. Rasheed Wallace could not have more obviously pushed off of Verejao to get off his game winning shot (really, just to catch the ball and keep it in-bounds). I admit Verejao is a notorious flopper, but when it's that fucking clear in live-action, you would think a trained NBA ref standing 10 feet away could see/call it. Now, I'm all for "letting them play" when it comes to incidental contact in the deciding moments of a game. But when someone shoves off his defender to gain an advantage (in this case, to actually keep the fucking ball in his team's possession), that goes beyond "letting them play" and the ref HAS to call that foul.

Now, I'm also no fan of Mike Brown's halftime "adjustments" (note: sarcasm) or his team's offensive execution in the third quarter. But, after the entire free world bitched to high heaven about how LeBron needs to drive on the final play (why they played for the last shot instead of trying to score and play defense is another argument for another time, but has no relevence to where I'm going), he drives. He spins. He takes a shot. He gets FUCKING HAMMERED on the shot. No call. Not even so much as a sympathy whistle.

Charles Barkley, who so chastised LeBron for not taking it to the rack in game 1 has the tamarity to say, "You can't expect calls on the road," in the post-game. Weren't these the same whore fuckers who said he should drive because, "at least you get to the foul line with a chance to send it to overtime"?

Apparently you don't when the refs decide to swallow their whistles in Detroit's favor for the majority of the game.

I read a comment from someone on another sports site that Detroit gets more calls at home than anyone. I thought it was just sour grapes (not my comment in my post on Tuesday about how I thought LeBron not getting fouls in the second half was NOT sour grapes, just for reference).

I now think it's true. It's like in baseball. When a player is a star, or gets the reputation as having a "good eye" and then lays off a pitch that's close, most of the time the umpire gives them the benefit of the doubt. So, apparently it is that if the Pistons are considered a "great defensive team" they will not get even blatant fouls called on them.

I will be watching closely in game 3. If the Cavs *still* don't get any calls, then I'll start to believe something's going on. If the refs decide to call it a home-court series, then the Cavs will simply have to outplay the Pistons in Detroit.

But if not, and if the officiating remains so lopsided, the NBA is in danger of costing itself fans. They would start with me.

In summary, the Cavs had Game 1 in their grasp, and they let it go. They had Game 2 in their grasp, and the officials took it from them with two horrible no-calls in the final 30 seconds.

Careful, NBA. There's only so many times you can decide the Spurs and Pistons should play each other before the fans of the other 28 teams decide they've got better things to do with their time.

Define: Hypocrisy

Liberty: noun
1. freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
2. freedom from external or foreign rule; independence.
3. freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.
4. freedom from captivity, confinement, or physical restraint: The prisoner soon regained his liberty.
5. permission granted to a sailor, esp. in the navy, to go ashore.
6. freedom or right to frequent or use a place: The visitors were given the liberty of the city.
7. unwarranted or impertinent freedom in action or speech, or a form or instance of it: to take liberties.


"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42, NIV)


Nothing says "Liberty" and follows the teachings of Jesus quite like a student at Jerry Falwell's school Liberty University plotting to set off bombs at his funeral to ensure protesters don't disrupt Falwell's funeral.

Now, I'm no proponent of disrupting someone's funeral (looking in your direction, group that shows up at military funerals to protest that their deaths are punishment from God for living in and fighting for a country that "tolerates homosexuals"), even though my distaste for Falwell was earlier documented in this very space.

But this is right up there on the hypocrisy scale with people bombing abortion clinics and killing abortion doctors to show how "precious life is." We don't want protesters disrupting the funeral, so what better way to keep it peaceful and civil than to FUCKING BOMB THEM. Nice work, kid. Jesus loves you.


On second thought, this is the funeral of a guy who once said, "Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn't have them, I'd have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need."

Great model for strong moral convictions, there.

Don't worry, Frinky. When these babies hit the shelves, he'll still be grappling with The Pickle Matrix. H'Flaven.

So, the Cavs couldn't hold off the Pistons last night in game 1. I'm fairly ambivolent about the game at this point 12 hours later, simply because I went into this series opener thinking the Cavs had no real shot to steal a game in Detroit, and that if the series went to 6 games it might be considered a moral victory for the Cavs on some level.

That they almost did steal game 1 was a nice surprise, true, but then to have gone through 46 minutes with the Pistons and to have the lead on their court, and then to lose in the fashion the Cavs did is equally disappointing.

What bothers me is the media's shredding of LeBron James for his decision to pass out of a double-(triple?)team to a wide open Donyell Marshall for a potential game-winning shot. I've always been in the camp that, if you can get a good look for a shooter who can make threes (Marshall was, after all, 6-10 from three in game 6 against NJ) with a chance to win the game on the road, you take it.

Some would argue that James had an easy layup (kind of like the few he had blocked by Rasheed?)...

