The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from last night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks

The Good:

-  LeBron James, well-rested thanks to Cavalier blowouts over the last three games, was able to find another gear in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 straight points on his way to 32 points on the night.  LeBron added 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block, and the ESPN headline was “Sub-par James keys late run as Cavs slip Bucks.”  LeBron wasn’t at his best last night, but it sure is nice having a player who can put up hall-of-fame numbers on sub-par nights.  LeBron’s biggest bucket of the night was a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a screen, a shot that he took in rhythm and drilled.  The 3 put the Cavaliers up by 10 points, and put the Bucks away for the night.

-  Zydrunas Ilgauskas continued his excellent play of late, scoring 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting and gathering 17 rebounds on the night, including 7 offensive rebounds.  Z has been fantastic of late, giving the Cavaliers a significant advantage at the center position.  It helped that Bucks’ starting center Andrew Bogut was out with an injury, but Z has really taken advantage of some lackluster opposing centers of late.  

-  Sasha Pavlovic was able to give the team some quality minutes for the first time in a while.  Pavlovic scored 6 points on two 3-pointers, the second of which gave the Cavaliers some much-needed breathing room after the Bucks cut the lead to just two points midway through the fourth quarter.  The Cavaliers needed a boost from Pavlovic last night, as Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel Gibson apparently missed the flight to Milwaukee.

The Bad:

-  I really want Daniel Gibson to get out of this spot after every game, but last night might have been his worst game of the season.  Gibson scored 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting, while adding just 1 rebound and 1 assist and picking up 4 fouls in 26 minutes.  Gibson has built up a lot of well-deserved good will amongst Cavalier fans, but I don’t know how much longer he can continue to get extended minutes with the way he has been playing for the last 3 weeks.

-  As soon as I praise Wally Szczerbiak, he goes out and lays an egg the following night.  Szczerbiak managed to double Gibson’s point production with a whopping 4 points on 1-of-7 shooting.

-  Mo Williams couldn’t find the range in his former home, shooting just 6-for-20 (30%) from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.  Still, despite his lack of production, Williams finished the night with the highest plus/minus rate (+15) on the Cavaliers.

The Questions:

-  When Bucks first round draft pick Joe Alexander looks in the mirror, does he see Sasha Pavlovic?  Alexander (4.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg) has great size and athleticism, but like Pavlovic often looks awkward and uncoordinated when you put a ball in his hands.  He just lacks that perternatural grace that most NBA players possess.  That doesn’t mean that he won’t develop into a quality NBA player, but it just makes it unlikely that he will justify his loft draft position (8th overall).

-  How crazy is it when a guy goes out and scores 23 points and grabs 17 rebounds…and isn’t the most impressive story of the game?  Sorry Z, thems the breaks when you play with the best player on the planet.

-  Did Cleveland.com really have to have this many articles about LeBron James’ 2010 New York flirtations today?  Terry Pluto has it in his Sunday column.  Bill Livingston is calling LeBron out for batting his eyelashes at the NYC.  Brian Windhorst has not one , but two more articles talking about LeBron heading to New York today.  I respect all of those writers, and I appreciate that they are writing about what is generating so much interest this week.  But the game in New York was Tuesday!  Do we really have to drag out this discussion for a full week?  Kudos to George Thomas and the rest of the Akron Beacon Journal for avoiding the easy, controversial story and focusing on the games (there have only been three since the Cavaliers were in New York).

Go Cavs.  Enjoy the two days off.

What to watch for tonight when the Cavaliers head up to Milwaukee for a matchup with the Bucks:

1.  Can the Cavaliers keep rolling?  The Cavs have won four in a row, they are winning by an average margin of 11 points a game, and they are coming off three straight games that have gone so well that LeBron hasn’t had to play a single fourth quarter minute.  Road games on the second night of back-to-backs are the hardest challenge in the NBA regular season, but the Cavaliers seem to be playing so well lately that it might not matter.  Especially when the opponent is the Bucks.

