Postgame Quick Hits from the Cavs second home loss of the season, falling short in a tough overtime game with the Sixers:

The Good:

- The Cavs put up a great fight on a night where LeBron, Z, Mo and Joe Smith didn’t play, and Delonte West and Anderson Varejao played very limited minutes. There was no reason for the Cavs to over-exert themselves tonight, but they did.

- Daniel Gibson was very good tonight (with the exception of one major play). Gibson finished with 28 points on 12-24 shooting, while adding 7 assists, none bigger than the one which found Sasha Pavlovic for an open 3 late in overtime. Gibson had a rough season, struggling to find his shot and his role in the offense. But for at least one night, he was able to take advantage of his opportunities, and set a new regular season high in points (his career high is 31 in the Playoffs).

- Wally Szczerbiak was great tonight, scoring 21 points while adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He even added a dunk. Wally was showing off a confidence that we’ve only seen a few times since he put on a Cavs uniform. With the laid-back, anything-can-happen vibe of last night, it was fun to let a couple of fan favorites like Wally and Boobie get some shots, and for the most part they came through.

The Bad:

- Not getting a shot off on that last possession was disappointing. After all the good stuff that Daniel Gibson did late in the game, his slip and fall was absolutely deflating.

- Official Joe DeRosa as awful tonight. If a call was going against the Cavaliers, it was being called by #14. At one point it took the two other officials nearly getting into a fist-fight with DeRosa to convince him that he had blown a blocking call that should have been called a charge. I have not complained about the officiating once this season, but DeRosa was butchering last night’s otherwise very entertaining game.

The Questions:

- Are you excited about Saturday’s Game 1 against the Pistons?

More as the day goes on…

Go Cavs

Postgame Quick Hits from a competitive Cavalier victory over the Pacers, helping the Cavaliers secure the best record in the NBA and homecourt advantage throughout the Playoffs:

The Good:

-  LeBron James finished with 37 points, five rebounds and five assists, highlighted by a couple of monster dunks off of Mo Williams passes.  

-  Anderson Varejao may have been the only starter not to score in double-digits, but he was a huge factor in this game, getting to the loose balls and rebounds that helped the Cavaliers keep the Pacers at bay.  Andy finished with 7 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals, and his energy was off the charts.  The Pacers had no answer for the way he was going after the ball.

-  There wasn’t a slouch over the other three starters either, with Delonte West dropping 20 points, Mo Williams adding 18 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas contributing 16 more.  The starters combined to shoot 33-for-67 (49%) from the field.

The Bad:

-  The Cavs allowed 37 points in the third quarter.  Not unexpected on the second night of a back-to-back to have an energy lull, but it’s still not something to be proud of.

-  While the starters were excellent, the bench left something to be desired, scoring just 19 points combined.  This after a day of 35 combined bench points yesterday.

The Questions:

-  Didn’t I tell you that Danny Granger was a special scorer?  Granger dropped 38 points tonight, scoring from all over, including a nifty little 10-foot pull-up jumper that Cavs fans would love to see LeBron add to his reperatoire.  I would put Granger on the same level as Carmelo Anthony, but like Anthony, Granger might be better off as a second-fiddle scorer while another player takes on the leadership role.

-  Did anyone know that Brandon Rush could score like that (28 points tonight)?  Rush was a star at Kansas, but he slipped to the end of the lottery (13th overall), where Indiana snapped him up.  Rush is averaging 16.3 points per game over the last twelve games, including a pair of 29-point outings last month.  

-  Now that the Cavs have clinched the best record in the NBA, how do you feel about Wednesday’s game?  Do you care about matching the best home record in NBA history, or do you want the Cavs to fold up the tent and call it a regular season?

-  Looks like the Cavs will face the Pistons in thee first round this season.  How do you feel about that?

Go Cavs.

Running Thoughts from today’s big game against the San Antonio Spurs:

-  Anderson Varejao is out of today’s game with a wrist contusion.  So Darnell Jackson will get the start against, yeah, Tim Duncan.  I’m sure that will go well.  

-  The Cavs need to win today to keep the best record in the league, as the Lakers face the Clippers tonight.

-  I love NBA basketball on sunny spring Sundays.

First Quarter: 

-  The Cavaliers cannot start this game slow again.  Lately the team has suffered through way too many scoring droughts.  

-  Matt Bonner just tipped in an offensive rebound over Jackson.  I don’t expect Jackson to match up with Duncan (and he’s not to start, Z is defending Duncan), but he has to be at least as productive as Matt Bonner if the Cavs are going to win today.

-  LeBron goes into the “post” four times.  The first time the ball was tipped away by Manu Ginobili and it turned into a Spurs fast break.  The second turned into a 15-foot made jump shot.  The third turned into a sky hook in the lane.  The fourth was another 15-footer over Michael Finley.  LeBron putting the fear in the opponent early is something we haven’t seen lately.  That sky hook could become the scariest weapon in the Playoffs if LeBron and the coaching staff choose to exploit it.

-  Mo WIlliams is in for a tough day today, defending Tony Parker.  Mo has got to give the Cavs more useful offense tonight than he’s been giving over the last two games.  

-  The aggressive LeBron is here for the first quarter.  He looks fantastic.  Think how good the game could be if the rest of the team wasn’t 1-for-6.

