Cavaliers season ends in Boston

      The already undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers received more bad news before game five of their series against the Boston Celtics when Caris LeVert was unable to play.

There would have been every reason to expect the Celtics to win going away.

Instead, the ailing Cavaliers pushed Boston all of the game before falling 113-98 and losing the series four games to one.

Evan Mobley led Cleveland with thirty-three points with Marcus Morris as the main support with twenty-five points as a substitute.

Swashbucklings

1) Evan Mobley was required to step up and Mobley did just that with his thirty-three points and fifteen of twenty-three shooting.

There have been times that I've wondered about Mobley and he might be a player who might not live up to his potential.

Mobley showed his capabilities in this game and he may be a player that may need to be a focus of the offense to thrive.

2) Cleveland received a surprising game from Marcus Morris, who shot ten of thirteen from the floor with five three-pointers.

Morris helped Cleveland stay close in a game they had little business playing competitively.

3) While Evan Mobley stepped up when the Cavaliers needed him most, Darius Garland didn't, making only four of seventeen shots and a mere eleven points.

Garland's game seemed composed of rushes to the hoop, finding a Celtic waiting there, and then tossing up a desperate heave to hope for the best.

4) I hate to keep harping on the lack of production from Georges Niang but he was crowed about by the Cavaliers when they acquired him as a key in improving the outside shooting in the playoffs.

Niang attempted three shots, all from the three-point distance, missed all three, and played only eight minutes for a team with nine healthy players.

5) Sam Merrill, on the other hand. did provide some long-distance help, hitting three of his five attempts.

I know Merrill is a defensive liability but he can shoot it and he can help this team in that area.

6) I plan on a Cavaliers wrap-up if I can make the time but the Cavaliers have three major questions.

Should they keep J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach?

How will the Donovan Mitchell situation play out?

And does this team need to make a move with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the same frontcourt?

The answers to all of these will be coming in the future.

 

Undermanned Cavaliers drop Game Four

      The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't have Jarrett Allen for game four of their series with the Boston Celtics.

Allen's absence was known entering the game but wasn't known was Donovan Mitchell's unavailability, which placed the Cavaliers as a distinct underdog.

The Cavaliers hung with the Celtics and made Boston work hard throughout the game but it wasn't enough in a 109-102 loss.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with thirty points with Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley each adding nineteen in support.

Boston is one win away from the series victory and they will attempt to close the Cavaliers out on Wednesday in Boston.

Swashbucklings

1) The smoking gun in this game?

The officiating.

Boston shot twenty-four free throws, making twenty-one, while the Cavaliers would attempt only seven, connecting on five.

That's a large discrepancy.

2) That ties into the inside game where without Allen, the Cavaliers outscored Boston 42-38 but despite those moves to the basket, the referees seldom blew the whistle.

I'd think that more than seven free throws should have been shot under those conditions.

3)  The referees didn't have anything to do with the Cavaliers being bullied in the rebounding column with Boston winning that battle by sixteen.

Yes, I know they are missing Jarrett Allen but that margin is far too large to overcome with an undermanned squad.

4) Darius Garland's night was excellent but as the main scoring option, Garland is at his best, I still wonder if Garland's game is adaptable enough to work with Donovan Mitchell on a title contender.

Garland hit twelve of twenty-seven attempts on the evening, four of those from three-point distance.

5) Donovan Mitchell's calf strain is no joke and those injuries can take a while to completely heal.

I'd be surprised if Mitchell can play in game five and even more surprised if Mitchell produces a normal stat line, should he play.

6) Give the Cavaliers and the coaching staff credit, considering everything involved, the Cavaliers gave a good accounting for themselves on a night that it could be excused if they had taken a walloping.

Cleveland played hard, tough, and through questionable officiating to give Boston a good run- I'm okay with it.

Cavaliers drop Game Three to Boston

     The Boston Celtics rebounded from their poor shooting in game two while the Cleveland Cavaliers could not continue their run from the outside and the Celtics regained control of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series with a 106-93 win in Cleveland to take a two games to one lead.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with thirty-three points in the defeat.

