Bullets dig themselves a hole

The Bullets lost 100-97 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, unable, once again, to defend their home court and go back to Cleveland with a tied series. The stats show you that Brendan Haywood played well. Antawn Jamison carried the team thru 3 quarters, but disappeared in the fourth. Caron Butler, AWOL for the first 3 quarters, picked it up and carried the team in the fourth. Lebron James had another great game, but it was the 3-point shooting of Delonte West & Daniels Gibson [combined 9 of 15 from behind the arc] that killed Washington. The Bullets went to a zone to stop James in the second half and it got Washington back in the game, but it couldn’t get them the lead because Gibson or West always hit a big 3-pointer when Washington would draw within 2 or 3 points. West’s 3-pointer to win the game with less than 6 seconds to play was typical of how it went. Washington successfully got the ball out of Lebron’s hands in the 4th quarter but unlike in game 3, Lebron’s teammates showed up to play.
Rebounding was a major factor in the game. Cleveland destroyed Washington on the boards, 51 to 31. Butler and Haywood didn’t rebound well, only Jamison seemed to be able to get it done on the boards. The bench had 5 rebounds total.
The Bullets are now in a lot of trouble and the odds of winning this series are terrible. It’s more likely that Washington will bow out meekly in five with a loss in Cleveland in game 5. Somehow, Eddie Jordan has got to rally his troops and find a way to win a game in Cleveland. Obviously, the odds are against that, but one more loss means the season is over so Washington has everything to play for.
Let’s go to the grades…
Antawn Jamison: Led the team in scoring and rebounds, but disappeared in the 4th quarter. Grade:  B+
Caron Butler: Disappeared in the first 3 quarters, but made big plays in the 4th to keep Washington in the game. However, Caron cannot play 45 minutes and grab only 2 rebounds. That’s not enough. Grade: B
Brendan Haywood: 16 points on 10 shots and played good defense. Didn’t dominate the glass, though, and that really hurt. Grade: B
Deshawn Stevenson: Passed and rebounded well, but took several poor shots and let his emotions get the better of him at times.  Grade: C
Gilbert Arenas: Terrible in the first half, but better in the second half. Too many turnovers and poor shooting [aside from one incredible shot to tie the game in the 4th quarter] and he was left out of position on Delonte West when the game-winning shot went in. Grade: C
Antonio Daniels: Took good shots and ran the offense well. Unfortunately, he didn’t play enough. Eddie should have had Daniels out there late in the 4th quarter instead of Stevenson or Arenas. Grade: A
Roger Mason: Another guy who didn’t get enough run from Eddie Jordan. Mason missed his first two shots, but then hit his next two and it appeared he might get on a roll. However, he just didn’t play much the rest of the game. Grade: A
Andray Blatche: Didn’t rebound or score. Played less than 10 minutes and that was about all he deserved. Grade: D
Darius Songaila: Played almost 11 minutes, but never took a shot. He did hit all 4 of his free throws and grabbed 2 rebounds. He probably should have played more. Grade: B-
Summary: Basically, Washington played a very similar defense to what worked in game 3, but it didn’t work as well because Cleveland hit their outside shots. James had a better game and Washington just couldn’t find Delonte West when they needed to. Cleveland made all the big passes. Washington MUST do a better job on the boards and turn the ball over less frequently. Grade: C