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Cavs 06-07 season thread

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Things the Cavs want to happen:
-The Pistons really hurt for losing Ben Wallace and aren't the defensive team they were last season.
-Ben Wallace improves the Bulls already strong D, but his lack of offensive skill kills their offensive production.
-The Pacers are pretty much screwed after everything that happened to them in the off-season.
-Shaq can't stay healthy and is at less than 70% for the playoffs
-Steve Nash breaks his leg
-Larry Hughes stays healthy the whole season and is the player that they though they signed last year
-Z reliably hits his shots, Gooden has a career year, Varejao's offensive game/free throws improve from last season, Marshall is a beast in the plant and from 3 point range, and Pollard is the enforcer that the Cavs were lacking.
-Shannon Brown gets up to speed in the NBA faster than scheduled. I would love for him to be good enough by mid season to be getting 30 minutes a game.

Things the Cavs don't want to happen:
-The Pistons don't really miss Big Ben and, just score more.
-The Bulls find a way to run their offense around Big Ben and are a much better team.
-The Pacers play well
-Shaq stays healthy and is 100% in the playoffs.
-The Suns are healthy and score 150 a game.
-Hughes can't stay healthy, Jones continues to shoot worse than he plays D, and Brown doesn't develop this season.
 
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Canton

Cavs open with eyes on prize
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
By Mike Popovich REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER


The magazine cover caught Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown's eye after he walked into the basketball office at the University of San Diego during his senior year.
Pictured on the front was Bernie Bickerstaff, then the president and general manager of the Denver Nuggets. Bickerstaff coached at San Diego beginning in the 1960s. He also played basketball at the school.
"I was a little shocked," Brown said. "When I went to the University of San Diego in 1992, it was predominantly white. It's a very expensive, private, Division I Catholic school. (I thought) there's no way Bernie could have gone there. He's almost twice my age.
"I ended up reading the story and, lo and behold, Bernie Bickerstaff went to USD."
Brown never thought he would meet Bickerstaff, but he always idolized him from afar. Bickerstaff was an African-American who never played in the NBA but had success coaching in the league.
Fourteen years later, Brown finds himself in a similar position. Wednesday's season opener against Washington will tip off his second season as a NBA head coach. He won a league championship while he was an assistant in San Antonio and hopes to land a title for Cleveland in the near future.
One call brought Brown and Bickerstaff together and helped to start Brown's rise through the coaching ranks.
LEARNING THE ROPES
Brown was looking for a summer internship before his final semester at San Diego. After reading the Bickerstaff article in Coach Hank Egan's office, Brown asked Egan if he knew anyone who could help him. Egan knew Los Angeles Clippers Coach Larry Brown. He also was acquainted with Bickerstaff.
"I asked him if he could call Bernie and see if I could come out an intern," Brown said. "Bernie agreed to let me do it, and I went out there as an unpaid intern.
"I was the first one in the office, the last one to leave and thoroughly enjoyed whatever I did. I did whatever they asked me to do."
Bickerstaff held the video coordinator's job open for Brown until he finished school. When Bickerstaff handed him a check for $1,500, Brown thought he was the richest man in the world.
Brown was taught how to be an advance scout during his first year with the Nuggets. He also was a college scout and ran the team's summer youth basketball camps.
Bickerstaff later introduced Brown to Tim Grgurich, still regarded as the best player development coach in the NBA.
