ClutchFans Game Thread: Cavaliers @ Rockets 2/25/2004

Man...if Steve gets a consistent jumper from outside, this team would be very good. It expands the entire court dramatically if the other team is forced to defend his jumpshot.

 

Cat played simply amazing tonight. He did everything out there. He scored, rebounded, dished off when he had to and played pretty decent D. Now why can't he do this every night?

Spoon, what can I say, near dub dub off the bench. And to think couple weeks ago, people were saying we got screwed for trading FREAKIN' MOOCHIE NORRIS.

Steve played a good game, couldn't score but didn't really force his shots either. See here's the thing, even when he doesn't score and dish out we can win. Just need to cut down the turnovers.

Yao looked like the living dead out there. Of course, being the 2nd game of a back to back in a very tough stretch, I give him the benefit of the doubt (just like I gave the rest of the team). He was missing shots he normally knocks down every time, such as that WIDE OPEN baseline jumper from Steve. Of course, the reffing didn't help either.

Don't even get me started about the reffing. Z was slapping and pushing Yao all night. He had an elbow in Yao's neck and the other hand on his back. Gee, that's not a foul at all. And what about that damn FT? Because ESPN focused the camera elsewhere and the Cavs got the Mo miss and started running down the court with it, I thought Mo missed both (which he eventually did). If it was not for JVG sprinting down the court we would have missed a FT attempt. HOW THE HELL DO YOU SCREW UP SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

 

WEll, it was only the Cavs, but I am still very happy we won. It was a must win. We are moving away from Denver, and closer to the Grizzlies and Mavs.

 

Cuttino wasn't just good tonight. He was really terrific. He was the one player who simultaneously: (1) could create his own shot and (2) was actually shooting well. LeBron, Steve, Yao, and Z all created their shots well - they were just missing.

People are overrating Z's defense on Yao. Yao just wasn't hitting tonight. If his jumper had been there, he'd have been 50+% easily. Z also got a lot of calls. I think that our entire team is getting screwed, now, tbh... mostly their own fault though. b****ing at the refs constantly is pissing in the wind. A quiet word after a really bad call is one thing... but this? I noticed one time tonight that the ball clearly came off of a Cav. Otherwise, the laws of physics weren't working and it rebounded at an acute angle off of air particles.

The Cavs looked ready to head down court. The officials gave them the ball. The Rockets all looked stunned. The officials pointed three times towards possession to the Cavs. What does that tell you? It tells me the officials were angry.

Wish we had Boozer. No idea why he wasn't better used at Duke. Perhaps he's just a late bloomer.

Spoon was a good acquisition. People who said we traded garbage for garbage were just wrong. We traded a player who didn't know his role for one who does. If Spoon were Cato's size, he'd be a freakin' force.

 

Can someone post the clip of that pass from Cat to Yao?? My recording stopped with 1:28 remaining in the 4th!!!!

TIA!!

 

NO,at least 20FGA!

 

CD needs to make another videotape of the garbage officiating tonight. Refs should not be keeping grudges.

 

Shaq actually has a good temper and hasnt really attacked anyone except brad miller, but shaq punches like a girl. Considering all the fouling and hacking that gets done to him he just walks away.

 

Steve needs to hire Calvin Murphy as a personal shooting teacher. I'm not sure who in heck is with Steve in his shooting drill because I heard he was shooting in practice today only with Van Gundy. I don't think Van Gundy is a Hall of Famer like Calvin. Steve needs to humble himself, and make Calvin an asset to him.

 

Not to mention two brutal redeye transcontinental flights on consecutive nights.

 

too lazy to browse through the thread and i'm sure that someone mentioned earlier, but...

i would have liked to see yao further his altercation with z by getting t'ed up. it was the refs fault for allowing that crap to escalate and go on for the games entirety. damnit yao, speak! you're a good enough guy that i think the refs would listen to you.

i used to be a z fan, but that move where he hooks yao with a shoulder while going for a layup is old.

edit: meant "hooks yao with an elbow.

 

While it's hard to tell w/individual guys, there's usually no correllation between playing well and teaching well. Just because you know what to do doesn't mean you can convey it to others. Empirically, most highly successful coaches in most sports were not extremely successful professionally.

 

Yeah the officiating really sucked, look at the second picture on the espn pictures of the game. Even Bill Walton was b****in about that no call.

 

I am pretty sure David Stern watches high profile games like this one. What else would he be doing???? It might be an overkill to sent him the tape.

 

I don't know if he's tried teaching Steve. Heck...Calvin has a basketball school. He's gotta be a decent teacher. Every single shootaround should have Calvin there watching.

 

It's games like this that make me realize that we absolutely have no chance in the playoffs.

However, I'm glad to know that we will finally get back there after four years of absense.

 

i can't believe you are still here. you are clearly a cavs fan.

yep, the scenario you wrote might be right. but how do you know he thought it was on purpose? did he tell you? this is a plain guess. i can guess he was frustrated and pushed yao on purpose. he was not hit on his face. he just acted so let the ref think he got a hit on his face.

let's say you were right. the retaliation should get automatically T.

 

Keep in mind that the Cavaliers have won 4 straight including one game against the Spurs. Zydrunas has shot over 50% in those 4 games with a monster game against old man Dikembe Mutumbo. Lebron was on fire against the Spurs too. Cavaliers came into this game on a roll. Rockets were playing the 4th game in 5 nights.

 

Calvin's a good teacher. But Francis is not a very good learner.

 

Watch the replay! As far as the T. That's up to the refs. They saw it too. Apparently you only saw the aftermath...oh well.

As far as the "cavs fan" crap. I'm objective. You need to be around here a little longer before you make snap judgments about people.