Washington — It may have seemed routine and, all things considered, easy for the Cavs to dispatch the Wizards in four games.  There was franchise history made tonight.  The Cavs had never swept a series, they’d never even won back-to-back road playoff games before.  This is just the second time in franchise history the Cavs have won at least one playoff series in back-to-back years.  In other words, Cavs fans, this doesn’t happen very often.  Might be a good idea to enjoy it for a minute or two.

Other stuff:

–It will probably be an eternal argument: should LeBron James shoot or pass in crunch time?  He believes he always should make the proper basketball play and pass.  But it will always be a catch-22.  Sometimes he’ll be right and sometimes he’ll be wrong.  This week he was dead on.  You can read all the stats in the above linked game story, but basically the "other guys" kicked the Wizards around.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas got more open shots in the last four games than he usually gets in a month and Drew Gooden wasn’t far behind.  I always write LeBron is unstoppable when he drives to the basket, well the Cavs are unstoppable when the supporting cast plays like they have in this series.
–Late in the games in the series there was almost no standing, the players away from the ball moved and LeBron made the right moves.  It is 50/50 in my mind.  Not only must the players run the play, but LeBron has to put them in a position to be successful.  For example, not dribbling backwards into a corner when faced with a double team.
–Also LeBron did a great job tonight of continuing to attack the basket even though his shot was off.  He got to the line 17 times, which kept the Cavs afloat when they couldn’t make a shot in the first half.
–It will be overlooked, but Game 4 was a breakthrough for Daniel Gibson.  He made a handful of shots in the series, but Monday he played at crunch time and played well at both ends.  A couple of times on switches he was actually guarding Antawn Jamison in the fourth and he held his own.  It will give him confidence.
–With all the positives, Sasha Pavlovic was a negative in Game 4 and for much of the series.  He is in a bit of a rut offensively.  Also, as I discussed before the series, he’s too prone to get into early foul trouble.  He’ll need to step up his game in the next series, especially if it is the Nets and he’s got to go opposite Vince Carter.
–No one is perfect, but it should be pointed out how well Mike Brown performed in this series.  Obviously the Wizards were undermanned, but for the most part Brown was effective in his rotations and he made some wise subs throughout the series.  The Cavs also executed a number of times out of timeouts.
–The Cavs allowed 92 points and 41 percent shooting in the series.  Just wanted to point that out.
–Jamison played great and didn’t get much national credit.  Man, does he get a lot of junk points.  It’s amazing to see it over and over.  But you could totally see him get worn out almost every game and when he gets tired, it makes it very hard for him to create.  He scored just three points in the last 16 minutes of Game 1, just five points in the fourth in Game 3 and five points in the fourth of Game 4.  Him dribbling the ball off his foot late was probably due to fatigue.
–I just saw a graphic on TNT about Z with the tagline "Lethal Lithuanian."  Never thought I’d see that.
–After the game, someone asked LeBron what made the Cavs such good foul shooters all of a sudden (the shot 83 percent from the line in the series) and LeBron said "because the media said we couldn’t shoot them."  Excuse me?  The media just looked at the stat sheet, Bron-bron.  But hey, whatever gets you going.
–At shootaround on Monday morning, Gilbert Arenas was in the hall when the Cavs came out for shootaround.  He was running smack at Damon Jones, he said "So DJ, are you going to play in the last game?"  Last game?  Even Gilbert knew it was over.

Washington — Cavs take Game 3 98-92.  At least it was entertaining, right?  Not that anyone in NE Ohio was paying attention to anything but the Browns and NFL Draft.  Well, in case you weren’t watching…

