Random thoughts and analysis on tonight's annihilation of the Trash-Talking Wizards:

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Analysis:

The Wizards decided to double and triple LeBron every time he got the ball. They made it clear he would have no easy layups. He got fouled hard early and often. Two years ago the Wizards employed this same tactic in game 2 and it rattled LeBron. The Cavs lost that game before regrouping. Tonight? Only fired up the Cavs more.

LeBron got his usual efficient 30, but what impressed me the most was his activity. He had two MONSTER blocks which lead to break outs, and ended up with a Chris Paul-like 12 assists and only 1 turnover. He was a rebound shy of a triple double.

This game has the potential, in my opinion, to re-define the Cavaliers. Their season, for the most part, showed regression and under achievement. More than anything, the Cavaliers have been offensively inefficient, have been passive on defense, and have had a COMPLETE INABILITY TO IMPOSE THEIR WILL on opposing teams. Tonight they excelled in all of these things. Their defensive intensity was strong the entire game. The Wizards were overplaying on defense, double and triple teaming the ball immediately, and trying to send a message with hard fouls. The Cavs responded by pushing right back, making the extra pass on offense, and matching aggression with aggression.

Almost the entire Cavalier roster regressed this season - LeBron and Z being the exceptions. Much of this can be attributed to a plague of injuries and myriad Mike Brown rotations. The Cavs only seem in sync for about a month this season. Upon returning from injury, Boobie Gibson's shot has been horrible. Anderson Varejao looks as if he's wearing lead shoes, and Sasha Pavlovic couldn't get into any rhythm. Adding insult to injury was the new players acquired in the trade laying an egg: Delonte West has played consistently above average, but Ben Wallace has been utterly ineffective and Wally, the guy brought in to hit open jumpers, has built himself a house bigger than LeBron's with all his wide open bricks.

But tonight, the Cavs team I envisioned following the trade, showed up - and it was glorious.

Wally nailed 6 of 9 shots, including 2 threes. Boobie Gibson was flat out on fire in the 3rd quarter and finished 4-8 with 2 threes. Big Z is the guy that slows down the tempo and stabilizes the game with his tip ins and mid-range pops. He did that very well tonight. Varejao, Wallace, and Joe Smith, while starting slow, got very physical midway through the 2nd quarter, and I believe it was really this energy that the Cavs used to finally, FINALLY, impose their will on an opponent.

All in all, there is a lot to be said about this game, but this is the Cavs team that I envisioned. Z anchoring the post offense, LeBron aggressively finding holes but not forcing the issue, and finding his teammates spotted up for J's. Tonight, the Cavs hit the open shot, and they won by 30.

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Random Thoughts:

1.) I was shocked that Reggie Miller likened the foul on a driving Antonio Daniels to the two-handed shove from Brendan Haywood on LeBron James. First of all, upon replay, the foul on Daniels showed that the Cavaliers in fact tried to block the shot, but got there late. Daniels weighs what, a buck ninety? LeBron is 260. LeBron's got shoved hard in the side while at the apex of his jump. This caused him to completely lose body control midair, and sent him flying to the deck, drawing blood. Anytime a player is intentionally pushed while in mid-air in this way it leaves that player open to all kinds of injuries. Daniels got fouled no harder than any guard going in for a layup, he's just very light so when he gets bumped it looks worse than it is. It was obviously the right call by the officials: 2-shot foul. Reggie digressed into talk about the "good ol days" when he played and the foul Haywood gave to LeBron was just a hard playoff foul. You could tell Marv Albert thought he was full of #### Obviously he didn't go for the ball, and the fact that he was able to send LeBron's 260 pound frame turning in the air towards the deck shows how hard he pushed him. I fully expect Anderson Vajejao or Ben Wallace to return the favor to Haywood in game 3 (or 4 if he is suspended)



