The Cleveland Cavaliers came out flat on Tuesday night hosting the Washington Wizards at “The Q.” With Gilbert Arenas’ strong shooting the Wizards built a 16-point lead. The Cavs charged back late in the half as Mo Williams setup a Delonte West basket then scored a jumper in transition to cut the Wizards lead to 7 at 49-42 at the 2:32 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Cavs continued their charge to cut the Wizards’ halftime lead to just 54-50 with both LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal scoring in double figures at the half.

In the second half the Cavs started strong as LeBron and Mo Williams each hit 3-pointers to give the Cavs a 62-58 lead prompting Flip Saunders to call a timeout with just over 7 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. A Shaq basket closed the quarter with Cleveland on top 78-73 with LeBron sniffing a triple-double at 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

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The 4th quarter saw the Cavaliers again start strong with a Shaq hook shot as well as a 3-pointer from Moon and a layup from Williams to open up a 10-point lead at 85-75 with 9:32. With LeBron and Shaq watching from the bench, Williams sunk another 3 ball followed by a 3 pointer from Boobie Gibson resulting in another Wizards timeout at the 7:28 mark. With Cleveland leading 91-77, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was able to rest both LeBron and Shaq as they enjoyed the show from their comfy courtside seats. during much of the final period. In the end, Cleveland was victorious by a 102-90 score led by LeBron James’ 27 points and Shaq’s 21. Williams, Gibson and Anderson Varejao each added double-digit points with Varejao’s 10 rebounds leading the way.

Cleveland has now won 3 straight after an 0-2 start to the season and the Cavs return to action on Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls on TNT.

The Sports Cognoscenti

Cleveland Cavaliers

2009-10 Season Preview

The silence was deafening following the devastating loss to the Orlando Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.  LeBron James said nothing; he shook no hands, gave no post game interviews and left the building.  Back in Ohio, Cleveland fans voiced their all too familiar slogan, “Wait Until Next Year”.  On the court, Cavs Head Coach Mike Brown was out strategized by the Magic’s Stan Van Gundy who spread the floor and operated through the best center in the game, Dwight Howard.  The Cavs’ brass knew a change was in order so they pulled off the biggest coup in the offseason by acquiring Shaquille O’Neal.  O’Neal quickly stated Howard’s waltzes to the basket will not happen going forward.  Can the Cavaliers end Cleveland’s 46 year title drought?

Starting Five:

G- Mo Williams: Williams had a very good campaign making the All Star team while averaging 17.8 PPG.  The first two rounds were no different as Williams knocked down open jumpers and penetrated, setting up his teammates.  In the ECF, Mo couldn’t buy a basket struggling throughout the series.  Williams will bounce back nicely and work off of Shaq and LeBron and enjoy another All-Star season.

G- Delonte West: West’s story was similar to Williams in that he had a very solid season, played well in the 1^st and 2^nd round then struggled in the ECF.  West brings tenacity and grit to the shooting guard position.  West has plenty of off court issues to deal with which may cost him some time.  If so, off season acquisition Anthony Parker will be the starter.

F- LeBron James: The 24 year old phenom now has the inside presence he has longed for.  LeBron should find the road to the path clearer with Shaq under the basket.  He is the best all around player in the game and knows how to make his teammates better.  His maturity is unfathomable for a 24 year old and he is the consummate leader.  With his eyes locked on the prize, James will have his best season closing in on averaging a triple double.  James, who turns 25 in December, will bring home another MVP trophy and this time the title as well.

F- Anderson Varejao: Andy brings intangibles to the table that are difficult to find.  He is a solid rebounder and a very good defender but also brings energy and passion to the floor.  On the offensive end, Varejao is underrated.  He has good hands and shows an aptitude in finding lanes to cut to the basket.  He will work well with O’Neal.

C- Shaquille O’Neal: The Big Aristotle comes to Cleveland with a lot to prove and championship aspirations.  Shaq will bring a defensive prowess the Cavs have never had.  O’Neal will match up well with Eastern Conference big men like Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett. On the offensive end, O’Neal still draws double teams which will open up Cav shooters and of course the lanes for King James.  Shaq is a very underrated passer and will find success finding James and the Cavs perimeter shooters.  To quote Shaq, “A ring for the king” will be the goal for 2010.

