| 26 April 2009
Focus, determination, and intensity; these words perfectly describe Lebron James and the Cavaliers not only today, but through the entire series. This team very well could have let down in Detroit and close out the series in Cleveland. However, they played like champions today and took care of business. Once again, Detroit was incredibly inconsistent today scoring 27 points in the first quarter then no more than 18 in subsequent quarters. Though, I attribute this sweep to how good the Cavs are instead of how bad Detroit is. As always, the Pistons played hard but they never really seemed like a team who truly thought they had a chance in hell. Their demeanor was consistently down, none of their stars/scorers stepped up, and there was no real feeling of continuity that we've seen from the Pistons the previous 5 years. This game summed up both the entire Pistons and Cavaliers season; the Pistons as we've come to know them no longer exist and the Cavaliers have one thing on their mind - championship.
Why the Cavs won
Name a reason, and you'd be right. Better defense? Yep. Better supporting cast? Yep. More rebounds, assists, and steals? Yep. Better shooting %, free throw %, and three point %? Yep. MVP? Yep. But really, is it at all surprising? Quite simply, the Cavs are an elite team and the Pistons are not. Once again, MVP Lebron James played like it today tallying 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists. More importantly for the Cavs, they finally saw Mo Williams have a break-out game scoring 24 and being the floor leader they need. Even though Lebron James managed this series to perfection, I was most impressed with Mike Brown's coaching more so than anything. I have to give a _lot _of credit to Brown for his adjustments every single time the Pistons seemed to start putting things together. Whether that be unleashing his players on offense or having his team lock it down on defense, Brown clearly knew what to do in order to give the Cavs an unmistakable edge. Admittedly, I have underestimated him as a coach the past few years, but his control and command of this series has really shown me that he is undoubtedly Coach of the Year material, out-coaching Michael Curry big time.
Why the Pistons lost
Even though they played hard, their hearts were out of it from the start. The Cavaliers had already won this series back in game 2, and the Pistons knew it. In my opinion, the most disappointing part of the entire Pistons series was how bad Rasheed Wallace played. 0 points in 29 minutes today? That's pathetic for a team that relies on him so much. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince weren't much better (thought I realize Prince was hurt). Michael Curry failed to adjust at anytime throughout the series which obviously didn't help things. Just a sad showing for this team who once played the best team basketball in the league. To end on something positive, how awesome was Antonio McDyess today and throughout the series? 26 points and 10 rebounds today for a guy that was seemingly done. That guy can still play and has my respect for playing his butt off when no one else on his team wanted to step up and take charge.
Heading into the next series, what to look for
Since we're not sure who the Cavs will be playing (my guess is that it still could be Atlanta), I won't go into too much depth except to say that I feel bad for fans who have to watch Lebron and the Cavs send their team home early.
Prediction for next series
Whether it be the Heat or Hawks, the Cavs will take care of them in no more than 6 games.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
