There isn’t much to discuss about the Cleveland Cavaliers because they are on a roll.  They have won five straight and 13 of their last 14 games.  Last week, they breezed through a four games in five nights schedule with only one close game, a road win against Milwaukee.  They currently sit at 14-3 overall, and they are clearly played like one of the NBA’s elite teams.

 

As a season ticket holder, this team reminds one of the Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper teams of the late 80’s in that you go to the game feeling a win is imminent.   Those were the days when the Cavs would go 37-4 or something like that at home.  Of course, the difference is this edition of the Cavaliers has the best player on the planet in LeBron James.

 

Obviously, James is the leader of this team, but the mark of a very good team is they get contributions from everybody on the roster.  Saturday, Sasha Pavlovic stepped up and played excellent defense on Michael Redd.  Earlier, rookies J.J. Hickson, Darnell Jackson, and even Tarence Kinsey played well against Oklahoma City and Golden State and allowed the starters to get some much-needed rest.

 

LBJ is averaging a little less than 36 minutes per night, way below last year, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace are also playing less, which will keep them fresh as the season goes on.  It’s also a plus that Hickson and Jackson are getting experience.  That will also help the team as the season goes on.

 

Some people have suggested a soft schedule is the reason for the wine and gold’s impressive start, but in reality, Cavalier opponents are slightly above .500 on the year, so the quality of the slate has not been ultra-easy.  Here’s a memo to the east coast media that has gotten lost with all of the LeBron to New York stories.  James is already on a great team, one of the top three teams in the NBA.

 

That being said, we have to weigh in on the debate of #23’s impending free agency after the 2010 season.  I have to agree with Charles Barkley and The Plain Dealer’s Bill Livingston.  It is disrespectful to the city, Dan Gilbert, but most of all, LBJ’s teammates to keep talking about what may or may not happen in July 2010.  The Cavaliers are off to a tremendous start and if they stay healthy are most definitely a title contender.

 

Any thing or wasted time that take away from that goal should be avoided.  LeBron should understand that.

 

The media also brings up how all these teams (Knicks, Nets, Pistons, etc.) are creating cap room for the ’10 free agent class.  However, they fail to mention that the Cavaliers are prepared for that date as well.  It has been pointed out by many that the wine and gold are the only team with a superstar that can sign another one.  Why wouldn’t a Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire come to Cleveland to play with James, especially with a couple of visits to the conference finals, The Finals, or even a title in the past two years? 

 

Maybe the Cleveland newspapers should start talking to those guys when their teams visit “The Q”.  

 

JK

 

The Cleveland Browns designed the offensive game plan to keep Colts’ QB Peyton Manning off the field and limit the possibility for mistakes for their own signal caller, Derek Anderson.  They indeed kept Manning off the field and the vaunted Indianapolis offense was held to just one field goal.  As for keeping Anderson error free, he made just one mistake.

 

Unfortunately, it was a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, the deciding score in the 10-6 loss at the Stadium on Sunday.  What’s worse is that Anderson was injured later in the game, leaving the quarterbacking chores to Ken Dorsey probably for the rest of the season.

 

This game was another reason Romeo Crennel will lose his job at the end of the year.  The Colts are one of the NFL’s better teams, and the brown and orange showed the ability to play with them.  Remember, the Browns beat the Giants, and hung in against the Steelers and Redskins.  They have some talent, but they are poorly coached and/or motivated.

 

When Crennel goes, likely offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski could be going with him.  Jamal Lewis popped off about not getting the ball last week against Houston, so someone made the decision to keep giving him the ball, despite the diminishing returns.  Lewis averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, yet the Browns kept running the same plays which after some initial success, kept getting stuffed at the line. 

 

Jerome Harrison touched the ball just twice.  Josh Cribbs only once.  Cribbs lined up in the shotgun on a 3^rd and 2 situation in the second half, and was stuffed.  Because the Browns only run out of this formation, the Colts knew Cribbs was going to run.  Once again, I will write it.  The former Kent State quarterback has thrown just one pass in almost four complete seasons.

