Category: Cleveland Cavaliers Blog

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Oct 28: Celtics 90, Cavs 85

The AP reports: Banner No. 17 is up in the rafters, and win No. 1 is in the books. NBA finals MVP Paul Pierce scored 27 points as the defending champion Boston Celtics followed an emotional ring ceremony and banner raising with a 90-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. LeBron James scored 22, but he missed a driving layup with 41 seconds left and two free throws in the last 11 seconds… Pierce had 11 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics outscored Cleveland 24-13 to take a 67-63 lead.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For the Celtics, Pierce shot 10-of-19 for his 27. Rajon Rondo (4-of-5) had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Leon Powe (5-of-7) was terrific off the bench with 13. Tony Allen (4-of-9) had 11 off the bench. Kevin Garnett (5-of-15) was quiet. Kendrick Perkins grabbed 8 rebounds. For the Cavs, who started Delonte West at shooting guard, LeBron James was just 9-of-21 for 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mo Williams scored double figures. Anderson Varejao had 9 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. That was about it. Both teams were awful from three-point range.

NBA opening night rosters

The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.

This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.

The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.

Enjoy the season!

Oct 24: Cavs 107, Wizards 80

The AP reports: LeBron James had a preseason-high 26 points, Mo Williams added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards 107-80 on Friday night in the exhibition finale for both teams. The Cavaliers (3-5) had their highest scoring total of the preseason and committed only nine turnovers in the game at Ohio State’s Value City Arena. The Wizards were 2-5 in exhibition play… Delonte West earned the start at shooting guard in place of Sasha Pavlovic and had two points before spraining his left ankle with 1:40 remaining in the second quarter… The fourth quarter was delayed for 11 minutes after a member of the Cavaliers’ Scream Team dance squad was injured while performing during a timeout. After being attended to by more than a half-dozen medical workers, he was taken off the court on a stretcher and had movement in all his extremities.

Mo Williams must fit with LeBron

The Sporting News (Sean Deveney) reports:  Is Maurice Williams the guy LeBron’s been looking for? The plan in Cleveland seems to center on lining up as many perimeter scorers as possible around LeBron James. They’ve got Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and, now, Williams, acquired from Milwaukee as part of a three-team trade this summer. Williams is owed $43 million over the next five years, so acquiring him from the Bucks was a risky move. But the Cavs see Williams as much more than a perimeter scorer. He is not a great playmaker (which caused some tensions with Michael Redd in Milwaukee), but he has the ability to run a fast break, something the Cavaliers have simply not done well at all in recent years. And, unlike the Cavs’ other outside options, he has the ability to create his own shot, which will naturally take pressure off James in halfcourt sets. Williams has been terrific for the Cavs thus far in the preseason.

Oct 22: Pistons 97, Cavs 79

The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince’s post-Olympic slump might finally be over. Prince, averaging just seven points on 31 percent shooting, scored 17 points in 29 minutes Wednesday night, and the Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-79. The Cavaliers were playing without LeBron James, who was in uniform but took a planned night off… The Pistons were led in scoring by Rodney Stuckey’s 20, but the defense-oriented Curry wasn’t completely happy with his second-year guard’s performance… Daniel Gibson led the James-less Cavs with 16 points and Mo Williams scored 14 in the first half. Cleveland finishes its preseason schedule Friday against Washington.

Oct 21: Cavs 91, Sixers 83

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 20 points and had eight rebounds, four assists and four steals before sitting out the fourth quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 91-83 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason game Tuesday night… Andre Iguodala had 19 points and Elton Brand 12 points and 13 rebounds for Philadelphia. The 76ers played without starting center Samuel Dalembert, who was sidelined with a sore right knee.

Cavs starting SG job uncertain

The News-Herald (Bob Finnan) reports: Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said recently the starting job at shooting guard is still up for grabs… Many observers think Sasha Pavlovic will retain that starting job once the regular season starts on Oct. 28 in Boston… Pavlovic missed a week of training camp after spraining his ankle. Veteran Wally Szczerbiak, another candidate for the starting job, has also been bothered by soreness in camp… The plan going into camp appeared to be for Delonte West to start opposite Mo Williams in the Cavs’ backcourt. But he missed 12 days of camp battling depression and a mood disorder and might be better suited coming off the bench.

Oct 18: Cavs 100, Sixers 93

The AP reports: Delonte West scored six of his team-high 17 points down the stretch as the Cavaliers, trailing 91-80 with 4:14 left, finished the game on a 20-2 run. Daniel Gibson made the go-ahead basket with 1:22 left… Andre Iguodala scored 17 points for Philadelphia and Donyell Marshall added 15 on 5-of-6 3-pointers. Lou Williams also scored 15. LeBron James scored 16 points in 26 minutes… Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 17 points, was given a technical in the third quarter.