Game four will be in Cleveland on Monday night.

Swashbucklings

1) Give the Cavaliers credit for not completely folding in the second half as they continued to scrap back from a deficit that was as large as twenty-three points in the second half.

Cleveland got to within nine points three times and once could have cut the lead to seven but a Darius Garland fast break drive rolled in and out and the Celtics charged down the court to nail a three for a five-point swing.

2)  Donovan Mitchell kept the Cavaliers within shouting distance in the first half with twenty-three of his thirty-three but left the game before its conclusion with stiffness in his nagging knee.

The game was decided, why add wear and tear.

3) Dean Wade returned to the floor after a long absence and hit a three-pointer with his first attempt.

Wade finished with five points in seventeen minutes and might be a candidate for more minutes in game four.

4) Darius Garland's struggles continued with a six for fifteen shooting night.

I like Garland, I do.

He won me over after an atrocious rookie season but I don't think that he is a contender's second-best threat.

Cleveland may have to decide if they can find a better number two scorer or if they think Evan Mobley can develop into one because Garland isn't suited in that role or at least not behind Donovan Mitchell.

5) Should the Cavaliers lose this series and I think they will, the biggest "What If" might be the absence of Jarrett Allen, who along with Evan Mobley might have been able to take advantage of the one weakness of the Celtics, their interior defense and slam the ball inside on them.

Allen's injury to his ribs has to be painful (rib injuries always are) but some members of the Cleveland media are starting to question the length of time that Allen has missed.

Saturday's game was the sixth consecutive game that Allen was unavailable and my question isn't questioning why Allen isn't playing, it is that perhaps the Cavaliers and/or Allen may not have realized the injury was as serious as it has turned out to be.  

Cavaliers rout Celtics in Boston!

     The Cleveland Cavaliers took advantage of some awful shooting from the Boston Celtics and earned a surprising 118-94 victory in Boston in game two of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finasls.

The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell's twenty-nine points and Evan Mobley's twenty-one in a victory that tied the series at one game apiece.

The series swings to Cleveland for game three on Saturday evening.

Swashbucklings

1)  I have to admit, I was completely caught off guard by this win.

I thought Cleveland would win one game in the series but I didn't figure that victory would come in Boston.

I still think Boston will win the series but I'll change my prediction from Celtics in five to Celtics in six,

2) Evan Mobley played his best game of the season, finishing with twenty-one points, ten rebounds, and five assists but just as important was how he accomplished those numbers.

Mobley played with an aggressiveness that has been lacking at times in his career and if he can repeat this more often, his career and Cleveland will be better for it.

3) Key stat: Cleveland 13/28 from three point range, Boston 8/35.

When the team that is the better shooting team has that type of night, it's not a night that will bode well.

4) The game was tied at the half with Cleveland outscoring Boston 36-24 in the third quarter and you could see Boston's frustration with their shots not falling.

The huge deficit was rolled up in garbage time but the game was won in the third.

5) Boston never seemed to change their strategy with their poor shooting, they stubbornly continued to jack up threes and hoped things would change.

There is something to be said for self-confidence but to not try any other tactics seemed to be an error for me.

6) Boston's Derrick White scored twenty-five in game one, but only ten in game two and shot one of eight from three.

7) Cleveland did receive bench help from Caris LeVert who popped in twenty-one points as a reserve.

LeVert will be key in the series with his status as the main offensive threat off the bench.

Cavaliers clouted by Celtics in Game One

     The Cleveland Cavaliers received help from Donovan Mitchell in game one of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series against the Boston Celtics but it wasn't enough as the heavily favored Celtics continued their playoff roll as they defeated Cleveland 120-95 in Boston.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with thirty-three points with Evan Mobley contributing seventeen points and thirteen rebounds in the defeat.

Game two will be in Boston on Thursday night.

Swashbucklings

1) Boston is the top-scoring team in the league and is the second-best defensively, so this is a tough draw for the Cavaliers.

If they win one game (more than Miami did in the first round), I would consider it a success.

