# Mavericks @ Cavs | Game #68 | March 21st, 2007



## remy23

_*Game 68*_


*Dallas Mavericks* *(55-11) VS* *Cleveland Cavaliers** (41-26)*

_*Wednesday, March 21th, 2007*_
*Time:* 5:00pm PT, 8:00pm ET
*TV:* FSOhio, *ESPN*
*Radio:* *WTAM 1100*
*Location:* *Quicken Loans Arena*, Cleveland, Ohio



> *Preview*
> 
> The Cleveland Cavaliers aren't coming into their showdown with the best team in the league with the kind of momentum they had hoped for.
> 
> The Cavaliers will look to bounce back from their first loss in nine games when they host the Dallas Mavericks (55-11) on Wednesday night.
> 
> Cleveland's longest winning streak of the season came ended Tuesday night with a 108-100 overtime loss in Charlotte. The Cavaliers (41-26) fell 2 1/2 games behind Eastern Conference-leading Detroit, which routed Philadelphia 96-75.
> 
> "We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of regulation, and I didn't come through for the team," said LeBron James, who scored 30 of his 37 points after halftime but missed a runner in the lane and a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. "We had a lot of unforced errors at the end of the game and we paid for it."
> 
> The Cavaliers will need a better effort against the Mavericks, who reached the 55-win mark for the third straight season with Tuesday's 92-77 win over the New York Knicks. Dallas has won three straight after back-to-back losses for first time since starting 0-4.
> 
> "I think offensively we're explosive. I think we can score with the best of them," said Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 24 points. "I think even though we're a slower team now than we used to be with (former coach Don Nelson), defensive-minded, we still have a lot of offense out there."
> 
> Josh Howard also scored 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for Dallas, which owns a 4 1/2-game lead over second-place Phoenix in the Western Conference. The Mavericks are 2-0 on a six-game road trip that also will have them play Boston, Atlanta and New Orleans.
> 
> The Mavericks are on pace to easily break the franchise record of 60 victories set in 2002-03 and matched last season before they lost the NBA finals to Miami in six games.
> 
> "The win thing has never been a situation for me. We are just trying to get better," Howard said. "We know what happened last year in the finals. That was a big blow to us. We are using that as confidence and motivation to get where we need to be this year."
> 
> The Cavaliers have split their last four games with the Mavericks after dropping eight straight in the series. Cleveland, though, lost in the first meeting of the season, falling 95-92 on March 1 in Dallas despite 39 points from James. Nowitzki had 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the win.
> 
> James, who has averaged 39.5 points in his last four games against Dallas, missed two free throws and a pair of 3-pointers in the final 13.7 seconds. The win was the 14th in the Mavericks' franchise-record 17-game winning streak.
> 
> "LeBron is tough to guard - so strong, so talented," Dallas swingman Jerry Stackhouse said. "We all had an emphasis on trying to slow him down and he still almost had 40."
> 
> Cavaliers guard Larry Hughes, who missed that game with the flu, had 17 points Tuesday against the Bobcats, who own the second-worst record in the East. Cleveland had been outscoring its opponents by an average of 12.6 points during its winning streak.
> 
> "You understand you gave the game away, but at the same time you don't want to start a losing streak," he said.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

This is gonna be a tough game. Cavs generally step it up against good teams though, so it should be interesting.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Nice inside out action, Sasha drills the 3 early


----------



## Brandname

Haha, same play coming out of the gates.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Z nice tough, keep feeding the post!


----------



## Brandname

Is that Devin Harris on Lebron? Did I see that wrong?


----------



## Brandname

Yep. Why don't we take advantage of these ridiculous mismatches?


----------



## Pioneer10

The Big Z going well.


----------



## Brandname

I think this means we won't be seeing Z in the 4th. He is playing well after all.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Brandname said:


> Is that Devin Harris on Lebron? Did I see that wrong?


Lebron will try to be pretty and play on the perimeter. Not a bad move by Avery Johnson


----------



## Pioneer10

That was a ridiculously nice cut by a by a 7 footer .

Go back to Z please


----------



## Pioneer10

Nice move by Lebron to find Gooden matched up against Harris


----------



## Pioneer10

Z doesn't look good on R block vs the L


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Drew looks into this game early!


----------



## Brandname

Let's calm down a bit. 

I love the activity from Gooden. 

Also, our team has to know that Terry is an incredible mid-range shooter going right.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Great court vision by LBJ

Our starters click very well. The problem will be what happens when we go to the bench..


----------



## Pioneer10

Exactly why didn't we play either Z or Gooden in the 4th last night?

Jason Terry plays exactly like Hughes but he makes his jumpers

Another great pass by Lebron


----------



## Brandname

If we could get better at recognizing mismatches and taking advantage of them, we'd have about 5-10 more wins right now.


----------



## Pioneer10

I bet they bring in Stackhouse out of the TO


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Pioneer10 said:


> I bet they bring in Stackhouse out of the TO


That's what worries me. The Mavs bring guys off their bench that can produce, i'm not sure our bench bunch can keep up. Sasha needs to stay out of foul trouble so he can play extended mins


----------



## Brandname

Who wants to bet Z is taken out during this timeout?

We need to just keep feeding him. He's hot right now.


----------



## Pioneer10

Z on defense isn't doing a good job on Damp. He's getting too deep.

Great D by James!


----------



## Brandname

Mavs had that play sniffed out from the beginning. Great recognition by Avery and the Mavs. They're obviously very well coached.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Nice drive by LBJ. The lanes are open with threats on the perimeter


----------



## Pioneer10

Lebron's actually bending his legs on his FT's now


----------



## Brandname

lol @ a smattering of boos for Diop.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Weak call on LBJ


----------



## Brandname

Offensive foul?? Wow, I'll have to see that one again.


