Cavs 07-08 Season Thread

[osugrad21]

CPD

Devin Brown's last-second free throws lift Cavaliers over Sixers

Guard's rebound, free throws in final second secure No. 4 seed for Cavaliers
Tuesday, April 15, 2008Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Philadelphia -- Devin Brown found himself in an unlikely situation at an unlikely time with the Cavaliers' future on the line.
One moment, Brown missed a putback as the buzzer sounded on what appeared to be another disappointing Cavs loss.
Minutes later, Brown nailed two free throws with two-tenths of a second left to give the Cavs a 91-90 victory in a controversial finish over the Philadelphia 76ers at The Wachovia Center on Monday night.

The victory solidified the Cavs as the No. 4 seed in the first round of the playoffs against the No. 5 Washington Wizards.
LeBron James, who finished with 27 points, said the Cavs reached a goal. "We know how dangerous we are at home," said James, about solidifying homecourt advantage in the first round. "This can really catapult us going into the postseason."
The Cavs' position in the postseason was set up late in the fourth quarter. After allowing the Sixers to rally from a 12-point deficit, the Cavs were down by one with 5.9 seconds left.
After a timeout, James drove hard to the basket, but his layup was blocked by Sam Dalembert with nine-tenths of a second left.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavaliers get a second chance
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Top Sixers on Devin Brown's two free throws[/FONT]
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
By DAN GELSTON
AP SPORTS WRITER

PHILADELPHIA The 76ers saw Devin Brown's shot fall short, heard the buzzer, and darted toward the locker room for an apparent victory celebration.

Game over?

Not so fast.

Officials reviewed the final sequence for several minutes before deciding that Sixers center Samuel Dalembert fouled Brown with 0.2 seconds left and brought Philadelphia back to the court for the free throws.

Minutes after the game was seemingly over, Brown sank the pressure-packed free throws to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-90 win over the Sixers on Monday night and clinch the fourth seed in the East.


Cont...

 

[exhawg]

Hopefully tomorrow night Lebron will be in a suit with Z and Ben not playing. If every guy at the bottom of the bench doesn't log at least 20 minutes there is something wrong.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I agree...We can't afford anymore injuries...

Sasha is out 2-3 weeks, so I don't expect to see him against Washington...

 

[exhawg]

I agree...We can't afford anymore injuries...

Sasha is out 2-3 weeks, so I don't expect to see him against Washington...

I don't expect Pavs to get any pt in the playoffs this year. Even in the second round he would be too rusty to do much. Brown isn't going to alter his lineup for Pavs. Look for Wally to start and get 30+ minutes tomorrow. They are going to need him to step up in the playoffs. Damon Jones will get some good pt as well tomorrow. The Pistons went with their regulars tonight so I doubt their big 4 will play much if any tomorrow.

 

[bucknut11]

What an ending...

Here's full video of the final 9 minutes (or 4.1 playing seconds). I like how they tagged it as "God Hates Philly." The fan yelling "That's robbery! You should go to jail for that!" is also entertaining.


Philadelphia Will Do

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cleveland Cavaliers' Devin Brown's steadiness pays off in big free throws


Wednesday, April 16, 2008Mary Schmitt Boyer
Plain Dealer Reporter
That Devin Brown should be the man of the moment for the Cavaliers should surprise no one who has followed the team all season.
Brown coming through in the clutch, making two free throws with two-tenths of a second left to lift the Cavaliers to a 91-90 victory at Philadelphia on Monday that secured the No. 4 seed and the homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, is just an extension of what he has done all year.
Through all of the team's ups and downs, Brown has been a steadying factor, whether starting or coming off the bench, playing forward or guard. The fact that he sank two free throws, one of the most fundamental elements of the game, was perfect.