2) The Cavaliers are a good defensive squad but this Celtics team made them look slow and steps behind as their passing to the open man is stellar.

They remind me a little of the Mark Price-era Cavaliers as they move the ball around rather than clear out for one player and even though the Celtics have some stars, it's more than one player involved.

3) Cleveland shot a lousy twenty-six percent from three-point range and continued a trend that held strong through the Orlando series.

If Cleveland doesn't start improving from three, any chance of an upset is history.

4) Max Strus and Georges Niang were brought into Cleveland to improve this issue, yet they continue to struggle.

Strus and Niang were a combined one of seven from long-range.

5) Donovan Mitchell scored all of his points in the first three quarters but considering that the fourth was essentially garbage time, it's understandable how that happened.

6) Evan Mobley played well offensively, hitting eight of twelve shots with his thirteen rebounds but there is no question that Jarrett Allen is missed down low.

Will Allen's return allow the Cavaliers to rally in the series?

Maybe but if he doesn't return soon, the chances are even worse.

Dean Wade ? Cavaliers snip Celtics

  I'll admit it.

I actually said, "I'm going to give this about another two minutes of game time to see if there is any chance and then we will ( I was sitting with Cherie) watch YouTube videos".

After all, the Cavaliers were down thirteen to the best team in basketball, the Boston Celtics, who were on an eleven-game winning streak, and Cleveland was playing without Donovan Mitchell, so it didn't seem like as much of a quitter's mentality as much as accepting a likely ending to move on with the evening.

And as I watched, one of the most memorable quarters in Cavaliers history was about to unfurl.

Dean Wade is one of those players that I've never been able to see what the Cavaliers have seen in him.

I mean, Wade is a role player with limited minutes a night but Cleveland often seems to expect him to be more than he is when injuries hit or be able to fill a role on the roster after a transaction that he's not capable of filling.

Cleveland's rally from twenty-two down in the fourth quarter is the largest fourth-quarter rally in franchise history and to have Dean Wade of all people lead that rally against the best team in basketball is beyond belief.

Wade scored twenty points in the fourth quarter, which was more than the Celtics team scored in the quarter, hitting five three-pointers, and then after Cleveland turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions which allowed Boston to regain the lead by one, it was Wade with the offensive rebound and slam that gave the Cavaliers the eventual winning points.

However, Boston had the final shot, and it would be so Cleveland to play so well without their stars (Evan Mobley left the game in the third quarter with a sprained ankle) and when Jayson Tatum missed with 0.2 seconds to go but was fouled by Darius Garland with what looked to be minimal contact, it seemed to be business as usual.

J.B. Bickerstaff appealed the call and when the review was made, Tatum's leg kicked out to make the contact, and the call was overruled and Boston didn't have enough time to win the jump-ball and call a time-out for a desperation toss.

Cleveland's 105-104 win along with last week's buzzer-beater against Dallas has to rank among the most memorable regular-season wins in franchise history and they occurred exactly one week apart.

Time will tell how long the Cavaliers can continue their terrific play if they can keep it going in the postseason, or are they peaking too soon but for one night, Dean Wade was unstoppable- few people in life get that feeling even for one night. 

Cavaliers charge by Boston in OT

    The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to be on their way to a flat outing and defeat to the visiting Boston Celtics, trailing most of the game and often by double-digits before a run with under four minutes to go put them back in the game.

Cleveland held a brief lead but it was the Celtics with a chance to win with two free throws from Grant Williams and under a second to play.

Williams shoots over eighty percent from the free-throw line, so it seemed that the Cavaliers comeback would be for naught.

However, Williams missed both charity tosses and a Marcus Smart putback attempt failed and would force overtime that would see the shorthanded Celtics run out of energy and allow Cleveland a surprising 118-114 win.

Donovan Mitchell scored forty points and grabbed eleven rebounds with Evan Mobley providing the main support with twenty-five points and seventeen boards to lead the wine (err black) and gold to the win.

