The AP reports: LeBron James dunked the first time he touched the ball and scored 34 points—22 in the first half—as the Cavaliers, who waited nine days between playoff games after a first-round sweep, shook off some early rust and pulled away for a 99-72 win over the Hawks in their Eastern Conference semifinal opener on Tuesday. Showing why he was voted the league’s best player in a landslide, James added 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals as the top-seeded Cavs won their fifth straight lopsided game in a postseason that has so far mirrored the best regular season in franchise history… Maurice Williams added 21 points for Cleveland, which became the first team since the 2004 Detroit Pistons to win each of its five playoff games by double figures. With the Cavs up by 21, James was pulled with 4:29 left—extra down time before Game 2 on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavaliers are 42-2. Josh Smith scored 22 and Mike Bibby 19 for the Hawks, who needed seven games to get past Miami and are playing in the second round for the first time in 10 years. They weren’t happy with their start in this series, going 9-for-30 and scoring just 28 points after halftime.
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LeBron James wins MVP
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LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.
James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.
Rounding out the top five in voting for this season’s award are the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (698 points), Miami’s Dwyane Wade (680), Orlando’s Dwight Howard (328) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (192).
James, the first Cavalier to win the award, led Cleveland in scoring (28.4 ppg, second in the NBA), rebounds (7.6 rpg), assists (7.2 apg, fourth), and steals (1.7 spg, eighth). Since the 1973-74 season when steals became an official stat, James is the fourth player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, while also leading his team to 50-plus wins (Larry Bird 1985-86; Grant Hill, 1996-97; Kevin Garnett, 2002-03). The 6-8 forward helped Cleveland to an NBA- and franchise-best 66-16 season, a 21-game improvement over last season (45-37), marking the 12th time an NBA team has reached 66 wins in a season.
More info and the voting results on our NBA MVP page.
Pistons may overhaul team this summer
The Detroit Free Press (Vince Ellis) reports: The Pistons will likely undergo a major roster overhaul in the off-season. Besides Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Kwame Brown and Allen Iverson are unrestricted free agents. Iverson is gone, Wallace is likely to leave and McDyess is a question mark. It’s Brown’s option whether he will stay or not, but with a $4-million contract guaranteed, it’s hard to see him finding that kind of deal anywhere else. Walter Herrmann and Will Bynum are restricted free agents. It’s hard to see Herrmann back, but it’s the team’s option on Bynum and he’s expected to return. As for Michael Curry, it appears he will return for a second season. He has two years left on the $2.5-million-a-year deal he signed last year.
LeBron lifts Cavs past Pistons and into 2nd round
The AP reports: LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series… Mo Williams scored a career playoff-high 24 and Delonte West had 12 points for the Cavs… In the final game of what was a miserable season, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess had 26 points to tie a career playoff high, Will Bynum scored a career playoff-high 22 and Rodney Stuckey had 14… Rasheed Wallace was scoreless, missing all seven of his shots, in what was probably his last game with the Pistons unless they make a stunning move and re-sign him as a free agent.
LeBron lifts Cavs to 3-0 series lead over Pistons
The AP reports: LeBron James scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 79-68 victory Friday night over Detroit and a 3-0 lead in the first-round series… The Pistons, whose collective heart was questioned by one of their players, played hard for three-plus quarters before being rendered helpless by James… James had 11 rebounds and nine assists. He said he learned he was just short of a triple-double after looking at the stat sheet… Joe Smith had a career playoff-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 13 points… Richard Hamilton had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Rodney Stuckey contributed 12 points and five assists.
Cavaliers hold off Pistons 94-82, win Game 2
The AP reports: Up by 29 points in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers blew most of their big lead against Detroit’s reserves and LeBron James had to go back in and restore order as Cleveland held on for a 94-82 win on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series. For three quarters, the Cavs were at their basketball best… James, showing no regard for a defensive plan Detroit spent three days preparing for him, scored 29 and Williams added 21 as the Cavaliers withstood a stirring comeback by the Pistons, who used a 27-5 run to close within seven on Antonio McDyess’ jumper with 3:51 left… Delonte West scored 20 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12 for the top-seeded Cavs, who led 79-50 in the first minute of the fourth and were embarrassing the Pistons. But Detroit dug down and gave Cleveland and its raucous crowd a scare the Cavs may never forget… Richard Hamilton scored 17 and Rodney Stuckey 14 for the Pistons, who are going home down 0-2 with their starters searching for positives.
Dwight Howard named Defensive Player of Year
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.
The 6-11 center led the NBA in rebounds and blocks, averaging 13.8 boards and 2.92 blocks. He also averaged 20.6 points on .572 shooting from the floor. Howard recorded nine 20-point/20-rebound games while leading the team in scoring 39 times and in rebounds on 69 occasions.