"Bernie saw my work ethic and thought if I learned from Grg, I can bring to our team what Grg does for other teams," Brown said. "Bernie had the Nuggets pay for me to go wherever Grg was every summer. I learned and grew from him in terms of the player development side."
After five years with the Nuggets, Bickerstaff saw enough of Brown to know he was ready to become an assistant. When Bickerstaff was hired as Washington's coach in 1997, Brown was his choice for the top assistant's job.
ON THE SIDELINES
Brown spent two seasons on Bickerstaff's staff and was a scout for the Wizards the following year. He returned to the bench in 1999 as an assistant under Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.
Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry played for the Spurs when Brown was an assistant. In Ferry's eyes, it was just a matter of time until he became an NBA head coach.
"He was extremely hard working," Ferry said. "He was honest, good and bad, with the players. He had passion for what he was doing. Guys loved playing for him when he was an assistant."
The Spurs won their second NBA title in 2003. The following year, Brown became associate head coach on Rick Carlisle's staff at Indiana, staying for two seasons.
Brown thought he was ready to be a head coach before he came to the Cavs. After one year with the Pacers, he interviewed for the openings at Atlanta and Toronto.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert interviewed him the following summer and offered the job. Thirteen years after Brown's internship in Denver, he was an NBA head coach.
And he was coaching LeBron James.
"Getting a job where there is a LeBron James is a dream come true," Brown said. "Every once in awhile, I ask my wife to pinch me when I wake up to make sure we're in Cleveland, and I'm getting in the shower to head down to The Q to coach LeBron James.
"I feel fortunate. I feel blessed. And I feel lucky."
PUT TO THE TEST
The first person Brown wanted on his staff was Egan. Along with Bickerstaff, Grgurich, Popovich and Carlisle, he always will consider Egan one of the men who made him become a better coach.
Brown's first season in Cleveland was a success. The Cavs won 50 games, making the playoffs for the first time in eight years. They beat Washington in the first round, winning three games in the final seconds. They took Detroit to the brink of the conference semifinals before losing Game 7.
"You never know how a guy is going to be on the sideline when it's their turn to earn that No. 1 seat," Ferry said. "The poise he displayed throughout the year with the guys was very impressive. Sometimes you can't teach (how to be) a head coach. When I saw that early in the year, I was very encouraged."
Some thought in January a long postseason would not be possible. The Cavs learned they would be without Larry Hughes for a long stretch because of a broken finger. The veteran guard was a major free agent acquisition the previous summer.
Keeping the Cavs on track and pushing toward the playoffs without Hughes was a test Brown passed.
"What he was able to do last year - getting us to win 50 games after an injury to one of our key players, keeping us focused and almost getting us to the Eastern Conference finals -?he has more confidence in his coaching ability," James said. "And he has confidence in us."
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Brown still has the Bickerstaff article he picked up in Egan's office while he was in college. James undoubtedly will be pictured on every sports publication cover if the Cavs ever win a title.
The coach's drive to win a long-anticipated major championship for the area will never waver.
"You catch yourself thinking of that every once in awhile because that's what everybody wants to do," Brown said. "I know I dream of it.
"That's the long-term goal for the end of the season. Right now, my goal is to get better every day. Not only the team, but myself, too.
"We have the potential. We have a chance. If we do things the right way and improve every day, I like our chances when it comes down to that playoff run."
Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]

