What Ray Allen Would Bring to the Cavaliers.
By: Robbie DiPaola
Since the day LeBron James announced he would be coming back home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, there have been constant rumors about sharpshooter Ray Allen joining the Cavaliers to bolster their roster.
A common question to ask is what would Ray Allen bring to the Cavaliers? First, he brings a career 40 percent shooting percentage from three point range and can space the floor and be a spot up shooter, which can be lethal, especially when you have the likes of LeBron as well as Kyrie Irving on the basketball court.
For his career, Allen has scored 24,505 points in his 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association, averaging 18.9 points per season. Allen is also the all-time leader in made three point field goals with 2,973 total for his career.
Allen's scoring is his main threat that he would bring to the Cavaliers, but Allen would also bring a veteran presence to the locker room, which the Cavaliers would welcome, since two of the three best players on the team (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) have never experienced playoff basketball in the NBA.
To go along with his scoring capability and leadership qualities, Allen is also familiar playing with LeBron in Miami, where Allen played a vital role in helping win a championship while the two played together in Miami. James has been rumored to be quietly recruiting Allen to join the Cavaliers all season long.
Allen's name has also been connected to other teams, such as the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards.
Allen is rumored to possibly make a decision shortly after the All-Star break and has shortened his list of teams he would like to play for. There is no guarantee Allen will even decide to come back, as ESPN's Chris Broussard reported on February 10th.
When asked what Allen would do for the Cavaliers, LeBron said, "With him we'd be great. Without him, we are going to be great as well."
All season long the Cavaliers have had held an open roster spot, and with less than a week remaining before the NBA trade deadline that roster spot remains open. Allen would fit well into what the Cavaliers have going right now, but he may decide to retire instead.
If Allen chooses another team or chooses to retire, the Cavaliers will have to pursue other options which may have to be a trade, as there are limited options on the free agent market right now. Until a move is made, only speculations can be made on what the Cavaliers may do.
Nonetheless, the Cavaliers are looking good heading into the All-Star break with a record of 33-22, which puts them at fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers only sit four games back from the second place spot in the East and with 27 games remaining. The second spot in the East is definitely within reach whether they are able to land Ray Allen or not.
Q&A With 19 Action News WOIO TV CBS19 Scott Taylor
By: Simon Hannig
Cavs Basketball 365 had a chance to talk to WOIO TV CBS19 reporter Scott Taylor, who knows the Cavs pretty well. With a lot of people wondering if the Cavs will make another move around the trade deadline for a backup point guard or another center or wing defender. Taylor said the Cavs will most likely stand pat with this current team.
"I think eventually they trade in their lack of hustle on the court for a killer instinct that dominates teams. At least most Cav’s fans hope that happens before the playoffs. I also believe they will stay with the team they have right now without making a big trade barring any injury as the NBA trade deadline is coming up fast on February 19th," said Taylor. "You could consider Nate Robinson but does this team need more offense? Acquiring J.R. Smith on January 7th just brought more buckets to an already full offensive table and Ray Allen is still lurking on the beach. You got your big man in Timofey Mozgov so is rim defense a huge concern anymore? Toss in a healthy Iman Shumpert and defense isn’t a big worry if everyone buys in… team chemistry is a bigger issue and let’s hope David Blatt can work a miracle. 19-20 is not getting it done no matter who you is answering these questions about possible trades."
There has been a lot of talk about head coach David Blatt being fired with the Cavs at 21-20 through the halfway point of the season. The two game at the Los Angeles Lakers and then the Los Angeles Clipper could of saved Blatt's job for the season, but he is still on the hot seat. There have been a number of potential replacements, most notably former Golden State Warriors head coach and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. He is also represented by Klutch Sports, LeBron James agency. But, if Blatt is let go during the season, Taylor feels assistant coach Tyronn Lue would be the interim head coach.
"Mark Jackson long term (LeBron and Jackson have same agent-Rich Paul ) but I think for the rest of the season if Blatt is let go during it the Cavs hand the job over to Tyronn Lue on the bench to finish out the season."
With the potential rumors of Cavs star power forward Kevin Love leaving this season and opting out of his contract, a number of teams are interested in him. But, Love has stated that he wants to stay long term here. But, Scott Taylor has an interesting take on Love.
