Tag Archives: Cleveland Cavaliers

by | December 27, 2011 · 4:03 PM

6 NBA Rookies to Watch in 2011-12

Leonard is one of a few promising rookies this year

Usually, this list consists of ten rookies to keep an eye on during the season. With the shortened season, however, this list is also smaller. Call it laziness on my part, call it whatever you want. It is what it is. Last year’s draft was something out of the Bizzaro universe. It was more notable for the peculiar name pronunciations than anything else. The popular rookies will get press elsewhere so there is no need to cover them in depth on this little blog. Plus, do you really need to read another article about the parallels between Jimmer Fredette and Tim Tebow? No, I didn’t think so.

The way in which the rookies were chosen to appear on this list is completely arbitrary and is a result of hope, sometimes terribly misguided, that these players will transform into household names in the future. Certainly, though, at least one is on here because of the sheer absurdity surrounding his journey to the NBA. (Can you guess which one?)

Norris Cole – PG, Miami Heat

Upon being drafted, Cole quickly discovered how he, as a player, is merely a commodity to teams. He was a member of three different teams on draft night, eventually landing with the Miami Heat. In college, Cole was the focal point of his team’s offense as he took 28.9 percent of his team’s field goal attempts. In Miami that will not be the case (understatement of the year, perhaps). What will set Cole apart will he his ability to pass the ball to the prominent scorers on the Heat as well as conform to the defensive system that Erik Spoelstra employs. His passing is already above average; however, he does have trouble passing out of a double team. Again, though, it will be unlikely that he sees many doubles while on the floor. It would not be surprising if Cole was inserted into the starting lineup at some point during the season so that Spoelstra can bring Mario Chalmers off the bench as an offensive kick for his second unit. Cole must continue to learn and play at a high level for that to happen.

Kawhi Leonard – SF, San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are a damned crafty bunch when it comes to drafting players. For them to have traded a promising young talent in George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for the draft rights to Leonard caused heads to turn. He would have been a great addition to an already scrappy Pacers squad, but they were overloaded at his position. Leonard made his mark in college as a premier (or monster) wing defender, forcing a turnover on 23.8 percent of the possessions in which he was the isolated defender as well as holding opponents to 37.5 percent shooting when he was defending them. His seven feet two inch arm span certainly helped him in these respects. Not only is he a stout defender but he is also a good defensive rebounder. Essentially, Leonard is the ideal Spurs player. Where he needs improvement, which Greg Popovich will administer in his own special way, is with his offense, both his shot and offensive sets. The Spurs are notorious for successfully developing players, much to the ire of rival fans, so Leonard should be in good hands. Also, with San Antonio shopping Richard Jefferson over the summer it looks as though Leonard could quickly move up the depth chart.

Ricky Rubio – PG, Minnesota Timberwolves

Oh, Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. What a zany (channeling Mitt Romney for that one) path Rubio has taken to the NBA. He was drafted what seems like a decade ago only to hold out until the final year of his rookie contract before agreeing to leave his beloved Spain to play in the cold wintery confines of Minnesota. This was either incredibly shrewd or insanely selfish. Rubio is not a typical rookie. He has played at a high level in Spain and internationally with the Spanish national team which is made up of mostly NBA players. One of the major criticisms of Rubio has been his scoring ability, however, he, like other Spanish point guards (read: Jose Calderon) is a pass first, offense facilitator. In Rick Adelman’s up-tempo style of play, especially with a team full of mediocre talent, Kevin Love aside, but that is incredibly athletic, Rubio should learn to thrive in the open court. He must first distinguish himself as deserving the playing time over the 1,000 other point guards that David Kahn has signed, though. That task should not prove to be a problem.

Iman Shumpert – PG/SG, New York Knicks

Shumpert was the buzz of New York after two preseason games. The hype was palpable. Shumpert was drafted for his defensive prowess but his offensive skills soon were apparent once the preseason began. Due to the Knicks’ lack of backcourt depth, he was slated to be a staple in the rotation. However, he suffered an injury in the first game of the season and will be out for several weeks. When he returns to the lineup, Shumpert needs to improve his shot selection, like most rookies, and his ability to finish at the rim. Against the Celtics he only made one of six shots at the rim. Boston maintains a physical defense, especially around the paint, but no NBA team is going to give up easy points around the rim if they can help it. With his usage percentage projected to remain high upon his return, Shumpert must finish the opportunities he is given.

