SB Nation - Mo Williams

Cavs snap Sixers 1-game winning streak

jsams — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:53:05 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

The Good

Jrue Holiday continues to be a baller. The 19-year-old added Mo Williams to his list of point guards who "Kissed The Baby" during his three December starts.

Russell Westbrook (Dec.2) 1-11 from the floor.
Monta Ellis (Dec.14) 3-14 from the floor.
Mo Williams (Tonight) 2-8 from the floor.

Total: 6-33 (18%)

Not only did Holiday shut down an All-Star (look it up) tonight; he also ran the offense beautifully. His vision and passing abilities are those of a 10-year veteran. Very impressive considering we're talking about the youngest player in the NBA. He still makes mistakes and his offense is very raw, but he's going to be a stud, and absolute stud. I'm so convinced. Offense comes and goes, but defense stays forever. Put that in your Christmas card!

In the past three games Thaddeus Young has three double-doubles. In the 183 games prior to this stretch he had three total. My two biggest criticisms of Thad have always been defense and rebounding. His offense will come, and he'll eventually average 20 PPG, but averaging four rebounds a game isn't going to cut it. For someone who plays significant minutes at power forward, Thad needed to rebound for his team to be successful. How does 35 boards in the past three games sound? Message receieved. The only difference has been Thad's effort, but it's been a huge difference. If he keeps this up I see a 20-10 season is in his future. Oh by the way, he's 21 years old.

For those of you scoring at home, that's two future studs at the ripe ages of 19 and 21.

As a Sixers fan, I was pretty happy with what I saw tonight as far as development is concerned. The four guys I'm interested in (Jrue, Andre, Thad, Speights) all played pretty well, and showed glimpses of a possibly bright future for the franchise. Speights was somewhat rusty in his return from injury -- as expected -- but still managed to score 14 off the bench. I don't consider him a stud like Holiday, Thad or Andre, but still a big part of the team's future. Andre was Andre. I still cringe every time he takes a jumper, but once a legit franchise player comes to town (John Wall), Andre will become Robin instead of Batman where he's much better suited, in my opinion.

Just remember, as long as Eddie Jordan is the head coach the scoreboard doesn't reflect wins and losses, the development of the young guys does.

The Bad

Speaking of Eddie Jordan, his coaching skillz lost the Sixers another game. He's the basketball equivalent of a rooster-block. Just when things start to look promising and the players say to themselves, "Let's seal the deal!", he pulls super-rookie Jrue Holiday for Billy Green. Not only did he pull his one of his best defenders/facilitators for free-firing, no defense Green, he took Iguodala off LeBron and gave Green the assignment of Queen James. Really? You decide to put Bill Green, of all people, on LeBron James to end a game? If I was a conspiracy theorist, I'd accuse EJ of trying to lose the game. Maybe he's on the John Wall bandwagon? Yes, the Sixers were already losing when Jordan made the switch, but who says the Sixers couldn't have gotten a couple stops with Jrue on Mo and Andre on LeBron? It's not like they were down 10. It was a two possession game, Sixers ball, and 2 minutes and change. Alas. The move perfectly sums up the Eddie Jordan era.

If you're into the +/- stat, Allen Iverson was the worst Sixer with a -11 tonight. Don't worry, it was strictly a basketball decision.

Loud Links: 12/15/2009

manifestus — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:47:21 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

4 days ago: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, left, loses control of the ball as he goes up for a shot as Denver Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo, center, and forward Nene, of Brazil, cover in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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So today we have articles on Westbrook's well-documented turnover struggles (as well as all the positives) from nba.com, the usual articles from our last few games against the Cavs and the Nuggets, stuff comparing Durant to the rest of the top-tier talent in terms of three-point shooting, and much more.

NBA.com: Westbrook taking his lumps as he learns point guard trade | nba.com
[Yes, same stuff. Glad even Westbrook realizes he's making turnovers. Too bad he's also quoted with the whole, "But other people make just as many turnovers as I do" bit. Comparing to others regarding your own area of weakness is stupid -- fix it rather than explaining why it's not that terrible ... sheesh] Make the basic pass, Scott Brooks tells Russell Westbrook. Westbrook listens and understands and even agrees. "The simple play is always best," he says at another time, when Brooks is not around. This has been going on for months. Brooks using his background to teach Westbrook, and the risky decision playing out. The final major act of the Seattle SuperSonics -- before the most major act of hitting the lights -- was to use the fourth choice in the 2008 draft on a point guard who had never really been a point guard.

Cavaliers: Mo's halfcourt shot had full effect - The News-Herald Sports : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio
[Okay, that shot was great, but I don't know if Mo Williams felt any sort of "arrogance" go out of the arena. What the heck was he referencing here? I'm totally lost. Really.] When Mo Williams' 48-foot, halfcourt shot dropped through the hoop on Sunday night, he said he could feel it deflate the Oklahoma City Thunder. "You could feel the arrogance go out of the whole arena and the bench," the Cavaliers' point guard said. "You just feel it. 'Ahhhhhh.' "

Nuggets storm past Thunder | INDenverTimes.com
Oklahoma City Thunder (12-10) came into Denver (17-7) on Monday night looking to ride their star, Kevin Durant, who has become the leading active scorer against the Nuggets, but left instead with a 102-93 loss. Durant is only 21 and is also the third-leading scorer in the NBA. Oklahoma City is a young, up and coming team. They are a good road team, as they are one of three teams in the Western Conference with a winning road record. They came in sitting in fourth place in the Northwestern Division and four games behind Denver.

