2009-2010 Cleveland Cavaliers: No More Excuses

Before we go forward, we must look back.

Since the emergence of LeBron James to NBA royalty, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been trying to find the perfect recipe to mix with him for a title.

In 2007 LeBron put the team on his back and carried them to the NBA Finals. But they were easily disposed of by the experience and overwhelming talent of the San Antonio Spurs.

Ferry knew he needed to bring in more talent. He wanted to surround James with a better supporting cast. At the same time, he tried to maintain the integrity of the team and keep contract flexibility for the 2010 free agent class only a few years away at that time.

In a trading deadline blockbuster during the 2007-2008 season, he brought in Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Joe Smith.

Unfortunately, a fourth seed in the postseason led the Cavs to playoff series without home court advantage. Many blamed this for the early exit in the second round to the eventual champions, Boston Celtics. It was said in some circles that the closely contested game seven of that series would have gone in the Cavs' favor if it was in Cleveland instead of Boston.

So last off season Ferry went out and acquired Mo Williams to guide the team and possibly be LeBron's number two man. In addition, the team committed themselves to "one goal," which meant they were gunning for home court advantage throughout the entire postseason and a title.

The team ripped off a franchise record 66 wins. They dominated the first two playoff series, sweeping Detroit and Atlanta.

They had the coveted home court advantage and several players were stepping up to give James the support every Cavs' fan had been begging for throughout his career.

But once again, they fell short as Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic created match up problems that Mike Brown and the Cavs could not overcome.

That brings us to the 2009 off season. There were more off season moves by Ferry to shore up the lineup and address those problems Orlando presented for the Cavs.

First, the "Shaquisition." Ferry worked a low risk trade with the Phoenix Suns to acquire Shaquille O'Neal for center/forward Ben Wallace and guard Sasha Pavlovic as well as a draft pick.

Last season O'Neal averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game and appeared in his 15th All-Star Game.

In addition, Ferry signed Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.

Parker is a guard/forward who can start. Last season with the Toronto Raptors, he averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and career highs of 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.0 minutes per game. He will fit in well with the defensive minded Cavs and add some much needed offense as well.

Moon is a forward who plays the same position as James but will find a way into the lineup. He is a solid outside shooter who can rebound and play defense. He averaged 7.2 points per game last season and 4.6 rebounds.

Overlooked in the midst of these three signings was the resigning of Andy Varejao who brings plenty of hustle and energy to the team. He gets in the head of opponents and takes charges like few in the NBA do. He has also developed a good relationship with LeBron on the court as the two feed off each other.

O'Neal should be able to guard anyone down low without the need for a double team which will alleviate some of the stress on the perimeter. Parker and Moon add athleticism and length on the perimeter so the undersized Delonte West won't be worn down guarding the Rashard Lewis' or Hedo Turkoglu's of the world.

That brings us to the current season.

There are no more excuses for the Cavaliers.

LeBron now has a legitimate number two in O'Neal and there are quality role players surrounding them. They have height, shooters and ball handlers. They have athleticism and a mix of youth and experience. There is depth at every position.

The team chemistry was well documented last year as they enjoyed their pregame rituals like the photograph poses.

The core of the team has been together for several seasons. Mo Williams has been through a post season as an integral part of the team. The coach has plenty of experience.

This year MUST be the year.

Get home court.

Beat the teams in front of you.

Bring home the title to a starving city bleeding wine and gold!

Life After LeBron

I love LeBron James. I think and know he is the one chance our Cavs have at getting a NBA championship in Cleveland. I really want him in Cleveland for his whole career. I do NOT want him to leave for Europe, New Jersey or Manhattan. I will be devastated when he does.

With that said I now want to talk myself and the rest of Cavs nation off the ledge. We are being held hostage by one man. Our team, our owner, our GM, our fan base, our city are being held hostage by this King. We will continue to be hostages to him and his wishes for two more seasons. This one guy who is holding us hostage hasn't won an NBA championship. (I know, I know bear with me) Several teams have won NBA championships since he has been in the NBA without him. It can be done.

