cavs v celtics - game 4

[waborat]

Honestly, how does Rondo get 17 friggin rebounds?!?!?!

[Bill the Butcher]

k

[Cleveland Transplant]

The Celtics just want this series more than the Cavaliers do. A lot of sloppy, unfocused play. The Celts have outplayed the Cavs in 3 of the 4 games and shown more passion in this whole thing so far.

Even if the Cavs somehow pull this out in the last minute and a half, it's not going to really change my mind much.

[British_Pharaoh]

Was LeBron actually on the floor in the 4th???

/sarcasm

[Ziner]

Well we got our split. On to tuesday.

p.s. Paul Pierce is a bitch

[bookelly]

oohhh...here's where Pierce fakes being hurt.

[Triple-S]

horseshit preformance.

no energy, no enthusiasm, outhustled by a bunch of guys that will be in the booth like 3 years from now.

making Rondo look like Isiah Thomas, Mo Williams again is a no show, LeBron isn't there.

just disgusted.

[Bill the Butcher]

LBJ, I love you for it... but often times you can just be way too unselfish.

[FUDU]

Well it was a tolerable loss IMO, had our chances but they, Rondo, beat us.

We still need work on our mental fortitude, and our heart when it comes to closing out decent competition.

[waborat]

The Celtics just want this series more than the Cavaliers do.

You're right...

I heard Mike Snyder say he was told by 3 Cavs that they really didn't want it

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Crap performance. They should still win this series, but I wanna see them step on their opponents throat when they have them down.

[Bill the Butcher]

Agree with FUDU on the tolerable loss.

IMO, in a game like this, in the 4th quarter, LBJ has gotta realize it's his show.

Be a fuckin' man.

[bookelly]

Mo Williams sucks.

[Ziner]

JVG - "you give yourself no chance unless you give yourself a chance"

[FUDU]

Mo misses two FT's, matches his performance all around this post season. He really can be a bum at times.

[waborat]

Could be a classic series if this thing goes 7...

A ton of great personal performances so far...

Get ready for Tuesday guys

[Triple-S]

Mo misses two FT's, matches his performance all around this post season. He really can be a bum at times.

and "at times" you mean "the entire playoffs".

[FUDU]

Agree with FUDU on the tolerable loss.

IMO, in a game like this, in the 4th quarter, LBJ has gotta realize it's his show.

Be a fuckin' man.

This is on the players and MB, they use these 1 game advantages as cushions way too much.

[waborat]

Mo misses two FT's, matches his performance all around this post season. He really can be a bum at times.

and "at times" you mean "the entire playoffs".

Fuckin A, if it wasn't for Mo we'd be down 3-1

[aoxo1]

So funny that Mo gets all the blame when Rondo gets 18 rebounds.

Really? That's not the fault of the 4 guys on the floor for us that are taller than Rondo and the 3 responsible for rebounding?

If you want to fault a G, fault Delonte. He was worse than a nothing.

[aoxo1]

To add, why West was out there for 20 minutes while Moon can't get any burn is beyond me.

He obviously didn't have his head straight from the start.

[FUDU]

Mo misses two FT's, matches his performance all around this post season. He really can be a bum at times.

and "at times" you mean "the entire playoffs".

Fuckin A, if it wasn't for Mo we'd be down 3-1

Yeah but if Mo played with more courage and smarts we'd be up 3-1 maybe. Not putting this loss on him per say but the dude has been a bone head for all but 5 minutes really. Just not a big time guy, but he gets big time minutes, sadly b/c nobody else has stepped up to out play him at PG on this team.

[hermanfontenot]

We can't allow the officials to decide the game in the fourth quarter, which is what they did today. If we give them that opportunity they're going to hand Boston the game every single time, which, again, is what they did today.

Next time have to get them too far down for the officials to steal it for them.

[Bill the Butcher]

I betcha any money LBJ is thinking he didn't get enough help today. Mostly true, but he got the best team performance EVER on Friday night. Balanced team performance just don't happen every game, sometimes it comes down to one man. Ahem.

