Orlando steals Game 1; Blake Griffin gets some bad news
Rashard Lewis (photo. NBA)
Can’t chalk it up to rust; the Cavs came out firing on all cylinders right from the get-go, and dominated the Magic for most of the first three quarters. Can’t chalk it up to lack of focus; LeBron in particular was completely locked in, about as intense as we’ve ever seen him in a game. And you definitely can’t chalk it up to the zebras; Cleveland (and again, LeBron in particular) got just about every call that could’ve gone their way … No, the Cavs just lost, blowing a game they controlled most of the way in a building where they’ve been almost invincible this season, dropping Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for their first loss of the postseason and only their third loss at home … Rashard Lewis was the hero, sticking a tough baseline J with 30 seconds left to put Orlando up one, then 15 seconds later, dropping a three in Anderson Varejao‘s face that proved to be the game-winner. Raw Lew scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth, as the Magic finally broke through and traded clutch shot after clutch shot with Cleveland down the stretch … Dwight Howard added 30 points and 13 boards, but despite one sequence in the fourth where he threw down a go-ahead alley-oop and then bullied Big Z in the paint for another bucket on consecutive possessions, The Centaur didn’t factor much into the game’s decisive stretch. He fouled out on LeBron’s and-one right before Rashard’s triple … Howard came into the gym literally breaking sh*t like he had no home training. On his first shot he put back a Courtney Lee miss with a monster dunk that broke the shot clock above the backboard and was replayed about 500 times afterwards. Funny how the announcers went into “Wind Storm ’99″ frantic-mode when the arena crew couldn’t fix the clock and brought out temporary shot clocks to put in the corners of the court. Every NBA player grew up on the playground and in less-than-swanky high school gyms for YEARS without shot clocks above the backboard; they’ve got running 24-second clocks in their head, and the bench shouts out the count when it gets below five anyway. They’ll manage to survive …
LeBron James, Dime #31
But after Dwight’s big dunk, Cleveland literally had every other backbreaking “momentum play” for the first three quarters: big-time dunks by LeBron (49 pts, 20-30 FG, 8 asts, 3 blks), a beyond-halfcourt shot by Mo Williams at the halftime buzzer, at least two occasions where LBJ met Dwight at the rim and sent a dunk attempt back in his face, and timely triples by ‘Bron, Delonte and Mo. It wasn’t until Anthony Johnson hit a go-ahead triple with 10 minutes left that the Cleveland crowd finally registered a volume below “deafening” … This wasn’t like your standard Beast ‘Bron performance. He was killing Orlando mostly with jumpers, hitting pull-up after pull-up and snapping the net over and over. At one point in the third quarter, Marv Albert wondered if LeBron had missed a jumper at all following an 0-for-4 start … How about the soccer-player antics by Varejao? He took flopping to another level. One time he got dropped by a Mickael Pietrus pick and laid in the paint like a cadaver while the play was still going on, then made a whole scene out of coughing up a lung and holding his throat and needing to be carried off the court. Then the replay showed Pietrus — who, granted, probably feels like a pile of bricks if you ran into him without looking — didn’t even hit Varejao in the neck … Is Doug Collins capable of criticizing Kobe, D-Wade or LeBron? One time ‘Bron held the ball forever and jacked a bad three right out of the Ron Artest Better Basketball DVD set, and Collins could only muster, “That was a tough possession.” … After one day of “They can’t screw this up, right?” speculation, the Clippers confirmed that they will in fact take Blake Griffin with the 1st pick of the Draft. Is it too late for Blake to go back to school? Can he pull a John Elway and force a trade? And is there any chance whatsoever he hasn’t explored both options already? … The funniest quote was from one of L.A.’s front-office execs, who said something like, “We made this decision in June of 2008, that if we got the first pick he was our guy.” So the Clips went into this season ASSUMING they’d be in position to get the top pick again? That’s hilarious, especially considering the team was supposed to be good this year … We’re out like the cloak of invincibility … ,
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May 21st, 2009 at 6:30 am
sxrs says:
<<<>>>
my thoughts exactly lol
you sign davis, trade for camby and randolph, pretend to be commited to winning, and then have an assistant coach say this.
Can you imagine that conversation back in 2008 lol
what a joke
May 21st, 2009 at 6:31 am
Coop says:
1) It’s Football not Soccer. We invented the game. You play Gridiron.
2) It’s ‘Sweet Lew’ not ‘Raw Lew’.
3) No way Orlando’s shooters can keep it together long enough to pull this one out.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:32 am
sxrs says:
*front office exec instead of assistant coach
May 21st, 2009 at 6:33 am
Niz says:
Do you believe in Magic? Last night showed the difference between Kobe and Lebron. No way Kobe loses to the Magic like that last night. Don’t crown the King just yet.
Magic in 6.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:34 am
rick773 says:
No doubt in my mind immediately after the Clips got the first pick he called his agent and started to discuss an exit strategy.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:37 am
Austin Burton says:
@Coop — “Raw Lew”
http://www.nike.com/nikebasketball/usa/v4/features/rosario_room/features/downloads/huarache2k5_lewis_laser.jpg
May 21st, 2009 at 6:46 am
QQ says:
Magic Wins!!!!
Great great game!
Feels so good to be a Magic fan right now.
Good for us that the best player in the world, Referee McReferee, cooled down in the final minutes.
PS: LOL @ cats saying ‘Cavs are just too good for them Magic’ when they have a double digit lead.. AT HALFTIME.
I mean, come on, can’t you at least finish the game before crowning the Cavs as the best team ever? LOL.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:06 am
knock knock says:
question is did the media frenzy claiming the king was on his way to the championship get a little blown outta proportion after blowing thru teams that wouldn’t even be in the west’s playoffs?
10-12 stats that matter
orlando has beaten cleveland 10 times outta their last 12 meetings.
