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Cavs 07-08 Season Thread

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CPD

Cleveland Cavaliers confident of finishing off Washington Wizards in NBA playoffs


Monday, April 28, 2008
Washington
- It was the high, arching over- the-moon jumper from the corner by Delonte West that gave the Cavaliers a 100-97 victory at Washington on Sunday.
But it took more than big shots from little guys like Daniel Gibson and West to give the Cavaliers a 3-1 advantage in this best-of-seven first-round playoff series.




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CPD

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Daniel "Boobie" Gibson hits clutch 3-pointers in win over Washington Wizards



Monday, April 28, 2008 Mary Schmitt Boyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Washington -- They say timing is everything, and that certainly was true for guard Daniel Gibson on Sunday afternoon.
Every one of the four 3-pointers he hit seemed to come at exactly the right time in the Cavaliers' 100-97 victory over the Washington Wizards in the Verizon Center. Gibson had 12 points and five assists as the Cavaliers took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Cleveland can close out the series with a win at home Wednesday night.
OK, maybe Gibson's first 3-pointer -- during the Cavs' 10-3 run at the end of the second quarter -- wasn't such a big deal. But in the third quarter, his 3-pointer with 3:54 left ended a 12-0 Wizards run. With the hard-charging Wizards twice closing to within three points in the fourth quarter, Gibson hit a pair of 3-pointers to restore the Cavs' lead to six and keep the Wizards -- and their crowd -- at bay.




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Canton

Cavs bounce back, beat the Wizards 100-97
Monday, April 28, 2008
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
AP SPORTS WRITER

WASHINGTON King James lost his crown.

All right, so it was his burgundy headband that went flying when LeBron James took a shot to the noggin from DeShawn Stevenson, their simmering feud nearly boiling over. James kept his cool, allowing the flagrant foul to spark him and his Cleveland Cavaliers.

At game's end, James was just as collected, drawing waves of Washington Wizards defenders before dishing to Delonte West for a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds left. That shot, along with James' 34 points and 12 rebounds, led the Cavaliers to a 100-97 victory on Sunday and a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series.

"There's been some extracurricular activities going on outside and inside this series," James said, "but I've been able to stay focused."


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Plus, the early tip means the Wizards will get an early start on their fishing.

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ABJ

This is new game for LeBron Heavy criticism, hard fouls ruffle Cavs' star more than usual in playoffs, but he's able to keep his focus
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008
CLEVELAND: It seems the difference between being praised for playing with poise and criticized for being a crybaby depends on the color of your uniform.
LeBron James has dealt with a unique time in his career this postseason. He has faced an onslaught of negative comments from his opponent and a heavy dose of hard fouls with a vigor he has never before dealt with as a professional.
His reactions have been praised by the Cavs and denounced by the Wizards, right down party lines. The latest salvo came Monday, when Wizards center Brendan Haywood took exception to James' saying the Wizards want to hurt him after he took a second flagrant foul in the Cavs' win Sunday afternoon. This one came from leading nemesis DeShawn Stevenson.
''C'mon man, this is the playoffs,'' Haywood told reporters in Washington.

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CPD

Charles Oakley would have protected Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James


Tuesday, April 29, 2008Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
One of the many reasons Charles Oakley wanted to make a comeback this season, even at age 44, was to help provide some "protection" for LeBron James, as he did many years ago for Michael Jordan in Chicago.
Oakley, a graduate of John Hay High School in Cleveland, played 19 years in the NBA, mostly with the Bulls, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. He played one season with the Washington Wiz ards and most recently played seven games with the Houston Rockets in 2003-04. He was one of the last enforcers in the NBA. His mere presence meant Jordan and Vince Carter - when Oakley was in Toronto - would not receive any harm from the opposition.
Or else.




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CPD

Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston says Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, like other great ones, can handle hostility



Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Bill Livingston

Plain Dealer Columnist
Michael Jordan ran to the locker room with a storm of boos break ing over his head in Richfield after hitting The Shot Part Deux over Gerald Wilkins to complete a Chicago playoff sweep in 1993. "Let' em boo! Let' em boo all summer!" snapped Jordan.
Fans at Gund Arena, before it was rechristened The Q, booed Allen Iverson when he was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1997 Rookie Game during All-Star Weekend. Iverson scored 50 points later that season in a game at Gund Arena and then dropped 54 on the Cavaliers in 2001.
Then again, there was Danny Ainge, booed every time he touched the ball in a playoff game in Milwaukee during the Bucks' sweep of Boston in 1983. Ainge shattered like delicate crystal under the screaming assault.




