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.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s loss to the Pistons in (or somewhat near) Detroit.

Three Corvettes:

1.  Mo Williams was shooting well when he was on the court, scoring 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

2.  Anderson Varejao came up with 11 rebounds, and was the only Cavalier with double-digit boards.

3.  LeBron James finished with a still-impressive 25 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in under 40 minutes.

Three Chevettes:

(Duane Burleson/AP)

1.  The Cavs demonstrated no offensive aggressiveness in the second half.  It started with LeBron, who settled for too many jump shots in the second half, but it extended throughout the team.  Mo Williams chose to walk the ball up the court, often starting the offense with less than 12 seconds on the shot clock, and that was on those rare occasions where he decided to pass the ball at all.  And the rest of the team just stood still while LeBron and Mo dribbled the ball flat.  In short, the Cavaliers made life hard for themselves on the offensive end, which is a killer against a quality defensive team like the Pistons.

2.  The Pistons pulled away by abusing the Cavaliers perimeter defense.  Allen Iverson was leaving Williams in the dust on his drive-and-float jumpers.  Then Rasheed Wallace hit a couple of long 3’s to open up the Piston lead.  Then Rodney Stuckey scored six straight points right over Mo, and that was all she wrote.  The Cavaliers were just a step slow in shifting their feet tonight, and the Pistons took advantage by being aggressive and finding open shots. 

3.  To beat the Pistons on the road on a back-to-back, you have to get something from the bench.  The Cavaliers got next to nothing, with the bench only providing 12 points, with 5 from Varejao, 5 from Sasha Pavlovic, and just 2 from Daniel Gibson in 32 minutes.  The bench has to be able to give more of a spark on nights like this.

Three Questions:

1.  Does this loss say more about the Cavaliers, or the Pistons?  Obviously it’s a little of both, but I think you have to tip your hat to the Pistons tonight.  They tightened up their defense, and they started running more, which put a lot of pressure on the Cavaliers.  The Cavaliers were at an energy disadvantage playing on the back-to-back, and the Pistons capitalized on that.  That’s what good teams do.

2.  Are the Pistons a scarier team with Allen Iverson than they were with Chauncey Billups?  The jury is still out on Iverson as a Piston, but Detroit wasn’t going to win a championship the way they were constructed with Billups.  With Iverson, all bets are off come playoff time.

3.  Now that the win streak is over, are the Cavs going to be more susceptible to the letdown losses?  So far the Cavs have only lost 3 games, all to championship-caliber teams on the road.  Unlike recent seasons, the Cavs have been able to take care of teams like New Jersey and Milwaukee, beating them soundly like a team with championship aspirations should.  But the season is so young, it’s impossible to tell if that’s a trend, or just an early season burst that could fade as the season goes on.  The game against Atlanta on Saturday should go a long way towards answering this question.  

Go Cavs.  Time to regroup and keep that home winning streak going.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quick Hits from tonight’s solid win over the New Jersey Nets:

Sit Tight, Take Hold, Thunder Road:

 1.  The Cavaliers are beginning to show just how dangerous they can be.  They aren’t blowing teams out just yet, but they have found a way to build in the second half and really put teams away.  Once again the Cavs turned it on in the third and fourth quarters, combining multiple scoring weapons with a renewed dedication on the defensive end.  The Cavaliers allowed only 30 points in the second half tonight, while scoring 28 of their own in the third and 29 in the fourth.  When the team is firing on all cylinders, it’s a thing of beauty.  And if they can start cleaning up the second quarter doldrums, they will start blowing teams out early and often. 

2.  Delonte West exploded in the third quarter after a quiet first half, dropping 4 three-pointers in the quarter on his way to 16 points.  West found the soft spots in the Nets’ perimeter defense and took advantage, giving the Cavaliers that reliable outside shooter that they were lacking at the shooting guard position last season.  With West doing his Michael Redd impression and Mo Williams playing effectively, the Cavaliers have a backcourt that can really put pressure on teams, especially bad defensive teams like the Nets.

(AP Photo/Bill )

3.  The Cavalier big men started showing hard on the pick-and-roll defense in the second half, and it completely shut down the Nets’ dribble penetration.  In the first half, the bigs looked bad because they were always coming over on help defense, which had them in bad rebounding position and led to a lot of offensive rebounds for the Nets.  In the second half, the Cavaliers extended the defense further from the basket to ward off the penetration earlier, and the Nets never adjusted.    

The Swamps of Jersey:

1.  The Cavs did not start the game ready to play tonight.  The offense was stagnant, they picked up too many cheap fouls and committed too many turnovers, and were lucky to keep the game as close as they did.  The Cavs had 10 turnovers in the first half compared to only 5 assists.  Fortunately the ball movement was much better in the second half, when the Cavs 15 assists while only turning the ball over twice.

