|
June 30, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
It is an annual rite of summer, and the NBA's own version of 'Midnight Madness.' At 12:01 AM on July 1st, General Managers across the land will start ringing doorbells, calling cell phones, and firing off e-mails ... all in the hopes of landing the free-agents on the top of their wish lists. In Jesse's latest, he offers up a comprehensive look at all of this year's free agents, and which ones may be of interest to the Cavaliers.
|
June 28, 2009 - By Sam Amico
The draft is over and the NBA's summer has officially begun. And no team is yet complete. Enter Sam Amico for his team-by-team look at the needs of each team in the Eastern Conference (the West is coming later this week), and three suggested free agents for each of them.
| ||
|
|
June 27, 2009 - By Jerry Roche
You knew the naysayers would come out. Most national, very few here on the north coast. But they're out there. Saying Shaq is over the hill. Shaq will clog the lane. Shaq's ego isn't compatible with LeBron's. Shaq's too slow. Shaq's a one-year bandage. Jerry Roche has a message for the haters. Don't tug on Superman's cape.
|
|
June 26, 2009 - By Nick Allburn
It happened about four months too late, but Shaquille O'Neal was finally dealt from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal, finalized in the wee hours of Thursday morning, brings the Big Diesel to the North Shore in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, the Cavaliers' second round pick in the 2010 Draft, and $500,000. In Nick Allburn's look at the Shaq deal, he says that this is likely the first of many dominoes to fall this off-season.
|
|
June 25, 2009 - By Sam Amico
Christian Eyenga and Danny Green? Not what most of us were expecting. After lots of rumors of trading up, buying picks, the Cavs stood pat and took two totally off the radar names off the board at picks #30 and #46. Sam Amico was at Cavaliers headquarters last night in Independence for the draft, and in his latest piece for us, gives us his thoughts on the Cavs selections as well as the draft as a whole.
|
June 25, 2009 - By Erik Cassano
The grandest of grand Cleveland sports experiments will start to play out over the summer and into the fall. Shaq is coming to the Cavs, courtesy of a trade completed in the wee hours of Thursday morning -- a trade that reportedly sent Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and the Cavs' second round draft pick, No. 46, to Phoenix. Now, we get to see if the potentially-volatile concoction of two legitimate superstars can flourish in Cleveland and end this city's title drought, which will almost certainly stretch to a 46th year. Erik Cassano talks about The Shaq Factor in his latest.
| |
|
June 24, 2009 - By Sam Amico
Chances are, folks in Cleveland won't be talking about the NBA draft today. Chances are, they'll be talking about their renewed faith in the team with the league's best regular-season record. Chances are, the topic will be LeBron James' new teammate, a 37-year old mammoth of a man with four championship rings. Shaquille O'Neal is a Cav ... and Sam talks about the trade, which just developed late tonight. And says that the Cavs are not done tinkering.
|
June 24, 2009 - By Sam Amico
The deeper Sam Amico delves into the 2009 NBA Draft, and the more he talks to people who are even more deeply involved than he is, the more he realizes no one really knows anything. At least, if they do know something they sure aren't telling him. And if they do tell him, they usually sound like they're guessing. And guess what? That's what the draft is all about. It's one gigantic guess. So here's Sam's. And he has the Cavs tabbing a North Carolina Tarheel at #30.
| |
|
June 23, 2009 - By Erik Cassano
If there is any silver lining to be pulled from the Cavaliers losing in the conference finals, it's that the offseason will move fast. This Thursday marks the NBA Draft, the first chance the Cavs will have to reload for next season. Most basketball reporters and pundits are predicting that the Cavs are going to approach the summer as one of the few buyers in a league of sellers, and if that is the case, the draft marks the beginning of a blank canvas of an offseason for Danny Ferry and his staff. Will they move up or a buy a pick? And if so, who will they target? Papa Cass breaks it down.
|
June 17, 2009 - By Gary Benz
Shaquille O'Neal is a polarizing figure. Not Charles Barkley polarizing, mind you, but polarizing nonetheless. O'Neal represents either the last piece of the puzzle or a distraction this team doesn't need. In Gary's latest, he wonders aloud ... how does LeBron feel about it?
| |
|
June 12, 2009 - By Greg Popelka
It was the Miracle of Richfield, spring of 1976. Cavaliers Fever gripped Northeast Ohio. A key defensive and rebounding force coming off the bench for the Cavs during that era was the man we fans called "Broooooooo." This cascading cheer would erupt when he prepared to enter the game, and would recur throughout his stints on the floor after key rebounds, and especially his blocked shots. That player was Jim Brewer. And Greg Popelka talks about him in his latest look back at Cleveland sports figures of years past.
