Early Returns

Over this past weekend, there was a tangible energy at The Q and around the city for the Cavaliers that hasn’t been there since the Finals last June. Cleveland was quietly putting together another great season – trade or no trade. But, after Thursday’s blockbuster, it sure feels like there’s renewed juice for the Wine and Gold heading into the homestretch.

Friday’s crowd was off the chain as the Cavaliers turned in one of the more valiant performances of the season. It was an affirmation of their resiliency – knocking off their back-to-back playoff nemeses with eight bodies. After the 90-89 thriller, Coach Mike Brown stated it plainly …

“I’ve said this a million times but LeBron James is the MVP,” said Brown. “I don’t have a strong enough voice, I guess. He was spectacular. He was phenomenal in every category from the offensive end to the defensive end of the floor.”

Kobe Bryant is having another accomplished season and Chris Paul might be having a better one. But nobody has done more heavy lifting than LeBron this year. Night after night, he puts the team on his back and does so selflessly, brilliantly. Even his statistics – which are prolific – don’t tell the full story of why the young King is the league’s best and most valuable player.

Before Thursday’s trade, the Cavaliers had 11 players having missed a combined 120 games this season due to injury. Last week, Daniel Gibson went down for 4-6 weeks and Anderson Varejao hasn’t played since January 27.

But on Sunday, the injury story thankfully went to the back burner. In what would have been a relatively meaningless matchup with Memphis, the new-look Cavaliers breathed new life into their season and the city.

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was on hand to witness the fruits of his and the Cavaliers front office’s deadline deal.

“We’re building this into the franchise that people in Cleveland want and deserve,” said Gilbert. “You put in $375 million for a franchise and break even for a couple years, you can’t start getting cheap now. It’s like pounding the rock 99 times and walking away.”

The new Cavaliers were obviously moved by the Wine and Gold welcome. Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West come from a cellar-dweller to a team that is suddenly being mentioned in the same breath as the Celtics and Pistons. (West was shocked at the group of reporters gathered around his locker postgame yesterday. “It’s been like four months since anybody wanted to talk to me,” he joked.)

“I was in the playoffs my first five years in the league, and I wanted to get back there,” beamed Szczerbiak when he arrived on Friday night. “So just by a few minutes at the Trade Deadline, I have the opportunity to get back. And I’m so grateful for it. It’s a blessing and I’m looking forward to working hard and taking advantage of it.”

The Seattle duo didn’t fare as well as their counterparts from Chicago, but still had some nice moments. West was 2-for-12 from the floor but still managed six dimes, including a sweet alley-oop to LeBron. Wally was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, netting 10 points off the bench.

The Chicago side of the blockbuster deal was as advertised or better. Ben Wallace and Joe Smith were a combined 11-for-14 from the floor. Wallace scored a season-high 12 points – most on uncontested dunks – and doubled-up with 10 boards. Big Ben has a new lease on life without having to play straight center.

“In Chicago, I was locked at the ‘5’ all the time, not having the opportunity to get out on the floor and disrupt the offense,” said Wallace. “I think that’s one of my strengths. Now I’m going to have that opportunity.”

For all the dunks and rebounds Wallace netted on Sunday, a five-second backcourt call might have gotten him more amped than anything else.

Joe Smith was all smiles from the minute he emerged from the locker room and his Cleveland reception – (and in-game production) – kept that grin on the 12-year veteran’s face all night.

“Man I had a lot of fun,” said Smith. “I always try to play with a smile on my face but tonight I couldn’t help but to laugh a few times. I had a lot of fun out there on the floor and playing with guys like LeBron makes the game so much easier, it makes the game fun.”

Of course, it won’t always be this smooth for the new-look Cavaliers. A lot of teams have found their chemistry against the 14-42 Grizzlies. Against the 42-12 Boston Celtics – who the Wine and Gold face on Wednesday – not so much.

The Cavaliers will face the Celtics just once more. But they’ll see Detroit three more times this season, and Chicago, four more.

All three opponents should provide some major fireworks – especially the battles with the Bulls.

On Sunday night, Larry Hughes and a headband-less Drew Gooden made their debuts for Chicago. Hughes was 6-for-11 for 13 points; Gooden 4-for-11 for 12 points and eight boards. Both players came off the bench.