-  I was listening to the radio this morning, and WKNR’s Aaron Goldhammer was wondering aloud if the Cavs had the talent on the roster necessary to win the Championship this season.  It is a legitimate question, something I touched on Friday night when I said that the peak performance of the Magic is probably higher than that of the Cavaliers.  It has been my contention all season that the excellence of this Cavalier team has been more the result of LeBron James being uncanny than it has been the other pieces of the roster that much better than past teams.  Sure, there’s been a solid increase in talent, but let’s not forget that this team is still paying Wally Szcerbiak and Ben Wallace a combined $28 Million, and Darnell Jackson is starting today (though that’s mostly Mike Brown’s persona pecadillos, as Joe Smith could and probably should be starting, but Mike doesn’t want to screw up his rotation).  In a straight-up talent comparison, the Cavs are in the conversation, but they’re probably not at the top of the list.

-  I write all of that just to make this point:  When LeBron is playing the way he has played in this first quarter, the Cavs are the best team in basketball.  He makes these slightly-above-average players into a championship-caliber team.   

-  And a final aside on Goldhammer:  I know that he’s trying to get people riled up a bit to get them to call the show and yell at their radio.  But you do not judge a team based on its worst recent loss, just like you don’t judge them on their best recent win.  The Orlando Magic might have beaten the Cavs badly on Friday, but that same Magic team lost at home to the Toronto Raptors earlier last week.  The Lakers got their butts kicked in Atlanta, then lost to a below-.500 Bobcats team on thier recent trip.  This Spurs team got beat by the Oklahoma City Thunder in San Antonio last week.  The Cavs won’t play some mythical perfect team in the Playoffs; they’ll be playing one of these teams, and every one has a disappointing performance or two on their recent schedule.

-  Tony Parker is eating up Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson to start this game, and has 14 points.  LeBron will be guarding Parker at the end of this game.  The Cavs defense hasn’t been especially intense, but give Parker and the Spurs credit for making plays on the offensive end to get good shots and knock them down.

-  But on the offensive end, LeBron has done it by himself, scoring 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, while his teammates have just 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting.  If it’s any consolation, this has been by far the most entertaining first quarter in a long time.  At the end of one, the Cavs lead 28-27.  

Second Quarter:

-  Tim Duncan looks more earthbound today than I’ve ever seen him.  Those legs do not look lively today.

-  Good run by the Cavs bench to start the second quarter, running off the first six points of the quarter.

-  Delonte West with a steal and a dunk, and he follows it with a nice 17-footer to stretch the Cavs lead to 11.  West’s ability to find his role in the offense will be vital in the Playoffs.  Prior to his wrist injury, Delonte was in the right spot more often than not, and his shot was as pure as anyone on the team.  But when West went down, Mo Williams took an even greater role in the offense, taking quite a few of the shots that used to go to West.  When Delonte returned his role was slightly diminished, and he’s still trying to feel out when he should shoot, when he should create, and when he should just swing the ball around the perimeter.  With LeBron and Mo being the focal point of opposing defenses in the Playoffs, there will be opportunities for Delonte to take advantage and score some points.  There will be games when his performance will be the difference, and the Cavs need him to come through in those situations.

-  West is now guarding Parker.  That’s a good idea.

-  The Spurs are not shooting very well today, despite decent looks at the basket.  With 4:48 left in the second quarter, the Spurs have made just one field goal in the quarter, and that was Drew Gooden’s powerful two-handed dunk, which we’ll call a “high-percentage shot.”

-  Mo Williams is back into the game, and he’s guarding Parker now.  I’m not sure I wouldn’t leave West on Parker and take my chances with Mo guarding shooting guard Michael Finley, who can’t hit the broad side of a barn today.

-  Great first half by the Cavs, with LeBron leading the charge with 26 points going 9-for-12 from the field.  Mo Williams (finally) hit a few open threes, Delonte West was active, and the defense was able to hold the Spurs to just 15 points in the second quarter.  Still a long way to go in this one, but so far it’s a feel-good performance at the Q, with the Cavs ahead 55-42.

Third Quarter:

-  Delonte West with one of his prettiest moves of the season with a little hesitation to slip Manu Ginobili and finishing with a nifty 10-foot runner.  

-  I know that some Cleveland fans are pretty anti-Drew Gooden, but he’s a pretty good fourth option.  He’s been the Spurs’ most consistent offensive weapon today, and has really stepped in with Bonner out with foul trouble.  Gooden is 6-for-8 for 12 points already.

-  LeBron gets his pocket picked for the third time today, and it turns into two more Gooden points, and the lead is down to 5.  The Spurs have ratcheted up the defensive intensity to start the second half, and they’re getting out and running, the biggest defensive weakness of the Cavaliers (and let’s face it, every team) this season.

-  Mo Williams with some much-needed scoring, dropping 5 straight points to get the lead back out to ten and forcing a Spurs timeout.  With 6:29 left in the third, the Cavs lead 67-57.    

-  I love the way that Manu Ginobili always attacks Delonte West’s left hand, especially when West is open in the corner.  Manu has given West the baseline at least twice now, and each time West did not feel comfortable attacking the basket off the right hand.  Great gameplanning by the Spurs’ coaching staff, great execution by Ginobili.  Now West needs to adjust (and just launch those threes instead of dribbling).  

-  LeBron break away - WHAM WITH THE RIGHT HAND!  Those are so much fun.  This game has been a blast.  At another break, the Cavs lead is 11, 71-60, with 2 Zydrunas Ilgauskas free throws coming up.

-  Nice to see that Daniel Gibson is consistent in his terrible shooting.  His wide-open looks have been miserably short, an ailment that has also afflicted Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic this afternoon.  

