Mobley rejects Magic, Cavaliers win Game Five

      Evan Mobley blocked the driving shot of Orlando's Franz Wagner with six seconds to go to allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to stagger away with a 104-103 victory in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals and a 3-2 lead in the series.

Mobley's block and two ensuing Donovan Mitchell free throws salted the game away although Pablo Banchero nailed a three-pointer to cut the final margin to one point.

Mitchell led Cleveland with twenty-eight points, Darius Garland added twenty-three, and Evan Mobley finished with fourteen points and thirteen rebounds.

Game six will be in Orlando on Friday night.

A Cleveland win ends the series, while an Orlando win extends the series to game seven, which would be on Sunday in Cleveland,

Swashbucklings

1) The Cavaliers announced before the game that Jarrett Allen would miss the game with bruised ribs, which cost them their big man inside and allowed Orlando to take the ball to the hoop without Cleveland's best rim protector.

2) Evan Mobley did a fine job in Allen's place and the game-saving block was such a brilliant play on Mobley's part.

Mobley blocked Franz Wagner's shot with his left hand rather than with his stronger right hand because if Mobley had reached across to attempt the block with that hand, he surely would have fouled Wagner.

3) Donovan Mitchell scored fourteen points in the fourth quarter, nine of those from the free throw line,.

Mitchell is clearly bothered by a nagging left knee problem and it's affecting his play as he shot nine of twenty-three from the floor with only one basket from three-point lane.

4) Give Mitchell credit for clutch play as he connected on nine of ten from the free throw line and the two key freebies after Mobley's block were important to lock up the game, even more so when Paolo Banchero hit a three-pointer at the end of the game.

Had Mitchell made only one of the two shots, the Banchero three-pointer would have tied the game.

5) Max Strus played his best game of the series, finishing with sixteen points and hitting four three-pointers.

6) Darius Garland also played his best game of the series as he scored twenty-three points, many of them in the first half.

If Cleveland has a chance of closing this series in six games, it will be from a major contribution from Garland.

7) Paolo Banchero finished the night as the game's leading scorer with thirty-nine points, finishing fourteen of twenty-four shooting, and the former top overall pick in 2022 was clearly the best player on the floor.

Banchero is a bit more of an outside shooter but his game is what I'm sure Cleveland hopes to see from Evan Mobley as Mobley progresses. 

Boxing Challenge: Ramirez beats Barthelemy, Ortiz needs just one

     Golden Boy Promotion's card Saturday night card from Fresno California may not have delivered many surprises but did offer some good action and may have made some 140-pound contenders look closely at a chance to face a former champion who could be ripe for the picking.

In the main event, former WBC and WBO junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez was successful in his first fight under the GBP banner in winning a unanimous decision over former IBF junior lightweight and lightweight Rances Barthelemy.

The road wasn't all smooth for Ramirez, who appeared to be knocked down in the third round but referee Jack Reiss called it a shove (it looked like a knockdown to me) and after hitting the floor, Barthelemy landed several punches to the downed Ramirez.

In fairness, it should have been called a knockdown and then deducted a point from Barthelemy for hitting Ramirez while down but if neither were called, I'm okay with the round as a one-point round.

Barthelemy hurt Ramirez again late in the fourth round but was unable to follow up

 Ramirez would take command and he would slow down Barthelemy down severely over the second half of the fight.

The judges gave Ramirez the edge on the scorecards with scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110.

I had Ramirez as the winner 117-111 however Ramirez may have lost a step and while I would still think he's of world title contention status, I think he may have become a cut below the level of the division champions, Teofmo Lopez, Devin Haney, Isaac Cruz, and Subriel Matias.

The co-feature looked like a mismatch entering the fight and Vergil Ortiz ended it quickly as Ortiz ripped one body shot that downed Thomas Dulorme for the count in the first round in their junior middleweight ten-rounder.

The best thing to say about this one is that Ortiz sustained no damage that might delay his anticipated fight with Tim Tsyzu in August.

