Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 107 – NBA Blog

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.

Ray Allen suspended for elbowing Varejao

Ray Allen of the Boston Celtics has been suspended one game without pay for elbowing Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao in the groin, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter of the Celtics 107-76 loss to the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday, April 12.

Allen will serve his suspension tonight when the Celtics visit the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Read fan reaction and post your own comments in this forum topic.

Cavaliers beat Pacers, clinch home court advantage

The AP reports: LeBron James expects to rest during Cleveland’s regular-season finale, a well-earned reward for leading the Cavaliers to home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. James scored 37 points as the Cleveland beat the Indiana Pacers 117-109 on Monday night to clinch the league’s best record… James’ teammates were strong on Monday. Delonte West scored 20 points, Mo Williams had 18 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight. Rookie Brandon Rush scored 27 points and Troy Murphy had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana. The Pacers had already been eliminated from the playoff race, but had won seven of 10 and had been playing particularly well on offense. The Cavaliers took the Pacers seriously after Indiana stunned them 96-95 on Feb. 10 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Ben Wallace has left knee strain

Ben Wallace left the Cavaliers game last night at home vs. the Celtics in the 2nd Quarter with a left knee contusion and did not return to play. He did not travel with the team to Indiana last night for tonight’s game vs. the Pacers.

Ben was re-evaluated at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health this morning and received an MRI, the results of which revealed a left patella tendon strain.

He will receive treatment and rehab here in Cleveland today and is now listed as Out for tonight’s game in Indiana and Doubtful for Wednesday’s game at home vs. Philadelphia. His status will be updated as appropriate.

Cavaliers destroy Celtics 107-76

The AP reports: LeBron James made five 3-pointers and scored 29 points before swaying to the music in his seat, and the Cavaliers throttled the defending NBA champions 107-76 on Sunday to move within one win of matching the 1985-86 Celtics for the best home record in league history… The Cavaliers, now the 14th team in league history to win 65 games, may have never looked this good. They outclassed the Celtics, who were missing Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe and have nothing to play for but pride after locking up the East’s No. 2 seed… Daniel Gibson scored 15 and Williams added 13 for Cleveland, which held the Celtics to a season-low in points on 36 percent shooting. Paul Pierce scored 14 and Glen Davis 12 for the Celtics, who never led and weren’t thrilled to rehash the game afterward.

Cavaliers beat 76ers to clinch No. 1 spot in East

The AP reports: LeBron James had 27 points and 10 assists, Wally Szczerbiak scored a season-high 18 and the Cavaliers beat the struggling Philadelphia 76ers 102-92 Friday night to clinch home-court advantage in the Eastern conference playoffs… Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 26. The Sixers (40-39) have lost four straight since clinching a playoff berth. They remained one game behind Miami for fifth place in the East… Andre Miller and Lou Williams each scored 17 for Philadelphia, and Mo Williams had 18 for the Cavs.

Cavaliers sign Jawad Williams

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Jawad Williams to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Per team and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Williams (6-9, 220 pounds) played in nine games this season with the Cavaliers. In 10 total minutes, Williams scored four points and recorded one steal. The Cleveland native and St. Edward H.S. graduate made the Cavaliers’ 2008-09 opening day roster as a training camp invite. He was waived by the Cavaliers on January 7th and signed to consecutive 10-day contracts on Jan. 12 and 23.

Following his stint with the Cavaliers this season, Williams played in 19 games (18 starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League. He averaged 25.7 points on .454 shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 36.5 minutes per game.

The rookie forward is eligible to be on the Cavaliers’ postseason roster and will wear No. 31. The Cavaliers roster now stands at 15.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Cavaliers beat Wizards 98-86

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 21 points before spending part of the fourth quarter on the bench playing air guitar and dancing as the Cavs avenged an embarrassing loss to one of the league’s weaker teams by thumping the rival Wizards 98-86 on Wednesday night to improve to 38-1 at home. The win lowered the Cavaliers’ magic number for locking up home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs to one. A Cleveland win on Friday night at Philadelphia or a Boston loss to Miami will give the Cavs (63-15) the East’s top seed… Mo Williams scored 14 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 13 rebounds for the Cavs, who for the first time in four years will not see the Wizards in the first round of the postseason… Nick Young scored 16 to lead the Wizards, who stunned Cleveland last week and handed the Cavs two of their 15 losses this season. Washington’s Gilbert Arenas didn’t play, choosing to rest his surgically repaired right knee. Arenas’ return had sparked the Wizards to their upset over the Cavs last week.

J.J. Hickson out 2-3 weeks

The Akron Beacon Journal (George Thomas) reports (via blog): Cavaliers rookie J.J. Hickson will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a stress-related back injury, it was revealed today. The Cavs decided to shut down the rookie, who had a flare up approximately three months ago, after he began suffering symptoms 7-10 days ago.