-  I’m really liking the close-out defense by the Cavaliers here in the third quarter, something that was sorely missing in Orlando on Friday.  The Spurs are moving the ball well today, and they’re getting decent looks at the basket, but the Cavalier defense is closing those gaps quickly and really putting pressure on the Spurs’ shooters.

-  At the end of the third quarter, the Cavs are up by 15, 78-63.  Only 21 points for the Spurs in the third, and they continue to struggle from beyond the arc, just 3-for-14 on the day.  

Fourth Quarter:  

-  It’s more a remnant from the Finals two years ago than anything else, but Manu Ginobili is still the clutch shooter I fear most.  Manu has been hampered by injuries over the last two seasons, and he doesn’t seem as scary, but when he plays this season his numbers are actually above his career averages.  I don’t want to see him with the ball should this game get close.

-  Roger Mason has been a great offseason acquisition for the the Spurs, and he has made more than his share of big shots this season.  But he’s been goose-egged twice in the last four games, and he has just 4 points today.

-  Tim Duncan has been a complete non-factor offensively, scoring just 6 points against a Cavalier front line that is missing Anderson Varejao and has been abused by quality post players lately.  I don’t know what Duncan’s overall health situation is, but he has been interestingly absent today.

-  No, I have no idea why I would poke at the Spurs’ most dangerous scorers before this one is over.  That was stupid.  The Spurs have cut the lead to 9 with 7:00 remaining, 84-75.  The fourth quarter has been all jumpers for the Cavs.

-  But the jumpers start falling again, with LeBron hitting a tough-tough 20 footer, followed by a Delonte West three on a great skip pass from Mo Williams.  That might have done it folks, as the Cavs lead is back out to 14, 89-75.  Have I said how much fun this game has been?

-  The rest of the game goes as planned, highlighted with a couple of nice jumpers by Delonte West, who was an offensive revelation today.  The Cavs held the Spurs to just six points in the last seven minutes of the game, and go on to win 101-81.  

-  LeBron was brilliant, scoring 38 points on 14-for-21 shooting, while adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists.  But as good as LeBron was today, Delonte West was nearly as important, scoring 22 points on 10-for-15 shooting and providing the much-needed third offensive option that has been missing lately.  When West is playing this well, the Cavs are the best team in the league.

-  To borrow a phrase from LeBron’s new website, I really, really, really, really, really, really enjoyed this game.

Go Cavs.

Wrapping up last night’s, well let’s just call it pathetic, performance:

The Good:

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

-  Nobody.  Sure, there were guys who had solid performances offensively, but the team gave up 109 points on 51% shooting to a terrible Wizards team.  So no one deserves any credit for any “successes” they might have had last night.

-  Check that: the Wizards belong up here for their gameplan last night.  They went with a huge starting lineup with Caron Butler at the shooting guard spot, Antawn Jamison at the small forward, and Dominic McGuire at the power forward.  Size has been the Achilles heel of the Cavaliers, and the Wizards knew that and took advantage of it.  Playoff opponents will be watching this game very closely to see how an inferior team was able to exploit the few Cavalier weaknesses to perfection.

-  Oh, one more: At least there’s another game tonight so I don’t have to think about this one too long.

The Bad:

-  LeBron James, having a fantastic night otherwise, turning the ball over SIX times against the less-than-formidable Wizards defense.  It was clear that LeBron was not taking this game seriously (he has been fantastic at not turning the ball over lately), and that trickled down throughout the team.

-  Mo Williams admiring his shot so much that he was burned by Wizards streaking down the floor behind him no less than four times.

-  Delonte West playing matador defense when Nick Young (Nick Young?!?) drove to the lane for the game-sealing layup.

-  Mike Brown deciding to play Joe Smith just 8 minutes.

-  Wally Szcerbiak getting positively worked by Darius Songaila.

-  Zydrunas Ilgauskas resorting to slapping wrists every time a Wizard took the ball to the hoop, earning him five of the weakest fouls I’ve ever seen.

The Questions:

-  Really, what just happened?

-  I know that ESPN can’t help themselves, but does Gilbert Arenas really deserve credit for a big win in a game where he went 3-for-11 (27%) from the field and didn’t hit a single big shot?

Go Cavs.  Gonna be a rough one tonight in Orlando.

Wrapping up another Cavalier victory (that’s 13 in a row now), this one over the once-and-future rival Detroit Pistons.

The Good:

-  The Cavaliers gave a fantastic defensive performance in a game with near-Playoff-level physicality.  The Cavs held the Pistons to just 73 points on just 35% (29-82) shooting, exhanging blows with the once-mighty Pistons.   While the Cavaliers had their own problems offensively (just 79 points on 39% shooting), the team’s ability to completely shut down the Pistons in the second half, holding Detroit to just 29 points after the break, was the reason for this win.  The Cavs also forced 14 Detroit turnovers and held the Pistons to just 9 assists on the night.  While there were a few easy second-chance baskets for the Pistons, everything else was well-contested, and this was the fifth straight game in which the Cavaliers have held their opponent to at least ten points below their season average.  This game was a great example of why the Cavaliers will be an incredibly dangerous Playoff team.

-  Once again, the Cavs did a great job of taking care of the ball, committing only 5 turnovers of their own for the second straight game.

