Check out this YouTube video I just made about my blog from footage I took at the Cavs vs. Bulls game 2 in Cleveland.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Game 2 Loss Sparks Different Responses
Last night the Cavs had a bit of a setback against the Celtics. And when I say "setback" I mean they got dominated in every way, start to finish. It was one of the hardest Cavs games I've ever watched, it was just so bad. No one was in rhythm, no one was talking, everyone tried to go 1-on-1, and the Celtics just had more energy and fight in them. Was just flat out an awful game for the Cavs.
Afterwards in the post-game press conferences, Mike Brown was hot. He kept saying how the Cavs just didn't have any fight in them, no sense of urgency. "They kicked our butts," said Brown about the Celtic's effort in game 2. He even went as far as to call out Mo Williams and say that he needs to step up his game if we want to win this series, just like everyone else has to. According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland PD, Mike Brown scheduled a practice for today when the team was originally supposed to have the day off. Below is a video of Brown's press conference
LeBron James post-game press conference had a much different tone than coach Brown's. LeBron was very calm, didn't seem to feel any extra pressure being tied 1-1 after 2 games. He made it known that the Cavs needed to play with a better sense of urgency, but that they would be fine and that there's still a lot of basketball left to be played in this series. Below is the video of LBJ MVP2's press conference
I like that Coach Brown is taking this very seriously because I think some players on the Cavs need to wake up and realize that this is their chance to win a championship. It's not going to be handed to them, they need to go out and fight for it. With LeBron's demeanor calm and collected, I think that sets an example for his teammates saying that yes, they lost in bad fashion, but it's not over by any stretch of the imagination. It's a good combination of motivation styles and I hope it pays off for game 3 on Friday in Boston.
Afterwards in the post-game press conferences, Mike Brown was hot. He kept saying how the Cavs just didn't have any fight in them, no sense of urgency. "They kicked our butts," said Brown about the Celtic's effort in game 2. He even went as far as to call out Mo Williams and say that he needs to step up his game if we want to win this series, just like everyone else has to. According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland PD, Mike Brown scheduled a practice for today when the team was originally supposed to have the day off. Below is a video of Brown's press conference
LeBron James post-game press conference had a much different tone than coach Brown's. LeBron was very calm, didn't seem to feel any extra pressure being tied 1-1 after 2 games. He made it known that the Cavs needed to play with a better sense of urgency, but that they would be fine and that there's still a lot of basketball left to be played in this series. Below is the video of LBJ MVP2's press conference
I like that Coach Brown is taking this very seriously because I think some players on the Cavs need to wake up and realize that this is their chance to win a championship. It's not going to be handed to them, they need to go out and fight for it. With LeBron's demeanor calm and collected, I think that sets an example for his teammates saying that yes, they lost in bad fashion, but it's not over by any stretch of the imagination. It's a good combination of motivation styles and I hope it pays off for game 3 on Friday in Boston.
Monday, May 3, 2010
LeBron Accepts 2nd MVP Award, will be honored before game 2 Tip Off
As I stated a few days ago, LeBron is officially the MVP for the 2nd straight year. The announcement was officially made yesterday at the Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio, the site where James played much of his high school basketball. NBA commissioner David Stern will be presenting the award to LeBron tonight in Cleveland before the start of game 2 against the Boston Celtics. That should get the crowd fired up.
In case you missed the LBJ MVP2 press conference yesterday, below is a video of the entire half hour event from NBA.com. Enjoy
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Cavs take Game 1 as 2nd Round gets underway
Last night the Cavs beat the Boston Celtics 101-93 at the Q. It wasn't a very pretty 1st half as the Cavs were down by 11 at halftime, but they made a furious comeback in the 2nd half and put the game away late in the 4th.
It all started in the 3rd quarter with Mo Williams. It was back and forth for a while at the start of the 3rd, but then Williams pulled an LBJ and DUNKED on Paul Pierce. It was Mo's first dunk as a Cavalier and it sparked a huge run for the Cavs as they took a 1 point lead going into the 4th. Here's the dunk for you all to see, and maybe it will leave you as speechless as it left Mike Brown in the post-game press conference:
So with momentum on their side, the Cavs will look to take a 2-0 lead Monday night at 8pm on TNT.
1st Round Wrap Up and 2nd Round Start
The Cavs and Celtics opened the 2nd round of playoff action last night, but the LA Lakers keep it rolling today as they host the Utah Jazz at 3:30 on ABC. The Lakers advanced to the 2nd round on a Pau Gasol game winning put-back layup in Oklahoma City, something I'm not happy about. That game is actually going on as I type, so keep an eye on this series because it will be a great one in my opinion. If Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer can keep their level of play up from the 1st round, they may actually have a shot at taking the Lakers down.
Just about a half hour ago, the Atlanta Hawks took game 7 of their series with the Milwaukee Bucks and will now advance to face the Orlando Magic. I'm not too sure if the Hawks have the mental toughness to beat the Magic without homecourt advantage, but I do think it will be a tough series for the Magic regardless. The Hawks will need a lot of perimeter defense and must be firing on all cylinders to have a shot at knocking off the Magic.
And lastly, the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs will face each other in the 2nd round as they renew their rivalry of playoffs past. I'm really excited to watch this series because each team plays such a different style. Phoenix will try to fast break on the Spurs and shoot lots of 3's, while the Spurs will look to get the ball into Duncan on the post and defend in a half-court offensive scheme. The Spurs do have a much improved fast breaking offensive component to their team now with players like Richard Jefferson and George Hill, but the Suns have improved their defensive game as well with guys like Jared Dudley on the perimeter and Louis Amundson in the post. Should be a great matchup, and I'm going to pick the Phoenix Suns to win the series 4-3. Sorry San Antonio, but I just feel the Sun's offense is too much for you to control.
It all started in the 3rd quarter with Mo Williams. It was back and forth for a while at the start of the 3rd, but then Williams pulled an LBJ and DUNKED on Paul Pierce. It was Mo's first dunk as a Cavalier and it sparked a huge run for the Cavs as they took a 1 point lead going into the 4th. Here's the dunk for you all to see, and maybe it will leave you as speechless as it left Mike Brown in the post-game press conference:
So with momentum on their side, the Cavs will look to take a 2-0 lead Monday night at 8pm on TNT.
1st Round Wrap Up and 2nd Round Start
The Cavs and Celtics opened the 2nd round of playoff action last night, but the LA Lakers keep it rolling today as they host the Utah Jazz at 3:30 on ABC. The Lakers advanced to the 2nd round on a Pau Gasol game winning put-back layup in Oklahoma City, something I'm not happy about. That game is actually going on as I type, so keep an eye on this series because it will be a great one in my opinion. If Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer can keep their level of play up from the 1st round, they may actually have a shot at taking the Lakers down.
Just about a half hour ago, the Atlanta Hawks took game 7 of their series with the Milwaukee Bucks and will now advance to face the Orlando Magic. I'm not too sure if the Hawks have the mental toughness to beat the Magic without homecourt advantage, but I do think it will be a tough series for the Magic regardless. The Hawks will need a lot of perimeter defense and must be firing on all cylinders to have a shot at knocking off the Magic.
And lastly, the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs will face each other in the 2nd round as they renew their rivalry of playoffs past. I'm really excited to watch this series because each team plays such a different style. Phoenix will try to fast break on the Spurs and shoot lots of 3's, while the Spurs will look to get the ball into Duncan on the post and defend in a half-court offensive scheme. The Spurs do have a much improved fast breaking offensive component to their team now with players like Richard Jefferson and George Hill, but the Suns have improved their defensive game as well with guys like Jared Dudley on the perimeter and Louis Amundson in the post. Should be a great matchup, and I'm going to pick the Phoenix Suns to win the series 4-3. Sorry San Antonio, but I just feel the Sun's offense is too much for you to control.
LeBron isn't F'ing around...
In case you were wondering whether or not LeBron James is really focused in on winning a championship, this will put your minds at ease.
Friday, April 30, 2010
1st Round Coming to and End, the King wins his Crown
It's official, as if there was any doubt. LeBron James will be named the 2009-2010 regular season MVP for the 2nd consecutive year., according to NBA.com.
Although that is an amazing achievement and I'm so pumped to be rooting for the MVP 2 years straight, the goal is to win a championship. Any amount of MVP awards aren't going to satisfy the city of Cleveland. Only the championship has that kind of effect. But regardless, AWESOME.