Tristan Thompson – PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Thompson was drafted pretty high, fourth overall, for a player that possesses little ability to operate away from the rim. He does, however, possess the ability to work off the ball offensively away from the rim in space but this is to free him up on a dive or cut to the basket. He will need to improve his ball-in-hand offense, specifically in the post, in order to adapt his game to the NBA level. Another area of concern for Thompson is his poor defensive rebounding ability. This, for one, is striking due to Thompson’s size, even as a young man, and good post defense. Yet, he cleans the offensive glass rather well which should benefit a team destined to miss a lot of shots. Despite his immediate drawbacks, Thompson has plenty of raw potential and other than Kyrie Irving, represents the only potential the Cavaliers have.

Kemba Walker – PG, Charlotte Bobcats

Michael Jordan has a special place in history when it comes to the draft lottery. That place is specifically referred to as Kwame Brown. MJ, let us hope you done right this time. Walker comes into the league with a solid NCAA pedigree. He was a member, and respective leader, of the national champion UConn Huskies. Not too shabby, right? Walker works well as a primary scoring threat for a team in pick-and-roll and off the ball screens. What will be interesting to watch for this season is if his ball hogging tendencies, he shot the ball 63.8 percent of the time coming off of a ball screen while at UConn, will carry over to the NBA. It is apparent that Walker will split and share time with D.J. Augustin in Charlotte, where is off the ball offensive movement will be on display. However with the ball in his hand, how will he react? One game is not a benchmark for anything, but Walker totaled just three assists, each leading to a shot from 16-23 feet, in 21 minutes in his first NBA game. He is a score first point guard.

Tip of the hat to NBA Playbook for many of the statistics used above.

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by | June 18, 2011 · 1:27 AM

Which center for the Cavs?

While Kyrie Irving has cemented his place at the #1 draft spot, who do the Cleveland Cavaliers take with their fourth pick?

Big men take time to develop, so the choice is a difficult one between Jonas Valančiūnas and Enes Kanter, two young prospects hidden away in Eastern Europe (Lithuania and Turkey, respectively).

There are many similarities in their games, so in deciding this pick, the team’s going to have to look deeper. Both players are 19 year olds who haven’t spent much time playing against NBA-grade opponents, so there is always the chance that one or either will become duds.

Kanter is the more imposing physical force, weighing in at 260, while Valančiūnas is a good 30 pounds lighter. But as players of this size tend to be stashed away until later, there’s plenty of time for Valančiūnas to bulk up.

Here’s video of Kanter’s play at the 2010 Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, and what strikes me about these clips is Kanter’s speed. He’s notably strong, but for a player of his size, he’s shockingly agile. At around the 2:05 mark, the replay shows Kanter working hard for an offensive rebound and contorting his body for a shot with his back to the basket. He’s impressive, without a doubt, but will he fit with Irving?

Compare that to footage of Valančiūnas. While he is quite twiggy, the guy has an explosiveness that will be incredibly useful to a team once he puts on some muscle. To me, Irving’s game fits better with this player rather than Kanter, but thanks to Lebron James, the Cavs are a franchise desperate to reach the playoffs as soon as possible, and Kanter will provide help much sooner.

I feel the team will pick Kanter at #4, but in the long run, they might be better served with Valančiūnas.

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by | May 11, 2011 · 11:52 AM

Robert “Tractor” Traylor has died

Rest in peace

Robert Traylor has been found dead in his apartment in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, according to his team, Vaqueros de Bayamon. He was just 34 years old.

Known by the nickname Tractor Traylor because of his girth and strength, he made a name for himself at Michigan, where he played for three years, before entering the NBA Draft in 1998. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the sixth overall pick. On draft day, the Mavericks traded Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks for the ninth overall pick, Dirk Nowitzki.

Traylor would play seven seasons in the NBA with the Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as the Charlotte and New Orleans Hornets. He left the NBA in 2005 after struggling with conditioning, weight, and heart issues throughout his career. Traylor averaged 12 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per 36 minutes over his career.

After his stint in the NBA, Traylor moved to Europe to continue his career and played in Turkey and Italy before relocating to Puerto Rico.

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by | March 15, 2011 · 1:29 PM

Eastern teams should be wary of the ides of March

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?

