- This quote from Tayshaun Prince says a lot about the Pistons psyche when they go back to Motown and heaven forbid they go down 2-0:

We haven’t played well at home all season. Being down 2-0 against them puts yourself in a tough situation because this season we played better on the road than we did at home.  We’ve had a lot of bad losses at home to teams we definitely should have beat.  To get in the playoffs now and obviously have your home crowd and court is something that’s important, but we’ve definitely shown throughout the season that we haven’t done a good job of taking care of our home court.

Think they’ve already tossed in the towel?

- Mo Williams doesn’t seem worried about the Pistons stifling LeBron:

We’ve seen it all. There won’t be nothing a team throws at us that we haven’t seen at some point in time this season.  We just read and react.  ‘Bron is a good enough player to react and if they double team him, he’s a good enough player to find the open man.  It’s up to us to knock it down.

- Coach Mike Brown may have heard from some of his former coaching mentors, but he’s not sure:

I’m sure I have, but this is on overload (laughing as he points to his Blackberry) right now. I still havent’ gotten back to them.  I haven’t checked.

- Lastly, Brown’s sons got the pleasure of telling their father he’d won Coach of the Year.  G.M. Danny Ferry hearded the entire Brown family, along with the team’s three owners and assistant G.M. Lance Blanks into Brown’s office where the boys delivered the news:

I can’t remember which of my two boys said it, but they kind of make fun of me because I say ‘heckuva’ a lot. They were going ‘Mike is a heckuva…’ And one of them said ‘He’s a heckuva coach of a the year.’ I said ‘Oh’ and we had out little celebration moved on.

Post mortem:  Cavs  94, Grizzlies 74.

Was anyone able to stay awake during that?  Let’s face it; it was over after the first quarter when the Grizzlies looked as if they wanted to hibernate.

LeBron James scores only 15 and the Cavs win?  Take it.  Cherish it.  Yours truly was skeptical as to how the Cavs would look after the masterful performance against the Pistons because Delonte West sat this game out – reportedly as a precaution.

Yet when the starters were in, we saw the same ball movement as the other night and the same number of assists in the stat line.

For the record, West sat out because of soreness in the right wrist that he’d fractured, it had to be a decision made just before game time.

What do you read into it?  It’s Tuesday.  They played the Grizzlies and it’s February.  Besides who knows if or when in the playoffs the experience some of those bench players get now will come in handy.

The Cavs go into a four-game road trip and a span of a couple weeks where 8-of-10 games are on the road.  Heading into that storm with a five-game winning streak gives them some momentum.

Game: Cavs (43-11) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (15-40)

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

Starters: LeBron James (F), Ben Wallace (F), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C); Tarence Kinsey(G); Mo Williams (G).  Rudy Gay (F); Hakim Warrick (F); Marc Gasol (C); O.J. Mayo (G); Mike Conley G).

Streaking: The Cavaliers have won four consecutive; the Grizzlies have lost four in a row.

This year:  The Cavs ran into the Grizzlies while as they endured a 12-game losing streak the last itme and won 107-87, but it wasn’t a piece of cake.

Injuries-inactives:  Sasha Pavlovic (high right ankle sprain), Eric Snow (knee).  Grizzlies: Mike Wilks (ACL)

Officials:  Joey Crawford, Tommy Nunez Jr. and Michael Smith.
Two things to watch:

• The Cavaliers offense and defense looked like they didn’t miss a beat after getting Delonte West back the other night against the Pistons.  In fact, they looked a lot like that team that steamrolled everyone in its path back in December. Will it continue? This is the time of year that the Cavs should be driving to the playoffs.  In each second half of the past several the team got better after the All-Star break.  With this team, there’s no reason to believe that won’t happen again.
• The Grizzlies offense against the Cavs defense:  The Grizzlies score fewer points than anyone in the Western Conference. Given their recent struggles, it shouldn’t get much better against the Cavaliers.

Quotable:

From the locker room:

Mo Williams on ESPNRadio’s Tirico & Van Pelt Show telling answering Stephen A. Smith’s question about the Cavs’ post-season prospects.

Oh that’s for sure. That’s a guarantee.  We plan on winning it so, to answering your question: yeah.

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on Williams’ comments:

Our goal is an NBA championship, that’s nothing something we’re trying to hide from, but you’ve got to respect the Celtics because they’re the NBA champions and if we want to make it there we have to go take it from them.

