May 23, 2013

The Diff: Regression to the mean and the Cavaliers

May 1, 2013 by 6 Comments

For my entire archive of The Diff at WFNY, check out this tag. Last week’s edition tackled an aggregate of 60 mock drafts from around the Internet, which obviously didn’t prove that fruitful when the Browns took Barkevious Mingo (projected by only 3 mock drafts). Oh well.

The Diff

Back in my second-ever version of The Diff, on Jan. 23, I wrote over 3,000 words on six specific franchise comparisons for the current iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Obviously, much has been written here at WFNY and elsewhere since about the hopeful trajectory of the Cavs organization, especially with the re-addition of head coach Mike Brown. Today, I’ll hope to share even more analytics behind previous NBA rebuilds and some statistics behind their variability. [Read more...]

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Small goals paving the way for big wins in Cleveland

February 7, 2013 by 23 Comments

152062739_Bobcats_Cavs_Kyle061_0

The mountain has been turned into a series of considerably smaller molehills. While the Cleveland Cavaliers have a long way to go before they are even within eyesight of the top, each rest station along the way comes with its own intrinsic reward.

After being embarrassed by 18 points in Detroit late last week, the Cavaliers — the team as well as the front office —  had a series of meetings. There was a closed-door meeting with Byron Scott, his assistant coaches and all 15 players. Blunt objects were not thrown, but choice words most definitely were. From there, Scott and his coaches sat down to focus on the short and intermediate term. Long term talk is fantastic fuel for narrative, but it was obvious that young players needed something on which to hang their respective hats.

[Read more...]

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NBA Rookie Rankings: Jedi Drummond, Bradley Beal heating up

January 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

Drummond light saberWith the Cavaliers having two rookies playing prominent minutes, WFNY thought it would beneficial to see how the fresh meat around the league is faring in comparison with the Cavalier rookies. Each week, we’ll have NBA rookie power rankings where we’ll rack and stack the freshman class of the NBA. The rankings will be weighted with the most recent games carrying the most importance, but the whole body of work will be taken into account. Great beards and great celebrations may also play a large factor.

1. Damian Lillard (Last Week: 1)

It’s been another good week for Damian, collecting December’s Rookie of the Month honor and getting the approval of the King. The Blazers have won four straight and 12 of 15, including wins against LeBron and the Heat, and against fellow rookie Alexey Shved and the Timberwolves. Against Minnesota, Lillard hit step back jumper after step back jumper, leaving the defender no chance to stop him. As the ‘Wolves sagged off, Lillard rose up and buried shots from deep. But the highlight that sticks with me most is his attack off a high ball screen and finish through the contact from mountain man, Nikola Pekovic. With just two explosive dribbles from the top of the key, he manages to get all the way into the lane, onto Pekovic’s body, 1 get the ball up on the glass, and in to the hoop.

The Blazers and Lillard are both much farther along than anyone expected them to be. Lillard is the clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honors, while Portland has cemented themselves in the middle of the murky Western Conference playoff picture. Not a bad time to be a Blazers’ fan. [Read more...]

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  1. Being on Nikola Pekovic’s body, every lady’s fantasy [back]

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Box Score: Cavs 106, Bobcats 104

January 4, 2013 by 4 Comments

Maybe Kyrie Irving was reading all of our content today about his inept fourth-quarter performances? Whatever it was, he scored 16 of the team’s 20 points in another awful final frame, as the Cavaliers barely held off the Charlotte Bobcats for a 106-104 victory.

The Cavaliers (8-26) are now one game below the Bobcats (8-24) in the Eastern Conference standings. Also noteworthy: Tristan Thompson had arguably his best game of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and new reserve guard Shaun Livingston saw 26 minutes off the bench.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 8-26 (Won last 1)

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS 8-24 (Lost last 1)

