After watching the replays five times (courtesy of TNT), I was 100% sure his season was over. By the grace of the basketball gods, he was back on the court ten minutes later. Whomever makes those elastic braces should be showing that play on a loop on Times Square.

 

When I saw Kyrie jogging on the court coming out of halftime, I let out a huge "thank you!"

 

I was actually pleasantly surprised with last night's loss. The fact they came back from being 20 points down and without LeBron told me this team isn't willing to accept losing anymore. And Delly was outstanding in defending Durant.

Matthew Dellavedova, who I already liked, rose in stature last night.  I couldn't believe Blatt actually had him guarding 6'11" superstar Kevin Durant -- yeah, KD has been hobbled and his minutes limited, but it still seemed like a foolhardy act.  Still Delly held his own, as well as handle the ball, switch on pick & rolls and even hit the board.  He was hitting 3-pointers with a better accuracy than even K.Love, who nevertheless had a nice game in his own right.  And his hawkish D and long-ball were big reasons why we cut  OKC's 20-point lead down to 4 in the 4th quarter.

 

It still amazes me that a guy who struggled to make last year's bad roster is now a central piece to this  team, ... but Delly  certainly is.

Sam is dedicated to his craft and stays on top of the rumors.  But original thought and basketball analysis are not something I read him for.  In fact, of all the local beat reporters, he might be the worst at that.

 

It didn't take Sam Amico to figure out that we should have used Haywood last night among the trees named Ibaka, Perkins and Durant when OKC was dominating that paint at both ends.

If it was Haywood from five years ago, I might agree.  Maybe we should have see if Potapenko can shake off the dust/rust?

 

Haywood might give us a block here and there, but teams will attack him if he is in the game and he will slow us down on the break, make it hard for us to guard in transition, and worst of all clog the lane on offense.  The time to use Haywood (or preferably another big we pick up between now and the trade deadline) would be if we get in a playoff series with a team that has a Dwight Howard type.  You'd use Haywood's 6 fouls freely on him.

 

Why all of the Haywood hype all of a sudden?  What happened to the Jones' bandwagon?  0-6 over the past two games turned you off already?  Or was it his -15 plus/minus last night?  How about giving Alex Kirk some love next week?

^I'll admit, Jones has gone cold over the last few games, but  I wouldn't give up on him as he's still a weapon and the fact that  teams are running him off the line and/or hurrying his  shot is proof of that.

 

I'm not schilling for either Jones or Haywood.  I just believe you should use all the tools in your tool belt; shoot all the arrows in your quiver, or whatever metaphor you choose to use.  However, when it's a rather random move, eyebrows are raised.  Specifically  I cite  Joe Harris' insertion to close out  the  4th quarter last night.  Harris has been used sparingly and not at all until the 4th  quarter last night.  It was weird that Marion disappeared.  (NOTE: I love Marion's D intensity and work around the rim, but  his shooting, esp of late, has been atrocious... it may just be age).  The problem again is the lack of set rotations,  at least re Harris, and I think that has thrown off the kid's development in recent weeks.

 

... But the proof is in the pudding, and what Blatt has been doing has somehow worked.  We had  an 8-game  winning streak and even last night, in the face of superior talent on the road with LeBron out, we nearly erased a 20-point lead in the 4th quarter and went out fighting.  I can't  complain about that.

i didnt see the game, but it seems the cavs opened the game 21-0 and got back on the winning track last night.

 

espn news:

 

ALMOST READY

 

Coach David Blatt hopes F Mike Miller (concussion) will play Wednesday. Miller, who has missed six straight games, participated in three-on-three drills Sunday and could go through a full practice Tuesday.

Add Warren Buffet to the list of global icons who have visited Cleveland in the past month to see the Cavs.

 

 

 

Here's one with Andy (not sure how to get an Instagram photo to embed) -

Man check out that blond dude sitting to Gilbert's left ...  John Boehner and his perpetual tan have got nothing on this guy.

^Nate Forbes, Managing Partner

The Forbes Company, Southfield, Michigan

Cleveland Cavaliers, Vice Chairman

 

That's cuz it's always Sunny in Cleveland....

^Nate Forbes, Managing Partner

The Forbes Company, Southfield, Michigan

Cleveland Cavaliers, Vice Chairman

 

That's cuz it's always Sunny in Cleveland....