WIZARDS AT CAVALIERS
2006-07 opener
Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Quicken Loans Arena,
Cleveland
TV Channel 43, FSN Ohio, ESPN
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ABJ

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Compete for East is his goal

Cavaliers owner wants his team to be contender all season long

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert sat down and answered the following questions Monday as the team prepared to kick off the 2006-07 season with the home opener Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards.
Q: The fans are very excited and many in the media are optimistic. What are your realistic expectations of your team?
A: I just see no reason why we shouldn't compete for the East title. What does compete actually mean? I think it means being one of the handful of teams that has a legitimate shot throughout the year and in the playoffs.
Q: It seems like there is extra excitement for the opener, especially with the promotion of all the downtown businesses planning to turn on their lights for the game.
A: I go to our Web site every day and see the hours and minutes counting down, and I get excited. But you have to temper it a little bit. One game isn't the be all or end all. I think football fans, and there are a lot of Cleveland football fans, put so much focus on one game. But I am excited and my kids are excited. We've come such a long way in the last year and a half -- that feels like 20 years ago. I am anxious to get going.
Q: Last year at this time, you had just made a bunch of changes to the basketball side of the franchise. Now your changes within the arena are finished. Are you done with the makeover?
Q: How satisfying or relieving was it that LeBron James agreed to sign a contract extension?
A: It was really great. We never heard anything different from him or his camp about wanting to go anywhere. It wasn't a huge surprise to us that he wanted to stay.
Of course, you always have those nerves in the pit of your stomach until things are completed. What is more important is that everything can now be focused on the team and winning championships. Had he not signed before this season, no matter what the Cleveland Cavaliers did, the story would've been whether he'd sign or not.
Q: Did you do anything to personally celebrate when the deal was done?
A: We all had a dinner with him in July when we presented him the offer, and that was nice. But when the deal was done, my wife and I had a drink and said, ``This is for LeBron.''
Q: Over the summer, you agreed to a massive new television deal with FSN. (Industry sources said it was for 10 years and put the Cavs in the top five in the NBA in local television revenue). What did that mean for the franchise?
A: It was totally not expected. It has kind of validated our beliefs in the direction of the franchise. We invested in this because we feel like good things are going to happen. The people at Fox in California saw the same things and wanted to be with us for the long haul. It didn't hurt that they had some new competition in the market, but I think it is a great thing for both of us going forward.
Q: Since buying the Cavs and taking control of Quicken Loans Arena, you've purchased a minor-league hockey team to move into the building, acquired sports apparel company Fathead and started Flashseats, a new paperless ticket technology you want to sell to other sports teams. Are you using the team as a centerpiece for a new sports empire?
A: I call them ``threads.'' They are all connected to each other. If you were to just look at a pro sports franchise as a business decision, it doesn't make economic sense. But there's all these hidden opportunities that come from it. Without the Cavs, this sequence doesn't happen. We don't want to disrupt anything from the basketball side, but having it allows us to have sort of a laboratory to test ideas and investments.
Q: As of last week, when Clay Bennett bought the Seattle Supersonics, you're not the newest NBA owner anymore. Does that mean you don't have to bring the doughnuts and coffee to the owner's meetings anymore?
A: Yeah, I'm ``Mr. 29'' in seniority now. Right after we approved the sale, we had some economic presentation and it was like, ``Hey, now look what you're into'' for Clay. But I'm honored and I'm fortunate. Overall, it has been a great experience.
Q: What has been the biggest change to your life since buying the team?
A: Managing time. You're never done. You have your wife and kids, that has got to be first. Then all of your business responsibilities, and then the team. Time is the most valuable asset.
​
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ABJ

