At halftime of Tuesday’s playoff game between Cleveland and Chicago, the Cavaliers held a slim 52-50 lead.
The upstart Bulls looked to be in a perfect position, gaining momentum as the first half drew to a close.
TNT’s Charles Barkley, however, spoke as if a Cleveland victory was an afterthought. “Chicago’s not going to win this game,” he said matter-of-factly, during the network's Halftime Report.
He was right, even though the third quarter was as dicey for Cleveland as the first two. After three periods, the game was tied, 77-77.
Then, as they’ve done so many times this year, the Cavs methodically claimed a 112-102 triumph and a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
What did Barkley know? What enabled Cleveland to secure the game down the stretch and pull out the win?
Two things: depth and experience.
We’ve talked about it here before. In the playoffs, especially, depth can make all the difference.
In this case, it arrived in the person of Jamario Moon.
As the fourth quarter began, LeBron James watched from the bench as the Cav ...
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Article written by Tom Delamater
Cavaliers-Bulls, Game Two: Why Charles Barkley Knew Cleveland Would Beat Chicago
April 19th, 2010 by Tom Delamater Leave a reply »
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