Mo Williams was a great pick up

They actually look like they have an offense now

No more Lebron at the top of the key 1-5 - well a lot less at least!

Anderson Verajou is even looking like a star right now

Ben Wallace made some free throws

6 in a row - woo hoo!

Uh oh i'm starting to sound like showstopper

8 in a row

they actually have an offense now

and lebron is blocking every layup and dunk attempt in sight!

I think nearly every team in the NBA is clearing cap space to make a run at Lebron.

If Cleveland keeps him I'll be extremely shocked.

cavs win a title this year or next he stays

if not he's gonzo

cavs actually have some space for 2011 too though

Bump

So...the Cavs are pretty freaking good right now.

ESPN's Hollinger has the cavs at like 54% to win the NBA championship and he defended it too

Several letters along the lines of this one have filled my mailbag recently, and not all of them have been from crazed Celtics fans. According to Friday's Playoff Odds, the Cavs have a 54.5 percent chance of winning the NBA title, compared to just 23.5 percent for the defending champion Celtics.



In their mostly forgettable 38-year history, the Cavs have never won a game in the Finals, and even last season, they were a pretty average team. As a result, fans have had trouble getting their arms around the idea that Cleveland suddenly could be an unstoppable juggernaut.



So picture me grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you while I say, "Cleveland suddenly is an unstoppable juggernaut."



The standings don't make this completely clear, because Boston is still a game ahead of Cleveland and beat the Cavs by five on opening day. In fact, the Celtics are working on a pretty impressive season of their own that could see them match last season's win total (66).



Based on that, you'd think the Playoff Odds would project Boston to repeat as champion. And if this were last season, they would.



But there's a teeny little problem: Out of the blue, the Cavs are having a season for the ages. Cleveland's plus-13.4 average victory margin this season, if it holds up, would be the best of all time in the league. And here's a scary thought -- it could get better. The Cavs still have 10 games left against the six bottom-feeders in the West.



At the moment, Boston is the only thing preventing the Cavs from another awesome accomplishment -- becoming the second team in history to lead the league in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency in the same season. Only the legendary 1995-96 Bulls managed that feat, but Cleveland is mighty close.



Thanks to recent acquisitions like Mo Williams, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James suddenly is surrounded by deadly midrange shooters. As a result, Cleveland leads the league with an offensive efficiency mark of 112.0, well ahead of second-place Portland's 110.2 -- an impressive turnaround for a unit that was below the league average last season.



But the Cavs have done it without sacrificing D -- even though Williams was about as apathetic a defender as you'll ever see last season in Milwaukee. The Cavs' 96.8 defensive efficiency mark is well ahead of that of every other team in the league … except one. That one would be Boston -- with a 95.4 defensive efficiency mark -- which cemented its grip on the top spot in Thursday's 122-88 rout of Washington.



With such impressive results so far, it's no wonder the Playoff Odds like the Cavs so much. The amazing part isn't that they come out favored over Boston; it's that the Lakers and the Celtics are themselves so strong that in half the scenarios, Cleveland fails to win the title. In almost any other season, we'd already be planning the parade route.

I'm sorry, but the more articles like this I read from old Johnny, the less I like him. Despite Cleveland's record, against the great teams of the NBA they're 1-2 (Celtics, New Orleans and a win against Denver). So I'm holding out the jury on them until I see them perform against the better teams in the game.

I rest my case. Even without Big Z I'd expect a team that's "54% to win the championship" to be able to win in a spot like this. Boy do I love ESPN

All those 4th quarters you guys are happy Lebron is sitting out seems to bite them in the ass when they play an actual close game.

They know how to win against bad competition by large margins, but they look shaky in close games with teams who challenge them.

please

road game against a tough home team - without two major players out injured

According to you the team is Lebron and 8 scrubs anyway, who cares if scrubs are hurt?

I think it's funny you call them a tough home team when they beat the Cavs, but when they pushed the Celtics to 7 games you made fun of them. Typical.

Mo Williams & Delonte West played... and those are the two best offensive options outside of Lebron. Neither of which could do anything with the game on the line. I get your flying team colors, but considering that's the type of game they will need to win in the playoffs, I don't think ignoring it is very intelligent.

i never said Z and Gibson were scrubs

the Hawks have only lost one game at home

i didn't mock boston - well i sort of did - but they were 0-3 there in the playoffs which were much more important

excuse me if I don't panic at one loss after winning 18 of 19 with the starting center out

How many of those were against winning teams?

cavs strength of schedule is better than the celtics

Way to not answer my question. Also, feel free to link to an up to date SOS listing for the NBA...

