Cavs Acquire Antawn Jamison!

With a 43-11 record and riding a 13-game winning streak, there is very little about the Cavaliers to criticize this season.  A humdrum 3-3 start had people forecasting certain doom to LeBron's chances of re-signing in the offseason, which would, naturally, doom the franchise, and most of northeast Ohio.

Well, then they figured out how to play with Shaquille O'Neal.  Since then?  Try 40-8.

Apparently not satisfied with the NBA's best record, nor with their production at the 4, where J.J. Hickson was feasting off the attention paid to LeBron and Shaq, the Cavs acquired all-star power forward Antawn Jamison for Zydrunas Ilguaskas and a draft pick.  Considering that Big Z is highly likely to return to the team in 30 days, it's hard to imagine how Danny Ferry pulled this one off.  Credit him for involving the Clippers, who sent Al Thornton to Washington, keeping LeBron's protege safely in wine and gold.

The Cavs have coveted Jamison and his 20-point, 9-rebound stat line for a while, but the rumors had been swirling around Phoenix and Amare Stoudemire.  Stoudemire is a fine player.  Here's why Jamison is a better fit:

Jamison puts up numbers nearly identical to Stoudemire's, but will presumably be happy to sacrifice some minutes, points and rebounds to win a title.  Amare comes out of Pheonix, where talented athletes gleefully forget how to play basketball in the name of jacking up loads of shots.  Anyone who thinks he'd be cool with giving up touches in a year he's in line for a max contract is crazy.

In three consecutive seasons losing to the Cavs in the playoffs as a Wizard, Jamison was a competetive beast.  He was also the only guy on a team full of knuckleheads who didn't buy into the 'punch-a-Bron' strategy, including the coach.  What I saw was a guy who wanted to win, played like he wanted to win, but refused to play dirty.  I'm not saying that Stoudemire is a dirty player, and I'm not saying he's not driven.  I'm just not sure he's entirely title driven, and Cleveland has seen quite enough of talented guys who are motivated by other things, like cocaine, or Big Macs or fathering illegitimate children.

I'm a better defender than Stoudemire, and so is Jamison with gout, rickets and seven hernias.  Amare, who barely pretends to protect the paint, has never been asked to do so.  Mike Brown demands defense, first and foremost.  It is a delusion to think that Stoudemire would have been able to erase eight seasons of zero effort on the defensive end and pick up Brown's complicated schemes in time for a title run.

This is not to say Jamison is a great defender.  Far from it.  What he is, is a much better defender than Hickson, who at this point in his young career resembles Stoudemire.  Jamison also has a high b-ball IQ, and should be able to hold his own.  Let's face it: both of these guys are gifted athletes.  Both should be able to defend in the NBA.  It boils down to who is more likely to embrace the role.

And speaking of embracing roles, it's much easier to imagine Jamison sacrificing minutes to Anderson Varejao than Stoudemire, and he will have to.  When the game is on the line, Anderson Varejao plays the 4.

Jamison is a better shooter than Stoudemire, at least in terms of long distance (gotta give the nod to Amare on the mid-range jumper).  His presence gives the Cavs four starters who can shoot the three competently.  The importance of three point shooting really emerges in the playoffs (especially in the Eastern Conference), when the lane is all but shut down and the drive and kick is a critical offensive play.

Also critical is the pick and roll.  Amare, coupled with Nash, is a great pick and roll player.  Jamison, working off of LeBron, Mo Williams and Delonte West, should thrive there too.

Amare is great finishing around the hoop.  So is Jamison, who has a wealth of tricky, unguardable moves in the post and cutting to the hoop.

Jamison is a chemistry guy, a great locker room presence with a small ego.  Stoudemire?  No.

Steve Nash has made a lot of players appear better than they are.  See Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Quentin Richardson, Raja Bell, etc.  Playing in that ludicrous system, who can tell how good Stoudemire really is?

Say the Cavs acquire Stoudemire, sign him to a long-term deal, only to see his once micro-fractured knee implode.  In the last three seasons, he's had two major surgeries.  He is 27 years old.  Do you offer a guy like that 15+ million per for five or six years?  Jamison, who is 33 and has a reputation for durability, is expensive, too.  However, he continues to earn the big paycheck, and, assuming he plays well next season, should remain an asset.  The year after, if his game begins to slip, his expiring contract has big value.  If all goes according to plan, a 23-year-old Hickson will then be ready to step in.  Contractually, Jamison is the lower risk. With Amare, the Hickson point is moot.  A deal with Phoenix would have required giving up J.J.