–Zydrunas Ilgauskas is playing some of the best basketball of his career.  In this series he’s shooting 61 percent and tonight not only had 24 points, but huge baskets to stop the Wizards’ run in the third quarter and when the game was tight in the fourth.  The Wizards cannot defend Z with the way they are guarding LeBron James right now (double-teaming him on pick-and-rolls).  Especially in attempting to use Darius Songalia and Antawn Jamison when he’s setting up in the post.
–Speaking of defending Z, you may’ve seen the last of Brendan Haywood.  He played 10 minutes tonight and the only thing he recorded in the box score was a foul.  Meanwhile, he lost Z completely at least twice and the big man got easy hoops.  I know you can’t defend a 7-foot-3 guy with a 6-foot-8 guy, unless he’s Ben Wallace, but I understand why Eddie Jordan would rather go without sometimes.
–I thought LeBron played great overall tonight.  He made some mistakes, he held the ball for too long a couple times.  But in the fourth quarter he controlled the game yet didn’t score a single basket.  He had five assists in the fourth and all of them came out of an executed play, a few under late-game pressure.  This is what many, especially me, complained about all season.  That LeBron would pound the ball and the offense would stop late in games.  Well right now they look like they’ve lived and learned.
–I commend Mike Brown for having the vision/trust to put Sasha Pavlovic back in the game for the last 45 seconds.  Sasha was playing awful, making mental and physical mistakes (see the foul on Jamison on the 3 and the 24-second violation a few seconds later in the fourth).  Oh, and the three travels.  Now, in that spot the Wizards are going to take giving Sasha a wide open 3-pointer over LeBron going 1-on-1.  But the Cavs made them pay for the double team, which is the story of this series to me.
–Sasha is not playing well this series, he’s playing tight and making lots of unforced errors and committing some bad fouls.  Which is probably expected for a playoff rookie.  Daniel Gibson also made a couple of mistakes tonight, he was not ready to handle Antonio Daniels, but overall I think he’s contributed OK when he’s been out there.
–Jamison has played great in this series and I don’t think he’s getting much national credit.  That 21-4 run in the third quarter was regrettable in some respects for the Cavs.  They had some bad offensive possessions (especially two Sasha travels and a shot clock violation) in there and missed a defensive assignment or two, but mostly the Wizards just made some shots.  I knew it was going to happen at some point.  Jamison was great in that stretch, he made some tough shots.  But he used all his energy.  He had nothing left down the stretch.  He only had one basket in the fourth.
–Speaking of that run, I thought another key sub there by Brown was putting Eric Snow in.  He picked up two assists and to two rebounds that helped the Cavs regain some momentum.
–The Cavs played great defense in the fourth quarter, especially around the basket.  That included Pavlovic when he got a blocked shot in the last minute when he was actually playing the center spot when the Wizards went ultra-small.  Over, the Wiz were 6-of-20 shooting.  In Game 2, the Cavs held them to 6-of-24 shooting in the third quarter.  Washington can’t recover from that as they are currently made up.
–In another plugged leak, the Cavs were 16-of-18 at the line and are shooting 80 percent in the three games.
–I was in the locker room before the game just when the Browns made the trade with the Cowboys to get Brady Quinn.  I always seem to be glued to the TV in there, back in November all were attached to the Ohio State-Michigan game before a Cavs game in D.C.  Anyway, LeBron is a Cowboys fan and so he was all over it when they were on the clock.  He said the Cowboys needed a defensive back but all the top DBs were off the board at that point.  When the Browns made the trade there was a gasp in the room.  There are no Browns fans on the Cavs, really, except for maybe Eric Snow.  I think everyone was just interested in what happened to Quinn.
–One more thing, just like the Cavs have a playoff slogan, which is "Rise Up," Washington has one too.  It is "All in," perhaps playing on the poker boom and referring to the fans getting involved.  Problem is, they’re not all in, their two best players are all out.  Am I the only one to notice this?

Washington — Very little buzz here in D.C. over the impending Game 3, but that is understandable.  While the Wizards tag this town as "the most powerful city in the world," it’s also a place that loves a winner and will distance itself from a loser very quickly.  However, again I will say believe the Wizards have a win in them and could make this weekend tough on the Cavs.  Their guards are bound to make some shots at some point.

Some other stuff:

–I wrote a piece for ESPN after Game 2 about Drew Gooden’s wackiness, all stuff regular Cavs fans have read from me before.  I focused on Drew’s propensity to squeal "Yee!" several dozen times a day, which can mean many different things.  Drew yells it when he’s open on the court and his teammates yell it back to him when he makes a shot.  Wednesday night was one big "Yee" fest.  Anyway, a helpful reader tells me "Yee" comes from Drew’s hometown of Oakland, where it means you’re: "a hella hyped off what you do."  At least, that’s what some people say.  Whatever, the Cavs equipment manager Mark "Cobra" Cashman made him shirts this season with "Yee" on them.  I will guarantee you this, if you see Drew about town and you let out a high-pitched "Yee!," you’ll get a response, and a smile, from him.
–I usually never write about what players do with their free time, it’s not for me to comment or report on.  But this was on Truehoop and in the Washington Post today, so no doubt it will get around and spur discussion.  Regardless of what the reaction may be, this being the playoffs and all, I will tell you that these outings are a common at various road stops like L.A., D.C., Atlanta, and Miami during the regular season.
–I spent some time talking with some NBA "insiders" — people who work in the league, ok — today and none of them are impressed at all with the Cavs and they are even less impressed with LeBron James so far in the playoffs.  Not a surprise, the Cavs haven’t been all that great and LeBron has yet to do anything all that special.  Overall, I have come to the conclusion many people look down on the Cavs because they don’t show the same sort of focus and intensity every night, including LeBron.  There’s is a belief that the Cavs and LeBron think they can "turn it on" when they need to.  I cannot deny this viewpoint.  However, while the Cavs have not played their best ball, they have won six straight games and done so without all that much sweat.  Also, I have seen LeBron play his best when he’s motivated and rested.  I think he’s generally played well in the first two playoff games and there’s an entire energy stream he hasn’t tapped yet.  I suspect it will be needed in Game 3.
–The one highlight play from LeBron in this series was his block of Darius Songalia on Wednesday.  It reminded me of a play he made when he was a freshman in high school.  It was in the third quarter of a close game against Canal Winchester in the state semifinal at Value City Arena.  There was a turnover and a kid thought he had a breakaway layup.  LeBron had three fouls so it was dangerous, but caught the kid from behind, waited for him to jump, then went over his head and swatted it off the glass.  He got the loose ball, ran down the floor and nailed a 3.  It was one of those moments that blew you away.  Remember, he was 15 at the time.  He had 19 points and 11 rebounds in the game.
–Bad news for you Cavs fans who live outside Ohio.  It was announced that Monday’s game will not be on national TV, NBATV instead.  Of course, if you plunk down all that cash for league pass, you don’t get it either, which is a crime in my mind.
–In parting, I had a typo in the last blog when I misspelled "shirts."  Sorry if I upset anyone.

–Don’t confuse Drew Gooden’s "Let it Rain" with Pacman Jones "Make it Rain."  One involves a geeky-looking hand gesture.  The other $81,000 in cash and strippers.
–Drew informed me tonight that he can’t do his "rain dance" until he makes at least four shots in a row.  Write this down, people.
–OK, that covers that.  What’s most important from Game 2 is the Cavs again got other players besides LeBron to step up.  Gooden had an unbelievable second quarter, not just because he was making shots, but because he was making contested jumpers.  Almost more important that Drew’s hot streak was how Zydrunas Ilgauskas played.  The Wizards seem determined to double-team James on pick-and-rolls so Z making jumpers off them is vital to the Cavs’ offense.  Also, I though Larry Hughes’ decision-making was much better tonight.  In fact, I’ll go so far as to say Larry played better in Game 2 than he did in Game 1.
–Just re-establishing my point during this series, the Wizards have almost no margin for error on offense.  If Antawn Jamison doesn’t score 50 points, the Wizards need help from DeShawn Stevenson (who is 6-of-24 in two games) and Antonio Daniels (who is 7-of-18).  It also doesn’t help when Jarvis Hayes goes 2-of-11.  I will again say, though, that the Wizards are going to make shots at some point in this series.
–All that out, the Cavs defense continues to bait the Wizards into hoisting those jumpers.  They are going under most pick-and-rolls, which means they are denying drives.  They are also helping well, which means most of the jumpers are contested.  The Wizards are shooting less than 40 percent in the two games.
–On the big videoboards after Brendan Haywood got hit with a technical for screaming at Andy Varejao, you could just see him holding up one hand and gesturing but you couldn’t see his fingers.  It appeared to the crowd watching the screen that he flicked everyone off.  I don’t believe this was the case, but that’s why the crowd started chanting "a——."  What I’d like to know is if Etan Thomas was joining in the chant.  After the game Andy told me "he was saying somethings and they were not nice."  I’m sure.  I agree with Bill Simmons, it’s only a matter of time before someone just hauls off and socks Varejao during a game.  Perhaps it will be Game 3.
–Before the game, I was checking out Damon Jones sweet red and white Li Ning shoes.  Inside the shoe by the ankle, apparently just for Damon to see, is the phrase "I Am Global."  I ran over to look inside LeBron’s shoes to see if they said "I am a global icon" inside, but they have their own bodyguards.  Here’s all I need to tell you about Damon: His winter coat says "Damon Jones" on the back.  Not "Damon."  Not "Jones," like it was a high school letter jacket.  Damon Jones.  That and as he was walking into the locker room tonight in his pink shirt and gray suit, the camera guy who was recording his arrival wasn’t ready.  So Damon stopped, waited, and then started walking again when the guy had the thing on.  Pure comedy. 