The ides of March is upon us and there are several NBA teams that have reason to beware, especially when it concerns their playoff fate. Teams around the league are beginning to lock up playoff spots, the East already has three such teams (Boston, Chicago, Miami) because it is still the weaker of the two conferences. Out West on San Antonio has secured a playoff bid as of March 15. These teams need not worry about their post season appearances. The ides of March did not only have serious connotations for Julius Caesar, it also marks just less than a month of the regular season left to play and when teams either rise or get murdered in a coup on the floor of the theater of Pompey. Towards the bottom of the standings is where we find the teams who are looking over their shoulders almost constantly. They hope to not be the ones to utter the words, “et tu playoffs? Then fall, (insert team name here)!”

In the Eastern Conference the jockeying for the final few playoff seeds has been taking a rather disastrous turn for all teams involved of late. The Philadelphia 76ers likely will not drop from their seventh seed anytime soon but their play of late has been marred by unenthusiastic and disinterested displays on the court which has led Doug Collins to use the word terrible when describing his team’s efforts. The Sixers have lost two in a row in stylish blowout and near blowout form (they were down 15 in the fourth quarter to the Jazz) after upsetting the coasting Celtics.

While the Sixers look to lockup the seventh seed, the eighth seed remains wide open. The Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats, and Milwaukee Bucks are all vying to creep into the playoffs but none of them are by any means as constant as the northern star.

Indiana currently holds a slight advantage over Charlotte for the eighth seed despite the two team’s identical 28-38 records. This is thanks to having defeated the Bobcats all three times the teams have met this season. However, Indiana is currently on a skid which has allowed Charlotte and Milwaukee to think themselves worthy of a playoff bid. The Pacers have only won two of their last ten games, six of their last ten were on the road, and during that span the team has shot only 42.6 percent from the floor while giving up an average of 105.8 points. Indiana’s average total per game during this slump has been 97.2 points. This is not a recipe for success, especially when they only played two top-tier teams over their last ten, both road games, in Oklahoma City and Dallas.

The Pacers’ schedule is not laced with tough teams for the remainder of the season, however, they must face the New York Knickerbockers twice, the Celtics twice, and the Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, and Orlando Magic before the regular season draws to a close. Also in that span they must play the Bobcats and Bucks which may turn out to be Indiana’s most important games if they hope to stave off their immediate competition.

Since paul Silas took over for Larry Brown in Charlotte, the Bobcats have gone 19-19. This is a major reason for them being within reach of the playoffs. Over their last ten games they have gone 4-6, with all six of their losses coming in a row. All but one of those losses were at the hands of playoff bound teams. Against the Magic, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Bulls the Bobcats mustered an average of 80.6 points on approximately 41 percent shooting while surrendering 101.2 points per game in those five losses and allowing their opponent to shoot 48.9 percent. With numbers like these, Michael Jordan needs to decide if watching his team be swept in the first round is even worth it. This is a team that is primed and ready to be blown up this summer.

What more is there to say about the Bucks after that pathetic performance against the Celitcs where they only scored 56 points. Clearly, the ides of March arrived slightly early for the Bucks. If Milwaukee, and their anemic scoring,  somehow makes its way into the playoffs, both the Pacers and Bobcats should spend next season in the D-League to reflect upon the embarrassment that they brought on the league.

It says a lot about the Eastern Conference that, statistically, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not yet out of the playoff chase. Statistically they could still mike it while in the West both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are out. Now, realistically, the Cavs have no shot at making the playoffs but that should serve to temper the comments that the East is now the dominant conference.

The Western Conference is slightly more complicated, however, the teams currently sitting in the lower playoff spots may be the ones that ultimately make the playoffs. Right now, only four and half games separate the sixth seed and the eleventh seed and each of these teams (New Orleans, Portland, Memphis,  Utah, Phoenix, and Houston) has a record of .500 or better. On top of that, each has won at least five of their last ten games as they know that not just making the playoffs, but playoff seeding is on the line.

Lower seeded Western Conference teams will likely fair somewhat better in the first round of the playoffs as opposed to their counterparts in the East. This is simply because the distribution of talent is not as top-heavy as it is in the Eastern Conference. This is why there has been a better likelihood of an upset in the West over the past several years.

The bottom tier of the Eastern Conference playoff picture has a long way to go if it is to ever become relevant. Teams slipping into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record bring nothing to the table. Sure there are some decent to good players on these teams but in a division that holds the Nets, Raptors, and Cavaliers there is no reason not to find a couple more wins during the season. Outside of the top four teams in the East, there is nothing but teams asking for handouts in the forms of wins. None will see the light of the second round. When beggars die, there are no comets seen.