 

Tell those high-rollers to build a high-rise on Jacobs' Public Square lot!!

I somewhat doubt that Buffett came here just to go to the game, even if that was the impetus for the trip.  Never hurts to have perhaps the world's largest private investor visit your City.  Yet another incalculable aspect re the economic impact of the Return of the King has on this City.

Gilbert partnered with Buffet for the March madness billion dollar bracket challenge thing last year. I imagine they're doing it again, and I'm sure Gilbert loves the association since his own personal brand has been sent through the ringer outside of Detroit and Cleveland.

 

On the subject of the Cavs directly, these never get old. (Edit: Now from the NBA, so it won't get swatted)

Gilbert partnered with Buffet for the March madness billion dollar bracket challenge thing last year. I imagine they're doing it again, and I'm sure Gilbert loves the association since his own personal brand has been sent through the ringer outside of Detroit and Cleveland.

 

Supposedly LeBron has become somewhat of a Buffet protege as well....

LBJ and Buffet talk regularly and communicated more often via email.  He calls him "Uncle Warren"

LBJ and Buffet talk regularly and communicated more often via email.  He calls him "Uncle Warren"

 

And this has been going on for years; Buffett's been an investment adviser to LeBron.

7 hawks in double digits. 3 for the cavs. can i get a bench? ugh.

Hawks got their revenge for the rout we had of them earlier this year.  Seemed like we lost our defensive focus at some point during that game, probably out of frustration with the Hawks shooting the lights out.  They had a guy (Mack) who shoots 20% from downtown going 6-6 from 3 and scoring a career high..... at least that is where he was when I turned it off.  In the NBA, you have to live with these types of games every month or so. 

And Kyrie is getting snarky after a reporter asked him if the coaches are working with him on his shooting. Kyrie responded like "who the hell are you to tell me how to shoot!?!" That wasn't the question, but since you brought it up Kyrie -- there are some halves where the reporter could have hit zero shots just as you did, Kyrie.

And Kyrie is getting snarky after a reporter asked him if the coaches are working with him on his shooting. Kyrie responded like "who the hell are you to tell me how to shoot!?!" That wasn't the question, but since you brought it up Kyrie -- there are some halves where the reporter could have hit zero shots just as you did, Kyrie.

 

LeBron got on Kenny Roda about his negative questions as well. 

 

I suppose it's a no win (pun intended) situation for them.  If they're not mad, they don't care.  If they react the way typical hypercompetitve young men will, they are being jerks.

 

The solution, of course, is obvious.

These guys have to deal with stupid questions throughout their career.  Kyrie has always been decent to the media.  He is allowed a bit of snark now and then.  The media certainly dishes it out when they report on any woes/struggles.  That's one thing I love about Coach Pop with the Spurs..... he has no hesitancy to call a reporter out for asking a stupid question.

^LeBron and Kyrie were out of character.  It was an emotional moment; the team had just been thoroughly dismantled in front of their home fans.  While I don't want our players to be rude generally, I do want them to be pissed off after a game like that.  I never like smiley, sunshine-y players after a bad loss.  I would give these two a Mulligan because, normally, they're very outgoing, polite and upbeat with the media; especially LeBron, who's had a lot more experience with it than Kyrie... And as one sports guy noted, Roda should have prefaced his question to LeBron by attributing the "embarrassed" comment to Blatt, which is where it came from, and I'm sure LeBron would have addressed it differently.  While Roda is a die-hard Cavs and hoops fan, he does have a snarky reputation and I'm sure LeBron is aware of it.

I'm still pounding the Haywood-Jones drum.  On Sunday, we face the formidable front court of Randolph and Gasol, where we will be well undersized.  It would be crazy NOT to play Haywood in this case, but I fear hardheaded David Blatt may, in fact, keep Haywood on the bench.  As these games progress, and Andy, Thompson and Love continue to get pummeled as the rim, the heat should be turned up on Blatt for not playing Amundson more or Haywood, at all... These guys can, at the very least, bang/wear down these opposing bigs and, in Haywood's case, block shots at the rim.  And Haywood still has a jumper from 10-15 feet away from the hoop.  At the very least, I think Brendan can spare us what Chris Fedor calls those hide-your-eyes moments that Shawn Marion seems to give us every game, offensively.

