SB Nation - Anderson Varejao

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

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

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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

Game 24 Recap: Blazers 99, Cavaliers 104

Dave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Garrett Ellwood - NBAE/Getty Images

This is not going to end well.

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Well, if you're going to lose that's not a horrible way to lose. The Blazers played an inspired first half in this one. Gone was the listless play we've become semi-accustomed to lately. This team had more list than Santa. One of the things I sometimes forget is that the current incarnation of the Blazers has a little "Big Time" in it. They seemed to know they were on national TV. They knew who they were playing. They played with energy from the tip, taking a lead on the shocked Cavaliers (perhaps feeling a little entitlement to a home win themselves) and protecting it through the first half.

How did the Blazers do it? The supporting cast had a fantastic half. Martell Webster started the game on fire, hitting everything he threw up. It's not like he was taking it one-on-one. The Blazers attacked with Roy early, he drew attention, Martell and LaMarcus were the beneficiaries. In fact nobody but those three scored in the first quarter. When the stars didn't have a shot, Martell stepped up. But the Blazers also threw a few more screens in the offense, with both Roy and Webster curling off of them and hitting briefly-open jumpers as a result.

As the second quarter and the second unit (such as it is) rolled around we saw a ton of off-ball movement. The four players without the rock made it easy for the dribbler to find an outlet. Unsurprisingly the two players who benefitted the most were the two players who know how to function in that kind of offense: Juwan Howard and Andre Miller. Both of those guys have a sense of spacing that their younger counterparts lack. Howard all but killed the Cavaliers all by himself at the start of the second quarter doing nothing but raining down open mid-range jumpers. Miller ramped it up at the end of the second quarter, hitting all kinds of shots including a couple threes. Except for one Roy jumper, one Cunningham jumper, and a couple of Bayless free throws nobody but the geezer twins scored in that second period.

As you can imagine, Cleveland was a little flummoxed. Worse, the Blazers' energy on offense evoked similar play on defense. Joel Przybilla keyed the early momentum with a couple of MONSTER blocks. He was way into this game. Cleveland helped by steadfastly refusing to utilize LeBron James. He destroyed the Blazers every time he touched the ball but he was getting fewer touches than a broke guy at Déjà Vu. It was as if Cleveland had a fully gassed and insured Ferrari in the garage but elected to take the old Taurus instead. Add in that the Blazers weren't turning the ball over much and weren't allowing the Cavs offensive rebounds and you can see why Portland took a 9-point lead into the third quarter. They had outscored Cleveland 31-19 in that second period. Things were looking good.

Except you didn't need Paul Harvey to know what the rest of the story would be.

The Cavaliers announced their presence in the second half by throwing on a full-court press. The intention wasn't so much to stop Portland as rattle them. Perhaps it was also designed to light a fire under their own players. It worked on both counts. Wherever Portland threw the ball a defender seemed to beat it there. Where the Blazers had been playing free and easy, maybe even with a spritely tempo, in the first half now shots started coming later and later in the clock. The same jumpers that were golden early started missing late.

When LeBron hit a three-pointer on Cleveland's first offensive possession, approximately 37 seconds into the half, it was clear that Elvis had arrived at the clam bake. He proceeded to score 9 points in 3 minutes, hitting jumpers over shorter guys. The Blazers threw a zone which worked for a possession or so. Then it was the old "put out the fire" drill which saw Portland defenders running at him from everywhere. All of a sudden here come Anderson Varejao and Shaquille O'Neal.

Pause for interlude.

Shaq was huge in this game. Like around four bills huge. Seriously, you can now see the fat roll underneath the armpits of his jersey. The Cavs wear an "XL" patch on their uniforms. In his case it's missing about six "X's". I'm thinking the plan is to improve his free throw shooting by eventually being able to roll the ball down his stomach and into the hoop. Some guys become broadcasters after their career is done. I guess he's angling to be a blogger.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Varejao and Shaq took advantage of Portland's inability to contain LeBron by scoring repeatedly at the cup. Portland eventually tried a smaller, quicker lineup both to protect Przybilla from foul trouble and to move men over to LBJ in a more timely fashion. That made it worse. Przybilla eventually put an end to the Shaq run with a classic heel move: poking him in the eye. Shaq went to the locker room and never came back. Unfortunately the same could not be said of Varejao, who proceeded to kill us with his energy on both ends. He bottled up LaMarcus Aldridge, rebounded all over the place, created turnovers, finished easy plays...he basically gave the Cavs all of the opportunity points they had lacked in the first half.

