• It started with an innocent question from Tom Withers of the Associated Press. He asked Shaq if he wanted to see LeBron take part in the Slam Dunk Contest. Then Shaq rolled out an entire plan complete with a pop culture cause.
He said he wanted Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant plus one other star to be named to take part. Then he said he wanted a large cash prize with half of it donated to Haiti. It may sound crazy, but the Charles Barkley vs. Dick Bavetta race raised $50,000 for charity three years ago. This is something that people would actually watch.
Heck, it would be worth it for TNT to just put up like $500,000 just for the ratings spike they'd get for All-Star Saturday (which, contrary to what anyone says, is currently rather long and boring). Plus everyone is falling all over themselves to help Haiti at the moment and that gives the NBA and potentially the players themselves a political reason to gather together. A rallying point, if you will.
So this will happen, right? Uh, probably not.
Why? For one, Kobe doesn't do anything Kobe doesn't want to do. Doing it for the good of the league doesn't resonate with him. Plus, I know Kobe and Shaq have supposedly put their stuff behind them. But, to Kobe, even if he wanted to do it, wouldn't just the fact that Shaq was the one asking him be a reason not to? Anyway, he's got back and finger injuries and a real excuse not to do it, as if he needs one.
Also, Shaq was just throwing out names, it didn't seem like he'd actually done his homework. Does anyone want to see Vince Carter out there dunking with knee pads on? That ship has sailed. Actually, Carter doesn't belong at All-Star Weekend this season. He is shooting a tidy 39 percent for the Magic and blindly stealing shots from a guy who shoots 60 percent every night.
But here's the real reason why it won't work. LeBron already tried it and it failed. He made the statement last year that he was going to dunk and all his friends should join him. He hoped that was the rallying cry, especially when all those guys were sitting courtside.
Then months later Dwyane Wade rolled his eyes. Carmelo Anthony told them to have fun. Dwight Howard, a former champ, and LeBron talked, but Howard didn't really feel like it, apparently. Jeez, and some of these guys are supposed to get organized and all sign with the same team? They can't even organize a contest.
Shaq is the elder statesman of the league. He's got some pull and because there's a humanitarian element to his plot, which he seemed to have thought about for a while, perhaps there's a small chance. But in reality, as written above, it probably doesn't happen.
• Cavs had a solid win tonight and they played great offense in general. They shot 53 percent, had 27 assists on 38 baskets, they even shot 83 percent from the foul line. LeBron had a great game with 28 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and three steals. So how could it still be a offensive failure? Because, once again, the late-game offense was.
For the second consecutive game, the Cavs won a close game without making a basket in the final three minutes. This is remarkable and unsustainable. They decimate the Raptors by using their "strong" set -- which is when Shaq, LeBron and Mo Williams all go to the same side of the floor and run various actions -- and then they put it in mothballs in crunch time. Instead, the old Williams/LeBron high and side pick-and-roll game starts and the baskets stop while O'Neal watches from the other side of the court.
I asked Mike Brown after the game why this play was run four consecutive times unsuccessfully. He said, and he's right, that that play has been quite successful at times this season. Indeed it does work and it has worked late in games. But seeing it fail time and time again after the strong set had worked perfectly down the stretch makes little sense. The other late basket the Cavs got was when LeBron posted and got Shaq for a dunk when he drew a double team. But there was no LeBron posting in the last three minutes, either. You know, the little trick that devastated the Warriors last week. There were just LeBron 3-pointers, where he was 0-of-7 in this game.
It is hard to fault James for anything; look at the guy's numbers. But the late-game trouble in the halfcourt isn't getting better. O'Neal isn't being used it in any more frequently. They can get away with it against the Clippers and Raptors. But they couldn't against the Jazz and they probably won't against the Lakers, either.
Recap:
For most of Tuesday's game, the Cavaliers looked like a team happy to be shooting at familiar baskets, but not quite as willing to stop the other team from doing the same.
But they remembered their bedrock foundation enough to hold Toronto to a 17-point fourth quarter, and escaped with a 108-100 triumph at The Q.
GAME RESET
Cavs 108, Raptors 100
Game No. 43 at The Q
What happened: Overcoming some shaky defense, the Cavs had some of their best offensive execution in several weeks to get past the high-scoring Raptors. Shaquille O'Neal keyed a 9-2 fourth-quarter run that made the difference, despite both LeBron James and Mo Williams struggling down the stretch.
The star: James came close to a triple double with 28 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists plus three blocks.
The co-star: Mo Williams had 22 points and tied a season high with 10 assists.
Highlight: O'Neal's basket-shaking dunk with three minutes to play.
Lowlight: The Cavs allowed 48 percent shooting.
