SB Nation - Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers sleepwalk in 102-95 loss to Mavericks in Dallas

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:07:18 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

1 day ago: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, second from left, goes up for a shot against Dallas Mavericks defenders Josh Howard (5), Drew Gooden (90) and Tim Thomas (7) in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The NBA is a long season - filled with ups and downs. It's hard for a team to bring the same level of energy and effort every night for 82 games. For the Cavaliers that has been a struggle all season - at home and on the road - consistent effort. It happened again as the Wine and Gold, seemingly in a game-long fog, fell to the Dallas Mavericks 102-95. Perhaps even more perplexing was the Cavaliers inability to take advantage of a Dallas team missing their best player - Dirk Nowitzki - who missed the game with a gash on his elbow.

For the Cavs, it was a bit of the same. In ending their 5-game losing streak, the Cavaliers were out-shot 48%-46%. The Cavaliers did take 6 more free throws(26-20), but shot 77% while the Mavericks shot 95%. Lastly, the Cavaliers wasted a great effort by their bench. Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined to score 41 points, a good night for the Cavaliers most nights, only to see the Mavericks bench score 45 points.

Most disappointing was the complete lack of production from Shaquille O'Neal. In over 17 minutes, O'Neal scored 5 points on 1-7 shooting. LeBron James had an off-night shooting the ball, scoring 25 points on just 9-23. He was held without a rebound in the 1st half and totaled just 3 rebounds in the game.

As for the rest of the starters, J.J. Hickson scored 4 points and Mo Williams added 8. When 4 of your starting 5 scores just 29 points, you are not going to win many games, tonight is no exception.

No time to worry about it, as the Cavs get right back on the court tomorrow night in Phoenix. With a Christmas trip to see Kobe and the Lakers on the horizon, the Wine and Gold needs to get its head right, and fast!

Recap: Cavaliers 85, Bucks 83 (With Special Bonuses!)

Mitchell_M — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:59:31 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

3 days ago: Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings (3) runs into Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) on a drive to the basket in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Cleveland. Jennings scored 18 points in a 85-82 loss to Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Greetings, Bucks fans. Frank and Alex are both unavailable for the Bucks-Cavaliers recap, so you guys get me. Sorry.

Box Score

The last time ESPN showed the Bucks, the team saw by the nation (and myself) was a young team both struggling without Andrew Bogut as a centerpiece and unable to keep up with Oklahoma City's rampant athleticism. It was a disappointing showing, even bordering on embarassing. But the Bucks aren't that team, and ESPN is giving them another chance to show what they really are.

Unfortunately, they drew LeBron James and the Cavs, meaning the road to redemption on national television is that much harder. But who's to say they won't do it? After all, the Bucks have some advantages in this game (weird, right?), and it always helps to have a defensive stopper with the ability to cover James one-on-one. Perhaps they can do the inconceivable and topple the Cavaliers? I sure hope so, and I certainly think they can.

(Note: For those of you wondering why I'm talking in the future tense, or why I haven't mentioned the result of the game, it's because I didn't watch it live. I DVR'd the game and watched it after getting home from work at 9 AM. Third shift sucks that way.)

This recap will be a little different than those before it. We'll still have Three Bucks, Three Numbers, and the Good and Bad, but we'll have some bonus triplets after the jump, plus some actual game analysis peppered in. Think of it as a retroactive live-blog.

On to the game (most of you have already seen)!

Three Things I Noticed Before Tip-Off

Hubie Brown and Dave Pasch were just a tad friendlier to the Cavs. Sure, they're a perennial powerhouse and led by the premier player of his generation, but do we have to make it sound like that much of a mismatch?

These teams aren't really all that different. Think about it; they both are defensive teams that keep the game's score low and can light it up from deep, they both have two big foreign guys that play defense, take charges, and rebound, and they're both led by players that arrived somewhat unexpectedly (Cleveland with the surprising #1 draft pick despite the odds, Milwaukee with 9 other teams passing on Jennings (and his impromptu entrance after being picked at #10)). It's almost like the Bucks are a poor man's Cavaliers, but then you remember that the Cavs are from Cleveland, which is a poor man's everything.

