LeBrowned

The Cleveland Cavaliers played a hell of a game yesterday against the Boston Celtics. They came away winners 98-83. This came with the Cavs not having Z playing. We came out with much energy, and kept it up for most of the game. The game had a playoff like feel to it, and the crowd really got into the game. The fans began to chant "M-V-P"for LeBron, and "Boston Sucks!" near the end of the game. We improved to 19-0 at home, and the Q is a place that is very hard to play for opposing teams. The Cavs now have the #1 seed in the East, and having this #1 seed is so important. One, it allows us to have home court advantage through the playoffs, and we saw how important that was for last year. Our 19-0 home record should also be an indication of how important it is as well. Also, the #1 seed will probably not have to play the Orlando Magic, who are also playing great basketball, and they are currently the #2 seed. Orlando plays a style of basketball that is hard for the Cavs to defend because they have length with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkogolu, an improving PG in Jameer Nelson, a young talent in Courtney Lee, and they have a great big man downlow in Dwight Howard. They are a great three point shooting team, and they would be a very hard match up in the playoffs. The Cavs need to continue their high energy play, along with defense, and crisp ball movement on offense. If the Cavs continue to play like they did Friday night, the #1 seed is not out of the question.

LeBron James proved why he should be this years MVP. He had 38 points, 9-9 from the free throw line, he shot 13-25, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. Now that is a hell of a stat line. He tormented Paul Pierce all night, and he did not allow him to get good shots off or penetrate to the hoop. He had just 11 points. Lebron had two great blocks on Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins. Ben Wallace had 9 points, and he played great defense downlow. He continues to impress me with his energy, shot blocking, defense, and rebounding. Anderson played pretty well as he had 14 points and 9 rebounds in place of Z. He continued to get under the skin of KG. In the first quarter KG was called for a technical while him and Anderson were tangled up. Delonte had a solid game offensively, and played great D on Ray Allen, holding up to just 12 points. Mo continued to shoot well, and he played good D on Rajon Rondo. The Cavs are one of the few teams that have figured out what to do with Rondo, and its pretty simple: Let him shoot. Rondo cannot shoot at all, and he showed it last night going 1-8 from the field, and 3-6 from the free throw line. For a period of the game Rondo was slashing to the hoop easily and passing the ball well (he did have 12 assists). The Cavs then decided to give him some space up top, and have a man show for Rondo if he did get to the hoop, this hindered his ability to create. Also, the Cavs team defense was set up so Rondo was isolated. The defense shifted the floor to the side in which Rondo was on, so that Rondo was forced to take a bad shot, or pass the ball off to another teammate who was standing around. This was key because while Rondo has improved this year, the Celtics really need him to help create. If he is not creating/slashing and instead trying to force his own offense, the Celtics are screwed. JJ Hickson came off the bench and had only 3 points and 2 rebounds. He seemed to struggle a little bit but he played with good energy. He will continue to get better. Daniel Gibson seems to be getting comfortable with his role off the bench, and he shot well. Since his return from his ankle injury, Daniel is averaging 8 points per game, and he has averaged almost 10 points per game this month alone. He added 10 points, played solid defense, and he helped stretch the floor with his 3 point shooting. Gibson is really key to our success because if he is knocking down shots, it allows LeBron to cut to the hoop at ease because defenses will begin to respect Daniel's shot. Wally played only 15 minutes and scored just 3 points. He is someone who plays with a lot of heart, and he really loves being here in Cleveland. He is great for our chemistry, but it wouldn't make me sad if he got traded because of his defensive liabilities and his somewhat inconsistencies in shooting the ball.

Now switching gears a little bit, the Boston Celtics are a team that seems to be a little low on gas right now. They have played 38 games thus far and they seem to lack the energy they had earlier this year. Their Big 3 of Pierce, Garnett, and Allen seem to be a little fatigued. In the future, here are five problems that the Celtics have in my mind.

1. Age: Ray Allen is 33, Kevin Garnett is 32, Paul Pierce is 31, Eddie House is 30. Allen and Garnett especially need some rest throughout the season to trudge through the playoffs. The thing is the Celtics cannot afford this. Last year, they blew threw the regular season, and they could rest their starters because they really did not have any competition for the number one seed. This year is different though because of the improved Cavs and Magic teams. I feel that some of these guys will be tired by May, and I am not sure if they could last in a 7 game series with the Cavs or Magic.

2. Depth: The Celtics have no depth. Past Leon Powe, they really don't have any consistent bench players. Also, they have no good back up PG, who can help run the offense when Rondo is on the bench. Glen Davis, and Eddie House have struggled to regain the form they had last year. The team is really hurting without the length of James Posey and PJ Brown. They hit key shots all last year, played solid defense, and rebounded. They have gotten so desperate for bench help that they would consider signing Stephon Marbury. Now as Rick James once said "That is absurd". Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt, and Patrick O'Bryant are not good players.

