The season is still two months away, but most of the rosters are set, barring the requisite Michael Jordan comeback rumor (just kidding, but only a little).  We have an idea where our team stands, but we can't really know unless we discuss everyone else.  In that spirit, I'm going to throw up a "competition discussion" thread for each of the other 29 teams over the next month or so.  We'll go in alphabetical order from A to Z.  Today's team: Cleveland.

Last year's record: 45-37

In: Maurice Williams, J.J. Hickson, Lorenzen Wright, Tarence Kinsey, Darnell Jackson
Out: Joe Smith, Devin Brown, Damon Jones, Shannon Brown.

Projected starting lineup: Maurice Williams, Wally Szczerbiak, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Key themes:

• They were so solid in the playoffs after a down regular season.  Which team will we get?
• Specifically defensively, can Cleveland maintain the level they were at in the playoffs?
• What does Maurice Williams do for them?  Is he the sidekick LeBron's always needed?
• Will they get the production they need out of their old frontcourt (Wallace and Big Z)?  Do they need another body up there?
  
• Now that they no longer have contract issues to settle, can Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic bounce back?
• What role does Delonte West play now that he's re-signed?
• Are they done making moves?
• Can LeBron possibly be better?  Can he possibly become more of a crybaby?

Common logic dictates that when an 82-game sample (the regular season) is contrasted by a 13-game sample (the Cavaliers in the playoffs), the 82-game sample is far more reliable.  Similarly, a Wizards' fan logic requires them to hate everything about the Cavaliers, considering how they've ended our season three years in a row and are led by a star that is so unlikeable when juxtaposed with the quirky Gilbert Arenas.

Therefore, one could argue I'm going to completely ignore logic when it comes to projected the 2008/09 Cleveland Cavaliers.  Why?  Because I believe they, and not offseason darling Philadelphia, old reliable Detroit or up-and-coming Orlando, are the biggest threat to Boston in the East.  Furthermore, I strongly believe that if Cleveland and Boston meet again in the playoffs, it will be Cleveland that prevails.  And since I've already established that I believe Boston will have the best record in the East, that means I believe it'll be Cleveland that represents the East in the NBA Finals.

Last season was a really strange one for Cleveland.  Coming off a Finals appearance, they played hardball with two key cogs, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic, and neither was in rhythm by the time their contract situations were resolved.  Daniel Gibson, 2007's playoff hero, got injured.  Drew Gooden's shot deserted him and he became a complete non-factor offensively.  Larry Hughes, meanwhile, got even worse and still sucked up a starting spot.  The defense, which was Cleveland's calling card on its way to the Finals, fell off tremendously with all this flux in the rotation.

Only the brilliance of LeBron James was keeping the Cavs afloat.  Last year, Cleveland won 45 games, but they had a negative point differential.  They would play close games and hope LeBron bailed them out, which he often did.  Other than LeBron and Big Z, there wasn't even one average player on the roster.

Then, they made the big trade with Chicago, which further threw off their chemistry.  Integrating four new pieces with just two months left in the season is never an easy thing, and Cleveland really struggled with it initially.  Considering all these problems, it's a wonder they won 45 games, really.

But during the playoffs, when Cleveland had their rotation set for the first time all season, they were much better than a 45-win team.  The first-round series win over us was not as close as the results indicated; the Cavs slaughtered us in Game 2 and Game 6, two games we desperately needed to have.  Three of the games were close, but we were constantly playing from behind.  Then, against Boston, the Cavs were a missed LeBron layup in Game 1 and a few jumpers by P.J. Brown in Game 7 away from defeating the eventual champions.  Cleveland actually outscored Boston in that series, but lost all the tight ones. 