Brandon Jennings' hair makes him look even more like Allen Iverson. The corn rows aren't quite as long as A.I's yet, but give it time. I'd be frightened if his assist (6.0 apg) and three-point numbers (44%(!)) were as Iverson-like as he looks. Have I gushed about how much of a man-crush I have on BJ yet? I'll wait 'til the game starts to go full steam ahead, but let's just say he's already become my favorite NBA player.

Three First Half Observations

A Great Start. A 17-7 start before Cleveland takes its first timeout is absolutely led by Young Money (3 points, 6 assists). He would have had 7 dimes had Ersan not had his fast-break layup blocked by Shaq. I saw some good shooting, great passing, and above-average defense during this run; this is the team that the Bucks are trying to be. But they have to do it for all 48 minutes, not just the first 6:23. Which is exactly when Cleveland closed the gap and forced Milwaukee out of its game.

Jennings had a pretty good first half altogether with 8 points and 6 assists, plus he was the only Buck really willing to attack the paint. When he gets older/stronger, he'll actually finish those trips to the rack (2/9 in the first half).

The Daniel Gibson "Foul". I didn't want to waste one of my three points on one play, but this infuriated me. Gibson drove hard, froze Kurt Thomas with a ball fake, and went up for the layup. Thomas' foot was very close to the one Boobie took off on, so much so that Gibson's reaction resulting in his right foot taking out his left, thus sending him to the floor. He made the shot nonetheless, and it was a great play with an outstanding effort to make the basket. Then came the whistle, and Boobie took the line for the and-one.

BUT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT. NONE WHATSOEVER. Just because a player trips over his own feet while shooting and a defender just happens to be near him (BUT NOT TOUCHING HIM AT ALL) doesn't mean he should get a freebie. Now, I reffed college intramurals, so I know how calls can be almost impossible to truly see at certain speeds, angles, and whatnot, and that's magnified 1000x in the NBA, but c'mon. Then, of course, Hubie Brown went on a long diatribe about how you don't foul a player when you get out of position and give him the and-one, unless you foul his arms to prevent the layup attempt, blah blah blah, completely discounting the fact that it was a phantom call. Gah, basketball can be infuriating sometimes.

To prove my point, Boobie missed the free throw. Ball don't lie.

Bogut + foul trouble = complete inability to protect the paint. Andy's three quick fouls (one of which was legit, one was iffy, and one was downright ticky-tack) limited him to less than 6 minutes in the half and opened up the lane faster than you can say "massive free throw discrepancy". Oh, and there was a massive free throw discrepancy (CLE - 21 attempts, MIL - 5 attempts). Part of this was too much jump shooting by Milwaukee, part of it was bad calls here and there, but most of it was missing Bogut.

Three Second Half Observations

When Cleveland asserts itself, they're impressive. The Bucks have enough good shooters to out-gun teams that get caught up in a scorefest. Good teams avoid playing to their opponents strength. Cleveland is a good team, which is why they forced the issue inside while Milwaukee was content to stay along the perimeter. Of course, they're often better than good, considering they've got a bunch of shooters to go with their strong post presence.

LeBron's post defense. There was one sequence at the 3:30 mark in the 3rd quarter where Hakim Warrick tried posting James up...and Bron-Bron didn't go anywhere. Warrick actually lost the ball because he simply couldn't move James off the spot. The look (I thought I saw) on his face was half surprise, half amazement.

The last 4:35. Milwaukee was getting handled, but managed to stick around long enough to gain possession with 9.7 seconds left and a chance to force overtime with a three pointer. More on this later.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. Jennings reversed his historical trends by starting off hot and cooling off near the end. However, his 18 point, 8 assist night was punctuated by his 7-7 performance from the free throw line. Attacking the basket is something Jennings will have to learn how to do, which will hopefully cut down on the 5-21 shooting nights.