Durant, Wade scoring big, but not from way downtown | USATODAY.com
[The later point noted in this article is probably more important -- it's how good of a three-point shot it was that was attempted. That counts for something too.] Two of the NBA's most prolific scorers, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, are shooting blanks from long distance. Durant, third in scoring average (28.3 points), and Wade, sixth (27), are among the worst three-point shooters who qualify for the statistic. They are well below the NBA average of 35%. Wade is last at 24.1% (19-for-79) and Durant sixth-worst at 28.1% (27-for-96) through Sunday.

Durant turns focus from hoops to holidays | USATODAY.com
"That's all it takes. We have a busy schedule but we might be off one day," said Durant, who kept tight-lipped about plans to unveil his new Nike sneakers on Wednesday night. "This is the perfect time to help, especially around this time of the year. Whenever we can give back to the community, that's what we do." A constant stream of people willing to help out kept Durant signing autographs and smiling for the camera for two solid hours, with a line of bags filled with donated gifts eventually spilling out of a back room and into the main area where Durant was seated. "We've been meeting with all the families that have been coming through today wanting to provide Christmas and meet Kevin Durant. They get the thrill of meeting a superstar, and our kids get to have a holiday that they'll remember," said Kelli Dupuy, director of marketing and development for Sunbeam. "It's really a win-win."

NBA teams with their stocking stuffed early | examiner.com
Oklahoma City Thunder: Last year Kevin Durant statistically hurt his team when he was on the floor, having an exceptionally poor PER. This year he has made one of the biggest turn-arounds the NBA has ever seen and, in doing so, has put his team in great position to make the playoffs. Happy Holidays, OKC.

Carmelo Anthony lights up Thunder | NewsOK.com
The NBA’s second-youngest team looked like it was still suffering from a hangover from LeBron James’ dazzling 44-point game and Mo Williams memorable half-court 3-pointer Sunday night as Cleveland beat Oklahoma City in the Ford Center. "We learn so many things about ourselves every game," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "From tonight’s game, we learned we have to come out with energy to start the game. I didn’t think we did. We got away with it in the first quarter.

Mavericks-Thunder Preview | SportingNews.com
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have made big strides this season after posting one of the worst records in the NBA in 2008-09. Their last two games, however, showed that they still have a ways to go. Durant and the Thunder will try to contain Dirk Nowitzki, who had two 40-point performances against them last season, when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

daddydai — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:39:41 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 6:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Fear the Sword

Backstory: But first a disclaimer.

When it comes to Thunder basketball, I am an eternal optimist. Positive thought equals positive results, right? So being unbiased is a rough task for me. After the Thunder defeated the Orlando Magic, I feel OKC proved that they can beat any team. So let's continue with the task at hand.

The Cavs added Shaq to their roster in order to "Bring the King a ring". With the extra strength inside somehow the Cavs have already tallied up seven losses. Not to mention losses to teams that the Thunder have already defeated (Washington & Memphis). So should we be encouraged? I'd say yes. Plus we all know that KD and the boys like to step up to the top teams in the league.

Of course Cleveland has plenty of bigs that can contend with our paltry front court. So expect Krispy to jump start his jump shot in hopes to pull the Shaq away from the basket. Cleveland also has a nice outside game that OKC has to be aware of. Expect some nice cuts to the basket by Williams and Lebron. In order for the Thunder to pull this one off shots have to fall and rebounds must be collected.

Since, I'm always bouncing about the internet here are a few more thoughts about the game:

Cavs Hit the Road, Travel to OKC | King James Gospel | A Cleveland Cavs Blog
Cleveland’s starting shooting guard Anthony Parker played basketball in Israel for Macabbi Tel Aviv before entering the NBA and is very accustomed to the celebrations of Hanukkah. And AP comes out hot right from the opening tip. Parker picks up four of LeBron’s seven first quarter assists and pours in 12 early points to lead the Cavs to an early 14 point lead. Cleveland withstands a late second quarter run by the Thunder and goes into the locker room with an eight point advantage, 54 – 46.

The King takes matters into his own hands to start the third quarter and pours in 8 consecutive points and finished the quarter with a game-high 27. After sitting the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, James checks back in with his team

clinging to a four point lead. Kevin Durant tries to steal the King’s throne but LeBron matches him point-for-point. Jeff Green cans two from long distance in the last two minutes and the Cavs trail by 2 with 11 seconds.

LeBron takes the inbound pass from Delonte West and dribbles to his right. Anderson Varejao levels Green on a screen but LeBron runs out of room at the foul line. He swings out to Mo who feeds Parker with a touch pass in the corner. And Anthony Parker celebrates day three of Hanukkah with a game winning tre. Cavs win 103-102.

Cavaliers-Thunder Preview - STATS Senior Writer - NBA - Sporting News
The Thunder are three games over .500 for the first time since 2004-05, when the team was based in Seattle and finished 52-30. Oklahoma City, the second-youngest team in the NBA, has reached 12 wins after needing 50 games to accomplish that feat last season. "They have a very, very good young (group) of basketball players that love to play the game of basketball," James said. "We are looking forward to the challenge. It is going to be a good road test for us against a young, explosive team in their home building, and we have to come out with the same fire we did in the second half (Friday)."

Star Power: Comparisons grow between Kevin Durant and LeBron James | NewsOK.com
At first glance, it’s easy to think LeBron James and Kevin Durant aren’t in the same league. Simply suggesting the two players are seemed silly this summer when the connection first gained steam. Durant’s Thunder was coming off a shameful 23-win season. James’ Cavs, meanwhile, were fresh off yet another deep playoff run. But the comparison now seems credible as the two meet for the first time this season tonight inside the Ford Center. Durant, in his third season, is blossoming into the star many projected him to become and has his Thunder off to a surprising 12-9 start. Durant also ranks fourth in the league in scoring, sitting .1 point ahead of James.