2.) I'd like to take this opportunity for a rare pat on the back. Back when famous (or infamous) FoxSports blogger Hoffman triumphantly declared the he liked how DeShawn Stevenson's attitude was a sign that he was a strong-willed player that wouldn't back down, I told Hoffman that NO, it's a sign that he's just an #### who blows at basketball and doesn't know how to control his mouth, nothing more. Well Soulja Boy proved me right again. I almost felt bad for the guy in the 3rd quarter when he FINALLY hit a 3 and with his team down 20+ he did his patented "you-can't-see-me" face wave in front of his face. Marv and Reggie couldn't believe it, and made a big showing of how bush-league it was. Reggie later said if Stevenson did the wave again he would walk out of 'the Q' in disgust. Immediately LeBron marched right down the court and hit a 3 in his face. This really led to a bizarre sequence, as the crowd got fired up and incredibly, Stevenson JACKED UP another long shot. With his team down 20+, he was apparently going to take over the game by himself. Instead, he got his team all out of sync, and the Cavs never looked back. Honestly I couldn't believe that Eddie Jordan didn't bench him after that. Lost some respect for Jordan there. In case anyone was still wondering, DeShawn Stevenson SUCKS. As a Cavs fan, my heart dances happily every time he launches an outside shot. Hoffman, do you STILL like what you see from Stevenson? You said you hate how teams roll out the red carpet for LeBron. Well, we're two games in, LeBron has been forcibly sent to the deck time and time again, and he's putting up MONSTER NUMBERS in playoff games. I'd love to hear what you have to say now.

3.) This is the Cavs team I envisioned. Boobie being the Boobie of last year's playoffs and this year before the injury. Wally World hitting open jumpers. Ben Wallace blocking shots and providing some mental toughness. Anderson Varejao getting under the opponents skin with hustle, hard fouls, and extra possesions. Delonte West providing full-court pressure, getting his hand on balls, and setting up the offense. LeBron dominating as usual. THIS IS THE CAVS TEAM I ENVISIONED. Mike Brown making good adjustments, like the one he did in this game to put LeBron on Arenas(2-10 3 TOs) early and to exploit the Wizards on defense with Big Z(7-11) when Haywood was out. Throw in a deep bench with true professionals Devin Brown, Joe Smith, and Damon Jones who are always ready to go at a moments notice, and you have a great, not good, GREAT team.

3.) I felt slightly compensated for all the negativity surrounding the Cavs and Cleveland in general from this game. This turned into, as Bill Simmons candidly describes, an ####-YOU game. Between LeBron swishing the three in Stevenson's eye and Damon Jones mocking Stevenson's hand-wave late in the game after drilling a triple (LeBron could be seen laughing on the bench while Arenas looked like a 5 year old who's Mom took away his candy) I felt like the Cavs took their aggression out on the Wizards and likewise all my aggression towards Cavs haters are now gone. In one big ####-YOU, we've proved our point.

4.) I was talking to X23 tonight and he pointed out that we very well might look back on this series and THANK the Washington Wizards for lighting a fire under the Cavs #### with their ridiculous comments. Obviously, the Cavs have proven to be incredibly inconsistent this year, and they are still dealing with daily changes to the rotations and injuries, but to a man, this team could be VERY VERY GOOD, either this post-season or the next. But mentally, they have been unable to impose their will on anyone, until tonight. This could be the start of something special for this new-look Cavalier team.

5.) LeBron faked a reverse windmill dunk following a whistle. In other words, he went up like he was going to tear the rim off, and then suddenly stopped and handed the ball to the official. LeBron's FAKE DUNKS look better than 99% of the NBA's actual dunks. It's not even close.

6.) Keeping with the topic of LeBron and dunks, if you can find the clip, watch the dunk LeBron does in the first half when he splits two defenders and throws it down with authority. Watch it in slow motion, you will see LeBron take contact as contorts his body to split the defenders, then duck underneath an outstretched arm then rise up and throw it down hard. In real time it looks so smooth and easy, until you realize all the things he's actually doing to make that play. Reggie Miller commented on how the Wizards game play was supposed to be no easy layups. Well, they TRIED to foul him, but he was too strong, too fast, and too agile to be denied. The same thing can be said for his driving shots against the Pistons in Game 5 of last year's ECFinals. On a lot of those plays, the Pistons were all over him, but he's so strong, so fast, and so agile that they couldn't. No one ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET for LeBron. HE STAPLES IT THE FLOOR AND TAKES OFF.

7.) I feel like a ####-bag for going on record saying I thought the Cavs might lose to the Wizards. I had no faith in the team. I'm a Cleveland Fan, I've been through more pain the rest of you combined, but I'm not going to let that destroy my fandom. Cavs vs. Jazz in the Finals. If they fall, I guess I'll just have to live with the trash talking. But as far as I can tell, no one can stop LeBron, NO ONE. And if the supporting cast plays like they did tonight, no one can stop the Cavs, NO ONE.