Cleveland will travel to Miami for an unusual two-game set against the Heat on Wednesday and Friday, which is followed by an even odder pair of games in Charlotte against the Hornets on Sunday and next Tuesday.

Swashbucklings

1) While this was a terrific ending for Cleveland in winning a game that they didn't really deserve to win, their play up until the final half of the fourth quarter was less than stellar.

The Cavaliers seemed disinterested at times and as talented as they are, I would hate to see them fall into a trap of thinking that they can turn their play off and on when they think they need it.

2) What makes the game even worse is Boston playing without Jayson Tatum and Al Horford and the Celtics reached town late and were exhausted from a double-overtime loss in New York to the Knicks the evening before.

Under those conditions, the Cavaliers should have never been in this situation.

3) Lamar Stevens didn't enter the game until the fourth quarter with the Cavaliers faltering but Stevens scored eight points and added eight rebounds in his seventeen minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Stevens even hit a three-pointer, which doesn't happen often, and should he develop that shot more consistently, the high-energy forward could find himself as a key contributor off the bench,

4) The win for the Cavaliers was their first over a team with a winning record since February 10 and improved their record in overtime to 7-0.

5) Donovan Mitchell's forty points look even more impressive considering that Mitchell is playing through a finger sprain suffered in Cleveland's blowout win over Detroit last Saturday.

Mitchell hit fourteen of thirty-four shots and while I am certainly not knocking Mitchell by any means, it will be interesting to see how long the finger injury takes to heal and could it affect his shooting while he is playing through the injury,

Forty-One times Two, Cavs rally for OT win

   Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert each poured in forty-one points as the Cleveland Cavaliers worked their way from a double-digit deficit in the second half and dropped the Boston Celtics 132-123 in overtime in Boston.

The Mitchell/LeVert pairing combined 82 points and led the squad with support from Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each posting a double-double.

Cleveland improved to 4-1 with the victory and will face New York at home on Sunday.

Swashbucklings

1) What a game from Donovan Mitchell, who hit 15 of 25 shots and five three-pointers, and what was very impressive to me was how he impressively drove to the basket.

2) Mitchell's drive by Marcus Smart to slam home a punishing dunk late in the game wasn't only visually impressive, it showed a dimension that last season's Cavaliers lacked (outside of Darius Garland)- An offensive talent that can beat a defender one on one to the basket or make them pay with the jumper should they slack off to play the drive.

3) Caris LeVert has always been a streaky player but he's known for occasionally having those nights when everything is working and everything falls with huge numbers resulting.

On a night without Darius Garland on the road and against a very good Celtic team, LeVert's points with six three-pointers were not only helpful- they were a need.

4) LeVert isn't known for his passing but he did finish with seven assists to lead the team.

5) The double-forties from Mitchell and LeVert was the first time that two Cavaliers had hit the mark in the same game since LeBron James and noted Twitter sensation Kyrie Irving reached the number in game five of the 2016 Finals against the Warriors.

6) Boston led Cleveland by thirteen at the half and lost by nine, so the Cavaliers outscored Boston by twenty-two in the second half and overtime.

7) Isaac Okoro is in someone's doghouse.

Okoro played only seven minutes (scoring two points) after logging only eleven in the Cavalier's previous win over Orlando.

It's not looking good for the former first-rounder.

Weakened Cavaliers beaten by Boston

    The already battered Cleveland Cavaliers lost one starter before the game and another during their game in Cleveland against the Boston Celtics yet played the Celtics down to the final seconds before losing 98-92.

Cleveland was led by Ricky Rubio with 28 points and Cedi Osman's 26 in the defeat.

Cleveland fell to 9-6 with the loss and will play Wednesday in Brooklyn against the Nets.

Swashbucklings

1) The season is still early and I noted the improved play of Cedi Osman in another Swashbucklings but here is Osman again with a big game.

10 of 17 from the floor, six of twelve from three-point range, and five assists in thirty-one minutes?

That's more than anyone expected from Osman and this improvement comes from a player that still is only twenty-six.

2) As much as Cedi Osman has surprised, the larger surprise has been Ricky Rubio.