"Kevin says he’s staying but does it look like it out on the floor? It’s clear he and Blatt not seeing eye to eye when Coach sits Love down in the 4th quarter," said Taylor. "Is Blatt trying to get into Love’s head and teach him something? I don’t think Kevin wants him in his head and maybe even on the bench. My belief is Love leaves if Blatt stays on or Love will stay if you see a change in coaching… soon."
Later on in the interview as a lot of Cavs fans want Tristan Thompson trade, but Taylor says there is no chance he gets traded because LeBron loves Thompson. Taylor also said whether or not Cavs fans like it, this is LeBron's team no matter who the coach is. He has the keys.
Regardless of the talk about the Cavs from the media and being 21-20 through the halfway point of the season, it is still a long season. Three new faces in a Cavs uniform in Shumpert, Smith and Mozgov. Once those pieces start clicking and the rest of the team starts clicking, then this team will be a force in the league. The slow start has many Cavs fans fans concerned, but there is still 41 games left in the regular season for this team to click like we though it would during the off-season. Like Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers said "R-E-L-A-X." Everything will be just fine.
Game Recap: Cavs Demolish Hornets in Blowout Win
By: Simon Hannig
The Cleveland Cavaliers, following a six game losing streak, have now won five in a row and tonight they did so in convincing fashion.
The Cavs right out of the gates came out firing away. The Cavs swept their season series with the win tonight against the Charlotte Hornets. The Cavs also set a franchise record by enjoying their biggest halftime lead of the season and also in franchise history, as they led 75-40 at half. Tonight also marked newest Cavaliers debut Iman Shumpert. In his debut, he tallied in 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He's known for defense, and even though it did not show up in the stat sheet, in the short amount of minutes he played, he played stellar defense. He almost got steal when he first came into the game.
Every Cavalier on the active roster who played scored tonight in the blowout win.
Stats from tonight:
Kyrie Irving - 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal
JR Smith - 21 points (7-11 from three point range), four rebounds and four assists
LeBron James - 25 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals
Kevin Love - 9 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal
Timofey Mozgov - 14 points and 10 rebounds
Shawn Marion/Iman Shumpert off bench: Eight points each
In the five game winning streak, in a total, Cavs have scored 115.6 points game and have gave up 99.8 points per game. The Cavs defense since acquiring Mozgov has changed. He is the type of rim protector the Cavs have been looking for a long time. He alters shots and blocks shots, or gives a hard foul to save a layup. It is no wonder why they trade two first rounders for Mozgov. With the way he has stepped up and has been clicking with the team right away, is scary for the league.
With the new pieces starting to click for the Cavaliers and the team starting to gel, this is not good for the league. With the defense starting to take shape and with the high scoring offense, it will be tough for a lot of teams in the league to stop them. Have they turned the corner yet? Possibly, but I don't think so just yet.
If they beat Oklahoma City and Portland, then we can talk about the Cavs turning the corner.
Goodnight Cleveland, enjoy the win and talk about a possible Cavs win on Sunday.
