May 25, 2013

Report: Otto Porter under consideration for first pick

While we now know the Cavaliers have the top pick in this year’s draft, we still have to wait until June 27 to find out what they do with the pick. While most pundits and analysts have Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel circled in as the pick, we know from experience that Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant doesn’t make his picks based on what the “consensus” says is the right move.

With that being said, and with so many options in front of the Cavaliers, expect to hear a lot of rumors about different scenarios, trades, players, etc being considered with the first pick. So it’s not surprising then that the Washington Post’s Michael Lee is hearing Otto Porter’s name being brought up:

Porter is currently preparing for the June 27 NBA draft at McDonough gym at Georgetown and will likely work out for the top three or four teams in the lottery. At 6-feet-8 and with a 7-1 wingspan, Porter stands out as an obvious choice at No. 3 for Washington. He would fill a need small forward, has local ties and a skill set that would mesh well with Wall and Beal.

But there is a possibility that Porter, arguably the most NBA-ready player among the top prospects, might not be around when the Wizards pick third. A source with knowledge of the Cavaliers’ thinking said Porter is under consideration to go No. 1.

We all know the Cavaliers want to trade this pick if possible. They also know Washington wants Porter. So it makes sense to float Porter’s name out there as the guy you want to pick. Ideally this would motivate teams to want to make trades to position themselves better to get the player they want. So yes, Otto Porter is “under consideration” with the top pick. Along with a lot of other players.

[Related: Dan and Nick Gilbert continue to defy the odds]

Joe Banner: “We’ll be a quality, competitive team pretty quickly.”

Despite Grantland’s Chuck Klosterman struggling to get a sit-down interview with Joe Banner over Draft Weekend, Clark Judge, CBS Sport’s senior NFL analyst, was able to sit down with Cleveland Browns’ CEO Joe Banner and talk about the rebuilding project of the Browns.

In what was a, frankly, candid interview, Banner refused to shrink under the weight of the massive job that lies in front of him. In fact, Banner was exceedingly confident that he will not fail in his duty:

Q: Five years from now what are we going to be saying about Joe Banner and the Cleveland Browns?

Banner: ”Hopefully, you’re not focused on Joe Banner. But I think you’ll feel the Browns are where they’re supposed to be. It’s an iconic NFL franchise that has a rich tradition and fans that deserve success. To me, it’s a three-legged stool: You have on-the-field performance; you have charity and a commitment to community; and you have the whole fan experience element of running these teams. I think people will look at this franchise and feel we’re doing all of those very well.”

Q: But talk about a daunting challenge. Aren’t you basically trying to raise the Titanic?

Banner: ”This is a big challenge. I’ve sold people on coming here on the basis that we have a chance to create one of the most compelling turnarounds of any sports franchise in the country. And I think that’s how we’re thinking about it. Some people may be intimidated by that, but we’re actually excited by it.”

Banner also had some strong remarks about the failures of his predecessors:

Q: I’ve heard talk about a 3-5-year program, but Browns fans are sick of more long-term pledges. So what should people know about what you’re doing here, and how soon should they expect to have a winning franchise?

Banner: ”I think it’s going to be obvious so that once we get playing, they won’t need to ask the question. I think they’ll see improvement immediately, though nobody realistically thinks we’re ready to win a Super Bowl. And, at the risk of crossing the line, there have been a lot of people here over a lot of years who talked about long-term plans, but I haven’t seen anybody who actually implemented that. They’ve been filling needs year by year, sometimes with expensive players who aren’t that good. Everybody talked about a long-term plan, but when’s the last time the team traded for a future draft pick? When’s the last time the team said, ‘We may not have position ‘X’ with the best player this year because there’s nobody in the marketplace who’s that good, and we don’t want to waste all the future cap money just so we win six games instead of five?’ So there’s been a lot of cheap talk about long-term plans here, and I’m not talking last year. You go back 15 years through different administrations. They all have basically been trying to win now.”

Whether Banner will find success where others have failed remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Joe Banner is going to approach this process with a confidence and a straightforward approach that seems to differentiate itself from what Browns fans have seen before. The results should speak for themselves on the field.

[Related: Cleveland Browns to release QB Thaddeus Lewis]

For the Cavaliers, #1 Pick is All About Options and Opportunities

draft-lottery-2013Yesterday, as WFNY’s Scott Sargent was announcing his trial separation with the NBA Draft Lottery, I found myself nodding along in agreement as I consumed every word of it. Scott is exactly right. The Draft Lottery is the worst. It was kind of fun the first couple years, dreaming of top picks and thinking about potential. In previous years I’ve spent countless hours playing the lottery machine, reading about the top 2 or 3 prospects, and dreaming of what winning the top spot would mean for the team.

But the more time you spend wallowing in the murkiness of luck, lethargy, and the tantalizing siren song of the NBA Draft Lottery, the more you realize it’s not a scene you really want to be a part of. As much as I love seeing Nick Gilbert proudly represent the city of Cleveland and the Cavaliers franchise, I’d be perfectly content if I don’t see him on TV again until it’s on a podium holding a trophy.

And thus, shortly after Nick Gilbert told the national audience that he, too, was tired of being there, the Cavaliers won the #1 pick in the draft. And in doing so, the Cavaliers opened the door to a world of options and opportunities. The team may or may not be in the lottery again next year, but you have to believe that at worst Nick Gilbert will be sitting in the top row instead of his usual front-left spot on the stage. [Read more...]

NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Select Barkevious Mingo

With the 6th pick in the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Barkevious Mingo.

Mingo, a Junior Defensive End from LSU, is an impressive pass rusher who has been part of one of college football’s best defenses the last 3 seasons. With the Browns switching to a 3-4 defense they will hope Mingo can provide them the edge rush and consistent pressure the defense needs.