*like i said, clevelands an overrated team that doesn’t show up against ANY elite team.
*of course, lebron was firing on all cyclinders until THE LAST SHOT. wutta punk
May 21st, 2009 at 7:09 am
Soopa says:
As always the Magic wins when they hit their 3′s. But whens the last time a you saw a team living and dying with the 3 win the whole thing? Right, never. Cleveland takes the next 4. They had 2 legit shots at winning last night on their last two plays (West’s 3 and Mo’s shot after the tip). No way Orlando survives that one more time.
Gotta love/hate Hedo tho. Seeing him just smile and loving the situation with 40 secs left is awesome. Decent amount of swag for a turk lol. Im not a Magic fan, but i kinda like Hedo!
May 21st, 2009 at 7:10 am
blast to yo face says:
lebrons “block” on howard was a blatant foul.
love how all lebron has to do is run into someone and a foul is called. difference between dwight and lebron is dwight doesn’t get no superstar phantom calls.
* 3 instances i see lebron take his 3 steps to the basket
anyone find it hilarious that the cavs were given every possible call yet still lost?
May 21st, 2009 at 7:13 am
blast to yo face says:
magic win when they hit their threes? are you kiddin kid?? you obviously didn’t watch the game cuz orlando wasn’t makin anything the first half, they kept their composure and beat this overrated team. gtfoh just cuz the magic hit a three to win the game, dont go and say “the magic win when they hit their threes.” stop buyin the hype
May 21st, 2009 at 7:34 am
QQ says:
@8:
‘Cleveland takes the next 4. They had 2 legit shots at winning last night on their last two plays (West’s 3 and Mo’s shot after the tip). No way Orlando survives that one more time.’
The same words fools were saying when the Cavs were destroying the Magic in the first 3 quarters. ‘Cavs soooo good, Lebron’s going down as the best player ever, blah blah’. One quarter later, you were all ‘Oh uh, why did we talk shit like that without even finishing the game?’. LOL.
Lesson learned: Do NOT sleep on the Magic. When they appear to be beaten down and slapped in the ass, they go back and shit you.
9: ‘anyone find it hilarious that the cavs were given every possible call yet still lost?’
I do, haha. It’s kinda surreal to see the refs work with the Cavs, giving them all the calls, and as a Magic fan, I was hopeless seeing this bullshit goin on. All the screaming at my TV wouldn’t change the ref’s calls. Seeing my Magic win, though, is sweet, sweet poetic justice.
PS: I was wrong about the Cavs. I was kinda defending them that they were good and that the ‘refs love Lebron’ theory is bullshit.My bad. The ref DO love Lebron. Damn.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:35 am
smity far away says:
“So the Clips went into this season ASSUMING they’d be in position to get the top pick again?”
either ,like you all mentioned, they knew they’d be horrible (and expected/hoped to have the 1st pick) or they planned to be in position (and makes some trades to get the first pick) by the time the 09 draft rolled around. either way, i’m not impressed by the idea of them having intentionally overlooked the whole 08-09 season while their eyes stayed focused on griffin…
May 21st, 2009 at 7:39 am
Coop says:
Austin,
Fair one. I apologise.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:39 am
Kobeef says:
Nobody mentioned it but this game started to turn when Stan Van put Pietrus on Lebron.
In a sequence of possessions in the 3rd quarter Pietrus sent Lebron to the ground on a hard drive (foul) and caused lebron to jack a horrible shot because he couldn’t shake pietrus. After the sequence Lebron had that “who does this guy think he is?” look on his face.
For the first time in a loong time, Lebron was having major problems with a defender and if Pietrus can keep it up this could be the key to the series.
Sure Lebron had 40 – but only 14 of those points came after halftime.
May 21st, 2009 at 7:41 am
me says:
i was hoping to see a headline this morning along the lines of rocky 4: “you see, he is human!”
May 21st, 2009 at 7:52 am
the_don_mega (representin' the 3 stars and a sun) says:
gotta agree with QQ on this one… the Magic ain’t no push overs… they did survive a gritty war with philly… and they did tough it out against boston… somehow i’m beginnin’ to doubt the cavs already… if the cavs lose gm 2… they might pull off the 07 run they had against the pistons… but then again… they were the underdogs then… w’s must’ve gotten in they heads after all… if they are championship material… they can recover from this loss with ease…
anyways… any of you cats noticed a change in bron’s shotting form? is it me or doesn’t he lean back on his jumpers anymore?
May 21st, 2009 at 8:02 am
that's whats up says:
Stern rigged this so L.A. could get Griffin.
Griffin is the closest thing to a superstar in this years and the next few years drafts, so Stern made the move.
Stern needs L.A. to have an all-star/superstar to be on the rise while King Kobe is on his decline/farewell tour.
L.A. has to have a marquee player, no matter which team in L.A. has him.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:17 am
92021SpurMD says:
@Coop – It’s SOCCER in America, get over it./ David Stern is paying the refs in Lebron’s favor, it’s wild to actually watch this stuff unfold. 4 of the Centaur’s fouls were bogus…
May 21st, 2009 at 8:17 am
fallinup says:
“If it bleeds, you can kill it.” So the Cavs can lose at home. Welcome to the playoffs.
Orlando couldn’t make a shot in the first. Then started clicking by the half. James was obviously tired and slow by midway through the third. Credit the Orlando bench for making sure Bron didn’t get any rest…they made that run around the end of the 3rd and Bron had to get up after only about 2 min.
And then low and behold, the king starts cramping….starts getting winded…haha….guess what nutlickers…your king is mortal.
Shoulda drank down that vitamin water instead of playing with the talcum powder, Bron Bron.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:18 am
kevin k says:
the officiating was horrible… but then again, what else is new?? talk about a flop, what about the one LJ tried to pull on Pietrus….