-  Last star goes to, who else, LeBron James.  While this wasn’t an iconic LeBron performance, LeBron was responsible for 15 of the 17 Cavalier points in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points while finding Anderson Varejao for four more.  The only points not directly caused by LeBron were Mo Williams’ two game-sealing free throws, and let’s be honest, if LeBron doesn’t do what he does, Mo doesn’t get those points either.  Just a great game-sealing performance from the best player in the league, especially considering that besides LeBron and Andy, the rest of the team went 0-for-10 in the quarter.  LeBron finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block, while committing only one turnover.

-  And the bonus star goes to the home crowd.  As the season has gone on, the fans at the Q have gotten steadily louder, to the point that they are now near deafening, even for a Tuesday night game against a below-.500 team.  I can’t imagine just how insane those fans will be come Playoff time.  I’m telling you, this Spring is going to be something special.

The Bad:

-  The Cavs held their own, but they gave up way too many rebounds on both ends.  The Pistons outrebounded the Cavaliers by ten, 53-43, and gobbled up 15 offensive rebounds and converting them into 14 second-change points.  The Pistons couldn’t score from the perimeter all night, but they were able to muscle their way into the lane too easily, which led to the offensive rebounds and 32 points in the paints.  While the Cavs are getting better about it, interior strength is still a weakness.

-  Mo Williams had one of his worst performances in a long time, going just 4-for-14.  Mo had help on the poor shooting front though, with Zydrunas Ilgauskas shooting only 2-for-11.  No, the poor shooting percentages for the team were not a surprise.

-  Rasheed Wallace continues to make a spectacle of himself in Cleveland, picking up yet another technical foul, his sixteenth of the season (but only his second in March!).  That T will cost Wallace a game as a penalty, a major problem for a team that is just two games ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats for the last Playoff spot.  In my opinion, Wallace’s lack of self-control has been the biggest reason that the team has not had more success since its Championship run in 2005, and that’s not going to change.  Sheed will have to find a different place to wreck havoc next season, as he is a free agent and I would be very surprised if the Pistons re-signed their cantakerous big man.

The Questions:

-  Was anyone else a little concerned when Delonte West tossed Rip Hamilton to the ground?  My friend Sarah can’t stand Rip, and is incredibly bothered by the fact that he continues to wear that protective mask.  So I’m sure she didn’t mind seeing Brother Red spin Hamilton around and toss him like a dwarf.  Me, I was a little concerned that Delonte might follow up the toss with a elbow drop, before climbing the turnbuckle and holding his hand to his ear in pure Hulkamania fashion.

-  Did you see the Lakers lost to the Bobcats tonight?  That puts the Cavs up three games in the race for the best record in the NBA, and puts the Bobcats that much closer to meeting the Cavaliers in the first round of the Playoffs.  The Bobcats don’t currently have a roster that can compete for a championship now or in the near future, but head coach Larry Brown has done a fantastic job of getting a bunch of really average players to buy in and make a run at the Playoffs.

-  Finally, did you see that Z’s 10,000th point ball was found?  Turns out a young kid picked it up after the game was over.  Z told the kid to keep it.  Total class act.  But he did say that he will keep the ball if/when he breaks the Cavs all-time games played record of 723.  Z played his 700th game as a Cavalier tonight, and with 8 games left in the season, Z will need 16 Playoff games to break the record this season.

Go Cavs.

Wrapping up an exciting win over the Dallas Mavericks today at the Q:

The Good:

AP Photo/Tony Dejak

-  First star goes to Joe Smith today.  The Cavaliers started this game with zero energy, missing shots and letting the Mavericks get anything they wanted inside.  Then Smith came into the game, and brought the rebounding, energy and offensive efficiency the team was lacking.  We’ve seen the starters in this kind of funk from a couple of times this season, and usually it has been Anderson Varejao who has come off the bench and kept the team close while the starters find their legs.  With Andy now in the starting lineup, that role fell to Smith today, and he came through with 12 points and 13 rebounds.  Smith’s performance was highlighted by a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter that was so good, the scoreboard operator gave the Cavaliers six points for it.  (The error was remedied before the start of the second quarter.)

I’ll be the first to admit that I was wrong about Joe Smith.  As was pointed out to me in the last post, a month ago I wasn’t sure that Smith would be able to contribute any more to the Playoff rotation than J.J. Hickson.  Now Smith has proven to be a vital component to this team, especially with Ben Wallace still recovering from his broken leg.  Mea culpa Mr. Smith.

-  While Smith was the sparkplug, the way the entire team defended in the last three quarters was nothing short of astonishing.  After surrendering 30 points in the first quarter, the Cavs held Dallas to 19, 11, and 14 points in each of the following three quarters, allowing only 44 points in that 36 mintues of play.  The Cavaliers held the Mavericks to just 74 points, 27 below their season average of 101.1.  

-  LeBron James had 12 assists and 0 turnovers today.  That is the ninth time this season that a player has managed at least 12 assists without committing a turnover, and the second time it has happened to the Mavericks (Steve Nash did it to them earlier this season).  The Cavaliers committed only 4 turnovers on the day, which was vital given the hole they dug for themselves in the first.  The team just did so much right in those last three quarters, it’s hard to believe just how bad they looked at the start.

-  I thought the crowd did a great job of getting the team back in the game.  The fans desperately wanted to explode, and when the Cavs finally got rolling, the crowd let them hear it.  By the end the fans and the team were having a great time, clowning around as the team coasted to the first 60-win season in team history.  Even the chalupa lovers got their wish.

