Posted on Sun, Mar. 19, 2006
Cavs pace for Pacers in playoffs
Wizards also in hunt for fourth or fifth seed in East
By Brian Windhorst
<!-- begin body-content -->Judging the past, present and near future, the Cavaliers appear to be on a crash course with the Indiana Pacers for the first round of the playoffs.
Where the series will start and finish might truly be the only thing to be decided as the Pacers figure to press the Cavs for the fourth playoff seed and homecourt advantage down the stretch. The Washington Wizards are only a half game behind the Pacers for the No. 5 spot, but consider all the following when it comes to projecting the Cavs first playoff appearance in eight years:
• The Cavs have 16 games left and head into today's game with the Los Angeles Lakers at 37-29. In the past 55 games, the team is 28-27. If they stay on that .500 track and go 8-8, they'll finish the season at 45-37.
• If that happens, the Pacers, who are 33-30, would have to go 13-6 to edge the Cavs for the fourth spot.
• The Pacers must pass the Cavs to get the No. 4 spot, because after winning the season series 3-1, the Cavs own the tiebreaker.
• Only six of the Cavs' final 16 games are against teams that have a winning record.
• The Cavs' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is eight over the Chicago Bulls.
• The Cavs play six of the next eight games at home but six of their last eight on the road.
• Of their last 19 games, the Pacers play nine at home. They must play the Detroit Pistons twice along with the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns. Their final seven games are against teams with losing records, and five of those are at home.
• At 33-31, the Wizards are still in the thick of things for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots. They have a brutal schedule down the stretch, however. Starting with a six-game West Coast trip that starts this week, 12 of the Wizards' last 16 games are on the road. They are 10-19 on the road this season. Also, nine of those games are against teams in the playoff picture, including matchups with the L.A. Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons.
In summation, if the Cavs can hold their own during this stretch of home games, they will lock up a playoff spot and will force the Pacers to be nearly perfect in April to pass them for homecourt advantage. Of course, they also controlled their destiny last season as well.
Dribbles
• Last week, Orlando Magic television commentator Matt Guokas, who used to do Cavs games, told his audience that center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had been so frustrated with his teammates lack of response in Rasheed Wallace elbowgate three weeks ago that he went to the front office and asked to be traded in the offseason. Many Cavs fans around the country who watched the game on the NBA League Pass, which picked up the Sunshine Network's feed, were shocked by the comments. Guokas was partially right and partially wrong. Team insiders said Ilgauskas did go to management upset but never expressed desire to go anywhere.
• In a little less than two weeks, guard Larry Hughes expects to hear whether he'll be able to play again this season. An exam last week in Baltimore showed that the bone in his right middle finger was healing. He has another appointment scheduled at the Curtis National Hand Center. Though Hughes has been more optimistic than the team through this whole process, he said he's hoping that he could be cleared to start using the hand again after that appointment. He's hoping he can return to light practice at that time and maybe even be available for games three or four weeks from now.
• In hindsight, it looks like the Cavs should have signed free-agent point guard Steve Blake last summer. The 26-year-old Blake is a true point guard having a breakout season, averaging 8.8 points, shooting 42 percent on 3-pointers and standing second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio. He has been so good, he has unseated Portland Trail Blazers star-in-waiting Sebastian Telfair as the starter. Blake visited the Cavs last summer and was ready to sign an offer sheet, but one never was presented. He ended up signing with the Blazers just before the start of training camp. His old team, the Wizards, weren't high enough on him to match the Blazers offer, and the Cavs wanted a more experienced player, opting for Damon Jones.
• Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry took time to introduce several players to NBA Hall of Famer Arnie Risen, who played 10 seasons in 1940s and '50s and came to a practice last week. Risen, who lives in Cleveland, regularly comes to Cavs games. ``He told me he came to practices when I played here but I'd never met him,'' Ferry said.
• Not that it made the Cavs feel any better, but the Boston Celtics blew a 25-point lead in Miami on Thursday. The Cavs, of course, lost a 15-point lead in Miami last Sunday. Also, the Mavericks' 19-point comeback on the Cavs in Dallas last week wasn't unheard of either. The Mavs have won five games this season when being down by 17 points or more.
• A Miami Herald social scene column this week reported that LeBron James is dating singer Brandy, who recently called off an engagement to New York Knicks' Quentin Richardson. The story said Brandy ``seductively danced for her boyfriend'' at a trendy Miami nightspot after the Cavs loss to the Heat and that James had bought her a 50-carat diamond watch. ``Those are all lies,'' said a member of the Cavs party who was at the club that night. James has a longtime girlfriend, who is the mother of his son, LeBron James Jr.
