A smiling Anderson Varejao greeted reporters Friday after he learned that his native Brazil – Rio De Janeiro specifically – was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, beating out the Windy City – Chicago – and the star power of Pres. Barack Obama as he personally made a pitch to the International Olympic Committee for the games.

‘’It’s huge for my country,’’ Varejao said. ‘’I’m very happy. I hope (the Brazilian men’s basketball team) can make it this time.’’

What would be better than that? Varejao participating. But will he be able to lace them up at the old age of 34? ‘’I hope so,’’ he said with a laugh.

Post-mortem: Cavs 98, Nets 87

• The record’s behind them, this is officially the best team in Cavs hisotry as they won their 58th.  I don’t even think they believe it’s enough and they shouldn’t because there’s still plenty to work on:
• Offensively, the Cavs, after opening up with tremendous momentum, looked sloppy for the rest of the game. No one is going to expect them to continue shooting at a 56 percent clip as they did the first quarter, but as Mike Brown pointed out tonight they were slow to get into their offense as evidenced by several 24-second clock violations.
• Something that continues to look impressive is that LeBron James-Anderson Varejao combination that continues to connect for easy looks near the hoop.  Mike Brown will have a tough decision once Ben Wallace returns from his injury as Varejao recorded another double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds).

At the half: Cavs 44, Nets 40

• Observations:  LeBron James and Anderson Varejao were able to work that backdoor a few more times as Varejao continues to find his way to a soft spot in the Nets’ defense.
• This would be a perfect game except for one factor:  the Cavs are beating themselves.  The Nets aren’t. They’ve turned the ball over nine times in the half and a few of those were unforced and mental errors.  If they want to win this it’s going to have to stop because those turnovers allowed the Nets to creep back into the game.

Game:  Cavs (57-13) vs. New Jersey Nets (30-40)

Broadcast:  TV: FSOhio; Radio: WAKR (1590 AM); WTAM (1100 AM), WHBC (1480 AM)

Starters:  Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Anderson Varejao (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G).  Nets:  Trenton Hassell (F); Yi Jianlian (F); Brook Lopez (C); Vince Carter (G); Keyon Dooling (G).

Injured-inactive:  Cavs: Wally Szczerbiak (left knee sprain); Ben Wallace (broken tibia) and Eric Snow (knee) are out.  Nets:  Devin Harris ( sprained left shoulder and sprained left deltoid)  and Eduardo Najera (sports hernia) are out.

Streaking:  The Cavaliers have nine consecutive and the Nets have lost one.

This year:  The Cavaliers have won both games to date, with the last coming this past Sunday.  They break the team record for wins in a season tonight.

Officials: Ken Mauer, Matt Boland and Jim Clark.

What to watch:

• Watch to see if LeBron James and Anderson Varejao continue to click on that baseline cut that’s been so effective in recent game, especially against these very Nets on Sunday.  Varejao moves extremely well without the ball and he and James have developed that chemistry over the years to where they make it look easy.  If they can keep this working, it makes the offense that much more flexible in time for the playoffs.
• Speaking of the playoffs: this is normally the time of the season when teams are peaking, but the Cavaliers just keep rolling.  They must maintain as much of that momentum as possible going into the final weeks of the season.  While they enjoy a comfortable lead to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, going into the night’s game they had just a one-game margin for the league’s best record with the Los Angeles Lakers right behind.  Mike Brown doesn’t talk about it, but you can bet your last dollar, the team would like to have both advantages.

Some might wonder where the minutes that Joe Smith will play will come.

You won’t hear Zydrunas Ilgauskas complain about losing a few.  Ditto for Anderson Varejao.  Coach Mike Brown said as much today when asked if Smith would see action tonight against the Celtics:

I’m going to try.  I’m probably going to throw him out there.  Being gone as long as he was, he’s going to be a little bit behind offensively, but we really won’t know defensively until he gets out there into the flow of the game. He’s got to react.  We’ll see if it’s instinctive or if he’s got to think about it and he gets there a little late.