The more I think about this trade, the more I love it.  I guess what it boils down to it that, with Amare, there were serious reservations, at least from this blogger.  With Jamison, none.  If you can find a negative, please tell me, because I don't see it.  Jamison is a fabulous player who should blend in as well as a midseason change to the starting lineup can blend in.  The Cavs will enter the playoffs bigger and more talented than they were last season, when lack of size in the paint and on the perimeter vanquished them against Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals.   Now they are deeper than any team in the East, and for once they have a full complement of talent around their superstar.  This deal also exonerates owner Dan Gilbert and Ferry from any blame should LeBron leave in the offseason.  Add it all up and how could I not stamp this trade with the McBone Seal of Approval: McB

My buddy Than, who knows more about that Cavs than just about anybody, had this to add in an email:

I just read online that Jamison could play both the 3 or the 4.  I mean, I knew that already, but for some reason the light bulb didn't come on for me.  Basically, he could be the first to sit down and come in for LeBron and play the 3.  There is a decent log jam of bigs on this team even with no Z with Leon Powe coming back, but there aren't a lot of 3s after LeBron.  I guess Jamario Moon plays the 3 and so does Hot Wad Williams, but not to the level Jamison would.  This should be very very interesting to see how Mike Brown handles the rotation.  He really has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal with this roster. Man, I hope we get Z back soon.

nwb

Reason #96 to Love Cleveland Sports: Zydrunas Ilgauskas

As a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I love Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  You should too!  Here's why:

The Cavaliers drafted Kaunas, Lithuania native Zydrunas Ilguaskas in 1996, back when the team was a collection of well-coached, blue collar semi-stiffs that were just good enough to make the playoffs each year, yet bad enough to be eliminated in the first round every single time.  That was a pretty crappy formula, and the Cavs brass knew it.  Here they were, the leftover scraps from the salad days of Price, Daugherty, Nance, Hot Rod and Ehlo, playing in an widely unpopular, brand spanking new arena, going nowhere fast, and wearing the worst uniforms in the NBA.  Drafting the 7'3" center (along with the 6'11" Vitaly "Ukraine Train" Potopenko) was meant to give the Cavs an inside presence that would fill the void left by perennial all-star Brad Daugherty when a spinal injury cut Daugherty's career short.

Nobody knew much about Ilguaskas at the time, except that he was tall, gangly, pasty and, according to scouting reports, had all the "skills" to be an proficient NBA player.  In NBA Draft parlance, that translates roughly into the common tongue as "will probably never amount to anything."  Not that we'd get the chance to see how well we had spent the 20th pick, because however blessed he was with height and athleticism, Ilgauskas was cursed twofold with the feet of a 123-year-old with a calcium deficiency.  He had his first foot operation before he ever put on a Cavs uniform, and wouldn't be ready to play NBA basketball until the 1997-98 season.  That year he played all 82 games, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds for a young playoff team and looked every bit the anchor a legitimate squad needs in the middle.  With his quickness and agility (oh yes, there was a time when he was quick and agile), a soft shooting touch and rebounding ability, there was no reason to think Z wouldn't be the Cavs starting center for the next dozen years.

Then the trouble with Z's crispy, crunchy feet really began, and with it came the demise of the once promising team.  Z would miss the better part of the next four seasons with foot injuries that required another four surgeries.  The last one had the big man mulling retirement at the ripe old age of 25, a year after he had signed a six-year contract that would pay him more money than I could possibly earn in 10,000 lifetimes.  Ilguaskas could easily have called it a career and spent the rest of his life living like a god.  No one would have blamed him, really, not after an endless cycle of injury, surgery, rehab, injury, etc.  Any professional athlete will tell you that the process of coming back from an operation is long and punishing.  Even when you are healthy enough to play, it takes weeks or months to regain your top form, if you ever do.  Big Z never did quite regain the speed and footwork that had him running up and down the court, even leading fast breaks, when he entered the league.  Growing up he had been a point guard, until a growth spurt turned him into a 7'3" guy.  The surgeon's blade then turned him into a earthbound plodder who was still good enough to start on a team that would go all the way to the NBA finals in 2007.  Ah, but Cavs fans and teammates will never really know what could have been.  Those four lost years and all those fractures really cost him, and us.

