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Cavs Regular Season

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exhawg said:
I have to give some dap to all of you who said the Cavs were going to win last night. I didn't see it happening, but I didn't see Lebron shutting down Parker either. I was only able to watch the 4th quarter because my team was busy getting whooped on 20 times worse than the Spurs did last night. It's amazing how the Cavs are good enough to go out and beat any team in the NBA, but they can also be bad enough to go out and lose to any team as well.
I think Graham has earned a second 10 day deal at the very least. If he can keep this up for 20 days then I believe the Cavs will sign him for the rest of the season. Graham and Pavlovic make a decent combo at the SG since they both seem to get in foul trouble. Pav is a better shooter, but Graham is more athletic and a better defender. I would rather see Graham play than Newble when he gets healthy because SG has some offensive game.
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I agree I like him better than Newble. I hope that they keep him.

With the pickup of Grahm we have a little bit of depth with our recent injuries.

Newble comes back now too, so hopefully we can work on getting everyone back and stay healthy down the stretch run.
 
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One thing I did notice last night was how clean of an officiated game it was - which is kind of unfair seeing as how all the home teams in the NBA get the calls.

Pavs needs to get control of his emotions. I can't think of one bad call on him last night. If he could move his feet quicker, he wouldn't be forced to D up with his body so much. I think he's learning too much from Z, who clearly has never committed a foul in his whole career.
 
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I like what I see from Graham. While he is no starter he is a great guy to get 10-12 minutes in a game. But we will find out on Graham's status once we find out how much longer Hughes is out.

LeBron is LeBron... really what else can be said? But I think the minutes affect how much intensity he brings to a game. When playing a great team he goes all out. But against lesser teams you can see the defensive lapses. With the amount of minutes he plays he has to rest somewhere, and against bad teams he chooses to rest on the defensive side of the ball.
 
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Props to you guys for that.

I didn't think we could handle Parker and he would have his way like the first game. I was way wrong. Last night might have been the best defensive game LeBron has played, and he still went for 44.

The first 3 minutes of the game, they looked like they were afraid to be on the same court as the Spurs (except LeBron).

If LeBron plays D like that against Arenas, Richardson and other offensive stars of the bad teams, we win most of them, home or away.

I'm a big fan of the offensive rebound and to see the Cavs triple S.A last night was great: 18-6.

7-3 in steals and 5-18 in turnovers. Great game.
 
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exhawg said:
It's funny the best teams in the league probably hate coming to Cleveland, while the crappy teams probably come in thinking they have a shot to win if they can keep it close into the 4th quarter.
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Yeah we have taken out the Pistons, Heat, and Spurs at home.

Easily 3 of the top 5 teams in the league.

Do you guys think we belong in the top 5 teams in the league talk.

I think we are in top 6.

With 3 above mentioned teams, us, Suns, and Mavs.

Here are the Espin Power rankings, I think 11th is way too low.

Power Rankings: Spurs back on top, Knicks still at bottom
<HR width="100%" noShade SIZE=1>By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

