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CPD
Cavs-Celtics to stress repetition, not rivalry
by Mary Schmitt Boyer Thursday October 09, 2008, 6:34 PM
John Kuntz/The Plain DealerZydrunas Ilgauskas renews a competitive relationship with Boston's Glen Davis (left) and Kevin Garnett in Friday's preseason game.
CAVALIERS VS. CELTICS
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. at Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.
Radio: WTAM AM/1100.
Notable: First pre-season road game for the new-look Cavs, who dropped a 104-84 decision to the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night in The Q. ... First of consecutive games against the Celtics, followed by a Tuesday game in Pittsburgh. ... Celtics lost their pre-season opener to Philadelphia, 98-92, on Wednesday.
-- Mary Schmitt Boyer
To hear the Cavaliers tell it, the Boston Celtics are almost incidental to Friday night's pre-season game in Providence. "Pre-season games have no significance for one team or the other," Zydrunas Ilgauskas said after practice on Thursday.
Even if the last game against the Celtics was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston?
"You can't carry a playoff series into a pre-season game," LeBron James said.
In preparing for their first road game of this exhibition season, the Cavs are concentrating exclusively on themselves.
"I don't even know who's on their team," coach Mike Brown said.
He was exaggerating, of course. But only slightly. His point was that he's much more concerned with how the Cavs are playing than with who the Cavs are playing. As a team that stresses defense, Brown is still concerned that the Toronto Raptors shot 52 percent in Tuesday's 104-84 victory. He also wants his defenders to pick up their opponents sooner, but only to contain them and take time off the shot clock, not to try and steal the ball.
Brown said he would start Wally Szczerbiak at shooting guard as he continues to experiment with his lineups. Sasha Pavlovic started last Tuesday and Tarence Kinsey likely will start next Tuesday, when the Cavs face the Celtics in Pittsburgh.
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CPD
An unconventional suggestion for the Cavs shooting guard position
Posted by Dan Labbe, cleveland.com October 09, 2008 14:49PM
The Plain DealerWe all know Wally Szczerbiak can drop a mean fist pump, but does that mean he should start every night?
Brian Windhorst today broke down the Cavaliers shooting guard situation and the decision they're facing in three weeks. Why is this decision so difficult for the Cavs? Probably because they don't really have a strong option at the position. Sasha Pavlovic showed flashes in 2007 but has shown little in the opportunities he's been given. Wally Szczerbiak started for much of last postseason but didn't exactly light things up. Delonte West is probably the best of the bunch, but at 6'3" can he be counted on to defend even normal-sized shooting guards or small forwards? The last thing the Cavs need is to have LeBron James chasing around the other team's best player for four quarters.
On top of that, for all their faults, they each have strengths that at least make them serviceable. Pavlovic is athletic and just maybe he can find some success with some space to work while defenses focus on James, Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Wally Szczerbiak, if he's right, could be the best shooter of the bunch and could find some open looks. Delonte West gives the Cavs another player to push the basketball and is the strongest defensively of the three.
The other factor, of course, is that the Cavaliers will start Ben Wallace at the four, which means they have one position from which they will get little to no offense, meaning the two guard has to be a player an opposing defense must account for.
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CPD
Lose-win situation: Cavs show improvement despite third consecutive preseason loss
by Brian Windhorst Tuesday October 14, 2008, 11:04 PM
Keith Srakocic/Associated PressCavaliers rookie forward J.J. Hickson (21) dunks in front of Boston Celtics' Patrick O'Bryant and Leon Powe (0) during Tuesday's exhibition game in Pittsburgh.
Insider: Wallace's back a problem?
PITTSBURGH -- Tuesday was a good news/bad news sort of night for the Cavaliers. Good news: They played their most complete game of the preseason thus far, especially at the defensive end. A refreshing response to several days of intense practices devoted to that effort.
Bad news: It was still a loss, the third of the preseason in as many tries, 90-86 to the Boston Celtics at the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Event Center.
Bad news: Ben Wallace missed the game with back soreness and his replacement, Anderson Varejao, was quickly in foul trouble.
Good news: That meant rookies J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson got plenty of playing time and they responded by both playing reasonably well.
This could go on and on, but the point is that while the Cavs are still pretty far from being healthy and ready for the real thing, improvement is being shown.
"There were a lot of positives to take out of this game," coach Mike Brown said."This was the best defense we've played by far. We had some concerns the first few games and for the most part we were decent in most of those areas and I'm excited to see that improvement."
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Brian Windhorst's Cavaliers Blog: In the preseason, avoid the scoreboard
by Brian Windhorst Tuesday October 14, 2008, 11:04 PM
Keith Srakocic/Associated PressJ.J. Hickson has captivated the attention of his teammates on the Cavaliers --- for both good and bad reasons.
PITTSBURGH -- You simply can't watch a preseason game and take it face value. So the Cavs lost to the Celtics (again) on Tuesday here at the Petersen Event Center -- which, by the way, is a massive improvement from the standard Pitt preseason site, the thankfully soon-to-be razed Mellon Arena. While I am sure many of you who are also Browns fans can accurately expound on the value of winning an exhibition game or two, the final score usually isn't very meaningful. Here is what was, in my humble opinion:
? If you want to have fun while attending a Cavs preseason game -- and, hey, there are two more this week back in Cleveland should you desire -- never take your eye off rookie J.J. Hickson. And then whenever he makes a play of note, good or bad, look over at the Cavs bench. Nobody gets more cheers and encouragement or looks of sheer dismay than J.J. It's been awhile since the Cavs have had a first-round draft pick who holds as much interest as Hickson, not just because he's so talented but because the Cavs really could use him right away. The team knows this, which is why he gets such reactions.
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Cavaliers Insider: Is back a big issue for Big Ben?
by Brian Windhorst Tuesday October 14, 2008, 8:17 PM
Tony Dejak/Associated PressAre training camp issues with Ben Wallace's back a sign of continuing problems during the regular season?
PITTSBURGH -- When Ben Wallace was right last season, he proved to be the sort of difference-making defensive player the Cavaliers craved when they traded for him. When he wasn't right, he wasn't. Which is why there is already some building concern within the team as the veteran forward deals with a fresh round of back problems. It has caused him to miss three practices over the last week and Tuesday kept him back in Cleveland as the Cavs faced the Boston Celtics at the University of Pittsburgh in a preseason game.
Wallace is having stiffness and soreness in his lower back. The team has been vague in discussing the issue, but it is the same area that forced him out of games last spring. As an undersized forward at 6-foot-8, Wallace has always relied on his athleticism to be a tenacious rebounder and defender.
"I'm concerned, but I'm concerned about any of our guys who is hurt," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "But at the same time, it is a chance for the young guys to play."
That may be good in the preseason, but relying on backup rookies J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson along with veteran Lorenzen Wright may be a risky proposition in the early going of the regular season.
"With back problems, only rest can help," LeBron James said. "Hopefully the training staff can get him as close to 100 percent as possible. We need our whole group to do what we want to do."
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