Compared to the quotes from the new Cavaliers and their teammates, Chicago’s Ben Gordon had this to say about his five-point performance in the Bull’s 13-point loss to Houston, the league’s hottest team.

"We've got new guys in and there wasn't much chemistry," said Gordon. "It was difficult and a tough night for me to get my rhythm."

Something tells me Gordon will find that rhythm when he and his new teammates square off against the Wine and Gold. The first meeting with the Bulls is an afternoon affair on March 2 at The Q. The two clash four days later in the Windy City.

The Cavaliers have two big Eastern Conference road games and a matchup with Minnesota on Friday in Cleveland to worry about before squaring off against their old friends. And despite Sunday’s blowout over Memphis, there are plenty of kinks to work out. Of course, having LeBron smoothes out some rough edges.

Before yesterday’s ballgame, one reporter (began to) ask LeBron: “If this deal doesn’t work out …” but that’s as far as the question got before being stopped cold by James.

“It’s going to work,” he asserted. (And the man is nothing, if not assertive.)

The second game in the new era of Cavaliers basketball tips off on Tuesday. Stay tuned – this season is just getting good.

New Faces, Changing Places

Friday night’s matchup against the Wizards will definitely be a surreal experience. After shipping out six players in Thursday’s mammoth trade, the Cavaliers will have the league-minimum eight players dressed, including a pair of NBDL call-ups: Kaniel Dickens – a “stretch four” – and shooting guard, Billy Thomas.

The newest Cavaliers – Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Delonte West – might be in uniform as early as Sunday night’s game against Memphis. The quartet, as well as all the players Cleveland traded on Thursday, will have to pass their physicals before they can suit up.

The city is still abuzz over Danny Ferry’s bold move. And even some of the remaining Cavaliers were taken aback by the deadline deal.

“Me and my sons were watching it – and they kind of get excited about hearing names – going and coming,” said Eric Snow, who will get the starting nod at point on Friday. “It was fun to see that with them. But also, this is an exciting time of the year. You’ve got a team that’s trying to win the Championship, and we’re trying to put the pieces together that’s going to help us accomplish that goal.

“You have to support it and embrace it and get ready for the stretch run.”

For all the money and glory, the trade deadline can be tough on players. They still have to uproot their families – sometimes in the middle of the school year at a moment’s notice. And for players like Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble, they go from a club that was contending for an NBA title to a team that’s in a self-induced implosion and aiming towards the lottery.

“I was sad to see those guys go because we had some good times, some good teams and they were good guys,” said Zydrunas Ilgauskas. “But also, we added some good players and now it’s just a question of how we’re going to mesh together and play as a unit.”

The Cavaliers are getting solid, playoff-tested veterans – which will help greatly with their assimilation. Delonte West will probably have the longest adjustment period, simply because of his age and the position he plays. And Mike Brown has already intimated that Snow and LeBron James will be handling “assistant coaching” duties on the fly. But overall, getting the new Cavaliers up to speed doesn’t seem like a huge concern.

“We’re getting veteran guys, here,” added Ilgauskas. “We’re not trying to send a man to the moon – it’s not NASA. At the end of the day, it’s still pick-and-roll, rebounding, defending. Obviously they have to learn the plays and that could take a little bit, but we all run similar plays and everyone here knows where the ball goes in the fourth quarter.”

In the meantime, it’s going to be a skeleton crew for the Wine and Gold. Billy Thomas, who played a little with the Wizards and averaged 15.7 ppg with the Colorado 14ers in the D-League, will get his shot playing next to LeBron – and he hopes to make the most out of the audition.

“Having only eight healthy bodies for tonight, the coaches made a point to me not to do much thinking, just go out and play basketball the way I was blessed to play,” said Thomas. “And that’s the way I’m going to approach it.”

The new Cavaliers will be on the North Coast soon enough and will probably get in a practice on Saturday before seeing action on the floor of The Q. Anderson Varejao – depending on how he feels during that practice – may join his new mates on Sunday night.