For the first time in 14 weeks -- for the first time since Nov. 14 -- there's a new No. 1 in my weekly NBA Power Rankings.
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It's the only other team this season that knows how it feels to look down on the rest of the league.
San Antonio, not Dallas, is the team from Texas that bumps the Detroit Pistons. The Mavericks were a likely candidate after a 13-game win streak and a 36-point spanking of Miami, but the Spurs have capitalized on Dallas' setback Friday at Denver to claim the league's longest active win streak -- with nine consecutive victories, a 6-0 start on their annual eight-game eviction by the rodeo and just one 20-point game from Tim Duncan in that span. There's a reason we've been saying any team but Detroit would trade their problems for San Antonio's.
Read on to see where your team ranks and click here to send me feedback. You can also click here for my latest around-the-league notebook edition of the Daily Dime.
SportsNation: Rank them yourself!
<TABLE align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Team Archives: <SELECT class=tablesm id=url onchange=gotosite(this.options[this.selectedIndex].value) name=url> <OPTION selected>Select Team</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=atl>Atlanta</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=bos>Boston</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=cha>Charlotte</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=chi>Chicago</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=cle>Cleveland</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=dal>Dallas</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=den>Denver</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=det>Detroit</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=gsw>Golden State</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=hou>Houston</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=ind>Indiana</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=lac>LA Clippers</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=lal>LA Lakers</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=mem>Memphis</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=mia>Miami</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=mil>Milwaukee</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=min>Minnesota</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=njn>New Jersey</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=nyk>New York</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=nor>NO/Oklahoma City</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=orl>Orlando</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=phi>Philadelphia</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=pho>Phoenix</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=por>Portland</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=sac>Sacramento</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=sas>San Antonio</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=sea>Seattle</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=tor>Toronto</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=uth>Utah</OPTION> <OPTION value=/nba/teams/powerranking?team=was>Washington</OPTION></SELECT> <NOSCRIPT><INPUT type="submit" value="GO" onsubmit="gotosite(document.forms[0].url.options[document.forms[0].url.selectedIndex].value);return false"></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=tablehead cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 border=0><TBODY><TR class=stathead><TD colSpan=5>2005-06 Power Rankings: Week 15</TD></TR><TR class=colhead><TD width="15%" colSpan=2>RANK (LAST WK)</TD><TD width=90>TEAM</TD><TD width=40>REC.</TD><TD>COMMENT</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>1 (1)</TD><TD>Spurs</TD><TD align=middle>40-10</TD><TD>Spurs have found more than cohesion and momentum on their Rodeo Road Trip. They've also found the old Manu, who sure looked like his All-Star self in Indy.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>2 (2)</TD><TD>Mavericks</TD><TD align=middle>39-11</TD><TD>The anti-Heat? Dallas is 6-1 in its showdowns with San Antonio, Detroit, Phoenix and Miami, averaging 105.7 ppg and holding those teams to a mere 89.7 ppg.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>3 (1)</TD><TD>Pistons</TD><TD align=middle>41-9</TD><TD>Yes, even Dr. Detroit (as one loyal reader calls me) can drop the hammer. Pistons plunge two spots after letting me down in Atlanta and another two-loss week.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>4 (4)</TD><TD>Suns</TD><TD align=middle>33-17</TD><TD>For all their success sans Amare, Suns aren't celebrating yet, knowing they don't have enough separation from Clips to believe they've sewn up a top-three seed.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>5 (5)</TD><TD>Nets</TD><TD align=middle>27-22</TD><TD>If you have to bid farewell to a 12-game home winning streak, you can accept it a little easier when the hottest team in the league is the one that halts it. Maybe.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>6 (7)</TD><TD>Heat</TD><TD align=middle>31-20</TD><TD>It's about time you brought some heat, Heat. Now to see if you turn Sunday into a real turning point or if it makes you even more lax for the rest of the regular season.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>7 (9)</TD><TD>Hornets</TD><TD align=middle>27-23</TD><TD>I'm officially an all-in believer in Hornets' playoff dream. They just went 2-0 without CP3 thanks to the the ever-underrated Speedy and Snyder's unexpected surge.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>8 (6)</TD><TD>Clippers</TD><TD align=middle>30-19</TD><TD>Sam I Am was snubbed so completely that almost no one even mentions him as a snubbee. And Clips might just deserve two All-Stars given how well they've done.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>9 (11)</TD><TD>Nuggets</TD><TD align=middle>28-25</TD><TD>No team has endured trade-rumor uncertainty longer than Nugs, but putting the first blemish on Dallas' perfect month might be what revives K-Mart and Co.