Smith gives Brown some much needed flexibility and depth with his big men, even more so once Ben Wallace returns from injury.  He’ll also be able to dial back Ilgauskas and Varejao’s minutes, but guess who’s going to take the big hit?  The rookie.  J.J. Hickson.  Since Wallace went down his minutes are up significantly and they are about to vanish.

When the Cavs lacked that depth at those positions, they almost had to have Hickson ready to contribute during the playoffs.  Once Wallace – who is expected to return for the playoffs – is back and providing they stay healthy, that’s less the case.

Hickson has grown throughout the year, but if you listen closely to Brown and pay attention to the way he chooses his words regarding his rookie big man, it’s easy to discern that he’s not exactly ready to trust him right now, primarily because of his defense.

If Smith can show that he still knows the defense, you can expect him to gobble up Hickson’s minutes – quickly.

According to reports coming out of Oklahoma City, the Thunder reached an agreement to buyout the contract of forward Joe Smith allowing him to become a free agent and thus sign with any team.

Smith would be a natural choice to fill the hole left due to Ben Wallace’s injury, but things aren’t quite that simple.

Smith and Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao share an agent in Dan Fegan.  That in itself clouds the situation, according to a league source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

With Smith back on the team Varejao would certainly lose some playing time and given the fact that he can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, Fegan is unlikely to want to see the possibility of a big payday slip away.

Smith arrived in Cleveland just before the trading deadline last season.  He quickly became a team favorite and the Cavs didn’t want to part with him, but had to to get Mo Williams.

LeBron James said after Sunday’s victory over the Hawks, that he would welcome Smith back. 

The 6-10 Smith averaged 6.6 points and 4.5 rebounds with the Thunder this season but has seen his playing time vanish after a trade with the New Orleans Hornets was rescinded last month.

UPDATE: Things grew complicated when the Sacramento Kings released former Cav Drew Gooden just before the deadline Sunday.  The forward, who is currently has a groin injury, is another fan favorite.  Could it be the Cavs will have a choice of big men should they be unable to sign Smith?

The Kings got him in a trade from the Chicago Bulls before the trading deadline.  He spent almost four seasons here and averaged close to 12 points and more than eight rebounds.  This season he is averaging 13.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Post-game audio – Mike Brown and LeBron James on the victory over the Celtics:   boston-post-game

Pre-game audio:  brown-rivers

Post mortem:

Cavs 98, Celtics 83

All week the media heard and reported that this game had no more meaning than any other.  The Cavaliers, although the did so, cannot say that with a straight face after whipping on Celtics in a physical game.

They got this win with grit and hard-nosed defense in on of those games LeBron James refused to lose and he displayed that offensively and defensively in his best performance of the year with 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists and topping it off four steals and three blocked shots.

It was a night when his defense would prove as important as his offense as James, with some help, locked up Paul Pierce for most of the night.  Pierce only scored 11 points for the Celtics as James pretty much disarmed him in the game.

The numbers won’t tell the story, but James had plenty of help from teammates who scrapped for balls, fought for rebounds and contested shots.  Overall the Cavs had seven blocks and an eye-popping 14 steals. 

Defense won the game for them.  It’s that simple.   Was it a message game?  Maybe, but messages tend to matter when they’re tied to more tangible results than a win in a single game.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on LeBron James’ performance:

I know offensively he did a whale of a job carrying us, especially when we were stagnant and stalled out. 

LeBron James on the effect of the fans:

Tonight when Ben was making free throws and we were making runs, it was great.  Much respect to the Cavaliers fans.  They were unbelievable.

At the half:  Cavs 49, Celtics 40

Watching this game, you can’t help but think that Cavs should be ahead by a wider margin.  In several intances, they created turnovers only to give the ball right back to the Celtics.