Meanwhile the Blazers' offense was in confusion. As jumpers missed we became more Roy-centric which had the dual effect of creating points and telegraphing to the Cavaliers where their defense should concentrate and exactly when the ball was coming up. It's not like Roy was hogging it. His teammates couldn't finish what they started early in the game. Martell Webster made like one of those drag racers starting with a huge boom but then blowing out his engine and coasting down the track. Steve Blake never hit anything in this game. LaMarcus got Varejaoed. The only guy who was any help was Andre Miller and that was at the cost of his offense running the same way Roy's did. It wasn't quite enough. Cleveland played sharper. The Blazers turned it over more and got fewer offensive rebounds in the second half. Oh...and LeBron was still cooking.

Portland made it really close, cutting it to 4 with 13 seconds left on a LaMarcus Aldridge three and then scoring again 1 second later off of a Roy steal of the inbounds pass. But Cleveland hit their free throws and Roy couldn't hit the contested, off-balance three that would have kept hope alive. It was as good of a performance as you could have expected but it wasn't good enough for the miracle win.

Here's hoping the Blazers build on tonight. They showed themselves and their opponent that they can be dangerous when they play right. The early offense was something to behold...everything you'd hoped for out of a perimeter game. The total lack of paint points rendered it unsustainable but if the Blazers can pair that movement and unselfishness with even a marginal inside presence they're going to be just fine. And by just fine I mean great. In the meantime while they're waiting for the post presence and more people who can actually hit outside shots to heal they should continue to work that hard. Good things will happen.

Click through for Individual Observations, the Boxscore, Links, Jersey Contest Results, and Final Thoughts.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy had 23 points but never got steady offensive production until he blitzed the fourth quarter. Even then his run was short-lived. Cleveland figured out what the plan was and that made life too difficult. He was no better than anyone else on the team when matched up against LeBron James. In fact the three-guard lineup in the second half was a defensive disaster, especially when Przybilla wasn't in with them. But he looked more active on defense than he has in some outings. He had 6 assists as well.

LaMarcus Aldridge had three-quarters of a great offensive game tonight. He couldn't get anything going in the fourth. They just shut him down whenever he tried, which in any case probably wasn't often enough as the offense became guard-dominated. He drew 5 free throws and hit them all, which is good. He had 2 rebounds on the night...this on a night when he was one of two guys above 6'9" who saw significant minutes. That's not so good.

Andre Miller played tough out there on offense. He drove, dished, and hit his shots. I have a vague impression that he looks more confident against Eastern Conference teams but that's just an impression. He sure knew how to bake Cleveland's cookies. 8-13 shooting, 20 points, 6 rebounds. He had only 3 assists, taking a more shooting-guard-ish approach to the evening.

Steve Blake had 8 assists. Unfortunately that was about the only obvious good thing that came out of his night. He had 4 turnovers. Although he put himself in decent position many times he also got burned for being too slow or too short on defense. He also missed all 4 shots he took, including 3 three-point attempts. First of all, with the roster the way it is we can't afford to have a guy playing 36 minutes and only attempting 4 shots unless that guy's name starts with "P" and ends with "rzybilla". Discretion is good but you have to be a threat. Second of all...you goose-egged the evening. I hate to presume too much but have a handy piece of advice for both Blake and Webster. If the three-pointer isn't falling your choices are not limited to keep bricking or stop shooting altogether. Specifically there are shots available from 2-4 feet further in which are more comfortable. Obviously you can't step in if defenders are closing out on you but in many cases they're leaving you all alone. Take an easier shot, get it to fall, then try the hard stuff.

Speaking of Martell, 13 points in the first quarter, 0 for the rest of the game. 4 rebounds and 4 fouls otherwise. Obviously defending LeBron can be a discouraging experience. But you've got to keep involved and you've got to work for better shots instead of relying on the ones that the defense gives you most easily. On fire or cold as a witch's bras-trap won't do it.

Joel Przybilla...you made this game for us. 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, including a SPECTACULAR rejection of a Shaq alley-oop dunk. The guy had 2 assists when the offense was flowing freely too. He set the tone.