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>10 (12)</TD><TD>Pacers</TD><TD align=middle>25-23</TD><TD>After a season and a half on the Artest roller-coaster, 22 straight days at home give O'Neal-less Pacers a well-deserved chance to steady themselves for once.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>11 (8)</TD><TD>Cavaliers</TD><TD align=middle>29-21</TD><TD>Nervous time? Hughes will sit longer than expected and a home loss to shorthanded GSW looked too familiar after the two second-half swoons in the LBJ Era.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>12 (10)</TD><TD>Grizzlies</TD><TD align=middle>27-23</TD><TD>We've seen some defensive slippage, but Grizz are still one of three teams holding foes under 90 ppg. That's why I doubt Grizz will slip much further.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>13 (17)</TD><TD>Wizards</TD><TD align=middle>26-23</TD><TD>Red-hot Wiz love that Le Commish put Arenas in the AS Game. But they didn't mind the snubbed Arenas who went for 45 after finding out the coaches didn't pick him.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>14 (13)</TD><TD>Bucks</TD><TD align=middle>26-24</TD><TD>Class act that he is, Redd is taking his All-Star snub better than I am, quietly keeping banged-up Milwaukee above .500 for the fourth successive month.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>15 (16)</TD><TD>Rockets</TD><TD align=middle>21-30</TD><TD>Problems? To leapfrog five teams into the playoffs, Houston must keep improving that 8-16 home record. And March is the time to do it, with 11 of 15 games at home.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>16 (19)</TD><TD>Kings</TD><TD align=middle>23-28</TD><TD>The good news: With Artest, Kings are winning at home again (eight straight). The bad news: Kings play 14 of next 22 on the road between now and the end of March.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>17 (18)</TD><TD>Jazz</TD><TD align=middle>25-26</TD><TD>If you're thinking (hoping?) Boozer is being showcased, think again. He missed almost a year, so Jazz couldn't trade him before the deadline if they wanted to.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>18 (14)</TD><TD>Lakers</TD><TD align=middle>25-25</TD><TD>The schedule should help Lakers from here: 20 of their final 32 games are at home. Of course, at 1-5 in February, it suddenly looks like Kobe needs a lot of help.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>19 (20)</TD><TD>Bulls</TD><TD align=middle>22-28</TD><TD>They've addressed some longstanding road woes and Gordon recently scored 30-plus in three straight, but Bulls ain't going to the playoffs if they stay sub-.500 at home.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>20 (22)</TD><TD>Warriors</TD><TD align=middle>23-27</TD><TD>Time will tell us if this was the right move. But since Warriors refused to part with Diogu in an Artest deal, the rookie bruiser is playing just 10.6 mpg in February.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>21 (15)</TD><TD>76ers</TD><TD align=middle>24-26</TD><TD>Perhaps we were premature with the ''relax'' advice. Too many losses and too much unhappiness lately have plunged Sixers into another worrying slide.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>22 (21)</TD><TD>Timberwolves</TD><TD align=middle>22-28</TD><TD>I'm not expecting a very chipper KG at All-Star Weekend. Not when, even after the injection of new blood, he's been powerless to prevent a 1-6 tumble this month.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>23 (23)</TD><TD>Raptors</TD><TD align=middle>19-32</TD><TD>Maybe Kobe did get some help from that Raps defense on the way to Eighty-One. Toronto just gave up 125 points to Spurs . . . who were playing without Duncan.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>24 (27)</TD><TD>Celtics</TD><TD align=middle>20-31</TD><TD>It's been that kind of season: Perkins posts four straight double-digit rebound games after only six all season . . . then suffers a dislocated shoulder in practice.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>25 (28)</TD><TD>Hawks</TD><TD align=middle>15-34</TD><TD>OK, OK. Even I can give it a (week's) rest on the Passing Over Paul stuff when Hawks are the only team besides Mavs and Wiz to have wins over Spurs and Pistons.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>26 (26)</TD><TD>SuperSonics</TD><TD align=middle>20-31</TD><TD>Doubt he'd admit it, but I'm guessing Allen would prefer a trade this month to a team with real playoff possibilities as opposed to one All-Star Weekend in Houston.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>27 (23)</TD><TD>Magic</TD><TD align=middle>19-30</TD><TD>And then there was one: Magic's 1-7 slide makes you think that Chicago is the only team outside the East's top eight capable of making a playoff push.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>28 (29)</TD><TD>Bobcats</TD><TD align=middle>14-38</TD><TD>Even if Bobcats didn't just post the first three-game win streak in club history without him, Okafor resting that ankle for the rest of the season isn't the worst idea.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>29 (25)</TD><TD>Trail Blazers</TD><TD align=middle>17-32</TD><TD>After a 7-4 stretch in which three of the losses were close ones to good teams -- Mavs, Nuggets, Spurs -- Blazers are suddenly getting blown out everywhere they go.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow><TD>
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</TD><TD align=middle>30 (30)</TD><TD>Knicks</TD><TD align=middle>14-36</TD><TD>Larry's first Spurs team went 21-61. But that team knew it was getting David Robinson in Year 2. Knicks might not win seven more, and no Admiral is on deck.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--end leftcol --><!-- end this div -->
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Here is where they have been all season. Never above 5 and 12 was basically as low as they have been if you don't count the shitty first week where they have us 19th.

