Game 44 | Cavs vs. Lakers | Jan 21th 2010| 8:00pm EST

[Benedict_Boozer]

Great win. Hickson was huge in this game - this should be big for his confidence.

When he shows up like this it makes me not want to trade him, in 2-3 years he could be a solid solid player.

Also great confidence by Lebron late in the game drilling all those midrange jumpers. LA wasn't respecting his shot and he buried them. Shaq was big also, put LA's front line in foul trouble and had some nice buckets in the post.

[L&H_05]

16 road games and 7 losses... Hmm....I question the authenticity of the Lakers record...

Man you're getting way too excited, that's why I'm glad we're on tis trip it will balance out our schedule and this garbage can finally die.

Deep-

When the Lakers actually start winning consistently on the road the tune will change, I promise you that...But the fact that the proof is in the record does pique the interest...

I've been consistent in the thoughts that the Celtics are a tougher matchup for us due to the interior defense and their PG's creative ability-- all of which the Lakers don't bring against this current Cavaliers outfit... In the past, sure, but not as of now..I don't see anything (and you and I have went back and forth on this when these two teams aren't playing) that suggests to me the Cavs cannot beat the Lakers come June...

It's not a knock on the Lakers at all, but I'm just not entirely impressed...

[TheOUTLAW]

As always the talking heads are still talking about the Lakers and not the Cavs. Talking about how the Lakers didn't get anyone else involved and Kobe can't do it by himself. Kobe took 31 shots, how can you possibly get many other people involved when you are doing that. Heck in watching the game and Kobe was going off and the Cavs were just pacing themselves and stayed within reach I was confident that we'd be in it all game. I wasn't sure we'd win, but I didn't really think Kobe could keep that up especially since I know we play better defense in the second half than we do in the first.

[Icestorm959]

16 road games and 7 losses... Hmm....I question the authenticity of the Lakers record...

Man you're getting way too excited, that's why I'm glad we're on tis trip it will balance out our schedule and this garbage can finally die.

Deep-

When the Lakers actually start winning consistently on the road the tune will change, I promise you that...But the fact that the proof is in the record does pique the interest...

I've been consistent in the thoughts that the Celtics are a tougher matchup for us due to the interior defense and their PG's creative ability-- all of which the Lakers don't bring against this current Cavaliers outfit... In the past, sure, but not as of now..I don't see anything (and you and I have went back and forth on this when these two teams aren't playing) that suggests to me the Cavs cannot beat the Lakers come June...

It's not a knock on the Lakers at all, but I'm just not entirely impressed...

This is true. Cavs have reversed the matchup problem they had against lakers last year, mainly due to Shaq.

Orlando probably no longer have a matchup advantage over us either, as the loss of Hedo has hurt them quite alot.

Boston with healthy KG will still cause major problems, and will likely be the toughest task.

[DEEP3CL]

16 road games and 7 losses... Hmm....I question the authenticity of the Lakers record...

Man you're getting way too excited, that's why I'm glad we're on tis trip it will balance out our schedule and this garbage can finally die.

Deep-

When the Lakers actually start winning consistently on the road the tune will change, I promise you that...But the fact that the proof is in the record does pique the interest...

I've been consistent in the thoughts that the Celtics are a tougher matchup for us due to the interior defense and their PG's creative ability-- all of which the Lakers don't bring against this current Cavaliers outfit... In the past, sure, but not as of now..I don't see anything (and you and I have went back and forth on this when these two teams aren't playing) that suggests to me the Cavs cannot beat the Lakers come June...

It's not a knock on the Lakers at all, but I'm just not entirely impressed...

Well L&H that may be true to a certain extent but like I've said before the PG in the Triangle doesn't have to be a major threat. Look I get Fish isn't the A typical lead guard, what he does in this offense is just operates as a functional piece. I know our problem as it pertains to the Cavs........yes our interior is the key. Truth be told our bigs can give Shaq and Z major problems but for whatever reason it hasn't up to this point.

