May 21, 2013

Cavs snap skid, Tristan leads wine and gold past Celtics 97-91

April 6, 2013 by 5 Comments
Tristan Thompson finished with a career high 29 points and 17 boards.

Tristan Thompson finished with a career high 29 points and 17 boards.

Everyone take a deep breath. The losing streak is over. We can all relax. Well, at least a little bit.

Cavaliers bounced back from (possibly) their worst loss of the season, beating the Boston Celtics 97-91 and snapping their season-long 10-game losing streak. Tristan Thompson led everyone with 29 points and 17 boards (both career highs) and Alonzo Gee finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, as the Cavs improved to 23-52. The Celtics were paced by Jeff Green’s 23 point, nine rebound, four assist evening and got 16 points and seven boards off the bench from someone named Shavlik Randolph. Boston, firmly rooted in the 7th seed in the East and playing without Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, saw their record fall to 39-37.

This wasn’t Cleveland’s most impressive win of the season, but it was possibly their most important. Following a week of coaching speculation and the debacle that was Wednesday’s loss to the Nets, it was nice to see the Cavs bounce back and win on the road in Boston. Yes, the Celtics were missing key players on Friday night, but when has that foretold a Cavalier victory? The Nets were without Joe Johnson on Wednesday night and the Cavs lost by roughly a billion. That they played hard and didn’t overlook a hobbled Celtic team is (sadly) itself a minor victory.

A win is a win. But a bounce-back win after a week of “have the Cavs quit on their coach” speculation is even better. The Cavs played a fantastic third period, holding the Celtics to just 16 points and ending the quarter on a 19-6 run that (coupled with their 8-0 run to start the fourth) put them in firm control of the ball game. Cleveland’s lead ballooned to as many as twelve during the fourth (82-68) and while the Celtics made their requisite run, the Cavs never let them get closer than four points. There would be no repeat of last week’s loss to the Celtics at the buzzer. The young Cavs kept up their defensive pressure in the final period (and Boston did their part by missing open treys and stumbling into some unforced turnovers) and Cleveland went 7-8 from the free throw line in fourth quarter to keep their hard earned victory.

Oh, that Kyrie Irving guy played too. It wasn’t Irving’s best night, as he finished with just 11 points on 4-20 shooting (though also eight assists and five boards), but it was enough. The young All-Star set up Tyler Zeller for an easy layup to increase Cleveland’s lead to 93-87 with two minutes to play and he followed it up thirty second later with his only basket of the fourth, a step back jumper to put the Cavs up 95-87 and essentially ice the game.  [Read more...]

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NBA Rumors: Anonymous players voice Byron Scott criticisms

March 30, 2013 by 10 Comments

Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com beat writer Jason Lloyd wrote a very interesting piece on some internal criticisms of Cavaliers coach Byron Scott. The anonymous complaints really run the gamut; there’s the “run too hard of a practice session” complaint, the “team hasn’t played defense in three years” complaint, the “please use your time outs” complaints, the “why does Kyrie play only half of the fourth” complaint and finally, the rarely seen “give Tristan Thompson more push-shot opportunities” complaint.

The piece is all encompassing.

Most, if not all, of these seem pretty minor. I find it hard to believe that the fabled “Camp Scott” is really having an effect on their legs at this point in the season. And it’s telling that the veteran player quoted dismisses the “hard practices” stuff.

While I do feel that players like Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters have made strides under Scott, the concerns raised with regard to playing time and the use of time outs have been troubling. Also, it’s not good that after three seasons, the team still has no defensive identity.

That being said, I do think that Scott deserves a shot to coach a Cavalier team that both their full compliment of players and an organizational backing to make a playoff run. Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao keep getting hurt and his best players off the bench are Luke Walton a guy who was waived by the Wizards. That doesn’t explain some of the in-game decisions, but it sure can help explain the dismal record.

[Related: Another Cavalier blowout brings more 'Fire Byron Scott" murmurs]

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NBA News: Kyrie Irving could return soon

March 30, 2013 by 5 Comments

Well color me surprised. We might actually have some good news, Cavs fans. And we can thank Luke Walton. Sorta.