----------



## Pioneer10

How was that an offensive foul? Lebron gets no star treatment this year


----------



## Brandname

Why do I feel like any shot Larry takes is a bad shot?


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Here we go again with Diop. Too bad he didn't show all this agility in Cleveland


----------



## Pioneer10

Dribble penetration helping us


----------



## Brandname

They're going to have to find something other than Harris on Lebron.

Why isn't Josh Howard on him? That seems like a perfect defensive matchup for the Mavs.


----------



## Brandname

I think we actually match up reasonably well with the Mavs. I mean, they have a lot more talent than we do, but there aren't any glaring mismatches on their team when Lebron guards Dirk.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Drew rolling early. Really like the flow of the starters


----------



## Brandname

Wow they really baited Lebron into that 3 there.


----------



## Brandname

Refs blow.


----------



## Pioneer10

No foul again? WTF


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Lebron looks a little tired. Bobcat OT game could be coming back to haunt us


----------



## Brandname

lol, those stats were clearly put together to show that Dirk is better than Lebron. They include rebounds and FT% but not assists? Doesn't seem like a complete picture to me.


----------



## Pioneer10

Lebron has to be able to hit that short jumper otherwise the lane's going to get real clogged


----------



## Brandname

Was that really a travel? It didn't look like it at all.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Snow in the rotation ahead of Boobie off the bench. Not a fan.


----------



## Brandname

Snow and Marshall in. Get ready for the run.


----------



## Pioneer10

I can't get over how much Terry plays like Hughes (Terry of course makes his jumpers). Lol at Marshall


----------



## Brandname

Immediately the defense can collapse on Lebron.


----------



## Pioneer10

I hope Brown learned something about not overusing Snow otherwise we lose.

Lebron 1-7 but he missed a lot of makeable shots - fatigue? Liked how he posted up, mid range jumper etc. Shots didn't drop though


----------



## Brandname

Ultimately, we may have to completely remove Snow from the rotation. Any time he's in it's too easy to defend us. The other team ALWAYS goes on a run. It's almost inevitable.


----------



## Brandname

I should also note that I have no faith that Mike Brown would ever make that call.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Snow should not be getting minutes ahead of Boobie. It's like he went from starter to 9th man


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Snow still in, no driving lanes. We just can't run an offense with him out there


----------



## Brandname

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Snow should not be getting minutes ahead of Boobie. It's like he went from starter to 9th man


Yeah, Mike Brown's quote about that was completely devastating to Cavs fans.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Wow Marshall. Great lineup Mike Brown.


----------



## Brandname

Why is Marshall in the rotation? Mike Brown is not going to lead this team to the championship.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

11-0 run since Brown brought in Snow + Marshall.


----------



## Brandname

Benedict_Boozer said:


> 11-0 run since Brown brought in Snow + Marshall.


Is it sad that I can just call it before it happens, and be absolutely certain that I'm going to be right?

I want to throttle Mike Brown for his completely inept rotations.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Brown is fine defensively and OK with his offensive system but his logic with rotations is mind boggling. 

He favors vets to an extreme and it's killing us.


----------



## Brandname

aaaaaaand he stays with Snow!!!!


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Snow STILL out there. Ridiculous


----------



## Brandname

14-0 with Snow in the game. Anemic offense.


----------



## Pioneer10

Snow = loss against good teams


----------



## Brandname

With Lebron on the bench, why don't we put Gooden in for AV? We need scoring. Gibson should be in there for Snow, too.

I feel like I shouldn't need to explain this to Brown.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Why cant anyone hit their shots?!


----------



## Pioneer10

Terrible pass by Z there.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

You know what, I think Boobie's promotion was NOT Browns idea. I think upper mgmt forced his hand with the losses and now that he has a chance to go back to his guy Snow, he does immediately.


----------



## Brandname

I am going to pull my hair out for as long as Snow is in. We haven't scored with him in.

Did anyone else notice the immediate double team of Z? I want to kill someone.


----------



## Pioneer10

Finally Snow out of the lineup


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Mike Tirico is annoying as hell.


----------



## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Marshall is a joke lol


----------



## Brandname

I've just never seen someone so confused as Mike Brown does for us. You'd think he's doing advanced quantum physics there on the sidelines.


----------



## Pioneer10

Very good there but Drew blows the layup.

Good job by Hughes to draw the foul


----------



## futuristxen

Good grief.


----------



## Brandname

The difference between us and the Mavs?

They can shoot.


----------



## Pioneer10

Why does Hughes suck so bad from the FT line? Why does our whole team?


----------



## futuristxen

It's like we've forgotten what got us the win streak.


----------



## Brandname

I also wish I didn't have to listen to ESPN commentators for this game. They know so little about the Cavs that it's embarrassing.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Blah this game is going nowhere. Brown will come back with Snow in the 3rd/4th qtr and kill any chance we have of winning this game.


----------



## Brandname

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Blah this game is going nowhere. Brown will come back with Snow in the 3rd/4th qtr and kill any chance we have of winning this game.


I hate that we all know it's true.


----------



## Brandname

?! Do they think Larry actually just missed the shot that bad? That it wasn't blocked or fouled?

What game are these officials watching?! That's so horrifyingly bad!!!


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

At least Sasha showed up. 

But seriously, can we trade Snow ASAP? Just trade him for someone who's injured, just so Brown will STOP playing him. Maybe package Marshall too.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Did you see the replay on that Harris drive? Nice lack of effort by Larry there to make any type of play on the ball.


----------



## Pioneer10

Dallas has too many good options. Our starting lineup is basically even but they have too many bodies.

We're a six shooter going against a semiautomatic


----------



## Brandname

The problem is that I know Mike Brown will make enough coaching mistakes to give us almost no shot at winning this.


