Home Sweet Q

Happy Super Bowl Sunday fellow Cavs Fans. Week 20 for the Cavs and Week 7 for the Cavs Optimist. As you will tell by this week's post and this week's title, the Cavs continued their home stand with 3 more home games. We have 3 more to go but it was important to protect that beautiful Q court and continue our momentum. Let's see why it was "Home Sweet Q:"

Cavs (38-11) vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Key Points:

• 4-1 in payback games after loss.
• 59 straight sell-outs.
• 58-5 at home in last 2 seasons!
• Must control their Big 3 of Randolph, Mayo, and Gay.
• Read Joe Gabriele Blog "January Jones" - Excellent Read.
• Andys 4Q hustle was great leading to extra shots.
• Boobie's big 3 as the Cavs PA plays the Deep in the Q signature by AC!

Key Player:

• Shaq - I'm going with the Big Fella again. He has really stepped up for our team as LeBron has had to log more minutes playing point with only Gibson available. When LeBron goes out, especially in this game, he was dominate. He and LeBron together were huge in the 3^rd to push the game completely out of reach. Again, we have learned to play through him and he has delivered. Don't forget he has delivered on defense too. We completely dominated them inside and scoring in the paint. As Z said, "Shaq is playing his best basketball of the season."

Theme:

• Transition - The Grizzlies have beat some good teams this year including us and on the road they led the league in transition scoring. The Cavs totally flipped this on them and went on the attack in transition mode. They tried to jump on them early and it started with Shaq controlling the boards and as the best outlet Big Man in the league put Memphis on their heels. This helped Parker and Hickson get easy looks early. We are deep and can play any style. We proved it again tonight.

Summary:

This was going to be a tough back-to-back game for Memphis coming off a big win last night at home vs. the Lakers (Thank you). We jumped on them early with another tremendous first quarter adding to our league-leading 1Q differential 28-16. The ball movement was amazing and LeBron asserted himself when he needed. He did it by leading the team with 15 assists. I've said this before, LeBron could have 20+ assists per night if his teammates are finishing.

I have to talk about our defense tonight in limiting their big 3. We took them completely out of their game and wow it was great to see Mike Brown applauding the guys in the first half. I know he must remain humble and push our team but we're doing a tremendous job in the paint and holding opponents defensive fg%. As I said before, Shaq has a lot to do with that and LeBron's absolutely sick rejections help. They create fear and can take teams completely out of what they want to do or are comfortable doing. That is the mark of a good team.

Teams don't have a great record facing Kobe then LBJ, but this was about the Cavs stepping up at home and it showed. We need some dominating wins like this against teams we should beat. We've seemed to rally around the injuries very well allowing extra rest for Delonte and Moe. As I've said before, our role guys get more comfortable and how important was Anderson with his effort. Mike Brown's right, Varejeo and LBJ should be first team all-defense. I'm a little concerned with LBJs minutes but never under-estimate him EVER. We extended our 9 game win streak, won 18 out of our last 19, and are undefeated at home vs the West. Winning at home is critical to our Cavs improving each game and winning that coveted championship.

Did anyone see the post-game interview with LeBron? The ONLY picture in his locker is him tea-bagging Tim Duncan. I'm sure it's his motivation to get back to the Finals and take over the league as Duncan proclaimed.

Cavs (39-11) vs. Miami Heat

Key Points:

• Miami coming off their back-to-back with Boston.
• Jawad at point guard? Boobie is gonna be a daddy soon but not yet.
• Not having a true point guard may hurt us with our defensive rotations.
• Cavs must control inside the paint.
• Pay back dunk by Hickson and no foul on D-Wade?
• Second chance points and effort by Miami. The Cavs needed to outlast this burst and Miami shouldn't have the energy to make a comeback.

