Saturday, May 30, 2009
Mike Brown Sucks
Seriously, the Cavs' coach sucks. I'm pissed right now because the Cavs were just eliminated from the playoffs by the Magic in pretty much a blowout victory. And, the only thing I kept thinking throughout the entire game was how much this game looked exactly like the others. How Cleveland still had no idea how to guard Dwight Howard, and no idea how to defend the threes when they kicked it out. Admittedly, Orlando did a fantastic job of running this offense. All their players other than Howard could shoot threes, and all of them spread out accordingly, passed around the perimeter when they weren't open, drove when a Cavs player came flying at them, etc. But, what's really disappointing is how Mike Brown just let them play this type of game without even trying any new defensive tactics to stop it. The Cavs just played the same way they always did.
Here's some ideas they should have tried:
1. Double team the guy with the ball so they can't make an entry pass.
2. Front Dwight Howard.
3. Double Dwight Howard at all times and let them take the threes with guys running at them.
Not even trying the third one in this list is what makes the least sense to me. The Magic are good at two things- making threes and posting up Dwight Howard. It's basketball theory 101 that if you can't effectively stop both things a team is good at, you should focus on one and make the team beat you using the other. This puts the pressure of the game on just one tactic. The Cavs once in awhile switched to a defense that doubled Howard, but only doing it once in awhile defeats the whole purpose. This theory works because it's both physically and mentally draining to have to carry the game the whole time. To show my point, imagine a scenario where the Cavs are doubling Howard, such that the three point shooters of Orlando just made five or six threes in a quarter. Now, if the Cavs continue to double team Howard, the three point shooters will realize that they're gonna have to keep making these threes if they want to win the game. This will get harder and harder as the game goes on. If, however, the Cavs react to the situation (like Mike Brown had them doing) and single cover Howard, the three point shooters can now relax for a little while, releiving them of the pressure of having to make threes, while they feed the ball to Howard. My point is, in all this, that Brown never had a single game where he doubled Howard the whole game or a significant, continuous portion of a game, and not at least trying this is very disappointing.
However, Mike Brown's biggest disappointment in my eyes is that he didn't try to foul out Dwight Howard. There were so many plays in the last game (and a couple in this game) where Lebron drove past his initial defender then went straight into Dwight Howard's body, drew the foul, and often made the shot. He should have done this early and often in this game. They should have tried to get Howard in foul trouble right away.
They also should have attempted to draw offensive fouls on Howard. Anderson Varejao has made a name for himself by flopping and getting fouls. Why the hell wasn't he doing this when he was guarding Dwight Howard? Howard would back straight into his chest, and not lightly either, over and over again, and Varejao would just try to stand his ground. This doesn't make sense to me. Howard scored over Varejao just about everytime anyway. Why not take a chance with the flop? Even if it works just 25% of the time (and I can't imagine it working less than that), you're giving up 6 points for every foul. And, as I see it, by playing regular, tough defense, Howard is still going to make three of four on Varejao anyway, giving him six points and no fouls. I see it as a win for the Cavs without losing anything.
I also see the flopping as a good way to take Howard out of his game. You have to make the game ticky tacky such that Howard is constantly worried about how much contact he's starting. Making things physical by playing tough, straight up D only gives him a better feel for the game.
I just don't understand why a team that was outplayed in almost every game in a series can still fail to make a single, legitimate adjustment. And, this is against a team that makes their gameplan so painfully obvious. What the hell, Mike Brown?
Here's some ideas they should have tried:
1. Double team the guy with the ball so they can't make an entry pass.
2. Front Dwight Howard.
3. Double Dwight Howard at all times and let them take the threes with guys running at them.
Not even trying the third one in this list is what makes the least sense to me. The Magic are good at two things- making threes and posting up Dwight Howard. It's basketball theory 101 that if you can't effectively stop both things a team is good at, you should focus on one and make the team beat you using the other. This puts the pressure of the game on just one tactic. The Cavs once in awhile switched to a defense that doubled Howard, but only doing it once in awhile defeats the whole purpose. This theory works because it's both physically and mentally draining to have to carry the game the whole time. To show my point, imagine a scenario where the Cavs are doubling Howard, such that the three point shooters of Orlando just made five or six threes in a quarter. Now, if the Cavs continue to double team Howard, the three point shooters will realize that they're gonna have to keep making these threes if they want to win the game. This will get harder and harder as the game goes on. If, however, the Cavs react to the situation (like Mike Brown had them doing) and single cover Howard, the three point shooters can now relax for a little while, releiving them of the pressure of having to make threes, while they feed the ball to Howard. My point is, in all this, that Brown never had a single game where he doubled Howard the whole game or a significant, continuous portion of a game, and not at least trying this is very disappointing.
However, Mike Brown's biggest disappointment in my eyes is that he didn't try to foul out Dwight Howard. There were so many plays in the last game (and a couple in this game) where Lebron drove past his initial defender then went straight into Dwight Howard's body, drew the foul, and often made the shot. He should have done this early and often in this game. They should have tried to get Howard in foul trouble right away.
They also should have attempted to draw offensive fouls on Howard. Anderson Varejao has made a name for himself by flopping and getting fouls. Why the hell wasn't he doing this when he was guarding Dwight Howard? Howard would back straight into his chest, and not lightly either, over and over again, and Varejao would just try to stand his ground. This doesn't make sense to me. Howard scored over Varejao just about everytime anyway. Why not take a chance with the flop? Even if it works just 25% of the time (and I can't imagine it working less than that), you're giving up 6 points for every foul. And, as I see it, by playing regular, tough defense, Howard is still going to make three of four on Varejao anyway, giving him six points and no fouls. I see it as a win for the Cavs without losing anything.
I also see the flopping as a good way to take Howard out of his game. You have to make the game ticky tacky such that Howard is constantly worried about how much contact he's starting. Making things physical by playing tough, straight up D only gives him a better feel for the game.
I just don't understand why a team that was outplayed in almost every game in a series can still fail to make a single, legitimate adjustment. And, this is against a team that makes their gameplan so painfully obvious. What the hell, Mike Brown?
# posted by Clyde @ 9:17 PM 