Hey Juwan...15 points in 16 minutes? Who are you, Jerryd Bayless? I guess this is the one situation where you're glad that the old-guy power forward you got also used to score with some proficiency instead of just rebounding and defending. With half the roster blown away you need the points.

Hey Jerryd...8 minutes? Who are you, Juwan Howard? No, seriously, I thought Jerryd looked pretty good out there tonight. He made a couple of nice assists and stayed turnover-free. More importantly the Blazers intentionally called the last play of the first half for him, giving him the ball to finish the period. He penetrated even when everybody knew that would be coming. He drew two foul shots and converted them. The fact that they set the play for him is a sign of respect. Of course more than 8 minutes would also be a sign of respect. I am not huge on bandwagons as I think we tend to jump the gun and/or not see some subtle things that keep our favorite guys from playing as much as we think they should. However in this case I tend to agree with my colleague Ben. I'm seeing Jerryd hit the few jumpers he takes. I'm seeing him drive with effect. I'm seeing him in the nascent stages of passing the ball and getting the offense. I do understand his effectiveness will be greatest with certain combinations. I understand that those combinations probably won't include Roy or Miller--let alone both--and that you have to give the nod to Brandon and Andre both over Jerryd right now. (In other words it's not just a matter of subbing in Jerryd in Blake's spot.) However no matter what the combinations may be I think you have to find the guy some more playing time, particularly if the other team has no choice but to send a weaker defender against him. Maybe not 30 minutes. Maybe he doesn't even move up in the rotation officially. But if Blake's not hitting his shots anyway, if Miller or Roy can handle the passing, and if Jerryd can do a few other things that Steve can't you have to sneak him in there for a few more minutes.

Final Thoughts

Pretty much said it all above, but I'll reiterate that I appreciated the effort. If the Blazers played every game this way, even with the evening not being perfect, there wouldn't be much cause to complain.

Boxscore

Check out what Cavs fans think at FeartheSword.

See how you did in tonight's Jersey Contest here. (We had some good scores!) Enter tomorrow's form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Poll

How'd you feel about this game?

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.

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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

IC Cold Links: Waiting On the Cavaliers at Pacers

Tom Lewis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:45:09 -0000

Ah, I made it through the whole day yesterday without seeing the infamous clips from the Palace Brawl. Mission accomplished. I couldn't believe all of the articles with "Five Years Later" and thoughts on the brawl from Ron Artest, John Green or Ben Wallace. I mean, I didn't care what these guys thought about the brawl five days after it happened, let alone five years. In five years, John Green has come to realize alcohol probably played a role. Genius. I guess I just moved past it a while ago.

Now bring on the Cleveland Cavaliers!

Zooming out to the big picture, after beating the Celtics last Saturday, I was hoping the Pacerswould finish the week 2-1 and the month 5-3. Obviously, the first goal demands a win tonight over the visiting Cavs.

No easy task for the Pacers with LeBron Jamesrunning for the other side, but the Pacers do get a little break with two bigs missing the game for the Cavs. Both Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao will miss the game which should help when the Pacers go small.

Jim O'Brien may not be forced to go small tonight with the likely return of Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster. I wouldn't expect either to play significant minutes but, boy, the Pacers sure could've used both against the Knicksto shake up the play on the floor, and in the case of Murph, spread out the offense and maybe even knock down a shot or two. More options are good when you're desperately searching for something to work.

After the jump, a few links of interest along with another edition of the Crate (sans guest Star Wars character).

PACERS: Pacers-Cavs preview
Bruno offers the prep work for tonight's game along with the good news about Foster, Murphy and Dunleavy participating in full-court work during practice yesterday.
LeBron as a Pacer? Why it's not likely
Mike Wells considers the very unlikely scenario of LeBron James joining the Pacers as a free agent next year. LBJ does look pretty good in the Pacers uni.
Pacers See Improvement in Different Ways From LeBron James
Larry Hawley hears from the Pacers as they prepare to take on LeBron James and the Cavs.
A few more observations from Bird's nest
Dan Shaughnessy catches up with Larry Bird on a whole host of topics from his past with the Celtics to the present with the Pacers.
Lessons of Pacers-Pistons brawl still being learned 5 years later
Mark Montieth looks back at the lessons learned from the brawl at the Palace, your only brawl-related link of the day since it doesn't pander to the participants.
PACERS: Pacers to Host Annual Come to Our House Dinner Thursday
On the latest episode of Pacers Crate, Bruno, Boyle and Denari bat around the positive play of Tyler Hansbrough despite no training camp for the rookie.