Now it's time for the Cavaliers and LBJ-MVP2 to take care of the Boston Celtics en route to Orlando. Game 1 is tomorrow night at 8pm on TNT. I cannot wait to get back at this dirty team. I wanna see Shaq dunk clean over Kendrick Perkins while Kevin Garnett tries to sneak in an elbow on Anderson Varejao, resulting in his indefinite suspension from the NBA :)
1st Round Outside of Cleveland
The last 3 remaining 1st round matchups are all on tonight, each with a team up 3-2 looking for a close out win.
Wow is all I have to say about the Milwaukee Bucks stealing game 5 in Atlanta against the Hawks. I'm blown away by how they've even won just 1 game against Atlanta, considering how much fire power the Hawks have. I said earlier in this blog that the Bucks were going to lose without question since they lost Andrew Bogut to injury, but now I'm not so sure. Atlanta just doesn't seem hungry enough. Milwaukee will try to close out the series tonight against Atlanta at home, 7pm on ESPN. Atlanta definitely has their work cut out for them. FEAR THE DEER
Next at 9:30pm on ESPN, the LA Lakers will look to finish the series against the OKC Thunder, but they're going to have to do it despite the incredibly energized OKC home crowd. And I'm sure you can only imagine how much more pumped they will all be tonight with they're beloved Thunder facing elimination. After LA dominated the Thunder 111-87 at home, it's going to take a lot of poise and confidence for the Thunder to get back on track tonight, but I personally feel they have a shot at home. We'll see what the Lakers are really made of tonight...
And finally on ESPN at 10pm, the Utah Jazz will look to upset the Denver Nuggets at home. I had picked Denver to advance past Utah initially, but now with their backs against the wall, I really don't think the Nuggets have enough left in them to win 2 straight without team play and coach George Karl. Deron Williams has been playing on another level this postseason so far and Carlos Boozer has been right there with him. I'm going to say that the Utah Jazz will just prove to be too much for Denver tonight, especially playing at the notorious Energy Solutions Arena.
Last night both the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks lost in their matchups, the latter of the two being very surprising in my opinion. I would put Dallas owner Mark Cuban on suicide watch just to be safe. Watch the TNT crew as they send-off Portland and Dallas in Gone Fishin'
Although that is an amazing achievement and I'm so pumped to be rooting for the MVP 2 years straight, the goal is to win a championship. Any amount of MVP awards aren't going to satisfy the city of Cleveland. Only the championship has that kind of effect. But regardless, AWESOME.
Now it's time for the Cavaliers and LBJ-MVP2 to take care of the Boston Celtics en route to Orlando. Game 1 is tomorrow night at 8pm on TNT. I cannot wait to get back at this dirty team. I wanna see Shaq dunk clean over Kendrick Perkins while Kevin Garnett tries to sneak in an elbow on Anderson Varejao, resulting in his indefinite suspension from the NBA :)
1st Round Outside of Cleveland
The last 3 remaining 1st round matchups are all on tonight, each with a team up 3-2 looking for a close out win.
Wow is all I have to say about the Milwaukee Bucks stealing game 5 in Atlanta against the Hawks. I'm blown away by how they've even won just 1 game against Atlanta, considering how much fire power the Hawks have. I said earlier in this blog that the Bucks were going to lose without question since they lost Andrew Bogut to injury, but now I'm not so sure. Atlanta just doesn't seem hungry enough. Milwaukee will try to close out the series tonight against Atlanta at home, 7pm on ESPN. Atlanta definitely has their work cut out for them. FEAR THE DEER
Next at 9:30pm on ESPN, the LA Lakers will look to finish the series against the OKC Thunder, but they're going to have to do it despite the incredibly energized OKC home crowd. And I'm sure you can only imagine how much more pumped they will all be tonight with they're beloved Thunder facing elimination. After LA dominated the Thunder 111-87 at home, it's going to take a lot of poise and confidence for the Thunder to get back on track tonight, but I personally feel they have a shot at home. We'll see what the Lakers are really made of tonight...
And finally on ESPN at 10pm, the Utah Jazz will look to upset the Denver Nuggets at home. I had picked Denver to advance past Utah initially, but now with their backs against the wall, I really don't think the Nuggets have enough left in them to win 2 straight without team play and coach George Karl. Deron Williams has been playing on another level this postseason so far and Carlos Boozer has been right there with him. I'm going to say that the Utah Jazz will just prove to be too much for Denver tonight, especially playing at the notorious Energy Solutions Arena.
Last night both the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks lost in their matchups, the latter of the two being very surprising in my opinion. I would put Dallas owner Mark Cuban on suicide watch just to be safe. Watch the TNT crew as they send-off Portland and Dallas in Gone Fishin'
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Cavs, and others, look for close out
After another dominant performance from LeBron James (triple-double) on Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers are up 3-1 on the Chicago Bulls, and will look to put them away tonight in Cleveland at 8pm on TNT.
There's no doubt in my mind that the Cavs win this game 5 and take the series 4-1. And I also believe that Miami will lose tonight in Boston and be eliminated. It took so much for Miami to win just one game, I can't see them coming back in this series at all. So I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that 2nd round it will be Cleveland vs. Boston. And if that is the case and both Boston and the Cavs win tonight, game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, Cavs/Celtics, would be this Saturday.
Orlando swept the series against the Charlotte Bobcats and are currently waiting to see who they'll face in the semis.
I thought it would be the Atlanta Hawks without a doubt, but the Milwaukee Bucks have come back to win the last two games in the series and tie it up 2-2. I still feel Atlanta will take the series because they have home court advantage and just a more talented roster, but they need to take the playoffs more seriously than they are right now because they need to eventually win a road game somewhere if they want to advance beyond Orlando in the semis.
Oklahoma City shocked everyone but themselves by winning games 3 and 4 in OKC, tying the series against the Lakers at 2-2. I picked them to win this series back before the playoffs started and so far they're making me look like I know what I'm talking about. The series shifts back to Los Angeles tonight for game 5 at 10:30pm, TNT. Kobe Bryant has said this is a "must win" tonight for the Lakers, and it could be really tough for them. OKC and Kevin Durant have confidence now and much more energy than the older Lakers. I for one cannot wait to watch this game. Go OKC!
The Phoenix Suns got back on track at home against the Portland Trail Blazers, taking a 3-2 lead. Brandon Roy returned from surgery to play for the Blazers, but I still feel that Phoenix is just too much for the Blazers to handle. They should seal the deal in game 6, even if it is at the Rose Garden in Portland.
And then there's the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs, both up 3-1 on their higher seeded oppenents. I don't think anyone saw Utah taking this lead without AK47 and Memhet Okur, but they've been the harder working team and have shown the Nuggets what unselfish basketball looks like. And the Spurs look to close out the series tonight at 9:30pm on NBATV against the Mavericks. I thought the Mavericks and Spurs would definitely battle it out, but I expected the series to be tied 2-2 going into game 5, not 3-1 Spurs. If the Spurs close out Dallas tonight, it will be a huge failure for the Mavericks and their owner Mark Cuban might literally explode on the court.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
NBA Playoffs Around the League
Yes, it's true, the playoffs do exist outside of Cleveland, so I'll update you all on what's happening in the other 7 first round series.
Orlando/Charlotte(2-0)
The Orlando Magic have basically dominated this series so far, which is really disappointing to see. I love the combo of Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson in Charlotte, but they need others like Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton to step it up and score if they want to have a chance of making this thing competitive. That and they need to not average around 20 turnovers a game...
The Magic are raining down 3's on the Bobcats, surprise surprise, and the Bobcats just haven't found an answer yet. They seem to be containing Dwight Howard scoring wise so far, but he's showing why he was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year for the 2nd consecutive season. This is a bad matchup for the Bobcats because they are basically a driving team, getting most of their offense from guys cutting to the basket, but as soon as they get there, Howard is waiting for them. The Bobcats also have very poor perimeter shooting, something Orlando has an abundance of.
They play today at 2pm in Charlotte so I hope they can turn things around because I want to see Orlando gone.
Phoenix/Portland (2-1)
Portland surprised everyone by winning game 1 in Phoenix behind Marcus Camby and Andre Miller, but that excitement didn't last very long for them. The Suns woke up and realized they were in the playoffs. That combined with Portland having the most injuries to their players I've ever seen in my life means that this series is over. Suns will win the next 2 games and finish 4-1.
Boston/Miami (3-0)
Disappointing. I was so excited for this series initially, but it's been awful. Dwyane Wade has been great, but he got literally no help from his teammates in the first 2 games, losing game 2 by like 30 points. The Celtics didn't even have Kevin Garnett that night due to his suspension and they STILL got destroyed.