Now, you add Maurice Williams to that mix, subtracting only Joe Smith.  Mo's not the ultimate answer to the "LeBron sidekick" search, but he's most definitely a part of the solution.  All this talk about Cleveland needing a pure point guard is silly because LeBron is such a good offensive initiator, but the Cavs did need somebody else who could handle the ball and create shots.  West was sort of playing the role during the playoffs, but he doesn't possess Mo's offensive capabilities.  In every way imaginable, Mo's an upgrade.  The only question is Mo's defense, but on a team that schemes as well as Cleveland, I don't see it being a problem (they made Wally Sczcerbiak into a competent defender, after all).

The other thing is that Cleveland's in prime position to make a major upgrade at the trade deadline, with 20-million dollars in expiring contracts (Sczcerbiak, Eric Snow).  It's a stretch to say that Danny Ferry is definitely making a major upgrade, but the way he's been talking, I'd say there's a strong possibility something big will happen.  Cleveland can use their trade chips for a real inside guy (the return of Carlos Boozer, perhaps?) or someone like Shawn Marion or Andrei Kirilenko.  If they do that, they're absolutely dynamite. 

There are some things that could slow Cleveland down.  I don't like their old frontcourt -- Ben Wallace is done, Joe Smith is gone and Big Z probably isn't going to duplicate his awesome 2007/08.  I also think they made a mistake letting Devin Brown go, because if they trade Wally for an inside guy, they're going to have a small backcourt (West, Williams, Gibson).  There's also the question of whether they'll take opponents lightly like they've done in past years. 

Still, I'm confident in saying Cleveland is going to be really scary next year.  There are teams in the East that many are picking ahead of the Wizards that boggle my mind, but the Cavs aren't one of them.

Prediction: 54-28, 1st in Central, 2nd in East

Previously (predictions are me/Jake/Truth)...

• Atlanta: 35-47/34-48/37-45.
• Boston: 58-24/58-24/55-27
• Charlotte: 31-51/35-47/38-44
• Chicago: 33-49/39-43/40-42
  

I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five people that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party er...the latest issue of SLAM, that has the feature on DeShawn Stevenson.  As was mentioned in their preview, DeShawn did let his mouth rip.  It didn't reach overrated levels, but it's worth quoting on a blog that's specific to the team he plays for.

On the LeBron-DeShawn feud:

With the thing I said about LeBron, that's the way we do it.  If I feel like he attacked me, I'ma attack him back.  I don't care how big you are.  I feel like he's an awesome player, but I feel like if you attack me, do it like I do it.  Say it out loud.  Don't be one of those scary girls and say it behind closed doors where nobody's going to hear you.  If you don't like something I do, say it out loud so we can deal with it as two men.

On Gilbert's comeback late in the season:

When Gilbert [Arenas] came back for the Playoffs--this is no knock on him--it kind of messed up that rhythm we had going in the regular season.  Gilbert's minutes were limited.  We tried to bring him off of the bench, so we could save him for the fourth, but it was hard to play a type of player like that for 20 minutes.

On Gilbert's decision to opt out (keep in mind that he said this before Gilbert re-signed):

Gil runs that city.  It would be stupid on his part to leave.  You've got a town that's got your back.  To go somewhere else and start over is going to be pretty hard.  You're starting from scratch.  Nobody [else] cares about the game-winners or none of that.

DeMarco Williams did a tremendous job on the article and I encourage everyone to go check it out.  The pics of DeShawn's epic back tattoo are worth the cost of the magazine in and of itself.  Also, the piece provides an important and much needed update on the beard-growing bet between DeShawn and Drew Gooden.

Here's some stuff to read up on while you try and figure out if anything can top this "There Can Only Be One" parody.

• Let's kick things off with a little Top Ten list action.  The Wizards' website broke in down into moments 10-6 and the top 5, with the retirement of Earl Monroe's jersey number taking the top spot.  To be honest, the choice surprised me, but I can understand where some would see that as the top moment, since number retiring doesn't happen all too often in D.C.
• For another perspective, here are Ivan's top ten moments from the season:

Butler's dunk on Kevin Martin was No. 1. Nick Young's dunk on LeBron was No. 2. Caron's game-winner in the playoffs is 3 following by Stevenson's game winner in New Orleans. At five, give me the win at Boston. At six, I'll take Haywood's classic response to LeBron James being a crybaby. At 7, I'll take the dunk Andres Nocioni threw down over Oleksiy Pecherov. When Chicago's game operations folks put a picture of Stewey from Family Guy over Pecherov's face on the replay, I lost it.

