The Takeover!

Man, last nights game was awesome. Plus I was there at The Q to watch it, so that made it even better. Last night almost reminded me of that Cavs/Pistons Playoff game last year, you know, the game that people said LeBron's performance was "Jordanesque." Almost. LeBron took over last night, and just went off the entire 4th quarter. It was one of those games where everytime the Cavaliers had the ball, the Utah Jazz knew that LeBron was going to have the ball, and he was going to score, or make a nice pass to an open teammate. And he did. And Utah couldn't do anything about it.

I remember telling my buddy at halftime that we were in trouble. LeBron only had 6 points at halftime, and the team as a whole just wasn't doing anything. LeBron finished with 40 points (18 in the 4th quarter), 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, coming up just short of back to back triple doubles. I loved how the crowd booed Carlos Boozer every time he had the ball...really got the point across that we hate him.

Overall, I was a little disappointed in the crowd last night. It definitely wasn't a full house, but it didn't even seem like it was even close to packed. I guess it should be expected since it's so early in the season, but towards the end of the game, we all were yelling as loud as possible, and it almost was as loud as it was at the end of the last Cavs playoff game I went to last year against New Jersey. All in all, a good night last night, and the Cavs are back again to .500. I think it's time for a nice long winning streak, so hopefully last night kick-started it, and we can get it going Tuesday night against the Bucks. I'll catch back up with you guys Tuesday after the game!

Great Game, Stupid Refs.

There's nothing worse than watching an amazing game, with over 20 lead changes plus an overtime come down to a referee's horrible call with 0.7 seconds left in the game. LeBron drives to the hole, and gets smacked across the wrist and held onto, yet the ref calls a jump ball. How does that work? Well, regardless, the game is over, and the Cavaliers lose. Thank you, referees.

LeBron had yet another triple-double, and Z and Drew Gooden continue to play amazingly. I will say this...we should have easily won this game if Sasha Pavlovic just would have made a basket. Sasha had so many open looks towards the end of the game that could have put it away, and missed every one of them. Then went down on defense and made horrible fouls. Partial blame can be put on him, but the biggest problem were the turnovers. Way too many turnovers in this game tonight. You can't expect to beat a good team like the Orlando Magic committing a ton of turnovers. Speaking of Orlando, Dwight Howard is an absolute beast. I haven't seen a big man dominate a game like he does since Shaq was just getting into the league. Howard is a monster, and Rashard Lewis is really going to be a good fit with the Magic. They look like a team that could go fairly far in the playoffs, as long as they get there.

Well, back under .500 at 4-5, so hopefully the Cavaliers can come out and win a game on Friday night against the Jazz. We lost a tough one out in Utah a little over a week ago, so hopefully we can get some home court advantage and take them down this time. See you all Friday night after the game.

Pathetic.

Yea, that should sum it up. Well, it's halfway through the 3rd quarter, and I'm already posting my game blog. At least I can get to bed a little earlier tonight. Why bother watching the rest of the game...the Cavs are already down 27 right now. I'm not even going to get into how pathetic this game was, and it's not even over yet. Where do I start?

Lets see. Larry Hughes got ejected 3 minutes into the game for arguing with a referee about a non-foul. The Cavs can't make a free-throw to save their collective lives (as I type this, they are 9-17 from the charity stripe, or a stellar 52%). Did I mention Damon Jones is the biggest waste of space in the history of basketball? Oh, I didn't? Let me elaborate. First, he comes in and makes about 6 turnovers in a span of five minutes. Then he misses wide open threes all night long. Finally, he is allergic to defense. Oh yea, Allen Iverson must really have something against the Cavaliers, because he kicks our asses every single time he plays us. Oh, and that Carmelo guy? He's pretty damn good. So is Marcus Camby. And Kenyon Martin.

