Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 51 of 53)

      Early-season NBA awards

      November 13, 2008 /

      The NBA season is less than a month old, but that’s not going to stop me from handing out some early-season awards…

      The most outstanding rookie award goes to…Rudy Fernandez.
      Derrick Rose is probably the front-runner for the ROY award, but Rudy has been better thus far. His PER is an eye-popping 23.89 (Rose’s is 17.78), which is second-best amongst all shooting guards, and it seems like night after night he’s making a highlight-reel play. Fernandez is averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 48% from the field and 46% from long range. To top it off, he’s nailing 93% of his free throws and is registering 1.3 steals per game. His fine play is allowing the Blazers to be patient with Jerryd Bayless by running Brandon Roy at he point and Fernandez at off guard. Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Jason Thompson and Kevin Love deserve honorable mention.

      The league MVP goes to…LeBron James.
      Cleveland is 6-2 and that projects to a 62-win season. If the Cavs can accomplish that, LeBron is going to run away with the MVP award. He’s averaging 29.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists, and is shooting 49% from the field and 78% from the free throw line (which would be a career-high). A case could be made for Kobe Bryant, but he has a much better supporting cast and LeBron’s numbers are better across the board. (Besides, I don’t think voters would want to give Kobe back-to-back MVP awards.) Paul Pierce is a possibility, but he’s only shooting 41% from the field this season. Chris Paul is having an even better year than last season’s remarkable jump, but the Hornets are just 4-3 thus far. Atlanta’s Joe Johnson might be LeBron’s biggest challenger early in the season, but King James has him beat in virtually every statistical category. LeBron it is.

      The “I’m the real reason the Bucks traded away Mo Williams” award goes to…Ramon Sessions.
      Even though he’s playing fewer minutes (barely) than starter Luke Ridnour, Sessions is averaging more points (15.6 to 10.6), steals (1.1 to 0.9), has a better assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7 to 1.9), a better FG% (48% to 34%) and a better 3PT% (40% to 27%). I don’t think the Bucks are going to be too heartbroken when Ridnour’s contract is up after next season because it looks like Sessions, the former second-round pick, is Milwaukee’s point guard of the future. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal, so it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of contract he gets next summer.

      The “maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come to L.A.” award goes to…Baron Davis.
      First, he thinks he’s going to get to play with Elton Brand, but Brand bolts for Philly. Now the Clippers are 1-7 and are losing games by a league-worst 13.4 points per game. Their defense is bad, but their offense is worse. They have scored the second-fewest points per game (88.3) and have the second-worst field goal percentage (41%). For his part, Davis hasn’t done much to help the cause. He’s shooting 37% from the field and just 26% from long range. If this keeps up, the Clippers will be out of the playoff race by Christmas.

      The “boy, Devin Harris and those two first round picks are looking really good right now” award goes to…Mark Cuban.
      Last year, when the Dallas owner pulled the trigger on a trade that sent Devin Harris and two first round picks to the Nets for a 34 year-old Jason Kidd, I was very skeptical. It was a longshot that the trade would pan out, as it was debatable at the time of the trade whether or not Kidd was even better than Harris. Certainly, Harris had a lot more upside, and his stint in New Jersey has allowed him to flourish. The first of the two picks was used on Ryan Anderson, and he is playing pretty well in limited minutes this season. The second pick is an unprotected first rounder in 2010, which could be a lottery pick if the Mavs can’t get things straightened out. They are 2-5 and their top four players – Kidd (35), Dirk Nowitzki (30), Jason Terry (31) and Josh Howard (28) – are all at least 28 years-old. Barring an injury to one of these guys, the Mavs will probably be fighting for a playoff spot in April, but that’s not exactly what Cuban had in mind.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      LeBron James is on fire

      November 12, 2008 /

      Last night, LeBron James poured in 41 points for the third time in four games to lead the Cavs in a 99-93 win over my beloved Bucks.

      It’s no surprise that LeBron is leading the league in scoring (29.8 ppg), but it is impressive that he’s not showing any signs of fatigue after a busy summer that included a gold medal at the Bejing Olympics.

      Let’s take a look at his numbers over the last four games:

      37.5 ppg
      53-100 from the field (53%)
      38-46 from the free throw line (83%)
      9.0 rpg
      6.0 apg
      2.0 spg

      That’s a solid week of work. I am most impressed by his accuracy from the free throw line. He’s a career 73% free throw shooter, and if he’s able to get his percentage up around 80%, it will only help his game. Teams will be more reluctant to foul him, and when they do send him to the line, he can make them pay.

      But the best thing about this run is that the Cavs are on a five-game winning streak.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Mo Williams gamble paying off…so far.

      November 4, 2008 /

      With LeBron James on the bench to start the fourth quarter, Mo Williams led the Cavs on a 13-0 run that pushed Cleveland past Dallas, 100-81.

