The BCC

I'll say it. Mike Brown is the BCC.

Best Coach in Cleveland.

Yesterday I was driving in my Bentley Continental (read: Chrysler Pacifica), blasting some hardcore street thug rap (read: my old Kriss Kross CD), when I switched over to AM radio to hear once again, to my surprise and delight: The Coach Mike Brown Show.

What a great show and what a great coach! I know that he isn't exactly beloved in Cleveland, and is not considered one of the greatest coaches in the game today, and that sometimes his offensive game plan leaves something to be desired (like offense). But let's hear it for the boy.

Under Coach Brown, we have made it to the finals, we always play hard, and we usually look great on defense.

But I digress, the Coach Brown show is fantastic for two reasons. Coach Brown tells it like it is. When I finish listening to a Romeo Crennel or Eric Wedge news conference, I feel dirty, tricked, and confused (That's what she said?) Mike Brown yesterday, laid out his plan for the Cavs during training camp, spoke directly about the performance of certain players, and gave expectations.

* He plans on getting back to the basics of basketball, concentrating more on offense but still keeping the focus on defense, he expects us to contend for and win the championship, gave a real good report about 'Bron looking even better, Boobie putting on some strength and weight, Sasha losing 12 lbs. and JJ Hickson being an overall beast.

But here's the best part of the Mike Brown show. He takes phone calls from fans. He actually takes them. And even though 90% of the people who call in are complete idiots, he takes the time to answer the people's questions directly and responds to criticism from fans.

The fact that a coach would even offer to hear the fan's point of view on how he runs plays, what players to put in, what needs to be changed, etc. makes Mike Brown by far the BCC.

I'm very excited for this year's team, and honestly feel that this is our best chance to win it all.

Also, I'm calling it right now- Lebron wins the MVP and Mike Brown wins Coach of the Year.

(PS to Matt- Do my posts go to fearthesword also? Am I part of the big move? Was I sold as part of the LeCavs merger?)

Dream Team 2009

(This post is cross posted on FearTheSword.com. I'll be writing there regularly and camping out there during games to chat in the game threads. How's that for an announcement?)

I have September 18th marked off on my calendar as National Hyperbole Day. Also, since this is my first post on Fear the Sword, I figure I need to make my pie in the sky optimism completely obvious.

This is the best Cavs team since 1992 - and the best Cavs backcourt for just as long. The Mo Williams signing, the Delonte signing and the best draft since Lebron pretty much guarantee an easy path to a 2nd round match against an aging Celtics team or a Pistons team with no identity.

Think about it. Just the backcourt for now.

Mo Williams, Delonte West, Boobie Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic, and Wally Sczcerbiak.

When did the Cavs last have that depth? In 97-98, the 5th guard was Scott Brooks. And we made the playoffs.

In Lebron's rookie campaign, the 5th man was JR Bremer. I think. I might rate him ahead of Dajuan Wagner or Kevin Ollie. No wonder we drafted Lebron to run the point.

Even 3 deep, knowing these young horses can each go 30+ minutes, when have the Cavs been as good as Mo, Delonte and Boobie? When we won 50 for the first time in the Lebron era, and topped the Wizards for the first of many times, Eric Snow played the 3rd most minutes behind Flip Murray (late season acquisition) and Larry Hughes (made of glass). Really, Damon Jones was in his heyday, and he still couldn't get more than 14 (clutch) seconds against the Wiz.

In '96-'97 we missed the playoffs for the first time in a while behind Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills, and slam dunk contest hero Bob Sura. Gordon Gund should've started up some tanning salons on the side to lure Dan Majerle into staying. As it is, that threesome might stand up to the current one. Brandon was in his prime, putting up a Mo Williams-like 20 and 6. Phills was a solid contributor in his last Cleveland campaign, acting as the glue guy, alternating between scoring, passing and rebounding as needed. And Bob Sura could dunk, sometimes. More than Boobie can say.

And then there's Mo Williams alone. When have the Cavs had a guard as good? Andre Miller. Terrell Brandon. Mark Price. Price groomed Brandon. There were 2 painful years of Brevin Knight before Miller stepped in as a rookie. Now we're heading into our 7th season since Andre Miller left town for Darius "The SAT is racist" Miles.

The Cavs simply haven't had this strong of a backcourt since those days of Price, Ehlo, a young Terrell Brandon, Steve Kerr, John Battle and a green Bobby Phills.

Once we figure out if the front court is just as stacked, we'll know if this team has championship written all over it. And here's a hint: it is.

Go Cavs!

West's Value Skyrockets

A little exaggeration is healthy. Skyrockets? No. But goes up like the Cavs win total? Definitely.

