Category: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 34 of 88)

The Cavaliers accomplished something Wednesday night that they haven’t done in thirteen seasons, and that’s win 50 games in a season. With LeBron and Larry Hughes both sitting out, the Cavs got the milestone victory and ended their regular season on a high note, beating the Hawks 100-99 at home on Fan Appreciation Night. Flip Murray led the Cavs with 19 points and Anderson Varejao grabbed 18 rebounds.

We closed out the regular season strong but the real season starts Saturday against the Wizards.

“We had fun tonight,” forward Donyell Marshall said. “We wanted to get to 50, and we had fun. This is our last chance to have fun. Now, it gets serious. It’s the second season. It’s time to go to work again.”

The Cavaliers are entering the playoffs with high expectations. They are fifth in the final power rankings, only trailing the Detroit Pistons from the east. LeBron James is making a strong run for MVP and Larry Hughes is quickly returning to his pre-injury form.
Cleveland is expected to make it through the first round and give the Pistons a run in round two.
If the Cavs fall short, they will have to feel like the season was a failure.
Cleveland is young when it comes to playoff experience and will find out how much pressure there is when you compete in the extra season. This is where LeBron James needs to step up and show the world why he is the next great NBA star. The Cavs opponent should be meaningless considering they have home court advantage. The first game will determine which team advances, so Cleveland better come out strong.

Just a week or so ago it was assumed that the Cavs would match up with the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. However, things have gotten extremely tight recently and what happens in the next few days will determine who the fifth seed will be. Washington, Milwaukee, and Chicago all have the chance to play the Cavs in the first round. Here’s a look at all the scenarios and possibilities.

I personally would much rather face the Bucks than any other team. We all know the Wizards have given us trouble and have proven they can beat us, winning the season series 3-1. Even though we swept the Bulls this season, they are hot right now and have the playoff experience from last year.

The Cavaliers got their third straight win as they beat the Boston Celtics 93-88 Monday night. In a game where both teams played their reserves for most of the game, Larry Hughes led the Cavs with 21 points and 5 steals. LeBron James and Paul Pierce both sat out of the game due to their respective injuries. LeBron sitting was just precautionary and he will be ready to go by playoff time.

It seems Hughes is starting to catch his stride and it can’t come at a better time with the playoffs less than a week away. Hughes at full strength can only mean good things for the Cavs.

The Cavaliers faced a possible first-round playoff opponent Sunday but came up on the losing end as the Washington Wizards defeated the Cavs 102-94. With the victory, the Wizards clinched a playoff berth. The Cavaliers fell behind early and with not much to play for, Mike Brown seized the opportunity to scale back some of his starters’ minutes. LeBron James finished with 17 points in only 30 minutes on the floor. Despite losing the season series to the Wizards 3-1, LeBron doesn’t seem concerned.

“It doesn’t make us worried,” James said. “We know if we face them in the first round or face them later in the playoffs we’ll be ready for them.”

Despite the loss, it was nice to see LeBron get some rest. Now let’s try to put something together the final two games and get some momentum for the playoffs.