AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Loose is the best way to describe the Cavaliers as they prepared to take on the Detroit Pistons in Game 3 of the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. 

Leading the series 2-0, there’s no way they shouldn’t be.   Some might expect that the Pistons are more dangerous at home.  Well, that’s not quite the case.  Earlier this week when Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince said that his team didn’t defend home very well.  Given they own a 21-20, he was right.

It’s quite possible, however, the Pistons would be in a different position had they not traded point guard Chauncey Billups who currently has the Denver Nuggets up 2-0 on the New Orleans Hornets.  Mike Brown, for one, is glad he doesn’t have to see Billups – yet.

Chauncey is a great player; we had our hands full with him every time we played these guys. If I can help it, I’d love to not have to play against Chauncey Billups at any time.

The main guy the Pistons got in that trade – guard Allen Iverson – is done for the season with an apparent back injury.

It hasn’t exactly gone viral – yet – but the Cavs spoof of the now infamous Heineken beer walk-in closet commercial, but it has still racked up over 300,000 hits.

Coach Mike Brown was asked about the obvious glee that the players took in doing the commercial, which began showing at Quicken Loans Arena during playoff games.

Again, that’s our guys being our guys.  They are a group of guys that hang out together, a group of guys that eat together.  A group of guys have fun together and that commercial is just their personality, their being – at least this year. 

You can understand the looseness the Cavs have considering that the Pistons have only offered answers for their second team as opposed to the starters, especially in the case of LeBron James.

The Pistons’ Coach Mike Curry played him straight up and then they sent half the team and Bill Laimbeer and John Salley after him to no avail. When asked what he’d do, Brown said.

You’re going to have to ask Michael Curry.  I can’t help him.  I can’t try to help him.

Injury update:  Rookie forward J.J. Hickson hasn’t been cleared to participate in any activities yet…Expect Ben Wallace to play another 10-15 minutes against the Pistons.

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.

In case you hadn’t heard, Mo Williams still has a shot at making the NBA All-Star Game because the Orlando Magic’s Jameer Nelson suffered a separated shoulder against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night.

Already the jockeying has begun for other teams to get their players on the spot – most notably it comes from – of all places – New York as media there make the case for David Lee, last year’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week.  And with his stats:  16 points, 11.7 rebounds per game can’t be overlooked, but sorry, and maybe I’m biased.  Actually, I’m likely to be biased here.

You see, although they play different positions, Mo Williams’ numbers with respect to scoring compare favorably with Lee’s at 17.3 points per game.  But because their positions are different an apple-to-apple comparison proves virtually impossible, so what does that leave us with?

For me it’s simple: impact.

The Cavaliers would have likely won at least 45-50  games without Williams this season and grabbed a mid-range seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs bracket, but with him they challenge for the No. 1 see and are on pace to win more than 60 games and Williams is the primary reason.

Ben Wallace said it best last week when he called it a shamockery that Williams didn’t make it on his merits last week.  In his last five games he averaged 25 poitns per game and, more importantly, he is the one player on the roster who can maintain a lead or takeover a game.

Given Williams’ impact and the Cavs’ record, the NBA – that means David Stern in this case – has the chance to right an injustice.

Apologies for no halftime analysis, but I was working on getting news of Delonte West’s injury and let’s face it, if you’re a Cavs’ fan it’s not good.

It’s easy to look at West’s 12 points per game, four assists and the rest of it and say that those numbers are replaceable, but there are other factors to deal with here.

This loss could be as big as losing Zydrunas Ilgauskas, primarily because West brings other intangibles to the game.  Those 12 points can be made up in other ways, but what about West’s defense?

Other than LeBron James he might be the team’s most consistent defender this season, taking on bigger, taller shooting guards in the league and rarely, if ever, truly getting lit up.

He’s a crafty, intelligent ball player who plays defense that way, often blanketing opponents and still managing not to get called for a foul.

