Game 2 and 3 Recaps
I'm sorry. I didn't see this one coming. Can you blame me? I mean, after all the quick mouths being shot off prior to this series; I did not see either team concocting a blowout. Obviously that wasn't the case. Washington got blown out by 30 points. And a mere two days later Washington returned the favor blowing out Cleveland by 36.

Let's start with the first one, game two. No one expects the Wizards to perform well when their big three goes 10 for 36 collectively.  It is a well known fact that in order for the Wizards to win, all three of them must contribute.  DeShawn Stevenson obviously wasn't stepping up.  He struggled offensively from the field in both of the first two games and defensively as well I might add.  LeBron was one rebound away from his third career post season triple-double with 30 points, 12 assist, and nine boards. I would not feel inclined to blame Stevenson for LeBron's amazing game two efforts, but he kind of brought it upon himself.  The Cavs outscored the Wizards in all quarters of the game.  During game one, the Wizards performed worse during the second and fourth quarters.  However, during the second game it was the third quarter where they lost momentum.  LeBron came out and scored 14 points during the third and opened the lead to 25 by the start of the fourth. The drama continued as Brendan Haywood was ejected for committing a flagrant foul on LeBron.  After their scuffle and double technical in game one, that wasn't much of a surprise. All in all, the Wizards got blown out and went home mad. But, mad enough to return the favor to the Cavs on Thursday.

I could not wait for game three ever since I heard Soulja Boi was going to be there wearing a DeShawn Stevenson jersey.  He was sitting in the front row right next to the basket and had the jersey over his shoulder. That was a disappointment.  To be honest, I halfway expected him to be YOOOUUUUUUUin' all over the arena like those guys running with the Peja heads in New Orleans. The word is Stevenson is trying to get him to come back, so maybe on Sunday. Speaking of Stevenson, he redeemed himself offensively on Thursday night. He went five for seven from the three point line.  Caron and Antawn found their swing too scoring 17 and 15 points respectively. On the other hand, Agent Zero did not have it too well.  Last night was the first game he started since November and he ended up leaving the game limping during the second half.  As the Cavs did to the Wizards in game two, the Wizards did to the Cavs in game three, outscoring them in every quarter of the game.  Washington performed better than Cleveland by a significant margin in field goal percentage, three point percentage and free throw percentage. 

Game three did a lot to both teams' psyche.  Washington is on cloud nine right now—and Cleveland is nervous and heading back to the drawing board.  The only problem is with a turnaround like that is both teams should treat it as if the games were close.  Getting blown out by 30 and then turning around and blowing out the same team by 36 does not prove superiority.  What it does prove is both teams played horrible on each respective night. Game four is going to mean more than most may think.  Sure game three was a huge momentum swing in favor of the Wizards; however, getting blown out just two days before should still weigh heavy on their minds.  My prediction for game four is Washington by a single digit margin.  If Washington can pull out a win by ten or more, I see them taking game five at Cleveland and closing it out at home.  My original prediction was Washington in seven or Washington in six.  So all you Cavs fans who blew my phone up after the first two losses, you have to lose a couple to go six or seven right?

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Game 1 Recap
It was "The Haywood-Ilgauskas Show" to start of the game with both of them scoring the majority of their team's points in the first quarter.  LeBron started the game in a slump with no field goals in the first quarter, but that didn't last long. He ended up with 32 points and 20 in the second half. Gilbert came off the bench and air balled his first shot.  However he quickly quieted the crowd with a long three pointer and another with only 0.7 seconds left in the first.  He went on to hit three threes and shoot 4-6 for a quick 14 points in eight minutes. LeBron started to heat up mid way through the second quarter after catching a lob from Gibson.  Emotions were running high all the way to the very last play in the second half where there was a slight shoving match between LeBron and Haywood.  Double technicals were dished out and one to Jamison who was coming to Haywood's rescue.  Going into the second half each team made their respective runs going up by as many as seven. DeShawn Stevenson was getting exposed on defense while guarding LeBron and every time LeBron went to the line there MVP chants filled the arena.  Throughout the entire fourth quarter I found myself sitting on the edge of the couch peeking from behind my eyes nervous for the Wizards.  Even though the box score says Cleveland won by seven, the Cavs should treat it like as if it were one because that was nothing but fouls and free throws.

Going into Monday the Wizards need to play better defense.  There were many transitions where they failed to stop the ball and gave up points on easy lay-ups.  Also, containing LeBron is going to be key.  He obviously likes to drive to the basket they must put a body on him each time he enters the lane.  During the first half they did a very good job bumping or grabbing LeBron every time he came in the lane. However, the two deciding shots of the game came on unguarded lay-ups in the paint by him. The Wizards also had a hard time closing out the second and fourth quarter. In order for them to be successful they must learn to close. I'm still going to maintain my prediction that the Wizards are going to win the series.  But, I think its going to happen in six if they can win Monday night.