Yes, Cleveland....NBA championships CAN be won without LeBron James.

Now, don't take me for an idiot. It took a Dwayne Wade. Shaquille O'Neal. Tim Duncan. Kobe Bryant. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. So you need a or two superstars to do it and Cleveland has none beyond Mr. James. I get that.

But I am getting sick of allowing this man (a man who I truly enjoy watching and do not have any other problem with) hold me hostage like this! Gilbert has a big pocket. Contrary top popular belief Ferry knows what he is doing (see drafting Gibson. Trading nothing for Flip Murray. Getting Gooden and Andy for garbage when Boozer screwed us over. And he can't be blamed that a top tier FA Larry Hughes didn't live up to his billing). They may need to go out and get Wade or Bosh or both when James leaves. They are FAs that year too. In order to win the finals, it would take both with the roster we are looking at now, but why not?

James will leave. But we will still have basketball. Most importantly and my point of this post: Once the Browns are relevant again, who gives a damn about LeBron freaking James?! Shoot, the fumes of a playoff Cleveland Browns season alone can carry me to the draft in April and then training camp in the summer.

My first and most passionate love is the Browns. The Cavs and Indians are just filler until football starts. I mean really. I am not alone in this. So I am done letting LeBron hold me hostage. I will root to the bottom of my deepest basin for him and my Cavs, but I am not going to allow myself to care about his future here anymore. Whatever happens, happens now. I will still root for the Cavs 2011 and on with or without Mr. James.

I just need those men in orange helmets playing a bit north on E. 9th Ave to remain competitive and I'm good. A Tribe run in the steamy summer is icing on the cake!

(If Braylon could just figure out how to consistently catch the balls that hit him in the numbers...but I guess he is a Wolverine. We can only expect so much)

NBA Finals vs. U.S. Open

Sports fans: What have you been watching?

Did you find yourself captivated by the NBA's championship series between the most storied franchises in the sport? Were you awed by the opportunity to watch a reconnection with the old glory days of the NBA's yesteryear? Did you soak up the glamorous highlights of Magic v. Bird? Abdul-Jabbar v. Parrish? Worthy v. Mchale? Or even the earlier matchups between these rivals?

Or did you find it hard to pull away from Tiger prowling (as if that term hasn't overused for Eldrick Woods) the fairways and greens of Torrey Pines at the U.S. Open? Were you interested in seeing if he could return from knee surgery and win his first event back, a major event at that? Did you smile in amazement as he hit remarkable putt after remarkable putt to close in and ultimately take lead after the 3rd round setting up an epic battle Sunday and Monday?

While I consider myself a basketball fan I question the validity of that statement as my casual interest in golf took, not only a front seat to the NBA Finals, but destroyed any interest in it at all!

Granted, the Cavs loss to the Celtics in the second round knowing full well they could have won and would have won against the Pistons in the following series killed my NBA buzz. Throw in Donaghy's claims that my worst fears may be true and the NBA officials are "yes" men to the NBA administration tayloring the outcomes to best fit the NBA's greater interests (See Lakers v. Celtics this year through trades of Gasol and Garnett that were questionable in fairness at best) and I have even more reasons to switch my attention to Tiger and Rocco.

I will be the first to admit my fandom to pro basketball weighs heavily on the success of my hometown Cavaliers (childhood hometown). As a whole I prefer NCAA basketball over the NBA even when my alma mater Buckeyes aren't successful thanks in large part to the tournament. But never has it taken a back seat to golf; an old man's sport in my mind.

Thanks to Tiger Woods that kind of thinking is old fashioned and neanderthal. Over the past few years my interest in golf has increased from Sunday afternoons of majors to common tournaments to all four rounds of majors. I love to root for Tiger which contradicts my usual preference of the underdog. Why is that? Could it be, as my friend has stated, that it is cool to see him beat up on old, rich white guys who have literally owned this sport for so many decades "at their own game"? Another topic for another post, but Tiger has singlehandledly pulled me and many other fellow sports fans of my generation into golf. I may have still gained interest in the sport as I entered the age where a round of golf is commonplace as recreation. And I may have discovered it in an effort to fill boring summer weekends with something other than reality tv or trashy crap. But Tiger makes it fun.