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CPD

Washington Wizards' Brendan Haywood was with Cleveland Cavaliers for 20 minutes


Tuesday, April 29, 2008Mary Schmitt Boyer
Plain Dealer Reporter
Brendan Haywood never wore a Cavaliers uniform, but he did wear a Cavaliers cap on draft night in 2001.
Haywood, the Washington Wizards starting center, was drafted by the Cavs with the 20th pick in the 2001 draft. By the end of the evening, the Cavs had traded his draft rights to the Orlando Magic for Michael Doleac. Later that summer, Haywood was traded from Orlando to Washington.
"I was happy to be a Cavalier for 20 minutes," Haywood said. "At the time, you have to realize I was in the green room, and it was the 20th pick. I was ready to go. I didn't care if I was a Cleveland Cavalier or a Utah Jazz. As long as somebody called my name I put a hat on, because I was starting to get nervous. At the time, I was just happy to be out of the green room."

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CPD

Washington Wizards admit Cleveland Cavaliers' home at The Q is a tough place to play



Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Mary Schmitt Boyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Wizards center Brendan Haywood remembers his first trip to the playoffs in Cleveland two seasons ago.
"That first year that we played Cleveland in the playoffs, that crowd was electric," Haywood said of the first-round series opener in 2006. "They hadn't had the playoffs there since, like, Craig Ehlo."
Technically, they had only gone seven seasons without a playoff appearance, but his point was well-taken. The sell-out crowd did have some pent-up energy.

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Canton

Cavaliers are able to maintain poise despite rough Wizards play
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

The hard fouls keep coming. So does the trash talking.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers, though, keep playing basketball ? and winning ? putting themselves a win away from the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season.

"I'm proud of our guys," Head Coach Mike Brown said in a conference call Monday. "They've stayed poised and continued to play the game of basketball without reacting to anything that was peripheral."

That has enabled the Cavs to take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series with the Wizards. Game 5 is Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

But aside from a 30-point win in Game 2, this series has not been easy for the Cavs.


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Canton

Delonte West comes through in clutch in Cavs games
UPDATE: 1:09 AM, Tuesday, April 29, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

When Delonte West drifted into the left corner in the final seconds of Sunday's game, the Cavs point guard knew no one paid any attention.

"Everybody in the gym had their eyes on LeBron (James)," West said.

All eyes soon shifted to West when James fired a quick pass to the left corner. West caught it and sank the game-winner to beat the Wizards in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

The shot did not surprise Head Coach Mike Brown, whose team takes a 3-1 lead into Wednesday's Game 5 at Quicken Loans Arena.

"He's a big part of what we hope to accomplish this playoff," Brown said. "... I trust Delonte. I only see him getting better."


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Canton

Broadcaster Joe Tait has his say on all things Cavs
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
BY Steve Doerschuk
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CANTON TWP. It was basketball time Monday at Tozzi's on 12th.

The Hall of Fame Luncheon Club had a grand time listening to Joe Tait let his colorful opinions fly.

Here's what the longtime "voice of the Cavaliers" had to say about:

? LeBron James starting to get some of the calls Michael Jordan used to:

"The older officials are not giving him much. Some of the younger guys are. Why not? It's show biz."

? The Wizards beating the tar out of James without drawing any suspensions:

"I don't understand it. Ronnie Nunn is in charge of officials. I remember when Ronnie worked (as an official). He needed help.

"Pray for the NBA front office. They need all the help they can get.

"Maybe it'll get through to the cement heads in New York. LeBron James is rating points for TV."


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ABJ

Cavs need to take out the garbage Our world has many more important things
Published on Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008

It has gotten old, all of this off-the-court stuff about music and comments and gestures.
It has obscured another marvelous series by LeBron James, a player his coach rightly and properly said will be the best ever by the time he's finished, a player who is decidedly not overrated.
This first-round playoff series between the Cavaliers and Washington Wizards has included one $25,000 fine, one guy kicked out of a game, four flagrant fouls, six technical fouls, one courtside appearance by a hip-hop artist and another new hip-hop song critical of one of the players. Oh, let's not forget a shot to the mouth that was not called as a foul and a few other knockdowns.
There has been ridicule, back-and-forth junk, a throat-slash gesture and petty silliness.
Much, much more has come from the Wizards than from the Cavs, but Cavs' fans aren't innocent.
It's too much ? especially when the best basketball in the world is being played by the best basketball players in the world.
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