A great test

Last night's game vs. the Rockets at the Q gave us another chance to see just how good these Cavaliers are. They answered the call with a decisive 99-90 victory (highlights) to push their home record to 14-0 and their latest winning streak to four games. Again, the formula was solid defense and timely offense in a tough, physical matchup.

At one point in the fourth quarter the Cavs pushed their lead to 14 points, but some hot outside shooting and non-stop calls in Houston's favor (Yao Ming had 12 free throws in the 4th quarter alone) got the Rockets right back into the game. That point was the first time in a while that the Cavs have really been tested at home, clinging to a two-point lead with 5:34 remaining. But Boobie Gibson stepped up with two huge threes, Anderson Varejao hit a running hook shot, and Mo Williams buried two dagger shots down the stretch. And LeBron capped things off with a highlight-reel rejection of Yao to whip the home crowd into a frenzy.

LBJ and Mo again led the way for the Cavs

Houston is a much better team than I thought going into this one. Their defense forced the Cavs off balance at times, but the coaching staff made some nice adjustments in the second half. Make no mistake about it - this was a quality win over a quality opponent. The going should get easier over the next couple weeks for the Cavs, starting tomorrow night against the Wizards and old friend DeShawn Stevenson. I'm looking forward to spending Christmas night in the Q watching him get schooled by the King yet again...

3 Times is a Charm

Who's laughing now? LeBron took the high road during his postgame interview session, but you can bet this one tasted good as the Cavs closed out the Wizards' season for a third straight year, winning 105-88 in Game 6 in front of the D.C. faithful. After all the booing and the "overrated" nonsense, you know LeBron enjoyed this one. He was incredible tonight, posting his third career playoff triple double with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.

Keys to the game from my view:

• Wally Szczerbiak came out hot and didn't stop firing. He finished with 26 points, going 6-13(!) from behind the arc.
• Boobie Gibson was also hot tonight, chipping in 22 points of his own.
• LeBron was an animal on both ends of the court tonight. He willed his team to this win with his leadership by example.
• Overall the team was much more focused and prepared for this one, compared to Game 5. Hopefully this great performance can carry over into Round 2. I think Mike Brown deserves some credit for the team really being ready to play tonight.

On a personal note, this night worked out perfectly for me. My wife and I decided to skip going to the Tribe game and stay home to watch Game 6. Luckily for us, the game was rained out so we didn't miss a thing. We got to see the Cavs lay a beatdown on Washington and we still get to go to the make-up game later this summer. And to cap things off, the Atlanta Hawks stunned the Boston Celtics in their Game 6 to force a Game 7 on Sunday. Now, instead of the Cavs having to fly to Boston for a game on Sunday, they can rest up until Tuesday when their next series starts. Maybe the sports gods really don't hate Cleveland sports... ehhh, what am I saying? It's been 44 years of pain and agony. But with LeBron, there's always a chance to end the pain... stay tuned.

Have a nice summer jackass...

...this man officially owns you.

Wasted Opportunity

I tried to wait as long as I could before jotting down my thoughts after last night's loss. I didn't want to react too quickly so I thought about if for a while. And the funny thing is, I think I'm even more pissed now than I was watching it unfold last night at the Q. All I know is that with 1:47 left in the 4th quarter and the Cavs up 87-82, I turned to my buddy and said, "It's over." Maybe that was the kiss of death the Cavaliers needed. And yes, I am superstitious about that kind of stuff, as dumb as that probably sounds. I have no explanation for that loss last night.

I wish I could tell you why the Cavaliers came out with absolutely no energy in the first half. Or how we were miraculously down only two points at halftime. I wish I could tell you why the Wizards were able to get about 8,000 offensive rebounds in the second half. Or why the Cavs made the mystifying decision to launch multiple three-pointers with the lead in the final 1:30. I just don't have any answers. I also don't know how that ball didn't go down on LeBron's final drive. Or how a foul wasn't called there. I didn't even see the replay, this is just my view from far above in Section 222. But it should have never come down to that play anyway. We had so many chances to put that team away.

Now my enduring vision of Game 5 is a delirious DeShawn Stevenson skipping toward the visitors' tunnel and gleefully launching his jersey into the stands amid the boos cascading down on him. And he was loving every second of it. Please, just shoot me now. The whole scene was sickening.

