Uh-oh.  The Cavaliers lost in Boston on Sunday, in ugly fashion.  The series is now tied 2-2, and the we must defend home-court tonight to take a 3-2 lead.  This is not what was supposed to happen in this series.

The Cavaliers still don't seem to have an answer for Rajon Rondo, who had a ridiculous 29 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists in Game 4.  Seriously, a triple-double for Rondo?  That's not right.  LeBron was not on his game, and finished with only 22 points.  He missed all 5 three-pointers he took.  This one hurt to watch.  Even though LeBron had a disgusting block on Ray Allen, and Jamison threw down a few dunks, there wasn't a whole lot of positives to take away from our defeat.

Cavs fans, we should all be highly concerned.  This is now a 3 game series, and Boston seems to have the momentum in their favor.  I'm not happy about it.  I'm pretty sure it's all Mike Brown's fault; Let me tell you why.

Shaquille O' Neal was a force in Game 4 until he picked up his 5th foul.  So of course Clown sits him down, and for some reason he never returns to the game.  Are you serious?  They were taking advantage of our small lineup, and apparently Brown didn't recognize or seem to care.  Speaking of small lineups, what has happened to Zydrunas Ilguaskas?  Honestly, this is really starting to chap my ass.  So what you're telling me is, you don't have any room in your rotation for a 7 foot 3" Lithuanian monster who can knock down shots anywhere on the floor?  This man has given his life to our franchise, and you are now deciding he has no place in our playoff lineup? 

Really though, it doesn't make sense.  We're getting dominated in the paint, Shaq has 5 fouls and you won't put him back in.. and you still won't put Big Z in?  Don't you realize he's still one of the best centers in the league?  Didn't we make a huge effort to resign him after trading him to Washington? Quit being stupid, adjust your glasses, and realize what you're doing.  LeBron led us to the best record in the regular season, not you.  In my opinion, you may be coaching yourself out of a job.  If you can't figure out a way to get your lineup to make sense, and find out how to stop Rondo, (put LeBron on him all game)  I really don't want you coaching my team.  Not that you're really the coach anyways.

I'll continue my rant.  Tony Allen comes in the game and starts lighting our defense up, and you still make no adjustments.  Your answer?  Play JJ Hickson for 5 minutes.  You're not as smart as you don't look.  I hope you make some serious adjustments in Game 5, because your stupid lineups are really starting to get on my nerve.  Play Shaq until he fouls out, find minutes for Zydrunas, and put JJ in the game when we need a spark.  Does LeBron have to make another public statement before you get it through your head?  You're not the coach of this team.  LeBron is.  LeBron James is Underrated

                              

LeBron put all the elbow rumors to rest in Boston last night.  In the all-important Game 3, the King came out ready to have a huge night.  “It was my mindset to come out really aggressive and just dictate tempo from the start of the jump and I was able to do that,” said James. “I think rest helped me. Rest helped all of us and we were able to put a complete game for the first time in these playoffs.”

Our first 4 points came from Shaquille O' Neal, who the Cavaliers looked to get looks right off the bat.  A Shaq hook shot, and 2 free throws later and it's Shaq 4, Boston 0.  LeBron was quick to follow, and began drilling shot after shot.  The 1st quarter was one of LeBron's most spectacular performances in the playoffs. 

LeBron drills his first shot and then follows with a lay-up.  Following that, he comes down and Kendrick Perkins tries to take him out.  This was clearly a dirty play with a football-looking hit on LeBron's elbow side, but the King stepped to the line and drilled his 2 free throws.  Kendrick, nobody likes you.

LeBron drills another 2 jumpers, continuing his scorching start.  He was 4/5 shooting with 12 points at the 6 minute mark.  You knew it wasn't going to end well for Boston.  King James was looking for his own shot, and he was making it almost every time. 

Garnett and Perkins rack up their 2nd fouls early, and we're up 20-8.  The King cashes in yet another deep jumper, and his total is 14 at 3 minutes.  And then another, just for good measure.  LeBron reaches the 16 point mark before the Celtics do.  This is the start we envisioned.  Fast-forward thirty seconds where Bron gets hit while making a lay-up, a rather disgusting And-1.  And LeBron has 18. 

Meanwhile, the Cavs are playing great defense the whole time.  The Celtics are turning the ball over, and they really can't do a whole lot offensively.  We forced Rondo to be a jump shooter, but he just couldn't see the floor like he did in Game 2. 

Pretty soon it was time for a LeBron-dunk, and he didn't disappoint.  After grabbing another rebound, he fed Jamario Moon with a bounce pass on a fast break.  Jamario wisely dishes it back to LeBron, and the king flushes an unbelieveable 360 jam.  He had to duck his head from hitting the backboard; this dunk was unreal.  So we reach the end of 1, and the score is Cleveland: 36, LeBron: 21, and Boston: 15.  It felt really good to have a 19 point lead.  There would be no looking back. 

For once in his life, Mike Brown correctly decides to leave LeBron in the game at the start of the 2nd quarter, for once in his life.  The King responds, starting the quarter off by splashing a 3 pointer.  Give him 24.  Then he swats Glen Davis and there wasn't much the Celtics could do about it.

The quarter progressed, and the Cavaliers defense was exactly the way it needed to be.  Anthony Parker's 3 put us up 55-35, our second 20 point lead of the game.  A few buckets later, the Cavs push the lead to 65-41, and LeBron has 28 points.  That's a good night for 99% of NBA players.  That's a good half for LeBron. 