However, there was one bright spot. Cedric Simmons. He played three minutes and had a monster dunk and 3 rebounds. He's not that bad of a guy to have coming off the bench. I'm not sure why he's only played three minutes tonight, but maybe he'll play more towards the end of this game. I won't be able to tell ya because I won't be watching. Well, barring a miraculous comeback, it looks like we'll be 4-4 heading back home for a Wednesday night matchup with the Orlando Magic. On the bright side, we can't possibly play any worse than we have tonight so far. Hopefully I'll be in a better mood Wednesday night after the game. Keep the Faith, boys and girls.

Clipper Beatdown!

Tonight was the first game all season that the Cavaliers actually came out, and took care of business. They only won by 8, but it really wasn't that close at all. The Clippers fought hard, and Corey Maggette played like the beast he is, but the Cavs were just the better team all night long. Larry Hughes came back from his injury and played well, and Gooden and Z both played awesome. And LeBron? Well, he continues to play like LeBron. There isn't really much else to say about the game. Not really many complaints, as the Cavs just had that business-like approach going into the game and took care of business.

It's good to get the team over .500 for the first time this season at 4-3, and it ensures that the Cavs will end the rough 6-game west coast road trip going at least .500. Tomorrow they close out the roadie over in Denver, facing a tough Nuggets team. It'll be nice to finally see Cleveland get back home, and hopefully put together a nice winning streak. Well, only one more late-night game, so I'll try and catch back up with you guys tomorrow night after the game. Go Cavs!

By the way...I hate the Pittsburgh Steelers. I hate every one of them, and everything about them. It would really be nice to see the Browns beat them--JUST ONCE.

Good teams pull out good victories.

Last night was one of those games that you go into expecting to win. Not because the Sacramento Kings are a bad team, but because when their top two leading scorers are out, it's a game that you expect to win. Good teams win the games they are supposed to, and thats exactly what the Cavaliers did last night. They came out, and led for almost the entire game, and held on for a close win at the end when Kevin Martin missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer. LeBron played one of those games where it looks like he wasn't even trying out there, until he turned it up late in the 4th quarter and took over. Thats what we expect LeBron to do, and thats what he does.

Well, if you read my post following the Utah loss, you could tell I was quite irritated with Devin Brown. Maybe he reads my blog, because he came out and played lights out off the bench. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds (a career high). It was good to get this win, and get back to .500 at 3-3, but man, we need to get healthy. We need to sign Anderson Varejao, and we need Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, and Eric Snow to get healthy. Our bench is really depleted without those four guys. Hopefully Hughes will be back and ready to go tomorrow night against the Clippers, because we'll definitely need him if we want to beat the Clips. Well, we're still on the West Coast, so I'm still going to attempt to get my blog up after the game tomorrow night, but I'm 0-for-2 the past two games. I'll catch back up tomorrow, or Monday morning. Keep the Faith, Cleveland!

Man, that was a tough loss.

Man, last nights game was a rough one. Just the fact that LeBron had a triple-double halfway though the third quarter is enough to make you sick. He hit a ridiculous three to tie the game with 2 seconds left, and Deron Williams just drives right down and hits the game winning layup. Where's the defense? LeBron finished with 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists, but his team still couldn't help him get it done. Sasha had a good night, and Gibson was on fire from three-ball land, like usual. The Jazz are a good team, so it was good to see the Cavaliers stick with them the entire game, especially on the second day of a back-to-back.

The main reason the Cavs lost this game tonight is because of two players: Devin Brown and Damon Jones. Damon Jones complains that he doesn't get enough playing time, and now that he is, he just commits turnover after turnover, and can't play defense whatsoever. And Devin Brown? I think he's allergic to defense. This guy is pathetic. If the Cavs think they are going to go anywhere in the playoffs this year, these two guys need to either get traded, or buried at the bottom of the bench and not get minutes.

Well, heading into tomorrow nights game with the Sacramento Kings we sit at 2-3, near the bottom of the division. Good thing it's still early, because I know this team can turn things around. Another fun, late-night start, so I'll try and catch back up tomorrow night, unless I pass out like I did last night...haha. GO CAVS!

