LeBron to Memphis: “Thank you, thank you very much.”
Posted March 14th, 2007 by Brian Windhorst
Memphis — I would like to do something besides praise the Cavs, because that is all I have been doing in print for the past two weeks. But I cannot after watching them totally bury the Grizzlies 118-96 here tonight after smashing the Kings last night.
Here are some thoughts, per usual:
–While my instincts tell me Larry Hughes’ play at point guard is just a stop gap, I can’t deny the difference in his game. He’s got 39 assists in the last seven games and the Cavs have stopped standing around as much. They will not continue to shoot at such crazy percentage, but if they continue to attack and work for high-percentage shots, they will continue to win. I believe at least.
–The Cavs first eight baskets were scored in the paint tonight and they had 58 points in the paint for the game. Part of this is because the Grizzlies’ idea of playing help defense is getting out to the wing to wait for the inbounds pass, but part of it is a continued effort to get the ball to Zydrunas Ilgauskas in the post and LeBron James and Larry Hughes’ willingness to drive and kick.
–Right now, all five Cavs starters are on hot streaks. Nobody is noticing Drew Gooden, who is averaging 15 and 10 over the last six games. Z is 16-of-20 shooting over the last two games. Sasha Pavlovic is out of his shooting slump, he’s made 19 of his last 31. This, too, will not last, but just shows when the offense is working, everybody can get involved.
–In the third quarter when LeBron was knocking down all those shots — he made five jumpers, three 3s, in 2:11 — the whole building was rooting for him. Even the Dunking Elvises or whatever they’re called. One of those surreal moments when you know that you’re watching a true superstar, you get caught up in the moment.
–Before the game, all the media is waiting by LeBron’s locker to hear whether he’s going to play or not. By the way, these back spasms have been bothering him for awhile and could pop up again. Anyway, so he walks by after getting his 30-minute long massage and just nods to Cavs PR chief Amanda Mercado, who says: "Hold on, everyone, he’s got to go to the bathroom." This is weird for two reasons: 1. That LeBron has non-verbal communication about his bathroom plans down with Amanda and; 2. It feels weird to be waiting for a guy outside a john. Damon Jones, amused by the whole scene, demands we report on James’ visit to the can. "C’mon, ya’ll, you better get in there and find out if it is No. 1 or No. 2. Wait, hold on…." Then Damon gets up and follows LeBron in, emerges a few seconds later and reports: "Oh, No. 1." I can’t be sure, but I thought I saw a guy jot something down on his notepad. Then again, I am the one blogging about this, ahem, crap.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I’m definitely noticing Gooden, he’s on my fantasy team. So is Sasha. I say keep Hughes at point as long as he’s on a roll, keep the wins coming, keep the numbers coming, keep on finally smashing teams the CAVS are supposed to smash, and welcome back LeBron James, greatest player on the face of the earth.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Marshall has been shooting well from outside this month. It’d be HUGE if he carried that over to the playoffs.
March 15th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Remind me again why the Cavs need a true point guard?
With a couple players who can make plays when they have the ball, and who are willing to move around a little when they don’t, their offense looks great.
Last year the backcourt(starters plus reserves) often combined for less than 10 pts. a game. That was with a pure point guard setting the table.
It made Flip Murray–with his aimless dribbling and low shooting percentage–seem like the Second Coming.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:30 am
now that’s the way you cover a team! getting ALL the details! nice blogging there Brian! LOL
March 15th, 2007 at 5:57 am
I agree Brian, great blog post. I also loved the line in your column about the Grizzlies playing defense like they can’t wait to play offense. Good stuff.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:15 am
There can’t be a softer player in the league than Pau Gasol. It was amazing the way his head kept snapping back and his chest caving in whenever Z would slam his atrophied triceps and delts into him on post ups. When you make Z look Oakley-esque on the low block, I think that might be a good sign that it’s time to stop spending 4 hours at Mario Tricoci’s hair salon every week and a little more time in the gym. Overrated spaniard.
And I have to admit, I am a little curious to know if Lebron wipes forward or backward after a nice deuce.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Is amanda mercado hot? Based on the name, I gotta believe there’s potential.