Cavs' Joe Tait provides voice of experience

By Terry Pluto

A few weeks ago, LeBron James got some news when he stepped onto the team bus.
``Hey, LeBron,'' said General Manager Danny Ferry, ``Joe Tait got a max contract.''
The Cavaliers star looked at Tait, who was sitting across the aisle from Ferry.
``Joe,'' said James, putting out his hands, ``congratulations.''
Then James went past them to his seat. Tait and Ferry nearly fell out of their own seats laughing.
The real story is Tait had just signed a two-year extension to continue as the Cavs' radio broadcaster. While Tait may be the highest- paid radio announcer working for an NBA team, his salary would not even match that of the 15th man in the NBA.
``It would be nice to get what some of these guys make on a 10-day contract,'' said Tait, laughing.
He's not complaining; he's grateful.
``I had one year left on my contract already, and (Cavs owner) Dan Gilbert gave me two more years,'' Tait said. ``He also said I could have the job as long as I want it, and that made me feel very good.''
Signing James to that three-year extension (wrapping him up for four years) was Gilbert's major summer move. But after No. 23, the most popular Cavalier probably is Tait, who has been the voice of the franchise since it began in 1970. He missed two seasons -- 1981-83 -- during the dark ages of Ted Stepien's ownership, but returned when Gordon Gund bought the team.
``Once I came here, I never really wanted to work and live anywhere else,'' Tait said. ``I bounced around (the Midwest) while growing up and in my early radio days.''
Tait worked for 10 stations before arriving in Cleveland seven games into the Cavs' first season in 1970. As he was driving from his home in Indiana to Cleveland, he heard one radio report that the Cavs would not survive their first season.
``It was a Cavs road game,'' Tait said. ``They were in the process of losing 141-87 to Philadelphia. I had the broadcast out of Philly on WCAU, and in the third quarter, Sonny Hill said this team was so bad, no one would want to watch it -- and they'd be gone by the All-Star break.''
Tait had quit his steady radio job to take a pay cut for a chance at the NBA. His salary would be $100 a game. He was 33, he had a family and he was scared.
``We opened that season with 15 straight losses,'' he said. ``I took over in the seventh game of the year.''
He didn't know whether he would be around in a few months.
``I was doing anything I could to make some extra money,'' he said. ``I even did the P.A. at the old Cloverleaf Speedway. I filled in on different stations, doing news or whatever they needed.''
Feeling better
Thirty-six years later, he's still here.
``I feel better than I have in the last 10 years,'' he said.
That's because of major back surgery this summer. He had his spine cleaned of the effects of arthritis. He had three discs fused. He was on the operating table for six hours.
``When I'm dead and they put me on the autopsy table, they'll say that the rest of my body was a wreck, but I sure had a great spine,'' he said.
Tait jokes about it now, but he barely could walk the last two years. Heading into surgery, he didn't know whether he would come out healthy enough to continue.
``During the playoffs, just standing up for the national anthem was agony,'' he said.
Now, he's excited about the season.
Ferry was one of Tait's all-time favorites when Ferry was a forward for the Cavs in the 1990s. They remain close.
At 69, Tait believes he has more than three seasons left, and Gilbert agrees.
``He's the most talented radio guy there is,'' said the Cavs owner. ``He and (former Tigers broadcaster) Ernie Harwell are two of my favorite guys in the business. The contract is the right thing to do and the fair thing to do. He should go out whenever he wants to.''
Rare solo act
Tait loves radio. He's one of the few solo acts in the NBA, and likes it that way.
Early in his career, he screamed more. He was harder on officials. He still can be critical of the team. He rarely second-guesses coaches. He believes his main job is to tell people the score, what's happening on the floor and to recap so those tuning in can catch up.
Of course, there's always a ``Wham with the left hand!'' -- one of Tait's favorite expressions.
``On TV, you really are an extension of the camera, or you should be,'' Tait said. ``You are there to support the picture. In radio, you are the picture.''
Tait talks about the color of the uniforms. He may discuss what the arena looks like. For years, the Cavs were owned by Gordon Gund, who is blind. Gund called Tait his ``eyes'' at the game.
``Only once did Gordon talk about something I said,'' Tait said. ``It's when I called an empty arena a `Kmart Blue Seat special.' Gordon said the first time I mentioned it, he laughed. By the third time, he wanted to discuss it with me. I dropped it after that.''
But that has been it in terms of Tait being told what to say or not to say.
Still a joy
How long will Tait continue?
``I have no idea,'' he said. ``I told Dan Gilbert that my health will determine it. I also don't want to become a cartoon of myself. I think I'll know if I'm losing it.''
Tait listens to tapes of his broadcasts a few times each year, ``just to check myself.'' He also does some Mount Union football games and local basketball games, ``because I love doing games on the radio, not just the NBA.''
Tait said James has made his job more fun, and not just because James has turned the Cavs into contenders.
``Some of his moves defy description,'' Tait said. ``I keep trying to find new ways to explain what he just did. He's amazing to watch, and a real challenge to broadcast. I like it. He stretches me.''
At times, Tait grows weary of ``all the stuff before game, all the screaming, the fireworks, the noise. But when the ball goes up, I still love doing the games.''
Said Gilbert: ``It would be a shame if he didn't get to call championship games.''
Tait does think about that. In the past, he also did Tribe games, local hockey games and close to 3,000 NBA games, but never a championship with any team.
``That would be really nice,'' he said. ``And with LeBron, we have a real shot at it over the next few years.''
Then again, Tait remembers his first Cavs team. ``We finished 15-67,'' he said.
In his 34 years with the Cavs, he has broadcast games from three home arenas. He has seen 15 head coaches and probably more terrible pro basketball than any one man should. The Cavs never have been to the NBA finals. Only seven times have they made the playoffs.
``Hey, I know one thing: As long as we have LeBron healthy, we won't lose 15 in a row again like when we started,'' he said.
But even if that does happen, no one can make bad basketball sound as good as Joe Tait.
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ABJ