Rubio was brought in to play point guard for the second team behind Darius Garland and give the Cavaliers a player to upgrade a position that the team lacked last season.

Instead, Rubio has started the season as a new man and is often on the floor at the most crucial times of the game, averaging close to fifteen points and six and a half assists a night.

3) Rubio's Achilles heel as a player has often been his shooting with a career shooting percentage of thirty-nine percent and under thirty-three percent from beyond the arc.

Rubio's total shooting percentage is actually down half a percentage point from his career average but his three-point percentage is over six points higher than his career average in his fifteen games in Cleveland.

4) The Cavaliers played without center Jarrett Allen, who had a non-Covid illness that will keep him out of the lineup again on Wednesday against Brooklyn.

Evan Mobley played the pivot in place of Allen and had his problems in missing all eleven shots from the floor and finishing with a single free throw in the points column.

5) And in even worse news, Mobley left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained elbow that will cost him two to four weeks on the sideline.

Mobley was having arguably the best rookie season in early play and the Cavaliers will miss his athleticism badly.

6) The temporary loss of Jarrett Allen, the loss of Evan Mobley for the next month (hopefully less), and the earlier loss of Collin Sexton to a torn meniscus means that only fifteen games into the season, Cleveland will go into Brooklyn with only two of their five starters able to play.

The Cavaliers fast start may buy them some time before things could completely sink but be ready for some rough waters over the next month.

7) I used the above picture for the best picture of this season's "the City" uniforms for the Cavaliers.

I love the use of the classic Cavalier logo, but just as with the black uniform with the C, I just prefer the logo to not be on the jersey.

8) However, I LOVED the classic court that will be used on the nights that the "City" uniforms will be worn!

Classic logo at center court, not a lot of color and logo/icon overkill and just the type of court that keeps the focus on the game and the players - not making the game harder to follow and distracting,

Blown out in Boston-Cavaliers lose 141-103

  The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced into Boston on a three-game winning streak and after beating the Brooklyn Nets twice, seemed to be on a roll.

The Cavaliers were bounced out of Boston with a humiliating 141-103 loss that showed how far this team still has to go and with the defending world champion Lakers waiting for them in Cleveland tonight- things may not get any better.

Seven Cavaliers scored at least eleven points, but none more than Collin Sexton's 13.

Cleveland dropped back to the .500 mark at 8-8.

Swashbucklings

1) The less said about this the better, but the signs were there from the start and J.B. Bickerstaff knew it as minutes into the game and Boston already scoring at will, Bickerstaff called a time-out and brought five fresh players for his starters.

Not that it helped much, but Bickerstaff constantly tinkered with the personnel on the floor and did his best to try to stem the tide- it just wasn't happening on this evening.

2) While there have been plenty of positives from the Cavaliers' surprising start, this game showed how long there is to go in the building process.

Good teams may have off nights, but they don't have them that are so awful that the game is essentially over eight minutes into the game.

What has helped the improvement is the ball movement, hustle, and help on defense this season and against Boston, none of the three were in evidence.

3) The Cavaliers weren't just a step behind, they seemed almost indifferent to staying in the game.

I don't know what changed, but I do know this- this team cannot afford nights this bad and they definitely cannot afford to think that they are better than they are.

4) Cleveland shot only forty percent from the floor with only two players hitting half their shots (Javale McGee and Dylan Windler), Cleveland also turned the ball over 17 times and while the box score shows Boston with 15, I'm willing to bet a closer combing of the possessions that at least half of those came in the garbage tine of fourth-quarter play.

5) The Celtics did shoot well, hitting almost fifty-six percent, but much of that was open shots due to lackadaisical defense.

Cleveland entered the game second in the league in total defense, but this game appeared to be the return of last season's defensive nightmare.

6) I like J.B. Bickerstaff's move to play the bench more often in a game well-decided.

None of the Cleveland starters other than Isaac Okoro's 29 minutes, played more than 18 minutes with five players off the bench playing 21 minutes or more.