|
June 10, 2009 - By Sam Amico
You know the story by now. Instead of playing for a championship during the best season in franchise history, the Cavs were manhandled by the Magic in six games -- and can actually consider themselves fortunate they weren't swept themselves. They went from huge expectations to major heartache, a rite of spring, summer and fall that the good folks of Cleveland know all too well. Seriously, though. How does a team that once seemed to have everything get better? How does it fix something that once looked unstoppable? How does it build on a near-perfect season? Sam tells us in his latest column.
|
Successful poker players may lose many small pots and still be totally happy, for their goal is to win the occasional big ones. The same thinking comes naturally in football. When the "Browns are in a fourth down, "moving all in", in the meaning of going for it, is worthwhile only if the odds for success are good enough. In most other cases, it’s probably wiser to just "fold" the hand, as in punting the ball away. In the same way, winning or losing a single yard means nothing as long as they manage to get a first down.
June 9, 2009 - By Jerry Roche
It's been ten days. But the wounds are still sore. This Cavaliers team appeared poised to bring Cleveland their first pro sports title since 1964. But alas, it was not to be. The silver lining to that fateful matchup with the Orlando Magic is that the Cavaliers' shortcomings were finally revealed by a longer, more athletic and better-shooting team. In Jerry Roche's latest piece, he hands out his player grades for the season, and takes a look at which players the team may target this offseason.
June 8, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
If the unthinkable happens and LeBron James walks away from Cleveland in the summer of 2010, Jesse says that we can look back at another summer, five years ago, as the time in which the seeds for the disaster were sown. The Cavaliers, then led by General Manager Jim Paxson, had a chance to put together the core of a potential championship team. Jesse calls it "the lost summer of 2004", and writes about it for us this morning.
June 7, 2009 - By Sam Amico
Many people are calling this year's NBA Draft the weakest overall draft in two decades. As a result, we will likely have a lot of teams trying to trade out of the first round, just so they can avoid having to give anyone a guaranteed contract. Today, Sam offers up his first mock draft of the year, giving us his thoughts on who the top selections will be, and also who the Cavaliers will select at #30 and #46.
June 6, 2009 - By Erik Cassano
The 2008-09 season was hailed as LeBron James' coming-of-age party. The season in which he stopped climbing Mount Greatness and reached its lofty summit. In eliminating the Cavs in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic brought out the worst in LeBron in a couple of different ways. In the process, they showed Cleveland and the rest of the country that maybe LeBron isn't as finished of a product as we'd like to believe. Papa Cass talks King James in his latest.
June 5, 2009 - By Sam Amico
The issue: James walking off the floor after Cleveland was eliminated by Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals. James didn't shake hands with the Magic stars, he didn't offer any hugs, he didn't whisper the following in Dwight Howard's ear: "Beat L.A., Dwight. Beat L.A." When it comes to handshake-gate, Sam Amico sides with LeBron James. And he talks about why in his latest piece for us.
June 3, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
What a tough way for a wonderful season to end. The Cavaliers weren't just beaten in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were out-thought, out-fought and outright handled by an opponent that was hell-bent on not just defeating them, but humiliating them. Jesse checks in to take a look back at the Orlando series and talk about the team's off-season priorities, and also previews the Magic/Lakers NBA Finals.
June 2, 2009 - By Erik Cassano
Well, we've had time to decompress, think about what happened, and talk about the Cavs loss to the Magic in the message forums here on the site. So what happened? Why is this Cavs team the latest on an extremely short list of NBA teams to cross the 65-win threshold and not even make it to the NBA Finals? Before you knee-jerk "Because it's Cleveland" out of your mouth, let's take a look at things a little more rationally.
June 1, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
Time heals all wounds. The sun will come up tomorrow. That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Right? Sounds right. But at least for me, the wounds are still sore. And it's going to take some time to come to terms with what just happened to the Cavs. In this Monday's Weekend Wrap, Peeks tries to put it all in perspective for us. And gives our readers his post mortem of the Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Orlando Magic.
May 31, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
There was no drama and no last second suspense. The Orlando Magic came out of the locker room ready to advance to the NBA Finals and they took no prisoners. It was the Cavaliers who gave the Mickey Mouse effort and they paid for it with their playoff lives as the Magic won going away 103-90. And the Cavs find themselves wondering how a season that looked destined to end much more gloriously instead ended convincingly before June even began. Peeks recaps the Cavs heartbreaking season ending loss.
