The first half was ugly for Cleveland. Rondo was seemingly able to get to any point on the court he wanted, and make any pass he wanted. As evidenced by Boston's sky-high field goal percentage in the first 48 minutes, the Cavs' defense was still missing - a continuing theme for the Cavs since the All-Star break.
The first half was where Pierce's absence made a big difference despite what others may say. Cleveland was struggling defensively, stagnant on offense, and getting abused in the fast break game, and yet they only went into the half facing an 8 point deficit. Pierce's additional offense would have supplied a fence perhaps too tall to hop over for the Cavs to come back in the game, but 8 points just wasn't going to be enough for a team clicking on all cylinders offensively like the Cavs did in the second half.
As an avid Cavs game watcher, I have to say that was the best the Cavs have looked all season. Defensively and offensively, the Cavs looked like the team they now are on paper. Let me be the first to say somewhat of a controversial statement: This is because Shaq and Z weren't on the floor at all. Charles Barkley has been right all along... The Cavs need to pick up the tempo and run run run. With Varejao, Hickson/Jamison, LeBron, Moon/Delonte, and Mo they were able to do just that.
Granted, playoff basketball is different from regular season ball, but I think Mike Brown has absolutely got to explore the possibility of playing this line-up more often, especially against the Bostons, Atlantas, and Charlottes of the league. Any team that doesn't have a dominating center is not worth playing Shaq against. He slows down the offense, and his defense is pathetic. He can't move laterally to save his life, and anytime a guard or big man gets a step on him, he immediately fouls him in hard, ugly fashion as if to say, "Take the 2 points, I don't
want to play anymore".
His foul decisions are usually terrible, and he often times looks like a bratty father who gets so fed up with losing to his son that he decides to foul him hard to let him remember who's the man of the house. Shaq we know you're the man, but you're killing the Cavs' trademark defense.
Others would likely allude to the good production Shaq has had recently, but this has been at the expense of getting up and down the floor to score often, and thus being able to set their effective half-court defense more often. When Shaq scores, other teams can push the ball quickly because the big guy takes a while to get back on D. But when the Cavs score on the break, or with faster big men in the game, their defense gets set and other teams have trouble scoring as consistently.
A Varejao/Hickson frontcourt provides an insane amount of athleticism and versatility. They each have shown the ability to guard 4's and 5's, and therefore can switch on screens, and defend the paint when guards come in much more effectively than Shaq or Z can (at least since they've reached their upper 30s). They also are able to be part of the Cavs' fast-break (as evidenced by JJ Hickson's multiple alley-oops on the break Thursday), which adds an extra dimension that Shaq simply cannot do anymore.
I'd now like to take this opportunity to apologize to Shaq and say I appreciate the way he's played against Orlando and LA, but until we play one of those teams again, feel free to prolong your injury rest. You're one of the best of all time, but you're not good enough anymore to be on a team hoping to build early leads to get LeBron and the starters sufficient rest in the fourth quarter. No offense as stagnant as the Cavs when Shaq is in the game is going to be able to do that against any team in the league, let alone the Celtics.
Wow, so I just went off on a huge tangent but it was necessary. The Cavs played great. Mo shot the lights out in the fourth: he scored 14 points, and the Celtics scored 14 points. Find me someone who would have taken a bet for that happening. LeBron wasn't settling AT ALL. He typically runs the clock down and takes fade away jumpers, but instead he ran it down and took it to the basket, getting fouled and making lay-ups. Hickon and Varejao played with tremendous energy and clogged up the middle where Rondo was making a living in the first half. Delonte played great D on Rondo. Jamison made some big shots in the 3rd to get the Cavs back in it. Jamario took a huge charge.
I could go on and on, so I will: LEON POWE MADE A LAY-UP AND 2 FREE THROWS! Ha, sorry but Leon is not an impact player on this team this year. It's too bad because he seems like a good guy, but he was running gingerly down the floor, which is not a good sign. He also got swatted by Shelden Williams which is an even worse sign.
Sorry for the long, somewhat disorganized post but in conclusion, the Cavs are a better team against every team except LA and Orlando without Shaq on the court. Period. Perhaps you'll get a chance to see this in the coming weeks if Shaq misses time. Until then, remember to check back for my next NBA Rankings.
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