Cavs @ New Jersey

[British_Pharaoh]

Going for 7 in a row

[British_Pharaoh]

Cavs look awful even in the paint

can't buy a layup

[British_Pharaoh]

why do we always start so slow against the Nets??
they're gash

[British_Pharaoh]

This looks foul

get it together

[British_Pharaoh]

What a shambles of a first half

8 minutes of torture to go

[CharacterIV]

Jumping right into the trap from the get-go. I recognize it's the Nets, but some effort is required, guys. They're still a pro club.

Luckily, they're getting back into it. Play some good D in the third, have the starters take most of the fourth off.

[davemanddd]

not sure if i like ap taking the last shot of the half, but hey, i will certainly take a one-point lead over a one-point deficit at the half every time. still, what an ugly, ugly first half for the cavs and yet they still have the lead playing absolutely awful. if they get their act together in the 2nd half, look out.

[papacass]

Cavs did end up winning 94-86, BTW. Sluggish game, but they dialed it up enough to mostly control the second half and win. About what you could expect for a matinee right after the new year. FTR, I don't like matinee NBA games. Something just doesn't feel right about a Cavs game at 1 p.m. or 3 p.m.

Bron with 28 points, 9 rebs and 7 assists. Actually felt like mostly a pedestrian game from him. And he still almost had a triple-double.

Mo with 18
Andy with 15 and 12
Shaq with 12 and 9
Z with 11

Bobcats, 6 p.m. tomorrow at The Q.

[FUDU]

Agree on the time slots, unless you are going to the game.

This is the time of year when the season becomes boring for the players and it starts to feel more like a job than a game, need to win at a nice clip for these two months to maintain what we have done so far.

[Doc]

Only caught the end, but that outlet from AP off the ground was awesome. And Bron fielding it from the floor and fighting for the And 1 was just as good. I had no idea the game was so early today.

[Orenthal]

BP kills the curse, and should be back in the starting role!

[Toxicadam]

Watching the replay here, but if Shaq can't handle Brook Lopez, how the hell is he going to help us in the playoffs?

[JJN]

Watching the replay here, but if Shaq can't handle Brook Lopez, how the hell is he going to help us in the playoffs?

Because Brook won't be in the playoffs?

Brook is bigger than Garnett and Gasol, has a vastly superior post game to Howard, and is smarter than Bynum. He is too mobile for Shaq to completely stop him in P&R, and too strong for Z to handle in the post. Considering his age, he is already one of the more complete centers in terms of bringing all the different parts of his game together, even comapring centers that are a few years older than him. It makes him hard to guard in the same way that Duncan is hard to guard, they both play fundamental basketball.

Of course you are also neglecting that we defended him better in this game than the last (2 less points, and 8 less rebs), and that we held him scoreless in the 4th quarter.

[CharacterIV]

Watching the replay here, but if Shaq can't handle Brook Lopez, how the hell is he going to help us in the playoffs?

Because Brook won't be in the playoffs?

Brook is bigger than Garnett and Gasol, has a vastly superior post game to Howard, and is smarter than Bynum. He is too mobile for Shaq to completely stop him in P&R, and too strong for Z to handle in the post. Considering his age, he is already one of the more complete centers in terms of bringing all the different parts of his game together, even comapring centers that are a few years older than him. It makes him hard to guard in the same way that Duncan is hard to guard, they both play fundamental basketball.

Of course you are also neglecting that we defended him better in this game than the last (2 less points, and 8 less rebs), and that we held him scoreless in the 4th quarter.

Also, because the 4th quarter is the closest analogy you will see in this game to Cavaliers playoff intensity. Shaq's efforts in playoff-style games like the Magic and Lakers has looked pretty good, really.

[papacass]

Also, because the 4th quarter is the closest analogy you will see in this game to Cavaliers playoff intensity. Shaq's efforts in playoff-style games like the Magic and Lakers has looked pretty good, really.

This.

Once again, using Shaq's performance vs. a non-contender in the winter months as a barometer for how he'll perform in May and June is flawed thinking. Based on the frequency of "Shaq sucked ass tonight, he can't help us in the playoffs" posts after every game in which he doesn't totally impress, some people on these boards are having a hard time with that whole idea.

Lopez is kind of a tough matchup for Shaq, but he also wasn't giving anything close to max effort. No one on the team was. It was the 3-and-a-lot New Jersey Nets on a January Saturday afternoon.

Broken record time: What really matters with Shaq is how he plays against Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Kendrick Perkins. And maybe Sheed if the C's stick him on Shaq. Everything else is just details.