And for a while there, after his injury, the Cavaliers looked just a wee bit lost and, I’d argue, they missed his defense down the stretch with the game on the line and clinging to a very narrow lead.

So what next?  Who’s got to step up?  I suspect you see Sasha Pavlovic move into that starting role and Daniel Gibson will still come off the bench, primarily because Mike Brown has consistently said that Gibson plays better in that particular role.

But if Cavs fans are honest and realistic, Pavlovic will have some big sneakers to fill because defensively, he’s not West and he’s never played as consistently as him.

After the game LeBron James had this look of resignation on his face as if something was slipping away from him with this wave of injuries.  He could be right, but the Cavs believed when the season started that they had a very deep bench.  Now, they get to find out just how true that is.

Quotable:

Mike Brown on Delonte West’s injury:

That is just part of basketball.  We just have to have the other guys step up.  Tonight I rode some guys for too long which is something you can have a tendency to do when an injury like that occurs.

LeBron James on the Cavs’ injury bug:

They say all teams go through this at some time.  It just seems our team is going through it with our starters and not just for two or three days.  Z is out for a month, Ben is out and now Delonte for how long.  It’s a real challenge.  We just have to go out there and do it.

Game:  Cavs (30-6) at Chicago Bulls (16-22)

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

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Lorenzen Wright (F); Anderson Varejao (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G).  Bulls:  Tyrus Thomas (F); Luol Deng (F); Joakim Noah (C); Ben Gordon (G); Derrick Rose (G).
Injured-inactive: Cavs: Ben Wallace (flu); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (ankle). Bulls: Michael Ruffin, Cedric Simmons.

Officials:  Joe DeRosa, James Capers, Leroy Richardson

Streaking:  Cavs have won three in a row. The Bulls have won their last game.

So far this year:  The Cavs have won all three games.  LeBron James has averaged 32.7 points in those contests

Three things to watch:

• Mo Williams-Derrick Rose – Rose is coming off a double-double (25 points, 10 assists) against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday while Williams and his backups gave up 25 to the Memphis Grizzlies Kevin Lowry.  To be fair 15 of those points came on free throws, but displays how Lowry was able to penetrate the Cavs defense and get to the hoop and get a shot off.  Williams will have to watch Rose’s perimeter game and ability to go inside.
• Bulls as a team – They’re playing their fifth game in less than a week.  Reading that is enough to make me tired.  They’re 2-2 in that stretch and played well enough to beat Toronto in their building Wednesday, but fatigue could be a factor.
• Drew Gooden – Gooden is averaging more than 19 points a game and more than 10 rebounds in the four games since his return from an injury. It must be the beard.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on the return of Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden:

You’re talking about an All-Star and Olympian in Hinrich and somebody close to being an All-Star in Drew.  It’s two very talented guys who are veterans, who are experienced and who know how to score baskets.  That’s going to make it a lot tougher on us because of the experience and scoring capabalities they bring to the table.

From the locker room:

Lorenzen Wright on starting his second game:

You just have to get back into the swing of things,” he said. It’s not about the start.  It’s about starting with the players that you’ve never played with, so you really don’t know where you fit in, so you have to figure out everything on the fly

Post mortem:

Cavs 102, Grizzlies 87

Want to sum this win up succinctly?  Two words:  LEBRON JAMES.  While the team wasn’t necessarily flat, James lit the fuse that blew this one open.  He walked into the locker room with just nine points and left the game with 30.  Toss in 11 rebounds and 10 assists that inspired his teammates and you get a win.  No one, least of all Rudy Gay had any answers for James as he dunked, hit layups, made steals, grabbed rebounds and dished the ball of.  Was he alone in his effort?  Not even close.

The backcourt tandem of Mo Williams (16 points) and Delonte West (19 points) combined for 35 points. But it was his defense that proved key as he may as well have kept O.J. Mayo bound, gagged and locked in a broom closet. Mayo averages close to 20 points per game, but scored just six on the night.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on West’s defense:

O.J. Mayo is a great young player.  He is a guy who knows how to score in a lot of different ways.  Delonte did a nice job of making O.J. work for his looks.   Delonte had good team dfense behind him and he did a great job of making that young guy work.