2.  Have the Bucks gotten any better since we saw them two weeks ago?  It’s hard to tell, as the Bucks have had a very uneven schedule to start the season, playing both the best teams and worst teams in the league.  At 7-11, Milwaukee has beaten the teams they should beat (New York twice, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Washington, Memphis), won one game they should have lost (at San Antonio when the Spurs were struggling), and have lost to teams they should lose against (Boston twice, Denver, Utah, Detroit last night, etc).  Head Coach Scott Skiles was brought in to instill a defensive mentality to the team, and so far he’s been mildly successful, as the Bucks are currently 15th in opponents’ points allowed this season at 97.4 points per game, better than the 103.9 ppg they allowed last season, good for 23rd overall.  The biggest problem plaguing the Bucks so far is turnovers, where the Bucks rank 28th in the league, coughing the ball up over 16 times a game.  On the flip side, the Cavaliers average the third-fewest turnovers per game in the league, at just over 13 turnovers a game.  

3.  How will Michael Redd perform in his first game back in almost a month?  Redd has missed 14 games due to a sprained ankle, and is probable for tonight’s game.  Redd was averaging 21.4 points per game before the injury, but this long layoff certainly hasn’t helped him adapt to Skiles and new Bucks forward Richard Jefferson.  Redd has been known to hurt the Cavs in the past, but with the way Delonte West has been playing defense, combined with some post-injury rust for Redd, I would be surprised if Redd is a determining factor in tonight’s contest.  And without Redd lighting it up, I just don’t see how the Bucks can beat the Cavaliers with the way Cleveland has been playing.

Go Cavs.

Postgame Quick Hits from last night’s thorough dismantling of the Golden State Warriors

The Good:

1.  After a slow start when their trademark defensive intensity was missing, the Cavaliers shut down the Warriors offense in the second and third quarters, holding Golden State to just 32 points combined over the two periods.  The Cavaliers did the same thing to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, holding the Thunder to 38 points in the second and third quarters.  While the offense is getting a lot of attention at the moment, the Cavaliers have been able to shut down opposing teams for long stretches of time, and that has turned these games into laughers.  LeBron James hasn’t played a fourth quarter minute in a week.

2.  LeBron and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had matching 9-for-13 shooting nights, with LeBron scoring 23 points and Z finishing with 21 in just 19 minutes.  Z has been excellent lately, and over the last five games he is averaging 15.8 points in just 22.6 minutes a night, while shooting 59% from the field.  He’s also really taking advantage of the lack of even decent post defenders on opposing teams, getting good low position and scoring relatively easily.  He still forgets to dribble on occasion, but Z is taking advantage of the extra attention teams are now paying to Mo Williams.

3.  While Ben Wallace finished with 9 rebounds in just 21 minutes and really kept the crowd excited with his offensive rebounds, I thought that Wally Szczerbiak’s 9 rebounds were more interesting.  While I still believe the Cavaliers will trade Szczerbiak this season to upgrade the roster, Wally is really starting to contribute consistently.  If he can rebound effectively, the Cavaliers can use Wally and LeBron in the two forward spots, which really puts pressure on opposing defenses.

The Bad:

Not a good shooting night for Delonte West (4-for-12) and J.J. Hickson (1-for-6). 

Another backup point guard lit up the Cavaliers, as C.J. Watson finished with 17 points.

Seriously, I’m going to have to cut this back to fewer bad things if the team keeps playing like this.

The Questions:

1.  How are the Cavaliers shutting down these quality shooting guards?  Physically speaking, there’s just no way that Delonte West can handle big guards like Stephen Jackson, Joe Johnson and Vince Carter.  But West, combined with the rest of the defensive scheme, has kept the big guards off the scoreboard, and that has been the hallmark of their recent defensive excellence.

Vince Carter - 12 points, 3-12 shooting - 23.6 ppg this season

Joe Johnson - 4 points, 1-8 shooting -  23.0 ppg this season.

Stephen Jackson - 11 points, 2-11 shooting - 21.4 ppg this season

I really don’t have an explanation for how the Cavaliers have been so effective in completely shutting down the opposing team’s designated perimeter scorers, but they have, and in impressive fashion. 

2.  Why in the world would the Warriors acquire Jamal Crawford from the Knicks?  They already have Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette to provide perimeter scoring, and when Monta Ellis returns from injury there will be a significant shortage of shots to go around.  There have been rumors that the Warriors are shopping Maggette, who just signed a 5-year, $50 Million contract last Summer.  But the Clippers were the only team willing to give Maggette that kind of money, and I can’t imagine there are many takers.