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by | March 1, 2011 · 12:06 PM

Beef Stew: After the Trade Deadline

So beefy

After a flurry of moves that came down just prior to the trade deadline all the way up to the 3 P.M. Eastern Time cutoff, the NBA has seen quite a dramatic shift. Now that it is over teams are still jockeying to shore up their assets and acquire role players for a deep playoff push. Of course every team wants to enter the playoffs healthy, but that may be easier said than done. On to the Stew!

Money, money, money

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed newly acquired big man, Kendrick Perkins, to an extension. It is a four-year deal that will net him $34.8 million. As an added incentive, the deal also includes bonus clauses that can increase Perkins’ pay. Furthermore, the Thunder have increased his 2010-11 salary from $2.3 million to $6.7 million and based the extension off the new salary. Perkins had been hesitant to sign an extension with the Celtics this season which factored into the team trading him. It looks as though the Thunder’s General Manager, Sam Presti, is playing for keeps.

In the epic saga that is Troy Murphy’s life, he now faces his greatest decision ever: what team does he want to chase a ring on? After being bought out of his present contract by the Golden State Warriors (he was traded to them at the deadline for Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric) it looked as though Murphy was well on his way to Beantown. That is until the most shrewd operator in the business came calling. Gordon Gekko, er…Pat Riley and the Miami Heat have shown interest in Murphy. Decisions, decisions. Miami would have to free up roster space to add the power forward, however, it would seem that there are plenty of players on their roster who are expendable outside of their marquee three. The only thing for Murphy to do now is to sit back, wait, and quote Cuba Gooding Jr. BREAKING: As this piece was being written, Marc Stein of ESPN reported that Murphy has chosen to play in Boston. The terms of any deal between the two parties are not yet known. I hope ABC was filming this, there was certainly potential for a bad reality show in there. Throw in some roses and you have a hit.

Everyone knew that the Washington Wizards really did not want to take Mike Bibby. He is old and that team is young. He likes to mall walk and they like to sleep in. It just was not going to work. Therefore, the Wizards did everyone a favor and bought out the remainder of Bibby’s $6.2 million salary for the season. Bibby had chosen to waive the final year of his present contract so that he would be able to be bought out. He is set to clear waivers on Wednesday. Once that occurs, it is widely believed that he will become a ring chaser on the Heat. Now, that Murphy has decided on Boston, Miami’s push for the veteran point guard will likely be stronger than ever as they do not have the best point guards in the league. Bibby is by no means the player he once was with the Sacramento Kings, however, he would be a positive offensive upgrade over both Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo. UPDATE: reports are saying that Arroyo has been cut to make room for Bibby.

After the New York Knicks swung their deal for Carmelo Anthony, they also acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves Corey Brewer. However, Brewer has not seen a single minute of playing time with his new team as Mike D’Antoni prefers to play Renaldo Balkman instead and the team deactivated Brewer. Now, the Knicks are in the process of buying him out. In the hunt for him now, according to various reports, are the Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Thunder, and Dallas Mavericks. He is expected to meet with several coaches from interested teams on Tuesday including mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle.

Pain, pain, pain

Somehow, the Spurs have managed to stay healthy all season. Did they make a deal similar to Robert Johnson’s? Was it pure luck? Is it still the revenge of the small market? Whatever it was, it came to an end. Tony Parker is likely to miss two to four weeks with a sore calf muscle. In the long run this injury will not hamper the Spurs’ playoff quest. They already have 49 wins this season. However, they may seed some ground to the Mavericks, who are looking at catching the Spurs for the number one overall seed in the Western Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not going to make the playoffs. They would not even get an invitation to the NIT this year. They are awful. Yet, somehow they know how to beat the Los Angeles Lakers and the Knicks. They have beaten the Knicks twice. Ouch. However, the team may have just suffered its biggest loss of the season. Antawn Jamison will likely miss the rest of the season with a broken finger. The Cavaliers just cannot catch a break. Cleveland was actively engaged in trying to move Jamison to Golden State at the trade deadline but the two sides could not reach an agreement. After that news sunk in, Jamison’s left pinky decides to ruin the rest of the season. Poor guy.

Fresh off his recent arrival to the Denver Nuggets, Danilo Gallinari has fractured his left big toe in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. According to the team, the injury will keep him sidelined for a week to ten days.