Cavs (16-7)	Matchups	Thunder (12-9)
Mo Williams Some people call me Maurice	Point Guard Tonight's point guard match up will be overlooked since we will have a superstar match up on our hands. Williams is 44% from beyond the arc. Westbrook shoots 66% from three-land while facing Cleveland. One important note, Mo often leaves the ball handling responsibility to LeBron. Slight Advantage: Thunder	Russell Westbrook The Constant Evolver

Anthony Parker Not Tony	Shooting Guard Parker is a legitimate threat with the 3-ball. He has shot over 50% this season. Thabo can contain Parker, but Thabo will likely be spending time helping guard LeBron. Just how much time Thabo spends with James will determine the result of this match up. Advantage: Thunder	Thabo Sefolosha Swiss Army Defender

Bron Bron The King	Small Forward Here it is! The match up we all waited for. The summer long discussions of who is better will be re-sparked if KD can hold his own against Cleveland's Dancing Queen. Unfortunately LeBron is much quicker and stronger than Durant. Advantage: Cavs	Kevin Durant The Kid

J.J. Hickson Ze Son of Hick	Power Forward Hickson's rebounding average is only 3.8 rebounds per game. Green should us this to his advantage, even though Green isn't a rebounding machine himself. Who ever wins this match up will decide the game. Advantage: Thunder	Jeff Green Green Energy

Shaquille O'Neil The Big Question	Center So the Vanilla Gorilla poked Shaq in the eye, and the Big Whateva is listed as questionable. Either way, I don't see Krstic winning against anyone from the Cav's front court. Perhaps Thomas will get minutes tonight? Advantage: Cavs	Nenad Krstic Mr. Comb Over

Anderson Varejao Curly Fries	Bench & Role Players Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison will face off against Curly Fries and Nosferatu (better known as Varejao and Ilgauskas). While Lucky Harden and Shaun Livingston will compete against the really athletic Jamario Moon and gun-toting Delonte West. If Harden's shots fall we will be fine, otherwise I'm expecting Moon to defy gravity. Advantage: Cavs	James Harden Wonder Beard

Mike Brown Former COY	Coach I could be completely wrong, but I believe LeBron won Brown's coach of the year. Brooks on the other hand has done a great job harnessing the Thunder. Oh yeah, don't forget the Thunder also have Mo Cheeks and Ron Adams helping from the bench. Advantage: Thunder	Scott Brooks Next COY
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Injuries Shaq might be out with a poked eye. Daniel Gibson injured his finger in Battier's jersey the other night. Of course Leon Powe, Kyle Weaver, and Kevin Ollie are out of commission for awhile.
	Intangibles If the Thunder keep this game close, LeBron will likely wear himself out. Can Sefolosha's defense and Collison's rebounding keep this game close? Will Westbrook maintain his composure?
	Prediction Expected a very energetic game from both teams. In the long run the Cavs will dominate the game with dribble penetration, while the Thunder will rely on mid-range shooting. Prediction: Cavs 98 - Thunder 93

Poll

Who will win tonight's game?

Oklahoma City Thunder

16 votes

Cleveland Cavaliers

13 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

My Back Is A Wall: Grizzlies Thrill Big Crowd, Beat the Cavaliers

djturtleface — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:25:45 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

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The Memphis Grizzlies blew up in the second half, just outright hustling to this win against the Cavaliers. The bench might not have done much, but the entire starting lineup put in an incredible night's work.

O.J. Mayo kept the Grizzlies in it through the first half, Rudy Gay closed it out on both ends in the second half, but Zach Randolph was a fixture throughout. Randolph led the Grizzlies with 32 points, O.J. Mayo had 28 while dropping a mini-triple double with 5 boards and 5 dimes, too. Rudy Gay scored 21, but his biggest contributions were the 4 steals.

After a terrible 2nd quarter, the Grizzlies equalized it in the 3rd quarter with fantastic ball-denial defense. They duked it out in the 4th, tying the game up with a Rudy Gay drive right past LeBron James. In overtime O.J. Mayo hit a huge three pointer on a set play, and then Mike Conley sealed the win with a nice layup drive on another great, intuitive play-call by Lionel Hollins.

The Grizzlies got the win despite a huge night from LeBron, who scored 43 points and tallied 13 rebounds and 6 assists, and nice contributions from both Shaquille O'Neal and Mo Williams. The rest of the Cavaliers were quiet, though LeBron was

I'm going to get in an update on this later tonight, so be sure to get over the jump for the opinion section in a hot minute.

I grew up around Cleveland hating the Cavaliers and getting hated on constantly for being a Grizzlies fan, so I'm just soaking it all in right now. To see this young team that I backed hard all summer, despite some moves most pundits called questionable, fight for this win in front of a near capacity crowd just could not have felt better.

I'm just trying to put myself in the shoes of O.J. Mayo, who gets clutch-nasty all game, is willing to drop back and trust his teammates in the second half, and then comes on for a post-game interview responding, "Yes sir, Coach McHale." Wow, I had to slap myself to check if his attitude was for real.

Talk about a team that's actually working hard to get away from their dunk-silly, Allen Iverson signing, ball-hogging recent pass. Jamaal Tinsley, who's trying to play for redemption, looked happy to be on the bench, coaching his teammates into the right defensive scheme. This is a guy who the Pacers just paid millions and millions to get the hell out of the clubhouse.

Did I see Zach Randolph missing some wide open shooters? Yes. But I saw him make some smart exit passes out of the post as well, including an under-handed gem that got Hasheem Thabeet room for a nice flourish. Did Rudy Gay takes some selfish looking shots? Yes. But he took a hell of a lot less of them then LeBron.

This game might not have meant that much to the Cavaliers, and I'm not sure if it meant that much to the Grizzlies either. Why? Because it's becoming increasingly clear that the Grizzlies players already are trusting each other and playing hard for the win.