The half ends, and we're up 65-43.  In addition to his game-high 28 on 11/15 shooting, the King nothes 8 rebounds and 4 assists.  The Cavaliers shoot 61% in the half, and you can pretty much put this one in the books.

The second half started off just as we left it off.  Shaq makes a hook and then gets an And-1 layup.  LeBron drills his first 3, and the Celtics were just throwing up bricks.  Shaq continued to punish them down low, Perkins really had no answer. 

With Ray Allen right in his grill, LeBron double-moves and hits a shot right in his face, giving him 33.  77-52, and life is beautiful.  Antawn Jamison is doing his part too, grabbing offensive rebounds and making a few shots.  Mo Williams also looks better than he did in Gam 2, driving and making some lay-ups.  Time-out Celtics, and the Cavs own a commanding 86-58 lead.  The end to the quarter couldn't come soon enough for Boston, who were down 96-70. 

We really didn't need to play the 4th quarter; this one had long been over.  LeBron never gave the Celtics a chance.  The Cavs never stepped off the pedal, and the final score was 124-95.  This makes history in two different respects.  First, the Cavs broke their margin-of-victory on the road in a playoff game, while the Celtics suffered their worst playoff loss in franchise history.  The King finished with 38 points, and Boston had no answer all night.  This is a great sign for the rest of the series.  LeBron heard all the talk about his elbow, came out, and made a statement.  LeBron James is most definitely Underrated

                                  

This game means everything.  After getting run off the court in Game 2, the Cavaliers need to bounce back and win this crucial Game 3 in Boston tonight.  Why do we need to win tonight?  Historically, when the series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 takes the series 76.3% of the time.   

The Cavaliers need to do a better job containing Rajon Rondo, and Kevin Garnett.  Rondo made our pick-and-roll defense look pathetic. 

LeBron's elbow has gotten ample rest, and he needs to come out of the gate and send the Celtics a message.  The time for excuses is up.  We need to win tonight, plain and simple.  This game could potentially have a signifcant impact on the future of the organization.  If we don't take care of business tonight and this series shifts into Boston's favor, the King's future in Cleveland could be in jeopardy.  That is just something that cannot happen.  LeBron belongs in the city he put on the map.  LeBron James is, and always will be, underrated

Monday night the Cavaliers received a playoff beatdown from the Boston Celtics.  It was terrible to watch.  LeBron was not at his best, obviously resulting in a Cavaliers defeat.  Mike Brown summed it up:

“They kicked our behind from the beginning,” lamented a visibly upset Coach Mike Brown. “They got every 50/50 ball, they converted every offensive rebound into points and we did not fight back until late. We have to decide if we are going to take the fight to them and take these games. Nothing is going to be given to us at all.”

Asked again what went wrong, Brown asserted,  "We all got our behind kicked. Every single one of us, starting with myself, did not fight tonight and it showed on the court. You gotta give the Celtics credit. It's 1-1, but let's keep it real, they kicked out behinds tonight."

We made a run in the 4th quarter but it was too little, too late.  Rajon Rondo ties a franchise record in assists, and we lose by 18.  Not exactly what we were hoping for.

Let's just pretend like this one didn't happen.  Talking, or thinking about this game is pointless. It's clear that we need to win at least one game in Boston during this series.  Hopefully they just win the next 2 and then close Boston at home in Game 5.  As dedicated Cavaliers fans, we must humbly accept defeat but it realize it was a fluke.  LeBron's elbow will get some much needed rest and we will come out Friday with much more intensity.  The Cavaliers don't lose 2 games in a row.  We're better than that.  LeBron James is still Underrated

                                  

After a slow start and going down by double digits, the Cavaliers turned things around in the 2nd half and took Game 1 in Cleveland.  LeBron James is Underrated        
                                

LeBron James was awarded with his second straight MVP award, coming off a 61 win regular season.  The King pretty much expected this award, and rightly so.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Kobe Bryant didn't receive any 1st place votes, and in fact finished 3rd in the voting.  This is the 1st MVP trophy he will win this year.  The next will be the NBA Finals MVP, after we sweep the Lakers in 4 games.  We'll come back to this later in the week.  LeBron James is the MVP, again.  (LeBron James is Underrated)


                                   

You knew the Cavaliers weren't going to allow Chicago to win more than 1 game in this series.  Although it was far too close, the Cavs closed out the Bulls in game 5, winning 94-94.  Essentially, here's what happened: the Bulls played tough and mistakenly thought they had a chance.  Mo Williams started the game off with a 3 pointer. 

With 7.8 seconds left, and the Cavs holding on to a 96-92 lead, LeBron shot a free-throw left-handed.  He was dealing with a sore elbow, and this was not a good sign.  A lot was made of this after the game, but I personally didn't read too much into it.  We were a little concerned, but we knew LeBron wasn't about to miss Game 1 with the Celtics on Sunday. 

Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 25 points, and LeBron almost notched another playoff triple-double.  His 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists were just another example of why he deserved to win the MVP.  Cavs close out the Bulls, and send Joakim Noah a message: don't talk smack about Cleveland.  LeBron's elbow was a major concern after the game, but we all knew it really wasn't going to be a big deal.  (more to come on this closeout game later)  LeBron James is Underrated