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Cavs

Cavs Rewind + The Week Ahead; Surging at the All Star Break

February 10, 2015 Mike Leave a comment

Cavs Rewind + the Week Ahead

By: Will

Basketball life is good in the ‘Land right now. The 12 game winning streak had me seat dancing like Taylor Swift at an awards show. 13-1 since January 15th and a ½ game out of the 3-seed in the East. The Cavs 12 game win streak was snapped Friday night in Indianapolis against the Pacers but we bounced right back to thump the Lakers 120-105 on Sunday. Let’s rewind:

Last Saturday, Kevin Love returned to Minnesota for the first time and although the game was close until the early 4th quarter LeBron took over late and outdueled Andrew Wiggins for the win. LeBron had 36 and Love put up 14 points and 17 rebounds. Wiggins paced the Twolves with a career high 33. CAVS 106, Timberwolves 90

On Monday Philly brought their D-league team to the Q and while the score says we won by 10,3 the game was a lot tougher than it needed to be. We definitely played down to the level of competition we were facing and it almost cost us. After being up 19 in the third, the Sixers cut the lead to 80-77 in the fourth. But we have All-stars and Philly doesn’t. Kyrie rattled off 6 straight points and Delly hit a 3 to put the game away. Kyrie finished with 24. LeBron had 18 and 11 assists. Cavs 97, Sixers 84

After a couple days of rest the Cavs took on the Clippers at the Q. We got off to a hot start and did not look back the entire game. Saying the Clippers got frustrated is an understatement as they got T’d up 5 times with Matt Barnes being ejected after his second. After the game Chris Paul called out a female ref and got fined 25k for it.

Kevin Love bounced back from an awful game against Philly to lead the team with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Guys, about the girl ref though….would you? I think I might. Like, just to do it but it’s not a “no” for me. Cavs 105, Clippers 94.

So the Cavs played like shit and won against bad Minnesota and Philly teams. They got way up for the Clippers game and blew out a good team. Then came the Pacers Friday night. It was the second night of a back to back, the Cavs had to travel after the Clippers game. Indiana has a bad record. All these things came together in the wrong way and the Cavs came out expecting to win without any effort like they did with Minny and Philly. They let Indiana hang around and then George Hill and CJ Miles got hot in the 4th quarter and it cost us the game and the win streak. Kevin Love had 5 points for the 2nd time in three games which is a little worrisome for me. Pacers 103, Cavs 99.

Thank god for the Lakers though. The Cavs ended that ugly 8 game losing streak against the Lakers in LA last month and we got them again coming off the loss to the Pacers. Just what the doctor ordered. Kevin Love looked like Kevin Love going for 32 and 10 (on 7/8 3pt shooting), Kyrie got a big double-double with 28 points and 10 assists and LeBron was two assists shy of a triple-double with 22-10-8. Games like this make me appreciate how good this team can be when they’re on. As Kanye would say, “respect the artistry.” Cavs 120, Lakers 105.

The Week Ahead

The Cavs only play twice this week before 8 days off for the All-Star break. Wednesday night we get Miami in the Q. I’m actually excited for this game and is has nothing to do with D-Wade, LeBron, Bosh, or Love. I LOVE Hassan Whiteside. I hope he goes for 25 and 25 with 10 blocks…. But the Cavs still win by 30. How can you not embrace that kid’s story. He played at Marshall (MACtion, baby!), didn’t get drafted, played overseas for years working on his game, didn’t make a team out of training camp this year and all of a sudden got his shot with Miami and is absolutely crushing it. Plus Miami is terrible this year so I don’t feel bad at all liking one of their players that isn’t Wade or Bosh. This game is nationally televised on ESPN.

After Miami, we go to Chicago for another primetime game on TNT. The Bulls are a mess lately so this doesn’t really worry me that much. I’m looking forward to a nice 34-21 record heading into All-Star weekend.

Editor’s note: Will is now an Uber driver in Cleveland on the weekends since Bottlegate.com isn’t exactly paying the bills yet. If you see a 6’7 driver pull up in a black Honda don’t be afraid to talk some Cavs with him.