Yes you may not see nothing to suggest the Cavs can't beat the Lakers in June, and the same goes for me. In the playoffs you can render a team even a highly potent team useless. Think about it L&H we exposed nothing in our offense in the two games played that the Cavs can hang their hat on in my opinion. I know the Triangle in and out.......trust me we showed Coach Brown nothing, think of all of Phil's title teams and point out to me when has he ever had a lead guard that dominates the ball and offense ?

And as far as the road stuff like I told you before you need to play plenty before you can establish a rhythm on the road. When this trip is over the Lakers will have been on the road just as much as any other team. And by that time they'll find that cohesiveness you need.

But hey it's you're opinion and I respect that.

[semi-sentient]

Good game fellas. Looks like you have our number this year. Shaq has definitely made a difference in this match up so it's a good thing he won't be around too much longer.

[L&H_05]

Well L&H that may be true to a certain extent but like I've said before the PG in the Triangle doesn't have to be a major threat. Look I get Fish isn't the A typical lead guard, what he does in this offense is just operates as a functional piece. I know our problem as it pertains to the Cavs........yes our interior is the key. Truth be told our bigs can give Shaq and Z major problems but for whatever reason it hasn't up to this point.

Yes you may not see nothing to suggest the Cavs can't beat the Lakers in June, and the same goes for me. In the playoffs you can render a team even a highly potent team useless. Think about it L&H we exposed nothing in our offense in the two games played that the Cavs can hang their hat on in my opinion. I know the Triangle in and out.......trust me we showed Coach Brown nothing, think of all of Phil's title teams and point out to me when has he ever had a lead guard that dominates the ball and offense ?

And as far as the road stuff like I told you before you need to play plenty before you can establish a rhythm on the road. When this trip is over the Lakers will have been on the road just as much as any other team. And by that time they'll find that cohesiveness you need.

But hey it's you're opinion and I respect that.

Oh I get that, Deep..I just don't think the Triangle in it's effectiveness is as much of an issue with this personnel as it is with others...

When the Cavs go to their defensive lineup, it does indeed include West and Varejao, in which case the Cavs have the ability to play the interior with Shaq and AV... I don't think that's as easy for the Lakers because they can't get the same interior production...

IMO, it is not a coincidence that Kobe has had to put up over 60 shots in our two games this season... The Cavs defense has dictated the way the Lakers play their offense, the triangle has not dictated how the defense is set... The Cavs will allow the Lakers to play that way, because they will shut down the transition game and make it tougher on the interior-- thus, Bean is forced to force.... Which is playing right into the Cavs defensive hands IMO...

What hurts the Cavs is a quick PG and bigs that can pull the bigs away from the basket... Bynum and Pau (albeit fine players in their own right) are not the type of bigs that is going to make this challenging... And Fisher, (albeit clutch and tough as nails) is not the type of PG what will make this team pay..

Who knows what happens tonight if Mo played ? But, I would assume the Cavs would have had a another double digit victory... But who knows ?

[prekazi]

According to Windhorst Delonte injured his finger.

LeBron rappin' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gyPqq6N1r4

[DEEP3CL]

Well L&H we'll probably go back and forth on the interior issues, our problem has been when one of the bigs aren't effective. Pau sucked tonight, but I'm not convinced Shaq or Z can shut him down. Defensively they have some major flaws that will be exposed come playoff time.

You state that the Cavs defense dictated how the Lakers ran the Triangle, that may be correct but it's not totally stopping the Lakers from making the correct reads. There is not one defense in this league that can stop the Lakers from getting what they want out of the Triangle.

Make what you want of Kobe's shot totals but like I keep saying........they came from the context of the offense. Yet this goes over just about everybody's heads 95% of the time.

And you mentioned "transition game".......L&H, the Lakers aren't a running team to begin with so that to me is irrelevant. You make it seem as though the Lakers will never score out of the post on the Cavs, which is totally inaccurate. The Laker advantage is having both Drew and Pau on the floor for big minutes, what people don't get or fail to see is that the Lakers run the Triangle 1,000 times differently than how they ran it with Shaq or how Phil ran it with the Bulls.

Think about it......how many minutes did Drew and Pau play together on the floor tonight ? No much, hell they both had 3 fouls each before the half. We've had most of our losses when both can't play together. They usually get over when one is going well, tonight neither went well.