8.) Is Soulja Boy still coming to game 3? Is Stevenson going to continue to throw gasoline on the fire he made? Is he the dumbest player in the history of the NBA? Is the Wizards Fan base the most pathetic in the history of professional sports for having his back through all this?? Is Hoffman the dumbest blogger in the history of FoxSports for believing Stevenson to be ANYTHING more than an ####-Clown wannabe that occasionally plays good defense?  Obviously, questions remain.  Stay tuned.

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In 5 playoff games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, DeShawn Stevenson is now 10 for 55 -18%.

Much has been made about his "overrated" comment earlier in the season.

Hoffman loved the comment.  According to him, this was Stevenson and the Wizards "not backing down".  Yeah, whatever.

Here's the reality of the situation.  "The Wizards are the dumbest team in the history of civilization."

I blame Gilbert Arenas.  Or maybe I should say I THANK Gilbert.  He can flat out play, but he's such a knucklehead.  He gets the whole team sans Jamison playing with this arrogance and sense of entitlement.

Seriously, can you imagine the team that has lost 7 straight playoff games and lost a regular season game by like 50 to a certain team talking TRASH about that team?!?  Shouldn't it be the other way around?

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The Cavs are a HORRIBLE team right now.  Many people use the post-trade inadequacies as some sort of evidence that they were right all along about the Cavs not deserving to be in the Finals last year.  I think you're all just making excuses.  The Cavs were a top 3 team in defense and rebounding last year.  This year they are a middle of the pack defensive team, and to a man, most of them have regressed in terms of production.  I can point to injuries, contract holdouts etc, but then again, maybe I'm just making excuses.

Regardless, the Wizards should SWEEP the Cavaliers giving all the talk they're doing.  And yet, up 2 late in the 4th quarter, they couldn't stop LeBron James - and Gilbert Arenas threw up brick after brick down the stretch.  Almost every analyst I've read has picked the Wizards to beat the Cavs.  The Wizards are the FAVORITES in this series, and they already blew game 1.

All the trash talking and drama makes for good entertainment.  I suppose it pleases the weak fans of the NBA.  But as a hardcore fan, I think I speak for all of us when I say: "Shut up and play."  Or at least, "Win a GAME, before you start talking trash."

Take an example from the Cavs and from LeBron.  They often talk about how they were the inferior team in last year's finals and they got outplayed by a better team.  All you hear from the Wizards and from their fan base is the same old garbage:  "LeBron Traveled", "They'd never beat us if Arenas and Butler were healthy".  "LeBron is overrated."  "They don't have the best finisher in the game."

Lots of talk - NOTHING to back it up.

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In case anyone wants to know the origins of all the trash talk, here is my best recap.

Neither of these teams have ever liked each other.  There has been plenty of back and forth behind the scenes for the last 3 years.  As far as the stuff that made it to a camera or mic:

Earlier in the season, the Cavs SMOKED the Wizards.  Damon Jones is a cocky player by nature and held a 3 point pose a few times in the game after stroking 3s in garbage time.

Later in the season, the Cavs signed 2 D-league players for a game against the Wizards.  It seemed impossible for the Cavs to beat the Wiz given the lack of players, yet they won the game, and celebrated like it was a playoff game as the whistle sounded.

Apparently, LeBron had made a comment to Drew Gooden about DeShawn Stevenson sometime before the trade.  No one knows exactly what it was about.  LeBron said it was about his game and about the Wizards, nothing about his family or anything personal.  DeShawn hasn't shed any light on the content of what was said.  My guess is LeBron said DeShawn has a tiny #### and DeShawn doesn't want to bring that into the national spotlight.

At any rate, during a game in Washington on March 13,  Damon Jones started making fun of DeShawn Stevenson's hand-wave-in-front-of-the-face thing he does when he makes a 3.  Later, after DeShawn made a 3 he mocked Damon Jones' hand-on-a-platter-thing he does after making threes.  The game ended with LeBron missing a 3 at the buzzer with Stevenson in his grill.  After the game, Stevenson told the media that LeBron was overrated and wanted to make sure the media attributed it to him.

Well, Mr. 18%, you got your wish.