At 8, I'll go with the game itself and Butler's 40-point performace in Milwaukee on Jan. 27 (just an incredible game to see live). At 9, I'll go with two games in Miami when I got to watch the Heat dancers perform from only a few feet away. (The Miami Heat dancers: where amazing happens). And at 10, give me the Nov. 2 game in Boston when Kevin Garnett and the new-look Celtics made their first regular season appearance. Just a great atmosphere.

• Vanilla Gorilla turned up this in-depth scouting report on the Wizards from Draft Express.  Like he mentions, it's a little over the top on Mason, but other than that it's a solid breakdown of the roster.
• In the last week, two new sites have been added to the SB Nation fold.  Make sure you check out At The Hive (focusing on the Hornets) and Ridiculous Upside (focusing on the draft, D-League, prospects, etc.).
  
• The best part of the off-season is that it's so open-ended that all sorts of different ideas.  Truth About It looked into whether or not Elton Brand would be a feasible option in the district, and KDP proposes a trade with the Sonics.
• As always, Kevin Broom delivers spectacular analysis as he looks into the Wizards "improvement" on defense this season.
• Wizards uncovered this video from back in '02 of Roger Mason from back when he was at UVA, going up against the Terrapins.  Most of Roger's damage was done before the video starts (the video focuses on the Terps' late-game comeback), but the high praise from the announcers gives you a feel for how well he played that night.
• Hey, what happened to all the players that got drafted ahead of Gilbert Arenas?

• What's good party people?  While you're checking out the new and improved search feature here, make sure you check out the latest FanPosts and FanShots from this week:
• Mike Jones (who!) confirmed that Gilbert Arenas is still planning on opting out of his contract, despite his injury setbacks.  Later on in the week, he confirmed that he's not a fan of LeBron James.  At least he didn't write a diss track about it.
  
• After making sure everyone knew that he was still opting out, he made sure everyone knew who he wanted to see stay in Washington, by telling everyone on his blog:

The future is the future. I want to be back in Washington, but weird things happen in free agency. If Antawn is not back, then there’s no point in me coming back because he’s part of my success, too. When you’re doing pick and roll with a player like him, they can’t double you, they can’t trap you because you have a pick and pop guy who can shoot the three at your four position. My success is because of him too. If he doesn’t come back, I’m not coming back.

I know everybody is focusing on whether I’m coming back, but I’m focusing on what he’s doing. If he doesn’t come back, then I’m not coming back.

• You'll notice that Gilbert doesn't make the same request for Jarvis Hayes.  From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like Detroit will be either.  At least Jarvis can pass the time with the NBA nickname generator.
• If yesterday's OT thriller turned you into a Jazz bandwagoner, make sure you check out the new SB Nation site for the team, SLC Dunk.
• The Wizards' website is counting down the top 10 moments of the season.  Here's moments ten through six.
• If Bullets nostalgia is your thing, this video of a double OT thriller versus the Celtics should hit the spot.
• If watching a DJ mispronounce DeShawn Stevenson's name is more up your alley, this video should do the trick.
• Finally, NY1 poses the question of "What do we trade the 18th pick for?"  This will be a point of discussion all the way up to the draft, since it seems extremely likely that Grunfeld will look to move that picks, so check it out.
  

The Wizards might not produce the number of highlights that you'd see with teams like Phoenix and Denver and Golden State, but there were still a lot of great plays from this season from several different players

Which one stands out above the rest?  After the jump, a better look at each of the top play candidates...

No voting for Ramon.