3.  How do the Warriors find all these quality young players?  For all of their recent struggles, the Warriors have done a good job of finding young, talented players and bringing them along when other teams aren’t interested.  The Warriors picked up undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow, and all he did wad drop 37 points in his first start.  They found Kelenna Azubuike, a player that was cut by the Cavaliers a few seasons ago, and turned him into a 14.4 point per game scorer off the bench.  While the Warriors have made mistakes with the veterans they choose to bring in, they have done a great job finding diamonds in the rough.

Go Cavs.  More to come on the game tonight against the Bucks.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits for last night’s “thrilling” win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Good:

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

1.  The Cavs won.  By a lot.  Seriously, check it out, it’s a video game box score.

2.  This list:  LeBron James - 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks in 17 minutes.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a 3-pointer in just 13 minutes.  Daniel Gibson with 15 points (though only 1-of-6 from 3-point range).  Wally Szczerbiak looking very comfortable 13 points and 3 rebounds.  In short, plenty of quality performances all around.

(Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal)

3.  JJ Hickson played 31 minutes, scoring 14 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and coming up with 4 blocks.  Hickson is still a long way from being a regular contributor, but he showed last night that he can be effective in the right circumstances.

The Bad (you want to talk about nitpicking):

(Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal)

1. Sasha Pavlovic looked awful in 18 minutes.  He scored only four points, he missed 5 free throws (2-for-7), and showed almost nothing whie he was on the floor.  Pavlovic had an opportunity to show the Cavaliers (and other teams) that he can be a solid player if given the opportunity.  I like Pavlovic, and I thought he did a good job two seasons ago in adapting his game to become a quality defender.  But last night he looked like the same Pavlovic we have seen for that last 13 months, a guy who contributes too little to get minutes on a quality team.

2.  14 turnovers ended the string of games with less than double-digit turnovers.

3.  No Kiss Cam at the game last night?  Where are we, Russia?  Seriously, hard to find too many problems on a night like last night.  

The Questions:

1.  What do we think of Kevin Durant?  I’ll get back to this a little later, but I feel safe saying that he is not the next LeBron James.  For all of his college-year hype, he has yet to demonstrate the seemingly transcendent talent he had while at Texas.

2.  What do we think of new Thunder head coach Scott Brown?  Hard to have any strong opinions after just two games, but his team looked absolutely dejected last night.  Part of that was the excellence of the Cavaliers, but it sure seemed like his team quit last night.  Yes, they were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and had just lost a heartbreaker to the Suns the night before.  But with a shot to play against the Cavalier second string, the Thunder opted to just heave shots at the basket rather than implementing any kind of cohesive offense, which resulted the Thunder shooting only 35% from the field.

In short, they were the polar opposite of the Atlanta Hawks, a team that also got their doors blown off in the first quarter at The Q, but keep fighting throughout the night.  P.J. Carlesimo might not have been the right coach for this team, but by firing him the Oklahoma City front office let the players off the hook.  That might not be a good idea with a team full of young, inexperienced players.

3.  And predictions on when the Cavaliers might lose again?  With the way the team is playing right now, all bets are off.

Go Cavs.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

What to watch for tonight when the Cavaliers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a pre-Thanksgiving matchup:

-  One of the results of the ouster of P.J. Carlisemo was the Kevin Durant will be getting minutes at small forward, instead of the shooting guard spot.  Durant has small forward height (6′9″), but he’s on the light side (at 215 lbs he’s giving up about 40 lbs to LeBron James tonight).  Durant’s speed will be a greater asset at the 3, but he’s going to take some punishment he was able to avoid last season at the 2.  Durant has been shooting much better this season, he has stopped constantly hoisting 3-pointers (take a note LeBron), and he looks like he’s developing into a Carmelo Anthony-type player.  And yes, between LeBron, Danny Granger and now Kevin Durant, CavsHQ agrees to cut out the Carmelo Anthony comparisons for the rest of the month at least.

-  Both the Cavs and the Thunder are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, with the Cavaliers romping to a win over the Knicks while the Thunder lost a heartbreaker to the Phoenix Suns.  The schedule certainly favors the home team tonight, but the Cavaliers have to avoid looking past the Thunder to the Thanksgiving holiday.  Well, at least for the first quarter.