Bench: The Cavaliers drafted forward Danny Greene from North Carolina.  The rookie will see limited minutes but will be a good asset down the road.  The signing of Anthony Parker, a versatile veteran, will prove very big throughout the season.  Parker is a good defender and a tremendous shooter off of screens.  The signing of Jamario Moon is very intriguing.  The lanky, athletic Moon will be a very good defender on wing players such as Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter.  Daniel “Booby” Gibson will continue to get minutes at both the point and shooting guard.  Gibson is a clutch shooter and valuable defender.  JJ Hickson will be the backup at the PF position.  Hickson, drafted in 2008, continues to improve and will be a nice role player off the bench.  All Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas will come off the bench.  The 7’2” sharp shooter wore down in the ECF and offered little resistance against Dwight Howard.  Z should play well down the stretch with less wear on the tires.  The Cavs also signed Leon Powe who is coming off knee surgery.  Powe is expected to come back this season and could be a valuable commodity during the playoffs.

Prediction:

EAST:

The Cavaliers toughest challengers in the East are the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.  The Celtics improved their roster by adding aging Rasheed Wallace and the versatile Marquis Daniels.  If Kevin Garnett is healthy, the Celtics will be a very tough out.  The 2008 Champions will be looking to recapture the title from their arch rival Los Angeles Lakers.  The Magic ousted the Cavs in the 09 ECF before losing to the Lakers in the finals.  The 09-10 Magic will look a bit different as they failed to resign sharpshooting Hedo Turkoglu.  He will be replaced by athletic Vince Carter.  Carter should be a good fit but is not the caliber of shooter that Turkoglu is.  Although Atlanta, Washington and Toronto will be tough, the Eastern Conference is a three horse race.

The Cavaliers will defeat the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the ECF and make their second appearance in the NBA Finals.

WEST:

The Champion Lakers will look for a repeat with a significant acquisition in Ron Artest.  The irritable Artest will fill the role of defensive stopper with the departure of Trevor Ariza.  Many are pointing to Artest as the key addition to fuel another title run for the Lakers.  However, Ariza was younger, longer and a much better fit for the Lakers system.  Phil Jackson has a proven record managing superstars with attitude and will have the same success with Artest.  Kobe Bryant proved why he is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.  The 31 year old megastar now has four rings with plenty of years left.  Bryant averaged 26.8 PPG last season and should match those numbers in 09-10.  Pau Gasol is one of the best big men in the league.  Criticized for his play in the 2008 NBA Finals, Gasol bounced back in dominant fashion in the 2009 playoffs.  The San Antonio Spurs look to regain their championship swagger.  The 2007 champs added Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess which should ease the stress on the big three.  Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli are the heart and soul of the franchise.  If they can put a healthy season together the sky is the limit.  The young Portland Trailblazers are immensely talented with championship aspirations.  The team added veteran PG Andre Miller who will bring stability and experience to the position.  The Blazers are led by the most underrated player in the league, Brandon Roy.  Roy averaged 22.6 PPG, 5 APG and 4.7 boards a game in 08-09.  Roy has a tremendous 1^st step and is a great mid range jump shooter.  The key to the season will be the growth of center Greg Oden.  Oden was up and down in his first season and looked lethargic at times.  During his collegiate career at Ohio State, Oden was lean and tremendously athletic.  Upon entering the pro ranks, Oden bulked up and it affected his defensive prowess.  In the offseason, Oden lost 13 pounds and has reportedly regained his athleticism.  Critics forget that Oden is only 21 years old and no doubt will continue his improvement.  PF LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 18 PPG and 7.5 RPG last season.  He is a very good spot up shooter and offers a tough matchup for any team in the league.  Like the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference is also a three horse race.

The Spurs regain their spot into the NBA Finals by outlasting the Lakers in a very intense, physical WCF.  The difference will be the Spurs athleticism and the additions of Jefferson and McDyess.  Tim Duncan outplays Gasol in what will go down as a classic 7^th game.

NBA Finals:

The Cavaliers face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals for the second time.  The 1^st time was an ugly affair in the 07 Finals s in which the Spurs cruised to the sweep.  This time, LeBron James and Shaq will be too much for the Spurs to handle.  The Cavs end the Cleveland Curse and roll to the title 4 games to 2.

Scott Dryden, Senior Writer

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When Hedo Turkoglu hit the jumper to put the Orlando Magic up 95-93 with 1.0 seconds left in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it appeared that the Cleveland Cavaliers would hit the road down 2-0. But the MVP proved he was worthy. LeBron James nailed a 3-pointer with 1 second left to send the fans home happy and breathe life into the #1 seeded Cavs. The oft-criticized King James, most recently criticized for giving the ball up at the end of Game 1, should now have silenced the fiercest critics, Skip Bayless & Charles Barkley included.