Cavs have experienced a rollercoaster start to season
By: Eric Poston
The Cavaliers have sure seen their fair share of highs and lows this season. The team has experienced firing on all cylinders one game to getting blown out the next. Was this expected? Some fans would agree it was going to take time to create chemistry, but others thought the Cavs would dominate and be one of the best teams from the first game to the last. SURPRISE The Cavs started out slow and struggled early on. After dropping their opening game to the terrible Knicks, the Cavs managed to rebound and beat Chicago in overtime. Many thought this win would set the tone for the season, but the Cavs would end up dropping several games and remaining near 500 or just below 500 through the first 13 games. The 36 point win over Orlando set the temp and the Cavs would go on to win eight games in a row. This was a great stretch for the Cavs and really helped them turn things around to have a 13-7 record. The winning streak concluded with a huge 105-101 win against a red hot Toronto. Of course all good things must come to an end as the Cavs would drop the next two games. A standout game recently was the Cavs getting completely blown out by Atlanta 127-98. They would rebound against Booklyn, but the dominate performance many are still waiting for. While the Cavs have been up and down having a rollercoaster type of season, they remain in second place in the standings. With a lot of young talent, a new coach and players that have never played before, it very well may take most of the season before the Cavs really start to dominate. There is even a possibility it may not happen this year, but at least they are winning games and not getting blown out left and right like past seasons. The start of the season being such a struggle is somewhat of a surprise, but maybe it should not be. When you look at the lineup, you would think this team could dominate and run the score up and beat opponents left and right. This may seem possible, but in reality it is not that simple at all. Time is what this team needs, but there is no reason they should not make a run deep into the playoffs. DISSAPOINTMENT Defense and coaching have really stood out as trouble spots for the Cavs. While this team is young and David Blatt is only in his first year coaching, there is no reason to panic. The Cavs hired Blatt, a coach many had never even heard of. He is best known for being successful coaching European basketball. He is looked at as one of the best coaches for European basketball, but the NBA is an entire different ballgame. He is likely finding this out as he has made many adjustments to try and put forth the best Cavs team possible. While some fans are not real impressed, there is no reason to beat down Blatt because there are many moving parts of this team still trying to get in full motion. The defense has been and remains an issue for the Cavs. The Cavs are 17 overall when it comes to points given up. This very well may be contributed to the fact there is so much young talent and a strong lineup and defense plan is still trying to be worked out. Defense should improve as the season moved along as chemistry really starts flowing. One of the biggest disappointments from the Cavs has been Kyrie Irving. He has seen a stretch of breakout games, only to fall back into a slump. Blatt is playing Iriving around 40 minutes per game averaging about 13 points per game. Fans are expecting a lot more out of him for sure. Remember the game earlier this season where we saw Irving score 37 points? He has been far from that recently and seems to not be improving at all. This is a major concern and the Cavs really need to consider if Irving is as good as many feel he is. Trading Irving seems silly at this point, but it really shouldn’t be ruled out in the future. Maybe we are expecting too much out of him, but so far he has not impressed to help lead this team. Thankfully Kevin Love and LeBron James have held their ground and performed well to help push this team to some victories. The rest of this season is going to be not only exciting, but interesting. There are a lot of wild card factors on this team that still need to be figured out and it will be interesting to see if rookie coach Blatt can do it. Can this team really be a NBA Finals contender? It may be too soon to tell right now, but looking at the current performance the answer right now is no. There is a lot of improvement that needs to be made and it will take time.
Cavaliers send Waiters to Oklahoma City, receive Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from New York as part of a three team trade
By: Robbie DiPaola
For months now there have been rumors and speculation about the Cleveland Cavaliers pursuing a trade to strengthen their team, on Monday night, that trade finally happened as the Cavaliers shipped Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder and received Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks as part of a three team deal. Also as part of the deal, the Cavaliers sent Lou Amundson and Alex Kirk to the Knicks as well as a 2019 second round pick. The Knicks will also receive Lance Thomas from the Thunder as part of the trade. However the Knicks plan is to waive all three players acquired in the trade as well as center Samuel Dalembert. In addition to the Cavaliers receiving Shumpert and Smith, they also obtained a protected 2015 first round pick from the Thunder. The pick is top 18 protected in 2015, top 15 protected in 2016 and 2017. If the pick has not been used after 2017, the Cavaliers will receive the 2018 and 2019 second round picks from the Thunder. The Cavaliers main target was Shumpert, who averages 7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals for his career. The Cavaliers agreed to take the six million dollar contract of Smith as part of the trade. Smith won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award two seasons ago after he averaged 18.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. In his 11 year career, Smith has averaged 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds while shooting 40.2% from the floor. Smith will be instant offense for the Cavaliers off the bench, which is what the team desperately needs. Shumpert will be a significant upgrade for the Cavaliers on the defensive end, which is an area the Cavaliers as a whole have struggled with their team defense all season long. Time will tell to see how the Cavaliers will fare in this three team trade, but from the looks of it the Cavaliers have improved their team after this three team trade.
West Coast Road Trip Proves Tough For New-Look Cavaliers
By Robbie DiPaola
“Rome wasn’t built in one day” were the words uttered out of Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James after the Cavaliers lost for the third time in four games. James was exactly right; this season will be a long process.
After a hard fought victory in Chicago, The Cavaliers (2-3) left the windy city to head out west and begin their first Western Conference road trip of the year.
First stop for the Cavaliers was in Portland, where they would face the upstart Blazers who were coming off their best season in recent years. Early on in the game, the Cavs got off to a hot shooting start, starting 10-for-10 from the field.