3. No trade pieces: The Celtics have no valuable expiring contracts to package in a deal, they traded their first round picks for this year and in 2011 in the Garnett deal, and they packaged away the good young talent they had in that trade as well. You aren't going to trade your reserves for other reserves, it just wouldn't be a big upgrade. The Big Three aren't going anywhere, Kendrick Perkins is needed to rebound and have a presence downlow, and Rondo is their only true point guard.

4. Trash Talking/Target on their back: Everyone knows the Celtics talk a lot of smack on the floor. They are able to because they are the champions, but when Kevin Garnett is trying to mess with Jose Calderon and Luke Ridnour, he should consider picking on someone his own size. The Celtics like hitting teams hard with their defense, physical play, and trash talking, but look what happens when teams do it right back to them. Portland Trail Blazers F Travis Outlaw said after their recent victory over the Celtics that they "Don't like to get hit", and that when teams play physical with them, they seem to falter. Look at the Cavs, you see Ben Wallace and Anderson Varaejo harassing Kevin Garnett all game, and LeBron James is all over Paul Pierce. Look at the Cavs when they played great defense against the Celtics, they ussually won those games. In my opinion, the Celtics really weren't challenged much last year because they were the best team in the NBA. They didn't seem to have many problems until they played a team that rebounded well and played great defense, which the Cavs did in their playoff series last year.

5. LeBron James: For his career, LeBron James is averaging over 30 points per game against the Celtics. Only one player has scored more points per game against the Celtics in his career, and his name is Michael Jordan. Remember last year people proclaimed the Celtics as the "Greatest defensive team ever". Well LeBron really doesn't seem to have a problem with that. Not only has LeBron improved his offensive arsenal (cutting down on the 3 point shots, improved jump shot and free throw shooting), but he has greatly improved his defense. He is giving great help defense, he is guarding his man well, he is blocking shots, and he seems to be much more attentive on the defensive end. The last two years in the playoffs, LeBron averaged 30 points per game in the last five games versus the Celtics, in comparison to 15.5 points per game in the first two games of that series. Versus the Pistons in 2007, LeBron averaged 31 points per game in the last four games, and only 14.5 points per game in the first two games of that series. My point is, teams have a hard time guarding LeBron for 48 minutes in a 7 game series. He gets better as the series goes along because he elevates his game when his team needs him most (Game 5 vs Pistons, Wizards playoff series', Game 6 and 7 vs. Boston), and because teams get tired trying to guard him. With the Celtics all being a year older, with less depth, LeBron getting help from Mo Williams, and an improved squad with more depth, the Cavs should have a great chance at beating the Celtics.

It seems as if the Celtics are in real big trouble, especially since they have lost 5 of their last 6 games, but they are still one of the best teams in the NBA. I feel that after the All Star Break that they will continue their great play, because they will have had some rest. Every team goes through tough points of their season, and this seems to be their time. Don't let this one game be an all telling sign. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and a lot can change. They should still be considered the favorites for the Eastern Conference because they are the NBA Champs. The Celtics are the hunted, and the Cavs have to act as if they are the hunters.

Now turning back to the Cavs, a name that has come up recently is Brad Miller. I didn't write about him in my last blog, but now I will take a little bit of time to write about him. I feel that he would be a very good piece to add to Cleveland, especially if we can trade him for just Wally's contract and a first round pick. The reason why I think he is a good piece is because he is a good shooter, good passer, and he can score downlow. The Cavs need someone who can score downlow, and he would give us more size because he is 7'0 tall. He can also rebound, as he is averaging 8 rebounds per game this year, and he has averaged 8 rebounds per game for his career. He is also averaging 13 points per game this year. He would go well with Anderson Varaejo off the bench because he would add great length, a low post scorer, and a good rebounder. Anderson could continue his attention on rebounding, hustling, and defense. Another reason why he is favorable is because his contract ends in 2010. This gives us a lot of cap space to operate for another star free agent 2010. Do I think this trade could happen? Maybe. I said earlier that the Kings are rebuilding, and Miller is 32 years old. They could use a draft pick and some cap space to acquire some star and young talent. If the Kings demand Andy/JJ/Delonte/Daniel, I would just hang up the phone. Wally and draft picks is the most I would give up for Miller. This would definitely be a good deal for us because we would have 4 solid big men (Z, Ben, Miller, Anderson), and we wouldn't have to rely on JJ or Darnell Jackson come playoff time. Depth is going to be important come playoff time, and this would really help us. February is really going to be an interesting month for NBA trades......

Thank you for reading, and go Cleveland!

-Raz