# Utah at Cleveland (3/15/05)



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

@









4:00 pm PT, 7:00 pm ET
*TV:* FSOhio, NBALP

*The Good:* Cleveland has won 2 games in a row at home to nicely set the table for another home game. This being after having a day off to practice and rest. 

*The Bad:* Since Boozer is not playing, the Cavaliers must not face a letdown and come out with diminished intensity. While it would have been nice to face Carlos and get it over with, by Carlos not playing, it hypes up his eventual return even more. When he does return to Cleveland, it will be just as ugly as if he decided to return for this game. 

*The Ugly:* The Jazz are coming off a 62-64 loss to the Pistons in what was a low scoring affair. It’s safe to say they’ll be looking forward to putting up more points on the board this time around. But if for some reason the sluggish pace from the Pistons game creeps its way into this game, we may have a yawn-fest on our hands.









The bench needs to step it up (especially the perimeter guys). When you look at the FG percentages from the wing players (outside of James), most nights it is fairly disappointing. Sasha has a nice game but if he could be more consistent from the outside, he'd turn a corner as a player. One thing many Cavaliers' fans were happy to see was Harris not playing against Indiana. If Sasha has moved ahead of Harris for good, it would be an example of Silas showing an open mind. If these new rotations stick, Cleveland can look forward to good things. But if the old Silas returns, look out. In the meantime, Jiri needs to start settling down out there.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

For all the talk about Loozer, I'm actually much more forward to see how Lebron does against ak47. The do it all on offense versus do it all on defense player. Should be fun to watch


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## LuckyAC (Aug 12, 2004)

Well, AK is more of a team defender, affecting all 5 other players, not necessarily a guy who shuts down his guy man to man, though he is pretty good at that as well.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

I have tickets for this game and of course Boozer ducks it. I had a feeling he wasn't going to show up, but who knows maybe he is really hurt (  )

Let's hope Silas sticks with the new rotations, we need this win with Washington steamrolling LA.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Maybe it is good for Carlos to lay low for now. He's the most hated man in Cleveland and some crazy fans might have it in for him.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Boozer's been out for about 3 weeks now, but was put on the IR just recently so he can't return even if he wanted to. That foot injury he suffered during the Suns game in late February didn't look that bad. Maybe Utah is slyly pushing to tank for a pick this season?


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## DJRaz (Aug 20, 2003)

cavs in a blowout.
everyone feeling healthy and rested and not fearing the upcoming schedule.
silas called out jmac's defense so he'll either respond or sit.
jiri welsh is gonna show up.
verajoa with the highlight of the night.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

Did i miss something about Silas calling J-Mac out about his defense ???

I didnt see it in a article or much on a post on this site. I did knotice Snow playing down the stretch but that could mean a # of different things.

Anyone ?


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

LBJ to LJ for 3 said:


> Did i miss something about Silas calling J-Mac out about his defense ???
> 
> I didnt see it in a article or much on a post on this site. I did knotice Snow playing down the stretch but that could mean a # of different things.
> 
> Anyone ?


There have been articles critizing Jeff's defense but Silas is trying not to make this situation bigger than it is and draw public attention to it.

*Snow sparks Cavaliers win with defense*



> The Pacers jumped on the Cavaliers 26-20 in the first quarter. Pacers point guard Anthony Johnson had moments when he looked like Magic Johnson, driving past McInnis, making no-look passes and open, medium-range jump shots.
> 
> In 19 minutes against McInnis: Johnson had 11 points, eight assists.
> 
> ...





> *Delicate situation*
> 
> Snow was obtained in the summer to give the Cavaliers depth at the point, but he struggled coming off the bench after starting 225 consecutive games for the 76ers.
> 
> ...


With the press getting on J-Mac's case and the obvious fact he'll be gone after this season, things are getting a little more tense.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Good defense, hot shooting and a ton of energy. Let's hope Cleveland bottles this intensity and brings it out in the second half as well.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Man now i'm mad I sold my tickets, looks like Lebron might get 50 tonight if he can get the minutes.

Tremendous performance, not many players can take over a game like that.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

^

You definately should have gone to the game.

Halftime
Jazz - 32
Cavaliers - 50

The crowd is into the game and James is putting on a show. Outside of AK47, Utah is shooting the ball very poorly. They should warm up a bit in the second half because it is rare to shoot like that for 2 halves of action. On Cleveland's side of the ball, this kind of game allows Silas to put more players in and let guys see more action than they're accustomed to seeing.


