Another easy one

The Cavs must certainly be enjoying the fact that they can rest Mo Williams and Delonte West and get both players back to 100% health. The current soft spot in the schedule affords them that luxury and still allows them to pound on their weaker opponents. Such was the case again in weekend victories over the Pacers and Clippers. First came a 94-73 thrashing of Indiana. And then last night at the Q the Cavs scored 46 points in the first quarter on 11-of-13 shooting from 3-point range. They built a 31-point lead early in the second quarter on their way to a 114-89 pounding of the Clippers.

I've never seen a shooting display quite like what was going on inside the Q in the first quarter. The Clippers were double-teaming Shaq from the opening tip and that freed up our shooters on the perimeter. And it doesn't hurt when LeBron has one of his sizzling stretches from beyond the arc. It was reminiscent of last February's game in Milwaukee when he went off for 55, including a stretch of 17 points in less than three minutes. When the dust settled after the first twelve minutes last night, LBJ was 8-for-9 (including 5-for-6 from 3) for 23 points and the game was all but over. You just knew it was going to be one of those nights when his patented "heat checks" (you know the ones that make you go no, no, no... YES!) are going in.

Things certainly got a little sloppy in the 2nd half as the Clippers actually cut the huge lead down to 11 points early in the 4th quarter. But such can be expected in a game like this, which was never really in doubt. And the Cavs responded nicely down the stretch and finished things off the right way. The team still has 6 more in a row at home... their longest such streak in 16 years. Hopefully we see a few more of these easy blowout wins along the way. The Cavs are currently still a half-game up on the Lakers for best record in the NBA (although they do hold the all-important tiebreaker there). And they are 5.5 up on Orlando, 6.5 up on Atlanta, and a whopping 7 up on Boston. Fun times.

Fun facts: LeBron has tallied at least 11 assists in 6 of the last 10 games. And Shaq continues to pick up the scoring slack in Mo's absence. Last night was his 8th straight game in double-digits. Over those 8 games he is averaging 16.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in just 26 minutes of action. And finally, for the season the Cavs bench is outscoring their opponents by a 29.2 to 25.6 average. That may not sound like much, but that wasn't the case last year. Don't look now but the Cavs are only one win behind their 66-win pace a season ago. I still think they can match or beat it if they remain relatively healthy.

Indiana is Basketball, and Home to the Fieldhouse

(cross-posted from www.numbersdont.com)

First, let me disclose that 'Hoosiers' is one of my all-time favorite movies, and it easily beats out 'Teen Wolf' as my #1 basketball flick. I love both films for entirely different reasons, but I'm here to talk about 'Hoosiers' and Indiana basketball today. There's something about the innocence of the Midwest in the 1950's, the wide open corn fields and farmland that stretch to the edge of the horizon, and the makeshift basketball hoop that can still be seen on nearly every farmhouse in that area of the country even to this day. The awkward kissing scene between Gene Hackman and Barbara Hershey aside (I like to pretend that scene didn't happen), everything about 'Hoosiers' captures the beauty of the game of basketball in that era.

Now I'm no purist, but every once in a while amid the noise and distraction of today's NBA arena, I get a little sad that I didn't have the opportunity to attend a game back in those days. That's not to say I don't love the energy inside Quicken Loans Arena. But honestly, the next time you attend a game at the Q take a look around during a TV timeout and ask yourself if this is what Dr. Naismith envisioned back when he invented this beautiful game. Sometimes it is just a total sensory overload.

One of my favorite things about 'Hoosiers' is when Hickory makes it to the state title game and travels to Indianapolis and Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse. The wide open atmosphere and high curved roof are a signature throwback to those days that provided for a unique basketball experience. I had heard that the Pacers modeled their current venue, Conseco Fieldhouse, after the great Hinkle Fieldhouse. So when scanning the Cavs' road schedule before this season, one game immediately stood out: Cavs @ Pacers, November 20th, 7:00pm. Count me in.

My wife and I decided to make the 4-1/2 hour drive from the southwest suburbs of Cleveland to Indianapolis on Friday morning. Usually we opt to fly on any trip we can't make by car in a couple hours, but this time I'm glad we decided to drive. We lucked out with beautiful sunny weather for almost the entire drive to Indy and back. It may sound corny, but the farmland in southern Ohio and Indiana is strangely calming to see this time of year. And those makeshift hoops were everywhere in Indiana, dotting the landscape all along I-70 once we entered the Hoosier state.

We made it into Indianapolis around 3:00pm on Friday and checked into our hotel, the Omni Severin (secured on Priceline for a mere $60, taxes included). The hotel is right in the heart of the city, sandwiched between Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts) and Conseco Fieldhouse. We were able to get dinner and some pre-game drinks at an Irish pub a short walk from our hotel. Everything was reasonably priced and there were plenty of other bars and restaurants to choose from.