Kyrie Irving participated in practice on Saturday and although there was no official news on Irving’s left shoulder injury, the Plain Dealer’s Jodie Valade reports that Walton let slip that Irving could be back soon.

“I still believe that we’re all in this together and we’re going to play better basketball these last 11 games. Hopefully with Kyrie coming back, that can give us that spark needed to get us going in the right direction again,” Walton said Saturday after practice.

Now, I don’t want to get too excited.Assuming Luke Walton isn’t lying, this is definitely a pleasant surprise. Given Kyrie’s injury history and the stank of tanking looming over these final eleven games, most Cavs fans have all but assumed that Irving has been shut down for the rest of the season. And while Luke Walton is not a medical doctor and can’t clear Kyrie to play, the fact Irving is playing hard in practice and his teammates are assuming he’ll be back soon can only count as good news.

Irving, 21, has missed 20 games this season due to various injuries and is averaging 23 points and 5.7 assists in his second year. The All-Star guard and reigning Rookie-of-the-Year appeared in 49 of possible 66 games during last season’s lockout shortened campaign (that’s 37 missed games in two seasons for those of you scoring at home). Irving has missed eight games with this current injury and hasn’t played since March 10th against Toronto. The Cavs have gone 1-7 during Irving’s absence (to be fair, Dion Waiters has missed the last five games due to loose cartilage in his knee).

[Related: Podcast: Ben and Craig talk Cavs, Browns and Disc golf]

 

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Losing streak hits seven, Cavs fall to Sixers 97-87

March 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

201303291948713355012-p2The Cavs had a pretty good first half. They lead 24-19 after the first quarter and held onto that lead for much of the first half. Tristan Thompson had seven points and Shaun Livingston had eight. But the Cavs failed to score over the final two minutes of the second quarter and  Sixers closed the half on a 9-0 run, tying the game heading into halftime.

That run carried right over into the third.

The Sixers opened the second half on a 13-2 run and the Cavs were playing catch-up for the rest of the evening. Playing catch-up is pretty tough when your team is missing its three best players. It’s extremely tough if you don’t guard Evan Turner.

Turner torched the Cavs for thirteen points in the third period from a variety of spots. Gee, Boobie, CJ Miles, it didn’t matter who checked Turner, no Cavalier could slow him down (his mid-range game was on full display). The former Buckeye finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with his 13 boards. The Villain’s strong third had the Sixers up 77-66 heading into the fourth and the Cavs never got within four points.

CJ Miles scored 19 points off the bench to pace the Cavaliers and Tyler Zeller had a solid, if unspectacular, 14 point and ten rebound evening. Four of the five Cleveland starters scored in double figures (Thompson, Livingston and Ellington each notched ten points) and Luke Walton pitched in a six point, seven board, seven assist evening.

All-Star Jrue Holiday finished with 20-6-5 and Spencer Hawes had 16 points, 11 boards and five assists to lead the Sixers, who improved to 29-43. The Cavs lost season high seventh in a row and fell to 22-49.

[Read more...]

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On this LeBron 2014 Nonsense

February 10, 2013 by 38 Comments
Kinda cracks me up to see Haden post a photoshopped picture of LeBron in a Cavs uniform.

Cracks me up that Haden posted a PHOTOSHOPPED picture of LeBron in a Cavs uniform.

It’s beginning.

LeBron James has an out in his contract during the summer of 2014 and the NBA is abuzz with LeBron’s next decision and whether or not he’ll come back to Cleveland. David Letterman needled him about it. Adrian Wojnarowski’s took the Memphis Grizzlies trading Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors and turned it into a column about LeBron coming back. Every interaction between LeBron and Kyrie Irving  during the All-Star game will be scrutinized to the nth degree.

The greatest basketball player on the planet is a free agent in two summers and his home town franchise, his original team, has a boatload of capspace and 20 year old All-Star.

People are excited.

Even Browns cornerback Joe Haden can’t help himself.

Regardless of how you feel about LeBron James, these rumors aren’t going to go away and they’ll only be increasing. Plus, talking about LeBron allows Cleveland media personalities to discuss the Cavs without actually having to know anything about Cavs basketball. LeBron’s the best player on earth and he’s going to be connected to Cleveland until the day he retires.

