Season In Balance

Last night, in a game that should have been approached as a must-win game 7, the Cavaliers came out on their home court and played like it was a scrimmage. Hell, I'd expect a team to show more intensity in an off-season charity game. The Cavs were outperformed in nearly every aspect of the game as Boston dismantled Cleveland in a 120-88 blowout, good for the Cavs' worst home playoff loss ever.

If you're a Cavs fan, you'd like to credit Paul Pierce and the Boston defense for holding James to 15 points on 3-14 shooting, but the fact of the matter is that LeBron's poor performance falls largely on his own shoulders. He started the game getting his teammates involved with 4 assists in the first quarter, which is all well and good, but he should have started attacking the rim sooner than he did. James just couldn't hit a shot in the first half, and when he did start to take it to the hoop in the second quarter, Boston smartly made him earn it at the line to prevent him from getting in rhythm.

The second quarter was possibly some of the ugliest basketball I've seen during these playoffs outside of the Hawks pitiful performance against the Magic. The Cavs were stuck at 29 points for nearly 6 minutes, turning the ball over and missing shot after shot as they basically invited the Celtics to take the lead into the half. Garnett was having his way with Jamison, Pierce got into a rhythm for the first time this series, and Mo couldn't keep up with Ray Allen as he moved without the ball and knocked down jumpers. Keep in mind that a lot of this was going down without Rondo on the floor.

Then the second half came along, and things got real ugly. Ray Allen caught fire from deep, Rondo and Garnett got the two-man game going, and LeBron continued to toss up bricks. By the time James got his first basket, which was a dunk he earned by cherry-picking, the Celtics' lead had expanded to 13 points. And it wouldn't get any better from there. From the end of the third quarter on, Boston's big four dominated. Even Big Baby was making the Cavs look like a lottery bound team. Whatever hope the Cavs had heading into the 4th quarter quickly disappeared as the Celtics pounded them 40-25.

So is it time to panic in Cleveland? Not quite yet, but the best team in the regular season shouldn't be where they are right now. With their season in balance and possibly their entire future as well, the Cavs will have to bring it from the opening tip to the close of the 4th quarter tomorrow night in Boston. The LeBron backlash has been brutal today, but I for one am not counting him and the Cavs out yet. James could easily go onto average 40-50 points in the next two games and avoid a catastrophic elimination, but the Celtics are hitting their stride right now so I'd be no less surprised if they came out in Boston and broke the collective heart of the city of Cleveland. The outcome of this series will be a defining moment for the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, the career of LeBron James, and the entire NBA landscape.