In each of those cases, those players needed the playing time- Okoro (rookie), Dylan Windler (essentially a rookie), Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince (New to the team), Damyean Dotson (role player), and Darius Garland (still working his way back from injury) and it made sense for them to play rather than add wear to the starting five.

Photo Credit: Maddie Meyer Getty Images

He's Gone! Kyrie Irving traded to Boston

The clouds have finally lifted in Cleveland as the Kyrie Irving era has ended as the mercurial point guard was traded to the Boston Celtics,of all teams for an interesting collection that might see those teams and players slug it out for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Cleveland's return for Irving looks to be as strong as could have been expected when you consider the wall that the franchise had been put up against by the demand of Irving to be moved.

Isaiah Thomas brings an stat line that is comparable to Irving's,although his circumstances were far different than they will be in Cleveland and it'll be interesting to see how the hip injury that ended his season in the playoffs last year has healed.

I'm not saying this has a chance of happening,but I wonder how the deal potentially could be affected,should Thomas's injury be in an issue in the physical that traded players go through.

Thomas uses his quickness and speed to make plays instead of his size (5'9) as physically he doesn't always match well with larger guards,especially on the defensive end.

For these purposes,let's assume Thomas is at 100 percent and brings a motivated (free agent at the end of the season) point guard that will instantly replace Irving at that position.

Thomas excels at the pick and roll and I think his game will mesh pretty well with that of LeBron James.

Jae Crowder brings an excellent defender that can hit a three pointer (39.8 from three point land last year) and averaged 13.8 points per game.

Crowder started for Boston,but likely will be a key part of the second unit as a Cavalier and I think Crowder's arrival will save at least a few minutes a game on average on the wheels of LeBron James-minutes that will be vital in the playoffs as far as fatigue goes.

Crowder's game is rough and physical and he doesn't mind doing the dirty work under the boards and into the lane.

Crowder is signed through 2020 and I think he will be a perfect match for a Cleveland need...

Ante Zizic is another one of those Euro lottery tickets that so many teams take flyers on in the draft.

Much like the Cavaliers did with Cedi Osman a few years back,Boston took Zizic in round one (23rd overall) in the 2016 draft and signed him last month,so Zizic will be a Cavalier this season.

The seven footer from Croatia averaged just under ten points per game in 20 Euroleague (Highest level of play in Europe) games last season.

Zizic appears to be a project,but he's younger (20) than most Euro big men that come over,so there may be an upside to him as the third player in the trade.

Alas the most important player in the long term is not even a player yet-the unprotected 2018 first rounder of the Brooklyn Nets,the worst team in the league last season.

The Nets have added a few players (DeAngelo Russell from the Lakers,Allen Crabbe from the Trail Blazers,DeMarre Carroll from the Raptors) that should improve them and I wouldn't think Brooklyn is a slam dunk to be the worst team this season,but that pick is a slam dunk to be in the top 10 and I think it might even be one to be in the top five.

That pick sets up the Cavaliers in one of two ways (as long as Brooklyn doesn't improve more than expected).

The first would be in drafting a building block for the future in the event that LeBron James left for other courts after this season.

I believe with Kevin Love,Jae Crowder,a top five pick etc would be a playoff team in the weaker Eastern Conference,although not a title contender and this pick positions the Cavaliers for a LeBron less future.

The second would be that depending on the pick and on the player selected,LeBron James might be more amenable to staying in Cleveland.

Adding a young wingman that could ease the long term transition that comes with aging for James could be just the ticket for James to consider re-signing.

As for Kyrie Irving.

I'll miss his ability and his talent,but I think he'll be easier to replace than one thinks and that's not sour grapes.

I've said and written for quite a while that I've thought that Kyrie Irving is more of a true 2 guard than a point guard and his shots per game (Irving shot more last season per game than LeBron James) bear that out.

The game has changed,so one doesn't have to be a pass first point guard to succeed in today's league,but I remember the Irving Cavaliers before the return of LeBron James and he may not be the type of player that raises other players level.

