The Cavaliers knocked the defending World Champs into further disarray last night, in a game that brought momentary appeasement to a fanbase in desperate need of a meaningful victory.
Cleveland is 2-1 in its last 3 games. It feels great to say that. In the month of February, Cavs are 2-0 against teams from Los Angeles.
Of course, the headlines on ESPN are all too easily predictable: What is wrong with the Lakers? Losing to Orlando is one thing, but the Cavs?
Really ESPN? How about giving us some credit when it's clear we outplayed our opponent? Why does it always have to be about the other team?
The Lakers didn't come to play; the Cavs were hungry for a big win heading into the All-Star break. In front of 20,000+ roaring fans at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs played maybe their most complete game of the season
Ramon Sessions led all players with 32 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals off the bench. Mo Williams aggravated his injured ankle, and did not return after 3 minutes of action.
Sessions has been playing excellent as of late. Earlier in the season, he often forgot about his teammates and drove every chance he got. Now, he seems to be finding that invaluable skill of knowing when to get others involved.
Ramon has significantly reduced the amount of careless turnovers, and is making his presence felt on the court. In the first half he finished with 16 points, partly because he got to the free throw line 7 times and made them all count.
Sessions is the driving force behind the Cavaliers right now. He even made his first 3 pointer of the season.
If the Cavs weren't in last place, one could make a strong case for Ramon to be named 6th man of the year.
Christian Eyenga also came to play last night; Number 8 has dramatically improved his offensive game and court awareness throughout the 1st half of the season.
He also managed to school Kobe Bryant, and dunk in the face of Pau Gasol all in one play. Speaking of Gasol, is there ever a time where he doesn't make an overdramatic yell for a foul as he bricks another lay-up?
Eyenga has the potential to be an impact player for the Cavs. His defensive intensity alone warrants the playing time he's been receiving.
For all the losses we incurred during the 1st half of the season, its undeniable that the win over the Lakers will help this team's confidence going forward.
We need to play with the same defensive effort we showed last night, and we could be competitive night-in and night-out. The Cavaliers haven't had a problem scoring the basketball this season, we're averaging right around 100 points a night. The problem is consistent defense.
Granted, we don't have the pieces in the frontcourt to stop the likes of Dwight Howard and pretty much any other legitimate center in the league right now. The injury to Anderon Varejao for the season hurt this team in a multitude of ways, including but not limited to: defending in the post, rebounding, and energy.
Jamison attempting to defend Gasol just isn't going to work out well most nights.
That being said, Jamison did play a great game defensively and the Cavs worked as a team to out-will the Lakers for our 10th victory of the season.
Improving throughout the rest of the season is the main goal for Coach Byron Scott; we have to change the atmosphere of losing and develop our players to bring A+ effort on a nightly basis.
This victory was a step in the right direction. Hopefully this will propel the Cavs to a strong finish for the rest of the season.
Of course, the headlines on ESPN are all too easily predictable: What is wrong with the Lakers? Losing to Orlando is one thing, but the Cavs?
Really ESPN? How about giving us some credit when it's clear we outplayed our opponent? Why does it always have to be about the other team?
The Lakers didn't come to play; the Cavs were hungry for a big win heading into the All-Star break. In front of 20,000+ roaring fans at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs played maybe their most complete game of the season
Ramon Sessions led all players with 32 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals off the bench. Mo Williams aggravated his injured ankle, and did not return after 3 minutes of action.
Sessions has been playing excellent as of late. Earlier in the season, he often forgot about his teammates and drove every chance he got. Now, he seems to be finding that invaluable skill of knowing when to get others involved.
Sessions is the driving force behind the Cavaliers right now. He even made his first 3 pointer of the season.
If the Cavs weren't in last place, one could make a strong case for Ramon to be named 6th man of the year.
Christian Eyenga also came to play last night; Number 8 has dramatically improved his offensive game and court awareness throughout the 1st half of the season.
He also managed to school Kobe Bryant, and dunk in the face of Pau Gasol all in one play. Speaking of Gasol, is there ever a time where he doesn't make an overdramatic yell for a foul as he bricks another lay-up?
Eyenga has the potential to be an impact player for the Cavs. His defensive intensity alone warrants the playing time he's been receiving.
For all the losses we incurred during the 1st half of the season, its undeniable that the win over the Lakers will help this team's confidence going forward.
We need to play with the same defensive effort we showed last night, and we could be competitive night-in and night-out. The Cavaliers haven't had a problem scoring the basketball this season, we're averaging right around 100 points a night. The problem is consistent defense.
Jamison attempting to defend Gasol just isn't going to work out well most nights.
That being said, Jamison did play a great game defensively and the Cavs worked as a team to out-will the Lakers for our 10th victory of the season.
Improving throughout the rest of the season is the main goal for Coach Byron Scott; we have to change the atmosphere of losing and develop our players to bring A+ effort on a nightly basis.
This victory was a step in the right direction. Hopefully this will propel the Cavs to a strong finish for the rest of the season.
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