Tag Archives: Knicks

LEBRON re est. 2014

LeBron 10-30-14

 

The day, the night and the event was so special and far bigger and more important than the outcome of the game itself. Yes it sucked the Cavs lost 95-90 to the Knicks, but after standing near LeBron in pregame warmups and seeing him soak in everything just like you the fans did, and then interviewing him in the locker room postgame, you could tell how much being back home and the night meant to him.

 

All of the emotions LeBron felt last night, even for a superstar of his magnitude, it had to affect his focusness and ability to play his normal game, and by his standards, he was terrible last night in the contest (5-15fg for 17 points with 8 turnovers). Add on top of that he and his wife Savanah had a baby girl about week ago, it’s been a crazy week even for “King James”.

Lebron Returns - Praying 10-30-14

Being part of his postgame press conference and asking a lot of the question because it seemed like some reporters were afraid to ask questions because the Cavs lost and LeBron played so poorly, I sensed that LeBron knew how special the night was, he enjoyed it, was disappointed in his play, but realized the game wasn’t the most important thing on this night. Coming home was! He was mentally and physically drained after last night’s game. With that out of the way, he and his teammates can fix what they did wrong on the court and now just play basketball.

LeBron Returns - Crowd Lights Out - 10-30-14

 

The atmosphere inside Quicken Loans Arena before the game was unlike any other regular season game and very NBA Finals like. It really was truly amazing.

The Cavaliers issued over 300 media credentials, the most ever in either LeBron era for a regular season game, including even when LeBron came back for the first time with the Miami Heat in 2010.

 

Usher did a nice job with the National Anthem, but what made it so memorable was the entire crowd singing it for about the last thirty seconds. It was a goosebumps moment.

The new scoreboard, the “Humungotron” , even though it had a few malfunctions last night, is awesome! It’s high def, crystal clear video from all angles. Sources tell me that the “Humungotron” and all the LED lights that were put up around the arena cost over $9 million dollars. Humungotron 10-30-14

 

The player introductions were great and when LeBron James was announced it blew the lid off of Quicken Loans Arean. No matter who you were, it was hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the LeBron intro and just everything the entire night was about and that was before the game even started.

 

Lost in LeBron’s return was how well Kevin Love played in his first game as a Cavalier. He was the team’s best player on the floor versus Knicks, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He’s a double/double machine and is going to be great playing alongside LeBron and Kyrie when they get this thing figured out.

Kyrie Pregame LeBron Returns - 10-30-14

 

Kyrie Irving was pretty good too. He led the team in scoring with 22 points, while also dishing out 7 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds. However even he admitted last night that at times the offense became stagnant and lacked ball movement because of him and that affected his teammates.

 

 

David Blatt did not have a good first game and he admitted that in his postgame press conference. Blatt knew after the fact that playing basically only 7 guys the majority of the time in game #1 was not a good coaching move. He needed to go to his bench more and not play LeBron and Kyrie 43 minutes each.  He is a rookie coach and learned a valuable lesson in his first game.

Lebron Returns - Lost in the Crowd - 10-30-14

 

It was phenomenal to be a part of that spectacle at The Q last night, but like LeBron and his teammates, we can all just move on and watch this group of new players play and grow into a team that has a chance to be very special come April, May and June.

LEBRON JAMES FULL POSTGAME INTERVIEW vs KNICKS

It began as a great night in Cleveland with the LeBron James  returning to play for the Cavaliers, but it was Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks who stole the show defeating the the Cavs 95-90 in front of a frenetic, sellout crowd at The Q. Here’s how “The King” assessed his 5-15fg performance for 17 points with 8 turnovers at his locker after the game.

LeBron 10-30-14

NBA DRAFT LOTTERY COULD DETERMINE THE PLAYER AND COACH FOR THE CAVS

Tuesday night’s NBA Draft lottery is important in so many ways for the Cavs. First they’ll find out where they’ll be picking. They have a 1.7% chance of getting the first overall pick out of the number #9 spot. It has happened once before when the Bulls entered the lottery in the 9th spot and ended up winning the lottery in 2008 and selected Derrick Rose first overall. The Cavs also have a 2% chance of landing the second pick and a 2.4% chance of getting the third pick in the draft. That’s a 6.1% chance of moving up into the top three picks to have a shot at Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid.

But don’t forget other teams could leap frog the Cavs and bump them back to 10th, 11th or 12th spot.  However in the history of the lottery, 81% of the time the team in the 9th spot has selected 9th. That’s what happens when you don’t have enough ping pong balls in the hopper.

The second reason Tuesday night’s draft lottery is so important is that potential coaching candidates will be watching to see where the Cavs end up picking in the lottery and that could have a major effect on whether or not a candidate would consider the Cavs. Remember the Lakers, Knicks, Jazz and Timberwolves all have coaching openings and are all in the lottery just like the Cavs.

David Griffin Photo 5-13-14

The third reason the lottery is important to the Cavs is it will allow them to set up their first interviews with the coaching candidates on their list. My sources tell me that the Cavaliers have not interviewed any coaches yet, but will start in earnest post lottery. The front office, led by new general manager David Griffin, reportedly has been putting together a coaching list and the traits they’re looking for in their next head coach.

My first choice remains current Iowa St. head coach Fred Hoiberg. But sources tell me he may not want to leave the college ranks for the NBA just yet.  However, if I’m the Cavs I make that phone call and have him tell me no before you scratch him off your list.

The other names the Cavs could be considering are Adrian Griffin, Alvin Gentry, Mike D’Antoni, Coach K., Tom Izzo, John Calipari, Alex Jenson, Lionel Hollins, Nate McMillan, Mark Jackson, Vinnie Del Negro, George Karl, and David Fizdale. Leave no stone unturned. I may be missing a candidate or two, but you get the idea. Put a huge list together; see who has the traits you’re looking for in your next head coach and then make a phone call and see if they’re interested.

So the wheels will be put in motion once the draft lottery is decided. G.M. David Griffin will be representing the Cavs on stage Tuesday, not Nick Gilbert. Here’s hoping some of Nick’s luck rubs off on Griff so he can bring back one of the top three picks. If he does, that would make the Cavs job extremely desirable to all of the potential coaching candidates!

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