Orlando Lacks Sportsmanship

I for one am offended that Orlando didn’t let the Cavs win game 6 of the ECF. It show’s no sportsmanship or class on their part. How hard would it of been for them to miss some shots or turn the ball over and play lazy on defense? Why didn’t Orlando give Cleveland a chance to win? How selfish of Dwight Howard to put up 40 points and 14 rebounds? If that doesn’t scream poor sportsmanship, I don’t know what does.

I understand Orlando is a good team, and they all help out in the community. But what kind of example are they setting for the youth in this country? There are kids looking up to these guys and the Magic decide it’s a good idea to run up the score and rub it in the Cavs face. Is this what we want our kids to think sports are about? Winning?

I also can’t believe all the celebrating that went on after the game was over. The Magic should of just shook hands with the Cavaliers and walked into the locker room quietly. Instead they act like little kids and run around the court holding 1 finger up in the air, claiming to be #1. They purposely rub the victory in the Cavs faces. What ever happened to winning with grace? What ever happened to sportsmanship?

What are sports in this country coming to? Winning seems to be all that matters anymore. I don’t think we should keep score, everyone can be a winner.

Sounds ridiculous right.

Mo Better Be Right

Mo Williams recently guaranteed that the Cavaliers will advance past the Orlando Magic and into the NBA Finals. And the boys here at The Cleveland Sports Flow seem to disagree on a few things.

Ryan O'Ryan says:

He better be right.

Surely he didn't have a copy of his own stat sheet in his hand when he made that bold prediction. To put it nicely, Mo has struggled in this series. He's never really looked comfortable on the floor and he still seems to be looking for any kind of groove on offense. That doesn't seem like a justification to guarantee victory.

Mo is becoming the same kind of "villain" that Cleveland fans have loved to hate for years. He is even starting to sound reminiscent of an over-confident Rasheed Wallace with one of his many "Guran-Sheeds". Wallace guaranteed that the Cavs couldn't defeat the Pistons in 2007 on their way to making their first and only Finals appearance. During a post game interview after being eliminated in Game 6, Wallace proclaimed that the Cavs infact did not beat the Pistons but rather they beat themselves. Is this what we can expect to hear from Mo Williams if the Cavs are to be eliminated by the Orlando Magic?

Mo should have known better than to even put himself and his teammates in this position. He should know that nothing...and I mean NOTHING is ever guaranteed in Cleveland. It's the end of May and I can't even guarantee that there won't be a foot of snow on the ground tomorrow in Cleveland. Maybe that's a little far-fetched but you get my point. It's okay to be confident in yourself and your teammates, but don't allow it to come across as arrogance. That's when it comes back to bite you on the you-know-what.

There is one unwritten rule in professional sports that all players should follow: Never give your opponent an added incentive or "bulletin board material". That's what Rasheed Wallace did in 2007 and a young, inexperienced Cavs team shot the lights out and shot their way to the NBA Finals.

Sounds familiar, right?

The only difference now is that this Orlando team isn't young and it isn't inexperienced. If the Cavaliers aren't careful, they could find themselves looking for a place to put the blame, just like Rasheed Wallace in 2007.

Ben Jamin says:

I have never been a fan of the “GUARANTEE” it’s pompous, arrogant, and show’s no form of class. Just look at the people who are usually spiting the words out of they’re mouths. It’s usually loud mouths or players that don’t have the athletic ability to back it up.

Take for instance Rasheed Wallace who guaranteed a game two victory over the Pacers a few years ago, he also guaranteed a victory against the Cavs in 07’. Or how about the Orlando Magic? Jameer Nelson guaranteed a game five victory over the Pistons last year in the playoffs and this year the Magic’s assistant coach Patrick Ewing guaranteed a victory for Orlando in game seven against Boston. J.R. Smith just guaranteed the Nuggets would be in the Championship.

Of the five people mentioned, how many of them are going to win a game by them selves? NONE!

My point is that this is a typical statement, made by a player who can’t individually back it up. Just look at Williams stats against Orlando in this series, 18 – 56 from the field, that’s 31.1%. I average better than that in a church league played on a carpet court. But……..yes I said but, Mo has a right to think the Cavs will win this series.

Does the best record in the league mean anything? How about the fact that the Cavs have only lost 3 games at home all year? Oh, and btw, he has LeBron James standing next to him to bail him out. Come on you know LeBron James, he is the league MVP, you know, the best player in the league.

What did you want Mo to say?

“We could be done, I think Orlando will beat us in seven games”?

I don’t think so, and confidence shouldn’t be confused with arrogance!

Plus it's not like Mo was talking about Dwight Howard's mom.

(Photo courtesy of Tracy Boulian / The Plain Dealer)

Cavs looking to prove something.

Tonight the Magic get a chance to prove they belong here and the Cavaliers get a chance to prove that they can get the job done in a tough game against a worthy adversary.

At least for now people consider Orlando a challenge, but if the Cavs manage to beat them in less than 5 games, all you’ll hear is that the Cavs haven’t been tested yet and they don’t have a chance against the West. You won’t hear the media saying how dominant the Cavs have been in the playoffs and you won’t hear NBA fans saying that the Cavs are the best team in the league. What you will hear is that the Cavs are untested and their record against top teams in the league show how weak this team is. Never mind the fact that going into the series against Orlando the Cavs are 8-0 in the playoffs and have won each game by double digits. I don’t care who you play, that kind of record in the playoffs says something about how good a team really is.

The Orlando Magic are a good team and they are coming into this series against the Cavaliers riding high. Why wouldn’t they be, they just knocked off the NBA champion Boston Celtics on the Celtics home court in a game 7. My question is why did it take so long to beat the Celtics? Weren’t they missing the best player on their team?

I think the key for the Cavs to be able to win this series is the defensive effort we will get from our backcourt. Containing Howard will be tough enough, but the ability to challenge shots on the perimeter could be the difference in the series and Mo and Delonte will need to step up. I expect Sasha to get some serious minutes because of his size. Wally will too, but he’s a little slower than Pavs. Don’t plan on Orlando getting as many open shots as they have so far in the playoffs either. If I was an Orlando fan I would also be worried about Hedo. He looked real nervous the first couple of games against Boston and if he has to guard LeBron he may lose all focus on the offensive side of the ball, which could put a big kink in Orlando’s plans.

The big advantage the Cavs have over Orlando is playoff experience. Both teams have a great supporting cast, but in the end it will come down to coaching and experience and I don’t think I even need to mention the MOP (master of panic) Van Gundy.