<TABLE class=tablehead cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3><TBODY><TR bgColor=#061642><TD class=stathead colSpan=5>Power Ranking</TD></TR><TR class=colhead><TD width="11%">SEASON</TD><TD width="11%">WEEK</TD><TD align=middle width="11%">RECORD</TD><TD align=middle width="11%">RANK</TD><TD width="56%">COMMENT</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Training Camp</TD><TD align=middle>42-40</TD><TD align=middle>9</TD><TD>There are several newcomers to track -- Hughes, Donyell, D-Jones and Ferry -- but let's face it: LBJ and his quest to finally make the playoffs remain the main focus.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Preseason</TD><TD align=middle>42-40</TD><TD align=middle>10</TD><TD>Everyone knows they'll be better. Question is, how much better will Cavs be on the road? For their sake, hopefully much, much better than 12-29.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 1</TD><TD align=middle>1-2</TD><TD align=middle>19</TD><TD>LeBron hasn't been the problem in Cavs' two defeats, but they do need even more from him (only 11 boards so far) with this group still getting to know each other.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 2</TD><TD align=middle>5-2</TD><TD align=middle>10</TD><TD>Good response to a poor start. A 4-0 week, even against so-so comp, put Cavs in Team O' The Week running and merits a return to the top 10.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 3</TD><TD align=middle>8-2</TD><TD align=middle>5</TD><TD>Cavs haven't lost a home game. They've won three in a row on the road. In other words, an LBJ squad is finally living up to the hype.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 4</TD><TD align=middle>9-4</TD><TD align=middle>9</TD><TD>LBJ scoring 30-plus is becoming routine -- seven times already -- but the real key might be Hughes' passing. When Larry leads them in assists, Cavs are 6-0.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 5</TD><TD align=middle>10-6</TD><TD align=middle>11</TD><TD>Ten wins in November tied a franchise record, but it'd be easier to get excited about Cavs' start if they weren't mandhandled by Spurs, Pacers and Clips, too.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 6</TD><TD align=middle>11-8</TD><TD align=middle>12</TD><TD>Two obvious problems: Cavs aren't winning lately when LBJ scores big, and they're not playing anything close to the sort of D expected by their Pop-schooled new coach.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 7</TD><TD align=middle>13-9</TD><TD align=middle>11</TD><TD>Eight (wins in a row) was definitely not enough. Cavs are 4-7 since and looked so jittery Saturday that they nearly let weary Miami back into a game that was over.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 8</TD><TD align=middle>16-9</TD><TD align=middle>6</TD><TD>The new commercials are good, but real life ain't bad for LeBron. Cavs have started winning again (5-0 after a 1-5 start this month) and LBJ turns 21 by week's end.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 9</TD><TD align=middle>18-10</TD><TD align=middle>5</TD><TD>A month that couldn't have started in much worse fashion (1-5) was capped with the ultimate flourish: LeBron's 21st birthday and a victory over Detroit. Cavs' only loss since Dec. 13 was inflicted by slightly hotter Nets.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 10</TD><TD align=middle>20-11</TD><TD align=middle>7</TD><TD>Cavs will miss Hughes, obviously, but probably can scrape by in the short term if LBJ keeps this up: 32.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.9 apg and 51.4-percent shooting since Dec. 1.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 11</TD><TD align=middle>20-15</TD><TD align=middle>11</TD><TD>The last time Hughes played, Cavs beat Detroit. Without him, Cavs posted an 0-4 week with a bad home loss to Knicks and three discouraging road near-misses.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 12</TD><TD align=middle>21-17</TD><TD align=middle>10</TD><TD>Only downer about those skid-halting 51 points in Utah: LBJ played so well in those compression tights that he'll have to keep wearing them.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 13</TD><TD align=middle>25-17</TD><TD align=middle>6</TD><TD>Told you LeBron wouldn't be able to ditch the tights. How can he? After that six-game skid, Cavs are 5-0 since he started wearing them.</TD></TR><TR class=evenrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 14</TD><TD align=middle>27-19</TD><TD align=middle>8</TD><TD>Last season's Cavs got to 30-20 before a 12-20 fold dropped them all the way out of the playoffs. These Cavs are hoping Hughes' return prevents a similar fold.</TD></TR><TR class=oddrow vAlign=top><TD>2006</TD><TD>Week 15</TD><TD align=middle>29-21</TD><TD align=middle>11</TD><TD>Nervous time? Hughes will sit longer than expected and a home loss to shorthanded GSW looked too familiar after the two second-half swoons in the LBJ Era.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><LINK href="http://espn.go.com/insertfiles/css/sportstory2005_poster.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><!-- Replace with Survey Script -->