Rivalry against Wizards growing

Cavs open with team they eliminated from playoffs last season

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

CLEVELAND - The Cavaliers, currently a golden spoke in the NBA's marketing machine, open their much-anticipated season with the Washington Wizards tonight.
The ads promoting the game, which have littered ABC, ESPN and other cable outlets over the past week, prominently feature LeBron James and Gilbert Arenas.
Such is the custom, especially during high-profile times such as opening night, to shine the spotlight on the stars.
But this is hardly a one-night stand or simply a mano-a-mano rivalry. The Cavs and Wizards are developing quite a feisty acquaintance, and it goes beyond the made-for-TV stuff.
In fact, Arenas vs. James might be the most superficial layer.
``I love the competitiveness in bothplayers, but it is kind of hard to say they're going at it when they don't actually guard each other,'' Eric Snow said. ``They're scoring, but they're doing it on other guys.''
The most real vein of dislike, of course, comes from last season, when the Cavs eked past the Wizards in the playoffs by winning three one-point games.
Both teams put on a ratings-building show of scoring and alternate periods of extraordinary clutch play. For fun, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan accused the referees of favoring James by ignoring traveling, while James, in turn, barked about being called for too many offensive fouls.
``Anytime you play a team in the playoffs, especially when the games are hard fought, it definitely carries over,'' said Larry Hughes, who counts many Wizards among his friends. ``They feel like they should've won the series; we feel like the outcome was the way it was supposed to be.''
Yet it still goes deeper than that. In the summer of 2005, the Cavs were able to pry away two free agents whom the Wizards were hoping to sign.
The biggest was Hughes, who left the Wizards when they offered to match the Cavs' offer. Several weeks later, the Cavs were able to land Donyell Marshall over the Wizards and New Jersey Nets.
Then there's the bad blood.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Wizards center Brendan Haywood have a colorful past. Not only has Haywood seemed to have some of his better games against Ilgauskas, but the two also haven't been afraid to mix it up. During one game in Washington last year, the pair got into a dust-up that resulted in both lying on the floor and Ilgauskas being ejected.
Ira Newble and Wizards forward Etan Thomas also have a bit of history. Thomas is a physical player and several years ago during a game, he and Newble got tangled up on more than one occasion. Newble ended up throwing the ball at Thomas, earning a technical foul.
There is no need for extra hype for tonight's game, which will carry all the classic first-game excitement. But needless to say, there's always a little extra flowing when the Cavs and Wizards see each other.
``I think we compete with each other very well,'' James said. ``I do look forward to playing some of the elite teams. I'm sure they look forward to playing us.''
Peek at plans
When the Cavs submitted their final 15-man roster to the NBA on Monday night, they were required to designate three players as inactive. It is a fluid list that can be changed before the game tonight. But because the Cavs have no injuries, the fact that rookies Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson and Dwayne Jones were named suggests that might be the way that the Cavs go early in the season. Cavs coach Mike Brown has said he doesn't plan on giving the rookies playing time in the early going.
Jent retained
After giving him a monthlong look in the preseason, the Cavs are planning to hire Chris Jent as a development coach. He will help players work on various areas before and after practice and sit behind the bench during games. The former Ohio State star had a similar role previously with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was also an assistant coach and later an interim coach with the Orlando Magic.
Dribbles
Mike Brown and several assistant coaches ran wind sprints at the end of practice Tuesday, supposedly after making an unspecified mistake during the workout.... Gibson changed his number from 21 to 1 on Tuesday. It was his college number and was previously held by Stephen Graham.... A very limited number of tickets remain for tonight.... The Cavs will debut new public-address announcer Olivier Sedra in the opener. He comes to Cleveland from Montreal, where he had been doing some PA work and local radio.
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SCOUTING REPORT