And that suns/mavs game was unbelievable. Nash has to be MVP again.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:45 am
(ak nods to brian)
p.s. it’s #2
March 15th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Larry stays at the point, where he played in that season-defining win at detroit. he’s earned the right to finish the season there and prove he’ll be effective in the playoffs there. the rookie will be ready with time, but based on the “5″ we have starting (I love this lineup), our bench is as good as there is in the NBA as well. Gibby, Brown, Newble, Marshall, Varejao…and coach DJ.
that’s NIIIICE
March 15th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Tucker: All this praise must have your
dander up. And can you see Brian and the
rest following James into the can? With
Damona as a lookout. You must be insanely
jealous today.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:20 am
jmoe, they beat up the team which the laws of probability suggest is going to wind up with Greg Oden next year, for gosh sakes. They’re playing well, but get a grip.
I realistically see the Cavs as the Nets when they went to two straight Finals. No future upside, but a 50-win team in a bad conference. I still have nightmares of Joe Piscopo being handed the microphone. What were their PR people thinking???
With that said, although Elvis was before our blog host’s time, I still think the headline on this blog post is kinda cute. Really. So if ESPN doesn’t come knocking on the Windhorst door, maybe the New York Post will. They have the best headline people in the business.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:26 am
doc, the answer to your “hot” question…well, the answer is “no.”
And you just pissed me off. I didn’t know about that game. I got home, turned on the TV, saw Dallas was ahead by eight points with three minutes left, and turned off the TV and went to bed.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Tucker:
Would you trade Lebron for the rights
to pick Oden? Somehow get rid of Z’s
contract(maybe assume some of it in a
trade, can that be done in the NBA?).
Have Hughes,Pavs,Oden,Gooden and Varejao
as starters?
March 15th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Oden’s offensive skills still need work away from the basket, so no. It would be exciting seeing somebody on the Cavaliers finally block shots, but who would put up the points, Gooden? But that Ilgauskas contract-unloading scenario is tempting.
That wrist thing of Oden’s is going to turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to him, a blessing in disguise. A teenager who learned to use both hands to shoot. After a few years of hitting the weights, he is going to be unstoppable, don’t you think? If Vegas offers the bet, I would put my money down on him leading the league in blocks next year.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:09 am
It would be awfully tough to make that trade straight up, but what if you could get Oden and, say, Paul Pierce for LeBron and Ilgauskus? Or Oden and Chris Paul for LeBron and Verajao? Or Oden and Felton?
It’s an interesting question for those who say Durant should be the number one pick. There’s no way he would entice such a trade, to my thinking.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:27 am
In a straight up deal the Cavs would pick
up about 12mill per year in cap space. Diff
between LBJs approx 16 mill and Odens rookie
max of about 4mill. This would also obviously make deal less attractive to
other team. Can Oden bang right away with
Shaq,Duncan,Weber, Stoudamire, Dampier? Would take him 2-3 years to dominate. LBJ
is really polished right now with 3 1/2 yrs.
March 15th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Allright guys, enough. I thought we were all just kidding around about oden for lebron but larryd seems to be giving it a lot of thought. Basically oden is going to be a dwight howard/mutumbo/mourning-type who dominates the defensive end and eventually picks up a few moves along the way to average 18-22 a night. That alone makes you one of the top centers in the league. But this isnt a big man’s league anymore. You can’t win titles with one dimensional centers. Lebron’s value is immeasureable. There’s no one you can justify trading him for (as long as DWade’s arm is still detached).
And Ive google amanda mercado. Can’t find a mug shot. You have to be hot with a name like that, right? And why does she hang out in the locker room after all the games? When she’s in there, is there a “keep towel on” rule in effect for the players? Does she shower next to dwayne jones?
March 15th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I think shes that blondie that
sits at the scorers table. Her
and Damona are like the Kings
personal assistants. I guess
she tells him if its OK to go
to the bathroom and Damona
actually goes with him. hee-hee
hee.
March 15th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Uh and doc tell Shaq and Duncan it’s not a big mans leaugue. Or Stoudemire after he
dropped 40 in front of your face last night.
March 15th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Uh did Brian turn the blog off or is everybody at Graceland?
March 15th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
It is silly to think about a LeBron trade. No GM would have the guts to trade him, and no GM would trade the rights for Oden for either. They’d get fired if they didn’t win a championship within two or three years.
It did make me realize exactly how valuable Lebron is, however. You’d have to get a young Shaq or Kareem for a LeBron trade to make sense.
Now, if LeBron averages 35 points the rest of the season and the Cavs catch Detroit (a scenario that wouldn’t surprise me at this point) should he be MVP, and would this be considered his best season so far, despite all the criticism over the winter?