Here’s Mel Kiper’s profile on Mingo:

Production 3 2009: Redshirt 2010: (13/1) – 35-5.5-2.52011: (14/3)  36-15-8 2012: (13/10) – 38-8.5-4.5Career: 11 PBU, 4 FF, 3 FR
Height-Weight-Speed 1 Tall, linear frame with room to add bulk. Outstanding top-end speed for size. Ran a 4.58 40-yard dash, including a 1.59 10-yard split at the combine. Also turned in a 37-inch vertical jump, a 10’8′ broad jump, and a 6.72 three-cone drill (all of which first or second among DL at the combine).
Durability 1 Played in all 40 games (14 starts) during three seasons of eligibility at LSU. Flexible athlete.
Intangibles 2 Has matured from first year at LSU. Worked harder in classroom and weight room during final two years. No off the field issues to our knowledge. Nickname is KeKe. Dad is Hugh Mingo and mom is Barbara Johnson. Has four siblings: Hugh Mingo III, Hughtavious Mingo, Malik Johnson and LaDarian Johnson.
 
And here’s DraftBrowns.com’s Brendan Leister’s profile:
Overall, I am a big fan of Barkevious Mingo.  I didn’t have high expectations coming in, but I actually liked what I saw from him in 2012.  He simply wasn’t asked to put heat on the quarterback off the edge every play in LSU’s defense.  It seemed as though he was coached to be extremely aware every play and to take running backs out of the backfield and to give up on his rush early if it meant that he could knock down passes.  I cannot be certain that he was coached to do these things, but that was what I took away from watching a lot of his games.  Had Mingo been asked to come off the edge every play with reckless abandon as many pass rushers are asked to do, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have been a lot more productive from a statistical standpoint.  If Mingo can learn to consistently fire off the snap low on a consistent basis, he has a chance to develop into an elite pass rusher at the next level.

Fair or not, it was time for the Cavaliers to move on

Byron ScottI still remember the day Byron Scott was hired to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I remember driving in my car and thinking to myself, “You know, I think I really like this hire. Even if LeBron does leave, at least the Cavaliers will play an exciting brand of basketball and be fun to watch.”

Three years later, Byron Scott is no longer the coach of the Cavaliers, and I find myself thinking about how refreshing this is because maybe now the Cavaliers will be fun to watch again. I would call that irony, but in Cleveland, we know it as reality.

It’s funny because up until about three weeks ago, I was positive Byron would be back next season. My confidence in the wisdom of that had long since deteriorated, but I felt that in the spirit of fairness, Byron probably was going to get another year to see what he could do with a healthy roster.

Of course, nothing about Byron Scott’s tenure in Cleveland was fair. [Read more...]

Do the Cavaliers Need LeBron James to Contend Again?

LeBron James and Kyrie IrvingIn the podcast I did with Craig over the weekend, we talked a bit about the Miami Heat winning streak and whether it’s actually as impressive as it seems. Now, don’t get me wrong, winning 27 straight games in the NBA is always impressive. I cannot emphasize this enough…Their run is amazing.

Yet, I still can’t help but feel underwhelmed by it when I look at the rest of the NBA. I think this is a one team league right now. We can debate whether that’s more about the dominance and greatness of Miami or more about the lackluster play of the rest of the Association. I personally think a team doing this in the late 80s/early 90s when every team had a star would have been more impressive. In this current climate where all the stars are migrating to a select few teams, it has created a situation where Miami can beat arguably 85% of the other teams without breaking a sweat.

But even on those teams who have been arms race winners (Clippers, Knicks, Lakers), only the Clippers are really a threat to Miami 1 . Instead, it’s the two home-grown teams (Thunder and Spurs) who appear to be the biggest threats to the Heat’s throne. [Read more...]

___________________________________

  1. and probably not a serious threat even at their best [back]

WFNY Curates: Top Albums of All Time

WFNY Podcast LogoIn the latest of our episodes discussing music, Craig and Andrew decided to take some time to talk about our favorite albums of all time. As always, these are just our own personal picks and not so much a declaration of the universal best albums of all time. With that in mind, we thus implore you guys to leave us some comments with your personal favorite albums of all time. We hope you enjoy.

Craig’s Top Ten (In no particular order):

  1. Radiohead – “OK Computer”
  2. Mineral – “End Serenade”
  3. Acid Bath – “When the Kite String Pops”
  4. Pearl Jam – “Ten”
  5. Death Cab For Cutie – “Transatlanticism”
  6. Nine Inch Nails – “The Downward Spiral”
  7. Tool – “Undertow”
  8. Pink Floyd – “Dark Side of the Moon”
  9. Smashing Pumpkins – “Siamese Dream”
  10. Sigur Ros – ( )

Andrew’s Top Ten (In somewhat of an order)

  1. Pearl Jam – “YIELD”
  2. Titus Andronicus – “The Monitor”
  3. Radiohead – “Kid A”
  4. Nine Inch Nails – “The Fragile”
  5. Soundgarden – “Down On The Upside”
  6. Rancid – “…And Out Come The Wolves”
  7. Dead Confederate – “Wrecking Ball”
  8. Weezer – “Pinkerton”
  9. The Thermals – “The Body, The Blood, The Machine”
  10. Drive-By Truckers – “The Dirty South”

Last 5 Out:

  1. Refused – “The Shape of Punk To Come”
  2. The Stooges – “Funhouse”
  3. Queens of the Stone Age – “Songs for the Deaf”
  4. PJ Harvey – “Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea”
  5. Jerry Cantrell – “Degradation Trip Volumes 1&2″

 

 

 

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Banner Report: Defensive Backs

Banner Report ElevatedYou may remember back in 2010 (you know the last time there was a complete overhaul in Berea) we wanted to give incoming President Mike Holmgren a hand evaluating the roster. We are nothing if not equal opportunity. The Browns have a completely new group in charge this year. Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Rob Chudzinski, Norv Turner and Ray Horton take over a 5-11 team. They have plenty of important decisions to make about the roster between now and the 2013 NFL Draft. WFNY wants to offer our assistance with The Banner Position Reports. Previous reports: LB, QB, RB

In 2012, only 7 teams in the NFL allowed more passing yards than the Cleveland Browns. This came just one year after allowing just the 2nd fewest passing yards. So why the drastic change? A lot goes into raw passing yards allowed stats. It’s not just on the DBs, but it’s a combined effort between getting pressure on the QB, forcing opponents to be one dimensional in any way possible, and of course, defending opposing receivers.

