Scoreboard watching

[British_Pharaoh]

I know it's still early to be doing so but I'm still taking pleasure in last nights results
Boston and Orlando falling further back and we are now ahead in the loss column over the Celtics.

[CAVSTRIBEBROWNSin07!]

Don't be getting all giddy at the recent struggles of the Lakers. They're 21-3 when Gasol plays. That's a 72 win pace.

One more Gasol factoid: His per minutes played +/- is tied with Varejao for tops in the league. And oh btw, Artest is 3rd. With a pretty big drop off after those 3 to the next tier of players.

All the talk of the Lakers early easy schedule and them coming back down to earth? Just that - talk.

EDIT: Shit just realized you didnt even reference the Lakers.

[jordan kramer]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

[British_Pharaoh]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

[Ziner]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

[jordan kramer]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

that is the only thing i am concerned about

[davemanddd]

Also, dont underestimate TCE.

ugh, the kiss of death. damn you!!!

[scott]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

Hold off judgement to see what rosters look like in a month. Celtics don't really have trade chips, but the Magic do.

[scott]

Don't be getting all giddy at the recent struggles of the Lakers. They're 21-3 when Gasol plays. That's a 72 win pace.

The flip side of that - Lakers have played the easiest schedule in the league so far. They have played 15 road games this season. Cavs have played 25.

[AK-ROWDY]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

Hold off judgement to see what rosters look like in a month. Celtics don't really have trade chips, but the Magic do.

Do the Magic still have the trade exemption worth 5 mil? or has that expired?

[Ea$t $ide]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

It's what makes us Cleveland fans....I can't root any other way...

[scott]

i know this is laughable coming from a cleveland sports fan, but i really can't imagine any team other than the Cavs representing the eastern conference in the finals

I feel the same

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

Hold off judgement to see what rosters look like in a month. Celtics don't really have trade chips, but the Magic do.

Do the Magic still have the trade exemption worth 5 mil? or has that expired?

6.8 mil for Turkoglu. Plus Bass and Gortat - though the shine is off of both of them.

[papacass]

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

Overconfidence? No. But am I going to sit here and deny that the Cavs look like the best team in the East right now, just because I'm afraid of something going wrong in the end?

Winning a championship, even reaching the championship series, is statistically improbable. Even for the best teams. So if you don't win it all in the end, all your really doing is failing to buck the odds.

My attitude is, if TCE/OIC/The Curse wants to rear its ugly head and present us with another unfathomable playoff upset, or a injury to a key player at the worst possible time, or the C's or Magic suddenly looking like world-beaters in mid-May as the Cavs slide off their peak (which I don't think they've reached yet), so be it. I can't control it, and how is it different from the last 45 years? We didn't win the title. Big whoop.

I got bent out of shape over the drive, fumble and shot when I was a kid. When I was in high school, I made myself into a basketcase over the '97 WS. I got angry over the '07 ALCS and bitter over the '09 ECF. I'm done being afraid, angry, bitter and cynical. I'm just fatalistic now. If the Cavs are the best team in the league through June, we'll have a parade to Public Square. If not, oh well, whatever. Sun comes up the next day, and I have a life to live.

There is no guarantee that any Cleveland team is going to win another championship again ever. We might all live our entire lives, as will our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, without ever seeing a Cleveland world championship. Just the way it is. Dan Gilbert can fix it. LeBron James can fix it, as long as he stays here. Mark Shapiro can fix it. Mike Holmgren can fix it. I can't fix it. This is the one truth that never changes.

[Ea$t $ide]

Remember we got fooled in to this over confidence last year as well, Orlando looks like they are a mess right now but they have a half a year to get it together. Boston will give us fits KG or not. Also, dont underestimate TCE.

Overconfidence? No. But am I going to sit here and deny that the Cavs look like the best team in the East right now, just because I'm afraid of something going wrong in the end?

Winning a championship, even reaching the championship series, is statistically improbable. Even for the best teams. So if you don't win it all in the end, all your really doing is failing to buck the odds.

My attitude is, if TCE/OIC/The Curse wants to rear its ugly head and present us with another unfathomable playoff upset, or a injury to a key player at the worst possible time, or the C's or Magic suddenly looking like world-beaters in mid-May as the Cavs slide off their peak (which I don't think they've reached yet), so be it. I can't control it, and how is it different from the last 45 years? We didn't win the title. Big whoop.

