Indians 3 Red Sox 1: Tomlin Stops The Red Sox Cold
April 6, 2011Are the Indians Suffering From a LeBron Hangover Too?
April 6, 2011
Another Baron Davis start, another Cavaliers game where the offense provided an efficiency number north of 100. With seven members of the Wine and Gold tallying double-digit scoring totals, and the defense holding the Charlotte Bobcats to 39 percent shooting, the result was vindication from just a few nights earlier, 99-89.
The victory was the team’s 16th win of the season, pulling them within half of a game of the worst record in the NBA as the Minnesota Timberwolves sit at 17-61 on the year. Byron Scott applauded nearly his entire team postgame, calling this a “good win” as he can see the younger players finally coming together. Though the abovementioned Davis was a part of a backcourt that shot a combined 3-for-18, the frontcourt combination of JJ Hickson and Ryan Hollins along with a solid supporting staff would be what the Cavaliers needed at home.
Hollins finished with a season-high in points (16 on 7-of-7 shooting), topping the mark he set against Golden State just one month earlier. Hickson nearly finished with a 20/20 night, amassing 16 points and 19 rebounds. While Scott would say that Hollins, his new starting center, is still trying to find his way and he would appreciate a few more rebounds per night – the seven-footer finished with two rebounds in 31 minutes of play – the team feels that Hollins has shown signs that he can help them on a going forward basis.
Hollins, as he has told WFNY in the past, credits a lot of his coming out party to the addition of Davis.
“We have got a guy named Baron Davis who is kind of like a big brother to me,” said Hollins postgame. “He’s been looking out for me since he’s been here, getting me motivated on and off the court. A lot of stuff that he does goes into me playing well.
“I’ve known Baron since college,” Hollins continued. “He definitely knows what I’m capable of; he’s a great passer and a great player. He picks up the level of play of our team. All of the players around him: J.J., myself, all of the bigs and Christian; we have a team of young guys, so we need a guy like that.”
The loss places the Michael Jordan-owned Bobcats on the outside of the playoff hunt as they now fall 2.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Following the win, several members of the team stated that this last stretch of competitive, high-energy play has now made them more anxious to get back on the floor for next season. They will continue to play the remaining five games at a similar high level, which could cost them the best odds at landing the first-overall selection in the upcoming draft, but as of right now, all sights are set on the future.
“The philosophies [Coach Scott] teaches us of playing hard all of the time, playing defense and playing together, you have got to work at those every game so that we don’t have to [start] the same way when next season rolls around,” said Daniel Gibson who finished with 10 points and five assists off of the bench. “You start to build a foundation now and that’s what we are trying to do.”
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(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
19 Comments
first off, good loss for the Bobcats. they don’t need the playoffs, it actually hurts them 5-6 spots in the draft (better record West teams would get a better draft pick). sure they get ~$1mil extra per playoff game, but they probably only get 2 of those.
secondly, anyone know why Eyenga’s minutes have been so down? I want him getting 15-20 per night. might as well give him solid minutes right?
props to Hollins for showing life. and props to Baron for apparently squeezing it out of him.
oh, and nightmare scenario is possible for the draft. Cavs could end up with the #5 & #10 pick.
it wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Clips pick (there’s actually a decent size 2nd tier of ‘good’ players), but to not get Irving/Derrick Williams/Barnes/Kanter would be a huge hit to rebuilding.
@ #2 – I don’t even think 5 would be a disaster. Everything I see has Kanter still there at 5. I think that would be awesome value for that pick.
Somebody is going to overpay Ryan Hollins this offseason…I just hope it’s not the Cavs.
@Chris M – I agree, I see the same things. Just when I made my list of best players, I see 4 elite guys (don’t know enough about the other Euros other than what I read). So, it’s possible he’s gone too.
Here’s my top10 (well 11 as I still have Sullinger in there)
1. Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke
2. Derrick Williams, PF, Arizona (if we think he can play SF, he might be our #1 spot. tough call so I’ll go with the more important position)
3. Enes Kanter, C, Turkey (only really ahead of Barnes because he’s a true center)
4. Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina
5. Jan Vesely, PF, Czech Republic (I prefer athleticism and he should be a SF with height for us)
6. Jonas Valanciunas, PF, Lithuania
7. Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State
8. Brandon Knight, PG, Kentucky (proved alot in the tourney obviously)
9. Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Diego State (tourney hurt, still see a possible Gerald Wallace in him)
10. Kemba Walker, PG, Connecticut (Jason Terry isn’t a bad comp)
11. Alec Burks, PG/SG, Colorado (I love how this kid plays)
@ 4: agree. At age 26 he, in the last year of his contract, he is capable of playing to his talent level every few games, when properly inspired. Chew on that, Mr. NBA general manager.
Sullinger supposedly said he was returning for his sophomore season but it will be interesting to see how many others do the same. If that happens it won’t matter if the Cavaliers pick first or fifth. The shame will be two top 10 picks in what might be one of the weakest drafts in a long time. Go figure.
@Shamrock – the Clippers don’t give us that draft pick if it wasn’t considered a weak draft.
I think this draft will be decent. lots of ‘good’ players, just not any superstars. of the top pick guys, only Barnes seems like he might come back.
and wouldn’t ‘less’ players coming out mean it’s MORE important for the Cavs to get the #1 pick? that would leave only Kanter from my list of ‘elite’ guys for this draft (if somehow Irving/Barnes/D.Williams all go back to school, unlikely).
If the T-wolves get the #1, one can only pray that for David Kahn’s own sake, he doesn’t pick Kyrie Irving. Even Derrick Williams might not be a great idea for them, if he’s a PF. Besides, the worst record only has a 25% chance at winning, right? So it’s not like losing out guarantees the Cavs the first pick.
That said, lose the damn games, guys. If you like winning so much, you should have won one or two during that streak. Now it’s time to be as godawful as possible.
oh, and this draft would have to be pretty dang bad to be as bad as the 2006 draft.
that draft’s #1 pick: Andre Bargnani
that draft’s allstars: Roy and Rondo
next best player: Aldridge or Gay
that draft’s top10 pick busts:
#1 Bargnani
#3 Morrison
#4 Ty Thomas
#5 Shelden Williams
#7 Randy Foye? (borderline bust)
#9 Patrick O’Bryant
#10 Sene
It’s hard to root for the team to lose, but when they break the consecutive losses record, I mean… to not get the first overall pick in the draft would kinda suck.
I heard Barnes is leaning towards not coming out. As for the picks… as long as the Cavs get 1 great player it wont be a bust. Even the bad drafts have a great player. Determining who that is will be the hard part.
MIN is playing the PHX tonight and we have TOR. Let’s hope for a loss!
Ugh I hate hoping for losses. Lets just hope the Wolves win a couple more games.
Dear Cavs, stop winning. Thank you.
up 60-40 at the half…here comes another win
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!
I dont know.. if they get 1 I still might look at Derrick Williams. Then depending on where the Clippers pick comes in you can look at Kanter, or probably with him off Kemba Walker. He is the type of leader and QB that you need at PG and sort of reminds me of Davis who has been doing well.
There are two more wins on our schedule. There are no more wins on the T’Wolves slate. Un-freaking-believable.