Cavs

Cavs Rewind + A Look Ahead

January 31, 2015 Mike Leave a comment

By Will

We’re BACK baby!!!! Season’s back on! Kyrie setting records and getting locker room ice baths, LeBron is dancing, JR Smith killing the Instagram game day in, day out, Mike Miller jumping out of his seat every game like a god damn maniac, Mozgov blocking shots left and right…MOZEL-GOV everyone!!!

So we left off last time with the Cavs playing the Clippers in their last game of a 5 game west coast trip. We got a huge night from LeBron who looked like the old LeBron after sitting out 8 games. Kyrie went off for 37 and played solid defense, and Tristan stepped up in a big way going for 24 and 12 while Kevin Love was out with back spasms. CAVS 126, CLIPPERS 121

LeBron came back playing like this LeBron

Using the momentum from two straight road wins and LeBron’s return, we beat the Bulls convincingly at home (less Joakim Noah but I’ll take it). This game started to make David Griffin look like pretty good as we got 15 and 15 from Mozgov and 20 points from JR (6 triples). We also held the Bulls to 37.5% shooting. Kyrie had a season high 12 assists. CAVS 108, BULLS 94

The win streak reached 5 after we plowed both Utah and Charlotte. That Charlotte game was basketball heaven. 75 first half points and everyone had the time of their life. We sat LeBron in the 4th quarter and still won by 39. JR Swish hit 7 more threes. CAVS 106, JAZZ 92; CAVS 129(!!), HORNETS 90 (LOL)

Then came a real test. OKC with Durant and Westbrook healthy. LeBron outdueled Durant going for 34 to Durant’s 32 and we got a hard fought W in a game that was probably closer than the 108-98 score. Defensive stalwart Kyrie Irving held fashion icon Russell Westbrook to 7-26 shooting. I laugh so hard every time RW takes more shots in a game than the Durantula. So dumb. CAVS 108, THUNDER 98

Next we paid back the Pistons for the beatdown they put on us during our losing streak and knocked them off 103-95. Scary moment with LeBron going down hard on his wrists but he finished the game. Turns out he would miss the next game against Portland but honestly I’m cool even if he misses 5 more games now that I see how much that two weeks of rest helped him. CAVS 103, PISTONS 95

That brings us to Wednesday. HOLY SHIT! Kyrie put da team on his back doe….. 55 points, 11 threes, 10-10 from the foul line, and the game winner….BANG BANG!!! No LeBron, no problem (yeah…2-8 without him on the year so we’ll see). I was a little concerned that Love went 3-15 and didn’t score after the 1Q but hey he still pulled down 12 boards. CAVS 99, BLAZERS 94

Friday night’s game was over before it started once it was announced LeBron was back in the lineup. The Kings did their best to put up a fight with Boogie Cousins going for 21 and 13 and Rudy Gay 20 but our big three did more than enough to get the easy win. Love broke out of his slump to drop 23 (16 in the first quarter). The other thing that stood out to me was Mozgov’s defense on Cousins. Boogie got his numbers but Timo really made him work for every bucket and forced him to miss a lot of shots in the process. CAVS 101, KINGS 90

The Look Ahead –

The Cleveland fan in me says we have to come back down to earth soon. But on paper things look promising. Tonight we head to the land of 1000 lakes (and nothing else) to play the Timberwolves in the return of…..Mike Miller? If you guys didn’t see it, the TWolves put out a video about the return of a former player. And yes, they really made it about Mike Miller. Throwing all kinds of shade at Kevin Love. I hope he gets 40 and 20.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_XhQPasGqk

After, Minnesota we play the Sixers at home. We have a tough one against the Clippers Thursday, go on the road to face the Pacers Friday and are back at the Q Sunday against the Lakers. Even if we drop the Clippers game we should win the other four which would put us at 32-21. If we do win out through next week the win streak will be at 14. Full steam ahead!!

Cavs

Cavs Rewind + The Week Ahead

December 16, 2014 Mike Leave a comment

By Will

Cavs Rewind + Preview (12.8-12.21)

The Cavs split their four game last week winning the first two against Brooklyn and Toronto then losing in Oklahoma City and New Orleans. It was a promising start when we blew out Brooklyn in the 2^nd half Monday night in front of the Royal couple and followed it up with a huge come from behind win over the Raptors. All good things come to an end though and the Cavs winning streak was snapped at 8 when they fell to OKC on the road. LeBron did not play in the game due to a sore knee, and while the team played tough, Durant and Westbrook were too much and we couldn’t get over the hump in another comeback bid. LeBron came back against the Pelicans AND Anthony Davis left the game in the 1^st quarter. Easy win right? Nope, Ryan Anderson went for 30 and we played no defense and lost.