"He's Mr. Consistency, Mr. Steady," Cavs coach Mike Brown said of Brown. "He's not pretty. He's not flashy. There's not anything he does that's extraordinary - except for be consistent. I guess some people would look at that as an extraordinary thing to have."
Especially on a team where Mr. Back Spasm has become a familiar part of the rotation.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

TNT's Charles Barkley says Wizards talk too much to beat Cleveland Cavaliers



Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Mary Schmitt Boyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Hey, Cavaliers fans. Charles Barkley is on your side this season, primarily because he's really down on the Washington Wizards.
"I think the Washington Wizards have got to be the dumbest team in the history of civilization," the Basketball Hall of Famer and TNT announcer said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
Barkley has been critical of the Cavs in the past, primarily because of their lack of a classic point guard. But he thinks this season, the Wizards are talking too much trash.

It started when the Wizards' DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron James "over rated" when James missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer in a 101-99 loss at Washington on March 13. It continued when Gilbert Arenas wrote in his blog for nba.com: "I think everybody wants Cleveland in that first round. They've been a .500 team ever since they made that trade, and everybody wants a chance at that matchup. We want Cleveland for our own reasons, we don't think they can beat us in the playoffs three years straight. It's hard to beat a team three years straight. We want to try our luck."
Barkley thinks the Wizards will be sorry.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Cavaliers can afford to rest starters against Pistons
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND Arms raised high, a huge smile across his face, LeBron James walked off the floor victoriously Monday.

The Cavaliers finally could relax and exhale.

Their thrilling last-second win in Philadelphia guaranteed them homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs against Washington.

"We know how dangerous we are at home, so it was important," James said Monday. "This can really catapult us going into the postseason, playing well on the road."

It also took any pressure off the season finale tonight at home against Detroit.

"We did it the long way, but we have it," Head Coach Mike Brown said of homecourt advantage. "The one thing that's good is we'll be able to get these guys some rest, especially LeBron, these last few days before the playoffs start."

Cont...

 

[exhawg]

I would really like to see Gibson hit a couple catch and shoot 3's and get out of the game. It has to be close to Billy Thomas time.

 

[BuckeyeMafia]

I like Barkleys comment. I also cannot wait to see LBJ go off on them for 45 in game 1. Which is when, btw?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

The games haven't been announced as far as times, but I am assuming it will be this weekend, either saturday or sunday...

Glad to see guys get rest tonight...It will be basically 5 days of rest for LBJ and Z, and it isn't like Ben, Devin, or Wild Thing saw too much time tonight...

 

[OH10]

It will be important for Lebron to stay focused on the game and not the talk. Deshawn Stevenson is a third or fourth-tier player in this league, but he did get under Lebron's skin earlier this year. So while, at first glimpse, it may seem as though Deshawn is an idiot for calling out the most talented player in the league, he's clearly hoping to simply throw him off his game.

 

[billmac91]

It will be important for Lebron to stay focused on the game and not the talk. Deshawn Stevenson is a third or fourth-tier player in this league, but he did get under Lebron's skin earlier this year. So while, at first glimpse, it may seem as though Deshawn is an idiot for calling out the most talented player in the league, he's clearly hoping to simply throw him off his game.

Less that 2 months ago when they played Stevenson was talking trash the entire game and LeBron played like crap. Wizards won.

I'm not saying LeBron is going to "struggle" with Deshawm, but dude is going to be in his ear every single game. It 100% impacted his game in the regular season when they played each other (I clearly remeber several terrible shots where LeBron just wanted to stick it in his eye). I just hope LeBron maintains composure and focuses on winning games rather than embarrassing Deshawn.

Deshawn has zero to lose by doing this. Wizards win the series and Deshawn is a hero, Wizards lose, and Deshawn is still respected by his team because it's what they wanted him to do.

Plus he now has a house-hold name.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

It will be important for Lebron to stay focused on the game and not the talk. Deshawn Stevenson is a third or fourth-tier player in this league, but he did get under Lebron's skin earlier this year. So while, at first glimpse, it may seem as though Deshawn is an idiot for calling out the most talented player in the league, he's clearly hoping to simply throw him off his game.

LBJ usually feeds off people talking shit so I think it is a good thing...