The Cavaliers really missed an opportunity to help solidify the fourth spot when they basically gave up the 4th quarter in a loss to the Magic 101-86. Delonte West had a solid game with 19 points followed up by Z with 18. LeBron added 17 points on 6-22 shooting and is obviously not playing well. I still don’t understand why Mike Brown is insisting on playing Boobie Gibson over Damon Jones at this point in the season. Damon has proven that he can consistently make the key baskets and played well coming in for Delonte. I know Boobie was a key contributor last year and before becoming injured but how long is coach Brown going to allow him to try to regain his form. The following are the key quotes from the game.
HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On the game as a whole):
“One of the biggest disappointments that happened tonight was our turnovers. We had 16 turnovers. We gave up 25 points off those 16 turnovers. They were bad turnovers that led to a ton of points. We have to do a better job of making sure that when we turn the ball over, that our court balance is there. I thought Orlando came in here and stayed consistent. They stuck with their game plan and they chipped away to win the ballgame. For us this is the second game in a row, in the fourth quarter especially, that we have not been able to score. I thought we moved the ball well, but we just did not finish.”
(On injuries being a factor):
“It’s not a factor. Every team is feeling dinged up right now and we just have to keep trying to play through. It’s not a factor in some of the things we’re doing out on the floor.”
(On concerns going into the postseason):
“We’re turning the ball over. Defensively we’re not fighting through any type of adversity. We’re on the officials quite a bit, and we have to make sure that we’re a no-excuse team and we don’t want to mess with the officials. We just have to bring a little bit more fight, especially in the fourth quarter, against teams we play.”
(On having a break in the schedule):
“You want to get back on the floor and play the right way, and get a win for confidence. We’re going to take tomorrow off and get back at it Monday.”
LEBRON JAMES
(On his fourth quarter performance):
“I definitely haven’t had the lift that I’ve had in the past with my back tightening up. But I don’t use that as an excuse. I’ve just not been able to come through for my team in the fourth quarter the last two games. ”
(On the frustration of the loss):
“It comes and goes. Halftime doesn’t help. I’m warmed up and sitting at halftime for 20 minutes. That’s no excuse for the way we played tonight, the way I played. It starts with me. I didn’t play well, so our team didn’t play well.”
(On the back spasms):
“It goes from low-back to mid-back… It’s just something to keep a close eye on and make sure that I can take care of it as much as I can before the postseason.”
(On the key to winning in the fourth quarter):
“It starts with me. It’s not about making shots, it’s about making minimum mistakes. They guys look at me to lead them. I’m not blaming my back for the way I played tonight. I’m out on the court so I still have to produce… It starts with me and goes to everybody else.”
(On whether he should rest the final five games):
“Right now I can’t afford to. We’ve got to clinch the fourth seed and hopefully we get first round [home court advantage]. We still have to get better. We’re at a point right now where we have so many injuries that it’s hard for us to improve. It’s hard for us to play consistent basketball. Hopefully we can get better. ”
(On the team playing with injuries):
“It’s frustrating for all of us. We know this time of year, everybody is hurt. We can’t make that as big as an excuse as it should be, but we’ve had injuries that have kept guys out of games… We just have to keep a close eye on [the injuries].”
(On losing the past two games in the fourth quarter):
“It’s been frustrating, but we have to figure it out and I’m going to figure it out. I think I’ve always been able to bounce back in situations where I haven’t played particularly well. I have a few days to reflect, a few days to look at some film, and see what’s happening and go from there.”
DEVIN BROWN
(On how the Magic won the game):
“They hit some shots, give them credit. They hit some shots. Down the stretch, they were getting to the basket. (They hit their) free throws. You give them credit, they did what they had to do on the road.”
(On if he is surprised in the Cavaliers’ play in the fourth quarter the last couple games):
“Yeah. Because if we want to be considered an elite team, when the fourth quarter comes, we definitely have got to play better and make better decisions down the stretch.”
DELONTE WEST
(On if injuries played a part in the team’s last few losses):
“Not at all. Not at all. We are a no excuse team. The last two games we lost, the (other) team beat us. You would like to go through the season and win every game but there are a lot of talented teams in this league. We aren’t making any excuses.”
