Wizards @ Cavs

 

So maybe I made a mistake when I picked the Wizards to win the series in 6. The way things have been going, they may get swept. And I found myself rooting for the Cavs despite my prediction. True, I have a huge man crush on Lebron, but I have just as much disdain for Ben Wallace. And the Cavs being eliminated in the 1st round might just make Lebron mad enough with the Cavs front office that he will bold when he becomes a UFA in 2010, which might just give the Bulls a chance to get him. But when he’s playing like he did last night, you just can’t root against him.

 

I’ve seen Lebron’s 25 consecutive points game in the playoffs last year against Detroit, I’ve seen his showdown with Kobe this season when he blanketed Kobe in the 4th quarter and his games against Wade, of which this one was a classic. I can say I pretty much have seen Lebron’s best performances so far, but nothing compared to what I’ve seen last night.

 

Not even the 25 straight points against Detroit in the playoffs had the same feeling of absolute domination. In fact, those 25 points didn’t even feel as dominant as Wade’s 17 straight points (including the winning basket) against Detroit in the regular season. Probably because the reason Lebron scored 25 consecutive points was that his teammates were missing everything, despite Lebron providing them with a bunch of open looks, instead of taking the shots himself every trip down the floor.

 

These playoffs already are more physical than in years past. But last evening Lebron was not about to risk allowing the other Cavs ruin it. In the most physical game in these playoffs so far, Lebron was not about to let hard fouls or even being slammed on the floor stop him from driving to the basket. Lebron played Moses to the Wizards’ defense Red Sea. He played hurricane Katrina to the Wizards’ defense levies. He played the Big Bad Wolf to the Wizards’ defense 3 Little Pigs Stooges.

 

After just a few minutes you could tell the Wizards didn’t have a chance. They looked just as hopeless as the Eastern Champions in the 2000-2003 finals - just weren’t good enough, and there was nothing they could do to win the game. Nothing except shooting Lebron could have stopped him, and even that might not have worked, as he is so strong he might just be bulletproof.

 

Lebron was a force on defense too, with a team high 2 blk and 8 of his 9 rebounds of the defensive kind. At the same time, he kept his teammates involved, finishing one rebound short of a triple double: 30 points on 9-19 FG, 9 rebounds, 12 assists.

 

And, believe it or not, the most idiotic moment of the night came courtesy of none other than DeShawn Stevenson, the same moron responsible for making Lebron mad and perhaps burying with one short sentence the Wizards chances of advancing. After he made one of his only 4 shots of the game, he did the “I can’t feel my face” gesture which he does when he’s hot. Lebron cooled him off though, as on the next trip down court he responded with a 3 pointer of his own, despite being double teamed. Too bad Lebron doesn’t talk much trash, cause it would have been priceless to see him mimic the “I can’t feel my face” after that shot. Later, with the game safe in hand, Cleveland brings in the reserves. Enter Damon Jones: as soon as he hit a shot his only shot, he did the “I can’t feel my face” to the delight of the crowd. As for why DeShawn couldn’t feel his face, I think it was because Lebron’s boot was on it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 am and is filed under Game notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.