Coaching the difference

[taruky1]

The coaching was poor. Hedo, Lewis and Peitrus are just 3 point shooters. Single cover Howard. Let him drop 50 . And stay at home on shooters.

There were no adjusments. Giving up 2 2 2, 1 sometimes when you keep fouling him is better then momentum 3 point shots

LOL, your pretty much lost all credibility with that comment. If Hedo, Lewis, and Pietrus were "just 3-point shooters" this series would have been a whole heck of a lot easier for Cleveland. Ask Lebron who he would rather have faced. Dwight and 3 Jason Kaponos, or Dwight and Hedo/Lewis/Pietrus.

[Scott Carefoot]

This is probably an insane idea but I'm going to put it out there. Do you think Mike should have given some thought to having LeBron guard Dwight? Is the only reason this would be a bad idea that he might get into foul trouble?

[yungal07]

This is probably an insane idea but I'm going to put it out there. Do you think Mike should have given some thought to having LeBron guard Dwight? Is the only reason this would be a bad idea that he might get into foul trouble?

There is no way in Hell Lebron could guard Dwight.

[OneAnswer]

http://www.guesswhosback.com/guess-whos-back/mike-brown-man-of-a-thousand-plays/

Mike Brown - Man of A Thousand Plays!

[Pula_86]

I am not a fan of Mike Brown. I'm just not sure who else the team would bring in. There is no name that really pops out at me.

[TheOUTLAW]

I'm shocked at the number of Cavs bashers that have visited here over the last 2 days. Sure the Cavs really didn't show up against Orlando and frankly they would have had the same issues against the Lakers. But the team isn't as bad as some of you seem to think. The Cavs have an issue with athletic bigs that's been the case all season. It's just a hard matchup for Z. I was surprised by the fact that Mo didn't perform at the level that he had all season (or as well as he had versus the Cavs previously). The Cavs are a bit flawed but I am shocked about all the chatter when you consider that the Cavs have proven themselves capable of defeating all but 2 maybe 3 teams in the NBA (I have to include Houston because of the same type of matchup issues).

[Pula_86]

Outlaw, I think we are probably overreacting a bit to how poorly the team played against Orlando. Still, I don't like how THIS Cavs team matches up with other teams moving forward. It is clear we need to upgrade the athleticism and defensive aptitude on the front court. We cannot continue to have our PFs and Cs unable to provide a threat on offense. Maybe Hickson steps into the role as more of an offensive weapon, but we will still need more than Hickson. What surprised me about this series is how thin we are after Lebron, Mo, and Delonte. Pavlovic, Szczerbiak, and Gibson are are too inconsistent to be relied on. They are neither good enough on offense to excuse their defensive limitations or good enough on defense to excuse their offensive limitations. When looking at the Cavs outside of Lebron James, the team is just not that versatile.

The concern is that the Rockets, Lakers, Magic, Bulls, Celtics, Blazers, Thunder, Spurs and Nuggets are all positioned well for future playoff runs. They are full of multiple athletic defenders or shooters in the backcourt and the front court. Their teams have done a good job finding the right guys in free agency and all have benefited from good drafting. Due to the youth of these teams (minus the Celtics), I see every team improving. I am having a difficult time understanding how much Cleveland will be able to improve when they have so many needs. Even more disconcerting is that with the exception of the Thunder, every team has a coaching advantage over the Cavs right now. With a couple of bad contracts still on the books and so many needs I think Ferry's job to keep the Cavs competitive is nearly impossible.

[TheOUTLAW]

I still don't think this is anything new. The problem is that the Cavs are old on the front line and you can't have Wallace and Varejao playing at the same time. The fact that Z doesn't practice during breaks because of his feet means that he takes a while to get acclimated after breaks (which was a problem against Orlando). Much like you said, the Cavs need to get younger more athletic with some scoring ability on the front line. This has been the Case since we traded Gooden.

[rjgraca]

I still don't think this is anything new. The problem is that the Cavs are old on the front line and you can't have Wallace and Varejao playing at the same time. The fact that Z doesn't practice during breaks because of his feet means that he takes a while to get acclimated after breaks (which was a problem against Orlando). Much like you said, the Cavs need to get younger more athletic with some scoring ability on the front line. This has been the Case since we traded Gooden.