Third Quarter: Cavs 91, Raptors 83
• Could be a very nice finish here with Bosh and LeBron slugging it out with each other. LeBron is sniffing a triple double with 22 points, six rebounds and nine assists and has made a couple of nice defensive plays. Bosh has exploited whichever defender the Cavs have put on him and has 19 points and six rebounds. Not impossible that LeBron would cover Bosh down the stretch if Mike Brown goes small.
Mo Williams was playing very well with 19 points and 10 rebounds. But the injury to his left shoulder was concerning. The way he got it bent back looked dangerously like how Dwyane Wade hurt his shoulder in a game a few years ago. He's in the locker room getting it looked at.
• Cavs defense continues to be soft. The Raptors are hitting shots and they have lots of offensive talent, this was never going to be a 92-90 game. But they still are able to create space too easily. The Cavs are going to have to buckle down on at least a few possessions and make it harder for them,
• Cavs need to remember the Shaq option in the fourth quarter. It will slow down the game and the Raptors cannot defend without a double team. Often, they forget about him in the fourth.
Halftime: Cavs 62, Raptors 60
• This is the third time in the last week the Cavs have given up a 60-point half, not a good trend at all. The Raptors shot 55 percent and scored 24 points in the paint, both well below the Cavs' standards. The biggest issue is how easy everything is. The Raptors are moving the ball anywhere they want on the court. So many baskets are too easy and this has been happening more frequently. Four different Raptors have 10 points or more and the only guy who has had to work for them is Chris Bosh.
• In the second quarter the Cavs really pounded the ball into Shaq and the Raptors had no recourse. They were often just single-covering him and he was able to get easy hoops and get to the line. He has 12 points. The Cavs offense has been excellent so far, shooting 62 percent with 15 assists on 21 baskets. Mo Williams is shooting well for the first time in two weeks, he's got 12 points. The Cavs have gotten to the line 21 times to the Raptors' seven and this is upsetting Toronto, which already has two technical fouls. Toronto puts teams on the line at a higher rate than most teams in the league so it isn't shocking. Part of the Cavs' game plan was to attack the rim.
• LeBron played an excellent first half, scoing 18 points with five rebounds and five assists. So did Bosh, scoring 16 points with four rebounds. This is shaping up to be a battle between them.
First Quarter: Cavs 28, Raptors 28
• The Cavs started this game not the least bit interested in playing defense. Toronto started out 10-of-14 and didn't have to break a sweat. It looked like DeMar DeRozan was practicing for the Slam Dunk Contest already with the way he was crusing to the hoop unabated. Mike Brown actually subbed his bench in quicker than usual to get some guys in there who showed some defensive interest. The Raptors are shooting 48 percent.
• Speaking of interest, Shaq became the fifth player in history to score 28,000 points but I'm not sure how interested in this game he is. The matchups are bad and he committed just a terrible foul to get into foul trouble and be forced from the game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is already in foul trouble, too.
• The Cavs brought their turnover nonsense with them from the coast. Already six in this game, above their average even. Already cost them nine points.
Projected starting lineups
Raptors: Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani
Cavs: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, JJ Hickson, Shaquille O'Neal
Officials: Mark Wunderlich, Tony Brothers, Brett Barnaky (rookie, working first Cavs game).
• The Raptors have been one of the league's hottest teams since Christmas, winning 10 of their last 13. They had a little hiccup when Jose Calderon returned from injury, but coming off the bench behind Jack he seems to be humming now and so does Toronto. They are fresh off a blasting of the Mavericks. Bargnani and Bosh present a lot of problems because they are both active/inside-out bigs. Which means that it is easy to lose them in coverage and hard to find them to box out at times. In a league that is going smaller and smaller, the Raptors are a big, big team. When Bosh and Bargnani both play well, the Raptors usually win.
• Thanks in part to Turkoglu, the Raptors in a way present some of the same matchup problems the Magic did for the Cavs last season. It isn't the same because Toronto doesn't have a low block rock like Dwight Howard. But because of their size and ability to shoot from long range, the are tough to cover. In a way, Bargnani is like Rashard Lewis and Bosh presents some of the same issues as Howard. Then again, they aren't so much alike because the Magic stand around and watch Vince Carter chuck the ball all night -- but that's a different story for a different day. Toronto has scored more than 100 points in six straight games. When the Cavs allow fewer than 100 points, they are almost unbeatable. When they give up 100+, they are much more average. So that is the crux. Which wins out, the Raptors' matchup advantages or the Cavs ability to defend them? The versatile players like Andy Varejao, Delonte West and Jawad Williams probably will have a pretty big impact on how this game is played.
• As with coming off any long West trip, the Cavs are concerned about a hangover effect. However, in my experience covering the league, the hangover is greatly diminished by getting an extra day off. This is the first time in two seasons the Cavs have come back from a Westie with more than one off day. It allowed them to practice at home Monday. They also stayed overnight in L.A. Saturday and flew during the day Sunday, no red eye to mess things up. So, it reads here, don't suspect to see as much lingering.
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