Team 1 2 3 4 Total
CLE 29 33 24 20 106
CHA 23 25 26 30 104
Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
C.J. Miles G 38:58 7-14 4-9 0-0 +11 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 4 18
K. Irving G 37:34 10-21 3-4 10-10 +1 0 5 6 5 4 3 0 4 33
T. Zeller C 30:12 3-8 0-0 3-6 -2 1 5 2 1 0 3 0 4 9
T. Thompson F 37:12 8-10 0-0 3-4 +11 2 13 2 2 0 0 1 2 19
A. Gee F 34:27 3-7 0-1 2-4 +3 0 7 5 1 0 0 1 4 8
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 39-78 7-16 21-29 6 40 23 13 9 10 3 22 106
Percentages .500 .438 .724 Team Rebounds: 7
S. Livingston 26:20 3-6 0-0 0-0 -2 2 3 5 0 2 0 0 2 6
D. Waiters 17:59 3-6 0-0 3-5 -4 0 1 2 3 1 2 0 1 9
L. Walton 17:18 2-6 0-2 0-0 -8 1 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 4
O. Casspi DNP – Coach’s Decision
D. Gibson DNP – Inactive
K. Jones DNP – Coach’s Decision
J. Leuer DNP – Inactive
J. Pargo DNP – Coach’s Decision
S. Samuels DNP – Coach’s Decision
A. Varejao DNP – Inactive

Charlotte

Starters Pos Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
G. Henderson G 32:49 6-11 4-5 1-2 -2 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 2 17
K. Walker G 24:12 4-8 1-3 2-4 -9 0 3 5 3 1 0 1 2 11
B. Biyombo C 15:35 1-2 0-0 0-0 -12 0 7 0 1 0 0 0 2 2
J. Taylor F 26:32 5-10 1-3 0-0 +13 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 4 11
H. Warrick F 11:42 1-4 0-0 2-2 -12 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 4
Bench Min FG 3Pt FT +/- Off Reb Ast TO Stl BS BA PF Pts
Totals 37-82 8-17 22-28 8 43 25 14 5 3 10 24 104
Percentages .451 .471 .786 Team Rebounds: 8
R. Sessions 35:09 4-11 0-2 12-12 +1 0 5 6 0 1 0 1 3 20
B. Haywood 27:42 0-0 0-0 1-2 +12 3 7 3 1 0 2 0 3 1
B. Gordon 27:32 11-20 2-4 3-4 +7 1 2 4 4 1 1 1 2 27
M. Kidd-Gilchrist 21:07 3-10 0-0 1-2 +1 3 9 2 2 0 0 3 1 7
T. Thomas 12:33 2-6 0-0 0-0 -7 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 4
J. Adrien 3:19 0-0 0-0 0-0 -2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
D. Diop 1:48 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
B. Mullens DNP – Inactive
R. Williams DNP – Coach’s Decision

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NBA Rookie Rankings: Anthony Davis not living up to the hype

January 4, 2013 by 11 Comments

With the Cavaliers having two rookies playing prominent minutes, WFNY thought it would beneficial to see how the fresh meat around the league is faring in comparison with the Cavalier rookies. Each week, we’ll have NBA rookie power rankings where we’ll rack and stack the freshman class of the NBA. The rankings will be weighted with the most recent games carrying the most importance, but the whole body of work will be taken into account. Great beards and great celebrations may also play a large factor.

1. Damian Lillard (Last Week: 1)

The Blazers are playing their best basketball of the season, but the same cannot be said about their rookie point guard. Despite hitting a cold blooded three at the buzzer, the last few weeks have been pretty “ehhhh” for Lillard. Earlier in the year, the three point shot had been Lillard’s weapon of choice, shooting over 6 per game.  But as the old adage goes, “live by the three, die by the three.” Early on in the season, boy was Lillard living. His three point shot was opening up the lane for penetration, leading to easy buckets for himself and for teammates. However, in the last couple weeks the Portland point guard has been on life support from behind the arc, shooting just 8 for 28 in his last four games.

As his three point percentage has dropped so have his assists. In those same four games where Lillard shot just 26% from downtown, he is averaging 2.5 assists lower than his season average. True point guards are counted on to hit open threes and set up teammates but it’s becoming more and more clear that Lillard is not a true point guard. Instead, he’s an attacking guard who is never afraid to try and make a play. Although his numbers may be hurting recently, his team is succeeding. Teams are being forced to pay extra attention to Lillard, leaving more room the rest of the Blazers to play ball. With the way Portland is playing, if Lillard can find his stroke from deep once again, the Western Conference will have to start taking notice of the team up in Rip City.

2. Anthony Davis (Last Week: 2)

Anthony Davis is taking much longer than most thought to become a star in this league. It’s far, far too early to say he’s not living up to his predraft hype, but he’s not living up to his predraft hype. With Lillard coasting, the door has been wide open for Davis to ascend to the top of the rookie class. Davis is slowly creaking open that door, but hardly stomping his foot through it like most expected.