Some thoughts for tonight:

–It is no surprise to most objective observers, but Eddie Jordan says Brendan Haywood is going to get some more playing time tonight.  He is doing this out of need, not out of desire.  Everyone I talk to who has been around the Wizards says Jordan has been in and out of disgust with Haywood for at least the last year.  Most recently, he thought Haywood quit on the team late in the season.  However, Haywood has always been tough on Zydrunas Ilgauskas, so it wouldn’t stun me if he had a positive impact for the ‘zards.  Meanwhile, Tom Knott - who is known for defending a right-wing agenda, and for being a bit of a Wizards coaching staff defender - takes aim at Haywood,  Haywood’s mom, and the bathroom habits of Sheryl Crow — all at once.  Wow.
–Couldn’t agree more with Ivan Carter’s story in today’s WaPo.  If the Wizards are going to have a chance to win a game, it will be because DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels get it going on offense.  Trust me, there will be at least a game when they do and I think you’ll see some teeth from the Wiz in such a contest.  The Cavs made them both take all jumpers in Game 1, which is the way to go.
–Two things I’d like to point out.  LeBron James so-called "supporting cast" gets regularly cracked by Charles Barkley and the like.  Sometimes it’s on point.  However, rarely do LeBron’s teammates get credit when they actually do their jobs.  Which actually happens quite often.  Game 1 was an example, Larry Hughes had 27 points, Z had 16 and the whole team played excellent defense.  But now Point No. 2: It seems to be going unnoticed by everyone but me and Eddie Jordan, but the Wizards actually have done a darn good job of holding down LeBron all season.  Because they want the teammates to beat them.  Let’s see who it backfires on in the end.
–How long before the Wizards start complaining publicly about LeBron getting favorable calls?  Last year Jordan wigged out after Game 3.  If the Cavs win Game 2 and LeBron gets to the line more than, oh, let’s say, six times, I think Eddie may start to boil postgame tonight.
–Who was happier the Raptors held on to beat the Nets last night?  The Raptors fans, savoring the first playoff win in years?  Or the Cavs, who are gleefully rooting for a seven-game slugfest?
–The D.C. Sports Bog, which is fantastic in nearly all respects, breaks down Cavs fans from Game 1, especially their signs.  I link to this post for entertainment value, but be sure to check out the whole site.

I got a great deal of feedback on my column on Sunday, which was about two things.  One, it was my view of the five different levels at which people watch games.  Second, it was an in-depth breakdown of the Washington Wizards offensive and defensive sets including what the sets are called and how the Wizards signal them to each other.  If you have a second, give it a read, I hope you’ll find it entertaining.

There’s two things I’ve learned from reading the e-mail.  1. People overestimate where they rank on my scale (I mean my own mom said she ranked in the "educated fan" level.  I love you, mom, but you’re a "casual fan.").  2. Many wanted more detail, craved it in fact, saying the wished the story go on longer.  Well, that’s what the net is for.

This is ironic because I specifically watered down the content somewhat so as to not completely lose the reader.  My editors were concerned about too much basketball jargon.  Understand, I just consider myself on the third level, an "insider" as I call it, and the concepts I presented and will give you more of are from the fourth or "pro" level.  What I mean is, I don’t get it all either.

WARNING…the following is not for the faint of heart, it is very complex.  If you leave now, no one will think less of you.

So here’s some more.  Now, understand that many of these plays are run all across the league.  I’m sharing them with you not so much so you can understand how the Wizards play, but also just how in depth teams are in their systems.

When Eddie Jordan calls plays, they have two parts: the set and the play.  Mike Brown’s often have three parts: The set, the players involved, and the play.  As I discussed in the column, the Wizards have five primary sets: Chin, Forwards Out, Basic, Power and Same Side.  As a note, the Wizards have other more basic sets not included in the five.  Jordan uses hand signals to call them.  He touches his chin for a "chin" set, wipes his forehead for "forwards out" and touches his ear for "same side" and so on.  The Cavs sets are called things like "thumb," "fist" and "early."

There are about 15 different plays for each.  As we get into the nitty gritty here, I’m just going to talk about what the Wizards do out of their "forwards out" set.  In general, when the point guard brings the ball up, the forwards will swing from the baseline out to the wings and pass the guards on the way.  Meanwhile the center often sets up around the foul line.

Before we continue, it is out of this play Zydrunas Ilgauskas got caught out of position a few times on Sunday when there was a back cut behind him because he was up on the foul line with Etan Thomas.  Moving on.