At least the Tribe won last night behind Cliff Lee's solid pitching and some life from their bats. Although Lee's 27-inning scoreless streak did finally come to an end, he is now 5-0 with a 0.95 ERA. I'd be happier about it if I didn't have visions of DeShawn Stevenson still dancing in my head. Ugh.

Apparently, he likes 14-year-old girls and playoff road wins

It Ends Tonight

Well, actually I'm hoping two things end tonight:

1) The Tribe's three-game losing skid that has come on the heels of a five-game winning streak
2) The Washington Wizards' season

The Tribe offense was asleep again for most of last night's game. Grady Sizemore made a much-needed appearance after missing the last two games and provided two doubles and scored our only two runs. Fausto looked pretty solid, going 6-2/3 and only giving up one earned run. But our bullpen (Rafael Betancourt in particular) looked terrible in the ninth, surrendering 5 runs to end all doubt in a 2-2 tie. My hopes for a .500 April went up in smoke as well. I'd like to blame the cold weather for the cold start, but it hasn't even been that cold. Here's to hoping that turning the page on the calender will help heat up the bats. Our new stud Cliff Lee takes his Nintendo-like numbers to the mound tonight to end a long April for our Tribe. Keep it going Cliff!

More importantly, the Cavaliers are at the Q tonight to end the Wizards' season. I'll be in attendance and I can't wait. I have a feeling this will be a very rowdy crowd tonight to greet the knuckleheads from the nation's capital. And speaking of knuckleheads, DeShawn Stevenson has now decided that Michael Vick is a solid role model. Honestly, nothing surprises me about this guy anymore. Please, let's just put him out of his misery tonight. And let's keep LeBron healthy in the process.

As if he wasn't public enemy #1 already... now DeShawn is a proud Mike Vick fan

Monday Thoughts

Further thoughts after the Cavaliers won game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this series:

• End this thing on Wednesday night. No need to return to Washington for Game 6. No need to give them any hope. Just bury this team now.
• I'm still amazed at LeBron's maturity. He took a blatant shot to the head and shrugged it off when most guys would have snapped. He then scored 10 of the next 16 points in the second quarter to really take over the flow of the game. He also put up with some questionable foul calls, didn't panic when he picked up his fifth, and trusted his teammates down the stretch.
• Delonte West was obviously huge in Game 5. And Boobie Gibson hit two big threes. I'm a little concerned at the number of threes attempted (28), but I think they won't need to be as reliant on that shot at home. And I think it will be a rowdy crowd. I can't wait.
• What has happened to Anderson Varejao lately? He has been out of sorts for long stretches this year. It's to the point that I cringe any time he touches the ball on offense. And he just doesn't look as active on defense either. He needs to get back to his old self in a hurry.
• Is it wrong that I also cringe every time Devin Brown decides to drive into the lane? Or when he jacks up a three? Look, I love his work ethic and his hustle. He is a nice player. But I hate having to rely on anything offensively from him when LeBron is on the bench.
• Finally, one thing that concerns me about Game 5 - if/when the Cavaliers take control of that game and ice the series, I'm not sure what to expect from the Wizards. But I could definitely see one of their guys taking another free shot at LeBron. And I'm not the only one worried about this.
• Oh, and one last Game 5 update from our crazy friend Tom Knott from the Washington Times. Maybe he's not as crazy as I made him out to be, because even he knows it's over:

"The Cavaliers outworked the Wizards at the rim. The Cavaliers brushed off their 36-point whipping in Game 3 and dared the Wizards to be the aggressors.

And the Wizards blinked in front of the home crowd that, in all likelihood, will be waiting on next season after Game 5 on Wednesday night."