We were in a position to win. I had hope. Then lost it all when LBJ tucked in his balls and dished out to AV.

[aoxo1]

What is Mo supposed to do when LeBron takes the ball out of his hands on offense, they don't run plays for him, and LeBron spends the whole game not creating shots?

[FUDU]

That's what Mark Munch Bishop looks like, never would have guessed. LOL.

[Bill the Butcher]

IMO, the refs were letting them play ball in the 4th.

The difference there was the C's were focused on getting the ball in the hoop, while we were focused on getting a call.

[FUDU]

What is Mo supposed to do when LeBron takes the ball out of his hands on offense, they don't run plays for him, and LeBron spends the whole game not creating shots?

Oh I hear you aoxo, that has been the deal for a long time as we all know. But Mo still doesn't step up much when the opportunity arises. He & LeBron dribble around on the perimeter too much too often. Interesting that arguably the two biggest possessions of the game for us were botched up by Mo and the King.

Is what it is, a series that is going 6 games for sure. No Cavalier's fan should be shocked by the inability of this team to put the series in jeopardy for Boston by us going up 3-1.

[aoxo1]

Just mysterious to me that LeBron doesn't show any urgency until he has to. Gotta wonder if he is trying to toughen the team up a bit by putting it through some adversity after last year? Sounds crazy, but who knows? Why else is he so passive for such long lengths?

[Bill the Butcher]

Just mysterious to me that LeBron doesn't show any urgency until he has to. Gotta wonder if he is trying to toughen the team up a bit by putting it through some adversity after last year? Sounds crazy, but who knows? Why else is he so passive for such long lengths?

I wonder this too. If he is trying to toughen up the team by not being the closer that he can be, that's verrrrrry risky and not very smart.

We owe a ton to this guy, but he can be so fucking stupid sometimes. I think he loves "team basketball" way more than winning.

[waborat]

Moon can't get any burn is beyond me.

Question of the night for me

[FUDU]

Just mysterious to me that LeBron doesn't show any urgency until he has to. Gotta wonder if he is trying to toughen the team up a bit by putting it through some adversity after last year? Sounds crazy, but who knows? Why else is he so passive for such long lengths?

That is the question that will continue being asked until the ring gets fitted I guess. The surrounding cast monitors his temperature, 48 minutes a game, that is how much he is relied upon by this team. They say good shooting is contagious, well so are the negative aspects of a game like carelessness and a lack of energy or urgency. For us right now it appears to be urgency, IMO it is b/c we as a team fail to recognize these key opportunities to put people away.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Just mysterious to me that LeBron doesn't show any urgency until he has to. Gotta wonder if he is trying to toughen the team up a bit by putting it through some adversity after last year? Sounds crazy, but who knows? Why else is he so passive for such long lengths?

I wonder this too. If he is trying to toughen up the team by not being the closer that he can be, that's verrrrrry risky and not very smart.

We owe a ton to this guy, but he can be so fucking stupid sometimes. I think he loves "team basketball" way more than winning.

If that were the case it would be the stupidest thing i've ever heard a pro jock do. If you're not trying to win games to "toughen the team" then you need a priority check.

I'm not sayin that's what is happening, because I don't know. I think we're still fine in this series, but it looks like it might go 7.

[Cleveland Transplant]

PDcavsinsider
Terry Pluto and I keep asking Mike Brown how the Cavs could play with such lack of fire and he basically keeps saying "I don't know."

Someone really, really needs to light a fire underneath this teams ass already.

[osucrazy18]

May have already been said but heres my take.
13-0 on 2nd Chance Pts. HORRIBLE and besides that 3 pt play where was andy all game, not to mention JJ.
Shaq cant make a shot if his hands arent over the rim.
And AP is starting to look like a stand still on ball defender. I get that mo wouldnt be any better but can we try someone else like ummm LEBRON. Piece hasnt touched us, maybe thats lebron on D or maybe Paul is getting old but id sure like to find out.