The Browns have certainly been active the last couple years under Tom Heckert in trying to address the secondary, bringing in guys like Usama Young and Dimitri Patterson and drafting Buster Skrine, Trevin Wade, and Eric Hagg. The results have been somewhat mixed, but lets see if we can’t look a little more in depth at any potential issues with the Browns’ DBs. [Read more...]

Box Score: Knicks 102, Cavaliers 97

The Cleveland Cavaliers got some good news and some bad news before this game started. The good news was that Kyrie Irving would be returning after missing the last couple games with a knee injury. The bad news was that Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller were both sick and would miss the game.

Early on, it looked like the Cavaliers wouldn’t miss them too much. On the first possession Kyrie Irving made a nice pass to a cutting Marreese Speights, who was starting for Zeller, for a wide open dunk. On the next possession Irving knocked down a three and the Cavaliers were off and running to a 5 point lead. They would end the 1st quarter with a 10 point lead.

Things would only get better from there in the 2nd quarter, as Speights would go off for 21 first half points and the Cavaliers lead would swell to 22 points. Midway through the quarter Carmelo Anthony took an awkward fall and decided he had enough and went to the locker room and wouldn’t return to the game.

So easy win for the Cavs right? Nope. Instead a miserable collapse occurred in the 3rd quarter and the Cavaliers executed poorly down the stretch in the 4th to allow the Knicks to steal a win in the Q.

After letting the Knicks get ahead by 6 with about two minutes left, the Cavaliers made a mini run to make it a game and out it within Kyrie’s reach. After an Irving layup with 40 seconds left put the Cavs within two, Ray Felton came back on the other end and looked like he had a clear path to an easy layup, but Tristan Thompson came out of nowhere to swat the ball out of bounds with three seconds left on the shot clock. On the ensuing inbound play, Amare Stoudemire missed a quick jumper from the baseline, but Tyson Chandler knocked the ball back to Jason Kidd, who was quickly fouled by Irving.

Kidd would miss the first FT to open the door. He made the 2nd to give the Knicks a 3 point lead with 6 seconds left. The Cavaliers’ inbound play saw Tyson Chandler on Kyrie Irving. I’m not sure if Irving forgot how much time was left or wanted to try to give the Cavs two shots at tying the game, but rather than use his ball handling skills to create some space for a quality shot, he instead just quickly threw up an ugly looking leaner that Chandler was able to easily knock out of harm’s way. That would be all she wrote for the Cavs.

As we’re prone to saying around these parts, this was yet another frustrating game that you just feel like the Cavaliers fell asleep on and let it get away.

 

1 2 3 4 T
NY 24 25 21 32 102
CLE 34 27 13 23 97

 

New York

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Raymond Felton
G 33:23 3-9 1-4 1-2 +16 1 3 10 3 1 2 1 2 8
Iman Shumpert
G 19:03 3-6 2-3 0-0 -1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 8
Tyson Chandler
C 34:34 4-8 0-0 0-0 +12 3 9 2 1 1 1 0 2 8
Carmelo Anthony
F 14:15 1-5 0-1 4-4 -15 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 6
James White
F 4:08 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 36-78 12-30 18-21 12 40 23 16 9 5 2 18 102
Percentages .462 .400 .857 Team Rebounds: 11
J.R. Smith
37:32 6-17 1-7 5-6 +3 1 7 7 1 1 0 0 2 18
Amar’e Stoudemire
31:54 10-15 0-0 2-2 +13 2 6 2 4 0 1 1 4 22
Jason Kidd
29:57 3-7 3-5 3-4 +5 3 8 1 1 3 0 0 4 12
Steve Novak
20:10 4-7 4-7 3-3 -3 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 15
Pablo Prigioni
8:18 1-2 1-2 0-0 +1 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
Marcus Camby
6:45 0-0 0-0 0-0 -6 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Chris Copeland
DNP – Inactive
Kenyon Martin
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kurt Thomas
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Rasheed Wallace
DNP – Inactive

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 36:15 9-20 2-5 2-4 -11 1 5 6 3 1 0 3 3 22
Wayne Ellington
G 26:32 2-7 1-4 2-2 -15 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 7
Marreese Speights
C 31:54 10-14 0-0 3-4 -18 2 8 0 1 1 0 0 2 23
Tristan Thompson
F 31:42 6-9 0-0 2-4 0 2 8 0 2 0 1 2 3 14
Alonzo Gee
F 29:40 3-9 1-4 3-4 -7 1 3 1 1 2 0 0 6 10
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-73 6-20 17-24 6 31 25 14 9 2 5 18 97
Percentages .507 .300 .708 Team Rebounds: 6
Luke Walton
28:34 1-1 0-0 0-0 +8 0 0 12 2 1 0 0 2 2
Shaun Livingston
23:16 3-5 0-0 2-2 +17 0 1 5 1 1 1 0 0 8
C.J. Miles
22:10 3-7 2-6 3-4 +2 0 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 11
Daniel Gibson
9:57 0-1 0-1 0-0 -1 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 0
Omri Casspi
DNP – Appendectomy
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Anderson Varejao
DNP – Inactive
Dion Waiters
DNP – Illness
Tyler Zeller
DNP – Illness

 

WFNY Podcast – 2013-03-01 Craig and Andrew Discuss MIT Sloan Conference, Dion Waiters, and more

WFNY Podcast LogoCraig is in Boston this weekend for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, but that didn’t stop him from calling me up for another podcast episode.

Admittedly, I like most of my fellow WFNY writers are pretty envious that Craig is lucky enough to take in this impressive and prestigious sports media conference in person, and so we started off spending a couple minutes talking about the conference. And from there, the conversation kind of went all over the place.