We’re stuck with him.

Now, I’m not saying that these rumors are totally 100% true or that Cavs fans should bank on him returning. But if one was inclined to read the tea leaves, there’s enough smoke that one could be reasonably convinced that there’s fire.

[Read more...]

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Cavs can’t keep pace with Nuggets, fall 111-103

February 10, 2013 by 4 Comments

4_45Eight.

That’s the number I take away from the Cavs’ 111-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets came into Cleveland riding an eight game win streak, Denver had eight players score in double figures, and the Cavs started the night by spotting Denver an 8-0 advantage. Eight was also the final margin of victory, although it seemed like much more.

Also, Alonzo Gee went 8-8 from the floor, which I’m betting will never happen again.

This was a frustrating game to watch. While the Cavs say they like running and pushing the ball, the Nuggets actually do it. They run at every opportunity; missed shots, made shots, turnovers… every change of the possession it seemed the Nuggets had two guys behind the Cavalier defense. The speed that the Nuggets play took the Cavs out of their comfort zone, defensively as well as offensively.

Kyrie Irving paced the Cavs with 26 points and Alonzo Gee finished with 20 (after scoring 16 in the first period). While a sub-par game for the 20-year old All-Star, Kyrie still finished with 26 points (though just 10-24 from the floor), seven assists and six boards. Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 19 points and nine boards, Kenneth Faried finished with 17 points and seven boards and JaVale McGee made his presence felt off the bench, notching four blocks to go with his 13 points.

Even though the Cavs blew their chance for their longest post-Decision win streak, there’s no shame in losing to this Denver team. The Nuggets are currently fourth in a loaded Western Conference and, as we saw on Saturday, they’re a much deeper team than the Cavaliers.

[Read more...]

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NBA Talk: Kyrie Irving better than Derrick Rose?

February 9, 2013 by 43 Comments

ESPN’s Chris Palmer sure thinks so.

 

 

Those are some pretty bold statements, considering that Irving is only 90 games into his career and we haven’t seen Derrick Rose, the 2011 MVP, since he tore his knee during last season’s playoffs.

Let’s take a look at Rose and Irving’s head-to-head matchups and see how they stack up to each other….

Oh, that’s right, Rose and Irving have never faced each other. Last year, Irving sat out the late season games against the Bulls due to tanking an illness and Rose hasn’t played at all this season (making Cleveland’s lopsided losses to the Bulls even more cringe worthy).

I look forward to the day when these two Central Division All-Stars will face off. Both Rose and Irving were taken first overall in their respective drafts and both won Rookie of the Year. Rose is the better athlete while Irving is the better shooter, especially from long range (Rose is a career 31% from behind the arc, Irving sits at 41%).

Rose hopes to return to the court some time after next weekends All-Star break, but there’s no set date. If the two 6-3, 190lb guards were to face off this season, their only chance would be later this month when the Cavs visit Chicago, on Tuesday, February 26th.

[Related: Pros and Cons of Greg Oden]

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Pro and Cons of Greg Oden

February 9, 2013 by 18 Comments
Singing Oden will be worth it for the old man and porn jokes alone.

Signing Oden will be worth it for the old man and porn jokes alone.

I love the  idea of the Cavs signing Greg Oden.

I love the idea of kicking the tires on a former number one pick and seeing if he can revive his career in the wine and gold.

I love that the Cavs are mentioned alongside perennial contenders  like the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics as Oden suitors.

And while it’s usually the Indians (with guys like Kevin Millwood), I love when Cleveland teams take low-risk, high-reward deals.

Sure, there are some problems. Since being drafted in 2007, Greg Oden has appeared in less NBA games (82) than Kyrie Irving (90).  He’s had a multiple microfracture surgeries. He’s battled alcohol, leaked private photos and the dealt with pressure of being the face of a franchise. He hasn’t played in a NBA basketball game since December of 2009. Greg Oden is far from a sure thing.

So why do I want the Cavs to sign an oft-injured center to a multi-year contract?

