Category: Cleveland Cavaliers (Page 42 of 88)

The good news is the Cavaliers don’t have to face the Pistons again for almost a month and a half. The bad news is Cleveland’s grasp on the fourth playoff spot is getting weaker by the day. They are now tied with the Indiana Pacers in the loss column. The Cavaliers hung tough with Detroit through three quarters, but couldn’t do much of anything in the fourth, losing 84-72 Monday night at the Q. In the final quarter, the Cavaliers could only muster up 9 points. Rasheed Wallace led the Pistons with 24 points and Richard Hamilton had 22. LeBron James had 26 for the Cavs and Ilgauskas added 18 points and 15 boards. LeBron bluntly summed up the fourth quarter.

“They did a great job of executing in the fourth quarter and we didn’t,” James said.

The game could have been a lot closer if the Cavaliers hit some of their threes. Take out Sasha’s couple three-pointers and the Cavs were 0 for 11 from beyond the arc. Donyell Marshall, a 40% three point shooter the last four seasons, is nearly 10 points below that average this season. And then there’s the human catapult, Damon Jones, who continues to throw up goose eggs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are starting to look very similar to the team of last year that first tired, then collapsed at the end of the season. This year, the Cavaliers are far enough ahead to make the playoffs, but if they continue to play at this level will be a quick and disappointing exit.

LeBron James is talented enough to keep Cleveland competitive, but if the backcourt continues to be inconsistent the Cavs will struggle. Eric Snow plays good defense, but can’t hit the outside shot and isn’t a strong floor general. Damon Jones continues to shoot and Damon Jones continues to miss.

GM Danny Ferry traded Cavalier guard Mike Wilks to Seattle for 6-4 shooting guard, Flip Murray. This move was to offset injured Larry Hughes and give LeBron some help on the offensive end. The trade could be a steal, but the team will still need to play better for Cleveland to have a strong finish. Ferry may want to reconsider his “no major moves” theory.

The Cavaliers got outplayed in every facet of the game during their 90-78 loss to the Detroit Pistons Sunday afternoon. Detroit, winning their 12th straight game at home, exhibited their typical smothering defense as they forced 20 Cavalier turnovers. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 21 points and 8 assists. Ben Wallace made his presence known in the paint, pulling down 19 rebounds and blocking 5 shots. For the Cavaliers, LeBron James finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Cleveland had trouble all game getting into any type of offensive flow. Once again, they struggled at the line, hitting only 13 of 23 free throws.

“They did a great job taking us out of our offense,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “There is no way you can win on the road with 20 turnovers, especially against a team like this.”

I guess Detroit had some revenge on its mind after getting beat by us in Cleveland on New Year’s Eve. But the way we have played the last few games, did anyone really expect us to win this game? Until the Cavs show they can beat an elite team on the road, I don’t think anyone can really consider them a great team.

Oh, and in his last 47 minutes, Damon Jones has racked up a total of 3 points on 1 of 6 shooting. Fantastic.

The Cavaliers’ struggles in the second half eventually led to their demise Friday night, losing 102-94 to the Washington Wizards at the Q. The Cavs exhibited some poor free throw shooting and made some key turnovers in the final quarter. LeBron James finished with 25 points but was blanketed in the second half, scoring only 4 points on 4 of 12 from the free throw line. The Cavs’ defensive problems continued. Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler scored 26, 25, and 24 points, respectively. Some poor perimeter defense allowed the Wizards to knock down 10 three-pointers in the ballgame.

As good as LeBron is, it’s frustrating that he has such problems at the free throw line. It’s been an Achilles heel for him all season long, especially toward the end of games. However, the loss should not be placed squarely on his shoulders. Mike Brown needs to get this squad together and start emphasizing the fundamentals. The Cavaliers continue to lose games because of their lack of focus. They need to get off to better starts at the beginning of games and have to stop being careless with the basketball. The Cavs are one of the most dangerous teams in the league when they put together a solid 48 minutes, but they can never seem to do it on a consistent basis.

This is exactly the kind of move the Cavaliers needed to make. Flip Murray certainly isn’t a superstar, but the 6-4 guard, acquired from the Sonics Thursday, can shoot and penetrate and should be a nice offensive replacement for the injured Larry Hughes. Best of all, the Cavs only gave up Mike Wilks and cash to get Murray.

“Flip will give us speed, size, athleticism, toughness and the ability to create on the offensive end,” said Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry. “With Larry not being available, this trade gave us an opportunity to bring in some of those qualities for our team.”

The Cavs are in dire need of those qualities. Sasha Pavlovic is currently in the starting shooting guard slot, and Damon Jones comes off the bench as the backup point and shooting guard. Jones and Pavlovic have similar games. Both players are shooters. Murray, however, can break down a defender off the dribble, and he has the ability to draw in defenders to take some pressure off LeBron James.

Murray should give the Cavaliers a nice offensive boost as they eye a trip to the postseason. Danny Ferry’s first Deadline Day was a good one, in part because of the Murray acquisition but also because he didn’t make a major deal that would’ve shaken up the roster and jeopardized team chemistry.

In a separate deal, Ferry also moved up a couple slots in the upcoming draft:

In another deal, the Cavs sent their second-round draft pick in this year’s draft to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the 76ers second-round draft pick this season. The Cavs’ second-round pick that was sent to the 76ers is protected through the 55th pick of the 2006 NBA Draft. Forward Lee Nailon also was included in the deal. However, Nailon is not expected to suit up for games or even attend games. Nailon hasn’t seen action since the end of last month when he was arrested for a domestic dispute.

Pure dump by the Sixers. I’m not really sure why the Cavs made the move, but apparently Ferry really wanted to move up in the second round.