The Spurs are 2007 champs!(much more inside)

[maes]

EVERY time sa gets a big lead against ANYBODY, a good percentage of the time they let them slip back in. i don't know if they're bored or what.

That's not just SA, that's every winning team. Until "win by X" actually counts, the winning team usually lets the pressure up in blowout games...unless you're trying to get your crowd free Big Macs and then a brawl ensues from the Knicks.

Well i didn't think Larry could beat his 1-5 performance, but he outdid himself with 0-5. And great defense, holding Manu & Parker to 55 points.

[Elbeen]

one thing, i don't understand is why mike brown doesn't burn gibson's ass more, i think gibson can be the difference maker for the cavs if he gets more minutes..

[volsey]

That was one of the most painful games to watch. Stopped watching at half, and was surprised to see them down by just 8 with a couple minutes to go.

Mike Brown should be fired for letting the lead grow by so much in the 1st Q, you gotta put James back in, without lebron there is actually no offence at all. Mike Brown is known to be a "good defense leads to offense" type coach, but after watching game 2, I'm pretty sure he has no clue how to coach either ends of the court. And as said boobie should be getting alot more minutes, i love this kid, always so composed and calm, only guy Lebron seems to really enjoy playing with so far also.

Hughes and Gooden gotta go. Hughes is overpaid, he takes bad shots, and does nothing for the team leadership wise. Gooden is probably as smart as a brick when it comes to offense and D. Probably the worst team defender on the Cavs team.

Varejoa and Pavlovic are painful to watch, they bring much needed energy to the floor, but make the dumbest plays, Varejoa trying to be a point guard, running the fast break, and even taking that 3 pt shot in the detroit game 6, Pavlovic seems out of control most of the time, but does attack the basket well, and should get alot more calls.

[Elbeen]

The only player the Cavs management should keep is lebron and gibson and the others, they need to be replaced

[Dean]

Why his is nickname Boobie?

During the first quarter, the spurs had the ball one time and Duncan just got left wide open in the low post. Ilgauskas was defending noone in the high post, Gooden was on Oberto over the opposite side and Duncans just sitting there.. Then they rotate, And 1. Worst defensive sequence ive ever seen.

[Lean]

That's an ugly nickname.

I switched the channel of my TV during the start of the 4th and got surprised when I turned it back. The lead was down to 8. Good thing Eva Longoria was there.

I'm wondering if this series would be like last year's Finals. If that happens, well I can say is that Stern loves the young guys.

[cheater1034]

erm, Atleast I got to watch the game in 3D HD, at the Q they definitely reminded us several times that we were indeed watching it in 3D HD, every commercial the announcers (cleveland announcers, not national) would say "Hey Austin, I still can't believe this 3D HD Technology" It was obvious they're really trying to promote it

The 3D HD was really nice though, the quality was unbelievable. It was basically like a 1080p DLP HD picture you get on plasma's or whatever, but the 3D really gave it a nice kick.

Oh, let me talk about my opinion of the actual game: .......3D HD is quite nice to watch the ball game IMO.

[maes]

What did Lebron finish with, 3 fouls? Pulling him was totally unnecessary. As it was, i don't think it would have a huge difference considering the Spurs nursed a 20-24 point lead most of the game til garbage time.

[Craig]

After Game 1, Brown said they will make some “adjustment”, but I didn’t see any in Game 2. Instead, Cavs got blown out in the first half.
Parker and Duncan are basically invincible for Cavs in these 2 games, Cavs have to slow them down, they just make shot after shot without serious contest.

James really needs to step up and do something in Game 3, now he just can’t make outside shot and his pass are usually affected. He doesn’t have to score much but he must put some pressure on Spurs in the offensive end.

Cavs just beat Pistons, I believe their lineup is fine and they do have the ability to turn this series from a massacre into a matchup, it all depends on their attitude.

[Matt]

all the Cavs can do right now is "compete"...they are a long long way from actually win a title (or a game for that matter)

[mdbeltran01741]

Cavs need to rebuild their team from top to bottom of the roster after this season. Retain LBJ and Gibson and change everything else (more high basketball IQ players is a must). Mike Brown is a decent coach (good in defense but mediocre at best in offense) and i think he needs a good assistant coach on offense (like an offensive coordinator in the NFL) because right now they have no other plays than give the ball to lebron at the top of the key or at the left and right elbow, spread the floor and let him do his thing against a san antonio defense that is loaded on him. Those plays will never win championships. I think in time the cavs will win one but right now and for the forseeable future never.

[cheater1034]

Cavs need to rebuild their team from top to bottom of the roster after this season. Retain LBJ and Gibson and change everything else (more high basketball IQ players is a must). Mike Brown is a decent coach (good in defense but mediocre at best in offense) and i think he needs a good assistant coach on offense (like an offensive coordinator in the NFL) because right now they have no other plays than give the ball to lebron at the top of the key or at the left and right elbow, spread the floor and let him do his thing against a san antonio defense that is loaded on him. Those plays will never win championships. I think in time the cavs will win one but right now and for the forseeable future never.