 

It looked to me like the Browns were feeding Lewis the ball to prove a point, not to win a game. 

 

On defense, the Browns played well causing three turnovers, and forcing Manning to throw short time and again.  They also seemed to blitz more, which made Manning rollout a little.  In this respect, the offense worked.  They kept the beleaguered defense off the field and kept them rested.  Perhaps that strategy should be used more often.

 

If you aren’t going to make the playoffs, the best thing to do is get a good draft pick.  As of right now, only six teams in the NFL have records worse that the Browns.  With the injuries at the quarterback position, the prospect for any more wins appear to be slim, so Cleveland should be in the top ten of next year’s selection.  There’s looking at the bright side.

 

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who I have a lot of respect for, said his source told him it would require a miracle to save Crennel’s job.  I don’t think you need to be an NFL “insider” to know that.  The Worldwide Leader treated the information like it was a big scoop.  Romeo Crennel will not be the Browns’ coach in 2009.  That is hardly inside information. 

 

With the Titans on the slate next and Dorsey at quarterback, it will be a miracle if the Browns are in the game at halftime.  Once again, it’s time to play Harrison, Beau Bell, Martin Rucker (who caught a pass yesterday!), etc.  This season is lost.  It has been for several weeks, and now that Brady Quinn is out, it’s not even watchable.

 

JD

 

After Blanton Collier retired as coach of the Browns in 1970, Cleveland’s football team has been in a perpetual state of flux, outside of the late 1980’s.  Owner Art Modell was impatient and either ran the football operation, something he wasn’t really qualified to do, or made poor choices as to who should run things.  Whenever a coach had some success, Modell fell in love and gave the coach too much power.

 

This is ironic because when he bought the team, Modell thought that then coach Paul Brown had too much power.  After Ernie Accorsi built the teams that Marty Schottenheimer coached to back-to-back AFC title games, Modell decided to give Schottenheimer power over all football operations.

 

There is a fine line between being an owner whose hands are on all phases of the operation and one who lets his football people run the football operation.  Modell crossed the line too many times; leading to signing guys who weren’t needed like Jerry Ball and Andre Rison. 

 

However, it is difficult to think the Browns’ organization today with Randy Lerner at the helm is any better than the Modell regime, although I agree with Lerner’s style of hiring football people and letting them run the show.

 

First, Lerner hired Romeo Crennel as head coach before he had a general manager in place.  After Phil Savage’s first year as General Manager, Lerner took the advice of team President John Collins, and decided to unload Savage.  The outrage from the fans and the media saved the GM’s job.  In the end, it was Collins who left the organization. 

 

The problem was Lerner listening to a guy with no football credentials (Collins) in the first place.

 

It has been reported that the owner is now talking to former Steeler head coach Bill Cowher about the head coaching job and probably total control of the football operation.  Has Phil Savage been consulted on this possible hire?  I doubt it.  However, if he is running the store, shouldn’t he know what is going on?

 

Let me say that Phil Savage has made mistakes, such as not calling players in the hospital and emailing fans, but he has upgraded the talent on the Browns’ roster.   I believe that his biggest disagreement with his head coach is the playing time for some players that Savage brought in, players like Jerome Harrison, Alex Hall, Beau Bell, and Brady Quinn.  He deserves the chance to work with a coach on the same page as he is, one that he hired.

 

Cowher did an excellent job as Steelers’ coach winning a Super Bowl, and would be an excellent candidate to coach the Browns.  But, has he ever run an entire football operation?  It appears to me that Pittsburgh was a contender before his arrival and they continue to be two years after he left.  It is a huge gamble to give him a boatload full of money and have him in charge of the football operations.

 

If Lerner is going to replace Savage it should be with someone like Bill Parcells, a person who has a history of building, not coaching, a winning organization.  Otherwise, Savage should keep his job and should hire someone to “run the office” while he is out scouting players.  It is said that one of the things that bothers the owner is that Savage isn’t in the office enough.  Did he make that clear to Savage during the interview that’s what he wanted?