Ersan Ilyasova. Ersan only got 31 minutes, but he generally made good things happen during those minutes. He tied Jennings' 18 points and was +6 in point differential, but his defense, rebounding, and relentless motor was the defining characteristic of the Bucks relatively competent outing and ultimately kept them in the game.

Charlie Bell. Charlie didn't do that much (16 points, 1 rebound), but he was serviceable on offense and as-good-as-the-situation-allowed on defense. If only Skiles would stop putting him on taller players. The dude's only 6'3", asking him to cover the likes of Kobe (6'6") and LeBron (6'8") is downright silly.

Three Numbers

.269. If you're a jump shooting team, make sure that you make more than just barely over a quarter of your three point shots. I know Cleveland has a superb defense, but anytime you take that many threes (22 attempts), try to make more than 27% (7 makes). I wouldn't harp on this so much if I didn't see at least three airballs (Bell, Ilyasova, and Jennings) over the course of the game.

17:09. Bogut played significantly more in the second half, but he was so timid after racking up three first half fouls that it was largely ineffective. He still managed 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, but when you're the only low-post threat on a team that needs a credible low-post threat, you need to bring it against an old Shaquille O'Neal and an older Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

-17. Free throw differential. And that's just attempts: the Bucks were -13 in terms of makes. 'Nuff said.

Three Good

The last 4:35. I said I'd come back to this. The fourth quarter was a statistical win for the Bucks (21-14), but from the start until the 4:36 mark, they let the Cavs do whatever they wanted. That's how Cleveland opened up a big lead and ultimately gave Milwaukee the W. But let's look at the results of Cleveland's possession during this timeframe:

Turnover
Missed jumper
Block
Missed jumper
Missed 3-pointer
Shot clock violation (off of a Cleveland offensive rebound)
Missed 3-pointer
Turnover

If you're going to go for the ugly win, stretches like this are exactly what you need on defense. A Bucks win would have certainly been ugly, and it's a shame they couldn't make it happen, but with the game on the line, they managed to pick themselves back up and turn it back into a competition with an elite Eastern Conference team.

Jennings' shot defense. Maybe it's because I'm a fellow skinny PG, but when I see Brandon bust his hump getting a hand in the shooter's face, it makes me happy. He won't be able to outmuscle anybody, but he can make shooters miss through sheer annoyance. I chalk it up to good coaching (thanks, Kelvin Sampson!).

This point is less about Jennings' use of the lost art of "hand-in-face" and more about his exceptional effort. He plays like a guy who flat-out loves the sport, and if he works in practice as hard as he does in games (which I hear he does), he's going to be huge.

Determination, swagger, and stick-to-it-iveness. Results aside, the most important thing about this game is that the Bucks showed a national audience that they can hang with the Eastern Conference elite. They play feisty defense, unselfish offense, and once they become more seasoned, they will be able to hang with any team on any night, if they aren't already. Shoot, they took the Blazers and Lakers to overtime and played a tight game against the Cavs. That's one very good team and two elite teams.

Most importantly, they didn't fold. Down 10 going into the fourth and 13 with six minutes left, they could have just let Cleveland keep hammering them, but they didn't go away. They held the Cavs scoreless in the final 4:35 and pulled to within three. That says something to me. Maybe the casual fan won't see it, but I can see it. This team is actually going to become something.

Three Bad

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's foot. While it may be healed, it clearly isn't 100% yet. Whenever Luc was matched up on LeBron James, good things happened. Whenever Bell, Delfino, or someone else was matched up on James, bad things happened very quickly. I cannot keep track of how many times I saw someone other than the Prince defending King James and immediately thought "This cannot end well."

Quite simply, if Milwaukee wants to be a serious team, they need Luc to lock down the other team's best non-center. I don't care if his range is minimal, his shot mechanics are off, and his post game is weak: when he's locking someone down, they become a non-factor.

