The Postgame Quick Hits from the best Cavalier win of the season so far.  More to come tomorrow, but it’s a start tonight.

The Good:

Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal

1.  LeBron James routinely abused last year’s Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett tonight.  LeBron was actively attacking Garnett, forcing the switch to get Garnett one-on-one at the top of the circle, and he was getting to the hoop and finishing strong.  That was just the most impressive part of LeBron’s fantastic night, as James finished with 38 points on 13-of-25 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free throw stripe, while adding 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.  LeBron repeated proved that the Celtics as currently constructed have no way to stop him.

But as good as LeBron was offensively, he was just as good defensively, completely shutting down self-annointed “best player in the world” Paul Pierce.  Pierce finished with just 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, committed 5 turnovers, and finished with a Celtics-worst plus/minus of -19.  Whenever Pierce was presented with a late shot-clock situation, LeBron was all over him, using his size and length to keep Pierce from making those trademark twisting, turn-around jumpers.

2.  Mike Brown’s defensive schemes were fantastic tonight, clearly isolating the weak links in the Celtics armor and hammering at them.  The Cavs forced Rajon Rondo to shoot, and Rondo obliged by going 1-for-8 and finishing with just 5 points (even though he did dish off 13 assists).  They forced Pierce to create for himself, something he has not been able to do with consistent success this season.  

And perhaps most impressively, the Cavaliers came up with 14 steals of the Celtics’ 15 turnovers.  That’s unheard of.  The Cavaliers were able to beat the Celtics despite the fact that the Celtics had only one unforced turnover tonight, an offensive foul by Leon Powe in the fourth quarter.  Every other Celtics turnover was caused by the Cavaliers getting their hands on the ball.  The Celtics didn’t lose tonight because they were unfocused.  They played about as well as they possibly could against the Cavalier defense last night, and all their best did was leave them with a 15-point loss.

Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal

3.  The supporting cast gave a level of consistent focus and hustle that has been missing in recent weeks.  Mo Williams was on the floor all night, battling for lose balls and making things happen.  Delonte West gave everything he had, playing 42 tough minutes chasing Ray Allen around and hold him to 12 tough points.  Ben Wallace kept Garnett out of his comfort zone, allowed only one Rondo-Garnett alley-oop, and knocked down half of his free throw attempts when the Celtics adopted a hack-a-Ben strategy late, keeping the Celtics at bay.  On the whole, the Cavaliers got solid contributions from everyone, and played with a level of energy, fire and focus that seemed completely absent from the Celtics tonight.

The Bad:

1.  Doc Rivers’ classless hack-a-Ben strategy late.  I’m not one of those people who think that the intentional foul strategy is an affront to the game in and of itself, but the Celtics adopted it well after the game was in hand.  And they continued to do it even when it was clear that it wasn’t going to change the outcome.  To this observer, it was proof that the Celtics are really struggling right now, resorting to cheap, useless tactics, countering the “win the right way” philosophy that the team was supposed to have last season.  This wasn’t a matter of Rivers using every last option at his disposal; this was Rivers being unwilling to accept an honorable defeat to a quality opponent.

2.  Which funnels into the fact that the Celtics are proving that they are front-runners, the kind of team that will shout and beat their chests when things are going well, but turn meek and quiet when things are getting tough.  This has been on display for the last couple of weeks, but when you hear the Celtics apologists saying it, there might be something to it.  While the Celtics have plenty of legitimate excuses (lots of games, lack of practice time, etc.), we were told last year that the Celtics weren’t the kind of team to make excuses.  Guess that theory is out the window now.

3.  I was willing to tolerate those blue “throwback” jerseys as a one-game novelty, but there was no reason to wear them for what was the biggest game of the season so far.  They are kind of ugly, but more importantly (to me at least) there is nothing interesting or classic about them, no connection to the team or its history.  That royal blue color is not, not has it ever been, one of the Cavaliers teams colors!  Why not just wear a pink version for Valentine’s day, or a green version for St. Patrick’s day.  I’m no jersey purist, but the Cavaliers are wasting all of their great jersey options by using these blue misfits.

