Lil Red Machine

LeBron was going to have to put together a monster performance, and someone on the supporting cast was going to have to step up in a large way in order for the Cavs to keep their season alive.

Mission accomplished.

LeBron James put together a triple double, totally 37 points/14 rebounds/12 assists, Mo Williams totaled 24 points, and even little used Daniel Gibson–the playoff hero of a few seasons ago, hit some large three pointers off the bench, as the Cavs won 112-102.

I don’t think that Cleveland really unveiled a special plan to counter the Magic attack. Orlando got a lot of open looks from downtown, but only shot at a slightly less than .333 clip from beyond the arc. Those shots normally fall, but not Thursday night. Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard did the job, but they didn’t get much help.

If Cleveland has any hope of winning this series, they have to close down their perimeter D. They can’t count on Orlando struggling like that from long distance again.

At one stretch late in the game, LeBron had a hand in 32 consecutive points. He played outstanding, but expended alot of energy. Will he have to play like THAT for the Cavs to win the next 2 games? He’s certainly capable of it, but it’s a tall task.

I still think Orlando has the upper hand in this series, but I’m glad Cleveland didn’t go out on their homecourt, especially after blowing their big lead like it did. That would’ve left an unbelievably awful taste in their mouth.

Before I put my opinions and give my personal analysis, there’s one thing we need to get straight here:
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The Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons the Orlando Magic are not.

The Cavs have their work cut out for them now. Home court advantage? Gone. Feeling of invincibility? Gone
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The Cavs must be going crazy.  By this point, they must hate eachother, for they are only getting to play against one another.  Come Wednesday night, they will finally get to face someone outside of the practice confines.  It’s been a LONG layoff.  The rest is good for aging vets such as Z and big Ben Wallace, but is there such a thing as TOO much rest?
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I don’t think the Cavs want homecourt so much as they need it.

Quicken Loans Arena has turned into a madhouse.  Back in the Lamond Murray/Chris Mihm/DaJuan Wagner era, I could go to a game the day of, and get courtside seats off of a scalper for $40, and hang out with a few thousand of my buds, and count by hand the number of people sitting in the upperdeck.  It was a depressing place.

Now, it’s amazing to see the place light up the way it has.  Who cares if the majority of the fans are fair weather?  They are there, and they are making a difference.  The crowd really helped propel them to victory tonight against the Magic 97-93.  Everyone who follows Cavaliers basketball knows that the Magic has given them fits lately.  Only one home loss on the season, and it’s mid-March.  LeBron did his thing, pouring in 43 points.  Mo Williams had 21.  Both men hit clutch shots.

Orlando has a bright future, though, and they aren’t a team I would want to face in the playoffs.  They kept it close, despite a relatively quiet 15-point game from Dwight Howard, who only took 8 shots.  That’s the same number of three-pointers that Rashard Lewis took–and missed.  Both of those occurances are statistical anomylies.