The Bad:

-  The first quarter was miserable.  Jason Kidd-to-Eric Dampier was looking like Stockton-to-Malone.  The Cavaliers got down by fifteen points, which was their largest deficit at home this season (thankfully, The Diff was able to handle that unexpected situation).  Be honest, you were shaking your head and screaming obscenities in that first quarter.

AP Photo/Tony Dejak

-  LeBron was on the floor for a while after colliding with referee Derek Richardson, getting the wind knocked out of him.  That was by far the biggest drama of the second half, and, well, what the heck is Derek Richardson made of, concrete?

-  Brian Windhorst has a note today about Tarence Kinsey being agitated, maybe because he couldn’t get into the game until the very end despite the big Cavalier lead in the fourth.  While there has been a lot of chatter lately about the wisdom of the Cavs resting some players down the stretch, if anything Mike Brown has been even more restricted in his rotations of late.  While they have kept quiet, guys like Kinsey and J.J. Hickson probably feel that they have proven enough this season to earn minutes, but they’re still seeing more DNP-CDs.

The Questions:

-  Were you surprised at how ineffective LeBron was in the post to start the game?  LeBron got the ball on the low block repeatedly in the first quarter, but the Cavs ended the first in a 10-point hole.  LeBron will eventually be a beast in the post, but like his jump shot, there’s still a lot of room for refinement at this point.

AP Photo/Tony Dejak

-  Did you know Jason Kidd can shoot now?  Kidd is a career 40.2% shooting on all shots, but he is shooting 40.4% from three-point range this season, including 2-for-3 today against the Cavaliers.  That flexibility will help him stay in the league as he gets up in years - Kidd turned 36 last week - but I think his days of contributing to Championship-caliber teams are done.  So don’t count me on the list of people wondering if Kidd could be a Cavalier next season. 

-  Did you see that the Lakers got crushed by the Atlanta Hawks (86-76) today?  That means that the Cavaliers have a two game lead for the best record in the NBA with nine games remaining.  Obviously anything can happen, but I’m not sure I see the Cavs losing two more games this season.

Go Cavs.  Seriously, how great was that third quarter?

I wasn’t going to do Running Thoughts tonight, but then the Cavs allowed the Nets to come back from ten down to tie the ballgame at 72-72, and it appears that the last few minutes of this one might be interesting/disgusting.

-  LeBron took his usual rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and his teammates decided to try their luck just launching jump shots.  Not a great plan by Mike Brown and the good guys.

-  On LeBron’s first possession back in the game, he goes straight to the hoop and draws the foul.  That’s exactly the type of aggressive trip to the hoop the Cavs were missing.

-  Then on the very next play, after a Nets miss, he takes an off-balance 20-footer that clangs away.  So much for not settling for bad shots.  The Cavs have been at their best tonight when LeBron is creating for his teammates.

-  LeBron proves my point on the next possession, when he finds Delonte West open in the corner for three to push the lead back out to five, 77-72.

-  Vince Carter reminds the Cavaliers that he is still dangerous by using Z as a screen and heading to the basket for a layup, cutting the lead back to one point.  Then LeBron can’t stop whining, and picks up a technical foul for his trouble, and we’re again tied at 77-77.  Not the right time to be chirping about the officials.  You are at home, let the crowd do the chirping for you.

-  Keyon Dooling for three (where did that come from?), and the Nets have a lead (82-81) for the first time since the score was 5-4.  This is exactly why the Cavs couldn’t afford to let the Nets hang around.  You never know when a Keyon Dooling is going to knock down a prayer and hurt you.

-  Delonte West coming right back with a three of his own!  That’s West’s third three of the ballgame, a welcome change from the miserable long-range shooting he’s been demonstrating lately.

-  LeBron finds Anderson Varejao on another baseline cut, and the Cavs are back up 86-82.  Andy does such a great job of making himself a target as he moves to the hoop.  You would think that most players playing next to LeBron would learn how to fill the lane, but Andy has been the best of that group so far.

-  Kudos to Lawrence Frank for choosing to defend the Cavaliers straight up down six points with 90 seconds remaining.  Unfortuantely Mo Williams knocked down a very tough three to end the possession, and essentially the game, 93-84.  Clutch, clutch jumpshots by Mo and LeBron on the last two possessions, exactly the kinds of shots the Cavs will need in the Playoffs, which grow closer every day.

Postgame Quick Hits:

-  Not a pretty game, but it might have been a game that demonstrated the greatness of the Cavaliers, especially at home.  In what could only be called a mediocre night, the Cavs still had LeBron James notching 22 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds, Andy Varejao with 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Delonte West with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.  Great performances all around from the starters, all of whom finished with double digit points.

-  And it’s really hard to complain on a night where the team sets a new team record for victories in a season.  Though I imagine that record will be broken quite a few more times before this season is over.  At the beginning of the season, I made a preposterous prediction that the Cavs would win 58 games this year.  Barring a disaster, it appears I short-changed them. 

-  Not such a great night for the bench, as the reserves managed only 15 points, 12 coming from reserve bigs Joe Smith and Darnell Jackson.  And even Smith (-12) and Jackson (-9) had pretty bad +/- ratios.  I know people believe that LeBron has a much better supporting cast this season than in years past, and that’s mostly true.  But the Cavalier reserves are regularly outplayed by opposing bench players, something that just shouldn’t happen this often.

