…and We’re Back, second verse same as the first.  The Cavs are down in Miami to celebrate LeBron’s birthday and to take on the Miami Heat.

-  With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Cavs have again started with a half-hearted effort, while the Heat see this as a game they can steal from Cavaliers.  Dwyane Wade is still having trouble finding his shot (1-for-5, 4 points), but the rest of the Heat are doing a good job of getting to the ball, as the Heat already have 4 offensive rebounds.  Cavs trail 22-13. 

-  You would think that the good player would be the ones most suspectible to letdowns, but it seems that guys like Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson were the ones who thought things were coming too easily.  Over the last 5 games, Pavlovic is shooting just 30% from the field, and over the last 4 games, Gibson is shooting 33% from the field.  Without Wally Szczerbiak to pick up a little of the perimeter scoring, one of those guys has to step up.

-  The problems with the pick and roll continue tonight, as the Heat are getting their big men with the ball mere inches from the basket.

-  The Cavs play better in the last few possessions of the first quarter, with LeBron James getting to the line and Hickson creating a loose ball that ends with an Anderson Varejao reverse layup.  At the end of the first, the Cavs trail by seven, 26-19.  

-  Speaking of Hickson, these are the first non-garbage minutes he has gotten in a month.  So far, he looks about the same as he did a month ago, athletic but out of control.  WIth the Cavs struggling to find consistency and focus, Hickson is an odd choice for early minutes.  Still, the Cavaliers need to find some energy from someone, and Hickson is as good an option as anyone, with the rest of the bench doing precious little of late.  

-  Gibson misses another 3-point attempt with what can only be called a brick.  His shot, his rhythm, are completely missing at this point.

-  Mo Williams brings the ball down, dribbles a hole in the floor, and then launches an off-balanced jumper.  I’m not sure I blame him, because Mike Brown has him out there with the offensive firepower of Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson and Tarence Kinsey.  Gibson isn’t close right now, he needs to be off the floor.  I don’t know why Kinsey is out there, but I could understand it more if he was out there in place of Gibson.  As it is, the Cavaliers have no way to score effectively with this lineup.

-  Timeout on the floor with less than 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, and the Cavs trail by ten, 32-22.  Heat are outhustling the Cavaliers, and the role players are melting under the increased pressure.  There is no room for excuses on a championship-caliber team, but without any effective outside shooting off the bench, the Cavaliers have a tougher time maintaining consistent offense.

-  People talk about NBA players traveling all the time, but when you see a bad travel like the one Michael Beasley just committed, it is striking.  Which means it’s pretty rare.  

-  LeBron is back in the game, and draws a foul on his first possession.  Unfortuantely, he misses the second free throw.  Including tonight, LeBron is shooting just 61% from the free throw line over the last five games.  If LeBron was knocking down a few more of late, these tight games wouldn’t be quite so tight.  To me, it looks like he’s setting up faster than he was earlier in the season, the rhythm is much quicker.  

-  The one thing the Cavs have been able to do against the aggressive Heat defense is draw fouls.  LeBron picks up another one on the perimeter, but the Heat are already over the limit with over six minutes left in the half.  This time he hits both.

-  Ben Wallace is rebounding well tonight (6 rebounds), which is absolutely necessary with Z not being effective on the boards since the injury.  Wallace has only been averaging 5 rebounds per game over the last week, despite the fact that he’s been playing closer to thirty minutes a night.  The other person shirking his rebounding duties?  LeBron, who has not been nearly as aggressive picking the ball off the glass as he needs to be, given the minutes he’s playing at power forward.

-  The Cavs cut the deficit to 10 with a couple of LeBron James free throws (LeBron is now 8-for-11 on the night from the stripe), but Miami gets two Daequan Cook three-pointers at the end of the quarter to stretch the lead to 50-34 at the half.  

-  Yes, that score is right, meaning that your Cavaliers followed up a miserable 19-point first quarter with a more miserable 15-point second quarter.  The Cavs are being out-rebounded 28-20, and they are shooting just 1-for-12 (8.3%) from beyond the arc.  All that talk of the offense being more dangerous sure has gone out the window over the last week.  With Gibson and Ilgauskas struggling as the come off of injuries, the offense is stagnating.  While I have been hard on LeBron of late, wanting to see him put more pressure on the defense, the flip side of that is that the shooters aren’t making the shots when he actually does create for them.

-  With all that being said, this game is not over.  The Cavs offense can actually score at times, and the defense will give them a chance to go on a run.  At the same time, this could definitely be a night when the wheels come off in the third quarter, and Miami runs away with the game.  That’s great analysis right there, huh?  ”The game could go either way.”  Thank you, I’ll be here all week.  If you want to see something good, flip over to the Illinois-Purdue game on ESPN2, which just went into overtime.

-  The Cavs start the third quarter hot, knocking down their first four shots, including two threes, and the Cavs are back to within 10.  There’s still a long way to go, and the Heat have been very good at making runs themselves in these two games, but at least the Cavs came out of the locker room with some sense of purpose.  Cavs trail 54-44.

-  Mo Williams dribbles a hole into the floor because Delonte West refused to leave his shooting position in the corner.  Offensive foul on Mo, and the ball goes back to the Heat.  More bad offensive IQ being demonstrated by West of late.  I like Delonte West, but he is the definition of an inconsistent player, with great plays followed by questionable plays.  As he proves by following up a great layup with a terrible one.

-  Though Mo’s not much better of late, as he has two stupid turnovers in the first 4:30 of the third quarter, and opts for the fast break jumper instead of going to the hoop.

-   The Cavs have been fighting, but the Heat are knocking down threes, shooting 7-for-10 for the game right now, neutralizing the fact that the Cavs are 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second half.  With under 3 minutes left in the third quarter, the Cavs trail 70-57, and the Cavs have already scored more points (23) in the third than they did in either of the first two quarters.  But this is exactly why they couldn’t come out of the gate as lackidasical as they did.

-  LeBron, proving that he’s had enough of his teammates’ ineffectiveness, starts scoring and playing defense like no other player in the league can, and wills the Cavaliers back into the game.  LeBron has 14 of the Cavs’ 33 points in the quarter, and the Cavs are back to within seven points, trailing 74-67.  On Sunday, the Cavs trailed by 10 after three, but that was in Cleveland.  It’s going to take a Herculean effort for the Cavs to steal this game, but fortunately, the Cavs have LeBron James playing like Hercules.  That dunk was amazing.

-  Daniel Gibson = slowest 6′2″ player in the league.  But the non-break leads to a Mo Williams 3-pointer, and a LeBron jumper on the next possession has the Cavaliers back to within two!  74-72!

-  Just like on Sunday, I want Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers taking as many fourth quarter shots as possible.  They might make them, but I’ll take my chances.

-  LeBron hits a three and pumps his fist right in front of the Heat bench.  Cavs within one, 78-77.  He’s loving this tonight, but was I the only one worried he might get hit up with a T for that?  He already has one, so another puts him on the bench for the night.  It would have been a cheap one, but it made me nervous.

-  LeBron’s teammates let him down on two consecutive possession, with Mo Williams and Delonte West missing wide-open threes, while Wade’s teammates Shawn Marion (big dunk) and Mario Chalmers (open three) do their job and put the Heat back up by 8 with just over 7 minutes remaining.  