Addiction to jump shots. The Bucks are a jump shooting team. We know that. But unless they're willing to at least entertain the notion of driving to the basket, they won't become anything special. I know that the makeup of the team lends itself to a jump shot oriented offense (Jennings, Ridnour, Redd, Ilyasova, Delfino, even Thomas and Gadzuric), and some of those guys can drive to the hoop, but they have to want to. Right now, Jennings and Warrick are the only players who want to earn free throws. Two of twelve isn't nearly enough to create balance on offense, and no offensive balance leads to sub-par seasons and early playoff exits.

Fouling. Too much by Milwaukee (22), not enough by Cleveland (16). There's no easier way to break it down. Physical defense is great as long as it isn't sloppy, and it was terribly sloppy this time.

Three Wishes (a.k.a. What I Want To See Happen No Later Than All-Star Weekend)

An increase in plays ran for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute resulting in a corner-3 attempt. I know I just decried the Era of the Jumper in Milwaukee, but Luc needs more minutes, and the only way he can do that is if he makes himself useful on offense. What better way to do that than harness the power of the corner-3, following the footsteps of longtime defensive ace Bruce Bowen? And what better time to do that than during a season where the team is overachieving and searching for offensive identity?

Redd inserted as a permanent 6th man. No, he's not effective yet. He's still recovering from that ACL tear, and he's going to be playing his way back into shape. The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can accept his new role as a bench scorer. A second string Big Three of Ridnour, Redd, and Warrick can be potent if all three figure out their best roles. Speaking of Ridnour...

Ridnour signed to a reasonable extension. Frank explored the anomaly that is Frodo's scorching start to 2009, and I tend to agree with the consensus that it's likely just a prolonged hot streak. But regarding the question of what to actually do with him? I'm all for keeping him.

Look, Brandon's the man, but I doubt if Iverson's doppleganger will emulate the 47 minute outings put forth by his predecessor. Jennings should play at a high level for as long as he's able, and I see that level being sustainable for no more than 35 minutes a night. If you have a chance to lock in a backup who can take the majority of the remaining minutes and still play effectively and meshes well with the starter in certain situations, take it! Unless Ridnour's agent is looking for ridiculous Danny G money, I say sign Frodo for as much Shire-money as he wants (but as little as it takes).

* * *

Thanks for having me, guys. See you next time I manage to catch the Bucks on national TV and both Frank and Alex are unable to do the recap. If that doesn't happen (which it probably won't), I'll see you in the comments.

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

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.

RECAP: Warriors 111, Mavericks 103 - Wait... what just happened?

R Dizzle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:39:12 -0000

Wait...what? Did that really just happen?

Let me check the Open Thread.

OPEN THREAD - Warriors @ Mavericks - Time to Get Smart

Nooo...no way did we just beat the Mavs...did we?

Ellis, Morrow lead Warriors past Mavericks 111-103 [Yahoo Sports]

Yahoo says we did. What about Mavs Money Ball?

Mavs Lose at Home to Six Warriors: Rick Carlisle Postgame Quotes [Mavs MoneyBall]

Ok ok...I still don't believe it. It's not possible. The Mavs were 10-3. Dirk was having an MVP type year (ughhh...). We had 8 active players - 2 of which were injured. We had young players.

Did we really just win?

Let me check to see what my man IQofaWarrior dropped in the Warriors Web...

Warriors Web: Warriors 111, Mavericks 103- Monta Ellis + Anthony Morrow + Stephen Curry score 82 points, Mikki Moore + Vladimir Radmanovic grab 23 rebounds

I still can't believe it...

Final - 11.24.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden State Warriors	25	25	28	33	111
Dallas Mavericks	27	27	28	21	103

Complete Coverage >

WE WON.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?! FACTOR = 3

Again, I'd like to bring your attention Figure 1 (pictured below).

