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Legend
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Legend
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Cleveland (18-3) at Philadelphia (9-12)
While Cleveland Cavaliers players LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are establishing new franchise records, their team is breaking league-wide marks for dominance.
After winning their NBA-record ninth straight game by 12 or more points, the Cavaliers look to continue their remarkable run as they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
James became Cleveland’s career leader in steals by swiping a pass in the opening minute of Tuesday night’s game. Mark Price set the previous record of 734 steals in 582 games with Cleveland from 1986-95. James, already the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer, has played in 412 games since turning pro in 2003.
Ilgauskas joined James in the franchise record book in the second quarter, when he became the Cavs’ rebounding leader. Ilgauskas, who’s played his entire 11-season career with Cleveland, passed Brad Daugherty with his 5,228th rebound.
Though impressive, those records took a backseat after the Cavaliers (18-3) routed Toronto 114-94 to set an NBA record with nine straight wins by at least 12 points. They had shared the previous record of eight straight with four other teams - Portland (1990-91), Chicago (1996-97), Detroit (2003-04) and Houston (2007-08).
“That’s unbelievable,” James said. “Knowing the history of some of the great teams, the Chicago Bulls team that went 72-10, the Celtics teams, the Lakers teams and the Pistons teams, it’s unbelievable for our franchise to accomplish something like that.”
The Cavaliers don’t look like they intend to slow down anytime soon. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games, including their last nine by an average margin of 21.6.
“We treat everybody the same,” Ilgauskas said. “We respect everybody, but we fear nobody.”
There seems to be little reason to fear the 76ers (9-12), who haven’t lived up to the heightened expectations that came with their offseason signing of Elton Brand.
Brand, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder with 16.7 points and 10.0 boards per game, has missed the team’s last two games with a strained right hamstring, but is expected to return Wednesday.
Without him, Philadelphia shot 36.4 percent from the field in a 95-84 loss to New Jersey on Saturday night. It was the team’s worst shooting performance since its season-opening loss to Toronto.
The Sixers, who rank near the top of the league with 16.4 fast-break points per game, had none in the second half after scoring 11 before intermission.
“We are continuing to try to play fast basketball and we had no fast break points in the second half,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “It was disappointing because that is how we really want to play. … (It’s) a very telling thing.”
The Cavaliers won two of three meetings in last season’s series, including a 91-90 victory April 14 in the lone game in Philadelphia - their third straight win at the Wachovia Center.
James had 27 points and went 10-for-18 from the field in that contest. He shot 57.4 percent (31-for-54) overall against the Sixers last season.
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Legend
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yebat' Putin
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Legend
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I'm kinda ticked ... I bought tickets for a Clippers/Cavs game in March. The tickets were second row, on the floor, pretty much behind the basket. And I got a call today from stubhub, saying that the seller never contacted them back. 
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Dawg Talker
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Not trying to derail this thread, but what is stubhub gonna do for you now?
I heart winning
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Legend
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Nothing, they just cancelled the original order, so I'm not out any money. But I WANTED those tickets!  Sure I can order a pair in a similar area, but I'd have to pay $200 more a ticket.
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Damn, I have never had any troubles with stubhub before...
You will get some tight seats from another source I am sure...
I heart winning
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Legend
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Legend
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I'm not blaming stubhub at all. They did what they could. It's the seller that listed them, and then vanished. 
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How many times are they gonna call goal tending on LeBron when the ball is still on its way up?
Cavs down 2 early, the ball seems to be bouncing Phili's way so far and we are a little sloppy.
Cleveland Browns, Space Browns ![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/iVP5Po2.png)
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cavs look like caca so far...zerbs is just awful...shouldn't be hard to upgrade him. need to stop letting them waltz into the lane
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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2nd String
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Quote:
cavs look like caca so far...zerbs is just awful...shouldn't be hard to upgrade him. need to stop letting them waltz into the lane
Tuned into Mr. Tate at halftime....sounds pretty darn impressive to me. 
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So i read your two comments, and figure we are doing awful ... look at the score and we are up 19 to start the 4th.