-  There’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact, but Mo Williams has not been good tonight, just 2-for-8 for 10 points, while Mario Chalmers is now 5-for-7 for 16 points.  Then he commits a dumb foul which sends Cook to the line with 3 seconds left on the shot clock.  I said it earlier, and I reiterate it now, the difference in this game was that Dwyane Wade’s supporting cast played better than LeBron James’ help.  LeBron deferred too much in the fourth quarter because the other players were open.  As much as it pains me to say it, what he should have done is kept attacking, because he proved in the third quarter that he was the first, last and best option for the Cavalier offense.  Instead, he put the ball in the hands of Williams and West, and while they made some plays, they didn’t make enough.  As a result the Cavs come up short, 104-89.  

-  Mario Chalmers makes me look like a chump, knocking down threes left and right, six out of seven on the night.

-  The Heat are a quality team.  That being said, they are not better than the Cavaliers, and the Cavs should have won this game.  For the third straight game the Cavs started the game without a sense of purpose, and finally it came back and bit them.  LeBron was fantastic when he wanted to be, that was playoff LeBron you saw in the third quarter.  But his teammates came up short, and Miami made the shots they needed to make.  While LeBron needs to be more aggressive than he has been lately, I really think it was the other guys who got a little soft with all the winning.  Those other guys aren’t All-Stars, and if they get complacent (and they absolutely have been this week), the Cavs are much more vulnerable.  

Go Cavs.

Running thoughts from tonight’s matchup with the Heat here in the again-frigid Cleveland, Ohio:

-  The Heat have been playing much better than most people expected, coming in with a record of 16-10.  Miami beat the Lakers at home last week, and they have just enough firepower to be scary if you take them lightly.  Dwyane Wade is leading the league in scoring and is averaging 6.8 assists per game, meaning that the offense runs entirely through him.  If I’m Mike Brown, I’m telling the team to do everything they can to get the ball out of Wade’s hands, and make someone else beat you.

-  And the Cavs do just that, causing the 24-second violation after a good double-team from Ben Wallace on Wade.  That kind of focus on the gameplan was completely missing against Washington on Thursday.  At least the Cavs have started tonight with the notion that they have to execute if they want to win.

-  Z has been scuffling for the last few games, but is already getting touches tonight with success.  He has 5 points in the first quarter, and the Heat are already over the foul limit with 5 fouls in the first 4:12 of the game.  That causes a Heat timeout, with the Cavaliers out to an early lead 11-4.

-  From what I’ve seen this year, Dwyane Wade does his scoring in bunches.  He’ll be quiet for a bit, then score 8 straight points, then go quiet again.  It will be an interesting night, as Delonte West should be a good defensive matchup against Wade.  At least, as good as you’re going to get.  Should it get close at the end though, I would love to see LeBron defending Wade.  

-  LeBron with an absolutely sick (that’s what the kids say these days, right? Sick?) reverse layup.  

-  Cavs get really lazy defending the dribble and taking care of the boards, and the Heat are back to within 4.  Wade knocks down a tough jumper (that’s what he does), and the lead is down to 2 points as the Heat are on an 8-0 run.  You can live with the tough jumpers, but when those are combined with the easy buckets, it creates real problems for the defense.

-  Say whatever else you like about them, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic enter the game with a defensive intensity and consistency that the Cavaliers don’t get from the rest of the team.  Yes, the Cavalier defense is good, but as of now they do not bring it every play.

-  LeBron’s lack of aggressiveness recently (only 13 shots on Thursday) is starting to weaken the Cavalier offense.  These long droughts are partially caused by guys missing shots, but LeBron isn’t forcing the action, and there isn’t as much space for the rest of the players as a result.  LeBron is the most dangerous and effective offensive player in the league (as he proves with an absurd fall-away right there), he needs to be the prime mover in the offense all the time.

-  It doesn’t help that he’s back to missing free throws (2-for-4 tonight, 6-for-10 on Thursday).  

-  Daequan Cook hits a big three to end the first quarter, and after the Cavs got out to a quick start, the Heat have come all the way back and tied the game at 22-22.

-  Miami already has 7 offensive rebounds.  That’s a result of too much dribble penetration and too little boxing out.  The Heat, just like the Wizards, are the more aggressive and energetic team tonight.

-  Mo hits a nice jumper, but when was the last time he got all the way to the hoop?  He’s settling too much for the outside jumpers of late.  He shoots them very well (as he proves again on the next possession), but those jumpers off the dribble do not create more room for the rest of the offense.  No point guard in the league ends more possessions without ever passing the ball than Mo.

-  Z is having a rough time finishing tonight, though he’s getting very good looks because he’s working hard in the post.  The Heat can’t keep him out of there, and the Cavs should keep feeding the big man because he is still getting high-percentage shots.  They should start to drop.

-  The Cavs are being outrebounded 26-19 at the moment, as the Heat have 8 offensive rebounds.  With that in mind, it’s a surprise that the score is tied, 33-33.  LeBron is stopping the ball, true, but I’m telling you that when the ball is in his hands, holes open up in the defense because everyone is leaning in LeBron’s direction.

-  Did the Cavs not do a layup line tonight?  Mo Williams butchers another layup, as the Cavs can’t knock down an easy one to save their lives.

-  LeBron knocks down the long two to give the Cavs a 44-42 lead at the half.  Almost won $1,000 for a lucky fan, but that fan will have to settle for a couple of tickets and a 2-point Cavs lead.  Just like the game against Washington, the problem is not the defense (which is still giving up too many easy buckets), but rather the offense getting into some bad habits.  Only 44 points, even with LeBron dropping 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in the first half.  

-  Yes, Daniel Gibson is back to his 1-for-7 ways.  I know that he is still recovering from his injury, but on the season he is only shooting 40% from the field (42% for his career), and only 32% from 3-point range (41% for his career).  Perhaps more than anyone else, Gibson is having a tough time finding his role on this team, and doesn’t seem comfortable deciding when he should shoot and when he should create.  Otherwise known as “exactly what happened to Damon Jones when he decided his was a point guard, rather than just a 3-point specialist.”

-  Cavaliers are not defending well at all on the defensive end, as the Heat have 9 straight points and are getting to the basket too easily.  Delonte West is defending ok to start, but when Wade comes around the pick West is giving up on the play.  Wade ends up with just Z between him and the basket, and a roll-man coming down the lane if he runs into trouble.  It’s too easy for them, and the longer the Heat hang around, the more likely it is that Dwyane Wade can will the team to win a close one, like Mike James almost did on Thursday.

-  I love you Austin Carr, but the problem tonight is not “pace,” and it’s not that the Cavs are missing shots they should hit.  The problem tonight is that the Heat are running a quality pick-and-roll, and the Cavalier defense has not adjusted in the slightest.  It’s like when Team USA lost to Greece in the 2007 FIBA World Championships.  The Heat are pulling Shawn Marion away from the offense, which in turn keeps LeBron away from the defense.  Then they are attacking Z, who still looks very slow after his ankle injury.  The Cavs need to make a change if they want to shut down the Heat.

-  This is getting frustrating again.  9 third-quarter turnovers, terrible shot selection, weak defense.  This level of complacency is what held them to just 45 wins a year ago, and it’s back for the second straight game.  West, Gibson and Pavlovic are now a combined 3-for-17 (17.6%).  If that’s not reminiscent of last year, nothing is.  At the end of 3, the Cavaliers trail by 9, 67-58.  Just 14 Cavalier points in that quarter.