That's why Z's breaking the Cavaliers team record for games played tonight against Phoenix is so remarkable.  His last foot operation was a new and controversial procedure that involved a combination of tiny screws, krazy glue, spit, velcro and 1.21 gigawatts of electricity.  It worked so well that he became, astonishingly, one of the most durable players in the NBA.  Part man, part machine, Ilgauskas blossomed into a two-time all-star and one of the best centers of his era.

However, not all was well at Gund Arena.  The team he came back to had somehow metamorphosed into a laughingstock.  After that playoff season in '98, all-star forward Shawn Kemp traded fame and glory for fast food and cocaine. While Z rehabbed, Kemp was ballooning into an amorphous blob with all the athleticism of a tub of mayonnaise.  Cast off was one set of young players, replaced with fools gold like Ricky Davis and Darius Miles.  Through it all, Z played.  The horrific teambuilding strategy, orchestrated by the great Jim Paxson, culminated in a 17-win season in 2002-2003, just bad enough to earn the first pick in the 2003 draft, also known as LeBron James.

Along the road to that low point, Z was steadily earning the adoration of fans who appreciated a guy who always worked hard, played right and never once complained about Ricky Davis and Darius Miles chucking up shots that mostly missed.  Losses mounted.  Z played.  Fans stayed away.  Z played. He was rewarded by ending up on what has become one of the most formidable teams of the decade, and certainly the best in Cavs history.  This record is great, yes, but there's no beating the embrace that Z and LeBron shared when the final buzzer sounded in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when the Cavs advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time ever.  This year, the Cavs have another legitimate chance at the title.  When they brought in an even older Shaquille O'Neal to replace Big Z as the starting center, Ilgauskas didn't bitch or whine.  He kept playing, as he has done, almost uninterrupted, for the past 9 years.

Z's career has been of particular interest to me because we're exactly the same age, and more than any other Cavs player, I have followed him.  Alex and I were in Cleveland, at Quicken Loans Arena, when he was slated to break the record.  Inexplicably, unforgivably, coach Mike Brown chose NOT TO PLAY HIM on what was to be his record breaking night, when his family was in attendance, when 20,000 fans were ready to stand up and cheer for a guy who for 14 years had gone through everything good and bad a professional athlete can go through, when Z himself declared a couple of days before that this was the record that meant the most to him, more than his team record for rebounds or blocked shots, when years of hard work and loyalty were about to pay off in the form of a landmark that no one, NO ONE, would have given him a chance to break ten years ago.  It was the first time in Z's career that he was available to play and was benched.  If ever there was a call for a WTF, this is it. Z was hurt bad by that mind-boggling benching.  He was right to be.  Thanks, coach Brown, for taking a piss on that particularly important moment.

So Z had to wait another few days to break the record--held by former teammate and good friend Danny Ferry--at home against the awful, awful (yes, I say awful) Phoenix Suns.  Not only did Big Z break the record, he did it in style.  His team-high 14 points off the bench (and in thumping victory over that crap team) bumped him into third place on the Cavs all-time scoring list, ahead of Austin Carr and behind LeBron James and Brad Daugherty.  That's damned good company to be in.  Here is a brief, emotional interview that basically sums up what Cleveland and the Cavs mean to him:



I look forward to seeing Ilguaskas' no. 11 raised to the rafters of Quicken Loans arena one day.  He will retire (hopefully not after this season) as the Cavs leader in games played, rebounds, blocked shots, and he will be second in points scored when he surpasses Daugherty sometime this year.  All that's missing is the ring.

In honor of Big Z's big accomplishment, McBone declares that December 2nd will henceforth be known as Zydrunas Ilgauskas Day.