2.  The Cavs have gotten a little too comfortable with trailing by a handful early in games.  So far they have been able to keep the games from getting out of hand, but that is dangerous way to play. 

3. No reason for a third bad thing tonight; Cavs win and get ready for tomorrow night.

The Questions:

 1.  How far has Mike Brown come as a head coach?  I’m going with “very far.”  The Cavaliers are making better adjustments than at any time during the Mike Brown era, and it has translated into the strong second-half showings by the team. 

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

2. How high can he go?  LeBron scored his 11,000th NBA point ]tonight, becoming the youngest player to reach that mark.  At this rate, there is every reason to believe that James will end his careers as the NBA’s all-time point leader.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar currently holds the record with 38387 points, but if LeBron scores another 2000 points this season (which is likely), he will be over one-third of the way to that mark after only his 6th season.  Kareem played 20 season to reach his mark, and if LeBron maintains his current pace, he could break Kareem’s record in his 18th season. 

3.  Still, even as he cruises to the all-time scoring record, what was LeBron doing on the floor late in the 4th Quarter with the game in hand?  I know that LeBron always wants to be on the floor, but there was a chance to get some rest tonight and enjoy the win.  It’s nitpicky, but it’s a concern.

Go Cavs.  Enjoy the night, and lets meet up tomorrow in Detroit.

The Postgame Quick Hits for the Cavaliers 105-93 victory over the Utah Jazz.

The Miles Davis Trio:

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak

1.  The Cavs finally remembered that the Jazz didn’t have anyone who could hope to contain LeBron James, and that was the difference.  LeBron ended the game with a plus/minus of +30 on the night, meaning that the Cavs outscored the Jazz by 30 points when LBJ was on the floor.  LeBron scored 38 points, and he was effective with both the drive and the jumper in absolutely confounding the Jazz defense.  In short, the Cavs were at their best with LeBron as the focal point, and at their worst when he was on the bench.  The only drawback was that LeBron had to play all of the second half again, and 42 minutes in all. 

2.  Ben Wallace did a very good job of defending Carlos Boozer (5-12, 18 points), and played his second solid game in a row, grabbing 10 rebounds and coming up with 4 steals.  The Cavalier interior defense has been excellent so far this year, limiting points in the paint by opposing big men (while giving up too many points to penetrating guards). 

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

3.  Mo Williams made two baskets that finished the Cavs final push, dropping a 3-pointer and following it up with a quick drive to the hoop that took the Cavalier lead from six points to eleven.  Williams played a solid game offensively, scoring 18 points and dishing off 4 assists.  He still gets tunnel vision when he starts feeling it offensively, and he’s still a defensive liability, but Williams’ ability to deliver big points at the end of games is something that was missing from the Cavaliers offense last season.  You know, other than LeBron.

Three Dry Counties:

1.  The Cavs got complacent in the second quarter, letting the Jazz turn an 11-point Cavalier lead into an 8-point lead of their own.  The Cavaliers clearly had an advantage with the starters, but the Cavalier reserves walked onto the court and expect similar success.  The bench has been solid all season long, scoring a season-high 35 combined points against the Nuggets on Thursday, but they dropped the ball tonight.  The Jazz bench is very good, and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan knows all the right buttons to press to get the most out of his reserves.

2.  The Cavaliers got jumpshot-happy in the second quarter, settling for outside shots after they had built a lead.  Three of the best Jazz defenders were out of the game, but instead of exploiting that advantage, the Cavs chose to shoot over the defense.  Those missed shots turned into long rebounds, which turned into easier baskets for the Jazz.

3.  The Cavs had 9 turnovers in the first half and it cost them 14 points.  It was one of the reasons the Jazz were able to crawl back into the game in the second quarter.  The Cavs have been a little careless early in games, but they have been excellent in the second half, losing only 4 more turnovers after the break. 

Three Questions:

1.  How were the Jazz able to stay in the game?  Given how many starters didn’t even dress tonight, the Jazz did a tremendous job just keeping the game competitive.  I’m going to give a majority of the credit to former-Cavalier Brevin Knight.  Knight exposed the Cavalier perimeter defense, creating all sorts of havoc on his way to 9 points and 6 assists in 24 minutes.  Though Ronnie Price’s 3’s were a close second.

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

2.  Does J.J. Hickson realize that his best chance to become a player in the league is to work as hard as Utah’s Paul Millsap?  Millsap is a very good player, and he is exactly the type of hard-worker that all young players should emulate.  Tonight, Hickson was on the floor when the Jazz made their big run,  ended the game with a plus/minus of -18, and went 0-for-3 with three of his shots being blocked.

3.  How long can these streaks last?  The Cavaliers have now won seven games in a row, and they have won all six of their home games.  With seven games left in the month of November, only two are against good teams - the Allen Iverson-led Pistons in Detroit next week, and the surprising Atlanta Hawks at home next Saturday.  If the Cavs survive those games, it could be the second week of December before the team loses again.  I realize that’s being very optimistic, but we’ve seen the Cavs take care of inferior teams so far this season, something they weren’t able to do consistently last season.  The Cavaliers were dealt a rather easy first month of the schedule, and so far they are taking full advantage.  