-  LeBron still with just 4 free throw attempts, as he has not been aggressive getting to the basket.  Part of that is Shawn Marion, who is a big, long defender.  Part of it is LeBron settling.

-  Good job by the Cavs picking up 4 fouls on Miami in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter.  Bad job missing 2 of the 4 free throws.

-  Z for 3!!!  Huge shot for the Cavs, cutting the Heat lead to 4 points and getting the crowd into the ballgame.  Like the Cavs, the crowds for these last two games have been lethargic, expecting victory instead of cheering for it.  Not that the home team is doing much to inspire cheering tonight.  Still, a boost like that could be enough to push the Cavaliers over the top.

-  Wade back in the game, and makes a shot over LeBron in the first possession.  Like seeing LeBron on Wade, but he’s going to have to stay closer to him.  He wants to shoot right now, not drive.

-  Memo to Mo and Boobie: you are being paid to make those threes.  Start doing that. 

-  Mo picks up a cheap blocking foul on Chalmers, which means a trip to the line thanks to the early work the Cavs did drawing fouls.  Still, a 6-point deficit at this point means you have to get some stops, something the Cavaliers are struggling with at the moment.

-  Wade has gotten 3 fouls called in his favor that no one else on the planet would get.  The last one, a phantom trip on Z, was probably the worst.

-  Crowd is finally fully into this game.  Anderson Varejao coming up with the steal, but LeBron never fully got control of the dribble and had to settle for free throws instead of the crowd-exploding dunk.  And he misses the second, knocking him down to 4-for-8 tonight.  Color me officially worried about LeBron’s free throw shooting.

- Austin Carr is right about the Cavs needing to attack the middle first, rather than trying to pass around the perimeter.  

-  I’ll let Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley shoot as many of these late-game shots as they want.  Dwyane Wade is knocking down impossible shots, but the took rooks are hoisting with less than 5 minutes left?  Good plan.

-  Mo finally obliges by making the open ones, knocking down 5 straight points.  That’s why they call him the Space Cowboy.

-   Udonis Haslem catches a LeBron elbow, and he’ll be getting stitches.  That’s going to be a mess, and he is a valuable part of the Heat attack, they’re going to miss him.  Delonte West needs a new jersey because of the blood that got on him from Haslem’s forehead.  

-  Delonte wins the tap thanks to a pretty questionable toss, and the Cavs get it back up 7 points with under 3 minutes to go.   LeBron makes it 8 on another free throw (after another miss).

-  Wade has become a turnover machine.  The Cavs are swarming to him, and since all his help is coming up small, he’s trying to do too much.  But much respect to the Cavs defense, which is getting to the ball without fouling, causing Wade’s mistakes.  The knock-away by Ben Wallace was a great play.  The Heat went away from the pick-and-roll, and all of a sudden the Cavalier defense looks as dangerous as ever.

-  Mo with a dumb foul to send Daequan Cook to the line for two cheap ones with the clock stopped.  This one is in no way over, with the Cavs ahead 85-79 with 2:20 left.  

-  The home team then runs two straight terrible offensive possessions (get the ball to LeBron d*mmit).  The first one ends with a Heat dunk as Mo Williams is afraid of picking up his sixth foul.  The second one mercifully ends with a bad blocking call which sends Andy to the line, where he splits the pair.  Cavs up 5.

-  Two more Heat free throws, and it’s a 3-point game.  1:29 left in the game.  Go to LeBron, keep the ball away from Andy.  LeBron wastes a lot of time then gets the foul, got to hit the free throws…and this time he does.  33 points for LeBron.

-  Cavs are going to win their second straight bad game by relying on the refs and taking advantage.  It’s not a terrible strategy, but certainly not pretty.  Cavs need to go back on the road, they’ve enjoyed the holidays a bit too much, they’ve lost a lot of the edge they showed throughout most of the first 30 games.

-  Another ugly one, but the Cavs pick up the win, 93-86.  Plenty of problems tonight, from some questionable pick-and-roll defense to some lack of hustle (11 offensive rebounds allowed) and some sloppy play (15 turnovers).  Still, great play by LeBron James (33 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds), clutch scoring by Mo Williams (20 points), and good hustle by Delonte West hassling Dwyane Wade into just 6 fourth-quarter points when the Heat needed him most.  

-  I know that Shawn Marion finished with 10 rebounds, but other than that he was completely ineffective.  Part of that was by design (keeping LeBron away from the play defensively), but what an unimpressive performance from someone who considers himself a star.  It just shows how absurd that trade notion from a few weeks ago was.

Go Cavs.  Next game is December 30th against Miami, LeBron’s birthday.

Running thoughts from tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards:

-  Slow start for the Cavaliers, as Washington gets up big early.  Antawn Jamison already has 9 points.  For the Cavaliers, Delonte West has been the beneficiary of all the attention paid to LeBron and Z, and has 9 points of his own on three 3-pointers.  The Cavaliers look a little slow tonight, but one of the easiest ways to wake them up is for the Wizards to get off to a fast start.

-  But there are limits.  At the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers trail 22-25.  The biggest problem at the moment is the Cavalier defense, which is not hounding the ball with the level of intensity that we have seen most of this season.

-  Mo Williams with 5 quick points and the Cavs are back on top 32-30.  Mo Williams is a rarity in the NBA, a player who is most effective shooting off the dribble.

-  The designated shooters are shooting so well right now (6-12 from 3 tonight) that it’s almost impossible to guard the Cavaliers.  Make that 7-13, as Mo just hit on to stretch the Cavalier lead to 40-34.  Cavs are moving the ball well now, and have 10 assists on 14 baskets at the moment.

-  Anderson Varejao has done a great job on the boards so far tonight with 7 rebounds in the first half.  The Wizards have nothing resembling a rebounder on the team right now, so the Cavaliers should end up with a major rebounding advantage by the end of the night.

-  LeBron has not been aggressive here in the first half.  Fortunately, Delonte West, Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao are coming to play, and are the difference in the game right now.

-  At the half, the Cavs lead 49-47, as the Wizards made some tough shots late in the quarter to keep it close.  Good game so far, but the crowd is quite and tired, and they’re waiting for LeBron to show off a bit.  That alley-oop was exciting, but so far it’s been a pretty pedestrian first half.  Here’s hoping for a few more fireworks in the second half.

-  The Wizards keep hanging around, moving the ball well on the interior.  Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are getting easy buckets when they execute, but too often they are standing around looking at each other.  The game is being played at the Wizards’ pace, and instead of playing in 5-8 minute bursts, the Cavs are playing in long, lackidasical stretches.  Again, the intensity just isn’t there.  Cavs up 65-63.

-  Way way way too much dribbling on the offensive end for the Cavs, and they’ve let the Wizards take a six point lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter.  The Wizards are not good, they are taking the shots the Cavaliers want them to take (for the most part), the Cavs just aren’t taking care of business right now.  There’s still plenty of time for them to do that in the fourth quarter, but a fourth quarter should be unnecessary against the Wizards.  The performance this far is unacceptable, and that’s on Mike Brown, LeBron and everyone involved.  It goes without saying that a loss tonight would not only be disappointing, it would be shocking.  The Wizards are not good.  But at the end of three, the Wizards lead by 3 points.

-  Ok, the Wizards are now up by 8 points, 76-68, and I’m not happy.  Get the ball to the hoop!  This Wizards team has Santa Claus guarding that rim, but the Cavs have been content to shoot over the top.  LeBron is the chief offender, but it’s the whole team.  Right now this is a will game, and the Cavs don’t have it at the moment.  All that barking, all that hopping around on the bench, where is that tonight?