 

The Browns need leadership and Lerner isn’t providing it.  He needs to hire a voice for the team, perhaps someone like Bernie Kosar.  That voice needs to give the team a direction, convey this direction to Savage, who will in turn hire a coach who will carry out this message. 

 

My suggestion is to return to what made Cleveland a great franchise in the past:  A strong running game.  This is the franchise of the greatest runner of them all, Jim Brown, but also Marion Motley, Leroy Kelly, Ernie Green, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Kevin Mack, and Earnest Byner.  Sure, Otto Graham and Kosar played here, but it was the running game that fueled the team. 

 

Right now, the Browns are a rudderless ship.  Someone has to take charge, and if Lerner can’t do it, he needs to hire someone who can.

 

MW

 

The Cleveland Browns celebrated Thanksgiving week by giving their fans a huge turkey of a game.  The team and coaching staff made just about every mistake you could imagine in a 16-6 loss to the Houston Texans.  Once again, the brown and orange failed to capitalize on the momentum of Monday night’s win over the Bills, driving their coaches and fans crazy.  There is plenty of blame to go around, but if I were Phil Savage this morning, I would have a hard time justifying not making a coaching change.

 

First is Romeo Crennel’s strange benching of Brady Quinn.  Quinn was not having a good game, but one could argue it was better than at least three games Derek Anderson had earlier in the campaign where no quarterback switch was made.  It is obvious that Crennel did not agree with the change to the former Notre Dame QB, so he got Anderson back in at the first opportunity.

 

Quinn’s first interception was a terrible throw in which he didn’t see the defender.  However, the second was a slant route where Braylon Edwards didn’t get in front of the defensive back.  Rich Gannon, a former quarterback and the analyst for the game, blamed Edwards, saying he quit on the pattern.  At the least, Edwards should have interfered with the play.  After that throw, Quinn was benched.

 

The head coach seems to be coddling his wide receiver, seemingly blaming everyone but him for the inordinate amount of passes he is dropping.  I understand they don’t have a lot of options, but shouldn’t there be some penalization of Edwards for his laundry list of mistakes.

 

Offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski called an odd game to say the least.  The Browns averaged almost five yards per carry running the ball, but Jamal Lewis had just 10 carries.  Lewis averaged almost six per attempt, but did fumble twice, the first times in over 400 touches.  It’s hard to blame someone as reliable as Lewis, but why didn’t the offense run the ball more, especially with the tough day the quarterback was having.

 

Joe Thomas had a difficult time with Texans’ DE Mario Williams, but where were the rollouts that Chudzinski used in Quinn’s first two starts to buy more time?  Isn’t it the coaches’ job to minimize weak points?

 

Defensively, there is no truth to the rumor the Browns have decided to count to “five alligators” before rushing the passer.

 

In the first half, Sage Rosenfels and the Texan offense went through the Browns like a hot knife through butter.  If it weren’t for some penalties by Houston, they would have scored three touchdowns in the first half.  WR Andre Johnson is whom Braylon Edwards wants to be when he grows up.  But, it looked like a game of pitch and catch with the Houston QB and their receivers.

 

In the second half, the defense allowed only a field goal, but that was due to two interceptions off of poor throws by Rosenfels, who apparently stopped channeling Johnny Unitas at halftime.  Why do the Browns refuse to put any pressure on the passer?  You have to change up the defense by dropping guys into coverage and then blitzing at times.  You don’t confuse anyone by dropping seven or eight into the secondary on every play.

 

Savage and Crennel need to meet and get on the same page for the rest of the season.  I understand Crennel wants to win as many games as he can to try to keep his job.  However, playing the veterans isn’t working, particularly on defense.  Savage wants to see Quinn, Beau Bell, Travis Daniels, Martin Rucker, etc. and the head coach isn’t allowing it.  If Crennel doesn’t want to do this, perhaps the GM has to bite the bullet and make the change now.

