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Last Saturday’s convincing 97-84 win over the Pistons proved once again that the Cavaliers match up well with Detroit, regardless of status or standings. The Cavaliers have split their meetings with the Motor City heavyweights over the last two years.
“Anytime you play the best team in the league and get a win it feels good,” said the pragmatic Mike Brown, following Saturday’s victory. “But I look at it is we got to win our next ballgame just like this ballgame. I said coming in, yes it is the Pistons, yes they are the best team in the league, but we need a win.”
It’s not wise to put too much into the weekend win. But the Pistons are playing by far the best ball in the league. And with the Cavaliers constantly trying to establish themselves as an upper-echelon team in the East, wins against quality opponents – at any time during the season – are huge.
“We wanted to be the aggressor,” said Larry Hughes, who finished with 16 points, five boards, three dimes and a pair of steals. “That’s a good team coming into our building, but really we feel that we’re supposed to win.”
Hughes did exactly what he was paid to do when he came to Cleveland – take some of the scoring load off LeBron James, while simultaneously handling the opposition’s toughest defensive assignment. Rip Hamilton got his 21 points, but he had to work his tail off for every one of them.
And as usual under Mike Brown’s system, everything started on the defensive end. LeBron and Hughes teamed up to hold Tayshaun Prince to 2-of-12 shooting and Eric Snow was mainly responsible for containing MVP candidate, Chauncey Billups, in check on 2-for-11 shooting.
The fact that the Cavaliers held Detroit to 36 percent from the floor also translated directly to the 20-6 advantage on the fast break.
“To come back and get a victory like this is big, but not even just today, but Miami, Indiana, the other two Chicago games,” beamed Donyell Marshall. “To be able to come back and play the way we have speaks volumes for us. It is a great way to close out the year.”
Marshall had another solid game off Mike Brown’s bench. The league’s top rebounding sixth man finished with 13 points and six boards. The combination of Marshall and Drew Gooden, who tallied his third double-double in his last four games, finished with 25 points and 19 rebounds. (All this at the four, and Anderson Varejao is inching towards his return in a couple weeks.)
The Cavaliers have a long way to go. Things looked rosy at this stage last year. Veterans of the past two seasons in Cleveland like LeBron, Ira Newble and Zydrunas Ilgauskas know this. The Wine and Gold will have to continue grinding it out. And a quality road win over Milwaukee on Wednesday night would go a long way. But it’s still nice to knock off the top team in the NBA at home.
“Defensively we just tuned in,” said James, who finished with a game-high 30 points. “And we just executed.”
If it comes down to it – either down the stretch or in the Playoffs – Cleveland does know that it matches up very well with the two-time Eastern Conference champs.
The New Jersey Nets are another story. But the Cavaliers can cross that bridge when they get to it again on February 1.
For now, a win over the Pistons is an awfully good way to close out the 2005 portion of the regular season schedule.
Be sure to tune in during every Cleveland Cavaliers' game for Joe Gabriele's IN-GAME LIVE quarterly updates.
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 January 3, 2006With LeBron James’ 30 points, he now holds the franchise record for highest scoring average for one month. The previous record was James’ 32.3 points per game in April 2005. In the 14 games in December, James averaged 32.4 points on 157-311 (.505) from the field, 6.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.9 steals. |
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Pacing On: With so many teams dealing with injuries, Jermaine O’Neal sitting out with pneumonia and an ailing back didn’t hinder the Indiana Pacers. Behind a balanced attack of six players in double figures including Fred Jones’ game-high 26 points, the Pacers beat the Sonics 115-96 to remain in contention in the tough Central Division at 16-12. Ray Allen led Seattle with 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Pacers’ from their highest scoring output of the season.
Around the League
Texas Twosome: This past week John Lucas III joined the injury-depleted Rockets, an important signing for more than just one reason. Lucas III started playing in the NBA when he was 4, shagging rebounds as a ball boy for his father, John Lucas II and the rest of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets drafted his dad in 1976 and signed the Oklahoma State rookie, who will wear his father's old No. 15. The elder Lucas, now 52, played 14 NBA seasons, with the Rockets, Golden State, Washington, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Seattle. He later coached the Spurs, Philadelphia and Cleveland, but his heart and home always stayed in Houston, where he opened a substance-abuse center for professional athletes (Associated Press).
| JANUARY 2006 |
Thursday, January 5th vs. Houston 8:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets
Tuesday, January 10th vs. New York 7:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets
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Sunday, January 29th vs. Phoenix 1:00 p.m. Purchase Tickets
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