Brooklyn Nets:

The Nets hung tough in the first half before the Cavs went off in the second. It’s fun seeing this team click on all cylinders and destroy people. Jay-Z still can’t believe LeBron made that fadeaway.

LeBron nearly caused an international incident by violating “royal protocol” and putting his arm around Duchess Kate.

Toronto Raptors:

The Cavs looked bad early in this game and it seemed like the winning streak was going to end at 7 games but the team fought back from 14 down in the 2^nd half to pull off an impressive comeback capped off by LeBron’s record tying 3 from the top of the key (tied Mark Price for Cavs all time 3-pointers made with 802). The Cavs got a big defensive contribution from Delly as they held the Raptors to 13 points in the 4^th quarter. LeBron had 35. Dion stayed hot with 18 on 7-10 shooting.

Oklahoma City Thunder:

LeBron missed his first game of the season after being ruled out on gametime decision due to a sore knee. We still have Kyrie and Love, yes, but it doesn’t make it easy when your competition is Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Big time scare at the end of the first half in this game when Kyrie landed awkwardly on his left leg and his knee buckled. At first look most people thought ACL which would have been a disaster but Kyrie must have gotten some Lance Harbor halftime treatment because he came out and played the second half as if nothing had happened. I’m glad our season didn’t end. The Cavs played the Thunder tough and were only down 4 with just over a minute left but Durant scored the final 8 points for the Thunder and put the game away in crunch time. This was the Cavs first loss since November 22^nd. I’m kind of scratching my head as to why we tried to put Kyrie on Durant in the final possessions. I appreciate that Kyrie wants to step up and guard the other team’s best player but when that player is 6’10” maybe it’s not the best idea. Durant just shot right over Irving for 4 of the final 8 points.

New Orleans Pelicans:

I’m going to chalk this loss up to being the team’s fourth game in five nights. LeBron sure appeared to be fresh having sat against OKC as he went for 41-5-5 but not much else went right for the Cavs. The defense looked awful and even without Anthony Davis the Pelicans were able to put up 119 points. Tyreke Evans played like it was 2009, back when he was winning the rookie of the year, going for 31 points and 10 assists.

The week ahead:

Charlotte Hornets:

We play our first of four games this week at home against the generally disappointing Charlotte Bobca…I mean Hornets. This will be LeBron’s first time on the court against Lance Stephenson since Lance decided it would be a good idea to blow in his ear. Lance was supposed to be a big signing for the Hornets this offseason but so far he’s been a big disappointment and there have even been rumblings they might try and trade him. Cavs should get back on the winning track and handle the Hornets by 7.

Editor’s note: This game happened last night and the Cavs won by 9.

Atlanta Hawks:

The Hawks have been one of the surprise teams in the league this year, off to a 16-7 start. Looking at their roster I’m still not sure how. I guess having a healthy Al Horford this year to go with Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, and Paul Milsap gives them a good core but there is no superstar late game finisher there. I won’t guarantee a victory but we should win this game against the overachievers from Atlanta. Cavs by 3.

Brooklyn Nets:

Cavs get their second look at the Nets in as many weeks. After trouncing them by 22 in Brooklyn the Nets will come out and play hard but with rumors about D-Will, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson all on the trade block I doubt these guys will really play that well this season. Cavs by 8.

Memphis Grizzlies:

It seems like we have at least one really tough game every week and this game is it. Memphis is off to a great start this season with a record of 19-4 at the beginning of the week. They are monsters on the defensive end of the floor and behind Marc Gasol can still score enough to pull out some tough victories at the end of games. Tony Allen has always given LeBron trouble and Randolph and Gasol’s length could bother Love. If we do manage to take down the hot Grizzlies we will need Kyrie to break out of the slump he has been in and take it to Mike Conley. Grizzlies by 6.