May 29, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
Now it's on to Game 6. The "Win One Game" philosophy should not be too difficult to understand given that the game Saturday night in Orlando is the only game being played that night and no other games matter. The Cavaliers are going to be running into a Magic team that's jacked up in their own building and that will be desperate to avoid a return trip to Cleveland on Monday night. There's good and bad in that. The Man, The Myth, The Peeker ... breaks it all down for us.
May 29, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
Cleveland's 112-102 victory over Orlando in Thursday night's Game Five didn't erase all of the dark clouds that have settled over this Eastern Conference Final. But there were some very hopeful signs for this team. For the first time in this series, Cleveland was the team making all the big plays down the stretch. For the first time in this series, the much-maligned Mo Williams stepped up. For the first time in this series, a Cavalier- Daniel Gibson- came off the bench and provided a real spark. And because of that, our team will live to fight at least one more day.
May 28, 2009 - By Gary Benz
The Cavaliers still have an opportunity to get to and win their first NBA championship this season, but they are in a rather sizable hole at the moment and they seem intent on trying to dig their way out when climbing would be much more effective. The reality though is that the Cavs and the Magic have now played 7 games this season and the Magic have won 5. Gary says the Magic simply are a better team. The question he asks, and answers, is why.
May 28, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
What a crazy series. The Magic could be resting and waiting for the Lakers-Nuggets winner but for a tick on the clock and an epic shot from LeBron James in Game 2. The Cavs could be looking at closing this series out at home Thursday night but for a hanging, clutch jumper by Hedo Turkoglu in Game 1 and a ridiculous, fall away three pointer by Rashard Lewis in Game 4. Arguably, this series is three individual shots in 197 minutes of play from being over or completely reversed. It's been that close. And Brian McPeek says this series isn't over.
May 27, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
The Cavaliers are on life-support in this Eastern Conference Final, there's no way around it. Roughly 96 percent of teams that have taken three-games-to-one leads in a best-of-seven NBA Playoff series have gone on to win. Only eight teams- four percent- have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win. These are long, long odds. Still, there is basis for thinking the Cavaliers can defy those odds. It's difficult to overcome a 3-1 deficit, but not impossible. Jesse profiles the eight teams that have done it and tells us why the Cavs can become the ninth.
May 27, 2009 - By Jerry Roche
Quick question: What's killing the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals? Is it Mo Williams not being able to hit the ocean from the end of the pier? Is it the bench players getting their lunch handed to them, game after game after game? Is it Roker Jr. throwing everything against the wall, only to see nothing stick? Answer: It's none of the above, says Jerry Roche, who gives us his thoughts on what has ailed the Cavs against the Magic so far in the Eastern Conference Finals.
May 27, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
Apparently the Cavaliers defensive game plan on Tuesday night in Orlando was "Make Rafer Alston Beat Us". Consider it done. Alston, often overlooked in the Magic's frenetic offensive sets, scorched the Cavaliers for a career playoff high 26 points, 20 in the second half to help Orlando overcome an eight point halftime deficit, on a variety of three point shots and jumpers as the Magic dealt the Cavaliers a crushing overtime loss, 116-114. The win gives Orlando a commanding 3-1 series lead as the teams head back to Cleveland for Thursday's Game 5 at ‘The Q'. Peeker recaps the heartbreaking loss.
May 25, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
After the rollercoaster rides that were the first two games of this Eastern Conference Final, Sunday evening's Game Three in Disneyland was distinctly short on thrills. And for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was also short on made jumpers, made free throws, execution, and everything else that goes into winning in the Playoffs. Torched in the first two games, Cleveland's defense did somewhat of a better job containing the Orlando Magic, but thanks to a welter of mistakes, it didn't matter. The Magic seized a 2-1 series lead with an ugly, foul-marred 99-89 victory, and now, after their narrow escape from death on Friday, the Cavaliers are right back under the blade again.
May 24, 2009 - By Brian McPeek
We've been hearing it ever since the Cavs dropped Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Magic. "Here we go again .... you knew we'd choke. It's Cleveland." In Peek's latest, he says this is a basketball team with no connection to the past that is creating memories of its own. And that you can live in fear of failure or you can enjoy this Cavaliers ride for what it has been; a magical season that promises to get even better.