Sunday I rooted for Tiger to tie Rocco despite my usual practice of rooting hard for the underdog...I am from Cleveland after all. Well, the "Cleveland" area anyway. I loved each and every pressure packed shot he made. I was thrilled by the emotion he showed and amazing shots he made. But Monday I quickly returned to my normal state and pulled for Rocco, a guy who is hard not to like as you watch him play and interview. I really wanted him to beat the mighty Goliath dressed in red. He almost did just that making 19, or hell, all 91 holes of golf as entertaining as any of the games between Boston and L.A. For the record, I have not watched more than 5 minutes total of the NBA Finals and don't plan to watch any more.

And I can't play basketball with my Dad like I can play a round of golf.

Get past LeBron...PLEASE!!!

I have a number of things in my head regarding my Cleveland Cavaliers and their second round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. As of this post they are down 2-0 and James is STRUGGLING. I can't cap it enough! Boston has found a way to not only stop him but shut him down. Their defense is much like San Antonio's last year in the Finals. They double him and slide a zone in his direction taking away the easy lanes for layups or dunks and forcing him to make jumpers. He hasn't. You have to hand it to the Celtics and their coaching staff. If only "The Squint" Mike Brown could coach like that.........

Here are my thoughts:
**If LeBron isn't hitting his outside shot and the Celt's are taking away the ability to drive aggressively, why not post him up? We all know you need to drive to the hoop if your shot doesn't go. Brown and James know that too. You can see LeBron trying to drive. You can hear Brown reference it in his interviews. Unfortunately in the same breath that Brown says driving to the rim is the right thing to do, he also states LeBron should still shoot and if he misses five in a row not to hesitate the sixth time to shoot the open jumper. (The Plain Dealer) I understand not messing with the confidence of your most important player, especially in this situation where he is so way off with his shot that it is most likely in his head and you need to avoid making that worse. But after 5 misses in a row keep shooting anyway? That scares me. Hopefully LeBron knows better.

So why can't LeBron set up in the block and post up Pierce or whoever is guarding him? Try it with a smaller lineup. Maybe Boobie, Wally, West and Z with James. For the record: feel free to switch Wally out of that for another guard type player. But keep it small to give room down low. Z will gladly fade out of James' way. This way things won't be clogged for James when he posts up. Of course you don't want Z roaming too far out because if LeBron can so much as get it on the rim Ilgauskas can tip a miss back in. Z lives off that and I'm fine with it. Can James post up even if he passes out of the post once they double team him? Is that the problem? Is passing our of the block too difficult for LeBron? Could be. He is big, but not 7 feet. I'd like to see it though. At least mix it up and hopefully open some things up with some variety. I am tired of this awful, middle school offense.

***Do we really have to buy into this "LeBron and the rest of the team" mentality? Do we really have to believe LeBron doesn't have a "pippen" or anything? I think the team is now believing it. I think they are buying into the media's insistent message that this team is nothing beyond James. They very well might be. I am not going to argue that point one bit. This isn't my point. My point is: Does the team have to believe it right or wrong, true or not?

Regardless of whether this is the Cleveland LeBronaliers or not, the team can't think that way. They must believe they are legit players. And they can justify it. Gibson showed last year he can shoot, drive and make free throws as well as get hustle plays and timely steals. Z has more than proven over ten plus years than he can score. He can be a legit threat as long as he is out of foul trouble. Devin Brown gets hard work buckets. Delonte West does well when he stays aggressive. Sasha and Wally are hit and miss but one of them can get hot. Joe Smith is gritty and has a nice baseline, mid range jumper. Andy should never touch the ball unless passing to someone or rebounding misses. AND WHERE THE HECK IS DAMON JONES?!!!!