----------



## Brandname

Pioneer10 said:


> *We're a six shooter* going against a semiautomatic


And Eric Snow is our safety.


----------



## Pioneer10

I didn't know Pops was on Dallas. I liked him at GW


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

We need to make a run here before half-time


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Brandname said:


> And Eric Snow is our safety.


hahaha, clever.


----------



## Pioneer10

Good ball movement. Blah too bad our starting lineup can't play 48 minutes each


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

LBJ can be in this slump all night, I'm really hoping for a 2nd half comeback


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

*LBJ cant


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

I hate Mike Tirico


----------



## Pioneer10

Get the lead to around 5 by halftime and i'll be happy


----------



## Pioneer10

Sasha keeping us in this game. Good pass by Hughes


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Honestly, I feel like Gibson could break out like Sasha has if Mike Brown ACTUALLY PUT HIM IN THE GAME, ESPECIALLY INSTEAD OF SNOW WTF WHY AHHHHHHHHHH asdflasdjfl


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Sasha could really be a star in the making. He has all the tools, he just needs to improve mentally.


----------



## Pioneer10

Gooden had Z wide open there


----------



## Pioneer10

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Sasha could really be a star in the making. He has all the tools, he just needs to improve mentally.


His ballhandling is still suspect otherwise he's got everything else


----------



## Pioneer10

Cleveland Steamer said:


> Honestly, I feel like Gibson could break out like Sasha has if Mike Brown ACTUALLY PUT HIM IN THE GAME, ESPECIALLY INSTEAD OF SNOW WTF WHY AHHHHHHHHHH asdflasdjfl


lol. a true cavs fan here


----------



## Brandname

Hahahaha

"He's a rookie, so I can still kick him to the curb" 
I hate you Mike Brown.


----------



## futuristxen

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Sasha could really be a star in the making. He has all the tools, he just needs to improve mentally.


That's the story of half our team. We have one of the weaker teams mentally out there.


----------



## Pioneer10

wow devin harris


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

We can't defend Harris so Brown doesn't even consider bringing in our quickest perimeter defenders (Boobie, Brown). Pathetic.

Lebron completely out of the flow of the game so far


----------



## Brandname

The national media is so predictable. Where's Lebron been all game? Can they talk about anything else? Wow, they focus on him more than Cavs fans do.


----------



## Brandname

Donyell Marshall should not be in the game.


----------



## Pioneer10

We'ree still in the game hopefully only down 4-6 points at the half and wait for Lebron to explode


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Brandname said:


> The national media is so predictable. Where's Lebron been all game? Can they talk about anything else? Wow, they focus on him more than Cavs fans do.


Mike Tirico adds nothing. He is beyond annoying.


----------



## Brandname

Dirk's fadeaway is incredible.


----------



## Pioneer10

Great shot by Dirk


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Lebron did nothing on offense and we're only down 4. Not bad position really


----------



## futuristxen

Well we kept it close. If we can fix the problems at halftime maybe we can still do this.


----------



## Brandname

Yeah, Mike Tirico is one of those guys who thinks he's adding original commentary, but he just repeats media talking points. It's just really annoying.


----------



## Pioneer10

Good survived the Snow lineup w/o being down big. Really been impressed with our starters over the last few weeks. Brown has to figure out his lineups after that


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

hopefully that trey at the end will give some much-needed momentum.

But yes, the true cavs fan in me brings out my mental anguist which can only be relayed through garble.


----------



## Brandname

I wonder if the asst. coaches made a note of the +- with Snow in the game.

Somehow I don't think it matters because Mike Brown will play him the whole 4th anyway. agggg


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Dirk - 8 pts, Lebron - 8 pts. Yet guess which one ESPN loves to try and tear apart?


----------



## Pioneer10

Who cares how many point Lebron has in the first half. 
Magic always didn't score squat in the first so he could get others going and all our starters heads are in this game. 

Now we have to hope just like Magic he'll take over in the 4th


----------



## futuristxen

Brandname said:


> The national media is so predictable. Where's Lebron been all game? Can they talk about anything else? Wow, they focus on him more than Cavs fans do.



Well they start off saying the Cavs can't run the offense through Lebron. They have to do it through Z, which the Cavs do. And then they're like "where's Lebron?". I hate the national media because they just use cliches without thinking about them.

When they said that the Mavs should let Drew shoot wide open jumpers? Have they seen the scouting report? He loves that jumper.

When they said Anderson shouldn't dribble the ball to the basket...THAT'S WHAT HE DOES! He dribbles with his left down the lane, and sweeps in with a layup or hook, or he dumps it off. That's his game!

At least Walton saw the Cavs-Pistons game, and made mention that we have been playing a lot better than today.

But it's hard to be taken seriously as a contender when we play so poorly on national tv in the regular season. Can't wait for the playoffs to start.

And I don't know how Boobie goes from the unquestioned starter, to being the third point guard.

And does Damon Jones still play for us?


----------



## futuristxen

And they keep talking about our shooting woes. What about our defense? Our defense kept us in the game. And they are talking about the Dallas D?


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Pioneer10 said:


> Good survived the Snow lineup w/o being down big. Really been impressed with our starters over the last few weeks. Brown has to figure out his lineups after that


Not much to figure out. Keep Snow off the floor!

Give his minutes to Boobie, bring in AV. Spot minutes for Marshall, Shannon Brown when possible. That would be my eight. Mix in Sasha, Larry, Lebron with them, no need to play MB's vet favorites.


----------



## Brandname

I'm constantly reminded why I despise ESPN with such passion.


----------



## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Look at the scoring distribution for the Mavericks, thats a sign of a great team.


----------



## Brandname

futuristxen said:


> And they keep talking about our shooting woes. What about our defense? Our defense kept us in the game. And they are talking about the Dallas D?