Cleveland .492
Boston .478

No point in arguing over semantics. Just wait til the end of May, we'll all find out who is better in no more than 7 games.

thats much too sane and well resoned for this debate

Bolded for emphasis.

boy are you cranky

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerranking

Thanks. None of the places I read for NBA updates post any sort of SoS so I wanted to know where you were looking at it.

bill before the game tonight you said that cleveland hadnt played anyone and that they will lose tonight to the nuggets

at half cleveland is up by 20

Bill Walton - This Cleveland team is a really good team!

lol

If the Cavs win a title this year or next, and you want to bet on if Lebron stays ,I will happily give you action.

Not a Cavs fan here, but how the hell was Denver giving them 2 points in that game?

I saw the line about an hour before the game started, and my jaw literally hit the floor.

I made a decent chunk of change on the game. But seriously, the Nuggets...giving the Cavs...2 points. Really?

tough line to set because no one knew that Z was going to play

Even without him, the Nuggets should never be favored in that game. It's the fucking Nuggets for crying outloud. If there was a list of overrated teams in the league, the Nuggets would be on there.

wow I guess that's why washington is 4-23 what a choke job

4-23 and without a couple hometown calls they have a win over Cleveland on the road. Last two charging calls were a complete joke.

yeah, I wouldn't call the refs serving up the game to the Cavs on a platter a choke job. That 4 quarter was obscene. With Lebron's talent, if he's going to get Jordan-style calls, he's going to be really, really, really hard to beat.

that's what home court is for

cavs draw offensive fouls they're good at it esp varajao

Indeed.

yeah, just to be safe, I'd do a credit check on those refs.

David Stern wants the Cavs to still be undefeated when the Celtics get there

methinks Lebron ate too big a christmas meal today

Jamison drew five of his six fouls in the fourth quarter.

lol

All I know is Lebron missed a 3 with a minute thirty left, down by 7. Game was over at that point..

TWEET.

Lol, I could care less about either team and that was the worst miscarriage of justice I've seen since that wild Spurs/Suns series a couple years back.

Regardless, the Cavs then went on an 8-0 run (after the 3 freebies) so hats off to them for for that. I still can't believe a call that heinous happaned on national TV in front of God and everyone. On Xmas, to top it all of. Just wow.

4th qtr

Cle 35
Mia 19

Two of which were bad offensive foul calls and the other a horrible blocking call. The other one was a clear foul.

Celtics lose two and cavs don't lose and now suddenly Celtics hop above cavs in hollander rankings - weird

The Cavs are 0-1 against the other teams in the Top 4... Hell, the Cavs have played Oklahoma City more times than the Blazers, and OKC is in our *division*. Orlando's actually managed to beat the Lakers, and they are ranked behind Cleveland.

I'm not saying the Cavs aren't worthy.. I'm saying we have no idea yet. That's not Cleveland's fault. Once they start clashing with the teams on top of the Power Polls, they'll get their respect.

The national spotlight is a big thing.. On Xmas day we saw:

1. ) Orlando throttle a good Hornets team.

2. ) The Lakers battle tooth and nail with the Celtics.

3. ) The Mavs and Blazers trade the lead about 2353158 times in a game that went down to the wire.

4. ) Lebron brick a 3 down by 7 with a minute and a half left in a game. The clang of the ball off the rim was followed by the most ludacris ref whistle in the history of televised sports. This happened against a 4-23 Wizards squad. In Cleveland.

It's all perception. The Celtics put in about as flawless a 2 month stretch a basketball that has ever been played, but since they lost 2 in a row last week, you could turn on ESPN and ascertain from the coverage that they are in danger of missing the playoffs.

In contrast, Cleveland has lost a whopping *2* games since November 1st. Only 7 times in that stretch of 26 games did they play a team with a winning record, and won 5 of those. Is it Cleveland's fault that the schedule has been so weak? Actually, it's *because* of Cleveland that a couple of those teams are under .500, thanks to multiple losses to Cleveland.

