The cleveland cavaliers thread

[BIG GREEN]

the lead in the nba even.

[Andrew]

That too.

[NovU]

woot
celtics losing 2 in a row
for some reason i am very pleased...

[BIG GREEN]

The Cavs have not been playing like they did during their original winning streak over the past 3 games. Their loss to the heat doesn't suprise me at all ...especially considering the heat have been a suprise team. Missing a ton if outside shots against unspectactular perimeter defense...they need to regroup and regain that fire...

[Fcuk Orlando]

Question to Cavs fans: Are you guys fans of The Cavaliers themselves or just Lebron? If Lebron goes to New York will you guys stay with Clevland or bandwagon to New York?

[BIG GREEN]

I always and forever will love everything new york...so yea..i'm already a knick fan. As for lebron and the cavs...at first I was just a lebron fan...soon as he entered the nba. Now after all these years i've grown to love the other guys on the team also...verejao, big z, gibson and now mo williams. I'd prefer if lebron got championships with the cavaliers but I certainly wouldn't be mad if he ended up on the knicks or the soon to be brooklyn nets.

[Matthew]

Well with the victory on the rockets tonight decisively is there anymore doubt about the cavs? Lebron is going to get his first MVP this year..mark my words.

I don't think anybody is silly enough to doubt the Cavs....Lebron's a beast who at the moment is a runaway for MVP & the Cavs are finally clicking offensively....I guess adding Mo Williams has helped, as well as guys like Delonte & Wally World getting more comfortable....

I'm really liking that the Hawks are getting better, so are Cavs, so are Celtics....all we need now is Bulls & Knicks to get back in game & Pistons to rejuvenate themselves & East has gone old school again

I was sold on the cavs when I saw how good Boston was last year and how close Cleveland was to beating the Celtics. That being said, Boston is ahead of them still and Lebron will have to play better then he is now for them to beat them this year.

Also don't forget Orlando when you're talking about top teams in the East, and Detroit is a massive wildcard.

[The X]

Well with the victory on the rockets tonight decisively is there anymore doubt about the cavs? Lebron is going to get his first MVP this year..mark my words.

I don't think anybody is silly enough to doubt the Cavs....Lebron's a beast who at the moment is a runaway for MVP & the Cavs are finally clicking offensively....I guess adding Mo Williams has helped, as well as guys like Delonte & Wally World getting more comfortable....

I'm really liking that the Hawks are getting better, so are Cavs, so are Celtics....all we need now is Bulls & Knicks to get back in game & Pistons to rejuvenate themselves & East has gone old school again

I was sold on the cavs when I saw how good Boston was last year and how close Cleveland was to beating the Celtics. That being said, Boston is ahead of them still and Lebron will have to play better then he is now for them to beat them this year.

Also don't forget Orlando when you're talking about top teams in the East, and Detroit is a massive wildcard.

Yes, I shouldn't forget them. For whatever reason, they are flying a bit under my radar, even though they had successful road trips out West, & have the big guy in the middle & a bunch of very good shooters & versatile wings....the funny thing with them is they could easily leapfrog Cavs & get that vital homecourt advantage in the 2nd Round of playoffs....either way, they'll be a tough matchup for whoever draws them in the playoffs....

[Andrew]

The Magic have put together a 25-7 record very quietly indeed. I suppose all eyes were on the Lakers and Celtics when they got off to their hot starts which got a lot of people talking about the Christmas Day clash and the possible rematch in the Finals, meaning teams like the Cavs and Magic have flown under the radar despite having top four records thus far.

[Matthew]

There's alot of hype around the Cavs right now and their record so I wouldn't say they've flown under the radar. But here's a question for you guys, if Cleveland and Orlando meet in the second round, who is the favourite?

[Andrew]

Probably still the Cavaliers, though I think it at least goes six games. Cleveland's got a stronger roster with a better bench so I'd pick them to prevail.

[hova-]

I would also go with the Cavs since I think their team D is really good which is quite important against a jumpshooting team like the Magic.
Furthermore the Magic have other than D-How no real tough guy who can make some noise in the post. I think the Cavs are just better on the bigger positions.

[The X]

I think the winner of the series is decided by the PG's, Jameer Nelson vs Maurice Williams. If Nelson wins it, Magic will edge out Cavs, if Williams wins, Cavs win, if they play it even, Cavs win it in a close one.

[BIG GREEN]

Jameer might be playing better but mo has been doing his thing from the bucks to now the cavs. I don't think there is much of a question who is better between the two...but you never know in the playoffs sometimes.

[Drex]

I'd say Cavs win in 6, too. If they put Howard on Z then he can shoot all day from outside the key, and if he goes out to put a hand on his face then LeBron would have a field day penetrating. Also, they can put lots of guys on Dwight Howard. Ben Wallace is strong enough to hold him, and Varejao flops all day.

[shadowgrin]

Even a frontline of Ben Wallace and Floprejao might do the trick.
Ben bodies up Dwight, if Dwight tries to drive inside the post to escape Wallace, Varejao will take the flop. Turnover.

[Drex]

Yeah, that'll be the strategy probably. The only way I see the Magic beating the Cavs is if both Hedo and Lewis are playing possessed by the spirit of Reggie Miller or sth.

[Andrew]

Turkoglu's someone to look out for if the Magic have the final shot in a close game as he's shown he's capable of knocking down the big shot. However, if it comes down to one of the stars taking over the game and winning it for their team in crunch time then I don't think anyone on the Magic is going to out-duel LeBron or completely shut him down.

[Andrew]

Break To Sideline Ilgauskas For Weeks

Bad news for the Cavs, though I think they'll be able to play on with Varejao starting without losing too much steam. That's not to say they won't miss Ilgauskas but my guess is that with their depth they'll find a way to compensate.

[NovU]

a tough break. maybe a good time to trade big z for kaveman.

that means he won't be in the game when the celtics are in the town. that's a big let down, cuz i wanted to see both teams at 100%.

[Andrew]

Tough to shop a player who's currently out with a broken foot.

[hova-]

Not only tough to shop him when hes injured. Tough to shop a player who has been contributing for so many years. As LeBron said some weeks ago. Big Z's jersey will be retired. Its hard to believe that he is a Cavalier for 10 years now. Thats loyalty .. I like it
Maybe LeBron learns a lesson from Z in terms of loyalty. (Now I stop my ode for Ilgauskas)

[Andrew]

That too, I don't think they should be in any rush to trade him.

I won't suggest that the injury is a good thing or a blessing in disguise but there could be a silver lining here. The current prognosis has Z missing "weeks" but as yet he hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the year. With his problematic feet, if he's going to suffer an injury better it be earlier on when the Cavs have already put together a great record and there's still more than half the regular season to go, potentially giving him ample time to recover and then regain his rhythm and conditioning as they gear up for the postseason. If we were already in March or April, things would look a little more grim.

[NovU]

For me, it's going to be really interesting if they can still contend for the top spot without Big Z. They already lost a game today. Hope they will not continue to suck without him.

As for Kaman, I just like to see him playing for the contender.

[Heiks]

No comments on the "crab" dribble and the one-two? I'm really interested if there's anyone besides the King himself who didn't think that was traveling.