Category: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 40 of 88)

Lebron James is doing a great job of carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back this year. He continually leads the team in scoring and rebounding, while the role players haven’t kept up their end of the bargain. I recently read an article where Charles Barkley and Brevin Knight were commenting on how James wasn’t at the level of Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. I did a quick check in the NBA history books and I couldn’t find Barkley’s or Knight’s name under past NBA champions.

I still believe you judge a player on two things: how much he improves the team and the number of championships he wins. This being said, you must have at least two stars on a team to bring home NBA titles. If you look at past champions, you will find this to be the case. (Jordan/Pippen, Kobe/Shaq, Bird/Mchale, Magic/Jabbar)

The year the Los Angeles Lakers traded O’Neal, the Lakers became a .500 ball club. If you look at this year, comparing James to Bryant and Iverson, Lebron can stand side by side with both of them. I would agree that Iverson and Bryant, at this point in their careers, are pure shooters. James is a better all around player. He is a scorer, passer and rebounder. The NBA media likes to evaluate players on how many points they score. In the long run, Lebron’s team play will bring Cleveland the title. The Cavaliers need to continue to develop the supporting cast for this NBA great.

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued to struggle on the road, blowing a 15 point lead against the Miami Heat this afternoon and losing 98-92. Cleveland was leading the entire game until Miami went ahead in the fourth quarter and never looked back. Lebron James had 47 points, scoring from every angle on the court. Zydrunas Ilgauskas pitched in with 21 points and seven rebounds. James and Z continue to account for the majority of the offense, while the role players and bench continue to struggle. The Cavs will not go far in the playoffs without a better supporting cast.

How can this team lose to the Orlando Magic by 29 points?

He has struggled all season and has been criticized by the media and fans for his poor production. For one night though, Damon Jones was able to play the role of hero. Jones, who replaced Flip Murray for the final play, knocked down a three-pointer from the corner as time expired to propel the Cavaliers to a 98-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. In an almost identical play to the one the Cavs ran last week to beat the Bulls, LeBron James drove the lane and kicked it out to one of his teammates. This time it was Damon Jones ready to take the shot.

“He’s been criticized at times, but I’ve never lost confidence him. That’s why we picked him up. He’s a shooter,” James said.

The Cavaliers were able to overcome a pair of 30-point performances by Toronto’s Mike James and Morris Peterson to win their fourth straight contest.

As much as we have ripped Damon Jones the entire season, he deserves the credit for the terrific shot he made tonight. His confidence has been wavering all year and maybe this is just what he needs to get him going for the rest of the season. And how about the coaching by Mike Brown, sitting Flip Murray for the last play in favor of Jones. Maybe he saw something in the defense or just had confidence in Damon but whatever the reason, it turned out to be a genius move on his part. The Cavaliers seem to be making a habit out of last second finishes recently, but it sure does make for some exciting basketball.