Last night when the series shifted to Miami, I thought the Heat might have a chance to take a game at home, but Paul Pierce thought differently. With the game tied and around 5 seconds left in the 4th, Boston inbounded the ball to Pierce, he dribbled to his favorite mid-range shooting spot on the court, pulled up in the defender's face and knocked down the game winner as time expired. This series is over. Boston in 4.
Los Angeles/Oklahoma City (2-1)
The Thunder looked good against the Lakers in both games 1 and 2, but sloppiness and inexperience seemed to be too much for them to handle and just couldn't close out against the Champs in LA.
But the series shifted to OKC on Thursday night for the first playoff game in the Thunder's couple year history in Oklahoma. It was also the night where Thunder headcoach Scott Brooks received the Coach of the Year award for his team's amazing turnaround from last season.
The crowd was INSANE. Take a look for yourself:
And that crowd, along with the youth and clutch shooting of the Thunder were too much for Kobe and the aging Lakers to handle. OKC took game 3 and made it a 2-1 series. I cannot wait for game 4 in Oklahoma.
Spurs/Mavericks (2-1)
I knew this series would be good, but I didn't expect San Antonio to be playing this well against such a stacked Dallas Mavericks team. After losing game 1 in Dallas, the Spurs flipped a switch and took both games 2 and 3. I honestly have no idea what the outcome of this series will be because Dallas is definitely not going to just give up and San Antonio is on a hot streak. We'll see how this one plays out.
Atlanta/Milwaukee (2-0)
No Bogut in Milwaukee, no 2nd round in Milwaukee. Simple as that.
The Hawks have outplayed the Bucks in each game at home and I just can't see any scenario where Milwaukee gets back in this series without Andrew Bogut. The Bucks might get a win in Milwaukee in either game 3 or 4, but that's all I can see happening.
And finally...
Utah/Denver (2-1)
Wow. Utah has been playing so hard these past 2 games it's unbelievable. They lost Mehmet Okur in game 1 in Denver and I thought the series was essentially over. They were already without AK47 so it just seemed impossible for them to stop the offense of Denver. But Boozer and Deron Williams had another opinion. They've taken 2 games straight, 1 in Denver and 1 in Utah. Denver just can't find an answer for the Jazz's energy. Foul trouble for Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony have also really hurt them the past 2 games.
I still don't know who wins this series, but I would have to think Denver comes back and at least makes it interesting. I highly doubt that Utah takes game 4 and goes up 3-1, even at the Energy Solutions Arena.
Orlando/Charlotte(2-0)
The Orlando Magic have basically dominated this series so far, which is really disappointing to see. I love the combo of Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson in Charlotte, but they need others like Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton to step it up and score if they want to have a chance of making this thing competitive. That and they need to not average around 20 turnovers a game...
The Magic are raining down 3's on the Bobcats, surprise surprise, and the Bobcats just haven't found an answer yet. They seem to be containing Dwight Howard scoring wise so far, but he's showing why he was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year for the 2nd consecutive season. This is a bad matchup for the Bobcats because they are basically a driving team, getting most of their offense from guys cutting to the basket, but as soon as they get there, Howard is waiting for them. The Bobcats also have very poor perimeter shooting, something Orlando has an abundance of.
They play today at 2pm in Charlotte so I hope they can turn things around because I want to see Orlando gone.
Phoenix/Portland (2-1)
Portland surprised everyone by winning game 1 in Phoenix behind Marcus Camby and Andre Miller, but that excitement didn't last very long for them. The Suns woke up and realized they were in the playoffs. That combined with Portland having the most injuries to their players I've ever seen in my life means that this series is over. Suns will win the next 2 games and finish 4-1.
Boston/Miami (3-0)
Disappointing. I was so excited for this series initially, but it's been awful. Dwyane Wade has been great, but he got literally no help from his teammates in the first 2 games, losing game 2 by like 30 points. The Celtics didn't even have Kevin Garnett that night due to his suspension and they STILL got destroyed.
Last night when the series shifted to Miami, I thought the Heat might have a chance to take a game at home, but Paul Pierce thought differently. With the game tied and around 5 seconds left in the 4th, Boston inbounded the ball to Pierce, he dribbled to his favorite mid-range shooting spot on the court, pulled up in the defender's face and knocked down the game winner as time expired. This series is over. Boston in 4.
Los Angeles/Oklahoma City (2-1)
The Thunder looked good against the Lakers in both games 1 and 2, but sloppiness and inexperience seemed to be too much for them to handle and just couldn't close out against the Champs in LA.
But the series shifted to OKC on Thursday night for the first playoff game in the Thunder's couple year history in Oklahoma. It was also the night where Thunder headcoach Scott Brooks received the Coach of the Year award for his team's amazing turnaround from last season.
The crowd was INSANE. Take a look for yourself:
And that crowd, along with the youth and clutch shooting of the Thunder were too much for Kobe and the aging Lakers to handle. OKC took game 3 and made it a 2-1 series. I cannot wait for game 4 in Oklahoma.
Spurs/Mavericks (2-1)
I knew this series would be good, but I didn't expect San Antonio to be playing this well against such a stacked Dallas Mavericks team. After losing game 1 in Dallas, the Spurs flipped a switch and took both games 2 and 3. I honestly have no idea what the outcome of this series will be because Dallas is definitely not going to just give up and San Antonio is on a hot streak. We'll see how this one plays out.
Atlanta/Milwaukee (2-0)
No Bogut in Milwaukee, no 2nd round in Milwaukee. Simple as that.
The Hawks have outplayed the Bucks in each game at home and I just can't see any scenario where Milwaukee gets back in this series without Andrew Bogut. The Bucks might get a win in Milwaukee in either game 3 or 4, but that's all I can see happening.
And finally...
Utah/Denver (2-1)
Wow. Utah has been playing so hard these past 2 games it's unbelievable. They lost Mehmet Okur in game 1 in Denver and I thought the series was essentially over. They were already without AK47 so it just seemed impossible for them to stop the offense of Denver. But Boozer and Deron Williams had another opinion. They've taken 2 games straight, 1 in Denver and 1 in Utah. Denver just can't find an answer for the Jazz's energy. Foul trouble for Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony have also really hurt them the past 2 games.
I still don't know who wins this series, but I would have to think Denver comes back and at least makes it interesting. I highly doubt that Utah takes game 4 and goes up 3-1, even at the Energy Solutions Arena.
Tough Loss in Game 3
The Cavs lost by 2 on Thursday night in Chicago. The score of the game makes it sound a lot more competitive throughout than it actually was.
The Cavs were down by 20 for a majority of the 2nd half, but they went on a huge run to cut the lead down to 2 with just seconds left in the game. Anthony Parker had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but it was a half court heave so I don't blame him for missing, even though it was REALLY close to banking in.
I guess we got a little bit of our own medicine in Chicago as well as chants of "Cleveland Sucks" erupted throughout the game in response to our "Noah Sucks" chants from Monday's game 2 in Cleveland. My blood boiled every time I heard that chant Thursday night. And then when the fans started chanting "MVP" for Derrick Rose at the free throw line? I mean come on, Chicago fans know better than anyone what an MVP looks like and Derrick Rose is not one of them. LeBron James on the other hand...
Anyway, the Cavs will have a chance to bounce back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon as they look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Shaq has been ditching the media the past few days, possibly out of embarrasement for his awful game 2 and 3 performances, or possibly out of anger for not getting playing time in 4th quarters. Regardless, he needs to step it up and be a factor because the past 2 games he's been a liability offensively AND defensively. That cannot be the case. LeBron actually called for JJ Hickson to get more time in game 4 and for Shaq to pick up his play. It's a concern.
Now if I were coach of the Cavs (we probably wouldn't make the playoffs), but I might bring Hickson back into the starting lineup with Antawn Jamison because that group has speed and athleticism, as well as chemistry. I would bring Shaq off the bench late in the 1st quarter and run him through the middle of the 2nd quarter, rotating big men around him (JJ, Twan, Varejao), then bring Z in at center to finish the half. Start JJ and Twan in the 3rd quarter, rotate Varejao and Shaq in sporadically and not necessarily together. Then by that point, decide who has the hot hand in the 4th and go with that big while playing Varejao most of the 4th quarter as well. Just my thoughts...
