OFFICIAL EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME 4 THREAD: CAVS VS MAGIC TUES 5/26 8:30 EST TNT

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8:30 PM ET, May 26, 2009
Amway Arena, Orlando, FL

TNT






[h2]Cavaliers-Magic Preview



[/h2]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Tinted sunglasses concealing the cuts and bandages framing his puffy left eye, struggling Cleveland guard Mo Williams plopped down on a table inside a ritzy hotel ballroom on Monday and quickly proclaimed the Cavaliers were not in any trouble.



Far from it.


"We're the best team in basketball," he said.

Really? The Cavaliers, winners of 66 regular-season games and their first eight straight in the playoffs, certainly haven't looked superior to the
Orlando Magic.

They can't stop
Dwight Howard inside. They can't contain Orlando's squadron of outside shooters. They are missing easy, open shots. They're not giving LeBron James enough support, and they trail 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals.

Williams remains confident.


"They deserve respect," he said. "They are a good team. But we are the best team in basketball. I don't feel that they've had to adjust to us one time in the series."


So, Mo. You're sure the Cavaliers will win Game 4 on Tuesday night and rally to win the best-of-seven series. Willing to guarantee it?


"Guarantee we're going to win the series? Yeah, yeah," he said. "We are down 2-1. But there is nobody on this team and definitely not myself that says we are not going to win this series. Yeah, it is going to be tough. We know that. We get this game tomorrow, go home, still got home-court advantage.


"We don't see ourselves losing two out of three at home."


The Magic brushed off Williams' boast.


"We just got to go out there and play," Howard said. "We can't worry about what other guys are saying."


James didn't flinch when told Williams had guaranteed the Cavaliers would advance.


"He should. There's no other reason why we should be here," he said.


Orlando, relishing the underdog role in its first conference finals appearance since 1995, won 99-89 on Sunday night in a disjointed Game 3 that included personal fouls, technicals and a flagrant on Magic reserve guard
Anthony Johnson for his elbow to Williams' face in the second quarter.

The blow opened cuts above and below Williams' eye, and Cleveland's point guard said he was still feeling a little woozy from an unexpected shot he felt was intentional.


"My head's still ringing," said Williams, who refused to take off his shades to show the wounds. "The game of basketball is not played with throwing punches, throwing elbows."


Johnson refused to get drawn into a verbal war with Williams, who was called for a block on the play that bloodied him.


"I was trying to get to the rim and make a play and I drew a foul," Johnson said. "Elbows are a part of the game -- good and bad. Sometimes it turns out in a bad manner as last night. Elbows are a part of the game, as it is in hockey, as it is in other sports."


Never one to miss a chance to state his case, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy defended Johnson and challenged the Cavaliers' contention that it was a cheap shot.


"They can say whatever they want," he said. "It's one of the few times you'll see a guy with the ball in his hands driving to shoot getting a flagrant foul. I'm not saying he deserved it or didn't deserve it, it's just a rare play. It's usually the guy on defense making it. There's a lot of things go on we can complain about and they can complain about.


"I was upset at the number of times that they flopped last night. I mean,
Ben Wallace and Mo Williams fell down more times than a baby learning to walk."

James was asked if the Cavaliers would retaliate.


"For what?" he said. "We're just trying to get wins."


James has been doing his part. His teammates have not.


The league's MVP is averaging 41.7 points in the series. But there have been extended periods when it's LeBron and only LeBron vs. the Magic. The Cavs, so together on and off the court all season, have become a one-man show at the worst time possible.


Williams (32.1 percent),
Zydrunas Ilgauskas (38.2) and Delonte West (41.9) are not shooting up to their standards, and James had his first "off" night in Game 3 (11 of 28), but he scored 41 and had the Cavaliers within five points in the final minute.

James understands he can't win a championship by himself.


"It's going to be tough," he said. "I know they can play a lot better. They know they can play a lot better. I don't want to put pressure on those guys. They've just got to come out and do it. We just got to knock shots down."


The Magic feel as though they haven't gotten their proper due all season. While a potential James-
Kobe Bryant showdown in the NBA finals has been fueled by popular TV commercials featuring puppets of the superstars, Orlando's players have been wondering: Hey, what about us?

"It's disrespectful when everybody's counting us and Denver out trying to win a championship," said Howard, who made the Cavs pay for fouling him by making 14 of 19 free throws in Game 3. "It's like, forget the Magic, forget Denver. They want to see LeBron and Kobe go at it. So that is disrespectful. The only way you get respect is by going out there and taking it.


"My mind-set is making people respect us."


James is locked in on ending Cleveland's 45-year title drought. A loss in Game 4 would place the greatest season in Cavaliers' history on the brink of collapse.


"I think we're fine. I'm fine," he said. "I'm excited about Game 4, and as long as I stay upbeat we have a chance -- of course. I'm confident and I'll make sure the rest of the guys are confident."
 
1 more win for the SWEEP!!!


Spoiler [+]
Oh wait, nevermind............
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"I was upset at the number of times that they flopped last night. I mean, Ben Wallace and Mo Williams fell down more times than a baby learning to walk."


laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by Fantastic4our

"I was upset at the number of times that they flopped last night. I mean, Ben Wallace and Mo Williams fell down more times than a baby learning to walk."


laugh.gif



roll.gif
even Ben now?
laugh.gif
 
i fully expect the refs to work their magic..


Donaghy.jpg



it's disgusting, but i guess that's part of life in today's NBA.
 
I fully expect the Magic to get the W and go up 3-1 as long as the refs don't stop them.
 
