May 25, 2013

Box Score: Celtics 90, Cavaliers 95

January 22, 2013 by 27 Comments

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

 

 

 

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Box Score: Cavaliers 91, Celtics 103

December 19, 2012 by 5 Comments

Anderson Varejao missed this game due to a knee injury and without his services the Celtics were simply too much for the Cavaliers to contend with.

This one looked like a blowout with the Celtics opening up a 20 point lead in the 3rd quarter. However, the Cavaliers went on a nice 20-2 run to close out the quarter and the start of the 4th to pull within 2 points of the Celtics. The Cavaliers had no answer for Paul Pierce down the stretch though. Pierce scored 25 of his game high 40 points in the 2nd half and the Celtics walked away with the relatively easy win.

Kyrie Irving lead the Cavaliers with 22 points but had just 2 assists to 3 turnovers. Tyler Zeller started in Varejao’s place and scored a career high 20 points. In fact all 5 Cavalier starters scored in the double digits. Dion Waiters had 8 first quarter points but finished the game with just 13 total. Just another frustrating evening for the wine and gold who are continuing to search for answers to this funk they find themselves in.

 

1 2 3 4 T
CLE 25 21 26 19 91
BOS 27 27 28 21 103

 

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 37:27 9-17 2-5 2-4 -12 1 4 2 3 2 0 1 4 22
D. Waiters G 35:12 6-15 0-4 1-2 -15 2 4 4 3 1 0 1 2 13
T. Zeller C 36:15 9-15 0-0 2-3 -17 2 3 2 0 1 0 0 3 20
T. Thompson F 38:29 2-10 0-0 7-9 -16 6 12 2 1 2 2 3 2 11
A. Gee F 34:00 5-12 1-3 0-0 -21 0 3 2 2 1 0 1 2 11
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 36-88 5-18 14-21 13 35 16 9 7 2 7 22 91
Percentages .409 .278 .667 Team Rebounds: 13
C.J. Miles 16:52 1-5 1-4 0-0 +7 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 3 3
L. Walton 14:00 1-2 1-2 0-0 +9 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
K. Jones 11:09 1-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2
S. Samuels 10:07 1-5 0-0 1-2 +9 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3
D. Sloan 6:29 1-2 0-0 1-1 -4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3
O. Casspi DNP – Coach’s Decision
D. Gibson DNP – Right Ankle Sprain
J. Leuer DNP – Inactive
J. Pargo DNP – Coach’s Decision
A. Varejao DNP – Inactive

Boston

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
R. Rondo G 37:28 7-11 0-1 6-10 +22 0 4 8 4 2 1 0 5 20
J. Terry G 34:54 6-9 3-5 0-0 +18 0 3 4 2 1 0 0 1 15
K. Garnett C 30:50 5-9 0-1 2-3 +1 0 6 3 2 1 3 0 3 12
P. Pierce F 33:36 13-16 6-7 8-8 +29 0 8 5 1 3 1 0 2 40
J. Collins F 23:16 0-0 0-0 1-2 +23 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 6 1
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-62 9-17 20-27 2 35 23 14 9 7 2 24 103
Percentages .597 .529 .741 Team Rebounds: 8
B. Bass 26:48 2-7 0-1 0-0 +3 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 4
C. Lee 20:20 2-3 0-0 2-2 -9 0 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 6
J. Sullinger 15:06 1-2 0-0 0-0 -3 2 5 1 1 1 0 1 4 2
J. Green 14:24 1-4 0-2 1-2 -17 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 3
L. Barbosa 3:18 0-1 0-0 0-0 -7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A. Bradley DNP – Coach’s Decision
K. Joseph DNP – Inactive
F. Melo DNP – Inactive
C. Wilcox DNP – Coach’s Decision

 

 

 

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Some Thoughts on the NBA on the Eve of Season Tip-Off

October 29, 2012 by 11 Comments

Happy NBA Season Eve everyone!

Tomorrow the NBA season kicks off with a TNT double header featuring prime matchups between the Celtics and Heat, and the Mavericks and Lakers. But there is one other game tomorrow night, and it’s the most anticipated and sure to be the most watched game of the three.

That’s right, tomorrow night one of the great “rivalries” in the NBA resumes when the Washington Wizards visit our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers. Ok, yes, I’m being facetious. Nobody outside Washington and Cleveland cares about this game, and the Wizards and Cavaliers are not “rivals”, and they never were. But that doesn’t mean we Cavalier fans shouldn’t be filled with excitement over another season about to tip off.

