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Scanning the blogs and beats following the Cavaliers’ 100-97 win
over the Wizards in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals …
Brian Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal:
"West’s shot was the stuff of highlights; James drawing multiple
defenders into the middle with a dribble drive only to find an open
teammate in the corner. It was just another one for the reel for the
Wizards, who have faced heartbreak time and time again. It was the
sixth time in the three-year Cavs-Wizards mini-drama that James broke
the Wizards’ backs in the final minute. It was the third time he has
done it with a pass."
Mike Wise, Washington Post: "LeBron James, the 6-foot-8 rock of a physical specimen, has nothing on LeBron James, the mentally superior athlete whose annual rite of spring is to psychologically crush the Washington Wizards in their own building. … It’s not the production; it’s the poise, the ability for a composed 23-year-old to weather boos from 20,000 people. It’s the focus to overcome chants and vulgarities and an open-hand, windmill flagrant foul from his rumble-at-the-park nemesis, DeShawn "It’s On" Stevenson."
Cavalier Attitude: "Ben Wallace had, in my opinion, his best game as a Cavalier, or at least his best game when we needed it. He was a factor on every single rebound and got his hands on just about everything, leading to a 51-31 rebounding advantage for your Cleveland Cavaliers and 12 boards, 4 offensive, for himself. Offensively, he didn’t attempt a shot, but kept the ball moving nicely when they got it out of LeBron’s hands and found the open rotation or open Daniel Gibson."
Windhorst, Akron Beacon Journal: "After the game, LeBron said DeShawn Stevenson hit him with a closed fist on the flagrant foul in the first half. … I suspect the Cavs will push hard to have him to have the foul upgraded but it probably won’t happen. Here is the thing, people who know DeShawn have told me they think he’s crazy enough to attempt to go head hunting for LeBron in Game 5 if he thinks it is over just because of how personal this has all gotten."
Branson Wright, Plain Dealer: "James tries to improve on different aspects of his game each summer. Last season it was his outside shot. This coming off-season he hopes to improve his free-throw shooting. James, a career 72.8 percent shooter, is shooting 59.2 percent in four playoff games. "I’m not happy with it but it’s continuing to get better; it’s a work in progress," said James. "Late in the game, I’ve been able to make the ones that need to be made for us to move on. It’s something I’ll continue to work on and get better at."
Les Bullez: "How can this [Wizards] team be so mentally weak at times? When everything is going well, they are fine, but when one thing goes wrong, it takes over a quarter to get back to business. That’s what cost them on Sunday and it’s what costs them on a regular basis."
Tom Knott, Washington Times: "The Wizards, for whatever reason, just did not have a fire in their belly for much of the game. They did not attend to the gritty details that do not show up in a box score, such as performing the box-out maneuver on the Cavaliers after a shot attempt. … Perhaps no sequence underlined the ineptitude of the Wizards more than Smith’s three-point play off an offensive rebound with three-tenths of a second left in the third quarter. His putback followed two offensive rebounds and staked the Cavaliers to an 80-73 lead."
Ivan Carter, Washington Post: "Arenas, who has made plenty of clutch shots in his career, was kicking himself afterward for his decision-making on his final shot. From the moment the ball left his fingertips, Arenas knew it was off target. "I should have shot it the first time, when I bumped off" West, Arenas said of the moment when he initially received Stevenson’s pass. "I should have taken that shot, but I really don’t like fading back. Looking back on it, I had a better shot when I first caught the ball."
WaitingForNextYear: "When is a rivalry not a rivalry? I don’t know what makes something a rivalry. But I’ve been reading all weekend on Washington newspaper sites and Washington blogs about how heated this rivalry has become. Granted, I don’t like this Wizards team … but I also don’t think Cleveland or their fans feel that this is a rivalry with Washington. Again, I feel this is a lot like Cleveland with Chicago in the late 80s/early 90s, when Michael Jordan consistently humiliated the Cavaliers. We thought of Chicago as our rivals, but there’s no way Chicago thought we were anything but an annoying nuisance. Now we get to see what the other side feels like."
Mike Jones, Washington Times:
"LeBron James predicted a hostile environment for the Wizards in Game 5
in Cleveland on Wednesday. The Cavaliers’ faithful rained down insults
on Washington’s players almost constantly in the first two games of the
series, and James said it will be even worse this time. … "Our fans
will do whatever it takes to help us advance to the next level," he
said. When asked whether he expected the Wizards to rebound and force
Game 6, James gave an emphatic answer. "Do I think they can do it? No."