What no one talks about, is Courtney Lee’s facial on Lebron… that was freaking sick… you could see Courtney Lee staring at Lebron the whole time running back while LJ tries to avoid the eye contact LOL
May 21st, 2009 at 8:24 am
bsteezy3 says:
Hmmm…I wonder what folks are gonna say this time. They are running out of excuses as to why the Magic won’t win. I swear I heard Kenny Smith or Reggie Miller say “The Magic don’t hit a lot of 3s on the road”. Now come on, is that a reach or what? We hit how many 3s in Boston?? Before the Boston game, it was “The Celtics never lose game 7 in Boston”. What’s it gonna be this time??
Magic fans aren’t shocked at this win. This is how we’ve been playing all year. It looked bad when Mo hit that buzzer beater…but a high 3 point shooting team is ALWAYS in a game. We just kept chipping away…the refs called a few soft fouls on Dwight (ain’t this the playoffs? The league is really soft now…), but other than that, the Cavs couldn’t stop him. Our All-Star stepped up big this time–I’m speaking of Lewis of course. Most people will say that was a luck win, but really it wasn’t. When you beat a team 9 out of the last 12 games, is it still luck?? Besides, the Cavs really looked like the ’07 Cavs–Lebron got his, and the others really didn’t do much after halftime.
From an objective standpoint, both Conference finals games have been entertaining so far, let’s hope that all the games are close. You can’t beat that as a NBA fan.
Now…quit trying to force-feed us Lebron vs. Kobe!
May 21st, 2009 at 8:25 am
92021SpurMD says:
@Kobeef – Lebron’s two halves, 26 and 23. No one stopped him by any stretch of the imagination.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:26 am
bsteezy3 says:
By the way DIME, you hit it right on the head. The Clips knew in June 2008 that they were headed in the Lottery?? Time to get new management. If I were Blake, it would be time to play the asshole role and demand a trade, or return to college (if he doesn’t have an agent)…
May 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
BERN BROGDEN aka BINO BROWN STR8 UP N DOWN says:
Way to snatch DEFEAT from the jaws of VICTORY, Cavs.
Real Nice!
I’m guess I’ll still hear this one:
Lebron’s J is BROKE AZ HELL.
Pietrus and Dwight get game balls.
RAW LEW gettin’ it poppin off da dribble.
I swear these cats read DIME, then feel some type of way, then bust azz.
I mean, c’mon…SKIP wasn’t hittin’ joints!
Oh yeah, PROPS to ORLANDO’S BENCH…for coming to play…in the playoffs.
Did someone forget to send the memo to the Cavs’ Bench?
Ummm, Z can’t stick with Dwight. That’s was tragically funny and cringingly obvious.
And what did Andy learn last night?
FLOPS 2 THE DECK, GET CHOPS 2 THE NECK.
Cleveland’s VERY AVERAGE FRONT LINE gotta step up.
Hedo and Dwight hookin’ up was NICE.
Lebron’s YAM was better.
Mo’s shot was better than that.
What Van Gundy say, “They don’t know about THIS. Everything they had was EASY!”
THIS = GETTIN’ DOWN N DIRTY
EASY = NOT BATTLE TESTED
WCF = BARN BARNER
ECF = SAME
I’m lovin’ it.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:37 am
bsteezy3 says:
Varejao looked like a wrestler out there: over dramatized flop, holding his neck like he’s choking when he wasn’t even hit in the neck, I mean, that guy should be embarrassed…especially since they lost. He consistently does that shit too…is that his specialty? He’s not even the “high-energy” guy anymore. Now he’s the B-Movie actor… (hell, a C-Movie actor)
May 21st, 2009 at 8:41 am
ab_40 says:
great game… the cleveland bench SUCKED DAYUM especialy at home I expected more out of them and I know they love varejou but they got this ben wallace guy who understands guarding bigger guys a lot better then him. he won’t stop dwight but still he’ll make it harder then flopper no1.
Mo Williams left his game in the regular season this is why in my mind he is or wasn’t an all star this season.
and lebron pulled that flop on pietrus and he got it I wonder if LBJ is gonna dunk on Dwight this series but not a regular dunk but an MJ on Ewing kind of dunk
May 21st, 2009 at 8:41 am
POPPI GEE says:
Yeaaaaaaaaaaa!
Ring the alarm! LeBron got that fresh wake-up call.
Now we can end that talk of 4-4-4-4, and start talk of win 1 at home.
So good to see Hedo and Raw Lew getting what…the last like 15 or 17 points. Many of them on Anderson V. Can’t stand his floppin wild style.
Funny how Cleveland fans wanna just hop over this game like it didn’t happen and go to the next games “Oh the Cavs will win it all, the Cavs will win the next 4 ….yadda yadda yadd”
How bout you address and deal with the point that the Cavs lost and address how Kobe willed his team to a win and LeBron came up shawt (short). ADDRESS IT, TALK ABOUT THAT ISH!
Love the way Ron Jeremy told his squad “They looked like Witnesses”. They had to be like “The f##k he say? Aww hell naw!” and went out and straight TOOK that W.
Ain’t nothing to say bad about the Magic. They didn’t get the calls, they were down by a lot and came back and did the thing.
49 points in a loss.
Go Magic and Go Lakers!
May 21st, 2009 at 8:51 am
fallinup says:
@ POPPI
haha…”He told us, ‘We’re all witnesses.’ That got us fired up.”
– Magic center Dwight Howard on what coach Stan Van Gundy told the team at halftime
Yep…quote of the night.
May 21st, 2009 at 8:55 am
fallinup says:
And let me add it now. Unless Bron mans up and takes on Rashard…Lewis is gonna get his all series. And if he doesn’t, Hedo will go off for at least 30.