From the locker room:

LeBron James on his triple-double:

I had no idea about the triple-double.  I’m just out there playing.  We really had to pick it up on the boards tonight.  We wanted to really get to the glass and put pressure on them. 

At the half:

Cavs 47, Grizzlies 44

Ummm…the Grizzlies shoot 35 percent, yet only trail by three at the half.   What’s wrong with this picture.  Star with the Grizzlies getting 11 more trips to the free throw line than the Cavaliers and making the most of those shots.  Then there’s the matter of the second chance points (6-0) the Grizzlies got in the half, including one on LeBron James for holding on to the rim that I’ve not seen call all season.   One of the myriad of things that irk me about the NBA – a lack of consistency.  Refereeing is so subjective in the league no player has any idea what they’re going to get called for game go game.  To the second half.

Game:  Cavs (29-6) vs. Miami Heat (11-26)

Broadcast:  TV: FSOhio
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).  Grizzlies:  Rudy Gay (F); Darrell Arthur (F); Marc Gasol (C); O.J. Mayo (G); Kyle Lowery (G).

Injuries/inactives:  Cavs Eric Snow (knee); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (ankle).

Officials:  Greg Willard, Brian Forte and Jason Phillips

Streaking:  Cavaliers have won two in a row; the Grizzlies have lost three consecutive games.

Three things to watch:

• Rudy Gay vs. LeBron James – Gay is having a decent season averaging more than 19 points per game.  James has been in lockdown mode on defense in recent games including last week’s masterful performance against Paul Pierce.
• Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo – The talk with respect to NBA rookies has revolved around Chicago’s Derrick Rose.  Quietly, probably due to the size of the media market, O.J. Mayo has stated his case averaging more than 20 points per game. The Cavs Delonte West will get a workout tonight.  But he could also take advantage of Mayo’s defensive deficiencies, something even his coach acknowledges need much work.
• Lorenzen Wright – Big Ben Wallace is down for the game with flu-like symptoms.  If another starter was going to go down, better it happen against the Grizzlies than next week against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on potentially starting J.J. Hickson for Ben Wallace:

He’s playing well in his role now, so for me to start it with him probably won’t happen. I don’t want him thinking too much.  I just want him going to play and that’s what he’s done a solid job of doing so far.

Grizzlies Coach Marc Iavaroni on the Cavs this year:

Obviously LeBron is bringing the big time juice.  He’s on a mission. He’s bringing all of his gold medal experience and everyone is buying into what Mike Brown is doing.  He’s done a great job.

From the locker room:

Darius Miles on whether he’s surprised about what’s happened with his situation:

I’m not worried about any of that stuff.  It doesn’t bother me.  It doesn’t affect me at all as far as what they do. 

LeBron James on O.J. Mayo:

He’s not a rookie; I’ll tell you that.  He’s a really good talent. All he’s going to do is continue to get better,’’ James said. ‘’ Some guys are born for the NBA and college basketball sometimes doesn’t showcase what you have.

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. 

Things started a bit rocky with the Pistons going on a 7-0 run.  No problem as the Cavaliers shook off a slow start to take a 49-38 lead into the locker room.  Why the difference?  The Cavs are getting some serious calls. They’ve went to the foul line 15 times to the Piston’s..umm…ahem…three.  They’ve hit 12 of those shots.  They have a slight advantage in rebounds 23-19, but are losing the shooting battle.  They’ve shown more defensive intensity in this first half with 5 blocked shots to the Pistons 1.  LeBron James said before tip-off that this game would have a playoff feel to it.  So far it’s as advertised.

Broadcast:

TV:  FSOhio

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

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G).  Pistons:  Tayshaun Prince (F) Rasheed Wallace (F); Kwame Browns (C); Richard Hamilton (G); Allen Iverson (G)

Injuries:  Cavs:  Eric Snow (knee); Wally Szczerbiak excused for personal reasons.  Pistons:  None.