From there on out, it was bad news for the wine and gold as they only made 21 out of their last 75 shots, which resulted in a 19-point loss at the hands of the Blazers.
James; seemed out of sorts for most of the game as he only scored 11 points on the night. It was reported later in the week that James was trying a new strategy to lead the team.
The strategy was that James apparently was letting guards Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving take the shots and dominate the ball for most of the game. The lesson James was trying to teach the young guards; you cannot dominate the ball and play one on five and expect to win games. The Cavs lost the game 101-82.
In the game against the Blazers, Irving and Waiters combined to go 6-for-28 shooting and just 15 points.
Cavs backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova suffered a sprained MCL in the 19-point loss and will be out four to six weeks. The Cavs dropped A.J Price and signed guard Will Cherry. He will assume the role of backup point guard while Dellavedova is out.
The next night the Cavs were in Salt Lake City to battle the Utah Jazz. Just four games into the new season; head coach David Blatt made a change in the starting lineup. Shawn Marion in, Waiters out.
For most of the night the Cavs trailed the Jazz until late in the fourth quarter when the Cavs made a push to win the game. James and Irving led the Cavs on this night as they combined to score 65 of the teams 100 points.
After James hit three clutch free throws to tie the game at 100-100 with just three seconds left, it appeared the game would be heading to overtime. That was not to be as Jazz Forward Gordon Hayward hit a game-winning jump shot.
The Cavs only recorded six total assists in the game, four coming from James and more significantly none from Irving. The tough loss dropped the Cavs to 1-3 on the season.
Friday night rolled around and the Cavs were in Denver to clash with the Nuggets. This was just the Cavs fifth game of a young season, but it was by far their best overall performance as a team.
There were seven total members of the wine and gold in double figures, including all five starters. James lead the way with 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Kevin Love recorded 19 points and eight rebounds and Waiters poured in 17 points off the bench for the Cavs.
A scary moment occurred in the game when Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur unnecessarily pushed Waiters when he was in mid-air going for a layup. Luckily Waiters was okay and would remain in the game.
The blatant foul resulted in an ejection for Arthur and left Waiters with a sore back. Waiters is now questionable for Monday nights game with a lower back injury.
After the Nuggets battled for most of the second half, the Cavs were able to put the game away, winning 110-101.
Now after the four-game road trip, the Cavs will head home, where they will play nine of their next 11 games starting with hosting the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.
Cavs get first win in overtime
By: Eric Poston
Chicago, ILLINOIS - Four quarters wasn’t enough for the Cavs to obtain their first win as it took overtime to power past the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs got their first win Friday night in Chicago 114 to 108.
LeBron James came ready to play following his tough start against New York Thursday night. James scored 36 points and had eight rebounds and four assists. Kyrie Iriving also led the Cavs scoring 23 points and making a critical basket and free throw late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 98.
The real story was Tristan Thompson who had 13 rebounds, 12 of them being on offense. This ties a franchise record for the Cavs. Derrick Rose scored 20 points for Chicago before being sidelined with a sprained left ankle.
Cleveland rallied from five down in the final minute after blowing a nine-point lead in the start of the fourth quarter. The Cavs saw an all-around improvement following a mistake driven game against the Knicks the night before. Ball movement and rebounds were much improvement compared to the game before as the team continues to figure out what works and what doesn’t with a new coach and new rooster.
The Cavs will travel to Portland for a 10 p.m. start Tuesday night.
Stats from your Cavs:
LeBron James - 36pts. (14-30 from field, 7-9 from the line). 3 turnovers, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Kyrie Iriving - 23pts, 1 rebound, 3 assists
Kevin Love - 16pts., 16 rebounds, 1 assists
Anderson Varejao - 9pts., 3 rebounds, 1 assists
Dion Waiters - 9pts., 3 rebounds, 1 assists
Tristan Thompson - 16pts., 13 rebounds, 2 assists
Knicks Spoil LeBron’s return home, but still a night to Remember (10/30/14)
By: Simon Hannig
Cleveland, OHIO - Today was the day every Cleveland fan and Cavs fans were waiting for. October 30th. Not only was it opening night for the Cavs, but it was the debut of the Big 3 of Kyrie, LeBron and Kevin Love. It also was LeBron James first game back as a Cavalier.Everyone wanted to be at the game and in downtown Cleveland, and I was lucky I got to go.
