Whats the problem?

[MMacOH]

So my beloved Cavs and your beloved Celtics have both lost a couple games they have no right losing.  My question is what do you guys see as the root cause of the loses?

For the Cavs, it is the loss of Z.  He is far too important to the offense to be missing.  The Cavs are going to struggle the next month without him.

I haven't seen any of the Boston games?  Is there one main problem they need to fix?

[Celtic]

It's really tough to put all the blame on one thing, they  received some terrible officiating on their west coast trip, but that can never be an excuse. Sadly, it almost appears like a lack of intensity and interest. Other teams are getting up for them like never before and as of late they haven't matched that enthusiasm. The C's are also missing any impact from their bench, overall the bench this year has been an incredible failure, they should be actively pursuing help in this area, if they don't, I don't know if they could repeat as champs.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

It's realistic to expect a couple bumps in the road. The team is not playing well, that much is obvious, but seriously it's a pretty difficult thing to expect the team to be playing 100% full tilt full time. Celtic is right too, this team is getting the absolute best shot from most of their opponents (with the noted exception of Washington, who might not even have a best shot anymore).

However, there are a few pressing issues I've notice. First, Rondo's emergence has been a blessing and a curse in that now teams have discovered the best way to shut down the Celtics has been to focus their defensive effort first on Rondo penetrating. The Knicks did it decently well at times, and the Lakers did it on Christmas. As Rondo was under the radar last year, teams wouldn't gameplan for him the way they would Paul, Kevin, or Ray. Now all this "Big Four" talk has lead teams to include him in their preparations.

Also, the backups at every position have had rough starts to the year. The team NEEDS to get bigger IMO. Big Baby has not impressed me thus far this year at all, taking quite a few jumpers and not shooting well (37% on the year) and only contributing under 3 rebs per game. No real organization with the ball distribution either... TA shoots too many threes at a .150 clip. Eddie House has shot okay from the floor (39%, with 36% from distance), but has been real streaky this year and will continue to shoot at all times. It seems like he's trying to make up for the loss of Posey's shooting all by himself. Scal is Scal, and you can say what you want but he shouldn't be getting meaningful minutes on a championship team. I also don't like Leon Powe's 4 rebounds per game... I would like to see a little more then that. The whole bench combined is averaging 12.1 RPG.

Bench ranks according to 82games.com

Reb- 22nd
PPG- 16th
Assists (here's a big one)- tied at 26th, second to last at 4.3 APG only .1 above last place New Orleans

Troubling trends here... Not jumping ship here yet, but there are moves to be made to improve the bench, and it might be time to make them.

[D Dub]

No problems.  Just the law of averages catching up to two great teams during the most un-important time of the NBA season.

Even as a great team, you gotta expect at least 15-20 losses per year, right? 

[twinbree]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

[crownsy]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

you dont think struggling against a terrable wizards team they demolished earlier, losing to a hawks squad that they should have beat shows Z's absence?

I agree with you that its too early to see how much it will effect them, but that wizards loss doesn't happen with Z around.

[Chris]

So my beloved Cavs and your beloved Celtics have both lost a couple games they have no right losing.  My question is what do you guys see as the root cause of the loses?

For the Cavs, it is the loss of Z.  He is far too important to the offense to be missing.  The Cavs are going to struggle the next month without him.

I haven't seen any of the Boston games?  Is there one main problem they need to fix?

Well, the C's bench is certainly a problem.  They need to bring in some reinforcements, because right now they have a bunch of 8th-10th men, but no real 6th man. 

However, I still think that the real reason for this current slide is the same reason for their slides last year.  The combination of bumps and bruises, fatigue, not to mention the letdown after such a great start, and other teams gunning for them, always leads to a bumpy patch, even for the best teams.

I guarantee you, even if Z was healthy, the Cavs would have had a bump in the road like this as well, just like every team does.

I don't think there is really any reason to panic for either team.  They both are going to be there late in the playoffs (although Detroit and Orlando are looking more and more dangerous in the second round...especially Detroit), and its going to be a hell of a close matchup if we are all lucky enough to see the C's can Cavs face off in the ECF.