 

This team is a total mess, filled with players who can’t maintain focus from week to week.  The culture in Berea has to change, and the players have to stop being coddled.  If the team wants to see if Brady Quinn can handle the job, he has to work through his struggles.  Crennel made the wrong move in pulling his QB, it’s the final nail in his coffin as head coach of the Browns.

 

JD

 

 

Before anyone gets down regarding Wednesday’s Cavaliers loss to the Pistons, take a great big deep breath.  There is nothing to be concerned about.  Sure, it was a little bit of a bummer because the wine and gold dominated the first half, and still had a lead well into the third quarter.  However, the Cavs had won eight in a row, and were playing a very good team in their house. 

 

Losing those games are not a big deal in the regular season.  In fact, the Cavaliers three losses this season have all come against elite teams on the road:  Boston, New Orleans, and Detroit.  If they only lose those types of games all season long, we will be looking at a team with between 55 and 60 victories at the end of the campaign.

 

And as good as the wine and gold’s start of the season has been, you still have to remember there is going to be a period of adjustment.  The team still has to discover what plays work against tough defenses, particularly the ones played by the NBA’s best teams.  The Piston defense took away what the Cavs did in the first half, and the Cavs didn’t adjust.  They will learn what to do as the season goes on.

 

Detroit also got red-hot in the fourth quarter.  Allen Iverson hurt Cleveland by getting the ball on the left side and cutting across the lane to get shots.  Rasheed Wallace then started firing in three pointers, including one from the parking lot.  The Pistons shot over 50% from the floor for the game, well over the 43% opponents had been shooting in the first 11 games of the season.

 

The important thing is that the Cavaliers learn from this game, and they will know what to do the next time a good team turns up the pressure on defense.  There are still 70 games left on the schedule, and I still believe the wine and gold will be the best team in the Eastern Conference when all is said and done.  There is still a lot of room for improvement with this team, especially as Mo Williams gets more used to playing with the rest of his teammates.  I don’t think you can say the same for Detroit and Boston.

 

Now for a rant…Jim Rome is trying to stir it up with LeBron James’ comment about the fans booing when he didn’t shoot in the Milwaukee game when the Cavs had 99 points.  Please stop!  It was no big deal. 

 

First, the fans are idiots.  The game was over and there was no reason for the Cavaliers to show up an opponent by scoring a meaningless basket at the end of the game.  Mike Brown made the correct decision in telling James to hold on to the ball.

 

Second, #23 is correct.  If you can afford tickets to an NBA game, I think you can buy yourself a chalupa at Taco Bell.  I would guess that many of the fans who chant “cha-lu-pa” when the Cavaliers get to 98 or 99 points never go to T.Bell and redeem the ticket.

 

Lastly, here’s a note for the national media.  Stop looking for reasons for James to leave the Cavaliers.  If the Cavs are as good as I think they are this year, The King will stay.  If he sees a decreasing chance to win titles with the Cavaliers, he will look to go somewhere else.  I don’t think he’s going to leave because the fans want a fast-food meal. 

 

Maybe, just maybe, LeBron James likes the area.  He is already known throughout the world, and he plays in Cleveland!  Name someone on the Knicks or Nets, besides Vince Carter.  If you play for a losing team, no one cares who you are.

 

JK

 

On a night where the Browns’ special teams played perhaps their worst game of the year, they won the game with special teams play.  Phil Dawson’s 56-yard field goal provided the margin of difference in the 29-27 win at Buffalo last night.  Coach Romeo Crennel’s bunch tried to be become the first team in NFL history to blow leads of 13 points or more in three straight games, but Jerome Harrison and Dawson wouldn’t let them.

 

The Browns will take the victory after blowing two straight games at home, but this was far from a well played game by the brown and orange.  There were still dropped passes, blitzes that weren’t picked up by the offensive line, and incredibly poor tackling by the defense.  Yet, they made just enough plays on offense to win.  Brady Quinn had a Derek Anderson type game in terms of stats (14 of 36, 185 yards), but he put up 29 points.