It would be easy to explain what happened to the Cavaliers in Indianapolis, but sometimes it’s best to hear it with your own ears.  In the audio, Brown, LeBron James and Mo Williams are talking about referee Joe Crawford’s controversial call:  brown-james-williams2

Game: Cavs vs. Indiana Pacers

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

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilguaskas (C); Wally Szczerbiak (G); Mo Williams (G).  Pacers:  Danny Granger (F); Troy Murphy (F); Roy Hibbert (C); Jarrett Jack (G); T.J. Ford (G).

Injured and inactive: Cavs: Eric Snow, Tarence Kinsey, Delonte West.  Pacers:  Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Foster, Jamaal Tinsley.
Officials: Joe Crawford, Bernie Adams and Eric Dalen
Streaking:  Cavs have lost one, as have the Pacers.
Two things to look for:

• LeBron James on Danny Granger – James had a so-so game against the Los Angeles Lakers and will be looking to ”redeem” himself.
• The Cavs interior defense took a beating against the Lakers.  It needs to be shored up and fast.  Lamar Odom loked like he was being escorted ot the hoop on many occasions Sunday.

 Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on Mo Williams making the All-Star Game:

“It was great to be able to take that news to Mo Williams. That was definitely one of the highlights of my time here.”
 

From the locker room:

Mo Williams on making the All-Star Game:

It kind of worked out as a great situation. Obviously LeBron has been there every year supporting the organization.  It says a lot when you have two players and the whole entire coaching staff.   We’re battling injuries and still winning basketball game so that says a lot about the coaching staff and the players on this team.

Post-mortem:  Cavs 101, Raptors 83

Believe it or not, the game shouldn’t have been close.  The Cavs jumped out to a 23 point lead at one point, but the Raptors proved ferocious cutting it to eight on a few occasions.

The difference in the game:  the fourth quarter when the Cavs got back into a defensive frame of mind.  Coach Mike Brown was still in awe of two plays that LeBron James made in that period, the most obvious being a monster rejection of a would-be Chris Bosh dunk.

The second involved turning what could have been a Jermaine O’Neal dunk into a turnover.

But just as much credit goes to Daniel Gibson for pacing the Cavs with 10 four quarter points.  He hit 4-of-4 shots in the quarter, including two three-pointers.

Overall the Cavs held the Raptors to 39.7 percent shooting in the game and a rather anemic 8 percent from the three-point arc.

Quotable:

Mike Brown on the defensive effort in the fourth quarter:

In the fourth quarter, LeBron came out and set the tone defensively.  He was really good at that end and everyone followed  and when that happens it’s exciting to see.

LeBron James on scoring his 12,000th career point, the youngest to do so that quickly:

It’s definitely an honor to go out there every night and do the things I do as an individual.  I was blessed with a god-given ability.  I’m getting better every year and everyday and never taking a day off. To be able to do it all in a Cavs uniform is great.

At the half:  For all practical purposes this game is over.  Feel free to send someone to section 128 in press row to awaken me when it’s over.

The Cavaliers are shooting a ridiculous 61 percent from the three-point line at the half.  LeBron James has his inside and outside games working and eight players have scored.  With a team record 23 consecutive wins on line, it looks like it’s a foregone conclusion at this point.  I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Game: Cavs (37-9) vs. Toronto Raptors (19-30)

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

Starters: Cavs:  LeBron James (F); Ben Wallace (F); Zydrunas Ilguaskas (C); Wally Szczerbiak (G); Mo Williams (G).  Raptors:  Jermaine O’Neal (F); Chris Bosh (F); Andrea Bargnani (C); Anthony Parker (G); Jose Calderon (G).

Injured and inactive: Eric Snow (knee); Delonte West (wrist); Tarence Kinsey (ankle).  Raptors Kris Humphries.

Officials: Tony Brothers, Derrick Collins, Eric Lewis.

Streaking:  Cavaliers have won two consecutive. The Cavs have lost two consecutive.

Two things to look for:

• No Sasha tonight, so what will Wally Szczerbiak’s first start look like? He’s been shooting at a 70 percent clip in his last three games (12-of-17).
• Chris Bosh will forever be dangerous; forget about the talk that’s swirling around him and not re-signing with the Raptors in ‘10.  He can shoot outside and he’s got a strong interior game.  Whether he gets much support remains to be seen.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on Mo Williams’ renewed chances of making the All-Star team:

‘’If he can go to the game, it doesn’t matter how he gets there because they’re not going to put an asterisk by it or anything like that.   He’s not going to have an asterisk by it when he tells  his grandkids.  He’s an all-star and that’s what we believe he is.  That’s the way he’s played for us, so hopefully it does happen.’’

