Tag Archives: NBA

CAVS – NEWS, NOTES AND NUMBERS

Cavs are now 10-2 this postseason.

Cavs are now 6-1 on the road this postseason.

Cavs are 4-1 at home this postseason.

Kyrie Irving Ingame Dribble Closer vs Celtics Game 2

Cavs are now 44-11 in their last 55 games counting the regular season and postseason. That’s a winning percentage of (.800).

Cavs are now 20-9 in their last 29 road games counting the regular season and the postseason. That’s a winning percentage of (.690).

Cavs through 12 playoff games this season are holding opponents to just 91.4 points per game and 41 percent shooting from the field. They are the top defensive team in the NBA Playoffs.

Cavs have surrendered just 73, 89 and 82 points in their last 3 playoff games this season, all 3 on the road, and all 3 wins.

Cavs held the Hawks to 31 percent shooting and 38 points in the second half of Game #1 and 34 percent shooting and just 33 points in the second half of Game #2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Cavs have held the Hawks to 20 percent shooting (9-49) from 3-point country in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Cavs All-NBA First Team small forward LeBron James is averaging 27.2ppg-9.9rpg-8apg over the first 12 playoff games and 30.5ppg-8.5rpg-8.5apg vs Atlanta in the ECF.

LeBron James Dunk vs Hawks Game 1 - ECF

Cavs leading scorer LeBron James is 14-0 in NBA Playoff series’ when leading that series 2 games to none. (Courtesy of ESPN Stats)

Cavs have 6 players averaging in double figures versus Atlanta in the ECF – LBJ-30.5ppg, J.R. Smith-18.5ppg, Tristan Thompson 10.5ppg and 13rpg, Timofey Mozgov 10ppg, Iman Shumpert 10ppg and Kyrie Irving 10ppg.

Cavs next game in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals is Sunday night at 8:30p at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cavs “Magic Number” to win the NBA Championship is 6.

 

PODCAST ON CAVS 97-89 WIN OVER HAWKS IN GAME #1 OF THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

My thoughts on the Cavaliers Game #1 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta 97-89 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Listen Here –

JR Smith and LeBron James Podium Postgame vs Hawks Game 1 ECF 5-20-15

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE

NBA Basketball Close Up

Eastern Conference Finals      –       CLEVELAND vs ATLANTA

Game 1 – Wed  May 20 Cleveland at Atlanta                  8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 2 – Fri  May 22 Cleveland at Atlanta                     8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 3 – Sun  May 24 Atlanta at Cleveland                    8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 4 – Tue  May 26 Atlanta at Cleveland                    8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 5 * Thu  May 28 Cleveland at Atlanta                    8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 6 * Sat  May 30 Atlanta at Cleveland                     8:30PM     TNT/R

Game 7 * Mon  June 1 Cleveland at Atlanta                    8:30PM     TNT/R

 

The NBA Finals will begin on Thursday, June 4.

KENNY’S KEY TO A CAVS SERIES WIN OVER CHICAGO

1 –  TEAM WINDEX – With Kevin Love, one of the Cavs best rebounders out, the Cavaliers will have to send all 5 guys on the floor to the glass on the defensive end to clean up the Bulls misses and don’t give them many second chance opportunities. Plus, hope that Timofey Mozgov, LeBron James and Tristan Thompson get you some offensive boards for second chance baskets, because there are going to be a lot of missed shots in this series due to the defenses.

Kevin Love Seperates his Shoulder vs Celtics Kelly Olynyk in Game #4 - 4-26-15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 –  VALUE THE BALL – The Bulls are known for their lockdown, aggressive, physical, half-court defense under Tom Thibodeau. Add to that the officials will probably let this be a very rough series if the Boston/Cavs match up was any indication. With that in mind, all Cavs players (especially Mozgov) must be strong with the ball at all times. Chicago will try and hip check the Cavs while playing their half-court “D”, play the passing lanes and double-team LeBron and Kyrie at times when they have the ball to force turnovers for easy run outs and fast break baskets. LeBron most of all, but other Cavs players must also be very careful of the cross-court pass. If you don’t zip it there and it’s a lazy pass with too much air under it, the Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler will pick it off like a defensive back and take it to the house for an easy 2 points.

Kyrie and LeBron Pregame 10-30-14

3 –  DYNAMIC DUO AND WHO? – When the “Big 3” were healthy and scoring 60 or more points per game the Cavaliers were almost unbeatable.  Without Kevin Love the rest of the way the “Big 3” is down to “Batman and Robin”!  LeBron and Kyrie are going to have to average a minimum of 25 points per game each for the Cavs to have a chance to win in this series and then hope that someone else from the “Justice League” shows up to help them fight off the evil Bulls and the NBA headed up by “The Joker” Adam Silver. Who will that be? Iman Shumpert in a starting role? J.R. Smith when he comes back from suspension? “The Janitor” – Tristan Thompson as his minutes should increase in this series? Or maybe “All The King’s Men” – James Jones, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion and Kendrick Perkins! Realistically it’s going to have to be a combination of all of those guys to help make up for the loss of power forward Kevin Love’s 18 points per game and 9 rebounds per game he was averaging in the playoffs before he succumbed to an illegal arm bar by Ronda Rousey….err…..I mean Kelly Olynyk.

