Ok, who'd have thought Cleveland would be up 3-2 after the beginning of this series. Only Cleveland fans, that's who.
LeBron scored the last 25 points for Cleveland in game 5. Double OT and the score actually made it over a combined 200 points. Vegas bookies took a beating. Cleveland fans and homers, start your rants about finishing off the woeful Pistons and b'slapping the Spurs next.
In reality, Cleveland is a couple buckets away from winning the series 4-1. Then again, the Pistons are a couple buckets away from winning the series, too.
That's why we play the game, sports fans.
Should Cleveland win the series, look for LeBron to receive the Dwayne Wade "breathe on me in the lane and it's a trip to the line" rule.
Over the course of that game there were PLENTY of "breathe on me and you go to the line" calls on both sides of the ball. The ref's overall job on this one was good, they kept the calls balanced, and didn't let one team or the other get too many calls that it overbalanced the game in it's entirety.
LeBron had one of those moments in which a player just can't miss a shot, and HOW the heck the Pistons let him keep shooting is the question Pistons players, coaches and fans have to ask themselves. Strategically, the double teams were not coming hard enough to get LeBron to pass the ball and the few times they did, LeBron was in the zone far enough to slip away and make the shot, but the Pistons needed to keep the hard double teams coming on every posession and make someone else beat you. They messed up, and the Cavs won.
But it was STILL one hell o####ame no matter how you view it.
Dalamar, I agree with your assessment.
What I did see was that the Cavs kept LeBron at the top of the key and dished him the ball. The rest of the Cavs hit the lane. The Pistons covered the lane and LeBron was 1 on 1 for his penetrations and airball with 6.6 seconds left in OT1.
To much disappointment, my awe and respect for Kobe Bryant's athleticism seem to be consistently tainted by Lebron James' powerful leadership and Kobe's lack thereof. To agree with Lebron, "Kobe is the best player in the NBA." However, the annoying annual sequence of gripes and whines that Kobe spouts about the Lakers' management/ownership and his, albeit, inadequately skilled teammates overshadows his accomplishments and casts a spotlight on his short-comings as a leader. Lebron, with an equally inadequate team and imaginably comparable franchise politics, is now on the verge of taking a group of nameless basketball players, without a Phil Jackson, to the NBA Finals after impressively beating the Detroit Pistons, THE PISTONS mind you, in Game 5. If the phrase "The team reflects its leader" rings true today as it did when the former Lakers leaders ruled the court, Kobe must try to follow King James' example if he wants to rid his ring fingers of the Shaq asterisk. Perhaps he can start where Lebron did: by humbly acclaiming King James as the better leader.
what happened is a coach that has no idea of how to coach..let me see one guy is beating us were supposedly the best defensive team here..i got it spread the court let the best player go one on one step out the way he's sure to miss his dunks and let's keep our bigs out the paint so our guards can get tripled and turn the ball over in the last minutes of regulation.
The thing is, EVERY game in this series has been this fantastic. EVERY game could have gone to either team! Every game has come down to the last basket.
bennyesparra - It bites when your team is down and can't get up. Look for West to ride in on a white horse. Jerry Buss better cough up the coin.
I'll say Kobe is the best ATHLETE in the NBA, yet not the best player. The Lakers must make massive changes or they may be the 9th seed in the West.
Antifrz, I like the handle.
I'm sure we were all yelling at the tv. "Guard him tight." When LeBron dropped the 21 foot airball with 6.6 seconds left in the first OT, I thought the bubble burst and so did the room full of guys. You would think after a dozen straight points that the Pistons would have made an adjustment. We all noted the whining over a non-existent foul when he went to the hoop unmolested. That never changes, regardless of the team.
Tom7 - Your point is my point.
This could have been over in 4 games and either team could have been the winner.
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda applies to so many missed opportunities. The fans of the losing team are going to buy razor blades in bulk.
What Lebron did last night was nothing short of amazing, and while it doesn't look good for the Pistons right now, they haven't lost yet, so keep the faith Detroit fans. Cavs fans, you have every reason to be excited, and winning game 5 in Detroit was a giant step towards a birth in the finals against my beloved Spurs, but don't celebrate until the 4th game is won.
Swamp, it was a great game to watch, wasn't it.
"It ain't over till it's over" applies to this series.
With three minutes left in Q4, I thought Detroit had the game won, then the fun started.
How often do we get a good series out of the East and have the total score go over 200! It's a miracle.
Hey...Lebron receeived some of that DWade treatment against Detroit. Not so much the "breathe on me foul" but the "no traveling" calls on Lebron and the..."If Lebron misses a shot, call a foul on the closest Piston" treatment.
Spurs in 6
(By the way...if Detroit had made it to the finals my predictions would be)
Statistics are a dangerous when handled by zealots.
I believe Burnt Orange isn't a color, it's a disease.
The DH rule should be elimintated.
I like cats and dogs...cats taste more like chicken.
Women are god's greatest creation.
Barry Bonds was detrimental to sports.
The month after the Super Bowl is sports HELL.
March Madness is the best elongated sports extravaganza.
The Masters is great watching, in spite of Jim 'nancy boy' Nantz.
Anyone spouting political commentary should be barred from this site.
This is a sports blog!
I need a soma.