-  MIke James is now 8-for-11.  Really?  But that’s what happens when you let a bad team hang around.  The Wizards might be one more Mike James 3-pointer from winning this game.  Was Vegas taking odds on that tonight?

-  We’re under 5 minutes remaining, the Cavs are down 2 points.  This is obviously still a very winnable game.  But the Wizards are getting two and three shots every time down right now.  Ben Wallace, the 5 offensive rebounds are nice, but how about more than one defensive rebound?  The Wizards have not been the better team tonight, they have been the more hungry team, and that has made the difference.

-  I apologize for the snarky comments about Dominic McGuire, he has done as good a job as anyone keeping LeBron from going where he wants to go.  

-  How about we get the ball out of Mike James’ hands?  Is this that hard?  He’s looking like Mo Williams last year, when he was killing the Cavs.  Mo Williams, go over that screen, not under.  

-  LeBron with the basket and the foul after Jamison throws it away.  But he misses the free throw!  3-of-7 from the line for LeBron tonight.  He’ll get three more now after the foul on the 3-pointer.  He needs to slow down…and he does, hitting all three of those.  Still, running out of time…

-  Three free throws by LeBron and a huuuuuuge three by Mo Williams and the Cavs have cut the lead to one as we head to the last minute of the game.  This is excruciating.

-  Also, I’m going to make a guess here, but I think Mike James might get a shot on this possession…

-  My guess was wrong, apparently Antawn Jamison doesn’t want this win if he doesn’t hit the winning shot.  He’s botched two straight possessions, and the Cavs somehow still have life, after being down 7 points with 2 minutes left.

-  Delonte West with an awful, awful shot, but Varejao jumps over Jamison to get the rebound and picks up the foul, fouling out Jamison (which might be bad for the Cavs).  Now Andy heads to the line with the Cavs down 1 with 26.6 left to play.   Got the first…and the second!  Cavs lead by 1.  But the Cavs have played their worst tonight with a one-point lead.  Just need one stop…

-  Caron Butler vs. everyone…OFFENSIVE FOUL!!!

-  Time to test that Mo Williams free throw shooting…Marv Albert is certainly doing his part to jinx it.

-  Got the first…and the second!  Cavs with a 3 point lead with 7.8 left to play.  Blogging combined with pacing going on right now…

-  Mike James misses the only 3-pointer that matters, and Delonte West is heading to the line to seal it.  And short-arms the first one, but knocks down the second and that’s the game.  Cavs win, 93-89.

-  Wow.  No way in the world the Cavs should have won that game.  But tonight, instead of coming up short (like in Atlanta), Mo Williams hit the big three the Cavs needed, the Wizards seized up instead of hitting tough shots, and the Cavs come away victorious.  For all of the conspiracy theorists, I don’t think the Wizards got a single favorable call in the last 3 minutes, meanwhile Jamison drew two iffy calls and LeBron apparently got fouled on a three pointer for the first time I can remember.  Still, a win is a win, and at the end of the season they don’t ask how close they were.  But this one was way, way, way too close.

Go Cavs.

What to watch for tonight as the Wizards try to end the Cavaliers home winning streak at 14 this evening:

1.  Will Cavalier fans get what they wished for this Christmas?  The Cavs are looking excellent at home, and are the only team in the league with a perfect record at home.  While the Cavaliers are currently winning at an absurd rate, the home wins are the best indicator that this team is looking at an excellent record no matter what happens, even if they fall short of their current historic pace.  The Cavs will have an opportunity to continue that tonight against a Washington Wizards team that has played the role of LeBron James’ whipping boy for the last three seasons.  

In a city so desperately starved for on the court/field success, the Cavaliers are the shining beacon of success.  The team is not plagued by controversy and questionable personalities.  They have done very well the past three seasons, perhaps even overachieving when the Playoffs arrive.  In short, they have been an admirable franchise, led by the best player on the planet.  That is a nice gift for Cavalier fans this season, and if things keep going this well, the season could end with the greatest gift the City has recieved in over 40 years.

2.  Are the Wizards as bad as they look?  Things certainly haven’t been rosy in D.C. this season, as the Wizards have by far the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 4-22, and they are in the middle of a 7-game losing streak.  They are losing their games by an average of 7 points per game, and they are 1-10 on the road, the only victory coming in New Jersey over the Nets.  With Gilbert Arenas still out with injury (who would have guessed?), and Brendan Haywood also laid up, the Wizards are at a significant talent disadvantage whenever they take the court. 

But are the injuries the whole explanation?  While Arenas and Haywood are good players, are they the difference between a 4-22 team and a playoff team?  Last season the Wizards finished with the fifth seed in the East with a 43-39 record despite the fact that Arenas played in only 13 games, as Caron Butler (20.3 ppg) and Antawn Jamison (21.4 ppg) carried the team.  But while Butler and Jamison were playing at an All-Star level, the rest of the team was also contributing, as Haywood (10.6 ppg), DeShawn “I can’t feel my face” Stevenson (11.2 ppg) and Roger Mason (9.1 ppg) were giving the Wizards consistent production night in and night out.

This year, Butler (21.6 ppg) and Jamison (19.8) are still doing their thing, but the rest of the team has fallen off.  Haywood has missed the whole season with injuries, Mr. Overrated is down to just 7.4 ppg, and Mason is currently playing very well (12.8 ppg), but for the San Antonio Spurs after the Wizards refused to match the offer sheet last Summer (and he just hit a 3-pointer to beat the Suns as I’m typing this…what a game that was).  The Wizards aren’t getting the production they were expecting out of the roster, and that’s the reason that Eddie Jordan was fired despite the injuries.  

Still, if you want to find the source of this season’s problems, you have to look at GM Ernie Grunfeld, who has built a team that, even if healthy, has no chance of winning a championship as currently constructed.  Red Auerbach couldn’t get these guys into the second round.  Want another example?  The Wizards will start Dominic McGuire tonight and give him the first chance to guard LeBron James.  If you don’t know who Dominc McGuire is, well, welcome to the club.

Last note:  Last year, the Cavs were just two games better than the Wizards in the regular season (45-37 v. 43-39).  Going into tonight’s game, the Cavaliers are 19 games better (24-4 v. 4-22).

3.  What does Nike have up their sleeve for tonight?  Nike has unveiled a new Witness tee for tonight’s game, and they are giving away confetti to let the fans mimic LeBron’s now-famous “powder” move before the game.  Seems like it could be a neat production, and say what you will about Nike, they know how to drive a marketing campaign.  With the exception of some commercials that were banned in China, Nike hasn’t made many missteps with LeBron.

And also in LeBron endorsement notes, have you seen the new LeBron ad for the “where amazing happens” campaign?  LeBron singing along with Cindi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”  We all know that there’s a notion that LeBron won’t reach his marketing potential until he ends up in New York, but with more ads like this, he’d be marketable in Timbuktu.

Go Cavs.  The prediction here is that LeBron is singing to himself for the whole fourth quarter…resting on the bench.  Merry Christmas everybody, running notes to (hopefully) follow later tonight.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quickhits from last night’s big win over the Houston Rockets:

The Mistletoe:

1.  Merry Christmas Ohio, you have LeBron James under the tree.  LeBron had a common 27 points, 9 rebound and 5 assists, and came up with a huge block against Yao Ming in the closing minutes, conducting the only effective defense on Yao during the entire 4th Quarter.  Say what you will about the improved supporting cast, but LeBron was the difference in this game.  While Tracy McGrady was stumbling his way to 4 points and Yao sat out the first three quarters with foul trouble, the Cavalier star was carrying his team to victory.