Key Player(s)

• LeBron - I'm going to give player of the game LBJ this game. He came out very aggressive and got his rythem at the line early. Mike Brown also made a smart move in keeping LBJ in to start the 4th. On a overall note, he won his 5 straight player of the month and won all 3 months this year? I mean really. He is THE player of the month and player of the year. Well deserved MVP chant Cavs fans!
• Reggie Miller says he's not defensive player of the year because he doesn't rebound? Howabout these stats Reggie: 36, 7, 8, and 2 steals. Realizing those are both offensive and defensive #s but he didn't even have to step up and shut down the best player in the 4^th. Also, he would've had 15+ assists had his teammates made even more of their wide open shots. I think I speak for everyone when I saw TNT announcers, specifically Reggie Miller are overpaid, gutless, absolute idiots.
• Special Mention - Bench/Role Players: I want to give our role guys some serious credit. From the defensive effort of Jawad Williams to Boobie's energetic second half, what a team effort. It helped getting a true point guard back not so much for offense but for defense as Bobbie is excellent at keeping our rotations/assignments. Z and Hickson were terrific. Both were attacking and converting. We shoot it Deep and we are Deep as a team!

Theme:

• Attacking the weaker/tired team - The Heat are a tough physical team. Playing on a back-to-back after losing a hard fought game to Boston was the perfect opportunity for the Cavs to jump on them early. They did that but Miami fought back. We did a great job limiting them in the 3^rd and our depth took over. We were very physical with Dwayne Wade and it paid off. We never let off the gas as evident in our well deserved free throw advantage attempting 36 and converting 81%. Finally, referees watched the right game!

Summary:

This became an excellent team win. Getting Boobie back really helped us on defense as evident by holding Miami to 36 second half points. He knows his assignments and helped open up the floor for steals by teammates. We held home-court, controlled D-Wade and made it a sweep the of season series. I wouldn't mind playing Miami in 1^st round of the playoffs! Yes, I said it. Riley has done absolutely nothing to help Wade unlike GM over the year Danny Ferry and owner of the year Dan Gilbert. Great job keeping the winning streak going at 10 and let's get the Knicks over with so we don't have to talk about LBJ to New York ever again.

On a sidenote, I'm going to add a post from one of my favorite followers and avid reader - Scott Tarrytown. He said, "Now that we have Shaq teams must adjust to us rather than year's past where we tried to adjust to other teams. It's becoming more apparent each game." Scott, I couldn't agree more! Great thought and stay tuned for my article on the Cavs trade decision for even more thoughts on that!

Cavs ( 40 - 11 ) vs. New York Knickerbockers

Key Points:

• Although we play them at home 1 more time. Let's end the LeBron to New York talk. Good not to hear much this game.
• Knicks coming off a loss. Another game against a back-to-back opponent.
• Control the Knicks style and execute against their lack of defensive focus.

Key Player:

• LeBron James - Key player in this game goes to the opener/closer and league MVP. Of course LBJ always has to play at another level vs. the Knicks, but really? He was unconscious in the first quarter and Mike Brown did do the smart thing and left him in. Congratulations on another franchise record, this time most points in the first half. When he's playing at that level you might as well just get out of the way. Unfortunately, we went to that strategy a little too much in the 3^rd and 4^th but late in the 4^th Lebron delivered as usual. After being on pace for 70, this game's player of the game will just have to settle for 47.
• Side note - love his singing to the theme music from his movie "More Than A Game” when it's played during game time. Solid.

Theme:

• Playing our game (Like our intro music says) - Interesting theme to this game because the Cavs really didn't play their game. They came out in the first half and played the Knicks game (minus a superstar). They had 17 fast break points. However, in the second half, we had zero. I bring this up because the Cavs went back to an old bad habit - stand around and watch LeBron. I somewhat like that Mike Brown went ZenMaster Phil Jackson on the Cavs to see how they'd respond to the Knicks comeback.
• The Cavs win by playing defense and leading to their offense. They play unbeatable basketball when they move on offense. Unfortunately, the team went back to its crutch through Mike Brown's test and played Bron-ball. Although this won this game, it's not a good habit to get into. Again, Bron came through and overall a good win to keep the momentum going. See Summary:

Summary:

First, let me say great job in extending the league-best win streak to 11 games and doing what we need to do. The first quarter starts by the Cavs have really been special and different from last year. This game was no different and with 46 first quarter points and a season-best point total in the first half. As I said above, I'm a bit perturbed about why they went away from the winning formula of defense to offense but the Knicks had a little to do with it. Their 99% offense and 1% defense style can cause teams to get comfortable/bored.