 

Because of these mistakes, the game wasn’t the blowout it should have been.  The Browns caused four turnovers and committed none, yet had to kick a late field goal to take the lead, and sweat out a late miss by Bills’ kicker Rian Lindell for the win.  It shouldn’t have been this close. 

 

Besides Dawson’s heroics, he kicked five field goals, including the game winner; the player who stood out most was the little used Harrison.  Why he is not used is getting to be one of Cleveland’s great mysteries.  He scored on a 72 yard touchdown run to put the Browns ahead 23-13, and then was a big factor on the drive which increased the lead to 26-20 after a curious decision to kick off to Bills’ return man Leodis McKelvin, who hurt the Browns all night.

 

Harrison had a ten-yard run that was aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty and then caught a pass on a wheel route, which set up Dawson’s fourth field goal.  On the season, Harrison has now touched the ball 27 times and gained 310 yards, an average of 11.5 yards per touch. 

 

No one is saying Harrison should be the team’s feature back, or he should get the ball 20 times per game.   However, he definitely should be getting the ball more than three times per game.  How about giving Harrison ten touches per contest?  The one thing you can say about him is he makes people miss and he makes big plays.

 

Defensively, the Browns are still a mess.  After promising changes on that side of the ball, Crennel didn’t follow through.  After saying CB Travis Daniels would get time at cornerback, he started, played the first play, and wasn’t heard from again.  The coaching staff went back to Brandon McDonald, who had poor games against Baltimore and Denver.

 

The linebacking has been suspect all season long, yet rookie ILB Beau Bell was inactive for the game.  The defense has allowed 84 points the last three games (eliminating kick and interception returns for touchdowns), yet no personnel changes are made?  Let me say that I doubt Bell and Daniels could do any worse than the men who are playing.  Heck, they might actually tackle someone.

 

Can the Browns follow up a win with a solid performance at home against Houston on Sunday?  Their track record this season says no.

 

How many passes will Braylon Edwards drop this Sunday?  He had a key drop in the first quarter yesterday trying to break his fall!  Doesn’t he realize he has all sorts of pads on? 

 

Will Jerome Harrison get more touches?  Will the defense really make any changes in personnel?

 

After ten games of this NFL season, we still are faced with more questions regarding the Cleveland Browns than answers.  That’s the worst part of this season.

 

JD

Mike Brown is even starting to get rookie J.J. Hickson get some playing time in the first half, which is something we have been asking for.  The rookie doesn’t appear to be overmatched when he is in there, and the coaching staff seems to know they will need Hickson to develop into a contributor for the stretch run.  So far, it looks like GM Danny Ferry made a very good pick toward the end of the first round.

 

The biggest thing for the Cavaliers is that right now, everyone is playing the way they need to play for the team to be successful.  Anderson Varajao is providing energy, rebounded, and taking charges.  Ben Wallace is rebounding and playing defense.  Wally Szczerbiak is hitting outside shots, and Daniel Gibson has expanded his game to involve the running floater in the lane.

 

Heck, LeBron James is even diving on the floor for loose balls, which his coach loved.  The Cavs hit the road for games against New Jersey and Detroit this week, and I can’t wait to see how they do.  The Cavaliers are playing like a team on a mission right now.  That mission includes bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the Q this June.

 

JK

 

The last time there was this much turmoil in Berea, the Cleveland Browns responded with a big road win at Jacksonville three weeks ago.  Unfortunately, it was their last win, as it was followed up with two disappointing home losses against Baltimore and Denver.  In both of those games, the brown and orange had double digit leads in the second half.

 

Will the Browns respond the same way as they did against the Jaguars in Monday night’s game at Buffalo?

 

If Jamal Lewis and Josh Cribbs have anything to say about it, they will.

 

I have given some support to GM Phil Savage because of the talent he has brought in during his tenure.  Let’s face it; he inherited a pretty bare cupboard.  However, he may want to consult one person when evaluating talent before the ’09 NFL Draft.  That person is Eric Wedge.

 

Wedge is always preaching about “grinders”, guys that come to work everyday, and do whatever they have to do to win the game.  They may not be the most talented players, but they are willing to put in the effort to get the job done.

