Cavs @ Mavs

[hugerobot]

so begins the toughest stretch of our schedule thus far. dirk is still questionable with teeth in his arm. it would be a blessing if he's out.

7:30 FSO

[British_Pharaoh]

so begins the toughest stretch of our schedule thus far. dirk is still questionable with teeth in his arm. it would be a blessing if he's out.

7:30 FSO

teeth in his arm???


We butchered them at home

I think we might have a comfortable win again even though Dallas are a great team

[rebelwithoutaclue]

so begins the toughest stretch of our schedule thus far. dirk is still questionable with teeth in his arm. it would be a blessing if he's out.

7:30 FSO

teeth in his arm???


We butchered them at home

I think we might have a comfortable win again even though Dallas are a great team

Yeah, Carl Landry of the Rockets was planted to take a charge and Dirk jumped up and his elbow hit Landry square in the mouth. Landry lost (or broke) 5 teeth and a couple were imbedded in Dirk's elbow. The Cavs would be pretty lucky if he didn't play (even though they handled the Mavs earlier this year) cuz he's been playing some of the best basketball of his career so far this year.

[peeker643]

Nowitzki is out tonight: http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/ne ... id=4759519

[Shadow Scars]

Why is FSN not showing the game? 7:40 and I'm still watching college basketball!! grrrr

[JJN]

This just helps solidify my man-love for Landry. This is the third time he has lost teeth while playing D, and he got shot last year but only stayed out for a few weeks. He is tough like few others. Landry is everything Garnett wishes he was, and everything I want Hickson to be.

That said, go Cavs.

[e0y2e3]

Landry is one of the bigger reasons I have almost as big of a man-crush on the Rockets team as I do my boy Tyreke.

[noles1]

Why is FSN not showing the game? 7:40 and I'm still watching college basketball!! grrrr

It's fuckin stupid...

I don't give a flying fuck about Gt vs. FSU...

[Guest]

Why is FSN not showing the game? 7:40 and I'm still watching college basketball!! grrrr

It's fuckin stupid...

I don't give a flying fuck about Gt vs. FSU...

But you're noles1!

[noles1]

Why is FSN not showing the game? 7:40 and I'm still watching college basketball!! grrrr

It's fuckin stupid...

I don't give a flying fuck about Gt vs. FSU...

But you're noles1!

I know... and even I don't give a shit about that game.

I want to watch the Cavs, that's why I have Fox Sports Net OHIO on...

[mack07]

no hi-def tonight?

[e0y2e3]

Game was also scheduled to be on NBATV and got dropped.

[mack07]

pathetic, i guess the cavs thought the mavs would just show up and tank without dirk....shaq looks awful

[e0y2e3]

Yeah, if you don't have this game be happy about it.

My league pass window keeps getting turned away from in horror more and more often.

[mack07]

man, this could be a real tough two weeks....i think everything we need to know about this team will be learned...and then the trade talk

[mack07]

waste of a sunday night watching this bleep...good game by west, everybody else not

[noles1]

Shaq has to go.

The experiement has failed.

I have seen enough.

[CharacterIV]

Horribly frustrating loss. Everyone who missed it -- blessing in disguise, believe me.

[hugerobot]

well, at least the browns won

[peeker643]

well, at least the browns won

Not sure it gets any more 'Man Bites Dog' than that right there.

But it can't argued. Not only did they win but they did so in a record breaking and entertaining fashion. That'll help me get past the shit sandwich the Cavs just fed us.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

[noles1]

Windy's been on all this for awhile too.

The stats are backing up everything that anyone has watched from the Cavs this year.

The Shaq move is not working, everyone can see it, everyone knows it. Will Ferry have the balls to actually make the move he needs to make? I am not so sure Lebron doesn't want it to happen either, although he would never publically state.

http://twitter.com/PDcavsinsider

[papacass]

Shaq has to go.

The experiement has failed.

I have seen enough.