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Anyone else think these refs are terrible tonight?
Cavs up 10 with about 2 minutes left.
Cleveland Browns, Space Browns
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Quote:
So i read your two comments, and figure we are doing awful ... look at the score and we are up 19 to start the 4th.
i made 1 comment...and we were looking awful...3rd quarter things turned around
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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Another BS charge call...
Cleveland Browns, Space Browns
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Legend
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i hope Z's injury ain't too bad
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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Quote:
cavs look like caca so far...zerbs is just awful...shouldn't be hard to upgrade him. need to stop letting them waltz into the lane
Every game I watch, it looks like the refs like to pick on Wally. He gets hit with too many ticky tac calls that the rest of the other players on the court, on both teams, get away with.
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Quote:
i hope Z's injury ain't too bad
Agreed. He has been key to our success so far this year.
Cleveland Browns, Space Browns
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This is huge. We NEED Z. Z is a tough dude. I remember when he messed up his foot in 2001 he was able to walk off the court on his own.. Let's just hope they can keep the swelling down and its a minor sprain. Freakin Donyell Marshall's dumb ass 
I heart winning
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FYI guys, Z is day to day.
you had a good run Hank.
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That is truely fantastic news!
I heart winning
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Legend
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Quote:
That is truely fantastic news!
most definitely...
you gotta take your time with z, i know we all wanna see this streak get bigger, but we've gotta make sure he's not in any danger of making anything worse, he's too important...
he's out tomorrow, possibly saturday night too...
but i think this gives hickson a chance to shine... you slide andy into the starting spot, and hickson becomes your first big off the bench...
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Hickson seems to have done a good job when he does get to play.
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Quote:
he's out tomorrow, possibly saturday night too...
They way Z is talking it's not going to be major which is good news. Return time probably will be next week although if he takes a few extra days that's fine with the start the Cavs have made.
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Quote:
but i think this gives hickson a chance to shine... you slide andy into the starting spot, and hickson becomes your first big off the bench...
I think the best thing that can come out of the next few games (other than wins of course) is for either Hickson or DJ to separate themselves from the other a bit. I know Mike Brown has been a bit disappointed in JJ's hustle the last week or so, so this is a great time for him to respond. It really is a good situation to have 2 rookie bigs competing with one another for minutes on an elite level team....
There will be no "set minutes" for these 2. Obviously they are both gonna play, but it's neck and neck right now with these 2, so MB is gonna ride the hotter player in a situation like ours....
I am hoping Z will be back for when the Cavs are in Minnesota next Wednesay, but I am not counting on it. Like you said, we are in no position to be rushing a player back on the court for a game in mid December...
I heart winning
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Legend
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Problem with andy starting is then we are handicapped big time on offense...i could see ben sliding to center and JJ starting and andy still be the first big off the bench
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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Legend
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Wally's and Snow's expiring contracts give us an interesting dilema. Right now, with the amount of money we have coming off the books for the next two years ... we would have enough money to offer a super-star player a max contract (and stay under the cap) and then sign Lebron to a max-contract through the "Bird clause". So do we try to trade Wally and Snow, for someone with 2 years left on their contract? That could give us a guy like Mike Miller (SG) or Brad Miller (PF), who have 2 years left on their contracts and wouldn't hurt us for the 2010 Free Agent class ... or do we go all-out, and try to get someone like Antwain Jameson (PF) or Michael Redd (SG), who have multiple years left on their contract, and would hurt us from pulling off the daily-double come 2010?
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A guy like Mike Miller would be perfect i think, He is a shooter like Wally but can pass, rebound better and is more athletic. I know he has struggled so far this year, but his career numbers would say he is just in a slump, and just joining this team instead of the lowly Wolves would increase his play.
And then we would still be in great shape in 2010 to add a superstar like Bosh.
Eat it Phil...
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I agree. Mike Miller would be sort of an upgrade version of Wally, and extend that contract out another year. What would we have to give up to get him though? We'd have to take on another $5 mil in contracts. We could take on the contracts of Mark Madsen and Sebatian Telfar (both of which expire in 2 years as well) ... but would that be enough compensation for Minnesota?