Now I must admit, when the game started I was basically yelling at my laptop at the top of my lungs (and subsequently getting yelled at by people around me at the library). It was literally turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover...you get the idea. If I recall correctly (someone tell me if I'm wrong) it was close to 6 TO's in the first 5 minutes of the game. Sloppy sloppy sloppy!

But then, guys got smart, Keith Smart, that is, and decided to minimize turnovers. Let's be real, 21 turnovers is waaaaaayyyy too much (especially dumb ones) but it doesn't really matter when the Warriors can rack in 15 steals.

Question

Hey GSoM, I gotta question for you.

It's a brain teaser, but maybe you can get the answer.

You gotta think about it real hard though.

What happens when you play a FULL NBA game with these 6 players and this coach?

Stephen Curry

#30 / Guard / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-3

Weight: 185

Born: Mar 14, 1988

College: Davidson

Monta Ellis

#8 / Guard / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-3

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 26, 1985

College: None

Mikki Moore

#33 / Center / Golden State Warriors

Height: 7-0

Weight: 225

Born: Nov 04, 1975

College: Nebraska

Anthony Morrow

#22 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-5

Weight: 210

Born: Sep 27, 1985

College: Georgia Tech

Vladimir Radmanovic

#77 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 235

Born: Nov 19, 1980

College: Serbia & Montenegro

Anthony Randolph

#4 / Forward / Golden State Warriors

Height: 6-10

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 15, 1989

College: L-S-U

The answer to come later.

For a hint, check out this SB Nation article.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now it's time to play another game. It's called...

I SPY - WARRIORS EDITION

Monta Ellis

I spy...Monta Ellis

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see ELLIS TO THE RIM.

It's like he was Moses - parting the sea of the Mavericks players. Going to straight to the promised land that is the basket.

It's like he understands what it means to be a leader, and he's taking charge and doing what he needs to.

Look at his stats! 48 minutes (the whole game), 4 boards, 4 steals, 8 assists. He does need to work on those 11 turnovers though.

Talk about playing a full game...

Anthony Morrow

I spy....Anthony Morrow.

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see a 2nd year player that's expanding his game.

I see our future small forward with an ability to shoot (6 three pointers? Really? I mean..REALLY?!?!), pull down boards (9) and even distribute the ball (5 assists).

I see tenacity.

But most of all, I see pride. I see power. I see a bad-ass mother, who don't take no crap offa nobody!

I had to work the Cool Runnings in!

Stephen Curry

I spy...Stephen Curry.

This one picture depicts his game as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

Yes, he's young, but he ain't scared.

He's got the rest of the NBA wondering where he came from. Look at Dirk. Look at JKidd. They just don't get it.

How can a rookie like him start, shoot 50% off the floor, toss out 6 dimes, AND have clutch shooting at the end of the road game?

Must be all the butter chicken.

Last but not least...

Coach Smart

I spy...Coach Smart.

This one picture depicts his coaching as of late.

Examine it closely. Real closely.

I see a coach that can take our young guys to victory. I see a man that's willing to draw a technical foul on a terrible call. I see a coach that our young players really respect.

He was ready to take over Nelly's coaching position when he was needed. He says the right things.

"Coming into this game, we had nothing to lose," said assistant coach Keith Smart, who filled in for Nelson. "The worst case is they blow us out and we move on to [Wednesday night's game in San Antonio]. But our guys have a lot of character. They played hard together and made the right decisions."

Smart dedicated the victory to Nelson, watching at home on TV."This win went out to our man in charge," Smart said. "Our guys pulled together for him. He instilled a lot of the qualities in all of us."

Now I'm not going to start saying all this "FIRE NELSON! WE WANT COACH SMART!" stuff...but I will say, it was nice to get a fresh look off the bench.

I don't want to credit all of the success yesterday to Coach Smart - it goes to a lot of players (more on that later).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer

What happens when you play a FULL NBA game with these 6 players and this coach?

To my earlier question. There's a simple answer.

A WIN.