2.  Mo WIlliams was the stocking (and basket) stuffer, dropping 23 points and getting to the hoop again and again against a Rockets team that was playing excellent defense.  Mo Williams comes with some defensive deficiencies (Rafer Alston with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting), but in his role as second scorer, Mo has been everything the Cavaliers could ask for.

The Fruitcake:

1.  LeBron was surprised by the intensity of the Rockets defense, which forced him into 7 turnovers on the night.  A few were offensive fouls (the one called when Ron Artest ran into LeBron from behind and flopped seemed particularly aggregious), but generally speaking LeBron didn’t adjust his ball management to cope with the Rockets’ defense, and it cost him.  Still, we’re nitpicking.

2.  Ron Artest was…Ron Artest.  And I couldn’t have a fruitcake topic without including Ron Artest.

The Questions:

1.  Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, where are you?  Like I said, McGrady had just 3 points, and Yao sat out most of the first three quarters with foul trouble.  If the Rockets are going to win anything (and they have as good a chance as anybody going against the Lakers), they need to get more out of those two “superstars.”  Yao was very productive in the fourth, where he abused the Cavalier defense and got to the free throw line, knocking them all down (13-for-13).  

2.  When do the Cavaliers lose again?  The Cavs have lost just one game in the month of December, and have three games left; two against the Miami Heat, one against the Washington Wizards on Christmas Day.  I don’t see the Cavaliers losing those games, though Miami has been a much better team than expected.  That would leave them with a December record of 13-1.  Enjoy this Cavalier fans, it does not get much better than this.

Merry Christmas Cavaliers fans.

Hey everyone, I decided to do both the W2W4 and the Running Notes in one post for better or worse.  What to Watch for tonight:

1.  Since Scott Brooks became the Thunder Head Coach, he has allowed Kevin Durant to be a much bigger part of everything.  I know, not exactly the most original strategy for a head coach, but it was still something the departed P.J. Carliesemo never quite figured out.  You can find and extensive evaluation of Durant’s progress under Brooks here.  In the month of December, Durant is averaging 25.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and his is developing into the force that he was expected to be when he was drafted number 2 overall last season.  

Unfortunately, it hasn’t led to many more wins for the Thunder, who are 1-9 in December, and 3-24 overall.  The Thunder did surprise the scuffling Toronto Raptors on Friday, but they are on a pace that approaches the worst records in the history of the league.  I don’t expect them to turn that around tonight.

2.  The Thunder have a couple of players who might interest the Cavaliers at the trading deadline, however.  Joe Smith, who had a decent run with the Cavaliers last season, might be available, and is averaging 7 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 20 minutes a night.  The Cavaliers would certainly consider bring Smith back should he be bought out by the Thunder later this season, something that might be more likely if the Thunder add former Net Nenad Krstic as was rumored last week.  Smith knows the Cavalier system, and could be the source of a few extra points from the frontcourt.  

But in addition to Smith, the Thunder have some other decent big men that could contribute for the Cavaliers in Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison.  Wilcox is a big, strong, quick forward who would thrive on the receiving end of LeBron James assists, and Collison is a hard-nosed rebounder in the Anderson Varejao mold.  Between Smith, Wilcox and Collison, there is probably one decent backup big man that could be had on the cheap.

3.  Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that LeBron told him that he will consider signing an extension this offseason.  As much as I supposed this could be construed as good news for any Cavalier fan, I don’t think you can read any more into this than any other statment by James of late, be it telling New York fans to get excited about the 2010 free agency Summer, to rumblings that he would consider playing in Europe.  LeBron didn’t even say that he wanted an extension, he just said it would be a consideration over the Summer.

At the same time, the whole “Summer of 2010″ thing has been driven with the underlying idea that LeBron would be signing a maximum extension at that time.  But from my understanding of the absurdly complex NBA salary structure, LeBron could always sign an extension this Summer that would keep him in Cleveland for another year or two beyond his current contract, while still allowing him to leave soon.  For most players, leaving money on the table would be absurd, but LeBron already did that once, when he signed his first extension, so it’s not crazy to think he would do the same thing again.  And if it’s a short extension, it will keep places like New York dreaming of LeBron even while he’s winning Championships in Cleveland.

-  Running Notes later tonight, updated at least quarterly!

-  Sorry about that, I started just about as sluggishly as the Cavaliers.  There is one degree of temperature outside, that’s it, just one.  

-  In the third quarter, the Cavs are ahead 64-60, as the Thunder refuse to go away.  The Cavs are getting worked on the glass, and that’s the reason the Thunder have been able to hang around.

-  With 3:39 left in the third quarter, the Thunder are shooting 51% from the field.  The Cavaliers have not been effective in getting the Thunder out of their comfort zone.  

-  Sorry Fred, Dick Goddard jokes when talking about the Thunder are not needed nor wanted.

-  LeBron, get your butt on Jeff Green and keep him off those boards.  The Thunder now have 10 offensive rebounds and have 13 more rebounds than the Cavaliers (31-18).  The only reason this game is remotely close is because the Thunder want the ball more.  It’s not just LeBron, as Z and Varejao have only 5 rebounds combined to this point.  

-  LeBron with a 3-point play, and the Cavaliers play suffocating defense for the last few seconds, and the Cavs end the third quarter up 82-72.  This one is a long way from over, but the Cavaliers have such a talent advantage over the Thunder that OKC would have to play a perfect 12 minutes to come away with a victory tonight.  Stranger things have happened, but the late flurry by Cleveland shows how tough it is to beat the Cavs at this point in the season.

-  Guess Gibson wasn’t working on his free throws during his recovery from the toe injury, as he misses two out of three after drawing a fout on a three-point attempt.  Still, the lead is up to 13 points, and the Cavs are starting to pull away.

-  Andy picks up 3 fouls in 3 possessions and 1 minute.  That’s not a record, but it’s close.  Joe Smith must have learned some Portuguese to agitate Varejao, because since the two of them have been on the floor going against each other, Andy has been out of control.  

-  In the words of Austin Carr, “LeBron to Boobie, from deep!”  There has never been a better cross-court passer in the NBA than LeBron James.  It allows him to be more patient with the ball in his hands, even though it causes him to stop the ball movement from time to time.

-  After what can only be called a predictable fourth quarter, the Cavaliers win 102-91, and it wasn’t that close.  The Thunder were able to stick around by working hard on the glass, but they just do not have the talent to compete with an elite team like the Cavaliers.

-  Delonte West with 18 and Mo Williams with 20, covering for the fact that the bench was unimpressive and Z couldn’t find a way to work effectively.  

-  LeBron James was impressive as always, scoring 31 points while dishing off 7 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds.  He was a little lackidasical on the boards, and he didn’t get to the line (only 2 free throws all night, both on and-ones), but even on the “average” night LeBron is the best player in the league.

-  Durant, Westbrook and Green combined for 66 points, which I’m sure is encouraging for the Thunder.  That’s a decent nucleus to build around, but the Thunder are still a long way from being competitive.  I think they’ll have a much better second half of the season as the young players grow together.

Go Cavs.