From the locker room:

Williams on his All-Star chances:

‘’Why wouldn’t I?  That’s a great opportunity.  It’s a dream. I always want it to happen, but you kind of just let it happens.  If it does, it does. You just want to try to keep an open mind about it.’’

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.

So, have you ever sat at your desk trying to accomplish a task and haven’t been able to because you don’t have the materials or technology you need ?

That’ s been me the past couple of days with this blog.  Apparently there’s been some type of problem with the server. I spent two-thirds of the Magic game trying to post and after dealing with the same problem with the Clippers game, I said for get it.  Obviously, it’s working again.

Too bad that happened, because there was such fun stuff to deal with in the past few days – some of it related to one LeBron James.

First up, a little shout out to one Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.  Bianchi wrote a scintillating piece about, of all things, LeBron James bolting the Cavaliers for the New York Knicks.

Why might you ask?  Well, because Shaquille O’Neal did it to the Magic back in the day.  You know – back when Shaq was SHAQ and not shaq.  I have few problems with Bianchi’s prognosticating.  Heck, that’s what we journalists do when we don’t have an original idea.  Notice how I admit that.  

Of course, there’s that matter of a little factual error where Bianchi states that if James wanted to re-sign with the Cavs he would have done so already.  Ummmm…gee, nevermind that little NBA rule that says he can’t sign any type of extension until July.  That one error is for Bianchi’s editor to contend.

 But I take issue with this little gem that ends his column:

When Shaq left, Orlando fans woke up in the morning and the sun still came up.

When LeBron leaves, Cavs fans will wake up and still have to live in Cleveland.

Cleveland jokes or slams – wow, never heard or read one of those.  Of course someone might want to remind Bianchi that the only reason he has something to write about eight months of the year is because the hoops season is so long. Last I checked, Orlando didn’t have a Major League Baseball team (sorry, the Rays play in Tampa) and the state’s football teams are in Tampa (I’m sensing a pattern), Miami and Jacksonville.

I’m not one for slamming other cities – especially ones that I don’t visit a lot.  However, given that I have two children, I’ve been to that part of Florida a gazillion times.  Even when I didn’t have children I’d been to that part of the state many times because Walt Disney Studios used to hold interviews for some of its movies there.  Remember, I was a movie critic in a former life.

This is what I do know about Orlando.  Were it not for Walt Disney looking for the least expensive way to build his momnument to entertainment magic, metropolitan Orlando might still be a haven for mosquitoes.  Just sayin’.

The words have been typed or muttered:

By the way, you hear more team officials speculating that LeBron James is less likely to leave Cleveland, and perhaps that was why there was speculation in the New York media recently about how great it would be to get someone like Joe Johnson.

I’ve downplayed a lot of this LeBron James to wherever talk, primarily because I think Cavaliers fans should concentrate on the season in front of them and quit giving harbor to that sports inferiority complex so ingrained in the culture around here.  Yes, I know Pittsburgh winning the Super Bowl this past weekend doesn’t help, but let’s face it, given their current state, who wants to root for the Browns right now anyway?

However, with another trip to New York looming this week, I thought it fitting that we delve back into that little cesspool of LeBron’s going to New York.

Those of you who have read me in the ABJ for a while know that I’ve not been doing this sports gig for long, but I have followed sports for most of my life – some rabidly and others not so much.  This is what I do know about New York – courtesy of one George Steinbrenner, New York sports fans are spoiled – if they can’t draft ‘em, they’ll buy ‘em. 

They could very well get LeBron James or Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, but at this point, I’m not putting money on it.

The glass may be shattering on James’ other new prospective home in New York. Prospects of James playing for the New Jersey Nets, who had planned to move to Brooklyn, had dimmed greatly once the season started.

Now terrorism concerns may officially end the arena project that would have been the team’s home. 

Lastly, a little note about Mo Williams, who got snubbed as an All-Star.  The Magic’s Jameer Nelson went down with a shoulder separation, so you have to suspect that the Cavs’ point guard may get another shot at making the roster.  According to a league spokesman, it will be up to Commissioner David Stern to make the replacement if Nelson cannot go.

OAKLAND, Calif. – It came down to one shot.  Just one shot.

In a game that can only be described as a battle, the Cavaliers’ LeBron James hit a jump shot over Ronny Turiaf sinking the Golden State Warriors with 4.7 seconds left on the clock in front of a sell-out crowd at Oracle Arena Friday night.