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Upvote 0
Those power rankings would be different if they were put out after last nights game. Kerr has the Cavs at 8 after the Clippers and Nets, but his rankings were also put out before last nights game. The Cavs played poorly most of last week. If the Cavs can beat the Celtics tomorrow they will have some good momentum going into the end of the season. The near week off will do everyone (mainly Z) some good. If the Cavs can go 4-6 for the rest of February with at least 1 of the wins coming against the Pistons I'll feel better. The back to back games with the Pistons at the end of the month will be a big test. Luckily for the Cavs those 2 games are games 3 and 4 in 5 nights for the Pistons. The Cavs only play 1 other game in that time frame. I hear the Pistons have depth issues so they will hopefully be a little tired for those games. If the Cavs could somehow take both Pistons games they might start to get a little worried about the Cavs in the playoffs.
 
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exhawg said:
Those power rankings would be different if they were put out after last nights game. Kerr has the Cavs at 8 after the Clippers and Nets, but his rankings were also put out before last nights game. The Cavs played poorly most of last week. If the Cavs can beat the Celtics tomorrow they will have some good momentum going into the end of the season. The near week off will do everyone (mainly Z) some good. If the Cavs can go 4-6 for the rest of February with at least 1 of the wins coming against the Pistons I'll feel better. The back to back games with the Pistons at the end of the month will be a big test. Luckily for the Cavs those 2 games are games 3 and 4 in 5 nights for the Pistons. The Cavs only play 1 other game in that time frame. I hear the Pistons have depth issues so they will hopefully be a little tired for those games. If the Cavs could somehow take both Pistons games they might start to get a little worried about the Cavs in the playoffs.
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Yeah 4 outta 6 would be good, We have some tough games, and I see a lose @ Philly and @ Detroit.
 
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ABJ

2/15/06

Hughes out rest of season

Cavs' guard could be back by postseason

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - It wasn't the worst-case scenario, but it wasn't good news either.
After his surgery Tuesday, the Cavaliers learned guard Larry Hughes will miss an additional eight to 10 weeks, ending hopes that he could return before the end of the regular season. Dr. Thomas Graham performed the operation on Hughes' right middle finger at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, doing additional bone grafting and making critical fixes to problems from the previous procedure.
One of the three pins that were put in Hughes' finger during the first surgery on Jan. 6 had come loose, harming the healing process.
There also was potential danger of further injury.
The Cavs are hopeful this time all will go according to plan and if the team qualifies for the playoffs, there's a good chance Hughes could be available.
``If all goes well for him and all goes well for our team, he could be back and able to participate in the postseason,'' Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry said. ``This was absolutely the right thing to do, the right time to do it.''
Hughes will be in a splint for the next two weeks and won't be able to do any basketball activity until very late in the regular season.
Ferry said he'll continue to look at potential trades to help make up for Hughes' loss, but also that he believes the team as currently constructed is a playoff team.
``This is a factor in ourdecision-making process this year. We'll do whatever we can to make the team better,'' Ferry said. ``I believe this is a playoff team. I expect it and the guys in the locker room expect it, too.''
Graham impressing
Rookie Stephen Graham's 10-day contract expires after tonight's game in Boston, but the Cavs will surely re-sign him to another 10-day deal after the All-Star break. With Hughes, Ira Newble and Luke Jackson sidelined with injuries, the Cavs hoped Graham would be a stop gap, but he's been more than that.
He's taken full advantage of his minutes, especially in Monday's win over the Spurs. He played 27 minutes and scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds. He not only won over the crowd, but also his coach and LeBron James. James waited for Graham to walk off the court before giving him a congratulatory hug.
Graham's twin brother, Joey, was drafted in the first round by the Toronto Raptors in June, while Stephen went undrafted. He was in summer league with the Phoenix Suns, training camp with the Spurs, and played briefly for the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets this season. But his fast start with the Cavs represents his best chance to stick yet.
``It's me being hungry and making a stand that I can play in this league and be confident I can play here,'' said Graham, who played at Oklahoma State. ``I've been around a little while, I've seen a lot of things and it's helped me out when I came here.''
Cavs coach Mike Brown has been especially pleased with the energy Graham's brought, which has led Brown to leave him on the floor in each of the last two games.
``Guys in his shoes tend to be passive especially when playing with a guy like LeBron James on the floor,'' Brown said. ``He was aggressive on both ends and running the floor. He had a solid night for us.''
Dribbles
Brown said the Cavs had made an initial inquiry into signing free-agent guard Latrell Sprewell like several other teams this season, but it does not appear that is an option for the Cavs right now.... In the past three games, Eric Snow is averaging 9.7 points on 52 percent shooting.... Tonight is the final game before the All-Star break, which lasts until Monday.
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