We’ll cover more on the Cavaliers specifically tomorrow, but for today, I wanted to kick off general NBA coverage with some overall generic thoughts on the NBA as a whole. There’s been some huge moves in the offseason, and another monumental shift occurred this weekend when the Oklahoma City Thunder traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets. So lets get into some of the main storylines of this NBA season (along with some musical interludes to enjoy as we go along). [Read more...]

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2012-13 NBA Blogger Previews: Atlantic Division

October 1, 2012 by 18 Comments

For the past several years, the great Boston Celtics blog CelticsBlog.com has hosted an annual NBA Bloggers Preview. Basically, every day leading up to the start of the season, one team is previewed by s0me of the best writers on their team blogs, and then once the division is done, we will post the links to all the previews.

The Cavaliers preview day is Tuesday, October 9th, so check back then for our preview of the upcoming season. In the meantime, though, check out all the excellent links below to start getting your fill of NBA goodness before the season starts.

Can the Celtics stay healthy and make yet another run? And how will Jason Terry and Courtney Lee do as replacements for the departed Ray Allen? How big of a difference can Joe Johnson make as the Nets make their Brooklyn debut? How badly will the Knicks miss Jeremy Lin and can Jason Kidd make Knicks fans forget about losing Lin? How well can the overhauled 76ers lineup gel? Will Evan Turner step up in Andre Iguodala’s absence, and how will Andrew Bynum fare now that he is out of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol’s shadows in Los Angeles? As Jonas Valanciunas makes his NBA debut for the Raptors, will he make the Cavaliers regret passing on him for Tristan Thompson? [Read more...]

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Box Score: Celtics 86, Cavaliers 83

February 28, 2012 by 4 Comments

Tough loss. The Cavaliers fell behind early as their first quarter defense continues to plague them. But true to their nature, the Cavaliers fought back and took a lead into the 4th quarter. Unfortunately, the Cavs made too many mental errors down the stretch and the Celtics capitalized. The Cavaliers had a chance, down 3 with 3 seconds left. On a nice inbound play the Cavaliers got Anthony Parker a pretty good look for a deep three, but his shot went off the front of the rim and the Celtics came away with the win.

Kyrie Irving was simply stellar once again in the 2nd half, Tristan Thompson chipped in with a double-double, and Ramon Sessions scored 13 points off the bench. But they just didn’t get much help. Parker had 1 point, Semih Erden had 4, and Antawn Jamison had 8. You can’t have 3 of your starters give you 13 points and expect to win many games.

Whether you think the Cavaliers should try for the playoffs or not, the team has rightfully said they want to make a run at it. To be a playoff team, though, you have to win these kind of games, especially against one of the teams you’re chasing. Chalk it up to another lesson learned.

Oh, and props to Manny Harris for pulling off the Club Tril.

Boston

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
R. Allen G 35:12 8-13 4-8 2-2 +8 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 3 22
R. Rondo G 32:29 0-6 0-0 0-0 +7 0 3 11 5 1 0 2 4 0
K. Garnett C 32:33 5-11 0-0 8-8 -3 1 8 1 2 1 0 1 3 18
B. Bass F 35:11 6-12 0-0 0-0 +1 2 7 2 0 2 1 1 1 12
P. Pierce F 34:31 4-11 2-7 2-2 -11 1 2 6 6 2 0 0 2 12
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 33-74 7-17 13-14 5 39 27 17 6 1 5 20 86
Percentages .446 .412 .929 Team Rebounds: 7
C. Wilcox 23:19 2-4 0-0 1-2 +8 1 11 1 2 0 0 1 3 5
M. Pietrus 16:36 4-8 1-2 0-0 +14 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 9
A. Bradley 15:34 3-5 0-0 0-0 -6 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 6
K. Dooling 10:52 0-3 0-0 0-0 -1 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
G. Stiemsma 3:44 1-1 0-0 0-0 -2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
M. Daniels DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Johnson DNP – Coach’s Decision
S. Pavlovic DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving G 27:15 8-14 3-3 5-5 +1 1 4 3 2 1 0 0 1 24
A. Parker G 21:47 0-4 0-2 1-2 -6 0 0 5 2 1 1 0 0 1
S. Erden C 20:07 2-2 0-0 0-2 -3 1 6 2 1 0 1 0 1 4
A. Jamison F 36:32 4-15 0-3 0-0 -6 2 8 1 3 2 0 1 3 8
O. Casspi F 22:32 3-7 1-3 3-4 +1 0 4 2 0 1 1 0 3 10
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 31-78 4-17 17-25 11 41 18 14 12 5 1 17 83
Percentages .397 .235 .680 Team Rebounds: 10
T. Thompson 27:17 5-9 0-0 3-4 0 6 10 0 0 0 2 0 1 13
D. Gibson 26:17 1-7 0-3 0-0 +3 0 3 2 3 2 0 0 2 2
A. Gee 25:54 4-8 0-1 0-0 -4 0 2 2 3 3 0 0 2 8
R. Sessions 20:51 4-11 0-2 5-8 -4 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 2 13
S. Samuels 11:22 0-1 0-0 0-0 +3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
M. Harris 0:06 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L. Harangody DNP – Coach’s Decision
R. Hollins DNP – Coach’s Decision

