Celtics (2-1) at Cavs (2-0) 10/14

[Surferdad]

Frankly, the second five has been ghastly.

Simply awful.  Depth?  What depth?  Eddie House is the only one I trust.

[Cman]

Frankly, the second five has been ghastly.

Simply awful.  Depth?  What depth?  Eddie House is the only one I trust.

I'm not able to watch the game, but from the box score it looks like Leon is solid -- has that been the case tonight?

[Scalablob990]

It's odd that this is the second game in a row Cassell still hasn't played. Something must be going on with that.

[Krag]

It's odd that this is the second game in a row Cassell still hasn't played. Something must be going on with that.

One can only hope...

[Scalablob990]

It's odd that this is the second game in a row Cassell still hasn't played. Something must be going on with that.

One can only hope...

Hope indeed...... 

[Surferdad]

Frankly, the second five has been ghastly.

Simply awful.  Depth?  What depth?  Eddie House is the only one I trust.

I'm not able to watch the game, but from the box score it looks like Leon is solid -- has that been the case tonight?

Yeah, he was key down the stretch both offensively as well as the key block on the final possession to save the game.  However, like Doc just said the post-game press conference, he struggled for most of the game after picking up some quick fouls early.

Doc can't be all that pleased with the bench play tonight.  He was obviously frustrated at the bench when after a great steal and a 2-on-1 fast break, they failed to convert because of another mistake.  The bench did play defense well dowen the stretch with steal after steal, but really there is no one (other than House) who can make plays on the offensive end.

[cordobes]

Can't watch the game, can anybody alert me to how Dmiles is playing so far?

Like a center. Posts up a lot, moves around slowly, struggles to flex his legs to pick the basketball of the floor and his shot lacks accuracy.

Frankly, the second five has been ghastly.

Simply awful.  Depth?  What depth?  Eddie House is the only one I trust.

I'm not able to watch the game, but from the box score it looks like Leon is solid -- has that been the case tonight?

Yeah, good offensive power, but he can't try to score every time he touches the ball, a la Zach Randolph. Bad defense, but huge block in the final play.

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This Cavs team is good enough to win it all. Why can't a team with a point-forward win, especially if his name is LeBron James? If they can trade those expirings form some legit player(s), they're going to be very hard to beat.

[gar]

Have to be concerned with the rebounding and POB's numbers. Did not see the game; but stats for second unit do look bad - Miles included. Any insights from those who saw it?

[Scalablob990]

Can't watch the game, can anybody alert me to how Dmiles is playing so far?

Like a center. Posts up a lot, moves around slowly, struggles to flex his legs to pick the basketball of the floor and his shot lacks accuracy.

Frankly, the second five has been ghastly.

Simply awful.  Depth?  What depth?  Eddie House is the only one I trust.

I'm not able to watch the game, but from the box score it looks like Leon is solid -- has that been the case tonight?

Yeah, good offensive power, but he can't try to score every time he touches the ball, a la Zach Randolph. Bad defense, but huge block in the final play.

-----------

This Cavs team is good enough to win it all. Why can't a team with a point-forward win, especially if his name is LeBron James? If they can trade those expirings form some legit player(s), they're going to be very hard to beat.

From what i've seen in some of the highlight clips, and what i've heard on the blog it seems like either miles is hesistant with pushing himself due to the knee, or he's just being lazy, which i'm sure probably isnt the case... Either way I think he can still find a suitable roll on this team if he wants to be here. I have heard mostly good about his defense though, and he brings in points here and their, but nothing yet to write home about for offense.

[PerkinsERA43]

Hey PerkinsEra, nice summary of the cavs. Basically what your saying is he needs his Scottie Pippen. Who do you guys think would be Lebron's modern day Scottie. Not someone to incredible. I always thought marion would be perfect. Or do you think Richard jefferson and Lebron on the Cavs would be good enough to win a title?

If i wanted to give the Cavs a title, I would swap Mo Williams for Devin Harris, and bring in Carlos Boozer (who will be a FA soon). That would give the cavs a A strong 1-2 scoring punch, an a pass first point guard who really orchestrates the game. I think the Cavs as currently constructed are a team with a lot of scoring in their backcourt, and not much else. That tends to catch up with you in the playoffs.