But to move back to myself, as well as every other Grizzlies fan I can hear the voice of around the world wide web, it meant a lot to us. Why? Because the Memphis Grizzlies are finally starting to prove to everyone else that they're coming together as a basketball team that demands respect.

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Mike Lisboa — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:11:43 -0000

Amar'e Stoudemire must start AND FINISH with his gorilla game for the Suns to have a chance in Cleveland tonight. (Photo by Max Simbron)

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Hopefully the Suns can make like Alando Tucker and wash the icky residue of last night's loss to the Knicks off their hands before mixing it up with the Cavaliers in Cleveland tonight.

The Suns head into Cleveland 2-1 with a chance at salvaging a winning record on this eastern road swing before coming home to face the Kings on Saturday. Last night the Suns came out flat on both ends of the court and despite rallying to get within 6, never recovered offensively or defensively.

So, which Suns team will show up tonight? The 14-3 power rankings darlings or that group of zombies that took the court in New York last night.

The Cavaliers come into tonight's game riding a 4 game winning streak, including a 16-point thumping of the Mavericks on Saturday. That's right: Saturday. In addition to being at home, Lebron and company have 3 days of rest. For their part, after taking most of yesterday's game off, the Suns should be plenty rested as well *rimshot*.

Match-ups

Guards

At the point, we have Steve Nash going up against Mo Williams. On paper, this would seem to be a clear advantage for the Suns, but last season Mo torched the Suns for 30 points in their meeting in Phoenix and 44 in Cleveland (Nash missed this game with an injury). Off the bench, it's Daniel Gibson vs. Goran Dragic. While Boobie is capable of getting hot, in 8 games this year, he's only averaging 6.8 point per game. If Dragic can bounce back from a terrible performance in New York, they should basically cancel each other out.

I thought it was the 30-somethings that were supposed to struggle with back-to-backs? Jason Richardson has been a key ingredient to the Suns potent offense this year, averaging 17.4 points per game, good for 2nd on the team behind Amare Stoudemire. However on the 2nd night of back-to-backs, all of J-Rich's offensive numbers have taken a hit: -7.7% on FG%, -4.9% on 3PT%, -32.1% on FT% (yipes!), and -6.1 PPG. There's no reason he shouldn't reverse that trend against Anthony Parker (and you thought the Suns had cornered the market on lesser siblings! He has to play in the shadow of his sister Candace.) and he'll have to if the Suns want to win this one.

Off the bench at the 2, it will be interesting to see who the Suns go with in Barbosa's absence. After pouring it in (14 points on 4-7 shooting), Alando Tucker may have earned some increased minutes. Equally mysterious is who the Cavs will bring off their bench behind Parker. After seeing limited use thus far this season due to personal and health reasons, Delonte West played a season-high 29 minutes against the Mavs, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Forwards

Grant Hill will have his hands full with LeBron James. If he and Jared Dudley can combine to keep LBJ around his averages, the Suns will probably consider that a success. I don't think anyone has any illusions of stopping him.

Off the bench, Jamario Moon is something of a Matrix-Lite, so he and Jared Dudley will engage in some kind of sideshow hustle competition.

At power forward, the Suns have what should be their clearest advantage, offensively at least. Amare Stoudemire needs to bring his vaunted Gorilla Game to exploit Cleveland's tandem of Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson. If he can stay out of foul trouble, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs while not having to worry too much about being challenged on the other end. Except for rebounds.

Center

Here's where line-up and strategy will come into some serious play. It's entirely possible the Cavs elect to send Varejao and Hickson out on Frye at the perimeter, keeping Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the lane to defend Amare on the pick and roll. If that's the case, look for Amare to log heavy minutes and heap piles of offensive abuse on the Cavs. (See what I did there?)

Defensively, Channing Frye doesn't have the bulk to keep up with Shaq in the post and the Cavs will probably go to this mis-match early and often, much like the Lakers did with Andrew Bynum earlier in the season against the Suns.

Robin Lopez will probably get some early minutes on the defensive end to see if he can help stop the bleeding in the paint against the much larger Shaq. Robin vs. Shaq has the potential to be explosive as Robin looks to heap some punishment on the The Big Mentor who rode his Fuzzy-head pretty hard last season.

Of course, that's just wishful thinking. Shaq will destroy Robin given the chance.

Predictions

Offensively, the Suns will look to spread the floor against the Cavs using their dead-eye shooting (which hopefully they bring with them tonight) to exploit the lack of speed of the Cavs big men. If his shot his falling, Channing Frye could have a career night. Similarly, if the Cavaliers lumbering bigs stay at home on Stoudemire, he and Nash should have a field day running the pick and roll till the cows come home.

Defensively, the Suns will have to find a way to limit Cleveland's opportunities in the paint AND contain the speedy Williams AND contain LeBron James. If the Lopez and Frye struggle with Shaq, look for Jarron Collins to come in and provide 6 additional fouls against O'Neal. I'm pretty sure Robin will use his up fairly quickly.

In a perfect world, the Suns draw the Cavaliers into an up-tempo shoot-out, regain their accuracy and out-run the Cavs. For their part, Cleveland and their 8th ranked defense (100.6 points per 100 possessions) will look to keep things slow as molasses (7th slowest pace in the NBA), bogging the Suns down in a half-court game. Look for them to pound it inside and run plenty of isolations for LeBron James. Like, 70 of them.

While I think the Suns will come out more focused than they did last night in New York, I don't see them winning this game. They'll keep it close in the first half, but their porous defense will be their undoing as the game wears on.

Final score 105-93, Cavs.

Suns vs Cavaliers coverage

Suns vs Cavaliers preview

Fear The Sword

K-Mart for Shaq: Would you make this deal?...