Legler just said that the fact that we're in the game while shooting 37% is a bad thing because we'll probably shoot that in the second half too.

I can't believe that this guy probably makes 10x more than I do.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

I didn't think it'd have to come to this....but I feel like pre-playoffs it is a necesity...

We need to draw straws so one of us can take Snow out for the remainder of the season. I don't mean anything serious, but if a broken leg is necesary so Brown will stop playing him, then I feel it must be done.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

futuristxen said:


> And I don't know how Boobie goes from the unquestioned starter, to being the third point guard.


Brown didn't want to start him. His hand was clearly forced by the losing streak and now he's pounced on the chance to put his guy Snow ahead of him. 

Boobie shouldn't have made the comments he did about being "for the team" because Brown knew then he could gracefully bench the kid without any public complaint.


----------



## Brandname

Cleveland Steamer said:


> I didn't think it'd have to come to this....but I feel like pre-playoffs it is a necesity...
> 
> We need to draw straws so one of us can take Snow out for the remainder of the season. I don't mean anything serious, but if a broken leg is necesary so Brown will stop playing him, then I feel it must be done.


lol

It's really bad that my first thought is that Brown would still play him above Gibson.


----------



## Pioneer10

Cleveland Steamer said:


> I didn't think it'd have to come to this....but I feel like pre-playoffs it is a necesity...
> 
> We need to draw straws so one of us can take Snow out for the remainder of the season. I don't mean anything serious, but if a broken leg is necesary so Brown will stop playing him, then I feel it must be done.


lol Tony Harding. Snow actually can be useful but ONLY as a situational defensive sub.


----------



## Brandname

Benedict_Boozer said:


> Brown didn't want to start him. His hand was clearly forced by the losing streak and now he's pounced on the chance to put his guy Snow ahead of him.
> 
> Boobie shouldn't have made the comments he did about being "for the team" because Brown knew then he could gracefully bench the kid without any public complaint.


uke:


----------



## Brandname

It's amazing how after 1 half of basketball people no longer think we can compete with the Heat or Pistons. Bizarre.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

This is true, but I'm willing to take the fact we lose a good defensive PG in order to establish a younger flow with obviously more talent into a consistent lineup. 

In all seriousness though, if we don't do that well this postseason will we probably see a Mike Brown repeat? How committed is Ferry?


----------



## Pioneer10

Cleveland Steamer said:


> This is true, but I'm willing to take the fact we lose a good defensive PG in order to establish a younger flow with obviously more talent into a consistent lineup.
> 
> In all seriousness though, if we don't do that well this postseason will we probably see a Mike Brown repeat? How committed is Ferry?


Brown stays unless Lebron goes directly to Ferry and says he wants him out.

Hard to fire a coach who has you playing top 5 defense


----------



## Brandname

I would think he'd trade Snow before getting rid of Mike Brown. Just don't give Brown the option of playing Snow.


----------



## Brandname

Dirk can make some incredible shots.


----------



## Brandname

Holy crap Sasha crushed his head there. I can't believe he got back up after that.


----------



## Pioneer10

Dirk is incredible. Sasha another tough rebound


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Hard fall by Sasha, nice toughness to bounce back up. 

We need to get Lebron involved


----------



## Brandname

Boy I just knew we would stop going to Z after his hot start. 

It's almost like we're following a script.


----------



## Pioneer10

Not a good start: down 8?


----------



## Brandname

Ok, Larry just sucks.


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Great now James went down with a head injury.


----------



## Brandname

Wow, that looked awful.


----------



## Pioneer10

wtf was that hughes?

**** lebron down


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

LOL not to laugh but did you see Lebron asking for his headband back? It's like his badge of honor.

Hopefully he is OK


----------



## Brandname

Why do I think this is going to take Lebron out of the game? I mean mentally...


----------



## Brandname

ack, I hate hearing that sound!


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

seeing as he's mentally been out of the game so far, perhaps some freaky opposite effect is possible?


----------



## Brandname

lol, Lebron's younger than most rookies.


----------



## Pioneer10

Down 10: not a good start at all


----------



## Brandname

I still don't understand why they say Lebron's not ready to be a leader. What does he have to do to prove that he's a leader? It's laughable.


----------



## Pioneer10

How did Hughes not finish that?


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Hughes playing awful.

Harris just owning us completely.


----------



## Brandname

Pioneer10 said:


> How did Hughes not finish that?


ummm because he sucks?


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Future nailed it, this team is weak mentally. We have some guys with some serious lapses, Gooden, Hughes and co. are just braindead sometimes.


----------



## Pioneer10

Gooden getting second chances for us


----------



## Brandname

Devin Harris killing our team.


----------



## Pioneer10

Lebron's jumper is just off today


----------



## Brandname

Pavs fouled without a call.

And damn are these commentators really disrespectful.


----------



## Pioneer10

Harris killing us. Get Boobie in there


----------



## Brandname

Pioneer10 said:


> Harris killing us. Get Boobie in there


Heck no. Bring in the defensive stopper Eric SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Pioneer10

If I see Snow on Harris after this TO: it will be epitomy of cluelessness


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Mavs running us off the floor.


----------



## futuristxen

Man. If only we had a really quick point guard, who could defend, and shoot and make open shots.
If only. I just don't know anyone on the roster who could be like that. Eric Snow? David Wesley? I dunno. Just noooobody like that.

****ing Mike Brown.


----------



## Brandname

Wow Gibson in. Someone must have told Brown.

These refs are missing absolutely everything. They don't want to give Lebron any calls.


----------



## futuristxen

So Gibson is in the game...AND NOW GUARDING DIRK!?


----------



## Pioneer10

Great D by Boobie on Dirk lol


----------



## futuristxen

The reason we can't go into Z all game is because he's not that good. And he passes the ball out of the post too much.


----------



## Brandname

Good god is Larry bad. 

