What is the real problem with the cavs in the 3rd quarter?

I honestly have no idea because the starters are all there in the 3rd.

Plus all they have to do is defend because they usually are the ones who lead at the half (mostly by double digits) and they are a good defensive team. I don't know why they hand the lead back to the other team and sometimes fall short in the 4th quarter.

I think they get too confident. They play a great first half and think that the second half will be the same. So they relax a little while the other team is ready to attack. Thats the only thing I can really think of.... they have the talent, so that shouldn't be the problem. maybe lack of leadership?

I think RO has a good point.
Lebron, to me, tends to be VERY casual at times on the court and that may very well rub off on his team mates since he is the team leader for the Cavaliers.

Plus, Mike Brown isn't too good when it comes to offensive plays so that could also be a contributing factor?

yeah I was gonna say the same thing about LBJ. When he's out there dancing and joking around on the bench... he's acting like the game is prety much over. So everyone else starts to relax and next thing you know, they're losing. He needs to be more serious imo.

Yeah LeBron is sometimes overboard on those but he actually knows they have problems in the 3rd qtr.

well like I said.. they have the talent.

so it pretty much comes down to coaching and leadership. So Mike Brown AND LeBron are gonna have to change a few things if they wanna get to the finals... which doesn't look like it will happen.

The Cavs do def have talent but they need to learn to focus for 48 minutes. It all starts with LeBron. He's definitely a great player but I question his leadership sometimes. Being a leader means you get your team focused the whole game. LeBron tends to slack off when the Cavs have a big lead. It will rub off on his teammates. Honestly, LeBron needs to quit dancing around and be more serious during games. Sure, he can dance all he wants before and after the game but its not the time to do it during games. You don't see NBA greats like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Hakeem Olajuwon, etc. doing something like this during the game. If LeBron can stop slacking off and start being more serious, his teammates will follow and play hard the whole game.

Actually I thought the problem was that in a super tight game LeBron sat for the first 3-4 or so minutes of the fourth quarter.

My first thought was "Why isn't LeBron starting in the fourth period?".

That killed their chances and the momentum that the Cavs had built. The Cavs were getting calls and pushing hard... that momentum with LeBron starting the fourth probably would've been enough to push them to a victory.

But Mike Brown didn't start him in the fourth quarter for some reason.

LeBron always sits on the beginning of 2nd and 4th quarters. But may be he should take some rest at the end of the 3rd.

That's what Steve Nash does, but that's because he has a back ailment and needs to alleviate it or it gets stiff. LBJ23 has no ailments that I'm aware of he should start in the 4th, especially during a close game like that.

TonyEM wrote:

That's what Steve Nash does, but that's because he has a back ailment and needs to alleviate it or it gets stiff. LBJ23 has no ailments that I'm aware of he should start in the 4th, especially during a close game like that.

Exactly.

In a close game like that I'd have LeBron play the whole 48 till everything is said and done. That way you at least know it wasn't because you didn't play LeBron.

Mike Brown is a questionable coach at times...

TonyEM wrote:

Mike Brown is a questionable coach at times...

Especially offense. He is good on defense.

Kibby wrote:

TonyEM wrote:

Mike Brown is a questionable coach at times...

Especially offense. He is good on defense.

He's a great defensive coach. I like Mike Brown as a coach... but situational moments and on offense he seems to get stumped.

Yeah he is still much more NBA qualified than what P.J. Carlesimo,his fellow student under mentor Gregg Popovich is. I agree though he is suspect offensively. What Boston did in hiring defensive specialist & a fine defensive coach. The Cavs should do what the Celtics did with Tom Thibodeau hire him a defensive specialist as an assistant coach. The Cavaliers should do the same and hire an offensive specialist that can work with Brown's strengths.

His offensive plan for the closing seconds of a game when they are down consists of passing the ball to Lebron and let him shoot.
Which is problematic because the opposition will anticipate that and come up with a counter plan to ensure that Lebron doesn't get the ball or he gets it, to double/triple team him.

It is true what Charles Barkley says, "that LeBron James has to work for his points more than any other superstar." Because his team doesn't get the ball to him in any desired spots all that well and when he does get the ball in those most crutial of times there's a whole lot of iso being run and the team becomes oftentimes stagnant waiting on him to make his move. Barkley also says, "that the other superstars team does a better job given their player easy buckets be that of transition buckets or easier attempts. The Cavs don't do this for LeBron they make his job harder.

Save ATWT wrote:

His offensive plan for the closing seconds of a game when they are down consists of passing the ball to Lebron and let him shoot.
Which is problematic because the opposition will anticipate that and come up with a counter plan to ensure that Lebron doesn't get the ball or he gets it, to double/triple team him.

Not only that but his teammates aren't bailing him out.

I thought the addition of Anthony Parker (height, solid defense, better than avg range) would be a boon for the Cavs.... yet he is used sparingly... or forgotten all together. Also I've watched a couple of Cavs games and it doesn't even look like Shaq cares enough to put forward the effort that he did in Phoenix last year.

I don't know if it's Brown's rotation/offensive scheme or what... but it looks forced when Shaq is playing.

Nick C wrote:

Kibby wrote:

TonyEM wrote:

Mike Brown is a questionable coach at times...

Especially offense. He is good on defense.

He's a great defensive coach. I like Mike Brown as a coach... but situational moments and on offense he seems to get stumped.

True.He needs to act better in those calls,i mean if he can learn to that better,he could make Cavs job easier on the court.They have to orient their offense on other players as well,not only on LeBron.When he can pull some actions on offense that will help James and the crew on offense,he could have big time part in the Cavs perhaps winning more championships