^{Akron Beacon Journal - To be fair, a block on Eric Snow should only count for a third of an actual blocked shot}

...and others will argue that James has to go strong to the hole and force the refs to call a foul because of who he is. I would counter that with the fact that he had gone to the hole about four times in the second half, had gotten certifiably molested, and had gotten no calls. (This is not sour grapes about the officiating; the Pistons' players got the same treatment. It's more a comment about the fallacy of expecting the refs to bail you out on a last second drive to the basket.)

^{Akron Beacon Journal - Notice the relationship/spacing of ball to Billups-hand compared to the direction LeBron is trying to go with the ball and tell me he's not about to foul our boy.}

And, as Bud Shaw pointed out in the PD this morning: "In reality, James never found a rhythm in the game and didn't seem inclined to test himself at the foul line for the first time all night." Good point also, given James' proclivity for being a streaky foul shooter this year, and for sometimes needing a few attempts to calibrate himself at the line.

Lost in all of the criticism and second guessing is the fact that, had Marshall MADE A WIDE OPEN FUCKING SHOT, the Cavs would likely have had a better than average shot of winning the game... game 1, no less... on the road. Or, if Ilgauskas makes a jumper he had been consistently making all night, the Cavs have a tie, a foul to give, and a time-out on their side with which to go and play defense. And, in both cases, LeBron would have then finished with an even triple-double (that would have been his 10th assist to go along with 10 points and 10 boards).

So, if Marshall/Ilgauskas make their shot(s), is LeBron a hero for being unselfish? A co-worker of mine and I were discussing it this morning, and his take is that the media pretty much always sucks, and that it sucks even more for someone like LeBron who is in the top 3 players in the league.

CAVS WIN HEADLINE:
Unselfish LeBron clinches win & triple double with great pass at buzzer

CAVS LOSE HEADLINE:
Unassertive LeBron can't handle double teams...has career playoff low in points

I tend to agree with his assessment of the media in matters such as these. Obviously, I'm a Cavs fan, and so my opinion is slightly skewed. But, many media folks seem to forget that LeBron is only 22 years old. They forget that it took Jordan 7 years to get to the Finals (at which point he was 28, I believe), and that LeBron has a shot (albeit a slim one, granted) to get there in his fourth season with (largely) a collection of stiffs on his team.

So, do we hold LeBron to a higher standard than even Michael Jordan? Is that fair? I understand that LeBron has been annointed as "next" since his junior year of high school. Who is responsible for that hype? More specifically, is/was there any real way LeBron could have lived up to it? He completed a feat this year in terms of his scoring/rebound/assist averages over three seasons that only Oscar Robertson ever did before him. What more do we want from the guy?

Sure, LeBron had a bad game, but what about the fact that the Cavs defense effectively shut down the Pistons just as much as the Pistons shut down LeBron? Had Richard Hamilton not shot out of his mind in the first half, the Cavs are probably up by 15 at half-time, and the Pistons lose. Shit, if Sasha Pavlovic doesn't shit the bed on defense and completely forget to get anywhere close to Billups (aside: and while I respect his game and the derivation of it, is there a douchier nickname in sports than "Mr. Big Shot"? Seriously!) as he shot a wide-open 3 pointer, the game ends differently.

It was widely reported/known that the Pistons were going to do everything in their power to shut down LeBron and to make the Cavs' other players beat them. And guess what, they almost did.


Hell, at least the Tribe (27-15) won.

Wow, gee... look at the time

I know that my blog updates become formulaic (wherein I generally don't write for two weeks, and then throw together a bulleted-list-update post). I don't care. Here it is:

• In the span of about 90 minutes Wednesday night, I went from completely sure the Cavs were going to the Eastern Conference Finals to wondering if this season will go down in history as a complete and utter failure.


• In the span of about 18 days, I've gone from thinking the Indians were on a collision course with 103 wins, to thinking that the Indians were on a collision course with 83 wins, back to thinking that the Indians are on a collision course with 96 wins. Will the real Cleveland Indians please stand up and remain standing?


• Jerry Falwell is gone. I struggled with writing something about his passing, but Mom always said that if you can't say something nice about a person, you shouldn't say anything at all. Not that this rule has stopped me in any way over the course of my life. Suffice it so say I am currently wondering with great and considerable curiousity where Jerry currently finds himself, and if he truly is in Heaven (or whatever you want to call it), do I myself want to end up in a place that admits complete and total bigot fuckwads (dammit, there I've gone and done it) as its members?


• I heard something this morning about Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) falling down some stairs and seriously hurting herself. In an internet search for information about this (no thanks to you, CNN.com), I stumbled across her husband's (writer/director James Gunn) MySpace page. Dude is hilarious (my favorite being the caption for a picture of himself with two actors from Scooby Doo--for which he wrote the script, I believe--that reads: "Scooby-Doo Reunion! - Matt Lillard, Linda Cardellini, and Count Fucko."). I actually found that Slither was a good movie, too (you know, in a completely intentionally campy horror movie kind of way).


