Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Cavs Pre-Game Thoughts


Below are some solid words from masug24, who is leaving for his first Cavs game of the season in a little bit.  Thanks man for helping the struggling LeBlog stay afloat.  I appreciate and anyone who wants to contribute is more than willing.  Send me what you got..reviews, insights, random crap, whatever. 

Like the Cavs motto, all for one.
 
~~~~~~~~~
I've been waiting all spring, summer and fall for the NBA season to tip off and now that it's here, I'm back in Cavs mode.  I watch all three LeBron commercials almost every day, read every word that the great Brian Windhorst writes and even scour the Cavaliers message board to see what morons most Cavs fans are.  I remember watching the Cavs at the beginning of last year, thinking to myself, "These guys are definitely playoff contenders."  After 7 games this year, I find myself wondering whether we are championship contenders.  Well, the jury is still out... I see signs of hope and I see signs of another also-ran.

Sign of Hope #1 - LeReal Answer, LeBrizzle, LeSavior, LeGod
Every single game LeBron James does something that makes my jaw drop.  After he dunked over Tim Duncan, he got this look in his eye that said to me that he knows how unstoppable he is.  When he stared down Paul Pierce before the and-1 that turned that ugly game around, he had that same look in his eye.  Needless to say, at times he plays like he is possessed and if he can stretch that into June, schedule the parade.

Sign of Also-Ran #1 - LeCan't make a free throw
LeBron has two glaring problems that could spell demise.  First, leaders of championship teams do not shoot 70% from the free throw line, especially when they lead the league in trips to the line.  No further discussion needed, just make your damn free throws.  Second, I know he's trying to get better on defense and I see the improvement, but he's not there yet.  Already, I've seen LeBron lose his man on defense multiple times every game.  I want to see that same look in his eye when he's staring down the other team's scoring threat and I just don't see it right now.

Sign of Hope #2 - Supporting Cast
On any given night, one of LeBron's supporting cast plays possessed.  You saw it in Drew Gooden throughout the preseason and the first few games of the year.  You've seen it in Sasha Pavlovich, who thankfully has taken all of David Wesley's minutes.  You even saw it in Amon Jones of all people... I mean that game against the Knicks was insane.  If we could just convince Amon that he's playing in MSG every night or heck, if he could pull out one performance like that every couple weeks, I think he'll finally prove that his contract is worth it.  Not to mention, you just know that Donyell and Varejao are due to light it up here in the near future.

Sign of Also-Ran #2 - Non-Supporting Cast
I have always been an Eric Snow supporter.  I understand what he brings to this team in terms of leadership and in the locker room.  I saw what he brought in the playoffs.  But I also see him getting schooled JCC style by every point guard he has faced.  I also see him missing layups and wide open 12 foot jumpers.  I know Dan Gibson and Shannon Brown aren't ready yet, but could they be any worse than Eric Snow?  He is officially a liability out there... put him in a suit and give him a damn clipboard.  Shannon had some jitters when he first got out there (reminded me a little bit of Luke scurrying around the court like he had no business), but I think he'll be a contributor down the road.  Oh, and please, someone light a fire under Z's ass.  Don't give me the line about adjusting to the motion offense, he just can't put the ball in the hoop when he needs to.  Let's hope his minutes stay down this year and he comes to play come playoff time.

Sign of Hope #3 - Confidence under pressure
Despite not being able to hold a lead, we have already pulled out some close games, and not entirely thanks to LeBron.  I think we've seen some inspired play down the stretch of certain game and getting used to these types of games will pay off down the road.

Sign of Also-Ran #3 - Playing down to opponents.

In the words of Jimmy from South Park, "Come on, I mean reallyguys, come on."  The Hawks?!?!  The Bobcats?!?!  The Celtics?!?!?!  The Knicks?!?!?!  These teams are all but dreaming of Greg Oden and Joakim Noah two weeks into the season and we've either lost, given up a big lead and just played down to the level of every one of these teams.  I'm writing this before I go watch LeBron hopefully tear up the Jailblazers, but if Dan Dickau and DMiles light it up, I will be livid.  This team has shown that we can beat the best at home or in hostile territory.  How about showing up to play against teams who have no business being on the same court as the Cavs.

I could go on for pages, but for now... I'm off to see the Cavs light up the Blazers like... well you know.

F MICHIGAN


Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Much Love


So the Cavs are playing better and it's OSU vs Michigan week so that is always exciting.  Life is ok unless of course this weekend doesn't turn out alright.