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Cleveland Cavaliers Kick Off 2nd Half of Season Against the Boston Celtics

February 28, 2012 by 12 Comments

Kyrie Irving has already knocked off the Celtics once this season

The Cleveland Cavaliers (13-18, 9th in the East) get back to business Tuesday night when they welcome the Boston Celtics (15-17, 8th in the East) into the Q. It was a pretty good All Star break for Cleveland. Sure, Kyrie Irving didn’t fare so well in the Skills Competition, but Irving and fellow rookie Tristan Thompson both left their marks in the Rising Stars Game.

For the rest of the Cavaliers it was a period of rest, relaxation, and rooting on the young Cavaliers in the Rising Stars Game. Now that the batteries have been charged and some wounds have healed, the Cavaliers can get back to chasing that playoff berth.

The Celtics are the team standing in their way, both tonight (as the opponent) and in the long run (as the 8th seed). Perhaps no team was happier for the break than the Celtics, who carried a 5 game losing streak into the break and had lost 7 of their last 8 overall. [Read more...]

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Box Score: Celtics 93, Cavaliers 90

January 31, 2012 by 5 Comments

Bummer. The Cavaliers were down 18 points heading into the 4th quarter, and then went on a crazy run to close within 2 points. In the end, though, they just didn’t quite have enough to overcome the hole they dug. On one hand, the Cavs showed a lot of pride in not giving up and a ton of heart in coming back. On the other hand, it was disappointing seeing them let themselves fall so far back in the first place. The Cavaliers will have to learn to put together 4th quarter effort in the first 3 quarters before they start consistently beating good teams and winning these kind of games.

The real story of the game, though, was Anderson Varejao. When the rest of the team was doing nothing, it was Varejao who put the team on his back and just carried them to keep them from falling behind by 30+ points. Andy finished the game with 20 points and 20 rebounds for an amazing 20-20 game, the team’s first since Carlos Boozer.

Boston

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
R. Allen(notes) G 38:06 4-10 2-5 2-2 +9 0 2 8 4 2 0 0 3 12
A. Bradley(notes) G 37:05 4-7 0-0 0-0 +5 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 3 8
J. O’Neal(notes) C 23:15 5-7 0-0 2-2 +4 1 3 2 1 1 2 0 1 12
P. Pierce(notes) F 33:58 7-14 0-2 6-9 +2 0 4 6 1 3 0 0 1 20
K. Garnett(notes) F 31:49 5-12 0-0 3-4 +7 1 4 4 0 1 0 0 3 13
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-73 5-14 14-19 7 28 25 14 9 2 3 20 93
Percentages .507 .357 .737 Team Rebounds: 12
B. Bass(notes) 28:58 6-9 0-0 1-2 -4 1 6 2 2 1 0 0 3 13
M. Pietrus(notes) 18:13 2-7 2-6 0-0 +1 0 5 1 1 1 0 2 1 6
C. Wilcox(notes) 11:22 0-2 0-0 0-0 +5 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0
E. Moore(notes) 10:58 2-3 1-1 0-0 +1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 5
S. Pavlovic(notes) 6:02 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
M. Daniels(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Johnson(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision
G. Stiemsma(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision

