Eastern Conference Finals: [1] Cleveland vs. [3] Orlando

[Esjay]

Crazy end to that game. Can't believe the Cavs let that one slip away!

This Magic team has a lot of heart.

 

[Juggernaut]

Anyone see Gortat in the final minutes? He played some good D yo

Awesome that the Magic won, especially since this one was at the Cavs home

Im rooting for the agic, yet i still think lebron and crew will win this series in 7 or 6

 

[Vinsane]

I wasn't talking out of my ass when I said the Cavs needed the bench points. Joe Smith scored the only five bench points the Cavaliers had tonight. Cavs dropped the ball in game one. They now know what it's like to lose in the playoffs so now for game 2 they have to find it within themselves to bounce back and not go down 2-0.

 

[Awesometrax]

Hell of a finish to that game, man these playoffs have been great.

Game 2 becomes pretty much a must-win for Cleveland IMO, and even if they do I'm not that sure they can win in Orlando, especially now that Van Gundy has finally gotten an idea of what to do down the stretch of games.

 

[Whatupdoe44]

Magic in 7

and if the cavs role players dont step up in the 4th (everyone but Lebron= Role Players), it could end sooner

great win by orlando

 

[FlawLeSs]

Van Gundy @ halftime "you guys are looking like witnesses out there"

magic respond by dominating the rest of the game.. good shit stan

 

[Archer]

LeBron cant do it all....

 

[FlawLeSs]

its not that serious lol...

if they score one more point they win and half of these concerns arent brought up.

 

[Vinsane]

I don't think the concern is that they lost... I think the concern is that they blew a huge lead, on their home floor, where they have been essentially undefeated all season.

They needed bench production. What the Cavs did with LeBron not on the floor was ultimately gave the Cavaliers a loss. Yeah they blew a huge lead, how did they blow it? Role players not scoring. It really came down to the final buckets of that game. Lewis hits a giant three when Varejao fails to come back out on perimeter defense. The Cavs get a no call on a LeBron charge to the hoop, a missed attempt, and inches away from sealing it with an impossible shot.

Yes, the Cavs lost. They didn't look bad all around. To not get any form of bench production (5 points from Joe Smith) and still only lose by one. No reason to hit the panic button just yet. The starting five played decent, they needed more from Mo and West, better percentage shot anyways.

Varejeo, Z, and Big Ben. These guys need to keep a body on Dwight the whole time. I know that Z/Ben can't match Dwight for speed, and Varejao isn't big enough to handle Dwight. If you keep a body on him though and don't allow him to get those easy baskets then your looking a lot better game 2 and on then you did game one.

The Magic are a team that lives by the 3pt line. Early on the Cavaliers perimeter defense was outstanding, holding the Magic under 35% shooting. In the second half that jumped up to 50% (?) and the Magic got 8-0, 6-0, 7-0. Spurts that got them into the game. If the Cavaliers could of disrupted those spurts it's an entirely different game all together.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Cavaliers answer back in game 2. Cavs also need to win on the road. One thing they've got going for them is LeBron plays better away from the Q this season. If they can get better bench production, show their depth and stay physical with Orlando this series could take a drastic swing. Right now it's looking like a seven game series.

 

[Yawkey Way]

idk if this has been mentioned but i think the Magic were lucky they won that game. There was no way the Cavs should of let that one slip away. i didn't get to see the end of the 4th because i passed out, but from what i did see is that the Cavs were clanking on every shot they took. Mo williams, Wally, Delonte, Joe Smith took a 3, it wasn't pretty. I don't see the Magic making their way out of this one/

 

[Sportsbuck]

I really love how the Cavs lose one game and all of a sudden the sky is falling.

 

[Juggernaut]

Any who...I'm liking the new article about the magic, their really big three really stepped up in this one and hopefully they'll play the same way in their 3 home games

 

[Vinsane]

SVG had this to say about their gameplan. Essentially they were just going to let LeBron do his thing, and guard the rest of the Cavaliers so LeBron has to do it all. It worked. LeBron scored nearly 50 points, and they still lost. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw the same shitty production from the Cavaliers players not named LeBron James.in the next three games.

SVG is a fucking idiot if that's what the game plan was. "Let LeBron do his thing?" come on, I know you're smarter than that. Your acting like LeBron scored 49 and they lost 107-49 and not 107-106. All five of the Cavs starters were in double digits, Mo nearly reaches 20 points. The Cavaliers had zero bench production. Just two points, that's all it would've taken in theory. A total of five bench points, all from Joe Smith is not going to get it done.

Do you really think your going to see the same Cavaliers, from game one. For the next three games? Go ahead, let LeBron "Do his thing", see how far it gets you.

 

[Juggernaut]

I love the whole bench arguement

You cant just add shots, if the bench had more points, the starters would have less

 

[Vinsane]

I love the whole bench arguement

You cant just add shots, if the bench had more points, the starters would have less

If Wally or Wallace just hit one of their field goal attempts. This game is the Cavaliers.

 

[Vinsane]

You're talking about the same Lebron James whose coach took a timeout in the fourth just because LeBron was tired? Right? I want to make sure we're on the same page.

Yeah, LeBron had to carry his team in game one, and they fell short. If your letting LeBron do his thing your going to get torched. Teams that D up LeBron and take the ball out of his hands have a better chance at winning then letting LeBron do his thing. LeBron doing his thing is getting 30+ points, 10+ assist, a handful of rebounds, not exactly a triple double, I don't see him doing that against Dwight.

LeBron had 40+, 8 assist and a handful rebounds. He needed better support from his team. We're still talking about a one point game, not a blow out. Everyone is up in arms because the Cavaliers FINALLY lost a game in the post-season and it just so happened to be at home where they were not perfect on the season. Yes, you shouldn't lose at home, you shouldn't be getting beat on your floor but it is what happened. It's just too early to be calling for a sweep from Orlando.

 

[thilanwij]

Orlando in SIX !

 

[Sportsbuck]

I wouldn't have made a big deal that they lost... What I think the issue, as I have already said... Is that they blew a huge lead. That is something they should be concerned with.

It's astounding what reading will actually do for you.

http://www.virtualsportsnetwork.com/forum/showpost.php?p=393330&postcount=32

Yeah, not making a big deal at all about one loss.

 

[Archer]

If Lebron gets any help from his Bench Cleveland will take the series imo

If not then , they screwed

 

[Whatupdoe44]

hopefully the magic aren't satisfied with just getting one

gotta come out with the intensity they had in the 2nd half of last game