March 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Yes: larry d. it was a silly thought. Oden
is only a freshman in college. It will take
a little while for him to develop. Hell he
may not come out this year. But the Cavaliers will not win it all without an
enforcer/shot blocker/intimidator. Most of
the NBA champions have had one. Doc compared
Oden to Mourning or Howard. Without Mourning
Miami doesnt win it last year. And give Howard a Lebron they would probably rip off
3 straight. Even Memphis was getting into
the paint on us last night. I would like to
see LBJ play more on the block because he is
so strong and he is a leaper but criminy the
guy can do everything shoot 3s, handle it,
block shots, rebound, dish. When you look at
his capabilities in all areas yeah he should
be MVP.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Alan Tucker please shut the hell up. YOu are a moron. Give the Cavs some credit instead of just bitching. And Oden isn’t coming out…he even said the other day he doesn’t feel he’s ready. If OSU wins the title, he might come out, but if they don’t, he’ll be back for sure. Once again, shut the hell up.
March 15th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Just like you said Jones didn’t care about the three-point contest, JoeHoops. Whatever.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:05 am
My my Joe Hoops so angry. Are you in denial
about the Cavs limited muscle. Or are you
jealous of Damonas trips to the head with
the King?
March 16th, 2007 at 7:38 am
oh Pollard, what a character. What was so wrong with his advice for the kiddies?
March 16th, 2007 at 8:14 am
this alan tucker guy needs to take some more prozac, he’s the most depressing thing i have heard in a while–i understand he is trying to be realistic, but instead he comes off as an extreme pessimist with nothing but bad things to say. i hope he isnt married or having sex with anyone–can you imagine this dude critiquing afterwards?
as to oden–whoever said you dont need a center to win a championship is way off base. and oden is the real deal and way mature beyond his years, like lebron was/is. i live in indianapolis, we have seen oden for a long time now, and he is a man. bad news for the bottom feeders in the NBA—oden may well decide to stay in school and not come out.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Thank you Rusty! Finally somebody else steps in and tries to get Tucker to shut his flapper. Bitch bitch bitch bitch, thats all he does. I don’t think I have EVER seen him post anything good about the Cavs. Why the hell he posts here I will never know or understand. I guess this is a safe place to bitch because if he says to his friends what he says here they would surely slap the hell out of him.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:25 am
JoeHoops, why are you completely obsessed with me? Listen, I am very flattered, but we have little in common. There’s also that 30-year age difference, which is more of a barrier than you might think. I am sure you’re really cute, and you seem really bright and personable. But I cannot reciprocate your love, and I cannot be the father figure you want me to be. I don’t know what more to say, other than I am truly very sorry.
March 16th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
OK Bloggers you know who is coming to town
tomorrow night. The icon known as Princes
Landlord(geez my house looks like purple
rain). Are the Cavs better off without him?
Unfortunately not based on the following
Pts Reb Asst FG Min
2006-07 21.0 11.6 2.9 .564 35.1
Can you imagine this team now with Boozer
(loozer) on it. I think it would be championship material. Any thoughts?
March 17th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Jmoe,
A healthy Boozer would probably elevate this team another notch, but he hasn’t been very durable since leaving Cleveland. He missed 84 games the previous two years. If he’s in the lineup, we’re better. Personally, I was crushed when he left.
That said, I think the Cavs recovered remarkably by obtaining Gooden and Varejao after he left. The two of them are probably a slight improvement on Boozer rebounding (and that’s saying something), although he’s a much more prolific and more efficient scorer than either of them.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
The worst part about Boozer leaving is the fact the offer could have been matched. People tend to forget that. But the Great Gordon didn’t want the salary on the books, making it easier to get a few thousand additional sailboats when he sold out. I suppose that with Gund’s laser vision, those sailboats are probably outfitted with some pretty amazing state-of-the-art sonar devices.
Gund and his brother deserve props for originally saving the franchise, but other than that, the local media gave that guy what amounts to a 20-year free pass. If Gund’s reign of mediocrity had happened in New York instead of in Cleveland, the New York media would have matched his pair of bad eyes with a butthole ripped in two.
March 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Speaking of Boats and Owners and the City of Cleveland - we pretty much ran George Steinbreener out of town after his shipbuilding business went down south. He tried to buy the Indians and the city denied him. It’s not always “THE MAN” making dumb decisions. Sometimes it’s the people too.