The Cavs were down by 20 for a majority of the 2nd half, but they went on a huge run to cut the lead down to 2 with just seconds left in the game. Anthony Parker had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but it was a half court heave so I don't blame him for missing, even though it was REALLY close to banking in.
I guess we got a little bit of our own medicine in Chicago as well as chants of "Cleveland Sucks" erupted throughout the game in response to our "Noah Sucks" chants from Monday's game 2 in Cleveland. My blood boiled every time I heard that chant Thursday night. And then when the fans started chanting "MVP" for Derrick Rose at the free throw line? I mean come on, Chicago fans know better than anyone what an MVP looks like and Derrick Rose is not one of them. LeBron James on the other hand...
Anyway, the Cavs will have a chance to bounce back in Chicago tomorrow afternoon as they look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Shaq has been ditching the media the past few days, possibly out of embarrasement for his awful game 2 and 3 performances, or possibly out of anger for not getting playing time in 4th quarters. Regardless, he needs to step it up and be a factor because the past 2 games he's been a liability offensively AND defensively. That cannot be the case. LeBron actually called for JJ Hickson to get more time in game 4 and for Shaq to pick up his play. It's a concern.
Now if I were coach of the Cavs (we probably wouldn't make the playoffs), but I might bring Hickson back into the starting lineup with Antawn Jamison because that group has speed and athleticism, as well as chemistry. I would bring Shaq off the bench late in the 1st quarter and run him through the middle of the 2nd quarter, rotating big men around him (JJ, Twan, Varejao), then bring Z in at center to finish the half. Start JJ and Twan in the 3rd quarter, rotate Varejao and Shaq in sporadically and not necessarily together. Then by that point, decide who has the hot hand in the 4th and go with that big while playing Varejao most of the 4th quarter as well. Just my thoughts...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Noah Sucks! Noah Sucks! Noah Sucks!
Yeah,there he is on draft day... Pathetic. Joakim Noah on Cleveland: "I don’t know about Cleveland, man, there is nothing going on. It’s bad, man."
"You like it? You think Cleveland is cool? I've never heard anyone say, 'I'm going to Cleveland on vacation.'"As I'm sure all of you are aware by now, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has been talking a lot of trash on the city of Cleveland. Not smart considering us Clevelanders are a devoted group of people and will NEVER forget when someone bashes our city. This was evident in game 2 of the Cavs/Bulls series Monday night in Cleveland. I was at that game and every time Noah touched the ball he was booed. Chants of "Noah Sucks!" started up later in the game. Noah just needs to focus on playing the game and less about taking shots at Cleveland because last time I checked, the playoffs are about winning games in order to advance, and the Bulls haven't won any...
Below is a video I took of Noah at the free throw line while the Noah Sucks chant gets going:
Monday, April 19, 2010
NBA Playoffs opening weekend: sights, sounds, and analysis
Such great basketball the past two days.
Of course, my Cleveland Cavaliers took game 1 of the series at home against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were never really in it, but made it somewhat competitive towards the end. LeBron "MVP" James put a stop to that though and put the game away from some clutch baskets down the stretch.
The best part about Cavs/Bulls game 1 in my opinion is that it wasn't ALL LeBron. He had a great game, but he had a lot of help, namely from Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, and SHAQ! Mo and Antawn each put up around 15-20 points and added great assist and rebounding numbers respectively on excellent shooting percentage. Shaq came back from injury looking better than ever, creating a lot of problems for Chicago centers Joakim Noah and Brad Miller. And Noah just couldn't "out-Varejao" Anderson Varejao, as the Wild Thing grabbed double digit rebounds off the bench.
Cavs/Bulls game 2 is tonight at 8pm in Cleveland, TNT.
Around the NBA
The Nuggets, Lakers, Celtics, Cavs, Hawks, Magic, Blazers, and Mavericks all took game 1 of their series. All of these teams have homecourt advantage except for the Blazers. I did not see them winning that game 1 at all, especially without their star player Brandon Roy. Everyone else stepped up, especially former Cavalier PG Andre Miller, tying his career high playoff point total in Phoenix last night.
Stephen Jackson, SF for the Charlotte Bobcats, suffered a hyper-extended knee after getting inadvertently hit by teammate Gerald Wallace in last night's Bobcats/Magic game 1. He returned for the 2nd half and attacked the rim hard, so the injury may not be too serious, but it may stiffen up on him with inactivity so we'll see how it effects him for game 2. For Charlotte to have any chance of beating Orlando, they need Captain Jack.
Utah Jazz forward Mehmet Okur tore his achilles tendon during game 1 of the Jazz/Nuggets series and will be out for 3-6 months, obviously now out for the rest of the playoffs. VERY disappointing for Utah, and for me because he's one of my favorite players. The Money Man will come back strong next year.
Kevin Garnett was suspended by the League for game 2 of the Miami/Boston series for throwing an elbow at Miami forward Quentin Richardson's head during a fight in game 1. Here's a video segment from the TNT crew showing both the Garnett-Richardson fight and the Okur injury:
And finally, here's a picture of Los Angeles Laker's forward Ron Artest and his new hair-do and facial hair. He looks disgusting...
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Follow me on Twitter!
Hey everyone,
With the playoffs in sight, make sure to check out my Twitter page and follow me because I'll be giving out in-game updates and analysis (biased most likely), but analysis nonetheless. http://twitter.com/1CenterCourt
With the playoffs in sight, make sure to check out my Twitter page and follow me because I'll be giving out in-game updates and analysis (biased most likely), but analysis nonetheless. http://twitter.com/1CenterCourt
YES! PLAYOFFFFS!!!! Bring it on Chicago...
It's official. The NBA regular season 09-10 is now over after last night's wrap up of games. LET THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN!
So it's not the Raptors and familiar foe Hedo Turkoglu that we'll be seeing first round this year, or any round for that matter haha, but Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls (oooooh, scaaarrrry). Chicago won out their last few games and closed the door on Toronto, just barely making it into that 8th and final playoff spot, only to have their celebration cut short by the 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh, too bad, so sad Chicago :( The first game will be THIS SATURDAY at 3PM on ABC in C-Town. CANNOT WAIT!
In all honesty though, I think I would have rather faced Toronto because they are much softer and barely ever play defense. Chicago on the other hand is pretty gritty and won't just lay down and let the Cavs walk all over them. Maybe we sweep them, maybe it goes 5 or 6 games, but what's certain is that no amount of Derrick Rose or Joakim Noah can stop the Cavs and the new and improved Shaq-Diesel.
The playoff matchups per conference go as follows:
Eastern Conference
(1)Cleveland vs. (8)Chicago
(2)Orlando vs. (7)Charlotte
(3)Atlanta vs. (6)Milwaukee
(4)Boston vs. (5)Miami - I REALLY want to see this series play out
Western Conference
(1)Los Angeles vs. (8)Oklahoma City
(2)Dallas vs. (7)San Antonio
(3)Phoenix vs. (6)Portland
(4)Denver vs. (5)Utah
All of these West matchups are unreal and could honestly go either way, so there may be an upset alert on the horizon out West
You can check NBA.com for a complete schedule for all of this weekend's playoff action.
Lets go CAVS!!
So it's not the Raptors and familiar foe Hedo Turkoglu that we'll be seeing first round this year, or any round for that matter haha, but Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls (oooooh, scaaarrrry). Chicago won out their last few games and closed the door on Toronto, just barely making it into that 8th and final playoff spot, only to have their celebration cut short by the 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Oh, too bad, so sad Chicago :( The first game will be THIS SATURDAY at 3PM on ABC in C-Town. CANNOT WAIT!
In all honesty though, I think I would have rather faced Toronto because they are much softer and barely ever play defense. Chicago on the other hand is pretty gritty and won't just lay down and let the Cavs walk all over them. Maybe we sweep them, maybe it goes 5 or 6 games, but what's certain is that no amount of Derrick Rose or Joakim Noah can stop the Cavs and the new and improved Shaq-Diesel.
The playoff matchups per conference go as follows:
Eastern Conference
(1)Cleveland vs. (8)Chicago
(2)Orlando vs. (7)Charlotte
(3)Atlanta vs. (6)Milwaukee
(4)Boston vs. (5)Miami - I REALLY want to see this series play out
Western Conference
(1)Los Angeles vs. (8)Oklahoma City
(2)Dallas vs. (7)San Antonio
(3)Phoenix vs. (6)Portland
(4)Denver vs. (5)Utah
All of these West matchups are unreal and could honestly go either way, so there may be an upset alert on the horizon out West
You can check NBA.com for a complete schedule for all of this weekend's playoff action.