The Cavs must think in their heads they are more than LeBron. They cannot sit there and expect him to make it happen and wait for him to pass them the ball. They can't rely on him to find his shot again or wait for him to find it. Let's just assume he is never going to shoot well again and figure out how to win despite that.

****AND WHERE THE BLEEP IS DAMON JONES?! I know he has issues. I know his defense is lacking and the Cavs have actually played decent defense this first two games. That has been lost in this mess with James. They have held the Big Three to under 90 points both games. But with no offense you can't win these games. So.....get some offense! Amon Jones has found his J this year. In past years I would have been thrilled to see Amon trapped at the end of the bench, but now that he can shoot again and we need something, anything......get him out there!!!!

*****I still love my Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fear my Family....

Some know this story well. Others have heard it but laugh. More have heard and forgotten. If you do not fall in any of these categories read on and mark this as your warning.

I have capabilities not even I understand yet. It is a power I must use for good and not evil. If I can learn to control it, you better not step in my way.....or my offspring.

Let me begin. Through my entire life I have had dreams. These vivid dreams seem very real. While nothing about this is unusual, many of them come true. I also get "vibes" about things. Again, nothing different than most people but these "vibes" come true more often than not. Of course I believe in my heart that every single human being has this power but does not appreciate it or harness it properly. I have joked in the past about how I am phsycic but as time goes on I really am starting to believe it. Don't forget the phenomenom that is The Huey Karma passed on down from the Matthews side as well.

Now here is the scary part. This you should fear. Over a decade and a half ago the Cleveland Cavaliers (you knew sports would be tied in wouldn't you?) played the New Jersey Nets, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls in the playoffs. Each team had a star player that destroyed the Cavs. In the first round, Drazen Petrovic of the Nets lit up the Cavs' defense from behind the arc. It was brutal to watch and I almost lost my mind. I swore up and down that I wanted that man dead or hurt. Fortunately, (or unfortunately to the rest of the world) the Cavs won that series and moved on to Boston. The Celtics had a young rising star in Reggie Lewis. Once again, the Cavs had no answer for the star. Again, I swore up and down that I wanted that man dead or hurt. But the Cavs managed to escape and move on again. Next up were the Chicago Bulls who, as everyone knows, had one of the greatest basketball players of all time in Micheal Jordan. Continuing the pattern, he lit up the Cavs and I swore to the rooftops that this man must be brought down. The Bulls won.

Later that offseason I read the paper and noticed Drazen Petrovic was in a fatal car accident in Germany. "Oh man, that sucks," I thought. "He was in his prime." Then I read that Reggie Lewis had a heart condition. He then passed away as a result. "Oh my. This is tragic," I reflected. Finally, Jordan retired for the first time.

Suddenly I connected the dots. "Oh no! All three of those deaths were players I wanted dead....figuratively!" I felt a shadow of guilt fall over me. Was I the reason they died? Did I cause their death? Did I bring it upon them?

Jordan's deal with the Devil was so strong that not even my secret power could keep him down. He returned to the NBA...twice...and won more NBA rings. But while he escaped death, he couldn't remain in the NBA until he left for his baseball experiment.

Ever since I have tried to keep my mouth censored in my rage against opponents singlehandedly dominating my teams. While I want them to stop, I don't truly want them dead. That is where I draw the line.

This power is not limited to me. My grandfather attended a Cleveland Indians game at the Old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Grand Old Lady on the Lake, soon after the Indians won their last World Series. The experience was so bad and the service was so horrible that he left with my grandmother swearing to NEVER return to an Indians game again in that stadium and that they would never win a championship again in THAT stadium. As a result of his boycott he never saw just how even worse the stadium got decades later with troughs for bathrooms and leaking pipes and long poles in the middle of your view. Not to mention the metal seats. But I have my own, nostalgic opinion about that.

Well...the Tribe has yet to win a World Series since. They never won another in that stadium. In fact, they struggled to be competitive until the move to Jacob's Field (now Progressive) in 1994.