 

The Browns are a little short of those types of players. 

 

NFL GM’s have historically been impressed by athleticism.  It’s the reason why former Ohio State DE Eric Kumerow was a first round draft pick, while the guy who made all the tackles, Chris Spielman was picked on the second round.  Anyone who watched an Ohio State game could have told you Spielman was the better player, but Kumerow had the tools. 

 

The Browns do have some “grinders”, but they are guys at the end of their careers.  Guys like Willie McGinest and Andra Davis.  However, most of the younger players don’t seem to have that drive to win.  Players like Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow are more focused on their personal statistics than they are on winning games. 

 

There doesn’t seem to be someone on the roster that is blessed with both Pro Bowl ability and the fierce competitive nature to win, particularly at the skill positions.

 

The Browns are also searching for an identity.  After four years with Crennel as the head coach, can you tell me what kind of team the Browns are?  On offense, sometimes they emphasize the pass, at other times, the run.  On defense, they certainly are a 3-4 team, but they certainly aren’t known for being a team that can lock up other teams. 

 

In fact, I can’t remember any time where the Browns have ever had a dominating defense.  The closest was when Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield were playing the corners, but those teams certainly didn’t have a dominating pass rush.  Chip Banks got some sacks, but Marty Schottenheimer unloaded him before he could blossom.

 

In short, the organization is a mess.  Still, people make excuses for the Cleveland Browns.  Ten years after returning to the NFL, they struggle for respectability.  Cleaning house likely means another two or three years before returning to respectability.  Owner Randy Lerner needs to develop a plan and stick to it.  It’s truly sad to watch for people who remember with the Browns were the elite franchise in the NFL.

 

JD

 

The official hot stove season starts on Friday, when free agents are eligible to start signing with other teams.  However, the trade market did get a head start with a couple of deals made the last couple of days.  The Indians haven’t done anything yet, but the rumors out there don’t really make me all warm and fuzzy, and ready for spring training.

 

Luckily, when Tribe GM Mark Shapiro does make a move, it usually comes without a ton of rumors.  Let hope that’s the case this year, because right now it looks like the Indians are doing exactly what I feared they would do.  That is looking to add little pieces instead of a big chunk.

 

Look at the players that have showed up in rumors involving Cleveland:  Mark Teahen, Ty Wigginton, Scott Olsen.  All of these guys would be spare parts.  Teahen is a younger Casey Blake.  Wigginton had good numbers with the Astros last season, but nearly all of his damage occurred at the friendly confines of Minute Maid Park.  Olsen is a young lefty who took advantage of the big yard he plays in with the Marlins.

 

Speaking of Blake, there are several rumors that have him returning to the Indians for the 2009 season.  Blake had a solid season last year, but he will turn 36 years old next August.  I am guessing he is not going to settle for a one-year deal worth $2.5 million per year after earning $6 million in 2008.  So, it would be a bad move for the Indians.

 

If I’m Mark Shapiro, I think I can spend the $6-7 million dollars Blake will command on better things.  And certainly, I would be leery about giving a 35-year old player more than a one-year commitment. 

 

This is not to pick on Blake, but as Time Warner’s Les Levine pointed out on Monday night, how does signing Blake make the Indians a better team in 2009?  Shapiro needs to be looking at upgrades, not the same cast of characters who made the Indians a .500 ballclub in 2008.

 

Let’s say that Shapiro has an additional $15 million to spend on payroll this off-season.  What makes more sense?  To spend $3 million each on five average players or to spend $10-12 million per year on a player who can contribute to getting the Indians back in the playoffs?  Now I have no idea how much money the Tribe budget allows this winter, but you can see what I’m getting at.

 

If they are going to sign a guy like Wigginton, then why not give the 3B job to Wes Hodges?  Hodges does struggle defensively, but he is hitting well in the Arizona Fall League.  At least Hodges has an upside; you know what you are going to get with Wigginton, who is basically a journeyman. 