Cleveland

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
K. Irving(notes) G 37:25 6-15 0-1 6-6 0 0 1 6 2 0 0 0 1 18
M. Thompson(notes) G 30:52 3-9 2-4 0-0 -13 0 1 4 3 1 1 0 2 8
A. Varejao(notes) C 41:10 10-17 0-1 0-0 -4 10 20 2 4 0 1 1 2 20
A. Jamison(notes) F 35:14 5-11 1-5 1-2 -4 0 2 3 1 1 1 1 3 12
O. Casspi(notes) F 18:49 2-5 2-2 0-2 -14 2 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 6
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 33-74 6-16 15-21 13 39 26 16 7 3 2 18 87
Percentages .446 .375 .714 Team Rebounds: 9
A. Gee(notes) 29:15 3-6 1-3 4-5 +8 0 3 1 0 4 0 0 3 11
R. Sessions(notes) 27:37 3-5 0-0 0-2 +1 1 5 9 3 0 0 0 1 6
S. Samuels(notes) 14:17 1-5 0-0 4-4 +1 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 6
T. Thompson(notes) 5:06 0-1 0-0 0-0 -5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S. Erden(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision
C. Eyenga(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision
R. Hollins(notes) DNP – Coach’s Decision

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You don’t have to boo LeBron today, thanks to the Indians

April 10, 2011 by 25 Comments

If the Indians had continued to play as bad as they did in their first two games this season, a lot of us obsessive sports fans in this town would be sitting on our couches today in a tough spot.

Or sitting outside in the beautiful Cleveland weather this afternoon watching on our porches, assuming we had a porch and the associated technology to support sports watching on it.

Think if the Tribe was 0-8, or 1-7, or even 2-6, it would be a depressing decision for people round herr to have to make; assuming they don’t watch or play golf like I don’t, my bad on that I blame my Dad though.

Regardless, if the Masters don’t do it for you and you’re looking to get in a quality root in this afternoon, there’s two other options.

The NBA Eastern Conference game of the year between the Heat and the Celtics where they’ll battle for the second seed in the playoffs /  or / Wahoo Baseball versus TheGrind Time Mariners as Manny Acta and fellas go for their second straight series sweep.  [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Preview Game #17: Celtics at Cavs

November 30, 2010 by 5 Comments

Boston Celtics (12-4) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (7-9)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
7:00 PM EST
FSOH/WTAM

Nobody is looking ahead to Thursday and everyone is focused on tonight’s game against the Celtics, right? I hope not. While it’s easy to understand the anticipation with Thursday’s homecoming game looming, this game tonight is still a big game for the Cavaliers. Sure, the Cavs are no longer the title contenders of years past, but any time you have a chance to try to beat the Celtics you should embrace how much fun it is. The Cavs-Celtics is by no means a major rivalry, but these two franchises do have a bit of a history with one another including some memorable playoff matches and it’s still a game I want the Cavs to win just a little more than most games. So for the rest of the evening, put LeBron and the Heat out of your minds and gear up for what will hopefully be another fun and exciting matchup with the Eastern Conference’s premier team. [Read more...]

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Sports, Politics and Kevin Garnett

November 3, 2010 by 18 Comments

Yesterday the news exploded because of what Kevin Garnett purportedly said to Charlie Villanueva during a basketball game in which the Celtics destroyed the Pistons 109-86.  Villanueva tweeted after the game that KG’s trash talk went too far when KG lobbed the words “cancer patient” in Charlie Villanueva’s general direction.  Kevin Garnett is a notorious trash talker.  Charlie Villanueva has a disease, alopecia that causes him to look different.  KG (according to CV31) used that as fodder for personal trash talk.  KG is now on record saying that he told Villanueva that he was “cancerous to his team and the league.”  There are so many sides to this thing that need exploring, so where should we begin?

Let’s start with the irony of this name-calling incident coming to the forefront on election day.  During a month where, especially for Ohioans, there have been near constant advertisements lobbing various accusations and names in all different directions, yesterday was supposed to be the end of the name-calling for a while.  The votes were being counted and the results were being reported and our reprieve was supposed to be from the phone calls, pieces of mail and TV ads.  Then, Charlie Villanueva takes a page almost directly out of the political playbook in exposing his opponent, not on the court of play where it matters, but in the lights of the public.  You’ll have to excuse me as I wretch for even having to consider that our sports worlds and political worlds are colliding in hideous fashion. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers and Their Fans Show a Winning Spirit in Season Debut

October 28, 2010 by 32 Comments

Ok, lets get the excuses out of the way first. The Boston Celtics were tired from playing such an emotionally charged game the night before. The Celtics age is going to hurt them in road ends of back-to-backs all year. They overlooked the Cavaliers and didn’t give the same focus and effort they gave at home against Miami. There was no intensity in a meaningless game like this to the Boston Celtics. Does that about cover it? Ok, good, now lets move on.