Coincidence?

I don't know if I believe in coinciences anymore. Everything just may happen for a reason after all. And the suffering of my fellow fans and those individual players may be the work of my family.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

(And I am working on getting Pa to lift the Curse of the Tribe. He already said the move was good enough. But I haven't seen a trophy yet.)

I Can't Stand Boston Fans

Coming from Cleveland I have a lot of built-in bitterness towards other cities. The weather sucks most of the year in Cleveland, the economy has been bad more than good, there isn't as much to do without having to work to find it and the voters in this state are idiots more often than not. But at the same time, like many other Cleveland natives, I take it personal when people insult or joke about my hometown (or area since I never technically lived in Cleveland itself...that's a whole other blog post in itself). I notice many people from Cleveland are quick to defend it or prove its legitimacy. It is like we have a chip on our shoulder regarding our place of residence. I haven't picked up on that with people in Columbus yet.

We also love our sports in Cleveland. And we have collectively put up with a lot of pain and suffering with our teams. No team has won a championship here since before my generation was even born. We had our beloved football team taken from us. We have had heartbreak just short of getting to a championship several times over in dramatic fashion.

These are things I have blogged before. This time I am venting about another so called "torchered" city. This being Boston.

What prompted this post is an HBO special I watched with my brother about the Brooklyn Dodgers. After watching and seeing how the fans in Brooklyn dealt with even more gut wrenching disappointment than me and my fellow Cleveland fans losing to the hated Yankees in the World Series seven times before they finally won I believe. And I think it went to 7 games more than half of the time. They also suffered through "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" homerun by Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants. I think that was the year they blew a 13.5 game lead as well. And THEY lost there team as well just like my Browns.

Ouch.

Anyway, HBO did a great job of mixing the first hand accounts and emotional music in the background to create a dramatic feeling of support for the Dodgers and their epic struggle. Then came another documentary on the...Boston Red Sox and their "supposed" struggle to win a World Series. The "Curse of the Babe." Their numerous heartbreaks to their bitter rival Yanks. Oh, those poor fans. They had such a difficult stretch of time rooting for their Sox, and Pats and Celtics and Bruins.

When the Patriots began their Super Bowl run earlier this decade I had to hear all about how AWESOME they felt. After dealing with so much they finally were able to get the monkey off their back. They had waited so long to have that feeling. They didn't know what to do with themselves. The demons were exorcised. Life was grand. The sun lit the sky again. Life was worth living. All was right with the world.

And then again when the Red Sox won the Series we had to bear all of this AGAIN with even MORE pomp and circumstance since it was the battered Sox and the Curse was broken.

Apparently the Celtics and Bruins didn't count? The fact that the Celtics were viewed as one of the greatest basketball franchises ever meant nothing. The Patriots had at least made it to the Super Bowl once. The Bruins won the Stanely Cup in recent memory.

Put that aside. What bothers me most is the downright arrogance of the Boston fan. Please. I can't stand your overdramatic, exaggerated "pain." Your rings mean nothing.

Not only do we have to deal with the lack of championships in Cleveland, the ridicule that comes with it, the weather, the bad economy, being the butt of jokes around the country, losing our team we care most about, the conservative voting hillbillies and closeminded types but we don't even get credit for all of this pain. Of course we do if it means jokes and insults will follow. Somehow dealing with lack of success in Boston is romanticized while in Cleveland it is rubbed in our face.

Don't cry for me Boston fan...I'm already dead.

LeBron Freaking James!

I really have nothing else to say beyond this:

NBA Finals Preview???

As I watch ESPN Sportscenter I keep hearing the Suns v. Celtics matchup last night refered to as a "NBA Finals Preview." It makes sense to hype that game in this way since both teams are among the best in their respective conferences but they overlooked another game played that same night that could easily be the same.

