HQPQ - Cavs v. Pacers

The CavsHQ Postgame Quickhits for the Cavs' hard-fought victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Good:

John Kuntz/PD
1. Anderson Varejao doing all the dirty work, and having his best all around game in two seasons. Varejao finished with a career-high 18 points and 8 rebounds, and he was the catalyst the Cavs needed down the stretch. Varejao came into the game with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter and the Cavs trailing 79-72, and proceeded to score 7 straight points, 3 off a spinning layup and a foul, 2 off a steal that he took all the way to the other end, and 2 more on an offensive rebound that he slammed back home. That cut the Pacer lead to 3, and got the home crowd roaring. Varejao was the perfect example of the Cavs' bench depth, giving the Cavs a boost when Ben Wallace proved completely ineffective.

2. Zydrunas Ilgauskas kept the Cavs in the game in the first half, going 4-of-6 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line for 14 first half points. He also managed to limit himself to just one turnover, while coming up with 3 blocks.

3. LeBron James's Friday wasn't as good as his Wednesday, but it was still pretty good. LeBron finished with 27 points, 9 rebound, 8 assists and 4 blocks, the last of which was a game-saver, as he charged back to block a T.J. Ford layup that would have cut the Cavalier lead to 2 with 39 seconds left. LeBron also managed to hit his first 3-pointer of the season, a shot that gave the Cavaliers a 7-point lead with 1:15 left in the game.

The Bad:

1. After a four straight very good games, Ben Wallace was completely lost last night, failing to grab a rebound or score a point in 19 minutes. The Cavs went into the game with a major advantage in the frontcourt, but they were outrebounded 44-30, giving the Pacers 13 extra shots last night. That was the only reason the Pacers were even in the game, as the Cavaliers shot 52% from the field.

2. While the Cavs were able to keep T.J. Ford in check - don't ask me how - they once again had major problems keeping a stop-and-pop scorer from scoring. On Wednesday it was Ben Gordon who dropped 31 points on the Cavs, and last night it was Danny Granger going off for 33 points 13-of-21 shooting. Granger is becoming a very good player, keeping the defense off balance with strong drives and accurate outside shooting. He was really getting into with LeBron down the stretch, and could be said to get the better of James if it wasn't for that amazing block by LeBron in the last minute.

3. While the Cavs could expect Granger to have a good night, they also did nothing to slow down Marquis Daniels, who finished with 17 points, 7 assists and 11 rebounds, including a whopping 5 offensive rebounds. Daniels was also a major threat in the transition game, where Indiana scored nearly all of its points. With the Cavaliers sporting a shorter backcourt, big guards like Daniels can be a problem, and he was last night.

The Questions:

1. Can the Pacers win with the way they play?

Hard to tell right now, but the Pacers definitely play an interesting style. While their half-court sets are uninspiring, the team does a great job of turning long rebounds into transition buckets. It's not quite the Suns in their heyday, but I was impressed with how they attacked off missed shots, especially long rebounds. They could definitely surprise teams that start to settle for long jumpers, which the Cavaliers did during the big Pacer runs. The Pacers could be a sleeper team if they can start putting the pieces together.

2. Who would most GMs rather have, Danny Granger or Carmelo Anthony?

With Granger coming into his own as a star in the league, it's interesting to figure out where he is in the pecking order of scoring wings. While Anthony has established himself as a great scorer in the league, he also brings with him a mess of baggage, and may have plateaued as a player. Meanwhile, Granger is developing into very dangerous scorer, with a Melo-esque long- and mid-range game. But also like Anthony, Granger is not especially active on the boards, doesn't do anything exciting defensively, and isn't much of a passer.

If Granger continues to develop, he could find himself in the top-tier of scoring wings very soon. Compared side-by-side, Anthony is the better player, but I wouldn't be surprised if some front office personnel would prefer to have Granger's workman like persona to Anthony's habit of attracting the wrong kind of attention.

3. How will the Cavs respond to their first back-to-back game of the season?

Expect this to be addressed further in the What to Watch For for Saturday night's contest in Chicago. The Cavs played 19 back-to-back games last season, going 8-11 in the second game. The deeper Cavalier bench should give the team a better chance to win more of these second-night games this season.

Go Cavs.

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Posted by Mike C at 11/8/2008 2:09 PM
Categories: uncategorized
 

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