Here’s just some of the things we discussed…

  • MIT Sloan Conference
  • Our strange inability to remember other writers’ names
  • What do we make of the Shaun Livingston resurgance? Is it luck?
  • What happened in Washington?
  • Coming back from catastrophic injury and overcoming the mental and physical setbacks
  • Polarization on the internet
  • Eric Mangini and the internet muscles on both sides
  • Should the Cavaliers wait until 2014 or should they make a move for someone sooner?
  • Dion Waiters, improvement, and confirmation bias

[Read more...]

Box Score: Raptors 92 Cavaliers 103

What an interesting game. The Cavaliers started this game off with an unbelievable 1-for-50000000 shooting night. Well, ok, it was really like 1-12, but still, it was awful. The Cavaliers were in danger of being down 20 points in the 1st quarter. But they rallied back to end the quarter with a run to close within 5. Thanks to a 37-23 edge in the 2nd quarter, the Cavaliers went into halftime with a lead and just hung on from there.

This was a tough, gritty performance from the young, improving Cavaliers. Winning a home game against a team fighting for the 8th seed in the East won’t impress many people, but reading between the lines, there’s a lot to like about this win. Falling behind in the 1st quarter in their 4th game in 5 days, it would have been easy to give up. But to their credit, the Cavaliers fought back and played some really nice team basketball to earn this win.

Dion Waiters was pretty impressive again, as the young rookie just continues to get better and better. As a Cavs fan, you have to love his scorer’s mentality and his willingness to take the pressure of leading the team in Kyrie’s absence squarely on his own shoulders. Dion finished this one with a team high 23 points on 7-16 shooting from the field with 6 assists. Tristan Thompson chipped in 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Shaun Livingston had a nice, solid 15 point and 6 assist night starting in place of the injured Irving.

DeMar DeRozan paced all scorers with 34 points and Rudy Gay put in 24 points of his own. Jonas Valanciunas, the player who so many have heavily criticized the Cavaliers for going with Tristan Thompson over, finished with 5 points and 8 rebounds.

 

 

Toronto

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
DeMar DeRozan
G 43:42 10-19 0-2 14-15 -3 0 5 2 3 0 0 0 2 34
Kyle Lowry
G 33:41 4-12 1-6 2-5 +12 1 6 8 0 1 0 2 4 11
Jonas Valanciunas
C 24:06 2-4 0-0 1-2 +14 3 8 1 3 1 3 0 3 5
Rudy Gay
F 42:35 10-21 1-5 3-3 0 2 8 6 2 1 0 0 2 24
Amir Johnson
F 40:46 5-8 0-1 0-0 +7 3 9 4 4 0 4 1 5 10
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 35-78 2-20 20-25 9 38 25 15 3 8 5 25 92
Percentages .449 .100 .800 Team Rebounds: 9
Andrea Bargnani
15:46 0-4 0-2 0-0 -12 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
Alan Anderson
13:34 2-5 0-2 0-0 -27 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 4
Landry Fields
7:57 2-3 0-0 0-0 -16 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 4
Sebastian Telfair
7:28 0-0 0-0 0-0 -9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
John Lucas
6:51 0-2 0-2 0-0 -14 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0
Aaron Gray
3:33 0-0 0-0 0-0 -7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Quincy Acy
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Terrence Ross
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Dion Waiters
G 35:19 7-16 2-3 7-8 +5 0 1 6 3 1 1 2 0 23
Shaun Livingston
G 33:19 4-7 0-0 7-7 -1 2 5 6 1 0 1 0 5 15
Tyler Zeller
C 20:32 3-7 0-0 0-0 +7 0 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 6
Alonzo Gee
F 33:23 3-8 0-2 0-0 0 2 3 1 0 1 0 1 2 6
Tristan Thompson
F 30:45 4-11 0-0 6-6 -5 2 8 2 2 1 0 1 1 14
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 34-82 5-13 30-32 13 40 26 10 7 5 8 19 103
Percentages .415 .385 .938 Team Rebounds: 11
Wayne Ellington
27:22 5-8 0-0 3-3 +18 0 3 1 1 3 0 1 1 13
Marreese Speights
23:37 3-12 0-0 5-6 0 5 9 1 1 0 1 1 1 11
Luke Walton
21:06 2-5 1-3 0-0 +20 2 7 7 0 0 0 0 3 5
C.J. Miles
14:37 3-8 2-5 2-2 +11 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 3 10
Omri Casspi
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Daniel Gibson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kyrie Irving
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Box Score: Hornets 100, Cavaliers 105

The Cleveland Cavaliers made their ESPN debut with Kyrie Irving tonight, and Kyrie did not fail to deliver a performance worthy of the event.

The New Orleans Hornets (who I will refer to as Pelicans from here on out because I can’t wait for it to be official) aren’t a good basketball team, but for most of the evening, the game was a back and forth affair. It started out sloppy and the teams played evenly through the first half.

In the 3rd quarter, the Cavaliers built a 10 point lead before their typical late quarter collapse allowed the Pelicans to tie the game before taking the lead after 3. After some sloppy back and forth play in the 4th quarter and with the Pelicans defense stiffing the Cavaliers offense, Kyrie came back in with 7 minutes left.

The rest of the game belonged to Kyrie. Irving did a little bit of everything, distributing to teammates, grabbing rebounds, taking charges, and yeah, scoring. A lot. And in often spectacular fashion. Irving scored 20 points in the 4th quarter en route to finishing with 35 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Dion Waiters picked up where he left off toward the end of the first half of the season with 16 points on 60% shooting from the floor and Tristan Thompson came 1 point short of another double double. But this evening belonged to Kyrie Irving. The night began with Bill Simmons saying he thinks Kyrie has a chance to be the best pure PG of all time, and it ended with Irving putting on a show for everyone in the country who hasn’t seen him play a Cavaliers game yet. The hype keeps growing and growing for Kyrie, and so far he’s lived up to it. This was just a really fun night for Cavs fans.