[Chris]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

you dont think struggling against a terrable wizards team they demolished earlier, losing to a hawks squad that they should have beat shows Z's absence?

I agree with you that its too early to see how much it will effect them, but that wizards loss doesn't happen with Z around.

Although the Cavs played terrible against the Wizards, I agree that Z's importance cannot be understated.  This is why I think the loss of Joe Smith was such a big blow.  It left them with only 1 big man who has "plus" offensive ability. 

As good as Andy has been this year, he is still not a threat offensively, and when you have both he and Wallace as your primary big men, it is pretty much the equivalent of having two Perk's out there.  If they aren't getting layups, they are pretty useless.  What this does is allow the other team to use their big men to shadow Lebron without any real repricussions.

[RebusRankin]

Celtics:

1. Turnovers
2. Teams game planning for Rondo
3. No scorer off the bench
4. Assorted nagging injuries
5. Law of averages

[twinbree]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

you dont think struggling against a terrable wizards team they demolished earlier, losing to a hawks squad that they should have beat shows Z's absence?

I agree with you that its too early to see how much it will effect them, but that wizards loss doesn't happen with Z around.

They didn't demolish the wizards at home. Z played that game and the Wizards were leading by 7 in the final minute. The Cavs won after a series of questionable calls in the last minute. The Hawks are tough at home and that game came down to final seconds Mo Williams I think missed what could have been the game-winner. So yes I realize Z is an integral part of that team but I think its too soon to say his injury is going to derail the team.

[crownsy]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

you dont think struggling against a terrable wizards team they demolished earlier, losing to a hawks squad that they should have beat shows Z's absence?

I agree with you that its too early to see how much it will effect them, but that wizards loss doesn't happen with Z around.

They didn't demolish the wizards at home. Z played that game and the Wizards were leading by 7 in the final minute. The Cavs won after a series of questionable calls in the last minute. The Hawks are tough at home and that game came down to final seconds Mo Williams I think missed what could have been the game-winner. So yes I realize Z is an integral part of that team but I think its too soon to say his injury is going to derail the team.

well no injury to a player not named Lebron is going to derail that team, james is just that good.

That said, i expect them to come back to earth a bit now with Z out.

[MMacOH]

I just want them to keep the 1 or 2 seed.  I don't care how many losses they have as long as it is one less than the 3 seed this year.

I can't wait for Friday night

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

I just want them to keep the 1 or 2 seed.  I don't care how many losses they have as long as it is one less than the 3 seed this year.

I can't wait for Friday night

Agreed, that will be a fun game to watch. Another one I'll unfortunately catch from work, but there will be some TPs for those who feel like recapping.

[twinbree]

The Cavs I don't see having problems without Z yet. They stayed in the Wizards game till the end and they dismantled Bulls. The Hawks loss also came down to wire so I'd wait till Friday's game to see if his absence is felt. The Celtics on the other hand have a few problems. Turnovers, the bench is made up of players undersized and/or playing out of position. And every team wants to beat them most games last year the Celtics wanted it more but not so this year seriously when even the Warriors and Knicks are putting up a solid defensive effort.

you dont think struggling against a terrable wizards team they demolished earlier, losing to a hawks squad that they should have beat shows Z's absence?

I agree with you that its too early to see how much it will effect them, but that wizards loss doesn't happen with Z around.

They didn't demolish the wizards at home. Z played that game and the Wizards were leading by 7 in the final minute. The Cavs won after a series of questionable calls in the last minute. The Hawks are tough at home and that game came down to final seconds Mo Williams I think missed what could have been the game-winner. So yes I realize Z is an integral part of that team but I think its too soon to say his injury is going to derail the team.

well no injury to a player not named Lebron is going to derail that team, james is just that good.

That said, i expect them to come back to earth a bit now with Z out.

I agree with that. I was just pointing out that they could still have lost that game with Z as they almost lost to the Wizards as home. This was in response to the original question of whether the Cavs lost because of Z's absence.

[dark_lord]

I haven't seen any of the Boston games?  Is there one main problem they need to fix?

we need to improve not turning the ball over.  IMO, we are two players short on our bench.  we need a defensive minded big who can rebound and get some garbage points, and a scorer who can create their own shot.