Continue reading this post »

If you've been checking out Bullets Forever lately, you've probably noticed that we've been using the FanShot feature a lot.  The FanShot is basically a quick hit post to a link, picture, video, etc. and it works out great for us because a lot of times there's news that's worth relaying but doesn't really constitute an entire post. The only drawback is that if you only read Bullets Forever through your RSS reader, than you're not getting these FanShots in your reader.  So in order to catch you up on any news that you might have missed, here's a round up of all the FanShots FanPosts from the past few weeks

If you want to subscribe to the FanShots you can do that by clicking here, although we have to throw out the disclaimer that anyone can post a FanShot, so you can't say you weren't warned beforehand.  Also, you can now also subscribe to the FanPosts (formerly the diaries), with the same disclaimer in effect.

Let's start this with some links from the links from the playoff series (which already seems like it was a month ago):

• First, Eddie Jordan's thoughts on the final play of Game 4:  "[Gilbert's] our guy. And look, he made a terrific shot (on the previous possession). Who else do we have that can make that kind of shot? In the end, maybe he could have been used as a decoy. I always say that sometimes a threat is as dangerous as the action. Maybe we could have spotted him up and let Antawn or Caron get in on the last play. I thought about that as the ball was inbouded but it was too late by then."
• An example of a "flagrant, malicious, dirty, thuggish, uncalled for foul" from Jason Kidd.  Somewhere Marvin Williams is saying "Hey!  What about me?"
• Here's the quote from Brendan Haywood that prompted the now infamous Crybaby 23 T-Shirts.  The blowback from the shirt was so bad that now Papa John's is offering 23 cent pizzas on Thursday in the Cleveland area.  Will Jay-Z sell his next album for two cents in the District as an apology for Blow the Whistle?  Don't forget the boycott on Love is still in effect until he does.
• Don't take fashion tips from DeShawn.
• TruthAboutIt and WaitingForNextYear had a great back and forth Q&A. Check it out.
• Jason wonders why the Wizards didn't try to make LeBron go left more.
• Wilbon had a great write-up on Game 5 with an interesting look into Antawn's role as a leader.  (HT: cuppetcj)
  
• After Songaila's suspension for Game 6, And One gathered responses from all sides on the issue.
• Speaking of weird rulings, Vanilla Gorilla wants to know why DeShawn's throat slash was being used in promos for game 5 if it netted him a $25,000 fine.
• Finally, Asian Zero's highlight reel of the series is a must see:

Now let's check out some links as we head into the off-season:

• Some people are calling for coaching changes.  KDP wants to see Mike D'Antoni, mamemimo wants to see Avery Johnson.  For what it's worth, Ivan Carter doesn't think a change will be made.
• Gilbert on who's crazier between DeShawn and himself:  "No, he's crazier than me. I'm already broken. I learned early. He's not filtered. I think about stuff. Mine goes through the filter first."
• The last word belongs to Caron Butler who had this to say about the chances of Gilbert and Antawn coming back this season:

I look forward to both of them coming back. Obviously, I don't have that much input but publicly, I'm saying what I'm saying right now. I would love to have them back. I think that will be the case and I'm almost positive that will be the case.

I just have a hunch, a reliable source.

Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Yup....I was one of those working stiffs rushing to get home for the 6 pm start time. Just as I was getting near my bus stop, Beat It by Michael Jackson came on my ipod....my 'Top 5000 Songs' playlist; I assumed this to be a good sign. I made it in my apartment just in time to see Big Z look like Hakeem Olajuwon before throwing up a fade-away on Haywood heading into a commercial break at the 9 minute mark. 5-4 Wizards.

8:36: Coming out the timeout, DeShawn Stevenson throws up some gar-báge.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Wiz are up 2. I still haven't gotten a feel from this team. I see Caron Butler hustling...Haywood is making some baller moves...but I can't tell if this team wants to win or not. Of course, they've been so inconsistent from quarter to quarter this year....who knows.

The Cleveland crowd seems tame. Stevenson, of course, gets the boo treatment, but it doesn’t seem very strong....maybe the confident attitude of the Cavs has given the fans a sense of complacency. It's in the bag I guess....