Howard, Lewis, Hedo….the cavs have nothing to guard that front court. Z is slow, Sideshow Bob is too busy getting up his acting chops and can’t play, and Big Ben…yeah right.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:00 am
knock knock says:
Remember those phantom calls for LeBron? How are you going to foul Dwight Howard out on a play like that where he jumped straight up and down with his arms extended? LeBron initiated all of the contact, but i guess being lebron that’s a foul on d-wight–
May 21st, 2009 at 9:06 am
BLAST TO YO FACE says:
BIGGEST RULE CHANGE IVE EVER SEEN IN A GAME:
LEBRON AND HEDO on the same side of the jump ball at the end of the game. amazing that the refs let that happen as lebron had a clear advantage over him, he’s boxing him out at the line. NBA……WHERE BULLSHIT HAPPENS
May 21st, 2009 at 9:06 am
jzsmoove says:
Rashard Lewis GETS AWAY murderously with pocketing $100M contract without playing like one. Somehow he has managed to dodge (major) criticism that is warranted to other $100M men (eg. Glenn Robinson, Allan Houston, Gilbert Arenas). How does he do it? Who knows. In any case, Rashard is a nice guy and hopefully here on end makes big buckets the rest of his career.
Looking down the stretch, the Cavs lineup and bench WILL BE NO MATCH FOR A KOBE-LED LAKERS. The mental edge alone belongs to the Lakers. And it pains me to say that considering I do not like these Kobe-led Lakers (the Magic Johnson and Shaq glory days rocked!!)
May 21st, 2009 at 9:08 am
QQ says:
@ 28:
‘How bout you address and deal with the point that the Cavs lost and address how Kobe willed his team to a win and LeBron came up shawt (short). ADDRESS IT, TALK ABOUT THAT ISH!’
Of course, they won’t talk about hat shit. Too busy trying to find excuses for their star.
And Cavs fan if yall gonna pull the ‘We just came up short, we’ll win the next 4 fo sho’ card, I guess EVERY TEAM EVER that came up short would have won every series ever if that is how it works. Breaking news: Shit doesn’t work like that.
Magic in 6.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:12 am
jzsmoove says:
Comments on this boys?…
…Anderson Varejao and Sasha Vujabitch has got to be the most annoying NBAers today. Who else?
May 21st, 2009 at 9:16 am
ponky_alolor says:
let it rain lebron haters. props to magic for pulling it out. rashard and dwight stepped up. all the other cavs except bron didnt. end of story.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:19 am
xt04 says:
Why are people so mad in here?
Why does everything LeBron does turn into a Kobe comparison?
Even Cavs fans saw this one coming. Theres alot of bad matchups. What are they supposed to do? Say “oh **** the season is over?” Nobody with a half a basketball brain thought the Magic were going to be pushovers, but of COURSE we are going to be confident.
Best record in the L. Best player in the L. Top defense. How you gonna talk about how a dude that dropped 49 on 20/30 shots is mortal, like that means something?
LeBron isn’t the reason they lost this game. The bench didn’t show up, and Delonte missed a wide open 3. If he makes that, then this whole thing is completely different.
Im all for supporting your team, but be fair and rational.
Props to the Magic for being so resillient, but don’t crown THEM yet either.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:27 am
SWAT says:
man real talk the refs were trying to give the damn game away! tht last call on dwight was easily the worst call/no call i have seen all playoffs. dude went straight up, hands in the air and gets called for a foul. wow! i was pissed! and really im not a magic fan…but I rep the H so raw lew (wht up elsik high-even tho i went to hastings) and skip (former rocket) have my support. but this has to be said about the magic-some of their decision making is above retarded-like a new breed of retard tht was designed in a lab somewhere-because on several poss. i saw delonte guarding dwight in the post and them jacking up a contested 3. or dudes wide open on the wing and them jacking a 3 from the corner with 2 bodies on them. i see why dwight had to call them out before, but if they keep tht under control thy have a damn good shot and sending the “king” and all his court jesters home.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:36 am
doc says:
My boy took ONE l.It aint the end of the world or over by any strectch of the imagination.U Kobe dickriders are so funny.Yall couldnt wait for the FIRST day of the playoffs where Kobe won and Bron lost now we got all this see Kobe woulda did this and that bs just because he won the other night.Like he perfect through this shit.If they get that ass whipped tonight like they usually do every other game the last 2 weeks then what yall gonna say.Just be real with it.On the real this game was about Bron teamates.Orlando stepped up and TOOK that W though.But Mo and Delonte gotta stick them open J’s.That last pass Bron did in the clutch was the Perfect play to make D just gotta hit it.I brung that up because one of these dickheads said he didnt shoot.Bottom line,no smart fan said 4-4-4-4,this gonna be a battle and they ready.My youngin shot 20 for fucking 30.They can build on that.Props to Shard bitch ass though I aint know he had some swagger in him.Cleveland lost.It happens they just gotta bounce back.U fools be on here after every game who hooing or bitching.Relax and let that shit play through before u look like a dickhead.We just seen Orlando fans talking shit,start bitching when they lose.Then start talking ashit again after they won.Same thing for LA and the unbeatable(even though he lost every year since 02-03 Bryant).Bron played a good game,but for game 2 he gotta be BETTER.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:40 am
isotope says:
HOUSTON UP!
Rashard is from houston for those who don’t know.
Anyone have a youtube clip of Courtney Lee dunking on Lebron. I missed it but someone was telling me about it after the game.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:58 am
Kermit the Washington says:
It’s always painful to see a player get called for charging because he “lowered his shoulder”, and then the next play seeing ‘Bron do the Bo Jackson on Brian Bosworth move and get the and-1. I hate that crap. You’re telling me he didn’t lower his shoulder?! Wow
May 21st, 2009 at 10:01 am
goonther says:
haters haters everywhere
can i remind everyone that Kobe lost to the rockets in game 1? howd that turn out? pretty sure the magic had a better regular season record than houston too….
no need to get into a tizzy cavs fans – we’ll be ok
why does everyone try to knock this guy down too? appreciate what youre “witnessing” cause lebron is just a sick muhfucker….
thought cavs in 5 before game 1, but probably in 7 now…
May 21st, 2009 at 10:01 am
doc says:
@iso-Yeah he caught him with a quick flush while Bron was doing his run from behind thing.Nothing major really,just u know Bron got his haters who gonna hype anything up.Kobe got those haters too.Like when he got his shot blocked and it was a major topic of discussion on here like he cant get his shit sent to the frank man a couple times a year.I hope Bron keep jumping for all that shit because he gonna catch more than he miss.Ask Dwight.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:03 am
Soopa says:
Ill stand by what i wrote earlier. If Orlando doesnt shoot around 50% (they shot 45% last night) they wont win. And i dont see them shooting that well 4 times in 7 games against teams of conference final quality.