McBone and Cleveland thank you, Big Z, for keeping Cleveland basketball afloat in the dark times and bringing us to the brink of a title.  As it turns out, you were the starting center for the next dozen years, and, with apologies to LeBron, I am glad to have been a Witness.

nwb

McBone Presents: The 2009-10 Cavaliers Season Preview

Team Capsule

Hello: Shaquille O'Neal, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, Leon Powe, Danny Green

Goodbye: Sasha Pavlovic, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace, Tarance Kinsey, Wally Szczerbiak, Lorenzen Wright

Last season: Finished 66-16, lost to the Orlando Magic 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals

Head coach: Mike Brown, fifth season.  Career record: 211-117.  Playoffs: 36-24

Overview

Finally, finally, basketball season is upon us again.  With the '09 Indians dead, buried and forgotten, and the Browns with one foot already in the grave, it's time to reflect on the basketball season to come.

The Cavs did not stand pat after a record setting season in which they won 66 games and were dismissed unceremoniously from the playoffs by the revolting Orlando Magic.  That series exposed some serious flaws in the team's makeup, including a lack of perimeter defensive size and the inability to defend a major low post scoring threat.  The Cavs vaunted defense had no answer for the Magic, who scored at will all series long.  Had they prevailed (and they might have, if not for blowing game one at home), the Lakers were waiting with the same set of challenges.

This season figures to play out in similar fashion.  The Cavs will win many games, perhaps enough to take the Eastern Conference for the second year in a row.  And here's the thing about that: while I believe the Cavs have gotten better, I'm not sure about the rest of the East.

The East's Elite

The Magic are, no doubt in my mind, the primary obstacle between the Cavs and the finals.  In the Magic the Cavs ran into a perfect mismatch in the form of long, tall, sweet shooting perimeter players and a low post powerhouse who basically swatted our big men out of the way.  What I can't for the life of me understand is why the Magic let their second best player, Hedo Turkoglu, get away.  The guy basically dissected opponents throughout the playoffs with a high pick and roll and proved an impossible guard for everyone except the Lakers.  Worse yet, who did they replace him with?  That active member of the all-time fool's gold team, Vince Carter.  This is a decided downgrade, though some are still drinking the Vince Kool-aid.  I'll never forget the '07 playoffs against the Nets, when Sasha Pavlovic reduced him to a puddle of quivering goo.

I'm also not sure why Orlando let go of talented second year guard Courtney Lee.  I do know they will be damned good regardless.  Enough to win the East again?  Doubt it.

By the way, Dwight Howard is possibly the dirtiest player in the league.  Don't let his cornball off-court geniality fool you.  The guy is dirty and, yes, I hate him. 

The Celtics added erstwhile superstar Rasheed Wallace and all of a sudden have been reanointed by many the Team to Beat in the East.  Forget the fact that it's been two years since Wallace has been interested in basketball, or any good. The Celtics didn't do themselves any favors by aging a year, either.  The quartet of seniors citizens--Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Wallace--can't possibly stay healthy all season long without some sort of remarkable luck (never in short supply in Boston).  With the exception of maybe Pierce, all of these guys are on a downward slide.  Did you see that crew collectively run out of gas in the second round of the playoffs?  Also not helping is that fact that, for a second consecutive year, the Celtics lost their best bench player.  Last year it was James Posey.  This year, Leon Powe.  Super spazz Marquis Daniels won't quite measure up in that role, though he is a decent pickup.

Still, throw Rajon Rondo (one of the more odious Celtics in recent memory) into the mix, and this is a team that wins many, many games.

The Playoff Contenders

The main challengers most likely will be Miami, Chicago, Washington, Altanta, Philadelphia and, yes, Detroit.  Not a one of them scares me.

Starting Five

PG: Mo Williams.  The Cavs won 66 games last year largely because all-star Mo Williams brought a long-needed dimension: reliable scoring (18 PPG), competent playmaking and lights out shooting.  And then?  Then the Cavs lost to the Magic largely because Mo could not defend the perimeter, shoot or make plays.  His floater abandoned him, and then went his willingness to drive to the hoop.  Whatever confidence he had during the season seemed to whither as the playoffs progressed.  Having watched Mo all season, and in seasons past, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and predict that postseason history won't repeat itself.  The Mo Williams I watched in the regular season was fearless and gritty and always confident enough to take the next shot, certain it would go in.  What he lacked was much playoff experience.  That's all over.  Time for Mo to take the next step.  He is 26, just entering his prime.  Let's hope he took those playoff failings personally.

