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The trade deadline is just days away (nine days actually) and we’ve been monitoring all the options we can find for the Cavaliers. One option that hasn’t gotten much attention these days is adding a player after the deadline passes. This obviously is only accomplished by signing players to free agent deals. After the trade deadline passes there are occasionally players that hit the market because they have had their contracts bought out by the current team. It is something that the Cavs are quite familiar with.

Last season the Cavaliers reacquired veteran Joe Smith after the trade deadline when the Oklahoma City Thunder bought out his contract. While not an impact player, Smith logged 19 minutes per game with the Cavs and scored 6.6 points a contest. In the playoffs, Smith had 2 fantastic games against Detroit, but was abused in the series against Orlando.

In addition to getting the player they want, they also have missed out on players such as Antonio McDyess two years ago.

One year ago, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title for the 15th time in their historic franchise history. This occurred in June despite the fact the Lakers actually finished the regular season with one fewer victory than the Cleveland Cavaliers. What this means is that there there was something else more important than the sheer number of wins during the season. That main difference was that Cleveland struggled mightily throughout the year in their biggest games while the Lakers coasted through all the way to the championship.

Cleveland’s inability to win big games eventually led to their conference finals defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic. Thus far this season however, with both teams having played 52 out of 82 total games, the numbers below start to show that there is a significant role reversal in comparison to what happened a year ago. While the Lakers are struggling against the top teams in the league, the Cavaliers are riding a season-high 11-game winning streak and appear to be the team to beat in the NBA.

The NBA stats guru at ESPN strikes yet again with his latest blow to the Cavaliers franchise. Despite the fact Cleveland is currently on an 11-game winning streak, has the best record in the league at 41-11 and is directly on par with their 66-win mark a year ago, John Hollinger ranks them as the third best team in the NBA.

This is the second time is as many weeks that Hollinger’s rankings have caught my eye. First, I saw that Utah held the #1 spot and now, the Lakers have also passed Cleveland on the heels of their win last night against Portland. These are statistics-based rankings and Hollinger did issue a statement when Utah started moving all the way up. No matter what though, it seems that the rankings are just as out of touch with reality as the BCS standings. Ask any player or coach and they will say Cleveland is the top team, and deservedly so as they are two games better than any team right now in the league.

[John Hollinger's daily rankings via @TheAkronHammer on Twitter]

The Cavaliers utilized yet another massive first quarter run and held on for dear life last night in their 113-106 victory over the NY Knicks. The win pushed their current streak of W’s out to 11 games, tied for the best in the NBA this season and the team looks to break the mark Tuesday against the New Jersey Nets.

It was a tale of two Cleveland teams as much as it was a tale of two LeBron’s tonight. The Cavs first came out dominating the paint, including a quick eight-point burst by J.J. Hickson and some nice moves by Shaq to take a 28-21 lead with 3:28 to go in the first quarter. That was the end of the silence however, as just under six minutes later in the ball game, LeBron James had accomplished the feat of providing 24 straight points for his Cavaliers team.

The 40-11 Cavs continue their nice February stretch of games tonight at the Q against the 19-30 New York Knickerbockers (WTAM 1100, FSN Ohio). The Cavs have won their last 10 straight, while the Knicks are coming in 3-7 over their last 10 games.

The Knicks do, however, have more participants in the upcoming All-Star Weekend (salty point! LET’S ALL REVOLT!!!), with Nate Robinson scheduled to require 15 attempts at each dunk defend his title in the dunk contest, and Danilo Gallinari representing the Fightin’ New York Pants in the Three-Point Contest.

Team Statistics:

There’s been much discussion around these parts about one Walter Szczerbiak. Senor Szczerbiak is currently under then employ of the Columbia Broadcasting System as a collegiate basketball analyst. Though he remains a free agent, he has begun his new career in the broadcasting field.

In order to trade Mr Szczerbiak’s rights the Cavs would have to ’sweeten the pot’ so to speak. Yes, a large salary would be needed to match the trade-ee’s salary, but money isn’t everything.

We’ve determined a few things that could be added to the sign/trade in order to appease Walter.

1) Hair gel. Lots of hair gel. Dapper Dan, to be exact.

The star of everyone’s favorite YouTube clips, and currently injured off-guard, Delonte West will be hosting a shindig this weekend at LUX (Lust Ultra Lounge) in Cleveland’s Warehouse District.  And you better have his donuts.

Word of Mouth Promotions will be putting together the event, which will allegedly feature DJ K-Nyce.   Mr. Nyce has a MySpace page as well as a Twitter feed if you’re looking to get a sample before you partake.

Valet parking and table service are available, and your “finest attire” is required.  We recommend the Mark Price is Right t-shirt – spruce it up with the gray and white stripes.  Doors open at 9PM, but if it is like any other event, most folks won’t be congregating until at least 11PM.  Getcha pomade ready.

Be there.  Be beautiful. Be Zaza.

It’s one thing to watch the Cavs beat the Heat on Thursday night and say, “Man, the Cavs are good!” It’s quite another to PROVE IT.