Davis is playing like a rookie. One night he looks like he has the potential to be the best big in NBA, and the next he looks like Tristain Thompson. The Brow will always be a force on the defensive end with his length and athleticism but he needs to start scoring consistently if he wants to be a star, let alone the rookie of the year.

Only four times this year has Anthony Davis scored over 20 points. Here is just a short list of other bigs within 1 point of Davis’ scoring avearge.

JJ Hickson, Glen Davis, Chris Kaman, Thaddeus Young, Serge Ibaka, Paul Milsap, and Metta World Peace 1

I know Davis isn’t billed as a “scorer” but if you’re the number one pick, and the face of the franchise, you better be able to put the peach in the basket.

3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Last Week: 3)

Speaking of struggling to score…MKG has failed to score in double figures in over a third of Charlotte’s games. His offense is not his strength, everyone knows that, but like Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist is a high lottery pick, and the face a franchise. Along with those two distinctions come the expectation you’re going to be able get your team points.

Unlike fellow rookies, Lillard, Waiters, and Beal, Kidd-Gilchrist does not have his finger stuck on the trigger. He is yet to take 15 shots in a game, while Lillard, Waiters, and Beal have combined to do so 39 times. We all know MKG is great teammate, leader, and utility man, but it might be time for the Bobcats’ first round pick to start to try and score.

When you’re team has lost 18 straight games 2 being a team player might have to go out the window. It’s all about getting work in for the future, so let it fly MKG.

4. Alexey Shved (Last Week: 4)

Now that’s some fresh facial hair

I’ve made little effort to hide my love affair for Alexey Shved. He’s got the european flair, the ability to play the one or two, and the moxy to rock a crisp looking goatee. Although the Shved/Rubio backcourt hasn’t quite reached the level of success I had once predicted, it’s hard to find many more young backcourts in the league as exciting as the two Europeans 3 .

Shved is avearging just over 14 points and 6 assists over his last five games. Over that same stretch Damian Lillard, is averaging a similar 17 and 5 but with 1.5 more turnovers. Shved may not have the upside Lillard has, but White Russia is has cemented himself in the discussion for the best guards in the 2012 rookie class.

5. Andre Drummond (Last Week: 5)

Andre Drummond and the Pistons have won 5 of their last 6, which has taken some heat off Piston’s coach Lawrence Frank for limiting the minutes of Drummond. Slow and steady continues to be the approach as Detroit tries to develop the raw rookie from UCONN. Drummond is 6th in the NBA in rebounding percentage, ahead of rebounding machines Dwight Howard, Kenneth Faried, Kris Humphries, and Tyson Chandler.

More impressively, Drummond is tied for the league lead in offensive rebounding percentage with Anderson Varejao. Varejao is wildly renowned as a monster on the offensive glass, and sooner or later Drummond will get the same recognition. Fans around The D are even starting to compare Drummond to Big Ben Wallace. Although he may have far to go to gain Big Ben status 4 , but he may be able to get a Kid Rock song written about him.

Honorable Mention

Dion Waiters

After three rough shooting nights in a row, Dion was moved into a role as 6th man for the Cavs. Waiters thrived in that role at Syracuse and flourished once again coming off the bench against Sacramento. Waiters scored 20 points in his reserve role, and did so shooting 42% from the field. This was only the 3rd time in the last 13 games Waiters has been over 40% from the field.

 

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  1. I know Metta isn’t exactly a big, but like I said a few months ago, I’ll take any excuse I can get to type “Metta World Peace” I can get. [back]
  2. Yes they’re the Bobcats, but 18 straight. C’mon man! [back]
  3. Lin/Harden are the best followed by Irving/Waiters, Curry/Thompson,  and Crawford/Wall/Beal in no particular order [back]
  4. 4 straight ECF appearances, and a title to be exact [back]

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NBA Rookie Rankings: Davis climbing, Lillard beats buzzer

December 21, 2012 by 3 Comments

Left Cameron Browne NBA Getty Images. Right Steve Dykes USA TODAY Sports

With the Cavaliers having two rookies playing prominent minutes, WFNY thought it would beneficial to see how the fresh meat around the league is faring in comparison with the Cavalier rookies. Each week, we’ll have NBA rookie power rankings where we’ll rack and stack the freshman class of the NBA. The rankings will be weighted with the most recent games carrying the most importance, but the whole body of work will be taken into account. Great beards and great celebrations may also play a large factor.