In the same game that Gallinari was injured, Josh Smith left midway through the game with a stiff knee. Smith will be re-evaluated once the team returns to Atlanta.

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by | February 24, 2011 · 2:11 AM

Baron Davis traded to Cleveland Cavaliers in EPIC FAIL

How many chins will the beard hide in Cleveland?

Just when things looked like they could not get any worse for the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers, the worst possible news hits them. No, no one died but maybe they all died just a little bit on the inside after finding out that Baron Davis and all of his lack of motivation will be joining their team.

Why? What possible reason could the Cavs see in bringing in Davis? Are they fully unaware that the only reason his level of play this season is elevated is because he is on the same team as Blake Griffin? Griffin makes everyone on the Los Angeles Clippers play better and harder through osmosis. It is a fact.

Clearly the Cavs are still reeling from losing LeBron James last summer and are not thinking rationally yet. That has to be it, right? It cannot be that Dan Gilbert is really just the league’s biggest fucking moron can it? Surely not.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! first broke the story on Twitter and then released the details. Cleveland has acquired Davis as well as an unprotected 2011 first round draft pick from the Clippers. In exchange, Los Angeles will receive Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Does Williams even know how to throw an alley-oop?

If this is Gilbert’s idea of rebuilding, it is completely unnecessary to level all hopes for a feasible roster. Davis has two years remaining of his five-year $65 million contract that he signed with the Clippers. Boom goes the cap space!

Honestly, this deal is more shocking that the one that sent Deron Williams to New Jersey. It is so shocking because it is so stupid. Do the Cavaliers honestly believe that Davis will perform at the same level he is now when he plays alongside Griffin in L.A.? Is that what they expect? Alley-oop passes to J.J. Hickson? Is that what Gilbert wants? Well, he is certainly in for a shocker!

The longer that the Cavaliers remain in existence the more LeBron James will be vindicated for choosing to leave. Cleveland is a royal mess and this trade only drives them further into the pit they have dug for themselves. Hopefully, they stop digging before they get to China because Gilbert would consider making a deal for Yao Ming at this point.

Cleveland, no one can feel sympathy for you anymore. Not after this trade. If this is the answer you can come up with in the wake of a disastrous season in the attempts to turn things around then you have learned nothing and deserve your fate. This is clearly the NBA’s most epic fail.

The only shred of hope that Cavaliers fans can hold onto right now is that Davis might fail his physical.

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by | February 22, 2011 · 6:09 PM

Not all is lost

It's time for Denver to take what they have acquired and move forward.

Now that we all know where Carmelo Anthony will be playing, it’s time to thank a certain team that really helped this trade happen.  However, it’s neither the Knicks nor the Nuggets.

Yes, thank the Cleveland Cavaliers for helping make this transaction happen even though they have absolutely nothing to benefit from Melo switching teams other than increasing how badly they will get beaten at MSG.

We all remember last summer and ‘The Decision’ that went down that landed LeBron James in Miami.  Cleveland made no attempts to trade him and essentially let The King decide his own fate in free agency.

Instead, they saw what owner Dan Gilbert would later refer to as a LeBron who was ready to move on.  They were knocked out of the second round of the playoffs in six games after losing the last three of the series to Boston.

The Cavs were the best teams in the East and went into last season’s All-Star Break with a 40-11 record.  They are starting this year’s second half of the season 10-46, a complete 180˚.

Cleveland set the record for longest regular season losing streak with 26 earlier this month.  They only lost 21 last year.

Cleveland got nothing out of LeBron leaving but a bruised ego.  The Nuggets’ GM, Masai Ujiri, had to have seen that losing a superstar to free agency can leave quite a big crater.

Denver knew that Melo did not want to stick around playing at the Pepsi Center.  They too could be accused of not surrounding him with championship-caliber talent.  Al Harrington, Allen Iverson and even an aging Chauncey Billups weren’t going to bring a trophy to Colorado basketball especially with a star like Anthony who only made it past the first round of the playoffs once in his career in Denver.

New York is Melo’s home and he wanted to return.  Even the Nets caught the hint after a while.  He was born in Brooklyn and won the National Title at Syracuse.  He wanted to play at the Basketball Mecca, Madison Square Garden.

It wasn’t a question of if but rather when.  Denver knew this.