“I talked to ‘Debo’ – that’s my nickname (for Wallace) they called him ‘The Body’ in Detroit – last night and told him we were going to be shorthanded tonight,” quipped an obviously excited Coach Brown. “And he said, ‘I know, Coach. I tried to come out and get my physical today, but they wouldn’t let me.’ But, I know as soon as (the new guys) are ready, they’ll be in uniform.”

Musings from the Mid-Season Classic

The mid-season classic has come and gone and the Wine and Gold will be getting it back together on Tuesday night. Here’s just a few random notes from All-Star Weekend and Sunday’s All-Star Game …

Even in his absence, Shaquille O’Neal is larger than life. Of all the superstars that took part in the weekend – including major heavyweights like LeBron, Kobe and Allen Iverson – the Big Aristotle was conspicuous by his absence. A hip injury that sidelined him for a good part of the first half eventually derailed his record-tying 14-year run.

“We miss him a lot,” said James. “This is my fifth year as part of All-Star Weekend and his comedy and his pizzazz and everything he brings to All-Star Weekend is being missed. We wish he was here, even if he wasn’t part of the game, just to keep us laughing and level-headed.”

But the newly-self-dubbed “Big Cactus” won’t be out of the spotlight for long. On Wednesday night, probably the most eagerly-anticipated game of the NBA season tips-off in Phoenix as the Diesel plays his first game as a Sun against Kobe and the Lakers.

Almost as strange as Shaq’s absence was the lack of anything Nike down in New Orleans. Unlike adidas signage, which towered along buildings throughout the city, the ubiquitous swoosh was nowhere to be seen over All-Star Weekend. Instead of spending money on advertising, Nike chose to put that money in Katrina rebuilding efforts.

This is how nicknames are made. “Thunder” and “Man-Child” were never really fitting for Orlando’s superstar, Dwight Howard. After his high-flying dunk on Saturday night, the fourth-year forward from Georgia will be forever linked to “Superman.”

(Personally, I still think Gerald Green’s dunks were more impressive. Prop-wise, the “cupcake dunk” was spectacular. And the shoeless throw-down was as impressive if not more. “I don’t think people realize how hard of a dunk that was,” said Kevin Garnett. “He didn’t just go up and dunk the ball barefooted. He went up and threw it between his legs and dunked. Half of the league can’t dunk between their legs, let alone do it in socks.”)

But Gerald Green is Gerald Green – toiling on one of the league’s bottom-feeders – and Howard is one of the faces of the NBA. His development as not just a player, but as an NBA celebrity, was tangible this weekend in Atlanta. Until recently, Howard was one of the more obscure stars in the league. But he’s obviously growing into his superstardom.

LeBron James is the league’s rock star. No player elicits the crowd reaction like the Cavaliers’ young King. It’s always interesting to see which non-local player gets the biggest ovation when they’re introduced; and on Sunday night, it was LeBron. Close behind was the polarizing Kobe Bryant, who got a huge ovation and also a fairly sizeable smattering of boos. Bryant – who came into the game with an injured pinky – played just 2:52 seconds.

With 10:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, the referees actually called a player (Carlos Boozer) for traveling. And yes, that is noteworthy in an All-Star Game.

As much as this might cheese off Cavalier fans reading – it’s obvious after seeing the pair over the course of the weekend that Jason Kidd and LeBron James have a natural chemistry both and off the court.

Charles Barkley didn’t create headlines this year for racing referee, Dick Bavetta, but he did create headlines when he announced that he’s going to run for the Governor or Alabama in 2014 and that Conservatives are “fake Christians.”

As you might expect from a an All-Star Game in New Orleans, Sunday’s game had some of the best musical acts and performances of any contest in recent memory. The National Anthem, performed by Branford Marsalis, Stephanie Jordan and Jonathan Dubose might have been the best since Marvin Gaye’s in 1983.

The Rebirth Brass Band – whose performance I accidentally caught while stumbling around the French Quarter on Friday night – blew it up for player introductions. Harry Connick’s halftime number was outstanding, as was Dr. John’s version of “What a Wonderful World” on Saturday night.