Sorry lol. Im happy if the Magic proves me wrong, cos i kinda like the guys who are gettting it done for Orlando, but im just not convinced that they play championship basketball.
Im tempted to say the same about the Cavs. If they get this lazy after playing well and being up 15, they are in trouble. Where was the killer instinct and the daggers yesterday? Nowhere to be found. Everything went the Cavs way and they couldnt win… Pretty alarming.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:17 am
Taj says:
Orlando’s Ball rotation was working to get Clevelands guards scrambling. There was veery little interior resistance to anything Dwight did. I saw about 5 sequences in a row where Orlando, penetrated and dished or Dwight,, got a hoop or Rafer had a runner… Cleveland needs to dust Big Ben off and get him to strap up on Dwight!
May 21st, 2009 at 10:23 am
Correction says:
@blast
Let me make something clear, i’m not a cavs fan… i’m a bulls fan, so i’m unbiased.
With that said, you’re delusional. Those blocks were all clean. And the magic did live by the 3 in the second half – aside from Howard’s 30, it was pretty much all 3′s. Anthony Johnson started the string of threes, followed by Pietrus, Hedo, Lewis, and one more (I wanna say Alston, or maybe Lee, or both??). I think they hit a total of 10 threes in the second half – ya, that’s called living by the three. But hey, a win is a win.
As far as Lebron traveling – I didn’t see it. I watch the games pretty closely, and play enough basketball to know what a travel looks like. Just because you don’t seem to understand what a jumpstop or in stride basket looks like (also, just because lebron has very good footwork/quick feet) doesn’t mean he’s traveling. If anyone is buying into the hype it’s you. It’s so cliche’ to say the “cavs got all the call”, “lebron traveled”, etc etc.
I will give you that Dwight’s 2nd foul (offensive foul) was not a foul. Aside from that, I’d say that game was pretty fairly officiated.
Please stop the whining, and watch these games more objectively. I understand your team is playing to get to the finals, but keep it real. Don’t trick yourself into believing the hype.
Peace
May 21st, 2009 at 10:28 am
K.i.n.G. says:
imma lebron fan, and i have no excuses for this game, we got everything we needed to win, my man goin off and the refs were on our side. I even went as far as predicting a sweep and game 1 being a 20 point victory. But don’t get it twisted, lebron won’t lose this series! If he does then kobe is still the best for another year…..
May 21st, 2009 at 10:53 am
Jsmoov says:
You Kobe lovers really gona try to use this as an instance of Kobe being better than LeBron? Killer instinct? If anything in the L is over-hyped, over-talked about etc its “Kobe’s Killer Instinct”. LeBron outscored Kobe in the 2nd half in their game 1′s. LeBron was 20/30! wetting J’s all night, plus his 8 assists, and multiple denials of Dwight at the rim. LeBron was everywhere. Thats 65 points directly attributable to LeBron. And then there’s the fact that Kobe and his killer instinct dropped 2 games to the Houston practice squad – with Artest jacking bricks without conscience. If he had half of Jordan’s killer instinct, he cuts their throat the minute Yao goes down. Don’t fight it nut-huggers, Jerry West himself let the Laker Nation know what time it is. I think he knows a bit more about this shit than you Kobe disciples.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:54 am
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
LBJ missed that clutch free throw towards the end of the game… Cavs bench didn’t show up and nobody gave the Magic the memo about the Cavs beating them. LBJ was sick last night, but seriously he does get a lot of he’s king, before he’s lead his team to a chip…
Right now he (LBJ) is the better player, but in the last 2 min I still want KB
May 21st, 2009 at 10:58 am
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@48– bUT THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IS kb24 HIT THE CLUTCH SHOTS MADE THE CLUTCH PASSES, OH AND HE HIT HIS CLUTCH FREE THROWS TO COME UP WITH THAT W….
LBJ– Made the right passes and hit some clutch shots, but he missed the most important shot of the night an free throw in the clutch. If he makes that the cavs win in OT.
LBJ– doesn’t have that part down just yet.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:00 am
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Also– why is that when KB24 haters go at him it’s he aint done what MJ did and when its LBJ supporters they only compare LBJ to KB24 and not MJ?
May 21st, 2009 at 11:05 am
djKianoosh says:
How about LeBron FLOPPING!!?! did you see his flop in the corner? I think it was in the 3rd quarter. no perimeter player for the Magic would cause LeBron to fall and flail like that. what an acting job.
still. the “Coronation of LeBron James”, aka 2009 NBA Playoffs, continues. they’ll bounce back and be more team-oriented. I expect LeBron to be a man and lock down Hedo.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:06 am
LakeShow84 says:
Damn both game 1′s were down to the wire..
So whats everyone jockin Cleveland sweating for?? oh yeah cuz Orlando just has to win their home games now and its a wrap.. And dont be surprised if they get on more in Cleveland.. But it aint the end of the world.. what was it he said?? “a Lebron James team doesnt panic” so they can still make a run of it and show they DESERVE all the bullshit accolades they been getting.. but it was funny to watch that game.. REFS were on it BIGTIME.. Like i said that would be my ONLY worry about playing in Cleveland.. going 5 on 8..