I got bent out of shape over the drive, fumble and shot when I was a kid. When I was in high school, I made myself into a basketcase over the '97 WS. I got angry over the '07 ALCS and bitter over the '09 ECF. I'm done being afraid, angry, bitter and cynical. I'm just fatalistic now. If the Cavs are the best team in the league through June, we'll have a parade to Public Square. If not, oh well, whatever. Sun comes up the next day, and I have a life to live.

There is no guarantee that any Cleveland team is going to win another championship again ever. We might all live our entire lives, as will our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, without ever seeing a Cleveland world championship. Just the way it is. Dan Gilbert can fix it. LeBron James can fix it, as long as he stays here. Mark Shapiro can fix it. Mike Holmgren can fix it. I can't fix it. This is the one truth that never changes.

Very well said!!

[Ziner]

well that sig line is sure to go over real well... why antagonize? Then again he got under your skin enough to put him there.

Cass I dont disagree, whatever happens happens, but there is alot of the season left to go. We look good right now, but we arent invincible. We will still have to go through at least one of Boston and Orlando to get to the finals. Theres a long road ahead.

[e0y2e3]

Meh. Calling me names on the internet is really no big deal, happens all the time.

Kid stops not reading my posts and replying to me (or about what I wrote) I'm fine, he'll just be another gnat buzzing around the boards adding nothing of consequence and causing no real harm.

Should be some kind of an age restriction and intellect test you have to pass before posting though. Could save the world.

[scott]

These boards got the Block function about a year ago. You still see quotes in other people's messages, but it helps, a lot.

[Ea$t $ide]

Meh. Calling me names on the internet is really no big deal, happens all the time.

Kid stops not reading my posts and replying to me (or about what I wrote) I'm fine, he'll just be another gnat buzzing around the boards adding nothing of consequence and causing no real harm.

Should be some kind of an age restriction and intellect test you have to pass before posting though. Could save the world.

I can only dream of being mature enough to call people I don't know bad words on an internet forum like you little fella!


I like my new sig...since I tea bagged your bad Orlando Magic take I think it's quite appropriate.

[Larvell Blanks]

I can only dream of being mature enough to call people I don't know bad words on an internet forum like you little fella!


I like my new sig...since I tea bagged your bad Orlando Magic take I think it's quite appropriate.

Wow, just let it go. It's just become this

[e0y2e3]

This is what Cass meant when he said sometimes the melt isn't a controlled detonation.

[OldDawg]

Don't be getting all giddy at the recent struggles of the Lakers. They're 21-3 when Gasol plays. That's a 72 win pace.

The flip side of that - Lakers have played the easiest schedule in the league so far. They have played 15 road games this season. Cavs have played 25.

These are the numbers I have been fired up about.
I know we got the Lake show coming in, but the Cavs Christmas day demolition gave me hope.
And I must admit, that after the Cavs lost two of their first four home games (after last season's dominating home record), I got a little nervous. But now they have gone 13-1 since, and have the most home games remaining on their schedule than any team in the league. These are things that don't make me overconfident, but make the pursuit of home court advantage attainable.

[papacass]

Cass I dont disagree, whatever happens happens, but there is alot of the season left to go. We look good right now, but we arent invincible. We will still have to go through at least one of Boston and Orlando to get to the finals. Theres a long road ahead.

My feeling is that I want to enjoy what is going on right now, rather than worry about the possibility of things once again going horribly wrong in late May or June.

I know about 1964 and whatnot. But the Cavs are a freaking dominant basketball team. They give me a reason to tune in every time they play. This year, they're dusting good teams with regularity.

I talk Cavs with friends, relatives and workmates. They've given me a reason to look forward to winter in Cleveland. That's not easy to do.

Yes, the title is the ultimate prize for any sports team. But LBJ and a winning Cavs team affects a lot more than title chances. Their games have become events. Basketball has become a lot more mainstream in Cleveland in the past six years. My dad watches Cavs games now, and he's always been a lukewarm basketball fan.

I'll rearrange my schedule and put off another expenditure to buy tickets, go to The Q and take in the cacophony of 20,000 screaming fans standing in unison after an amazing LBJ play, to revel in those streamers falling from the ceiling after the Cavs win, which they almost always do at home. I have one of those streamers that landed near me after a Cavs win a couple of years ago. I keep it draped across a bookshelf as a souvenir.