 

 

New Orleans

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Greivis Vasquez
G 38:49 5-13 1-5 2-2 -7 0 4 8 4 0 1 1 2 13
Austin Rivers
G 30:55 5-11 1-1 0-0 -6 1 4 2 0 0 0 1 5 11
Robin Lopez
C 15:33 5-9 0-0 5-6 -18 3 3 0 3 0 0 1 6 15
Al-Farouq Aminu
F 35:37 1-2 0-0 2-2 -1 2 10 3 0 1 2 0 0 4
Anthony Davis
F 29:13 2-7 0-0 8-8 -4 2 4 1 1 0 2 0 4 12
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-76 7-15 19-22 11 39 16 13 2 6 3 28 100
Percentages .487 .467 .864 Team Rebounds: 6
Ryan Anderson
28:10 3-11 1-4 0-0 +9 0 3 1 3 0 0 0 1 7
Jason Smith
23:04 5-9 0-0 2-4 +3 1 6 0 1 1 0 0 4 12
Roger Mason
20:46 4-5 1-1 0-0 +5 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 9
Brian Roberts
10:56 7-8 3-4 0-0 -2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 17
Xavier Henry
6:57 0-1 0-0 0-0 -4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Eric Gordon
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Darius Miller
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Lance Thomas
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 36:40 13-22 2-5 7-7 +2 0 5 7 4 2 0 2 1 35
Dion Waiters
G 28:54 6-10 0-1 4-4 +10 0 0 3 0 1 1 1 1 16
Tyler Zeller
C 22:06 5-7 0-0 0-0 +6 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 10
Tristan Thompson
F 32:54 2-8 0-0 5-12 +2 5 13 1 2 1 1 0 3 9
Alonzo Gee
F 28:01 3-7 3-4 1-2 -2 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 10
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 38-77 5-14 24-34 12 34 20 8 6 3 6 18 105
Percentages .494 .357 .706 Team Rebounds: 12
Wayne Ellington
23:52 1-3 0-2 6-6 -1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 8
Marreese Speights
18:26 2-7 0-0 0-2 -10 3 6 1 0 0 0 1 2 4
C.J. Miles
18:10 5-7 0-2 1-1 +1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 11
Luke Walton
17:39 0-2 0-0 0-0 +11 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 2 0
Shaun Livingston
13:18 1-4 0-0 0-0 +6 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 3 2
Omri Casspi
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Daniel Gibson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Some Thoughts on Dion Waiters’ Improvement

waitersEveryone has different opinions when it comes to basketball. It’s funny, because it seems like basketball should be the easiest sport to objectively breakdown due to a lot of built-in factors with the sport 1 . But there are still massive disagreements all the time on whether players are good or not.

Of course, words like “good” and “bad” can and do mean different things to different people. So perhaps that’s why arguments break out over this stuff. Either way, in case you missed it or aren’t on Twitter and/or don’t follow CBS Sports’ Matt Moore (@HPbasketball), last night a huge debate broke out between Moore and Cavs fans over Dion Waiters.

Now, for those who don’t know, Matt Moore doesn’t like Dion Waiters. I ‘m not talking about Waiters the person, but Waiters the basketball player. Moore has been a very vocal critic of Waiters all season long, and he’s evidently tired of Cavs fans defending Waiters’ game.

I don’t mean that as an attack on Matt. I like and respect Matt a lot. But if you look at his Twitter timeline, that’s the truth. He doesn’t think much of Waiters and whenever Waiters has a good game, many Cavs fans call him out on Twitter about it, which can sometimes lead to Matt making sarcastic comments about Waiters and Cavs fans.  [Read more...]

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  1. fewest number of players playing at one time, individual players making bigger impact on team, strong advanced stats, just to name a few… [back]

Box Score: Spurs 96 Cavaliers 95

Talk about a strange game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played the San Antonio Spurs about as tough as you could possibly hope, and they did it on a night in which Kyrie Irving arguably played the worst game of his career since his debut game against the Raptors last season.

The Cavaliers came out strong and rode a combination of impressive bench play (especially on defense) and an unexpected offensive onslaught from Tyler Zeller to outscore the Spurs 32-25 in the 2nd quarter en route to an 8 point half time lead. The 2nd half would mostly be played with a 5 point swing in either direction and the Cavaliers looked to be in good shape to steal a win from the NBA’s best team.

With a 3 point lead, the Cavaliers saw the Spurs’ Gary Neal hit a big three to tie the game. On the ensuing possession Dion Waiters, who led the Cavaliers with 20 points, hit a nice step back 20 foot jumper to give the Cavaliers the 2 point edge with 9 seconds left. But the Spurs had one more play left in them and Tony Parker drove and kicked it out to a wide open Kawhi Leonard who drilled the game winning three.

The Cavaliers had one more chance with two seconds left and drew up a play for Kyrie Irving to redeem his disastrous night, but all Kyrie could do was slip, spin, and throw up an ugly prayer of a shot that had no real chance to go in. Kyrie finished 2-15 from the field for 6 points while his counterpart on the Spurs, Tony Parker, led all scorers with 24 points. To his credit, Kyrie did chip in 7 assists with just 2 turnovers, but he also committed 5 fouls and just looked really off all night. It’s hard not to wonder if his ankle is bothering him more than he’s letting on.

While the loss stings, the Cavaliers should be proud of the way they competed tonight while their leader was struggling. The bench unit was outstanding and the Cavaliers gave great effort on defense for most of the game. Moral victories don’t count for much, but there are worse ways to head into the All Star break than this.