Officials:  Joe DeRosa, Ron Olesiak, Olandis Poole

Streaking:  Cavs have won 8 consecutive games; the Pistons have won three-in-a-row, all on the road.

Two things to watch:

1)      How Allen Iverson fits with the team.  He and Chauncey Billups are two polar opposite players in that Billups looked to get teammates involved in the game before taking his own shot.  Iverson – pure scorer.  Obviously they’ve done something right as the Pistons came off a mini West Coast swing with a 3-1 record on that trip.

2)      LeBron James on Tayshaun Prince.  Prince has assumed more of Billups’ role as a facilitator and plays more of a point forward now.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office: 

Mike Brown on whether LeBron James has elevated his game:

Yeah, he is and obviously every year that you play in the league on both sides of the ball, especially if you’re a worker, you’re going to get better.  And he’s a worker on both sides of the ball.

From the locker room: 

LeBron James on the whether he’s surprised about the attention his ‘’imminent’’ free agency has attracted:

No, sometimes people don’t have nothing to write about. They need a story once again and keep bringing up my free agency. 

LeBron James on the Pistons without Chauncey Billups

It was definitely weird seeing Chauncey playing in that Nuggets uniform last week. It’s going to be weird going out there and not seeing him be the point guard for this team.  It is weird.  It should be weird to everyone that’s been around Detroit and been around sports.

 

 

Ben Wallace on being back in Detroit:

 It’s just strange coming in here and this guy is no longer here and that guy is no longer here and a couple more guys are no longer here…That’s a little strange because we played together for a number of years and we built that friendship – that bond. 

Post mortem:

Reality check:  This is a game that the Cavaliers had no business winning.  They were out scored in the paint 50-40, on the fast break 19-9, second chance points 26-8 and out rebounded 44-30.

So why were they able to pull it out 111-107?  Timely defense for one and the fact that LeBron James knew that he and his team came into this one lacking focus and he gave them the spark they needed.

While coach Mike Brown had little interest in getting into a track meet with the Pacers, they ultimately had little choice.  In short:  when you can’t beat them, join ‘em.  They out shot them 52 percent to 48 percent.

More importantly, the Cavaliers got 26 points off 24 Pacers’ turnovers and they only got 14 off 16.

Credit the those all-important trips to the line as well, as the Cavs hit on 24-of-28 free throws while the Pacers went to the line only 11 times.

Bench play proved an important factor in this one as well as Anderson Varejao tossed in 18 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 11.

Quotable:

Mike Brown on his team winning a game outside-the-box:

‘’It’s an exciting thing it.  Usually if you’re going to have a good team or your team is going to have a chance to be good, you’re not going to be able to play, you’re not going to be able to play the way you want to play every night,’’ he said. ‘’ At times you’re just going to have to figure out a way to win a ballgame…I don’t think we would have won a game like this in the past.’’

LeBron James on the team’s depth:

We’re going to have a very good team.  To have six players in double digits just shows the depth that we have and we are going to be really good if we continue to get better each night.

At the half:

Were it not for Zydrunas Ilgauskas the Cavs would be out of this one.  Given that the Pacers opened with an 11-4 run to start the game, it looked as if they would be.  They’ve scratched their way back, but the defense that they’ve staked their reps on is missing for the first quarter as the Pacers shot a blistering 56.5 percent from the floor and took a 29-20 lead.  The Pacers have done a nice job keeping Ben Wallace off the boards and theyv’e hit a healthy number of three-point shots. The Cavs are getting beat in every facet of the game including in the paint, on the break and in second chance points.

Game:  Cavaliers (3-2) vs. Indiana Pacers (1-2)

Broadcast:

TV:  FS Ohio

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

Starters:  Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Delonte West (G); Mo Williams (G).  Pacers:  Danny Granger (F); Troy Murphy (F); Jeff Foster (C); Marquis Daniels (G); T.J. Ford (G).