Running thoughts from tonight’s game:

-  Z will start after being doubtful for tonight.  It wil be interesting to see how he’s moving, as the Nuggets have solid, strong big men in Nene and Kenyon Martin.

-  And before we begin, what a great game between the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers tonight before the Cavalier game, with Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant exchanging big buckets.  Bryant’s shot to tie was as far down inside the cylinder as physically possible without going in.

-  So far Z has been fantastic, with 7 points as he works down low on Nene.  Not sure if he can keep it up all night, but so far he is really making the Nuggets defense pay.  And he hits another jumper, this one a 20-footer from the top of the circle, giving him 9 points.

-  At the first timeout, the Cavs lead 17-12, and it’s all Zydrunas Ilgauskas, all the time.

-  LeBron James then takes over, getting out in transition, where he is the most dangerous player in the league.  LeBron is 4-for-4 from the field and has 9 first quarter points.  Take that Dwyane and Kobe.

-  Delonte West is overhandling a bit, but it seems to be by design.  He has 6 points and 3 assist already, so it certainly isn’t a bad thing.  Mike Brown obviously likes that matchup.

-  ”Wally has been short on his shot for about 3 weeks.” - Hubie Brown   I love Hubie Brown, he has the kind of passion for the game at age 75 that still amazes me.  He’s certainly not one to shy away from hyperbole, and he’s never seen a timeout that he didn’t love, but he brings contagious enthusiasm every night, and I love it.

-  LeBron with a brilliant play to get the hoop and the foul to end the first quarter, give him 14 points in the first as he is just obliterating the Nuggets defense right now.  With 37 points in the first quarter, the Cavs have their highest-scoring first period of the season, and they are really clicking right now.  At the end of one, the Cavaliers lead 37-21.

-  Mo Williams dribbles into the lane, and the ball moves out to a wide-open Sasha Pavlovic, who knocks down the 3.  The book on Denver must be that their guards do not defend the dribble well, because the Cavs are doing more of that then they have at any point this season.

-  Well Sasha, you get one of those fade-away circus shots a season, and you just got yours.

-  The next idea for the LeBron entertainment production company: Z, the story of a Lithuanian assassin with metal feet who comes to America to find love.  Starring Jason Statham, with an animated Anderson Varejao as his sidekick.

-  And Z keeps it raining, as he’s up to 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

-  The Nuggets have started getting more aggressive, hacking at the Cavaliers and forcing the officials to call the fouls.  So far they’re getting away with it.  The Cavs are whining a bit, but so far they’re staying on point.  And the officiating is getting worse all the way around, as they blow another call, this one on a ball out of bounds that leads to a Carmelo Anthony 3-ball.

-  Any time Mo Williams wants to hit a wide-open 3, it would be appreciated.

-  The Nuggets hang around to end the first half, cutting the Cavalier lead to 11, 64-53.  Anyone watching this game should realize that the Nuggets are becoming a very good team, and are right there in the top five or six teams in the league.  You don’t win easily in their home floor, and the Cavs are going to have to keep playing as well as they have in the first half if they want to win this game.

-  Why isn’t Diddy’s vodka commerical in HD?

Second Half:

-  The second half starts with a nice LeBron jumper, but then the Cavs offense gets a little confused and it turns into two transition buckets for Denver.  The transition defense is the biggest weakness for the Cavaliers right now, and that’s where the Nuggets are at their best.  The Cavs have to stay focused.  This game is looking very reminiscent of the road loss to the Detroit Pistons earlier this season.

-  Z for 3!  It’s absolutely a gimmick, but it’s a fun one.

-  LeBron is not disciplined at this point in the game.  He has let the physical play of the Nuggets get him off rhythm, even as he’s having a great shooting night.  He has five turnovers already tonight, after having just two in his last 4 games combined.

-  Z with some more points.  This has been the most game-planned game of the season, with the Cavaliers having a clear plan on how they want to attack the Nuggets with Z and with a lot of dribbling.  Wonder why that’s the case.

-  Another missed wide-open 3 for Mo Williams.  Then Delonte West picks them up and actually knocks them down, stretching the lead to 18 again.

-  Sasha is taking WAY too many jump shots tonight.  I would like to see him be more aggressive, but the shots aren’t good right now.

-  Anderson Varejao was not going for the ball on the foul that was called a Flagrant 1, so I guess I understand.  I don’t agree, but I understand.

-  Wally draws a charge with a great defensive rotation.  I’m telling you, if he can do that, he’ll extend his career significantly.  He can’t defend on the ball, but if he can be part of an effective team defensive scheme, his value is substantially increased.  

-  The Cavs held the Nuggets to just 12 third quarter points.  Part of that was good defense, part of it was the Nuggets just missing a lot of shots.  But the end result is that an 11-point lead at the half is now a 19-point lead, and the Cavs are looking pretty good.  Cavs lead after three, 84-65.  

-  As a complete aside, Denver has the fourth-best record in the league at the moment at 17-8.  But there are four teams in the West with 17 wins .  The Utah Jazz have are 17-11, meaning they have played 28 games.  By contrast, the Hornets are 15-7, which means they have played just 22 games.  6 extra games two months into the season seems like an awful lot of disparity in the schedule.

-  Z with another 3-pointer, giving him 23 points for the night.  Big night for Big Z, and you can see how big an impact he can have offensively.  

-  LeBron with back-to-back tough mid-range jumpers.  Pretty, but not enough movement on the offensive end right now, as the Cavs seem to be trying to wait the Nuggets out.  And yes, I’m absolutely nitpicking what is now 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, with 11 fourth quarter points to help put the Nuggets away.  I will say that LeBron was more aggressive on the boards tonight, and his rebound numbers show that.

-  And Carmelo Anthony’s night is over after his sixth foul on an offensive push-off.  He finishes with 13 points and 5 turnovers.  The Nuggets aren’t beating the Cavaliers when Anthony plays like that.

-  J.J. Hickson’s name is “Hixson” on the ESPN overlay.  Guess that’s rookie respect.  So is that block that he just ate.

-  And that’s the end.  The Cavs were just the better team tonight, and this is a very nice win on the road.  These Nuggets have been playing very well of late, and the Cavaliers took them apart.  Cavs Win, 105-88. 

More to come tomorrow, but that’s it for tonight.  In the words of Joe Tait, have a good night everybody.

Some things to keep an eye on tonight when the Cavs head into Denver to take on the surprising Nuggets, who are 17-8 and 16-5 since the arrival of Chauncey Billups:

1.  Like the Cavaliers, the Nuggets don’t have what you would call a “bad” loss on their record since acquiring Chauncey Billups.  Those five losses are to Cleveland, New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston and the L.A. Lakers.  In that same stretch, the Nuggets have beaten the Celtics in Boston, the Spurs in San Antoinio, the Rockets and Raptors at home, and the Mavericks twice, so it’s not as if the Nuggets are just getting fat on the bad teams.  If the Cavaliers find a way to win tonight in Denver, it will be their best win of the season so far.

However, the Cavaliers have come out flat in these tougher road games this season.  Say what you will about it being the fourth game in five nights, the Cavs didn’t come out firing on all cylinders against Atlanta on Saturday.  In New Orleans at the beginning of the season, the Cavs faced a Hornets team missing Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic, and didn’t come out quickly.  Tonight the Cavaliers have the rest and should be ready to go.  But they’re going to need to find energy throughout the night if they want to bring home a win.