Wizards at Cavs
When: 8 tonight.
TV: ESPN, FSN, WUAB (Ch. 43).
Radio: WAKR (1590-AM).
Last year: The Wizards won three of four regular-season meetings.
Notebook: This is the third consecutive year the Cavs will open the season at home.... The Cavs will start the same five players as in last year's opener, a win over the New Orleans Hornets.... Since the playoff series won by the Cavs, Etan Thomas has supplanted Brendan Haywood as the Wizards' starting center and free-agent pick-up DeShawn Stevenson has replaced departed Jared Jeffries at shooting guard.
-- Brian Windhorst​
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Canton

Cavs revamped offense debuts tonight against Wizards
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
By Mike Popovich REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

Wizards at Cavs

8 p.m. today
Quicken Loans Arena
TV WUAB, FSN Ohio, ESPN


CLEVELAND Mike Brown wanted some more options for his players. So the Cavaliers coach chose to fine tune the offense a little for this season.
It was not as if the Cavs were scraping for points last year. LeBron James, after all, was one of the NBA's top scorers. Without second-leading scorer Larry Hughes for more than half the season, the team still finished in the middle of the pack in the league in offense.
Brown, however, did not want opposing defenses to dictate what happens whenever the Cavaliers have the ball.
"I don't want people to sit on certain plays and take us out of our offense," Brown said. "I want there to be flow and continuity if someone takes away Option 1. I want there to be flow and continuity if someone takes away Option 1 and Option 2.
"I don't want our guys to ever feel like they're stuck. I don't want them to ever be in a position on the floor where they don't know where they should move next in order to have the floor spaced the right way."
The offensive set the Cavs ran last season left them with just one entry pass option after they brought the ball up court. If the defense took it away, the offense was forced to adjust."
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said the offense looks like the offense Utah ran when Karl Malone and John Stockton played for the Jazz.
"Big guys are either passing or setting screens, then you go into the post in the later stages of a play," Ilgauskas said. "Everybody ran a similar offense at some point when they were in college or the pros.
"We have not grasped 100 percent of it, but that's why we practice."
Brown said the new offense is still a work in progress.
"It's going to take some time for everybody to get adjusted to it," he said. "But so far, guys have picked up on it extremely well.
"In the preseason, we got more back door (baskets) than we did all last year. We also got some pretty good easy paint catches from our bigs for pretty easy layups.
"I think that's just going to get better in time."
TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT
The waiting is finally over.
Six months after their memorable playoff series, the Cavaliers and Washington Wizards will tip off the regular season tonight at The Q.
The Cavs beat the Wizards in six games for their first postseason series victory in 14 years. Three of their wins were decided by last-second shots.
The organization is using a "Light It Up" theme for the opener. It is asking downtown businesses to leave their office and building lights on as a way to showcase Cleveland for the national television audience.
"I'm excited about (tonight), and I think the guys are, too," Brown said. "They're tired of beating each other up and ready to face someone in a different colored jersey." Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]
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Dispatch

CAVALIERS
Nomadic Gooden glad to settle in Cleveland
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20061101-Pc-B8-0800.jpg
</IMG> TONY DEJAK ASSOCIATED PRESS Drew Gooden had a chance to test the free-agent waters but decided to stay with the Cavaliers.