I gotta be honest. This one was pretty rough. I could have given it to Coach Smart. I couldn't have given it to any one or all of our Big Three - Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, and Stephen Curry. Hell, I could have even given it to Vlad Rad for playing a full game and contributing.

But no, I think I'm going to dedicate last night's game to my favorite ex-player.

Yes, that's right - he gets yet another Warrior Wonder award.

Why, you ask?

Well it's simple. Things have just been a bit different without him around. Monta's been able to fill the role of leader (which he's suprising doing well in), there's more ball distribution, less dumb mistakes.

Everyone just seems a bit happier. Things seem to be working out a bit better.

Ya know I got nothin but love for ya Jack.

Poll

Think Don Nelson should move to a consulting position?

YES, Time to get Smart!

472 votes

NO, Nellieball forever!

80 votes

552 votes | Poll has closed

Cavs toy with Knicks 100-91

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:48:28 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Kmonicek - AP

about 1 month ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) moves the ball around New York Knicks' Jared Jeffries (20) during the first period of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

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LeBron James travels to Madison Square Garden just once this season. Ever the showman, LeBron wanted to make sure he gave the fans of the home-town Knicks something to remember - and something to hope for. James was nearly flawless - as were his Cavaliers teammates - in a 40-point first quarter pacing the Cavaliers to a 100-91 beating of the New York Knicks.

James 19 point start to the game was filled with everything that makes LeBron so special - drives to the basket, long-range jumpshots, no-look passes and lock down defense. The Cavs shot over 75% for the quarter and the games was never really in doubt again. James finished with 33 on 12-17 shooting. He added 8 rebounds and 9 assists as well.

Mike Brown, in an effort to revitalize the Cavaliers bench, started J.J. Hickson alongside Shaq. Hickson played just 6 minutes, however, scoring 6 points. By having Anderson Varejao coming off the bench, the Cavaliers were able to maintain their energy level. In fact, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Varejao all came in at teh same time around the 6-minute mark of the first quarter. All 5 started for the Cavaliers in 2008-09 and it was amazing how quickly the team seemed to pick up right where it left off.

The rest of the game was filled with bad defense, poor shot selection and seemed to be a complete version of how NOT to play basketball.

Anthony Parker played closer to what he should - 22 minutes - splitting time evenly with Delonte West. While West scored just 3 points, and Parker 7, the true difference between the two is in the +/-. In a game the Cavaliers led by double-digits almost the entire way, Parker managed to break even. West was a solid +18. Figure that one out.

It was also nice to see the return of Z. Gone was the twin-tower experiment - at least for one game - and this allowed Z to find a comfort zone, especially offensively. After going 0-9 last night against the Bulls, Z bounced back with a 9 point, 11 rebound game - his finest of the season in my opinion.

For the Knicks it was the same ole' same ole. I still can see now justifyable reason LeBron would want to play for the Knicks. If winning is all that matters, as LeBron says it is, then the Knicks would be last on my list.

David Lee was high-man for New York scoring 21 points with 6 rebounds. Old friend Larry Hughes finished with 18 while Danilo Gallinari added 17.

A win is a win and this game falls right into that. The Cavaliers now get a few days off to get some of these issues handled. They had better, because a trip through Florida awaits, with Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Thursday.

GO CAVS!

Cavaliers vs Knicks coverage , Cavaliers vs Knicks preview , Posting and Toasting

Cavaliers sleepwalk to 86-85 loss to Bulls

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:17:34 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

about 1 month ago: Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose, center, jumps to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal, right, and Mo Williams in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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Maybe this is the new motivation for the Cavaliers this season. Last year, the Cavaliers seemed to be on a mission the entire regular season to get the 1 seed in the East, to win every game they played. The result was 66 wins, 39 of those at The Q. It also ended in a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.

No need to worry about that this season - at least through 6 games.

