Cavs 08-09 Season - Central Div Champs (official thread)

[exhawg]

Mike Brown finally lets Hickson out of the doghouse and he has given a lot of energy off the bench. Hopefully this will earn him minutes as the 4th big when Z comes back. Nothing against Jackson, but JJ just has a much athleticism he needs to be on the floor. IMO his is our second most natural scorer at the 4 or 5.

 

[buckeyemania11]

Mike Brown finally lets Hickson out of the doghouse and he has given a lot of energy off the bench. Hopefully this will earn him minutes as the 4th big when Z comes back. Nothing against Jackson, but JJ just has a much athleticism he needs to be on the floor. IMO his is our second most natural scorer at the 4 or 5.

7 points 5 boards and a blocked shot in 12 minutes

nice.......

 

[JXC]

Bastard.

Out of 15,283 posts, that's a very small percentage.

Well...when over 2,000 of them are in the "What are you listening to right now?" thread, it's hard to find good ones.

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Cavs heat up enough to grab win LeBron gets standing ovation from Timberwolves fans
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS: After a three-day layoff to recharge their inner batteries, the Cavaliers (21-4) arrived in frigid Minnesota and played as if they'd been on ice for a while.
It worked to their advantage to be playing a 4-21 team.
Almost any other team in the NBA would have taken advantage of the lackluster Cavs and put them away.
The Timberwolves tried, but ultimately fell short, losing 93-70.
The Cavs took a 44-38 half-time lead and returned to the floor looking to build upon it.
They did, but not by much.
Before Wednesday's game, the Cavs had won 13-of-24 third quarters, but they didn't exactly tame the Wolves in this one as they outscored them just 19-18.
Slowly, but surely, however, the Cavs snapped out of their quasi-hibernation.
Leading the way was LeBron James, with a thunderous dunk on a pass from point guard Mo Williams with 1:20 left in the third quarter to put the Cavaliers ahead by seven points.
From there, James, who finished with 32 points, continued to work after his dunk generated excitement even among Timberwolves fans.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

ABJ

Trade idea would make Cavs worse Chemistry is important but it's not everything
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Thursday, Dec 18, 2008
The Cavaliers started the game Wednesday night in Minnesota with a 20-4 record.
But that sterling record should not stop the Cavs from making a move, any move, to get better.
Championships are not won by the faint of heart or the timid at the trade table. They are won by aggressive teams and by coaches and front offices that embrace the chance to get better.
Which brings us to the rumor of the week.
And we emphasize this is a rumor that evidently has little chance of coming to fruition.
This one stated that the Cavs have talked about the possibility of trading Anderson Varejao and Wally Szczerbiak to the Miami Heat for Shawn Marion. It originated at Yahoo Sports, and was written by a guy who knows basketball and is pretty well plugged in.
The story stated that there were talks, but they had died down and might be revived sometime around the trade deadline in February.
This is sort of like saying in March the Easter Bunny might come hopping down the street while playing Old McDonald on a calliope, but it is what it is.
Almost universally, the first thing folks said when they heard this might-happen, could-be deal was ''Oh no! Don't mess with chemistry.''
That is all well and good.
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

After a sluggish start, James and West push Cavaliers to 93-70 romp at Minnesota

by Mary Schmitt Boyer/Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday December 17, 2008, 11:08 PM

Paul Battaglia/Associated PressLeBron James (23) speeds past Minnesota forward Ryan Gomes during the first half of Wednesday's game in Minneapolis. James' 32 points led the Cavaliers to a 93-70 victory, their 21st of the season against four losses.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Here's how bad things have gotten for the Minnesota Timberwolves: When LeBron James left the game with 3:20 left and the Cavs well on their way to a 93-70 victory on Wednesday night at Target Center, the fans saluted the 32-point performance by James, and then headed for the exits. Apparently Wolves fans feel that they have to cheer whatever they can these days.
James scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter on an assortment of jumpers and dunks that relieved the boredom of a tedious exercise against the struggling Wolves, 4-21, who lost their 11th straight game and their sixth straight since Kevin McHale fired Randy Wittman and took over as coach.
In spite of all that, James seemed surprised by the standing ovation he received.
"You can never be prepared for something like that being on the road," said James, who waved in return to the applause. "It was great. They have great fans here. I really appreciated it."
The victory was the Cavaliers' first after their 11-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at Atlanta. They improved to 21-4 with their 20th victory in 22 games, in spite of again playing without Zydrunas Ilgauskas (sprained left ankle) and Daniel Gibson (sprained left big toe.)
Cont...