Battered and bruised Cavaliers head to Washington

John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:09:59 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

28 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers' Shaquille O'Neal, center, jokes on the bench with Mo Williams, right, and Jawad Williams during an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009, in Cleveland. O'Neal sat out the game with a shoulder strain but the Cavaliers won 114-108. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Browse more photos »

After some computer troubles of my own, and with the network - the latter which killed the open thread last night - I am back and better than ever. Hopefully, we'll be saying that about some of the injured Cavaliers, especially across the front-line.

Here is the latest -

Jamario Moon -- Moon left last night's game vs. the Golden State Warriors with 11:03 remaining in the 3rd quarter with a sprained left ankle. He did not return to the game. He traveled with the team to Washington and is listed as QUESTIONABLE for tomorrow night's game versus the Wizards.

That's the good news. Now for the not so good.

Anderson Varejao - Varejao did not play in the game vs. Golden State (hip contusion). He traveled with the team to Washington but is listed as OUT for tomorrow night's game.

Shaquille O'Neal - Shaq also missed the game vs. the Warriors (shoulder strain). He did not travel with the team to Washington and will remain in Cleveland to receive treatment.

Leon Powe - Powe is still rehabbing his left knee.

Delonte West - Your guess is as good as mine. West is due in court in a couple days, so I'd imagine we won't be seeing him for awhile. At what point do the Cavaliers simply move on without West??

Cavs outlast Heat after Wade and LeBron put on hell of a show

DolPhanDave — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:11:37 -0000

The result may not have been what Heat fans were hoping for, but the first Wade-LeBron match up of the season lived up to the expectations. The two superstars combined for 70 points, but it was James who got the last laugh. He shut the door on Miami himself, scoring the Cavs final 8 points over the last 2:42 of the game and keeping the Heat's comeback at bay.

As impressive as his offensive domination was LeBron's defense. He has such long arms and legs that, when combined with his supreme athleticism, make James one of the top man on men defenders in the NBA.

While on the subject of defense, Udonis Haslem has always been one of the Heat's best defenders but it may not have been such a good idea for Erik Spoelstra to put him on LeBron James. After Quentin Richardson was called for two early fouls, Spo put U-D on King James and two quick fouls later it was Dorell Wright coming off the bench to defend James. D-Wright did a good job on LeBron and on offense as well in his limited minutes.

Michael Beasley had a decent game, stretching the floor offensively by drilling a few outside jumpers and driving the ball when he could. My knock on Beasley is that he hasn't finished well when attacking the rim, often getting himself in a situation where he has two or three defenders around him. Too many bad looking forced shots from inside the paint for my liking...but we know that Beasley is a work-in-progress.

GAME NOTES

Beasley finished with 24 points and 6 rebounds. He hit 2-of-5 three-pointers and hit all four of his free throws.

How about the Cavs winning @ Orlando and @ Miami on back-to-back nights? I think its safe to say that Cleveland has gotten over their rough start to the season.

Moment of the night: Dwyane Wade's 1-handed posterization of Anderson Varejao in the 1^st quarter.

Daequan Cook returned to the court after missing five games with a sore shoulder. He started the 2^nd quarter, went 0-for-4 from the field (including two 3-pointers) and then sat out the entire 2^nd half.

Slowly but surely Dorell Wright is earning his minutes. Defensively he has been very sharp, and now he's starting to hit the few shots he takes.

Forgive the short post...I don't do well when feeling under the weather. Tomorrow night its Nets @ Heat, a nice way to bounce back after the tough loss to Cleveland.