After it fell, all there was left to do was celebrate a thrilling victory.  James had 32 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the win, but none was more important than the final shot – a play drawn up by Coach Mike Brown.

”It’s a great feeling to go out there, especially when you get it like that. You hear the horn and the shot goes in, there’s no way they can make a comeback at it,” James said.   ”It’s a great feeling.  I wish everyone could get that type of feeling.”

The Cavaliers withstood the barrage that the Golden State Warriors love to subject teams.  It was a case of the Cavaliers trying to beating the Warriors at their own game – fast and furious hoops replete with three-pointers with defense being a secondary concern.

But instead of Cleveland getting burned by the three, the Warriors left singed as the Cavs shot 50 percent from the arc on 10-of-20 shots while the Warriors connected on 6-of-15.

Golden State began the game shooting that way as they unleashed a hail of artillery not seen since the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan before settling down later in the game.  With the scored tied at 28 at 11:12 in the second quarter, Golden State went on a torrid pace, outscoring the Cavaliers 16-4 to take a 44-32 advantage.  In possession of a lot of momentum, the Warriors looked as if they were in command of the game. Not so fast.

The Cavs went on a run of their own for the rest of the quarter.  Within seven minutes and courtesy of a 15-2 run, the Cavaliers found themselves up by a point with 3:24 left in the quarter, a slim lead that they would build on behind the rebounding and scoring of LeBron James and Tarence Kinsey.  Tarence Kinsey?  Yes, Tarence Kinsey.

”I think everybody stepped up.  The biggest guy to step up tonight was, of course, Tarence Kinsey,” LeBron James said. ”TK’s number was called tonight and he gave us solid minutes every part of the game he was in. It was great to see him give us some production.”

Kinsey (11 points, three rebounds) rose from the Cavaliers’ bench just past midway in the second quarter and fed by James, made his presence known.  That’s a good thing because the Cavs needed most of the team to beat the Warriors.

With that help, it looked as if the Cavaliers were ready to put the Warriors away.  The captured a lead they didn’t relinquish the lead until 1:17 of the third quarter when Wally Szczerbiak would foul Golden State forward Corey Meggette, who completed the three-point play.

From there the battle continued as the teams traded shots and turnovers until the Cavaliers found themselves on a short end of a 94-90 score with 5:33 left in the game. Mo Williams, so good in the Cavs’ win over the Portland Trail Blazers found himself struggling on this night as on the next possession, he missed a 3-point shot.

Perhaps the return of point guard Monta Ellis, who made his season debut after recovering from an injured left ankle caused by a moped accident, gave the Warriors a lift on the night, but there’s little doubt that they had no plans to give up or bow to the Cavaliers.  They scratched for every point and scrapped for every ball.  That turned into a 95-94 advantage for them.

But neither did Cleveland.  It was a simple case of James not allowing them to give up.  In one mind-blowing series of fortunate events, he had what he thought was a layup easily blocked by Golden State’s Andris Biedrins, but when Biedrins looked the pass it down the court, there was James leaping to snag the ball and put down the shot that he’d been denied, making the score 96-95.

The Cavs, looking to put a little room between themselves and the Warriors, instead turned the ball over, resulting in an easy layup for Ellis.  On the Cavs’ next possession, Daniel ”Boobie” Gibson knocked down a 3-point shot to give the Cavs a 99-97 lead that wouldn’t hold, as the Warriors took a 101-99 lead over the Cavs.