Lebron with the block!


----------



## Benedict_Boozer

Man Hughes is awful. Make a shot please.


----------



## futuristxen

oh and z kills the shotclock.


----------



## Brandname

Wow, Avery Johnson with a perfect timeout. 

It almost caught me off guard.


----------



## Brandname

Down to single digits. We're still in it.


----------



## Brandname

Sweet. Larry gets to the line to miss two free throws.


----------



## Brandname

Foul on AV?!?! WTF?


----------



## Brandname

Lebron finds his touch and doesn't see the ball the next possession.

This team is just dumb.


----------



## Brandname

ugh, Dirk responds with a huge 3.


----------



## Brandname

Oh jeez, I just posted a series of messages in the Mavs forum that were supposed to go here.

I'm such an idiot.


----------



## Brandname

Nobody on our team can hit a shot tonight.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

haha nice.

8 point game, oh there is always hope.


----------



## Brandname

Jesus, they'll have to shoot Lebron to get a foul call for him.


----------



## Brandname

It's too bad Lebron isn't clutch.


----------



## Brandname

Donyell!!!!! Argh!


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Why is Donyell in there?!


----------



## Brandname

Hahaha, what a lucky shot. We have some momentum!


----------



## Brandname

****! Second shot opportunities killing us tonight.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

Ok, clutch time please?


----------



## Brandname

Late in games lately, we have given up way too many offensive rebounds. What's the deal with our poor defensive rebounding?


----------



## Brandname

****. We can't come back from this. They have too many weapons.


----------



## futuristxen

Dallas just plain wants this game more than we do. They are contesting every shot. Every rebound. This is what championship basketball looks like. Cavs should take notice.


----------



## Brandname

Goddamn, we just can't cut it down far enough.


----------



## UrFavTeamSux

ahhh I want to leave this game but I can't with it still in single digits


----------



## Brandname

futuristxen said:


> Dallas just plain wants this game more than we do. They are contesting every shot. Every rebound. This is what championship basketball looks like. Cavs should take notice.


They do have a lot more talent than we do. Their shots are falling, whereas our aren't.


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## Brandname

Dampier gets calls that Lebron doesn't.

Mind boggling.


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## UrFavTeamSux

ok nevermind I'm done


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## Brandname

Another game where Mike Brown stays with Donyell Marshall for the entire 4th.

This is mind-boggling. How can one coach be so bad at some aspects of coaching?


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## Benedict_Boozer

The Cavs are trying, we just don't have the firepower. Dallas just keeps making deep shots whenever we get the game close. Frustrating


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## Brandname

I just don't understand how Mike Brown could have stuck with Donyell for so long. He's so bad....


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## Brandname

How was that not a foul on Sasha?! I swear to god...


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## Benedict_Boozer

Great pass by LBJ to Sasha


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## Brandname

lol @ the commentators talking about a suspension.


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## Benedict_Boozer

Wow LBJ locking up Dirk 1 on 1 defenively


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## Brandname

haha "Lebron stuck his face in there" 

Tirico is such a tool


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## Brandname

****. That's gotta be the game right there.


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## Benedict_Boozer

Bad play out of the timeout


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## Brandname

**** we can't execute


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## Brandname

Lol, now we're not even going to win a playoff series. 

Who are these guys commentating?! I think that was Jon Barry. Good god.


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## Benedict_Boozer

Well, 2 game slide. This one wouldn't matter if we had taken care of business @ Charlotte. 

We can pretty much forget about he #1 seed now


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## UrFavTeamSux

I wish I was a washed-up vet so I could get some pt with the Cavs.


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## Benedict_Boozer

Why is Larry Hughes so bad on the line? He was a 75-80% shooter in his career.


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## Brandname

It's good to see that Eric Snow is happy at least. 

I mean, after all, if he didn't play for that 14-0 run, we might actually have had a shot.


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## UrFavTeamSux

I'm not too worried about having a #2 seed, I just hope we can come out and play like we did during our win streak. We're such a streaky team, I just hope we can be consistent in playoffs.


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## futuristxen

Jon Barry just said we won't win even a series in the NBA playoffs. Jeez. We really don't get ANY respect.


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## Benedict_Boozer

futuristxen said:


> Jon Barry just said we won't win even a series in the NBA playoffs. Jeez. We really don't get ANY respect.


That's what happens when you continually play like **** in Nationally televised matchups.


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## remy23

I was very sick physically before watching this game and watching it makes me feel worse. I gotta get up early for school tomorrow.


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## futuristxen

Our vets are having a good time on that bench. I think we should leave them there.


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## Brandname

futuristxen said:


> Our vets are having a good time on that bench. I think we should leave them there.


lol, my thoughts exactly.


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## futuristxen

Can Gibson have his starting job back yet?


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## Pioneer10

Blah. What I saw was a lot of missed oppurtunities in the 4th: Boobie had open looks, others had blown layups, some bad TO's. When you're down big that's what happen though every possession gets magnified.

Snow sucks but we already we know that.

The real reason we lost this was Devin Harris just blew by our big lineup in the third. Gibson needed a lot more time in this game even though his shot was off

Also I have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the Mavs scouts and Avery Johnson. I swear the Mavs defenders at times knew where our player were supposed to be during some of there run better then our own!


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## Brandname

Pioneer10 said:


> Blah. What I saw was a lot of missed oppurtunities in the 4th: Boobie had open looks, others had blown layups, some bad TO's. When you're down big that's what happen though every possession gets magnified.
> 
> Snow sucks but we already we know that.
> 
> The real reason we lost this was Devin Harris just blew by our big lineup in the third. Gibson needed a lot more time in this game even though his shot was off
> 
> Also I have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the Mavs scouts and Avery Johnson. I swear the Mavs defenders at times knew where our player were supposed to be during some of there run better then our own!