-  But think of how much better this team will be in the Playoffs, when we’re seeing 44 minutes a night of LeBron James, and almost none of guys like Darnell Jackson.  The Cavs starters have played so well that getting them more minutes in the Playoffs should make the team even more dangerous.

More if I think of anything.  Go Cavs.

Postgame (not so) Quick Hits from tonight’s absolutely fantastic game between the Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic:

The Good:

-  It was a beautiful day here in Cleveland, Ohio, as thousands of people rushed downtown for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and stayed for the typical festivities.  Dark wool coats were abandoned for bright green t-shirts, derbies and striped socks, and smiles replaced the weary, downcast eyes of Winter.  And as the bright Spring-like sun was dipping below the horizon, it was time for a battle royale inside Quicken Loans Arena between the best home team and the best road team in the NBA.  The game inside the Q did not disappoint.  I don’t think I’ve felt this much electricity in downtown Cleveland since Game 5 of the 2007 AL Championship.  Yes, it was that kind of night.

-  LeBron James was otherworldly.  He made impossible pass after impossible pass.  He hit HUGE three-pointers.  And his drive to the hoop at the end of the third quarter was a freight train of unstoppability.  LeBron finished with 43 points, 12 monster rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and a block.  And the numbers do not do justice to his performance.  This is a very good Orlando Magic team, and LeBron destroyed them in every way imaginable.  

-  The Cavaliers were excellent on the glass tonight, holding a slight rebounding advantage over the taller Magic 43-40.  Howard was a beast as expected with 15 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, but the Cavaliers secured nearly every rebound in the fourth quarter, and that was the biggest reason they limited the Magic to just 18 fourth quarter points.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas did not have a great game, but his 11 rebounds were very big tonight.

-  This Magic team is really, really good.  Their ability to make shots over the defense is unparalleled; you can defend them perfectly and they will still have a chance to score, especially with long shooters like Hedo Turkoglu.  If they are making jump shots, they will beat you.  I’m just not sure that they wouldn’t be more of a contender if they settled for a few less jump shots and really made Dwight Howard the focus of that offense.  Throughout LeBron’s time in Cleveland, there have been times where he goes into a mode where he won’t move the ball and just pounds it into the ground 30 feet from the hoop before heaving something ridiculous.  People have called this lack of ball movement a problem, and I won’t disagree.  But my counterargument has always been “I want the ball in the hands of the most efficient offensive player in the league.”  I think that Dwight Howard is always the Magic’s best offensive option, and I don’t think he’s being used enough.  

-  Courtney Lee had a fantastic night, scoring 19 points on 9-13 shooting.  That race to be the steal of last year’s draft is on between Lee and the Miami Heat’s Mario Chalmers.  

-  Rafer Alston was great as well, outplaying Mo Williams for most of the night, getting to the rim at will and knocking down the open threes created by the Magic’s impressive ball movement.  Alston looked much better than I expected, and he was able to make up at least 90% of what the Magic were getting from Jameer Nelson.

-  The Magic were running an interesting two-screen offense.  First Howard would pop out to set the first pick, then Alston would come around a second pick set by Rashard Lewis.  The Cavaliers had a tough time dealing with most of the pick-and-rolls tonight, as Alston was regularly able to turn the corner around the pick and head right to the rim.  The Cavs will need to find a better way to defend it should they meet the Magic in the Playoffs.

The Bad:

-  I think that Stan Van Gundy is a fantastic basketball coach.  But there is simply no excuse for Dwight Howard only taking 8 shots tonight.  On the flip side, Rashard Lewis took 15 shots, and I don’t remember a single one of them.  Lewis was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc, and finished with just six points in 36 minutes.

-  I thought that Mo Williams was an absolutely necessary second scorer tonight, but he took too many well-contested shots.  He’s been hitting those shots regularly of late, but he took two very tough shots late in the fourth quarter that just weren’t the looks you want at that point in the game.  And his back-to-back missed free throws were nothing short of shocking.

-  Delonte West missed four WIDE OPEN threes tonight.  It was a problem. 

Random Notes:

-  A few weeks back, Henry Abbott of TrueHoop asked a question about the likelihood that you would high-five the person next to you at today’s supposedly “buttoned down” NBA games.  Well, I can attest that I participated in what might have been the perfect high-five tonight.  After LeBron hit his last three-pointer of the night, a long-distance bomb that blew up the arena, this behemoth of a man sitting next to me raised his arm high, and I raised mine in reponse.  The resulting hand-on-hand collision was high, it was loud, and for a while there I thought it broke my hand.  We’re talking perfect contact, the kind you feel when you lace a 300-yard drive down the middle of the fairway.  We turned back to the game, my hand screaming, and two or three plays later this green-clad monster turns back to me, and almost reverently, he says, “That was an amazing high five.”  That’s right, he knew just as well as I did that he had been part of something rare.  We’ve all been a part of bad high-fives, from glancing blows to that weird guy who grabs your hand for some reason, to the flat-out whiff.  But when you hit that perfect high-five, I’m here to tell you, it’s something.  It’s the kind of thing that makes you turn to the guy next to you two minutes later and say, “that was an amazing high five.”

-  The “M-V-P” chant at the end of the game was the loudest I have ever heard at the Q, with the deafening roar of the letters rocking the building, while the space in-between the letters was nearly as deafening in its silence.  The fans were in a great mood tonight, and they might have been a bit more “lively” than usual, but the Q is going to be absolutely rocking come Playoff time.