Dwyane Wade – one of the league’s premier talents – has really fallen off the radar in terms of the league’s zeitgeist. Wade was once on LeBron’s level, popularity-wise. But being on the NBA’s worst club at 9-41, and without the benefit of Shaquille O’Neal to ease double-teams, it could be a while before Wade’s star returns to its former flash.

“He’s seen the highest level of success and the lowest point, being the worst team in the league,” said close friend, LeBron James. “They’re just going to have to rebuild for next season. It’s tough – as a friend – watching him go out there and give it is all every night and have them still come up short.”

On Sunday, the league celebrated the 57th anniversary of the mid-season classic. The date – (February 17) – also marks the 45th birthday of arguably the greatest basketball player in the game’s history, Michael Jordan.

Every Cavalier fan knows that LeBron chose No. 23 because of Jordan, but not everyone knows why Jordan originally chose that number. His favorite number had always been No. 45 – which he wore for 22 games in 1995. In high school, Michael couldn’t wear it because it was his brother, Larry’s. So he took half of that number (22 ½) and rounded up to No. 23.

When the smoke clears and everyone returns from the All-Star break, the Cavaliers – who began the month of February 4-3 after going 11-3 in January – play three games in four nights. They start the second half a full ten games behind the Pistons, who ran off 10 straight wins before the break.

The Cavaliers welcome the Houston Rockets to The Q on their first night back. Cleveland dropped a 92-77 decision to Yao Ming and Co. less than two weeks ago, but that was without the power forward combo of Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao. Gooden will be back in action on Tuesday. The Wild Thing might be, too.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night

Boobie’s incredible run almost continued to roll on All-Star Saturday night, but he was going up against a force of nature in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.

Daniel Gibson – the MVP of the Rookie Challenge on Friday night – took reigning champion, Jason Kapono, to the limit. But the Cavaliers’ sanguine sophomore fell in the final round by a final score of 25-17. Gibson scored 17 points in each round, finished strong in each round and consistently canned the money ball.

But Kapono – the man selected by Cleveland in the second round of the “LeBron James Draft” of 2004 – set a record with his 25-point performance and defended his title from one year ago.

“I don’t know where I’m going to put it,” said the laid back former Bruin. “I’m thinking the bathroom or something. Maybe every time I take a shower or I go in and brush my teeth, I’ll start my day out staring at this beautiful trophy right here.”

All-Star Weekend is much about the fashion, fun and pageantry as it is the actual game. Of course, the nattily-dressed LeBron James is always a trendsetter in this area. He crushed it again on All-Star Saturday night – sitting courtside, rocking an open-collared shirt and a three-quarter length trench coat.

One of the more surreal experiences of the weekend was media dining in the Superdome.

Because of the influx of media from all over the world, New Orleans Arena used an area where the field would be in the Superdome – which is right across the street – for the media mess hall. It’s strange, not just because you’re eating this tiny meal in the midst of the cavernous, empty 70,000-seat stadium, but also because of the memories of what the Superdome was like after Katrina – and all the history and heartbreak related to it.

Some of the celebrities on-hand for All-Star Saturday night were Chris Tucker, Alyssa Milano, Terrell Owens, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and of course, Harry Connick, Jr.

Not to be outdone in the wardrobe department, Damon Jones was sporting a wine velvet sport coat and matching striped tie, and sat directly across from LeBron, flanked by – among others – Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Bosh, and the Junkyard Dog, Jerome Williams.

The Sprite Slam Dunk contest had its moments. The problem with the competition is sometimes the best dunks are done in the earlier rounds. Orlando’s Dwight Howard won the competition – mostly due to his “Superman” dunk in which he donned a cape and literally threw the ball down through the hoop.

Gerald Green finished second, but had maybe the best dunk of the night, when he put a lit cupcake on the rim and blew it out after doing a between-the-legs dunk. Green finished with an anti-climatic dunk in his socks and Howard took home the trophy.

Man vs. Media

Usually, the mid-season classic’s media availability doesn’t end with LeBron James scraping paint off windows. But based on the first official afternoon of All-Star Weekend, the New Orleans experience could be a little out of the ordinary.