Officials: Dan Crawford, Tony Brown, Derrick Stafford.

Streaking:  The Cavaliers have won two in a row.  Ben Wallace has had two consecutive games of more than 10 rebounds.

Three things to watch:

1)      The Cavs defense against the Pacers and especially guard T.J. Ford.  Coach Mike Brown said specifically that he wants his team to inflict their will on opponents. Now’s as good a test as any with a point guard that averages more than 17 points a game and 4 assists and guides a team that likes to run.

2)      Pay attention to Ben Wallace on the boards. He’s dominated in that respect the past two games against Dallas and Chicago.  It remains to be seen whether he can continue to keep it up at that kind of pace, but it’s good to see nonetheless.

3)      LeBron James – I know. You always want to look at what James is doing.  What is different this year, however, is that he’s playing on the perimeter less on the offensive end and relying more on his teammates.  That in itself shows a basic level of trust, but pragmatically speaking it allows him to attack the hoop more.  The result:  more free throw attempts.

Quotable:

Mike Brown on the Pacers offense: 

‘’For us, we’re trying to run more this year because we have quick guards, but we, at times, because we’re not used to playing that way, are sloppy and it turns into a rat race.  And if this game turns into a rate race, the Pacers are going to win.’’

 

LeBron James on Danny Granger:

‘’He’s become their go to guy with the departure of Jermaine O’Neal and Steven Jackson.  I think he’s started to grow and gain more confidence,’’ LeBron James said. ‘’He’s going to become one of the best (forwards) in this league and one of the best players if he continues to work. He’s a guy we need to key on tonight knowing he’s their No. 1 option.’’

Well, someone is taking notice of what the Cavaliers are doing.  One thing that has been noticeable duing the first couple of weeks of the season is that this Cavaliers team is far more balanced and the bench has more depth.  Consider if you will the fact that a couple years ago, Mike Brown often called Sasha Pavlovic’s number first off the bench.  He has virtually vanished thus far this year.

One thing you’ll notice as you take in a Cavaliers game this season is that this is no longer the LeBron James show. Sure, LeBron’s going to be called upon to make big plays at big times, but much like the L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryan, the Cavaliers have tried to surround LeBron with enough quality pieces that he won’t have to carry the team for 48 minutes every night.

He supported the candidate of his choice, which is his right.  He appreciated the emotions of his family, which is to be respected.  And he understood the impact of Obama’s election.

After two consecutive games where he played impressively, it finally looks as if Mo Williams is finding his spot within the Cavaliers.  At least one local blogger, Matt Loede, believes that James finally has his Robin in the point guard acquired in an off-season trade.

The Cavaliers have wanted a long time for a Robin for their Batman, with that Batman of course being LeBron James.  After taking in Monday night’s 100-81 win over the Dallas Mavericks on the road, it seems more evident that they may have finally found that player.   Hello, Mo Williams.

It remains to be seen whether Williams is actually The One, but he, unlike other players who tried to fill that role, is at least showing promise.  It doesn’t hurt that the rest of James’ supporting cast has been upgraded.

I recently wrote about Ben Wallace and his how he’s turned his game up a notch.  That trend continued against the Bulls last night as he pulled in double digits in rebounds for the second consecutive game.   Branson Wright, the Plain Dealer’s former Cavs beat writer and current blogger thinks it’s time for Wallace to come off the bench.

Wallace showed signs of slowing down last season and during this preseason with lower back pain. Against the Celtics in the season opener, Wallace had two points and four rebounds in 19 minutes.

For another perspective on Wallace, check out Bob Finnan’s piece in The News-Herald, a paper where I once toiled.

Is it time for Big Ben to come off the bench?  It’s too early in the season to tell, but the fact remains that he knows his role on the Cavs and it’s Rodmanesque.  He’s not going to go out and score points, his job is defense and rebounds.  The Cavaliers have scorers.  If Wallace is protecting the middle and rebounding, that’s all he needs to do.