Now, the Nuggets are walking away with Wilson Chandler who will give them depth up front alongside Kenyon Martin and Danilo Gallinari, who they also acquired in the trade.  Additionally, Raymond Felton is coming to town in the midst of a season that is qualifying him for most improved player.  George Karl has stated that he wont be starting over Ty Lawson but we have already seen him employ a two-guard set with Billups that worked.  The first round pick and two second round picks they are getting will help as well.

Again, the Cavs got nothing.

You can also see what emerged once LeBron left.  Several players are seeing more minutes including J.J. Hickson who has gone from scoring eight points a game last season to just over 12 this year.  We have yet to see who will step up in Denver but someone will have to.

As of now, the Nuggets have a 32-25 record and are seventh in the West.  Utah is right behind them at 31-26 but have yet to win without Jerry Sloan.  Memphis will be without their star player Rudy Gay for several more weeks and Phoenix just isn’t the same without Amar’e Stoudemire whom Carmelo will be scoring with in New York.  They still have a chance to make the playoffs and shouldn’t be worried.

It’s obvious that Denver will miss Carmelo but thanks to the mistakes of Gilbert and the Cavs, they saw how not to lose a superstar.

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by | February 17, 2011 · 12:15 PM

WTF LA?

Ramon Sessions was an unlikely hero against the Lakers last night.

Headlines reading that the Cavs beat the Lakers wouldn’t sound that surprising a year ago.  However, considering the circumstances, LA needs to wake up and smell the hardwood.

Cleveland is coming off of the worst losing streak in NBA history at 26 games that they just so happened to snap against the other team that plays at Staples Center.  Combined with an opening day win against Boston and a November win over the Bucks, Cleveland’s win over LA last night was their third win of the season against a team that appeared in the post season last year.  Last night they became 3-26 against 2010’s playoff teams.

Rookie Christian Eyenga is really coming out of his shell for Cleveland and Ramon Sessions has stepped up by averaging nearly 20 points a game this month including a 32-point performance last night against the Lakers.

However, it’s not what Cleveland is doing that should be turning heads in this situation.  It’s what LA isn’t doing.

San Antonio has its Rodeo Road Trip while LA has its Grammy Trip.  It hasn’t been that spectacular.  Seven of their last nine have been on the road and they have only compiled one statement win by defeating the Celtics at TD Garden in that time span.  Boston only had four players on the bench for that game and the atmosphere seemed more about Ray Allen breaking the three point record than an actual revenge win against the defending champs.  Maybe they felt pretty sure of themselves after exacting that revenge in late January with a 109-96 win in LA.

In their 104-99 loss to Cleveland last night, LA showed that they are ready for this All-Star Break more than anyone else.  On Monday, their defense looked just as anemic as they lost 109-89 to the Bobcats and their offense looked sluggish at best.

The Lakers are only putting up 96 points a game in their last ten performances and are ranked as one of the worst road teams as far as scoring with only 97 a night in other teams’ arenas.  By being nine games behind San Antonio and two behind Dallas, it looks like LA might be sealed at the third spot in the West and are looking down the barrel a lot of road games come playoff time.  Oklahoma City is only one and a half games behind them so they could fall even further in the standings.

We have been saying it all season: the Lakers need to retool.  Phil Jackson is talking about this being his last season and Kobe Bryant is going to run out of gas at some point.  The big men, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, played too many minutes at the beginning of the season and even the pundits new this would be a problem later down the road.  These road games are not making the team any more energized and there is still a lot of season left.

Surprisingly, Andrew Bynum seems to be the only silver lining to this month for LA.  He has been playing at a heightened leveled with all of this trade talk swirling around him.  Aside from going 2-12 from the field last night, he’s been scoring and they could possibly find someone out there that interested in the big man.

It would take a lot of courage for LA to simply give up on the big guy but right now, he’s their biggest chip that they could put on the table.  There are several teams that have a lot of players on the trading block but it’s up to the Lakers to decide if they would like to move on.

The trade deadline is next week and LA should be looking at least at some sort of option at bringing in another guard.  Their backcourt is ranked 28th in the league in assists with Kobe leading the way.  They need to reinvigorate the offense with someone that can actually move the ball around.  In addition, Ron Artest needs to wake up.  In the last three games (Cleveland, Charlotte and Orlando), he has scored a combined 16 points including one measly point last night.  Even he has admitted that he is simply invisible on the court at times.  Giving up 109 and 104 to the Bobcats and Cavs is simply embarrassing.

