Defending Mike Brown

Since I'm unbelievably clever, that title not only refers to me defending his decision to bench the stars in the possibly-record-tying game last night, but it also points to his mantra as coach; defending.

The final game of the regular season was an important game...to Cavalier fans. I would have loved to see Cleveland win and join an ultra-exclusive list of teams who have won 40 games at home. It's ultra-exclusive because, obviously, the 85-86 Celtics are the only team on that list. Furthermore, winning 67 games is another slim list which we could have been a part of if we'd won last night's contest vs. the 76ers.

But in reality, what did we have to gain?

If LeBron had played, he would have played all out, as usual. Knock on wood, he's been incredibly healthy throughout his career, despite playing at breakneck speed at all times. Had James landed on someone's foot after a layup or bumped knees with someone on a drive, that would put our entire playoff run in jeopardy over a game that meant absolutely nothing to our playoffs.

In fact, I think that Brown's decision was unquestionably the right thing to do. In addition to resting the guys who needed it most, it gave the role players a chance to shine, and really, shine they did. The Cavaliers got stellar performances from Darnell Jackson, Boobie Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, and Sasha Pavlovic.

With full-time players Delonte West and Anderson Varejao each playing limited minutes (Andy played 11, West 19), the Cavaliers backup squad effectively played an even game with an eastern conference playoff team fighting for playoff positioning. Philadelphia - despite entering with a 6-game losing streak, was and is a dangerous team due to their freakish athleticism (Andre Iguodala is barely human) and fastbreak savvy.

Now for the defense.

Again, the Cavaliers were effectively playing their backups for this game. Their #1 defender (and league MVP, guaranteed) LeBron was out. The insanely underrated interior defender known as Z was out. Solid on-the-ball defender Mo Williams was out. 4-time defensive player of the year Ben Wallace was out (with a knee-lump or something). And again, tremendous defenders West and Varejao were relative non-factors as well. 

And we still allowed less than 100 points in regulation. I know, it wasn't perfect, because we did allow 61 in the 2nd half, but did you see Andre Miller make every freaking shot? I don't blame anyone personally for it. That a-hole was on fire.

Sorry bout that.

 The point remains. Cavaliers defense has been unparalleled in the NBA this season. What wins championships?

Defense.

Go Cavs.

PS. Tribe opens up new Yankee Stadium today. Yippee.