Cleveland Cavaliers Blog – Page 36 – NBA Blog

Hawks face Cavs on Saturday

Two of the best teams in the Eastern conference face off on Saturday. Here’s the Atlanta Journal Constitution reporting:

The Cavaliers (9-3) lead the Eastern Conference, with the Hawks (9-5) in third place early in the new season. The Cavaliers are not going anywhere, it would appear. LeBron James carried them last season, and he could very well do it again.

The Hawks will face the Cavaliers without one, and possibly two, starters. Small forward Kent Bazemore (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out. Point guard Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) is questionable.

The Cavaliers are injured themselves. Point guard Kyrie Irving (fractured left kneecap), guard Iman Shumpert (injured forearm), center Timofey Mozgov (right shoulder sprain) and guard Mo Williams (right lower leg soreness) all will not play. With Mozgov out, Tristan Thompson may start at center. He gave the Hawks fits in the postseason.

“Taking care of the defensive boards is something that is going to be important,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.

Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams out with injuries

Center Timofey Mozgov experienced a strained right deltoid during the second quarter of last night’s game against Milwaukee at The Q. Additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health confirmed the strain. Mozgov will be OUT approximately 10 days to two weeks.

Guard Mo Williams missed last night’s game vs the Bucks and received additional examination and MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, which showed posterior right ankle inflammation, along with continued soreness. He is listed as OUT for tomorrow’s game at The Q against Atlanta and doubtful for Monday’s contest vs. Orlando, also at The Q.

No LeBron, Blatt drama this season

Here’s Cleveland.com reporting on the Cavaliers, who at 9-3 are already a success this season and have the services of Kyrie Irving to eventually look forward to once he heals and is ready to play:

Want to set off some Cavs fans?

Tell them about LeBron James and David Blatt.

The distrust. The undermining and second guessing. The disconnect.

It’s a sore subject for Cavs faithful. Either James shouldn’t treat his coach that way, or Blatt wasn’t right for the job, or the media shouldn’t bring it up.

This season, though, there hasn’t been any James-Blatt drama to discuss.

Hours before Cleveland beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-100, turning in a solid-but-not-perfect performance after days of being ripped in public and private by James and Blatt, the Cavs superstar dropped a different kind of bomb.

“He does his job as great as any coach can do in this league,” James said of Blatt, following the team’s shootaround in the morning.

Cavs struggling from free throw line

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 8-3 this season; a very good start, especially considering the team is without the services of still-healing point guard Kyrie Irving. But things could be even better, as the Akron Beacon Journal reports:

While LeBron James continues to rip his teammates for their lack of effort and David Blatt says they need to get tougher, one of the more perplexing problems facing the Cavaliers in the early season has been free-throw shooting.

The Cavs enter Thursday’s rematch against the Milwaukee Bucks 29th in the league in foul shooting, ahead of only the Detroit Pistons. Poor free-throw shooting was a big reason for their two road losses to the Bucks and Pistons and the Cavs don’t have many explanations for the struggles.

“If I had the sure-fire answer to that I would be a genius,” Blatt said. “I guess I’m not.”

The Cavs are converting less than 69 percent of their free throws, a number that continues to trend in the wrong direction. They shot 58, 63 and 60 percent from the line in their past three games after converting 75 percent at the line last season — 18th in the NBA.

Obama expected at Bulls-Cavs game

It’s the opening night of the 2015-16 NBA regular season! Here’s ESPN.com reporting that a pretty famous fan will likely attend Bulls-Cavs tonight:

President Barack Obama, perhaps the most famous Chicago Bulls fan in the world, is expected to be in attendance for the Chicago’s season-opening game Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“He loves the game of basketball,” LeBron James said prior to the Cavs’ shootaround Tuesday morning. “We all know that. It’s an honor for me to be a part of a venue and a spectacle that the president would like to come and watch. It’s an honor for sure.”

James, who teamed up with Michelle Obama last week in Akron, Ohio, as a part of a higher-education initiative, said the First Lady did not tip him off about her husband’s plans.

Cavaliers waive Quinn Cook

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived guard Quinn Cook, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

The Cavs roster now stands at 15.

Cook appeared in six preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 assists in 12.9 minutes per game.

Cavs waive Austin Daye, D.J. Stephens, Dionte Christmas, Jack Cooley

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived forward Austin Daye, guard/forward D.J. Stephens, guard Dionte Christmas and Forward Jack Cooley, Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. The Cavs roster now stands at 16.

Daye appeared in six preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game.

Stephens appeared in four preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 3.3 points in 7.4 minutes per game.

Christmas appeared in four preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game.

Cooley appeared in two preseason games for the Cavs, averaging 4.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game.

Cavs re-sign Tristan Thompson, waive Nick Minnerath

The Cleveland Cavaliers have re-signed forward Tristan Thompson, General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

In a related move, the Cavs have waived forward Nick Minnerath.

According to multiple reports, Thompson’s deal is for $82 million over five years.

Thompson played in all 82 games (15 starts) in the 2014-15 regular season, finishing with averages of 8.5 points on a career-best .547 shooting from the field, and 8.0 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game. It marked the third straight season he has played in all 82 games, increasing his consecutive games streak to 288 dating back to Feb. 10, 2012. That is the second-longest active streak in the NBA, behind only DeAndre Jordan’s 322 consecutive games played (dating back to March 25, 2011). Last season, the 6-10 forward ranked fifth in the NBA in total offensive rebounds (274) and fifth in offensive rebounds per game (3.3). He recorded 14 double-doubles, while tying for the NBA-lead in double-doubles off the bench with eight. Thompson also led all NBA bench players in total rebounds (511) and offensive rebounds per game (3.2), while ranking second in total rebounds per game (7.6).

During the Cavs’ NBA Finals run in the 2015 playoffs, Thompson played in all 20 games (15 starts), averaging 9.6 points on .558 shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 36.4 minutes per game. He registered nine double-doubles, while grabbing double-digit rebounds in 14 playoff games, including in all six games during the NBA Finals.

New Cleveland Cavaliers alternate jerseys

As the Cleveland Cavaliers enter their 45th anniversary season in 2015-16, they will do so with new threads that uniquely tie the team’s rich history with their electric present and exciting future. The Cavs will debut three new adidas alternate uniforms this season, each reflecting previous eras of Cavaliers basketball while also incorporating current-day trends. The new looks will rotate with four uniforms that continue from last season – home white, road wine, gold alternate and navy alternate.

Cavs waive Chris Johnson, sign Jack Cooley

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed forward/center Jack Cooley to a contract, General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

And in a related move, the Cavs have waived Chris Johnson.

Cooley (6-10, 250) appeared in 16 games for the Utah Jazz last season. He also played in 20 games for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 16.8 points on .572 shooting, 12.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game. Cooley played on the Cavs 2014 Summer League team.

Johnson appeared in four preseason games for the Cavs.