The answers for LA’s problems sound vague because they are.  The defending champs have looked sluggish, disorganized and at time uninterested this season.  Kobe isn’t getting mad and it seems like the Zen master is more hands off than ever before.  It’s a conundrum that only they can solve.  The sense of urgency isn’t there and it’s hard to pinpoint the problem when there are simply so many.

The defending champs have problems and that’s about all we know.  They need to snap out of it or else defending the title will not be an option.

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by | February 3, 2011 · 11:44 AM

Cleveland Cavaliers, Futility is Thy Name

Cleveland does not rock

Last night the woeful Cleveland Cavaliers lost their 22nd consecutive game as the Indiana Pacers came back to win the game after being down five with about three minutes to play. The Cavaliers futility is impressive and the Pacers should have never been in that position. They are fighting for a playoff spot.

Now, the Cavaliers are staring down the barrel of a very undesirable NBA record. The 1997-98 Denver Nuggets and 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies are each tied for the record of longest losing streak in a single season with 23 consecutive losses. Cleveland is one loss away from joining those illustrious ranks.

If it was not for a fluke overtime win against the New York Knickerbockers on December 18, 2010, the Cavaliers would have already trumped all futility marks in the NBA record books. They would have piled up 33 consecutive losses had the Knicks and some would-be MVP candidate beat them.

Cleveland’s next game is on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday February 4. When, not if, they lose that game their course of destiny will almost be fullfilled. They will be one loss away from the single season losing mark and the Portland Trail Blazers will have the opportunity to get them over the hump so that they can achieve futility greatness.

But wait, there is another … statistic they can break that is. The funny thing about the stat is that it was set by the Cavaliers in the early 1980s. Over the course of two seasons, spanning from 1981-82 to 1982-83, the Cavaliers set the all- time consecutive loss mark at 24 games. This year’s team could potentially break that mark. On February 7, Cleveland will travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks. (One half of the Beef will be in attendance.) It will be up to the Mavericks to sink all hopes of the Cavaliers and clear a path to hopelessness and a 25th consecutive loss. That is if the Grizzlies and Trail Blazers hold up their end of the bargain.

That “decision” that some former Cleveland player keeps looking better and better for him. If this is the team he was going to play with this season who can blame him for leaving? People in Cleveland always will I suppose. Great job on assembling a team, Dan Gilbert.

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by | December 6, 2010 · 2:05 PM

10 Player Report Card

Back on October 14 I listed 10 NBA players to watch this season based on what they had done in the preseason or at the FIBA World Championships as well as my own personal biases towards some of them. Now that the season is a quarter of he way finished there is no better time than to hand out a report card. Not only is it a nice little grading scale for the players but it also serves as somewhat of a referendum of my choices.

Patrick Beverley | Grade: N/A

About ten days after I declared that you, the Beef readers, should pay attention to Beverley, the Miami heat went and cut him to make room for Jerry Stackhouse. Geez, way to throw egg in my eye, Pat Riley. Therefore, Beverley receives no grade at all. He is currently playing in China with the Shanghai Dongfang Sharks, Yao Ming‘s old team.

Darren Collison | Grade: C

Collison’s first real stint as a team’s starting point guard has not gone as smoothly as he or the Indiana Pacers would have hoped. He has already missed three games due to injury which has thrust T.J. Ford, who is ever-present on Indy’s trade block, into a larger role with the team. Collison is averaging just six minutes more per game than Ford but his average stats, outside of his 13.7 points, are not much better than Ford’s numbers. 2.7 rebounds per game for Collison compared to Ford’s 2.5 and 4.4 assists to Ford’s 3.9. Collison also has an assist to turnover ratio of 2/1. Collison needs to improve his non scoring categories if he and the Pacers hope to see a return of the player that filled in for Chris Paul so wonderfully last season.

Dominique Jones | Grade: Incomplete

Jones has appeared in only nine of the Dallas Mavericks’ 20 games thus far. Because of this, his grade is an incomplete. When he does get time on the court his play is marred by turnovers. This is undoubtedly because he likes to get to the rim in traffic when hands come flying in at the ball from all directions. His lack of minutes is also due to the fact that the Mavericks are unbelievably deep this season, especially at shooting guard. Hopefully as the season progresses, Rick Carlisle will find more minutes for this promising rookie. However, for that to happen, Dallas will need to start blowing teams out more frequently instead of playing somewhat tight games.