 

The Indians need to make a big splash.  They need to add an established starting pitcher and an everyday player who has some pop.  Indications are they are not interested in getting an outfielder since guys like Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley are on the horizon.  However, if they are going to get an infielder who is no more than average, I would rather spend more money on pitching and play the young guys.

 

Understand that free agency isn’t the only to spend money.  The Indians could trade some prospects to pick up a good player who is a year or two away from free agency, and the current club has already determined they aren’t going to sign.  Such as the A’s trading for Matt Holliday.  The problem there is Shapiro’s fear that one of his prospects will turn into the next Albert Pujols. 

 

Of course, the fans here don’t help with the constant referrals to Brandon Phillips or Kevin Kouzmanoff, neither of who are really elite players.

 

If the Indians want to contend in 2009, it will take bold steps.  Signing more players like David Dellucci and Casey Blake will not get it done.

 

We would also like to extend our condolences to the Score family on the death of former Tribe pitcher and broadcaster Herb Score.  The lefthander saw more bad baseball than anyone, and he always presented it with enjoyment.  He never felt down about the bad break his pitching career took, and he could have been one of the great ones.  I remember reading an article about Hank Aaron when I was younger and he was asked who threw harder, Sandy Koufax or Nolan Ryan.  Aaron replied Herb Score.  RIP.

 

MW

 

The NBA season is a little over a week old and the feeling I had going into the campaign has not gone away.  The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the Association’s elite teams, and their current four game winning streak has put an exclamation point on that.  

 

Sure, they haven’t beaten the Lakers or the Celtics in this skein, but it is the way they have gone about getting the victories.  The wine and gold have been very workmanlike.

 

First, they dismantled a good Dallas team on the road.  Afterwards, they came home to hammer the Bulls, and overcame a lethargic start to beat Indiana, before traveling to Chicago to beat the Bulls again.  If you haven’t watched the Cavs play yet this season, you will see they are a very different team.

 

First of all, much has been made about LeBron James not having found the range on his jump shot.  The positive news is that James hasn’t been taking many.  Because he has trust in Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Daniel Gibson, the King is now operating closer to the basket.  The result has been 138 points in the four games, many of them coming from the charity stripe, where #23 has gone 43 for 51 in the winning streak. 

 

Coach Mike Brown has tightened up his rotation and is using just Anderson Varajao, Wally Szczerbiak, and Gibson off his bench, with Sasha Pavlovic and J.J. Hickson getting some token appearances.  Varajao has provided his usual hustle, defense, and rebounding, and even pitched in with a career high 18 points against the Pacers.

 

Szczerbiak is making the wide open shots he is getting, and Gibson is mixing up his three point shooting with the ability to go to the basket with the teardrop shot, making him more than a one dimensional offensive player.

 

However, the biggest difference has come just where we thought it would, the presence of Mo Williams, particularly when James is on the bench.  Williams is averaging only 14.5 points and 4.5 assists per night, down from his totals in Milwaukee last year.  But, he is taking charge when #23 is on the bench.  He is also creating his own shots and making them off the dribble, a skill most other Cavs do not have. 

 

Because of his presence and his skills, Brown has been able to limit James to just 36 minutes per night, almost five minutes less than last year.  If this can continue, it will be huge come playoff time, when there will be less wear and tear on the body of The King.  It also allows LeBron to not be the focal point on every possession.  That’s what Williams was acquired to do, and thus far he has met expectations.

 

I would still like to see Hickson get some time, but on the other hand, if the Cavs can sign free agent big man Antonio McDyess, that might be the final piece to a puzzle which returns the wine and gold to the NBA Finals.  The lone weakness this team has is frontcourt depth, and McDyess would take care of that problem.  The Celtics are interested as well, and Danny Ferry cannot let Boston get him.

 

Right now, the Cavaliers are winning at home, and splitting on the road.  Their only losses are away from The “Q” to the Celtics and Hornets, both among the league’s best teams.  If this continues, the wine and gold are on the way to a 55 win season, and the second division title in team history.

 

JK