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The Living Legend | ANDRE
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Beacon Journal | 5/20/2006 | Articles
Quote:
Young team loses poise for first time
By Tom Reed
CLEVELAND - Cavaliers fans never have to ask if they can get a witness for their Nike-clad superstar, LeBron James.
At the maddening conclusion of Friday night's 84-82 loss to the Detroit Pistons, a more pressing question arose: Can they get a rebound?
Three times in the final 48 seconds of Game 6, the Cavs had a chance to tie the score if only they could secure a defensive rebound. Three times, the Pistons extended possessions by getting the ball instead.
Perhaps a minute from completing an astonishing upset and advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavs came unhinged. They allowed the Pistons second chances. They failed to call a timeout in the final, frantic nine seconds. James drove inside the 3-point arc to try to create a play, trailing 84-81, and was alertly fouled by the Pistons.
After demonstrating such poise throughout their playoff run, the Cavs lost it and a possible close-out victory in the process at a sold-out Quicken Loans Arena.
They made mental miscues, committed five fourth-quarter turnovers and gave new life to a proud champion.
A week ago, the Cavaliers would have welcomed a chance to play a Game 7 in Detroit on Sunday. This morning? Not so much.
A huge opportunity has morphed into an even larger disappointment.
“Down the stretch, (the Pistons) found a way to win the ballgame,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “We made little mistakes here and there.''
That's all the two-time defending conference champions required.
The resilient and playoff-tested Pistons deserve full marks. They won a Game 6 for the fourth time in a row since 2003 when facing a 3-2 series deficit.
Chief protagonist and prognosticator Rasheed Wallace, battling a sprained ankle, had a monster game with 24 points, including 16 in the second half.
Although Wallace is the best-known player in the series for making prophesies, the one volunteered by Cavs forward Donyell Marshall might prove most prophetic. Marshall said after Game 1 that the Pistons' experience could trump the Cavs' youth.
Wallace said he saw some reluctant Cavs trigger fingers in the fourth quarter, perhaps the sign of a young team uncertain how to finish off the old gunslingers. James and Ilgauskas were the only players to attempt at least two shots. James went to the line 12 times in the fourth quarter, converting 10 free throws.
“I don't know if they were playing tight or not, but the only cat who wanted to shoot was LeBron,'' Wallace said. “You can take that for what it's worth.''
No postseason participant has been playing better than the Cavs in tight games. They had won 17 of their previous 19 games decided by four or fewer points.
For the first time in this fascinating series, however, the Cavs also were a team with something to lose.
This was the chance to vanquish Detroit on the Cavs' home court. The chance to bury the team with the league's best record and reach the NBA version of the Final Four.
“There is a fine line between winning and losing the basketball game, and the team that makes the most mistakes down the stretch is going to lose when both teams fight like they did tonight,'' Brown said.
James, who finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds, said he didn't think a lack of poise was the problem. What would you expect him to say?
He scored 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter. James was up for taking the game into his hands, as the stars almost always do. He committed four fourth-quarter turnovers, though. He twice had the ball stripped driving into the lane.
The game was decided, however, by the Cavs' inability to keep the Pistons off the offensive glass: Detroit had four offensive boards in the last 1:40 and three crucial ones in the final minute.
A veteran team exhibited its hunger, and an inexperienced one demonstrated its lack of focus. The final mental mistake was the dagger. The Cavs left a timeout in the holster as James dribbled down court with 8.8 seconds left.
Brown said he had difficulty communicating his desire because of the crowd noise.
“I don't know why we didn't call timeout,'' James said.
The Cavs still have a shot to pull the upset Sunday. Home-court advantage is lost for good, but right now, what they must regain is their poise.
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Quote:
Pistons execute, tie series
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
CLEVELAND - To beat the champs, you have to knock them out.
The Cavaliers had Friday's Game 6 right where they wanted it -- close at the end and on their home floor. By executing in those spots, they had carried themselves to the brink of a franchise-defining moment. By not executing with this precious opportunity, they're now, instead, on the brink of elimination.
The Detroit Pistons, certified experts at winning elimination games -- be it with their own necks or someone else's on the line -- weren't going down without a fight. They played that way in the final stretch of a game that was within a basket or two for 48 minutes.
The Cavaliers couldn't match them.
Suffering a series of breakdowns in the final 60 seconds, the Cavs allowed the Pistons to slip out of Quicken Loans Arena with an 84-82 win. It evened the series at 3-3 and sent the momentum back with the Pistons to The Palace of Auburn Hills for Sunday's Game 7.
The Cavs had won an amazing string of tight contests.
They had gone 6-0 in the playoffs in games decided by two points or less. This time, a series of misjudgments shook their usual firm grip and steady air.
The most glaring was a string of offensive rebounds they gave up in the final minute, four to be exact. It's usually one of the Cavs' strongest facets. They were one of the NBA leaders in limiting offensive rebounds during the regular season and were controlling the glass most of the night Friday.
Ahead by two points, Detroit got three chances to ice the game. The Pistons missed jumpers or free throws to allow the Cavs another chance to drive in a last-second dagger to win or to force overtime. In fact, the Pistons shot just 33 percent in the fourth quarter, hardly a clutch-shooting masterpiece.
But Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince got their fingertips on loose balls, keeping what had to seem like the longest opponent's possession in Cavs' history alive and eating away at the clock.
“There's a fine line between winning and losing,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “The team that makes the most mistakes down the stretch is going to lose.''