And think, they were on a back-to-back. They didn't even have a day to prepare for us. 

Avery is twice the coach Mike Brown is. The Mavs' execution down the stretch was in stark contrast to our collapse and Lebron bail-out. They're more talented, better coached, and more experienced. With everyone shooting as bad as they did for our team, I'm very surprised we kept it as close as we did.


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## Pioneer10

Also why when Sasha has the ball can't we run a play where Lebron sets a pick for Sasha? They actually made an effort to post Lebron today but on the perimeter they can change the offense around as well so that Dallas would have had a trouble sending the hard double

I did like seeing Sasha, Gibson, Lebron together: please play this lineup more Mike Brown


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## Brandname

I just realized that Hughes is shooting .397 for the year.

Words can't explain just how bad that is.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Fellas Fellas Fellas, when we looked at the month of March we all predicted anywhere from minimum 8 wins and max 11 wins for the tough schedule we had/have. 

We have already won 8 games and have 5 more remaining 2 being against the Knicks 1 against the Pacers. 

Lets think outside of a two game window ...... please you sometimes drive me nutz


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## Brandname

It's not so much that we're doom and gloom after the loss (which we are), but it's the reasons for the loss that are so troubling.

Our coach consistently shows incompetence in in-game coaching. That's not going to change in the next couple of months, and it's really hard to see us winning a title without a coach that knows what he's doing in the midst of a game.

We can beat good teams. Heck, we can usually pull off a streak of 8-10 wins in a row every March. But when we're playing in a 7 game series against good teams with good coaches, Mike Brown's poor in-game adjustments and rotations will be devoured.

We can reel off several wins in a row against different teams during the regular season, but when you're in a playoff series, the better coach will undoubtedly eat Mike Brown alive. And that alone can mitigate any other advantages we might have over the opponent.


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## Morongk22

i agree with ya wesley, 8-3 this month over this schedule makes me very happy. Tuesday's game was a fluke loss and a bad play call by Brown/execution by LBJ. And today's game was against the best team in the league. 

Lets just relax, we are all but locked in the 2 seed, Detriot won't lose enough and i highly doubt that Chicago will catch up to us, so lets enjoy the rest of the year. Once you're in the playoffs the record you had doesnt mean ****....just ask Detroit.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Brandname said:


> It's not so much that we're doom and gloom after the loss (which we are), but it's the reasons for the loss that are so troubling.
> 
> Our coach consistently shows incompetence in in-game coaching. That's not going to change in the next couple of months, and it's really hard to see us winning a title without a coach that knows what he's doing in the midst of a game.
> 
> We can beat good teams. Heck, we can usually pull off a streak of 8-10 wins in a row every March. But when we're playing in a 7 game series against good teams with good coaches, Mike Brown's poor in-game adjustments and rotations will be devoured.
> 
> We can reel off several wins in a row against different teams during the regular season, but when you're in a playoff series, the better coach will undoubtedly eat Mike Brown alive. And that alone can mitigate any other advantages we might have over the opponent.


I am pretty sure we just went up against the best team in the NBA, and against a coach with the most wins in his first 3 seasons. Of course he might be out coached.

But did anyone remember when the Cavs went down 3-0 to the Pistons and MIKE BROWN went with the AV/Lebron pick and roll and with a much smaller lineup. 

I just do not like the wave like effect this board has, were in the 2nd seed, we've finally booted Snow out of the starting lineup, we've finally found a way to use Hughes and him play half descent, we've also got Gibson and Sasha playing huge minutes while Damon/Wesley are done.

If this was a back to back loss with Bobcats - Hawks I would be upset!


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## Morongk22

Brandname said:


> We can reel off several wins in a row against different teams during the regular season, but when you're in a playoff series, the better coach will undoubtedly eat Mike Brown alive. And that alone can mitigate any other advantages we might have over the opponent.



Where does that idea come from, Mike Brown wasn't eaten alive in the playoffs last year. He wasn't the one that couldnt get a defensive rebound at the end of game 6. Yes coaching helps, but if players don't execute then a great coach can go to waste.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Morongk22 said:


> Where does that idea come from, Mike Brown wasn't eaten alive in the playoffs last year. He wasn't the one that couldnt get a defensive rebound at the end of game 6. Yes coaching helps, but if players don't execute then a great coach can go to waste.


I agree,

I watched Jason Terry and Harris shoot the same shots Larry Hughes does, off the screen and an elbow jumper the similarity they are good looks, the difference, the Mavs and good teams have other players than their MVP hit shots.


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## UrFavTeamSux

In all fairness, when you are in the midst of watching a game reflections concerning the rest of the season aren't whats on your mind.

I may be critical when watching a game that we end up losing, but that doesn't represent my overall feelings for the Cavs.

I definitely still believe that the Cavs are a contender amidst their problems, and I am definitely happy with the outcome so far in March. Still doesn't make losing fun though and easy to take.


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## Pioneer10

IMO, I think both above Mike Brown camps are correct. Brown has shown that he'll make changes but he's slow at it in terms of game time. So in a series he'll have to time to change game to game. However, I don't think Mike Brown is a good ingame coach (poor after timeout performance, slow rotations, odd rotations).

Both of these aspects were shown in the Detroit series. Mike Brown made a terrific adjustment but only after two blowouts. But then when Detroit made there moves in game 7, we were in trouble after the hard shows on Lebron came in waves


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## Morongk22

thats not the point...its the fact that this happens all season...we win 8 straight, then react to a 2 game losing skid, on a back to back at the least as a problem...It's either "move gibson back to pg and sit sasha" or "mike brown can't coach" or some other reason. I'm as much of a cleveland fan as everyone else on this board, and i've seen enough bad games to know that these 2 aren't worth getting upset over.


