The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Kaniel Dickens and guard Billy Thomas to their second 10-day contracts, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. Dickens has played nine minutes in three games. Thomas has appeared in four games with Cleveland and scored all nine of his points against Washington on Feb. 22. Both players signed their first 10-day contracts on Feb. 22.
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Ilgauskas out a week or more
Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed the game today (Sunday, March 2) versus the Chicago Bulls with a back strain. He will be listed as Out for one week and will be re-evaluated after that with his status being updated at that point. No timeline has been established for his return to play.
Ilgauskas has strained back
Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas was examined today at The Cleveland Clinic by head team physician Dr. Richard Parker. He was diagnosed with a strained back and is listed as Out for tomorrow’s game versus the Chicago Bulls at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. He will be re-examined tomorrow and his status will be updated after that.
Wally Szczerbiak has new son, Maximus Jack
The Cavaliers are pleased to announce that Wally and Shannon Szczerbiak welcomed their son into the world today in New York, as Shannon gave birth to Maximus Jack (8lbs, 20in). Wally, Shannon, and their entire family are all doing fine.
That’s right. His name is Maximus. Bow down to lil Max. Aww.
Cavaliers sign Kaniel Dickens, Billy Thomas
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward Kaniel Dickens and guard Billy Thomas from the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today. The signings of Dickens and Thomas mark the 13th and 14th D-league-to-NBA call-ups of the 2007-08 D-League Season.
In 29 games (28 starts), Dickens has averaged 20.4 points on .472 shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. Thomas is averaging 15.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 27 games (all starts).
Daniel Gibson out 4-6 weeks
Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson suffered a left high ankle sprain during the second quarter of last night’s game at Indiana. An MRI taken today at The Cleveland Clinic by Head Team Physician Dr. Richard Parker confirmed the injury. He is expected to be out four to six weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate.
Daniel Gibson sprains left ankle
Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson left tonight’s game at Indiana in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain. X-rays at the arena were negative and he did not return to the game. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow in Cleveland and his status will be updated as appropriate.
Ilgauskas to play in Olympics
The Akron Beacon Journal (Brian Windhorst) reports: For years, Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ head and his feet said no. Now he’s able to give the answer he always has had in his heart: Yes. After a few months of thinking about it, Ilgauskas has told the Lithuanian National Team that he will play for it this summer at the Beijing Olympics, a move that has created a lot of excitement among his countrymen. ”I’ve always wanted to do it before I get too old,” said Ilgauskas, who will turn 33 in June. ”I feel like I have a lot of basketball left in me and I can help, and this is probably my last chance.”
LeBron James interview after All-Star game
Here’s what LeBron James said to the media after the 2008 All-Star game, of which he was named MVP:
Q: Take us through that dunk you had? What did you see? Why did you attack?
LeBron James: The game was tied. I didn’t want to settle for a jumpshot. I had to settle for a couple jumpshots in the fourth quarter. I wanted to be aggressive and try to get the hole to get the lay up. And when I seen those bigs coming, I didn’t want to lay the ball up. They would have definitely made a play and tried to block it, so I was able to go strong and able to dunk it through.
Q: You wanted to win. Did you realize how close you were to the triple double and was that something you were shooting for?
LeBron James: No, I just wanted to win the basketball game. They beat up on us pretty bad last year in Las Vegas, and as the East, we didn’t want to allow that to happen. We wanted to try to win. We did a good job of executing in the fourth quarter. Ray hit some big shots. Some of the biggest shots of the game, and he kept it flowing. You know, we put the finishing touch on it, and it was a dunk.
Q: With the Cavs flying under the radar in the first half of the season, how big is it for you and Daniel Gibson to come through this weekend as big as you did?
LeBron James: Oh well, we know we’re still not going to get the respect we should get. That’s never been a problem for us. We don’t care. We just go out and play. We’re always going to be the third or fourth or fifth best team in the Eastern Conference. You know, we still go out there and win ballgames and we know when the postseason happens, you know, you’ve got to come get it from us, because we’re very good.
Q: I know you don’t care about individual awards or anything, but emotionally how does it feel to get your second MVP in three years?
LeBron James: I mean, to add the MVP trophy with the win means a lot to me. I played well, and I helped our team win the ballgame. It really means a lot to go out there and perform the way I was able to do in front of the fans of New Orleans. In front of my family, and for the Eastern Conference because we really wanted this win. We came out victorious.
Q: How competitive was it on the fourth quarter compared to other All Stars you’ve participated in?
LeBron James: Well, this was one of the most competitive ones. The one in Houston was really competitive also. But you’ve probably seen a lot of guys faces going through the fourth quarter how competitive guys wanted to be, and, you know, who wanted the ballgame. We were able to make a couple more plays had than the Western team down the stretch. D Wade had an unbelievable block on Dirk, and Ray hit some big shots. We were down and the game was tied. And I was able to put the finishing touch on it with the dunk and kept the momentum going for us. So competitive wise, it was the best one. As fans and everybody that watched the game I think would think the same thing.
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LeBron wins All-Star game MVP as East beats West 134-128
Final score: East 134, West 128. Fun game!
The East’s LeBron James was awarded the 2008 NBA All-Star game MVP award.
For the East: Ray Allen (10-of-14, 5-of-9 threes) had 28 points in just 19 minutes. LeBron James (12-of-22) had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists (4 turnovers), 2 steals and 2 blocks. Dwight Howard (7-of-7) had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Chris Bosh (7-of-15) had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Dwyane Wade (7-of-12) had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Paul Pierce scored 10. Jason Kidd dished 10 assists.
For the West: Brandon Roy (8-of-10) had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Carmelo Anthony (8-of-17) had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Amare Stoudemire (8-of-11) had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Chris Paul (7-of-14) had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 14 assists (just 2 turnovers) and 4 steals. Carlos Boozer (7-of-15) had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki (just 5-of-14) had 13 points and 4 rebounds.
The best East players were LeBron, Dwight Howard and Ray Allen. The best West players were Chris Paul and Brandon Roy.
Read unedited 2008 NBA All-Star game notes taken live as the action happened.