Dulorme, a one-time world title challenger, lost his fifth in his last seven outings and might be suited to think about ending his ring career.

The first fight saw Oscar Duarte rebound from his loss to Ryan Garcia to stop former junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz in the ninth round.

Diaz landed his share of punches in the first few rounds but the stronger Duarte pounded Diaz from the fifth round forward and the referee made the right decision in stopping the fight with Diaz taking blows along the ropes.

I had Duarte slightly ahead after eight rounds at 78-76 but Diaz hadn't won a round since the fourth and it made little sense to continue the fight.

For Duarte, it's a feather in his cap as he was the first man to stop Diaz and it should help him receive more fights while for Diaz, who tried his best, it's time for him, like Thomas Dulorme, to consider ending a solid career.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 56 Pts (5)

TRS: 55 Pts (5)

Vince Samano: 28 Pts  (5) 

Cavaliers go cold in Game Four defeat

    The Cleveland Cavaliers had to feel good about their nine-point halftime lead in game four of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series against the Orlando Magic.

That was as good as they would feel as the Cavaliers were outscored in the third quarter by Orlando's Franz Wagner alone (12-10) and by his team (37-10) as Orlando easily defeated Cleveland 112-89 to tie the series at two games per team.

Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with twenty-one points.

Game five will be in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Swashbucklings

1) I'm not a member of the fire J.B. Bickerstaff club as so many have been in the last three seasons but I have to say this, if the Cavaliers lose this series, it's time for Bickerstaff to go.

Cleveland had legitimate excuses for last year's loss to the Knicks.

Those reasons do not exist for this series.

2) Donovan Mitchell scored eighteen points in the first half and zero in the second half.

ZERO.

I don't care about the circumstances (Mitchell only received four shots), your best player cannot. I repeat- cannot play an entire quarter and finish scoreless.

3) The Cavaliers scored with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter and would not score again until the 10:40 mark in the fourth.

Seven minutes without a point in a playoff game.

4) Only fifteen points from the Cavaliers non-starters and none higher than Caris LeVert's five.

One would think in a blowout, someone would have accumulated some points in garbage time.

5) Cleveland's forty-seven percent shooting is respectable but they were only four of seventeen from three-point range.

The upgrades that were supposed to bring improved outside shooting for this time of the season have not come through thus far.

6) Orlando outrebounded Cleveland 43-29 but the crazy number for the Cavaliers?
TWO offensive rebounds.

I'd think more than two would fall into your hands without moving!

7) Finally, I'm not ready to panic.

Yet.

The home team has won each game by big margins and now that this is a best-of-three series, Cleveland still hosts two of those three.

I would be mildly disappointed to win the series in seven games but not nearly as disappointed as the organization would be by losing the series because if that happens, there will be many changes on the horizon- for personnel on and off the court.

Browns select Jowon Briggs

   The Cleveland Browns used their final pick of the 2024 draft and the second of their two seventh-rounders on Cincinnati defensive tackle Jowon Briggs.

Briggs started in all five years in college football, two with Virginia and three after transferring to Cincinnati, finishing last season with two sacks.

Briggs appears to be a bit undersized at 6'1 but weighs 313 pounds, so it's possible that he can get past the lack of height.

Briggs had an excellent combine where he showed up bigger than expected and ran a faster time as well.

Briggs is better against the run than as a pass rusher and his tape doesn't really stand out in any particular area,

Briggs doesn't appear to have the potential to be more than a depth player but it's interesting that the Browns have invested three draft picks on defensive tackles in the last two drafts- 2023 third-round Siaki Ika, second-rounder Michael Hall, and Briggs.

I'm not sure the Browns can afford to carry all three of Ika, Hall, and Briggs and if they do, that would be bad news for one of Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, or Maurice Hurst ( I think Dalvin Tomlinson is untouchable at this point) but you build depth through competition and arguably there is no better place to have depth than along either of the lines.

