Cavs Regular Season

[scarletngrey11]

Hopefully the Cavs get home field advantage.

The arena would be so eletric and pumped.

Didnt Rehgi say tonight that the magic number is 8 for home field?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Hopefully the Cavs get home field advantage.

The arena would be so eletric and pumped.

Didnt Rehgi say tonight that the magic number is 8 for home field?

Just curious what field we will be playing on. :tongue2:

Yeah if we lock up the 4th seed we will get home court advantage, and that is either beating out Washington or Indiana. One is 8 and one is 7. We are looking pretty good. Especially the way we are playing and we have some tough road games, but we also have a couple cupcakes on the schedule like Charolette, Atl and NY.

Now we just need to show Miami and the rest of the NBA that we are going to be a team to be reckoned with in the playoffs when we take on Miami this saturday. I kinda like this couple day break, it gives the guys time to rest, b/c we are going to need that b4 the playoffs.

Still hoping on Hughes in 7-10 days.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

3/30/06

CAVALIERS 107 | MAVERICKS 94

James scores 46 as Cavs clinch spot in playoffs

Thursday, March 30, 2006

James Walker
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>

</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MIKE CARDEW | AKRON BEACON JOURNAL </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>LeBron James, who scored 31 of his 46 points in the second half, goes up with a shot against Dallas’ DeSagana Diop. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


CLEVELAND — After two years of near misses, LeBron James all but guaranteed a playoff berth for the Cavaliers before the start of the 2005-06 regular season.
Last night James officially delivered on his promise.

The third-year forward scored 46 points, including 31 in the second half, in a 107-94 rout of the Dallas Mavericks. The victory helped clinch Cleveland’s first playoff berth in eight seasons, along with a stronger hold on the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland sealed the game with a 35-16 run in the third quarter. James outscored Dallas 19-16 during that period.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13 points, nine rebounds) and forward Donyell Marshall (12 points) also scored in double figures for the Cavaliers (42-29), who last made the playoffs during the 1997-98 season.

"We are very excited right now to bring the playoffs back to Cleveland," James said. "We’re back. What more can you say? Guys have stuck in through hard times, the bad times, and now we’re feeling good about ourselves. The hard work really paid off."

Last night Dallas (54-18) didn’t have the look of the dominant team it has been throughout the regular season. The Mavericks were playing their second game in two nights after a physical loss Tuesday to the Detroit Pistons.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points, but the Mavericks played soft on the defensive end, and when they decided to give effort, they dished out flagrant fouls.

Dallas forwards Erick Dampier and D.J. Mbenga produced hard flagrants on James, perhaps a sign that they didn’t appreciate his performance. The game got chippy late in the second half, but it came much too late as the Cavaliers already held a double-digit lead.

The victory was the sixth straight for Cleveland, which holds a 4½-game lead over the Washington Wizards for the fourth seed with 11 games remaining.

For Ilgauskas, the win was especially sweet. It will be the second playoff appearance for the 31-year old, who has overcome numerous foot surgeries and is the only remaining member of the last Cavaliers team to make the playoffs.

"This franchise has been through a lot of struggles in my years being here," Ilgauskas said. "It was cloudy here for a while and then the sun came up with LeBron and started shining."

Another happy face in the locker room was injured shooting guard Larry Hughes, who missed the past three months because of a finger injury.

Cleveland, which is 23-19 without Hughes, was able to maintain its position without last summer’s major free-agent acquisition for most of the season.

Hughes expects to return before the playoffs, and last night’s clinching victory only heightens his anticipation.

"No question I want to be out there before the end of the season," he said.

[email protected]

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

3/30/06

More likely to come yet from James

By Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND - Cavaliers fans, understand this: You have never seen anything like this before.

Nothing like what LeBron James is doing this month, this year.

Just when you think he can't do any more...

He does more.

Like 46 points against the Dallas Mavericks, 31 in the second half as the Cavaliers rolled to a 107-94 victory -- their sixth in a row.

Hello, playoffs.

And don't you have a feeling that we haven't seen it all from James?

That there might be even more?

Don't ask me what, just know it will be something.

