A Dose of Bugs West

During their four-game west coast trip, the Cavs learned to get by without Delonte "Bugs" West, managing to go 3-1 against three contenders and one ferocious pretender (fueled by the return of one of the NBA's best young point guards). Though the Cavs have scraped by without their best perimeter defender, the absence of the funniest man in the NBA in my own life has not been so easy.

As I have previously mentioned, the classic video "Delonte West Uncut" has been removed from YouTube for an apparent terms of service violation. "Delonte West Uncut," filmed a few years ago while West was playing for the Celtics, provided no less than three revelations regarding the Cavs' gritty and insanely funny combo guard:

1. In twenty years, Delonte plans to be 60 years old (huh?), riding down the Mass Turnpike in a drop-top Mercedes-Benz, butt naked.

2. Delonte's favorite NBA city is Miami because of its "great Christian programs." He really appreciates the fact that he can stay out on the beach all night in Miami and worship the lord.

3. If he could be anyone in the entire world for a day, Delonte would be Bugs Bunny (hence the nickname). Although he cites numerous reasons, he notes that this hypothetical would provide an ideal solution to avoiding heavy traffic on the Mass Turnpike by allowing him to tunnel through a rabbit hole, popping up on some less congested highway, and proclaiming that "This ain't Albuquerque!"

Anyways, not being able to watch this video on a weekly (ok a daily) basis, has left a huge void in my life. I've settled for watching various Delonte West videos on YouTube, all which reveal the delicate soul that is Bugs West, but none of which compare to "Delonte West Uncut." I am embarking on a quest to find this video, but in the meantime, if you're going through the same withdrawal, I will try to fill that void with the Weekly Bugs West Quote of the Century. This week, Bugs tells us how he feels about the NBA's decision to resume use of a leather ball after a two month experiment with composite leather in 2006:

"You know I never really paid that much attention to it, you know what I'm sayin'. I'm just a player. I'm a player, Greg, and I just play with whatever they put... we gonna play with a sock? We gonna play with a sock."

Doesn't that feel much better? Next week, an introduction to the cavsfanatics group that calls itself the "Delonte Groupies."




LeGame - Brian Windhorst on the difficulty of the Cavs' win in Salt Lake City: "Salt Lake City sits quietly in the middle of the Wasatch Mountains. It is sleepy, it's beautiful and it's peaceful. Which is why its geography and the rhythms of the NBA schedule make it a giant trap. Year after year, Eastern Conference teams and even those Mississippi River West teams that make routine three-game trips to the far West, finish off trips in Utah as they head home. Now, the NBA will never schedule regular season games on Sunday in Utah because of the role of the church here and how the Mormons devote Sundays to family. TNT has exclusive rights on Thursdays and the NBA always tries to end long trips on Saturdays or Sundays. So, often teams come in here on back-to-backs, in the altitude usually off a game on the coast where they lose an hour on the trip. It has happened for four teams just this month in Utah. Oh, and the Jazz had the last two days off. What is my point? For a lot of reasons the Cavs scored a great win tonight."

Carlos Loozer - Carlos Boozer is a great talent... Here's hoping he withers away into NBA obscurity, or at least gets a beat down from Prince's entourage.

LeSpoke to Soon? - Kinsey reverted back to his "lacktion" form, recording one steal and two missed field goals in five minutes of playing time. I am now mortified that Sasha will continue to receive playing time, but the guys at Basketbawful were thrilled.

The Sasha Pavlovic Stat Line
35 minutes of productivity = gallons of vomit
Highlight: LeMarc fainting in his own vomit when he realized that Pavlovic had the highest +/- of any Cav on Saturday night
Postgame Quote: "Thanks for the motivation, Ohio LeBlog. 'The Sasha Pavlovic Stat Line' is no longer funny or relevant."