SG: Delonte West.  Delonte was arguably the Cavs' second best player in the playoffs last year.  Though his size hurt him against Orlando, Delonte is strong, quick and committed to defense.  Can he handle Vince Carter?  Yes.  Can he handle bipolar disorder?  Based on last year's revelations that he was suffering from the disease and how he conducted himself afterwards, yes.  That he was recently arrested for packing enough weaponry to outfit a small military unit indicates that he may have temporarily misplaced his medication.  He's dealing with it. The Cavs are dealing with it.  Bipolar disorder is a scary disease, and all parties are treating it as such.  Expect Delonte to be ready to play once the season starts.  He may not be in the starting lineup, but then that may not be such a bad thing.

Here's why we need him.  He is a gifted athlete whose intelligence, speed and length bother the bejeezus out of opposing guards.  He's blossomed into a capable shooter who keeps defenders honest enough that he can blow by them and make the pass to a cutting big man, or simply throw the ball down.  He's also competitive as hell and will fill any role that results in a win.  Will it continue to be a problem that, along with Mo, the Cavs start two undersized guards?  Probably in the playoffs it will be, and that's why Delonte off the bench may not be a bad thing.  Until further notice, he is the starting two.

C: Shaquille O'Neal

For the first time in 11 years, this slot will be occupied by someone other than the venerable Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  Everyone, including Z, seems to be ok with that.  Though 37 and every last ounce of a 325 pounder who has played a billion NBA minutes, Shaquille O'Neal is still a dominant force, and Dwight Howard won't be pushing him anywhere.  No more one and two-foot baby hooks for the Magic center; Howard will have to work for his points, and he will also have to work on the defensive end too.  Should he stray from his man to try and clog the paint, his man will be ramming the ball through the hoop every single time.  I love Z, but he could never make Howard pay for cheating like O'Neal will be able to.  I loved the effort Ben Wallace gave last year, but my mom might as well have been guarding Dwight Howard.  Same story with Varejao.  Can't do it.  Won't have to.

This acquisition changes everything.  The idea that O'Neal will somehow be getting in LeBron James' way is preposterous.  O'Neal has 4 rings.  He knows how to play basketball.  Scoring, rebounding, passing, defending--the package is diminished, but firmly intact, as evidenced by last season's all-star play.  I have been cursing O'Neal since I was 17 years old.  Now I get to cheer for him.  And guess what?  He's motivated too.  Can't wait to see this.


SF: LeBron James.  Pairing the game's best player with one of the greatest centers in the history of the game will transform this team from a regular season wonder into a postseason monster.

The way I see it, there is one area in which LBJ could get vastly better: adding a low post game.  Want to see a guy strong enough to back his man down?  Want to see a guy skilled enough to demand a double team?  Want to see a guy with great court vision pass out of the double team?  That's LeBron.  Happily, a low post game is exactly what LeBron has been working on all offseason, and it will make him complete.  Paired with Shaq, it also makes the Cavs as tough as anyone in the block.  LeBron is entering the beginning stages of his prime years.  He wants to win.  Watch out.

Look for him to nab a second straight MVP award, too.


PF: Anderson Varejao.  The trio of Varejao, James and O'Neal will prove a formidable frontcourt, particularly on the defensive end.  Anderson's main value on offense is his ability to roll to the hoop and finish.  He is not a shooter and not much of a passer, but he's gotten better by degrees in each of these areas over the past few seasons.  His improved shot selection is evidenced in a team high 53 percent field goal shooting.  He'll never be great, but he's no longer a liability.

But let's be honest; we all know why he's out there.  The team's most committed defender, his job is to get in the face and under the skin of opponents, grabbing rebounds all the while.  Folks in the media snickered when Varejao was signed to what seemed an exhorbitent six-year contract.  That noise has died down somewhat, partially because the deal is laden with incentives and mostly the dude is a damned good player.  There are exactly three players left from the team that went to the finals in '07--James, Ilgauskas and Andy.  This is no coincidence.

Bench

The Cavs bench was absolutely brutalized against the Magic and Mikael Pietrus in the conference finals, who outscored the Cavaliers reserves by himself for the whole series.  Danny Ferry was not idle in directly addressing these concerns.