Daily Links 11/13

FLCeltsFan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:53:36 -0000

Herald Sheldon Williams gets shot at ex-team
Scouting report: Hawks at Celtics
Kobe Bryant scores 29, Lakers stop Suns’ quick start
Hornets fire coach Byron Scott, GM to take over
Timberwolves’ Al Jefferson to miss 2 games for personal reasons
LeBron James leads Cavaliers past Heat, 111-104
Globe Why Marquis Daniels is so important
Scal makes impression on Pierce
Hawks thumbnails
Williams: Onward, upward

CelticsBlog   WEEI Interviews
Paul Pierce Raffle
Loy's Place   Hawks Visit Garden Looking to Renew Rivalry
Celtics Have Some Rough Practices
Motown Sports Revival     I Injured Myself Just Writing About the NBA
Red's Army   The Morning Dump... Where Shelden Williams Lies about the Hawks
"He's been wonderful"
Your KG Face of the Day
Scal Knocks Around Pierce, Giddens at Practice
North Station Sports    How Do the Best Teams in Celtics Past Rate Against the 2009-10 Squad
NSS flix: LeBron James-- No More Free Agent Talk Until After Season
Slam Online LeBron Wants NBA to Retire the Number 23
It’s Now Don Nelson vs. Monta Ellis
Celtics 17   Byron Scott has been fired
Wicked Local   Thursday practice update: Scal’s back; Pierce bandaged
Comcast SportsNet     Allen: Man of many (scoring) talents
Celts notes: Williams wants win, not revenge
Celtics Hub    Doc talks about Sheed taking 3’s, turnovers & what he looks for in box scores
The King’s New Clothes?
Loscy   Get KG, Rondo, Perk, Pierce, and Ray On Your Desktop
Lex Nihil Novi   Larry v. Magic: NBA Still Struggling for a National Audience
Larry v. Magic: Celtics Dominate the So-Called Great 8
CelticsLife   And the 1st coach to get canned is...
"Welcome to your Kodak Moment Anderson Varejao"
Gino's Jungle    KG Creates A Whole Nother Atmosphere At The Garden
Craftiness Works for Rondo and Celtics
Celtics and Hawks Rivalry Revisited, Soon To Be Renewed
Scores Report    The Top 10 NBA Free Agents of 2010
ESPN   Boston Celtics' past three starts have been historic
Lakers dismantle red-hot Suns for sixth straight win
Byron Scott exits stage left
Minnesota Timberwolves center Al Jefferson to miss two games
Dallas Mavericks coach calls out players
LeBron James should join Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat
Antoine Walker's lawyer: Former All-Star trying to resolve Las Vegas gambling debts
Orlando Sentinel    Callie Rivers inducted into Winter Park Hall of Fame
WEEI   For Williams and Daniels, The Present Is All That Matters
Hoop Doctors   The Celtics Made the Right Decision Resigning Rondo
Enterprise News    Former lottery pick Williams making court contribution for Celtics
Daily Thunder    Peace, Love and Thunderstanding: Random Thoughts
Dimemag Super Smash Brothers
The surprise contender in the West (and it’s not Phoenix)
10 Players Who Are About To Crash The Party
Breaking News: New Orleans Hornets Fire Byron Scott
My Random Observations- Magic/Cavs Game
Patriot Ledger     Shelden Williams fitting in with Celtics
MetroWest Daily News    Celtics: Dancing to a different beat
Cleveland.com    Cavaliers seem to be preparing for life without Delonte West
Green Street    Rasheed Wallace on D&H 11/12
Scal strikes again
Doc on Scott firing: ‘That’s our league’
KG: ‘Rondo and I have a connection’ KG: ‘Rondo and I have a connection’
Boston Sports Pulse    Petey’s Corner: Celtics Need More Conditioning?
Why Do Cleveland Fans Even Root For This Guy?
NESN     Celtics’ Balanced Attack Will Be Tough to Beat
Brian Scalabrine Elbows Paul Pierce at Practice
CBS Sports    Hawks-Celtics Preview
Dueling Couches   Scal Not A Happy Ginger
Sun Sentinel   Miami Heat: Is Cleveland's supporting cast that much better?
SI.com    Young Timberwolves learning the hard way
Hawks' Joe Johnson an NBA�free-agent prize few are mentioning
Ball Don't Lie    Rasheed Wallace explains his 'prosthetic leg' story
AJC    For the ever-improved Hawks, it's time to win in Boston
ITVT   NBA Launches Two-Screen Interactive TV Application, "NBA TV Companion"
USA Today    Halftime: Is Delonte West afraid to fly?
NY Times    For Some N.B.A. Players, There’s No Such Thing as a Slam Dunk
Dwight Howard.com   Don’t worry, we’ll bounce back!!!
Examiner     Scouting the Eastern Conference: Cavs show why it’s a two-horse race

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)

Browse more photos »

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

Wizards lose to Cavaliers: Final wrap and a word about our half-court offense

Mike Prada — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:17:33 -0000

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

Browse more photos »

Last night, in our emotional game recap, I mentioned that last night's game proved that we're still not there when it comes to the true contenders for the title. It was a bit of a snappy line that was put there in effect, in part because it sounded right and in part because there was something more to it that I needed time to think about.

