Did the Cavs quit?

[papa shuttlesworth]

I was shocked that they didn't even try in the last 2 minutes.  While pulling out the win was not likely, the Cavs could have made the Celtics sweat.  Put Rondo on the line.  Try to get a steal from Ray's shaky handle.  Put Pierce on the line.  Have LeBron drive to the hoop for a couple and-ones.  And then a last second three.  There were definitely options.

I wonder how Mike D'Antoni will handle it next year.

[MMacOH]

Yes, they quit on Mike Brown.  Of course they quit on Mike Brown a few games ago.  The players were sick of Brown's rotations, the fact that he had no method to how he dispursed minutes and the fact that his adjustments were non-sensical.

The players knew they needed a smaller, more athletic lineup to give the Celtics their best shot and Brown refused to use it.  They are done with Brown (this was true actually after game 4). 

Look at Jamario Moon.  He plays some excellent minutes early in the game only to get benched and not see the court again until late in the 4th quarter. 

I could go on and on but this is a Celtics site, so I will just say that they quit on Brown.

[Who]

LeBron James was struggling mightily. Mo Williams had one baskets in the second half. Antawn Jamison was dying out there. The Cavaliers were shooting 29% from three.

The Cavs weren't able to get any quick baskets + were not able to get good looks from the behind arc + had nobody playing well offensively.

They weren't coming back from that deficit. It was over.

Agreed.

If it was my team I'd rather they tried though. But that would be the least of my complaints if I was a Cavaliers fan.

I would definitely want them to try ... but I wouldn't -- not describing this well -- be upset if it played out the same way it did there.

It's just such a small issue when compared to Mike Brown's inept lineup choices. It's not even a factor in why Cleveland lost the series.

I would devastated if Boston lost a series in this manner. I would be enraged and calling for the coaching staff's head ... but those last two minutes? How the players went out? It was over. It was over long before then.

The Cavs gave it everything they had in the preceding 46 minutes. They just weren't good enough ... to make it happen. That wasn't going to change, they were done. I'd rather see them try ... but it was over, they were done.

[Who]

I do not think the Cavaliers quit on Mike Brown.

I thought Mike Brown chose ineffective lineup choices that put his team at a serious disadvantage. The Cavs were never going to win this series with Brown's lineup choices.

Note: Although, I do think he has lost the team now.

[Amonkey]

I think the Celtics relentless defense had something to do with it.  The Celtics were there nonstop for 4 quarters.  Normally, a team like Cleveland would be able to come back, but the Celtics were on them the ENTIRE game and by the end of the game, I think they just gave up hope of actually beating the Celtics.  That was the defense that led to a championship that had the Lakers getting their butts whooped, and that was the defense that worked here.

[fairweatherfan]

The game was over. Cleveland weren't coming back from that deficit.

I don't understand the reaction to the Cavs play in the final two minutes.

Down by 7 with ~2 minutes to go in an elimination game is not over.  The difference was, the game was over in their mind.

Someone else pointed this out, but one of the big developments of Game 5 was that the Cavs began to look like they didn't believe they could beat us anymore.

When you contrast the casual, confident arrogance of the Cavs in Game 1 to basically rolling over to be put down at the end of Game 6...I've never seen a good team implode so thoroughly over the course of a series.  It was unreal.

[connerhenry43]

SI.com and Clev fan Joe Posnanski chime in. Good article.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/05/14/lebron.cavaliers/index.html?eref=sihp

[Aeacus]

Let's pretend it's game 6 and WE'RE losing...

Oh, let the hypocrisy begin...

You guys know darn well what would have been posted here: fire doc!! trade the entire team!! blah, blah, blah...

Cleveland did throw up the white flag...But LeBron did: the body-language variety.

And I think the important part of both equations is this maybe your last shot at a title run.  We're getting old and Lebron may leave Cleveland.  So why wouldn't you try to foul and extend the game.  At least foul Rondo once or twice and make him hit the shots.  If you do it twice and he makes three of four free throws and you miss both threes, then I can see shutting it down.  But they didn't even try in the last 2:00 of their season.

You want your team to go down swinging even if they know they can't overcome the deficit.  Not start moping on the court and hanging their heads.  Show some pride and make the other guys earn the victory.   

[Aeacus]

SI.com and Clev fan Joe Posnanski chime in. Good article.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/05/14/lebron.cavaliers/index.html?eref=sihp

Wow, that article summed it up perfectly for me.  I feel for the Cavs fans after reading that.  Its one thing for your team to lose, its another to see its spirit broken.  I guess to me its the basic sports rule of always giving your best, running out every hit in baseball, hustling after the lose balls in basketball. 

[BballTim]

I do not think the Cavaliers quit on Mike Brown.

I thought Mike Brown chose ineffective lineup choices that put his team at a serious disadvantage. The Cavs were never going to win this series with Brown's lineup choices.

Note: Although, I do think he has lost the team now.

  I don't think he had the players on his roster to stop Rondo and KG.

[Eeyore III]

I'm with Conner and Aeacus, TPs. 

The Cavs quit with about 2 minutes left, when teams that are actually competing go into desperation mode ... and pull the game out occassionally.

To say that "the Cavs quit on Brown" is to mistake the relationship between LBJ, Brown, and the Cavs.  LBJ and the Cavs play the way LBJ wants to play, not the way Brown might ideally want them to play.  Brown is just a manager, not a coach in the usual sense.  LBJ quit on the Cavs, and with two minutes left the Cavs quit on the game.

[FatjohnReturns]

I do not think the Cavaliers quit on Mike Brown.

I thought Mike Brown chose ineffective lineup choices that put his team at a serious disadvantage. The Cavs were never going to win this series with Brown's lineup choices.

Note: Although, I do think he has lost the team now.

  I don't think he had the players on his roster to stop Rondo and KG.

yup exactly. Watching the Cle/Bos games this year you would have though Brown would have played Hickson and Varejoe more.

[Mr October]

Over the course of the second half, you could see the Cavs' will breaking. Every time they made a run, Boston pushed the lead back up to 10 and the garden was rocking. They had no answer for Rondo and KG.

You could see it in their body language. They knew they were done. If Mo Williams hadn't gone off in the first half, we would be looking at a repeat of game 5 - an absolute execution.

The Cavs played hard, very hard throughout the game. The Celtics are back my friends. And they were the better team. By the end (last minute) Cleveland knew it.

[celts55]

I know know if they quit but they gave up. How with the season on the line you could not foul Rondo or TA for that matter is beyond me. It was like 7-9 points with 2 minutes to go. It's happened before. The Celtics missed like 100 free throws in the 4th last night. This coming from the same team that was fouling Perk in game 5 down by more than 20 just gave up. What in the world would they have to lose by at least fouling and see what happens? They had zero chance by just standing around. It was pitiful if you ask me.

[Weird Facts]

The game was not over in the final 2 minutes.


Celtics miss two free throws - Cavs hit a 3
& its a 5 point game with over a minute and a half left.

the last minute and a half of that game made no sense at all.


That said- I don't log in here and write anything very often.
I do like to see what all of you have to say & read the latest rumors.

The cavs are not a very good team.....  There someone said it.
How they won 60+ games I have no idea.  Honestly - none.

the only position they have any depth @ is the 4.
Mike Brown is a horrible coach - no way in hell he will be back in Cleveland.

I mean really look at this guys & really think about this.

If Lebron was not a CAV would that team have won half of its games?


all things asside- giving up in the last 2 minutes of a >10 point game.


ABSOLUTELY - POSITIVELY - UNACCEPTABLE

Mind Boggling.


Have a good weekend guys!