In a game that the Cavaliers seemed disinterested in playing for large parts of the final 3 quarters, a late LeBron James energy boost was not enough to beat a young Chicago Bulls team. First of, credit the Bulls. There were several times a young team could have folded - they didn't. Instead it was the Cavs that played poor perimeter defense. It was the Cavs that turned the ball over at key times and it was the Cavs that couldn't hit the big shot when needed.

Even the final play was flawed - especially in design. With 4.3 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers trailing by one, Mo Williams inbounded the ball to LeBron, with Shaq setting the pick to clear him. Nothing wrong there - except for the one guy I would imaging Shaq was supposed to get to - Joakim Noah - was the weakside help that caused LeBron to lose the ball out of bounds, ending any hopes the Cavs had of winning.

Many will say there should have been a foul called - and in truth we have seen less get called at times. Fairly speaking, however, the officials did a good job of swallowing their whistles for both sides late in the game and there was very little contact - just a lot of long arms.

Even if you think there was a foul, the Cavaliers played poorly enough - for long stretches - to hardly deserve the win. The Wine and Gold had plenty of opportunities to take the game over in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters but failed to pt the Bulls away. It was a team effort for Chicago, with 5 players in double figures lead by Luol Deng's 15. Derrick Rose added 14 points and 11 assists.

For the Cavaliers, it was LeBron leading the way with 25-7-6. His play, at times, seemed uninspired, perhaps because of two nasty falls - one when he rolled his ankle running off the court after a foul - the second when he landed hard on a seat diving for a ball out of bounds. Both shots seemed to take LeBron's energy away, at least until the final seconds when LeBron single-handedly nearly pulled it out for the Cavs.

There was more trouble for an offense that looks more and more like it misses John Kuester. Kuester, now the Head Coach in Detroit, ran the Cavaliers offense last season. The offense lacks creativity and movement, either focusing on giving the ball to Shaq, or LeBron.

The Cavaliers shot just 40.7% from the field, and just 12-20 from the FT line. The Cavs committed 12 turnovers as well. Chicago turned the abll over just 7 times, leading to ZERO points for the Cavs. The Bulls were the faster team right from the start.

The struggles for the bench continued as well - Daniel Gibson scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting. Everyone else? A combined 1-18 for Z, Delonte and J.J. Hickson. Z was 0-9 from the field and once again appeared to have no clue on either end of the floor when paired with Shaq.

Meanwhiles, Jamario Moon was a DNP. Wasn't Moon brought to Cleveland to match up with teams like Chicago that are long and athletic? Something has Moon firmly planted on Mike Brown's bench while Ilgauskas and Anthony Parker(4-9, 11 points) waste their minutes on the floor(Z played 21 minutes, Parker played 35).

One bright spot for the Cavaliers was Anderson Varejao. Andy seems to have found his groove playing next to Shaq, putting together back-to-back double-doubles. Tonight's 12 points, 13 rebounds was a solid effort. Varejao also lead the team with a +11. Shaq added 14 points and 10 boards, along with 5 blocks.

All in all it was an ugly loss. Perhaps it was the way the Cavaliers lost the game - sleepwalking - that bothers me the most. we have heard many times this summer that the Cavaliers can't do anything during the season to make up for their playoff loss. I agree, to a point, but Champions play championship basketball all the time - not just in April, May and June.

Up next is my favorite time of year - LeBron's yearly flirtation with the New York media as the Cavs get right back on the florr tomorrow night against the Knicks.

Bulls vs Cavaliers recap; Bulls vs Cavaliers boxscore

Gameday Preview @ Cleveland Cavaliers

David Arnott — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:52:21 -0000

Pump Up Music: Rocky Horror -- "The Time Warp"

The Big Picture: The Cavaliers finally put together a win last night, albeit over an injury-depleted Timberwolves squad. Two losses to start the season isn't all that bad if you know you're going to make the playoffs and compete for a title no matter your seed.