• We're Fleeing to The Cleve this weekend for the wedding of one of my wife's friends, which should be an exciting and fun little weekend trip that doesn't break the bank. Add in a little stop on the way back south to see my Mom and step-father for a belated Mother's Day/Birthday cookout, and it should be an action packed weekend. We will miss our pooch, though.


• More info on the House of Cards show next weekend: Saturday May 26th at the Newport Music Hall as part of Memorial Day Weekend Fest. We play at 9:10 in the PM, I'm told. I only have 15 tickets, of which at least 5 are spoken for. Them shits is like currency now!


• Kid Cleveland has a great article about baseball cards, which (judging from the comment I left) made me a little nostalgic for the days when Mike DeLong and I would ride our bikes the six blocks into downtown Wooster to go to Don's Baseball Card Shop, which was also (in a major stroke of luck for us) basically next door to the only real video arcade in town (you know, back when video games only cost $.25 and arcades actually existed). Ahh, youth.


• There's stubborn, really stubborn, and then there's our president. What is it going to take, George? The dream is over. There's a saying I once heard that when someone comes to a personal crossroads, that "it's time to fight, fuck, or hit the fence." Since the first obviously has not worked, and the second gave us your dillbag twin daughters, I'd say that pretty much narrows it down for you.


• I have a potential piece of news that would make me very happy. I cannot yet reveal it. But, it's potentially big. Salivate, you dogs.


• Melissa and I watched Major League again over this past weekend (it was on one of the "free" movie channels that are part of Time Warner's HD-Pack, so we got to see it uncut and without commercials--the only *real* way to enjoy it). I noticed something that I'd never noticed before in all of the times I'd watched it. The two "longshoremen" working that are repeatedly shown saying things like "These guys don't look to fuckin' good," and "you know, these guys ain't so fuckin' bad"... you remember those guys? Go back, watch it again, and tell me who the speaking longshoreman looks like. And then realize how happy I was when I confirmed on IMBD what I'd shouted as we watched it: "HOLY SHIT, THAT'S THE JANITOR FROM 'SCRUBS'!"

That's all for now. I guess. See you in another couple of weeks.

Friend of Blogger Turns Out to be Genius...

...though this is something I've known for a long time.

My friend (and the former bassist-to-my-drummer in a previous life) Rob has ascended to the perch of music editor for the Village Voice in NYC.

And he's one of the most brilliant writers I know.

Check it out.

Soon you'll see why.

Glass Half Full, Glass Half Empty

As a Cleveland sports fan, the imperative is to temper all excitement with the knowledge that somewhere, sometime soon, the other shoe WILL drop. We don't know exactly where or when, we just have come to know that it will. At the present moment, coming off the Browns' best draft in their reincarnation, a Cavaliers playoff sweep, and the Tribe ending April 6 games over .500 and in first place, it would appear that the outlook is good for Cleveland sports. But, knowing what we know, let's examine the Cleveland sports landscape and look to see where the potential pitfalls lay.

Glass Half Full
Drafting Joe Thomas with the #3 pick means that the Browns can move Kevin Shaffer to either right tackle or right guard, where he would probably be better suited and would definitely help the Browns' line depth. It's no secret that our guard play was lacking last year, and adding Steinbach and Thomas helps the left side of the line, and also forces Shaffer over potentially to right guard, where he would very much help.

Glass Half Empty
Shaffer saw the Browns draft Thomas, and immediately asked for a trade. If they trade him, the Browns suddenly again become one injury away from complete suckitude on the offensive line. I remember being happy with the trade of Jeff Faine last offseason (hey, we'd just signed Bentley!) and we all saw how that worked out when Bentley subsequently went down to injury on the first play of training camp.

Glass Half Full
The Indians have a 4.21 team ERA, and only a .246 team batting average, and are still 6 games over .500 and leading their division.

Glass Half Empty
Umm, the Indians have a 4.21 team ERA and only a .246 team batting average.

Glass Half Full
The Cavs swept the Wizards out of the first round of the playoffs, and now get at least 4 days to rest up for their second round series against either the Nets or the Raptors. Meanwhile, the Bulls and Pistons will beat each other up.

Glass Half Empty
The Cavs weren't really challenged (by most accounts, the last three games were closer than they should have been, considering how under-manned the Wizards were) and didn't really dominate like they should have, and they have been somewhat lulled to sleep. A hot team (like the Nets) might pick them apart.


Really, I'm kind of reaching here, but as a Cleveland fan of many, many years, I've learned not to let myself get too excited. Call me a cynic; whatever. It's called bracing oneself for the inevitable.