I do get a little nervous about the second round of the playoffs and beyond. It's human to anticipate. But I'm not about to let it temper my expectations or anticipate a Celtics or Magic uprising with dread. I'm going balls to the wall here. What the Cavs are bringing us is something worth enjoying to the fullest, and I intend to do just that. What happens in May and June is what happens.

[Ziner]

Cass I dont disagree, whatever happens happens, but there is alot of the season left to go. We look good right now, but we arent invincible. We will still have to go through at least one of Boston and Orlando to get to the finals. Theres a long road ahead.

My feeling is that I want to enjoy what is going on right now, rather than worry about the possibility of things once again going horribly wrong in late May or June.

I know about 1964 and whatnot. But the Cavs are a freaking dominant basketball team. They give me a reason to tune in every time they play. This year, they're dusting good teams with regularity.

I talk Cavs with friends, relatives and workmates. They've given me a reason to look forward to winter in Cleveland. That's not easy to do.

Yes, the title is the ultimate prize for any sports team. But LBJ and a winning Cavs team affects a lot more than title chances. Their games have become events. Basketball has become a lot more mainstream in Cleveland in the past six years. My dad watches Cavs games now, and he's always been a lukewarm basketball fan.

I'll rearrange my schedule and put off another expenditure to buy tickets, go to The Q and take in the cacophony of 20,000 screaming fans standing in unison after an amazing LBJ play, to revel in those streamers falling from the ceiling after the Cavs win, which they almost always do at home. I have one of those streamers that landed near me after a Cavs win a couple of years ago. I keep it draped across a bookshelf as a souvenir.

I do get a little nervous about the second round of the playoffs and beyond. It's human to anticipate. But I'm not about to let it temper my expectations or anticipate a Celtics or Magic uprising with dread. I'm going balls to the wall here. What the Cavs are bringing us is something worth enjoying to the fullest, and I intend to do just that. What happens in May and June is what happens.

Don't get me wrong, I do the same thing, I rearrange my schedule every time they are playing on national tv. I am not afraid of what might happen, I am just conscious of it, as are you. The worry of us not winning it all doesnt take away from my enjoyment right now. However, come May/June it might take away some enjoyment, will still like watching and look forward to watching, but not winning it all will be a disappointment. Not hang myself disappointed, just bummed out.

[scott]

More scoreboard watching - CHA 83 - MIA 53 in the 3rd quarter.

Charlotte have won 5 in a row. Heat lost to OKC by 20 and Jazz by 30 last week. When they are bad they are really bad.

[Ziner]

Celts looking like they are going to go down again. Hate to see that

[hermanfontenot]

More scoreboard watching - CHA 83 - MIA 53 in the 3rd quarter.

Charlotte have won 5 in a row. Heat lost to OKC by 20 and Jazz by 30 last week. When they are bad they are really bad.

Good to see Charlotte winning. I'd like to see them opposite Boston or Orlando. I'm not going to pull a Cmstophe and say I'm "afraid" of the Bobcats, because I'm not. We'd beat them in a series. But we'd have to work pretty hard to do it- six games hard, maybe. They're too good defensively to take lightly and Captain Jack is just the kind of guy who won't give a f**k about the odds.

[Gradysmanldy]

.....aaaaaaaaand Boston loses again because they cant defend a shit-poor Detroit team. Snicker.

I can't believe we might live in a world where every Boston team gets beat in the first round of the playoffs. </wet dream>

[e0y2e3]

FTR: it is time to start cheering a bit for the Celtics and Magic. Atlanta getting the 2 seed and forcing us to play Orlando/Bos in round 2 would suck balls if we end up w/ the one seed.

[AK-ROWDY]

FTR: it is time to start cheering a bit for the Celtics and Magic. Atlanta getting the 2 seed and forcing us to play Orlando/Bos in round 2 would suck balls if we end up w/ the one seed.

With the way they are playing there is no guarantee they will make it out of the first round. Just sayin.

[fundamentals]

FTR: it is time to start cheering a bit for the Celtics and Magic. Atlanta getting the 2 seed and forcing us to play Orlando/Bos in round 2 would suck balls if we end up w/ the one seed.

Interesting take. If it ended now, it would be Orlando in the second round.

[British_Pharaoh]

FTR: it is time to start cheering a bit for the Celtics and Magic. Atlanta getting the 2 seed and forcing us to play Orlando/Bos in round 2 would suck balls if we end up w/ the one seed.