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## Pioneer10

Morongk22 said:


> thats not the point...its the fact that this happens all season...we win 8 straight, then react to a 2 game losing skid, on a back to back at the least as a problem...It's either "move gibson back to pg and sit sasha" or "mike brown can't coach" or some other reason. I'm as much of a cleveland fan as everyone else on this board, and i've seen enough bad games to know that these 2 aren't worth getting upset over.


I see it a bit differently, you're always looking to improve as a team. I heard a lot of the we're winning argument earlier in the year when we were even #1 in the East but I was not happy because we clearly were playing poorly and were going up against a weak schedule.

And the thing is the last two games still show us still trying to figure out our personnel. When to use Gibson, when to use SNow, when to use Sasha, when to use Z still seem in flux to me with regards to the gameplan of this team. Don't ge me wrong we've figured out some things (how to use Lebron a more effectively, limit Hughe's ineptitude by making him the point, bench Snow, etc.) but I still see a team that has room to go. That's what great about playing a truly great team like Dallas. They are who we want to be and I see nothing wrong in pointing out the differences btw us and them: because clearly they have edges all over the place. If you feel it's the personnel just say so. If you feel it's just one bad game, just say so but I don't think there is anything productive to criticizing fans on message boards pointing out faults even when we have been playing better


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Pioneer10 said:


> IMO, I think both above Mike Brown camps are correct. Brown has shown that he'll make changes but he's slow at it in terms of game time. But then when Detroit made there moves in game 7, we were in trouble after the hard shows on Lebron came in waves


I agree..

Did anyone just watch in awe of the Mavericks tonight, I mean they have an MVP player that just blends in with the game and team. He can go trips without touching the ball and they are stellar. While our superstar has to clear the rest of "us" away to make a move. Just makes ya really apprieciate good basketball the Mavericks represent.


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## Morongk22

Pioneer10 said:


> I see it a bit differently, you're always looking to improve as a team. I heard a lot of the we're winning argument earlier in the year when we were even #1 in the East but I was not happy because we clearly were playing poorly and were going up against a weak schedule.
> 
> And the thing is the last two games still show us still trying to figure out our personnel. When to use Gibson, when to use SNow, when to use Sasha, when to use Z still seem in flux to me with regards to the gameplan of this team. Don't ge me wrong we've figured out some things (how to use Lebron a more effectively, limit Hughe's ineptitude by making him the point, bench Snow, etc.) but I still see a team that has room to go. That's what great about playing a truly great team like Dallas. They are who we want to be and I see nothing wrong in pointing out the differences btw us and them: because clearly they have edges all over the place. If you feel it's the personnel just say so. If you feel it's just one bad game, just say so but I don't think there is anything productive to criticizing fans on message boards pointing out faults even when we have been playing better



Then why 2 weeks ago was moving hughes to PG a 'great' move and everyone was excited about sasha playing big minutes. My argument is that these statements change to quickly, if we won these last 2 games, no one would start a thread saying 'bring gibson back to starter' or 'this is why i can't stand Mike Brown'. I'm just asking for more consistancy, rather than using the recency effect


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement

Pioneer10 said:


> I see it a bit differently, you're always looking to improve as a team. I heard a lot of the we're winning argument earlier in the year when we were even #1 in the East but I was not happy because we clearly were playing poorly and were going up against a weak schedule.


I agree with you here Pioneer, I remember in the beginning we were the #1 seed, we were terrible to watch and just winning based off our very easy schedule and just having more roster talent that the other team.

I think Morong is also correct, but I don't think his post was directed at you, but the mood swings on this board are crazy. I just can't amagine if some of these fans were big baseball fans, do they lose their hair if they lose games #72-77?

Lets just remember we played a great team, we are 2nd in the east and were still trying to figure each other out. At least we haven't peaked and are at the top of our game and losing to the Bobcats. Thats something to look at on the bright side, just think if Mike Brown figures out a rotations and these guys start playing with some sort of cohesiveness and basketball IQ.


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## Pioneer10

Morongk22 said:


> Then why 2 weeks ago was moving hughes to PG a 'great' move and everyone was excited about sasha playing big minutes. My argument is that these statements change to quickly, if we won these last 2 games, no one would start a thread saying 'bring gibson back to starter' or 'this is why i can't stand Mike Brown'. I'm just asking for more consistancy, rather than using the recency effect


lol, I know other boards have thought we have found our PG in Hughes but this is probably the most anti-Hughes board on the web.

Stlreb knows Hughes personally and is obviously a huge fan and I know he gets annoyed at us here.


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## Brandname

Morongk22 said:


> Where does that idea come from, Mike Brown wasn't eaten alive in the playoffs last year. He wasn't the one that couldnt get a defensive rebound at the end of game 6. Yes coaching helps, but if players don't execute then a great coach can go to waste.


During this game, Mike Brown put Eric Snow in for 5 minutes. During this time, the Mavs outscored us 12-0. Why? Their defense basically had an extra defender to clog the lane and contest shots. I recognized it right away, and Mike Brown should have too. He should have taken a timeout when the run was 6-0 and gotten Snow the hell out of there.

Avery knew exactly what to do when Brown inserted Snow. But our coach couldn't adjust in the midst of a game, and the Mavs went on a game-changing run. That's how a poor in-game coaching sequence can cost the team.

And anyway, my stance on Mike Brown has never changed. I have always said that he's a great defensive coach, and he prepares us very well defensively for just about every game. But he's a terrible in-game coach. And I've always said that. I don't like it when people come in here trying to tell me that I'm calling for everyone's head after a couple of losses. My stance on Mike Brown has never changed. His defensive coaching is going to keep us in most games, but his poor in-game decisions will probably cost us games against the top teams in the league.

