Cavs 07-08 Season Thread

[billmac91]

Dang exhawg, you beat me to that. They do play alot of Andy at C, LeBron at PF and then 3 shooters. But that is more of an ingame matchup and rarely is the other team have a big lineup in when that happens.

It just will not happen. That's all I can say. Especially in the playoffs. The times we have tried running LeBron at PF have been extremely minimal. I can't see their being any chance of that now that we have Wallace, Varejeao, Joe Smith, and Z.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

It all comes down to matchups, and whether we need offense or defense...We have lots of options now and we will be able to dictate what other teams do...

 

[billmac91]

It all comes down to matchups, and whether we need offense or defense...We have lots of options now and we will be able to dictate what other teams do...

That's an interesting point b/c Mike Brown never dictates what other teams do. He always reacts to what other teams do. He always sends in subs once a team makes a move, sits LeBron when opposing teams sit there star players, goes small when they go small, etc.. It will interesting to see if he starts forcing the hand of opposing coaches or continues to be a reactor.

 

[exhawg]

I think he's better in the enforcer role when he's manning the center position. When he plays power forward, he has to play too far from the basket so he can't always make it back to the lane to help. I also think he'll have some issues guarding quicker power forwards(such as Hakin Warrick last night).

He might have had some problems last night, but I'll take that kind of effort every night. I'm sure KG isn't looking forward to Ben banging on him for 30 minutes Wednesday. I just hope Andy can come back by then. With everyone healthy the Cavs have to have the most annoying frontcourt in the NBA. Wallace will pound you, Andy will harrass you, and Lebron will be Lebron and make sure you don't have a fun night.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

espn.com

AP Photo/Mark Duncan
LeBron James, center, breaks in the new guys, instructing veteran teammates Wally Szczerbiak, left, and Ben Wallace in the Cleveland way. The trio helped the Cavs capture a 109-89 win over the Grizzlies.
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
(Archive)

CLEVELAND -- As he stripped off his ice bags and got ready to head for the showers, Wally Szczerbiak stuck his head in Kaniel Dickens' locker and asked him where the dirty socks go. Dickens, a D-League call-up in his third day as a Cavalier, informed him of the protocol.
Such is life around the remade Cavs these days; everything seems new. Which made Sunday seem like a giant first date at Quicken Loans Arena, where the crowd and the players themselves were eager to see just how the four imports from the club's deadline-day blockbuster would fit.
The short-term answer was positive as the Cavs smashed the Grizzlies 109-89. But it was hardly a fair litmus test against such a downtrodden opponent.
Nonetheless, there were some hints of how the rebuilt Cavs may look when all the dust settles from the trade that replaced half their active roster.
In the evening's spotlight stood Ben Wallace, the centerpiece of the trade as far as the Cavs are concerned. He started at power forward, the beginning of the Cavs' experiment to play him in what they hope will be a super-charged frontcourt between LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Continued......

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Roster change a familiar Cav Varejao is due back from his ankle injury. How will he fit in now?
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
MILWAUKEE: Another day, another new addition for the Cavaliers.
The roster has been wildly fluid for the past week and it is probably going to remain chaotic tonight when the Cavs take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Unless there is an unforeseen setback in today's shootaround at the Bradley Center, Anderson Varejao is slated to make his return after missing a month to a sprained left ankle.
A few days ago, that would've seemed like a godsend for the Cavs, who were badly needing his activity and rebounding in the frontcourt. But now, after the talent influx in last week's trade, there's a question of just where Varejao will fit.

Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Cavs' trade getting rave reviews Talk-show host says fans generally like the deal; ratings at season's high
Published on Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008



Fred McLeod, the TV voice of the Cavaliers, said during Sunday's broadcast of the Memphis Grizzlies game, which featured the debut of Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Delonte West, that one of team owner Daniel Gilbert's favorite sayings is, ''A penny saved is a penny.''
In short, the man doesn't mind taking a gamble when he thinks it might pay off.
Gilbert told the assembled media before Sunday night's game that he didn't spend $375 million on a basketball team to get cheap all of a sudden.
That can explain the mega trade that shipped Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and four lesser Cavaliers off to other teams and brought in what could be four key contributors to the playoff run. It has been the talk of the town since, at least on Kenny Roda's evening radio show on WKNR (850-AM).
''I'd say the calls have been running 80-20 in favor of it,'' Roda said of reaction to the team's moves. What the Cavaliers received in return proved the cause of consternation for that smaller contingent of fans, he said.
Roda likes most of the deal. Wallace gives the Cavs a dominating defensive presence and an enforcer. Szczerbiak, a graduate of Miami University, provides a consistent outside shooting threat. Roda said he didn't know enough about Delonte West to pass judgment on his abilities.


Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

CAVALIERS
Cleveland Cavaliers' Delonte West, Dwayne Jones enjoy reunion from college days


Tuesday, February 26, 2008Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
The trade that brought Delonte West to the Cavaliers reunited him with his college roommate and partner in pranks -- forward Dwayne Jones.
Jones and West were teammates at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia. In 2003-04, the Hawks went undefeated during the regular season and advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. It was hard work on the court and plenty of fun for West and Jones off it.
One of their most notorious pranks involved filling a large trash can with water. They would lean the can against a dorm-room door, knock, then scatter as the unsuspected student would open the door and flood his or her room.

"It got to the point were no one wanted to open their door," Jones said. "People had a suspicion that it was me and Delonte, but they could never prove that we did it. For some reason our room would always stay dry."




