I Forgive You, Eric Snow

I'm guilty. I've been bashing Eric Snow all season. It's easy to do if you watch him play day in and day out. He slows the offense, misses wide-open jumpshots and routinely gets beaten off the dribble by quicker guards. I still believe a better point guard would have been worth about ten extra wins this season. No disrespect of course. This guy has had a hell of a career. He was the starting point guard on an NBA finals team and is a 12-year vet. Most nights, though, it looks high time for him to make the transition to the coaching staff.

But there is one thing that Snow still does better than anyone else on the Cavs, and that is defend the post play. Did you watch last night's 87-85 game 3 victory over the Nets? Did you see Vince Carter trying to back Snow down in the Nets' final possession? He might as well have been trying to back down Mount McKinley. When Carter realised he wasn't getting any nearer the basket as the clocked ticked down, he panicked and dribbled the ball out of bounds. Game over.

So, this McBone Post is for you Eric Snow. You made the stop of the game and have put the Nets in 3-games-to-1 hole I don't think they can climb out of. That makes up for a lot of bad basketball this season.

N8's Random Notes

Don't be fooled by Mikki Moore's 25 point game, or the fact that he led the league in field-goal percentage. There's a reason nobody guards this guy, and it's not because he's a potent offensive force. With the Cavs leaning heavily on Kidd, Carter and Jefferson all game, Moore was left alone most of the time for easy dunks and wide-open jumpers. Still, it was frustrating to watch this scrub pile up points.

I'm sure I'll get burned for this later on, but it's hard to believe now that Vince Carter was ever considered Jordan's heir-apparent. Everything from game to guts to effort throughout his career has been a far cry. I hate players that give less than 100% because they don't like the team they're on (see Chris Webber). Carter should still be a Raptor.

I'd love to see Cavs make an extra pass or two on most possessions, especially down the stretch when it's been LeBron and Larry firing contested 18-23 foot jumpers late in the shot clock and usually missing.

Somebody is going to kill Anderson Varejao someday. He's the closest thing to Dennis Rodman in the league right now, driving opponents nuts.