# Cleveland at Detroit (4/17/05)



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

@









*TIME:* 10:00 am PT, 1:00 pm ET
*TV:* *ABC*

The final three games of the season are here and with the playoff race getting tighter and tighter, you could cut the tension with a knife. While Cleveland has been competitive the last few games, they haven’t looked good enough to walk into Detroit and get a win. The Pistons are going to take it to Cleveland. Malone may need to get Sasha into the game quickly like he did against the Wizards because the Pistons will probably pack their defense tight to keep LeBron out. Cleveland better knock down some jumpshots. If McInnis isn’t able to hit his floater or three-pointer on the wings, there will not be any reason to keep him in over Snow. Drew needs to rebound like a maniac because the Wallace brothers will get physical, get in his head and take him out of the game if he shows up soft (not ready to play). Zydrunas is still injured and probably shouldn’t play. Unless he shows great recovery in a day’s of rest, Ilgauskas will hurt the team by being out there.










They say you cannot live on LeBron alone but Cleveland has no choice but to make it work.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Hopefully they'll come out in play like we did against Washington with a little more defense. We need a lot more Sasha Pavlovic


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## NR 1 (Apr 3, 2005)

"Pavlovic is extremely athletic swingman, with great size, long arms and great explosiveness. 
He has great ball-handling ability for his size and he's a force offensively. 
He's unstoppable when he's on, because of his great arsenal of moves. 
He can penetrate with both hands, using his speed and crossover. And if you leave him space he can shoot in your face, off the dribble, with the pull-up jumper.
He's pretty fearless about going inside, and has a great knack of finishing in traffic with acrobatic moves.
He plays very aggressively and he wont hesitate to dunk on people. 
He can score a lot in spurts. 
His offensive game is complemented with nice passing skills, and court vision. He's basically a complete package on offense. 
The sky is the limit."

- And I really like his style of playing!


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

If we can get this one, we cover for that NY loss and have an excellent chance to make the playoffs.

Everyone pray that Jmac shows up. Yes he's a cancer, but when he brings his game we almost always win. 

Like remy mentioned, let's hope Malone runs with Snow/Sasha/Bron/Drew/AV in crunch time.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Yeah this win would make up for the NY loss. Though it's a lot to hope for. But hey, it's why they play the games.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

AV had a terrific game against Detroit last time. It's gonna be tough both are win over Detroit was at home and with Detroit missing key players. Would love to see a lineup with AV/Drew/Bron/Sasha/Snow lineup

Hell we're desperate I'd even run a lineup Drew/Lebron/Newble/Snow/Sasha to try and run


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Cavs are going to win this game.
For some reason I kind of feel like the stars will align and they will win it.


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## Pejavlade (Jul 10, 2004)

If Cavs want to win this game, Big Z need to have a really good game. Lebron should not try to do anything special this game and take more then 20 shots because I have a feeling that he will try to do something to prove that Pistons cant stop him.

Pistons 89
Cavs 94

Big Z 21pts 9reb 3ast 5blk

Rip 23pts 8reb 9asts


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Please no more prediction pejavlade: since you started doing predictions our season has gone down the hole


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## DetBNyce (Jul 23, 2002)

You'll definitely have a chance to win this game, the starters will probaly only play about 25 minutes this game. The Pistons main focus at this point is to get starters rest and to get guys like Arroyo, Delfino, and Elden Campbell ready for another championship run.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Z shouldn't be playing. If he can't shoot he's ineffective


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Prince trying to flop already


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Need to get Traylor and AV early in this game. Without his jumpshot, Z offense isn't going to make up for his poor D


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

No one around today? Everyone's giving up already


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## DetBNyce (Jul 23, 2002)

Well I guess in order to keep it fair to Philly and NJ, LB will be playing the regular rotation.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

McInnis sucking on D and offense as usual


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Malone takes out Gooden but keeps McInnis in there? great Jeff gets burnt again


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

We would have a reasonable lead if it wasn't for Jeff: bad shots, to's, and bad D


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Tied after one. I'm not sure what malone is seeing out there that I'm not. Both Z (due to injury) and Jeff are not contributing on offense and their D hasn't exactly magically improved

Newble playing OK but he's had a bunch of open look he hasn't converted


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

McDyess taking it to AV right now. Need to help the kid out.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

On cue: traylor with good help.

Tractor is playing well when he's not trying to do much on offense


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

James playing real well


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Good D by Dupree; Good a freebie on the call should have been a charge on lebron


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

If the Cavs can build a big enough lead then the Pistons will give up since the game doesn't mean anything. But the longer you let them stick around, the longer they will want to compete.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Our D is so much better with Snow in there. Would like to see them run one or two plays for sasha to changeup the Pistons a bit


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> Good D by Dupree; Good a freebie on the call should have been a charge on lebron


I think they called it a charge, because Lebron was cutting back, not going baseline, and Dupree was going to the baseline. Lebron is quicker than some give him credit for.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Terrible play. They get the miss off the ft and now a chance for 3pt play


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron's shooting too much right now


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

oh uh: Lebron hurt


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## BigZep (Jan 14, 2005)

Bron hurt.....