I think a very strong argument can be made that both of these last two losses can be directly attributed to Mike Brown. BW wrote a very good column about Charlotte's, and I just touched on what I perceived to be the main difference (Mavs 12-0 run w/ Snow) in last night's game.


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## Brandname

Also, I'm not trying to single anyone out on purpose, but for those of you who come here and post only after games (not during games), please do not come in here and tell us that we drive you nuts.

We post during the games to express exactly what we're thinking at the time. We're not thinking about the month of March in its entirety. We're thinking about the good/bad decisions that were made during the game we're watching. 

It's not reasonable to expect us to make posts like, "Argh, Mike Brown made a really bad substitution there that may have cost us a shot at winning this game, but so far we're 8-2 in March and we've set ourselves up for another 50 win season. And looking back at the way we were playing before the all-star break, I'm very happy with where we are as a team. But maybe Brown shouldn't have made that particular substitution there."

Of course not. If coach makes a bad decision or Larry makes a stupid play, we're going to be pissed about it. And we're going to question the decisions vocally. That's what happens when you post during a game. 

It's a little different when you watch an entire game, cool off, and then come in here and post.


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## Benedict_Boozer

What a surprise, winning streak ends, Rosen is there waiting to pounce on the negative. 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6596972



> The Mavs 98-90 win in Cleveland demonstrated the difference between a team on the cusp of a championship and a team with delusions of grandeur.
> 
> CLEVELAND
> Early in the game, Zydrunas Ilgauskas created enormous defensive problems for Dallas when he received the ball on the left box in the low-post. When he was doubled, a quick pass-out led to open shots all around the horn. When he was played straight-up, Ilgauskas made the net shiver with hooks and short jumpers.
> 
> For the rest of the game, however, the tallest man on the court rarely touched the ball in his comfort zone.
> 
> Here's your chance to fire back at Charley Rosen. Got a question or a comment
> Subject:
> 
> Comment/Question:
> 
> Name: (ex, john doe)
> Email: (ex, [email protected])
> Hometown:
> 
> Early in the game, Sasha Pavlovic was on target from long range. He was clearly in a groove and propelled Cleveland's offense for several minutes.
> 
> For the rest of the game, however, he rarely touched the ball in his comfort zone.
> 
> Late in the game, when the Cavs desperately needed a score, their helter-skelter offense could only generate shots for the likes of Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes — not LeBron James.
> 
> All game long, Cleveland could not prevent Jason Terry from either turning the corner off high screen/rolls or curling/popping off weak-side screens. The home team made no discernible adjustments to try to force Terry into doing something else.
> 
> All game long, Devin Harris was able to zip to the basket with minimal resistance. Again, the Cavs failed to alter their defensive specifics.
> 
> The point being that it was unclear what the Cavs' operational game plan was — or if they even had one.
> 
> For sure, the Cavs did have some bright spots:
> # Drew Gooden's defense on Dirk Nowitzki resulted in several strips, several bad passes, and plenty of shots taken under maximum pressure.
> 
> # LBJ's drives to the cup were irresistable, but The King shot only 2-12 from 15 feet and beyond. When are teams going to start defending him the way smart teams defended Larry Bird? That is, let him fire away from the perimeter. He'll win some games single-handedly from out there, but he'll be kept off the foul line, and his drive-and-dish passes won't create layups and open looks for his teammates.
> 
> # Anderson Varejao's defense drew a pair of charging fouls.
> 
> There were a couple other disturbing aspects of Cleveland's performance: Larry Hughes forced a total of seven passes and shots, and proved that he's unable to play the point against a superior ball club. And in the closing minutes of the game, several players on the Cavs' bench were laughing and having a great time.
> 
> That's why the Cavs' championship hopes are only pipe dreams.
> 
> DALLAS
> (Tony Dejak / Associated Press)
> Even though Nowitzki had a sub-par game, and Josh Howard was invisible, Terry, Harris, and (for at least a short stretch) Jerry Stackhouse picked up the slack. Unlike Mike Brown, Avery Johnson was able to carefully direct the point of attack to take full advantage of every matchup and every situation.
> 
> For example, when Ilguaskas was having his way in the pivot, the Mavs went into Erick Dampier after a time-out — and came away with an easy bucket. Or, after Pavlovic had dropped a couple of shots, Stackhouse went right at him in clear-outs from the low-post.
> 
> Johnson's tweaks were designed to squeeze some of the juice out of Ilguaskas' and Pavlovic's offense by forcing them to fully exert themselves on defense.
> 
> Now that's an adjustment.
> 
> Here's another difference between the two teams: Whereas Harris was able to drive to the basket and score several layups without encountering any serious opposition, LBJ's penetrations always drew a crowd. Moreover, as part of the Mavs' defensive response to James' ventures into the lane, a weak-side player rotated into the most obvious passing lane.
> 
> Voila! Turnovers, steals, off-target passes and shots taken under heavy-duty defensive pressure.
> 
> The Mavs and the Cavs are separated by many factors: Depth, talent, and the compatibility of their players. But another huge consideration is the effectiveness of the respective coaching staffs. Yes, the Cavs were outplayed, but they were also out-coached.
> 
> And here's still another indication of the vast disparity between these two squads: The game at hand marked the second of back-to-back games for both teams. On Tuesday, Dallas blasted the Knicks in New York, while Cleveland lost an overtime game in Charlotte. Neither the Knicks nor the Bobcats are among the league's elite teams, but winning in Madison Square Garden is certainly a more difficult task than beating the post-expansionist Bobcats in their den.
> 
> The relevant point is that while both the Mavs and the Cavs were gearing up for their encounter, Dallas was able to concentrate on the immediate task of beating New York. Conversely, Cleveland was looking past the Bobcats and subconsciously taking a win in Charlotte for granted.
> 
> The Mavs are here and now. The Cavs are there, then, and nowhere.


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