May 21, 2013

Scott Raab talks about LeBron’s MVP, Questlove, Tribe winning streak and cheap hotels – WFNY Podcast – 2013-05-06

May 6, 2013 by 4 Comments

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I was a bit tired this morning and you’ll just love how I sputter out at the end with an awkward laughing at myself moment. Really though, a very nice conversation this morning about sports and culture and Questlove, who Scott spoke with for the most recent issue of Esquire.

  • Scott Raab talking to Questlove

  • People who work hard vs. people want you to think he works hard

  • Behind the Q&A with Questlove

  • Questlove and D’Angelo’s last minute show

  • The Roots in Philly

  • LeBron’s MVP and just how far away it is from a Cleveland storyline

  • LeBron not winning his 5th MVP because of The Decision

  • LeBron is even better today than he was

  • The burned jersey and how it represents us

  • Reactions and whether you should feel badly about it

  • San Diego and just how perfect it is

  • Developing the lakefront in Cleveland

  • The Cleveland region

  • The Indians winning streak

  • Chief Wahoo

  • Terry Francona and faith in coaching for the first time since Charlie Manuel

  • Charlie Manuel as one of the greatest hitters ever

  • Omar Vizquel’s hitting improvements under Charlie Manuel

  • Cheap hotels in the Poconos

  • The wonder of travel

  • The wonders of modern technology and how lucky we are to live in the future

  • Profiling Dan Patrick for Esquire [Read more...]

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2013 NFL Draft – “Did the Browns win or lose?” with Scott Raab – WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-29

April 29, 2013 by 5 Comments

WFNY Podcast LogoScott Raab wasn’t enthused this morning after the Browns’ draft. Craig is cautiously optimistic about the value and strategy. Both finish by saying, “We’ll see.”

  • The Browns’ strategy and value
  • Scott’s dismayed by the Browns draft
  • Attacking the quarterback vs. filling defensive backfield
  • Are the corners really too short?
  • 20+ players are going into their second year
  • 15+ third year players
  • Joe Banner and his credit for success
  • Should the Browns have traded their fourth rounder to the Steelers?
  • What are the Browns’ goals for wins in 2013
  • Re-hiring Mike Brown and Scott likes it
  • Doing due diligence on Phil Jackson
  • Mike Brown growing and changing
  • Halftime adjustments and getting better
  • Is Kyrie Irving going to learn how to play defense? [Read more...]

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2013 NFL Draft – AFC North analysis of Browns, Bengals, Steelers and Ravens with @SteelersDepot – WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-26

April 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

WFNY Podcast LogoDave Bryan from SteelersDepot.com helped me break down what everyone in the AFC North did in the first round of the draft.

  • Barkevious Mingo and how quickly he can make an impact

  • Ray Horton and whether he can teach these guys the system

  • Jabaal Sheard converting

  • Paul Kruger and Desmond Bryant and their implementation into the defense

  • Ahtyba Rubin and his future

  • Paul Kruger’s brother Joe Kruger

  • Steelers pick of Jarvis Jones

  • Can Jarvis Jones set the edge in the NFL?

  • Is there a bigger winner than Andy Dalton?

  • Tyler Eifert and the Cincinnati Bengals

  • The departure of Ed Reed and the call for Matt Elam

  • Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens strike again?

  • What’s next for the Steelers? Justin Hunter? Robert Woods? Eddie Lacey?
  • Joe Flacco’s contract

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NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns Select Barkevious Mingo

April 25, 2013 by 74 Comments

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.

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

April 19, 2013 by 69 Comments

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...]

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Jon talks about sports finance, scams and the Boston Marathon – WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-18

April 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

WFNY Podcast LogoAt the end of this podcast we talked a bit about Jon’s post about the Boston Marathon.

  • Jason Giambi and his lead-off homer as an Indian

  • Giambi’s double bird

  • Joe Haden and the Yahoo! reported financial scam

  • Kareem Abdul Jabbar and his diving show appearance

  • Pensions and retirement vehicles

  • Being trained to be a cog

  • Office Space and how you don’t need money not to do anything

  • Are fans complicit with athletes spending habits?

  • The NFL’s rookie symposium

  • Salary Caps and splitting up the pot

  • The NBA salary cap situation and what it should be

  • The quality of baseball vs. the revenues

  • Drafting vs. spending in free agency

  • Boston Marathon

Check out this episode [Read more...]

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Do the Cavaliers Need LeBron James to Contend Again?

March 26, 2013 by 27 Comments

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...]