The Cavs played the West leading New Orleans Hornets in an exciting game with two shots in the final 8 seconds that seemed to be game winners although ultimately only one was the clincher. This game also featured MVP caliber players in LeBron James and Chris Paul. It had big time performances from supporting players such as Peja Stoyakovich and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The game winning shot was made by David West.

I continue to stand by my earlier post that the Cavs are a legitimate contender in the East. Boston and Detroit remain a foregone conclusion to represent the East by most NBA fans around the league but let's not forget the Cavs have LeBron James. In addition, they did beat Detroit in 6 games last year. They could have easily swept them as well. Detroit hasn't added anybody significant to that squad and the Cavs have added important pieces. The Cavs just beat Detroit and beat them pretty bad with this new squad. A new squad that is still developing an identity together.

If I recall correctly, the Cavs and Celtics have split their season series. They haven't exactly run our Cavs out of the building yet. We were even missing LeBron in two of the games. Speaking of injuries, if you want to throw the Cavs record in our face, don't forget this team has made it this far riddled with injuries form James to Gibson to Andy to Sasha to Wallace to Z and the list goes on. All key components. At one point in the season four of the top 7 guys were out at the SAME TIME! Also, the trip to China early in the year with the holdouts of Sasha and Andy led to a slow start. The Cavs record is misleading.

With all of that said, the real crime here is the fact that the opposition and the winner of this possible "Finals Preview" has been overlooked all year for some unforgiving reason. The Hornets are currently leading the intense Western Conference by two games in the loss column. Please understand how amazing this is! The West consists of powerhouse team after powerhouse team. It makes the East look like JV for crying out loud. The defending champ Spurs are not even the best in this conference. Four teams have 49 wins. The Rockets rolled off over 20 wins in a row and still don't lead the conference. The Hornets do. But nobody is talking about them as a possible Finals representative!!!

The Hornets just keep on winning proving Byron Scott is the real deal. They have Paul who is a legitimate MVP candidate. They have a nice inside-outside game with Tyson Chandler and Peja. West is good player. Their role players get it done. Bottom line, the proof is in the record. 49-21 in the West. Wow.

I blog on and on about my beloved Cavs because they are the team I have pledged my allegiance to in the NBA but the Hornets are getting shafted. I like teams that fly under the radar though. Here's to the Cavs v. Hornets in the Finals. THAT would be fun to watch.

But what do I know?

Stop Complaining!

Once again the AM sportstalk radio airwaves are filled with talk of how the 65 team basketball tournament isn't right. This happens every year with numerous suggestions of how to fix it. I have heard ideas ranging from letting more teams in to eliminating the conference tournaments.

Mike and Mike In the Morning on ESPN Radio discussed whether teams should be selected based upon who is the best 65 teams versus rewarding those teams who had the best seasons.

All of this is fine. I enjoy the debate and let's face it, this is what 24 hour sportstalk radio is all about. This is fun banter. Where my frustration lies is when we have people jump up on their soapboxes in December and trash the BCS as college football's system for determing a championship. They then refer to the hallowed system of a playoff where the championship is decided on the field or in this case court as the proper way to annoint a champion. Now we are at the doorstep of just such a system and they claim that this system is flawed because there is too much subjectivity in determing the participant. Well......if it is flawed then maybe it isn't so great after all! I thought the tournament was the ultimate way of solving the great mystery of who is #1! So which is it? BCS or Playoff?

In all fairness I may be taking opinions from different people and attaching them to others forming a contradiction that isn't there. Obvsiously making generalizations is a bad idea.

But seriously, you know what I am talking about. The inundation of anti-BCS/pro-playoff talk during the Bowl season followed in the spring by the problems with the tourney talk. If this playoff system is so much better then we should quiting complaining about it when we actually get it.

I like both. I think we should have both the way they are. I am not complaining. If my Buckeyes are left out I'll be upset but I won't feel the system is flawed. They didn't do enough in the regular season to get in. Point blank...bottom line.

Who am I to complain after watching my team in the BCS championship two years in a row get blasted, obviously not deserving to be there (at least this year with the loss to Illinois and weak schedule)?