As he has for the last four years, the starting small forward for the Eastern Conference’s All-Star squad took questions from media – local, regional, international – handling the rapid-fire questions with the same deft touch that he handles foes in the fourth quarter. (Even the crazy Canadian reporter, who annually grills each of the All-Stars with an absurd line of questioning. This year, he asked LeBron if “he was (his) high school’s prom king” and if he “could be LeBron’s friend.” LeBron politely answered, “No.”)

Of course, King James was barraged with questions about the Jason Kidd trade and trades in general. And each time he fended the questioner off.

When asked if he was getting frustrated, LeBron responded: “At times it can be frustrating. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I have teammates around me that are going to play hard for me every night – and I’m going to do the same for them.

“You see the big-name players move around and you wish you could grab a Pau Gasol or a Jason Kidd or a Shaquille O’Neal – of course. But at the same time, that’s not going to take away the fact that I love my teammates and I’m going to play hard every night that I go out there.”

About the only series of questions that got the former St. Vincent-St. Mary’s star’s Irish up was when he was asked more than once about whether or not the Cavaliers can beat the Celtics.

“They gotta beat us! Why does everyone say we have to beat the Celtics? We’re the Eastern Conference Champions. At one point, we’re going to get a little respect. I’m sick of hearing about everybody else. We hold the title right now. We hold the title in the Eastern Conference and San Antonio holds the title for the league.

“’We’re not that good’ – that’s what everybody says. We ‘didn’t beat Detroit – Detroit beat themselves.’ That’s all we were hearing. ‘Washington was without their key guys,’ ‘New Jersey didn’t play up to their capabilities.’ Enough Cavaliers talk, now. I’m only talking about All-Star Weekend – now you guys got me upset.

After his media session, LeBron got on a bus headed for the Holy Cross neighborhood where he and some NBA heavyweights – including Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Bosh – pitched in with a hands-on effort to improve the devastated neighborhood.

As far as LeBron’s sparring session with the media, here are some of the other highlights …

On the vetoed trade with Jason Kidd and where that leaves him for All-Star Weekend: “I told him (Kidd) he should spend 30 minutes in Western Conference meetings and 30 minutes in Eastern Conference meetings. He’s with us now, but after halftime he might go play for the West.”

On Daniel Gibson’s succecss: “He’s a second round draft pick. You’d never imagine a second-rounder would be in the position Daniel’s in – going to the Finals in his rookie year and now being part of All-Star Weekend in his second. I’ve tried to be a mentor to him and he’s listened. Now he’s in a position where he can succeed.

On giving Gibson shooting pointers for the three-point contest: “He’s giving me pointers! He shoots the ball better than I do.”

On Nike spending potential advertising money into the community instead of on billboards: “We know that All-Star Weekend the NBA is sponsored by adidas and they’re going to feature their guys – Dwight and KG and Tim Duncan. The Nike swoosh speaks for itself; we don’t need big billboards around the city of New Orleans. We did our thing by giving money back to the community.”

On how much he respect he has for soldiers in Iraq: “Everybody focuses on the game of basketball so much and someone asked me who are the bigger heroes – us as NBA players or the soldiers in Iraq, and I said the soldiers in Iraq. What they do for our country is unbelievable. They allow us to be here for All-Star Weekend, because they protect us on a daily basis. They get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and protect everyone that’s here – you guys in the media, us players and our families.”

On the Phoenix Suns playing an outdoor preseason game and whether he’d like to be part of it: “That would be extremely fun. Try something different – have a preseason game outside. That would be fun. My whole life I played basketball outside and it was always fun. It doesn’t’ get any better than that. You’re not closed in – you feel free. I know that game’s not being played in Cleveland.”

On seeing Dwayne Wade and his Heat struggling: “It’s very tough. Because I know what a competitor he is. I know he plays through injuries a lot more than other players in this league. He’s seen the highest level of success and the lowest point, being the worst team in the league. They’re just going to have to rebuild for next season. It’s tough – as a friend – watching him go out there and give it is all every night and have them still come up short.”

On Boobie borrowing LeBron’s stylist for All-Star Weekend: “He can’t afford my stylist. But he will! If he keeps listening to me, in a year or two he’ll be able to afford my stylist.”