G: Anthony Parker.  I love this signing.  Parker is a knock down shooter with size who will buy right into Mike Brown's demand for defensive intensity.  Parker is just the kind of player the Cavs were missing when Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Mikael Pietrus were shooting threes like they were layups during the ECFs.  Though he's no spring chicken, he is a late bloomer who seems to have a lot left in the tank.  Fans should also like his ability to create his own shot when the offense breaks down.  Think of him as filling the role of Szczerbiak, only longer, quicker, less rickety and not terrible.

Parker has been a capable starter in the NBA.  Don't be surprised to see him steal minutes when opponents exploit our short backcourt.

F: Jamario Moon.  Another late bloomer.  Another great signing!  Seriously, I think we got this guy at just the right time.  Always an emphatic dunker, Moon has been showing signs of maturity by displaying a (yes, it is ug-ly) competent three point shot.  Not that we want him to stop running the break and throwing 'em down, which he will have ample opportunity to do.  Most importantly, he is a rangy defender who would have given the Magic shooters something to think about last season.

C: Zydrunas Ilguaskas.  Big Z is now a backup center.  Think about this.  Our best midrange jumpshooter.  Our best offensive rebounder.  The third best center in the East.  Will he be traded during the middle of the season?  His large expiring contract tells me...possibly?  But I doubt a team with two aging centers will put all their eggs in one basket by dumping one of them.

*All right, here is where I take a bit of space to gush about Zydrunas Ilgauskas and why he belongs among the all time athletes ever to don a Cleveland jersey.  When they drafted Ilgauskas, the Cavs acquired a rare talent.  A blend of speed, agility and size that we had never seen in a Cavs uniform before.  Three foot surgeries reduced this freakish athlete to a mere NBA all-star, the lone bright spot on a team that, until winning a draft lottery, had no prospect of winning except by grace of the talents of a towering Lithuanian center.  McBone salutes you, Big Z, and hopes to see you remain and retire a Cavalier.

G: Daniel Gibson.  I don't know.  I just don't know.  Boobie is perhaps the purest shooter since the days of Mark Price and Steve Kerr.  Unfortunately, he is closer to Steve Kerr than Mark Price, and that means he is a shooter only.  Except I don't think he's actually made a shot since the '07 finals.  For two (injury marred) seasons, Gibson has displayed that he is only marginally better than me as a ballhandler, and his defense will never be strong.  I have a feeling that this guy will fade into obscurity unless he can prove himself more durable and more capable of hitting a wide open shot.  If he shoots less than 38 percent from behind the arc, he is basically useless to us.

F: J.J. Hickson.  J.J. trained with LeBron all summer long.  Smart move and a good way to ingratiate yourself with coaches who, more than anything, wanted to see hard work and maturity from their talented second-year forward.  Combine that and his insane athleticism and you get THE player to watch this season.  Should become a member of the rotation, provided coach is pleased with his defense and rebounding efforts.  Added to his arsenal of low post moves (let's hope he can cut out the traveling calls) is a nifty 15-foot jumper--my absolute favorite shot in basketball.  Hickson is also a gifted shot blocker who has shown flashes of the kind of defender he can be.

F: Darnell Jackson: In direct contrast to Hickson, Darnell Jackson is a hard-working big man with a very (based on last season) limited ceiling.  A marginal rebounder, defender and shooter, Darnell's biggest asset may be his sheer size, but so far what I've seen is a guy who plays smaller than his height.  He could have decent value as a bench defender, but I can't get too high on him in spite of his rugged, blue collar ethic.  Perhaps I'm undervaluing him, but I don't think so.

F: Leon Powe.  Maybe the most intriguing free agent signing in Danny Ferry's short tenure.  Powe starts the season on the injured list due to another knee surgery, but he was a major force on Boston's championship team in '08.  A nasty around the rim player, Powe absolutely destroyed the Cavs every time they played the Celts.  I hated him then.  By the time the playoffs roll around, he should be in top form.  If he's close to the player he was before--a gritty rebounder, defender and low block scorer--the Celtics' loss will be the Cavs' gain.

