Random Thoughts (May 27, 2009)

The Cleveland Cavaliers, the pick of many (myself included) to win the NBA championship, are on the verge of elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals for three reasons. One, their offense has no rhythm. The Cavs dominated the regular season because they shared the basketball. Yes, LeBron James is the definite focal point of their offense but during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs they were at their best when LeBron penetrated and kicked out to open shooters. Against the Magic, LeBron is totally dominating the ball and their is almost zero ball movement. Second, they play no defense. The Magic are a tough team to matchup with because both of their starting forwards, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, are tall (both are 6-10) and can shoot from the outside and drive to the hole. That is why the knocked off the Celtics. However, the Cavs have the athletes to defend both Lewis and Turkoglu. It's simply a matter of effort. No one -- LeBron especially -- so much as gets into a defensive stance. It's not that hard to defend a screen-and-roll if they player defending the ball is in a stance, low to the ground. That's simple high school strategy. Finally, the Cavs are being outcoached. Mike Brown, the reigning Coach of the Year, is being worked over by Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy has led his team to a 3-1 series lead by running clearouts and screen-and-rolls and Brown has done nothing to respond. The one time in last night's game when Brown went with a small lineup -- playing LeBron at the 4 with Anderson Varajeo, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Daniel Gibson around him -- the Cavs took control of the game. Brown needs to continue to play "small ball" if he hopes to keep his teams season alive. Reality is about to set in for Cleveland. The Orlando Magic are playing better on both ends of the floor and the Cavs aren't making the necessary adjustments to turn the tide of this series... I had mixed feelings while watching last night's Red Sox loss to Minnesota. I was sad to see David Ortiz dropped in the lineup, going from third to sixth. After all that Big Papi has done for the Sox, it's hard to see him struggle. I was also happy that Ortiz was dropped. Professional baseball is not just about what happened in the past. The (sad) fact is that Ortiz just is not the All-Star he once was and it is hurting the team. Hopefully, the drop in the order will get Ortiz back on track. If not, his next drop might be to the bench... If the Nuggets can cut down on the inexcusable mental mistakes, they will be joining the Magic in the NBA Finals... The similarities between the 2008 and 2009 Penguins/Red Wings Stanley Cup Finals (yes, I'm giving up on the Blackhawks) and the 1983 and 1984 Islanders/Oilers can not be ignored. Back in the early '80s, the Islanders of Mike Bossy dominated the NHL, winning every Cup from 1980 - 1983. In 1983, they beat the young, upstart Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. A year later, the Oilers defeated the Islanders to begin their own run of championships (five in seven years). The Red Wings have been the NHL's dominant team since the late 1990s, winning championships in 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008. In 2008, they knocked off the young, upstart Penguins, led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. A year later, the Penguins will be looking to recreate history, defeat the Red Wings and look to become the next great team in the NHL... There was a major flaw in the season finale of The Office that I didn't catch on to until watching a rerun last night. In the episode where Michael, Pam, Oscar, and Darryl visited a local high school job fair (Job Fair), Pam reminices about her days lying to get out of playing basketball and volleyball in gym class. In the season finale (Company Picnic), Pam was the star of the volleyball games played between the different branches and bragged about her days as a high school volleyball star. So Pam, which is it? High school hero or high school zero... Enjoy Marion Hossa tonight...