Smack / May 30, 2007 / 12:56 am

When You Assume…

By Dime Magazine

Are the Cavs really in danger of winning this thing? Like everyone else, we had the Pistons cakewalking to the Finals as soon as the Cleveland/Jersey series wrapped, but now we’re even at 2-2 and the Cavs have all the momentum headed to Detroit for Game 5 … Since it seems judging LeBron’s clutch-ness on a game-by-game basis is the thing to do (notice how public perception of that aspect of his game goes back and forth more than any other superstar), we guess ‘Bron is clutch again. Putting a third-quarter goose egg behind him, LeBron (25 pts, 11 asts, 7 rebs) made all the right plays in the fourth quarter — including a step-back jumper that was impossible for Tayshaun Prince to defend any better and two free throws that iced it with 4 seconds left … Before LeBron went up to the stripe, Rip Hamilton tried to psyche him out, but ‘Bron just pushed him out of the way and stuck the shots like it was nothing … And how about LeBron literally jumping up and down in the huddle afterwards, screaming at his teammates to not foul the three-point shooter on Detroit’s possession? … Aside from LeBron, Drew Gooden was The Man. No, really, Drew Gooden (19 pts, 8 rebs). He was hitting baseline jumpers like a right-handed, bad-haircut-having Chris Bosh. Drew got a little too cute one time, though, trying to ice it with a runner in the lane that Rasheed sent back in his face. Did you see Gooden’s post-game interview? He was talking about how he was making it rain out there. Settle down Drew … AK-47 type line out of ‘Sheed: 9 points, 5 boards, 3 steals, 3 blocks … Of all people, Chauncey Billups killed the Pistons down the stretch. Two of the biggest plays that went against Detroit were Billups throwing the ball away to Gooden and, a couple possessions later, Billups missing a rushed three when the Pistons could have set up an actual play to get a good shot … Overall, the Pistons played both games in Cleveland like they were simply trying to steal games on the road and not like they were confident they would win. They have a different aura at home, where you know The Palace is their house, even if the game is close … Larry Hughes tried to play with the foot injury, but was mostly ineffective in his 16 minutes of burn. Hughes was visibly laboring, but for whatever reason the Pistons never tried to really exploit him. No isos or clearouts aside from posting Tayshaun a few times. If they do that early and often, Mike Brown would have had to sit Hughes and go with his shaky-ballhandling backcourt … So was it mercy of Flip’s part or a genius move? The Pistons were probably better off with half of Hughes on the floor instead of Daniel Gibson. The kid dropped 21 points (12-for-12 FTs) and was one of the guys who got the offense going after a stagnant stretch in the second half. And how good would Texas have been this past year with Gibson, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Durant? … Cleveland’s celebrity fan game is weak. Kid Rock showed up for Game 3, but he’s there to see his Pistons. And we’ve seen Usher at more Nets games than Cavs games this year. Yesterday the cameras were so desperate, Geraldo Rivera was getting face time … Trade rumor: Zach Randolph to the Celtics for Theo Ratliff and the No. 5 pick. Why would Boston do that? Z-Bo and Al Jefferson serve the same purpose. Having two quality big men is a good thing, but ideally they can cover each other’s weaknesses. Zach and Al don’t do that for each other. They’d make the Celtics the slowest team ever and you’d never hear from Kendrick Perkins ever again, unless they sent him somewhere in another deal … We’re out like Detroit’s cakewalk …

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14 Responses to “When You Assume…”

  1. May 30th, 2007 at 2:03 am

    Stallion says:

    LeBron’s newest nickname: “The Sneer”
    When he gets that look on his face you know he’s laying down the hurt on the other team.

  2. May 30th, 2007 at 6:46 am

    Steve Wells says:

    So, what’s up with Larry Hughes?

    http://www.squidoo.com/jumplikevince/

  3. May 30th, 2007 at 9:09 am

    Celts34 says:

    Funny how the media made the Hughes story such a big deal…It seemed obvious in Game 3 that the Cavs are better with Gibson on the floor.

  4. May 30th, 2007 at 9:50 am

    smity says:

    a spurs/cavs finals- unwatchable. i’d rather see a detroit/ san antonio possible seven game series than a 4 or 5 game san antonio/ cleveland series in which lebron really struggles (no easy dunks) and san antonio really dominates

  5. May 30th, 2007 at 9:57 am

    Bron says:

    I still say Zach goes to the sonics for rashard lewis. The blazers have guys who can get out and run meanwhile zach is a friggen black hole when he gets the ball. So throw lewis into the lineup with oden and your a pretty nice up and down team of J-jack (if hes not traded to get conley)roy,lewis, Lamarcus and oden, with webster,outlaw,sergio and anyone else comin off the bench. And trading zach to the celtics? are they really tryin THAT hard to get conley? wow, how crazy would it be if conley made odens career and not the other way around, like without conley, odens a complete bust..crazy.

    as for the kobe junk lately..i’d send him to the magic..they got money, hes a better upgrade than carter would be and he can show this “nice guy older leader” front hes been puttin on and mold dwight the way shaq molded him…plus it keeps him from havin to teabag dwight..anyone remember that pic? Not to mention he’d average 50 in the east..