-  Former Cavalier Joe Smith is currently a member of the Thunder, thanks to the trade that brought Mo Williams to the Cavaliers.  It wouldn’t be a complete shock to see the Thunder move Smith and his expiring contract at the trade deadline, so he could end up back in a Cavalier uniform if things work out.  I wasn’t too disappointed to see Smith leave in the Williams trade, but I wouldn’t mind the Cavs reacquiring Smith for the right price to help ease the late-season minutes of Ilgauskas and Wallace.

Go Cavs.

 The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s 18-point pounding of the New York Knicks.

The Good:

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

1.  The Cavaliers came out firing on all cylinders, scoring 34 points in the first quarter, 67 points in the first half, and outscoring the Knicks by 29 points before the break (67-38).  After a day in which LeBron faced questions from every able-bodied sports reporter in the tri-state area, the Cavaliers called it a night early, smashing the Knicks completely and thoroughly.  LeBron finished with 26 points, Delonte West had 16, Wally Szczerbiak had 15, Ilgauskas and Varejao had 11 apeice, and J.J. Hickson had his first double-digit scoring night with 10 points.  The Cavaliers shot 53% from the field, and they committed only 9 turnovers, the second straight game in which they held the turnovers under 10. 

2.  And it wasn’t all offense last night.  The Cavaliers held the Knicks to just 41% from the field - a number greatly inflated by the 35 garbage points the Knicks scored in the fourth quarter after the game was decided.  The Cavs also outrebounded the Knicks 48-43, and caused 17 New York turnovers leading to 30 Cavalier points.  Add in 9 steals and 8 blocks, and you can see how the Cavaliers defense took advantage of the fact that the Knicks have a bunch of new players who have no idea what they are doing on either side of the ball.

3.  Thanks to the big lead, fans got a chance to see all those bench players they have been clamoring for, as Hickson, Darnell Jackson and Tarence Kinsey each received plenty of garbage minutes tonight.  It was the first regular season appearance for Jackson, who was solid with 4 points and 2 rebounds in his debut.  And Kinsey hit a 3-pointer from the corner for his one basket of the night.  Those three young players have not yet been called upon to give the Cavaliers useful minutes this season, but it’s nice to see them get a few game minutes to get their feet wet.

The Bad:

1.  Knicks fans.  I’m sorry, you’ve been duped into paying good money to watch a terrible, terrible team for the next two seasons just for the hope that LeBron will come to New York.  And you don’t even have a mascot to distract you for a few minutes each game.

2.  Sorry Daniel Gibson, you’re still on the minus side despite your 10 points tonight.  Gibson shot just 4-for-11, including 2-for-8 from 3-point range, keeping his shooting percentages (36.5% FG, 30% 3pt).  Gibson’s shot is still missing, though he did manage to dish off 7 assists tonight, one short of his career high. 

3.  Watching Nate Robinson pull a groin muscle.  Nobody wants to see that, even if he’s playing for the Knicks.

The Questions:

1.  Can a big win like this cause some problems?  It could, as teams that have such an easy time offensively one night sometimes have a tough time adjusting to a more formidable defensive team the next night.  The Cavalier also settled for a very large number of 3-point shots (33), something that will kill them when they play quality opponents.  

Fortunately the Cavaliers are facing two terrible teams in the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-13 and playing in Cleveland on a back-to-back) and the Golden State Warriors (5-9 and just pummeled by the Washington Wizards) over the next three days.  The Thunder and the Warriors are nearly as bad defensively as the Knicks, and should be easy pickings for this talented Cavalier team, even if the Cavs do become a little lazy (but watch out for that Bucks team on Saturday). 

2.  Did the Knicks make their moves while planning on keeping David Lee (12 points and 13 rebounds tonight)?  Lee gets a lot of love because of his hard-nosed attitude and the fact that there hasn’t been a single likable New York Knick since…um…has there ever been a likeable New York Knick?  Regardless, Lee is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and rumblings around the league had the Knicks simply releasing Lee to get his salary off the books at the end of the year.

But with the salary space that the Knicks have opened up, they can keep Lee and still have plenty of cap space left over to try to lure LeBron in 2010.  Keeping Lee would be a good PR move for the Knicks, and is one of the underappreciated elements of the recent trades.