What hurts the Cavs is a quick PG and bigs that can pull the bigs away from the basket... Bynum and Pau (albeit fine players in their own right) are not the type of bigs that is going to make this challenging.

And this here is way off, we're not going to beat the Cavs relying on the lead guard, it'll be with our bigs and they have the talent to do. The Lakers don't really care if Shaq and Z lay back, in fact Phil knows this already.

Bottom line is none of our front line guys have performed up to par against the Cavs. LO,Ron,Pau and Drew haven't produced period. That's when the load goes to Kobe, and it's the only reason why his shot totals go up not because he just want to jack all night. What is he suppose to do sit back and just except a lose ?

Truth be told even if the Lakers had won it would've been incomplete still because the loss of Mo, so it wasn't going to be a true way to gauge the game. But the difference this game was the 22 points given up to Varejao and Hickson....we let those guys get well past their averages. It the Lakers limit them both to half of that they win easy.

And just to let you know since LeBron has joined the Cavs, this series has only seen 4 blowouts. 2 by the Lakers and 2 by the Cavs. Other than that most of the games have been won by 3-5 points.

Anyway I'm not as upset as some of the Laker fans about this loss, it's about overall HCA. Your team has to figure out a way to hold up for 4 or 6 weeks without your number 2 option, and you still have some tough games ahead during that stretch. We'll see how it goes.......good luck the rest of the way.

[GenevieveJames]

Good game fellas. Looks like you have our number this year. Shaq has definitely made a difference in this match up so it's a good thing he won't be around too much longer.

He says he's playing for 2-3 more years. Thats about as long as Kobe has left of prime ball, so it will do.

[JonFromVA]

Truth be told even if the Lakers had won it would've been incomplete still because the loss of Mo, so it wasn't going to be a true way to gauge the game. But the difference this game was the 22 points given up to Varejao and Hickson....we let those guys get well past their averages. It the Lakers limit them both to half of that they win easy.

All due to breakdowns in the Laker's team D. The Lakers were leaving JJ and Andy to double, but nobody was picking them up when they'd dive to the hoop.

And if Phil thought the triangle could break down the Cavs half-court defense, why didn't he emphasize that rather than running more and trying to get up early shots like the rest of the leagues tries to do?

IMO, this game was real simple. The Cavs didn't overplay Kobe, they let him shoot - and as he shot and shot - he eventually started missing. Gasol felt like he could get his shot off by stepping back and shooting over our bigs, but in reality he only made 5 of 14 shots. On any given day, those shots might go in, but as far as our defense goes ... that's what we want: the opponent taking contested jump shots. On the other side of the ball even if you think Ron Ron does a nice job man to man on LeBron, he was neutralized every time the Cavs set a pick. LeBron struggled early in the game with his jump shot, but rather than fall off down the stretch he started sinking them - that's pretty common. The whole time, though he was going to the rim. What'd the Lakers take away? They gave him open jumpers, they let him drive to the rim, and they let him set up his teammates. That's not the formula for beating the Cavs.

Bemoaning the Laker's foul trouble doesn't really change things either. Heck, I thought Gasol typically played better without Bynum on the court? Fact, is as long as Shaq doesn't get in to foul trouble (and that would require Kobe or Fisher to drive in to the paint), he's going to put a hurting on Gasol, Bynum, Odom, or whoever the Lakers try to use to defend him. That is, just as long as can keep some spring in his legs.

JJ Hickson was the same guy who couldn't box out Lamar Odom a year ago - playing a big factor in one of the Laker's wins. Do you think he remembered that? He pulled down 14 boards in this game.

The bottom line is that the Cavs have now won 7 of the last 9 games against the Lakers, and IMO, it's been because the Laker's defense hasn't been up to snuff. They sure didn't look like the second best defense in the league. Perhaps they've become over-reliant on their man to man defense?

[TheOUTLAW]

Gotta love a man who talks smack after his team loses. Artest is quoted as saying the Cavs are nothing without LeBron, but at least he says that they are still human beings. Idiot!!!

Luckily, we were good enough with him to sweep the Lakers (who by the way wouldn't be nearly as good if they didn't have Pau, like 2 years ago when we swept the Lakers and the year before that).