Until yesterday, the Cavs had a shaky ball-handler at the point and scoring guards who could barely score for themselves and never involved teammates in the process. Delonte West didn't fit well at the 1, surely not worth starter's money as he needed to be replaced by a "pure point", or at least somebody who could handle a trap.

Now it's all changed. Suddenly Delonte fits in perfectly. If he's not our starter, he's 6th man of the year. Now, the Cavs can spring Lebron like a jack-in-a-Box. He'll leap out with a big smile, scary good, and make you jump even though you know he's coming.

With 2 competent ball handlers in the backcourt, 2 guards who can score or pass, who can run the offense, Lebron can play below the 3 point line. Before, we needed Delonte to be a better point or to be replaced by a better point. Now we just need Delonte to be Delonte - and maybe grow 2 inches. Scoring, ballhandling, energy. He's like our own crazy version of Manu Ginobili. ... And in my mind, Lebron is Tim Duncan. I'm getting carried away.

Knowing that Boobie is locked up for a while making specialist money, able to play some at the 1 or the 2, all you need for a complete backcourt is the big athlete. The scorer who can play the 2 or 3, who won't let the offense stagnate and can defend opposing big guards. Enter Frankenszczerbovic's monster. At some point Wally and/or Pavs will either turn into the big guard we need or, thanks to their expiring contracts, be turned into the big guard we need.

So despite bringing in a replacement, it's more important than ever that the Cavs keep Delonte West in the fold.

Mo
Delonte
Lebron
AfroCorpse
Z

Go Cavs!

Let me repeat: 82 and Mo!

Batman has his next Robin, and his name is Mo Williams. Is this a case of one player single-handedly killing a team to the point that they trade for him? Probably.

After the Larry Hughes debacle, I think we need to pace ourselves before going out and declaring the things yet to come.

...

Have I waited long enough?

...

CHAMPIONSHIP! In the bag. Mo Williams will be perfect on the Cavs. Delonte can be our combo guard. Sasha or (pre-trade) Wally can be our big guard. Boobie can be a specialist. And Lebron James can actually play off the ball against a real defense. Hallelujah for that!

If you've read Tom Ziller's Ballad for a Combo Guard, you already know Mo is as combo as they come, damn near a "perfect balance". With Lebron, the Cavs need a pure point like they need back to back road games. What they need is somebody who is not one dimensional, not a specialist. They needed an athlete, a scorer and a ballhandler, and they got one.

Mo is only 25 and he's improved every year he's been in the league, up to his latest line of 17.2 PPG on 48% from the field, 39% from deep, and 86% from the line, 6.3 assists to 2.8 TOs, 3.5 boards and 1.2 steals.

Honestly, I'm trying to temper my excitement by finding reasons not to like him, and here's what I got:

He's owned the Cavs ... but that doesn't matter anymore!

He doesn't get to the line much, which tells me he likes to settle and could go cold without the touches he's used to. He's more of a pull up-floater than twisting layup kinda guy, though, not a house-built-from-18-footers Larry Hughes type.

His PER against last year was higher than his PER. So he's not the best defender. But who on the Cavs is? Yet they continually turn in solid team D. At least he's quick. With some coaching and some winning, he'll be good enough.

The contract. Mo Money is getting at least $8.5mm for the next 4 years, with his option for a 5th. I've seen some people say that's bad, but those people are idiots. He's 25, he keeps getting better, and we have him locked up for a long, long time. Already people are saying he's definitely taking that option. I'm saying that barring a huge change in salary structure, he'll opt out at 12:01 am and sign a long term worth 8 figures per.

If there is anything I can hold against Mo Championships, it's that he's injury prone. He logged 80 games he's second year in and hasn't hit 70 since. He's small, so he's fragile, I guess. The only way this can go wrong is if Mo doesn't get to play enough, because mo' Mo means mo' wins.

And what did we give up to get him? Only the greatest shooter on the planet to not get minutes and a solid veteran big. We're either signing 47 year old Charles Oakley or thinking JJ Hickson is his 2nd coming, since the rookie is now getting penciled in for 15 per from the start.

I'm a little worried that this means the door for Delonte, but we're keeping him at least another year or getting something back right now in a sign and trade, since we'd be fools to let him walk, even with Mo in the fold. I'd sign up Delonte for 5 mil per right now and slot him in at the 2.

I made it, guys!

Go Cavs!

82-0

The NBA schedule is out. The Cavs have tied for an NBA record 82 games, but then we knew this would be a big year.

All I've heard so far from the people who care about these things is how hard their teams' schedule is. Since people caring about these things is new to me, I'm here to hop on the bandwagon.

Damn the Cavs schedule is tough! We open the season against the defending champions - the hottest team in the league. How are we supposed to contend with a schedule like that?