Perhaps this game didn’t really matter on a macro-sociological level in the NBA, but then again, not all outcomes matter equally. For one night, Cleveland had it’s redemption when the final buzzer sounded and the Cavaliers had secured their 95-87 win over the Boston Celtics. Disregard all the excuses and the self-righteous indignation of pundits who would berate this organization for daring to have belief in the talent on this roster and not just immediately giving up and selling off parts for pennies on the dollar. None of that matters today. What matters is what this win meant to this region which was so let down and humiliated by the events of this offseason. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Preview Game #1: Celtics at Cavs

October 27, 2010 by 45 Comments

Boston Celtics (1-0) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
7:00 PM EST
FSOH/WTAM

The Cleveland Cavaliers begin a new journey tonight. Although the result of their path is as unclear as I can ever recall it being, just having the ability to begin down the path brings excitement. And with that excitement comes the nerves. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I was nervous about a season opener. Nervous in a good way, I mean. Nervous because I don’t know what to expect. Nervous because my security blanket is gone. Nervous because I had forgotten what it’s like to watch the Cavaliers and not have LeBron James being a part of it. But it’s a nervous excitement because tonight we begin this journey together. This is about as united as the fans, players, and team as a whole have been in a very long time. We don’t know how this is going to turn out, but we’re in this together. [Read more...]

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2010-11 NBA Blogger Previews – Atlantic Division

September 20, 2010 by 2 Comments

Yep, it’s that time of year again already. Once again, CleticsBlog are hosting the annual Blogger Previews for every team in the NBA. How this works is simple, every day a certain NBA team is up and bloggers who write about said team will offer their previews for that team in the upcoming season. Then, once a division is completed, all the bloggers throughout the NBA who are participating will post links for all the previews for that division.

First up is the Atlantic Division. All the previews are linked below, and I encourage everyone to take a few minutes, click on the links, and check out what writers from across the nation are saying about their own teams. We will be posting the Cavaliers preview on September 29, so stay tuned. [Read more...]

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Shaq to Boston – Second Verse Same as the First

August 6, 2010 by 20 Comments

This time last year, we were all excited to have Shaquille O’Neal as a part of the Cavaliers.  Well, maybe not all of us down to a person, but most of us.  The Cavs didn’t give up much, and it seemed like the best available deal while not giving up anything at all.  Obviously it didn’t pan out in the end and now it seems like Shaq might have helped implode the Cavaliers season with his infamous gas can that he totes from place to place.  Shaq has gained a bit of a reputation for being a bit of a cancer and blowing up every place he goes at some point or another.

In the early days of Shaq’s career, it was fine because his talent and dominance on the court overshadowed the negatives.  Remember last year when Shaq came in and said all the right things?  ”I want to win a ring for the king.”  He seemed to finally be accepting his role as a role player.  In the end, I wouldn’t say it really worked like that. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Can “Rise Above” Tonight

May 13, 2010 by 37 Comments

Warning, there are a few not-so-safe-for-work words thrown in this video:

We are born with a chance
Rise above
We’re gonna rise above
I am gonna have my chance
Rise above
We’re gonna rise above

We are tired of your abuse
Try to stop us it’s no use

–Black Flag – “Rise Above”

Back in 1981, Black Flag released their debut full-length album ‘Damaged’. The opening track, “Rise Above”, is one of the greatest punk rock anthems of all time. Whenever I am feeling beat down, overwhelmed, down in the dumps, or wallowing in my own pool of self pity, I can always put on ‘Damaged’ and by the time “Rise Above” is over, I feel energized, full of life, and filled with the will and resolve to take on the world. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers vs Celtics: Round Two, Game 5 Numbers and Words

May 12, 2010 by 68 Comments

……

I’ve been staring at my laptop for about 25 minutes now trying to figure out where to start with this one. One of the most pathetic efforts I have ever seen a Cleveland team put forth. It’s even more stunning to see the superstar we all pinned our hopes on come and out APPEAR to not care as the team suffered the most embarrassing loss in franchise history. So what do we do now? Do we hang our heads and turn our backs on this team? Or do we continue to hope and to stand behind LeBron James and this team? It’s up to us to decide what kind of fans we want to be.