And my non-Cavalier thoughts from the weekend:

• I'm very encouraged by the Tribe taking two of three so far from the Yankees. And tonight's game is another big one with Aaron Laffey on the hill. I still believe if we can get out of April at .500 or better, this team is on its way to big things again this season.
• Saturday's walk-off winner was a thing of beauty for me, not just because it was against the Yankees (although that helps). I really liked it because the Tribe has lost a lot of tough ones like this so far this year. And it wasn't looking good when Dellucci dove for that ball and missed it, allowing three runs to score. But Kobayashi came in and did a very nice job, and the offense won it in the bottom of the 9th behind Victor (as usual). Very nice win.
• Yesterday's choice of Beau Bell by the Browns in the 4th round was music to my ears after reading this piece from Sunday's Plain Dealer on his admiration for Lawrence Taylor. Anyone who knows me will understand why I'm digging this guy already.
  

The Pictures Tell the Story

I thought this series of pictures was a good way to sum up Game 4. And probably a good way to sum up the series. The Wizards headhunting, LeBron responding, and ultimately, the Cavaliers winning:

Game 4 to the Good Guys

Wow, what a Game 4 on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. Thankfully the Cavaliers came away with the huge win after LeBron found Delonte West for a corner three with 5.4 seconds left to give the Cavs a 100-97 win. This game had a little bit of everything, including another flagrant foul by the Wizards. This time DeShawn Stevenson took a free swipe at the King's head on a layup attempt. I'm amazed at the way LeBron doesn't flip out and want to kill these knuckleheads. But that play did seem to energize the Cavaliers and propel them to a 10-point lead at halftime.

Overall the Cavs shot only 41% from the field, but the difference today was from three-point land. They shot 46% (13-28) from downtown and made the Wizards pay for continually trying to trap LeBron.

Keys to the game from my viewpoint:

• The Cavs destroyed the Wizards on the glass (51-31) and really did them in on offensive rebounds (18-6).
• Three-point shooting was also a huge advantage, with us outscoring them 39-21 from beyond the arc.
• LeBron's energy and assertiveness on offense was way up compared to Game 3. Tonight he went for 34-12-7. Sounds overrated to you too right?
• Delonte West was huge for the Cavaliers, giving them 21 points in 38 minutes on the floor.

So now we head home with the series firmly in our grasp 3 games to 1. Let's end this thing on Wednesday night at home and send these clowns on a long summer vacation AGAIN.

Delonte's clinching three had my living room jumping

Suspension Looming?

The more times I see the replay of that cheapshot from Brenda (not Brendan) Haywood on LBJ, the more I think a Game 3 suspension is in order. This is not because he is some great piece to the puzzle for the Wiz (he's definitely not) and I want him out of their lineup. It's simply because that was a thug tactic. He made absolutely no attempt at the ball, and pushed LeBron when he was at his most vulnerable point in midair. If LBJ doesn't partially get his foot down to soften the landing, we might be talking about a season-ending injury and an early end to this playoff run. Add the fact that LeBron is a superstar and the league has to take action in my opinion. I guess we'll see what happens before Game 3.

And not surprisingly, our good friend Tom Knott from the Washington Times does not agree with me (shocker, I know). I really think this guy is delusional.

Thank the sports gods that LBJ was able to get his foot down before hitting the ground

Also of note, I guess DeShawn "Soulja Boy" Stevenson just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. The latest idiotic quote from him:

Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson on whether there is a difference between a foul and a ''LeBron foul,'' as James said this week: ''He's going to cry about calls; that's what he do.''

And (drumroll please) here are the stats from Mr. Stevenson in 18 games against the Cavs over the last two years: 39 of 129 from the field (a whopping 22.4%) for 6.9 ppg. But thanks for the extra motivation for Game 3!

Finally, regarding our other team - as painful as it has been over the last few weeks to talk about our beloved Tribe, they are back in action tonight against the Royals. The hefty lefty will get another shot to get his first win of the year and lower his ERA from it's current abysmal number (13.50). Let's hope he can get himself back on track.

Game 2: A Massacre at the Q

What a great Monday in Cleveland. My good luck began today with a power failure at work that allowed me to go home at noon. And the good times rolled on into the night inside the Q as the Cavaliers just hammered the Wizards 116-86 to go up 2-0 in the series. This marks the 8th straight playoff win over the team that talks but just can't seem to back any of it up.