If Ori plays his cards right, he and I will be headed off to Game 2, the home opener against Charlotte, while the wife takes care of the youngins.

The rest of November seems pretty mundane. Wait, sorry, I'm doing this wrong....

We got screwed! 4 back to backs in the opening month?? 3 on the road? The wheels will come off by December! With 3 of our first 4 on the road at Boston, New Orleans and Dallas, we will be tested early. We should definitely be in double digit wins after a month - I'd guess 11-6.

Tue 28 @ Boston
Thu 30 vs Charlotte
Sat 01 @ New Orleans
Mon 03 @ Dallas
Wed 05 vs Chicago
Fri 07 vs Indiana
Sat 08 @ Chicago
Tue 11 vs Milwaukee
Thu 13 vs Denver
Sat 15 vs Utah
Tue 18 @ New Jersey
Wed 19 @ Detroit
Sat 22 vs Atlanta
Tue 25 @ New York
Wed 26 vs Oklahoma City
Fri 28 vs Golden State
Sat 29 @ Milwaukee

December brings 3 more roadie back ends, so 7 through 2 months. I think last year was 16, and we were middle of the pack. I'm pretty excited for December 21 @Oklahoma City, even if that's just a lousy team in a lousy city. Christmas pits Santa Bron against Deshawn and his Wizard Elves in the last of 5 Christmas day games. Where's a Jewish kid supposed to find time to squeeze in movies and Chinese food?

In all, December should be a cake walk, a good time to get on a roll. Seriously, we could be undefeated. Check this out:
Wed 03 vs New York
Fri 05 vs Indiana
Sat 06 @ Charlotte
Tue 09 vs Toronto
Wed 10 @ Philadelphia
Fri 12 vs Philadelphia
Sat 13 @ Atlanta
Wed 17 @ Minnesota
Fri 19 @ Denver
Sun 21 @ Oklahoma City
Tue 23 vs Houston
Thu 25 vs Washington
Sun 28 vs Miami
Tue 30 @ Miami

Where are we losing? At Denver has to be the toughest game in there. Houston is tough, but that's at home. Philly should be good, so maybe we split that home and home. Miami? I could argue the same thing, but they're a crapshoot. If we lost 4 of these, I'd be disappointed.

January is where it starts to get tough. Sorry.

The misery continues in January! 3 back to backs, though only 1 is a roadie. Of course, that one is Utah, so it's probably a loss. I hate Carlos Boozer. Unlike December, we face a lot of winning teams.

Fri 02 vs Chicago
Sun 04 @ Washington
Wed 07 vs Charlotte
Fri 09 vs Boston
Tue 13 @ Memphis
Thu 15 @ Chicago
Fri 16 vs New Orleans
Mon 19 @ LA Lakers
Wed 21 @ Portland
Fri 23 @ Golden State
Sat 24 @ Utah
Tue 27 vs Sacramento
Thu 29 @ Orlando
Fri 30 vs LA Clippers

I could see us sliding through a .500 month, since Memphis is the only roadie gimme.

February will be another tough month, with a couple tough home games, plus 3 back to backs, including the start of 4 games in 5 nights in Houston and San Antonio.

Sun 01 @ Detroit
Tue 03 vs Toronto
Wed 04 @ New York
Sun 08 vs LA Lakers
Tue 10 @ Indiana
Wed 11 vs Phoenix
Wed 18 @ Toronto
Fri 20 @ Milwaukee
Sun 22 vs Detroit
Tue 24 vs Memphis
Thu 26 @ Houston
Fri 27 @ San Antonio

No games between 2/11 and 2/18? Do they play an exhibition game in there or something? Home for Memphis is another gimme, but we could ostensibly lose every other game. If I had to predict, I'd put us at 7-5 for the month.

March will be a boring month barring a race for playoff positioning, but it'll be a busy one. 17 games in 31 days, but only 3 back to backs, starting with the easy half of that 4 in 5 nights. We end the month with 8 of 9 at home, against mostly lousy teams, so if we do need to move up in the standings, there is our chance.

Sun 01 @ Atlanta
Mon 02 @ Miami
Wed 04 vs Milwaukee
Fri 06 @ Boston
Sat 07 vs Miami
Tue 10 @ LA Clippers
Thu 12 @ Phoenix
Fri 13 @ Sacramento
Sun 15 vs New York
Tue 17 vs Orlando
Thu 19 vs Portland
Sat 21 vs Atlanta
Sun 22 @ New Jersey
Wed 25 vs New Jersey
Fri 27 vs Minnesota
Sun 29 vs Dallas
Tue 31 vs Detroit

That first home game against Milwaukee after being on the road for 4 in 5 is a total trap game. I'll say 10-7, just so I can add them all up at the end.