 

1 2 3 4 T
SA 21 25 28 22 96
CLE 22 32 19 22 95

 

San Antonio

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Tony Parker
G 33:52 8-14 0-1 8-8 +4 1 6 7 3 0 0 0 1 24
Danny Green
G 28:20 1-8 0-5 2-3 +2 0 3 1 1 4 0 0 1 4
Tiago Splitter
C 26:42 2-6 0-0 2-2 -2 3 7 1 1 2 1 1 3 6
Kawhi Leonard
F 32:53 5-10 1-2 2-2 -2 2 10 2 4 1 4 2 1 13
Tim Duncan
F 25:26 6-15 0-0 1-2 +15 2 6 3 1 0 5 1 0 13
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 38-84 5-19 15-18 11 44 25 13 7 10 4 15 96
Percentages .452 .263 .833 Team Rebounds: 4
Gary Neal
25:07 6-12 3-7 0-0 +6 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 15
Boris Diaw
18:59 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
DeJuan Blair
18:18 6-7 0-0 0-1 0 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 3 12
Nando De Colo
11:47 1-3 0-0 0-0 -7 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2
Manu Ginobili
9:43 2-4 1-1 0-0 -4 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 5
Matt Bonner
8:53 1-2 0-1 0-0 -7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Aron Baynes
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Stephen Jackson
DNP – Inactive
Cory Joseph
DNP – Inactive
Patrick Mills
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 31:44 2-15 0-1 2-2 -1 0 3 7 2 1 1 1 5 6
Dion Waiters
G 31:29 8-15 0-1 4-4 -6 1 6 4 2 1 0 2 0 20
Tyler Zeller
C 33:56 7-10 0-0 2-2 +2 3 9 4 2 0 1 1 2 16
Tristan Thompson
F 28:10 5-13 0-0 0-0 -1 4 7 1 3 0 2 3 2 10
Alonzo Gee
F 22:02 3-5 0-1 1-2 -2 1 4 1 1 2 0 1 2 7
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 40-97 2-11 13-15 16 48 24 10 8 4 10 15 95
Percentages .412 .182 .867 Team Rebounds: 12
C.J. Miles
20:58 4-11 2-5 0-0 +8 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 10
Shaun Livingston
20:24 4-8 0-0 0-0 -1 1 3 4 0 1 0 1 1 8
Luke Walton
17:54 1-2 0-0 2-2 +3 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 4
Wayne Ellington
17:32 2-6 0-2 1-1 -4 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5
Marreese Speights
15:50 4-12 0-1 1-2 -3 6 9 0 0 1 0 1 2 9
Omri Casspi
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Daniel Gibson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Josh Selby
DNP – Inactive
Anderson Varejao
DNP – Inactive

 

 

 

Box Score: Timberwolves 100, Cavaliers 92

Another frustrating defensive evening for the Cavaliers.

After having their 3 game winning streak snapped Saturday night, the Cavaliers were hoping to hop back on the winning train facing an injury depleted Minnesota Timberwolves team. Instead, the Cavaliers were left scratching their heads, more questions than answers as to how to get stops on defense particularly in the 4th quarter.

The Cavaliers made a nice 1st quarter run and lead for much of the 2nd quarter before Minnesota came back and stole the lead at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Cavaliers looked out of sync and Minnesota appeared on their way to victory. But the Cavaliers bench unit came back and tied the game in the 4th quarter before the Wolves finally pulled away for good. The Cavaliers tried to make one last run, cutting the deficit to 3, before their inability to stop the Wolves came back to haunt them.

Luke Ridnour killed the Cavaliers all night and the Wolves, the NBA’s worst 3 point shooting team, caught fire going 8 of 14 from distance to put away the Cavaliers. Ridnour finished with 21 points and Nikola Pekovic added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Dion Waiters was aggressive early and finished with 12 points on 6-6 shooting from the field despite surprisingly not playing down the stretch. Tristan Thompson had a nice game with 16 points and 9 rebounds and Wayne Ellington scored 10 off the bench against his old team. Kyrie Irving, who gave the Cavaliers a scare late in the 2nd quarter when he rolled his ankle coming down on an opponent’s foot after hitting a three, lead the team with 20 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds. Irving didn’t look physically hobbled by the ankle in the 2nd half, but he was noticeably less aggressive in the 2nd half.

This was by no means the worst game the Cavaliers played this season, but it was frustrating none the less falling at home to a team missing Kevin Love, Andrei Kirilenko, and Chase Budinger. The Wolves had lost 4 in a row, 10 of 11, and 8 straight on the road coming into this game. Circle this one as a winable game that the Cavaliers let slip away by poor 4th quarter defense. It’s a recurring theme for this season, but until the Cavaliers can force defensive stops in crunch time, these results will continue to repeat themselves.

 

1 2 3 4 T
MIN 25 24 23 28 100
CLE 27 19 19 27 92

 

Minnesota

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Luke Ridnour
G 37:25 9-14 1-2 2-2 +6 1 4 3 3 1 0 0 2 21
Ricky Rubio
G 33:14 5-9 1-1 2-2 +3 0 3 10 7 5 0 1 5 13
Nikola Pekovic
C 40:28 6-14 0-0 4-6 +12 5 10 2 2 2 0 4 0 16
Mickael Gelabale
F 28:24 3-4 3-3 2-2 +16 2 6 2 1 0 0 0 2 11
Derrick Williams
F 16:13 4-9 1-2 3-4 +1 0 5 1 1 0 1 0 4 12
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 39-75 8-14 14-17 10 36 25 20 10 6 7 17 100
Percentages .520 .571 .824 Team Rebounds: 5
Dante Cunningham
31:47 4-9 0-0 0-0 +7 1 4 1 1 1 2 0 2 8
Alexey Shved
30:13 5-9 1-3 1-1 +5 0 0 3 2 0 2 1 2 12
J.J. Barea
14:53 2-4 1-3 0-0 -6 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 5
Greg Stiemsma
7:23 1-3 0-0 0-0 -4 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
Chase Budinger
DNP – Inactive
Chris Johnson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Andrei Kirilenko
DNP – Strained Right Quadriceps
Malcolm Lee
DNP – Inactive
Kevin Love
DNP – Right Hand Injury
Brandon Roy
DNP – Inactive

