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Photo: Bill Kostroun/AP
The Cavaliers survived their first game of the 2010 schedule, a sure-fire trap game on the road in the afternoon against the three win New Jersey Nets. They attacked the bucket, excelled in second chance points, and their defense picked up after being lazy in the first 15 minutes or so of the game, and they now boast a 7-game win streak atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Not quite the 3-29 Nets: With forward Chris Douglas-Roberts and big man Yi Jianlian back since the last meeting between the two, the Nets had a bit more firepower to work with than before. The Nets, when healthy, with players like Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, are capable of putting together more than 3 wins in the team's first 33 games. They showed some of that ability today, jumping out to a 14-5 lead and leading by seven after one quarter. The Nets shot 52% in the first and 48% overall in the half. The second half offensive execution is one of the reasons why the Nets are lottery bound.
Ugly JJ: J.J. Hickson was mega-aggressive in the opening moments of the game. Unfortunately, he was forcing things and didn't slow down before he was pulled five minutes in after missing five shots and turning it over once. Hickson had Yi guarding him, and Yi plays Tickle-me-Elmo defense at best, but Hickson was forcing long jumpers, something that he shouldn't do at this point in his career unless the shot clock or game clock is at 1.
Not-so-ugly JJ: Hickson must've gotten the message at halftime as he didn't return in the second quarter since Anderson Varejao played 19 straight minutes. J.J. came out a bit more relaxed, instead channeling his energy into concentrated bursts, including a tremendous block on Yi, a powerful putback dunk, and a dunk on an LBJ assist. Hickson finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds, and a block in 15 minutes, showing that he still has a long way to go.
Staying aggressive when the shots aren't falling: No one shot it particularly well for the Cavaliers, but give them credit for attacking the paint, getting to the free throw line, and converting. Both teams did this in fact as Cleveland made 26-of-33 attempts and New Jersey hit 25-of-32 free throws. LeBron made 13-of-15 foul shots, despite just shooting 7-of-16 from the field. He didn't get the calls early, in fact he stopped and complained more than once, but eventually the whistles were piling up on both sides and LBJ got his fair shake of them. Bad things rarely if ever happen when LeBron attacks the basket, so the more often it happens, the better it is for Cavalier fans.
CDR CDB'd by LBJ twice: FSN Ohio announcer Fred McLeod likes to keep track of LeBron's chasedown block victims, and there has been at least one two-time chasedown recipient, Jason Richardson of the Suns. However, I believe for the first time ever, LeBron got the same guy twice in one game. That unfortunate statistic holder is Chris Douglas-Roberts who was CBD'd (chasedown blocked) twice in the third quarter by James.
Dive, skip, and a dunk: A play with a high degree of difficulty attached to it happened to effectively ice the game late in the fourth quarter. As a 50-50 ball broke out, Anthony Parker dove to the court and skipped a rolling pass up the court to LeBron James who was slightly ahead of two Net defenders. That wasn't the only impressive facet, however, because LBJ split the defenders and muscled up a shot as he was hammered by Devin Harris, making it and later completing the three point play.
Boobie shows his face: Multiple circumstances forced coach Mike Brown to go to his 10th man in the rotation, Daniel Gibson. They included another bad day for Delonte West and Mo Williams foul trouble, picking up his fifth foul at the 5:33 mark. Brown went with Boobie over Jamario Moon, who only saw 7 minutes against the small backcourt of the Nets. Gibson hit a big fourth quarter three, and the Cavaliers were +5 with him in 16 minutes. Glad to see Gibson can step right in and perform despite the erratic amount of minutes.
 goes to: Anderson Varejao. Andy's energy was one of the early bright spot for this team, which looked a little hungover from the New Year's holiday and a couple of days off. One thing you never have to worry about with Andy is the effort he puts forth every second he is out there. Varejao shot a whopping 7-of-13, I say whopping because that's about twice the number of shots you normally expect from him. He had 15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in 34 minutes.
Team Grade: C+
The Cavaliers came out unfocused on the defensive end, and they were missing shots on the offensive end. They used the free throw line to save them, converting 26-of-33, and they had 23 second chance points while winning the rebounding battle 52-38. The Cavs also had 52 points in the paint, and they held New Jersey to 39% shooting. It was an effort that was just enough to avoid an embarassing loss to the Nets.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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