CLEVELAND ? Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden is happy to have a home.
More important, he?s happy to settle in with a winner.
Gooden has lived the nomadic life most of his NBA career. He has had seven head coaches on three different teams in five seasons.
Now the 6-foot-10 rebound machine has solidified his role in Cleveland with a chance to compete for a championship, something he always wanted.
The Cavaliers re-signed Gooden, 25, to a three-year, $20 million contract in August. Gooden talked with coaches and general managers around the league as a restricted free agent but decided to stay.
"I didn?t want to put myself in a position to be with a new team, a new coach, new teammates and a new role," he said. "I feel like I have a home here. I?m in my third season with this uniform and I feel a lot more comfortable this season than any other year."
Gooden?s team-first attitude was a major reason the Cavaliers won 50 games last season and advanced deep into the second round of the postseason. His minutes (27.5), scoring (10.7) and rebounding (8.4) were down from a season ago, but the coaching staff believes he had one of his most efficient seasons.
"It?s extremely rare," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "Drew is talented enough to where he can put up big numbers if he wanted to, but it could hurt the team in certain situations. He realized that he had a chance to be on a winning team, and he bought into everything we said and preached and it showed in his play."
Brown asked for energy and rebounding from Gooden, with scoring as a third or fourth option. Gooden rotated with forward Anderson Varejao and Donyell Marshall to make up a deep and formidable frontcourt and set an example for other teammates.
This year, Brown said he wants more of the same from his power forward, and it?s going to help that Gooden is finally hearing the same message from the same coach two years in a row.
"That could be tough on anybody," Brown said. "A guy like Drew needs repetition, whether it?s on the floor or in the locker room, or just having things around him be the same so he can continue to blossom with his skill and talent level."
[email protected]
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A win is a win. My biggest fear was that the Cavs would drop the first two and go in the tank to start the season. Hughes looks to be back to form, which is great for the Cavs. They really need to find someone to be the backup 2-3 like Murray was last year. Here's to hoping that Shannon Brown gets to dress for starter and then sees some playing time when the Cavs get to the easier games. I guess that's the good thing about the 15 man roster. They can not dress the rookies tonight, but dress them for the Bobcat and Hawk games that they might get to play in.
 
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Overall it was a pretty good showing for the Cavs.

I loved how LBJ asserted himself in the lowpost in the second half and we moved without the ball.

The Wizards always play us close, so I figured it would be a tough game.

But we got the win and we shot like shit from the FT line. We need to correct that and we will be just fine.
 
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Canton

Cavaliers win another tight one with Wizards
Thursday, November 2, 2006
BY Mike Popovich REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CAVALIERS AT SPURS

Friday, 8 p.m.
AT&T Center, San Antonio
TV ESPN, FSN Ohio

CLEVELAND The Cavaliers and Wizards turned back the clock six months on Wednesday.
If anyone thought they saw the last of the down-to-the-wire games the two teams played last postseason, they were badly mistaken. The season opener at Quicken Loans Arena was a rerun.
The Cavs held off a fourth-quarter charge by Washington for a 97-94 victory.
LeBron James converted a layup to break a 93-93 tie, and Anderson Varejao hit two free throws in the final 18.2 seconds to seal the rematch of last year's opening-round series.
Three last-second shots by the Cavaliers helped beat the Wizards in six games last spring. No buzzer-beater was necessary this time, but that takes nothing away from what was a very interesting curtain-raiser on the 2006-07 season.
Larry Hughes gave everyone a glimpse of the player the Cavs signed in the summer of 2005. Healed after missing over half of last season with a broken finger, the former Wizards guard scored a game-high 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists against his former team.
"To come back against his former team in his first game fully healthy, it was great to watch," Cavaliers forward Drew Gooden said.
Hughes has been injury-prone during his career. When he limped toward the locker room with just over six minutes left, many of the 20,562 fans may have wondered what's next.
It turned out to be leg cramps. Hughes was back in the game with just under three minutes left.
Hughes' driving dunk with 1:30 left tied the game at 93-93.
"Larry was terrific," Cavs Head Coach Mike Brown said. "He shot the ball well and stayed within the offense extremely well. At times when we were a little rattled, he kept us going."
Hughes' 27-point night was his second-best as a Cavalier. He finished 11-of-15 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
At the other end of the court, Hughes helped make it a long night for Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards guard missed his first nine shots and finished with just 7 points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field.
"You try to stay close to him, stay in his face, get a hand up in his shots and make him drive," Hughes said.
Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan knows what to expect from Hughes.
"He was aggressively offensively and did a terrific job on Gil," Jordan said. "He made some plays. He can fill up a stat line. ...
"That's what we used to have."
James finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Gooden added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs.
A steal by Varejao set up the free throw he hit with 18.2 seconds left that put the Cavaliers ahead, 96-94.
Jarvis Hayes missed an open 3-pointer on Washington's next possession. Varejao grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Caron Butler. His free throw with 6.1 seconds left made it 97-94.
The Wizards' final hope was dashed when Antawn Jamison missed a three with 2.9 seconds left.
Reach Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: [email protected]
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