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

CAVALIERS INSIDER



Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James earns East Player of the Week honors for third time this season



Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Branson Wright

Plain Dealer Reporter
LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 18-24.
In four games, James led the Cavs to a 3-1 record. He averaged 28.8 points on 50.6 percent shooting, 12.3 rebounds and 10.5 assists. James has now won the award 13 times in his career: three times this season, twice in 2006-07, five times in 2005-06 and on three occasions during the 2004-05 campaign.
James became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain from March 16-20, 1968, to average at double digits in points, rebounds and assists during a four-game span. He set a career high with four straight double doubles during the week, including two triple doubles.




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers' win against Washington Wizards study in desire, says Plain Dealer columnist Bill Livingston


Tuesday, February 26, 2008Bill Livingston
Plain Dealer Columnist
Some cliches are wrong. Fri day night when the Cavaliers played Washington at The Q, you asked "how," not "how many."
Because the Cavs had only eight players, the NBA minimum, in uniform.
"We had six guys who had played together, plus two call-ups [from the minor leagues] who hadn't even practiced. Four guys sitting in the press box. Three guys on the bench, hurt, wearing suits," said LeBron James, reciting the unpromising math.

The four players acquired in the blockbuster trade were not sitting in the press box, but in a private suite with Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry. But James' math was accurate.
The only arithmetic that counted, though, was Cavs 90, Wizards 89.
How?




Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

New Cavaliers players take to the road for the first time
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Cleveland faces Milwaukee tonight[/FONT]
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
BY Chris Beaven
REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CLEVELAND A weekend unlike any other this season for the Cavaliers sent spirits and expectations soaring.

But while talk of making another run at the NBA Finals seems more legitimate again, the Cavs new and old realize now is not the time to forget a long road is ahead of them.

"I think there is some work to be done," said one of the newcomers, forward Joe Smith.

It begins tonight at 8 in Milwaukee.

Gone will be the enthusiasm of a frenzied home crowd that fueled the Cavs to wins Friday and Sunday. What remains are the challenges of bringing a revamped team together.

"I think this team has the potential to be a championship-type team," said another of the newcomers, Ben Wallace. "We've still got a lot of work to do. We've still got to continue to grow as a team."

Cont...

 

[aurorabuckeye13]

Just a little comment about Dan Gilbert...

I think its great that an owner in Cleveland finally puts some money where their mouth is, and seems to be 100% committed to winning a CHAMPIONSHIP. Not just winning some games, getting to the playoffs and bowing out, but winning it all. This is the kind of owner that Cleveland fans deserve, not ones that have front offices that build a solid team, only to get cheap (Yes, I am talking about you the Dolan family).

I think that Gilbert will have to pay something like 13 million out of his own pocket because the Cavs went over the luxury tax because of the extra salary they took on in the trade. When an owner is doing that, fans can't help but rally behind the team and the owner. It really shows Gilbert's committment to winning and bringing that title to Cleveland. If we can win a championship soon to keep LeBron here, and Ferry proves that he can be a competent GM like when he pulled this trade off Cleveland fans will really be on a great ride for the next 10 years. We will have the best player in the world, a solid GM, and an owner that is committed fully to winning. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I think this could be the case.

 

[exhawg]

Just a little comment about Dan Gilbert...

I think its great that an owner in Cleveland finally puts some money where their mouth is, and seems to be 100% committed to winning a CHAMPIONSHIP. Not just winning some games, getting to the playoffs and bowing out, but winning it all. This is the kind of owner that Cleveland fans deserve, not ones that have front offices that build a solid team, only to get cheap (Yes, I am talking about you the Dolan family).

I think that Gilbert will have to pay something like 13 million out of his own pocket because the Cavs went over the luxury tax because of the extra salary they took on in the trade. When an owner is doing that, fans can't help but rally behind the team and the owner. It really shows Gilbert's committment to winning and bringing that title to Cleveland. If we can win a championship soon to keep LeBron here, and Ferry proves that he can be a competent GM like when he pulled this trade off Cleveland fans will really be on a great ride for the next 10 years. We will have the best player in the world, a solid GM, and an owner that is committed fully to winning. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I think this could be the case.

The difference is that the NBA has a salary cap and the MLB doesn't. Once a team goes over the cap they can no longer sign new players. A baseball team can keep signing players as long as they are willing to spend the money. Do you honestly think that any Indians owner could afford to go toe to toe with the Yankees or Sox for big money players? The MLB luxury tax starts at $150 mil, and the Tribe's revenue was only $158 mil. Throw in other employees and expenses and they would take a big loss just to get to the cap. An owner isn't going to stay in business very long if he is dropping 20 mil a year more than his team makes. I applaud Gilbert for going into the luxury tax for the Cavs, but it isn't like he is losing money on the team like the Dolan's would if they got up over the LT. Set the LT in baseball at $100 mil and the Tribe could afford to play with the big boys. You notice no one talks about NFL owners willing to spend what it takes to build a winner. They make more off of the TV contract than they pay the players and everything else is gravy.

 

[jlb1705]

I didn't get to see Sunday's game. It's refreshing to see with the new players how they are moving the ball in the halfcourt offense. It's not just LeBron and four stiffs now. The Cavs look crisper and more imaginative moving the ball. They haven't converted much of it into points yet tonight, but you can see that things are working.

 

[exhawg]

Cavs can't buy a call tonight. Refs are horrible.