4:08: Wow. Caron gets a steal after Wally was lazy in recovering the ball....goes down, looks to travel, definitely got fouled...but the refs give Caron the continuation for the And 1. He was in the act of shooting, but I'm not sure they should have counted that.....even though the foul did cause the travel. I assume the refs made the right call. 16-11 Wizards.

Team - Gilbert < Team + Caron Butler.....for now.

3:54: Oh god, here we go. God damned LeBron James is a sweetheart.

He drives baseline....Darius Songaila obviously fouls him...as both of their arms are locked up....LeBron attempts to pull his arm away and in the process ends up causing Songaila's arm to hit him in the neck/side-face......a complete accident. LeBron acts as if Johnny Lawrence (you probably know him as Billy Zabka) just swept the neck instead of the leg.

Players gather....Anderson Varejao plays instigator and swats Stevenson's arm away for some reason....of course Stevenson overreacts and swats Andy's arm away. Jamison gets heated.

Somehow Wally shoots two techs...still not sure what happened. I know this: LeBron overreacted and the referees overreacted in turn. [Later,  video evidence would reveal that LeBron checked where he did not get hit....and he just received the Sylvester Stallone award for bad acting.]

Dan Gilbert's friend (or at least a dude he knows sitting next to him) throws a towel at DeShawn and DOESN'T get kicked out. Essentially, Gilbert tells security not to toss him. Oh really now.....?

In the meantime, the Wizards have been called for two offensive fouls (Songaila and Stevenson)...didn't really see them.

1:55: It's cleared up that Songaila received a tech (that's just crazy)....and Varejao and Stevenson each got techs...which was justifiable.

1:28: Haywood gets called for another offensive foul....no one could argue that it wasn't a flop on Varejao.....terrible officiating thus far. This is unbelievable. Phil Chenier even points out that the Brazilian Spaz flopped the opposite way that Haywood was going.

Somehow the Wizards are up 20-16 with 8 turnovers in the first quarter....of course at least three of those came from offensive fouls.

0:01: Caron Butler nails a smooth three to end the first, his 3rd. And here I was thinking that I was coming home to watch a basketball game. Wizards up 23-16, Caron Butler has 14 points.

2nd Quarter

Reggie Miller and Marv Albert are absolutely unbelievable....I'm actually disgusted that they are assuming that Songaila intentionally "punched" LeBron. I don't think there is any doubt in Miller's mind that there was a punch there. They actually wanted the refs to review the play and throw Darius out. Perhaps they weren't privy to the same conclusive replays as Comcast....I don't care, they can both still go to hell.

10:28: Unbelievable shot by Caron after losing the ball....I can't even begin to describe what he did..caught the loose rock in the air and then threw the ball in with the clock running down...or something like that. 25-21 Wizards.

I guess the Wiz are winning and stuff....at the next timeout, they are up 30-25. I am still baffled, flabbergasted, shocked at Marv Albert and Reggie Miller. Not only did they think that Darius Songaila's play was a punch, but Albert mocked Eddie Jordan's opinion when the TNT sideline reporter interviewed him about the play.....sarcastically saying something to the effect "Yea, like LeBron James' head went into Darius Songaila's fist." Need I remind everyone that not only does "Marvelous" Marv enjoy wearing women's underwear, but he also has taken part in threesomes involving another dude. Add Marv and Reggie to the list of hack jobs . 

At least the Wizards have seemed to keep their concentration after that absurdity....now I suppose I need to do the same. Marv Albert will not hear the end of this.

[NOTE: I am not whining that a call was made against Songaila....he did foul LeRootyPoo. And while the technical was unjust, I'm not even whining about that. No, I am simply complaining and pointing out the ridiculousness of Reggie Miller and Marv Albert]

Does Gil want to be a Wizard? (TNT Sideline Interview) "Of course...I'd love to come back if they want me to come back."