Then again, with the Knicks trading their best players for pennies on the dollar, maybe they just haven’t gotten around to dealing Lee.  Clearly the front office believes the fans will pay to watch garbage anyway, I can’t imagine that varying degrees of garbage will make much difference.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

3.  Did you see Jay-Z last night?  Who knew that the HOVA was one goofy pair of glasses away from looking like Steve Urkel?  I’m no fashionista (though we have one of those here on Ohio.com), but I wasn’t feeling the style last night.  Then again, he’s got Beyonce on his arm, so there’s probably no need to nitpick.   But I do wonder what he thinks of LeBron’s new “big apple” kicks.

Go Cavs.  Can’t wait to do this all over again tomorrow night.

What to Watch For tonight as the Cavaliers stray their vagabond shoes into the Big Apple.

1.  Will the Knicks’ players be ready to unleash a little pent up aggression against LeBron and the boys after a week of stories about how it’s okay that they stink, because it will help bring LeBron to New York? 

When the Cavs were in New Jersey last week, there were some rather thoughtful columnists saying that the best thing the Nets could do to woo LeBron would be to actually win a game against him, showing him that there was talent in New Jersey to build upon.  The Knicks gave up any thought of that last Friday, when they sent their two best players out of town and replaced them with Taco Bell food. 

But while the Cavaliers head into Madison Square Garden with a significant talent advantage and coming off of two days rest, don’t be surprised if the Knicks show a little fight, getting chippy as the fans shower LeBron with applause and thin-crust pizza and sub-prime mortgages and whatever else New York is teeming with these days.  Remember, the Cavaliers actually lost in New York last season - even with LeBron wowing the crowd with 31 points and 6 steals - when David Lee and the now-departed Jamal Crawford combined for 43 points and powered the Knicks to an 18-point victory.  Don’t be surprised if these two teams get on each other’s nerves very early tonight, with some jawing and some shoving and other extracurricular activities throughout the night. 

Fortunately, Isiah Thomas is no longer around to tell his players to go after the opposition, like he did when he incited a small brawl two years ago when the Nuggets were in town.

2.  Keep an eye on diminutive Knicks point guard Nate Robinson.  Robinson is out to a hot start, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 41% from beyond the arc, and he averaged 18 points per game last season against the Cavaliers.  Robinson, like Tyronne Lue and many other small-but-superquick guards, has a history of making life difficult for the Cavs, and he could be a factor tonight.  And at least twice tonight he’s going to grab a rebound that he can’t possible reach (even though those might be his only two rebounds of the night.  Serious, dude looks tiny at 5′9″).  And if anyone is going to throw a sucker punch tonight, it’s going to be Robinson and his Napoleon complex leading the way.

3.  The Cavaliers have to avoid getting into a running game with the Knicks, who will be constantly pushing the ball in new Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system.  D’Antoni, who made his name with the 7-Seconds-or-Less Phoenix Suns, will be looking to exploit a shaky Cavalier transition defense that had its hiccups against teams like Chicago and Indiana a few weeks ago.  Despite the talent disadvantage, the Cavaliers must remain disciplined tonight, imposing their will upon the Knicks, rather than allowing the Knicks to dictate the pace of the ballgame.  You will know the Cavaliers are in trouble if they start settling for long jumpers instead of exploiting the very weak interior defense of the Knicks. 

4.  Knicks forward Al Harrington, acquired in that Friday trade for Jamal Crawford, will sit out tonight with a sore back.  Cuttino Mobley, who the Knicks added from the Clippers in exchange for Zach Randolph, is also out as there are apparently some issues with his physical.  Is anyone else still flabbergasted the Knicks made these trades and people are happy?  At the very least, it means the Knicks are shorthanded tonight, which means that a focused Cavalier team will make quick work of New York and head right back to Cleveland for tomorrow night’s matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Yeah, the schedule-makers have been much nicer to the Cavaliers to start this season.

5.  More Than a Game, the documentary about LeBron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School team has been sold to Lionsgate, and is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2009 release.  If you have a few minutes, go back and take a look at my thoughts from the Toronto Film Festival screening this Summer.  In short, I loved it.

Go Cavs.