-  The Cavaliers gameday crew didn’t go on vacaction while the Cavs were on the road, but instead were tightening up the presentation as the team heads towards the Playoffs.  The Cavalier Girls had excellent, well-coordinated performances tonight, despite the tragedy of their first-round elimination in the NBA’s Dance Team bracket.  The scoreboard crew threw in a couple of St. Patrick’s Day twists to the standard fare of break entertainments, including a “Kiss Me I’m Irish Cam,” which, as it always should, ended on a pair Magic players sitting on the bench.  The Q is going to be non-stop entertainment over the next three months, and only the most uptight, mirthless sportswriter would want it any other way.  

-  After the Akron Zips made the NCAA tournament, LeBron made a crack about it being the NIke LeBron-brand shoes that propelled the Zips to the Big Dance.  Tonight LeBron was in his St. Vincent-St Mary’s green-and-gold colorway shoes.  Does that mean that LeBron’s iconic performance tonight was also because of the shoes?

All in all, a great win tonight.  Go Cavs.

Running thoughts from the Cavs-Knicks tilt at the Q:

-  Before we get started, I don’t like much about the Lakers, but I do like their “Sunday whites” motif.  As the Cavs have a number of Sunday games this year thanks to their popularity, I’d love to see the Cavs make Sundays special with a specific uniform, even if it’s just the throwbacks or the blues.  The Cavs will play every Sunday in February, March and April except for All-Star Weekend and last week.  That’s nine games in eleven Sundays.  No reason not to do something special.  Then again, this is a team that somehow didn’t give away beads during their Mardi Gras game.

-  The Celtics are scuffling without Kevin Garnett, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks this afternoon to fall to three full games behind the Cavaliers for the best record in the East, and the Celtics are now just one game ahead of the Magic for the second-place spot.  The Celtics have been saying that they’re more worried about getting healthy than they are their playoff seeding, but I don’t think they want anything to do with having to beat the Magic in the second round without home court advantage.

-  Delonte West is back in the starting lineup after missing the last game with a sore back.

First Quarter:  

-  The Cavs actually raised a Central Division Champions banner before the game.  That was fast.

-  Are the “Austin Carr Facts” a desperate attempt for a CarFax endorsement deal?

-  Is it just me, or are the saturation levels for the HD broadcast tonight awful?   Everything is completely bleached out.

-  David Lee is a very solid player, very much in the Anderson Varejao mode.  Lee is slightly better offensively, be he also gets a more opportunities than Andy.  Neither player is someone that you’d want to pay $8-10 Million a year, but for $4-6 Million they both go a long way towards helping you win ballgames.

-  At the first break, the Cavs are up 15-9.

-  LeBron comes up with two steals on two defensive possessions, and he has been a force defensively so far.  He already has a block and two steals, and he is harassing the Knicks inside and out.  Then on the other side he finds Mo Williams for an open three, which he sticks to put the Cavs up 9.

-  Delonte’s rhythm is quite bad to start the game.  He’s had a 20-foot airball, and he just missed a wide-open three well short.  And just as I’m typing that, he rolls to the hoop and flips home a very tough left-handed layup.  At the second break, the Cavs lead is down to five, 24-19, with Nate Robinson free throws coming up after the break.

-  Robinson hit both free throws, knocks down a three-pointer, then slams home an offensive rebound, and all of a sudden the Knicks are on an 8-0 run and they’ve taken the lead 25-24 at the end of the first quarter.  It is still hard to recognize these D’Antoni Knicks as a team that can score in bunches very quickly, but they are the fourth-highest scoring team in the league at 106.3 ppg, and if you don’t put the ball in the basket they will run at you all night.  Expect a game of runs throughout the night.

Second Quarter:

-  Sasha Pavlovic is getting the Wally Szczerbiak isolation possessions tonight.  That says something about the faith that the coaching staff has in Sasha’s ability to create offense.

-  Darnell Jackson is getting first half minutes tonight while J.J. HIckson rides the bench.  Something tells me Mike Brown is sending a message about dedication to defense being the key to minutes.  And as I’m typing that, Sasha Pavlovic makes a nice little dump pass to Jackson who slams it home with two hands.  

-  You are seeing the evolution of Sasha Pavlovic this season.  He looks like a completely different player, playing with confidence, making plays on both ends of the court.  He’s always going to worry long-time Cavs fans who cannot forget his years of inconsistency, but he has looked very good all season.  The clutch three pointers he hit in Sacramento might have been a turning point.

-  The Cavs managed to be +5 while LeBron was on the bench to start the second quarter.  That’s a nice bonus.

-  Zydrunas Ilgauskas got whacked on his sore left hand with a no-call, and he’s frustrated.  Z has a few fingers on that left hand bandaged, and another bandage across his broken nose.  He’s headed back to the locker room to make sure that hand is okay.

-  LeBron with a pretty spin move inside to put the Cavs ahead by seven at the end of the half, 50-43.

Halftime:

-  We now know that the Cleveland State Viking and Akron Zips are both 13 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.  CSU will face Wake Forest in the first round, and it looks like Wake Forest has size that is going to be a big problem for the Vikings.  Akron will face Gonzaga, who will also have a significant size advantage.  While the Vikings and the Zips were always going to face an uphill battle by drawing the 13 seeds, they didn’t get any help by being matched up against big teams.

-  The Cavs only shot four free throws in the first half.  Typically that would be a sign that the team has not been aggressive in attacking the rim tonight.  But the Knicks haven’t offered much resistance inside, and the Cavs have a lot of points in the paint tonight.

