50 games in... time for a breather

Unbelievably, the Cavaliers have already hit the 50-game checkpoint in their schedule. It's almost time for the All-Star break and now is as good a time as any to take a look at their body of work thus far. After last night's 105-89 drubbing of the Grizzlies at the Q (ho-hum, just their 9th consecutive win) the Cavs now stand at 39-11 - just one game off their torrid 66 win pace of last season. That means after their sky-is-falling 0-2 start, the team has rallied to play .812 basketball over its last 48 games. Not too shabby. And the general consensus is that there is still room for improvement.

My two main gripes are still free-throw shooting and turnovers. As a team the Cavs shoot just 72.9%, which ranks 27th in the NBA. And they average 14.8 turnovers a game, which puts them just about right in the middle of the pack compared to the rest of the league. But I can live with missed free throws (of course a lot of them come from Shaq) because this team gets to the line a lot (8th in the league at 26.8 attempts per game), which means the fouls are piling up for the opposition. And the turnovers mostly come from a lack of focus. There has been some horrendous passing into the post at certain points this season. It seems to have improved lately, but it's still something to keep an eye on. It also should be easily corrected. Now on to the good numbers:

• The Cavs are 20-3 at home. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 9.4 points in those games. And all 23 home games have been sellouts.
• The Cavs are 19-8 on the road. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 5.3 points in those games.
• They are 19-5 against teams from the West and 20-6 against teams from the East. Consistency.
• They are 22-3 when the game is decided by 10 points or more... just 5-5 when it's 3 points or less. And 20-10 vs. teams currently above .500... 19-1 vs. teams that are not. By contrast, against plus-.500 teams the Celtics are 17-11, the Magic 16-13, and the Lakers 19-11.
• The Cavs own the league's best point differential (+7.3), best opponent FG% (.430), and best rebounding differential (+4.5).
  

In short, the Cavs are beating teams anywhere they play them, whomever they play, and they usually do it with relative ease. There is still a lot of basketball left to be played but we've seen this team battle through a rough start, a tough schedule, and injuries to key players. All the while they have done this while incorporating new guys into the rotation (Shaq, Moon, Parker, Jawad) and putting old guys in unfamiliar places (Z & Delonte off the bench, Boobie with a diminished role then forced to start). And I haven't even mentioned LeBron's nightly brilliance yet.

The King is well on his way to a second consecutive MVP trophy. But more importantly, the team seems to be on a mission. They are winning in all different styles this year against both the elite teams and the bottom-feeders. And there's still plenty left to be seen with the trade deadline approaching and 32 games remaining on the schedule. Stay tuned, this should be a fun ride.

Nice to get an easy one

After an average margin of less than 3 points in their previous 7 games, it was nice for the Cavaliers to get an easy one last night against the Timberwolves. They won their 6th straight overall and pushed their record at home to 18-3 with a 14-point win. They have won 16 of their last 17 in the friendly confines of the Q.

It's not often that LeBron James will be your 6th leading scorer, but such was the case last night as the King only attempted 8 shots in just 30 minutes of action. That was still enough time to put together a tidy stat line of 12 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds. Player of the game honors went to JJ Hickson for his career-high 23 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. His +17 for the game was a nice turnaround from his atrocious -17 he put together just two nights before in Miami. But that's what you get with JJ - wild inconsistency. Shaq also put together his 6th straight game in double figures and Jamario Moon chipped in 14 off the bench.

In my boredom on a snowy Thursday morning I put together some numbers below to see which category most affects Cavalier wins. Most astounding to me is the fact that we have had less turnovers than our opponents in only 25% of our games, yet still have the league's best record. If they can clean that up and improve the FT shooting, last year's mark of 66 wins might still be attainable. Stay tuned.

