Saturday, April 18, 2009

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons

(Let me start this by saying that I didn't watch this game due to spending some time with the wife).

The Cavaliers showed how impressive they can be. LeBron led the Cavs with 38 pts, 8 rebs, and 7 asts, but he also got balance from the rest of his team as they beat the Pistons. Delonte West, Mo Williams, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas all chipped in with 12 points. The Cavaliers won this game by taking the ball to the rack. They attempted 27 free throws (making 23). It wasn't pretty, but it was a win.

The Pistons didn't show up and basically after LeBron hit that 3 pointer from half court prior to halftime, the game was over. Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 pts and 4 asts, but outside of that, not too much help from anyone else. Rip had 15, Rasheed had 13, and McDyess had 10. How do you explain that the only big from Detroit that even attempted a free throw was Kwame Brown (1 of 2 from the line). Seems like the Piston bigs enjoyed shooting jumpers all day long. I guess they can blame this one on Iverson too?

Key facts:

- Can someone please find Tayshaun Prince? He has been a ghost as of late and the Pistons need him in order to give the Cavs a run for their money.

- Curry has got to go to his bench a little more, especially if the starters aren't getting the job done. I expect him to play Maxiell, Johnson, and Herrmann more in game #2.

The Cavs seem to be on their way to sweeping the Pistons. Joe Dumars should already be starting to revamp this team over the summer.



Are the Pistons done? Are the Cavs the juggernaut that we thought they'd be? Is this series over? When are the Bad Boys coming back?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

This series is going to be a joke... Really!!! The game was over at halftime when Lebron hit the 3 from almost half court... As I mention on facebook, if he would have missed the shot and there would have been at least a second on the clock, we would have seen the finish on ESPN for the next three days. Detroit just doesn't have the heart anymore to win. I think I like the team better Rasheed was piling up technical fouls. Sometimes a players needs to pick up a tech to ignite their teammates. Clearly when Detroit shipped away Billups, they died along with their season. LBJ is just too good to let this opportunity slip by and he has a hungry supporting cast in Mo Williams, and Big Z. For all the Pistons fans, the road is over. Harass your GM to get some talent young blood on the team.

Inquisitive Mind said...

I wasn't tryin to down Rose, I'm just saying that he won't have another career night against the Celtics in the next game. He's a good player and he'll be better when the Bulls decide what kind of team they want to be. I went to the Bulls first game of the year so that I could say that I saw Derrick Rose's first game as a pro, and he was good that night.

The Pistons needed Billups to not only hit big shots but play peacemaker in that locker room. The Pistons are DONE.

Big Pimpin' said...

This is why Joe Dumars is one of the best GMs in the league. He knew what the outcome of this season would be and that's why he pulled the trigger on the AI-Mr. Bigshot deal. Even with Chauncy there, the Cavs are just too strong for the aging Pistons. Hermann and Maxiel will provide some much needed energy off the bench, but energy with out skill is useless. Mo Williams and Delonte "Pass the tat gun" West are better than average players that can score as well. Finally, LeBron has guys around him that KNOW how the game is supposed to be played.

This series will be a joke. I'd be surprised if King James plays much more than 36-40 minutes per game the rest of the way.

It is sad though that AI is going out like this; I remember watching that cat light it up at Georgetown on a daily basis. He's definitely one of the ones that should have won one.

Inquisitive Mind said...

Would it have been this way with Billups there? I don't think so. I'm not saying that they would be able to beat the Cavs, but it would have been a better showing. Dumars will have close to $20M in cap space this summer after AI leaves,...who is he going after?

Big Pimpin' said...

Dumars won't go after anyone just yet. He'll get some serviceable vets to fill the void for another year and then roll out the red carpet for D-Wade and probably Bosh. He's got some more gardening to do to weed out the elderly. It's time for my man 'Sheed to call it a career. Prince could find himself in another zip code.