-  Our opening quote for this game comes from the author of the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” books, Robert Kiyosaki: “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” I cannot possibly think of a better phrase to summarize where we’re at now. There’s another saying that you only find out who your true friends are when you face adversity in your life. So too are we now finding out who the Cavs’ true fans are. I’d be willing to bet that most fans jumping ship on LeBron and the Cavaliers today are the same “fans” who merely started paying attention once LeBron got here. We’ll get to LeBron’s performance in a minute, but I wanted everyone to think about how we choose to handle diversity before we get started.  [Read more...]

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Cavaliers vs Celtics – Game 5

May 11, 2010 by 356 Comments

This is not a Game Five preview. At least, not in the traditional sense. Instead, this is a more broad look into what exactly Game Five means in the more big picture sense of this series. This has been a tough week for Cavs fans. For many, this was not your shining moment in sports fandom. There’s been a lot of distress, panic, anger, frustration, and general malaise within this fanbase. I’m not here to tell you it’s not warranted. Some of it is. Maybe a lot of it is. Perhaps most of it is warranted. Whatever the case may be, I’m not here to play moral authority. What I am here to do, though, is to try to explain to you why it isn’t needed.

Most importantly, and this is the point that is overlooked most often, the Cleveland Cavaliers are ok. They have yet to trail in this series. The Cavs are dealing with injuries (LeBron, Shaq, Varejao, Jamison?) while the Celtics are pretty much as healthy as can be. The Cavaliers have played apathetic basketball for 2 months now, and yet they’ve really only been out of one game in this series. As easily as the Celtics feel they’re a Mo Williams hot streak away from being up 3-1 in the series, so too can the Cavaliers argue that they are one off 4th quarter away from being up 3-1. [Read more...]

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2010 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals Preview: Cavaliers vs Celtics

April 29, 2010 by 39 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers not-so-easily dispatched of the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs in 5 games and now are gearing up for a matchup fans have been waiting for. Ever since Paul Pierce dueled with LeBron James in that infamous Game 7 two seasons ago, Cavs fans (and presumably LeBron himself) have wanted a chance at redemption and vindication. The basketball gods have smiled their gracious faces upon us and given us a chance to vicariously achieve our revenge and true justice. Perhaps for some fans this is overstating the importance of a battle against a bunch of aging Hall of Famers, but not for this fan, and I suspect, for many Cavs fans out there like myself. This is a war 2 years in the making.  [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Preview Game #59: Cavs at Celtics

February 25, 2010 by 171 Comments

Cavaliers vs CelticsCleveland Cavaliers (44-14) vs
Boston Celtics (36-19)
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA
Thursday, February 25, 2010
8:00 PM EST
TNT/WTAM

After finally snapping that 3 game losing streak, the Cavaliers must now turn their attention to the rival Boston Celtics. Both teams come into this game relatively fresh as each had last night off. This is going to be a great playoff test for the Cavaliers. One of my biggest concerns about this season was that prior to the trade deadline, the only time the Cavaliers played the Celtics was on opening night. I wanted more info on how the Cavs match up with Boston to better know how to proceed at the trade deadline. Now, I realize most Cavs fans don’t take the Celtics seriously, but I refuse to overlook this Boston team. They’re a veteran team that knows how to win big games. This, however, is just a regular season game and the Celtics are without Paul Pierce, so we’ll see how motivated each of these teams really look tonight.   [Read more...]

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Rasheed Wallace: LeBron is a Flopper

November 28, 2009 by 13 Comments

Rasheed Wallace picked up his 5th technical foul as the Celtics defeated the Raptors.  Wallace, who has never been able to control his temper, apparently takes no responsibility for getting techs anymore.  Instead it was because Hedo Turkoglu flopped while defending ‘Sheed.  That most certainly must have been the reason that Rasheed Wallace couldn’t control his temper at the referees for buying into a presumed flop.  For some reason, Wallace then used it as a way to attack LeBron James. [Read more...]

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