The past seven days have been kind to the top of the 2012 rookie class. Signature games from the Kentucky boys, Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist, and a signature moment from Damian Lillard highlight the last week in fresh meat action.

With the top 3 shining, the rest of the rookie class is struggling to keep up. Top 4 picks, Dion Waiters and Bradley Beal continue to chuck the pumpkin with little success, while big men Andre Drummond and Jonas Valanciunas contribute solid but unexciting minutes off their respective benches.

The top 3 sees a minor shakeup while the 4th and 5th spots continue to be a revolving door.

Vamanos! [Read more...]

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NBA Draft Rumors: Reports On Cavs Trading Up For Charlotte’s No. 2 Pick Continue To Surface

June 24, 2012 by 11 Comments

There are only four and half more days of smokescreens, and then David Stern will have to start calling names in New York. The one bit of speculation that continues to gain traction in NBA circles is that the Cavaliers will try to put together a package for the Charlotte Bobcats and move into the No. 2 slot.

The Cavs and Bobcats have been bandied about as potential trade partners since the lottery. Sam Amick again reported late Thursday night that executives felt the Cavs would likely approach Charlotte in an effort to move ahead of the Wizards and take Brad Beal. Rick Bonnell weighed in this morning on the Charlotte side of the things and after speaking to his sources, and he’s hearing more on the potential swap in the top four:

After calling some sources with lottery picks Saturday, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers swap draft picks in Thursday’s draft. In that sort of a deal, the Bobcats would pick fourth and 24th and the Cavs would move up to No. 2.

From the day he became part of this front office, general manager Rich Cho has talked about gathering extra assets, and that generally means extra first-round picks.

[Related: Should The Cavs Trade Up For Brad Beal?]

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Report: Bobcats still shopping second-overall pick

June 13, 2012 by 40 Comments

Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld reports that the Charlotte Bobcats are shopping the second overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft, despite team statements that they are set at taking a player at two-

“The Charlotte Bobcats continue to shop the second overall pick. Only one problem… “They want A LOT in return,” said league source.”

Interesting. What exactly is A LOT? Multiple picks? A combination of picks and players?

Then there is also this from Kennedy-

“The New Orleans Hornets are shopping the tenth pick. They’d move it if the right deal came along. They want a guard,” said a league source.”

Could the Cavaliers package anything to move from 24 to 10?

[Related: What do the Cavaliers have to do?]

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While We’re Waiting… Harrison Barnes, Nick Hamilton, and More NBA Draft Talk

June 9, 2012 by 4 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Leading off, our own Scott Sargent chronicled the path of Harrison Barnes to the NBA and compares his path to the one carved out thus far by Kyrie Irving, “Descending upon the media portion of the NBA Draft combine one year after one his best friends in Irving did the same, Barnes, fresh off of his 20th birthday, stood out amongst the group of giants not due to size or stature but due to his demeanor, professionalism and understanding that, despite the inability to legally consume alcohol, he has to be as much of an adult as the veterans with whom he will soon be sharing a locker room.” [Scott/Still WFNY @ Cleveland.com]

Over at Did The Tribe Win Last Night, there’s a great story on Nick Hamilton, the recent Tribe draft pick and son of Tom Hamilton, “Unlike his dad, Nick Hamilton’s first read on the ball is not how it sounds coming off the bat, but what it looks like. “Your senses make up for each other,” Nick Hamilton said. “I have very good vision. I think that’s what I rely on more instead of sound. I can [hear] the difference between a really badly hit ball and a really well hit ball, but for the most part, I use my vision and try to judge the speed that way. It’s amazing how the body works.” [DTTWLN]

Brendan Bowers at Stepien Rules has been talking plenty of NBA Draft recently. Yesterday, he covered several topics, including the Bobcats shopping that second pick, “If the Bobcats would take pick number four to allow themselve to dump Diop and/or Thomas on the Cavaliers in order for Cleveland to move up two spots I’d give the tires a quality kick on that. The Cavs are way under the cap, and per the new CBA they may need to look for ways to actually spend money in order to get themselves to the minimum salary cap floor.” [Stepien Rules] [Read more...]