      How’s this for a stretch of possessions to open the fourth quarter of a close game: Long jump shot, longer jump shot. Feed a teammate for a layup, then swish another jumper. Get another assist, then nail a 3-pointer from so deep that your defender walks away saying, “Whooo.”

      “That’s what they expect,” said Williams, acquired in August to ease the load off James. “Tonight was a great sign. It was a long summer for me, two surgeries. I expected to get going kind of slow, but it was frustrating when you’re used to making shots, making plays.”

      The Cavs are just 2-2, but Williams hasn’t hit his stride yet. He’s averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 assists, while shooting 43% from the field. Last season, he averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 assists, while shooting 48% from the field. But with two offseason surgeries and a new offense to learn, it’s tough to expect Williams to hit the ground running. My only concern about the trade (for the Cavs) is that he’s a player that is at his best when he has the ball in his hands. That’s fine when LeBron is on the bench (such as his terrific run in the fourth quarter), but when LeBron is in the game, Williams will have to defer and learn to be a spot up shooter. That’s a tough adjustment to make.

      This is going to be one of the more interesting storylines to watch not only for its effect on the Cavs’ fortunes this season, but also to see how it affects LeBron’s future in Cleveland.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Has LeBron already made his mind up?

      October 29, 2008 /

      Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports says yes.

      With James, the Cavaliers are running out of time. It’s two seasons and counting until he can become a free agent. To listen to Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert dismiss the possibility of James leaving in the summer of 2010 for a bigger market as a product of “bored sportswriters” is beyond laughable. These aren’t bored sportswriters, but a restless superstar and a stable of handlers seemingly sold on his exit.

      Gilbert knows better, and so does everyone else inside and outside the Cavaliers. James has one foot out the door in Cleveland. From NBA executives, to Team USA staff and players, to sneak reps: They all believe James has one foot out of the hometown.

      Privately, James’ circle had been telling people that they don’t just expect him to leave in the summer of 2010, but in the words of one James associate to a high-ranking league official: He’s gone.

      This isn’t an indictment of Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry and the roster he’s constructed around his superstar. He’s done a good, creative job without chips to trade, without high draft picks. This won’t be a basketball decision as much as it will be James believing he needs the platform of a major market to transport himself into a bigger global entity.

      Wojnarowski did describe a silver lining…

      Here’s the good news for Cavaliers fans: Things can change in two years, and James’ preferred destination, the Nets, is a franchise falling apart. Over the summer, James publicly declared Brooklyn his favorite borough in New York, but the prospects of joining his kindred spirit, rapping mogul Jay-Z, is fading fast.

      For James, two things had to happen for him to make the move to the Nets. First, they had to have a nucleus of players minimally comparable to the cast he’d be leaving in Cleveland. Between now and 2010, the Nets desperately need Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez to develop into frontline players.

      But the biggest issue is this: James is never going to play for the New Jersey Nets. Brooklyn, yes. New Jersey? He doesn’t love Jay-Z that much. James needs to be walking into the Brooklyn palace that owner Bruce Ratner has been desperately trying to get financed and constructed for the 2011-2012 season.

      Yet now, the Nets are such a vulnerable franchise, the $3.5 billion Atlantic Yards arena project in such doubt, ownership groups from Russia and Dubai have expressed interest in buying out Ratner and taking over the team, Yahoo! Sports has learned. So far, he has resisted, but he’s losing an estimated $30 million a year as court cases and a decaying economy have pushed the project to the brink of collapse.

      Apparently, three other teams interest LeBron: the Knicks, the Lakers and the Mavericks.

      For their part, Cleveland are “working furiously” to have plenty of cap space in the summer of 2010. If LeBron’s other options aren’t looking good, and the Cavs are able to acquire a guy like Chris Bosh (that’s the rumor, anyway) to play alongside their star, then LeBron might stay. At this point, the Cavs only have three players under contract for the 2010-11 season: Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson. At that point, the team will also have the option to keep J.J. Hickson for three more seasons.

      The bad news is that the Cavs don’t have the salary cap flexibility or the trade pieces to make big improvements to the team until then. So they have to hope that LeBron makes this crucial decision later rather than sooner.

      But it sounds as if the decision has already been made. Luckily for Cavs fans, a lot can happen in two years.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      NBA season tips off tonight

      October 28, 2008 /

      TNT has a nice doubleheader to start the NBA season.

      Cavs @ Celtics, 8 PM ET
      LeBron James and his new sidekick – Mo Williams – head into Beantown to face the defending champion Celtics, who have to refocus themselves after their magical 2007-08 season.

      Trail Blazers @ Lakers, 10:30 PM ET
      The Lakers are the consensus favorite to win the title this season, while the Trail Blazers are a popular darkhorse playoff pick in the West. Will Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol play well together? Is Greg Oden ready to emerge? This game also features a great matchup between Kobe Bryant and Brandon Roy.

      InDemand is running a free preview of NBA League Pass, so you can also see how the new-look Bucks fare against the Bulls at 8:30 ET.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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