I compare the Knicks to that pretty decent player in a pick-up game that makes one nice move and beats 5 guys for a basket only to lose the game 11-1. Their coach is an offensive genius and has LeBron's respect but he's gutless towards officials. Almost as bad as Doc Rivers and that's saying something. I think he purposely had the Knicks come out gutless to lure the Cavs into a weakness. It upsets me because the Cavs have been playing so well and I hope it's just a slight hiccup in the 3^rd and 4^th. Yes, we got the win and that is what counts at the end of the day.

Optimist Summary:

Another supurb week for our Cavs 3-0! Our difficult schedule over the past couple years and the first half of this year paid off this week. We have a long home-stand and all 3 teams played us on the second half of a back-to-back. Thanks D Stern.

We improved the best record in the league and got some help with Boston and LA losing. As you'll hear in my Cavs trade rumor article, I think the biggest worry the Cavs have is Boston (because we're in the East) and then the Nuggets. Notice I didn't say the Magic or Lakers or Spurs (why even mention SA experts?).

We have been playing our best team basketball lately and everyone still thinks we're a one-man show (as proved by our All-Star respect). I'm hoping the Knicks game is a slight blip to that because LeBron went out of character, despite having 8 assists. We got very stagnant watching him think he's on Broadway. Granted amazing, but as Shaq said we have a team. 1 closer, spot shooters, a slashing 4, and a 2-head monster center. We're a team and we have depth!

I'm hopeful that it was just a - took an hour looking at the internet at work and not a looking at the internet every day at work - theme. We need to continue the momentum into the All-Star break and beat the teams we should at home. We have not letdown over the past 2 season and I think we'll come out strong vs the lowly Nets on Tuesday. Then, Superman's Dad and crew should put the Magic to bed before the break.

Finally, a bit of house-keeping. There will be no article this next week due to the upcoming All-Star break. Instead, my reader's will find a special article with the trade deadline approaching entitled "Deal or No Deal." No schmucks like Howie Mandell I promise. See you guys after the break!

Thanks again for reading. One Goal. Go Cavs!

Cavs Optimist

Who Wins: LeBron v. D-Wade?

Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are quite similar in a number of ways. They were drafted in the same year in the same draft round. They are two of the top three players in the NBA (LeBron's number one, obviously and D-Wade is third, right after Kobe Bryant). Both are in the center of all the hoopla concerning the 2010 free agent bonanza. Both have had the privilege of playing in the Olympics. Heck, both of them have been teammates of a certain Shaquille O'Neal at some time or another. As similar as their respective resumes may be, there is one major huge difference between the two. LeBron has a MVP award to his name but no championship ring, while Dwayne Wade has a ring but no MVP award.

We all know that at some point in time, LeBron is going to win himself a championship. No one questions this. Whether it be with Cleveland or with some other lesser team, LeBron is going to win at least one ring, if not many, many more. However, the same can't be said about Dwayne Wade and his quest to win a MVP award. I know it sounds ridiculous to say that a top three player in the NBA doesn't have a real shot at winning the MVP award, but there are some serious underlying issues that makes Wade winning seem unlikely.

First, there's his age. Even though LeBron and Wade came from the same draft class, Wade is three years older than LeBron. In fact, he just turned 28 three weeks ago. While that's not an old age by any stretch of the imagination, it is close to the prime years of a basketball player's career. Wade is reaching the peak of the career, if he hasn't hit it already. After all, he is averaging less points, less rebounds and less assists than last year and is leading a team that currently stands at one game below .500 and barely hanging on to a playoff spot. When you factor in the amount of abuse that Wade's body takes in a season and the back injuries he's already endured, it's not hard to predict that we will be seeing a decline in his production sooner as opposed to later.

Then of course, there's the issue of LeBron James himself. LeBron has established himself as the best player in the NBA this year and is a shoo-in for the MVP award. No one can really argue this point. Even if you want to argue that someone like Wade or Kobe is more talented than LeBron (they're not), no one can deny that LeBron is having a better season than either of them, especially with Kobe's recent finger and ankle injuries. In their head to head match-ups this season, LeBron has one-upped Wade, whether it be through making big shots or posterizing Wade in ridiculous dunks. As it stands today, Wade just isn't as good as LeBron and it's not looking like that's going to change anytime soon. Even if LeBron is somehow taken out of consideration for the MVP award sometime in the future, Wade still won't be the top dog in the NBA. Kobe will still be a force to be reckoned with, as will the quickly rising star of Kevin Durant, who's looking more and more like a superstar every day and LeBron's eventual successor to the title of dominant player in the NBA.