Third Quarter:

-  I would really love to see a big third quarter to get the fellas some extra rest tonight, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

-  Like Ben Wallace, David Lee does a great job of getting his hands on the ball to keep offensive rebounds alive.  He has 12 rebounds so far tonight.

-  Nate Robinson just got a rebound four feet from the basket, in the middle of a possession where the Knicks got three offensive rebounds before Al Harrington knocks down a three to cut the Cavalier lead to three, 57-54.  All of a sudden the Knicks are exploiting the Cavs’ unwillingness to really bang inside.

-  Al Harrington hits another three, and he has the last eight Knick points.

-  Harrington continues to roll, he has 20 points after another three and two free throws.  LeBron is supposedly guarding Harrington, though evidence of that has not yet been discovered.

-  Fortunately, Mo Williams is currently in one of those zones where even his bad shots are snapping the net.  Mo has 19 points and is 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.

-  Delonte West posting up Nate Robinson is evidence of a mid-game adjustment on offense.  I’m not sure we’ve seen many of those this season.  

-  The Knicks are fighting and the Cavs look tired.

-  LeBron goes to the hoop for the first time in the second half, gets the layup and the foul, and proves that the reason he has been held quiet tonight (15 points) is because he hasn’t been especially aggressive.

-  At the end of the third quarter, the Cavs lead is down to two points, 74-72.  

Fourth Quarter:

-  The Knicks have just seven turnovers so far tonight.

-  LeBron and the Cavs have settled for jump shots in the second half.  Want evidence of that?  David Lee, the only interior defender the Knicks have, just picked up his first foul of the night.

-  There is no excuse for Mo Williams refusing to give the ball to LeBron James on the break.  He’s done that three times in the last week.  Worst case scenario, put it off the glass and let LeBron go get it.  Settling for (missed) three pointers in that circumstance is unacceptable.

-  Sasha Pavlovic hits a much-needed three (when did they add the ice water?), and the Cavs are finally up by two possessions, 86-81, with just over five minutes remaining.  One good push and the Cavs can finally put this team away.

-  Are you watching LeBron pass from the high post?  Is there any doubt that he will be able to do that when he’s 40?  That, more than anything else, is why I’m sure he will go down in history as one of the top 5 players of all time, possibly the greatest ever.  The flexibility of his game is unparalleled in NBA history.  For now, two quick passes to Andy Varejao lead to a five-point Cavalier lead, 92-87, and LeBron has another 10-assist night.

-  LeBron knocks down a long-jumper, and it’s all over but the shouting.  It never should have taken quite this much effort to put the Knicks away, but the Cavs ultimately come out ahead, and it’s a decent start on this long home stretch.  More thoughts later/tomorrow, but for now, the Cavs are victorious 98-93.  

Go Cavs.

Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s crazy game against the Kings:

The Good:

-  With the win tonight, the Cavs secured the Central Division Championship for only the second time in team history.  Obviously the Cavs have bigger fish to fry, but this is a very nice first step on the road to what could very well be an NBA Championship in June.  Winning the Central Division is the silver lining on what might have been the most unsettling win of the season.  And you can already get your t-shirt here. 

-  Just like in Los Angeles against the Clippers, LeBron was brilliant enough in the first three quarters to keep the team close while the rest of the team stunk out loud.  LeBron had 51(!) points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals, and the defensive play of the game when he locked down Kevin Martin at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.  Another fantastic performance by LeBron.  He is the difference between this team being a 40 win team and being a 65 win team.

-  Anderson Varejao was not quite as luminous as LeBron, but he was close, scoring 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds and coming up with a huge steal that allowed the Cavs to make the final push back into the game.  Great performance by Andy tonight, he was all over the place on a night where most of the team looked spent and uninterested.

The Bad:

-  If you watched, do I need to go into it?  I know the Cavs played last night.  I know that the Kings have some decent players.  But the Cavs spent most of this game down double digits to the worst team in basketball.  

-  The Cavs have stopped defending except for the short stretches in the fourth quarter that they need to win these close games.  The Cavs allowed 123 points to the worst team in basketball tonight, and allowed the Kings to shoot 48% on the night.  This has to stop, but Mike Brown is having a tough time keeping his guys focused defensively during this very rough stretch of games.  The guys are tired, and they’re winning despite their faults.  Mike Brown had to get himself ejected tonight just to get any attention, and even that didn’t last into the second half.

-  As Mike Brown said right after the game (first thing actually), LeBron is playing too many minutes.  Over the last four games, LeBron is averaging 44.3 minutes per game, because the team needs him out there scoring and defending to win these games.  He has been a one-man show of late, despite signs that he is tiring, and it’s time for the rest of the team to man up and start giving LeBron some help.

The Questions:

-  How can you tell LeBron’s really tired?  Sure, the missed dunks are a good indicator, but his rhetoric after the game was dog tired.  LeBron is great at reciting standard sports platitudes, but he seemed too tired to even come up with a nice little quote for the beat guys.  The man is beat.

-  Did you notice that the Knicks, whom the Cavs play on Sunday, have climbed into the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference?  That would mean a Cavs-Knicks first round playoff matchup if the Playoffs began today.  

-  With no Cavs game tonight, are you headed to the MAC Championship tonight, where Akron takes on Buffalo for a ticket to the NCAA Tournament?  It’s the best deal in basketball, with 10 boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese getting you into the game.  Help Harvest for Hunger and go watch the Zips punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament.

Go Cavs.