Time to, once again, pull back out to 10,000 feet and look past a December loss to the Mavs or near-loss to the Bucks or whatever else has people bent out of shape.

Lakers, Celtics and Magic. The reason Shaq was brought in. The reason Ferry was willing to mess with what was working last year. Because it didn't work against Orlando and the Lakers, and it probably wouldn't have worked against the Celtics with a healthy KG.

IOW, what Shaq does versus the other 26 is irrelevant. He's here to help beat the teams they couldn't beat last year. If Shaq fails against those teams, ledge away. Until then, pardon me while I yawn. At the time of the trade, we all knew the Cavs were messing with what worked last year. We all knew why. In the aftermath of the Orlando series, just about everyone thought it was worth the risk.

I don't care how many bunnies Shaq misses vs. Dallas in December. I don't care if he's headed for career lows in points and rebounds. I don't care if his plus-minus is atrocious. I care about him battling the likes of Dewey, Gasol/Bynum and KG/Perkins to a draw over the span of seven games this spring.

If there was a way to put Shaq in mothballs until the second round of the playoffs, I'd be all for it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. So instead of toeing the place where the concrete ends, accept it for what it is. Shaq is a matchup guy at this point. A very specific matchup guy. Nothing more, nothing less.

[FUDU]

Exactly Cass.

Plus as bad as we have looked at times, win or lose, we are what 4 games back of the league leading Lakers, and 2.5 back form the EC leading Celts?

Relax people.

Technically we don't need Shaq to get through the schedule and end up a 2 or 3 seed, seeing as we didn't have him last year and won 66 games and were a #1. But you simply cannot go through a regular season with him on the roster and just save him for June. This is a work in progress, should it be this difficult, probably not (let's face it despite last season MB is still hapless as an offensive strategist) but it is and we are just going to have to wait and see what happens for the next 3-4 months.

[noles1]

Shaq was brought in to play against Howard and the Lakers. Are we sure he will even be effective though?

Thing is, Orlando is not the team to beat in the East, it's Boston.

Shaq does not help whatsoever against Boston. We will be pick & roll'ed to death by them if he plays any meaningful minutes.

Also, look at Lebron when Shaq is on the court. Complete crowding and zero flow. No easy buckets, no up-and-down pace. These 4th quarter possessions, game-in and game-out are putrid. Color me a cynic...

You guys can call it ledging all you want but this team is not in the elite as it currently stands. Shaq is done, watch enough basketball and you can see he's a shell of a player yet his ego is too big to check himself.

Forget the Dallas game, this team has played one good game this month (Phoenix) and that was against a road-weary team that basically packed it up. The end of this month is going to be interesting...

Feel like we are well on our way to about 55/56 wins as the roster currently stands.

[FUDU]

We can play Boston well without Shaq.

Beat em in 7 games on their home floor, remains to be seen, but it is different than needing shaq v Orlando.

[papacass]

Shaq was brought in to play against Howard and the Lakers. Are we sure he will even be effective though?

Thing is, Orlando is not the team to beat in the East, it's Boston.

For the Cavs, it's both Orlando and Boston. Orlando is definitely a "team to beat" for the Cavs. Lose to Orlando in a 2 vs. 3 conference semi, and you don't even get a chance to face Boston. Atlanta's potential to party-crash aside, I think there is a very high probability of a Cavs-Magic second round series this spring.

Shaq does not help whatsoever against Boston. We will be pick & roll'ed to death by them if he plays any meaningful minutes.

EVERY team is going to P&R the Cavs when Shaq is on the floor. Side picks, top picks, you name it. Which is why when the P&R starts to kill you, you take Shaq out and go with different personnel. As Hnat pointed out a few GBS's ago, Shaq was put on this Earth for many reasons. Defending the P&R isn't one of them.