	Wins	Losses	Frequency	Win Pct	% of Total Wins
More Assists	30	1	66.0%	0.968	0.833
More Rebs	26	9	74.5%	0.743	0.722
More Blocks	25	7	68.1%	0.781	0.694
More 3PM	22	7	61.7%	0.759	0.611
More FTA	21	3	51.1%	0.875	0.583
More FTM	20	3	48.9%	0.870	0.556
More Steals	19	1	42.6%	0.950	0.528
Less Fouls	15	4	40.4%	0.789	0.417
Less TO	11	1	25.5%	0.917	0.306

Thoughts on the Cavs

OK, I'll admit it - it's been way too long since I've posted here. But my late New Year's resolution is to bring this blog back with full force in 2010. I've been spending some time lately focusing on www.numbersdont.com - the official blog of RealCavsFans. I put together a piece yesterday on the Amare Stoudemire rumors popping up again which can be read here: http://numbersdont.com/?p=964

If you are a big Cavs fan like me, be sure and bookmark that site. There is a new piece just about every day and some very talented minds are involved. You will find a unique perspective on things Cavalier-related and we are excited about where that blog is headed. (end of plug)

Some thoughts on the state of the Cavs as they have completed their toughest stretch of games for a while:

• The Mo injury had me super-bummed at the time it happened. I was prepared for the worst but figured Delonte would hopefully pick up the slack in Mo's absence.
• Then the Delonte injury - of course a freak occurrence right at the end of the win over the Lakers. Initial whispers had him out a month and had me standing on a ledge (not really, it's just a metaphor for how I was feeling).
• So the PG duties now fall into the still-SG hands of Boobie Gibson, and to a lesser extent Anthony Parker. Anyone who watched last night's win in Miami has to be terrified every time AP brings the ball up the court while facing any type of pressure. As always, thank the sports gods that LeBron is still able to handle the ball the majority of the time. Even if it sometimes leads to LeIso, it's way better than the alternative.
• Shaq has really made his presence felt over the last three games without Mo. He's averaging 18 points, shooting 68.7% from the floor (22-for-32), and getting to the free throw line 23 times, which is causing foul trouble for the opposing team's big men. And he is playing intimidating defense in the paint. Even when he is picking up fouls, he's making them count by making the opposition pay for entering his domain.
• What more can you say about LeBron that hasn't already been said? The way he dominated Kobe in the win over the Lakers... the way he won the game with his defense on Kevin Durant against the Thunder... then the way he went toe-to-toe with Dwyane Wade and won last night's game over the Heat with his defense and clutch FT's. Just give him his 2nd straight MVP trophy right now. It's not even a competition anymore.
• So the Cavs have finally reached a much-needed soft spot in their schedule. After playing 26 of 46 games on the road (going 18-8 in the process and 35-11 overall) they now have 7-of-8 in the friendly confines of the Q. Four of those games will be against sub-.500 teams. Time to work Jamario back into the rotation and hopefully get Mo and Delonte back healthy soon.
• Final thought - if you have the means, I highly encourage you to make the road trip to Indianapolis Friday night to watch the Cavs play the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. You really need to watch the Cavs play on the road at some point... it's relatively close... and the arena is beautiful. I promise that you won't be disappointed.
  

He's Still BOO-zer to Me

(cross-posted from my new gig on www.numbersdont.com)

All seems to be righting itself nicely in Cavalier land after a trip through Florida that saw the Wine and Gold beat the Magic and Heat in a tough back-to-back set. We found out that Shaq can be effective in neutralizing the dominance of Dwight Howard in the paint. We found out that Delonte West still cannot be counted on to be part of the rotation, but that other guys (Jamario Moon) can step up when needed. We were reminded of how entertaining the LeBron vs. Wade matchups always seem to be. We witnessed how much better the offense looks when Mo is aggressive and hitting shots. And we saw that this JJ Hickson kid can play when Mike Brown's leash is lengthened a bit. The two solid Florida wins have the Cavs now sitting at 6-3 and a strong 4-1 away from the Q.

The team will return home to face the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. And as we ponder things here on this Friday the 13th I'm reminded of a form of evil that will be visiting along the Jazz this weekend. Of course I'm referring to the one and only Carlos Boozer, and for some reason my hate for him is like Jason Voorhees. No matter what, it just won't seem to die. Old wounds never really heal for us in Cleveland and I'd like to think that Boozer will never truly be forgiven for what he did to this franchise, short of a far-fetched scenario like him rejoining that Cavs and helping to win a title.