Andrew Feinstein — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:58:16 -0000

The Cavaliers need an athletic, quick, tough power forward. The Nuggets need cap relief. If the Cavaliers offered Shaquille O'Neal to the Nuggets for Kenyon Martin, should the Nuggets make that deal? It deserves some serious consideration...

How many more games do the Cleveland Cavaliers need to play before realizing that the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal has been an utter failure? As noted in last week's Stiff List, without O'Neal the Cavs are 5-1. With him, 7-4 (including losses to the Raptors, Bulls at home and the Bobcats).

But that record doesn't tell the whole story.

Watch any Cavs game with Shaq on the floor, and it becomes immediately evident that he clogs up the middle, slows the game to a halt and, even worse, contributes next to nothing defensively. Moreover, not only weren't the Cavs hurting at center to begin with, but the center they had/have - Zydrunas Ilgauskas - may have been/may be the perfect center to play alongside LeBron James. After all, the Big Z can hit a long jump shot from anywhere on the floor, forcing opposing defensive big men to play him outside while leaving the lane wide open for an LBJ dunk or drive-and-dish to an open teammate.

(On a side note, I found myself in an elevator once with the Big Z at the historic Boston Harbor Hotel in downtown Boston. At a legitimate 7'3", the poor guy had to completely bend his head and arch his back down to fit into the tiny elevator. Nice guy, though!)

If you watched the Cavs play last season, their biggest problem wasn't at center but rather, power forward. Anderson Varejao is a nice change-of-pace, wreaking havoc, flopping pest for 20 or so backup minutes, but you don't want him as your featured power forward late in games (remember his shot attempts against the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals? Ghastly!). The Cavs are in dire need of a power forward who brings Varejao's defensive toughness and peskiness, but can also finish on a fast break and will get out of LBJ's way on the offensive side of the floor. The Nuggets just so happen to have such a player in Kenyon Martin.

Having spent over six seasons learning how to play alongside Carmelo Anthony, K-Mart would be a great fit for Cleveland. With K-Mart on board at the four spot, the Cavs could move the Big Z back to being starting center and fill out their lineup with LBJ at small forward while their backcourt combo of Mo Williams at point guard and Anthony Parker at shooting guard stays in-tact. As another plus, rather than having Big Z eat up meaningful bench minutes the Cavs bench would be comprised entirely of their "energy foursome" of Delonte West (when he's on his meds), Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Jamario Moon. Now that's a team that can contend with Orlando and Boston in a conference final.

And while K-Mart's salary (more on that momentarily) might be tough to swallow for Cleveland, it will feel a lot better if K-Mart helps get LBJ back to the NBA Finals meaning LBJ will be more apt to stay in Cleveland. (And yes, I know I predicted that LBJ might go to the Nets to be coach by George Karl just a few days ago. While I believe LBJ will stay in Cleveland - and why would those Chinese investors pony up to own the Cavs if LBJ is walking? - I also believe if he goes anywhere, it's to the Nets.)

By now you're probably thinking: you haven't said one good thing about Shaq, so why the @#$% would the Nuggets do this deal?

For the Nuggets, it's all about economics. Shaq's $20 million salary comes off the books at the end of this season, whereas K-Mart's is still owed $16.5 million next season. (It should be noted that the money due to K-Mart next season is a "player's option," but I have a sneaky suspicion he'll be exercising it. Thank you, Kiki Vandeweghe. K-Mart's contract is the gift that keeps on giving.) Also, K-Mart's $15.4 million salary this season is close enough to Shaq's $20 million that the Nuggets would only have to use a little trade exception money to make the numbers work.

Before you accuse me of asking the Nuggets to throw away this season just to get K-Mart's salary off the books, consider this: next season, Melo, Chauncey Billups, K-Mart, Nene and J.R. Smith's salaries combined will be $64.2 million - expected to be near the luxury tax line in 2010. Throw in Chris Andersen's $4 million due for next season and the Nuggets are guaranteed to be at or over the tax line paying the salaries of just six players. Last I checked, that's less than half of a 13-man NBA roster.

If this deal actually happened (and remember, I've suggested crazier deals before...like the time I proposed trading Allen Iverson to Detroit for Billups and Antonio McDyess way before it actually went down), what would it mean for this season? How would it affect the Nuggets on the floor?

In theory Shaq would give us the center we desperately desire, enabling Nene to dominate at power forward (Nene's more natual position). In theory Shaq would give the Nuggets much needed size to go up against the bigger Western Conference teams. And in theory Shaq would be so amped up to get revenge against his former team, the Lakers, that he'd give the Nuggets a much needed ally in their war with L.A. with one more burst of energy for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs before riding off into the sunset. And lest we forget, good Shaq or bad Shaq, he puts asses in the seats (admit it, you'd watch every game with Shaq in a Nuggets powder blue and gold jersey).

But these are the same arguments that recently duped Phoenix and Cleveland into acquiring Shaq. And watching the 37-year-old center "play" these last few weeks, I can't with a straight face say that he'd be good for the Nuggets on the floor. Shaq would undoubtedly clog up the lane for Melo and Nene and slow down the Nuggets overall pace, which is what makes the Nuggets so deadly in the first place...especially at Pepsi Center. It shouldn't be a surprise that a Suns team sans Shaq is back to running teams off the floor en route to a top two record in the Western Conference right now.

Furthermore, in spite of the inexcusably unacceptable loss to the Timberwolves on Sunday night and another bad loss to the Clippers a few weeks ago, at 13-5 the Nuggets have tied their best start in franchise history and have a good thing going. The players seem to genuinely like each other, seem to listen to head coach George Karl (at least a majority of the time) and it feels like they haven't even played that well yet. (They also haven't played that many good teams yet...it has to be said.) As-is, we're looking at back-to-back-to-back 50-win seasons and another shot at the conference finals, if not more if the Nuggets catch a few breaks.

