Damage
fuckface
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 13,686
- Reaction score
- 21,960
- Points
- 135
Nine straight wins of double-digit differences. In the sixty-three year history of the Association, no other team has accomplished such a feat. Now that you've heard this from everyone including Stuart Scott and your grocery bagger, you're likely saying, "It's the regular season. So what." To put the record in perspective, here's the company we just left behind:
The '90-'91 Blazers
The '96-'97 Bulls
The '03-'04 Pistons
The '07-'08 Rockets
Three NBA Finals teams, two NBA champs, and the 72 win record holder. Good company to be in, I say, and perhaps a sign of good things to come.
Especially since we don't have the postseason boat anchor otherwise known as Tracy McGrady.
--
Speaking of boat anchors, the Pistons are now 7-9 in the Iverson era. The Nuggets are 13-4 in the same span. Not to draw any conclusions so soon, but those of us who had ‘unloading Big Shot Chauncey's contract' in the What The Hell Was Joe Dumars Thinking pool are looking pretty smart right now.
--
Back to the Cavaliers, and to ask the eternal question: Has Sasha Pavlovic turned the corner for real this time? After pulling his usual Sasha specials at the start of the season and promptly finding himself on the same end of the bench with Tarance Kinsey and Jawad Williams, it seems that Good Sasha has once again returned. His defensive game has always been top-notch but now he seems back in his game on the offensive end too. The play that sticks out most in my mind was where he drove a contested lane - then right at the last moment deposited the ball to a wide-open Darnell Jackson for an easy two points. Bad Sasha would've tried forcing the layup, seeing that play nearly made spill my drink.
I'm not sure what to chalk it up to: Intervention by benching, inspiration by new leadership, realization he would get Wally's rotation slot if/when a trade goes down, or the fact finally sinking in that this isn't the Serbian Leagues anymore. Whatever it is, it seems to be working - at least for now. If he can keep it up through June, I'll be both surprised and very very pleased.
--
On the note of the Expiring Contract Formerly Known As Wally Szczerbiak, I re-iterated to John and Erik on our radio show as to what I saw was the team's main weakness.
(Yes, for all the team's success, we still do have weaknesses. Shocking, I know.)
Right now, with Big Ben on the floor, our offense is running at best a four on five. No offense to the big man and a resurgence to a level of play I haven't seen from him since Wanderin' Larry was coaching him in Detroit, but there's always an adventure when the ball heads his way. I'm not talking A Care Bears Adventure, either. Hands of Clay (Matthews), an inability to hold the ball up and away, not-so-free throws - these are all hallmarks of why Ben will rarely see meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.
Now, we do have Anderson Varejao, who has shown flashes of offensive brilliance this year, as well as the Education of J.J. Hickson. Still, there's a glaring hole in the offense between Z and Lebron, and from the smoke signals I've seen, Danny Ferry's aware of this hole too. Which is why if there is a deal going down between now and mid-February, I doubt it will be for the marginal upgrade - if that - of a Wince- er- Vince Carter over Delonte West. Ferry's looking for one more big man.
--
In that same show, I then stated my dark horse pick for a Ferry trade: Wally and J.J. for a rather unhappy Amare Stoudamire. No sooner had I mentioned that, however, than Steve Kerr turned right around and said ‘I don't think so, Tim.' He does have a point about injuries and the transition from D'Antoni's Seven Second Or Less to Porter's Take The Whole Twenty Four. However, the team was all there for losing an ugly four in the row. If they run to February at a .600 or better pace, I think he's on to something. However, they have a one and a half year window before Shaq retires and Amare's and Steve Nash's contracts expire. We all know what Donnie Walsh's Plan A is in New York, but you can't help but to think that with D'Antoni on the bench, Plan B is to resurrect Seven Seconds in Madison Square Garden. If they're still battling it out with Dallas for the eighth spot in the West come the trade deadline, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy who boldly traded for Shaq boldly makes another move.
--
Our last note on the Rush to 2010 until (hopefully) February comes from former Cavalier and current Sixer Donyell Marshall. To quote, "I think [all the hype over 2010] is disrespectful to the Cavs and it's disrespectful to him. I also kind of think it's a little disrespectful to the New York people, too. You're going to get those guys all excited, and if something happens where he doesn't go, you've got all these people clearing cap room . . . [What happens if] all those [free agents] stay with their teams? You'll have all these teams with all that cap room with nothing to do with it."
I wasn't too unhappy to see ‘Yell and his worn out legs leave last year, but he's always been a smart and stand-up guy. He hit it right on the money here too.