I know it's childish and petty to still hold such a grudge more than five years after the man took the money and ran to Utah. I know the Cavs have moved on and had great success without Boozer here. But I can't help thinking what could have been had Boozer decided to stay here. He was loved by fans for his blue collar work ethic he displayed as a second-round pick. He was pretty much the lone bright spot in the pre-LeBron season of 2002-03 when the Cavs mustered just 17 wins (yes, I'm denying that the Ricky Davis era ever happened). Then we saw a resurgence and a reason for hope again the next season when the team climbed to 35 wins and it looked like LeBron and Boozer could be the NBA's next great young star pairing. But Boozer wouldn't let that happen.

I hope those of you that will also be in attendance tomorrow night at the Q will join me in giving Boozer a warm Cleveland welcome. Don't let him forget what he did to this frachise. He stabbed a blind guy in the back. He turned his back on a city that embraced him and a chance to team up with a once-in-a-lifetime star. All for some more money and a mountain view. To that I say "BOOOOOOOOO" and I will say it loud and often, every time time he puts his money-grubbing hands on the ball tomorrow night. This is Cleveland and we hold grudges. Besides, it makes an otherwise ho-hum November game in a long 82-game season a little more fun, right?

I'm back baby

In the words of the immortal Frank Costanza, "I'm back babyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" But what could rouse me from my self-imposed Cleveland sports silence? Summer '09 has been somewhat like a purgatory for me... major happenings like Eric Wedge getting the axe, Braylon Edwards heading to NYC, Brady Quinn putting his house up for sale, Delonte West going all Desperado on us... even the LeBron corn maze... none of them could bring me to post here. I was in a waiting period. Stuck between the sickeningly empty feeling of letdown in June and filling the time watching (or trying not to watch) the mess that is/was this year's version of the Browns and Indians. Just waiting for the NBA season to start and our beloved Cavaliers to get their revenge on the Magic and the rest of the league. And finally the wait is almost over. Only 12 more days until Game #1 and there's an excitement in the air.

So did anyone else out there catch last night's preseason game vs. the Wizards? To my delight, I was able to watch it even though it wasn't on FSN. NBAHD (recently added to my cable lineup) had the game in crystal clear HD.... only problem was that it was the Comcast Washington broadcast. So instead of my favorite Cavaliers homers calling the game I was stuck with the Wizards' awful version - Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier. Words cannot describe how awful this duo is. Buckhantz acted like it was a playoff game and neglected to point out that in the 2nd half the Wizards starters were mostly going against a lineup of which 80% won't even make the final Cavs roster (I'm talking about you Andre Barrett, Russell Robinson, Rob Kurz, and Luke Nevill). And at one point Chenier actually said that we gave up a lot of vital pieces to obtain Shaq. He uttered something about us now missing Sasha, Big Ben, Lorenzen Wright, and Joe Smith, all of whom were starters and huge contributors(???). Wow. And these guys are paid to do this.

All I can say is that the regular season can't get here fast enough. Watching DeShawn Stevenson do the ridiculous hand wave in front of his face got me fired up and ready to blog again. Watching Gilbert Arenas hobble around on one leg has me already excited for another first round sweep. And watching Brendan Haywood injured on the Wizards' bench just made me feel good. The Wiz are to the Cavs what the Browns probably are to the Steelers. An annoying "rival" that makes a meaningless mid-season beatdown seem a little more fun because of the endless yapping from them, despite the utter domination you have over them. Can't wait to play these guys again on November 3rd. I only wish I had the Comcast Washington feed for that one.