That said, if we - and/or Nuggets management - truly believe that this incarnation of the Nuggets, constructed as-is, can beat the Lakers and march into the NBA Finals then I say fine; let's see how the season plays out and hope for the best. Maybe Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol will get injured. Maybe the Lakers will get shorter. Who knows.

But if we - and/or Nuggets management - think that another Western Conference Finals appearance is the best this team can do, why not bring in Shaq and unburden ourselves of K-Mart's contract? At the very least, the Nuggets would remain a top five team in the West, would be fascinating to watch, would make any Nuggets/Lakers games and a possible playoff series an instant ESPN Classic and, most importantly, would free the Nuggets up financially to be a player in the 2010 free agent sweepstakes. As of today, the only free agents the Nuggets will be able to afford next summer will be from the D-League.

K-Mart for Shaq? Would you make this deal?

Like I said at the top of this column, it deserves some serious consideration.

Shaquille O'Neal photo courtesy of Getty Images: Isaac Baldizon

Kenyon Martin photo courtesy of AP Photos: David Zalubowski

Potent Quotables - Cavaliers 111 - Mavericks 95

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:45:42 -0000

More photos » by David Liam Kyle - NBAE/Getty Images

19 days ago: CLEVELAND - NOVEMBER 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers flexes his muscles after scoring a basket and getting fouled by the Dallas Mavericks on November 28, 2009 at The Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Browse more photos »

HEAD COACH MIKE BROWN
(On tonight’s game):
"We had a lot of good individual team performances, especially offensively. A lot of guys stood out. LeBron, with the amount of time he has the ball in his hands, with 12 assists and only one turnover was phenomenal. Obviously, Mo shot the ball well. Even with his ankle bothering him, he hit some big shots in the second half. Anderson was terrific, especially on the glass and the 50/50 balls in helping us win that battle or stay close with Dallas. Delonte was great with the basketball, having 10 assists and zero turnovers. In the fourth quarter, our defense stepped up a notch and helped us get a little more separation."

(On difference in tonight’s game):
"Last night, we didn’t do a good job defensively, starting with me. We were kind of all over the map and it showed. Defensively, tonight we were a little better. Offensively, we moved the ball and knocked down open looks when we had them."

(On Jamario Moon tonight):
"I talked to Jamario before the game and told him he’s a very good shooter. He needs to attack more, drive more or every once in a while step inside the three-point line. I thought tonight he did that being 5-8 from the field and 1-2 from the three-point line. He was terrific with nine rebounds also."

(On Mo Williams tonight):
"Mo is just a steady player. You know what you’re going to get. He has a pace about him that we need right now. He’s been shooting the lights out of the ball, but he’s also done a nice job in running the team and making plays for others. He’s been big for us these last few weeks."

LEBRON JAMES
(On having 33 assists on 45 field goals):
"That is really efficient. They came with double teams, and at times they didn’t so we still made the extra pass and that’s why our guys were able to get some really good looks. We are a really, really good team when we do that."

(On the fourth quarter defense the past couple of games):
"That is when the possessions get really tight and our defense gets really strong for us. We know that is closing time for us so it’s a really good thing to have, but our third quarter we need to fix a little bit better."

(On Delonte’s performance):
"He was awesome; he was great. I told you guys before Delonte is just one of those guys he could not play for seven or eight straight games and come back in and it’s like he never missed a beat. I don’t know how he does it, but you have certain guys in this league that can do that and he is one of them."

(On Mo’s shooting the past few games):
"Mo is Mo. Nothing surprises me (what he is capable of). Tonight was great though. Seven for seven from the three-point line is amazing no matter what type of rhythm you are in. To go seven for seven and not miss a three, that is awesome. That is just the hard work he puts into it and it transferred to the court."

MO WILLIAMS
(On shooting seven for seven from the three-point line):
"I just stepped in and knocked them down. The last couple games, I think I was 2 for 15. (Tonight) I made the first couple, it felt pretty good and I got some open looks…I never feel uncomfortable from behind the line and tonight was one of those nights. I just felt real good."

(On playing well tonight despite his ankle bothering him):
"It’s a part of basketball. You have just got to fight through those injuries. The back-to-back didn’t help it at all. I tried to get it loose for the game, but it’s what we have got to do. It’s nothing new…I think that these few days off will really, really help."

(On if last night’s loss affected his play tonight):
"No. It doesn’t matter if I don’t shoot well the night before, I forget about it. I take it one game at a time. It’s something that I learned in Utah. Never let the last play affect the next play. That’s one thing that I always learned. I am glad I was a rookie when I learned it so I would continue to grow and the older I got, the better I got with it. Try and forget the last play and even try and forget the last game."

(On Delonte playing well):
"It’s good for his confidence and it’s good for us because he is a heck of a ballplayer."

Daily Links 11/29

FLCeltsFan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:29:33 -0000

Herald League looking at Sheed comments
Ray Allen, Celtics hit road
Danny Ainge growing impatient
NBA goes tech-no on Kendrick Perkins
Antoine Walker apologizes for conditions at Illinois buildings
Sixers coach downplays reports of Allen Iverson comeback
LeBron James, Mo Williams lead Cavaliers over Mavericks
Sen. Charles Schumer pressures NBA to stop Adidas jersey plan
Globe Ray Allen's son hospitalized
Celtics’ Pierce has really been zeroed in lately