+1

Right on the spot.

[Pula_86]

I think what has changed is that no one really thinks that Varejao and Pavlovic really add to much to this team. After the loss to the Spurs a few years back many of us were feeling pretty good about the development of Varejao, Pavlovic, and Gibson. Since then, we just have not seen much of anything from them. The only player other than Lebron who I really like is Delonte West in terms of consistency. Maurice Williams deserves another shot, but I wouldn't be opposed to trading him if the right deal came along. Ferry can no longer continue making lateral moves, he needs to upgrade the back court and the front court this off-season. I think there are enough under the radar guys that are available if Ferry commits to changing things around. Unfortunately, with the talent that we have and the horrid contracts I'm not sure we'll be able to do too much.

[TheOUTLAW]

Pavs growth has been a disappointment, but I'm okay with Varejao. He's never going to be a big scorer and frankly I thought he was too tentative against Orlando but he's still the kind of guy that just about any team needs and can use. I personally don't think that Ferry has been making lateral moves at all. I can't even imagine how you think that Jones/Smith for Williams was lateral and the trade that sent Hughes and Gooden away improved the team as well. Sure, he has not been making risky moves but the moves that he's made over the last 2 years have been good. What we have been needing is a beneficial luck move like Gasol for crap or the Rasheed for trash moves that some other teams have lucked into.

[Veggamattic]

I've been into basketball coaching analysis for decades and the idea that Mike Brown won coach of the year is an embarrassment to the NBA. Just as Sam Mitchell winning it 2 years ago was. Brown lucked out and faced 2 of the worst coaches in the league in Curry and Woodson (Funny all 3 are Michaels) in the first 2 rounds but then got his ass wooped by the guy who should have won CotY. Brown doesn't even run plays for Lebron. Actually, I saw a couple this year but this is the first year ever. He's a JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's astonishing that Ferry can't figure this out. He should also be fired.

This is the main reason I want to see Lebron go somewhere else. He has never played for a top level coach anywhere in his life.

His game is nowhere near being at it's pinnacle yet and if he finally gets some proper guidance he will end up being better than Jordan could ever dream of being.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm shocked at the number of Cavs bashers that have visited here over the last 2 days. Sure the Cavs really didn't show up against Orlando and frankly they would have had the same issues against the Lakers. But the team isn't as bad as some of you seem to think. The Cavs have an issue with athletic bigs that's been the case all season. It's just a hard matchup for Z. I was surprised by the fact that Mo didn't perform at the level that he had all season (or as well as he had versus the Cavs previously). The Cavs are a bit flawed but I am shocked about all the chatter when you consider that the Cavs have proven themselves capable of defeating all but 2 maybe 3 teams in the NBA (I have to include Houston because of the same type of matchup issues).

Man, I think the Cavs very easily could have been the NBA champions. Cleveland won over 60 games for a reason.

That said, if you check the NBA over the past 35 years (about how long I've been watching games) you'll see numberous 60-win teams that didn't win it all. I know the Wizards were 60-22 one season and they got SWEPT in the finals. Utah, Seattle, Philadelphia, and going back MANY Laker teams with Wilt failed to win a title.

For the most part it just comes down to match ups. I bet the Cavs would have beat just about any team BUT Orlando. Your team probably beats LA.

I think Mo Williams, Wally Szczerbiak, Zydrunas Ilguaskas, and Ben Wallace all operated at deficits vs Orlando. That's all. Coaching was also slightly to blame.

[Sid the Squid]

Kurt Rambis is the perfect coach for the cavs in 09-10..He was part of Showtime back in the 80's ..He's been learning under Phil Jackson for year's..You guys need to start running..Watching Lebron only play in the halfcourt is f****** brutal..He was born to run run run.

[Veggamattic]

Kurt Rambis is the perfect coach for the cavs in 09-10..He was part of Showtime back in the 80's ..He's been learning under Phil Jackson for year's..You guys need to start running..Watching Lebron only play in the halfcourt is f****** brutal..He was born to run run run.

How could you say that when you've never seen him coach a thing in your life. Are you saying that anyone that played for a fastbreak team is the perfect coach for next years Cavs. I agree he should be running but great coaching is soooo much more than offensive style.