Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Ryan Hollins and Anthony Parker Cool Heat
Ryan Hollins. Ryan f***ing Hollins. I’ve said it all year long. This time it means something completely different. Ryan Hollins played the type of game a center needs to play against the Miami Heat: he was rough, rugged, active and played possibly his best all-around game as a pro.
Hollins scored 13 points, grabbed three boards and blocked three shots. Not exactly a great box score, but it's what doesn't show up in the box score where he made the difference. That’s right, Ryan Hollins is a difference-maker.
Hollins came out in the first quarter active under the boards, tough on anyone coming down the lane, jumping out of the gym to block shots and running up and down the floor to keep the Heat off of their game.
The Heat are soft. Their power forward, Chris Bosh, may be the softest player at a power position in the NBA, and earlier this year Oklahoma City superstar forward Kevin Durant stated what everyone already knew by calling Bosh a fake tough guy. The second of their supposed Big Three, Dwyane Wade, is another soft diva. Wade famously was taken off the court, crying in a wheel chair, after separating his shoulder.
The third member of the Big Three, our former franchise savior, LeBron “King Nothing” James, is the toughest of the three, with credit to his football background. But if you punch him in his mouth, he gets frustrated and thrown off his game. With all that being said, if you want to dominate the Heat, all you need is Ryan Hollins.
This article is hard for me to write. I am eating every negative thing I said about Hollins throughout the season. He came out ready for war, with the heart, grit and testicular fortitude that I expected the Cavs to play with in the first “Return of the King.” What makes it even harder for me to write is that the other key cog to this victory was a great shooting night, and clutch defense, by Cavs shooting guard Anthony Parker.
If there was a player I was more annoyed with at any time this season than Hollins, it was Parker. Parker, who had not scored in double digits in his last nine games, went off for 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and was 4-of-4 behind the arc, including a huge three that barely touched net that put the Cavs up by 21 in the third quarter.
Parker and Hollins were definitely difference-makers for one night, and while they may have been the most noticeable, this was truly a team effort. J.J. Hickson continued his strong play with another double-double in a 21 and 12 performance. Point guard Baron Davis, in his first start, contributed 10 points and seven dimes, but his leadership and command off the floor were more important than any box score would show.
Off the bench Ramon Sessions scored 11 with six boards and six assists, Daniel “Booby” Gibson played tough perimeter D, while scoring five, Luke Harangody scored nine and Christian Eyenga had seven, including a steal that led to a beautiful breakaway slam at the other end.
The Heat were led by "King Nothing" who had a quiet triple-double (27-12-10) and Mike Bibby who took advantage of the fact that most Cavs didn’t even realize he was still in the NBA, shooting 7-of-11 from three-point range en route to 23 points. Wade had 24 on 8-of-20 shooting, and “fake tough guy” Bosh had a miserable 5-of-14 night, for a lowly 10 points.
The Heat had a chance to pull past the Cavs, tying the score at 83 with 7:02 left in the game on a Bibby three off an assist from James, but the Cavs went on a 12-2 run to put it away and finish with a 102-90 victory in front of a great sold-out crowd at the Q.
The Cavs move to 15-58 on the year and the Heat fall to 51-23. While the Heat may be on their way to bigger games, that was the biggest game of the Cavs' miserable season and they played like it.
Tonight the Cavs will take on the Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte.
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