 

[osugrad21]

CPD

Cavaliers Insider: Z's near miss ended Wolves' bid

by Mary Schmitt Boyer/Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday December 17, 2008, 10:19 PM

Paul Battaglia/Associated PressMinnesota's Kevin Ollie --- a former Cavalier --- drives on Sasha Pavlovic in the second quarter of Wednesday's game in Minneapolis. Ollie scored 12 for the Timberwolves, who managed just 32 points in the second half of the Cavaliers' 93-70 victory.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Zydrunas Ilgauskas is lucky he survived his workout with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995. It wasn't the broken foot that caused him to postpone his entry into the NBA draft for one year. It was an accident during his workout for the Wolves at their practice court in Target Center, where a cameraman was filming the workout from a perch above the floor.
"The cameraman dropped a tripod and missed Zydrunas by six inches," recalled Kevin McHale, then the Wolves' vice president of basketball operations and now their head coach. "That would have killed him. That would have been worse than the broken foot."
Ilgauskas laughed at the memory.
"It was half an inch," he said. "It landed on the floor between my feet and took out a piece of the court. It was almost the Z Center instead of the Target Center."
Back in 1995, the Wolves thought they had a sleeper in Ilgauskas. A European scout recommended him to McHale.

"The film on the guy was like something from behind the Iron Curtain," McHale recalled. "It was all grainy. We were watching and it was like, 'OK, which one of those dudes is he?' Needless to say, when you're watching teams from the area where he's from, they're all a bunch of tall white guys. So you're looking at the film, checking for [jersey] numbers."

Cont...

 

[tsteele316]

Mike Brown finally lets Hickson out of the doghouse and he has given a lot of energy off the bench. Hopefully this will earn him minutes as the 4th big when Z comes back. Nothing against Jackson, but JJ just has a much athleticism he needs to be on the floor. IMO his is our second most natural scorer at the 4 or 5.

hickson will be the jerome harrison of the cavs. he doesn't practice exceptionally well, but he produces on the court. jackson does all the little things right, and plays hard, but hickson's skill set is on another level.

but the cavs definately miss Z and Boobie.

 

[jlb1705]

hickson will be the jerome harrison of the cavs. he doesn't practice exceptionally well, but he produces on the court. jackson does all the little things right, and plays hard, but hickson's skill set is on another level.

but the cavs definately miss Z and Boobie.

I think the practice part could even come around. I mean, he still has to learn HOW to practice in a sense. He's only two years removed from HS. I think there are plenty of good influences around him, if he gets some maturity to go with his skills he'll be a very good one.

 

[Brutus1]

hickson will be the jerome harrison of the cavs. he doesn't practice exceptionally well, but he produces on the court. jackson does all the little things right, and plays hard, but hickson's skill set is on another level.

but the cavs definately miss Z and Boobie.

Well said. I agree with all.

 

[stowfan]

The Cavs will be on ESPN tonight @10:30 for all you OOS Buckeyes

 

[NFBuck]

Well...when over 2,000 of them are in the "What are you listening to right now?" thread, it's hard to find good ones.

Stalk much?

Off to Denver...lets go Cavs.

 

[JXC]

I am delonte west...I am awesome!

Seriously...who isn't amazing on this team? This team is SOOOOO much better with Z. Cavs would still have the winning streak had he not been hurt.

Every game somebody different impresses me. And then LeBron is always good.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

That was a very good team that they dismantled on the road tonight...

 

[stowfan]

Last night's box score, LBJ, Z and West led the way:
cleveland.com