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NBA Draft News: Bobcats No. 2 Pick for Sale

June 8, 2012 by 38 Comments

Having not landed the first-overall selection and the chance to draft the franchise-changing power forward Anthony Davis, the Charlotte Bobcats will in fact look to move the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Bill Ingram from Hoopsworld confirms that Michael Jordan’s Bobcats have put the second-overall selection on the market, but are presently “asking for the world” and wish to include either the much-maligned forward Tyrus Thomas or journeyman center DeSagana Diop in a potential transaction. Thomas, a freakish athlete, has long been a disappointment since being drafted fourth-overall in 2006 and is due roughly $26 million between the 2012-13 season and his free agency in the summer of 2015. Diop, the 30-year-old one-time center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has a $7.3 million player option for this coming season.

It is assumed that any team willing to trade up to the second-overall spot would do so to take Davis’ teammate at Kentucky, small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Related: NBA Playoffs Showing Cavaliers How Hard Building a Championship Team Really Is

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While We’re Waiting… Cavs Draft Options, Michigan Rivalry, Indians Stealing Bases

June 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Our ol’ Brendan Bowers shares his thoughts on the Cavaliers getting his favorite prospect: “As our show ended, and we made our way over to the Q for Chris Grant’s media availability, I allowed my personal dreams of MKG rocking a Cavs uniform for the next ten years to die a slow and painful death. More painful than any dance move could ever inflict. No way he’s there at four, I thought, he’™s the second best player in this Draft. Then all of the sudden I realized who it was picking second, it was the closest thing I’ve ever had to an epiphany. The same guy who drafted Kwame Brown first overall; things began to feel markedly better. As great a player Bobcats owner Michael Jordan was, he’s equally bad as an NBA executive. Anything and everything is back in play at pick number two I decided.” [Brendan Bowers/Cleveland.com] [Read more...]

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Instead of Fixing Tanking, NBA Should Remove the Lottery

April 28, 2012 by 12 Comments

Tanking has been quite the topical conversation starter in the NBA this season. Maybe it was because there was a shortened 66-game season that ESPN, TrueHoop and several websites hammered on the topic ad nauseaum over the past few months (even on this site, quite eloquently by Ben). But, realistically, in order to solve the issue of tanking, one thing should be fixed instead: the draft lottery.

Obviously, basketball is unique because it has a perfect schedule length and draft setup for tanking to be a possibly effective strategy for teams. With only 82 games (usually), as opposed to the NFL’s 16 and MLB’s 162, there’s a possibility that a 6-10 game stretch or more could significantly alter a team’s drafting position. The same is then true in the National Hockey League, but, for some odd reason, despite that league’s similar use of a draft lottery, not as big of a media deal is made of tanking. [Read more...]

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Video: DeSagana Diop Airballs Free Throw

January 31, 2012 by 12 Comments

Former Cleveland Cavaliers lottery selection DeSagana Diop airballed a free throw recently and it was fairly epic.

The best part may be that his second attempt went glass.

Over 10 NBA seasons after being selected eighth overall in 2001, Diop has averaged 2.0 points per contest. The 7-footer is making $6.5 million this year.

(h/t to Brian Boesch)

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Cleveland Cavaliers Set to Square Off with the Charlotte Bobcats

January 3, 2012 by 14 Comments

The Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2) will have a chance to keep their positive momentum going Tuesday night at 7:00 pm when they host the struggling Charlotte Bobcats (1-3).

So far this early season the Cavaliers have developed a bit of a trend. When they are hitting their 3s, they win. When they’re not, they lose. This can be a problematic trend as teams that live and die with the three point shot tend to do a lot of dying. In the NBA, it’s tough to rely on that shot consistently night in and night out. This is all part of the team’s growing process as they must develop ways to score and win games besides just launching threes.

Having said that, though, the matchup with the Bobcats could allow the Cavaliers opportunities to continue their hot shooting from outside. [Read more...]

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Kobe on Byron Scott: “This is Killing Him”

February 16, 2011 by 13 Comments

Kobe Bryant is a five-time NBA champion who described himself as “pissed” with regard to how the 2010-11 version of his team has played as of late.  But even a recent skid won’t stop one of the game’s best players from discussing his feelings for Cavalier coach Byron Scott, whose skid is considerably worse than the one out in Los Angeles.

“Byron was my mentor when I came into the league,” said Bryant following Wednesday afternoon’s shootaround. ”I have a special affinity toward him.”

[Read more...]

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2010-11 NBA Blogger Previews – Southeast Division

October 18, 2010 by 1 Comment

Yep, it’s that time of year again already. Once again, CelticsBlog 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.

Next up is the Southeast 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. As a reminder, our preview of the Cavaliers’ upcoming season can be found here.