But I actually want to bring up a point that was recently made in the comments below.  Basically, what has happened to this blog?  It's a great question and it has a lot of truth to it.  I think the fact I am now updating this blog after almost a week at 11:45pm tells the story.  I would love to keep this thing more updated, but I am realizing that just isn't possible. 

But the thing is..I really have no reason or desire to shut it down.  I mean it's still an outlet for me to ramble & rage at times so that's good enough for me.  So for anyone new or for the old lebloggers crew, you can get a pretty good fill of CLE sports or Buckeye Football in any of the blogs listed to the right.  I will do my best to keep this thing updated when I can, but just know the love is always there. 

A Cavalier for life..

Thursday, November 9, 2006

Well, Well


now that was one hell of a victory.  team effort all around with Drew freakin Gooden leading the way.  This is good stuff.  Andy was huge, Bron actually made almost all his free throws, Donyell was hittin his shots, Damon even made a few, and hell Shannon Brown got in the game.  Even though it's only one win, I am feeling a ton better about our team and our new offense now. 

One note here.  Poor Z is really not fittin in with this new offense. He played less mins than everyone except Shannon Brown (who played for the first time tonight) and David Wesley (who really just sucks).  Marv Albert mentioned how Z might have to hang tight while we get this offense tweaked and I think the cross-dressing fanatic might be right.  I don't see Z playing a lot of mins for some time.  Makes me happy we spent so much freakin money on Z, Damon, and Donyell. 


And I apparently wasn't checking ESPiN in the past few days, because I was totally unaware of this Bron walking off the court issue.  I mean by the sounds of it, this was quite the ordeal.  If you ask me I'd say who the hell cares.  It was nice to see Steve Kerr joking how Bron should be kicked out of the league.  Glad to see someone still has some common sense.

Anyways, Cavs fever is back baby. 

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Freakin Pathetic


so I hope I am not the one to point this out but you guys (I mean you Cavaliers) haven't proved anything yet.  You are not automatically the Eastern Conference Champs so that means you can't just stop trying or caring now.  Freakin A.

The game tonight was kinda pathetic.  We get a good run to end the 4th then blow it then freakin back off and let Tyronn Lue get a layup to send it to OT.  A layup..I mean at least make him take a shot.  It was pretty painful to watch.  And OT..well, we didn't even show up to play.  Argh.

I am not happy.  This is the second loss in a row in which it looked like we just didn't give a crap.  I hope our attitude changes fast cause we are going nowhere with this mentality. 

Chicago ain't gonna be easy so good luck guys.

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Umm..what the hell was that


Did a wild mustache just tame the King..

So the season started off really well vs the Wiz.  well actually..the game was just good enough..how bout that.  Game 1 wasn't pretty but we won and you have to expect the season opener to be mechanically unpretty.  L. Boogie was on fire, Gooden was amazing, and Bron was Bron.  Things were gettin off on the right foot.  Game 2..well that made me realize how much I missed the Cavs in the off-season.  I was ready for them to take it to the best and we did just that.  That was one of the prettiest games from start to finish that I have seen in a long, long time.   The posterizing of Duncan and career-highlight layup to end the first half were just some of the many reasons to believe LeBron was actually going to improve his game once again this season.  But then last night..

(Sorry to recap the first two games now, but I have been sick all week)

Game 3 was going strong for a while.  Built a nice 12-point lead, but then nonsense kicked in. It was just as though we just lost interest.  Granted LeBron was off all night, but this was the Bobcats so u have to figure others could step up and keep this one in the bag.  Well, as many of you saw last night or in the scoreboard this am, we sucked bad towards the end.  LeBron couldn't do a thing and many are saying it was quite possibly his worst game in a Cavs uniform.  It was nasty as Brian Windhorst took notice and was freakin pissed.

So with that the momentum was destroyed.  I know it's the beginning of the season, but this is not how a potential Eastern Conf champ plays.  I still very much believe, but want to see our boys step it up and play the lesser teams with as much heart as the big dogs.  So if this weekend any indication, it's going to be a long season.  We need to take that next step and I am sure Mike Brown will be making quite the speech before we meet ATL on Tuesday. 


But on a brighter note, the ladies of the blog are back, but this time doing what they only know how to do...dress in skimpy clothing.  That's right folks, whether you want to believe it or not, the biggest seller in the Cavs team shop is back for the 06-07 season.  The swimsuit calendar features all your favorite bloggers:  Bethany, Rhema, and Suzanne to name a few. 

So yea..that's great news.