The Cav Market
Posted January 26th, 2006 by Brian Windhorst
Atlanta — The Cavaliers index is up today, as traders responded to their three-game winning streak. Futures, however, remained unchanged as investors were still wary of the team’s inconsistency and the general softness of their last three opponents.
It sounds like I know what I’m talking about, right. Like I missed my calling and I should’ve joined the financial media. Yeah, right. Although, Dan Gilbert ripped us sports hacks last season by telling us the financial press never jumped to conclusions or published rumors like the heartless, idiotic sports press. Of course, had the financial media been as mindful as the local sports media of a potential disaster like Larry Brown running the front office, maybe Enron wouldn’t have been allowed to run wild for all those years, eh?
Anyway, the Cavs look like gangbusters again after beating the Hawks last night. But I think they still show way too much inconsistency for their own good. They were very lethargic on defense last night, perhaps focusing on their post-game plans a little early. This is one of the main reasons they continue to be streaky, because they don’t bring the same effort every night. They too often play to the level of their opponent and it has come back to bite them on more than one occasion. The fact that they’re 10-1 at home against team over .500 and just 5-4 against teams below .500 says it all.
Friday they have a chance to win the season series from the Pacers and they ought to be out for blood. But that attitude has often been lacking this season, so we’ll see.
By the way, I read today that Isiah Thomas totally denies the sexual harassment charge leveled at him by a former Knicks employee, saying:
"I will not allow her or anybody else, man or woman, to use me as a pawn for their financial gain."
The charges may indeed be trumped up, but were he to say that in court, I fear Jerome James (five years, $29 million) may be called as a rebuttal witness.
January 26th, 2006 at 7:12 am
Didn’t Jerome James put the hurt on you in Seattle last year?
January 26th, 2006 at 8:43 am
YES! YES! Good call Maureen! Let it be known that Jerome James later apologized (wanting to avoid the hurt back).
January 26th, 2006 at 10:12 am
I’m certainly no Bobby Fischer, but if Thomas is a pawn and his free agents are rooks, then Ferry is a human chess set. But Danny never played an Usher CD and tip-toed into my conference room to pinch me in the ass.
Maybe I need to get into better shape.
January 26th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
I just read your entry again…Actually, I don’t see how Brown could have possibly laid more bricks than Ferry already has. In fact, I’m now very curious what he would have done if given the opportunity. I mean, other than inevitably slither like Snake Riley and coach the team, too.
And please, let’s have some legitimate clarity here - - The Cavs don’t look like gangbusters. It’s JAMES that looks like gangbusters. The other 11 guys don’t look like gangbusters. The other 11 guys look like they’ve been gangBANGED. If LeBron wasn’t making such a killing with endorsements, I’d almost start to feel sorry for him. All that dead weight sitting on top of him game after game after game after game after game after game after game. The x-ray of his spine must look like Tracy McGrady’s.
January 28th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
I have to agree with Alan, Its not the Cavs playing great, instead its a superhuman star in James making his mediocre teamates look good. Without LeBron, The Cavs would be at the level of my Charlotte Bobcats.
January 28th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Brian,
Maybe a month ago, some of your posters were commenting on LeBron’s dip in rebounds and assists per game from the previous year. Have you noticed that since Hughes went out, those numbers have climbed considerably? James is averaging 8 boards and 7.6 assists in January (through 13 games). Each number would be a career high had he averaged it for a full season, and it would dwarf weven the impressive totals he compiled last year (7.4 RPG, 7.2 APG).
Is that sudden rise in those stats a coincidence? Or do you think it reflects that LeBron is shouldering that much more of the load?
January 28th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Coincidence? Please. It’s not like talking about sunny weather every Friday. That would be a coincidence. It’s Secretariat being saddled with talentless jockeys named Jared riding him to the first round of the playoffs on his back. It’s years before Jared even heard of the words “chicken teriyaki.” Can you really blame PETA when their mob throws gallons of red paint at Danny Ferry’s bald head? And never mind poor LeBron’s spine, somebody find a veterinarian to check underneath those panty hose to see if his hoofs have split.
January 29th, 2006 at 3:17 am
Andress: You make a good point.
Tucker: Your name is not Brian. And it’s HOOVES.
January 29th, 2006 at 9:03 am
Phi,
First, my brother is indeed named Brian. Really. So that’s close enough.
Second, I initially thought it was “hooves,” too. But I’ve always disliked that word. It sounds stupid, it reads stupid. So I looked it up in several different dictionaries. And, as it turned out, “hoofs” is a suitable alternative. So that’s exactly what I typed. The alternative that sounds and reads best to me. So take that, Sherlock. Or is it Surelock? You tell me.
January 29th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Phi, I forgot to add that I just finished reading a story about a blind woman in England that had a heart attack, and now she can see like a hawk. Pretty amazing stuff. So maybe you, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble should try adding a lot more lard to your diets. Apparently it works wonders.
January 29th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Happy birthday Brian! 28 years young.
January 29th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
28? Are you sure? I thought Brian was 29. I require some age clarification from the author of this blog. Either way, from the wheelchair and the pair of Depends on which I sit, it still equals one word: JAILBAIT.
January 29th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Alan, I think I would know. But thanks for being my fact-checker, we need more people like you out there.
January 29th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
I know how old Ilguaskas’ dog is, but I don’t know how old the Beacon Journal’s beat writer is. Ilguaskas’ dog is eight-months-old. When Z throws his dog a ball within 10 feet of a basket, his dog takes the ball and Z never sees it again. I wonder where his dog learned that?
However, I don’t know the age of the subject of your birthday greeting. So I can’t be your fact-checker. Sorry. Honestly, last year I could have sworn I heard Reghi screaming that it was his birthday and he was 28. Then again, Reghi was also screaming that Jeff McInnis and Ira Newble are even more tasty on the court than a DiGiorno pizza, so maybe I shouldn’t have taken him at his word.
January 29th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Does anybody else have dyslexia with Z’s last name? I am always screwing up his two vowels. I wish he’d just change his name to Smith, or something.