Because he went to Ohio State, duh.

[Read more...]

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Hard Truths and Subplots- Sizing Up The Cavs a Third of the Way Through

December 16, 2012 by 6 Comments

After Saturday’s game against the Knicks, the Cavs have now played 25 of their 82 regular season games, which is about 30%. Technically the Cavs won’t reach the one-third point of the season until after Wednesday’s game in Boston, but I feel 30% is close enough for my purposes. Twenty five games is a pretty good benchmark to start taking stock in our 2012-13 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Generally, I’m pretty pleased with where the Cavs are at. I won’t pretend that a 5-20 record is anything but dreadful, but it’s not entirely unexpected either. The schedule, combined with the injuries to Kyrie Irving and Dion, have the Cavs looking a little worse than they actually are.

The schedule gods were not kind to these young Cavs. As of Sunday, the Cavs have played 25 games this year, tying them for second among all NBA teams (Detroit is first with 26 games played, while a number of teams, including Miami, have played just 20). Diving deeper, Cleveland’s longest road trip of the year occurred during the season’s first week (a six gamer that took them to both coasts) and they’ve already had two of their four 4-games-in-5-night stretches (they end this week their third and the final 4-in-5 is in February). Plus, a full 60% of their games (15/25) have been on the road, away from the friendly confines and the fire breathing scoreboard at The Q. [Read more...]

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Who Should the Cavs Target in Free Agency?

July 1, 2012 by 52 Comments

Not this guy

The Decision. Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones. Gerald Wilkins, “Jordan stopper“. Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao holding out. Anthony Parker, Leon Powe and Jamario Moon. Michael Cage. Ira Newble and Kevin Ollie. Carlos Boozer lying to Gordon Gund.

Are we excited for free agency, Cavs fans?!

As of 12:01 AM this morning, only three days after the Cavs drafted future pieces in Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, which was just one week after LeBron hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, NBA teams can begin talking to free agents. Players can’t officially sign contracts until Wednesday, July 11th.

While the Cavs won’t be pursuing the Deron Williams’s of the world, they do have some options.

[Read more...]

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Talking Myself into Dion Waiters

June 30, 2012 by 60 Comments

Dion looks a bit shocked too

Despite all the late info swirling around the Cavs picking Syracuse SG Dion Waiters, it was still a surprise when David Stern called his name for the Cavs with the fourth pick. Really? A guy who didn’t start for his college team? 1 .  A guy the Cavs didn’t even work out? WHAT?!

Waiters has been compared to Dwyane Wade, which sounds a bit nuts (although it sounded nuts last year when Kyrie Irving kept being compared to Chris Paul) but he’s a 6-4, athletic two-guard who can get to the hole and finish inside. The Cavs certainly need more playmakers (as they currently have one) but an undersized scoring shooting guard? Forgive me for having Dajuan Wagner flashbacks.

I knew I was getting myself too worked up for the draft. After months of having “what if the Cavs land the first pick and get Anthony Davis??” conversations followed by weeks of pitching “Cleveland trades up for Beal and then flips Varejao to get back into the lottery for Drummond” scenarios, seeing the Cavs draft Dion Waiters was certainly a letdown.

Although, whether or not it was a bad pick is something else entirely.  [Read more...]

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  1. Seeing your team’s draft pick being mentioned with Marvin Williams is always cause for concern [back]

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Cavaliers Look To Snap Season-High Losing Streak

March 5, 2012 by 19 Comments

Cavaliers hope to fare better against Utah this time around

The Cleveland Cavaliers (13-22, 10th in the East) can officially kiss the playoffs goodbye. Not many felt the Cavaliers could actually make the playoffs to begin with, but the Anderson Varejao injury just made things that much more difficult. Now the Cavaliers find themselves on season high 5 game losing streak and everything is pretty much fallen apart.

Those who prefer lottery over winning games can rejoice in the fact the Cavaliers are actually closing in on a top 5 pick at this pace. The Cavaliers currently have the 8th lowest win PCT and have just one more win than the four teams currently tied for 4th fewest wins. A few more losses to teams the Cavaliers should be able to beat, along with a few timely wins from fellow bottom dwellers like Detroit, Sacramento, Toronto, and New Jersey, and the Cavaliers just might be in the hunt for a top 5 pick after all.