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron's out of the game: injury?


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## Geaux Tigers (Apr 26, 2004)

The Cavs just look lethargic.

The intensity is just dead...They have just recently shown flashes of intensity but they were only down 3 earlier and they looked like they were down 30.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Eric Snow is playing great


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Blessing in disguise with Lebron out. Nobody else was getting involved. Hopefully Lebron aint' hurt


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Hope Lebron is okay. One of the reasons I hate playing the Pistons. They play cheap. Lebron better be careful about going up around some of those guys. Ask Richard Jefferson.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> Blessing in disguise with Lebron out. Nobody else was getting involved. Hopefully Lebron aint' hurt


I think they got charged up with that play.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Kind of like this Sasha, Snow, Newble, AV, Tractor lineup. By far our best defensive unt


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## hendrix2430 (Mar 21, 2005)

guys, what was lebron's injury. I'm in france right now, so I can't watch the game. 

Did it look serious?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

NOOOOOOO Malon's bringing in McInnis


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Malone with a stupid move here. Bringin back our ineffective first unit. Z and Jeff aren't doing crap


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Our defense just goes way down with Z and Jeff. They both aren't doing anything on offense to make up for it


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

That should have been continuation.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

hendrix2430 said:


> guys, what was lebron's injury. I'm in france right now, so I can't watch the game.
> 
> Did it look serious?


Something with his knee, because Campbell pushed Verejao into him while Lebron was in midair, and he landed funny.

He's back playing now. Probably just banged it.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

When does clear path kick in? Lebron had the ball and nobody in front. Don't know the exact piont the rule kicks in


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Nice it was a clear path foul


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Z should not be in there!! He's getting torched on D 

Newble playing real well


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Great d by Lebron Tracked Campbell down.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Thanks for the techs Detroit. Appreciate you losing you're cool


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

So is Ira Newble the long looked for third scorer? :laugh:

Oh. And suprise suprise, the Pistons *****ing. Everytime I watch the pistons they are *****ing at the refs picking up technicals. Good for the Cavs. But I would expect world champs should carry themselves a little better. Though the old Lakers used to do the same thing. So maybe it's entitlement.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Detroit's player have learned well from Larry Brown: whine whine whine

By my count Detroit only really got jipped on the Dupree blocking call. That should have been a charge. Otherwise Prince flopped, that was a clear path foul, etc.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Halftime
Cavaliers - 52
Pistons - 40

Cleveland needs to avoid a typical 3rd quarter slip and keep fighting the way they have thus far. James needs to keep his knee loose in the locker room. The last thing he wants is for it to tighten up and come out stiff in the second half.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron is atleast no Vince Carter. Hurts his knee and comes out and plays better. This kid deserves all the hype


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Why do we play McInnis?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

God DAMMMMNNIITT STOP PLAYING JEFF MCINNIS MALONE


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Brendan Malone is an idiot


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Well that was easy. Who knew you could blow you entire lead in what...90 seconds?

Get Mcinnis out of there.

Lebron looks like he has to warm back up on that knee. He looks stiff right now.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Billups again but no we still play McInnis. This is exactly why what happened with Arenas the other game


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Finally Eric Snow in the game


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

That's a BULL**** call on Snow. He didn't do anyting


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron's not playing well. Refs bail out Prince


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

With Snow we won't go out without a dogfight atleast


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

What is Lebron doing? Taking some bad shots out there


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Lebron needs to settle down on offense a little bit. Use Traylor and Newble right now, they are both hot. I don't think his knee is right, right now.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Malone needs to bring in AV or Sasha. Need some movement out here


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

God Malone is Slow. This lineup aint' working


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

End of 3rd
Cavaliers - 65
Pistons - 65

Billups found his range and really had his confidence going. The Cavaliers struggled, shooting bad shots and shooting a terrible percentage.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

At least the Cavs are playing defense. If they had played like this against New York they wouldn't need this game.

If Malone goes with Verejao in the 4th then I think the Cavs can win. Just need that little bit of extra motion on offense.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I put blame for this solely on Brendon Malone. Way to slow on substitutions and put in lineups that don't play well together. Sasha and AV play well with Snow. They should have seen more time

Also need to call plays for other players tehn Lebron. They're denying James so need go to Z or somebody else


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> I put blame for this solely on Brendon Malone. Way to slow on substitutions and put in lineups that don't play well together. Sasha and AV play well with Snow. They should have seen more time
> 
> Also need to call plays for other players tehn Lebron. They're denying James so need go to Z or somebody else


In all fairness, do you really think Malone KNOWS what lineups work well together?
I think you're giving him too much credit.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

We need AV our bigs are getting stuck down low


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Why is McInnis back in there


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron has to be the worst technical foul shooter in the league


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

McInnis screws us again


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Nice to see Av doing well

Detroit has to whine more then any other team in the league. Every call there in the refs face


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Man. How many more wins would the Cavs have this season if they just played AV more?

