King Kaufman's Sports Daily
NBA Finals: Cavs coach Brown follows orthodoxy over the cliff and benches LeBron with foul trouble. The Spurs win a laugher.
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June 11, 2007 | If I'd known Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was going to hand Game 2 of the NBA Finals to the San Antonio Spurs on a plate, I'd have watched "The Sopranos," just like you did.
The Spurs pounded the Cavs into dust, winning by the respectable score of 103-92 only after a furious fourth-quarter rally by Cleveland, shrinking a 29-point lead down to eight at one point while the Spurs all but watched the "Sopranos" finale on their iPods. And I don't just mean the guys on the bench. The Spurs lead the series 2-0, with Game 3 Tuesday in Cleveland.
Maybe I just see everything from the vantage point of my hobbyhorses, but it looked to me like Brown and the Cavaliers gave this one away in the third minute of the first quarter, when LeBron James was sent to the bench with foul trouble after picking up his second.
I know what you're going to say: The Spurs ran away with the game while James was in the game, not on the bench.
The Spurs were leading 7-4 when James, helping on defense, foolishly slapped at the ball in Tim Duncan's hands, instead hitting his wrist and drawing his second foul with just over nine minutes left in the first quarter.
Brown, following coaching orthodoxy right over the cliff, sent his star to the folding chairs because he didn't want James to pick up his third foul, which would mean he'd be halfway to his sixth foul, which would mean he'd be disqualified, which would mean he might have to miss, oh, who knows, maybe nine minutes of game time!
Duncan hit both free throws for 9-4 and James sat for the rest of the quarter. Nine minutes. No need to foul out, LeBron. Your coach did it for you after you got your second foul. James ended up playing 38 minutes. He finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, six turnovers.
Three fouls.
So here's your point: With James on the bench for the rest of the quarter, the Spurs only outscored the Cavaliers 19-13. They led by 11 at quarter's end. The rout wasn't really on until the second period, when James was back on the floor. A 10-3 run in the first three and a half minutes boosted the lead to 18. Except for that garbage-time comeback, the Cavs were never in the game again.
Next page: James was on the floor, but he looked like a guy who'd been sitting for half an hour