Rebuild entire team? Are you kidding me?

They have a pretty talented team, and an extremely young team. They just have a few problems to quirk out (the biggest problem is larry hughes).

They have a pretty good shooting guard (pavlovic), he's young and makes careless rookie-like mistakes, and plays poor defense. But he has a great outside shot and he can drive to the basket like no other. He just needs to be trained.

They don't have a very good bench besides gibson, they need more depth next year as well. And Z doesn't work with this team because he's slow and this is a fast team that likes to move (and Z is overpaid). Gooden is inconsistent and doesn't go inside enough, but it doesnt mean get rid of him. Varejao brings extreme energy off the bench and is a huge part of their bench.

With a few offseason moves and the unexpected talent of boobie the cavs will be one of the top teams in the league next year.

And you have to look at the fact, if larry hughes wasn't a stiff where would this team be? (but he is a stiff and we need to get rid of him and his big contract fast)

[nylia]

Cavs need to rebuild their team from top to bottom of the roster after this season. Retain LBJ and Gibson and change everything else (more high basketball IQ players is a must). Mike Brown is a decent coach (good in defense but mediocre at best in offense) and i think he needs a good assistant coach on offense (like an offensive coordinator in the NFL) because right now they have no other plays than give the ball to lebron at the top of the key or at the left and right elbow, spread the floor and let him do his thing against a san antonio defense that is loaded on him. Those plays will never win championships. I think in time the cavs will win one but right now and for the forseeable future never.

Rebuild entire team? Are you kidding me?

They have a pretty talented team, and an extremely young team. They just have a few problems to quirk out (the biggest problem is larry hughes).

They have a pretty good shooting guard (pavlovic), he's young and makes careless rookie-like mistakes, and plays poor defense. But he has a great outside shot and he can drive to the basket like no other. He just needs to be trained.

They don't have a very good bench besides gibson, they need more depth next year as well. And Z doesn't work with this team because he's slow and this is a fast team that likes to move (and Z is overpaid). Gooden is inconsistent and doesn't go inside enough, but it doesnt mean get rid of him. Varejao brings extreme energy off the bench and is a huge part of their bench.

With a few offseason moves and the unexpected talent of boobie the cavs will be one of the top teams in the league next year.

And you have to look at the fact, if larry hughes wasn't a stiff where would this team be? (but he is a stiff and we need to get rid of him and his big contract fast)

I agree that they need to get rid of this guy... but I'm certain that no team wants Hughes.

They need a second scorer. I know Boobie is doing great right now, but I'm pretty sure he is not good enough to be the #2 option. I wish Redd signed with Cleveland. LBJ really needs a shooter/scorer.

Just look at how good this team is playing when they have shooters on the court with him. Just imagine how this team will be like with Michael Redd or Ray Allen as #2.






bah... i still hate his teammates...

[NovU]

Just look at how good this team is playing when they have shooters on the court with him. Just imagine how this team will be like with Michael Redd or Ray Allen as #2.

REDD!!! sounds nice. send larry somewhere for some1 like joe johnson or redd. definitely an upgrade. should have signed Joe johnson not larry back in 05. wut a bust. but better late than never



IMO, cavs lacks a character like sheed or stephen jackson. and we know GS lacks a size.
so it'd be nice to see something happening between gs & cavs. involvin players like Z, varejao, hughes, gooden, steph jack, pietrus, richardson, or al harrington.
i think gs is trying to build around davis, ellis and biedrins and cavs around bron & gibson.
i can see it coming this offseason!

just my two cents

[magius]

don't think jj or redd are going anywhere for what cleveland has to give. They should try making a run at one of the available kings while their stock is low, artest or bibby would be a nice addition. i don't understand how ferry thought hughes would fit in with lebron, and i really don't understand throwing that cash and length at him for one good season, but oh well. sometimes you just have to wonder about nba personnel and the decisions they make.

[cheater1034]

Ferry has made a few questionable decisions, such as signing Z for a fortune and signing hughes for a fortune.

Larry Hughes has some trade value, but definitely not much. He doesn't fit into the cleveland offense, and he doesn't fit with LeBron. I think if larry hughes went somewhere else he might get back to some respectable status (like when he played for washington)

[Indy]

REDD!!! sounds nice. send larry somewhere for some1 like joe johnson or redd. definitely an upgrade. should have signed Joe johnson not larry back in 05. wut a bust. but better late than never

Pfffff hahaha. Yeah, after they do that deal they should trade Gooden for Elton Brand. Then they'd be really good! lolz

[---]

IMO Larry Hughes is just an average player. All he really brings is perimeter defence, athleticism and ballhandling.

I just think the Wizards system makes guards look alot better than they really are.

Someone else will find that out with DeShawn Stevenson soon.