    Anyone at dime followin all the predraft camps? how is it big baby went from being possibly a top 10 pick, to probably not even gettin drafted? take notes roy hibbert.

  6. May 30th, 2007 at 10:58 am

    Quan says:

    Did anyone see the Gooden grab of Sheed? Almost on the same line as Lebron’s elbow on C Webb. All I’m saying is “a rule is a rule.” Only if you are the King.

  7. May 30th, 2007 at 11:06 am

    jnuh says:

    It’s because he’s fat.

  8. May 30th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    Frank F says:

    Did someone say Lebron would get no easy dunks against the Spurs? I guess that guy failed to see the sickest crunk of the year when Lebron tomahawked on Duncan’s skull. However, it still looks like Detroit is going to win this series because Cavs have been playing lights out, while Detroit looks like they’re just coasting, but still the games have all been nailbiters. The Pistons have been getting outplayed every game, yet they still manage to stay in it until the last minutes. The Cavs better hope D doesn’t kick it up to 85% effort or the series is over…I feel bad for the guy who caught Sheed’s sweat-soaked jersey with his face in the postgame walk back to the locker room. I’m out like Rasheed’s headband and jersey.

  9. May 30th, 2007 at 12:25 pm

    Dank says:

    im only gunna watch the finals if its spurs vs cavs. anything else will be too boring for me. but i dunno, i still have my doubts on wether lebron can get to the finals this year. ESPN is making a huge deal out of them being tied up, but i guess they forgot how last year the cavs went up 3-2 and still lost.

    yo bron, thats what i was thinking all along with the hole kobe situation, except why not get howard sent to LA? i’d package lamar, bynum, and whoever else they will take (kwame?) for the manchild. but i still think kobe shouldnt/wont get traded. that would be the stupidest move in NBA history.

  10. May 30th, 2007 at 12:28 pm

    Celts Fan says:

    Anyone else see that Chauncey leaning, double pump, contested 3 and think, “Only in a contract year…”?

    Also, as a Celtics season ticket holder, the only thing worse than the #5 pick would be Zach Randolph instead. He’s solid, but like you guys said, he’s the same player as Big Al. If we keep the pick, we get either Brandon Wright (doubtful, but could slide to us) and he’s a perfect fit, Al Horford, who’s a better defensive version of Big Al and would make significantly less than Zack, or Corey Brewer and we can trade Gerald Green (or keep both) and do what we need to do to get another PF/C to start next to Big Al (I love Perk, but he’s a backup on a good team.) Also, if we get Yi, I’ll cancel my season tickets immediately.

  11. May 30th, 2007 at 4:42 pm

    smity says:

    i did say that lebron wouldnt get easy dunks against the spurs. i probably should have said that he wouldnt get a bunch of easy dunks. that dunk he had on duncan was in the regular season and though ,impressive, was by no means the sickest (hmmm…dunks by kobe, vince, nachbar, baron, gerald green, amare, josh smith, tyrus thomas, i’ll stop naming names now even though there are more…)

    i hear what you guys are saying about detroit not playing up to their potential while still remaining relatively unthreatened. but thats the reason behind my thinking that they won’t beat the cavs. The fact that they arent playing up to their potential is frustrating to watch as a fan of basketball in general. I watch to see people ballin for real. Tightly contested games (if evenly matched) with each team putting forth maximum effort…especially in the playoffs. To me, having watched a dominant detroit team destroy my hometown bulls for 2 games and then play (like they’ve been playing ever since) with what seems like a minimal amount of effort is unappealing. But i say this just because i’m assuming that Detroit is the better team. Given their talent and ability they should be playing on a Spurs like level but maybe they just arent capable and ARE putting forth a maximum effort and if thats the case then a lot of us have been giving them too much credit for far too long.

  12. May 30th, 2007 at 6:15 pm

    Bron says:

    The lebron dunk wasn’t even close to that sick. 1) duncan was takin a charge. 2) lebron had a full court sprint and just kinda space jam reached across him. Stop hypin up basic dunks. If duncan even attempted to challenge it, you might have a argument, but 7 footer guarding his nuts and standing still getting barely dunked on by a 6′8 guy coming full speed isn’t that hard. Boki nachbar dunkin on samuel dalembert beats that, and i’m not even gonna get into carter dunkin on nocioni

  13. May 30th, 2007 at 10:40 pm

    wynaut says:

    Cavs/Spurs, Piston/Spurs…neither will be watchable come finals. Just watch the rating goes down…

    http://www.wid-get.com/

  14. June 1st, 2007 at 12:03 am

    DetSukDik says:

    Detroit fans, just admit it, it’s over, not only the season but this is the last time you’ll be sniffing the finals for a long, long time. Tear the team apart, start getting some draft picks, you are done.

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