I don't think putting Lebron and Richard Jefferson together would exactly work. After all, they both play the 3.

Shawn Marion is too much of a cry baby for me. Plus, he plays well in an uptempo game, which is not the Cavs style. His unorthodox shot doesn't work too well in a halfcourt setting.

[overeasy]

Was in-person for this game.  Other than Perk, all the first string looked really sharp.  Allen especially.
Really had that stroke going and Rajon pushed the pace great.

The rest were, as you know, a mixed bag.  Powe kept us in the game.  Davis, I'm still not sure what the
point is.  It's like having the body of Barkley and the basketball skills of Woody Allen.... Miles did show
something out there.  At least his head was up and he was into the game...but we pretty much one this
on the backs of the starters and the occasional decent move by one of the bench.

House did a decent job of controlling the ball.  I know this is sorta scattered, but hey, I've head a little
to drink '-) 

There were a couple of great moments.  In the first half James blocked O'Bryant...then they came right
back down and O'Bryant blocked James!  Should have seen the look on LeBron's face!  The end of the game
had Powe blocking a possible tying shot while flying high.  Perfect ending....

There were several very questionable calls toward the end by David Jones,  who "appeared" to want the
Cleveland fans to go home happy.  This was treated as a Cleveland home game, but, from what I saw, there
were probably more C's fans than Cavs.  The worst of the calls was when a Cleveland player called a TO
while he was stepping onto the floor from the sidecourt;  clearly a technical/turnover....which is what he
called first...then reversed.  Pure BS.  I wouldn't imagine we would have tried that in Boston or he would
have been stoned.  It was so clearly a bad call, but hey, you get used to that....and it is pre-season...

OE

[KJR]

impressions of the game:

1st team was good in 1st quarter, slept at beginning of 3rd quarter and picked it up a bit before sitting down; Perk was just getting his feet wet, lacked conditioning, committed fouls; he's going to need a few games to work into it

2nd team was terrible in the 1st half; POB had his worst game; he's not sure yet how to play with the second unit; inconsistent effort on defense; Miles looked bad on defense; agree with the comment above - he doesn't look like he can bend his knees fully, and he doesn't look like he has lateral quickness or quickness moving backward; a few decent post moves; no real outside shot and not a FT shooter; hate to say it but Scal may be a better team defender at this point; Eddie couldn't stop D Gibson; Leon's defense not so good in the 1st half

2nd unit was much better in the 4th quarter; the first change was Gabe at the point; much better point defense; his man didn't score on him in more than a quarter of play; his shooting and entry passes were a bit hesitant; but he made some steals, made a 3, and had a nice give and go with Leon for a 3-pt play; this is the 3rd pre-season game in a row that our second unit has been behind, Gabe has come in, and the 2nd unit has caught up and won the game; seeing a pattern yet?  still wondering why Sam is sitting?  with Gabe at PG, Eddie started playing better, and Tony started playing better; finally, Doc replaced POB and Miles with Leon and Baby and they did a good job in the 4th quarter; Leon played better with more space to operate near the basket

realize it's early, and it was the Cavs 2nd or 3rd unit, so I'm not going to make too much of it; but I think the announcers are seeing the same thing

Leon looks like he's the go-to guy on the 2nd unit, with Tony and Eddie as the other options; POB may be fighting with BBD for minutes; still think Miles or Scal will be cut, and the survivor in street clothes with Sam (as insurance) and Giddens; Pruitt's going to make a lot of mistakes, but I think the Celtics will live with that based on his potential by mid-year

[Redz]

I caught the last 11 seconds (seriously!).  Hell of a swat by Powe.  Anything else happen in the other 47:49?

[ma11l]

Overwhelming theme of the preseason for me is Powe > Davis. 


I would've liked to see Walker get some run tonight.  He's the rook that is pushing for some legit minutes this season.

[GroverTheClover]

Miles looks fragile. He's not moving very quickly laterally or otherwise. It seems like he's very hesitant to bend his knee. I'm not sure if it's mental or physical or both. His free throw form also looks awful. The extra free throw he took clanged off the rim and didn't even look close. I really think he'll be cut.