There's other minor factors too, like his inability to shoot threes or Miami's inability to surround Wade with a good enough team to make Wade look good. Wade can always improve on his shooting while his team situation could be easily resolved by Miami either committing to spend the money to make a championship caliber team or Wade leaving this summer to a team that will. Chicago springs to mind as a destination that Wade could depart to that he could quickly turn into a force to be reckoned with (although they'd still be number two to Cleveland after LeBron signs his extension this summer.)

It's hard to predict the future when it comes to sports. After all, there was a time when no one thought that the Red Sox would win the World Series or that the Saints would ever make it to the Super Bowl. However, if Dwayne Wade's performances against LeBron and the Cavaliers this season have been any indication, he will always be considered to be the second fiddle, at best, in the NBA.

Christian Hoffer

Cresendoing Back to First

First, I would like to welcome some of the other, new Cavaliers Mix writers. Some excellent articles and points have been made. Although I may not agree 100% with everything, I think we will all agree we're faithful Cavs fans and would like to see nothing more than a Cavs title in 2010. I have my Cavs 2010 license plate ready to go (Just need to hope none of our readers steal it).

Week 19 for the Cavs and Week 6 for the Cavs Optimist. This was an in-between week for our Cavs as they were riding the momentum from a couple big home wins and settling in. They had 2 more home games and 2 trap away games. The last game of the week started the longest home-stand of the season for the Cavs at 7 games. The Cavs have earned it by playing the most games in the NBA and the most road games. They find themselves with the best record in the NBA and have asserted themselves as the clear # 1 seed in the East. They have done this by playing as a team and showing their depth. They have also done this with 2nd year player J.J. Hickson starting and free-agent acquisition Leon Powe still not back yet. They have done this by learning how to play with the most dominant center in the game and recently without their All-Star point guard Moe Williams. Finally, their second most important spark off the bench and defensive stopper, Delonte West. Sure, the Cavs still have some things to work on but what a great job continuing the winning streak this week by going 4-0 and cresendoing back to first:

Cavs (34-11) vs. Miami Heat

Key Points:

• Shaq returns to South Beach. Heat had won 5 out of last 7
• LBJ vs. D-Wade. LeBron up 11-9 overall.
• Which O'Neal will dominate - Jermaine or Shaquille?
• Signing "Skip to my Lou" Rafer Alston - Cav Killer.

Key Player:

• Shaq - He was big this game despite being out-played early. Being able to play through him vs. an under-sized athletic team was crucial. He came up big in the 4th and got the best of his former teammates.

Theme:

• Blocks/wear the opponent down - The Cavs physical presence on defense was important is spurring the runs to take over this game. The Cavs are one of the top shot-blocking teams in the league and it helped them win this game. Shaq's at the end of the game was huge.

Summary:

The Cavs allowed 34 First Quarter points which wasn't a great way to begin this tough road game. I think they rested LeBron too much in the 2nd Quarter leading to the weakness that Mike Brown "Coach to the Competition." This can be good but I think mostly bad. We got back into it in the 2nd Quarter with Andy's hustle, great steals/blocks on defense, and the show that is LeBron James. It sure was fun to watch as LBJ had 20 in the 2nd and D-Wade had 30 first half points. It was highlighted by a Pay-Back facial on D-Wade by LBJ. The Cavs are 21-2 when leading at halftime which is a telling stat.

The Cavs started the 3rd like they started the 1st but got back into it late with a couple big 3s headlined by Boobie Gibson. However, this game came down to the 4th. Mike Brown did a couple smart things: 1) He played through Shaq who ended up dominating the other O'Neal and capitalized on it 2) Late in the game, he double-teamed D-Wade to get the ball out of his hands. Sure Haslem made a couple jumpers, but Wade was completely out of rythem after his unreal first half. Finally, with the crowd cheering MVP for LeBron, not Wade, the younger brother got the best again. With an unbelievable steal, drive, and 2 free throws LBJ put the Cavs up for good. The rythemless Wade was not able to score over the altering defensive of the NBA Devensive Player of the Year and MVP. Great, tough win for our Cavs.