On what’s in the creative pipeline for Nike and the future of The LeBrons: “What we did with Nike, we wanted to get back to the basketball side of things. That’s where I came up with my commercial where I’m in slow motion. Getting back to more basketball and get kids focused on the game. The LeBron’s aren’t dead; they just took a vacation.”

…and finally, from our favorite reporter from North of the Border …

Can you help me become popular: No.

Barrelling Towards the Break

It was late Friday afternoon before the Cavaliers rolled back into town and several of them, including LeBron James and Daniel Gibson, said that Saturday’s game felt like another road game. They looked like it in the first half. And, the way they’ve been playing on the road, it looked like it in the second half.

The Cavaliers are now 14-4 since Christmas Day and are still the hottest club in the league. In that stretch, they’ve beaten the Mavericks, Spurs, Lakers and Blazers in their gyms. They’ve gone 7-1 at home, including Saturday night’s two-touchdown win over the shorthanded Clippers.

Cleveland’s frontline was dominant, led by LeBron James – who turns in so many spectacular performances that a 28-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist effort seems pretty normal. Since his mortal performance in the season opener against Dallas, LeBron has been the league’s best player and his prolific performance in Portland solidified his status as the front-runner for MVP. (Holding Kobe to 1-for-7 in the fourth quarter one game earlier set him up for the top spot.)

In Sunday’s thriller in Los Angeles, LeBron passed Mark Price and moved into third place on the all-time franchise scoring list and against Portland, he passed John Bagley and is now second all-time in assists.

LeBron has been dominant in the fourth quarter on both sides of the ball, clamping down on the opposition’s best player while carrying the scoring load.

“That was one of my goals coming into the year,” said James following Saturday’s win. “I wanted to become a better defensive player. That’s where it starts in the game and closes games in the fourth quarter.”

The Conference’s Player of the Month leads the league in fourth quarter scoring and in 13 games in January, averaged 32.8 points, 9.2 boards and 6.4 assists per contest.

(Just as an aside: Remember when the knock on LeBron was that he couldn’t hit the clutch shot?)

The trio of LeBron, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been the Cavaliers’ strong suit all season. They’ve got 52 double-doubles between them – Z leading the way with 21. (Drew, 16; LeBron, 15). On Saturday night, they accounted for 64 of the Wine and Gold’s 98 points and 36 of their 50 rebounds.

With Sasha Pavlovic on the shelf, Larry Hughes has stepped up his game, averaging 17.4 ppg – on 41 percent shooting – over the last five games.

The bench has been strong, despite losing Anderson Varejao until some time after the All-Star break. Daniel Gibson is averaging 11.8 ppg, is fourth in the league from beyond the arc and should be a lock for the Three-Point ShootOut. The sophomore from Texas with a million-dollar smile has the perfect demeanor for the contest. He’s canned three or more three-pointers in 19 games this season.

“All (Gibson) needs is a fraction of a second to get that shot off and no matter where he is, it’s good,” praised Coach Mike Brown, before adding,”Mr. Stern and Mr. Jackson, if you guys are watching, I don’t know if you’ve made your selection yet, but he’s a very good three-point shooter and would really make that contest interesting.”

Damon Jones has provided leadership and scoring punch, Devin Brown has been the squad’s Swiss army knife and the rugged Dwayne Jones has been Dwayne Jones – not exactly the charge-taking type in Anderson’s absence.

All these accomplishments will be put to the test before the Cavaliers reach the All-Star break.

The league’s top team rolls into The Q on Tuesday night, as the Big Three come to Cleveland. The Cavaliers handed the Celtics their second loss of the season in an overtime thriller on November 27. Boston got their revenge, holding a LeBron-less Cavalier club to 70 points on December 2 in Beantown.

It doesn’t get much easier from there until the break, either. This week they visit the Western Conference for the final time when they face Yao Ming and the Rockets in H-town. The next night, Cleveland travels to Atlanta, where they’ve already dropped the second-half of a back-to-back. They’ve got a Denver team that LeBron is 2-7 career against, the Magic in Orlando and the Spurs at The Q in the final game before the mid-season classic.

So basically, it ain’t going to be easy. But that’s nothing new for these Cardiac Cavaliers. The season gets more interesting with every turn, and there are plenty of turns left before the break rolls around in less than two weeks.