Lets go CAVS!!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Nuff Said
Alright so tonight, currently, as we speak, the Cavs are playing Eastern Conference opponent the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta for the Cavs' season finale. Exciting! Oh wait, no one's playing... This game is just a minor delay before the real playing begins this weekend for the playoffs.
The Cavs are getting beat pretty bad right now in the 4th quarter, but even so, the loss will mean nothing to us, but what do you think this JJ Hickson dunk means to Atlanta's Joe Smith?
Nuff Said.
The Cavs are getting beat pretty bad right now in the 4th quarter, but even so, the loss will mean nothing to us, but what do you think this JJ Hickson dunk means to Atlanta's Joe Smith?
Nuff Said.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Charles Barkley makes his "Expert" Pick
Charles "the Chuckster" Barkley has picked the Cavaliers to win the championship this year. He makes the claim that no team in the East can challenge us besides Orlando, but even so he still feels we advance to the Finals. And when we get there, according to Barkley, we'll most likely face a banged of Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers, who won't be able to stay alive against the Cavs. Here's the link to the article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2010-04-13-2113757571_x.htm
I like that he's giving the Cavs props, but at the same time, I don't like when the Cavs are the favorites and I think we'd just do better going into the post-season with an underdog mentality so that they stay focused and don't get any senes of entitlement.
I like that he's giving the Cavs props, but at the same time, I don't like when the Cavs are the favorites and I think we'd just do better going into the post-season with an underdog mentality so that they stay focused and don't get any senes of entitlement.
Gearing up for the Playoffs
So it's been a few a days since my last post, but it's time to get back to business for the Cavs and Shaq, and for the other 15 teams moving into the playoffs.
The Cavs have lost their last 3 games, but does it really matter? Not in my opinion. LeBron and others were held out all 3 games and some of the normal starters like Mo and Jamison were held out during the 4th quarters, so it's really no surprise we haven't won these games. But it's actually kind of encouraging because we've only lost those last 3 games by a margin of about 3 to 8 points, so that's saying a lot that we are hanging in with teams EVEN without LeBron, Shaq, and guys like Anthony Parker, Mo, and Antawn down the stretch. And with one game left in the regular season tomorrow in Atlanta, it's still not certain whether LeBron or Shaq will play. Shaq has been cleared to play by team doctors and has participated in practice, but it's unclear yet as to whether Mike Brown will want to play him tomorrow night, and also if he will play him with LeBron or keep him out until this weekend.
The NBA Playoffs start this Saturday and Sunday, but the schedule hasn't been released yet since there's still one more day of games to be played tomorrow. And in tomorrow's action, we could see a couple different shifts in playoff seeding out West and we'll see whether Chicago or Toronto will make the 8th seed in the East and face the Cavs in the 1st round. From what I've heard, the schedule of games will be released sometime this Thursday, and man do I hope Cleveland plays on Saturday because I CANNOT WAIT for these playoffs to start!
And after today's practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts, Antawn Jamison spoke to the media about how ready he feels for the playoffs. He says how he's feeling good, is impressed with Shaq's ability to stay in shape over his time out due to the thumb surgery (Shaq's lost 20 pounds!), and how hungry he is for a championship and how he loves being in Cleveland because not only is he driven for the trophy but all his teammates and all the fans have the same passion as he does. You can check it out for yourself below.
The Cavs have lost their last 3 games, but does it really matter? Not in my opinion. LeBron and others were held out all 3 games and some of the normal starters like Mo and Jamison were held out during the 4th quarters, so it's really no surprise we haven't won these games. But it's actually kind of encouraging because we've only lost those last 3 games by a margin of about 3 to 8 points, so that's saying a lot that we are hanging in with teams EVEN without LeBron, Shaq, and guys like Anthony Parker, Mo, and Antawn down the stretch. And with one game left in the regular season tomorrow in Atlanta, it's still not certain whether LeBron or Shaq will play. Shaq has been cleared to play by team doctors and has participated in practice, but it's unclear yet as to whether Mike Brown will want to play him tomorrow night, and also if he will play him with LeBron or keep him out until this weekend.
The NBA Playoffs start this Saturday and Sunday, but the schedule hasn't been released yet since there's still one more day of games to be played tomorrow. And in tomorrow's action, we could see a couple different shifts in playoff seeding out West and we'll see whether Chicago or Toronto will make the 8th seed in the East and face the Cavs in the 1st round. From what I've heard, the schedule of games will be released sometime this Thursday, and man do I hope Cleveland plays on Saturday because I CANNOT WAIT for these playoffs to start!
And after today's practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts, Antawn Jamison spoke to the media about how ready he feels for the playoffs. He says how he's feeling good, is impressed with Shaq's ability to stay in shape over his time out due to the thumb surgery (Shaq's lost 20 pounds!), and how hungry he is for a championship and how he loves being in Cleveland because not only is he driven for the trophy but all his teammates and all the fans have the same passion as he does. You can check it out for yourself below.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
On the Same Page & Around the NBA
So last night's Cavs game vs. the Raptors was amazing to watch if you were rooting for Cleveland....not so much if your heart is in Toronto...
Cleveland won 113-101 at The Q (1 Center Court), and never really feared losing this game for two reasons:
1.) Chris Bosh went down early in the 1st quarter after an accidental elbow to the face from Antawn Jamison. According to Brian Windhorst, Bosh fractured both his nose and upper jaw and would likely be out a long while. Check out the video below to see what happened..
And then right before the end of the half, Antoine Wright tweaked his ankle and didn't return for the 2nd half. So in a season where Toronto's Hedo Turkoglu experiment clearly hasn't worked out, the Raptors barely hanging on to make the 8th seed in the playoffs, hoping to entice Bosh to re-sign in Toronto this summer (as he'll be a free agent at the end of the season), things couldn't get any worse for Raptor fans...
And reason 2.) The Cavs were passing the ball and making shots all night long. They played one of the best team-games I've seen them play in the whole LeBron James era. They racked up a season-high assist total of 38, one assist shy of the arena record of 39 I believe. Mo Williams and LeBron each had double-doubles with double digit assists last night, 14 pts/12 ast and 19 pts/13 ast respectively. Everyone was just on the same page, right in time for the playoffs to start!
One thing I thought was a little odd though was Mike Brown's decision to keep Daniel Gibson on the bench when the game had essentially been decided early in the 4th quarter. I guess Coach wanted to play a smaller, more "playoff-like" rotation last night, but in my opinion, Gibson is really getting the shaft and I feel bad because he is definitely talented, not to mention a fan favorite.
Around the NBA
So last night in Utah, the Thunder and Jazz played an amazing OT game with Kevin Durant scoring 45 pts and Deron Williams scoring 42 pts. But all good things must come to an end, and the Thunder definitely found out the hard way.
Oklahoma City lost by 1 point (140-139), but the way in which they lost was awful. Durant had 1.8 seconds left on the clock, down by 1 point, and caught the ball looking to take a 3 pointer for the win, but he was clobbered by CJ Miles instead, obviously missing the shot. So to the free throw line we go...wait? NO FOUL? WHATTTT??? See for yourself...
The NBA officially released this statement today regarding the foul(?): "On the final play of last night’s Oklahoma City-Utah game, the officials missed a foul committed by the Jazz’s C.J. Miles on the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during a three-point shot attempt.”
So a mistake was made by the officials that ended up deciding the game. Man I hate referees, except for when they favor LeBron ;)
And then just to give you a quick update on what the playoff standings in each conference currently look like right now with just a few games left in the regular season:
East
1. Cavaliers
2. Magic
3. Hawks
4. Celtics
5. Milwaukee
6. Miami
7. Charlotte
8. Toronto
West
1. Lakers
2. Jazz
3. Mavericks
4. Suns
5. Nuggets
6. Spurs
7. Thunder
8. Trail Blazers
Each team in the West, by the way, is roughly separated by just one game in the standings or are tied for their seeding, so look for this to change day-to-day.
Cleveland won 113-101 at The Q (1 Center Court), and never really feared losing this game for two reasons:
1.) Chris Bosh went down early in the 1st quarter after an accidental elbow to the face from Antawn Jamison. According to Brian Windhorst, Bosh fractured both his nose and upper jaw and would likely be out a long while. Check out the video below to see what happened..