Must win now just came back into cavs fan's mouths, much like game 3.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

The series MVP to this point is not the guy wearing #23. And that's the problem.

[Cease]

Got our split, which was the goal 3 days ago.

I'm not sure why James isn't shooting when they are giving him five feet. Didn't seem to want to attack with the jumper today.

[RIBrownsFan]

The Celtics just want this series more than the Cavaliers do.

Can't agree with this statement. They did squander the home court they earned in Cleveland with one of the most gutless performances in recent playoff history, right?

Boston is certainly going to make Cleveland earn it, but being 2-2 and having Games 5 and 7 at home is not the worst position in the world.

[Cleveland Transplant]

The Celtics just want this series more than the Cavaliers do.

Can't agree with this statement. They did squander the home court they earned in Cleveland with one of the most gutless performances in recent playoff history, right?

Boston is certainly going to make Cleveland earn it, but being 2-2 and having Games 5 and 7 at home is not the worst position in the world.

I say it because I don't think home court advantage matters in this series. The Celtics have proven they can win in Cleveland (and vice versa). The Cavaliers have been, in my opinion, out hustled and out played this entire series. There's this attitude that surrounds the Cavaliers that they can just "turn it on" whenever they want and finish teams off. They did it in Chicago, and they're doing it again with the Celtics.

I see no urgency or real aggression by this team so far in the playoffs. I want a pissed off, locked in Lebron in game 3 of Chicago and Friday night EVERY game. Walking away without a championship is a failure in my eyes.

[FUDU]

The Celtics just want this series more than the Cavaliers do.

Can't agree with this statement. They did squander the home court they earned in Cleveland with one of the most gutless performances in recent playoff history, right?

Boston is certainly going to make Cleveland earn it, but being 2-2 and having Games 5 and 7 at home is not the worst position in the world.

I say it because I don't think home court advantage matters in this series. The Celtics have proven they can win in Cleveland (and vice versa). The Cavaliers have been, in my opinion, out hustled and out played this entire series. There's this attitude that surrounds the Cavaliers that they can just "turn it on" whenever they want and finish teams off. They did it in Chicago, and they're doing it again with the Celtics.

I see no urgency or real aggression by this team so far in the playoffs. I want a pissed off, locked in Lebron in game 3 of Chicago and Friday night EVERY game. Walking away without a championship is a failure in my eyes.

Teams often, usually take on the personality of their coach, I'm not putting this all on MB, but with a roster like ours 60 wins is possible by flipping the switch on/off during the 82 game regular season (in which you play all teams good or bad). This isn't the regular season anymore, not sure if these guys are really aware of that yet. The post season is against the best teams in the conference. So unlike the regular season you don't have two games a week that you can play at 75% and win just b/c you have way more talent.

[RIBrownsFan]

I say it because I don't think home court advantage matters in this series. The Celtics have proven they can win in Cleveland (and vice versa). The Cavaliers have been, in my opinion, out hustled and out played this entire series. There's this attitude that surrounds the Cavaliers that they can just "turn it on" whenever they want and finish teams off. They did it in Chicago, and they're doing it again with the Celtics.

I see no urgency or real aggression by this team so far in the playoffs. I want a pissed off, locked in Lebron in game 3 of Chicago and Friday night EVERY game. Walking away without a championship is a failure in my eyes.

I wholeheartedly agree that Boston wanted Game 4 more than the Cavs. They should have, given their season was over if they lost. I would even go further than you and say that it seems to me that the Cavs have absolutely no fear or respect for the Celtics, and feel that they can overcome any deficit against them at any time.

That said, and acknowledging that it's really annoying, I just think it's unrealistic to expect the Game 4 Cavs from the Chicago series or the Game 3 team from this series every night. This is not a team filled with hall of famers who can dominate the competition night in and night out. Hell, go back and look at the Bulls title runs, and you'll see that they most certainly didn't do that either. They frequently would get up 2-1 and give half efforts in Game 4.