Normally, the play the Wizards run most out of this set is "Forwards Out 15."  It is when there is a dribble hand off (known as a DHO in NBA jargon and further in our discussion here) on the wing.  It means the point guard passes off the dribble to a swinging forward and then there’s a middle pick-and-roll at the top of the key.  As a note, the Wizards’ favorite play with Gilbert Arenas is called "Chin 15."  Chin is a two guard out front set and 15 is…anyone, anyone…a middle pick-and-roll.

There’s "forwards out strong" which is a DHO into a post up.  There’s "forwards out slash," when after  the DHO the ball is dribbled across the court and the other "forward out" runs a backdoor basket cut.   Not to be confused with "forwards out slash 2," where both a guard and forward cut backdoor.  There’s "forwards out fist," which is a DHO into a side pick and roll.

There’s "forwards out reverse" which is a DHO followed by a reverse dribble to a post up.  And "forwards out keep," where there’s a fake DHO and the guard goes to the rim.  Plus "quick fist" where there’s an wlbow pick and roll for top guard.  That’s a play the Cavs run as well.  Then the Wizards will run combination sets, going from a side DHO into a two-guard set and then run pick and roll or post up action out of "chin."

Tired yet?  I am.  And that’s still barely 10 percent of the Wizards attack.  But I hope it is enough for my point.

–It wasn’t pretty, but the Cavs ground it out to take the lead in the series so today is a smashing success with a 97-82 win.  Yet neither team played all that well and the Cavs let the Wizards hang around for three quarters before they really turned it on.  Still, this was exactly the kind of game the Cavs want to play all series long, slow and grinding.  In fact, I’d give their defense a A today.  Two points of emphasis were accomplished, they kept the Wizards guards out of the lane on drives and made it tough for Antonio Daniels and DeShawn Stevenson to get clean looks by denying and contesting.  Let Antawn Jamison get his, Washington can’t win without help.  Lots of jump shots, lots of misses for the Wizards.
–The Cavs also did a great, great, great job of limiting second-chance points (Wiz had just 2) and fastbreak points (Wiz had just 1).  Once again, Washington has no chance when this happens.
–The Cavs and LeBron James played their best on offense in the first quarter.  After then, LeBron was just 3-of-10 shooting.  But he did get to the line a bunch of times by driving, which kept the Cavs in descent position during the game.  So he had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, a quality effort.  The Cavs had 16 points in the paint in the first quarter and just 32 for the game.  This, of course, must improve.
–Zydrunas Ilgauskas played very well, especially in the fourth quarter when he had 11 of his 15 points.  That is very big for both the Cavs and his confidence after last year.  He cannot be defended by Darius Songalia, who fouled out, and if he gets position all Etan Thomas can do is foul.
–I thought Larry Hughes was the player of the game for the Cavs, even if I didn’t love his decision-making all the time.  He had a number of excellent plays on defense and led the Cavs with 27 points.  Much of it came on jumpers, which as you know I think is dangerous over the long haul, but today it worked so I tip the cap.

–The offense still ain’t great, it is wheezing on the execution scale.  Just two assists that quarter for the Cavs again.  But the defense continues to keep the Wizards guards out of the lane and the easy points to a minimum.  Which is what is winning the game for the Cavs right now.  The Wizards are still a mini streak away from tying this game and it is so dangerous to have let them hang around.
–The Cavs had a nice spurt in the middle of that quarter to push the lead to 12, which happened due to basket drives by LeBron.  That has got to be the way the fourth quarter goes, the Cavs cannot rely on hitting jumpers.  Also, no more contested 3s allowed for Donyell Marshall.
–I have seen LeBron turn his ankle like that at least eight times this season.  It happens all the time, but his ankles are so thick that he seems to be able to withstand it.  It’s amazing, actually.  It may be sore later and tomorrow.  It would be a good reason not to practice tomorrow for him.
–Cavs are 19-of-27 at the foul line, right at their 70 percent average.  Could be a factor.
–Sometimes I think Larry Hughes thinks the shot clock is only 14 seconds long because it gets to 12 and he looks to get the first shot he can.  Then again, he’s 8-of-15 from the field has been a big factor today.  Bu blog readers know that "All roads lead to 40 percent" with Larry, so watch out.  By the way, Larry’s season percentage…40.000.  No lie.
–When Darias Songalia is on Z, the ball should go there every time.  And not for Z to throw a behind the back pass.  Songalia shouldn’t be able defend Z in Cleveland, Washington or Lithuania (Songalia is from Lithuanian, too, in case you missed it).
–Jarvis Hayes isn’t showing butterflies in his first playoff game.  He doesn’t have fouls either, which LeBron should be drawing on him.
–Overall, so far I think the game has been officiated very fairly no matter what the crowd thinks.  However, I have the impressed Luis Grillo is personally trying to keep the game close.  He has been blowing his whistle a lot (two carries called on the Cavs).  Still I think it has been pretty even.