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## DJRaz (Aug 20, 2003)

amazing performance. i've been to a lot of cavs-jazz games and always enjoy myself. tonight they look good and the jazz looks terrible. woulda been a fun game to be at.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Jazz aren't even competing...surprising to see from a Sloan coached team.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

^

Agreed. From the looks of it, Silas is outcoaching Sloan (how ridiculous I even said that, I can't believe that either).

End of 3rd quarter
Utah - 49
Cavaliers - 73

Cleveland avoided a second half lapse and continued to play hard, despite having a large lead. The Cavaliers often find themselves outcoached and outwitted in the second half, as opposing teams makes adjustments and rally back into games. But the Jazz didn't make too many changes in the 3rd quarter.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Boxscore: Cleveland 92, Utah 73*

The good thing about this game is the starters got to come out early in the 4th quarter and the bench got decent run. Cleveland played good defense, showed passion and heart, while Utah was ice cold all night.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

Any reason why Tractor saw no minutes at all. I am not complaining i just wondered. Great game all around, also Diop looked nice in the last 5 minutes.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Another well coached game by Silas, out of nowhere he is managing to keep Z/Lebron on the court at all times and integrating Varejao/Sasha more. 


I would have liked to see more from Welsch in a blowout like this but he only got 9 mins. He needs a breakout game to get over the hump.


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## LuckyAC (Aug 12, 2004)

Disappointing defensive night for the Cavs. They allowed an offensive explosion by the Jazz. I mean, 73 points?! Last game, they only scored 62.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

LuckyAC: :biggrin:



Benedict_Boozer said:


> I would have liked to see more from Welsch in a blowout like this but he only got 9 mins. He needs a breakout game to get over the hump.


I like the mechanics on Jiri's shot. The form is nice and hopefully it will come around soon.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I wonder if that 6 game slide didn't wake Paul Silas up. I think he's firmly in Verejao's corner now. And he seems to be now making the moves we've all been pleading all season for him to make with the roster.

Hopefully this isn't a fluke right now, and that the Cavs have really righted their ship.

It's not too late to seal up homecourt in the first round.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

^^ yes he does have a great release, perfect form and follow through. Seems very emotional though in terms of his confidence, which can be an issue since we already have a couple guys like that in Drew and Jmac.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

LBJ to LJ for 3 said:


> Any reason why Tractor saw no minutes at all..


Yeah. Paul Silas has Anderson Verejao, and he finally understands what that means.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

This is amazing: is Silas turning it around? Sat Harris again in favor of Sasha. And he didn't play the fat man: Brilliant! I might have to change my opinion on the old coach if this continues win or lose


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## Wagner2 (Jun 29, 2002)

I saw LeBron finished with 36/9/2. You mentioned he was lighting it up in the first half, how many points did he have at halftime?


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Wagner2 said:


> I saw LeBron finished with 36/9/2. You mentioned he was lighting it up in the first half, how many points did he have at halftime?


25 I think. LeBron with an amazing scoring game, 36 points on 15 shots is ridiculously efficient. It's fun to watch this guy steamroll the league.


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## The OUTLAW (Jun 13, 2002)

LeBron had 26 at the half but he only took about 5 shots in the 3rd quarter (and got fouled on several of those). He took none in the minute and a half he played of the fourth quarter. He probably could have put up 50 had he had that in mind tonight. 

Traylor did play, but he got 3 fouls pretty quickly.


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## LOYALTY (May 23, 2003)

Great effort in the first half from Bron on a night when they were trying to stop him from any inside game. He got some early points in the paint anyway, which made Utah panic and play him for the drive every time. When Bron saw that, he sat back and popped jump shots from everywhere. He was just feeling it tonight.

The rest of the team was average to below average on offense, but they played some Tough Defense all night. I expect to see the big men come out with some Fire tomorrow night. Z and especially Traylor should be well rested for the Milwuakee game. If the team plays tough D like tonight, they have a good chance to win. But back-to-backs are always tough.


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## The OUTLAW (Jun 13, 2002)

For some reason Utah was trying to single cover LeBron but they had no one that could stay in front of him. When they went into their zone he just knocked down jump shots over them.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

The OUTLAW said:


> For some reason Utah was trying to single cover LeBron but they had no one that could stay in front of him. When they went into their zone he just knocked down jump shots over them.


 Agree with that OUTLAW: the best way to defend the Cavs is play a sagged in defense and aggresively double team Lebron. The rest of the Cavs have not shown an ability to consistenly score.

However, with Anderson, Sasha, and Jiri playing although it might not show it in their boxscore the Cavs tend to have a lot more movement out there. We'll see if this is just a fluke or if Silas has finally made he necessary adjustments


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