Cavs 07-08 Season Thread

[Bucks21]

Honestly starting the season without wild thing or pavs is not a huge deal. The cavs are pretty shorthanded in the bigs department but I would not be too concerned right now. The cavs cannot put too much money into their backups and tie up the cap anymore than they are now. This will give a great opportunity to some of the other young guys on this team and see what they can do. At the moment I see both of these guys getting traded by mid season or accepting one year deals. I predict the first to happen before the ladder because they would more than likely end up in the situation that they are in now if they accept one year deals.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Brown improved at the end of last season as a coach, but I am just not sure how much of him I can take...Shannon Brown needs to play, and to only play him like 5 minutes at the end of a preaseason game in the second half is just plain freakin' stupid...:!

BTW where was Boobie at tonite...I havent read much about the preseason or anything, but is he dinged up?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Celtics have their way with Cavaliers

Garnett records triple double in intense game
Saturday, October 27, 2007 Julian Benbow
Special to The Plain Dealer

Boston- By the time the Boston Celtics stretched their lead to 20 in the fourth quar ter, LeBron James wasn't even on the court.
Rajon Rondo was driving straight at Zydrunas Ilgauskas and spinning layups off the glass, Eddie House was spotting up on the wing for 3's that made the nets sing, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis - and all of the 289 pounds the program generously lists him at - was getting all acrobatic with reverse layups.
James' squad, on the other hand, went from one that protected the ball like a newborn in the first half (just four turnovers) to one that gave the ball up 10 times in the third quarter and finished with 17 for the game before being blown out of the TD BankNorth Garden, 114-89, in its final game before the start of the regular season.

Continued.....

 

[nicknc33]

I think this is a good example of how a team's success can be in some ways detrimental. Because the cavs made it all the way to the finals last season, sasha and andy seem to have developed an exaggerated sense of worth. It's a shame, these two played an important role last year with the spark they provided off the bench and the cavs are a much better team with them. I guess that's just how it goes in pro sports.

 

[exhawg]

At the very least they will sign their qualifying offers within a few weeks. I honestly think that both guys want long term deals with the Cavs now, but they have a very inflated view of their worth. If they sat out the whole year the Cavs would still own them next year. Varajao should be happy if he gets the same offer the Drew got last year. I wouldn't mind paying him as much as the starter in front of him because Andy is basically a starter. If someone was going to spend 9 mil a year on Andy they would have made him an offer this summer. I doubt the Cavs would have matched much over 7 a year. Andy's would make the most money signing a 3 for 6 per deal like Gooden did rather than making less than two this year. Over the rest of his career he won't make up the 4 million he would pass up this year taking the qualifying offer.
Pavs is much more easily replaced than Andy. This holdout has probably cost him a ton of money since he will only get a big contract next year if he plays this year. Even if he comes back now he'll have lost his starting spot and probably most of his minutes. Let's see him get more than 2-3 mil a year next year after going back to the bench this year.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

CAVALIERS
Shaving his head, not his minutes

Thursday, October 25, 2007 Jodie Valade

Plain Dealer Reporter
Zydrunas Ilgauskas' head is bald and clean-shaven now, an off-season concession made to his receding hairline at age 32. In his ninth year in the NBA, the 7-2 center is more experienced than all but two of his Cavaliers teammates. In the past three seasons, his scoring average has declined steadily along with his playing time.
So the Z Resurgence wasn't part of the Cavaliers' plan for this season, but it might be a necessity with a lack of depth in the frontcourt as forward Anderson Varejao continues to sit out in a contract stalemate.
None of the Cavaliers knows when or if the sparkplug Varejao will rejoin the team this season. In the meantime, they are counting on increased playing time for starting power forward Drew Gooden, and backup Donyell Marshall and newcomer - to the court, at least - Dwayne Jones.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

. . . ABOUT THE CAVALIERS
Cleveland Cavaliers could use energy of Earl Boykins, says columnist Terry Pluto