(On if the nagging injuries are a concern):
“I think we are understanding what we have to do to help the team win every night. And I think guys are understanding their role a little better, not that we didn’t have a clear understanding (before). Just trying to perfect our roles to help this team, win every night. I think the guys are doing a good job of it and I don’t think it’s necessarily a big concern.”
HEAD COACH STAN VAN GUNDY
(On the game):
“That was two totally different teams for us. In the first half, they (Cavs) missed 24 shots and got 14 offensive rebounds and scored 30 points in the paint. Then, in the second half, they scored four points in the paint, missed 30 shots, and got four offensive rebounds and we held them to 27 percent from the floor. It was just two totally different teams in terms of the way we competed. Forget about the way we played, I thought they defended us very well, too. But, we competed so much harder in the second half. You could see it, too. Even when we were down at the end of the third quarter, you could see right from the beginning that there were more guys around the ball, we were battling for the ball. Wallace, Varejao and Ilgauskes, three of the best offensive rebounders in the league. It’s not easy, but we got in there and battled and we got lucky. LeBron James had one of his few bad nights and we’ll take it. But, we competed a lot harder. The whole thing was competitiveness. I was very disappointed at halftime, I may have expressed some mild disappointment at halftime because in the last two games combined, we gave up 46 offensive rebounds. That was a major emphasis the last two days and we gave up 14 offensive rebounds. I was beside myself. In the second half, we battled and that’s what we have to do.”
DWIGHT HOWARD
(On Magic in 2nd half):
“We came out in the second half with a lot more energy. I think we just played harder than they did. In the first half, they had 30 paint points and they were getting all the rebounds. It was just ugly, but I think we came back in the second half and played a lot better.”
(On Cavs double teams on him):
“They doubled hard. I’ve just got to find other ways to score. I didn’t think I ran hard enough tonight. I’ve got to get easy baskets and try to post before the defense gets a chance to settle. The next game we play, I’ve got to make sure I get back to running. That’s one of the things coach came here and talked about in the first half, that I have to run more because every time, I catch it, they’re coming and they came real fast tonight.”
(On what it says about the Magic when the other team tries to limit him):
“You’ve got to pick your poison. I think tonight they did an excellent job making sure I didn’t get any paint points and just containing me. Everybody hit their shots from the outside, and Turkoglu played well, Jameer played well. We just played good team defense in the second half.”
HEDO TURKOGLU
(On Magic overcoming off night by Howard for win):
“It’s a special situation. I have a lot of good players around me, and even if I don’t have it, I can create for somebody else. They were double teaming him (Howard) a lot and he was being unselfish and just getting the ball out and finding open guys.”
JAMEER NELSON
(On returning to action):
“It felt good. My energy was high for most parts of the game when I was in there. I just wanted to get into a rhythm, and they doubled Dwight, Rashard (Lewis) and those guys early on, and I got a lot of open shots.”
(On Magic overcoming rebound margin and Howard’s off night):
“They (Cavs) also had a lot of points in the paint. It shows our toughness. We had to make some adjustments, individually and team wise, and we had to man up and play guys off the dribble and keep the ball out of the paint. And, just keep shrinking the court as a team. I think we did a much better job of that in the second half. Also, when you do that, you’re closer to the basket and closer to your men, so you can obviously block out a little better. We just had to keep fighting and that’s what we did.”
PAT GARRITY
(On his performance and staying ready to play):
“It affects everything, your preparation and kind of how you’re looking at the game when you know you’re going in. But, it’s still just two games now that I have been in that situation. It felt better tonight than it did the other night. I hope so, at least I practice it (shooting) enough. Tonight, I think it was a lot of open shots for everyone just because they were doing such a great job of packing it in on Dwight. It was really hard getting him the ball, we weren’t getting high-lows like we normally get. They were really sinking in, it was a good thing we were able to make shots.”
(On defensive adjustments in second half):
“We didn’t change anything defensively, except trying to be more physical, box out and take away their layups. A lot of their points in the paint were just guys cutting, they weren’t necessarily post-ups because we weren’t being physical enough.”