At the age of 21 years and 89 days, James became the youngest player to score 6,000 points in his career. He's already set the team single-season scoring record with 2,215 points -- and there are still 11 games left.

This is ridiculous.

This is great.

This is LeBron James, who might not be this season's Most Valuable Player -- but has been playing like it this month.

James played 44 demanding minutes in which he drew 10 fouls -- including two flagrant fouls.

The first was in the middle of the third quarter, when James barrelled to the basket, dunk on his mind -- and 6-foot-11, 265-pound Erik Dampier made a token effort to block the shot and a serious try to pound James in the head.

Which he did, knocking James to the court.

James stayed down for a few seconds, stood up a bit wobbly, then made both free throws.

Thirty-nine seconds later, James roared to the rim again, the ball held above his head in a Statue of Liberty pose, then slammed it home -- an exclamation point on the message that he was not about to be intimidated.

``Was it intentional? I don't know,'' coach Mike Brown said. ``Was it hard?

Yes.

``He got hammered, then went right back to the hole to dunk the basketball. When your leader does that, then everyone else knows they better step up.''

James has indeed been leading the charge to the playoffs.

In his past four games, he's scored 37, 36, 36 and 46 points. This month, the Cavs are 10-4. He's averaging 33 points, playing 45 minutes a game. In his past four games, it's 44, 49, 45 and 50 minutes.

The massive minutes remain a concern, because you don't want James beaten up before the playoffs. He's averaging 43 on the season, 45 this month. He hasn't missed a game.

This game was over in the middle of the fourth quarter, but Brown waited until 2:18 left with the score 105-88 to take James out of the game for his only rest of the second half. This came five minutes after he was whacked in the jaw for another flagrant foul, this one by Didier Ilunga-Mbenga.

James joked that he played football in high school, as a receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary in his junior year. He said he had been ``hit a lot harder than that.''

He also appreciated that Zydrunas Ilgauskas drilled Mavericks guard Jason Terry for a tough foul. And right after the second flagrant foul, the Cavs' Donyell Marshall got tangled up with Mbenga, Marshall being whistled for the flagrant foul.

Meanwhile, James kept rolling up the numbers. He scored those 46 points on a mere 23 field-goal attempts. He was hot from the outside, 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. He made 10-of-13 free throws.

I know, too many numbers.

But the numbers are so overwhelming and so plentiful, it's easy to dismiss them by saying, ``Well, that's just LeBron.''

No, that's just a taste of what is to come. It makes you wish the playoffs could start right now, because James and the Cavs are peaking at just the right time.

Brown has improved his offense in terms of spacing the court, creating room for James to operate. Flip Murray is blending in so well at shooting guard.

Damon Jones and Marshall are starting to make some shots.

This team will never be strong on defense, but they no longer are awful.

Today, they are a playoff team for the first time in eight years, and it's James who has carried them.

<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end -->

 

[Brutus1]

Kudo's to Z and Donyell. Don't put up with that garbage.

The performance in the 2nd half was great.

Now, let's shoot for 50 wins.

Great game by everyone.

 

[exhawg]

It's amazing what being able to shoot can do for a team. I can't really tell if the Cavs are doing anything differently on offense than they did the last time they played the Mavs, but last night they were able to hit open shots. In the 3rd quarter against the Mavs last time the Cavs couldn't hit a shot to save their lives. With guys like Lebron, Z, and Murray they are going to get open looks, they just have to be able to hit them. Even though it doesn't happen nearly as often as it did earlier in the season I still see Lebron wasting time and throwing up an off balance 3 with the shot clock running down. I give Lebron a lot of credit for forcing his way to the hoop more often which was the biggest problem earlier this season. Last night I saw Damon Jones drive to the hoop, kick to Murray who drove to the hoop, and kick to Gooden for a wide open 10 footer from the baseline. If the Cavs can continue to shoot like they have been of late they are going to be a hard out in the playoffs.

I'm not a basketball expert, but averaging 2 pts for every shot you take in a game is crazy!!!

