Cleveland Cavaliers Thread 2008-09

[Lebron23]

Some Cleveland Cavaliers Facts

When the Cavs reached the NBA Finals in 2006-07, they were the fourth-best defensive team in the league in the regular season, with a rating of 102.8. And they were the best defensive team in the playoffs, with a rating of 101.4.

Last season, the Cavs fell off defensively in the regular season, ranking 11th in the league with a rating of 107.9. But they were once again the top defensive team in the postseason (even better than the Celtics), with a rating of 103.2. And of course, they were a possession or two from knocking off Boston in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

"I thought our guys did a great job, especially late in the season, of picking it up on the defensive end of the floor," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. "And then in the playoffs the last two years, we were the best defensive team out there. And that says a lot, because we played a lot of games."

Don't be surprise if the Cavaliers advance in the NBA Finals next year because i agree with the author that the Cavaliers need to improve their offense because our team is already one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.

This is the year that the Cavaliers are going to win the Central Division, and maybe next year is the start of the LeBron James Era in the NBA.

Cavs are no longer a boring team.

Top Notch Defensive Team in the playoffs Plus Good Offense Plus LeBron James= Another Trip into the NBA Finals.

[Lebron23]

LeBron James with almost a Triple Double Performance. 22 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists.

Great Game from Boobie Gibson with 25 points, and Mo Williams with 17 points, and 7 assists.

The Old Ben Wallace is back with 10 rebounds, 5 blocks.

Cavaliers defeated the Bobcats, 96-79.

[Lebron23]

James, Gibson help Cavs tame Bobcats


By TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writer 21 minutes ago

CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James scored 22 points, Daniel Gibson had 20 of his 25 in the first half and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their home opener 96-79 over Charlotte on Thursday night, spoiling well-traveled coach Larry Brown’s debut with the Bobcats.

James just missed a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and nine assists in only 30 minutes for the Cavs, who bounced back from a sloppy season-opening loss at Boston with a much crisper performance. Mo Williams finished with 17 points.

Jason Richardson scored 24 and Gerald Wallace 13 for the Bobcats.

Gibson made three 3-pointers and eight of 10 shots in the first half, when the Cavs opened a 17-point lead. He is Cleveland’s best outside-shooting threat and the Cavs missed him last year in the final two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston after he separated his shoulder in Game 5.

Gibson’s shooting stroke looked as good as ever in the first half, and Cleveland pushed its lead to 19 in the third and appeared to be on its way to a rout.

But the young Bobcats, who went 0-8 in the preseason, rallied and cut it to 62-57 on Richardson’s layup late in the third.

The Cavs, though, responded while James was resting on the bench. Coach Mike Brown pulled his superstar with 3:12 left in the third quarter and didn’t put him back in until there was 7:27 remaining. While James was out, Cleveland outscored Charlotte 17-6 and opened a 79-63 lead.

Following the Bobcats’ winless exhibition season, Brown worried that his club wasn’t prepared for the opener.

“I’m not trying to make excuses, but I don’t think we’re quite ready right now,” he said.

The Hall of Famer was half right.

Charlotte was overmatched at times, but made a game of it in the second half before fading and falling to 0-8 in Cleveland.

The Bobcats did get their first look in more than a year at Adam Morrison, who missed last season with a knee injury. Morrison recently cut off his long hair and finished with seven points.

Leading by nine after one, Brown, who wants to limit James to 38 minutes per game this season, kept the Olympic gold medalist on the bench for the first 6-plus minutes of the second quarter. James checked in with 5:45 left and the Cavaliers quickly ripped off eight straight to push their lead to 18.

While James was on the bench, Cleveland rookie J.J. Hickson grabbed a loose ball in the lane and threw down a nasty, two-handed slam for his first points as a pro. James, usually on the receiving end of ovations, jumped out of his chair and screamed for Hickson, who didn’t play in the Cavs’ opener.