The Cletics are winning this game in almost every category, except one – shooting.  They’re beating the Cavs in second-chance points and rebounds.  What’s hurt them:  14 percent shooting from the three-point arc while the Cavs have hit on 57 percent of their overall shots.

Game:  Cavs (28-6) vs. Celtics (29-8)

Broadcast:  TV: FSOhio, ESPN. Radio:  WAKR (1590 AM); WTAM (1100 AM), WHBC (1480 AM)

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F), Ben Wallace (F); Anderson Varejao (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G): Celtics:  Paul Pierce (F); Kevin Garnett (F); Kendrick Perkins (C); Ray Allen (G); Rajon Rondo (G).

Inactives-injured: Cavs:  Eric Snow (knee); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (ankle).  Celtics:  Tony Allen (right ankle sprain).

Streaking:   The Cavs are defending an 18-game home winning streak. They’ve won one overall.   The Celtics have lost three-in-a-row.
Officials: 

Three things to watch: 

• LeBron James vs. Paul Pierce – They can try to sugarcoat it all they want, but these two feed off one another and it’s not exactly a lovefest. Go back to the classic duel in last year’s playoffs. James has nothing to prove, but he’s focused and realizes that this isn’t just another game. Pierce has averaged more than 28 points over the past three games.
• Ben Wallace vs. Kevin Garnett – Wallace has to do his best to keep Garnett on the perimeter, making him work for his shots, preferably keeping him on the perimeter and off the boards where he averages close to nine rebounds per game.
• Mo Williams vs. Rajon Rondo – You can put the Celtics recent struggles, losing 6-of-8 on the play of point guard Rajon Rondo.  He’s most dangerous when driving to the hoop and dishing off the ball.  On the season he averages 7.5 assists per game. However in the past three he’s averaged approximately 4.6 assists per game.  Williams has to keep him from driving the lane.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Doc Rivers on who the Celtics respect other than LeBron James:  

(Anderson) Varejao to me is a very important player to their team and I don’t think people give him enough due.  It’s not just his defensive stuff, it’s his offense.  LeBron gets everybody shots, but I think Varejao’s energy gets them shots as well. We can’t lose sight of him.

From the locker room:

Mo Williams on Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo:

We do totally opposite things. He’s more in the lane, trying to get to the basket tonight on penetration.  I do that, but I can shoot the ball better than he can…He can finish around the basket better than I can. 

Post mortem:  Cavs 117, Bulls 92

Defense was the word for this game.  The Cavaliers rode the Bulls from the jump and didn’t let go.  They turned the Bulls best weapon, Derrick Rose, into a non-factor.   About the only one who did any damage is Ben Gordon with 22 points, but considering he only plays offense, that’s not big surprise. 

By concentration on Rose, the Cavaliers threw the Bulls off their game.  Perimeter shooting, their strength, didn’t come into play as they shot an abysmal 37 percent.

Conversely, the Cavs shot almost 51 percent and had seven players in double figure.  LeBron James had a triple-double, while Anderson Varejao led all scorers with 26. 

At the half:  Cavs 61, Bulls 47

The Cavaliers shot 56 percent form the floor to open the half.  Methinks someone got that memo about sluggish starts in recent games.  That’s a nice little stat.  It’s even more noteworthy when you consider that it comes with LeBron James only having taken one shot.  At the half, Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao, who the team needed to step up, has done so. The Cavs’ bench players have outscored the Bulls reserves 18-6 in the first half.

Game:  Cavs (26-5) vs. Chicago Bulls (14-17)

Broadcast:  TV: FSOhio  Radio:  WAKR (1590 AM); WTAM (1100 AM), WHBC (1480 AM)

Starters:  Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Anderson Varejao (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G).  Bulls:  Thabo Sefolosha (F); Tyrus Thomas (F); Aaron Gray (C); Ben Gordon (G); Derrick Rose (G).