[Read more...]

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Coast To Coast – 07.19.2010

July 19, 2010 by 25 Comments

Coast To Coast is your bi-weekly (or really, as often as I have time to do it) look at the NBA outside of Cleveland through the perspective of the Cavaliers. Because rebuilding happens not just in Cleveland, but everywhere.

Long time readers of this site may remember the Coast To Coast feature I used to do. It’s long been a joy of mine to do this feature, but sometimes real life interferes. As it is, Coast To Coast takes a lot of time to put together and over the last year, I’ve been too busy with other projects in my life to do this. Now, things have quieted down and I’m going to give it another go.

For those of you who are new, this feature is a way to not only bring you news and headlines from around the NBA, but to also try to provide commentary that puts it into context from a Cavaliers’ perspective. So, without further ado, lets get started…

The Celtics Will Be Contenders In 2010-11 If They Stay Healthy. This was the mantra of the Boston Celtics for the 2009-10 season as well. Now, it appears they will press their luck one more season. CleticsBlog’s Jeff Clark discusses this matter: [Read more...]

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Around the NBA: The Debate on the Diff and Larry Hughes in Charlotte

March 14, 2010 by 5 Comments

What is more important in the NBA today: beating all your opponents by 20 points or continuously finding ways to win close games? It’s an argument that has been around in all sports in the country for years now, and it has jumped back into the spotlight recently. The main reason why is with stat-man extraordinaire John Hollinger controlling the numbers over at ESPN.

In his daily power rankings based on a team’s portfolio for the entire season with extra importance to their most recently played games, the results are often a bit off-center. For example, Cleveland fans may remember when the Cavs dropped down to three behind both Utah and Los Angeles a month ago. Now, the big controversy is whether the Dallas Mavericks belong in the NBA’s top tier of teams.

Just yesterday, Hollinger ranked the Mavericks 13th in the league despite their league-tying 13-game winning streak. The problem that the stats found with this team was not that they were not finding ways to win games, but that it was not pretty enough. Meanwhile, both Orlando and Milwaukee shot up the rankings with their respective win streaks.
[Read more...]

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Bobcats 110, Cavs 93: Antawn Jamison Struggles in Epic Loss to Charlotte

February 20, 2010 by 10 Comments

SPORTS BKN-CAVALIERS-BOBCATS 1 CHThe Cavaliers lost their second consecutive game following the All-Star Break with a 110-93 beat-down last night via the Charlotte Bobcats. The victory gave the ‘Cats the 3-1 advantage in the season series, becoming the first team to beat LeBron’s Cavaliers three times in one regular season in two years. It was not a pretty game in the least bit for a Friday night in North Carolina as Antawn Jamison’s career in a Cavaliers uniform got off a depressing start.

Jamison finished 0-for-12 from the court with just two points on late free throws in his Cavs debut in front of his hometown crowd in Charlotte. The new acquisitions on the other hand for Charlotte, dictated the pace of the game by forcing the Cavaliers away from their normal comfort zone in the paint. LeBron James looked uncomfortable throughout the contest as the exhaustion set in during the second-half of a back-to-back following a week of inaction.
[Read more...]

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Guest Post: A First Look at the Eastern Conference Playoffs

February 2, 2010 by 16 Comments

Cleveland Cavaliers Huddle Houston RocketsWith a stellar 38-11 record, the Cleveland Cavaliers currently lead the Eastern Conference by a large margin as well as hold the top mark in the NBA. But before we get way too ahead of ourselves, who could Cleveland realistically play in the first round of the NBA Playoffs? That is the topic for today’s first Cavs post, as guest writer Matt Manuszak, a student at Fordham University in New York City, previews four possible first-round playoff opponents.

These teams are currently the #’s 5-8 teams in the Eastern Conference and represent a wide variety of scenarios for the next two months plus of the regular season. The Cavaliers are no lock for the top seed in the conference, and this article depicts that by analyzing the matchups, breakdowns and previous meetings with all four of these teams.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @the_real_matt_m. You can also check out his content at The Ram, the newspaper at Fordham University where he writes a regular column titled “The Smush Parker Project.” Yes, that Smush Parker. He is the first and only player in history to play for the Fordham Rams and then Matt’s beloved Cavaliers, hence the name for the column. His analysis is below the jump and he’ll be back next week with a look at some potential opponents in the later rounds of the playoffs:
[Read more...]

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