Kid once again makes things happen.

Watch Malone take him out for Gooden here in a minute.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> Lebron has to be the worst technical foul shooter in the league


I haven't looked but it seems like his freethrow shooting has been really inconsistent this last month.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Back within 2. Let's hope AV can knock down his foul shots. He usually doesn't shoot them well. Snow needs to get back into the game quickly as well.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Our coaching this year has been nothing short of terrible this year


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

Alright after finally watching 80 games I am finally sold that Jeff M. is a BUM.

He cant guard anyone.... I had hope for the guy, b/c of hte ending of last season and the start of this one.

I like the lineup now... hopefully we can pull this out

Sasha/AV/Bron


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

crap AV' s gotta work on the FT shooting


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Why is Malone in love with Jeff. He's the one guys I don't want in the floor


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

James has been taking some bad shots


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Terrible play calling on Malone. Can't go through Lebron every single play


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Lebron playing like an idiot in the second half. His shot isn't falling but he's forcing it.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Game ain't looking good. Down by 6. I'm not sure I see anything from the Cavs that convinces me they will go on a run


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

Alright lebron we know we need you but really ???

I would think a Open Sasha shot would be better then a 19 foot fade away.


Can we keep Ben Wallace off the boards ???


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Don't know if it's the knee but he was playing really well in the first half and his game has collapsed.

Malone needs to show some balls and call plays for other players


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## NJ+VC (Feb 8, 2005)

as much as i dont like james, hes an awesome awesome player, but hes gotta start taking it into the paint, it seems like he can take it in with ease, and just jump over ppl and get to the hole, but hes shooting 11-33 this game. probably intimidated by big ben :banana: go pistons so nets can sneak in the playoffs :angel:


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

Was anyone thinking in the 1st half when Newble was scoring... Holy Crap this is what our team would look like with a good shooting guard ???

I mean he can pass and hit a shot and we look good for a second... now we suck


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Jeff wide open look. Needs to hit it


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Shooting foul? Strange calls now


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Bull****t Clean Block


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

That was clean


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Why no timeout?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

What waas Malone doing?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Who do you run this play for?
I know Lebron has hit some big shots, but if his shot has been terrible in the second half.

Maybe newble or pavlovic for 3?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Wow. That was the play?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Terrible play calling at the end


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

Malone should kill himself... Really he holds that paper in his hand... what does it say on it LEBRON LEBRON LEBRON... 

he doesnt call a timeout with 30 seconds left when we are running around like idiots...

Then we spread the floor on the best defensive of wing player in the east... No screen and role ??? nothing ?

here ya go lebron take your 40th shot b/c i dont know what else to do... please save me and make Dan Gilbert look like a genuis for firing Silas.....


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Box Score: Detroit 90, Cleveland 87*

I guess all that can be done now is to hope Philly beats the Nets to help Cleveland out.


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## NJ+VC (Feb 8, 2005)

yay! nets only half game back of u guys, and we got the tie breaker :biggrin: 
cavs really falling apart


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

Dan Gilbert and Jim Paxson should go outside into the armpit of america and get mugged and shot. 

They fire Silas for this Idiot to run our team ???????

I bet he **** his pants on the bench and said get it to lebron and let him create.....

**** this season........ we wait till the last 3 games to try hard...... Oh wait they didnt play Rashard Wallace all game and Billup barely played... hamilton was out most of the time... And we still cant win...

Lebron please leave cleveland now so we dont get our hopes up for the future....


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I mean...that was just awful. I could have drawn up all the Cavs plays in the last minute.

Here you go Lebron. Make some impossible shots. I'll be waiting for you in the locker room.

Seriously. What the ****?

How could you not be running a screen and roll with Z? Or go sooner? Why did Lebron wait so long? I mean, if Prince wanted to he could have just fouled Lebron before he got a shot up and made him shoot free throws without a chance to tie it.

Who gets that sort of shot off on Tayshaun Prince? Maaaaaybe Dirk. But Tayshaun was playing him for the 3 and they didn't set up any thing to get him free.


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

As a piston fan I was left wondering what the hell those last two players were? I understand LBJ getting the last shots but a 35 foot fadaway with Prince on him? Someone could have atleast set him a pick...


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

NJ+VC said:


> yay! nets only half game back of u guys, and we got the tie breaker :biggrin:
> cavs really falling apart



Y'all better take care of yours. The Cavs have Boston and Toronto left. You've got Philly, Washington, and Boston. The Nets still have to play themselves in.