The Cavs finally got a rebound when they were down three points and, again, were unable to execute. LeBron James, who had a game-high 32 points, didn't hear Brown demand a timeout and ran up the floor. James was trying to get the ball to a 3-point shooter for a tie, but the heady Pistons fouled him with a second to play.
He was left to split free throws and hope for a miracle tip-in that didn't take place. The building drained of sound and the Cavs slowly marched off the floor, knowing they had squandered in the last minute, a slice of time they had owned for as long as they could remember.
“The game is won and lost on simple plays,'' James said. “You have to make simple plays.''
There was nothing really simple about the 2.5 hour struggle, with both teams scrapping for every basket and throwing complex schemes at one another. The Pistons probably won the game on this level, making some offensive decisions that were the most prudent since the first half of Game 2.
They fed the post all night, taking advantage of mismatches Prince and Rasheed Wallace created. The Cavs, determined to kill the Pistons' long-range shooting, had lived with this situation for three games as they switched on pick-and-rolls to avoid allowing open jumpers. In Game 6, desperate Detroit made them pay.
Rasheed Wallace scored 24 points and virtually fouled out key reserve Anderson Varejao in 23 minutes because he could manage him in the post. Wallace made numerous tough shots -- ones he had missed for a week. Prince also was strong in the post, scoring 15 points. That opened some outside shots, and the Pistons nailed 6-of-14 3-pointers
Defensively, the Pistons repeatedly changed looks on James. In the fourth quarter, they allowed him to drive, then swarmed him when he got into the lane. It resulted not only in fouls -- James was 15-of-18 at the line -- but also in seven turnovers, four in the fourth quarter.
Unlike when the Cavs have been at their best in the clutch, there was no honest help.
“I know the only cat that wanted to shoot was LeBron,'' Rasheed Wallace said. “They're trying to go down a road we've been down before, back and down again.''
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Quote:
One last shot
Game 7: Only certainty is that nothing’s certain
CLEVELAND - One more game. One more day of waiting. One more night of wondering.
Once more, Cavaliers fans have to worry about the Detroit Pistons.
Game 7.
Only this time, it will be at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday afternoon.
That's what Detroit's 84-82 victory in Game 6 at Quicken Loans Arena meant Friday night.
Not the end of the Cavaliers' playoff dreams. Not some more gloom and a sense of impending doom.
Nothing but one more game, the last game for one of these teams, which have played themselves utterly even in the first six games.
“Many people thought we were dead,'' said Detroit coach Flip Saunders. “Now, we go home breathing.''
Barely.
But that's enough.
Just as the Cavaliers have life, too. Remember the Cavs won two road games in Washington. They won Game 5 in Detroit. They have No. 23, and any team with a great player like LeBron James is capable of winning a Game 7 anywhere, anytime.
It will be one more game, one more chance for the Cavaliers to do something nearly historic: win a Game 7 on the Pistons' home court, where they are 42-5 this season.
So order up some extra Tums, because you're going to need them.
Consider the Cavaliers won Game 4 at home by two points.
They won Game 5 in Detroit by two points.
The Pistons won Game 6 in Cleveland by two points.
No one knows who will win, but you probably can count on this much: It will be gut-churning, palms-sweating, heart-pounding, 48 minutes of memorable basketball.
You may love it. You may hate it because the pressure is getting to you. But if you love the game, you won't want to miss it.
Analyzing, agonizing
You can spend a lot of time analyzing what happened in Game 6. You can agonize over missed chances and do a little second-guessing.
Yes, coach Mike Brown should have called a timeout to set up a 3-point shot because the Cavs were behind 84-81 with 10 seconds left.
Instead, Brown decided to let James make a play, create something, which often is a good idea. Had it worked, everyone would have agreed.
James drove to the basket and was fouled as he delivered a pass to Flip Murray on the 3-point line. James went to the foul line with 1.4 seconds left.
He had two free throws; the Cavs needed three points. He made the first and intentionally missed the second shot, but the Cavs couldn't tip it in.
Ballgame.
The Cavs actually lost this game in the final minute when Detroit came up with not ONE, not TWO, but FOUR offensive rebounds.
Detroit made big plays. The Cavs did not in those final, frustrating 60 seconds.
Gap has closed
So take a deep breath, Cavs fans.
Yes, your team is facing the defending Eastern Conference champions, a team that won an NBA-best 64 regular-season games this season.
And yes, your Cavaliers won only 50, have a superstar who would be a junior in college, a rookie head coach and absolutely, positively no recent playoff experience.
And yes, the Pistons dominated the Cavs in the regular season, and in the first seven quarters of the playoffs.
But the gap has closed. The Cavs are aging fast (in a good way), and the Pistons have had moments when they have been feeling their age (the wrong way).
Despite the outcome of this game, understand that the Cavaliers have silenced the Pistons' swagger, shut most of their mouths and have the Pistons very, very concerned.
James has called Sunday the “greatest challenge'' of his three-year pro career. The Pistons know it will be a day where they have to avoid disaster. Losing to the Cavs at home will lead to a long summer of anguish and discontent.
The pressure remains on Detroit.
Consider that Detroit is a great team, but with no one like James who can take over a game.
The Cavs are now a good team with a great player.
When those two teams meet in a Game 7, there is nothing you can count on except this: You'll be watching until the final seconds.
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__________________
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Charley Rosen
"A note to long-suffering Cavaliers' fans: Don't get caught in the LeBron James pipe dream. The best King James can ever be is an average NBA player."
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Playoff Game #6 | Pistons @ Cavs | 5/19/2006
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