Cavs (35-11) vs. NBDL's MinnesotaTimberwolves

Key Points:

• Control Flynn and guards.
• Limit Love and Jefferson.
• Win the games you should and continue dominance vs. West at home (21-1) at the Q now over last 2 seasons.
• Sasha Pavlovic’s return. Too inconsistent but played well. I’ll take Moon and Parker. And we got Shaq for him basically when you break the trade down.
• Cavs won 6 in a row and 16 out of last 17 at home.

Key Player(s)

• JJ Hickson - 15 first half points. He was very aggressive 21pts, 5/5 fts in 3^rd. He still must work on outside game but very active and effective when he attacks. The Cavs are a better team when he plays like this.

Theme:

• Winning the games you should win - This also helps us get rest. Boobie stepped up and hit some open 3s, taking charges, good all-around game.

Summary:

The theme for this game says it all. The Cavs started sluggish but poured out to a nice 2nd quarter lead and never looked back. This is exactly what the Cavs needed.

Cavs ( 36 - 11 ) vs. Indiana Pacers

Key Points:

• Motivation for Cavs with no Moe Williams as an All-Star (I will get to this).
• Won 11 of last 12.
• Tough Road game as Indiana has beat a number of good teams at home with their up-and-down style.
• Can JJ Hickson continue finishing strong and playing good defense? Yes.
• Will Parker/Gibson/Jawad continue hitting open 3s from LBJ? And Yes.

Key Player:

• Boobie Gibson - Daniel has done a great job stepping in and leading our team without its All-Star point guard, Moe Williams. It's an abosulte joke not having him on the team but I digress. Boobie has made his open looks, played great defense, and led our team seamlessly.

Theme:

• Tempo - The Cavs can play up-tempo! You heard it hear first. Teams try to push it so they avoid our set defense. The Cavs took advantage of this multi-dimensional ability. I'd also like a second mention to defensive blocks. LBJ was spectacular on defense, intimidating, even blocking 7 footer Roy Hibbert. This game proved the Cavs can play a slow-down game like vs. the Lakers or up-and-down like vs. these Pacers.

Summary:

The summary for this game is easy. Dominance. Start with this stat: The Cavs shot 44 free throws to the Pacers 5! They also had a total of 61 rebounds! Not to mention, per AC "The Cavs are going to shoot the lights out at Conseco!" LBJ had 9 first quarter assists and everyone was clicking on all cylinders. We also learned how to play through Shaq. We haven't had a dominate center like this since Brad Daugherty and we've learned how to use him. We still must get better but this was a great start. Per McLeod, We "Ram-Shaqed the Pacers!" A total team effort put the will of Indiana out holding them to 34% shooting and helped us to win our 7th in a row. This is also 21-4 in our last 25 games.

Cavs ( 37 - 11 ) vs. LA Clippers

Key Points:

• Control players that hurt us in LA. Gordon, Butler, and Baron Davis.
• Assert themselves early and take away Clippers will.
• Begin longest homestand in many years history on the right foot.

Key Player:

• LeBron James - I had to give him this one. Arena record 23 points in the first quarter! More to come on the first quarter but I’ve said this before, when he asserts himself and dominates, it becomes contagious. Especially at home, all the other players feed off of him as the leader and that should did happen here. The rest of the game, LBJ did what he normally does and got everyone else involved and closed out the game. When he leads like this, he's unquestionably the MVP and the Cavs are nearly impossible to defeat.

Theme:

• Three Point FGs - I think this was fairly obvious. NBA record 11-3s in the first quarter and franchise tying 46 first quarter points! It started with LBJ but Gibson, Jawad Williams, and even Jamario Moon really stepped up. Shooting is a funny, contagious thing, and this was simply incredible. Per McLeod, "They're making 3s like lay-ups!" Per Austin, "Shoot it Cavs, shoot it!"