Those who would prefer to see the Cavaliers developing and winning games, this has been a rough stretch. A frustrating lack of focus and effort, things are starting to feel dangerously close to last season. The team is beginning to have that look in their eye again, where they know they’re going to lose before the game even starts. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Host Bulls as Kyrie Irving Prepares for Derrick Rose

March 2, 2012 by 4 Comments

Cavaliers hope to avoid another thrashing from the Bulls

Once again, a point guard matchup will be the focus of all eyes.

Kyrie Irving, #1 pick, Rookie of the Year candidate, and hope of a rebuilding franchise squares off with Derrick Rose, former #1 pick, former Rookie of the Year, and former hope of a rebuilding franchise.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (13-20, 10th in the East) return home to the Q where they will host the Chicago Bulls (29-8, 2nd in the East). The last time these teams played, the Bulls (without Rose) dismantled the Cavaliers. It might take a miracle to avoid that fate once more.

The Cavaliers are slipping. The loss of Anderson Varejao really seems to be catching up to them now, teams seem to be adjusting to Kyrie Irving, the momentum Antawn Jamison seemed to be developing before the All-Star break has gone, and there simply aren’t enough players stepping up right now. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Head to NY to Face Jeremy Lin and the Surging Knicks

February 29, 2012 by 5 Comments

Cavaliers hope to beat NY again, as they did in January

Let’s be honest, this is the matchup everyone’s been waiting for, right? Kyrie Irving vs the PG who puts the Lin in Linsanity. That’s right, the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-19, 10th in the East) travel to “basketball mecca” to take on the Jeremy Lin and the New York Knickerbockers (17-18, 7th in the East).

The Cavaliers will be looking to bounce back from a very tough loss last night against the Celtics. If there’s any team for the Cavaliers to bounce back against, it would seemingly be the Knicks. In their last 20 matchups, the Cavaliers hold a 16-4 edge. Last April when the Knicks beat the Cavaliers, it snapped a 11 game win streak by the Cavaliers. The Knicks haven’t won consecutive matchups against the Cavaliers since they had a 4 game streak against Cleveland in 2005-06.

Of course, most of those wins came with LeBron James wearing the wine and gold. Now it’s Kyrie Irving’s turn to carve a legacy with Cleveland against the Knicks. Standing in his way is the story of all stories, Mr. Jeremy Lin. [Read more...]

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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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Cleveland Cavaliers Midseason Progress Report

February 27, 2012 by 7 Comments

With half of the NBA season completed, now seems like a perfectly appropriate time to look at the progress we’ve seen from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first half.

There’s no question the first half has been nothing short of a very pleasant surprise for Cleveland fans. It’s fair to say Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson have both been better than most people expected, Alonzo Gee has shown remarkable improvement, Daniel Gibson is playing the best defense of his career, Anderson Varejao was having a career year prior to injury, and all in all the team has shown identity, heart, effort, and a tenacity that has allowed them to win plenty of games they should have lost.

There have been growing pains, too. There have been nights off and moments of confusion, poor decisions, and poor execution. But that’s to be expected. Those are things you can live with and learn from when you are a developing basketball team. But the positives have mostly outweighed the negatives, despite the losing record, so let’s examine where the Cavaliers are now, and where we would like to see them grow from here. [Read more...]

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It’s a Shame, but the Cavaliers Need to Trade Ramon Sessions

February 23, 2012 by 66 Comments

Sessions' time in Cleveland may be ending soon

The first half of the NBA season is now complete for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They now will enjoy a nice 5 day break (except for Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, who will partake in some of the festivities in Orlando) for the All-Star Break. When they come back next Tuesday, they will play two games back to back nights, and then that is it for February.

It’s hard to believe March is right around the corner already, but even more surprising is how quickly the NBA trade deadline will be here. March 15 is just 21 days away, which means Chris Grant and company have just 21 days to decide the future for several players.