CelticsBlog    The Road Awaits the Celtics
Red's Army    Your KG Face of the Day
Your Morning Dump... Where Paul Pierce could write a book
Plays of the Week
Hey Nets... you better hope Karma ain't lookin' tomorrow
Celtics Hub     Thanksgiving Sunday Notebook: Pierce’s Turnovers, Hello Road
Ainge Sounds Off
Game#17/82: C’s (12-4) @ Heat (9-6)
NESN    Live Blog: Celtics at Heat
Loscy    Doubting Thomas Award: Project O’Bryant "
North Station Sports    Game Preview: Celtics @ Heat
Danny Ainge Irritated with Celtics Recent Play
Allen Iverson Finding a Familiar Home in Philadelphia?
CT News    Pierce’s Dunk: Canadian Club
NBA.com    NBA Development League: Red Claws at Wizards
Celtics Town   Behind Enemy Lines: Apparently, the Raptors need to grow a pair
Hardwood Houdini    Ray Allen or Reggie Miller?
Ray Allen’s Rough Saturday
Antoine Walker Wiggles Into More Trouble
Lex Nihil Novi     Celtics Finally Win One
The 1969 Celtics
McHale Lifts Celtics Over Pistons 83-84
Is Paul Pierce a Serious MVP Candidate?
ML Carr Gets Tossed for Elbowing Laimbeer 83-84
CelticsLife     A Joke of a Schedule
NBA Reviewing Rasheed's Post Game Comments
Live Game Chat tonight at 6PM on CelticsLife
Gino's Jungle     Red Claws Get First Franchise Win
Ginos Starting Five Weekend Edition
Celtics @ Heat
ESPN    Ray Allen rejoins Boston Celtics after attending to son
Pierce's taunt irks Raptors
MetroWest Daily     Courtside View: Celtics looking for deep impact
South Coast Today    Tim Weisberg: Would Iverson look good in green?
Hardwood Paroxysm    A Discussion Of Identity And Where They’re Launching
Bismarck Tribune    Thomas leads Maine past Wizards
Cleveland.com    The good kind of hangover
No sweat: Injured Powe working hard to get back
Delonte West gives fans, and himself, hope
Telegram   Celtics add by division
Celtics hope long road trip will lead to big wins
Patriot Ledger    Celtics hit the road for 14 of their next 19 games in the next six weeks
CELTICS NOTEBOOK: Wallace levels criticism at referees again
Yahoo Nets set to fire Frank early this week
Chicago Tribune     City targets ex-NBA star for 'slum' housing
Celtics Stuff Live    Celtics Stuff Live: Paul Flannnery
Sporting News   Pass-First Approach Affecting Rondo
CSNNE    Road tests await Celtics
Miami Herald     Miami Heat will focus on pace in hopes of getting Dwyane Wade better looks
Deadspin    Chris Bosh's Groin Is Probably Sore Today
Green Street    Ray Allen misses practice to be with ill son
The Book on ‘Kevin and Sheed’
Ray Allen rejoins team
Celtics looking for bonding on trip
Sporting News    Celtics-Heat Preview
Waiting for Next Year Rasheed Wallace: LeBron is a Flopper
Sun Sentinel    Pat Riley appreciates Jerry Buss' passion to have his Lakers bypass the Celtics
ProJo   Bill Reynolds: Celtics really need Garnett of old
Examiner   Rasheed Wallace calls for end of flopping
CBS Sports    Celtics-Heat Preview

s Shot
CSNNE    Road tests await Celtics
Miami Herald     Miami Heat will focus on pace in hopes of getting Dwyane Wade better looks
Deadspin    Chris Bosh's Groin Is Probably Sore Today
Green Street    Ray Allen misses practice to be with ill son
The Book on ‘Kevin and Sheed’
Ray Allen rejoins team
Celtics looking for bonding on trip
Sporting News    Celtics-Heat Preview
Waiting for Next Year Rasheed Wallace: LeBron is a Flopper
Sun Sentinel    Pat Riley appreciates Jerry Buss' passion to have his Lakers bypass the Celtics
ProJo   Bill Reynolds: Celtics really need Garnett of old
Examiner   Rasheed Wallace calls for end of flopping
CBS Sports    Celtics-Heat Preview

Gameday Preview vs Cleveland Cavaliers

David Arnott — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:48:32 -0000

Pump Up Music: Motorhead -- "Ace of Spades"

The Big Picture: The Bobcats are coming off two impressive wins and the Cavaliers are coming off three straight victories. I'm still on board the Cavs Will Win It All Bandwagon, even though the Shaquille O'Neal experiment isn't going as swimmingly as they'd hoped, but that's primarily because I wouldn't bet against LeBron James in any scenario, at this point.

At this stage of his career, Shaq should be a depth player in Cleveland. What I mean by that is that while he's perfectly capable of starting and producing for a lot of teams in the league (for instance, Boston would swap out Perkins for him instantly, cost aside), on this particular team, he should only get big minutes when the matchup determines it or Zydrunas Ilgauskas is unable to split minutes with him. They haven't missed a beat without Shaq the past few games, and he's questionable for tonight's game, so we'll see if the Cavs play it safe with the Older Aristotle and sit him out again.

As for the rest of the team, I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating: The Cavs have the personnel to play any style successfully. They've got shooters, runners, and bangers. They don't play any single style better than anyone else, but they can hang with any kind of game that's dictated to them. The thing is, I'm convinced that if they embraced an up-tempo game, they'd be playing to their strengths.

Specifically, I'd play LeBron at the nominal power forward position along with Mo, Delonte, Parker, and a center,or if they want more size, Moon at small forward with Parker moved to guard. Basically, I get why they didn't want to trade Z for Stephen Jackson, but from a purely basketball point of view, I'd be slobbering over the chance to play S-Jax at the three with LBJ at the four, and I think Cleveland missed an opportunity to upgrade significantly when we snatched Cap'n Jack before they could.

Key Matchup: I'm not too concerned with any of the individual matchups in this game. We know Crash and S-Jax are going to have their hands full with LeBron, and there really isn't anything they can do about it. A Shaq/Z combo scares me a lot more than a Z/Sideshow Bob combo because Varejao doesn't provide the kind of offensive variation from Z that Shaq does. Similarly, Boris Diaw is reasonably equipped to deal with J.J.Hickson or Varejao.