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

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Banner Report: Defensive Backs

March 7, 2013 by 34 Comments

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...]

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Box Score: Knicks 102, Cavaliers 97

March 4, 2013 by 6 Comments

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

 

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Box Score: Raptors 92 Cavaliers 103

February 27, 2013 by 38 Comments

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

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Box Score: Hornets 100, Cavaliers 105

February 20, 2013 by 20 Comments

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

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Some Thoughts on Dion Waiters’ Improvement

February 14, 2013 by 45 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Cavaliers Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Box Score: Spurs 96 Cavaliers 95

February 13, 2013 by 12 Comments

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

 

 

 

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Box Score: Timberwolves 100, Cavaliers 92

February 11, 2013 by 19 Comments

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

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Box Score: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 95

January 29, 2013 by 9 Comments

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

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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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WFNY Podcast – 2013-01-22 – Craig and Andrew Talk All Things NBA

January 22, 2013 by 18 Comments

WFNY Podcast LogoCraig has had a pretty long string of guests on who, when talking about the NBA, have prefaced their opinions with a disclaimer that they don’t really follow the NBA much. So I begged Craig to let me come on and talk about the sport. He was nice enough to oblige. Some topics we touched on:

  • Post-LeBron NBA hangovers
  • Did the old system fail?
  • Will the new system work?
  • The disgrace that is the potential move of the Sacramento Kings
  • Will Byron Scott be around when the Cavaliers make the playoffs?
  • Where the Cavaliers are in the rebuilding process
  • And more

Listen at Stitcher

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NBA Trade Rumor: Cavaliers and Grizzlies working on deal for Leuer and Speights

January 22, 2013 by 43 Comments

EDIT: It appears this trade is agreed upon and just waiting for league approval.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies are in talks on a deal that would see Jon Leuer sent to Memphis and Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, and Josh Selby coming to Cleveland. Per Windhorst, draft picks would also be included in the deal.

The Grizzlies have been trying to rid themselves of some salary, and this deal would certainly help them with that. Speights is making $4.2 million this year and will make $4.515 million next season. Wayne Ellington is making $2.083 million this year and will be a restricted free agent after this season. Jon Leuer is making $762,195 this season and will have a qualifying offer to become a restricted free agent after this year.

As for the talent impact, well, there’s not much. Speights is a solid offensive big man and a decent enough rebounder, but his defensive woes will fit in a little too nicely on the Cavaliers. He’s averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 14 minutes per night. Ellington gives the Cavaliers some outside shooting that they do lack, but has never really developed as Minnesota or Memphis had hoped. He is shooting 42.3% from three point range this season.

[Related: Halfway Home: Cavaliers' Stats and Trends]

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NFL News: Cleveland Browns Hire Michael Lombardi as VP – Player Personnel

January 18, 2013 by 67 Comments

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via Twitter, the Cleveland Browns have hired NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi as VP of Player Personnel. Initially Schefter reported that Lombardi was hired as GM of the Browns, but shortly updated his report to say Lombardi’s title will be VP – Player Personnel.

The Cleveland Browns have since confirmed the hire and have announced an 11:30 am press conference where Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner will officially announce Lombardi’s addition to the front office.

This will be Lombardi’s 2nd stint with the Browns, as he previously worked as a scout from 1987 to 1989, before taking over as Pro Personnel Director until 1993. His most recent tenure was with the Oakland Raiders where he spent 8 years in the personnel department from 1999 to 2007. He has since been working as an analyst for NFL Network.

[Related: NFL Rumors: Arizona's Ray Horton Potentially Landing In Cleveland]

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When it Comes to NBA Trades It’s Not What You Ask For That Matters, It’s What You Get

January 15, 2013 by 13 Comments

Chris Grant“It was much pleasanter at home, when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down the rabbit-hole – and yet – and yet – it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!”
– Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Following NBA trade rumors often feels like a journey down Alice’s infamous rabbit-hole. We talk about this every season, but rumors are ubiquitous to NBA life. Agents and GMs leak information to trusted sources, often with an agenda in mind. What this means to the casual NBA fan sitting at home is that they are usually reading half truths that border on propaganda. Well intentioned beat writers and national scribes are frequently used as a medium to send a message to the other party in negotiations as well as to try to control the message that is being sent to the fans.

This isn’t to say NBA writers do a bad job or are somehow unaware of the game that’s being played. Far from it. It’s a give and take relationship in which a lot of good, solid, quality information is given to reporters to build rapport and trust. It’s just that every now and then a slight half truth might get slipped in there and nobody knows the difference. [Read more...]

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