News and Notes from around the NBA on this cold rainy Monday:

 -  You have to love the way the Cavaliers are playing at home, keeping the home crowd happy and entertained (if not always meeting their preferred amount of free Taco Bell “food”).  7-0 at home, with games this week against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors, has the team feeling very good about the atmosphere they are creating at Quicken Loans Arena.  That air of invincibility at home is one of the key components to putting together a great regular season.

 -  Brian Windhorst has an interesting article about a group of Cavalier veterans (LeBron James, Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilguaskas and Ben Wallace) called “The Committee,” who meet with Coach Mike Brown regularly to discuss a myriad of team-related topics.  At first I was skeptical, but upon further examination, I think it’s a great idea.  By putting Ilgauskas and Wallace on the same level as LeBron and Williams, Brown has recruited help at the player level in keeping the two younger players focused and working within the team structure.  While LeBron is usually a great team player, he’s also a man who is accustomed to getting his way.  When Coach Brown and LeBron butt heads, it’s helpful to have a player who LeBron respects to help turn him towards the Coach’s point of view.  And when a committee of four, rather that just one player, has an idea to bring to the Coach, the coach is more likely to consider the option fully.  This kind of management strategy is one of the hallmarks of good coaching, and Mike Brown is doing a fantastic job this season.  Could something like “The Committee” backfire should things go off the rails?  Absolutely, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest doing such a thing on a team like the Washington Wizards or the Oklahoma City Thunder.  But on a veteran team led by a quality leader in LeBron James, “The Committee” could very much ease the few dust-ups that inevitably occur over a long season.

 -  The Wizards have fired Eddie Jordan, making him the second coaching casualty of in the first month of the season.  I have no strong feelings about Jordan one way or the other, but I have faith that this successor will at least double the Wizards’ current win total (1) before the end of the year.  Even if that successor is Whoopi Goldberg.

 -  The Toronto Raptors have slipped below .500 with a 118-103 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.  The Raptors are a miserable 2-4 at home, though admittedly those losses have come to Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New Jersey (in overtime).  Now Jermaine O’Neal is down with an injury (surprise).  These are the kinds of things that make me doubt that Toronto can make the Playoffs this season, though the collapse of the Wizards is certainly making it easier. 

-  Antonio McDyess’ agent confirms it - McDyess is headed back to the Pistons.  I suggested that McDyess would be a good fit the moment he was traded to Denver, but over the last few weeks it became apparent that no amount of money could woo McDyess away from Detroit.  At least now Cleveland fans can stop peppering the call-in shows and message boards with how great it would be to see McDyess in a Cavalier uniform.

-  The McDyess announcement reminds me of another pet peeve of this season - “leaks” from the Charlotte Bobcats.  Over the last few weeks various reports have indicated that Gerald Wallace would be traded, that Al Harrington was going to end up in Charlotte, and that the Bobcats were moving things around to bring in McDyess.  Absolutely none of those rumors have been remotely true!  I know that Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson have been the high on the list of players Cavs fans would like to acquire, and rightly so.  But I’m asking all fans to ignore any more rumors that come out of Charlotte between now and the trade deadline.  If the Cavaliers make a deal with the Bobcats, that’s great.  But with the way Michael Jordan is running the Bobcats’ front office, you cannot believe a single thing that is leaked out of that organization.

-  There’s a lot of noise being made about the trades the New York Knicks made on Friday to free up cap space for the Free Agency Summer of 2010.  There are only two important things of note:  1) In making these trades, the Knicks put themselves in a position, at least financially, to make a run at LeBron James, and 2) the Knicks made themselves a significantly worse basketball team for the next two seasons as a result.  The first part absolutely matters.  If it didn’t, Cavaliers fans wouldn’t be falling all over themselves to explain why it doesn’t matter.  But the second part is also important, because LeBron will not risk harming his overall goodwill by leaving a quality team in Cleveland to go to a terrible team in New York with no chance of winning.  LeBron’s legacy will be measured in Championships, not dollars, and that kind of reputation matters far more than his business address.  Unless the Knicks score big in the Draft over the next two seasons (a strong possibility given how bad they will be), there will be no useful pieces around LeBron even if he did end up in New York in 2010.  In short, this was indeed the first step towards getting LeBron into a Knick uniform, but it was by no means the last step.

