Thursday, April 10, 2008

Nice comeback

The Cavaliers took a nice step toward home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs last night, beating the Nets for the first time all year. And it took a great second-half comeback to do it -- spurred by suffocating defense. Not bad, considering they weren't sure LeBron was going to play until the last minute.

The Cavs were down 14, 67-53, with 6:44 left in the third quarter, after former Cavalier DeSagana Diop hit a shot. Enter Boobie Gibson, who came in for Devin Brown. Boobie didn't immediately start draining shots, but he did help key the defensive effort the rest of the way. By the end of the third quarter, the Cavs were up 76-74, and they were just warming up.

The Nets took the lead back on a Bostjan Nachbar 3-pointer 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. Unbelievably, they didn't hit a field goal the entire rest of the way. The Cavs actually kept the Nets from making a single basket the last 11:30. They hit six foul shots, but nothing else. Final score: 103-84. Our boys outscored their boys 27-9 in the fourth quarter.

I have my doubts about the Cavaliers in the playoffs, but if they can keep up that defensive intensity, they can hang in there with just about anyone.
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2 comments:

  1. Jeff BrownApril 10, 2008 at 1:48 PM

    Steve, I have a growing sense that the Cavs are going to pull it together just in the knick of time for the playoffs... and last night's defensive performance is one hint to me that this will occur. I know they have looked sketchy since the big trade a lot of the time, but I believe they will gel when they have to. Let's hope I am correct.

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  2. Jeff BrownApril 10, 2008 at 1:50 PM

    And i could probably use a spelling refresher, too, Steve (i.e. "Knick of time") LOL

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