You cant really chalk it up to Lebrons teammates cuz 4 other players hit double figures.. And i aint saying its Lebrons fault its THE WHOLE TEAMS FAULT.. but i said it yesterday Lebron needs to use his speed and strength to get open and BURY A FRICKIN JUMPER in the clutch.. you cant go bowling urself into the teeth of ANY good defense and expect that shit to work cuz they know your coming!! even still they clearly gave him that BS foul on Howard..
Lol even Cleveland fans admitting the refs were gift wrapping shit.. must be nice cuz i cant remember the last game we had gift wrapped in these playoffs.. our bigs getting shoved around, KB getting jersied all day.. shiiiittttt lets hope for an early christmas tonight!!!
May 21st, 2009 at 11:12 am
bballinca says:
Griffin needs to pull a Danny Ferry and go to Europe for a year.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:12 am
erichv96 says:
good game last night…both of the series are just going to be a dog fight. gotta point this out though, how come the Nuggets and Lakers game was pretty much an identical game to the Cavs and Magic (Nugs/Cavs up big early and let it slip late then take the loss) yet everyone is saying how much the Cavs lost it and Lakers pulled it out? At least be even and say either the Nugz lost it or the Magic pulled it out. Nugz/Cavs were the better team of each of their games for most of the 48 mins and ended up losing right at the end because the Lakers/Magic played a better last 5 mins. A win is a win and I’m not taking anything from either the Magic or Lakers, but which would you feel better with? A dominant team that messed up at the end, or one that just barely snatched a victory when they clearly should have lost the game?
May 21st, 2009 at 11:17 am
rell says:
@Correction
The 2 blocks Lebron had on Howard was fouls. On the first block Bron hit Howard arm, wrist, and also went though the body. On the 2nd block, Lebron created too much contact to not be called a foul.
I am a Celtics fans so I guessed that make me unbiased also.
By the way, it is funny listening to Magic fans who felt Orlando was being disrespected because some people felt that the Cavs would sweep Orlando. A couple of the Magic fans on this board have very short term memory. I remember last series when a couple of Magic fans were talking the same trash about how the Celtics would not win more than 1 game. I guess some people can dish it out but can’t take it.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
Jsmoov says:
Another difference is Kobe has a Center playing with him that the other team has to gameplan for and worry about. No matter who the Cavs play, its the other way around for LeBron. Kobe’s got the best #2 in the L, and another above average wing defender in Ariza. Put LBJ and an Ariza type defender on Rashard & Hedo and they’re shooting 30% or below.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:20 am
jzsmoove says:
Props to JSMOOV for coming up with a very unique nickname for this forum…
May 21st, 2009 at 11:21 am
blast to yo face says:
personally i play basketball, and if i have to see lebron take his CRAB DRIBBLE one more god damn time, ima lose my mind. it’s pretty obvious when someone takes a jump step and another step, especially when hes 6’8. the officiatin was good you say? when a defender jumps straight up in the air and someone run straight into him, who gets the foul? none of lebrons blocks were clean AT ALL. if the refs called a fair game, lebron would be fouled out by the half. game over
May 21st, 2009 at 11:25 am
blast to yo face says:
#55 i prefer a winning team, that’s all that matters.
*what do you mean by a dominant team? the one that lost the game????
May 21st, 2009 at 11:44 am
M Intellect says:
Dudes on here defend LeBron like he is family!
I swear there are at least 3 members of LeBron’s family on this site.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:50 am
that's whats up says:
yeah, I’ve seen the Lebron commercial and know what his family members look like.
I think he bought the whole family laptops
May 21st, 2009 at 11:50 am
UncheckedAggression says:
Lakeshow– Come on, you gotta be smarter than that. You’re saying that just because some other players hit double figures it means Bron’s teammates came to play? Did you notice how many shots they missed? Did you know that Lebron was 20/30 and the rest of the team shot under 40%? Mo Williams was partly to blame, going 6 for 19. If those players just shot their average, the game isn’t very close. Those guys choked, and they better step back up if they wanna stay in Cleveland.
I didn’t imagine the Magic fans could be such idiots on here. If they lose, it’s because of the refs. That’s all there is to it. And you think game 1 is how things are gonna go? If you shoot 55% you better win. We’ll see if they can keep this up.
May 21st, 2009 at 11:56 am
UncheckedAggression says:
Blast yo face- Learn something about the rules before you make yourself sound like an idiot. By jumping, Dwight was committing a foul. If he stayed put and got knocked off his feet by an oncoming player, he could have drawn an offensive foul. You are putting yourself at risk for a foul the moment you jump into the air.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Jsmoov says:
Props to zsmoove for apparently being the first _smoove??
And come on, like Kobe aint got fam on here like the Kennedy’s in politics.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
BERN BROGDEN aka BINO BROWN STR8 UP N DOWN says:
CATS WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT REFS ARE GIRLIE-MEN
Play the game.
It’s the PLAYOFFS!!!
REFS = HUMAN BEINGS
HUMAN BEINGS = PRONE TO ERROR
It’s really not that complicated.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Jsmoov says:
Like LeBron is the only dude in the L who technically travels now and then. Ewing been doing it since the 90′s.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:15 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ UncheckedAggression
Thanks for stoking the fire cuz i am going to say something i wanted to avoid saying cuz.. Lebrons stats were monster stats no doubt but did he put those up while DOMINATING??
I watched that game yesterday and i remember when he popped up with 40 i said “damn it dont seem like he got 40″.. Lebrons teammates did what they could do.. they set up their star player to takeover down the stretch and seal the deal.. thats all you want from roleplayers, sidekicks, bench mobs.. set up ur superstar to win the game.. For as great a game as Lebron had in the final minutes he CHOKED.. bad decisions and missed FT’s..