-  But the Knicks trade does illustrate how the Cavaliers may be able to add a significant piece over the next two seasons.  The Knicks essential gave away their two best players for a chalupa (Al Harrington) and a bag of cinnamon sticks (Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas), all for the chance to make a run at the 2010 free agents.  While the Knicks will be the most visible franchise making that move, plenty of other organizations may be willing to trade away quality players for pennies on the dollar in an effort to free up cap space.  That could even happen with good-but-not-great teams like Orlando and Dallas.  The Cavaliers have a number of players whose contracts end in 2010, and those contracts will be valuable commodities over the next two season.  While Danny Ferry will be careful not to damage the chemistry of a team that is already playing well, he would also be well-served by looking for those players that can be had for next to nothing as their teams desperately try to shed salary.  Thanks to the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Cavaliers will be able to offer LeBron the most money regardless of their cap situation in 2010.  I think the Cavs should take advantage of that situation however possible.

-  And in a last little bit of good news, the Pistons lost at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves last night by 26 points.

 Go Cavs.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from the Cavaliers victory over the Atlanta Hawks:

Taking Flight:

1.  For most of the game, the Cavaliers played as well tonight as they have all year.  They had excellent ball movement (20 assists on 41 field goals), they limited the turnovers (9), and they kept the short-handed and short-rested Hawks on their heels throughout the night.  If the Cavs bring this kind of effectiveness to every game this week, things are going to look very rosy for the rest of November.

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

2.  The Cavs found a way to keep Joe Johnson off the scoreboard (4 points on 1-for-8 shooting), which is one of the reasons the team got off to such a strong start (28-12 in the first quarter).  Johnson could not find any room to operate, and seemed too willing to give up the ball when facing Delonte West.  Mike Bibby also struggled, scoring just 10 points in 23 minutes of action. 

Part of poor performances of Johnson and Bibby was due to the fact that their second-half minutes were going to their more successful understudies.  Acie Law gathered 20 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while Maurice Evans dropped 21 points and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range.  Still, if you can hold an opponents’ starting backcourt to 14 points, you’re going to win a lot of those games.

3.  On the flip side, the Cavalier perimeter players were very good tonight. Mo Williams was effective inside and out, scoring 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with 4 assists and 5 rebounds, while not giving up a single turnover.  Delonte West continued his excellent shooting, going 7-for-12 for 19 points and 5 assists of his own. Wally Szczebiak had 8 first-half points and grabbed 6 rebounds.  And LeBron James, on a mediocre night, still dropped 24 points while dishing off 8 assists and 7 rebounds.  When the Cavaliers have that many contributors, winning comes much easier.

Skidding to a Stop:

1.  The Cavaliers were flirting with a 30 point lead in the third quarter.  Then they got lazy on defense, reserves like J.J. Hickson and Daniel Gibson came into the game and played terribly, and before long the Hawks were back within 11 with four minutes left in the game.  When the Cavs were locked in tonight, they played as well as they have at any point this season.  But when they started taking the Hawks for granted, Atlanta showed that same determination that allowed them to give the Celtics a run for their money last season.  Say what you will about this Hawks team, they are as resilient as any other club in the league. 

2.  Speaking of Daniel Gibson, he continued his recent struggles, scoring 2 garbage time points in 18 minutes while picking up 3 fouls.  With West and Wally Szczerbiak playing well at the moment, the Cavs have survived without Gibson’s shooting skills.  But it would be nice if Gibson could find his role in the offense, because the Cavs still need all the weapons they can get against good teams.

3.  Apparently the officiating crew was as exhausted as the Hawks.  Joe Tait called it “pick and choose” officiating tonight, and that’s as good a name as anything.  The calls were bad both ways, with LeBron taking the brunt of several bad calls.  But when Zydrunas Ilgauskas was fouled with a slap to the face, Joe’s analysis was “When you’re 7′3″ and you get hit in the face, everyone between here and Elyria can see it.”  Truer worlds have never been spoken. 

More Joe Tait, on all the LeBron-to-New York “stuff:”  “I grew up on a farm, so I know what that stuff is, I know what it smells like, and I know what to do with it.” 

Three Questions:

1.  How much better are the Cavaliers today than they were at this time last year?  The Cavs won their 10th game of the season tonight, pushing their record out to 10-3.  Last season the Cavaliers didn’t win their 10th game until December 11th, when their record was a miserable 10-12 thanks to LeBron’s finger injury.  Things are much better for the Cavaliers and their fans so far this season.