5:22: DeShawn hits a three....we need him to shut his mouth, play with a chip on his shoulder, use the boos to power him, and step his game up. 37-32 Wiz.

4:44: Empty possession...Mason a runner? Never his shot. Caron misses a fader.

4:21: Stevenson is not feeling his face very well....he nails an open three from the corner....just like you and me, this one was made by penetration. 40-34 Wiz.

3:22: Too many outside shots...Caron takes a bad one, low shot clock though...AJ hustles for a board, gets it out to Stevenson who takes a three himself....miss. The Wiz really need to take advantage of 2nd chances.

TNT is reporting that DeShawn went to a Cleveland mall yesterday with 5 teammates. Why would he do that and why would the Wizards coaching staff allow him to do that? (assuming they knew)....DeShawn Stevenson is not making it easy for me to like him at all. One, what the hell is an NBA player doing at a mall in the first place? Two, DeShawn is doing nothing but looking for trouble.....he's such an idiot. I'd also like to know who went to the mall with him. I'd bet that Antawn Jamison and Antonio Daniels weren't among those who did.

2:26: I seriously can't believe the Wizards have a 42-39 lead.....Cleveland gave some back court pressure and played it tight once the Wiz were in the half court....lack of composure led to turnover #11, shot clock violation.

2:14: But the Cavs make an unforced turnover coming back down the court.

1:55: Turnover again...Butler drives, Haywood rolls, but the pass was too far behind him. The sand paper offense.....not smooth.

1:20: A gimpy AD, who got tripped by Gibson a couple possessions ago, gets a block on Boobie from behind and coasts up court for the layup. He has to check out. 44-39 Wiz.

1:00: Oh my god.....turnovers are crazy....Stevenson got to the basket, passed, and Haywood just bobbled the ball out of bounds.

0:00: Butler misses a trey on LeBron to end the 1st half....it looks like Eddie wanted him to drive as he had plenty of time. Wizards up 45-43 at the half.

Half Stats:

1. The main thing the Wiz have going for them is hot shooting, 17-33
2. The Wizards are also winning the battle of the boards, 16-14 (although the Cavs have 6 offensive to 4 for DC)
3. We all know that turnovers are a killer, 13-9 Wizards (although both teams have 9 points off turnovers)
4. The Potomac Rainmaker chipped in with 6 points off the bench....and he didn't even attempt a three.
5. Caron had 16 points, Stevenson had 11
6. Big Z had 12, LeBaby LeTravel LeBoo-Boo LeBron had 10
7. Bobble-hands Haywood had a +7
8. LeBron James had a -4

Continue reading this post »

Clearly, a big win tonight.  Sadly, a lot of the focus for the next few games will be over Darius Songaila's punch/slap/whatever you want to call it.  There's a few people who think he will end up getting suspended for Game 6, but before Stu Jackson puts down his ruling, hopefully he considers the following evidence...

Continue reading this post »

On April 27, 2003 the Orlando Magic took a commanding 3-1 series lead thanks to Tracy McGrady's dominant play, overcoming a superior team with his outstanding individual performances.  With the clincher in reach, McGrady boldly proclaimed that the series was over.  As we all now know, that prediction kind of blew up in his face.

On April 27, 2008 the Cleveland Cavaliers took a commanding 3-1 series lead thanks to LeBron James' dominant play, overcoming a superior team with his outstanding individual performances.  With the clincher in reach, this athletic swingman consciously made the decision not to make another bold prediction that could possibly backfire on him.  After all, those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.  Right?  Right?

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

I had some pre-game thoughts at the beginning of this game blog, but they were getting a little lengthy, so I posted them on TruthAboutIt.net . Read if you would like.....

Quarter One

Off we go....

Gil starts and is matched up on Delonte West, he was on Wally last game. Butler is still on James and DeShawn is on Wally.

Hubie Brown likes the defensive aggressiveness to start as Arenas is working on deflections.

