Cavs series....

At times, the Cleveland Cavs vs. Washington Wizard series has resembled more of a Wrestlemania match than it has an actual basketball game. There have been elbows to the face; pushes to the back; taking out someone's legs; and the occasional punch. I'm still waiting for someone to climb onto the announcer's table and jump into the opposing bench.

With the crowd in their favor, the Cavs failed to deliver the knockout punch in Game 5. They now move to Washington for a pivotal game 6.

With a five point lead and less than two minutes on the clock – not to mention the best player on the court – the Cavs couldn’t finish it. The team who’s coming off a championship appearance and whose defensive mentality was built for the playoffs couldn’t put away a team that was missing their best player (Gilbert Arenas).

And the Cavs were at home too.

Yikes.

The Cavs will still (eventually…probably…hopefully) win this series, whether it’s tonight in Washington or in a game 7 at home. It is, however, difficult to predict just how that win will come considering the roller coaster nature of this series so far. One game, the Cavs are pummeling the Wizards by 30 then the next game, the Wizards get the momentum and hammer away at the Cavs by 30 points.

Some other thoughts on the series so far:

Please, oh please, can someone have enough courage to tell LeBron James to STOP taking three pointers. At times, it was hard to tell if James was playing racquetball or basketball. He wasn’t just missing three pointers; they were clanging off the backboard, two feet to the left of the actual rim. What only adds to the aggravation is the fact that on the next trip down the court, James easily gets to the rim for a layup. Yet for some reason, he’s content to play a perimeter game even though that is his weakest aspect.

One can only assume that LeBron’s back is hurting him more than he is letting on so he’s trying to avoid contact and play more on the perimeter. Or all of the punching, clawing, and elbowing that the Wizards have been doing are starting to affect him.

With all that being said, I predict that LeBron takes all the criticism to heart and goes nuts in game six. With all the publicity that this series has gotten so far in regards to the physicality of it, the officials have been forced to call even the slightest touch a foul. Neither team so far has really taken advantage of that.

Who is Deshawn Stevenson and why should anyone listen when he talks? I’ve never seen someone who’s accomplished so little yet talks so much. The worst part was, during the blowout loss in game two, Stevenson does his little “hand wave” after making a three…while his team was down by 30 points. That would be the definition of “bush league.”

The most notable thing so far about the Cavs’ big trade has been the inconsistency it has brought. Ben Wallace can occasionally put together a solid half of basketball, but not much more than that. There have been some games where Delonte West looks like a legit point guard, pushing the ball up the court for fast break buckets while hitting a couple of 3s to keep the defense honest. Other games? You can’t even tell he’s on the court.

I’m still trying to figure out how a career 49% shooter can miss a wide open layup. Yet somehow, Wally Szczerbiak managed to pull it off. You keep thinking that eventually Szczerbiak will put it all back together, but he just keeps disappointing. Nobody expects him to be this lockdown defender; we just would appreciate it if he could make the occasional jump shot.

Joe Smith, on the other hand, has been a nice addition. The only problem with him so far has been how coach Mike Brown has used him. Some games they give Smith plenty of shots. Other times, he plays limited minutes with minimal touches.

The only thing more frustrating than watching James brick 3s has been the overall play of Anderson Varejao. He went from a fan favorite to someone that may be better off packing his bags. Evidently, he’s convinced himself that he is better off trying to play the point guard position and start chucking up ill advised shots. Varejao is at his best rebounding the ball and getting in the hair (pardon the pun) of the opponent. Any points he gets should come strictly from put-backs and garbage buckets.