Edit: We could also take Brain Cardinal off of them, which would give them $15mil in cap space this year, while we would have it all come off the books next year.
And our real weakness is up front. We could use another PF. After Z, Ben and Andy, we only have a young Hickson. I think we could really use a guy like Antwain Jameson, but then we'd be looking at adding $9 million in cap space past 2010.
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Didn't wan't to burst any bubbles and sound negative and I didn't see him wearing the boot but saw this in the game notes at the bottom of this page. 'Ilgauskas, who is wearing a protective boot, could not have an MRI on his injury because of all the metal in his surgically reconstructed left foot.
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We played like dirt tonite and won by 16. Prolly helped that we had 17 pts on 11 Philly turnovers in the first half. Andy played well in the starting spot...
Darnell Jackson (D-Block) led the team in rebounding tonite...
I heart winning
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President - Fort Collins Browns Backers
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I love reading raves about the cavs...its from hollingers per diem over on espn.com Quote:
Dear John: Even if those computers in Bristol run each game of the season 5,000 times, giving the LeBron's a 50 percent chance of winning the Finals is absurd. I'm an unbiased basketball fan, but there is no way the odds could possibly be that disproportional between the Celtics and Cavaliers. -- Mike
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.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/captainphil/browns bills sig 5.jpg) When it gets cold and snows and the wind blows, you gotta be able to run the ball. - TR
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I was reading that article earlier and I liked the sound of it quite a bit.
Honestly, I was real worried coming into tonight's came. Philly played us hard on Wednesday, and we were without Z. It's hard enough to beat the same team two games in a row, but doing it without your 15ppg big man just compounds the deal. I was concerned that having to spread the big man minutes out more between Andy and Ben would hurt us, since neither of them are as much of a threat to score as Z is. Andy showed up bigtime though, probably one of the biggest reasons we won. Only 13 bench points though (four starters in double figures)...that will have to change if Z misses any extended amount of time. I was surprised to see JJ only get a minute or two of PT...anybody know why this happened? Is he dinged up, or was it just a coach's decision?
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I think it was a coach's decision. I think Mike Brown has been a little disenchanted with JJ's effort on the defensive end. As everyone knows, if you don't play D for Mike Brown, you don't play....unless your name rhymes with Zebron Dames!
"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good" Thomas Paine
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Yes I remember reading something earlier in the week that mentioned about going after rebounds and how Brown wants him to keep the tempo up and go after them.
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Quote:
I think it was a coach's decision. I think Mike Brown has been a little disenchanted with JJ's effort on the defensive end. As everyone knows, if you don't play D for Mike Brown, you don't play....unless your name rhymes with Zebron Dames!
Yep, thats why I said in my earlier post that nothing is set in stone with JJ and DJ.. Windhorst and the TV guys (MCloud and AC) have been saying that DJ has been outplaying JJ in practice and being more active on the boards...
Coach Brown left a note in JJ's locker earlier this week. The note said something like "for every shot, their is a rebound"
I heart winning
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Quote:
We played like dirt tonite and won by 16. Prolly helped that we had 17 pts on 11 Philly turnovers in the first half. Andy played well in the starting spot...
Darnell Jackson (D-Block) led the team in rebounding tonite...
This one's gonna be the tough one...Back to back and on the road...Hawks are home on the back end of their back to back so that will help...
Bron and Williams/West need to suck up 40 minutes tonight since we get 3 days rest after this one...
Go Browns!!!
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Legend
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Legend
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i have a feeling this will be the game we get blown out of the gym
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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No attacking. Not being the aggresor. Better change soon or this one is gonna be over at the half...
Keep in mind this is the Hawks fourth game in 5 nites as well. No reason to get run outta the gym. Pound the paint and we can hang in their...
I heart winning
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Legend
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Legend
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Z inside presence and offense is really missed in this game so far..Andy is all heart and hustle, just not very talented
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. -John Wayne
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DawgTalkers.net
Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum 2008/2009 Cleveland Cavaliers -
December Edition
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