4 –  CASH IN AT THE LINE – Points will be so hard to come by in this series with Chicago, so when you do get the chance to get some free ones, you got to make them. The Cavaliers as a team need to shoot at least 75% at the free throw line in this series.

David Blatt Bulls Postgame 1-19-15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 –  BLATTSKETBALL – David Blatt’s every move, every decision will be magnified in this series because the opponent is better and he’s coaching shorthanded with the loss of Love for the rest of the season, and Smith for the first two games.  Who he decides to start, how long he plays him, how deep will his rotation will be, when does he call a time out, in-game adjustments, in-between game adjustments and offensive play calls after a time out are just some of things Blatt will have to be at the top of his coaching game for the Cavs to have a chance in this series. Hopefully he will rely on assistant coaches like Tyronn Lue, Larry Drew and others who have either played or coached in these situations before.

 

6 –  BRING THE “D” – When offense is hard to come by in this series, and it will be at times, the Cavs must play team defense like they’ve never played before this season. Chase Mike Dunleavey off the 3-point line. Close the lanes so Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler won’t drive as much and if they do then Timofey Mozgov must be there to challenge their shots. Your shot doesn’t always travel, but defense does. Play “D” and you’ll be in every game with a chance to win it at the end and like the Cavs chances in a close game with finishers like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

 

7 –  KEEP YOUR HEAD – Joakim Noah, Mike Dunleavey and who knows who else will try and muck up this series with hard fouls, taunts and some pushing and shoving. They’ll do this because they know they aren’t as talented as the Cavaliers and they’ll try and take the Cavs out of their game and get in their heads like Boston did last series. As dirty as it was, and it meant losing a player to a serious injury last series, the Cavs can’t afford to lose any other players to ejections or suspensions in this series. Cleveland must keep it’s cool, (maybe with the exception of Kendrick Perkins) and don’t do anything stupid that would jeopardize losing a game or affecting the series in a negative way.

The Q - Wide Shot - In Game

 

PREDICTION:  Even with the loss of Kevin Love for the remainder of the playoffs and without J.R. Smith in the first two games, the Cavs still have the best player in the world in LeBron James and one of the up and coming superstars in this league in Kyrie Irving, along with home court advantage. It wouldn’t surprise me if Cleveland lost one of the first two games, but then went on the road and stole one back from Chicago and that would set things up for a great Game #7 at “The Q” in which the Cavaliers will prevail over the Bulls and advance on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

NBA OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE – CLEVELAND’S SMITH AND BOSTON’S OLYNYK SUSPENDED, PERKINS FINED

NEW YORK, April 27, 2015 – Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith has been suspended two games without pay and Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk has been suspended one game without pay for their roles in separate incidents during Cleveland’s 101-93 victory over Boston on April 26 at TD Garden, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.  In addition, Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins’s second quarter Flagrant Foul 1 has been upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2 and he has been fined $15,000.

Smith’s incident, during which he swung his arm and made contact with the head of Celtics forward Jae Crowder, resulted in a Flagrant Foul 2 and his ejection at the 10:24 mark of the third quarter of the game.  Smith will serve his suspension in Games 1 and 2 of the 2015 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals when the Cavaliers host the winner of the Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks series.

The incident involving Olynyk, in which he became entangled with Cavaliers forward Kevin Love and yanked his arm down, occurred with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter of the game.  Olynyk will serve his suspension in the first game of the 2015-16 NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.

The incident involving Perkins occurred with 1:44 remaining in the second quarter of the same game.

To view the plays, click on the following links:

 

J.R. Smith

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/originals/2015/04/27/jr-smith.nba/index.html

Kelly Olynyk

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/originals/2015/04/27/kelly-olynyk.nba/index.html

Kendrick Perkins

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/originals/2015/04/27/kendrick-perkins.nba/index.html

 

MY 2014-15 NBA PREDICITIONS

EASTERN CONFERENCE  –  (Playoff teams in BOLD)

Central Division

1 Cavs                          59-23

2 Bulls                          56-26

3 Detroit                      37-45

4 Indiana                     34-48

5 Milwaukee               26-56

 

Atlantic Division

1 Toronto                    49-33

2 New York                 42-40

3 Brooklyn                  40-42

4 Boston                     26-56

5 Philadelphia            20-62

 

Southeast

1 Miami                      48-34

2 Washington            46-36

3 Charlotte                 45-37

4 Atlanta                     41-41

5 Orlando                   28-54

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest

1 San Antonio            58-24

2 Houston                   50-32

3 Dallas                       49-33

4 Memphis                 47-35

5 New Orleans           41-41

 

Pacific

1 LA Clippers              58-24

2 Golden State          52-30

3 Phoenix                   44-38

4 Kings                        30-52

5 LA Lakers                 28-54

 

Northwest

1 Oklahoma City       54-28

2 Portland                  53-29

3 Denver                    37-45

4 Minnesota              27-55

5 Utah                        26-56

Eastern Conference Finals  –  CAVS over BULLS

Western Conference Finals –  SPURS over CLIPPERS

 

NBA Championship – CAVS over SPURS

INSTANT ANALYSIS – CAVS 122 HEAT 119 – OT

My thoughts on LeBron James first meeting with his former team, the Miami Heat in a preseason game played Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.