Howard, a three-time NBA All-Star, helped the Magic to its second consecutive Southeast Division title (59-23), including a 32-9 record at home. The Magic held opponents under 100 points 54 times this season — compiling a 43-11 record — including a season-low 68 points allowed by New Orleans on Dec. 25. Orlando allowed 94.4 ppg (7,737 points), which ranked sixth in the NBA, and overall the team was in the NBA’s top 10 in seven defensive categories.
Howard became the fifth player in NBA history to finish the season leading the league in rebounding and blocks (1973-74 was the first season blocks were kept as an official statistic). The select group includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers, 1975-76), Bill Walton (Portland Trail Blazers, 1976-77), Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston, 1989-90) and Ben Wallace (Detroit, 2001-02).
Howard received 542 points, including 105 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Cleveland’s LeBron James finished second with 148 points and Miami’s Dwyane Wade finished third with 90 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.
Finishing fourth was Shane Battier, fifth was Ron Artest, sixth was Chris Paul, seventh was Kobe Bryant, eighth was Kevin Garnett, ninth was Chris Andersen and 10th was Rajon Rondo.
Mike Brown named Coach of Year
Cleveland’s Mike Brown is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.
Brown totaled 355 points, including 55 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
In his fourth season at the helm in Cleveland, Brown guided the Cavaliers to a franchise- and NBA-best 66-16 (.805) season, marking only the 12th time an NBA team has won at least 66 games. Cleveland started the season with a franchise-best 23-straight wins at Quicken Loans Arena and finished with the best home record in the league at 39-2. Cleveland is the sixth team in NBA history to record 39 home wins and the first to do so since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers’ 21-game improvement over last year’s 45-37 record tied the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the second biggest improvement all-time among teams with at least 45 wins in the previous season.
Brown was named NBA Coach of the Month for December, February and March. At the All-Star break, Cleveland owned the highest winning percentage in the Eastern Conference (36-9, .800), earning Brown the spot as head coach for the East in Phoenix. It was Brown’s first appearance as an All-Star head coach and the second in franchise history (Lenny Wilkens, 1989).
Brown led the Cavaliers to at least 45 wins in each of his first three campaigns, marking only the second time Cleveland won that many games in three consecutive seasons (1991-92 to 1993-94). With a combined regular season record of 211-117 (.643) in four seasons, Brown has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in franchise history. In each of his first three seasons in Cleveland, Brown has led the Cavaliers to the playoffs, amassing a franchise-best 26-20 (.565) postseason record. In 2007, he led Cleveland to its first trip to The Finals.
Brown joined the Cavaliers after two seasons as associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers. Prior to that, Brown served as assistant coach for three seasons in San Antonio, helping guide the Spurs to the 2003 NBA championship. Brown began his coaching career with the Washington Wizards, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Bernie Bickerstaff.
The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Houston coach Rick Adelman finished second in the voting with 13 first-place votes and 151 total points.
Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy finished third with 13 first-place votes and 150 total points.
Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan finished fourth with 15 first-place votes and 127 total points.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl finished fifth with 11 first-place votes and 117 total points.
The next five coaches to receive some votes were Jerry Sloan, Erik Spoelstra, Mike Woodson, Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.
Fans predict first round playoff results
InsideHoops.com posted a poll two days ago asking fans to predict the results of the 2009 NBA playoffs first round.
In the East:
325 fans picked the Cavaliers to beat the Pistons. Just 29 picked Detroit.
321 fans picked the Magic to beat the 76ers. Just 20 picked Philadelphia.
258 fans picked the Celtics to beat the Bulls. 87 picked Chicago.
And in the East’s only fairly close result, 183 fans picked the Heat while 155 picked the Hawks.
As expected, other than the Lakers-Jazz series, the voting was pretty close in the West:
336 fans picked the Lakers to beat the Jazz. Just 17 picked Utah.
241 fans picked the Nuggets to beat the Hornets. 113 picked New Orleans.
224 fans picked the Spurs to beat the Mavericks. 122 picked Dallas.
198 fans picked the Trail Blazers to beat the Rockets. 152 picked Houston.
Cavaliers roll over Pistons, take Game 1
The AP reports: LeBron James banked in a stunning 3-pointer at the end of the first half and finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Cavaliers embarked on their quest for a first NBA championship with a 102-84 win over the Pistons in Game 1 on Saturday… The likely MVP went 13-of-20 from the field, 11-of-14 from the line and didn’t commit a turnover. Cleveland had only five miscues, a postseason franchise record… Joe Smith scored 13 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12 and 10 rebounds for the Cavs, who pushed the tempo in the second half and outran the aging Pistons. Rodney Stuckey scored 20 and Hamilton 15 for Detroit, which came in as a No. 8 seed and could be in for a shorter postseason run after making the Eastern Conference finals the past six years.