The Windhorst Report

[consigliere]

http://www.theclevelandfan.com/article_ ... hp?id=1633

Thought this was spot on:

Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about these optimistic times for the Cavs. Which is somewhat ironic, because had the Bulls beat the Nets it would’ve been a different view altogether. Nonetheless, the Cavs continue to progress and that is what is most important for the franchise.

Isn't amazing how one night, with the Cavs and Bulls outcomes Wednesday completely changed everyone's view by a complete 180? We win and Bulls lose, and now we are all chomping at the bit to get these playoffs started and are on a high that we can make the EC Finals or go further. Yet, had we won and the Bulls won, we'd all be crying the blues saying we are going down in the 1st round to the Heat. Simply amazing.

It’s a broad recap, I know, but there’s an obvious positive flow there. This team underachieved this year in some ways and at times, I’ve felt they’ve performed with a sense of entitlement. Which could be dangerous against the Wizards, the certified underdogs.

Bingo. This is the only thing that scares me in the 1st and 2nd round. I have a feeling that sense of entitlement may lead us having to scratch out a win in Game 1 or 2 against the Wiz, possibly even losing one, before we wake up and win the rest of the series easily.

[jb]

Brian's piece in the Sunday ABJ was outstanding. It is the type of analysis you don't ordinarily get in this op ed / interview world of mainsteam media. It mirrorred Pat's piece on the Browns that day and it is why the ABJ still rules Ohio for sportsreporting.

Hopefully however, Brian will also realize the opportunity in cyberspace where there are no column inches and word limits, there are no editors to placate, and there are fewer rules to follow. I'd love to see him keep up the hard ore nuts and botls analysis that he may love to do but isn't quite as accessable to the masses and do it in great volume and detail here. This could be a great outlet for Brian qand guys like him.

I hope he keeps 'em comin'!

[swerb]

Good stuff from Brian this morning on last nights game.

http://blogs.ohio.com/cavaliers_blog/

--Don't confuse Drew Gooden's "Let it Rain" with Pacman Jones "Make it Rain." One involves a geeky-looking hand gesture. The other $81,000 in cash and strippers.

--Drew informed me tonight that he can't do his "rain dance" until he makes at least four shots in a row. Write this down, people.

--OK, that covers that. What's most important from Game 2 is the Cavs again got other players besides LeBron to step up. Gooden had an unbelievable second quarter, not just because he was making shots, but because he was making contested jumpers. Almost more important that Drew's hot streak was how Zydrunas Ilgauskas played. The Wizards seem determined to double-team James on pick-and-rolls so Z making jumpers off them is vital to the Cavs' offense. Also, I though Larry Hughes' decision-making was much better tonight. In fact, I'll go so far as to say Larry played better in Game 2 than he did in Game 1.

--Just re-establishing my point during this series, the Wizards have almost no margin for error on offense. If Antawn Jamison doesn't score 50 points, the Wizards need help from DeShawn Stevenson (who is 6-of-24 in two games) and Antonio Daniels (who is 7-of-18). It also doesn't help when Jarvis Hayes goes 2-of-11. I will again say, though, that the Wizards are going to make shots at some point in this series.

--All that out, the Cavs defense continues to bait the Wizards into hoisting those jumpers. They are going under most pick-and-rolls, which means they are denying drives. They are also helping well, which means most of the jumpers are contested. The Wizards are shooting less than 40 percent in the two games.

--On the big videoboards after Brendan Haywood got hit with a technical for screaming at Andy Varejao, you could just see him holding up one hand and gesturing but you couldn't see his fingers. It appeared to the crowd watching the screen that he flicked everyone off. I don't believe this was the case, but that's why the crowd started chanting "a------." What I'd like to know is if Etan Thomas was joining in the chant. After the game Andy told me "he was saying somethings and they were not nice." I'm sure. I agree with Bill Simmons, it's only a matter of time before someone just hauls off and socks Varejao during a game. Perhaps it will be Game 3.

--Before the game, I was checking out Damon Jones sweet red and white Li Ning shoes. Inside the shoe by the ankle, apparently just for Damon to see, is the phrase "I Am Global." I ran over to look inside LeBron's shoes to see if they said "I am a global icon" inside, but they have their own bodyguards. Here's all I need to tell you about Damon: His winter coat says "Damon Jones" on the back. Not "Damon." Not "Jones," like it was a high school letter jacket. Damon Jones. That and as he was walking into the locker room tonight in his pink shit and gray suit, the camera guy who was recording his arrival wasn't ready. So Damon stopped, waited, and then started walking again when the guy had the thing on. Pure comedy.