DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavaliers vs Wizards Round 1, Game 1 Playoffs

CLEVELAND (2) vs. WASHINGTON (7)
• Series page: Cavs vs. Wizards

It's good to be King James.

Ridiculously good.

On Wednesday morning, Cleveland was looking at a No. 5 seed and a nightmarish first-round meeting with Miami just for the right to advance to a Round 2 rematch with Detroit.

Now?

The LeBrons, thanks to Chicago's inability to win its season finale at New Jersey, suddenly have the biggest first-round cruise available with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler unavailable to the Wiz ... as well as the knowledge that they don't have to see Miami or Detroit before the conference finals.

In its banged-up state, Washington is that rare Team Everyone Wants To Play in Round 1. The only way to liven this one up, then, is to put a mike on the injured Arenas and either let him call the games from the Wizards' bench or hope he can trash talk his way into LeBron's head as retribution for LeBron doing it to Gil a year ago.

In short: Don't expect three one-point games like these teams served up last time. Don't expect even one.

Cavs-Wiz avoided our cellar only on the assumption that LeBron's presence alone guarantees at least some highlight material.

Prediction: Cavaliers in four.

LETS GO CAVS, TURN THIS MOTHA OUT,

I say Cavs in 4 also..

this starts tonight doesn't it?

Starts in two hours! Let's start the series on a good note!

zoinks!

I got yard work to get done first

cavs in 3

washington will give up after 3 straight blow outs

I am rooting for the Cavs but for evrybidy who thinks that Wash will roll over remember that a wounded dog is the most dangerous dog.


KING

thats true, but i just don't think wash has the horses to keep up with "playoff lebron" as he put it, gonna be an awesome series tho, all 3 games of it

Did the guy who wrote this just call the Cavs, "The LeBrons"? I mean, I like LeBron, but it's Washington vs. Cleveland.. not Washington vs. LeBron. What disrespect to the rest of the team

Cavs win 97-82.

Nice win today. I was worried during the second quarter - they looked really flat, but they came together when they needed to. Go Cavs!

Nice solid game all around.

Always good to grab game 1.

I only got to watch the second half, but the Cavs looked pretty good overall. Yahoo ticks me off with Cavs limp past Wizards in series opener as their headline.

I know they're trying to allude to James' ankle, but 15 points is limping?

Why did you quote me as saying that? I didn't say that

Good game, but I couldn't watch the whole thing. The one announcer was just terrible.

I think it was on FSN and WUAB as well as TNT. Not that Fred McLeod is any good either...

...just clicking

Good, good win. There's no easy team in the playoffs. Yes the Wiz are banged up but you can't disrespect them. They're still a decent team without Agent Zero and Butler. And Butler is trying to come back for game 3 or 4.

Good to see Hughes step up in the 2nd half and help out. We need him to be more pro-active.......

I don't know if you guys were planning on keeping this thread Cavs only, but Golden State just beat the Mavs! Who saw that one coming?

Not really that much of a suprise to me. They did sweep the mavs in the regular season.

yeah, and I hope they sweep them in the playoffs too.

I'd like to see Phoenix lose also.

Me and my son went to the game......it was a great setting......Larry Hughes playing like that will cause problems for other teams.Z will be BIG this playoffs(good start for him)LeBron,good game...but i had a feeling the media outside of Cleveland would try to knock his game(ask Kobe would he rather have 39 and a loss or LBJ's numbers and a W)


Can't wait til' Wednesday at the "Q".......but when LBJ went down the arena felt really weird......i thought he blew out his knee at 1st......thank you Jesus!!!!!!!!!

It wasn't as loud there as it was last year, I didn't think. I had six empty seats next to me, and two people came in for those seats at the start of the second quarter. I couldn't believe that. Good to get a win...

Did it tick any of you off that the announcers kept saying we looked lethargic, and that our there was no communication on the bench and our body language was just not where it was supposed to be for a playoff game?

If it was the Pistons, they'd be saying they were focused on the ultimate prize - they'd been there before and knew the ropes - the playoffs are long and they are pacing themselves, etc etc.

What a croc.

i swear if i had to hear that tnt announcer say "lebron looks disconnected, he needs to be connected to his team..bla bla, i was going to scream. we're the number 2 seed and we get these jokers for announcers? why couldn't we have gotten albert and fratello

Just Clicking...

LeBron will be back for game two. Thank goodness.

MARY SCHMITT BOYER
Plain Dealer Reporter

LeBron James said his sprained left ankle was stiff and sore this morning, but he said he would be ready to play in Game 2 of the Cavaliers' Eastern Conference playoff series against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

"It's OK," James said after receiving treatment this morning at Quicken Loans Arena. "It's what I expected - soreness, stiffness. If we had a game today I would definitely be able to play. So I'm definitely on the right track."

Cavs coach Mike Brown said earlier that James was getting treatment and is "day-to-day" after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday in Game 1. James sprained his left ankle with 8:03 left in the third quarter of Sunday's 97-82 victory.

Although he writhed in pain on the court, James did not leave the game and finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 44 minutes.

