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November 27, 2007
Cavs beat Celts: Lebron Takes Over
Games like these are always about making plays, and making foul shots.
The Celtics did not do enough of either to win this game.
Ray Allen, a perennial league leader in foul shooting, including this year at 91.7%, missed 2 foul shots with 23 seconds left and the game tied. There is a greater chance of being attacked by a shark...in your back yard...if you lived in a desert ----- than that happening.
That would be the Celtics last best chance to win a game they never really had control of. They did have the lead at various points in the game, starting with the end of the first half. The Cavaliers won, 109-104 in overtime.
Kevin Garnett's string of double/doubles as a Celtic ended. He finished with a mere 5 rebounds and 19 points.
So one can beat three, afterall.
Yet, it was Ray Allen who kept the Celtics in the game for most of it, especially early, when it looked like the Cavs would open an uncatchable lead. Ray finished as the top scorer for the Cs with 29 points, but took 25 shots to do it.
Paul did not look right and had a poor offensive game, including some bad choices in passing and driving, leading to a team high 4 turnovers. He missed a number of shots down the stretch that he would normally make. His back must still be bothering him. He did play defense quite well for large parts of the game and had Lebron relatively under control for most of it, until midway in the 4th quarter, when LBJ began to take the game over.
LeBron put on quite a show when it counted most. He showed why he is.... the next big thing. When you watch him play, it is hard to believe this cat is only 22 years old (23 on December 30).
King Lebron had been contained well and had only 19 points until 9:35 of the 4th quarter. He doubled that number the rest of the way, finishing with 38 very loud points, scoring 11 in overtime alone. He scored in a number of ways and found the time to dole out 13 assists to his mates along the way. He went 14-15 from the foul line, including 6-6 in overtime. That is how you win games like these.
The Celtics started slow as they didn't seem to have the energy again, but also because they couldn't solve the Cavalier defense. 7' 3" Zydrunas and 6' 8" Drew Gooden played a 'large' part in the Cavs going up 15-4 to start the game.
Big Z blocked 4 shots for the game, altered a number of others, stopped penetration, and even had Kendrick Perkins throwing the ball back out from point blank range. He is an intimidator in the paint and doesn't get enough credit for it. He also got the Cavs their big early lead with 8 first quarter points on 4-4 shooting. He finished with 15 points.
Garnett only got 5 boards because Ilgauskas and Gooden dominated the boards with 14 and 13 each. The Cavs won the battle of the top 2 rebounding teams in the league by 47-40, though the Celtics actually had more offensive boards than the league leading Cavs (10 to 8).
When the Celtics play the few teams in the league with real size, they have to find new ways to win. Garnett and Perkins will have a particularly difficult time with players like Z, Yao Ming, and even Curry and Randolph.
The Cavs were out of sync in preseason and looked eminently beatable at that time. They looked quite different tonight.
Lebron had excellent support from Drew Gooden, as he looked unstoppable at times. Unstoppable is not an adjective you normally use to describe Drew Gooden. He was perfect from the field in the 3rd quarter, going 8-8 for 16 points. He finished with 24 points on 11-15 shooting, to go with his fine boardwork.
Sasha Pavlovic had a good night, hitting 3 big shots in the stretch drive and OT, and chipping in with 3 big steals. He finished with 16 points, 3rd highest on the team.
While Glen Davis made a brief appearance and made the most of it, scoring 8 points in 6 minutes, I thought that James Posey should have seen more time. He seemed to be effective at both ends of the court, finishing with 11 points including 3-5 from downtown and 6 boards in 20 minutes. I thought that Posey could have given Gooden more trouble defensively than either Davis, Scalabrine or apparently even Kevin Garnett did.
Rajon Rondo had a poor shooting game (1-9) and it hurt the Celtics big time tonight, as he missed shot after needed shot. He did rebound well (7 - tied with Ray Allen to lead the Celtics) and had 6 assists, and did a nice job when he guarded Gibson (8 points on 3-11 shooting). But he made bad decisions driving, geting blocked a number of times, and missed some open Js.
Perkins was relatively effective defensively as he helped keep Z under control after his initial outburst to start the game, and had 3 blocks of his own. Kendrick was another guy who missed needed foul shots down the stretch (5-8 after starting 4-4)
The Celtic starters all played 40 plus minutes, and looked like they had run out of gas nearing the end of the 4th period. They only made it a game on sheer will from that point on, in my opinion.
I also feel that they didn't go to the Garnett/Gooden match up enough. There is no way Gooden can handle Kevin. KG took him down low and with his midrange with much success tonight as evidenced by his 8-14 shooting.
So the Celtics missed shots and foul shots, while Lebron James, Gooden and Pavlovic made theirs for the most part. That was the difference in the game.
They are now 11-2 and seem far more more human of late. They have lost by 2 and 5 points. Still this is a start I never expected, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Next up are the Knicks in Boston on Thursday.
Posted by Tom on November 27, 2007 10:29 PM
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