Then for a brief moment the struggling and strife for the night ended for Mo Williams (14 points, six assists), as he connected on a three-point shot to put the Cavs up 102-101.  From there the game turned into pure drama.
Quick shots: Guard Tarence Kinsey hit in double figures for just the second time this season…James became the team’s all-time leading free-throw shooter.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Normally after a loss the Cavaliers come back and take their frustrations out on the next team they face.
Although it’s certainly more difficult to do on the road, the Cavaliers continued the trend beating the Portland Trail Blazers 104-98 behind the scoring of LeBron James and (34 points) point guard Mo Williams (31 points – a season high).  The team hasn’t lost two consecutive games all season.
”One thing I’m very excited about and happy about is the way we bounce back after losses,” LeBron James said. We never let one hang over our heads.”
Going into the fourth quarter up 74-69, the Cavs were playing good enough defensively to take control of their game against the Portland, the offense was the problem and bouncing back didn’t look like a viable option.
They opened the quarter with LeBron James on the bench and it was clear to all that when it came to scoring, they looked hesitant with respect to what to do. After James returned, he and Williams took control to guide the Cavaliers in the right direction.
“It’s pretty effective, especially when he’s drawing attention and knocking down shots,” Williams said of their collaborative effort.  “It’s basically pick your poison.  One-on-one no one can guard him.”
The Blazers closed the score to within one at 78-77 and suddenly things had grown too close for comfort. Eventually they would hold a lead at 82-81 after point guard Brandon Roy drove to the hoop for the scored and drew the foul and completed a three-point play from the line.
This is a game that the Cavs could have lost easily. James began to feel and trust his stroke and broke out the second half hitting his first two jump shots.  Of the first six possessions in the second half, the Cavs took nothing but jump shots, with four coming from James. Of course it’s easy to rely on him for scoring, but what happens when it come becomes inconsistent?
Therein lies the rub.  The Cavs’ success this year has been built on consistent team play and in this game in particular, it looked as if some of the teamwork carefully honed during the course of the first half of the season may be cast aside because the team’s currently missing two starters in Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Perhaps James sensed that because he eventually began to make an effort to mix his shots, driving to the hoop for layups, but also continuing to throw up the jumpers.
“Tonight was a case of let me go out there and do my thing offensively or you’re going to get my team involved,” James said.  “But I got hot at one at one point and my teammates started knocking down shots too.”
The Cavs gathered just enough momentum to make a mini-run in an attempt to pull away from the Blazers as they outscored Portland 9-2 to take a six-point lead with 3:35 left in the game.  They would battle back and forth until Mo Williams gave the Cavs a valuable seven-point cushion with a huge three-point shot with two minutes left in the quarter at 95-88.  He all but sealed it with another just moments later to put the Cavs up 98-88 with just 48.9 seconds left in the game.
If there were one night Williams needed to step up in a huge way, this would be it.  The Cavs, down two men, got just 15 points from their bench. 
But defense played a larger role in this as well, as the Cavaliers cracked down on the Blazers holding them under 41 percent shooting in the game and beat them, though barely, on the boards.  Ultimately they won the game by outshooting them. 

The Cavs shot a blistering 53 percent from the field including almost 58 percent from the 3-point arc.  Williams himself accounted for 6-of-9 shots from that line.
The Cavs move on to play Golden State Friday night.
Quick shots:  James recorded his fourth double-double in fifth games and also tallied his 11th double-double on the season and the 116th of his career…Williams’ 33 points were a season high…Wally Szczerbiak grabbed a season best 10 rebounds…Cleveland had two guys score more than 30 points in a game for the first time since Nov. 5, 2005 when Larry Hughes hit 37 and James 36…The Cavs have not lost two consecutive games this year.
*

Game: Cavs (23-4) vs. Houston
Broadcast:  TV: FSOhio
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); Rockets: Shane Battier (F); Luis Scola (F); Yao Ming (C); Tracy McGrady (G); Rafer Alston (G).

Injuries/inactives:  Cavs:  Eric Snow, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson.  Rockets:  Steve Francis, Joey Dorsey.

Officials:  Scott Foster, Rodney Mott and Phil Robinson.

Streaking: The Cavaliers have won three in a row, 13 in a row at Quicken Loans Arena. The Rockets have won four in a row.
 
Three things to watch:

• Z and Yao – Battle of the titans. It will be intersting to see how Yao plays Ilgauskas because both centers have their strengths.  Yao clogs up the middle which is why the Cavaliers have had problems with the Rockets in the recent past.  But the Rockets have to worry about Z on the perimeter also.  If Yao can be drawn outside where he opens up the middle, that opens lanes for LeBron James, Delonte West and Mo Williams to drive to the hoop for easy scores.
• T-Mac and Delonte West – West has been surprisingly good on both sides of the ball.  He plays agains the bigger shooting guards, despite the fact that he gives up a few inches to them.  He gets a big test with McGrady tonight who averages almost 23 points per game against the Cavaliers.
• Ron Artest – To a person the Cavs say that the former Sacramento King and Indiana Pacer adds toughness to their team. Coming off the bench with the Rockets he’s very effective averaging 15 points.  He averages more than 16 against the Cavaliers.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Mike Brown on the Cavs losing their last two to the Rockets:

They’re a very good team that’s a defensive minded team.  They have size inside and size along the perimeter with Battier and McGrady and it causes match-up problems for us. 

Mo Williams on Ron Artets as a player:

He just gives them another dimension.  He’s the complete opposite of T-Mac.  He’ll post up.  He’s more physical.  T-Mac is more a finesse player so I think they complement one another real well.  All three of those guys do different things at different areas of the floor so they can play well together.