As far as Shaq vs. Boston is directly concerned, I seem to remember him playing pretty well against Sheed and Perkins in the preseason and the opener. When the offense stagnates, it's not just Shaq's fault. It's LBJ's fault for standing and driblling, it's Mo's fault for not trying to penetrate, it's everyone else's fault for standing around. And above all, it's Roker's fault for not putting his foot down on offense the way he does on defense.

Also, look at Lebron when Shaq is on the court. Complete crowding and zero flow. No easy buckets, no up-and-down pace. These 4th quarter possessions, game-in and game-out are putrid. Color me a cynic...

Again, not just Shaq's fault. The Cavs' 4Q possessions (and the rest of most games, for the record) have been putrid because no one is moving and no one is spacing. Any spacing problems that occur when Shaq is on the floor is merely a symptom of a larger problem.

You guys can call it ledging all you want but this team is not in the elite as it currently stands. Shaq is done, watch enough basketball and you can see he's a shell of a player yet his ego is too big to check himself.

So how exactly are you measuring ego? Has Shaq opened his trap to the media and demanded more playing time? Accused MB of not utilizing him properly? Or is the mere fact that Shaq is still playing evidence that he's an ego run amok? I'm not seeing what's going on here as a matter of ego.

I think Shaq realizes he's about 50 percent of what he once was, and that he's here to do one job. If he thought he was still worthy of being the focal point of an offense, he'd say something. But he knows his place.

Forget the Dallas game, this team has played one good game this month (Phoenix) and that was against a road-weary team that basically packed it up.

Yep. If only the NBA Finals were contested in some other month besides December. Like June or something....

[noles1]

Shaq should be coming off the bench. His ego would never let him do what is best for this team. By the way, he doesn't have to say anything, look at his history leaving teams. (And I was a pro-Shaq guy for years, just not anymore) After the Heat title, things have went downhill for him.

You're right, things are not won in December, no question there. Thanks for the lesson...

You and others keep watching this team and thinking we are ok and will be just fine. I admire the optimism.

[FUDU]

Noles what do you really expect from Shaq in terms of play? Numbers?

The dude is 5 years past the end of his true prime, and 38 years old. The org, LBJ and Shaq himself are not expecting 2002 type performances from the big guy.

[papacass]

Shaq should be coming off the bench. His ego would never let him do what is best for this team. By the way, he doesn't have to say anything, look at his history leaving teams. (And I was a pro-Shaq guy for years, just not anymore) After the Heat title, things have went downhill for him.

You're right, things are not won in December, no question there. Thanks for the lesson...

You and others keep watching this team and thinking we are ok and will be just fine. I admire the optimism.

Instead of freaking out, let things play out. That's all I'm saying. You don't know what the state of things might be in April or June.

[noles1]

Noles what do you really expect from Shaq in terms of play? Numbers?

The dude is 5 years past the end of his true prime, and 38 years old. The org, LBJ and Shaq himself are not expecting 2002 type performances from the big guy.

I expect someone that can rebound without having it fall in his lap. I expect solid defense and defense of the rim.

Offensively, I want to be able to see him not be a black hole when dumped into him. I want to see him score on the people he should score on, if he can't he is just in the way. (Notice Lebron and Mo's #'s with him)

Seriously, you cannot actually be saying we look better offensively with Shaq this year?

Or do you have such low expectations for us that you are content with what you have seen from us this year?

[noles1]

7 (5) Cavaliers 20-8 The Cavs haven't been higher than No. 4, and it's tough to see that changing in the near future. But count on them to stay at or near the top of the rumor rankings, because they're looking for trade upgrades. Hard.


Marc Stein in the Power Rankings on ESPN today. Take it for what it's worth.

[mack07]

is shaq going to be able to lose 50 lbs. before the playoffs?

[noles1]

is shaq going to be able to lose 50 lbs. before the playoffs?

Nope, and as a matter of fact, who's to say he is going to stay remotely healthy over the next 5-6 months?

[SDM]

On a related note, Blazers just beat the Mavs with like 7 players and no center.

Przybilla hurt, probably done for the year.