I don't expect it to be easy by any stretch, but I do think the Cavs are in a good position to win this series. I'm certainly not fearful of any Game 7 duels between LeBron James and the corpse of Paul Pierce.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

Teams often, usually take on the personality of their coach

Usually. But the coach in this case is our starting small forward.

[Orenthal]

Let Shaq foul out, Hickson in the playoffs at this point, against a strong interior defense is a liability. IMO, the refs gave us every opportunity to make a go of it, we just did not execute when the crowd got going. We really need a PG/Someone that can take the ball and regroup the players. Either the offense was rushed, or it was 1 on 5 when we needed a bucket to get the crowd out of the game.

I think Parker is doing a respectable job, a thankless job, and the help defense is way to late. Need to give Moon some burn and run LeBron at point forward. It isn't like Mo is running the offense, go long at PG and SG. Not sure how it would work, but I think it may be worthy to have a look at it.

Home cooking Tuesday should benefit the guys.

[FUDU]

Not to nit pick RIB, but a poor choice of examples by using the Bulls. They typically rolled through the post season. Only the 0-2 deficit to the Knicks was where they had their backs against the wall. Outside of 92 they only lost 1 game 4 IIRC. Even down to the Lakers and Jazz 0-1 was no big deal b/c of OT and the way they consistently came out and set the tone.

Just sayin.

...and no OJ not trying to restart our favorite thread ever.

[RIBrownsFan]

Not to nit pick RIB, but a poor choice of examples by using the Bulls. They typically rolled through the post season. Only the 0-2 deficit to the Knicks was where they had their backs against the wall. Outside of 92 they only lost 1 game 4 IIRC. Even down to the Lakers and Jazz 0-1 was no big deal b/c of OT and the way they consistently came out and set the tone.

Just sayin.

...and no OJ not trying to restart our favorite thread ever.

I guess I would disagree that they "rolled" through all of their runs. And I should say that I don't consider the Cavs as having their backs to the wall at the moment.

They were 2-2 with the Knicks, Cavs, and Blazers in 1992 and need a Game 7 to get by NY. As you mention, they were down 0-2 to the Knicks in 1993 and needed a last second shot to avoid a Game 7 on the road against the Suns in the finals that year.

Likewise in 1998, they needed every last second of 7 games against Indiana and a last second shot to avoid a Game 7 on the road against Utah. So I would argue they were certainly pushed more than a few times.

That said, you need look no further back than the '08 Celtics to a title winning team that did the absolute bare minimum needed to win a championship. They went 7 against a 37 win team in Atlanta and a 45 win team in Cleveland. They also blew home court in the conference finals against Detroit before rebounding to win it all. And there are certainly a ton of other examples from previous title runs of teams being pushed by supposedly inferior competition.

So as noted, I'm just not in panic mode based on them being 2-2 at the moment.

[Orenthal]

You will have no debate when it comes to the Bulls dominating their competition during their run. As a Bulls hater, I never once felt like the opposing team had a chance, even when New York was up 2-0. Outside of the year without Jordan and the year he came back late season...

[davemanddd]

JVG has made two good points today.

that's an insult . . . to steve buscemi.

[davemanddd]

Jamison just doesn't look balanced or confident in shooting 3's, too hurried.

the jumpshooter was more like the bricklayer today!!!

[e0y2e3]

The series MVP to this point is not the guy wearing #23. And that's the problem.

Yeup. It's that simple. Probably his most lackluster series of his career.

[davemanddd]

Moon can't get any burn is beyond me.

Question of the night for me

me too. anthony parker got 42 minutes??? really??? seriously??? why??? isn't he supposed to be some sort of defensive stopper on rajon rondo and yet dude had one of the most monstrous triple-doubles i've ever seen from a point guard??? if you ask me, i don't think he should be getting even a single minute and yet he got 42 stinking minutes??? what a revolting development that was. he is by far the weakest link on this team and yet roker continues to march him out there like eric "the genius" wedge was all about his veteran "grinders". excuse my while i bend over and throw up.