Interesting take. If it ended now, it would be Orlando in the second round.

I was thinking this very same thing not 2 days ago when looking at the standings and seeing Orlando with 4th seed

[OldDawg]

TurkeyGlue hits 2 FTs with 1 sec to go to put Toronto over Lake show 106-105!!! Alright!!

[Orenthal]

Kobe misses the 3! Cavaliers with the best reord in the league by half a game... Also Mavs beat Knicks by 50, not quite the Cavs beating Miami, but close...

[e0y2e3]

FWIW (and that isn't much): tOSU legend Kosta Koufos was just sent to the D-League.

Bitch.

[TouchEmAllTime]

FWIW (and that isn't much): tOSU legend Kosta Koufos was just sent to the D-League.

Bitch.

Is this a result of old man Sloan thinking he's not working hard enough or more so that he's just not that good?

[papacass]

FTR: it is time to start cheering a bit for the Celtics and Magic. Atlanta getting the 2 seed and forcing us to play Orlando/Bos in round 2 would suck balls if we end up w/ the one seed.

On the other hand, if the C's and Magic aren't playing well enough to hold off Atlanta, maybe the Cavs do want to play them in the second round.

There is a school of thought that says it's better to play a disappointed, discouraged veteran team falling short of expectations than to play a young, hungry team that doesn't know enough to be afraid. Who is going to put up the bigger fight?

[fundamentals]

Kobe misses the 3! Cavaliers with the best reord in the league by half a game... Also Mavs beat Knicks by 50, not quite the Cavs beating Miami, but close...

A glorious, glorious day when the alleged "closer" clanks one at the end of the contest. Gasol has had a rough couple of games, just waiting for him to come off an all day bender and clock Kobe after getting ripped on by the Mamba.

[Ea$t $ide]

Not to jinx the Cavs or anything but now with a 5.5 game lead and a home heavy schedule the rest of the way...well it's way too early to talk about this now....nevermind...

[papacass]

Not to jinx the Cavs or anything but now with a 5.5 game lead and a home heavy schedule the rest of the way...well it's way too early to talk about this now....nevermind...

It is but it isn't. Most teams have 35-38 games left now, and the Cavs are winning essentially three out of every four (.771 winning pct.), and now with a 5.5 or 6-game lead on the other top members of the conference. That's significant. You don't just make that deficit up overnight.

Working in favor of Atlanta, Boston and Orlando is that they're fewer back in the loss column than they are overall. ATL and BOS are both four back in the loss column, and ORL is five back. Also working in their favor is they all have mutilple games remaining against the Cavs. The C's and Magic both have three games left, and Boston has two left vs. Cleveland in their house. Boston and Orlando both play the Cavs once in April. Atlanta has two left (1H, 1R), both in April.

So if any of the three teams trailing the Cavs were to be successful in chipping away at their conference lead over the next two months, the opportunity is there to make a hard late push for the 1-seed. But they definitely have their work cut out for them because the Cavs have a ton of home games in the second half (they don't play another road game until Feb. 19), and the Cavs are done with their fatigue-inducing western road trips.

Bottom line: if the Cavs win at a plus-.700 pace for the remainder of the season, they're going to be very hard to catch.

[fundamentals]

Paul Pierce looks like he has a sprained foot. Celtics are going to need tape and lots of ace wraps as it looks right now.

[Frank Duffy]

A friend from Philly who's opinion is respected favors the Iggy deal. Says Iggy is a superior defender and can actually break down his man, and he finishes very well around the rim.

If Iggy can slash off the double to Shaq or LB, and consistenly finish or set someone else up for the easy shot, great. It just seems more complicated than just a kick and maybe one pass to an open shooter. Seems to comes down to, who's better at what he does, Iggy or Murphy.

If Mo shoots well, I think we can win with this team (and probably would have last year, at least vs. Orl, matchup problems and all). But, I don't trust him yet, so I don't think it's wise to stand pat.

[Hi Oktane]

Not to jinx the Cavs or anything but now with a 5.5 game lead and a home heavy schedule the rest of the way...well it's way too early to talk about this now....nevermind...

It is but it isn't. Most teams have 35-38 games left now, and the Cavs are winning essentially three out of every four (.771 winning pct.), and now with a 5.5 or 6-game lead on the other top members of the conference. That's significant. You don't just make that deficit up overnight.