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 35:49 9-20 1-3 1-2 -14 2 4 7 3 1 0 2 3 20
Dion Waiters
G 21:09 6-6 0-0 0-0 -6 0 1 1 6 1 0 0 2 12
Tyler Zeller
C 25:00 0-2 0-1 0-0 -13 0 8 0 2 0 1 0 2 0
Tristan Thompson
F 33:51 5-12 0-0 6-7 -14 5 9 1 1 4 2 1 2 16
Alonzo Gee
F 27:26 5-10 1-5 0-2 -11 0 4 2 2 2 0 1 1 11
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 40-79 5-18 7-11 10 32 24 20 12 7 6 15 92
Percentages .506 .278 .636 Team Rebounds: 9
Wayne Ellington
24:49 4-7 2-3 0-0 -3 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 10
C.J. Miles
21:10 4-9 1-5 0-0 -2 0 0 2 1 2 1 1 3 9
Marreese Speights
20:12 5-9 0-0 0-0 +6 2 3 1 3 0 1 1 0 10
Shaun Livingston
16:25 2-2 0-0 0-0 +11 0 0 4 1 1 2 0 1 4
Luke Walton
14:09 0-2 0-1 0-0 +6 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 0
Omri Casspi
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Daniel Gibson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Josh Selby
DNP – Inactive
Anderson Varejao
DNP – Inactive

WFNY Podcast – 2013-02-02 – WFNY Curates: Deftones

WFNY Podcast LogoFirst off, a warning. This is not a sports podcast. However, with things being kind of quiet in the sports world right now (it’s not like there’s a big game this weekend or anything, right?), and it being the weekend and all, Craig and I decided to try something a little different.

One of both of our favorite bands is the southern California metal band Deftones. So we set out on a task to discuss the band in great detail and talk about some of our favorite songs.

If you’re not a music fan at all, this may not be for you. If you’re Deftones fan, it’s definitely for you. If you like music and are either unfamiliar with the band or don’t necessarily care for it, I suggest giving a quick listen and seeing if we can help articulate what it is that we think is so great about this band.

To bring you to speed on the Deftones, here are our playlists with our favorite Deftones songs.

First, Craig’s:

And here’s mine:

If you notice, we both picked the same song as our favorite Deftones song. Here’s the music video for that song:

And finally, a couple live videos of the band:

We really hope you guys enjoy this, and we’ll probably be doing some similar music themed podcasts in the future.

 

Listen at Stitcher

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Subscribe on iTunes

Celebrating Five Years of Waiting For Next Year

WFNY 5 Year Birthday

Five years. Wow, where has the time gone?

In late 2007, Rick was running a blog called Halftime Adjustments, Scott was doing the Cleveland Sports Minute, and I was running my own blog called Cleveland Sports Authority (yes, that truly is the worst name for a site ever). It was around that time that Rick approached Scott and I about teaming up together and forming a new site.

It made a lot of sense. We were all covering the same stories and writing about the same things. We were commenting on each other’s posts and linking back and forth to one another. So we all agreed to form a partnership and in late January 2008 we started this little endeavor.

None of our sites were all that popular. Well, at least I know my site wasn’t. I remember the first time 100 people read one of my posts and I thought it was the coolest thing ever that there were 100 people out there interested in something I wrote. So I don’t think any of the three of us really knew what to expect. All we knew was that we shared a vision…kindred spirits who recognized a common bond that we could build something really fun and special around.

And so as January 2008 came to a close, we locked the doors on our individual sites and launched Waiting For Next Year. [Read more...]

WFNY Podcast – 2013-01-31 – The Art Modell Episode

WFNY Podcast LogoThe Art Modell talk has been going strong lately, and in this episode Craig and I discussed the former Browns owner’s upcoming consideration for the pro football Hall of Fame.

We tried as much as possible to not rehash all the excellent pieces that have been written on the subject lately, but some of the topics we discussed include:

  • Is it possible to discuss this issue without bias as Cleveland fans?
  • Is the argument against Modell more about Art himself or about the Hall of Fame itself?
  • Ozzie Newsome’s guest column in the Plain Dealer
  • The perspective from neutral observers on this subject
  • Is there any real chance Modell actually gets in?
  • Much much more…

 

 

Listen at Stitcher

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Subscribe on iTunes

Box Score: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 95

The Cavaliers came into this game on their first winning streak of the season and things were starting to look up. To make matters even more optimistic for Cleveland, we found out prior to the game that not only would Kyrie Irving (who missed shootaround due to illness) play, but Andrew Bogut, Steph Curry, and Harrison Barnes would all miss this game.

That was about the last good news of the night. The Warriors jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead and they would never look back. The Cavaliers would close the deficit in the first half, but the Warriors pulled away in the 2nd half and never let the Cavaliers really get within striking range.

The Warriors backcourt duo of Klay Thomspon and Jarrett Jack simply could not be stopped in this one. Thompson lead all scorers with 32 points and Jack added 26 of his own. Down low David Lee did whatever he pleased as well putting up 20 points and 12 rebounds. This was an all around defensive letdown for the Cavaliers.

Kyrie’s energy looked low as he was clearly struggling. He finished with 14 points on 5-17 shooting from the floor. Tristan Thompson did have another double double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Dion Waiters also chipped in 18 points, and Tyler Zeller scored 16 points.

There’s not a lot to read into a game like this. Kyrie’s illness was one thing, but the overall effort (particularly on defense) was quite disappointing for a team that appeared to be finding its groove. The Cavaliers have until Friday now to get healthy and recharge their intensity.