And then right before the end of the half, Antoine Wright tweaked his ankle and didn't return for the 2nd half. So in a season where Toronto's Hedo Turkoglu experiment clearly hasn't worked out, the Raptors barely hanging on to make the 8th seed in the playoffs, hoping to entice Bosh to re-sign in Toronto this summer (as he'll be a free agent at the end of the season), things couldn't get any worse for Raptor fans...
And reason 2.) The Cavs were passing the ball and making shots all night long. They played one of the best team-games I've seen them play in the whole LeBron James era. They racked up a season-high assist total of 38, one assist shy of the arena record of 39 I believe. Mo Williams and LeBron each had double-doubles with double digit assists last night, 14 pts/12 ast and 19 pts/13 ast respectively. Everyone was just on the same page, right in time for the playoffs to start!
One thing I thought was a little odd though was Mike Brown's decision to keep Daniel Gibson on the bench when the game had essentially been decided early in the 4th quarter. I guess Coach wanted to play a smaller, more "playoff-like" rotation last night, but in my opinion, Gibson is really getting the shaft and I feel bad because he is definitely talented, not to mention a fan favorite.
Around the NBA
So last night in Utah, the Thunder and Jazz played an amazing OT game with Kevin Durant scoring 45 pts and Deron Williams scoring 42 pts. But all good things must come to an end, and the Thunder definitely found out the hard way.
Oklahoma City lost by 1 point (140-139), but the way in which they lost was awful. Durant had 1.8 seconds left on the clock, down by 1 point, and caught the ball looking to take a 3 pointer for the win, but he was clobbered by CJ Miles instead, obviously missing the shot. So to the free throw line we go...wait? NO FOUL? WHATTTT??? See for yourself...
The NBA officially released this statement today regarding the foul(?): "On the final play of last night’s Oklahoma City-Utah game, the officials missed a foul committed by the Jazz’s C.J. Miles on the Thunder’s Kevin Durant during a three-point shot attempt.”
So a mistake was made by the officials that ended up deciding the game. Man I hate referees, except for when they favor LeBron ;)
And then just to give you a quick update on what the playoff standings in each conference currently look like right now with just a few games left in the regular season:
East
1. Cavaliers
2. Magic
3. Hawks
4. Celtics
5. Milwaukee
6. Miami
7. Charlotte
8. Toronto
West
1. Lakers
2. Jazz
3. Mavericks
4. Suns
5. Nuggets
6. Spurs
7. Thunder
8. Trail Blazers
Each team in the West, by the way, is roughly separated by just one game in the standings or are tied for their seeding, so look for this to change day-to-day.
Monday, April 5, 2010
We Lose, But We Win
Wow, what a crazy Easter afternoon game between the Celtics and Cavs yesterday in Boston. May I just say that I hate when the Cavs play in Boston because all the Celtics up their trash talking and pretend like they're not withering away right in front of everyone. And even though we lost (117-113), this game was fun to watch at parts, very fun.
The Cavs trailed by 15 points at halftime yesterday and eventually fell behind by as many as 22 points before snapping out of it....literally. Mike Brown and Mo Williams snapped over a no-call from the ref where Mo was clearly being grabbed and held back by his arm by Tony Allen, resulting in a wide open Rajon Rondo layup. Because of the reaction from Williams and Coach Brown over how ridiculous the no-call was, Mo wound up with a technical foul and Coach Brown got ejected. The officiating was so poor throughout the whole game, mainly in Boston's favor, but just in general I thought that most of the calls yesterday on either team were horrible. This is something Mike Brown obviously brought up in his post game interview.
But after the departure of Brown, the Cavs turned up their intensity and actually came back to take the lead late in the 4th quarter behind a sickening effort from LeBron James (42 points). The Celtics ultimately won, but blowing a 22 point lead can't make them feel good about themselves even if they did win, because remember, we didn't even have Varejao playing let alone Shaq-Diesel.
Kevin Garnett was talking trash to LBJ the entire 4th quarter, and you could see that LeBron was not pleased. This resulted in LeBron saying after the game, "We don't like them and they don't like us." Scary words for Boston fans, because if we do meet in the playoffs, which it seems LeBron is hoping we do, he will be doing everything in his power to make sure Boston doesn't advance. "We all know the playoffs are where it's at," said LeBron. It could get ugly...
But even though we lost yesterday, so did the LA Lakers, which means now that no matter how you roll the dice, the Cavs will end the season with the best record in the NBA and will have homecourt advanatage throughout the entire postseason. So we could lose our last 5 games and roll into the playoffs on a 6 game losing streak, and we will STILL have the best record and homecourt advantage. And with Boston desperately needing wins in the final stretch before the playoffs, wanting to prove themselves against the elite teams in the league, barely winning after blowing a huge lead can't make them feel too good.
Score: Cleveland 1, Boston 0.
The Cavs trailed by 15 points at halftime yesterday and eventually fell behind by as many as 22 points before snapping out of it....literally. Mike Brown and Mo Williams snapped over a no-call from the ref where Mo was clearly being grabbed and held back by his arm by Tony Allen, resulting in a wide open Rajon Rondo layup. Because of the reaction from Williams and Coach Brown over how ridiculous the no-call was, Mo wound up with a technical foul and Coach Brown got ejected. The officiating was so poor throughout the whole game, mainly in Boston's favor, but just in general I thought that most of the calls yesterday on either team were horrible. This is something Mike Brown obviously brought up in his post game interview.
But after the departure of Brown, the Cavs turned up their intensity and actually came back to take the lead late in the 4th quarter behind a sickening effort from LeBron James (42 points). The Celtics ultimately won, but blowing a 22 point lead can't make them feel good about themselves even if they did win, because remember, we didn't even have Varejao playing let alone Shaq-Diesel.
Kevin Garnett was talking trash to LBJ the entire 4th quarter, and you could see that LeBron was not pleased. This resulted in LeBron saying after the game, "We don't like them and they don't like us." Scary words for Boston fans, because if we do meet in the playoffs, which it seems LeBron is hoping we do, he will be doing everything in his power to make sure Boston doesn't advance. "We all know the playoffs are where it's at," said LeBron. It could get ugly...
But even though we lost yesterday, so did the LA Lakers, which means now that no matter how you roll the dice, the Cavs will end the season with the best record in the NBA and will have homecourt advanatage throughout the entire postseason. So we could lose our last 5 games and roll into the playoffs on a 6 game losing streak, and we will STILL have the best record and homecourt advantage. And with Boston desperately needing wins in the final stretch before the playoffs, wanting to prove themselves against the elite teams in the league, barely winning after blowing a huge lead can't make them feel too good.
Score: Cleveland 1, Boston 0.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Varejao is Off the Charts! (HILARIOUS)
My friend Steve sent me a link today to a website with a hilarious post about Anderson Varejao in it. We all know how wild and energetic Varejao is on the court, but this website makes the case that he's not always off the charts energetic, and to prove it, Varejao's enthusiasm in different situations has been charted...
Enjoy the link, because this is HILARIOUS!
http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=26501
Enjoy the link, because this is HILARIOUS!
http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=26501
Free Throws...
So the Cavs recently, and really all year, have been struggling from the free throw line and it's really becoming a problem.
In the playoffs, the level of competition is much higher and margin for error is much, much smaller. So making free throws could mean either winning or losing games. Antawn Jamison is probably shooting around 20% from the line since he's come to Cleveland. I don't understand why he can't hit these, or anyone on the team for that matter. No one is making free throws consistently. We may be good for stretches of games, but we need to be solid at all times if we want to win it all this year.
Last night, we missed a ridiculous amount of free throws, which essentially gave the Milwaukee Bucks a chance to win the game. Had we made 85%, or just 80% of our free throws last night we would have been sitting on a 10 point lead in the remaining seconds of the game. Instead, we were getting sent to the line to try and make free throws to put the game out of reach, obviously not something as easy as it may sound for the Cavs.
Instead of laughing and joking about a big close-out 4th quarter, we were chasing guys off the 3 point line and watching Ilyasova and Salmons draining wide open 3's, and when I say wide open, I mean literally no one even on that part of the court. We basically won the game because LeBron bailed everyone out with a great steal to seal the win, but we all know that can't be that case every time down the stretch.
We have to clean this up because even though we are winning despite our free throw trouble and defensive lapses, it probably won't cut it in the playoffs. I have faith that the Cavs will right this situation in time for the playoffs, but it's definitely no joke.
In the playoffs, the level of competition is much higher and margin for error is much, much smaller. So making free throws could mean either winning or losing games. Antawn Jamison is probably shooting around 20% from the line since he's come to Cleveland. I don't understand why he can't hit these, or anyone on the team for that matter. No one is making free throws consistently. We may be good for stretches of games, but we need to be solid at all times if we want to win it all this year.