The NBA: Where Throwing Away Multiple Seasons Happens
http://www.swerbsblurbs.com/article_detail.php?blgId=4011
The '90-'91 Blazers
The '96-'97 Bulls
The '03-'04 Pistons
The '07-'08 Rockets
Three NBA Finals teams, two NBA champs, and the 72 win record holder. Good company to be in, I say, and perhaps a sign of good things to come.
Especially since we don't have the postseason boat anchor otherwise known as Tracy McGrady.
--
Speaking of boat anchors, the Pistons are now 7-9 in the Iverson era. The Nuggets are 13-4 in the same span. Not to draw any conclusions so soon, but those of us who had ‘unloading Big Shot Chauncey's contract' in the What The Hell Was Joe Dumars Thinking pool are looking pretty smart right now.
--
Back to the Cavaliers, and to ask the eternal question: Has Sasha Pavlovic turned the corner for real this time? After pulling his usual Sasha specials at the start of the season and promptly finding himself on the same end of the bench with Tarance Kinsey and Jawad Williams, it seems that Good Sasha has once again returned. His defensive game has always been top-notch but now he seems back in his game on the offensive end too. The play that sticks out most in my mind was where he drove a contested lane - then right at the last moment deposited the ball to a wide-open Darnell Jackson for an easy two points. Bad Sasha would've tried forcing the layup, seeing that play nearly made spill my drink.
I'm not sure what to chalk it up to: Intervention by benching, inspiration by new leadership, realization he would get Wally's rotation slot if/when a trade goes down, or the fact finally sinking in that this isn't the Serbian Leagues anymore. Whatever it is, it seems to be working - at least for now. If he can keep it up through June, I'll be both surprised and very very pleased.
--
On the note of the Expiring Contract Formerly Known As Wally Szczerbiak, I re-iterated to John and Erik on our radio show as to what I saw was the team's main weakness.
(Yes, for all the team's success, we still do have weaknesses. Shocking, I know.)
Right now, with Big Ben on the floor, our offense is running at best a four on five. No offense to the big man and a resurgence to a level of play I haven't seen from him since Wanderin' Larry was coaching him in Detroit, but there's always an adventure when the ball heads his way. I'm not talking A Care Bears Adventure, either. Hands of Clay (Matthews), an inability to hold the ball up and away, not-so-free throws - these are all hallmarks of why Ben will rarely see meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.
Now, we do have Anderson Varejao, who has shown flashes of offensive brilliance this year, as well as the Education of J.J. Hickson. Still, there's a glaring hole in the offense between Z and Lebron, and from the smoke signals I've seen, Danny Ferry's aware of this hole too. Which is why if there is a deal going down between now and mid-February, I doubt it will be for the marginal upgrade - if that - of a Wince- er- Vince Carter over Delonte West. Ferry's looking for one more big man.
--
In that same show, I then stated my dark horse pick for a Ferry trade: Wally and J.J. for a rather unhappy Amare Stoudamire. No sooner had I mentioned that, however, than Steve Kerr turned right around and said ‘I don't think so, Tim.' He does have a point about injuries and the transition from D'Antoni's Seven Second Or Less to Porter's Take The Whole Twenty Four. However, the team was all there for losing an ugly four in the row. If they run to February at a .600 or better pace, I think he's on to something. However, they have a one and a half year window before Shaq retires and Amare's and Steve Nash's contracts expire. We all know what Donnie Walsh's Plan A is in New York, but you can't help but to think that with D'Antoni on the bench, Plan B is to resurrect Seven Seconds in Madison Square Garden. If they're still battling it out with Dallas for the eighth spot in the West come the trade deadline, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy who boldly traded for Shaq boldly makes another move.
--
Our last note on the Rush to 2010 until (hopefully) February comes from former Cavalier and current Sixer Donyell Marshall. To quote, "I think [all the hype over 2010] is disrespectful to the Cavs and it's disrespectful to him. I also kind of think it's a little disrespectful to the New York people, too. You're going to get those guys all excited, and if something happens where he doesn't go, you've got all these people clearing cap room . . . [What happens if] all those [free agents] stay with their teams? You'll have all these teams with all that cap room with nothing to do with it."
I wasn't too unhappy to see ‘Yell and his worn out legs leave last year, but he's always been a smart and stand-up guy. He hit it right on the money here too.
The NBA: Where Throwing Away Multiple Seasons Happens
http://www.swerbsblurbs.com/article_detail.php?blgId=4011