The Questions:

1.  Does this win make the Cavaliers the best team in the East?

Finally getting back to this Saturday afternoon.  Yes, without question this makes the Cavaliers the best team in the East, at least on January 9th.  The Cavs have the best defense in the NBA, they have a variety of role players who can step up in multiple situations, and they have the best player on the planet leading the way.  I don’t think the Cavaliers just took a single step forward tonight; I think the Cavs put the rest of the league on notice that the torch has been passed, and the Cavaliers are the favorite to win the East this season.  I realize that this seems premature, but having watched a focused Cavalier team dismantle the Celtics so thoroughly, and knowing that they will bring that same level of focus in every game of the playoffs, I don’t see another team that can beat the Cavs in a seven-game series.  LeBron is too good, the defense is too good, and no other team in the conference can match that over multiple games.

2.  Does this show that LeBron is going to be unstoppable in the Playoffs?

The Celtics are still a great defensive team, just a hair behind the Cavaliers in numerous defensive categories.  And LeBron destroyed them, picking the Celtics apart no matter how they tried to guard him.  James has been a force of nature for a couple years now, but somehow he continues to take his game to a higher level.  His defense, especially of the help side, has been devastating.  No player in the history of the league has blocked shots from behind like James, and those kinds of blocks set the crowd on fire and demoralize the opposition.  He is the complete package right now, and now that Danny Ferry has surrounded him with an above-average supporting cast, he is going to be unstoppable come Spring.  

3.  Are the Celtics done?

Yes and no.  The Celtics are still a very talented team full of superstar players, and the experience they picked up last year on their way to the title will be valuable come playoff time.  The Celtics will be fighting for the best record in the conference despite this recent slide, and if Cleveland or Orlando take their foot off the pedal, they will find themselves having to win in Boston to advance to the Finals.  

But the shine is off the clover.  As defenses are starting to realize that the Garnett-Allen-Pierce combination does not have enough firepower to beat you by themselves anymore, the Boston supporting cast is being exposed as a bunch of average players that won’t come through when you play them straight up.  In addition, the loss of James Posey and P.J. Brown off the bench has forced all of the Celtics’ reserves to move up a notch, meaning that Eddie House and Glen Davis are playing more meaningful minutes, and they’re coming up small.  Unless Boston gets another gift from the NBA higher ups and adds another two quality players, the Celtics are going to come up short this year.  And it might even happen in the second round if the get matched up against the Cavaliers or Magic.  

Go Cavs.

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.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s game against the mighty Bobcats of Charlotte.

The Good:  

1.  The Cavaliers didn’t let the back-to-back game affect their defensive tenacity, holding the Bobcats to just 74 points on 36% from the field.  The defense also had 10 blocks (Z had 5), 9 steals, and forced 19 Bobcat turnovers.  Gerald Wallace, who came into the game averaging 16 points per game, was held to just 1 point on 0-for-6 shooting and turned the ball over 4 times.  Jason Richardson, the Bobcats’ leading scorer, was held to 9 points.  Once again, the reason the Cavaliers are blowing these teams out is because of their suffocating defense.

2.  Boobie Gibson bested fellow Longhorn D.J. Augustin, scoring 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting and dishing out 5 assists for his best game since the last time the Cavaliers faced the Bobcats, in the Cavalier home opener.  Augustin was certainly no slouch himself, scoring 17 points mostly from the free throw line, but tonight Boobie came out ahead, and the notched yet another victory.  

3.  LeBron James rebounded nicely from his tough scoring night last night, dropping 25 points in just 27 minutes, while adding 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple more big blocks.

The Bad:

1.  It’s not a surprise, but Tarence Kinsey proved he is not a point guard, turning the ball over 3 times and picking up a foul in just 3:39 worth of playing time.  But that’s on Mike Brown for putting him out there in that role, and that’s never going to happen when the game is in question.

2.  Kinsey was part of a bench squad that let the lead fall to just 20 points when the buzzer sounded.  What’s that about?

3.  ”Drinkability” is not a word, no matter how many commercials Bud Light chooses to run.

The Questions:

1.  Wow, the Cavaliers really need to get Gerald Wallace or Jason Richardson don’t they?  I believe in always trying to make the team better, regardless of how well things are going.  But with the way the Cavaliers are just dismantling the opposition, it’s hard to argue that any changing of the roster would result in a better team.  What, are they supposed to win by 40 each night?

