No Excuses

Monday night’s loss to the Pistons kind of hurt. Thursday’s loss really hurt.

Whether it was the 12-point halftime lead, Rasheed Wallace hitting the game-winner or the non-call on LeBron’s last-second drive. It was a tough take.

The Cavaliers dropped the first two games of their Second Round series against Detroit last year, getting thumped through the first six quarters. Cleveland came back and won the next three meetings, including a thriller back in the Motor City. But that was as good as it would get, with the Wine and Gold dropping a Game 6 heartbreaker at The Q and Game 7 at the Palace.

This year, the Cavaliers could just as easily be up 2-0 instead of the inverse. They’re not.

As much as LeBron James and Mike Brown must have wanted to cut loose during their post-game pressers, they wisely took the high road.

“We're a no‑excuse team, you know, and we can't look at the last play as why we lost,” said a somber, understated James. “We've just got to get better. But I do feel there was some contact.”

“The officials get paid a lot of money, and that's their job,” dead-panned an equally sullen Mike Brown. “If they don't see anything, they don't see anything. We're a no‑excuse team. We've got to get ready for Game 3.”

LeBron James can be a victim of his own talent. He fights through so much contact so often that referees don’t call fouls because they don’t always affect him. Rip Hamilton fouled LeBron on that last play; the only question is whether it was bad enough to get called to decide a Conference Finals game.

“It was an isolation play, which is exactly what LeBron wanted,” said Larry Hughes. “He was aggressive going to the basket and we thought that he got hit a couple of times, but we were able to get the rebound and get another shot off.”

The final score and tough ending weren’t the only similarities to Monday’s game. In both, the Pistons blew past a lethargic Cavaliers’ club after intermission. It was a 17-6 run on Monday and 15-4 run on Thursday – with the Wine and Gold blowing a six- and twelve-point lead, respectively.

Cleveland will practice for two days and try to figure out that problem. And, despite being down 0-2, the Cavaliers have to feel pretty good about themselves heading home. Detroit hasn’t dominated – far from it. And despite what they say publicly about not playing well, they have to know it’s going to be hard-scrabble stuff for the rest of the series.

“We know we can compete with this team,” said Drew Gooden. “But then again, it’s a tough break type of game. Knowing that we have two home games, we'll see what happens.”

Gooden will have to turn up his game for the series to head back to Detroit. Actually, the Cavaliers simply need more than LeBron and one other starter to heat up. Anderson Varejao and Boobie Gibson are getting in the swing of things and the home court should give the road-weary Cavs a lift.

They’ll need it, heading into the weekend with their backs against the wall.