Cavs are not out, but may be in trouble

Depending on what side you are on determines your view on how Games 1 and 2 have gone for Cleveland or Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For Cleveland, the Cavs allowed the Magic to even be in the series by have collapses of 16 and 23 at home leading to two lucky shots by Orlando.

For Orlando, Cleveland shouldn't even be in the series because the Magic won Game 1 outright and the Cavs got lucky in Game 2.

Either way, the series was tied at one heading into last night's game, and in what was a debacle (for more than one reason, I'll get to it) of a basketball game, the Magic pulled out a 99-89 win to go up 2-1 against the Cavs in the series.

In a game that saw 86 free throw attempts and 94 two-point jumpers, the officials were all that could be talked about after the game.

First off, has anyone besides me noticed that Joey Crawford has called every game in these playoffs where the officiating is ultimately questioned at the end of a game? It surely isn't a coincidence, yet David Stern continues to let him work the postseason.

Need convincing? Go watch Dwight Howard's sixth foul on LeBron's three. Look in the bottom right corner for that bald man slightly resembling a male body part and see when he raises his hand for a foul. If your answer is before the shot, you would be correct.

And this can't be called "protection of LeBron" because he is just playing the game. Orlando fans can complain all they want about that, but the fact remains, Cavs fans have a point that their boys had an extra ten fouls called on them, and that isn't end game inflation.

When you have horrid officials, you over-react on fouls, because they are bad enough to blow the play dead at the flail of the arm. James knew that was his best bet last night to keep the Cavs in the game.

Speaking of Cleveland, the Cavs looked "turrible, just turrible" last night.

Thirty-seven percent shooting, 19% from behind the arc, and 15 turnovers leading to 21 Orlando points. (Let's not forget that Cleveland out-rebounded Orlando, and any time you do that, you should win, unless, you shoot like the Cavs did last night)

In Games 1 and 2, a performance like this could be attributed to Orlando's defense, but in Game 3, Cleveland had just as many open shots as Orlando did, but just couldn't hit.

This does not fall completely on Mo Williams, who has been James' Robin all season long. The truth is, Mo plays better as a straight up point guard, not a 1/2 hybrid.

At Alabama, Mo had this luxury to be able to play point guard straight up.

As point guard, Mo lead the Crimson Tide to a regular season SEC Title in 2001-02 as a freshman.

He was third on the team with points because he had reliable men down low (Erwin Dudley, Kenny Walker) and shooters on the outside with him (Terrance Meade, Rod Grizzard). The Tide also had a reliable bench (Antoine Pettway, Earnest Shelton) and role players (Reggie Rambo, Demetrius Smith).

Which team does that sound like in this series?

That is just one contributing factor as to why the Cavs are in trouble. They don't have Pippen, Kukoc, and Rodman.

Other factors are a reliable two and three, a physical presence down low, and a lineup with five people who aren't afraid to shoot.

Almost all of those must be fixed in the off-season while preparing for next year. However, there are two very important factors that can still save the series for Cleveland if they begin to show this in Game 4, and this apparently can't be seen through the Magical Blue shades.

First, it is staying home on defense.

The Cavs focus on Dwight Howard so much that the Magic have all the time in the world to move the ball around the perimeter. If the Cavs stay home, the game slows down and plays at their pace.

Instead, when one guy drives, one Cav slides over to help and two more cover up Howard, leaving the outside unattended. This is a lack of defensive trust by the Cavs, who have ridden their defense to this point.

Let Dwight Howard be. Between Big Z, Varajeo, and Ben Wallace (who should be on DH to begin with), Cleveland has 18 fouls to give. Even if he makes the shots, put Howard on the line to minimize the three-point shooting.

Second, consistency. Anyone who doesn't go by LeBron hasn't played with this during the series.

Just look at the box scores. The number of Cavs in double figures has dropped over the series, from five to four to three last night. Only LeBron, Delonte West and Mo scored in double figures the entire series, and it has taken an ungodly amount of shots to reach that point, especially last night.

Being down 2-1 in this series after last night's showing is encouraging, but it is also troublesome.

If the shooting improves, Cleveland will return home with the series tied at two.

If the shooting remains the same, LeBron will score forty for the fourth time this season on the Magic, but will go down 3-1 heading home and facing an improbable climb.