2.  How good are the Hawks?  The Hawks left Cleveland with a record of 8-5, and if the playoffs started today they would be the fifth seed in the East.  Atlanta has already won in Orlando and New Orleans, and they were a Paul Pierce miracle shot from beating the Celtics in Boston.  On the flip side, the team has not played well since Josh Smith went down with an injury, losing two games to mediocre New Jersey Nets and falling to Indiana on the road.

The Hawks have a nice nucleus of Johnson, Bibby, Smith and second-year player Al Horford, and above all they have shown exceptional resilience in the face of adversity, which was also display tonight.  Bibby’s contract also expires at the end of the season, meaning that Atlanta has some flexibility to adjust the roster at the trading deadline if the right deal comes along.  The Hawks aren’t ready to contend in the East, but they are getting there, and they could definitely surprise a team like Detroit, Orlando, Boston or even Cleveland in the first round if they get hot at the right time.

(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

3.  I do watch basketball, right?  I was asking myself this question at halftime tonight.  I had gone out of my way to talk up the matchup between LeBron James and Joe Johnson, and then the two of them headed into the half with less than 10 points combined.  LeBron at least filled his part of the bargain in the second half, with 19 points after the break. 

Go Cavs.  Great way to start a very busy week of basketball.

What to watch for on a cold Cleveland night when the Cavaliers face the Atlanta Hawks:

1.  How will the Hawks defend LeBron James?  LeBron leads the league in scoring at 29.5 points per game, and he has been getting fat against medicore teams, with 41 against Chicago (twice) and Indiana, and 38 against New Jersey.  LeBron looked mortal on Wednesday against the Pistons, but so did the rest of the team facing the back-to-back.  Tonight, LeBron faces a Hawks team that that is without it’s best defender in Josh Smith, one of the few players in the league with the physical tools to defend James both on the perimeter and in the lane.  It would have been interesting to see LeBron and Smith battling, especially when LeBron goes to the power forward spot.  As it is, Marvin Williams will likely see most of the LeBron duty tonight, as he tries to hold LeBron below the 31points he averaged against the Hawks last season.  Without Smith in the lineup and with center Al Horford still working his way back from an ankle injury, LeBron will certainly have an opportunity to fill the scorecard.

Hopefully it will look a lot like LeBron’s last game against the Hawks in Cleveland, when he scored 19 points in the Fourth Quarter to lead the team to a victory. 

2.   How will the Cavs defend Joe Johnson?  When the Hawks were jetting out to a 6-0 start, it was Johnson, not LeBron James, who ended the first week of the season leading the league in scoring.  Johnson is now fourth at 25.7 ppg, trailing only LeBron, Miami’s Dwayne Wade (28.2 ppg), and Toronto’s Chris Bosh (26.9 ppg).   Now you see why everyone is so excited about the free agent class of 2010 - the top four scorers in the league are going to be free agents that Summer.  Johnson has recieved the least hype of the four, but he established himself as a clutch scorer in last year’s playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics, and he has the skills to make the Cavaliers’ lives hard tonight.  The Cavs did a solid job against Vince Carter on Tuesday, and Carter is not a bad comparison talent-wise to Johnson (attitude is a whole other matter).  Still, the matchup with Johnson is yet another tough test for Delonte West and any other Cavaliers charged with keeping Johnson off the scoreboard.

3.  Can the Cavs stay focused during what could be an easy week?  The Cavaliers face the Hawks tonight with Atlanta playing the second leg of a back-to-back.  The team will then head to New York to face the new-look Knicks - and all the distractions that come with it - before coming back home to play an Oklahoma City Thunder team that just fired its head coach.   The they have another back-to-back for the weekend, facing the Golden State Warriors on Black Friday before closing the week in Milwaukee against the Bucks.  It may be five games in eight nights, but with the exception of Atlanta none of those teams are going to make the playoffs this season.  The Cavs have gotten fat off of an easy schedule so far this season, and if they stay focused they can continue to make hay well into December.  They will have a talent advantage in every one of these games.  If they lose, it will likely be because they couldn’t muster the kind of effort and concentration necessary really dominate in the regular season.  Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’d be very surprised if the Cavs lost a game this week.

Go Cavs.