Road woes have been improved for Cavs
Team has already posted most away wins since 1997-98 season
By Brian Windhorst
<!-- begin body-content -->MIAMI - This is going to sound a little odd considering that the Cavaliers just got slapped by 29 points in Orlando, Fla., but this has actually been a banner road season.
With their win Wednesday in Toronto, the Cavs have 14 road wins this season. With 17 road losses that doesn't sound impressive until perspective is added. It is the most road victories that the Cavs have had since 1997-98, when they were 20-22. It is not merely coincidental that it was also the most recent time they made the playoffs.
Since losing five consecutive road games at the start of a Western Conference trip in January, the Cavs are 8-5 away from home.
They play this afternoon at the Miami Heat's AmericanAirlines Arena.
``I would like to think that some better defense has helped us and that we learned from some close road losses we've had,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``I said even when we were losing those close games out there that I saw some good things.''
After losing three games by two points or less on that trip, the Cavs are 3-0 in road games decided by five points or less.
To further explain the progress, the Cavs won just two road games after the All-Star break last season. Two seasons ago, they had to fight off a 34-game road losing streak.
Dribbles
• There's another fire to put out regarding LeBron James' future. A northeast Ohio media outlet reported last week that the Orlando Magic are a potential destination for James because, after the Steve Francis trade, the Magic will have salary room in the summer of 2007. If James decides against signing an extension with the Cavs this summer, he'll still be restricted in 2007, meaning the Cavs can match any offer. Also, the idea that James would yearn to play with sensation Dwight Howard is a little off. James and Howard, back-to-back No. 1 overall picks, have virtually no relationship, and matters were not helped when James parted ways with agent Aaron Goodwin, who represents Howard.
• Cavs guard Sasha Pavlovic, a native of Serbia and Montenegro, said he was sad when he heard his former president, Slobodan Milosevic, had passed away Saturday in the Netherlands because ``he wasn't allowed to leave and go to Russia to get medical treatment.'' Milosevic was charged and on trial for various war crimes, including genocide and was recently denied leave for treatment. Over the years, many high-profile Serbians, such as Pavlovic, have been vocal about the controversial ex-leader. Pavlovic is staying on the sidelines.
``I don't get into the politics,'' he said. ``All I know is he used to be president.''
• Former Cavs assistant and interim coach Brendan Malone is doing pro personnel work for the team from his New York home. After not being retained as an assistant, Malone went to work as a consultant for the Seattle SuperSonics. But the Cavs, who still have him under contract, put a stop to it last November when they thought that he was doing too much. His son, Michael, is an assistant under Brown.
• Despite dips in his shooting percentages and point average, Damon Jones keeps telling media members that he doesn't believe that he's having a bad season. Maybe he's right. ``Don't look at Damon's numbers last year in Miami, that's not really him, his true numbers are probably closer to what he did when he was in Milwaukee two years ago,'' one NBA team executive said. ``That's a better barometer.''
Last season with the Heat, Jones averaged 11.6 points on 43 percent 3-point shooting in 31 minutes per game. This season with the Cavs, he's averaging 6.8 points on 38 percent 3-point shooting in 26 minutes. During the 2003-04 season in Milwaukee, he averaged 7.0 points, 40 percent on 3-pointers in 25 minutes a game.
• Ira Newble was a starter last season, and this year all expected him to be a key defensive reserve. After two injuries that cost him 36 games, Newble has become an afterthought. He has played just once in the past 21 games, a token two minutes in mop-up time Friday night.
``I've got to try to work my way back in,'' Newble said. ``I've been out so long I guess I've been forgotten. I'm hoping to play. I'm not happy just sitting and watching.''
He's not forgotten on the salary cap. Newble, whose Cavs career has been plagued by injuries to his knees, ankles and feet, still has two years and $6.5 million left on his contract. He has an option for $3.5 million for the 2007-08 season which he certainly will pick up.
• Flip Murray is averaging 39 minutes a game for the Cavs since coming over in a trade with the Sonics last month. He is averaging 13.3 points on 40 percent shooting, up from his 10.4 points on 39 percent shooting in 25 minutes per game in Seattle. He's quite pleased with the minutes increase, but it might not be his best role. He's neither a prototypical shooting guard or a point guard, which probably makes him a better combo guard off the bench than a starter. That is the reality that he's going to be faced with if he is considering extending his career with the Cavs, who have Larry Hughes in his spot. In the same vein, the Cavs likely will not offer him starters' money in the offseason. Conclusion: Don't expect Murray will be back.
• It simply must be harped on, so sorry if it is becoming tiresome. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is shooting 68 percent from the field the past three games yet has gotten an average of just seven shots a game. This is not a shot at point guard Eric Snow, whose offense has been much better recently, but the offense has given him two more shots per game than Z over that span. Something's just not right about that.
• Defying the odds, former Cavs great Mark Price did accept a head coaching job in Australia. He will coach the expansion Melbourne South Dragons when they debut later this year.