If I had to pick one to worry about, I'd choose the point guard battle. Mo Williams is a much more comfortable point guard to watch than any of the guys we throw out there at the position. First, it should be noted that Raymond Felton has had his minutes cut over the past few games in favor of more minutes for Ronald Murray. Felton is probably the best defensive PG we have, but I'm not sure that Murray's defensive deficiencies outweigh the offensive potential he brings. The hell of it is that Murray can't be trusted to actually be productive on any given night. Such is the gift and the curse of the gunner. It would be nice to have confidence in Felton's offense, but his entire career has eroded that confidence. It would be nice to think about turning to D.J. Augustin, but D.J.'s regressed so dramatically this season that I'm not entirely sure that sticking him out there is necessarily the best course of action any more.

Detail That Might Interest .08% of You: Gerald Wallace and Jamario Moon were on opposite sides of a fierce high school hoops rivalry in rural Alabama.

Game #8: Cleveland Cavaliers (5-3) vs. Miami Heat (6-1)

DolPhanDave — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:54:42 -0000

D-Wade and LeBron discuss carpooling should James sign with the Heat

Obviously much of the attention surrounding this game will have nothing to do with the actual outcome. In the last week there have been several articles, stories, etc. about the possibility of LeBron James signing with Miami as a free agent, teaming up with Dwyane Wade and forming a team that many are saying would rival the Bulls teams of the 90's.

Just thinking about the possibility of D-Wade, LeBron, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook, (maybe) Quentin Richardson....wow. I'm sure there are plenty of good players who would be happy to play for a little less money if it meant joining a team like that. Look, I'm well aware that it's amazingly early to be thinking about this, and that there is still no guarantee that Wade will be staying. But as you know, I am a firm believer that Dwyane isn't going anywhere and that Pat Riley will be bringing in at least one superstar to play next to him.

After practice on Wednesday, Wade was asked several questions about King James and the possibility of the two playing together. Here is some of what he had to say:

On if he and LeBron have talked about playing together: "It's something that we've talked about, of course. He's one of my good friends and we both decided at the same time to sign the same contract to give ourselves the ability to be able to control our own destinies. You know, if we want to we could team up. If not, we could stay separate and compete against each other for years to come. "

On if he and LeBron can check their egos: "Not too many people can do it. It takes the right individuals to understand that at the end of the day success brings whatever anyone wants, and that's what makes a special team."

On what the odds are that he'll play with Lebron: "It's a long shot but at the end of the day it's still a shot."

Ok, back to the actual game...

Since losing their first two games of the season the Cavs have gone 5-1, but played their best game of the young season last night when they easily beat Orlando on the road. Defense will be a big key to victory for the Heat as Cleveland is 4-0 this year when scoring 100 points. The Heat have given up 100 points just one time this season, it just so happened to be their only loss.

The big defensive assignment of covering LeBron James will likely go to Quentin Richardson, who has proven to be the Heat's best man on man defender this year (other then Udonis of course). Don't be shocked if you see James covering D-Wade on the other end of the floor, as LeBron has become of the games premier defenders...you just don't hear too much about it because of how sick he is in general.

In a slightly less interesting storyline, this will be the second time that Shaq returns to the AAA as an opponent since playing for the Heat. He isn't nearly the force that he once was, and the big guy will be lined up against the Heat's new O'Neal, Jermaine. J-O has been turning up the defensive intensity of late; recording 3 blocks in each of his last two games. Comparing the two, Jermaine is averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while Shaq is bringing in 11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Mario Chalmers is coming off of his best two offensive games this season, scoring 16 and 13 on 65% shooting. He also dropped in 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in those two games. Rio will be lined up against Mo Williams, who had been averaging only 12.7 points over his last three games before putting up a season high 28 in Orlando last night. Williams has been very good from three-point range this season (51%), but so has Super Mario (52%). The only difference is that Williams has attempted 14 more treys then Chalmers.

GAME NOTES

Dwyane Wade's 41-point game against the Wizards on Tuesday was his fourth game of 40 points or more against Washington, which tied them with Cleveland for the team(s) that Wade has the most games of 40 or more points against.

Another nice defensive stat...the Heat have forced 41 turnovers in their last two games.

Miami will be going for their best start in franchise history. Never before has a Heat team started a season 7-1.

The Cavs new backup center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in the middle of a very rough shooting slump. For a big guy, his outside shooting is what makes him so dangerous, but over his last four games he's shooting only 4-of-28.

Daequan Cook is officially listed as questionable for tonight's game, and it will likely be another game time decision. He dressed for Tuesday's game but never made it on the floor, so obviously he is very close. This early in the season there is no reason to take any chances with Cook, especially with the team playing so well.

Cleveland is the 2^nd best three point shooting team in the league (46.6%) and Miami is the best three point defending team in the league, holding opponents to just 25.7%.

Tipoff is at 8pm for the nationally televised game on TNT.

SB Nation - Mo Williams

Cavs snap Sixers 1-game winning streak

Loud Links: 12/15/2009

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

Point Guard

Shooting Guard

Small Forward

Power Forward

Center

Bench & Role Players

Coach

Injuries

Intangibles

Prediction

Who will win tonight's game?

Oklahoma City Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers

My Back Is A Wall: Grizzlies Thrill Big Crowd, Beat the Cavaliers

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

K-Mart for Shaq: Would you make this deal?...

Potent Quotables - Cavaliers 111 - Mavericks 95

Daily Links 11/29

Gameday Preview vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Game #8: Cleveland Cavaliers (5-3) vs. Miami Heat (6-1)