Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Five Things We Learned About the Cavs
Now that I have come down from the excitement of the Cleveland Cavaliers opening night win over the Boston Celtics, I think I can put some thoughtful insight into the game.
This team must be better than the Miami Heat right? They just beat the team that beat them last night, so if math has taught me anything, the transitive property puts us on the top of that pile.
Ok, so maybe that is a reach, but there are quite a few things that can be taken away from the game we all just witnessed.
A handful of them are things that the Cavs did well, and a few are concerns, but they were easily spotted in the game.
With a small sample size of only one game, it is hard to say exactly what this game means, but here are five things that we can take away from this game. Who am I kidding, it's probably still an overreaction.
They Are Resiliant
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After a good first half, the Cavs came out of the locker room down just a point to the Celtics, they then preceded to slump a bit, in a true Cavalier style, and were down by double digits midway through the third quarter.
Now, nobody would have been surprised if a team that has lost its identity was unable to climb out of that hole, as the bigger, stronger, more talent-laden Celtics were bearing down on them.
They, along with their new fearless leader Byron Scott, never panicked.
They chipped away and were within five points by the end of the quarter and tied it back up four minutes into the fourth, from there, they controlled their own destiny.
Along with aiding the comeback in the third, Boobie Gibson had his own troubles to overcome, along with helping the team.
Gibson missed his first eight shots, until draining a crucial three in the third quarter to cut the lead to eight points and start the Cleveland rally.
Up until that point, Gibson looked downright sloppy, after that point he was money.
Interior Defense Needs Work
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One thing that Cleveland had trouble with was switching in the post.
There were countless moments where they were distracted by Rajon Rondo or Kevin Garnett stepping into the lane, leaving one of their big men able to sneak in the backdoor for an easy two points.
During the first half, they had trouble with keeping Shaquille O'Neal under wraps down low, as he out muscled everyone around him. Glen Davis was able to do the same from time to time.
They did however, overcome that in the second half, as he scored all of his seven points in the first 25 minutes of the game.
It could be a problem for the rest of the season, however, as Anderson Varejao is a bit undersized for a center, and Ryan Hollins and Antawn Jamison are not tough enough down low.
Boston ended up scoring 46 points in the paint.
Antawn Jamison Doesn't Seem To Fit
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Jamison is supposed to be one of the three best players on this team and is supposed to lead the squad coming off the bench with his veteran leadership.
Yea, right.
Tonight, he displayed confusion, uncertainty and doubt in each of the 21 minutes that he played.
He scored four points and had four rebounds. His points were crucial to the run that kept them in front of Boston late in the game, but even when he was taking them, he seemed unsure in doing it.
The whole game he had to be directed by the younger and less experienced Daniel Gibson and Ramon Sessions as to where to go and what the defense was running.
His lack of confidence on the floor definitely made him think twice about shooting, as he put up only six shots, as he averaged 13 a game with Cleveland last year and 16 in his career.
Prior to the game, an article from dimemag.com came out where Jamison says, "I don't know what my role is going to be."
That uncertainty needs to be cleared up quickly, or it could wreck Jamison's confidence and be a blight on the team. If a role for Jamison isn't found, then the Cavs should explore their trading options for the veteran forward.
The Shooters Can Shoot
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With the departure of LeBron James, it seemed that many of the people with some interest in the NBA figured that every bit of the Cavalier offense had gone with him, and I'm not going to lie, I was concerned myself.
I forgot about Boobie Gibson's 42 percent career mark beyond the three-point arc, and Anthony Parker's 41 percent or Mo Williams' 42 percent a season ago. Hell, I forgot Jamario Moon even existed.
They easily reminded me tonight.
After they missed their first five threes, I was a bit upset, and then they went 6-15 after their rough start from downtown.
Gibson, Parker, Williams, Moon, Jawad Williams, Manny Harris and even Antawn Jamison from time to time are able to knock down three-point shots.
If this team can move the ball effectively and have hot shooters, they can hang with any team in the NBA.
They Can Win
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A funny thing happened this summer. The Cleveland Cavaliers went from a good team to a bad team without playing a single game. Everyone bought into it, as they should have.
I heard concerned thoughts all day today about the chances of the Cavs tonight against the Celtics.
The Boobie Gibson and Mo Williams jerseys were out in full force, but the faces wearing them looked anything but confident.
I talked to a few people who were excited but worried about how the team would do, I even got a text from my brother that said, "Cavs won't win" and one following the game that said simply, "I'm shocked."
That is the type of attitude that a summer of doubt, uncertainty and media speculation has put into Cavaliers fans.
Well, I'm back on the bandwagon that this is a good team, and I'll stay on it until something happens in an actual game that will knock me off, so come back up and join me people, because you're not a bad team until you're record says so, and it hasn't said that since 2003.