Working in favor of Atlanta, Boston and Orlando is that they're fewer back in the loss column than they are overall. ATL and BOS are both four back in the loss column, and ORL is five back. Also working in their favor is they all have mutilple games remaining against the Cavs. The C's and Magic both have three games left, and Boston has two left vs. Cleveland in their house. Boston and Orlando both play the Cavs once in April. Atlanta has two left (1H, 1R), both in April.

So if any of the three teams trailing the Cavs were to be successful in chipping away at their conference lead over the next two months, the opportunity is there to make a hard late push for the 1-seed. But they definitely have their work cut out for them because the Cavs have a ton of home games in the second half (they don't play another road game until Feb. 19), and the Cavs are done with their fatigue-inducing western road trips.

Bottom line: if the Cavs win at a plus-.700 pace for the remainder of the season, they're going to be very hard to catch.

Hell, the way they're playing right now, they may not lose 5 more games the rest of the RS.

[OldDawg]

Den 113 LAL 102 3:53 to go. Denver awesome on offense.

[Ziner]

Den 113 LAL 102 3:53 to go. Denver awesome on offense.

Nice win for Denver, 2 full game lead on LA.

[dmiles]

Also the Wizards win in Orlando, with Wince going 5-17.

[davemanddd]

Also the Wizards win in Orlando, with Wince going 5-17.

dumbest boneheaded move of the year - not signing hedo turkoglu followed by the equally dumbest boneheaded move - the signing of vince carter. whoever the orlando gm is, i think he better brush up his resume because he's going to be needing to look for another job at the end of the season. he took the 2nd best team in the nba last year and turned them into a team that won't even have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs this year. what a goof.

[Ea$t $ide]

Den 113 LAL 102 3:53 to go. Denver awesome on offense.

Nice win for Denver, 2 full game lead on LA.

The Nuggets are winning without Carmelo too. THAT team scares me as much as the Lakers. No team in the East worries me at all other than the Cleveland Factor rearing it's ugly, hideous, disgusting, kick me in the balls, rape my woman, burn my crops head...

[papacass]

Den 113 LAL 102 3:53 to go. Denver awesome on offense.

Nice win for Denver, 2 full game lead on LA.

The Nuggets are winning without Carmelo too. THAT team scares me as much as the Lakers. No team in the East worries me at all other than the Cleveland Factor rearing it's ugly, hideous, disgusting, kick me in the balls, rape my woman, burn my crops head...

The Nugs do pose the stiffest challenge for the Lakers out west. They've beaten them twice this season, neither game was all that close, and they have two more matchups coming.

Last night might have been a little bit of an aberration, though. The Nuggets went ballistic from three-point range (15-22, 68.2%) in scoring 126 points against a Lakers D that is really starting to not look that good. Even so, the Lakers outrebounded Denver 48-41, trashed them on the offensive boards 18-8 and outscored them in the paint 50-36. And the Nugs are supposedly a big, physical basketball team.

The one school of thought says they didn't have Melo, but they still did what they needed to do to win in a tough environment, which is the true measure of a championship contender. The other school of thought says they could play a hundred basketball games against the Lakers and never make 15 three-pointers in 48 minutes again. Or win as they get hammered by 10 on the offensive glass.

I really do want to see the Cavs win the rematch with Denver the week after next, if for no other reason than if they finish 0-2 vs. Denver, the resident melters will star latching onto the Nuggets as the Cavs' monster under the bed, in much the same way they have latched onto the Bobcats. I don't need three solid months of "If we reach the Finals and have to play Denver, we are SO screwed!!!"

[noles1]

Nuggs did go ballistic but there were some serious undertones of that game. Lakers have no one to handle Ty Lawson, he causes them fits. Another was how well Nene played, especially considering he had to deal with a few ticky-tack fouls that limited him.

Billups and Smith won't shoot it like that consistently but the insertion of Affallo is another dimension because he just guards Kobe better than Dahntay Jones last year. To the point, I am not willing to concede Denver as the favorite but, when healthy, they are better than last year's squad and I am not sure that the Lakers can say that about themselves. That Conference Finals (would be shocked if they both didn't make it unless the Spurs have something up their sleeves) will be terrific opposite Cleveland-(Orlando, Boston or Atlanta).

[fundamentals]

Still lots of bball to be played, but you have to consider Denver is a viable threat in the West. As far as the East goes, Orlando and Atlanta are the only teams who may challenge the Cavaliers. The Celtics look to be Dead Men Walking and it's wonderful.