Post mortem:

Cavs 105, Nuggets 88

Remember a few years ago when everyone screamed about whether Zydrunas Ilgauskas was worth the cash the Cavs were giving him?  Many talked about letting him go?  Ummm…yeah.

Ilgauskas shows what his presence can do for the Cavaliers offense tonight.  Sure he tied his season best with 23 points, but because someone had to guard him on the perimeter that middle was wide open for some aggressive drives by other players, including LeBron James (33 points) and Delonte West (22 points).

The Cavaliers didn’t look perfect in this game – far from it. In fact on more than one occasion it looked as if they were just trying to give it to Denver with crappy shot selection and transition defense.

What kept them from blowing it:  the Nuggets shot selection was a lot worse, chucking up jump shots left and right without hesitation. 

Ultimately, it took a Mike Brown timeout to get them straight and eventually win this one in a cakewalk.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

George Karl on the Nuggets’ play tonight:

We are not a jump shooting team.   That was one of our failures.  It felt like a Christmas season bad game.  We didn’t match the intensity for most of the game.  People think that we are a good team and we have to prove that we are good.  One thing that is always floating in my head is our offensive ineffectiveness.  It seems that we have to be slapped before we start playing hard.

From the locker room:

LeBron James on the game’s meaning:

I think it is a statement game; we wanted to make a statement.  They are playing as hot as us, just as hot as Boston, just as hot as the Lakers.  

At the half: 

The Cavaliers should be well in control of this game, but you have to give Denver credit for locking down on defense to for an 8-2 run in the second to bring the Nuggets to within 12 and eventually 11 to end the half.  In earlier comments I said to watch Z’s performance.  At the half:  he had 15.  Think he missed playing?

Game: Cavs (21-4) at Denver Nuggets (17-8)

This year:  The Cavs 110, Denver 99

Broadcast:  TV: ESPN, 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); Carmelo Anthony (F); Kenyon Martin (F); Nene (C); Dahntay Jones (G); Chauncey Billups (G)

Officials:
Injuries/inactive:  Cavs:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas (questionable); Daniel Gibson (out, left big toe sprain); Eric Snow (knee).  Nuggets:  Steven Hunter (out, right knee)
Streaking:  Cleveland has won one and the Nuggets have lost one.
What to watch:

• Billups vs. Mo Williams:  The Nuggets trading for hometown product Billups was no accident nor is it turning out to be a mistake.  Perhaps the Pistons thought that because of his slow start to the season, the point guard was showing his age. If that were the case, Billups has proved them wrong averaging more than 18 points per game with Denver.  Williams will have his hands full because Billups plays defense as well and brought that attitude with him from Detroit.  Not that Williams has anything to be ashamed.  His presence helped to solidify the Cavs and bring a legitimate second-level scoring threat to aid LeBron James.  He’s been no slouch on defense, debunking those rumors that defense wasn’t a part of his repertoire.  It doesn’t show up in the stats, but Williams has been tenacious.  This should be a great battle.
• The game overall:  Like the Cavs, the Nuggets are off to their best start in team history.  If observers are honest, they would note that the Nuggets team Cleveland faced earlier in the season, wasn’t the team they’re playing now.  With Billups, their defense has gelled and they play more like a team, not like a group of players led by two superstars trying to figure out who should get the ball more.
• LeBron James vs. Carmelo Anthony is always a great show.  In that first game, they played fairly close with James winning the offensive battle 22-18, but in getting teammates involved, there was no contest as James dished out 11 assists in the victory.
• The Return of Z:  The Cavs’ center expects some stiffness and soreness for a while.  Tonight he returns.  How effective he is could determine the outcome of the game.  One thing is certain, his return opens up the floor more for Mo Williams and Delonte West to work.

Quotable:

From the coach’s office:

Coach Mike Brown on the effect Chauncey Billups has had on the Nuggets:

First of all you’ve got a great guy for off the floor, just for the organization, for the city, shoot for the whole state.  He’s a class act hard to follow.  Now you add that to his basketball skills and his leadership skills and you have a guy who is capable of changing the face of a franchise, which is what he’s done.

From the locker room:

Mo Williams on playing Chauncey Billups:

I love playing against Chauncey.  It’s always a good matchup between us.  We both have different strengths and we use our strengths to our advantage against one another.  It’s always a fun…I take the challenge to play against the better guards in the league.  He’s no different so I’m definitely looking forward to playing against him.