Summary:

Apart from the obvious unconscious and entertaining first quarter, analyzing this game on the whole I like a couple things. First, I like how everyone is stepping up and playing together. The Cavs were moving the ball, going inside through Shaq, and making the extra pass for a number of the open looks. They went away from this in the 3^rd but had imposed enough will to take the life out of the Clippers. In the playoffs, are defense will be there. I am pleased that we really have learned how to play with Shaq better. We are proving we are a deep team and I can't wait until we get our full team back and hopefully playing strong right into our final playoff push. This even includes Leon Powe. The Cavs are doing exactly what they need to be doing and playing better each game. We are only 1 game off last season's record setting pace with a great 4-0 week!

Optimist Summary:

Overall, how can you not be please with how this team has played and continued to grow. One thing good I guess you can say about Mike Brown is that he still sees room for improvement. A big, big factor I see is that the Cavs have been able to learn how to play with Shaq. The ability to play through him at times and LeBron is crucial to our success in bringing home a championship. Before, we had to play entirely through LeBron if we wanted our role guys to get shots. Moe Williams was the only other player that consistently good create opportunities for himself. Now that we have Shaq and the perfect compliment in Z, the Cavs have that low-post presence we've always needed. Early in the season, you can tell the Cavs weren't used to having that as our offense had always been built on perimeter spacing, driving lanes, drive and kick.

Now, we can do that with LBJ or Moe creating OR through it in to the big Cuyahoga and play off of his double-teams. This all is predicated on Shaq being dominate and onverting. Special thanks to Coach Egan for helping his free throw shooting to near 60%. Remember, Shaq has size 22 shoes and his hands are too big for the NBA basketball. His effectiveness must be measured still by his ability to convert. That can be by scoring, converting free throws, or getting players in foul trouble. This +/- must be positive for the Cavs to win and make up for him on defense. Lately, however, the Cavs have learned to play with him on D also and his physical presence has been critical in helping our defensive toughness. It's nice with this part of the season to have a long home stand like this.

We must continue the momentum in locking up the #1 seed in the East (I’m not worried about # 1 overall) as quickly as possible to try to get as much rest in April as possible. We've earned this home-stand by doing so well on the road and playing more games than any NBA team. It's important to get some extra practice and rest. Also, players get to stay at home and build into the All-Star break from the travel stand-point. Most teams play better at home and, as I mentioned before, the role/bench players tend to play better at home too. With Moe and Delonte still resting and every game important, this couldn’t come at a better time. The only tragedy is that the Cavs only have 1 All-Star. I think the Cavs only having 1 All-Star is absolute garbage but it shows that we are a team. Moe Williams and Shaq should’ve been All-Stars over any gutless Celtic or Hawk player that got chosen, primarily Paul Pierce. That guy is a disgrace to the league with how we plays the game through the referees instead of playing the game. Rondo is no different. I can only wish they were dumb enough to pull an Arenas.

Regardless, the gutless coaches still would vote them into the All-Star game over the team-oriented Cavs. This says a lot. It's crap because again the Cavs must take the high road and I think they deserve some recognition. Naming Moe then a replacement would've been the correct thing to do. Nonetheless, the Cavs must rectify everything in the NBA by playing their best and winning a championship. I will forget all the gutlessness of NBA Coaches, Boston Celtics, LA Lakers, the league if no one holds the Cavs back from doing what they're proving to earn A Championship to the city of Cleveland. I'm sure Cleveland will forgive them too. Stay tuned to see if the Cavs can continue their 8 game winning streak and hold down the fort at home untilthe All-Star break. See you next week!


Cavs Optimist

Three Celtics+Two Hawks+One Cavs=No Respect for Cleveland?

Every year, I look forward to seeing who NBA coaches pick to fill the rosters of the All-Star teams. While fan voting shows who's the most popular players in the league, the reserve list reveals who the coaches and other insiders believe are the real deal. Almost all of these players come from contending teams and show who are the real forces to be reckoned with in the final push to the playoffs. This year's reserve list reveals nothing surprising about how the NBA views the Eastern conference.

For those of you who haven't seen the official results, two players from the Atlanta Hawks, Al Horford and Joe Johnson, and two players from the Boston Celtics, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, were selected to join the likes of Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James in this year's All-Star game. Notably absent from the list is anyone other than LeBron from the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite the fact that they currently possess the best record in the league.