Injuries-inactives:  Cavs:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas (left ankle), Eric Snow (knee); Bulls:  Drew Gooden (sprained right ankle); Luol Deng (sprained left ankle); Michael Ruffin (sprained left ankle), Kirk Hinrich (torn ulnar collateral ligament)

Streaking:  Cavaliers have won 16 consecutive at home, but lost their last one against the Miami Heat.  The Bulls lost their last game.

Officials:  Mike Callahan, Eric Lewis, Ed Malloy.

• Two things to watch
  Anderson Varejao will have to fill center Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ sneakers once again as Z is a no-go for the show tonight. When Ilgauskas went down with a left ankle sprain approximately a month ago, Varejao did a nice job in Ilgauskas’ spot, averaging 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds.
• The Cavaliers’ perimeter defense will have to work overtime tonight as Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose have shown a nice touch from the outside. Gordon is the 13th ranked 3-point shooter in the league.  They will have to watch these two and still be sure that the paint remains protected.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on filling Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ shoes:

For a stretch there we were missing both Z and Daniel (Gibson) and both of those guys put up some points for us,  they shoot the ball very well for us and help space the floor.  It bothered us a little bit but we still have to figure out how to win no matter who’s in the lineup.

From the locker room:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas on his injured ankle

One good thing is that it’s not related to the foot problems.  If anything the MRI showed that all the previous foot surgeries were beautiful and great. The bones were healed and that was the positive.

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons are a team the Cavaliers will see a lot of during the course of the season and one that will represent a roadblock to the team’s desire to win the Central Division crown.

This is a different team, however, in that Coach Flip Saunders is gone, replaced by Michael Curry shortly after the end of last season’s.  Being completely blunt, I’ve not seen these Pistons in any form or fashion yet. But what will be interesting to see is how he interacts with his players and whether he’s overhauled Saunders’ philosophy.  He knows the players, primarily because he played with any of them.  That might be a benefit.  Then again…   LeBron James will not play.

Game:  Cavaliers (2-5) vs. Detroit Pistons (6-1)

Broadcast: WAKR (1590 AM); WTAM (1100 AM), WHBC (1480 AM)

Starters:

 Cavs:  Sasha Pavlovic (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Mo Williams (G); Delonte West (G). Pistons:  Tayshaun Prince (F); Amir Johnson (F); Rasheed Wallace (C); Chauncey Billups (G); Richard Hamilton (G).

Officials: Derrick Stafford, Pat Fraher and Derrick Collins

Streaking:  The Cavaliers have won two in a row.

What to watch: We’ll get to see how Delonte West plays in his first start at the shooting guard position in the preseason.  His work at the point has looked good.  Sasha Pavlovic had a decent night in Philadelphia Tuesday scoring a total of 9 points.  More importantly it’s time to see how Mo Williams is working into the offense.  With last Saturday’s ejection he missed valuable time there. Coach Mike Brown made up for it by giving him 32 minutes Tuesday night…See if Anderson Varejao can keep playing to the level he’s established the past couple of games.

In the coach’s office.

Mike Brown on resting LeBron James: Before the season started he and I sat down and talked about it – taking a game off or possibly two games off because of all the basketball he’s played.  And we agreed it was going to be this game.

Apparently a little loyalty to the good folks of Columbus went into the decision:  People in Columbus it’s a  2 ½ to 3 hour drive for them to get a chance to see a player like LeBron play.  He wants to play in a place like Columbus. He wants to play in a place like Pittsburgh to be able to allow other fans who might not be able to see him play in their hometown.

From the locker room:  Anderson Varejao has quietly made a statement the past two games as he’s 11-of-13 shooting for the past few games.

Post game analysis:  Personally, I had the same thought as Alan.  This one proved competitive to start as the Cavs and Pistons tied 40-40 going into the half.

It went to hell after as the Cavs fell completely apart on defense, while the Pistons amped it up ,significantly.