 

As for Jones, he's showed again in 2 recent losses, OKC and Atlanta, who lethal he can be from outside and what a quick release he has (he doesn't have the slower, set-up motion like Delly and Harris).  I really like Joe Harris and his potential, but at this point we need to see more Jones off the bench until Joe can get more comfortable with the NBA game.  Jones has shown he can deal with being yanked in and out of the lineup and still be ready.  Joe's not at that point, yet. 

 

Also note: both Haywood and Jones have championship rings... Marion does, too, but he's getting playing time.

^Miller is cleared to play, and reportedly will replace Marion in the starting lineup tonight.  That will move Marion to the bench as the swing position sub.

LeBron JamesVerified account ‏@KingJames 

Truly Blessed!!!

 

 

 

 

krellcodaDec. 23, 14

I don't blame K Love for leaving MN.  Cleveland is a lot warmer and crime rates are a lot lower than Minneapolis.

 

From reading some of the comments in the Minneapolis Tribune about the Cavs/Wolves game tonite. How funny. So this is how someone in  Minny views us. That's hilarious. There are negative people in ever city. Its just funny because we are not used to that type of perception coming our way.

^ pretty sure they were joking!

As soon as I saw the replay from last night of Andy going down, first thing I thought was torn Achilles.  F*^%!  Hoping for the best, but I'd be really surprised if it isn't a complete tear.

I love Andy, his attitude and his style of play, but a major season, or near season-ending Varejao injury has become a frustrating annual rite of passage for the Cavs and their fans.  It was foolish to continue to bank on him as our main big man esp in such a critical situation.  My buddy thinks Blatt will stick with mainly to a Thompson-Love-Marion front court and use Haywood sparingly against slower bigs, like Jonas V...

 

... I just hope Griffin doesn't bow to media pressure and deal Dion for mediocre/stiff guys like Kosta Koufus.  That would set the franchise back, clearly.

I doubt they deal Dion with the way he has been stepping up these past 10 or so games (14ppg, 46%FG).  He finally seems to have caught his stride as our primary scorer off the bench.

 

Tristan will likely become the starting C for the time being.  There were some stats I saw recently which actually showed that Tristan is LeBron's most efficient running mate if you look at +/- numbers.  In the long run, I still hope they make a play for Okafur once he is healthy enough to come back.

 

What concerns me most is missing that consistent 10-15 foot jump shooter Andy had become.

I will miss andy, but I don't think we should panic. Waiter has been great the last couple weeks and will continue to get better with more time an guidance. The Heat won two rings without a true rim protector, don't think we should trade a talent like waiters for some marginal big.

 

I do believe we will need another big man though with Andy out. Just wouldn't sell the farm for it

Don't have to.  Okafur and Jermaine O'Neil are free agents.  Some team will also want to dump salary around the trade deadline.  Gilbert's willingness to spend always helps.

What concerns me most is missing that consistent 10-15 foot jump shooter Andy had become.

 

And we can thank Byron Scott for that ... I'm thinking/hoping we can run more offense through Love who will stretch the defense 10-15 ft ... and more.  Remember, one of the reasons cited for Love not getting the touches and scoring high consistently, esp early, is because of all the pick 'n rolls run by LeBron and Kyrie through Andy.

Check out LeBron James, Jr... It's obviously in the genes!!

 

 

It's a tear.  He's done for the year.

aww crap. i had a bad feeling about that. it was inevitable though given andys style of play. its like an annual ritual waiting for him to get hurt. i just dk how long he can keep coming back from these serious injuries. i dk what to do with the guy. hes great and even much improved when healthy and i would never want to trade him, yet no way we get a full season out of him again. we all love andy, but what is best for the team? its a hard choice. fique bom logo -get well soon andy!

now we need to address interior defense, right?

^We needed to address it before this injury.  Andy is great with his hustle and tenacity, but he never was a good interior defender.  Definitely never mentioned as a rim protector.

 

^^Are you suggesting we trade him?  Good luck with that.  He just signed an extension and then suffered one of the worst injuries (recovery-wise) a player of his style can suffer.  On the point of how he plays, that had nothing to do with this injury.  Watch the replay.  He didn't land awkwardly and wasn't even in contact with anybody else.  He just took a step and pop..... that's how Achilles tears happen a lot. 

 

There is a lot of sentimental value to Andy.  He started with us and I hope he ends his career with us.  He's a lifer.  I hated how we did that with Z when we traded him away (even though he returned through free agency 30 days later)...... especially using hindsight knowing how little we got out of Jamison.