DALLAS – The Cavaliers’ lone visit to Dallas this year.  The Mavericks split their first two games, but Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard have come out strong to start the season.  Nowitzki will get his, as will Howard, but look for the Cavs to come out strong in this one.

Dallas is still getting used to new coach Rick Carlisle, who Cleveland’s coach, Mike Brown, worked under after years with Avery Johnson. Mavs point guard Jason Kidd is starting to find his way in the offense and averages close to 10 assists per game in the very young season.

To be fair, most of the news coming out of the Cavs these days relates more to how the Detroit Pistons trade of Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson would affect the team.

Game:  Cavaliers (2-2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (1-2)

Broadcast:

TV:  FSOhio

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

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Mo Williams (G); Delonte West (G).  Mavericks:  Josh Howard (F); Dirk Nowitzki (F); Eric Dampier (C); Jerry Stackhouse (G); Jason Kidd (G)

Officials:  Steve Javie, Rodney Mott, Scott Wall

Three things to watch:

1)      LeBron James has to break out sooner or later.  In the first three games of the season he’s averaging under 20 points per game.  He doesn’t seem to be worried about it, but he needs to lead the way in scoring while he receives supporting play from those around him.

2)      Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. In two of the first three games, the Cavs have gone above their own established limits for not taking care of the ball.  Not surprisingly, those are the two games that they’ve lost.

3)      Mo Williams acknowledges that he’s not as comfortable in the Cavaliers’ offense as he’d like to be.  His continued integration in the offense is essential tonight.

Quotable:

 From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on the Detroit trade:

”Trades happen all the time and they can happen any time. There have been a lot of them that caught you off guard and you say ‘Oh, wow.  That’s interesting,’ This is one of them, but not necessarily one that I think could be unexpected period. It’s an interesting trade and I think it has a chance to help both ball clubs.’’

 From the locker room:

Ben Wallace on his former team’s trade: 

“I’m used to seeing Chauncey (Billups) in a different uniform.  He’s been there before. He’ll be all right.  He’s back home…We’ll be watching them to see what they’re doing.”

 

On Detroit whether losing big man Antonio McDyess will affect Detroit:

 

  “It might.  It might not.   Maybe they feel the young guys are ready to play. 

Post game:

Three keys to the win:

1)      Mo Williams, after starting out a bit slow in the Cavaliers first few games, showed why the team traded for him in the off-season.  Williams scored 14 points, dished out 6 assists and only had two turnovers to key the win.  More importantly, he did much of his damage in the fourth quarter to key a 13-0 run by the Cavs to start the period. Williams created his own shot off the dribble and did most of it with LeBron James on the bench.

2)      Defense. Defense. Defense.  The Cavs held the Mavericks to just 40.8 percent shooting from the floor on 29-of-71 shots for the night. The blocked six shots and dominated the boards 52-35.  They out hustled the Mavericks on both ends of the court.   If you’re looking to pass out praise in this effort, look to Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao who clamped down on Dirk Nowitzki, holding him to just 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

3)      LeBron James got untracked – sort of.  James scored a total of 29 points on 8-of-20 shooting for the game. Those numbers aren’t glowing but he drove to the basket aggressively drawing fouls from Mavericks.  He hit 13-of-15 charity shots.

Quotable:

Coach Mike Brown on Mo Williams:

‘’Mo is a guy we feel who can go out there and create shots for himself and create shots for others and that’s what we did tonight.  We just called his number at the top of the floor, put him in a couple of pick-and-roll situations and told them to sit with their hands ready because we felt he was going to score or make the right pass.’’

LeBron James on his game:

“I didn’t think I shot the ball particularly well from the field like I know I can.  But I was able to get into the lane and knock down my free throws.  I was in attack mode all night, taking some shots I know I can make and I felt good.  The guys really took care of their business early in the fourth.