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

Ya know what the funny thing is...... Is our Draft Pick to Bobcats lottery protected ??? I bet no one thought about that when we made the trade and were the 4th seed in the East.

We dont make the playoffs we dont get a draft pick to screw up, in the chance it could improve our team.

And i bet this money we have in the off season is wasted on Z who is getting old and tired.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

That was one of the worst coaching jobs I've seen.

Terrible lineups. Terrible playcalling. Terrible use of TO's

The worst was not using a TO when we down by two. McInnis adn Lebron didn't know what to do and that led to the fastbreak by Detroit.

Down by three and you stick Lebron one on one Prince with no cutter, screens? That was terrible. Lebron's at his best when he's running the pick and roll. Even Jordan passsed the ball at the end to open guys. There was nothing at the end

We now know why Malone will never be a head coach


Some of the blame should also put on Lebron for this loss. really took some bad shots in the second half but most of it should go to Malone. He got completely outcoached


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

WE get no lottery pick because of the idiot Paxson. He took it away to get welsh who hasnt played in about two weeks


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

Why do i sit around on a nice day watching the Cavs knowing that the 12 point lead at half is really nothing. 

Why am i a cleveland fan, what Cleveland team has held me to believe that they will actually win something.

Why did i think we would actually win this game in Detroit losing the last 15 of 17 on the road. 

Why would i think that Lebron would find his teammates in the 4th knowing his shot wasnt falling.

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy........

Well atleast the Indians won !


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I hope Lebron demands to be traded to the Chicago Bulls this summer.


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

Well atleast Newble scored about everytime he shot the ball..... did he shoot once or twice in the 2nd half... Good thing Malone found the hot hand other than lebron.. oh wait that would be a coaching job...

And ya anyone think about next year.....

Luke Jackson - Newble - Sasha - Jiri - (FA Shooting Guard that we sign ) ... What the hell are we going to do. We go out and sign sayyyy Joe Johnson for 6 years... What does that do for Luke Jackson / Sasha / Jira ...... And Newble...... hahah we suck balls.....


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

I knew once we blew that lead so quickly in the 3rd it was over. The Pistons can clamp down on defense too well in close games.

There was a couple reasons I thought we lost this game, but I think Bron has to take some heat for his shot selection in the 2nd half. He played an excellent 1st half, one of his best all year, but he just fell apart in the 2nd half. 

Pull ups, deep fade aways, bail out shots, etc. He was just out of sync on offense and when he struggles, the entire team is gonna struggle.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Benedict_Boozer said:


> I knew once we blew that lead so quickly in the 3rd it was over. The Pistons can clamp down on defense too well in close games.
> 
> There was a couple reasons I thought we lost this game, but I think Bron has to take some heat for his shot selection in the 2nd half. He played an excellent 1st half, one of his best all year, but he just fell apart in the 2nd half.
> 
> Pull ups, deep fade aways, bail out shots, etc. He was just out of sync on offense and when he struggles, the entire team is gonna struggle.


 Agree, I'm not sure how much the knee played a role. He didn't look a 100% after the half. 

But again what was up with the play calling. They should have ran some plays for Sasha or Z to change up the offense


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

The last play call was a disaster. Your not going to get a pull up 3 off over someone with the length of Prince. 

The Pistons knew Lebron was gonna take the shot, utilize that and get someone like Sasha open for a clean look. Or at least bring a double screen or something to give him a chance at a decent look.

Horrible play calling.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

^^ You know what else killed us was when AV missed those 2 free throws. I thought we had momentum at that point and could have pulled it out, but after those 2 misses the Pistons come right back down and push the lead back up to 4.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I mean a couple of play really stuck out. In the fourth Lebron drove and kicked it to a wide open McInnis for three. Bricked it.

But what really killed us was the firs 5 minutes of the third. Malone again stukc with McInnis and he promptly got torched by Billups. Billups is streaky give him an opening and he;ll go. he scored against Snow too but he had to fight a lot more


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

As bad as it looks right now, if NJ loses we are still in decent shape to make the playoffs. 

The last 2 games the Cavs have played hard, 2 or 3 bounces our way and we may have won. If we bring that same effort at home against Boston and to close out against Toronto, we could still make it. 

NJ would have 41 losses, and the best they could get would be 41-41. I think we'd make it over them.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

The last two games I think everyone but mcInnis have played hard and atleast put effort out there. I think the coaching again (recurring theme this year coaching and McInnis) has really let us down

I mean if Jeff could still 12-15 points then fine I'll live with defensive errors but he hasn't been producing. 

Just watched the last 2 minutes of the Detroit game agin - the coaching was really terrible. Lebron is still only 20 a coach needs to be able to call some plays


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