10:16: Wiz get a steal, DeShawn takes it all the way gets the foul and a goal-tending on LeBron James. The Lock Smith throws up the Rocafella diamond in the direction of the Cavs bench. Not going to talk trash about Jay-Z, huh? 5-2 Wiz.

9:48: Butler gets going early too with a baseline jumper on LeBron....good stuff. The fans seem to be making a nice showing on Sunday afternoon too.

Nice drive by DeShawn past LeBron and a drop off to Haywood for a dunk. 9-4 Wizards.

Gil pulls the chair out from under a posting Wally...loose ball, Cavs get it, lose the ball again but the Wiz can’t take advantage as Gil's lob past was a little too long for Jamison. Turnover.

8:01: Haywood is killing two birds with one possession. Draws a foul on the floor on Big Z and then gets a baby hook. 11-6 Wizards.

7:46: LeBron has hit his first two outside shots....and that's okay, he can score all he wants, just don't let him pile up assists.

7:20: Arenas drives on Wally...easy.....the double must come over and AJ is there for the dump off. 13-8 Wizards.

6:57: Wally hits a fadeaway deuce over Arenas, but Arenas is playing with more intensity on D that I've seen out of him before.

While I like the hot Wiz shooting so far, 7-8, I am not fond of the 4 turnovers, 3 by Gil....but none of them have really been bad turnovers.

3:53: Gil tries to force the ball to Caron who is posting LeBron at the 3 point line....bad idea, LeBron pokes the ball away and ends it with a wicked windmill dunk. 18-15 Cleveland.

1:22: AD hits a jab step back three...huh? 23-22 Wizards.

1:06: The Brazilian Spaz = Mr. Softy miss a lay-up.

0:58: AJ hits another crazy running hook and has his angry game face on. 25-22 Wiz.

0:16: AJ rolls home a trey ball. 11 first quarter points for the man.

LeBron then gets called for an offensive foul as he throws the arm out into Jamison's chest...the tears start streaming. LBJ has 2 fouls and 8 points.

Looks like he may have the case for a measly touch foul. After the last 0:00.7 ticks away, Bron Bron puts on his pacifier in the form of a long sleeve navy blue shirt and whines in Joey Crawford's ear.

Wiz up 28-24 after 1. They were boosted by 11-14 shooting, 2-3 from deep, but we're held back by 6 turnovers, 4 by Gilbert in 8 minutes. The Wiz need to reign it in on their gambles.

Quarter Two

AD, AJ, Andray, D-Song and the Silent Assassin start the 2nd for the Wiz.

10:53: Bad call...the Cavs get a steal, at least Jamison manages to accidentally clock the Brazilian Spaz with an elbow, Devin Brown leads the break, Mason hustles back to attempt a strip, but they call a foul in the act of shooting. The replay reveals that Brown lost the ball going up before he was even touched. Oh well. 29-28 Cavs after FTs.

9:43: Damn...Roger Mason misses an open three, his second. C'mon Rog, you can do this...it was a transition 3 attempt, Hubie Brown would rather him go to the basket.

It's a physical game within legal confines. Mike Tirico points out that there is a lot of bumping, banging and whining happening on each trip.....he fails to point out that Cleveland is doing a majority of the whining.

9:15: MaseOn with a trey ball...that's a way to keep shooting fella. 33-29 Wizards.

9:03: Gilbert checks back in......keep that knee loose and warm - not sure if he was riding the bike during his down time.

Eddie Jordan's small lineup of Daniels, Mason, Arenas, Songaila and Butler is giving up some offensive boards , but Cleveland is not adept at taking advantage. Cleveland has Z, LeBron, Wally, Brown and Gibson on the floor.

7:34: The Silent Assassin's bullets are locked and loaded...very tough shot on the baseline fading out of bounds on the right side of the court (facing the basket) and with the right hand, of course. 37-29 Wiz.

7:17: Haywood comes back in to boost the rebounding game...for AD.

6:50: LeBron James is intent on taking it to the hoop to make Cleveland's 5 point total for the quarter 7, their first points in about 4 minutes. 37-31 Wiz.