With the series tied at 1-1, the Cavaliers will face the Magic in Game 3 on Sunday at 8:30 pm ET on TNT.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers did not appear to feel the effects of another 9-day layoff between NBA playoff games, the end result was not what the fans in Cleveland were expecting. Cleveland jumped out to a 16-point 1st Quarter lead and led by 15 at the half thanks to a 60+ foot shot by Mo Williams at the halftime buzzer. But the 3rd Quarter was key as the Magic fought back and Rashard Lewis hit a 3-point shot that proved to be the game-winner with just under 15 seconds remaining. The superstars had interesting games as LeBron James fought off leg cramps to score 49 points and Dwight Howard fouled out, but in the end the Magic’s team depth proved superior on this night as they easily dominated the Cavs’ bench players.

With the win the Magic lead the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0 and have “stolen” home court advantage and have handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Nonetheless, Cleveland Cavs apparel & merchandise continues to fly off the shelves as they look to even things up on Friday night in Cleveland.

NBA fans and the media expected it, and today the rumors and expectations became a reality as LeBron James was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. James received 109 of 121 possible 1st place votes as he wins his first MVP award in his 6th season in the NBA. During the 2008-2009 regular eason LeBron James averaged 28.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks.

The Cavaliers won their 1st round series 4 games to none over #8 seed Detroit and set their sites on #4 seed Atlanta. As always, fans can find the best Cavaliers playoffs apparel & hats online from DFN Sports sites.

It was a slow day for Ohio sports teams as only the Cincinnati Reds were in action on Monday, April 20th. The Reds were looking to take 3 of 4 @ Houston and improve to 7-5 on the season and jumped out to a early 2-0 lead. But Bronson Arroyo was unable to hold the lead as the Astros took a 3-2 lead in the 6th, but a Joey Votto 2-run double put the Reds ahead for good and Francisco Cordero preserved Arroyo’s win with the save. The Reds now head to Chicago to face the Cubs in a 3-game series after winning 5 of 7 on the road trip so far.

Cleveland Cavaliers - The Cavs prepare for Tuesday night’s Game 2 of their First Round series against the #8 Detroit Pistons. Meanwhile, Mike Brown was named the Coach of the Yearin the NBA on Monday.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Columbus looks to get back into their series wit hthe #2 seed Detroit Red Wings as they host the Wings in Game 3 @ Columbus on Tuesday night.

Cleveland Indians - The Indians begin a 9-game homestand on Tuesday as the Kansas City Royals come to town.

Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals - The Browns & Bengals continue to prepare for Saturday’s 2009 NFL Draft. The 2009 NFL team schedules were released last week.

The deadline has come and gone and for all the early morning excitement the Cavs are sticking with what they have to make their playoff push.  For all the reports and talks the team had over the afternoon and the past few days they didn’t make a move.

ESPN is reporting that the Cavs are in talks with the Suns for the Shaqtus.

The Cavs would send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to Phoenix for the big man.  The Suns are reportedly not savvy to give Wallace another shot, so they’re angling to get Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring contract (which the Cavs should dump anyway).   This deal would make a lot of sense for both teams, giving the Suns some financial relief and shoring up the Cavs D (Shaq has been solid this year).

As of now it appears that a deal is no where near being done.  We’ll see where it goes from here…

UPDATE:  Looks like the deal is now “highly unlikely” according to ESPN.com.  The issue all revolves around Szczerbiak or Wallace.  The Suns want Wally and his expiring contract.  The Cavs for some reason don’t want to give him away.  The deadline is at 3 p.m.  As of now the dream of Lebron and Shaq is not looking good.

The NBA Trade Deadline is today and the Cavs are expected to make a move to improve their already scary-good team.  Defense should be their biggest concern and the rumors seem to appear like the Cavs know it.  I’ll be posting updates today as they happen, so it’ll get a bit bloggy around here.

EARLY RUMORS

Early rumors have the Cavs being busy on the phones looking for a good 4.  Amare Stoudemire, Antwan Jamison and Marcus Camby have all been thrown around as possibles, but none have stuck.  ESPN has an blog saying the Cavs should make an offer to get Carlos Boozer back.  He’d be a great fit but I’m not sure if he’d fit in well with the team or how the fans would react to him.  He’s not exactly a popular guy in Cleveland.  Winning changes everything.