A record weekend

The Cavs continued their winning ways over the weekend, first on Saturday afternoon with a 102-96 win (highlights) over the Hawks at the Q. Then they extended their latest winning streak to 9 as they knocked off the Nets 96-88 (highlights) last night in New Jersey. In the process the team also set some nice records over the weekend. Yesterday's win brought their season total to 57, equaling the franchise's record set twice before during the 1988-89 and 1991-92 seasons. By my own unofficial count, their current total of 25 road wins also easily sets a franchise record. It's safe to say that both of those win totals will balloon even further with 12 total games, including 4 on the road, still on the schedule.

Zydrunas Ilguaskas also had a nice weekend of milestones. In the game against the Hawks, he became the fourth Cavalier to join the illustrious 10,000-point club for the franchise (with the lone members being LeBron James, Austin Carr, and Brad Daugherty). Then yesterday he collected four blocked shots and passed John "Hot Rod" Williams for the Cavs all-time record. These all are just small records on the way to what hopefully culminates in an NBA championship for the team and its fans... but you can't help but feel happy for Big Z. He has been through so much physical pain and agonizingly bad basketball over the years. I was happy to hear that he got yesterday's game ball to put in his personal trophy case. We can only hope that he gets to look up in the rafters of the Q some day and see his retired number 11 jersey hanging up there (a pretty safe bet) alongside a 2008-09 NBA Champions banner (please, please, please let this happen).

Big Z had himself a nice weekend

Thankfully the Cavs can enjoy a couple days of rest here after what seems to have been a marathon of basketball over the last three weeks. As we catch a breather, consider that the team is now enjoying its third streak of at least nine wins this season. They are also an amazing 17-2 since the All-Star break and an even more astonishing 15-2 on the second night of back-to-backs this season. I could go on and on about how we are now 57-13 (the only team in the league with an .800 winning percentage) or how we now have the inside track for the #1 seed in the East (the magic number is down to just 8), but you know that already. Now is the time to fine-tune things and stay healthy. Go Cavs.

Rolling along...

You get the sense that the Cavs barely broke a sweat in dispatching the Bucks 91-73 (highlights) last night at the Q. The game was never really in question and the team seemed to be able to turn it on whenever they wanted to. The defensive pressure is rounding into playoff form, the motion looks much better on offense with Delonte back in the mix, and we are back to beating teams with ease. And that's always a good thing because it allows Mike Brown to rest his starters which will be key down the stretch run of the regular season.

DWest led the way with a career-high 8 steals Wednesday night

The win also clinched a playoff spot for the Cavs, allowing them to be the first team in the league to do so. I know the playoffs were a foregone conclusion before the season even started, but can you believe they clinched a spot with 22 games remaining? Just think about that for a second. I remember four seasons ago watching the scoreboard on the final day of the regular season (mid-April) to see if the Cavs would get some help and sneak in as the 8th seed. I have to say I prefer the way we dominate now with far less drama.

So now the stage is set for a huge showdown tomorrow night in Boston. I can't wait for it to start. I'm almost as pumped as AC right now. Tomorrow night can't arrive fast enough. I want to see if we can take care of business in Boston and really make a statement in our quest for the #1 seed... I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a Cavs fan can feel, a Cavs fan at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope the guys can play well in Boston. I hope to see my friend Joe Smith back in that wine and gold uniform. I hope the O'Brien trophy is as gold as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Whoa, sorry to go all Shawshank on you there. Like I said, I'm excited. Go Cavs.

Halfway home...

Geographically the Cavaliers are still far away from home, but road trip-wise they are halfway done with their four-game swing out West. And Test #2 was a success last night as the Cavs beat the Blazers 104-98 (highlights) in a highly entertaining game in the Rose Garden. And yes, the game was in the Rose Garden as Austin Carr reminded us about 50 times - after each three-point dagger drilled by Mo Williams or LeBron James. You gotta love AC.

The much-needed win wouldn't have been possible without the great outside touch displayed by both LeBron and Mo, who combined for 67 points on 26-of-49 shooting, including 9/15 from outside the arc. LeBron also finished the night with 14 assists after the Blazers' defense collapsed on him all night and cut him off from driving into the lane. He was basically forced into settling for his outside shot when he had a couple of drives blocked early in the game, followed by a couple of no-calls on obvious fouls (I'm trying hard not to be a homer here, but some of these fouls in the last two games have been blatant, yet are still going uncalled).

Mo Williams was outstanding on his way to his Cavalier-high 33 points. I loved the way he stepped up when the team needed him most last night. Let's hope this continues throughout the rest of the trip because an aggressive Mo on offense can really make up for a lot of the offense missing with the absence of Delonte and Z.

Mo torched the Blazers on Wednesday night

Other surprises from last night:

• Wally Szczerbiak collected a team-high 10 rebounds to go along 8 points in 26 productive minutes off the bench.
• The Cavs outrebounded the NBA's top rebounding team by 4 without Z.
• Anderson Varejao seemed to be back to his normal self with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
• The Cavs only attempted 15 free throws to the Blazers' 33, yet still came away with the win in a hostile environment against a very talented team.
• With last night's win the Cavaliers have successfully navigated through half of their 82 game schedule without racking up consecutive losses. Quite an accomplishment if you ask me. They are now 8-0 following a loss.

So the road trip continues tomorrow night in Golden State when the Cavs take on the Warriors at 10:00pm. You never know what to expect from that team and their hectic style of play, but it should be a good opportunity for the shorthanded Cavs to come home from the Western trip at least 2-2. All things considered, that would be an accomplishment by itself.

Cavalier Off-Day Updates

Not much new to report on the Cavalier front as we wait for Game 3 tomorrow night. I did just read some good news about the broadcast - the game will be shown in HD on FSN Ohio so we can listen to our favorite homers Austin and Fred instead of the TNT crew.

As for the Wizards, they just keep talking. Now apparently Brenda is upset with Mike Brown:

"You know, any time LeBron gets touched, Mike runs out there like LeBron got shot or something. Calm down Mike. It's not that serious. We're not trying to take him out. It's all within the confines of the game,'' Haywood told reporters in Washington. ''I don't see how coaches should be running out on the court like that anyway. Isn't there a coach's box? Since we're talking about the confines of the league rules, he shouldn't be out of the box.''

I guess when you're down 2-0 you can find lots of things to complain about. And no Wizards update would be complete without catching up on the idiotic ramblings of a deranged lunatic (also known as Tom Knott's daily Wizards report for the Washington Times). I wonder if he actually believes the stuff he's writing, or is he looking to start a career as a fiction writer?

Tune out TNT and listen to your favorite homers on FSN