And now for something different...

My good friend Erick gives a captivating recount of Sunday's Cavs-Suns game. Listen to him during the Brooklyn College Basketball broadcasts this season.

Sunday’s game between the Suns and Cavs pitted two of the front running teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively. Unfortunately for Cavs fans, only one of the two teams harbors realistic expectations of winning a championship anytime in the next few years. Here’s how Phoenix asserted their dominance over yet another overmatched opponent, and why Cleveland isn’t in the same class with the elite out West (or even the best in the East).

When Phoenix had the ball: Cleveland did an outstanding job taking away Phoenix’s helter-skelter fast break, limiting the Suns to only 10 fast break points throughout the entire game. In response, Phoenix ran pick and rolls all game long with Steve Nash handling the ball and either Shawn Marion or Amare Stoudamire setting the pick then rolling to the post.

When Zydrunas Ilgauskas was the target of these screen rolls, he was too slow in his reactions to prevent the Nash-Stoudamire “dimes-for-dunks” program from being launched. When Marion was the one setting the screen, Nash would wait to read how the defense played him. When the defender of the screen-roll (often Drew Gooden) stayed at home on Marion, Nash would find ample space to zip to the hoop for a layup, draw the defense then kick, or unleash uncontested jump shots. When the defense switched off, Marion would take Nash’s man (usually Eric Snow) to the post with embarrassing results for Cleveland. Every time Cleveland sent a wing player to help with the S/R’s Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, and James Jones salivated with the open 3-point shots on their dinner plates.
And while Cleveland was excellent in stopping the Phoenix fast break, Phoenix was excellent in transition in the second half with their secondary breaks, with Nash driving to the hoop, pivoting, and finding unguarded gunners wide open for 3’s.
Nash was impeccant all game long. The only thing more amazing than is his 15 assists, was the fact that he didn’t commit a single turnover. In fact, Phoenix as a team only committed 8. Nash was 10-17 shooting, 3-6 from behind the arc, for a very impressive 23 point, 15 assist, 0 turnover performance. And this guy isn’t starting the All-Star Game why?
Amare Stoudamire was one recipient of Phoenix’s perfect screen-roll execution. On one possession, he was also able to catch the ball in the post, and whirl past a statuesque Ziggy Ilg for a thunderous dunk. Stoudamire had 8-12 FG, 6-8 FT, 22 Pts and 7 REB.
Shawn Marion had very similar numbers, pillaging Eric Snow repeatedly for easy layups. Marion had 8-12 FG, 5-7 FT, 8 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, and also went 2-3 from behind the arc for 23 Pts.
Boris Diaw was quite altruistic. Though he only took 3 shots, and scored 4 points, his uncanny court awareness and unselfishness led to 8 assists against only 1 turnover.
Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, and Marcus Banks are basically all the same person in the Phoenix system, and they all combined to shoot 16-33, 8-19 3-PT (which would look even better without James Jones’ 1-5), 11 REB, 4 AST.
When Cleveland had the ball: To put it simply, When Cleveland had the ball and it went to LeBron James, good things happened. When the ball was out of LeBron’s hands, bad things happened. Phoenix started off the game by guarding him straight up with Shawn Marion. A few layups and turnaround jump shots later, and Phoenix decided to have Marion sag off LeBron and give him long jump shots. Lebron impressively went 3-6 from downtown. LeBron was also an astute passer and aggressive rebounded, setting up his teammates with 5 assists, and venturing into the paint to gather in 9 rebounds. LeBron was also able to steal a dribble in the front court, and drive to the bucket. When Leandro Barbosa tried to stop James‘ dunk attempt, to quote Mike Tirico, “Barbosa ended up as somebody’s screen-saver.”
While not flawless (James did force several shots, turned it over 3 times, played no defense, and was only 3-6 from the charity stripe), he is near impossible to stop from attacking the hoop, and his constantly improving jump shot will elevate him into one of the premier offensive players of our era. Unfortunately, few of his teammates were worthy subjects to King James’ brilliance.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ (2-4, 2 REB, 4 PTS) only offensive move was to stand on the left baseline and shoot a turnaround jumpshot over his right shoulder. The man is too soft to play a power game, too clumsy to play a finesse game, and too beat down and decrepit to be in the league much longer.
Eric Snow (3-4, 8 PTS, 1 AST, 1 TO) is another member who should only be playing in old-timers’ games. His trademarked hounding defense has been relaxing in Philadelphia for years, and the only time he ventured into the lane, Steve Nash anticipated the drive perfectly, stepped in, and drew a charge.
Larry Hughes is only in his mid 20’s, but he too belonged in a spa in Florida instead of on a court in Cleveland (3-13, 1-4 3PT, 0 FTA, 0 REB, 2 AST, 3TO). The man did nothing productive on offense, and Cleveland’s rhythm withered whenever he grasped the ball.
Damon Jones (2-6 FG, 2-5 3PT, 7 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 TO) hit a couple 3’s and did little else.
Donyell Marshall (6-9 FG, 3-5 3PT, 15 PTS, 5 REB) hit open shots, grabbed uncontested rebounds, and played no defense.
David Wesley missed all 3 long distance shots he took.
In fact, besides James, only a few players should be around to help Cleveland take the next step. Drew Gooden was fantastic, attacking the glass repeatedly to the tune of 14 rebounds, with 8 coming on the offensive end. Gooden also proceeded to show outstanding range, knocking down perimeter jump shots all game long. He even faked out Amare Stoudamire in the first quarter from 20 feet out, allowing for an impressive drive and reverse dunk. Gooden finished with 19 points to go along with the aforementioned 14 boards.
Anderson Varejao was active, set sturdy picks, and grabbed 4 rebounds.
Daniel Gibson knocked down 2 shots from behind the arc, dished off 5 assists, and got to the lane at will before fouling out.
For Cleveland to be a serious contender, they need to revamp the roster around LeBron. Gooden should stay. His rebounding, and mid range shooting are a lethal addition to James’ driving skills. Varejao is also a keeper. Daniel Gibson should be a starter over the rest of the guards on the roster. Snow, Wesley, Marshall and Ilgauskas should be banished to the land of the retired. And Cleveland needs to pray that they can overcome Larry Hughes’ contract and pick up a power post player, a wing player with a consistent jump shot, and a pass-first, defensive type point guard under the age of 62. Then again, in the abhorrent Eastern Conference, even the current Cleveland team can have visions of a trip to the Eastern Conference finals when they tuck in at night.
As for Phoenix, only the Lakers’, Spurs, and Mavs have the combination of outstanding coaching and roster flexibility to slow down the Suns’ onslaught. Any other opponent and the Suns will have claimed victory