Well, now I've thought about it and I realize what I meant.

The sign of a true contender is one who can run their half-court offense effectively in the face of stepped-up defensive pressure. A true contender trusts their offensive system and offensive sets enough to run them better when the defensive pressure increases rather than abandoning them. The Wizards didn't run their halfcourt offense well last night. Therefore, they aren't there yet.

More below the jump, but first, some numbers.

Four Factors: (bold=very high, italics=very low).

Team	Pace	Off Eff	eFG%	FT/FG	OREB%	TOr
Washington	88	102.3	42%	46.4	29.3%	14.8
Cleveland		115.9	48.3%	22.1	26.5%	8

Lineup stats, via Popcorn Machine

Highest individual plus/minus: JaVale McGee (+1 in 11:24)
Lowest individual plus/minus: Mike Miller (-16 in 34:36) and Randy Foye (-14 in 19:30)
Best lineup: Gilbert Arenas/Mike Miller/Caron Butler/Fabricio Oberto/Brendan Haywood (+6 to start the game)
Worst lineup: Gilbert Arenas/Randy Foye/DeShawn Stevenson/Andray Blatche/Brendan Haywood (-9 in the fourth quarter)

Think about it for a second. When did the game turn? In the second quarter, when the Wizards started fouling too much on defense. What happens when you foul? The other team goes to the free throw line. What happens when the other team goes to the free throw line? You're constantly taking the ball out of the basket. What happens when you constantly take the ball out of the basket? You have no transition game to rely on to use your speed advantage. How do you win when you can't rely on your transition game? You need to execute your half-court offense well.

That didn't happen at all. Credit Cleveland's defense for a lot, of course. They basically decided to play Gilbert Arenas straight up and let him try to score, and it worked tremendously. But eventually, with the game slowed down and the Wizards frustrated by perceived bad calls, they stopped running the sets and instead broke plays to make mad dashes to the rim. They figured that the refs were calling the game tight and could take advantage by creating contact. That worked, in a sense, because the Wizards ended up with 41 free throws (which was 14 more than Cleveland despite referee mistreatment, for what it's worth). But all it did is slow the game down even further, which works to Cleveland's advantage.

It wasn't just Arenas either. Caron Butler, after an excellent offensive first quarter where he did a great job of running LeBron James off picks and tiring him out, didn't do the same in the third quarter. When he did get the ball in the second half, the offensive flow just stopped as we waited for Butler to size up his defender, jab step, then either shoot or drive. Those types of things hurt your offensive flow, even if the play is designed to get Butler isolated somewhere. Randy Foye slugged his way through 19 minutes and just one assist, while Brendan Haywood continues to look for his offense a bit too much for my taste.

The Wizards' halfcourt offense needs quick and decisive moves to work. It's all a bunch of cuts and screens that fold into each other. If you take too long on one play, then you hamper your chances of continuing the offense. Too often, there was a lot of sizing up the defense rather than just going and making a play right off the bat. That, along with driving just to draw fouls, slows down the pace of the game and only exacerbates Cleveland's size advantage.

The good news here is that, if this is the problem, the remedy may simply be more time in Flip Saunders' system. That'll occur naturally as the season goes on, as everyone gets more comfortable running those sets after so many years in the Princeton. Here's hoping that time can heal those wounds.