Last night, we missed a ridiculous amount of free throws, which essentially gave the Milwaukee Bucks a chance to win the game. Had we made 85%, or just 80% of our free throws last night we would have been sitting on a 10 point lead in the remaining seconds of the game. Instead, we were getting sent to the line to try and make free throws to put the game out of reach, obviously not something as easy as it may sound for the Cavs.
Instead of laughing and joking about a big close-out 4th quarter, we were chasing guys off the 3 point line and watching Ilyasova and Salmons draining wide open 3's, and when I say wide open, I mean literally no one even on that part of the court. We basically won the game because LeBron bailed everyone out with a great steal to seal the win, but we all know that can't be that case every time down the stretch.
We have to clean this up because even though we are winning despite our free throw trouble and defensive lapses, it probably won't cut it in the playoffs. I have faith that the Cavs will right this situation in time for the playoffs, but it's definitely no joke.
Monday, March 29, 2010
WOW, new 2k10 association..
Alright, so I start playing a game of 2k10 last night and guess who gets injured in the 1st quarter? DWYANE WADE. Not only was he not going to be able to return to the game, but I found out after the game was over (and I lost hard because Wade's the only reason my team's respectable) that he tore his ACL and was out for the season. WOW.
So naturally I quit that team because no way would I waste my time playing a whole season knowing that I wasn't going to make it to the playoffs. So I redrafted for like the 100th time in my life, and I ended up with an amazing team that I like way better than what I had before.
Starting 5:
Jason Kidd, Stephen Jackson, Carmelo Anthony, Luis Scola, and Marcus Camby. STACKED. Played 1 game so far with them and I loved it. Can't wait to keep playing once I'm done with the project filled week...
So naturally I quit that team because no way would I waste my time playing a whole season knowing that I wasn't going to make it to the playoffs. So I redrafted for like the 100th time in my life, and I ended up with an amazing team that I like way better than what I had before.
Starting 5:
Jason Kidd, Stephen Jackson, Carmelo Anthony, Luis Scola, and Marcus Camby. STACKED. Played 1 game so far with them and I loved it. Can't wait to keep playing once I'm done with the project filled week...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Varejao Questionable, Zydrunas Absolute, Cavaliers Victorious
As I mentioned in my last post, Anderson Varejao left the game against San Antonio with a sore hamstring and didn't return. Varejao's injury doesn't seem to be that serious, but was listed as questionable for today's game against the Kings. Brian Windhorst, Cavs PD beat writer, said via Twitter that Varejao would be "day-to-day" in the coming week.
But on the day when the Cavs are without their biggest energy player, they get a huge boost of energy from Z's return home to the Q, or as it's been named for today, The "Z".
The Cavs could finally play their real intro video again on the Q Tube since they don't have to exclude all things Zyndrunas from the Q anymore, which is good because that makeshift intro video was pretty lame haha. Z got a monster roud of applause from the sold out crowd, all holding up signs that read "Z", when he checked into the game.
All that home crowd support, with the help of Antawn Jamison and the depleted Kings roster, resulted in a 97-90 Cavaliers vicotry over Sacremento just minutes ago. This win puts our record at 58-16 with just 8 games left before the NBA post-season begins. In order to tie their 66-16 record from last year, the Cavs would have to win out, which is do-able, but not necessary since we currently hold the best record in the league and could lose the remaining 8 games and still be in solid playoff positioning.
But on the day when the Cavs are without their biggest energy player, they get a huge boost of energy from Z's return home to the Q, or as it's been named for today, The "Z".
The Cavs could finally play their real intro video again on the Q Tube since they don't have to exclude all things Zyndrunas from the Q anymore, which is good because that makeshift intro video was pretty lame haha. Z got a monster roud of applause from the sold out crowd, all holding up signs that read "Z", when he checked into the game.
All that home crowd support, with the help of Antawn Jamison and the depleted Kings roster, resulted in a 97-90 Cavaliers vicotry over Sacremento just minutes ago. This win puts our record at 58-16 with just 8 games left before the NBA post-season begins. In order to tie their 66-16 record from last year, the Cavs would have to win out, which is do-able, but not necessary since we currently hold the best record in the league and could lose the remaining 8 games and still be in solid playoff positioning.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Follow me on Twitter! and enjoy this video in the mean time…
Hey I forgot to mention that I have a Twitter account for my blog. You can check it out here: http://twitter.com/1CenterCourt . I put up some quick things on there every day that might not make into my blog, so keep checking it out, and follow me on Twitter!
And as I promised, heres a video that I think you’ll all like. Enjoy…
And as I promised, heres a video that I think you’ll all like. Enjoy…
Spurs Snap Cavs Streak, no big deal
Last night’s Cavs/Spurs game wasn’t pretty to watch as a Cavs fan, especially after watching OSU’s Evan Turner get blocked at the buzzer just an hour or two before. But no big deal I say, because the Lakers also lost last night to the Thunder in an ugly one.
Kobe and the rest of the Lakers combined to score just 75 points, shooting an awful 39% from the field. At least the Cavs can feel somewhat good about our loss to the Spurs because, A) we only lost by 5 points and B) were without Varejao the entire 2nd half.
Our frontcourt played a solid game against the San Antonio vets, with LeBron scoring 27 points/10 assists, Jamison putting up 24 points/9 rebounds, and Hickson adding 20 points/8 rebounds. Solid numbers considering most nights it’s only LeBron in that group who scores over 20. It was interesting to see some of the lineups we had last night since Z is back in the rotation. Powe is essentially a benchwarmer now, but still saw minor action last night. I saw Jamison playing the 3 spot at times last night, which I thought was interesting, and apparently effective since he put up above average scoring numbers as a Cavalier. I don’t know if that will always be the case, but Mike Brown seems to like sliding Jamison to the 3 and has spoken about doing that since day 1 of The Trade.
Varejao left the game pretty early on last night and didn’t return. It’s apparently a hamstring issue, and he’s been listed as questionable for tomorrow’s matinee game against the Kings at home. That game is also the first time Z will be playing at the Q since The Trade, and you can guarantee that the home crowd will go nuts for Z when he checks in that game. I can’t wait to see it.
As far as the frontcourt/backcourt balance in Cleveland is concerned, there needs to be more of it. Plain and simple. AP and Mo need to step it up on the offensive end if we want to get to the Finals. AP is basically just a spot up 3 shooter, nothing else in our offense. And Mo keeps putting up games of like 2-10 and 2-7 while scoring 6 points or something. That won’t get it done. I’m a huge Mo fan and I like AP, so I’m gonna stick with em and root for them to get out of their slumps, but it’s getting down to the wire and they really need to make it happen.
2K10 News: hated Garnett, too old and too slow. Varejao doesn’t translate to video games well at all. I traded them both for Greg Oden and Kurt Thomas, made Oden the starter at the 5 and made Jason Thompson my starter at the 4. 6-2 record right now. I’m liking it so far.
Kobe and the rest of the Lakers combined to score just 75 points, shooting an awful 39% from the field. At least the Cavs can feel somewhat good about our loss to the Spurs because, A) we only lost by 5 points and B) were without Varejao the entire 2nd half.
Our frontcourt played a solid game against the San Antonio vets, with LeBron scoring 27 points/10 assists, Jamison putting up 24 points/9 rebounds, and Hickson adding 20 points/8 rebounds. Solid numbers considering most nights it’s only LeBron in that group who scores over 20. It was interesting to see some of the lineups we had last night since Z is back in the rotation. Powe is essentially a benchwarmer now, but still saw minor action last night. I saw Jamison playing the 3 spot at times last night, which I thought was interesting, and apparently effective since he put up above average scoring numbers as a Cavalier. I don’t know if that will always be the case, but Mike Brown seems to like sliding Jamison to the 3 and has spoken about doing that since day 1 of The Trade.
Varejao left the game pretty early on last night and didn’t return. It’s apparently a hamstring issue, and he’s been listed as questionable for tomorrow’s matinee game against the Kings at home. That game is also the first time Z will be playing at the Q since The Trade, and you can guarantee that the home crowd will go nuts for Z when he checks in that game. I can’t wait to see it.