Sunday, October 28, 2007

If Cavaliers still
dream big, it's time
now to think small
The Cavaliers will be opening the season in three days, and they need help.
Unless something dramatic happens, they will face Dallas on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena without the unsigned Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao. Eric Snow is out for a few more weeks with knee surgery.
When it comes to the bench, the Cavs have Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, Shannon Brown and Devin Brown. In the preseason, Devin Brown is shooting 20 percent (8-of-41), Marshall 21 percent (6-of-28), while Shannon Brown have five assists and 20 turnovers and the team is averaging 84 points.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Let's count blessings for Cavs
Cavs have LeBron, new offense, healthy roster, easier spot in East
By Patrick McManamon
Published on Sunday, Oct 28, 2007


They say it's good to be positive in life.
This is the same ''they'' who always say that kind of stuff, but in this case, ''they'' might have a point. A positive attitude can be beneficial. I mean, who wants to be negative all the time?
So let's adopt this positive posture as we look forward to the opening of the NBA season. The Cavaliers, the defending Eastern Conference champions, tip things off Wednesday night.
Much has been written of concern about the Cavs lacking Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic because of their contract situations.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Howard an option for Cavs?

Monday, October 29, 2007


Juwan Howard accepted a buyout from the Minnesota Timberwolves last weekend, which could lead to Howard joining the Cavaliers prior to Wednesday's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks.
The opening day roster of 15 players must be set by 6 p.m. today.
Howard, according to league sources, spoke with the Cavs over the weekend about joining the club. Howard is also considering Dallas and Boston.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

CPD

Motivated Daniel "Boobie" Gibson to start for Cleveland Cavaliers


Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Daniel "Boobie" Gibson had a breakout performance in last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
One to remember.
The Cavaliers rookie guard did more than anyone expected, scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter and 31 overall during Game 6 against the Detroit Pistons to help send the Cavs to their first NBA Finals. Quite an accomplishment.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

LeBron vows to put up good fight
Season looks grim at start, but team captain asserts his will in military terms
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007
INDEPENDENCE: LeBron James' favorite movie is Gladiator.
He so identifies with the main character that his youngest son's middle name is Maximus.
Being ripped by pundits and media for the general weakness of the roster and a poor preseason, James is now taking on the characteristics of his movie hero. As if he is preaching to his teammates before taking on lions and tigers in the Colosseum, James is openly promising he personally will not allow the Cavaliers to play poorly.

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Cavs might test patience of fans, front office early
Team's 1-6 preseason record causes concern
By Brian Windhorst
Published on Monday, Oct 29, 2007



The Cavaliers' front office and coach believe in patience, processes and perseverance. It sounds wonderful in speeches, looks flashy on team stationery, and the team's on-court results with it have been sterling during the past two seasons.
Players and certainly fans, in general, do not value those qualities as much, however. Fans love the ''what have you done lately'' motto, and the Cavs' playoff bonus checks hadn't cleared before free agents started to demand massive new contracts and other players started to demand to be traded.

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[jlb1705]

Well, here we go. Pavlovic & Varejao are no-shows. Larry Hughes is still mostly a black hole of bad jump shots and overrated defense. Meanwhile, the rest of the East has made moves to get better or at least not regress. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't have a good feeling about this season.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Cavaliers: 'We're worse'
Team enters season without two key players, and LeBron James doesn't like it
Tuesday, October 30, 2007 3:45 AM
By Tom Withers


ASSOCIATED PRESS

Duane Burleson Associated Press
LeBron James is disappointed that the Cavaliers haven't re-signed Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic.



CLEVELAND -- With natural light bathing them inside their new, $25 million cream-of-the-NBA-crop suburban training facility, the Cleveland Cavaliers huddled around coach Mike Brown after a long practice.
The players listened attentively, then touched hands before breaking into a familiar cry of "One, two, three, championship!"

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[OH10]

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't have a good feeling about this season.

Me neither. But the Cavs still play in the East, and they have easily the best player in the conference, so I don't care if they limp into to the playoffs - just as long as they get there, then they can make some noise.