–The Wizards are elated right now.  They are right where they want to be.  They outplayed the Cavs in the second quarter and have basically not gotten hot at all on offense.  There was a six-point swing that went against them at the end of the half with Jarvis Hayes missing that 3 and Larry Hughes making one.
–The Cavs offense has stopped running.  There’s all of a sudden a lot of standing around going on.  Trust me, this is not because the Wizards are camping down, although they are playing better.  They are denying drives with a mix of defenses, but the Cavs made it easier on them by not throwing passes.  After they got seven assists in the first quarter, the first assist in the second quarter didn’t come until 4:50 left and then they didn’t have another one until Drew Gooden gave it to Hughes.  This is a classic example of the Cavs self-inflicted wounds allowing less talented teams to stay in the game.
–With that understood, it is easy to see why LeBron didn’t play as well in the second quarter.  He wasn’t throwing many passes and wasn’t getting many, which is why he went 0-of-4 with just one assist.  The only guy who did anything was Andy Varejao, who the Wizards will continue to hack.
–This is all why the Wizards are still very much in this game.  The Cavs had just six points in the paint in that quarter because they chucked up a bunch of jumpers.
–Here is a warning, the Wizards are shooing just 37 percent.  Overall, it has been good defense by the Cavs because they’ve forced them into taking lots of jumpers.  But trust me, sooner or later, the Wizards will go through a streak where they make a bunch of jumpers.  Antawn Jamison was 7-of-17, but he could’ve easily been 10-of-17.  The Cavs need to build a bigger cushion to ready for the run.
–Both teams had just three turnovers in the first half but the Cavs had nine fastbreak points to the Wizards’ 0.  I expect to see many more turnovers in the second half.
–Last year the Wizards never stopped Eric Snow when he was in the open floor, they just let him drive.  Eric remembered and drove again.
–All the LeBron heavy hitters are here in the courtside seats.  His agent, Leon Rose and Nike bigwig Lynn Merritt.  And, of course, Wes Wesley.  By the way, in the past I’ve written those seats belong to Nike.  They actually belong on Mr. Wesley, as he informed be a few weeks ago.  Thanks for reading.

–Also, As I wasn’t paying attention and blogging, I was almost hit on the head with one of the T-shirts they drop from the ceiling in the second quarter.  Earlier this year I was hit in the head by one of the balls they throw into the crowd while writing.  See what I endure for you folks?

–LeBron James is at it again.  He’s as active as he’s been on season with and without the ball.  Not only is he attacking, but he moving well to create angles and really seeing the floor.  He’s well on his way to another triple doube, with 9 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds already.  The Wizards, as expected, are doubling and shading to him and he’s burning them for it.  If he continues to play at this level, the Cavs are unbeatable.
–A big moment for LeBron was with two minutes left and the shot clock going down.  Instead of taking a fallway 18-footer, he looked at Darius Songalia and drove.  That is how to get it done.  It was a 3-point play.  If he did that all year, he’s have averaged three more points a game.
–The Cavs have made a lot of shots, going 12-of-22, but I feel it is a real percentage because they are mostly high-percentage looks.  They are attacking the glass and setting up the guys in the post.  Especially Drew Gooden, which is wise to make Antawn Jamison work at that end.  Jamison is a terrible defender, especially 1-on-1.  Most important, the Cavs had 16 points in the paint.
–It is impressive to see how strong Sasha has gone to the hole, even if he isn’t finishing very well.  This has been seen before, as has his disappearance after the first quarter.  We’ll see what happens when he comes back in for LeBron in a few minutes.
–A key play came at 6:32 when LeBron drew the charge on Antawn Jamison.  It was a good call, but had it gone the other way it would’ve been James’ second foul.
–Antonio Daniels and DeShawn Stevenson are non-factors so far, if it stays that way the Cavs are in good shape.  If they get going, the Wizards won’t go away.
–Z is off to a bad start (airball), we’ll see if it carries over.