We’ve already debated trading Anderson Varejao, and Antawn Jamison is an obvious trade target due to his contract status. But the one player who the Cavaliers absolutely must trade is Ramon Sessions. It’s just too bad they have to do so.

There are actually a few decent reasons not to trade Sessions. The Cavaliers will probably never find a better backup PG than Sessions. You want to know a big reason why the Cavaliers are such a competitive team this year? It’s being able to have a player like Sessions fill in for Kyrie Irving when he goes to the bench. The losses of Anthony Parker and Daniel Gibson would have been much more brutal for the team if they didn’t have a versatile PG who could also coexist in the backcourt with Irving to trade off PG/SG roles. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Close Out 1st Half of Season Against the Hornets

February 22, 2012 by 13 Comments

Things are less exciting without CP3 around

The Cleveland Cavaliers (13-17, 9th in the East) will close out the figurative first half of the season Wednesday night when the New Orleans Hornets (7-25, 15th in the West) pay a visit to the Q.

With All-Star break coming up this weekend, the Cavaliers have an opportunity to head in with a boost of confidence on a 3 game win streak and winning 3 of their last 4. More importantly, with a win they would be at 3 games under .500, despite being hammered with injuries at different points to Anderson Varejao, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Daniel Gibson, and Anthony Parker. Despite playing only 3 home games in the first 3 weeks of the season. Despite having to play Miami three times, Indiana twice, Boston twice, Orlando, Dallas, Philly, Atlanta, both Los Angeles teams, New York, and Portland.

In other words, it wouldn’t have been wrong to expect a rocky start to the season, but the Cavaliers have dealt with a lot of adversity and handled it all in a positive way. They’ve weathered the ups and the downs, and they find themselves situated as spoilers, lurking just outside the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers’ Rematch with Pistons An Important One

February 21, 2012 by 5 Comments

Samardo punished the Pistons frontcourt last game

Welcome back Manny Harris!

Forget all the other story lines, the big news in this game is the return of Manny Harris to the wine and gold, right? Right?

Basketball is funny. I don’t know why, but there always marginal players out there who become my guys. They come in different shapes and sizes, but there are always certain players that catch my eye and capture my basketball heart.

Manny Harris is one of those players. I’m well aware of his limitations and I know how measured his upside is. I know he’s a Wolverine and I’m a Buckeye. But I like the guy. I like his story, I like his game, I like his attitude, I like his heart. I’m glad to see him back in uniform tonight, and I hope he can have his own Jeremy Lin type story. Well, ok, let’s set the bar a little lower. I’d be pretty happy just to see Manny get some minutes and prove effective enough to earn a permanent roster spot.

So with that out of the way, let’s get down to business discussing tonight’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers (12-17, 9th in the East) and the Detroit Pistons (11-22, 11th in the East) at the Q. [Read more...]

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Familiar Faces Return to Cleveland as Cavaliers Host the Miami Heat

February 17, 2012 by 1 Comment

Cavs have one last chance to stop LeBron and the Heat this season

The LeBron James circus is in town Friday as the Miami Heat (23-7, 2nd in the East) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (11-16, 10th in the East) square off for the final time this season.

In each of the first two matchups between these two teams, the Cavaliers played tough, hanging in there with Miami through 3+ quarters. But just as an older brother sometimes lets his younger brother hang around before ultimately playing hard at the end to beat him, so too did the Miami Heat manage to play hard in the final minutes and put the Cavaliers away. We’ll see if the 3rd time is the charge for Cleveland or if the injuries and talent deficiency will just be too much to overcome yet again.

Cleveland will once again be without Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker, and Daniel Gibson. With their only two true SGs on the team out, the Cavaliers will turn to Alonzo Gee to start at SG, leaving Ramon Sessions and Ben Uzoh as the only guards on the bench, and both of them are PGs. I’d expect to see a lot of Sessions at PG with Irving sliding over to SG when Gee is needed either at SF or on the bench. It’s not an ideal situation to move guys around when playing a team as tough as the Heat, but this is part of why the Cavaliers’ flexibility was listed as a team strength before the season. There are a lot of interchangeable combo players on this roster, and it should make things a little easier to adjust. [Read more...]

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