2.  Which Mo Williams will show up?  In the first game against Denver, Mo had a whopping 24 points and 6 assists, giving the Cavaliers a much needed spark against the high-octane Nuggets.  On Wednesday, however, Mo couldn’t find his spots, and finished with just six points against a Wolves point guard crew that can only be called suspect.

With Z and Bobbie out tonight, the Cavs need to find some extra offense against the Nuggets, who are averaging 103.4 points per game.  Williams is one of those players that needs to step up and deliver if the Cavs are going to win tonight.

3.  About that LeBron-Carmelo rivalry…  I know, I haven’t talked about Carmelo Anthony in like a week, you’re having withdrawal.  Melo’s scoring and field goal percentage numbers are down thanks to an elbow injury he’s fighting through, but I’m really impressed by his rebound rate (8.0 rpg, rebound rate of 13.4, good for 5th among small forwards).  He seems more comfortable with Billups at the helm (futher proving Iverson’s disruptive nature), as do the rest of the Nuggets.  

To be honest, this is looking like one of those games where the two teams battle back and forth, LeBron drops 36 to Anthony’s 24, but Anthony hits a single big bucket and gives Denver the edge.  I’m hoping that the Cavs come to play early, but I think this is going to be a back-and-forth contest throughout the night.

Go Cavs.

Running thoughts from tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves:

First Half:

-  Before we begin, the entire first half of the Celtics-Hawks games in already in the books before the Cavaliers tip.  The Hawks are up by one, and are proving that they are a tough team to beat in Atlanta.  The Cavaliers were in a rough spot, playing the fourth game in five nights, and were still almost able to steal one.  While I won’t take anything away from Boston if they win tonight, it doesn’t mean much when it comes to comparing the Cavaliers and Celtics against each other at this point.  

-  Interesting dark finish on the Timberwolves court.  Not sure if the cameras have something to do with it, but that has to be the darkest court in the league.

-  Delonte West apparently took that missed shot at the end of the game in Atlanta pretty hard.  With all due respect, I don’t care.  LeBron James got both West and Mo Williams very good looks to tie the game, and they came up short.  Delonte’s miss was worse, as the look was better and he didn’t get the ball to the basket.  The ability of role players to make shots like that is often the difference between a championship season and coming up short.  Just think where the Jordan Bulls would have been if John Paxon or Steve Kerr would have short-armed those big, series-winning shots.

-  I don’t like this matchup with the T-Wolves.  Minnesota has terrible defensive big men, but without Z the Cavaliers can’t take advantage like they should.  I’m not saying that I expect the Cavaliers to lose, but I don’t think we’re going to be getting the 20-point victory we should expect.  The Cavs have not been the same team since Z and Gibson went down last week.

-  The HD feed from Minnesota might be the best road feed we’ve seen this year.  It’s almost a shame that the T’Wolves fans can see this team so clearly, but still have to watch a crummy team.  And those new Minnesota jerseys certainly aren’t helping.

-  Anderson Varejao splits a pair of free throws, putting the Cavs up 4.  The Cavs are only 4-of-7 from the free throw line so far.

-  Sasha Pavlovic comes into the game, sporting a freshly-shaved dome.  Then knocks down a nice little fall away.  Then drives to the lane, gets in the air, and finds Varejao for the finish and the foul.  The chemistry between Sasha and Andy is very good right now. 

-  Really, Kevin Ollie is still in the league?  I guess so, because he has 4 points in the first quarter.

-  Kevin Love is Wally Szczerbiak’s size.  And Wally is doing a good job keeping a body on him and keeping him off the offensive glass.

-  Varejao with another layup.  Andy is showing much better offensive instincts than expected.  I’ve said it a lot lately, but he’s proving he’s more than just a nice role player; he can be a solid starter in the league.  Keep that in mind when you think about how hard it is to build a champion in the NBA.  Even if the Cavaliers win a title this year, there is a strong likelihood that they are going to lose Anderson Varejao.

-  Z is shooting and should be back for Friday’s game against Denver, a very tough matchup.  

-  Great, great job by Szczerbiak drawing the offensive foul on the break.  Excellent footwork moving backwards.  That kind of work defensively could keep him in this league for a few more years.

-  Kevin Love with a very good block on Darnell Jackson, a nifty bit of athleticism from the rather earth-bound forward.  Love is shooting only 40% from the field in his rookie season, not a great sign for a guy who came into the league surrounded by questions of whether or not he could play in the league.  He hasn’t shot many three pointers this season (just 1-for-10), and I have to think that he will have to extend his range if he wants to succeed.  He’d do well to try to fit into the Shane Battier mold.

-  Wally with a block, working hard on defense.  Then he backs in on the post, spins and makes a nice little jump shot.  There’s no other way to put it, Wally looks great tonight.

-  Aborted alley-oop off the glass from West to LeBron…which was just bad.  Fortunately, Sasha cleans it up with a nice two-handed dunk of his own.  

(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

-  LeBron goes to the hoop for another easy layup.  The TWolves can’t stop him, and there’s no reason for LeBron not to be more aggressive.  Then again, the Minnesota defense is so porous that anyone can get to the cylinder, as Delonte West proves one possession later.

-  And after another Szczerbiak 3, the Cavs are up by 13 after a 14-2 run.  These kinds of runs have been a common occurance this season, as the suffocating Cavalier defense is neatly balanced by a much more explosive Cavalier offense.

-  The Wolves are having some success isolating against the Cavs defense over the last few possessions, as Minnesota runs off six straight points.  Just something to keep an eye on as teams continue to look for the few weaknesses in the Cavalier defense.  

-  Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of Craig Smith.  Yeah, me neither.  But he has 9 first half points after finding some weak spots around the basket.  Exactly the type of player Darnell Jackson needs to shut down.

-  Still, at the end of the first half the Cavs are up 44-38, holding the Timberwolves to just 17 second quarter points.  The defense has been good, at least it had been before the Cavs gave up an 11-4 run to end the second quarter.  At the very least, the Cavaliers have not demonstrated the kind of focus and intensity they were bringing in the winning streak, when they were taking down tomato cans like the T’Wolves by 20 points a night.

Second Half:

-  A quick look back to the Celtics-Hawks game, where the Hawks have a 3-point lead with 9 minutes left.  Flip Murray has made some noise in the time I’ve been watching, which is, admittedly, a surprise.  Flip is actually playing a little point, letting Mike Bibby work off the ball for a few plays.

-  Back to Minnesota, where the Cavaliers are looking lackidasical and slow.  They aren’t playing terrible, they just aren’t in that world-beater mode they were over the last month.  So far they’re playing down to the T’Wolves, who still look like a mess of a team who want to play one-on-one basketball instead of working a team concept.  Mo Williams and Delonte West have been very sloppy with the ball.

-  Meanwhile, Anderson Varejao does not stop working.  Andy has helped this team avoid getting into real trouble on the road, because he does not take a night off.  …then dammit, he tries to dribble down the lane, loses it completely, and it turns into an and-one siutation the other way.  These little mental mistakes are killing the Cavs tonight. 

-  Quick flip over to the Hawks game, which is now a 1-point Celtics lead.  And JOSH SMITH WITH A MAAAAASIVE SLAM!  I mean, there are only two players in the league who could do that, Josh Smith and LeBron James.  Video to come soon I hope.  It’s here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2VbAj2w5uI

-  Minnesota keeps hanging around, cutting the lead to 3 points on two Kevin Ollie free thows.  This is starting to look like one of those dangerous games.  Instead of up and hollering, the bench is quiet.  And while the Cavs are shooting 51%, they are taking way too many jump shots right now, Lebron included.