Notes

The 68-year-old Brown hasn’t lost any of his feistiness, picking up a technical in the third. … Cavs C Ben Wallace had five blocks. … James was thrilled with Wednesday night’s rally and free concert for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama that he co-hosted with hip-hop star Jay-Z. “It was great,” said James. “It wasn’t just a concert for Jay-Z, it was a big-picture thing.” James previously donated $20,000 to Obama’s campaign. … Crews for TV’s “60 Minutes” have been trailing James for the past few days for an upcoming segment on Cleveland’s star. … At least for one night, the Cavs toned down their extravagant pregame ceremony, which used to include four fire-spewing swords on the scoreboard. During a visit to Cleveland during last year’s playoffs, NBA commissioner David Stern lamented the use of pyrotechnics around the league.

[Charbel Sakr]

that was a poor trade for cavs releasing smith/jones for williams. it will might be small line-up.

poor? its an awesome trade for them, it gives them the pg they need.

[Lebron23]

LeBron James and Mo Williams tandem defeated the Dallas Mavericks.

Cavaliers 100, Mavericks 81

DALLAS -- How's this for a stretch of possessions to open the fourth quarter of a close game: Long jump shot, longer jump shot. Feed a teammate for a layup, then swish another jumper. Get another assist, then nail a 3-pointer from so deep that your defender walks away saying, "Whooo."

One of the Cleveland Cavaliers did exactly that Monday night -- and it wasn't LeBron James.

Fast Facts

• Cleveland dominated the boards, outrebound-
ing Dallas 52-35.

• Dallas lost for just the fourth time in its last 16 meetings against Cleveland.

• Dirk Nowitzki scored eight points on 3-for-11 shooting. It was the 14th time in his career he played at least 30 minutes without scoring in double figures, but the first since Dec. 14, 2007.

-- ESPN research

With James watching from the bench, Mo Williams powered that 13-0 run, sending the Cavaliers well on their way to a 100-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

"That's what they expect," said Williams, acquired in August to ease the load off James. "Tonight was a great sign. It was a long summer for me, two surgeries. I expected to get going kind of slow, but it was frustrating when you're used to making shots, making plays."

James still made his share of plays, including a key stretch in the third quarter after Dallas wiped out a 16-point deficit and tied the game at 63.

When Daniel Gibson missed a shot from the corner, James zoomed in, grabbed the rebound and banked it in, all in one motion. He followed with a three-point play and a pair of free throws. The Cavs ended the quarter up by six, then Williams put away the game, giving Cleveland its first road win after two losses.

"It's a nice win, a good way to close out the road trip," said James, who finished with a season-high 29 points despite shooting only 8-of-20. He also had a season-low three assists; he came in averaging 9.3.

"It's all about defense," he added. "We took a stand. When they tied it up, we buckled down and worked defensively. Then we made some shots. I didn't shoot the ball particularly well, like I know I can. I was in attack mode all night, but I missed some shots I know I can make."

Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki used almost the same words to describe his poor shooting.

After making his first shot, putting the Mavericks up 2-0, he missed his next seven tries. He didn't have another basket until late in the third quarter, and Dallas never led again.

"You're not going to totally stop Dirk Nowitzki, but the combination of Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao did about as good a job on Dirk as I've seen since he's been in the league," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

Nowitzki finished with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, his worst performance since scoring seven against New Orleans last December. The Mavericks also fell to 0-2 at home.

"It just wasn't one of my nights," Nowitzki said. "We just never really got going. We looked slow, we looked sluggish."

Josh Howard led the Mavs with 18 points. Antoine Wright and Gerald Green were the only other players to hit double figures, each scoring 10. Jason Kidd had nine points and six assists.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland. Delonte West added 14 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 10. Wallace didn't score, but had 13 rebounds.

Cleveland led 28-12 late in the first quarter. Other than the stretch that culminated in the third-quarter tie, the Cavaliers were hardly challenged. Fans began streaming out after Williams' big roll, while those who stayed seemingly stuck around just to boo.

New Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said his guys weren't aggressive enough in going after Cleveland's misses. It was that way from the start, he noted, recalling that the Cavs grabbed four offensive rebounds the first 3½ minutes.

"You've got to be pursuing the ball or making contact," Carlisle said. "We were doing neither."

Dallas goes to San Antonio on Tuesday night. The Spurs are 0-2.

"They're desperate for a win," Carlisle said. "There's no time for us to mope."

[Lebron23]

LeBron James is back as the Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 107-93

41 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals in less than 36 minutes.

[Lebron23]

James scores 41 in Cavs' 107-93 win over Bulls




CLEVELAND (AP)—LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points—15 on free throws — and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 15 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-93 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

James, who briefly left the floor in the first quarter after twisting his left ankle, missed just once from the line. In his past two games, James, who has struggled with his touch from 15 feet throughout his career, has made 28 of 31 free throws after going 15 of 24 in the season’s first three games.

While engaging in some friendly trash talk with former teammate Drew Gooden, James scored 14 points in the third quarter, highlighted by a reverse layup he spun in off the glass right-handed while driving to his left. Over the final 5:05 of the quarter, James had a hand in all 18 of Cleveland’s points, scoring 10 with three assists.

James added nine rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes. He arrived at the game wearing a T-shirt with president-elect Barack Obama’s likeness on it and was asked if he would consider a future in politics, perhaps as the mayor of Akron, his hometown.

“Mayor of Akron?” he said. “I’m already mayor of Akron. I’ve been that for about 10 years now.”

Ilgauskas made his sixth career 3-pointer and Delonte West had 16 points for the Cavs, who didn’t put it away until the final minutes.

Ben Gordon scored a season-high 31 and rookie Derrick Rose 20 for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-3 on the road. Luol Deng had 18 points after scoring just one on Monday in a loss Orlando.

The Cavs led by 12 entering the fourth, but with James on the bench, the Bulls made their move.

Gordon made two jumpers and scored seven points to pull Chicago within 90-83 with 6:54 left, prompting Cavs coach Mike Brown to send James back in.

It didn’t take him long to make a difference.

Following a wild scramble for a loose ball near mid-court, James drove to the basket and was fouled by Gooden while hitting a layup. He dropped his free throw to complete the three-point play, giving the Cavs a 10-point lead and breathing room. James then hit a short jumper and tipped in his own miss to make it 97-83 with 3:08 left.

James rolled his left ankle late in the first when he landed on Kirk Hinrich’s foot following a dunk.

As the Bulls pushed the ball up the floor, James was limping around under Cleveland’s basket when Wally Szczerbiak made a steal and passed it ahead to his teammate, who scored on a left-handed layup before going out.

The Cavaliers closed the first half with a 10-2 spurt, triggered by Ilgauskas’ first 3-pointer since Jan. 22, 2005.

Cleveland’s big man grabbed a pass from James on the right side in front of Cleveland’s bench and calmly set his feet before draining the long-range shot. The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas is 6-for-38 in his career from beyond the arc.

Notes

Pitcher CC Sabathia, who still keeps a home in the Cleveland area, attended the game as did rapper/actor Ludacris. … With two steals in Dallas on Monday, James reached 700 in his career and became the youngest and fastest player to reach 700 steals, 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists and 300 blocks. The 23-year-old did it in 395 games. Michael Jordan was the second fastest (417 games) and Kobe Bryant (26) the second youngest. … It was James’ 25th career game scoring at least 40 points.

http://www.nba.com/games/20081105/CHICLE/recap.html

[mvblair]

It's a young season, but here are my impressions:

• LeBron James is at it again. He's making great plays, even though he makes two or three terrible plays/shots a game. Just like last year, if he takes the ball to the basket, he's getting a lay-up or going to the line.
• It looks like Mike Brown is trying to run plays for Big Z again. He stopped doing that early last season, then did it in the play-offs. Big Z remains one of the top 5 centers in the league.
• Ben Wallace is getting old. He's getting rebounds, but he's getting old.
• Anderson Varejao is still Anderson Varejao.
• I'd rather see Pavlovic get more minutes instead of Delonte West and Szcerbiak. Pavlovic and Szcerbiak are both good athletes, but Pavlovic seems like a better shooter.
• I still don't know what to think about Mo Williams. He's shooting only 43% and we need him to do better. His ball distribution is OK. Am I the only one who would like to see Daniel Gibson play more?
• LeBron
• James

[Lebron23]

Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers, 111-107

Great performance from Danny Granger and LeBron James. Granger definitely deserve to be pick as a reserve in the 2009 NBA All Star Game.

[Lebron23]

Cavaliers defeated Bulls, 106-97.

It was a great game for both teams, and LeBron scored 41 points for the 2nd time in the last 3 days.

Deng, Gordon, and Rose are going to be a phenomenal trio. Cavaliers have a 3 days rest after this game.

I think LeBron James will win the MVP this season because he already paid his dues, and many people here will agree that the Cavaliers are the 2nd best team in the East.

[Charbel Sakr]

Granger definitely deserve to be pick as a reserve in the 2009 NBA All Star Game.

definitely, he is doin wonders so far, 27ppg on 52% shooting!! making 2.8 3s per game this kid got game

[Lebron23]

Great Week for the Cavaliers and Suns because they are the 3rd and 4th best teams in the ESPN Power Rankings.

Congratulations to LeBron and Amare

New York, NY -- (Sports Network) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending November 9.

James posted a league-high 34.5 points per game as the Cavs finished the week a perfect 4-0, including two 41-point efforts in a pair of wins over Chicago. On November 3 against Dallas, the six-year pro picked up a steal which made him the youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 700 steals and 300 blocks.

Stoudemire averaged 28.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as the Suns went 3-1 over the past seven days. He recorded 49 points on 17-of-21 shooting from the field and 15-of-15 from the foul line in a 10-point win over Indiana on November 5. The 25-year-old also hit 64.6 percent from the field over the course of the four contests.

Other nominees in the Eastern Conference were Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Boston's Ray Allen and Orlando's Dwight Howard. In the West, Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge, Utah's Carlos Boozer and Golden State's Andris Biedrins garnered mention.

http://www.kirotv.com/nba/17948631/detail.html

[Lebron23]

Great win for the Cavaliers, and LeBron really step up big time by scoring 12 points in the 4th quarter.

5 Cavaliers players scored in Double Figures.

LeBron - 41 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Williams - 16 points
Ilgauskas - 15 points, 10 rebounds
Varejao - 13 points, 10 rebounds
West - 11 points

[Charbel Sakr]

Great win for the Cavaliers, and LeBron really step up big time by scoring 12 points in the 4th quarter.

5 Cavaliers players scored in Double Figures.

LeBron - 41 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Williams - 16 points
Ilgauskas - 15 points, 10 rebounds
Varejao - 13 points, 10 rebounds
West - 11 points

i watched the game, another great game by LeBron.

[mvblair]

5 Cavaliers players scored in Double Figures.

Fantastic. My only complaint is Williams' 16 points. He's got to shoot better than 3-11. I'm also worried that the minutes of Williams and West are taking minutes away from Gibson. Gibson is a blossoming player, and he's a great athlete. I want to see him more than West.

As for LeBron, I think this could be his MVP year. Can he get to the 30+ average scoring per night?

Also, Varejao had another great night. 13 points (5-5) and 10 rebounds. That's pretty good! I said in another thread that he'll have another 6 point, 6 rebound year (which isn't bad for us), so I think I was wrong.

Bogut was disappointing yesterday. He should be an All-Star, but I guess he couldn't handle Big Z. Jefferson was fun to watch.