There's talk of trades immediately heating up.  I understand we can fit either (Tim) Mozgov or Koufus with the trade exception.  I'd rather have Mozgov who's flat out a better player with more upside than Koufus, who I consider mediocre, at best; a journeyman.

I hate to say it, but that's been par for the course with Varejao. So now we have to ramp up efforts to get a real, rim-protecting center.

Unless we can get a really great piece w/o giving up anyone on the roster(namely Dion), I stand pat right now.  Tristan is used to playing a lot of minutes the last couple of years. I would look to bring in Marcus Camby who I think is available for 12 - 15 minutes. He has got quality minutes left in him, made a real contribution with GS in the '13 playoffs.

Keep your eyes on FA Kenyon Martin...

 

http://www.complex.com/sports/2014/12/kenyon-martin-would-like-to-join-the-cleveland-cavaliers

Lebron's Charles Oakley ?

I hate to say it, but I was in favor of trading Varejao before this injury happened. I was in favor of trading Varejao before his last THREE injuries happened. I like him a lot, but you can't count on him for a full season. This isn't really a surprise, is it? We weren't going to see him on the court for 90-100 games.

It was foolish to lock the team up with Andy's contract given his lack of true rim-protector status (despite all the other good he brings), and especially given his injury history.  Add just 26 games played this season, to his history of incomplete seasons.  Worse still is the fact that he's now 32 and his most recent Achilles tear is by far the most serious injury he's ever had which, beyond this totally lost season, could jeopardize the rest of his career.  We're now on the hook to pay him just under $10M through 2016-17 ... 2017-18, thankfully, is not guaranteed.  Still the damage is done and now, obviously, we can't move him at all -- probably never at this point, since he's 32+ and highly damaged goods. 

Lebron's Charles Oakley ?

 

Or the classic example, Marty McSorley.

 

LeBron doesn't really need a bodyguard because roughing him up, if anything, makes him play better.  Nevertheless, that was Ben Wallace's role.  Martin makes sense, especially if LeBron's back issues are chronic.

:lol:

 

I still don't get the Miami thing. After about 2 days of laying on the beach with a bunch of brainless bags, I'm ready to hit the real world up again.  Miami PPP on Twitter think they live in the greatest place on earth. It's great for a weekend. Weather is nice, yes, but it never had and never will impact where I live. Cold weather is the reason the north has always been more productive than the south.

I still don't get the Miami thing. After about 2 days of laying on the beach with a bunch of brainless bags, I'm ready to hit the real world up again.  Miami PPP on Twitter think they live in the greatest place on earth. It's great for a weekend. Weather is nice, yes, but it never had and never will impact where I live. Cold weather is the reason the north has always been more productive than the south.

 

And they get terrible hurricanes which are difficult to predict and cause massive destruction and death. I can deal with a few months of winter without having to worry about that roll of the dice.

By the way, of all the names I've heard floated in recent days as an inside "replacement" for Andy, Brandan Wright is the one that's the most enticing for me. He's a bit undersized and arguably more of a PF than a C, but he's an efficiency machine and does have some rim protection abilities.

LeBron James to miss 2 weeks

ESPN.com news services

Updated: January 1, 2015, 3:52 PM ET

 

The struggling Cleveland Cavaliers won't be able to lean on LeBron James in the near future.  James is expected to miss two weeks after tests revealed injuries to the superstar's left knee and lower back.  The Cavaliers announced in a release Thursday that multiple examinations, including an MRI, showed that James has knee and back strains.  The tests were performed Wednesday before the Cavs lost their third straight game, a 96-80 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

 

James, who has missed Cleveland's past two games, will undergo several forms of treatment, including anti-inflammatories, the team said.  The four-time MVP has never missed more than five straight games in his professional career; if the two-week timetable holds up, his absence could reach 10 games or more.

 

The Cavs play in Charlotte on Friday, host Dallas on Sunday, visit Philadelphia on Monday, are back home to meet Houston on Wednesday -- then head out for a five-game road trip against Western Conference clubs.  James aggravated his nagging knee injury on Christmas Day in Miami while jumping over a row of courtside seats.  He acknowledged that the knee has been "hurting pretty much all year" on Wednesday, one day after his 30th birthday.

 

MORE: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12107680/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-expected-miss-2-weeks