2.  How often do you think the Cavaliers are going to win when they have just two players in double figures?  The Cavaliers had an incredibly balanced attack tonight, with only LeBron (25) and Gibson (22) scoring over ten points.  With the starters getting so much rest, their stats are dropping across the board.  Fortunately, no one seems to mind while the team is waltzing to easy victories.

3.  Why can’t I come up with a third question tonight?  Well, that’s just a mystery for the ages.

Go Cavs.  Four games in five nights this week, enjoy the two days off.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s victory over the Indiana Pacers, setting yet another team record with the team’s eleventh home win to start the season:

The Good:

1.  Anderson Varejao made the most of Anderson Varejao Wig Night, scoring 17 first half points and knocking down a number of jump shots in the process.  After a slow start, Varejao jumpstarted the Cavalier offense, doing a great job of creating angles for his teammates and finding the soft spots in the zone.  It was yet another example of a role player providing the Cavaliers with a little lighter fluid to get the fire started.  And once the fire is started, it just grows and grows until the opposition is utterly consumed (poetic, huh?)

2.  The Cavalier coaching staff did a great job of adjusting to the zone defense of the Pacers.  Indiana was heavily tilting the zone towards LeBron James, and without LeBron opening up space for the rest of the team, the Cavaliers stopped moving the ball and tried shooting over the zone.  While the best way to beat a zone is by shooting the defense out of it, you still have to move the ball to create that little extra space for the shooter.  The Cavaliers made the adjustments, found the holes in the zone for the shooters, and proceeded to knock down shots.

3.  On the flip side, the Cavalier defense was suffocating tonight, being very physical with the Pacers.  The Cavs D held the Pacers to just 40% from the field and prevented them from scoring 20 points in any of the last three quarters.  While the Cavalier offense has been very impressive all season, the team’s commitment to defense has been the reason for the constant blowouts of late.  

The Bad:

1.  It took LeBron James a little too long to figure out how to attack the Pacer defense, as he finished with only 11 points on just 4-for-12 shooting.  LeBron was not aggressive going to the hoop, shooting only 4 free throws on the night, and he was having trouble finding space in the lane.  Fortunately, LeBron is the best player on the planet, and was able to facilitate his teammates in the second half, coming up with 11 assists to go with 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and a steal.  LeBron was also able to get under the skin of Danny Granger, holding Granger to just 4 points on 2-for-7 shooting.  The combination of offense and defense left LeBron with an impressive plus/minus of +32, the highest total on the Cavaliers (meanwhile, Granger finished -30).  So I guess it wasn’t that bad.

2.  Austin Carr’s reaction to a solid foul by Granger on LeBron in the fourth quarter was well overblown.  LeBron takes his fair share of hard knocks, but that wasn’t one of them, and LeBron clearly exaggerated the contact.  But Carr sounded like he was ready to charge the court to defend LeBron’s honor.  I actually give the Pacers some credit for getting into the faces of the Cavaliers, and that kind of passion will serve Indiana well this season.  Though they might want to save that for a game that they don’t lose by 24 points.

3.  With the Cavs rolling again, I’ll use this spot to say how disappointed I was with all the interesting games ultimately going to the better team last night.  The Lakers tried to blow a big lead to the woeful Wizards (Woezards?), but held on.  The Trailblazers couldn’t compete for four quarters in Boston against the Celtics.  I’m rooting for the Cavaliers harder than anything else, but I’m not above rooting for the other true contenders to stumble along the way.  (And damn am I sick of hearing about the leadership of Kevin Garnett.  IT DIDN’T MAKE A LICK OF DIFFERENCE IN MINNESOTA!  The talent that was giftwrapped and sent to Boston has been a much bigger factor than KG’s mythic “heart.”)

The Questions:

1.  Do you like the chippiness from the players?  There have been plenty of complaints about the lovefests that occur prior to an NBA game, as the players all gather ’round for a group hug.  But last night there was plenty of jawing between the Cavaliers and the Pacers, and there was certainly some trash talking in that Celtics-Blazers game.  Do fans want to see that from the players, or does it come across and childish and petty?  Just some food for thought next time NBA players exchange sweaters at halfcourt before a game.