I'll eat my words regarding last game, and the Cavs didn't do anything I said they needed to to win the game. If we can cut down on turnovers, play ANYinterior defense, and knock down near 40% we should be fine in this game. We NEED Z, Mo, and Delonte to give us anything.

It's hard to play solid D when you turn the damn ball over so much...and can we please get some ball movement?

LET'S GO CAVS
 
Originally Posted by 255forLife

i fully expect the refs to work their magic..


Donaghy.jpg



it's disgusting, but i guess that's part of life in today's NBA.


same here
smh.gif
 
Originally Posted by JDB1523

I'll eat my words regarding last game, and the Cavs didn't do anything I said they needed to to win the game. If we can cut down on turnovers, play ANY interior defense, and knock down near 40% we should be fine in this game. We NEED Z, Mo, and Delonte to give us anything.

It's hard to play solid D when you turn the damn ball over so much...and can we please get some ball movement?

LET'S GO CAVS


I can respect that.
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Lets go, we need the supporting cast to step up today, and can we actually run a play that does not involve Lebron just standing while everyone else watches,tie it up 2-2 and take it back to the q
 
Originally Posted by pr0phecy718

Orlando, relishing the underdog role in its first conference finals appearance since 1995 1996
indifferent.gif
@ the A.P writer



The AP writer is probably an Magic's fan and wants to forget ALL ABOUT that 1996 NBA ECF
laugh.gif
 
Magic should win by 10+ barring the refs.
i fully expect the refs to work their magic..


Donaghy.jpg



it's disgusting, but i guess that's part of life in today's NBA.


I fully expect the Magic to get the W and go up 3-1 as long as the refs don't stop them.
moz-screenshot-2.jpg
moz-screenshot-3.jpg

Oh wait, nevermind............
1209470880_2063.jpg






It's old and not even funny even more.





Anyways.

Tribe come back from 10 down, Cavs borrow a little bit of the comeback juice and tie the series up.


I'd be happy to see Mo step up (of course), but I 'd just like to see a team effort on offense. Make some extra passes, hit some open shots, don'tlook like it's 2007 and we're playing the Spurs.

LeBron is playing out of his mind, but 40+ point games from him are not the normal path to victory for the 2009 Cavs. I just want to see more glimpses of theteam play that got them here.

They sound REALLY confident in their press sessions yesterday

I'm excited!

GO CAVS!
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^They sounded extremely confident...almost like they know they've been playing like !#+% and know EXACTLY how to win this series. This damn thing isprobably going 7 though...
 
outacontrol music wrote:
Magic should win by 10+ barring the refs.
i fully expect the refs to work their magic..


Donaghy.jpg



it's disgusting, but i guess that's part of life in today's NBA.


I fully expect the Magic to get the W and go up 3-1 as long as the refs don't stop them.
moz-screenshot-2.jpg
moz-screenshot-3.jpg

Oh wait, nevermind............
1209470880_2063.jpg






It's old and not even funny even more.





Anyways.

Tribe come back from 10 down, Cavs borrow a little bit of the comeback juice and tie the series up.


I'd be happy to see Mo step up (of course), but I 'd just like to see a team effort on offense. Make some extra passes, hit some open shots, don't look like it's 2007 and we're playing the Spurs.

LeBron is playing out of his mind, but 40+ point games from him are not the normal path to victory for the 2009 Cavs. I just want to see more glimpses of the team play that got them here.

They sound REALLY confident in their press sessions yesterday

I'm excited!

GO CAVS!
moz-screenshot.jpg
moz-screenshot-1.jpg



We're just teasing (Well atleast I am) because some of ya'll cavs fans were extremely cockyall season long. I hope these 2 losses humbled some of you (keyword:some).

I know it's not funny "even more" and I've said before that this series is far from done.
 
I said as soon as this series started I expected it to be 2-2 after 4 games and ill stand by that.
]

hell what choice do i have? being down 3-1 isnt a good look. they gotta hit shots. they can talk about it all they want but, hows the saying go?

"dont talk about it, be about it"


MAKE SHOTS MO

MAKE SHOTS DELONTE

DONT SHOOT 3s Z

Bron will get his, its the rest of the guys that i gotta be concerned with
 
i'm not joking about that ref %+$#.....its obvious.....even analyst are acknowledging it because its too obvious for even them to keep their mouthsclosed....i already know tonight is going to be on some crazy stuff
 
Originally Posted by LifeLessons

i'm not joking about that ref %+$#.....its obvious.....even analyst are acknowledging it because its too obvious for even them to keep their mouths closed....i already know tonight is going to be on some crazy stuff

For real.

"Some" of you Cavs fans still don't see that the advantage is towards the Cavs. I really would not mind if the Cavs beat us, but I want it to bedone because they played better basketball and not because the game is fixed.


Need I remind people of some things....

Check that slowed down gif of Dwight [color= rgb(0, 0, 255)]fouling[/color] blocking LeBron and tell me he didn't try to sell himself cuz he got his shot trashed bya great defender.

Yall say it had no detrimental outcome to the game. False. If Dwight didn't get called for the foul you would have 3 less points, prob got beat by morepoints, and Dwight wouldn't have fouled out.

Anthony Johnsons elbow was not intentional imo. Dudes make him out to be a bad guy.

I've seen MANY plays where the Cavs get called for something and 2-3 players jump right in the refs face. They sit their screaming and complaining like a 3year old in the grocery store whose mom said they can't have the candy at the checkout line. I'm talking about LeBron especially. Had this been anyother player they would have been hit with a technical.

You must be blind to not see that the officiating has been VERY lopsided. I know there are always gonna be questionable calls both ways, but the calls havesurely been in the Cavs favor.

With that said, the Magic are definitely still the better team.

GO MAGIC!
 
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