LeBron Meida Day #1

NEW NBA TV DEAL REPORTEDLY CLOSE, BENEFITS LEBRON AND LOVE

This is why LeBron James only signed a one year contract with a player option in Cleveland and why Kevin Love didn’t ink a long term extension yet.

LeBron and Kevin Love Olympics photo

 photo courtesy of 110nationalsports.com

According to SI.com, the NBA, ESPN and Turner Sports are close to agreeing on a new TV contract that will pay the Association almost $2 billion dollars a year.

Check the story here from SI.com:

The NBA and broadcast partners ESPN and Turner are likely to agree to a new media rights deal before the 2014-15 season begins, reports SportsBusinessDaily.com.

The new eight-year deal will reportedly be worth more than $2 billion a year on average, with ESPN committing to pay over $1 billion per year and Turner paying close to that figure. That would more than double the value of the current deal, which sees ESPN paying $485 million per year and Turner $415 million per year.

The current media rights deal expires at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season.

It’s my opinion that once the new TV deal gets done, contracts for James and Love will get done as well, as both players max contracts will increase drastically thanks to a new TV contract.

So be patient Cavalier fans and stop worrying that the Cavs gave up too much to get Kevin Love or that “King James” is going to leave after one year. The Cavs can offer both the most lucrative max contract of any of the 32 teams in the league, and to play on a team that will challenge for an NBA title.

CAVS 2014-15 REGULAR SEASON STARTS WITH HOME GAME AGAINST THE NEW YORK KNICKS OCTOBER 30TH

LeBron Chalk Toss1

Photo Courtesy David Richard

LeBron James return to Cleveland officially will get underway on Thursday, October 30th when the Cavs play host to Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks at 8pm at Quicken Loans Arena on TNT.

The NBA released its complete schedule today and the Cavaliers will also be featured as one of the Christmas Day games when they travel to “Sunshine State” to take on LeBron’s former team, the Miami Heat at 5pm on ABC.

Other games and dates of significance for the Cavs:

After opening at home against the Knicks on October 30th, the Cavs will travel to Chicago to take on Derrick Rose and the Bulls the next night, Halloween night, at 8pm.

Bulls at Cavs 8pm on TNT on Martin Luther King Day.

Both match ups with the NBA Champion Spurs will be nationally televised games. The Cavs will host the Spurs on November 19th on ESPN at 7pm. LeBron and the Cavaliers will travel to San Antonio on March 12th, on TNT at 8pm.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder make their only regular season appearance in C’Town on January 25th at 3:30, while Kobe Bryant and the Lakers play at The Q on February 8th at 3:30pm.

The Cavs will appear on National TV 29 times! 10 games on ESPN, 10 games on TNT, 5 games on ABC and 4 games NBA-TV.

To print out the Cavaliers 2014-15 schedule click the link below –

cavaliers-printable-schedule-1415

 

HOW PREMIER LEAGUE SOCCER WILL IMPACT THE BIG FOUR SPORTS IN AMERICA

It can’t be long now before the owners make it happen.  No, not the Kevin Love trade to Cleveland that everyone is waiting on, but jersey sponsorship for big dollars with the professional sports teams in the U.S.

If 20 Premiere League teams can bring in $325 million for one season with jersey sponsorships, imagine what 32 NFL teams could bring in for one 16 game season. How about 30 MLB teams over 4,860 regular season games or the NBA with its world wide appeal for about 100 games, if your team makes it to the finals. Even the NHL would make a bundle with their multiple country appeal.

After reading a story like the one posted here – http://www.cbssports.com/general/eye-on-sports/24641471/report-premier-league-jersey-sponsorships-worth-record-325-million – I’ve got to believe that owners in the NBA, NFL, MLB and the NHL will be talking to their league commissioners about making this happen sooner rather than later!

It could be a major plus for the small market teams in Major League Baseball where there is no salary cap and the have-nots can maybe make up some ground on the haves in creating revenue to then turn around and spend those dollars on big name free agents to become more competitive.

In the other leagues, owners may just want to sell jersey sponsorship to bring in more dollars so they can add it to their already growing bank accounts or possibly to put some of the money back into their stadiums, arenas or their farm system.

Owners of professional sports teams are usually smart, greedy business men and I can’t see them missing out on this cash cow for much longer. So get ready for your Cleveland Browns, Cavs and Indians to have more than their team name or city on the front or back of their actual game jerseys. You’ll get used to it after a while and if it allows Larry Dolan, Jimmy Haslam or Dan Gilbert to make their teams better, you’ll accept it  just like soccer fans do.