Leisure Suit Larry is back!

Well, we're up to game 4 of the 2007-2008 season, and "Leisure Suit Larry" Hughes is already out for at least this game due to a "knee injury." Big shocker. I think this man wakes up and gets hurt walking to the bathroom in the morning. At least one good thing came out of it...Sasha Pavlovic got the start, and played better than Hughes has so far this season. Not a big shocker.

On another note, Drew Gooden must really enjoy coming back to his hometown of Oakland and playing. It seems like every time we head out to play Golden State, Drew comes out and plays like a monster. Daniel Gibson played well again, shooting lights-out threes like he always does. Zydrunas Ilgauskas played excellent all night even though he didn't get a ton of minutes, and LeBron played like LeBron, ending up one assist shy of a triple-double. This was one of those highly entertaining games, where both teams traded baskets throughout the night. In the end, the Cavs pulled off the victory over the Warriors 108-104. Daniel Gibson hit the game-winning three with about 20 seconds to go, and the Cavaliers iced the victory with a few clutch free throws. A great game, and a great win for the Cavs to get them back to .500 on the season.

Well, tomorrow's another tough game against Carlos Boozer and his Utah Jazz. Tough place to play the 2nd game of a back-to-back, but hopefully the Cavs can come out and handle their business. I'll catch back up with you all late tomorrow night. (These 10:30 ET start times suck!)

Defense? Anyone?

Well, tonights game against the Suns was going just fine up until the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Thats when the Cleveland Cavaliers defense just decided to evaporate into thin air. They couldn't get a stop to save their lives the entire second half. The offense did all they could, but when you let the Phoenix Suns get second chances after second chances, you're going to lose...and that's exactly what the Cavs did tonight. Steve Nash killed us, which doesn't surprise me one bit because he always does. But, I'm not going to talk about the Suns, mainly because I can't stand any of them.

I will talk about Drew Gooden being a beast tonight. He was making just about every shot he took. He looked real good out there, and we finally got to see Sasha Pavlovic play for the first time all year. His passes were crisp, but his shots were all short. LeBron played a typical LeBron game, throwing down about 4 monster dunks. Not much else to say about this game...we lost a game no one really expected us to win. So it's on to Golden State for Tuesday night's match up with Baron Davis and the Warriors. That should be a good game, and I'll of course be staying up late to watch it. I'll talk with ya'll on Tuesday night!

P.S. HOW BOUT THEM BROWNIES!! 5-3 BABY!!

Shoot Boobie Shoot!

Fred McLeod says halfway through the 4th quarter, after Daniel Gibson drained his third straight 3-ball. Daniel "Boobie" Gibson was on fire tonight. He ended up 8-for-12 from the field, with 24 points, as the Cavaliers got their first win of the season. LeBron played how he should have, with a nice 45-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist night. I will say this though...we really need Varejao and Pavlovic back on our bench. Having Dwayne Jones play over 20 minutes is ridiculous. I can't wait until Sasha is our main guy off the bench.

On another note, the New York Knicks looked pretty impressive in the loss for them. Zach Randolph is a beast, and Jamal Crawford is a Cavalier killer. As far as the Cavs go, there were some negatives. The defense is horrific, and Larry Hughes is still taking low percentage shots. I never thought I'd say this, but I really miss Eric Snow, mainly his defense. Other than that, not much to really complain about after tonights win. It was a much needed victory, as the Cavs head out west for a tough 6-game road trip starting Monday in Phoenix. Hopefully they can come out guns blazin'.

Lastly, I would like to speak my displeasure with the Cavaliers not signing Shannon Brown's option for next season. He was never really given a chance in Cleveland, and he's a hell of a talent. Hopefully he still comes back somehow next year, and shows his potential. Oh well...It's off to the West Coast for a tough roadie. I'll catch back up with you guys late Sunday night after the game.