As far as the frontcourt/backcourt balance in Cleveland is concerned, there needs to be more of it. Plain and simple. AP and Mo need to step it up on the offensive end if we want to get to the Finals. AP is basically just a spot up 3 shooter, nothing else in our offense. And Mo keeps putting up games of like 2-10 and 2-7 while scoring 6 points or something. That won’t get it done. I’m a huge Mo fan and I like AP, so I’m gonna stick with em and root for them to get out of their slumps, but it’s getting down to the wire and they really need to make it happen.
2K10 News: hated Garnett, too old and too slow. Varejao doesn’t translate to video games well at all. I traded them both for Greg Oden and Kurt Thomas, made Oden the starter at the 5 and made Jason Thompson my starter at the 4. 6-2 record right now. I’m liking it so far.
Cavs hand loss to Hornets, and 2k10 Association picking up
The Cavs beat the Hornets tonight in the first game Z has played in since The Trade, 105-92. Z put up 1 point, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in his return to the Cavs. Not exactly the kind of game we would have hoped for, but then again, Jamison went 0-12 in his Cavs debut so at least give Z some credit here after missing about a month of game play.
In other news, Josh Smith, one of my favorite players in the NBA, won the game for the Hawks tonight against the Magic as he dunked in the game winner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. Awesome win for Atlanta, especially since I hate Orlando and Josh Smith gave them the dagger. This win also gives Atlanta a playoff berth. It was the “dunk heard round the world”.
In 2K10 news, I have an association right now, 3-2 record on superstar, that features a starting lineup of Delonte West, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, David West, and Nene. I just traded David West and Nene for Kevin Garnett and Jason Thompson though, while giving Anderson Varejao the starting center job. I haven’t played a game yet with the new lineup, but it should be a pretty exciting team. More on how that goes later…
In other news, Josh Smith, one of my favorite players in the NBA, won the game for the Hawks tonight against the Magic as he dunked in the game winner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. Awesome win for Atlanta, especially since I hate Orlando and Josh Smith gave them the dagger. This win also gives Atlanta a playoff berth. It was the “dunk heard round the world”.
In 2K10 news, I have an association right now, 3-2 record on superstar, that features a starting lineup of Delonte West, Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, David West, and Nene. I just traded David West and Nene for Kevin Garnett and Jason Thompson though, while giving Anderson Varejao the starting center job. I haven’t played a game yet with the new lineup, but it should be a pretty exciting team. More on how that goes later…
Z's back....in the starting lineup?
So it’s offical now. Z is once again, and rightfully so, a Cleveland Cavalier. We all knew it was going to happen, but it’s nice to finally see it be official.
So what’s this mean for the team and lineups? You may assume that Z would just come in as the starting center since Shaq is still out and JJ Hickson is technically undersized for the 5 spot. Well according to Brian Windhorst’s twitter, Hickson will most likely keep his starting job next to Jamison while Z comes off the bench like he had been doing prior to The Trade.
And because the Cavs already had the league max 15 players on their roster, this means the end of Darnell Jackson’s run as a Cavalier. http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/65524/20100323/cleveland_waives_darnell_jackson/ He never really played anyways, but was nonetheless was a good player. Wish him luck, hope he makes it somewhere else.
I’d have to say I like this move. Hickson is very quick and athletic, which is great for the Cavs’ up-temp style. If Z and Antawn Jamison started together, I think they would be too much of a defensive liability. Jamison has never been known for his defense, although he’s shown since coming to Cleveland that he can hold his own, and Z is just too slow to make the quick motions on D. Z is great coming off the bench facing second unit opponents where he can really make a difference with his height alone on the defensive end. But most of all, I just can’t wait to see Z get back in the pick-and-pop game, makin it rain from DEEP IN THE Q!
In other NBA news, the Nuggets lost a close game to the Knicks in New York tonight. The 3rd quarter of that game turned into a 1 on 1 battle between Danilo Gallinari and Carmelo Anthony, just going back and forth shooting jumpers. Gallo actually came out on top in the quarter battle putting up a few more points than Melo.
It also looked like it might come down to the wire in Dallas as well tonight in the Mavericks/Clippers matchup, but the Mavs pulled away early in the 4th quarter behind Jason Kidd’s 3 point birthday barrage, despite losing Dirk Nowitzki earlier in the game to a kind of awkward ejection due to the ref giving out back to back technical fouls on him. Don’t know what Dirk said to the ref, but it must have been pretty bad.
So what’s this mean for the team and lineups? You may assume that Z would just come in as the starting center since Shaq is still out and JJ Hickson is technically undersized for the 5 spot. Well according to Brian Windhorst’s twitter, Hickson will most likely keep his starting job next to Jamison while Z comes off the bench like he had been doing prior to The Trade.
And because the Cavs already had the league max 15 players on their roster, this means the end of Darnell Jackson’s run as a Cavalier. http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/65524/20100323/cleveland_waives_darnell_jackson/ He never really played anyways, but was nonetheless was a good player. Wish him luck, hope he makes it somewhere else.
I’d have to say I like this move. Hickson is very quick and athletic, which is great for the Cavs’ up-temp style. If Z and Antawn Jamison started together, I think they would be too much of a defensive liability. Jamison has never been known for his defense, although he’s shown since coming to Cleveland that he can hold his own, and Z is just too slow to make the quick motions on D. Z is great coming off the bench facing second unit opponents where he can really make a difference with his height alone on the defensive end. But most of all, I just can’t wait to see Z get back in the pick-and-pop game, makin it rain from DEEP IN THE Q!
In other NBA news, the Nuggets lost a close game to the Knicks in New York tonight. The 3rd quarter of that game turned into a 1 on 1 battle between Danilo Gallinari and Carmelo Anthony, just going back and forth shooting jumpers. Gallo actually came out on top in the quarter battle putting up a few more points than Melo.
It also looked like it might come down to the wire in Dallas as well tonight in the Mavericks/Clippers matchup, but the Mavs pulled away early in the 4th quarter behind Jason Kidd’s 3 point birthday barrage, despite losing Dirk Nowitzki earlier in the game to a kind of awkward ejection due to the ref giving out back to back technical fouls on him. Don’t know what Dirk said to the ref, but it must have been pretty bad.
Hey Everybody!
So just like the title says….HEY! This is my first post of many on 1 Center Court. Just to give you an idea of what this whole blog is about, I’m a major Cleveland Cavs fan and an even bigger NBA fan. I want to share my thoughts and opinions on what’s happening around the league without making it overly obvious that I think the Cavs are better than everyone else….which they are Sorry, can’t make any guarantees on that one I guess. And I want every one to know that I LOVE a good basketball debate, so if you have any comments about anything I post, please leave comments! So now that you know a little about what I want to do on this blog, I’ll start you all out with my first few topics!
Today, March 22nd, marked the first day that big Zydrunas Ilgauskas could enter into contract negotiations with the Cavs after the Wizards bought out his contract following the big midseason trade that sent him and a 1st round pick to Washington for Antawn Jamison back in February. All signs point to us re-signing Z early tomorrow so that he can travel with the team to New Orleans and play against the Hornets, who just got Chris Paul back from injury tonight.
Speaking of Chris Paul, he returned to the Hornets tonight after missing the last 25 games due to injury, scoring 11 points while adding just 3 assists in a little over 20 minutes of action. Not exactly the Chris Paul we’re used to, but after sitting so long, it’s no surprise he didn’t put up his usual 20/10 numbers. I don’t think Paul will be much of a factor in Wednesday night’s game against the Cavs, but rookie Hornet guard Marcus Thornton might be having some thoughts about trying to out-due his previous 37 point explosion against the Cavs last month. Maybe not if Big Z can get out on the court and swat some of his shots like in the good old days.
Today, March 22nd, marked the first day that big Zydrunas Ilgauskas could enter into contract negotiations with the Cavs after the Wizards bought out his contract following the big midseason trade that sent him and a 1st round pick to Washington for Antawn Jamison back in February. All signs point to us re-signing Z early tomorrow so that he can travel with the team to New Orleans and play against the Hornets, who just got Chris Paul back from injury tonight.
Speaking of Chris Paul, he returned to the Hornets tonight after missing the last 25 games due to injury, scoring 11 points while adding just 3 assists in a little over 20 minutes of action. Not exactly the Chris Paul we’re used to, but after sitting so long, it’s no surprise he didn’t put up his usual 20/10 numbers. I don’t think Paul will be much of a factor in Wednesday night’s game against the Cavs, but rookie Hornet guard Marcus Thornton might be having some thoughts about trying to out-due his previous 37 point explosion against the Cavs last month. Maybe not if Big Z can get out on the court and swat some of his shots like in the good old days.
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