I'll be writing a wrap-up of the draft later this week after I catch up on the Cavaliers' awful loss in Orlando along with a road trip post. 

Browns select Myles Harden

   Andrew Berry has never finished a draft without selecting a cornerback and he didn't start a trend in the 2024 draft when the Browns selected Myles Harden of South Dakota with the first of the team's two seventh-round picks.

The 5'11 Harden was one of the stronger cornerbacks at the combine and is reported to be best suited for a zone defense with his strength allowing him to play well against the run.

Harden has been mentioned as someone who could be a nice fit as a nickel corner or moved to safety with his strong hitting ability.

Harden doesn't have top speed and might be vulnerable to the deep throw along with only finishing with one interception last season.

The best part of the drafting under Andrew Berry has been drafting corners having chosen Greg Newsome, Martin Emerson, and maybe another good one in the 2023 draft with Cameron Mitchell.

It's going to be tough for Harden to make the team but not impossible and he'll have to beat Khalef Haillassie, who the Browns claimed from Kansas City last season to make the squad but Harden has the big corner style and aggressive players sometimes find a spot on teams.

A very interesting selection from a team that loves their cornerbacks.

Browns select Nathaniel Watson

     I have written about my lukewarm feelings about the Browns linebackers except for Jeremiah Owosu-Koahmoah and how I hoped that the Browns would draft a linebacker in this draft.

Cleveland grabbed one in round six in Mississippi State's Nathaniel Watson who may not be an explosive playmaker but is gonna roll up tackles against the run and help immediately on special teams.

Watson was named the 2023 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, which generally isn't given to players from Mississippi State, and at 6'2, 233 pounds, Watson is your old-school thumper at linebacker.

Watson led the SEC in tackles and finished tied for the lead in sacks (ten) with Alabama's Dallas Turner, who was the first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the draft.

Watson is regarded as a two-down linebacker as his strength isn't his pass coverage, although it's not out of the question that he could eventually become average against the pass.

Watson tackles well and showed some blitzing ability with Mississippi State but was a sixth-year senior due to the Covid pandemic, so he was older than most of the competition last year.

Watson might be a special teams asset but he'll have to prove that as he didn't play on the coverage teams in Starkville.

Watson seems to have the upside of a solid stay-at-home linebacker who could have a chance of eventually starting and might develop into a veteran leader.

At worst. I think he'll be a backup and special teamer.

I really like this pick and think Watson has a decent chance of making the roster.

Back later with looks at the two players selected in round seven. 

Browns select Jamari Thrash

    I waited most of the afternoon for the Cleveland Browns to make their fifth-round selection and as I watched linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. of Clemson continue to be available, I was starting to gain hope that the Browns would add the speedy linebacker.

Alas, with the pick before Cleveland, the Philadelphia Eagles, the same team that drafted Trotter Sr, plucked him from the board, disappointing me almost as much as the second half of Game Four between the Cavaliers and Magic.

The Browns then decided to add to the wide receiver group with the choice of Jamari Thrash of Louisville.

Thrash played his first three seasons at Georgia State before transferring for his final season to Louisville.

It's always fair to wonder about how a player who has success at the Group of Five level will adjust to the Power Five level but Thrash performed well with the Cardinals.

Thrash caught sixty-three passes for over eight hundred yards and six touchdowns in his only season in Louisville and the six-foot Thrash has earned raves for his route-running ability.

The biggest question has been his size but I've seen conflicting reports on his speed and athleticism.

Some have mentioned Thrash as a big play threat that can do damage on deep passes and others have listed his speed and athletic ability as average and question if he can get open against NFL secondaries.

Thrash isn't going to be a likely upgrade being a fifth-round pick but few were paying attention last year for Puca Nacua in the fifth round last season and Nacua made a huge impact as a rookie, so it's not out of the question for Thrash.

Thrash will battle David Bell and Michael Woods for a spot on the roster and it'll be a tough fight to find a roster spot, but it isn't impossible.