Cavs Knock Bulls, Bucks Torch Gauchos in Festive Friday Night
By Cody Norman
Again, what a great day it was to be an Ohio sports fan. TheBron was ridiculous during a 92-85 victory over the Bulls in which he became the youngest player to top the 15,000 point plateau, passing Kobe’s mark by more than two years. Then Evan Turner and the Buckeyes went to work against UC Santa Barbara to advance to the Thrifty Thirty-two in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Cavs look like they’re getting a little bored with playing lower-tier teams who are banged up. They took on a Bulls team that was missing three starters, including All-Star point guard Derrick Rose. LeChosen One was a bit of a LeBall Hog in the early going and was a bit loose with the basketball. However, he stepped it up midway through the second half and torched the Bulls for 29 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Most impressively, the King was 11-of-12 from the charity stripe and actually made them look like free throws for a change. And he did so while talking a little trash to his good buddy Joakim Noah. Entertaining to say the least.
Mo Williams looked very good early in the first half and finished the night with a solid 18 point performance. He was 3-of-4 from deep so that was a promising move toward the Mo we’ve all come to know and love. Anthony Parker really struggled again on Friday night and was 3-of-10 from the floor for nine points. I’m still waiting on AP to have a breakout performance and really get himself back on track before playoffs start. And Antawn Jamison didn’t get too involved with the offense either, attempting just four shots in a two point-nine rebound effort.
Cleveland’s bench was outstanding again and was, as always, led by the Tireless Two. It’s incredible because neither guy had it on the offensive end on Friday night but they both managed to make a huge impact on the game. Delonte West was just 3-of-11 from the field (4-of-4 from the line) with six rebounds and one assist while posting an efficiency rating of +11. And Anderson Varejao attempted just three shots in a three point and 10 rebound effort while posting a +12 efficiency rating. My hat’s off to both those guys. As well, Leon Powe was very efficient as he notched seven points and eight rebounds in the win.
I had just one problem with last night’s game and that was this: Why in the world is Jawad Williams playing instead of Jamario Moon? Sure, Williams scores more. But the guy can’t play a lick of defense. Moonshine is active on both offense and defense while providing a highlight dunk or two on most nights. He shoots the ball as efficiently as Jawad does, yet he didn’t get any minutes last night. His twenty minutes of PT should be split up between Jamario Moon and Daniel Gibson depending on matchups, of course.
Overall, not a bad game. A win is a win.
Just two more days until we can get Big Z back home and ready for the stretch run.
With the Michigan State game taking so long, Ohio State didn’t start until right about the time the Cavaliers. Good timing. And with soon-to-be National Player of the Year at the helm, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos never really had a shot. They made one big push to close the gap midway through the first half but the Buckeyes withstood their run and took a 13 point advantage into the second half.
Both teams seemingly traded bucket for bucket in the second period and Ohio State ran away with a 68-51 advantage to advance to the second round where they’ll meet the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday.
Evan Turner was anything but spectacular as he shot just 2-of-13 from the floor for nine points but snagged 10 boards and handed out five dimes. David Light had a similar shooting performance going for just nine points, six assists and four boards. But Jon Diebler came up huge and went off for 23 points on 7-of-12 from three point territory while Williams Buford added 16 points and seven boards. Rounding out the starting five, Dallas Lauderdale was an efficient 2-of-2 from the field for four points to go along with 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots. I don’t know about you but I have Evan Tuner’s squad taking the Tournament on April 5th. Biased? Maybe.
Cavs will take on the Pistons Sunday evening at 6 pm and the Buckeyes tip-off at 2:20 pm. So if you’re a Buckeyes fan, make sure you’re tuned in to root ‘em on. And if you’re not, well, root ‘em on anyways.