April brings a lot of attention with 5 of 8 games on national TV. I wouldn't be surprised if 7 of the 8 games are against playoff bound teams, but at that point, it might just mean resting stars. If we are jockeying for position, I'll feel pretty good finishing the schedule with 4 of 6 at home, traveling only to Philly and Indy.

Thu 02 @ Washington
Fri 03 @ Orlando
Sun 05 vs San Antonio
Wed 08 vs Washington
Fri 10 @ Philadelphia
Sun 12 vs Boston
Mon 13 @ Indiana
Wed 15 vs Philadelphia

Knowing the Cavs, throw a couple of these away and end up at 5-3 or so.

Completely unscientifically, that's 51 wins, the best of the Lebron/Mike Brown era. Really, who knows how it'll play out. Can't wait for camp to start and Kunta Delonte to be there.

Go Cavs!

Cavs Sign Liam Neeson's Son

Shablam!

And like that, the off-season has begun. Wall Street Danny, as I like to call him, has set off a domino effect that will reverberate through the alleys of Cleveland for months to come.

With this signing, the Cavs have signaled one of two things. One the one hand, Tarence Kinsey might just be here to replace Devin Brown on the cheap. On the other hand, Mike Brown seems like the kinda guy who would really like a guy like Devin Brown. This signing could be the first in a series.

They say the Cavs are looking J.R. Smith square in the eye while offering GM Mark Warkentien a hand job in a sign and trade. Or maybe that sign and trade - or another deal - involve some of the Cavs shorter-than-Lebron type players. Could be Sasha Pavlovic, who never found a groove after holding out then getting injured last season. Could be Damon Jones, who really should've defected to play for Team China next week. Could be that despite all indications of a slave well kept, the Cavs think they are losing Delonte West.

Since Danny Ferry doesn't know the language of the media, we won't know until it happens. What we do know is that Tarence Kinsey is a Cav. Talk about tremendous upside, the kid is only 24 and he's already 6'6" and a staggering 189 pounds! Nobody expects the world from him, but there is definitely room to grow. He's young enough not to peak for another 4 or 5 years, and check out what he's done in the past.

In case you missed it, go back and scroll on down to the end of the year. Fresh off turning 23, Kinsey started pouring it in. I realize the final game of the season between Memphis and Minnesota 2 years ago was basically a D+ League game, but 22, 9 and 7 on 69% shooting against people who are being paid to be there translates to any league. The kid can play, at least a little bit.

I know some of you were hoping for Baron Davis or Ron Artest, but Tarence Kinsey y'all! Get excited!

Go Cavs!

A Few Quickies

Some Quick notes on the Cavs:

My Boobie's Back...
And you're gonna be in trouble!

I'm hearing that the Cleveland Cavliers have re-signed Daniel "Boobie" Gibson. Not only that, but I am hearing that we signed him to a 5 year deal! I haven't heard any information about $$$. For those of you who know me, this makes me quite happy in the pantiloons, I am a huge Boobie fan, and do not share Matt's belief that all he can do is shoot. I think he's actually a pretty good defender for his size, a smart player with the ball, and can take the ball to the hoop and finish when he needs to. I think he still has some growing to do as a player, but he's young and already has terrific fundamentals. This is an A+ move in my opinion for the Cavs, and as long as he stays healthy, we can even work on turning him into more of a PG. Also, Lebron loves him so that helps.

Summer League:
I've only seen one game (we've only played one as of my writing this), but JJ Hickson is a beast. We have nobody like him on the team. He takes good shots, has some really nice moves, and looks to attack every time he gets the ball on the post. In the Knicks game, it did not matter who was guarding him, he was looking to post them up. He ended up with 26 pts and 9 rebs in probably about 25 minutes of playing time. I'm liking this draft pick more and more, and if we can develop him and he adds even more muscle, I think that he can turn into even more that a "Jason Maxiell type player". He actually has a similar game to Boozer, in terms of going after the ball and attacking the basket.

-The Tractor may earn a spot on this team. He's still really big, but after watching everybody bounce off of him, and him make a few nifty passes, I think he can provide us with more than a Dwayne Jones or Lance Allred.

-Darnell Jackson looks alright, he probably makes the team on hustle and size alone. Although by my count, we have alot of big guys and not many little's which may mean a trade is on the way.

-Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis are just on the team to appease Lebron. Neither one of them belongs in the NBA, and they didn't exactly tear up the German league last year (not even that good of a league in Europe).

-Brian Windhorst (the best and most reliable source for Cavs info) is apparently very sick and almost died a few weeks ago. Best wishes go out to him.