[NovU]

REDD!!! sounds nice. send larry somewhere for some1 like joe johnson or redd. definitely an upgrade. should have signed Joe johnson not larry back in 05. wut a bust. but better late than never

Pfffff hahaha. Yeah, after they do that deal they should trade Gooden for Elton Brand. Then they'd be really good! lolz

get the point dude
larry + gooden or Z + draft pix or wutever for JJ/red

DO WUTEVA IT TAKES!

[mdbeltran01741]

cheater1034, yeah your right i forgot varejao also needs to be retained and you forgot shannon brown (kid got talent but needs playing time). but i think everything else needs to be changed. pavlovic is a liability in defense (except for the game changing block on j kidd, he got burned by hamilton in the previous round). Gooden's play is hard to watch because it's very inconsistent (good game - bad game and vice versa). snow has defense imprinted on him but no offense. marshall and d. jones is the other way around. ditto for Ilgauskas and hughes because of their huge contracts and what about newble, wesley and pollard (cheer leaders). remember redd had a chance to sign with cleveland when he was a free agent but opted to stay in milwaukee then GM ferry panicked by signing hughes and then retaining ilgauskas to huge contracts. those signings still suck today until they do something immediately.

[Indy]

REDD!!! sounds nice. send larry somewhere for some1 like joe johnson or redd. definitely an upgrade. should have signed Joe johnson not larry back in 05. wut a bust. but better late than never

Pfffff hahaha. Yeah, after they do that deal they should trade Gooden for Elton Brand. Then they'd be really good! lolz

get the point dude
larry + gooden or Z + draft pix or wutever for JJ/red

DO WUTEVA IT TAKES!

You know you have to match salaries right? Larry Hughes for Michael Redd works straight up, but obviously the Bucks don't do that deal. The Cavs cannot add any more players to that trade unless the Bucks do. In order to get Michael Redd the Cavs would need to trade Lebron. Period. There is no other way to match salaries and get the Bucks to agree.

[cheater1034]

Lol, all the cavs cheerleaders will be gone next year (pollard, wesley, newble, etc). Which will free up some cap room. There's a pretty good chance marshall will retire (he stated he might, and he stated he definitely will if the cavs win the finals). Sasha does suck on defense (it can be taught to a guy that young though), which is why he should be a bench player (he could add a lot to the cleveland bench, like he did before he started). and Larry Hughes is one of the biggest busts in history.

Drew Gooden is inconsistent, and it really hurts the cavs when he's not on. (in the playoffs though, I will give him props for having a very consistent mid-range game, and fairly consistent rebounding numbers).

Z was the worst decision ever. I had nothing against re-signing him, but after I saw the amount of money and years I was fuming. Z is an average center, very finesse, can hit long jumpers, but he can't play defense and he can't man anybody.

I will end this rant with this: The cleveland starting line up should of been (for the playoffs/after gibson sparked)
C - Zydrunas
PF - Gooden
SF - King James
SG - Larry Hughes (sasha would relieve double teams from lebron)
PG - Daniel Gibson

This lineup can score points (everyone except larry hughes), and gibson can read and make some things happen. Also this would increase bench production greatly (even though gibson is doing great now, sasha adds so much more off the bench and we've seen that earlier this year). You get sasha,marshall,and d. jones off the bench for points, and you get varejao,snow off the bench for defense (and varejao for emotional boosts)

Daniel Gibson should get more playing time!! He's playing better than LeBron in the finals for goodness sake (and he's surprisingly more ready for the task than LeBron). This cleveland team is not playing basketball, they are too caught up in the moment, including the most mature 22 year old superstar the nba has ever seen (gibson is more prepared and he's a rookie, wait, is he still even considered a rookie?)

I still believe in the CAVS this year though, lets stop talking about the future because that's what cleveland fans do every year. Lets talk about the present.

RISE UP!!

[maes]

Lol, all the cavs cheerleaders will be gone next year (pollard, wesley, newble, etc). Which will free up some cap room.

But remember Bron's goes to his non-rookie max salary, you don't get him for $4M anymore. He puts $12M on the roster next year.

Even assuming the Cavs drop Pollard, Pavlovic, and Varejao, you're still way over cap, $64M. The 06-07 cap was $53M, not sure of next year's but it will go up a few million max.

You need to trade to make any major move...but your big contracts aren't that appealing to most teams and the appealing assets are the ones you'd want to keep, like Varejao & Gibson.

[nylia]

yup. the only way they get better is through the trading block.


The owners are not willing to go over the salary cap seeing that Cleveland is a very small market.


If they were in NY, I'm quite certain they will sign anyone just to keep LBJ happy.

[mdbeltran01741]

Just a thought remember when olajuwon led a 94' rockets team with a cast of role players to its 1st championship? Maybe lebron can do the same with his cavs but of course it's a long shot. Anyway just giving hope that all is not lost. If the cavs could tie this thing up 2-2 maybe we can have a new ball game.