-  Al Jefferson with a hook and the Wolves finish a 10-2 run.  59-58 Cavs for a moment…

(Marlin Levison/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT)

-  LEBRON JAMES showing why he’s in that elite dunker category with Josh Smith with another free throw line slam.  Cavs on a 6-0 run of their own, opening up a little breathing room and causing a Wolves timeout.

-  Back to the Hawks, where Joe Johnson answers a Garnett alley-oops with a beautiful jumper over Ray Allen.  Johnson is LeBron James size people, you cannot guard him with a small guard.    

-  9.1 seconds left, Hawks trail by 2 points.  And lose thanks to a Joe Johnson missed free throw.

-  J.J. Hickson with a great block on Al Jefferson after knocking down a nice 15-footer.  Hickson is getting these minutes because Darnell Jackson just isn’t being productive enough when he is on the floor.  Hopefully he can bring a little energy on a low-energy night for the Cavs, who have an 8-point lead 70-62.

-  Delonte West with a steal, hustling like crazy to get to the ball, then a layup and a foul.  That is exactly the type of play that role players need to make on championship-caliber teams.  The type of play that the (hated) Celtics are getting every night.

-  Just as I’m about the write that the offense isn’t really going through LeBron tonight, he finds Hickson under the hoop for an easy dunk.  LeBron was (a little too) willing to let the team spin its wheels for the first three quarters, but he has picked it up in the fourth as the Cavaliers have pulled away.  The turnaround is deadly tonight.  And that gets him a standing ovation as the Cavs go up by 21 with 3:20 left.

-  I didn’t know that they made such short shorts in Minnesota…

-  Lorezen Wright finds his way onto the court for the first time in a while, but it’s Hickson that is looking good down the stretch.  And as Austin Carr pointed out, he did a good job of not bringing the ball down to his shoetops on the catch, something that has been driving me crazy with Hickson.

-  Delonte West had a new Cavalier high of 21 points.  Except, y’know, the three times he scored 21 points in the playoffs last season.  Ah, the wonders of the NBA stat book.  

-  And before it’s all over, the Cavs win 93-70, outscoring the Wolves by 16 points in the fourth quarter.  Admittedly, the earlier hand-wringing was premature, but it was just a 1-point lead at one point in the third quarter.

The Good:

-  LeBron has a great night, scoring 32 points on just 20 shots, going 14-for-20 while gathering 6 rebounds and dishing off 3 assists.  When he was aggressive, as he was in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers were by far the better team.  Shooting 70% from the field is pretty impressive.

-  Delonte West begins making up for that miss on Saturday with 21 points and 5 assists.

-  Anderson Varejao had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and provided vital energy on a low-key night for the good guys.  And has really showed me a lot since he’s been forced into a more important role with the injury to Z.

The Bad:

-  Sloppy play by Mo Williams, who finished with just one more point (6) than personal fouls (5).  While LeBron bears a lot of the tone-setting duties on this team, the point guard also establishes the tone, and Williams didn’t do that tonight.  

-  Not enough killer intinct tonight, as the Cavs played around with the Wolves on a night that the starters should have been resting for the entire fourth quarter.

The Questions:

(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

-  Will J.J. Hickson build on his performance tonight?  Hickson has put up some big numbers before, but he played his best game as a Cavalier tonight, with 7 points and 5 boards in 12 minutes.  There are little things that Hickson did tonight that he wasn’t doing a few weeks ago.  It was good to see that, especially the way he played in control, rather than pulling a Shannon Brown and trying to prove he deserves minutes by shooting every time he touches the ball.

-  With the exception of maybe Al Jefferson, do the Timberwolves have a single above-average NBA player?  Looking at this roster, I don’t see any of these young players developing into anything more than a bit player on a good team.  As for Jefferson, he has some skill, but he seems destined for an Antoine Walker career, a guy with plenty of talent but who lacks the work ethic to get much better, especially since he’s already the best player on his bad team.

Go Cavs.

Yahoo.com is reporting that the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat are involved in trade discussions which would send Wally Szczerbiak and Anderson Varejao to the Heat in exchange for Shawn Marion.  What do I think?

-  First off, let me note that this piece is by Adrian Wojnarowksi, a guy who regularly bumps up his hit count by tossing off more LeBron-to-New York columns than anyone else in the country.  The guy knows that the Cavaliers are hot and that they drive internet traffic, so he’s more than willing to feed that need whenever the opportunity presents itself.  That doesn’t make the rumor untrue, it just means that he might not care if it wasn’t.

-  Second, only someone who has no clue about the Cavaliers would even believe that such a rumor was true.  The Cavaliers are thin at the frontcourt, something that became apparent on Saturday against Atlanta, when the Cavs were out-rebounded 40-34 due in part to the absence of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  Without Varejao, the Cavaliers would have an even bigger hole to fill.  A team that is 20-4 does not move a productive front line player without getting one in return.

-  While Marion has some name recognition, he has been a pale imitation of himself this season, as his numbers have declined across the board.  His points are down (12.4 v. 15.4 ppg), his rebounds are down (8.9 vs. 10.2 rpg), his assists are down (1.7 v. 2.2 apg) and his field goal percentage is down (46% v. 51%).  And he’s doing that in slightly more minutes per game (37.2 v. 36.7) this season.  The Heat are a team that desperately needs Marion to step up and take more responsibility, but so far he is coming up short.  That is not the mindset the Cavaliers want to bring to the team.  While Wojnarowski says that Marion might be more motivated if he was playing for a contender, the fact that he’s not motivated right now speaks volumes about his dedication.

-  Meanwhile, Anderson Varejao is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.  And those who are watching the games know that Varejao has been far greater than his statistics at the point in the season, and that Andy has become the Cavaliers’ most consistent big man. While Varejao may still be moved at some point this season, it’s becoming more and more difficult for the Cavaliers to make such a deal for equal value.  

-  When a team is rolling like the Cavaliers are right now, the last thing a GM wants to do is do anything that would damage the chemistry of the team.  With that in mind, Shawn Marion is the same guy who was thrilled to be traded from the Phoenix Suns - a 55-win team - to the Miami Heat, a team that only won 17 games last season.  During his time in Phoenix, Marion was once asked if he would prefer winning a championship on the Suns as the team’s third option offensively, or going to his own team where he would be the first option, but not winning a title.  Marion said he’d prefer to be “the man,” even if it meant coming up short in the playoffs.  That mindset is not what the Cavaliers are looking for right now as they strive to win a Championship.

-  Here’s the other thing: Why would the Heat do it?  While the Heat are playing better than expected at this point in the season, they are a one-and-done team at best.  Szczerbiak and Varejao might be an improvement, but that still doesn’t get them into the second round.  With Marion’s expiring contract, the Heat are looking to add young talent that will be around for a while; otherwise they can just let Marion’s contract expire and take advantage of the salary cap relief.  A quick scan of the comments on Ira Winderman’s Heat blog for the Sun-Sentinal reveals that most of those fans aren’t any happier with this rumored trade than Cavaliers fans.  It’s not that they thing Marion is any good, they just have Gasol-esque high hopes for his expiring contract, just like Cavaliers fans have for Szczerbiak’s contract.  Trading one expiring for another is pointless to a Heat team that isn’t going to win anything this season.

-  And finally, there are already reports that the rumors are false.  

Go Cavs.