Either way, it's a simple matter of: beat the best, be the best. Sportsmedia watches Xmas day games. Did they see you play Denver a couple nights before at 10pm EST and throttle the Nuggets? Nope, they watched you struggle and get bailed out against the Wizards. Is that fair? Nope. But if you want to live and die by Marc Stein, realize exactly what it is he is (and isn't) watching. If you wanna live and die by Hollinger's rankings, realize your strength of schedule is going to be your undoing (at this point of the season).

Keep destroying the East and cruise to a top 2 seed in the conference. There is about 20 other teams in the league that would trade spots with you in a heartbeat. You guys are playing good ball, and are in the right spot at the right time. Sure it isn't the national spotlight, but come June, you'll be in it when it matters. Isn't that enough?

i'm not denying that just he had cleveland number 1 the whle time then the celtics lose twice and jump ahead - weird

that shot lebron took was in and out and in and out hardly a clank

Agreed.

As for Marc Stein, I think he just reflects the pulse of what he percieves is going on in the NBA. The fact is, you are 26-4. And you'll never know how you stack up against LA or Boston until the postseason. So just revel in your success and get ready for the wild ride that will be the 2008-9 postseason.

As a Blazer guy, my team has been as low as 20 and as high as 4 on that stupid SteinLine. Blazers ain't as bad as their low points or as good as their high points. No team truly is. Sure it's nice to get respected, but it's all about results. Portland has gotten more national talk *this* season than we got back in the early 90s, when we actually *were* a legit threat to win a title / go deep in the playoffs.

Orlando and Atlanta have had great, unheralded starts as well. I'm settling for this: those 2 Boston losses have finally shut up the national media about the "chase for 72-10" bs that is always premature and unwarranted in this day and age.

Delonte West broke his wrist - he was playing so well

Life sucks

Ouch.

Mo Williams dissed again

Delonte and the real Cavs are back!

From Shaq rumours to this...definitely seems like the Cavs are looking for a quality Center.


http://www.nba.com/2009/news/06/19/yao.cav...a.ap/index.html

Cavs' new part owners interested in signing Yao


Posted Jun 19 2009 2:26PM

BEIJING (AP) -- Houston's Yao Ming has called a possible move to Cleveland an "unknown," but did nothing to dampen ongoing speculation that the Cavaliers' new Chinese part owners want to sign him.

In a recent interview with his hometown Shanghai TV station, Yao said he continued to have "much affection" for the Rockets, the team that picked him as a first-round draft pick in 2002 and with whom he has played all six of his NBA seasons.

While Yao had not tasted a championship, he said Houston's drive to the second-round of the playoffs in 2009 had given him hope that the Rockets can contend next season.

Rumors of a possible switch have swirled since a group of Chinese investors signed an agreement last month with the Cavaliers to become minority owners of the franchise, a move expected to boost the team's popularity and marketing opportunities in China, where Cleveland star LeBron James is already very popular.

"This is all an unknown," Yao said in the interview, a transcript of which was posted online Friday.

"I've already been with Houston for such a long time, I still have much affection for this team," Yao said. "Moreover, this past season we were very successful, and that let me see some hope.

"Regardless of whether its a Chinese boss, or a foreign boss, they're both bosses and a boss is just a boss," he added.

Cleveland has not publicly expressed interest in Yao, who has one guaranteed year left on his contract with Houston, including a player option for the 2010-11 season.

Yao avoided injuries through the regular season before breaking his troublesome left foot in Game 3 of the second-round playoff series against the ultimate champion Los Angeles Lakers, raising lingering questions about his sturdiness.

His future, and that of the Rockets as a team, largely depends on his health, along with that of fellow all-star Tracy McGrady, who underwent tricky microfracture surgery in February.

Houston fans had envisioned a championship run after the team traded for the unpredictable Ron Artest last summer, but both Artest and McGrady are uncertain to return.

Regardless of the Cavaliers' marketing plans for China, its hard to imagine Yao becoming any bigger in his homeland than he already is. The 7-foot-6-inch center is ubiquitous on billboards and television advertising and last year further bolstered his brand by setting up a youth charity.

Still, the lure of a championship remains strong and Yao conceded to feeling jealous of fellow China national team member Sun Yue, who snagged one this year with the Lakers.

"There's a little bit of envy. If I didn't have feel even some jealousy, then I'm afraid that really would make me a little too much of a slacker," Yao said.