Rodney Stuckey, the Pistons backup guard, torched the Cavs for 20 points add another 15 for guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton.  Stuckey got 14 his points while matched up against Daniel Gibson for much of the second half.  The Pistons guard drove and created scoring opportunities for this teammates.  At times it looked as if the Cavs were standing still.

The numbers bear that out:  fast break points – 21 for the Pistons, just 4 for the Cavaliers.  The Pistons also clobbered them in the paint beating the Cavs 32-22 there.  Add those two factors and the fact that 16 Cavaliers’ 16 turnovers led to 17 Pistons points and you have the making of the ugliness displayed in the second half.  Offensively, it’s easy to appreciate the 16 points that Gibson produced, but if he’s going to have to produce on the defensive side, also.

Of course all of this happened without LeBron James on the floor, but what happens if he goes down?  Someone’s going to have to step up for the Cavaliers.

Quotable:

Mike Brown on the Pistons performance: 

‘’You have to give that team credit for being active and lively.  And that’s what that team’s going to be (during the season).’’

Brown on the Cavs’ problems:

 

‘’Two areas have bothered us in the preseason.  Fast break points and transition (defense) and turnovers.  They are two areas I’m very, very concerned about.’’

To those who continue to read this, I may be walking around in a haze for just a couple weeks, so be it.  Everything has a learning curve, even covering an NBA team with the most popular player on the planet in his hometown paper…errr…blog…Yeah, well you know what the heck I’m trying to say.

Ran across one piece while browsing the innertubes this a.m. comparing the offseason moves made by the Cavaliers and Toroto Raptors.  How apropos considering they just squared off last night. Everyone in the league knows that the Cavs got Mo Williams in an off-season trade.

The Raptors, they got Jermaine O’Neal from Indiana Pacers.  With big moves, come big expecations and HoopsWorld’s Tommy Beer has a great take on it.  O’Neal attracted plenty of interest in the offseason – even from the Cavaliers, Mike Brown said last night.

And on a completely different note:  I mentioned in this part of cyberspace Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert got some heat regarding his comments and continued insistence on the national level that LeBron James will eventual bolt the snowy roads of Northeast Ohio for the Great White Way of New York City.  Hey, after all, it’s the only city big enough for him.

James told fans at a voter registration rally that he wouldn’t be going anywhere.  Apparently, even the prospect of James not taking a bite out of the Big Apple is unfathomable to Joe DeLassio of New York Magazine.  It’s must reading.

Anyone whose read me in my nine years at the ABJ knows that for the first seven, I was the paper’s movie critic.  I’ve spent a lot of time in New York and Los Angeles.  At times it felt like too much.  New York, great place to visit but…  You can finish the sentence.  Most New Yorkers, depending on where you are in the city are a down home lot.  While covering movies, however, I felt more comfortable with the hotel staff then I ever did with studio executives.

With that Manhattan crowd, there was always this sense of disbelief that I could never want to live in NYC with its $2,500-a-month rent for 900 square feet of space, the smell of horse sweat, horse urine, and pretzels. With my proclamation also came a hint of condescension.  You know, NYC is the center of the universe.  Yada, yada, yada to borrow from its native son, Jerry Seinfeld.

If you’re poking around the Internet (as you obviously are now) take a look at a piece from the News Herald’s Bob Finnan regarding Anderson Varejao’s future with the Cavaliers.  It makes for some interesting reading for Cavs’ fans.

Looking for humorous take on the Varejao situation? Check out Marcel Mutoni over at Slamonline.com.  He takes a look at Finnan’s article, but you gotta love a guy with a sense of humor.  The money quote:

Sign him to a long-term deal, don’t sign him. I don’t really care either way. Just don’t make me think about Sideshow Bob too much.

What’s with financial institutions in Detroit and Cleveland?  National City Bank, headquartered in Cleveland, signed a deal to be a Detroit Pistons sponsor Wednesday. Methinks that they have identity crises.  Quicken Loans Arena is named for owner Daniel Gilbert’s other little baby.  At least that deal makes some sense.