 

[crazybuckfan40]

It's amazing what being able to shoot can do for a team. I can't really tell if the Cavs are doing anything differently on offense than they did the last time they played the Mavs, but last night they were able to hit open shots. In the 3rd quarter against the Mavs last time the Cavs couldn't hit a shot to save their lives. With guys like Lebron, Z, and Murray they are going to get open looks, they just have to be able to hit them. Even though it doesn't happen nearly as often as it did earlier in the season I still see Lebron wasting time and throwing up an off balance 3 with the shot clock running down. I give Lebron a lot of credit for forcing his way to the hoop more often which was the biggest problem earlier this season. Last night I saw Damon Jones drive to the hoop, kick to Murray who drove to the hoop, and kick to Gooden for a wide open 10 footer from the baseline. If the Cavs can continue to shoot like they have been of late they are going to be a hard out in the playoffs.

I'm not a basketball expert, but averaging 2 pts for every shot you take in a game is crazy!!!

Yeah it is. If he would of shot 46 shots like Kobe shot that one nite he woulc of went for 92 and then add in 8 free throws and he goes for a 100.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

3/31/06

Playoff berth most gratifying to Z

By Brian Windhorst

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content -->CLEVELAND - The Cavaliers made a franchise-wide effort to take clinching a long-awaited playoff berth this week in stride. No fireworks or balloons, much less champagne.
So when Zydrunas Ilgauskas stepped to the microphone at Quicken Loans Arena following the Cavs' 107-94 win Wednesday night over the Dallas Mavericks, he, too, tried to treat it like a matter of routine.
Ilgauskas wanted to thank the fans, talk about the game and move on.
The crowd wouldn't let him.
The Cavs might not have made a big deal of the event, but the patrons did with signs and chants. When Ilgauskas tried to speak, the crowd swallowed his words with noise, recognizing his long journey from the last time he tasted the playoffs during his rookie season. The lone remaining player from that era and the symbol of all the Cavs have come through, he allowed himself to get caught in the moment.
He raised his hand to the crowd, his face slightly turning red.
It was for a such a moment that Ilgauskas agreed to take a $6 million pay cut to re-sign with the Cavs in the offseason.
``It's been a long time. The last time we made the playoffs I had a full head of hair, I was single, lived in a Dumpster apartment downtown,'' Ilgauskas said in the locker room after the game. ``I went through a lot personally on the court and off the court.
``To come back here and stay with the team and have this work out, it feels great not just for me but for the fans, because it has been a long time coming.''
The two-time All-Star center has been richly rewarded, signing contracts with the Cavs to pay him more than $125 million while battling through a series of foot operations.
In 1997-98, the Cavs went 47-35 and Ilgauskas was among a group of young players -- Brevin Knight, Bobby Sura, Cedric Henderson, Derek Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko -- that showed huge potential along with All-Star Shawn Kemp.
But Ilgauskas, who averaged 13.9 points as a rookie, played just five games over the next two years due to foot problems. The rest of that team encountered its own well-documented issues.
It began a downward spiral that continued through the 2002-03 season, when they hit rock bottom with a 17-65 record.
``It was cloudy here for a long time,'' Ilgauskas said. ``Then it seemed like we got a ray of sun, and it was LeBron.''
James and Ilgauskas have bonded on the court in carrying the Cavs back to the postseason. It was James who went to management in the offseason asking for Ilgauskas to be re-signed, and it was Ilgauskas who came to James' defense Wednesday after the Mavericks administered two flagrant fouls against him.
``I'm happy for him,'' James said.
``To have `Z' come back and sign another deal, it has worked out for him, and it has worked out for us.''
Ilgauskas, who is averaging 16.2 points this season, has had a bumpy season to be sure. From battling knee soreness to taking a blow to the head from the Detroit Pistons' Rasheed Wallace, it has been rough physically. That, he's used to; it's the playoffs that feel new again.
``Hopefully, in a year or two clinching the playoffs will be meaningless,'' Ilgauskas said. ``We have a good team here now. Do we have enough to go all the way? Probably not, but we have enough to be competitive against anybody.''
Hughes to return
Larry Hughes is expected to take part in a practice today for the first time since December. Doctors cleared him Tuesday to resume full workouts with his repaired right middle finger. Hughes could return to games in a week or so.
``Everything is healed, it is a matter of keeping the swelling down and getting ready to play,'' Hughes said. ``I was cleared to do whatever my body can do, and it feels good.''
Hughes has missed 43 games with the injury; the Cavs have gone 24-19 without him.
Heat centerless?
The Miami Heat, who visit the Cavs on Saturday, might be without star center Shaquille O'Neal, who hyperextended his left knee Monday in a game against the Indiana Pacers. O'Neal is listed as day-to-day. Heat center Alonzo Mourning is out with a torn calf muscle.
<!-- end body-content --><!-- begin body-end -->