Kyrie Irving sure is exciting and fun to watch,but also has never been an iron man in being able to stay on the floor and I'm interested to see how he deals with adversity in the Boston press,a corps never noted for soft shoeing in the past.

I'll always be grateful for Kyrie Irving's performance in bringing the Cavaliers their championship and I'll always remember him fondly for the championship deciding shot.

I'll also always remember that he demanded this trade because he thought he was better than having to share the floor with the greatest player of his time.

Memories do work both ways...

In closing,give new general manager Koby Altman a hand.

Altman's first major move saw the Cavaliers receive far more than almost anyone could have thought when news of the trade demand of Kyrie Irving leaked.

A top level guard (assuming the hip is fine),a gritty role player that championship teams always need,a potential usable big man and a potential impact player from the 2018 draft is far more than I would have thought the Cavaliers would have gotten,so give credit to Koby Altman for that.

Still,I would have rather not had this been needed-I'm still stunned that Kyrie Irving's need to be number one outweighed winning.

That might just be the eventual epitaph for one young man's career....

Back later with a cleaning of the inbox that will include some Browns talk....

Cavaliers make history in Game Two rout!!

The Cleveland Cavaliers ran over the Boston Celtics in a way that hasn't been seen since,well ever in game two of the Eastern Conference finals in a history making 130-86 destruction in Boston.
LeBron James led Cleveland with 30 points with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love each adding 23 and 21 respectively in support.

The Cavaliers now lead 2-0 and will attempt to end the series with the next two games in Cleveland...

Swashbucklings

1) Wow! Not sure what I can add to a win like that,so here are some numbers.
Cleveland led Boston by 14 after one quarter,41 at the half (playoff record) and 46 after three..

2) 56 percent shooting and 19 three pointers

3) Loved the off balance shot by JR Smith to end the half and set the record for halftime lead.
When stuff like that goes in-it's your night.

4) Cleveland's top lead was 50 in the second half for a number hard to comprehend..

5) LeBron James was not invited to New York for the league's MVP ceremony,which means he wasn't in the top three of the voting.
Wow...

6) Not much I can add about this other than it seems the rubber match between the Cavaliers and Warriors appears to be a done deal.
I'd wager the series will bring ABC/ESPN record ratings for any NBA Finals ever...

Cavaliers cruise by Celtics in Game One 117-104

So much for rust and so much for the home court advantage of the Boston Celtics as the Cleveland Cavaliers ran up and down and through Boston on their way to a deceivingly small thirteen point win

in a game one that spent much of the game in the twenty point margin.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 38 points,but he had plenty of help with Kevin Love scoring 32 points and 12 rebounds along with Tristan Thompson's 20 points and 9 rebounds.

The 117-104 win gave Cleveland a 1-0 series lead and gave home court advantage to the Cavaliers.

Game two is Friday night in Boston.

Swashbucklings

1) I'm not sure what Boston coach Brad Stevens can do in any hope to stop LeBron James.

Stevens (who I'm a big fan of as a coach) tried big,small and in between defenders and none created even the slightest concern for James,who drove by everyone,but Red Auerbach to the basket for easy scores.

2) Boston's best two players were not their best players on this night as Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford combined to shoot 11 for 30 on the evening.

In my opinion,Thomas and Horford are nice players and well suited to win games in the regular season.

However,there always comes a time somewhere in the postseason that teams need to have an Alpha Dog-neither Thomas or Horford are that type of player.

3) Was nice to see Kevin Love setting a playoff career high for points with his 32 points.
Love hit six of nine from three point range and many of them were wide open shots.

The Cavaliers moved the ball around with ease,often leaving the Celtics scrambling and more often than not,unable to reach the open man.

I drove to work late in the third quarter and Sirius radio uses the home team feed,so the Celtics announcers were on and they were bemoaning the lack of defense on Love from beyond the arc.

When the home team's network is griping about their teams lack of defense,you know they have been dominated.

4) Credit to Tristan Thompson for not only his 20 points around the glass,but for establishing that the Cavaliers will be the more physical team inside.