So dont put it all on Lebrons teammates cuz they did what they could do.. what should they all have shot over 50%??Shit we dont get any sympathy when Derek Fisher goes 1-8 and LO goes 2-10 so i gives a fuck.. they had a lead all game and going into the fourth quarter.. And as much as everyone wants to blame Delonte and MO, yeah they were cold but they BOTH hit clutch 3′s to help get the WIN.. What Delonte shouldve won the game too??
May 21st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Big Island says:
Jsmoov – Go easy on my boy Ewing! It only looked like he took 5 steps every time he dipped his shoulder into the lane. Or the missed layup against Indiana in the playoffs.
The L needs to make Sterling sell the Clippers. They will suck as long as he’s in charge.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Tee says:
All I have to say is when is the last time in the playoffs Kobe went 6 for 10 from the FREE THROW LINE?
They call them free for a reason.
Lebron had a chance to put the ball up on Borat jr. in the last few seconds but passed the ball out for a 3. He should have known all he had to do was go up and they would call the foul on Gortat. He just didn’t want to he the one to take a miss the last shot. Free throws or other wise. Not very kingly to me.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:59 pm
QQ says:
‘He just didn’t want to he the one to take a miss the last shot. Free throws or other wise. Not very kingly to me.’
I’m a Magic fan, was frustrated that Bron was getting all the damns calls, yadda yadda, but IMO your logic is kinda off, man. He should’ve driven it to the rim, but we defended it well KNOWING that he will do that, so Bron read it and threw the pass. It’s not that he wants to avoid the last shot in case that he missed it.
You see, Lebron nut-lickers. We Orlando fans (the real ones, not the bandwagon bullshitters) can see what your star did right and will actually speak in his behalf. So if we celebrate cause we won, let us do our thing. Do your shit when you win, but today, let us Magic fans talk our shit.
May 21st, 2009 at 1:04 pm
isotope says:
Kobe made his FT down the stretch on tuesday. Lebron didnt last night.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:13 pm
jeremy says:
No mention of courtney lee putting your beloved lebron in a poster…not surprising.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:13 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
Lakeshow– Thanks for clearing that up. You’re a moron. I think you are one of the only people that think Lebron choked, and there is no point in pointing out the obvious to you.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Carmikal says:
Quiet is kept, Bron got banged on during a fast-break by a backup. Not hating on the future KONY but he got caught in a poster and I have not seen that replay yet!
May 21st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Claw says:
Kobe would will his team to win? Like losing 3 to a team without two of their all stars and shooting a whopping 45% from the field.
Lebron shot 66% against the Magic and is over 55% for the playoffs, Lebron gets nearly 7 assists and Kobe over 4.
Stats won’t mean anything, all depends on who gets the chip in the end. Cavs had a wake up call and the Lakers didn’t exactly take it to the Nuggets at home either and that will be a very contested series.
Love how the Laker fans come out now, didn’t hear too much during that Rocket series. Still want to see a Lakers vs Cavs showdown that would be awesome (Cavs will win in 7).
May 21st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
doc says:
@claw-They frontrunners.They couldnt last a day in Philly with all that twisting and turning.These dudes went from being dickheads talking about how they gonna run through the league,got real humble and started talking about how good the West was just last week.Won a game the other day by 2 points at home,now they back like they never left.talking all that bullshit because they mad the world moved Bron over they man.It aint his fault.@Lakeshow-u usually be real with it but Bron choked?What bad decision?Explain,because I seen him drive and dish the last play for a shot D hit 300 times this year.It just didnt go in.U cant say its only one game when your team lose then come on here like gangbusters when Bron lose.At least talk shit about them choking the lead away,but when u say he played bad u just sound like a ass.
May 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ UncheckedAggression
How about this tidbit of insight.. Dwade is similar to Lebron in the fact that he goes to cup ALOT.. So do you think Dwade wouldve passed the ball off or made space for HIMSELF to hit the J to seal it?? Cuz IMO i think Dwade wouldve went for that shot himself.. And Lebron didnt choke until the last 2 minutes.. dont be mad.. FIRST challenge of the post season in the ECF and Lebron is avoiding putting it on his back in the final minutes.. get over it.. he carried that team to the end but in the end he made bad decisions and MISSED FT’s YOU FUCKIN GOOBER..
MISSING FT’s IS CONSIDERED CHOKING by itself.. He went barreling into the lane and got stripped by Johsnon (Bad decision everyone was waiting), and the next time he went barreling in he was LUCKY they gave Dwight the foul call (lucky but bad decision).. and last but not least, last chance what does he do?? what everyone KNEW he was going to do.. he went for his cuz Howard wasnt in so when the lane wasnt there he decided to pop it out.. so it was bad decisions.. His J was wet mostly all game.. it was a bad decision not to use it in the final minutes.. shit the world wouldnt have seen it coming.. get over it dude.. he played a hell of a game but the end result falls on his shoulders cuz he is the SuperStar.. and he had the ball in his hand ON EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION in the end.. Hopefully next time you can check you aggression DICKRIDER..
@ CLAW
I been here through all that shit pal.. And like i said we BEEN playing tough teams.. This is Clevelands first game against an elite team and the other shoe already dropped.. Go Figure.. And if efficiency is where you at we shouldve lost last game cuz Melo was more efficient than Kobe.. but my boy took us to the moutain top.. Did Lebron?? oh thats right he expected Delonte West to hit TWO clutch shots cuz he didnt trust his own shot..
May 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ DOC..
We always choke leads away cuz we lazy and arrogant.. i have no problem admitting that..
With Delonte’s shot i know TRAINED professionals are trained to make that shot over and over but Delonte hit the same shot one minute before.. And same with Mo.. you can only milk role players for so much.. well maybe Mo would’ve hit another cuz he better than a role player but i dont see Delonte hitting that shot twice with all that pressure..