Denny and I set out to do just that. We won’t settle for mere stats and box scores; standings and winning streaks. We want to dig deeper. We want to bring you—the readers of WFNY—the deep analysis you crave, and frankly that you deserve.

Are the Cavs good? Yes. But, who else can prove that the Cavs are INCREDIBLY AWESOME? I know of no one. First, we begin with one rock-solid universal truth: Han Solo is indeed INCREDIBLY AWESOME. Behold:

With all the trade rumors swirling around, I realized it’s been a little while since we’ve done some math around here to illustrate the financial implications of what the Cavaliers can and cannot do in the future, as well as how LeBron’s contract will shape the future. Of course I realize that right now the team is solely focus on winning a championship this year, but I promise you that Danny Ferry isn’t making any moves without considering how it will impact the future of this franchise.

For the entirety of this post, I will be using a cap figure for 2010-11 of $54 million. We won’t know the exact number until this offseason, but for now that seems like a fair estimate based on everything I’ve read.

This was a strange one. In addition to the absence of Molonte (trademark pending) the Cavs started this game without the services of Daniel Gibson. Daniel was tending to a personal matter, which of course can’t be left at that- the twitter world demands to know that Daniel’s wife to be was at the hospital, apparently because of her pregnancy. Reports are that she is fine, which is ultimately more important than then game itself. Having been assured of her condition Daniel made a WWE style entrance into the arena as the TNT cameras rolled. Well played by TNT to leave a cameraman at the door. It made for a very dramatic shot.

Gibson made a difference in the second half, making two big three point shots and hitting 6 free throws. He also helped double team Dwyane Wade in the second half as the Cavs slowed Miami’s superstar for the second time in less than a month. Wade would finish the game with 24 points.

WE GONNA LIVEBLOG UP IN HEYA!!! No cursing, pls.

Miami Heat (24-25) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (39-11)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Thursday, February 4, 2010
8:00 PM EST
TNT, FSOH/WTAM

The short handed Cavaliers continue to count their blessings schedule-wise. Tonight they take on a Miami Heat team that just lost a tough game in Boston one night earlier, and now they must travel to Cleveland to take on the NBA’s hottest team. For the Cavaliers, winners of 9 straight, they will be looking for their first 10 game winning streak of the season. Of course, I say that like they grow on trees, but when this Cavs team comes out focused (and boy have these injuries forced them to do just that), they come out looking like they should win every game. This has been one of the most delightful stretches of Cavs basketball in my entire life, so I will just hope it keeps going tonight.

As the Cavaliers head into the All-Star break on a nine-game winning streak, questions surround the status of guard Delonte West.  While West will not suit up for tonight’s game with the Maimi Heat, it appears that he is getting closer by the day.

The team has been on record saying that West would be playing right now if it were a playoff scenario, however after shootaround this morning, the timing of the injured finger may not be more advantageous.  West was successfully participating in shooting drills as well as the occasional handskills drill, but was consistently catching passes with the palm of his shooting hand as to ensure little contact with the basketball.

Working with the coaching staff, West would field bounce passes in a catch-and-shoot drill.  On the occasion that a ball would catch him just right, facial expressions show that he is still not as close to 100 percent as many would like.  It should be noted that West appeared to be in good spirits following his shootaround drills, joking with team trainers as well as coaches.  Brian Windhorst reports that West may be back before next weekend’s break – remaining games following tonight include home bouts Saturday against the Knicks, Tuesday against the Nets and Thursday against the Magic.

The NBA announced yesterday that Cleveland’s LeBron James had won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for January. This is more than likely not really news to anyone.

LeBron had an incredible month in leading the Cavaliers to a 12-3 record despite living out of suitcases for the majority of the month. His stats were, well phenomenal of course. From the press release-

James averaged 30.7 points on .503 shooting, 7.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists in 39.1 minutes per game, leading the Cavs to an NBA-best 12-3 (.800) record for the month of January. Their 12 wins also marked the Cavaliers most wins in any January in franchise history and the team finished January by winning their final eight games of the month. The Cavs currently stand at a league-best 39-11 and own a season-high nine-game winning streak. James has now won the award for the 14th time in his career: for the third consecutive month this season, four times in 2008-09; two times during 2007-08, once in 2006-07, twice in 2005-06 and twice during the 2004-05 campaign. During the month, James ranked first in points per game (30.7), second in assists per game (8.5) and fifth in steals per game (1.6) among Eastern Conference players. He scored 20 or more points in 14 of the 15 games this month, including nine games of 30 or more points.

Get the joke, everyone? The Cavaliers continue their home stand hosting the Miami Heat tonight at the Q. Shaq used to play for Miami and even won a title with that team several years ago. Their nickname is the Heat and has been so since they entered the league in 1988. Shaquille “The Big Shaqtus” O’Neal also happens to be playing his best basketball of the season as of late.

Entering this historic season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the uncertainty following the acquisition for Shaq was definitely the biggest question mark. Many of the writers on this site openly criticized the trade when it happened, including this writer. On the surface, it was a desperate gamble for GM Danny Ferry to prove to LeBron James that he was serious about winning a championship immediately. Nobody knew how much of an impact Shaq would actually make on the court and it seems we are only starting to find out now.