Boston is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and Cleveland figured to have an advantage inside,but Thompson's offense was unexpected,I'll take it.

5) Kelly Olynyk,the Celtic hero in their game seven win over Washington and before that best known for his MMA submission move on Kevin Love in the 2015 playoffs that knocked Love out for the duration of that playoff run,was completely ineffective.

Ineffective to the tune of two points in sixteen minutes.

6) Game two might be the Celtics stand.

At home and with most counting them out,Boston will need their best effort and I think Cleveland is going to get it.

Boston is in "all in" mode-if the Cavaliers can grab game two,I think this series ends in a sweep...

Cleaning out the inbox

Four passings from this cleaning of the inbox and we start with the passing of actor Van Williams of the Green Hornet fame.
The Green Hornet lasted one year on ABC with a memorable two part crossover with Batman,but never had the huge syndication market as Batman,which made it one of those shows that you always wanted to see,but never did when I was a kid.
The Green Hornet was played far more seriously than the campy Batman and Williams wanted it to be portrayed as such before taking the role
Williams never had a starring vehicle that gained him recognition other than the Green Hornet and was pretty much out of the acting business by the mid 1980's.
Williams was 82..

Alan Thicke saw his life end playing hockey with his son at the age of 69.
Thicke best known as "Jason Seaver" the stay at home dad on Growing Pains-a 1980's ABC sitcom also was a well-known composer as well.
Thicke was a writer of tv themes for shows like "The Facts of Life" and "Different Strokes" (both pretty memorable themes to people my age) as well as instrumentals for several game shows and their themes of the age.
Thicke first came to my attention with a failed challenge (boy,that was a long list) to late night titan Johnny Carson "Thicke of the Night" before Growing Pains,which to be frank,wasn't a very good show and might have been better suited to challenge David Letterman (considering its content) at 12;30.

Welsh character actor Bernard Fox recently passed at the age of 89.
Fox was most famous for his role as Dr.Bombay on Bewitched and Colonel Crittenden on Hogan's Heroes,both were huge hits in first run and syndication.
A one time role that I just saw recently at my parents was his role as "Malcolm" a visiting Englishman ,who had an issue with Ernest T.Bass on the Andy Griffth Show.
The guest shot was in the final season because it is in color (Only the final season of the Griffith Show was in color) and which might have been the only color episode for Ernest T.Bass (Howard Morris),who was a much loved recurring character among fans of that show...

A late addition just as I was preparing to post this as Craig Sager,the long time NBA reporter, passed at the age of 65 from leukemia.
Sager was a long time worker for Turner Sports and was best known for his NBA work along with his garish suits,but I remember him from the days before the internet and his work with CNN and WTBS.
In the days before the net,even ESPN didn't have a bottom line running constantly,so you spent a lot of time watching Sportscenter and CNN's Sports Night and especially Headline News and their updates at 18 and 48 on the hour.
Craig Sager was a huge part of the sports empire at Turner in those years and I'll remember him best for being one of the people that kept us up to date on the scores at a time in my life where those things seemed so important....

ESPN writes of the lesser known of the Boston Celtics draft blunders with the San Antonio Spurs in the early 2000's (and late 90's).
Many Celtics fans lament not getting Tim Duncan after a brutal season,but the Celtics never passed over Duncan-the ping pong balls just didn't go their way.
This article discusses the Celtics,then coached by Jim O'Brien getting ready to draft Tony Parker and being to the point of the lady at the draft handing Parker a Celtics hat to walk onto the stage wearing,only to have Red Auerbach overrule his basketball people and insist on North Carolina point guard Joseph Forte,who would play a grand total of eight games in green.
Great decision that was!

We wrap up with Together We're Giants and their interview with San Francisco Giants reporter Amy Gutierrez or "Amy G" as she's known to Giants fans.
I often complain about the "hosts" and "reporters",but what I like about Amy G and what Comcast does with the Giants is that she doesn't interrupt the flow of the game and she does her interview work before and after the game and not during.
She contributes to the broadcast without having to detract from the game....