The real jewel of this road trip came when we finally entered Conseco Fieldhouse (we snagged $85 tickets on StubHub in Section 119 for $69 apiece - click for a view). The place was even better than we could have expected. It is a perfect blend of old and new. From the curved, high open roof to the brick architecture in the main concourse and inside the arena. There are throwback touches like hand-hung signs showing the Pacers next opponent and an analog clock on the main scoreboard. There are modern conveniences like a Starbucks and a large open team shop (unlike the cramped one at the Q) where you can purchase an authentic Larry Bird Celtics jersey.

The game itself almost seemed secondary for a while, until the Cavs again blew a nice lead and found themselves in a 10-point hole late in the third quarter. That's when the nutty fan Cleveland in me thought that this particular trip would end up being a waste. Luckily the Cavs remembered to play defense in the 4th and cruised to a 105-95 victory, holding the Pacers to just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the final period. "MVP" chants for LeBron's 40-point performance could be clearly heard as disappointed Pacers fans filed out. We were completely decked out in Cavs gear but I didn't hear a derogatory comment flung in our direction the entire evening. Overall the atmosphere seemed surprisingly family-oriented and much less alcohol-fueled than Cleveland, but perhaps that was just where we were sitting.

To cap our Conseco experience off, the club-level seats we were in happened to be on the same level as the corporate suites. After the game my wife and I and some random drunk dude from Cincinnati (also a Cavs fan) wandered into one of the empty suites and enjoyed some free beers and food courtesy of "Apparatus," which I'm guessing is some local Indy company. Thanks Apparatus! The only downer on the evening was hitting the downtown bars after leaving Conseco and finding that it is still the 1950's there too - you're allowed to smoke inside. That's one throwback aspect of Indiana that I wasn't particularly fond of.

All in all, our first Cavs road trip was a sparkling success. Conseco Fieldhouse is basically a shrine to all things that are Indiana basketball and a trip there makes it easy to see why it is consistently rated as the #1 venue in the NBA. The Cavs return there again on Friday, January 29th... if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive, hassle-free, and enjoyable sports experience, do yourself a favor and make it a road trip too. You won't be disappointed.

Mission Accomplished

With their three rousing victories over the long holiday weekend - a 102-92 win (highlights) over the 76ers in Philly, an immensely enjoyable 107-76 smackdown (highlights) of the Celtics at the Q, and then yesterday's 117-109 triumph (highlights) in Indiana over the Pacers - the Cavs have finally reached their goal of securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs. This is the first time in franchise history they have achieved that feat and hopefully the start of a long playoff run that will end with this city's first championship in 45 years.

The bench erupts after Wally's epic 4th quarter rejection on Sunday

I took some time off of work to enjoy the long holiday weekend and was as equally impressed with the Cavs' dominant play as I was frustrated with the Tribe's pathetic 1-6 start to the season. I guess things have to balance out in the sports world (unless you live in Boston) and I'll take a horrible Tribe season if it means a championship for the Cavs. They certainly looked ready to wear the NBA crown in their utter dismantling of the Celtics on Easter Sunday. I know the Celtics didn't have much to play for in that one, but they could have shown a little heart and pride. The Cavs absolutely thrashed them from start to finish and had some fun doing it. Just an all-around enjoyable weekend of work from this team. They will get some well-deserved rest on Wednesday in a meaningless season finale at the Q against the 76ers. My only hope is that the Sixers also have nothing to play for and the Cavs bench bunch can squeeze out one more home win to equal the all-time NBA record of 40-1 at home. It's been a magical season, but now it's time for the second season to start. Bring on the Pistons. Go Cavs.

Finally, a losing streak

You knew it would happen eventually, and the Cavaliers almost made it to the All-Star break without a losing streak. But it finally caught up with them last night in a heartbreaking 96-95 loss (highlights) in Indiana to the Pacers. After TJ Ford gave the Pacers a two-point lead with .8 seconds left it appeared hopeless. But the Cavs drew up a great inbounds play with a lob pass to LeBron from the sideline and he was fouled by Danny Granger with just .4 seconds left. LeBron hit two huge pressure free throws and it appeared the game was headed for overtime. But amazingly, the Pacers ran a similar inbounds play with a lob to Granger, and referee Joey Crawford had the audacity to whistle LeBron for the foul with .1 second left on the clock in one of the all-time worst make-up calls that I've ever witnessed. And of course Granger made one free throw to end the game.