 

1 2 3 4 T
GS 23 32 29 24 108
CLE 23 21 24 27 95

 

Golden State

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Klay Thompson
G 43:05 13-24 6-8 0-0 +17 0 7 2 3 0 3 1 2 32
Jarrett Jack
G 35:55 11-18 3-4 1-2 +10 0 1 12 4 1 1 0 0 26
Andris Biedrins
C 11:24 1-1 0-0 0-0 +12 2 5 0 0 1 2 0 3 2
David Lee
F 39:23 8-12 0-0 4-4 +20 2 13 8 1 2 0 1 3 20
Richard Jefferson
F 20:39 1-4 0-0 1-2 +1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 3
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 45-84 11-16 7-10 7 39 31 14 8 9 4 23 108
Percentages .536 .688 .700 Team Rebounds: 11
Kent Bazemore
30:15 4-8 1-1 0-0 +10 0 2 3 2 2 0 0 4 9
Draymond Green
24:30 3-7 1-3 0-0 -9 1 7 2 2 1 0 0 5 7
Festus Ezeli
22:44 2-4 0-0 1-2 +1 2 3 0 0 0 3 0 4 5
Charles Jenkins
12:05 2-6 0-0 0-0 +3 0 0 4 1 0 0 1 1 4
Harrison Barnes
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Andrew Bogut
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Stephen Curry
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Carl Landry
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Jeremy Tyler
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 36:22 5-17 1-3 3-5 -3 0 3 4 1 3 0 4 2 14
Dion Waiters
G 27:43 6-13 1-3 5-8 -22 0 1 7 2 1 1 0 0 18
Tyler Zeller
C 36:05 6-9 0-0 4-4 -14 2 3 5 1 0 1 0 1 16
Tristan Thompson
F 36:33 8-14 0-0 2-2 -18 5 11 1 0 2 1 2 5 18
Alonzo Gee
F 28:14 0-5 0-2 0-0 -7 1 4 2 3 1 0 1 1 0
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 36-84 4-18 19-25 12 36 27 11 8 4 9 13 95
Percentages .429 .222 .760 Team Rebounds: 10
Shaun Livingston
22:24 3-5 0-0 1-2 -6 1 2 5 2 0 1 0 2 7
Marreese Speights
20:44 4-8 0-0 4-4 +6 0 5 1 1 0 0 1 0 12
C.J. Miles
16:24 4-11 2-8 0-0 +4 1 4 1 0 1 0 1 1 10
Wayne Ellington
15:31 0-2 0-2 0-0 -5 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
Omri Casspi
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Daniel Gibson
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Luke Walton
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Box Score: Celtics 90, Cavaliers 95

Boston came into this game hurting. Losers of 3 straight, the Celtics surely looked at this game in Cleveland as a prime opportunity to get things back on track. Kyrie Irving had other ideas.

“Mr 4th Quarter” disguised himself as “Mr 1st Quarter” in this one as he came out looking to make a statement against the East’s All-Star starting PG Rajon Rondo. Irving was aggressive from the beginning and had 19 first quarter points to get the Cavaliers off to a great start and a 1st quarter lead.

After an offensive battle in the first half, the game turned into a defensive battle in the 2nd half, and the Cavaliers rose to the Celtics challenge hanging around with the Celtics. With Boston unable to separate themselves from the Cavaliers, they saw Cleveland take a late 4th quarter lead and down the stretch the Cavaliers made huge plays on both ends of the court to secure the win.

Kyrie was able to switch into Mr 4th Quarter mode as well as he made some enormous plays in the final stanza. He made a hustle steal off a Rondo attempt to save the ball and turned it into an uncontested layup, and he added two huge layups in the final minute to seal the victory.

Don’t overlook the night Tristan Thompson had either. The Celtics frontcourt may not be the feared defensive machine it once was, but Thompson was still active and able to chip in 21 points and 9 rebounds. But the night belonged to Irving who finished with 40 points and 5 assists. It’s really hard to use words to describe just how good Kyrie was in this game. He just continues to get better and to amaze and to give Cavaliers fans a glimpse of a brighter future.

Rondo paced the Celtics with his typical stat stuffing effort with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists and Kevin Garnett added 16 points. Paul Pierce continued his shooting woes and despite hitting his first two shots finished 3-15 from the field for 12 points.

 

1 2 3 4 T
BOS 27 26 20 17 90
CLE 31 23 16 25 95

 

Boston

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Rajon Rondo
G 37:39 7-17 0-2 3-4 -10 3 13 8 5 0 0 0 2 17
Avery Bradley
G 25:39 2-4 2-2 1-2 -5 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 3 7
Kevin Garnett
C 30:40 5-13 0-0 6-6 -3 0 5 3 2 1 5 0 3 16
Paul Pierce
F 36:49 3-15 1-4 5-6 -8 4 7 7 4 2 0 3 0 12
Brandon Bass
F 27:33 4-7 0-0 0-0 -7 2 6 1 2 0 0 2 2 8
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 32-84 7-17 19-22 16 48 24 16 5 8 7 18 90
Percentages .381 .412 .864 Team Rebounds: 7
Jared Sullinger
26:17 5-11 0-0 2-2 -4 5 10 0 0 0 1 1 6 12
Jeff Green
21:21 1-3 1-2 2-2 +7 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 5
Jason Terry
19:46 2-5 0-2 0-0 +4 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
Courtney Lee
14:16 3-9 3-5 0-0 +1 1 3 2 0 1 0 1 2 9
Leandro Barbosa
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Jason Collins
DNP – Coach’s Decision
Chris Wilcox
DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Kyrie Irving
G 37:55 16-24 1-3 7-7 +11 0 3 5 5 2 0 1 5 40
Dion Waiters
G 33:19 3-12 1-4 0-0 +8 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 1 7
Tyler Zeller
C 37:45 2-10 0-0 2-2 +5 3 10 4 2 0 3 2 6 6
Tristan Thompson
F 39:39 9-18 0-0 3-3 +9 2 9 5 1 1 1 3 3 21
Alonzo Gee
F 30:56 3-7 0-1 4-6 +8 1 6 2 0 1 0 0 2 10
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-82 2-12 19-22 8 39 28 13 7 7 8 22 95
Percentages .451 .167 .864 Team Rebounds: 9
Luke Walton
18:00 3-3 0-0 1-2 +2 1 3 7 2 1 0 0 0 7
Shaun Livingston
17:39 0-2 0-0 2-2 -6 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 2
Daniel Gibson
14:59 0-3 0-3 0-0 -6 0 2 1 1 1 1 0 3 0
Omri Casspi
9:48 1-3 0-1 0-0 -6 0 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 2
Kevin Jones
DNP – Coach’s Decision
C.J. Miles
DNP – Coach’s Decision