2.  Over-under on number of “Varejao is doing great, despite last season’s holdout and offseason talk of trades” stories in various media outlets tomorrow? 12?  I’m not complaining per se, it’s just so easy a story.  Varejao has been excellent this season, and has proven that replacing his production would be no mean feat for Danny Ferry should he decide to move Andy.  One of the possible destinations for Varejao is the Charlotte Bobcats, who the Cavaliers face Saturday night.  Seriously, between the Ohio and North Carolina news outlets, we’re talking well over a dozen Varejao-heavy stories tomorrow.

3.  Better Cavalier player hair - Anderson Varejao or Ben Wallace?  I’m leaning Andy.

Go Cavs.  Solid win over a better-than-their-record team tonight.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s thumping of the New York Knickerbockers:

The Good:

(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

1.  King of the Hill:  LeBron James had an incredibly effective 28 minutes tonight, scoring 20 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while making all ten of his free throws.  LeBron also came up with 5 steals, while committing no turnovers of his own for only the second time this season.  LeBron’s per game numbers are starting to dip thanks to these blowouts, but his efficiency numbers are still through the roof.  

2.  Top of the List:  The Cavalier bench was excellent again tonight, as Daniel Gibson, Anderson Varejao, JJ Hickson and Sasha Pavlovic combined for 39 points on 15-of-22 shooting.  The bench was also solid on defense, as Gibson (+26), Varejao (+24) and Wally Szczerbiak (+27) all had plus/minus numbers in the 20’s, indicating that they were effective at keeping the Knicks off the scoreboard even as they added to the Cavalier total.  

3.  A Number 1:  Daniel Gibson finally found some room and found his stroke, scoring 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with 5 assists and 3 steals.  Gibson took advantage of the miserable Knicks, and hopefully tonight’s performance will kickstart Gibson’s shooting.  As if the Cavaliers need yet another weapon.  

These Little Town Blues:

1.  …are melting away.  The worst thing I can say is that the Cavs committed 17 turnovers as a team.  

2.  …and the Cavaliers shot only 6-for-21 (29%) from beyond the arc.

3.  Oh, I got another one.  LeBron took two very hard fouls tonight, the second resulting in a Flagrant 1 penalty against the Knicks’ Al Harrington.  The Knicks committed to being physical with LeBron, sending him to the free throw line instead of giving up layups.  LeBron has been relatively unscathed this season, in large part due to the number of soft teams the Cavaliers have faced.  Here’s hoping that other teams weren’t watching too closely tonight, and that we won’t see a return of the physical play that Washington and Boston used against LeBron during last year’s playoffs.  LeBron was able to withstand that abuse during the playoffs, but taking those hits every night could wear anyone down.  

The Questions:

(Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

1.  So, now that we’ve seen the new “Hardwood Classic” jerseys, what do we think?  Well, if the level of play is any factor, I would let the Cavaliers play in the gold jerseys every night.  I think the jerseys look simple but classic, and would put them ahead of the “Miracle at Richfield” era throwbacks the Cavaliers have worn in the past.  I would still put them behind the orange and white look from two seasons ago, but the overall look is sharp and I look forward to seeing them again soon.  Last year was the first year of the LeBron era in which the Cavaliers did not introduce a new jersey design.

2.  What do you think the New York sports talkers are saying about Anthony Roberson after tonight’s 19 point, 4 assist, 3 steal performance?  One of my pet peeves about all NBA fans is their infatuation with the guys at the end of the bench.  Whether it’s Stephen Graham or Luke Jackson or Tarence Kinsey, the guy who is not getting minutes always gets lots of love.  Call it the backup quarterback syndrome.  I don’t like it, and it’s always worse when that guy at the end of the bench actually has a quality performance.  Roberson is averaging all of 5.4 points per game on 36% shooting, but I guarantee you that there are dozens of callers dialing up WFAN and demanding that the Knicks start Roberson instead of Chris Duhon.  A single quality performance does not a superstar make, and these backup players have to earn their minutes in practice, not through garbage points in blowouts.

3.  Is there any reason to check the score of a game that doesn’t feature the Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers?  Those three teams have established themselves as head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition at this point in the season.  The first thing I check each night after the Cavs game is how the Lakers and Celtics are doing, and hoping for that rare loss to help get the Cavaliers to that best record in the league.

Go Cavs.  Lets keep the run going against a dangerous Pacers team that has already notched wins against the Lakers and the Celtics.

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.

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.

 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.

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.