Arriving in Cleveland, I could feel the energy. You could feel the buzz. Every sport outlet was here, in Cleveland. Cleveland was the center of the sports universe tonight. Stars like Spike Lee, Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart and more where here and this does not happen much for Cleveland. TNT and the Cavs also had a fan fest concert outside The Q that featured Kevin Hart, Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons.
The Q was about full with at least an hour, to an hour in half until tip off. The Cavs also debuted their new scoreboard and as owner Dan Gilbert called it: “Humungotron.” It was exactly as advertised. From Usher singing the National Anthem, and the Cavs intros with the brand new, state of the art 3D projections.
Three word to take away from tonight: Electric. Amazing. Unreal.
The game obviously didn’t go LeBron and the Cavs way. We did get a taste of what the Kevin Love outlet passes will be like. For the Cavs, the defense wasn’t there. Looked like they were nervous, maybe a little too hype for the game. The turnovers were a killer too, as they had 19 overall, with LeBron having eight of them (career high).
Stats from your Cavs:
LeBron James - 17pts. (5-15 from field, 6-7 from the line). 8 turnovers, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Kevin Love - 19pts., 14 rebounds, 4 assists
Anderson Varejao - 10pts., 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Dion Waiters - 10pts., 1 rebound, 2 assists Kyrie Irving - 22pts., 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Tristan Thompson - 6pts., 2 rebounds Matthew Dellavedova - 6pts., 3 assists
The Cavs will start a four game road trip starting tomorrow night in Chicago to face the Bulls. Tip off is at 8 p.m. Eastern. On FoxSportsOhio and ESPN.
Cavs Outlook 2014-15 (10/30/14)
By: Eric Poston
Could this finally be the year?
Fans have waited and waited and waited for a championship to return to Cleveland. 1964 was the last time a championship happened in Cleveland. 50 years have gone by where fans have sat and hoped for a winning team, but it never happened.
What makes this year any different than the past? The Cavaliers have built what many are calling a superstar basketball team. LeBron James has returned to Cleveland to join Kyrie Iriving and Kevin Love. In addition to these three superstars, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Dion Waiters will help power the lineup.
Fans have a reason to be excited, very excited just by looking at the roster heading into this season. The Cavs have struggled in past seasons since LeBron left for Miami. Fans were upset and they had good reason to be because LeBron was the driving force of the Cavs prior to him leaving.
Most people including myself never thought he would return to Cleveland. What incentive was there really to return? The incentive didn’t happen until the roster began to fill up with superstars and LeBron saw he could win in Cleveland. LeBron also knew how much he is loved in his hometown and wanted to return home to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland.
When the Cavs lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2010, fans knew they may have to wait a while to see playoff basketball in Cleveland again. The Cavs went from one of the best records to the worst finishing 19 and 63 in the 2010-2011 season.
The Cavs fired Mike Brown following the playoff collapse in 2010, only to hire him back in 2013 and then fire him again. Byron Scott coached three seasons in between Mike Brown’s time, but didn’t have much success either.
I want to see a championship more than ever in Cleveland. The city deserves one waiting 50 years. I have only been around for 24 of those 50 years, but it has been downright depressing watching losing teams fill our lives. I wrote a column several years back about a championship in Cleveland and I feel like the best opportunity for one to happen is with the Cavs.
The Cavs are finally in a position to win and take the team far into the playoffs. While it is too soon to tell if the Cavs can win an NBA Championship this year, it is certainly possible. There are many factors that will be interesting to see how they unfold. The team has to adjust to playing together and under new coach David Blatt. The Cavs are fortunate to have a powerful starting lineup in addition to some depth when it comes to the bench.
I really have faith in this team and feel they will go deep into the playoffs. With LeBron back in Cleveland teamed up with Iriving and Love, there is no reason this team should not be in the NBA Finals. Maybe just maybe this will finally be the year a championship will arrive in Cleveland. If not this year, hopefully the team can drive deep into the playoffs and be right there going for a championship next year after having a year to play together as a team.
Exciting basketball is back in Cleveland and fans have every reason to finally feel good about the Cleveland Cavaliers again.