I'm not sure how Mike Brown plans to attack the season, if he's going to give lots of rest early on and build up to speed in the second half, or if he's going to work guys hard early on and then let them rest after the playoffs are assured. Either way, the Bobcats face a talent deficit at every position (except Diaw vs. Varejao, probably) and will be hard pressed to compete, especially after such a draining game last night.

Key to Victory: Is anybody else wondering why the Cavs continue to start Anderson Varejao at the four? Doesn't it make all the sense in the world to simply give in, trade Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Stephen Jackson, move LeBron James to the four, and have Varejao be Shaq's caddy off the bench? It's still early, but even though I love the idea of Shaq and Z splitting time fairly evenly, I'd be far more concerned about Varejao getting so much playing time alongside them. Boris Diaw should pull him way out from the basket and shouldn't be afraid to play the Hedo Turkoglu role tonight, putting the ball on the floor and dishing or blowing by the much bigger man.

Secondarily, the Cats' bench will probably have to play exceptionally well just to keep up with the Cavs. Go twelve deep, Larry. You went all out for the win last night, and the energy debt's come due.

Detail That Might Interest .08% of Fans: Be sure to check out Cleveland Frowns, one of the best blogs on the internets, as far as I'm concerned. Yes, one of my college friends is a primary contributor, and I'm pretty sure he's going to be President of the United States one day.

Last Minute Halloween Ideas: For those of you dawdling on the Halloween costume thing, read my column on FirstCuts for a few ideas you might be able to slap together with a run to Goodwill.

Those of you who watched Nickelodeon game shows in the mid-90s might recognize my costume. Silver Snakes are going down! You ain't nothin', Purple Parrots! Green Monkeys 4 lyfe!

Cavaliers notch first win, beat T-Wolves 104-87

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:00:35 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

about 1 month ago: Cleveland Cavaliers Mo Williams drives to the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves' Al Jefferson, left, defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 in Minneapolis. Williams scored 20 points in the Cavaliers' 104-87 win. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Rest assured, Cavaliers fans - this year's edition of the Wine and Gold still know how to win basketball games. In an effort reminiscent of many of the 66 wins from last season, the Cavaliers slowly, methodically beat down on a young, talented - but overmatched - Minnesota Timberwolves team 104-87. For the Cavaliers it was a job well done - mission accomplished. Sometimes the hardest win is the first even when you know there will be more to come.

Tonight the Cavaliers looked like a team - and it goes deeper than the level of opposition. The Cavaliers looked much more comfortable in their own skin - finding the roles that will take them where they are going to go this season.

I'll start with the obvious - Shaquille O'Neal. It was obvious that Shaq was trying to do too much - and perhaps the Cavaliers were trying too hard to feed him the ball. Through the first two games, Shaq was averaging 27 minutes and about 12 shots per game. Tonight, Shaq played 19 minutes, and took 6 shots - scoring 6 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. That is more of how I thought Shaq would be used. He was open to passing out of the post - often to open players. Often the Cavs - Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson - were hitting those shots. If they didn't, Shaq was there to grab the rebound. That is how I thought this Shaq-deal would work

LeBron got to take the 4th quarter off, which was a welcome sight. He undoubtedly set the tone, however, in the first quarter that saw him score 11 points. You got the feeling that James was going to do whatever it took to win tonight - be it score 50 points or simplye what he did - 24 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 33 minutes.

The defense was also back to form. While the 2nd quarter was once again a work-in-progress(29 points allowed), the Cavaliers were solid in the 2nd half again - 40 points allowed - and for the game held the Wolves to 42% shooting(21% from deep).

The Cavaliers had 5 players in doubles figures led by LeBron(24 points), Mo Williams(20 points), Zydrunas Ilgauskas(15 points), Daniel Gibson(14 points) and Anderson Varejao(13 points). The bench stepped up as well, scoring a combined 35 points.

The Cavaliers are not a finished product, of course, but it was good to see positive signs, and felt great to get a win. The Cavs won't have much time to enjoy it, however. The team is likely already on its way back to Cleveland for a date with the Bobcats tomorrow night.