-- Mary Schmitt Boyer, mboyer@plaind.com

web page

That is refreshing to hear, but not too surprising. Game 2 is very crucial in this series. Especially with the reports that Butler may return Saturday.

Lebron will quiet all of the critics in this coming game and dominate. (Not saying that he wasn't before)

Butler gets cast removed
April 23, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Washington Wizards forward Caron Butler had the cast removed from his broken right hand Monday and was told to avoid contact for a week to 10 days.

Even before Butler's cast was replaced by a splint, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan ruled out having the All-Star back for the team's first-round playoff series against Cleveland.

"He is not in our plans, right now -- not as a player," Jordan said after practice Monday. "If we get deeper in the playoffs, possibly, but not in the first round."

Asked whether there's any chance Butler could face the Cavaliers, Jordan said: "To me? No. Not to me."

Butler was injured when he hit his hand on the backboard while trying to block a shot during a game on April 1; his recovery was supposed to take six weeks. Two games later, All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas injured his left knee and had season-ending surgery.

Butler was averaging career highs in points (19.1), rebounds (7.4) and assists (3.7), and the Wizards would love to have him in the lineup against the Cavaliers, who lead the best-of-seven series 1-0 heading into Wednesday's Game 2 at Cleveland.

But Butler's teammates also were assuming he wouldn't be able to face LeBron James and the rest of the Cavaliers.

"My mind-frame is, if there's a chance for Caron to come back, it's pretty much going to be in the second round," Antawn Jamison said. "My job and the rest of my teammates' job is to figure out a way to get to the second round, and then we can get some help.

"He's been out for a while, and to put that pressure on him as far as coming back in this series is a lot. You want to make sure that it's healed, and you don't want to rush him back too quickly."

web page

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/preview/NBA_20070425_WAS@CLE

VENUE: Quicken Loans Arena



CLEVELAND (AP) - At the mall or at the movies, Cavaliers 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas stands out in a crowd.

On the court, he's still tough to miss, the biggest of the big men in the middle. But for some strange reason, the Washington Wizards couldn't find him in Game 1 - until it was too late.

With a huge size advantage down low, Ilgauskas scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter when Cleveland beat Washington 97-82 in the first-round playoff series opener.

It wasn't LeBron James or Larry Hughes who did the Wizards in. Instead it was the guy nicknamed 'Z' who put them to sleep.

If Washington has any notion of evening this best-of-seven series in Game 2 on Wednesday, the Wizards must do a better job of containing Ilgauskas, who's five inches taller than Etan Thomas, Washington's starting center.

But Ilgauskas said he thinks the Wizards' priorities will remain elsewhere.

"I think they should be worried about LeBron and Larry more," he said.

James didn't practice on his sprained left ankle Tuesday but will play in Game 2. He got hurt on a drive to the basket in Sunday's third quarter and has spent the past two days getting rest and treatment.

"I'll be ready," he said.

The undermanned Wizards had better be, too.

They've spent the past two days regrouping and practicing in Washington. On Monday, forward Caron Butler had the cast taken off his broken right hand. Although he thinks he can be back in time for Game 3, coach Eddie Jordan isn't planning to have Butler unless the Wizards can advance.

Even without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas and Butler, the Wizards were within striking distance in the fourth quarter when Jordan switched to a smaller lineup hoping for an offensive spark.

Instead, he left the Wizards vulnerable on defense, and the Cavaliers made them pay.

They pounded the ball into Ilgauskas, who scored nine points in a decisive 13-4 burst that put Cleveland up by 15.

At various times, Ilgauskas was guarded by Thomas, Antawn Jamison (6-foot-9), Darius Songaila (6-foot-9) and Michael Ruffin (6-foot-8). Not one could handle him.

"Obviously, he's a lot bigger and taller," Songaila said. "You have to stay between him and the basket. You can't let him back you down under the rim. With his height he can easily reach over and get the tip and some rebounds and stuff like that."

While Ilgauskas had his way with the Wizards, Jordan kept 7-footer Brendan Haywood on the bench. Haywood played just five minutes - zero in the fourth.

Ilgauskas was surprised Haywood wasn't banging into him inside.

"He (Haywood) has had success guarding me before, and I think for sure I'm going to see him a lot more," he said.

But Haywood knows that decision is up to Jordan.

"I can't do anything to change the situation," Haywood said Tuesday. "If there's going to be a lot of changes, it'll be because he feels there should be. If not, he'll play the guys he thinks will help him win the game."

Haywood has been in Jordan's doghouse for weeks, but with the season on the brink, it might be time to turn him loose.

"We want him to play with a lot of energy, intelligently, and let's see what happens," Jordan said. "You make your own minutes. He's practiced well the last two days. He's upbeat, and let's see if it carries over to the game."

Jordan, too, would like to get more offensively from Thomas, who was 1-of-4 from the field, made three turnovers and didn't get to the line in 20 minutes.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, want to hold serve at home against a shorthanded opponent.

James took exception to critics who felt Cleveland should have won the opener more decisively.

"We're not looking to blow this team out," he said. "We're looking to come in and win a ballgame. It don't matter if it's by 1 point or by 15."

---

AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2006-2007, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

What time is the game ?

8pm.