 

[Brutus1]

Very nice to see Hughes returning to full practice today. Since the playoffs don't start until April 21, it gives him plenty of practice time. If he continues to practice and plays in his first game April 10, in Ok. City, that would give him 10 days of practice and he'd still have 6 games left before the playoffs to knock off the rust.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Very nice to see Hughes returning to full practice today. Since the playoffs don't start until April 21, it gives him plenty of practice time. If he continues to practice and plays in his first game April 10, in Ok. City, that would give him 10 days of practice and he'd still have 6 games left before the playoffs to knock off the rust.

That is very encouraging. AT one time I wasnt expecting him back till maybe the first round of the playoffs, but now it looks like he will be ready to go for the playoffs.

 

[scarletngrey11]

Well looks like we caught a break.

I highly doubt that O'Neal plays tomorrow. Along with hyperextending his knee he also has fluids in it, which doesnt feel good at all. The Heat have nothing to play for so I dont think he will risk it.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Well looks like we caught a break.

I highly doubt that O'Neal plays tomorrow. Along with hyperextending his knee he also has fluids in it, which doesnt feel good at all. The Heat have nothing to play for so I dont think he will risk it.

I would like to see a couple elbows dealt out to Mourning. I used to hate the guy and then I felt bad for him when he couldnt play, but I am back to hating him again. He gets away with so much cheap shit, and is just a dirty player. Hopefully Z wacks him one. I wouldnt mind gaining a dirty image, b/c at times we are too soft, but they showed me a little fire against Dallas. I think we have stepped up the level of play and dont seem to be having them funks that we have had the past 2 years.

 

[scarletngrey11]

I would like to see a couple elbows dealt out to Mourning. I used to hate the guy and then I felt bad for him when he couldnt play, but I am back to hating him again. He gets away with so much cheap shit, and is just a dirty player. Hopefully Z wacks him one. I wouldnt mind gaining a dirty image, b/c at times we are too soft, but they showed me a little fire against Dallas. I think we have stepped up the level of play and dont seem to be having them funks that we have had the past 2 years.

I agree with you on your take of Mourning. I know hes overcame a lot to get back where he is now, but hes just a dirty player. He was practically boxing with Varejo the whole second half of the last game. Varejo would get called for stupid shit and Mourning would be throwing elbows and playing like a thug and get away with it. I think Mourning is a step below Rasheed Wallace, but hes still a dirty player.

You know hes not playing for the rest of the regular season right?

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I agree with you on your take of Mourning. I know hes overcame a lot to get back where he is now, but hes just a dirty player. He was practically boxing with Varejo the whole second half of the last game. Varejo would get called for stupid shit and Mourning would be throwing elbows and playing like a thug and get away with it. I think Mourning is a step below Rasheed Wallace, but hes still a dirty player.

You know hes not playing for the rest of the regular season right?

No I didnt know that. I have kinda been out of the loop the last month besides watching the Cavs game and looking at the scores to see how close we are to the playoffs.

Maybe it is a sign of karma. As Earl Hickey would say.

 

[scarletngrey11]

No I didnt know that. I have kinda been out of the loop the last month besides watching the Cavs game and looking at the scores to see how close we are to the playoffs.

Maybe it is a sign of karma. As Earl Hickey would say.

Yeah he tore his calf muscle or something like that, and he might not be back to full strength in time for the play-offs even.

There is no excuse to lose to a team without Shaq and Alonzo.