Other notes:

Mike Miller took just three shots last night (although he did draw a number of fouls). Frankly, it's just mind-boggling how this happens. He does so many things that just make you wonder, like throwing the ball into JaVale McGee in the post with the shot clock running down. The Wizards really need to do something to force him to shoot instead of relying on him to find his offense. For example, why not let him come off the bench and start DeShawn Stevenson? Miller could come in for Caron Butler and immediately become the second- or third-best offensive player in the lineup. Then, run some plays for him and have him handle the ball in pick-and-roll situations.
I was very disappointed that Foye, Arenas and Miller never shared the court last night. I guess Flip Saunders was concerned with how they'd match up defensively with LeBron James in that lineup, but LeBron only played 36 minutes. Why not play that lineup during that stretch? Cleveland has small guards anyway. Instead, either Butler or Stevenson was in the game at all times. I think that was a mistake. UPDATE: As Aldo points out, they did end the second quarter together and were outscored by six points. My bad. Of course, the Wizards were playing Caron Butler at PF, but the point still stands.
It's only four games, but I'm a bit worried with how much Brendan Haywood is looking for his own shot. I talked to him after the Nets game about this, and he sounded so happy that he was shooting. He pointed out that he's taken 32 shots in three games (not including last night), and that it would have taken a month in the Princeton offense to get that many. This may be true, and I'm not opposed with the occasional post touch for Haywood, but Haywood is one of those guys whose efficiency goes down with increased usage. Since his efficiency was such a huge part of his value in the past, it's important his usage remains low. Don't force things, Brendan. Run the offense.
Once again, Fabricio Oberto did some positive things, but it was amazing how little respect Cleveland showed for him. Anderson Varejao basically didn't guard him the halfcourt offense. This is where Antawn Jamison's return will help most. The spacing with Oberto on the floor is brutal.
Andray Blatche didn't play badly, but he still needs to work on improving his play when he runs into a little adversity. He wasn't the same after he picked up those three fouls.
A positive sign: JaVale McGee has put together four very good games. He hasn't played much, but he's doing several positive things out there. I like his aggression fighting for offensive boards.

And finally, a note to Cleveland fans...

I imagine if you check out our game thread, you'll be a bit put off by all the whining about the officials. I understand that -- you want to enjoy your win and you don't want to deal with comments that make us seem like sore losers. But please, consider a few things.

Game threads are our sounding board. They're meant to be where we make our snap reactions to plays. They're meant to be places where our passion shows itself the most. Everyone on this site is a smart, rational fan that, like any other, is prone to emotional anxiety in the heat of the moment. So don't use those comments as fuel to your long-standing belief that Wizards fans are either stupid, crybabys or sore losers. Consider context first. Understand that those threads, and the immediate post-game threads that follow, are meant to be venting places when the Wizards lose. We do plenty of self-analysis, so don't say all we do is whine about the officials. To make an analogy - coaches complain to the officials during games all the time, but nobody would consider them whiners. It's just what happens in the heat of the moment. We understand that and we ask you do too.
Please, please, please admit this is a rivalry and that you dislike the Wizards and their fans emotionally. I mean, your own local broadcast had a poll running that said "Which Wizards player do you hate the most?" We're willing to admit that our hatred for the Cavs affects us, please be willing to do the same. And please, the players on the Cavs don't like the Wizards either, as much as they may say otherwise. As long as you're willing to admit your biases, we're willing to talk to you, because we're all aware of ours. The second the tone turns into "You pathetic Wizards and your fans, you're not our rival, we don't care about you," is the second things go south. It's wrong and you all know it.
You are welcome to comment on here, but please understand you're talking on someone else's turf. You may not agree with us or our rules, but you need to be respectful of the location. So don't come on here to pick fights. Don't call us whiners even if you believe we are. Be careful with how you phrase your comments because you know we're a sensitive lot. It's not the fairest way to talk in the world, but that's just how it is. You wouldn't go over to someone's house and tell them that their cooking sucks or their house isn't clean enough.
Finally, it is possible for us to have intelligent, rational discussion as long as we set some ground rules.

Thanks. If you are here to comment rationally and follow those ground rules, we look forward to hearing from you.

SB Nation - Anderson Varejao

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

Game 24 Recap: Blazers 99, Cavaliers 104

How'd you feel about this game?

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

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

IC Cold Links: Waiting On the Cavaliers at Pacers

Battered and bruised Cavaliers head to Washington

Cavs outlast Heat after Wade and LeBron put on hell of a show

Daily Links 11/13

Cavs toy with Knicks 100-91

Wizards lose to Cavaliers: Final wrap and a word about our half-court offense

Four Factors: (bold=very high, italics=very low).

Lineup stats, via Popcorn Machine