6:28: D-Song takes LeBron in the post...a foul is called, but it's not LeBron's 3rd. They somehow call it on Benny Wallace, who was second to foul......the fans give LBJ the overrated treatment.

6:15: "Delonte West out to lunch." Mike Tirico on a Cleveland turnover.

Gil misses a deuce...not in the offense....LeBron gets a power slam on the other end. The Wizards come down, but the offensive flow is clogged. Eddie Jordan timeout. 39-33 Wizards.

Hubie Brown is composing Valentine's Day cards for Darius Songaila.

4:51: The Wiz offense has gone a little cold. Not a FG since Roger Mason at 7:34.

4:20: Haywood is not helping the effort to keep the Cavs off the glass.....they now have 12 second chance points and a 9-1 edge on the offensive boards. 3 on one possession leads to a Delonte West trey. 39-38 Wiz.

3:54: Jamison gets blocked by Wallace and the Wiz can't recover in time to get an attempt before the shot clock goes off.

3:30: West steals the ball from Haywood at the FT line from behind.

3:25: Cavs come back down....LeBron goes hard. Stevenson takes a swipe.....looks to clip ball first but then gets a whole lot of LeBron's face. LeBron gets mad...bodies up....some pride is displayed as DeShawn gets off the floor..the refs do a good job to make peace. Cleveland fans will be pissed at the Lock Smith's swipe, probably calling it cheap head-hunting. He did look to be going to for the ball, but the motion can definitely be taken as an act of aggression as LeBron's headband went flying. A flagrant one is called on Stevenson. Mike Brown sprints out to check on his son, his paycheck, LBJ.

3:08: Wiz play good D....get the ball...but ANOTHER careless turnover. LeBron nails a trey to cap an 11-0 Cleveland run. 42-39 Cavs.

2:43: Caron misses a baseline jumper and then fouls LeBron attempting a long 3 on the other end. The Wizards are losing their composure on both ends. They are making LeBron mad and he is starting to channel than into a display of skills. Thankfully there is a TV timeout.

2:25: The Wizards are even having trouble passing the ball to each other.....nothing is crisp. Finally, AJ earns a trip to the FT line. 44-41 Cavs.

Hubie points out that the Wizards had 14 points in the paint in the first quarter....none so far in the 2nd. What right did they have to become complacent?

1:54: CRAP! Gil takes and misses a trey ball for no good reason.

People on Bullets Forever are calling for an Arenas exit and Mason entrance.

1:33: Jamison shoots a three with 18 seconds on the shot clock. What the hell was discussed during the timeout?

Down the court...Cavs o board....no points...Wizards turnover....huge dunk by LeBron. 51-41 Cleveland.

1:11: Daniels misses an open three...just because you're wide open....eff it. Finally the Wiz get second chance points with an AJ putback.

0:55: Transition D? Seat's taken......Boobie nails a trey. 54-43 Cavs.

0:38: Caron takes another outside jumper...luckily Jamison works on the boards and earns two FTs, but makes only 1. Yup, the extent of the offense in the past 6 minutes amounts to Jamison earning 3 FTs and a putback on offensive board work.

0:05: Daniels drives.....but Stevenson misses an open trey. F-ING OUTSIDE SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!

Wiz were up 8 around the 6 minute mark, but the Cavs made a run....ABC is crediting the hard foul by DeShawn. 54-44 Cleveland at the half.

Run Down

1. Eddie Jordan needs to get real in his halftime speech.
2. 2nd quarter = 5 turnovers, 4-21 shooting.
3. Game: 26-16 boards in favor of Cavs.
4. Double-U, Tee, Eff?
5. Jon Barry thinks that DeShawn should have been thrown out.....dork.
6. Amare Stoudamire looks to be sporting one of the worst blue jean outfits I've ever seen (as if I've seen a "good" blue jean outfit) -- it looks akin to a prison jumpsuit.
7. Gut check time.

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