I don't think these picks surprise anyone. Most analysts still believe that the Boston Celtics are the team to beat in the East and that Atlanta is a serious contender for the conference title. And of course, most insiders believe that Cleveland is a one trick pony whose hopes and dreams firmly rest with a player whose name begins with a “L” and ends in a “eBron James”. They think that Mo Williams will be unreliable during crunch time and that Shaquille O'Neal is a hindrance to the team and that the rest of the team are simply hanging on the coattails of LeBron's success. Hell, there's plenty of people who are so caught up daydreaming about where LeBron will go next year that they could care less about how the Cavs are doing now.

As a diehard Cleveland fan, I'm okay with this perception of the Cavs. Let the world have a skewed perception of our strengths and our weaknesses. Let the analysts think that our offense begins and ends with LeBron and let them think that Shaq can't still hang with the best big men in the league. Let them think that the rest of our team are glorified role players who can't step up when the time is needed. After all, it's not like we have three of the best perimeter shooters in the league, two of the best defenders in the league, the reigning MVP and more inside presence than you can shake a Shaqtus at.

So let Atlanta and Boston and Los Angeles have their multiple All-Stars. We'll see if Joe Johnson or Al Horford can help the Hawks avoid getting swept out of the playoffs or if Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce's knees hold up to the end of the season. The Cavs will keep doing what they do best: winning games. And when the playoffs roll around, we'll see who the real All-Stars are.

Christian Hoffer

Hickson Shows Potential In Win Over T-Wolves

January 28, 2010

Last night's victory over the NBDL's Minnesota Timberwolves served as an excellent testament to the potential J.J. Hickson has to really turn into a good NBA 4. Despite being a D-League team, the Timberwolves do have a few good, young NBA players. Two of them are Minnesota's starting bigs, Al Jefferson (who I personally covet for the Cavs even though it will never happen) and Kevin Love. Both are 6'10" bangers who can both score and rebound in double figures. Really Minnesota should find some way to be better with those two.

Against a pair of legitimate bigs J.J. Hickson was flying around dunking the ball and getting to the line, where he was perfect on the night. Hickson is one of the most explosive Cavaliers (behind only The King and, probably, Jamario Moon). He has a good knack and feel for the game around the basket. He would only be a junior in college right now and still has a lot of room to improve.

All that being said, J.J. is going to have to improve. Austin Carr correctly pointed out approximately 26 times last night that J.J. needs to develop a consistent midrange jumpshot (giving A.C. a total of 537 "J.J. needs to develop a midrange game" references on the year). Frankly I don't think AC belabored the point enough. I'm serious. If I were the Cavs, I would pay AC to follow J.J. around all day long repeating that same mantra to him. I would have AC stand behind J.J. after practice while he shoots until he makes 500 or so shots in the 15-18 foot range. J.J.'s need to develop that shot cannot possibly be overstated.

Here's why. If J.J. could hit that shot consistently, he could become a 18-20 per night player. Look at how well he finishes around the hoop. When the lane is open and J.J. flies down it he seems to catch a pass, explode up with the ball in two hands high above his head, and finish with authority all in about .21 seconds. Now imagine how many more of those high flying dunks J.J. could get if he we able to get his man to bite on a jumper and then take it inside. Not to mention, J.J. could knock a few of those jumpers down every game to add to his point total. Oh, and holy crap, what if J.J. then learned to pass?!? Could you imagine J.J. pump faking to get his man off his feet, driving, facing a help defender off of Shaq or LeBron or whoever and then slipping the ball to the open man for an easy finish? He could do this 5 or 6 times per game if he had a midrange J!

The bottom line is J.J. needs to be developed. You can learn a jumper. You can have boxing out and fighting for rebounds drilled into your head. You can adopt the proper mindset to play well on defense. You can learn the proper defensive rotations to play in a scheme. You can evolve your game to mesh with guys your going to play with for the next 3 or 4 or 5 years like LeBron, Mo, Delonte, and Andy. You can get to that beautiful point where you and your teammates know what everyone is going to do before anyone does anything. However, you cannot teach J.J.'s explosiveness. It gives J.J. an inherent advantage in all things around the rim: scoring, shot blocking, and rebounding. Please continue to develop J.J. Hickson.

Jack Bacevice