G: Danny Green.  The Cavs second round draft pick wasn't all that impressive in the summer league and he's been injured most of the preseason.  I don't know what to expect from him, except that he's a long, athletic wing player.  Whether he can duplicate his success at North Carolina at the next level remains to be seen, and it won't happen this season anyway.

F: Jawad Williams.  I have a feeling this guy can be a serviceable role player in the NBA, I'm just hoping we don't see a lot of him this year.

Coach: Mike Brown.  There is no nice way to put this: Mike Brown got the shit coached out of him by Orlando's Stan van Gundy last year, whose clever offensive schemes ran circles around the sets of his defense-minded counterpart.  Brown couldn't have liked that.  Making matters more complicated, offensive whiz John Kuester departs to assume head coaching duties in Toronto Detroit.  Though he has his work cut out, Brown has never made excuses, and has never stopped improving himself as a coach.   Should he fall short this year, though, a change could be on its way.

Prediction

Though they may not break as many records as they did last year, the Cavs will win in excess of 60 games, enough to easily capture the Central Division and possibly the East.  They will beat the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals rematch, 4-2.

The Cavaliers will then end Cleveland's 46-year-old drought by winning the NBA finals, topping the Lakers in a legendary seven-game series.

And yes, LeBron James will stay in Cleveland, regardless of whether the Cavs win it all this year.

nwb

36%

36% is what the Cavaliers shot from the field in their excruciating, embarrassing one point loss to the Wizards on Wednesday. The Cavs, who had the effrontery to lose while I was in attendance, who had a chance to send the Wizards back to Washington for the summer, will look back on this this game, a game that they led by 5 with a minute to play, as the one that got away, should they lose this series.

Also, I'd like to point out that the hideous yellow (not 'gold' as they would have it) t-shirts they are giving away are doing nothing to improve their chances.

And the ones donning those cotton atrocities, the fans, didn't really bother to show up in person until after halftime. In spirit, they showed up in the fourth quarter. Unacceptable.

And, hey Cavs! Stop playing Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' between quarters. That song is bad luck to Cleveland. The Red Sox play that song. The Red Sox beat the Indians in the ALCS. It belongs to them, not us. And anyway that song sucks. Big time. Because it's Neil Diamond. Who sucks. Big time.

God DAMMIT!!!!

Pictured above: me in aforementioned hideous yellow t-shirt, which I will never wear again. See all the empty seats? That's about 10 minutes before tipoff. For SHAME, Cleveland!

nwb

PS: I should mention that when I got home from the game with Dad, my mother was actually watching a god damned Neil Diamond concert on TV, which was like the final, fatal stab of an unclean, jagged knife into my entrails.

Happy 3,000, Joe!

Last night the legendary Joe Tait broadcasted his 3,000th game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, what was ultimately an agonizing, last-second defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets. How apropos. After 35 years of doing play-by-play for largely horrific basketball and baseball teams (Tait also worked the booth for the Cleveland Indians for 16 losing years), Tait has arguably witnessed more ineptitude in professional sports than any commentator in history.

My earliest memories of Cleveland sports are of Indians TV broadcasts in the '80s and Tait describing myriad 8-2 losses. So what got me hooked? Clearly it wasn't the baseball.

Of course there have been some glimmers of light along the way, like a 2007 trip to the NBA finals. Listen to Joe go nuts during the Cavs' playoff upset of the Washington Bullets in 1976, known in Ohio forever as the Miracle of Richfield:



McBone salutes you, Joe, not only for your loyalty, but your uncanny knack for making crap teams exciting. May you be rewarded in the twilight of your career with a Cavaliers championship.

nwb

Cavs Make a Deal!

Boy was I wrong. Not just wrong, but utterly and phenomenally wrong. The Cavs not only made a deal before the trade deadline, but they dealt six of their players in so doing. In fact, what Danny Ferry achieved is nothing short of the proverbial blockbuster.

So, what exactly did he achieve? Three teams, including the Bull and the Sonics were involved. Here's the rundown as concerns the Cavaliers:

Cavs deal: G Larry Hughes, G Ira Newble, G Shannon Brown, F Drew Gooden, F Cedric Simmons and F Donyell Marshall.

Cavs recieve: C Ben Wallace, G Delonte West, F Joe Smith and F Wally Szczerbiak.

