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RECORDS
Cavs: 22-18 (2nd in Central, 5th in Eastern Conference)
Wiz: 22-17 (2nd in Southeast, 4th in Eastern Conference)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
7:00 PM ET
INSIDE
HEAD COACHES
Mike Brown | Eddie Jordan
POINT GUARDS
Larry Hughes | AD
SHOOTING GUARDS
Sasha Pavlovic | DeShawn Stevenson
SMALL FORWARDS
LeBron James | Caron Butler
POWER FORWARDS
Drew Gooden | Antawn Jamison
CENTERS
Zydrunas Ilgauskas| Brendan Haywood
Cavaliers Rotation
DJ | D. Brown| Gibson | Varejao
Wizards Rotation
Young | Songaila | Pecherov | Blatche
Cavalier Notes
* 10-2 since Christmas
* MIAMI: It has taken a month of good play and some fortunate turns of luck and the schedule, but the Cavaliers are nearly out of the hole that they dug to start the season.
After a 3-0 road trip, including a victory in San Antonio, the Cavs come home at 22-18, which is just two games off the pace of last season through 40 games. That's hard to fathom after a 10-14 start, but 12 wins in the past 16 games have them peaking at the standings again.
The game Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena is the midseason point for the club and a victory over the Washington Wizards would put them into the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. It also would give the Cavs a season-high five-game win streak.
Not exactly worthy of a party with half the season left and last year's enjoyable No. 2 seed as a major goal, but significant from where the Cavs were. Which was 10th place just three weeks ago.
‘‘We know where we stand,’’ LeBron James said. ‘‘It helped us last year to have homecourt advantage in the first two rounds so we want to continue to win and see what happens.’’
The Cavs really started getting going at Christmas. The holiday blowout of the Miami Heat got and a victory against the Mavericks in Dallas two nights later injected some confidence that has lasted. The team has won five consecutive at home, and after breaking a seven-game road losing streak in Dallas, it has taken five of the past seven away from home.
Along with confidence and some great play by James, who continues to lead the NBA in scoring at 29 points per game and average career highs in rebounding and assists, the re-emergence of the Cavs’ defense has directly led to the turnaround.
In the past 12 games, 10 of them wins, the Cavs are allowing opponents to shoot just 44 percent and score 91.9 points per game. After that poor 24-game start, the club was giving up more than 101 points per game. They haven't given up 100 points in regulation in any of the past 12 games.
‘‘It's a long season, and a lot of teams that go far into the playoffs the next year have a little sluggish start,’’ Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. ‘‘The season came so fast and we had our problems; we hadn't had a chance to together. We've got everyone healthy, and when we play the right way, we're a pretty good team.’’
The hot streak is in for a test in the next four games, though. The Wizards have been playing well without star Gilbert Arenas, having won seven of their past 10 games. Then it's the Phoenix Suns, whom the Cavs haven't beaten in two seasons, before heading out for a West Coast trip and games with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Yet, the way the Cavs have been playing, they seem like they are ready to test themselves against all comers.
‘‘The camaraderie right now is at an all-time high,’’ James said. ‘‘Guys are accepting their roles and it has helped us turn things around.’’
DRIBBLES
Ilgauskas was nursing a bruised shin Tuesday after taking a hit from Miami Heat center Mark Blount on Monday night. ‘‘It's pretty sore, but I don't think I hurt anything too badly. It could've been worse,’’ Ilgauskas said. . . .The Cavs took Tuesday off after not arriving home from Florida until after 2 a.m.
http://www.ohio.com/sports/13973527.html
Fred' blog: http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/mcleod_blog.html
Exciting Week at The Q
This will be a fun week at the Q with two dynamic teams coming to town - the Wizards and Suns. Washington has won 7 of the last 9 including a sweep of back to back games against the Celtics. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are having career years, and appear to be bound for the all-star game. The Suns lead the West and simply put, are the Suns - more on them later in the week.
We know the Cavs are playing their best basketball of the season, as we reach the halfway mark of the season tomorrow night. The Cavs have won of 8 of their last 9 and are now just two wins behind last year’s 50 win pace.
What I find the most encouraging is the different combinations which are finishing games, meaning Mike Brown has found chemistry among 9 guys at the current time. Sometimes Damon Jones might be on the floor in crunch time, or Larry Hughes, or Sasha, perhaps Drew, Devin or Z even. LeBron, Andy and Daniel are at the core of what’s happening in the final quarter and depending on the match-ups and who’s hot, Mike is able to push a lot of different buttons. That’s not to say Ira, or Eric or Dwayne won’t force their way into the mix, but as Mike often says, a coach can’t play everybody.
Did you catch the high praise for Mike coming from Doug Collins last night on the TNT telecast? He is not one to loosely throw around plaudits. I’ve known and respected Doug for a long time and he knows this league inside and out as a player, head coach and broadcaster. He sees what has happened here and recognizes how the head coach treats his players.
See you tomorrow night on FSN…
* GAME NOTES COMING SOON
Wizards Notes
Wizards Continue to Roll
Despite the chilly weather outside, the Wizards continued their red-hot play inside the Verizon Center defeating the Dallas Mavericks 102-84 on Monday afternoon. Led by forward Caron Butler’s 25 points, the Wizards completed their first series sweep of the Mavericks since 1997 extending their record to 22-17 on the season.
Behind a strong defensive effort which included 11 steals, the Wizards held the Mavericks 17 points below their season scoring average. The Wizards have held opponents under 85 points six times this season.
“I am very happy with what we did at both ends of the floor for 48 minutes today,” Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan said. “It seems to be coming together, and we seem to be helping each other defensively.”
The Wizards built a 23-21 lead in the first quarter behind the aggressive play of Butler and guard DeShawn Stevenson who each scored seven points. All five Wizards starters scored in the opening period.
In the second quarter, rookie guard Nick Young continued his hot play off the bench adding seven points including a one handed dunk in transition and three-pointer from the top of the key. With 2.9 seconds remaining in the period, Stevenson drilled a deep three-pointer to give the Wizards a 46-41 lead heading into intermission.
The Wizards extended their halftime margin to 14 points in the third period thanks to a 16-4 run capped off by two free throws by guard Antonio Daniels.
In the fourth quarter, the Wizards held of a Mavericks charge by hitting five three-pointers including a 33-foot bomb by Caron Butler with 16.9 seconds remaining in the game.
“You have to give credit from everybody from the top down,” Butler said. “Our spirits are really high with Etan (Thomas) in the locker room and Gilbert Arenas walking around. We know help is on the way. We are going to stay positive, continue to win games and keep this thing going.”
The Wizards are a season-high five games above .500 and look to extend their winning streak to three games when they head to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers Wednesday at 7:00pm.
http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/wiz_mavericks_080121.html
CCF's Dancer Section
Pip checking out what its like to be a member of the Wiz dance squad:
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Prediction
Big game for us. We are currently ranked 5th, the Wiz are 4th. I can't believe they haven't tailed off since losing Agent ZERO...but it is what it is. These games against upper echelon Eastern Conference foes are the utmost of importance, regardless of where they are played throughout the season.
Washington is 7-3 and we are 8-2 in the previous 10 games. Both teams are HOT. We are in the Q. Bring the energy. Our bench dominates their bench. This is where the game will be won.
Cavaliers win 106-100
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