My impressions from the bit I saw of the Cavs regular rotational players:

• Shaq looks really good. Having a true low-post big man is such a sight for sore eyes. He will put up the same solid numbers and strong play that he did for Phoenix, but for us as Cavs fans it will seem like so much more because we haven't seen it in so long.
• And forget about this popular notion that seems to be coming from everywhere that Shaq will "clog the lane" for LeBron. Not sure where that started but all Shaq will do is command a double-team and open things up a little for LeBron and a lot for our perimeter shooters.
• Andy is going to get a lot of easy baskets this year, even more so than in the past. Shaq will find him cutting under the hoop for many easy hoops. You can etch that one in stone.
• Anthony Parker is a player. We're gonna love watching this guy shoot that corner three this year. And I like how he approaches things on the defensive side. He's not afraid to body anyone up.
  
• Jamario Moon is a streaky shooter but can hit from the outside. I just don't want him falling in love with that shot, because he will get a lot of easy looks inside - especially in transition - when playing with LBJ.
• Z is Z. I'm so happy for him that he's finally a father. And I'm happy he is accepting his role off the bench. He should be fresher this season and will be his same consistent self. He and Shaq will both provide each other with lots of rest. Forget all the talk about them both being older players... both will be consistent major contributors.
  
• Boobie still looks like Boobie to me... an uncomfortable 2-guard being forced to play point guard in Mo and Delonte's absence. I'm starting to really agree with Brian Windhorst's uneasy feelings about our point guard depth. Although that won't really derail anything during the regular season, if unresolved it could present some problems come playoff-time.
  
• J.J. Hickson still seems wildly inconsistent to me. Maybe I just caught him on a bad night, but he looked out of control when he was in there. Not that it isn't to be expected given his age and lack of experience... but I think a lot of people have outrageously high hopes for him this year. I'm curbing my enthusiasm a bit.
• Finally, Jawad Williams will definitely make the team. His 21 points last night sealed the deal. And I'm secretly pulling for Coby Karl to get that final spot, unless a veteran PG is signed. And these guys will get some playing time this year because I'm anticipating a lot of lopsided Cavalier wins. More to come as we get closer to 10/27... in the meantime, try not to look directly at the carnage on Sunday when the Browns pay a visit to Pittsburgh. It probably won't be pretty.
  

Wow, it's been too long

I've been too lazy to enter any good updates here in a while - I found Twitter and it's been my ultra-lazy way of jotting down thoughts this summer. But after yesterday's Tribe trade I had to come back and enter something more than just 140 characters of broken English...

So the Indians traded Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco to the Phillies for four minor leaguers yesterday, and to me it was the final signal that I really shouldn't care about MLB or its broken system anymore. It was the second consecutive season that our tight-pursed team was inclined to trade a defending Cy Young winner in July, hopelessly out of contention in a mediocre division. If that doesn't trouble fans everywhere that something is seriously wrong, then nothing ever will. The sport is broken and only another lockout can fix it.

In the meantime, we are forced to face the reality of our beloved Tribe already raising the white flag of surrender on the 2010 season. Who will be the ace of the staff next season? A broken down and rebuilt Jake Westbrook? A highly unreliable Fausto Carmona? One of these young kids that we have no idea whether we can count on? A veteran band-aid (probably the most likely choice being someone claimed off the injury scrap heap on a one-year deal). Thinking about it just depresses me. The Central division is so winnable and we are basically already giving up. I say this because we all know the reality of the situation - we are in yet another rebuild mode, payroll will be trimmed again, and attendance will be shockingly low.

It's been nice knowing you and you will be missed

For Victor Martinez's sake I hope he is traded. But my inner-Tribe fan wishes that it didn't have to be this way. Victor has been the face/heart/soul of this franchise in this latest "era"... and for as much frustration as this era has caused us, it also gave us the highly entertaining 2005 season, and the oh-so-close 2007 season where we were basically one win away from a championship. That was just 21 months ago. So how did we get here today? Because the sport is broken and we have an owner more worried about the bottom line than winning... any chance you can save us Dan Gilbert?

Speaking of Dan, this should help get us through things a little easier: the Cavs are only 89 days away from returning to the court. Hard to believe it, but it's true. Just hang in there Cleveland, there is light at the end of the dark tunnel of misery laid out by the Tribe and Browns. And yes, I'm very happy that Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon are on board. More on them later... for now I'm mourning the loss of our Tribe and the sport I once loved.