While I can't pretend that I'm ecstatic about this trade, it does qualify as, um, interesting. The centerpiece, of course is Ben Wallace, erstwhile defensive enforcer and master rebounder. Big Ben is a long way removed from his days of low post domination in Detroit. He's 33 and appears, to my eye anyway, to be running out of gas. Never a shooter by any stretch of anyone's imagination, his shooting percentage has hit rock bottom this year at a very disturbing 37%. That's disturbing considering that Wallace scores predominantly on dunks. Wallace never seemed to hit it off in Chicago from day one. He clashed with coach Scott Skiles over, of all things, a headband. While he helped the Bulls into the second round of last season's playoffs, his production never matched what he achieved in Detroit. And yet, and yet...if Wallace found the b-ball culture in Chicago not to his liking, perhaps he'll like Cleveland better. Perhaps he'll be motivated playing next to a superstar who is hellbent on getting a ring.

Wallace bring obvious toughness and playoff experience, and the benefit of knowing the Detroit Pistons roster, barely changed since his time there, up and down. That will help come playoff time. He will bring a defensive presence where Drew Gooden too often fell asleep. And, while he hasn't Gooden's soft touch around the hoop, nor his effective baby hook, nor his steady free throw shooting, he is by far the superior shot blocker, man-on-man and help defender. He will certainly match Gooden's offensive rebounding, a trademark of the team as a whole.

And let's not forget that he has a ring.

The big questions marks, though, are really, really big. How does Wallace, a center, fit in with center Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Can Wallace and Anderson Varejao play on floor together, or will their respective offensive deficiencies make such a tandem impossible? Does Wallace have enough left in his tank to push the Cavs deep into the next few postseasons? Does his bulky contract prohibit the Cavs from improving further in the short term?

I really dunno.

Then there's Wally Szczerbiak (takes me ten minutes to type that name), coming in from Seattle. This is a nice pickup. He's got a fat contract, but his shooting is lights out, which is always nice when you're running with LeBron James. He gives the Cavs explosive offense on a bench that already features Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones.

Delonte West joins his Sonics teammate Szczerbiak. I've never been a fan of Delonte, but I suppose I have to be now. He can't shoot, except for an occasional three, and he's not a great passer, but the Cavs need someone who can reliable handle the point whose name is not Eric Snow. Maybe West will finally find a niche in the NBA. He will defend, and that is what has been sorely lacking this season for the Cavs.

Joe Smith is a solid veteran forward, who, like Wallace, will not commit Gooden-like boners on defense. He's a dependable rebounder and mid-range jumpshooter who is a significant upgrade over Donyell Marshall. And if he doesn't work out, his contract is up this year anyway. Let's hope the presence of Wallace and Smith means we won't see any more of Dwayne Jones, at least not when Varejao returns.

Although Larry Hughes was playing much better of late, Danny Ferry pulled off a big coup in shedding his obscene contract. Hughes has been hurt again and again in his 2+ seasons here, and it's safe to assume he will be hurt again soon. He never fulfilled his promise in a Cavs uniform and too often was a malcontent in Mike Brown's system. He played hard and helped the team win a lot of games, but ultimately, the experiment is mercifully over.

Drew Gooden is perhaps the bigger loss. His low post scoring cannot be accounted for by Ben Wallace. Still, Gooden was clearly not the best 4 on the team. He was the starter, but Anderson Varejao finishes games for a reason.

It seems like Ira Newble had been on the Cavs since sometime in the early eighties. He was constantly injured. While filling in admirably at guard and forward this season, he will not be missed.

Nor will Donyell Marshall, whose shooting was never all it was cracked up to be when he signed a four year contract in 2005. He did lead all bench players in rebounding in 2005-06, but he's a few cheeseburgers and shakes removed from those days.

Shannon Brown, if you ever want to have a career in this league, learn to pass more and dribble less. Good luck.

Cedric Simmons? Who knows what he can do in this league. As of now, he's not much of a player.

Ultimately, it seems that the Cavs have bolstered their frontline and outside shooting. They shouldn't miss the players they dealt too much, but really, everything is riding on Ben Wallace and his 33 year old body. Overall, I don't feel comfortable rewarding Danny Ferry with a McBone Seal of Approval. Not yet anyway.

Wait and see.

nwb