http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/05/25/cavs ... -bad-luck/Cavs Shooting Slump Isn't Just Bad Luck
As the NBA Universe tries to adjust to the fact that the team with the best record in the league with the best player in the league faces a 2-1 deficit that would be 3-0 were it not for The Shot Part 11,000, there are some interesting ideas being thrown around as to how the world will right itself, so to speak. The common reaction is to look to the Cavaliers and ask, "What can they do to get back in this thing?" But instead of attempting to decipher ways to counter the Magic's matchup advantages, or rotation adjustments, or defensive gambles, instead you hear a lot of "Cleveland's shooters have to start making shots." As if Orlando has had nothing to say about the Cavs' struggles. Just so you're aware, it's not the Fates that have ordained this slump for the No. 1 seed. It's the same principle that got the Cavs that lofty record. Defense. Mo Williams is a prime example of the disconnect between the idea that the Cavs are slumping and the work that Orlando has done. Mo Williams is 18 of 56 from the field in this series for a soaring 32 percent. He's 6-of-24 from the arc for 25 percent. And yet, despite these struggles, Mo Williams is primarily talking about Anthony Johnson being dirty, or, my personal favorite, saying the Cavs are giving the Magic "too much respect."
Williams argues that the Cavs should go back to what worked the whole season, that they made too many adjustments. Yet, from the first three games of this series, one thing is pretty evident. Just assuming what made the Cavaliers better than the rest of the league during the regular season will make them better than this Magic squad is false. Some of that is talent, some of that is build, and some of that is effort. The Magic led the league in defensive efficiency, so it's not like they're not a great defensive squad to begin with. Then you look at what the Cavs are bringing to the table, and the Magic's work makes even more sense. Whereas the Cavs bring either slow bigs that struggle shooting (Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, to a certain point Zydrunas Ilgauskas), or small, quick guards who can shoot well once LeBron James collapses the defense to provide open looks. But in this series, the Cavs are facing a Magic team loaded with tall, long, athletic defenders that are fundamentally sound, communicate well, and most importantly, attempt to run off every three point attempt. The speed the Cavaliers enjoy in the backcourt is negated by the Magic's length and effort to force the Cavaliers out of their comfort zone. When Mo Williams gets an open look, he's got a Magic defender throwing himself out to run off the three, then when he steps inside, he's got another defender flashing to suppress the shot and then sprint back to his man. Delonte West has had more success, but with the Magic's interior defense patrolled by the Defensive Player of the Year block machine, his penetration game has been limited.
Meanwhile, the Cavs' bench was thought to be an advantage in this series, and that assertion just looks silly. Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic were kept off the floor for much of the latter part of the season due to their defensive limitations. And against a faster, more athletic Magic team, their offensive capabilities are equally affected. Pavlovic had nine huge points off the bench in Game 2, but he's not a contributor you can rely on in any phase of the game besides cheering ably from the bench. The Cavaliers lack a reliable post presence, as Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a great starting center but no longer a consistent scoring threat, as he turns 34 in a few days. And that's before he's matched up against a 24-year-old superfreak that can erase anyone, anywhere, anytime. Varejao is an offensive non-factor unless he's getting wide open clean-up dunks off of James. Ben Wallace ... yeah. Mike Brown has refused to give Daniel Gibson any time in this series. He puts him in to see if he gets hot in limited minutes, then yanks him. Gibson's defense isn't good enough to keep him in the game as far as Brown is concerned. So you have disadvantages in the backcourt, in the frontcourt, on the bench, and then you have Stan Van Gundy constantly adjusting to counter what the Cavaliers bring. LeBron James was supposed to be the difference in this series, the only player that mattered So far, the Magic are proving that having 8 players that can contribute is greater than one player who rules his kingdom. And if the Cavaliers don't adjust, that kingdom will remain without a championship crown.
