Mike Brown

Mike Brown is a young coach who has had back-to-back 50 wins seasons in his first two years in the league. He has dramatically improved the Cavaliers' defense in that time period. That's the good news.

The bad news is he is coaching about as well as the Cavaliers are playing in the first two games of the '07 Finals.

Larry Hughes should not be playing major minutes. He has been totally ineffective at both ends of the court - due to injury and a lack of overall confidence right now.

Brown has an option. Daniel Gibson is playing the best basketball of his young career at the most critical time of the year. He should be playing the bulk of the minutes in Hughes' place. Everyone seems to realize this but Brown.

Coach Brown also got brain lock when he took 23 out after picking up two quick fouls early in quarter one of game #2. The Cavs had little to no chance to stay close with James on the bench for that length of time. Let him play through the fouls and count on his high basketball IQ to kick in and avoid his third personal. By the time he re-entered at the start of the second quarter, the Cavs were predictably down double digits and playing uphill the rest of the night in the Finals on the road. Bad idea Mike.

Regardless, I still expect the Cavaliers role players - all 11 of them- to play much better at home and find a way to win two of the next three games and force a game #6. Let's hope Brown also feels more comfortable at the Q and stops worrying about hurting his players' feelings and starts making better pre-game and in-game decisions. With this roster, the Cavaliers' margin for error is extremely small against the veteran and cerebral Spurs. They don't need Brown adding to the problem.

LJ is not a good shooter. We know this. Like a lot of players, he is a rhythm shooter who is searching for his shot right now. Not asking him to chase Tony Parker all over the floor wouldn't hurt.

One more thing, I never - I repeat never - want to see E. Snow and Anderson V. run a pick and role again in my life. I like both players and what they bring to the table, but that sequence epitomized the futility of the Cavs' two-game stay in San Antonio. Plus, for a basketball purist, it was difficult to watch - similar to seeing someone run their nails down a chalkboard.

All hope is not lost. Home court energy should lead to better play at the Q.