Tonight had a little bit of everything. Hard fouls? Check. Intense crowd? Check. The Wizards losing their cool and getting blown out? Check. The fun really started when Brendan Haywood made absolutely no attempt at the ball and shoved a flying LeBron James out of bounds on a layup attempt. The officials correctly gave him a flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection. LeBron went on to make both free throws and then Delonte West nailed a three on the ensuing possession to basically put the game away. That was a microcosm of how things went tonight. LeBron missed a triple-double by one rebound and got plenty of rest down the stretch, along with the rest of our rotation.

Highlights of the night for me (in no particular order):

• Ben Wallace bringing some much needed energy early tonight. We needed it and he looked great.
• LeBron's relentless attack of the rim, in spite of all the hard fouling. As he said, he's not the only one feeling the contact on those fouls. 30 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. Outstanding as usual.
  
• Wally Sczcerbiak's great shooting night. He really brought a lot to the team tonight and even played some decent defense. I think this was the best he's looked in a Cavalier uniform.
• Gilbert Arenas' pathetic shooting night. I know he has the built-in excuse of the limp wrist, or whatever injury he's claiming now. But he looked awful out there and appeared to be about to burst into tears at any moment. High entertainment.
• DeShawn Stevenson breaking out that idiotic hand-waving in his own face after hitting a three to cut the Cavaliers' lead down to 16 (!). Nice job moron.
• Damon Jones busting out his own mock version of the hand-waving when he hit a three in the waning seconds to give the Cavs the final 30-point margin of victory. Now that was outstanding.

We'll see what happens in Game 3 (it's always an adventure when these Cavaliers leave the cozy confines of the Q). But I think this Wizards team is about to implode. Too bad we have to wait until Thursday night for the next game. But we will be plenty rested. In the meantime I'll keep tabs on what the pathetic Washington writers have to say about this one. I'm sure there will be plenty of excuses after this massacre.

LBJ was not to be denied on this drive, or at any other time tonight

One down, 15 to go

To win an NBA title you need to win 16 games. That's a lot of games. I'm just going to take them one at a time this year. That's not to say that I expect us to win a title this year (I honestly don't). But we have LeBron and I guess anything is possible with him. It's been a long strange year for the Cavaliers with the contract situations (Varejao and Pavlovic), all the injuries (basically everyone on the roster), the big trade, the rise of other teams in the East, etc., etc.

But I can't help but think that teams expect us to just roll over in the playoffs. I think many of them are looking past us and forgetting that we have the best player in the league (possibly ever) on our roster. The Wizards called us out and got what they asked for in Game 1 - a beatdown. It wasn't easy by any stretch, but the Cavaliers won the way they usually do. They kept it tight until the fourth, played solid D down the stretch, and executed on offense by relying heavily on LBJ. I say if it ain't broke then don't try to fix it.

LeBron was outstanding today, especially in the 2nd half. He actually started the game 0-4 from the field but finished making 12 of his final 15, for 32 points. DeShawn Stevenson (3 points) might think he's overrated, but I actually think he is underrated. It was a fun game to be at and a nice way to open this year's postseason. Z also had a big day with 22 points and 11 boards. And I thought Delonte West played very nicely, finishing with 16 points and 5 assists. He didn't have a great shooting night, but was all over both ends of the court. Let's hope for more of the same from the wine & gold in Game 2 on Monday night.



*I did take some pictures with my phone, but of course I left my cord at work. Oh well.

The Tribe did play this afternoon too, but it was pretty much a snoozer. The highlights from what I saw:

• some kid pitcher named Blackburn shut us down for 7-2/3 scoreless innings
• we grounded into 4 inning-ending double plays
• David Dellucci lost two pop flies in the roof of the Metrodome
• we were shutout for the first time this year

Hopefully we can take the rubber match tomorrow to finish up a solid sports weekend. Of course, Paul Byrd is pitching so that may be asking for a lot...

Time to Rise Up (Again)

In about 2 1/2 hours the Cavaliers will be tipping off the 2008 postseason down at the Q. I will be at the game with my trusty camera phone taking in all the action. Hopefully when I return we will be up 1-0 and talking about how LeBron owns DeShawn Stevenson and Gilbert Arenas. I know this team is better than the Wizards, but it's just tough to know what to expect out of these guys. I can't remember the last time I went to a playoff game in the LeBron era and really didn't know what to expect. I guess we'll find out soon, but I'm hoping for the best...