Go Cavs.

The CavsHQ Postgame Quickhits from last night’s solid win over the Denver Nuggets

Three Gold Nuggets:

Tony Dejak/AP

1.  30 assists on 47 made baskets, and a 57% shooting percentage.  That’s what the Cavs did last night, and that’s incredible.  The Cavaliers were moving the ball effectively, but last night’s assist total had more to do with the fact that the shooters were making shots than anything else.  LeBron James led the way with 11 assists, but Mo Williams added 6, Delonte West had 4, and even Big Ben Wallace tossed 3 helpers on his way to his first good performance in a week.  The Cavaliers couldn’t manage this type of efficiency last year, which is why they were run out of the building the last time the Nuggets invaded The Q.  Midway through the game, with the Cavs trailing by three, I thought there was no way the team could continue that type of offensive output.  But they did, scoring 52 second-half points to go with their 58 first-half points.  Just an impressive offensive effort all around.

2.  Mo Williams found his groove a little bit, leading the Cavaliers in scoring with 24 points.  Williams started the game with some sweet shooting that kept the Cavaliers close, then finished it with nice drives to the hoop, taking advantage of Chauncey Billups when the Nuggets started shifting all their attention to James.  He still does some things that are incredibly frustrating (his defense in the first half was atrocious), and he starts to hog the ball when he feels he’s heating up, but last night he gave the Cavaliers the extra offensive firepower they needed to stay with the hot-shooting Nuggets.

3.  Lots of options for the third gold nugget today, but I’m going to give it to Ben Wallace for somehow going perfect from the floor (4-for-4) and the line (3-for-3, including bank shots) while corralling 6 boards, dishing off 3 assists, and grabbing 1 steal.  But Wallace and Williams were just parts of the excellent performance offensively that included contributions from Z (5-8, 10 points), Wally (4-6, 10 points) and Daniel Gibson (7-11, 15 points).

Three Fumbles:

Tony Dejak/AP

1.  The perimeter defense was scorched yet again, with Chauncey Billups, J.R. Smith and Dahntay Jones (honestly, I had to look him up too) combining to score 50 points on 19-for-29 (65%) shooting.  In the first half, Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson were causing as many problems for the Cavaliers defense as they were for the Nuggets defense, with regular breakdowns allowing Nuggets guards to get to the hoop.  Williams was regularly burned by Chauncey Billups inside and out, completely blowing up the Cavalier defensive schemes.  Worse, Mike Brown set Gibson up to fail, matching the diminutive guard against the 6′6″ Smith.  Smith scored 6 points and drew 3 defensive fouls on Gibson in just five minutes from the end of the first quarter through the beginning of the second.  Brown was then forced to go to Sasha Pavlovic, who held Smith scoreless for the rest of the half.  I don’t know if Brown is testing his small guards on purpose right now, or if he’s just afraid of losing their offense, but so far the perimeter defense is being routinely exposed.  Fortunately, the defense really took it up a notch in the second half, holding the Nuggets to just 38 points after the break.

2.  The Cavs only got to the line 12 times on the night.  Now obviously the Nuggets weren’t exerting too much effort on the defensive end, especially near the rim, so the lack of foul shots isn’t absurd.  But I thought the Cavs could have brought the pace down in the first half by being more aggressive going to the hoop even when the jumpers were falling.  When the Cavs did miss from outside, the Nuggets were at their best, pushing the ball and keeping the Cavaliers in their shaky transition defense.

3.  Ben Wallace sat out the fourth quarter with a bruised left knee.  He’s being examined today.  Injuries to the big men are a constant fear for this team with their lack of quality depth up front.

Three Questions:

1.  Did Mike Brown write down what he said at halftime?  With the third quarter blahs seemingly behind this team for the moment, the Cavaliers came out of halftime with a commitment to the defensive end that was completely lacking in the first half.  Every Cavalier fan watching was afraid of a third quarter malaise turning into a 15-point deficit.  Instead, the Cavs came out strong in the third.  If they can keep that up, they’re going to win a lot of games this season?

2.  How much does Mo Williams have to score to overcome his defensive inadequacies?  I don’t know the answer to this, but if Williams ever becomes even average defensively, he’ll be an All-Star.  Last night proved that he still has long way to go.  His plus/minus was an even 0 for the night, the only Cavalier starter who didn’t end with a plus number.  Of note, only J.J. Hickson (-7) finished in the negative.

3.  How long will the winning streak last?  With six in a row, the Cavs are feeling really good about themselves.  But a win against Utah on Saturday would make the entire league take notice.  The team is looking very good.

Go Cavs.  Looking forward to Saturday’s game.