Linas Kleiza | Grade: D -

The Toronto Raptors are not as bad as we thought they would be this season but Kleiza is far worse than anyone could have imagined after a quarter of the season has passed. He is a shell of the player he was during the FIBA World Championships this summer. So far, Kleiza is averaging 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds this season in 23 minutes per game. Gross. He is also shooting an appalling 24 percent from deep. What happened to the fit, muscular Kleiza that we saw over the summer? Apparently he left that side of himself in Turkey. Maybe he should tell Allen Iverson where to find it.

Kevin Love | Grade: A +

“Yeah., yeah, yeah … here he goes again lauding the efforts of Kevin Love. We know, you have loved him for some time now and his numbers a ridiculous this year but you really do not need to keep piling on the love.” (That  is what I can assume your thought process is, if you are a regular reader, when you see Love’s name mentioned anywhere on the site.) He had the first 30-30 game since 1982. He has pulled down 15 or more rebounds in a game ten times this season. No other player has done that more than six times. He leads the league in both offensive, defensive, and total rebounding and leads in total rebounding average with 15.3 per game. This is what I wrote about Love when I said that he was a player to watch this season, “Plain and simple: Kevin Love is the best rebounder in the league.” Looks like I was more than right.

Wesley Matthews | Grade: B +

Matthews stepped into the starting lineup when Brandon Roy went down with an early injury for a couple of games. Since that time he has usurped Nicolas Batum in the starting rotation. He now frequently leads the team in scoring. In the seven games that Matthews has started this season he is averaging 20.9 points, connecting on 2.4 shots from deep, four rebounds, and 1.6 steals. He has topped the 20 point plateau in four of his last five games.  It appears that the money that the Portland Trail Blazers spent to lure Matthews away from Utah has been a good investment.

JaVale McGee | Grade: C +

Both of us here at the Beef want nothing but good things for McGee. He is one of those players who we can just not seem to quit rooting for. McGee is having a decent season with the Wizards this year but he could improve his numbers. Head Coach Flip Saunders wanted McGee to improve his rebounding during the preseason and as McGee is currently averaging 8.5 rebounds there is certainly still room to improve. He should be a double-double threat every night. Where he does not need to improve is with his shot blocking. McGee currently averages 2.6 blocks per game and has a total of 49 blocks this season which ranks him second, in both categories, in the NBA behind, of all people, Darko Milicic. I said in my initial article that McGee edged out Andray Blatche to make the list but it looks like Blatche will have the final word with the season he is putting together thus far.

C.J. Miles | Grade: B

Miles is Utah’s sixth man this season as Raja Bell finds himself in the starting lineup. Obviously, Jerry Sloan knows what he is doing bringing Miles of the bench as an offensive spark. He is averaging 11 points per game but 17.2 per 36 minutes which is better than Al Jefferson. Miles is in there to score the ball and little else. It would be nice to see him improve his field goal percentage which is only 39.7 percent at present. Bringing it up to 42-43 percent is what he needs to shoot for.

Ramon Sessions | Grade: either B – or D depending on the night

Sessions is another one of those players who I just cannot quit. He has flashes of brilliance followed by the dregs of mediocrity. He is averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 assists this season as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ backup point guard who sometimes gets the start. However, his game-to-game numbers are like a roller coaster ride. Here are his point totals through 20 games this season: 14, 4, 21, 7, 9, 6, 15, 14, 17, 7, 16, 2, 15, 3, 13, 5, 14, 11, 18, 2. Twice this season the only points he has scored have come at the charity stripe. His assist numbers remain fairly consistent though which seems to be his most redeeming quality as a player this season and why I am not grading him harsher. Despite his scoring ups and downs, he is the tied with Antawn Jamison for total points on the team with 213 and is just one point behind J.J. Hickson who is third on the team.

Marreese Speights | Grade: D

There are some redeeming qualities for the Philadelpia 76ers this season, unfortunately Speights does not find himself among them. He is averaging only 12.8 minutes per game scoring only 5.3 points and collecting 3.8 rebounds. His per 36 minutes numbers are much better but they do not matter when it takes him three games to log that much time on the floor. Doug Collins cannot seem to find a place for him in the regular rotation with Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young, and Spencer Hawes ahead of him. I said that he needed minutes to see actual dividends in my original article and it looks like those minutes may never come.

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