The infamous make-up call with 0.1 left on the clock

I won't waste my time complaining about that call, as awful as it was. I'll leave that to Mike Brown. The main problem was how everyone besides LeBron played last night. No one showed up at all to help him out. The interior defense was again pathetic most of the night. No one could hit an open shot. I shudder to think how ugly it would have been without LBJ's heroics (47 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including 13-for-14 from the line). Particularly bad performances were put up by Boobie (2-for-7 shooting and 5 fouls in 26 minutes) and Z (5-for-17 shooting and 5 fouls in 36 minutes).

But I won't panic after this loss. The team is clearly limping to the upcoming All-Star break with all the injured bodies. They are still 39-11 and 23-1 at home. But tonight's game at the Q vs. the Suns becomes imperative for them to win in order to head into the break on a high note. Let's hope LeBron gets some help from the rest of his able-bodied teammates. 40-11 would sound a hell of a lot better than 39-12, right?

23-1

Yesterday really sucked if you're a Cavs fan. A 10-point lead at halftime against the team with the best record in the league. A perfect 23-0 record at home about to be extended against arguably the NBA's most talented team. And a chance for the Cavs to really solidify themselves as the league's #1 team. Then the second half happened. Lamar Odom managed to grab about 7 billion offensive rebounds. LeBron just didn't look himself. And the Cavs finally fell at the Q, a 101-91 loss to the Lakers.

I'm not going to spend too much time dwelling on this one. I hate thinking about losses. And I'm not going to panic and say that the team definitely needs to make a move now to win a title. The Lakers are playing very well right now, as evidenced by their win in Boston on Thursday. The Cavs are still banged up, without starter Delonte West, and missing Sasha Pavlovic for most of yesterday's game. Those aren't meant to be excuses - the Cavs did piss a good chance away yesterday. But I still want to see what this team can do when they are back at full strength again. Hopefully that will happen sometime soon after this weekend's All-Star break.

For now just keep in mind that this team is still 39-10. They still own the best record in the East. And they have a quick turnaround to forget about yesterday's loss - they will be in Indiana to face the Pacers tomorrow night at 7:00. The Cavs have avenged every one of their nine previous losses with a victory - let's hope that trend continues tomorrow night.

Polar opposites

At this exact moment can you think of two sports franchises that are more opposite than the Cavs and Browns? While the Browns continue to flounder through another lost season the Cavaliers are only getting stronger. They extended their impressive run with two more easy wins over the weekend, running their current winning streak to 8 and their overall record to 17-3. On Friday night the Indiana Pacers were the victims of a 97-73 drubbing (highlights) at the Q. Then the Cavs followed it up on Saturday night in Charlotte with a 94-74 thumping (highlights) of the Bobcats. Their routine blowouts of the opposition are reaching historic proportions - the Charlotte victory was the team's 8th straight win by at least 12 points. That ties an NBA record with one team you may recall... the 95-96 Chicago Bulls that finished the year 72-10.

LBJ and the Cavs are soaring to new heights this year

That's not to say the Cavs are going to win 72 this year. I just don't see any reason to push the pedal that hard all year long, especially given their already swelling 5-game lead in the Central division over the Pistons. But with the Celtics at 20-2 and showing no signs of slowing down, the Cavs will likely be pushed all year. Both teams will be gunning for the all-important #1 seed in the East, and home court advantage that goes along with it. So it will be interesting to see just how high the win total can get this year. And to put this season into perspective, when the Cavs finally reached 17 wins last season (not until January 6th) they also already had 17 losses. Buckle your seatbelts Cleveland, we're only a quarter of the way through the regular season and this is going to be a long, enjoyable ride.

Browns Update: As I said, at the opposite end of the sports spectrum you have our Cleveland Browns. Pathetic in every way, now 4-9 after their 28-9 loss in Tennessee. I know that Ken Dorsey is our starting QB now and of course I didn't expect a win over the far superior Titans yesterday. But is it too much to ask for the coaching staff to mix things up a bit? Try something new offensively (before the 4th quarter when the game is out of reach) and make it at least bearable to watch?

Some of my favorite highlights from yesterday's game:

• Jamal Lewis' 7 total rushing yards on 7 carries.
• The Browns' total offense of 178 yards.
• Romeo Crennel's flat-out refusal (or disinterest?) in challenging a close call in which Josh Cribbs actually threw a great pass that Braylon Edwards appeared to catch on the sideline for a long gain in the fourth quarter.
• Crennel's insistence in calling a timeout in the last minute of the game when the Browns were still near midfield and Tennessee just wanted to celebrate winning the AFC South title.
• The Browns then following that timeout up by not even getting a Hail Mary pass off as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

The mess of this organization is now visible in virtually every aspect of the game for this team. From the front office, to the coaching staff, to the undisciplined and quitting players (save for a handful of them) this franchise is everything the Cavaliers are not. Let's hope some of this speculation is accurate and we can get some professionalism and control back on this team.