Down ONE point and Lebron kicks it out for a THREE?? Man Lebron can out jump ANYTHING.. drive hard and pull up for a 7-15 footer.. and wasnt he was iso’d at the top?? bet he would have no one around him on a J cuz no one would see it coming.. you can have the best stats in the world and choke and end game away.. Shit Kobes done it too..
thats my point.. it aint got nothing to do with the Lakers..
May 21st, 2009 at 4:15 pm
liukz says:
@ UncheckedAggression:
you said: “Learn something about the rules before you make yourself sound like an idiot. By jumping, Dwight was committing a foul. If he stayed put and got knocked off his feet by an oncoming player, he could have drawn an offensive foul. You are putting yourself at risk for a foul the moment you jump into the air.”
KNOw u are the one looking like a fucking moron
Foul is about contact not because howard jumps to CONTEST a shot, shit every inteligent human knows There was NO CONTACT in that foul number 6. You’r full of shit trying to look inteligent. IDIOT
May 21st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
BERN BROGDEN aka BINO BROWN STR8 UP N DOWN says:
LEBRON should’ve FINISHED THAT COTTONPICKIN’ PLAY AT THE COTTONPICKIN’ RIM.
Bottomline.
He made the right play…yeah, if it was earlier in the contest…but at that juncture the Cavaliers need LEBRON FINISHIN’ AT THE RACK. He might get a 2, maybe a and-1…maybe he misses…but you live with LEBRON GOIN’ TO THE HOLE and whatever happens, happens.
Don’t get me wrong, if Delonte pulls that shot off, cool! Nice play. But nice plays can easily be bad plays if the shot is not made. This is a case in point.
D and Mo had a rough shootin’ night though. Yeah, they DEFINITELY came through with some big time plays but as Lakeshow said, Lebron’s the “superstar” and the Cavs superstar was ON.
And let’s not act like it all comes down to the last 2 minutes…toooooo many times in the game, the guards were just DRIBBLIN’ for days…waiting for ish to happen. Including 23.
We all know, when everyone’s cuttin’ and skip passin’ the CAVALIERS are VERY formidable. When they stand around…their Offense becomes stagnant. Just because Lebron was on doesn’t mean every possession has to be a “roughhouse” or a “21″ type of possession for HIM.
Him and his “superstar” status and his 49 points should’ve went for 51 at that point of the game.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:56 pm
doc says:
@lakeshow-Hell yeah he cut his dick on his freebies,they was in the 4th and he gotta make those.But point blank he didnt and u rock with that and keep it moving.It wasnt the last shot or no shit like that. The other plays wasnt bad choices.He went to the rack hard Johnson stripped him from behind.It aint a bad choice, like u said its Bron going to the rack u live with that.The second time u say he barreled through and got the BS foul, it aint his fault the refs on his dick.He MADE the shot he aint ask for the freebie.Whats bad about making a shot.The last time u can say its Bron he shoulda shot but if u watch the play he was under the rim and everybody collapsed and they ended up with a wide open trey from a dam good open trey shooter.He missed,they lost.But the same way u saying he made a dum choice.If D hit the shot the Kobe haters come with thats why he better than Kobe,Kobe woulda forced the shot.U cant have it both ways.He aint Kobe.When these 2 motheruckers actually get to play that series its gonna be beautiful,but its a hell of a final 4 this year and nobody cakewalking through.Yall just get crazy for yall team sometimes.Like earlier yall said he gonna have to give his awards they handed to him like he WASNT mvp this year.Who are u trying to actually fool besides yourself if u dont think he deserved MVP this year.Who team got the less talent out the Final Four but 1 loss in a series and its like a monumental upset happened how people reacting.
May 21st, 2009 at 5:12 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ DOC
Nah Lebron earned his MVP.. However, Mike Brown coach of the year?? Lebron second in DPOY over Wade?? Cavs best record in the NBA?? they didnt deserve that shit.. Mike Brown dont even draw up most his plays anymore and they had a cakewalk schedule..
I know you can live with Lebron going hard to the rack but he needs to go with what will win him the game.. That was my point.. after 6 years in the league he still doing shit from his 2nd year?? The puppy aint learned no new tricks for the last seconds of a game?? EVERYONE knew he was going to the rack.. he didnt learn from playing San Antonio in the Finals?? Good defensive teams dont play that shit when they see it coming..
Lol this has nothing to do with Kobe.. i just said Lebron couldve made better decisions in the end of that game.. And since Orlando won by 1 point if Lebron hits ANY of the 3 FT’s he missed its an OT game with no Howard around.. So unfortunately.. he choked his FT’s..
UncheckedAggression just got me going.. but trust me DOC i never said this series was over.. Its just funny to see the MVP in his first real challenge ALL POSTSEASON, on his HOMECOURT, in a game where he dropped an easy 45, pass the ball off in the final seconds.. bad decision.. like i said in an iso situation at the top like Lebron had, Dwade, Kobe or even Pierce is taking that final shot for the win..
And you KNOW THIS MANNNNNNNNNN…
May 21st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
doc says:
@lakeshow-Pierce just kicked it to Big Baby for the game winner.If he woulda missed Boston haters woulda said why the best player in the world aint shoot.But we didnt hear that did we.thats the way the cookie crumbles.And I KNOW THIS MANNNNNNNN…lol
May 21st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
LakeShow84 says:
AHA!
But they doubled Pierce!
May 21st, 2009 at 6:02 pm
LakeShow84 says:
but enough Lebron talk..
i need to start worrying about which Laker team is going to show up tonight..
May 21st, 2009 at 6:12 pm
the cynic says:
Rashard showing the 20million dollar a year game last night instead of his usual 13million dollar a year game.
Magic will take one more in clevand, game 7
May 21st, 2009 at 9:52 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Glad to see we showed up..
When that ball is moving motherfuckas gots PROBLEMS..
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:26 am
LakeShow84 says:
AHhhhhhh My eyes!!
My blooody eyes!!