Cavs vs Wizards - First post!

Dear online diary,

The Cavs will win tomorrow. The Cavs will win this series. It will be close after each game - 110-109, 99-97, 103-99 - but it will not really be close, because the Wizards don't have a chance. Cavs in 3!

Ok, maybe the series will go 5, maybe one game Arenas gets hot, but overall, I guess the Hawks a better chance of getting past the Celtics.

A crap ton of words have been written about the series, and every one seems to suggest the Cavs will struggle. No supporting cast, they say. They haven't gelled since the trade, they say. Lebron is banged up, they say. The Wizards are dangerous now that they're healthy, they say.

If they know so much, why aren't they in Vegas betting it all? Why aren't they running somebody's front office? Why aren't they ruling the league from atop David Stern's throne?

Arenas has buckets (but not wins).
Deshawn Stevenson thinks he's somebody.
The Wizards beat says it comes down to Wally vs Roger Mason Jr.
Even the Cavs beat is counting on the bench stepping up.



HELLO!! Have you guys been watching?

This is Lebron James we're talking about. We are all witnesses. You, me, the bench, Deshawn, Gilbert, even Helen Keller can witness the power of Lebron.

He's rested and healthy. He's angry and slighted. He is the King. All eyes and all pressure falls to him, and none can stand in his way!


The only question is who will line up to bow down next.

• Celtics vs Hawks: Celtics in 4. Garnett's throbbing jugular is like a 6 on 5 advantage. But seriously, the the Hawks don't have anybody who can crack a good defense for extended stretches, which means each Hawks burst will be met by a quarter of excruciating Celtics defense sapping the Hawks' will to continue.
• Pistons vs Sixers: Pistons in 5. The Pistons just can't string together the intensity for a sweep. They'll ease up one game in Philly, the Sixers will capitalize and then be decapitated when the subsequent game they can't get a clean shot once.
• Magic vs Raptors: Magic in 6. Dwight Howard really shouldn't ever be stopped, least of all by a team sporting only Chris Bosh, and his less than 9 boards per, as an interior presence. But... Rasho Nesterovic has been playing the ball of his life for a month and the Raptors have enough shooters to get hot and make this interesting.

• Lakers vs Nuggets: Lakers in 5. The Nuggets can score, but so can the Lakers. It'll sure be a fun series to watch - unless you're a Nuggets fan who can't stand giving up easy shots.
• Hornets vs Mavericks: Mavericks in 6. The upset special! In Mark Cuban we trust. Chris Paul should destroy Jason Kidd, but with a helping of Jason Terry and maybe some Josh Howard, the Mavs will make Paul win singlehandedly, and that's not what a pure point guard does.
• Spurs vs Suns: Suns in 6. What a boring Western Conference. All these trades working out just as expected and so little accompanying drama. The Suns have rolled into shape and where once Duncan was the Shaq stopper, now Shaq is the Duncan stopper.
  
• Jazz vs Rockets: Jazz in 5. I really wanted to pick the Rockets, but I believe in the power of history. Why does we think this time will be any different for McGrady and team?

Now, as for the Cavs, I do stand by Cavs in 5, and I'm not worried. Sure, we have our work cut out for us with the scoring of Jamison, Butler and Arenas, but we've seen before that those 3 don't mesh so well. Jamison should be the one to kill us, but Arenas will be too busy making it his show while Butler's knee tightens up meaning he can't exploit Devin Brown the way he should. They have nobody to handle Z, who is playing the best ball of his career, and they can't exploit our biggest weakness: penetration and footspeed from the point.

Game 1 tips off at 12:30 on Saturday. I'll be in the rafters with a bloody tissue up my nose to stop the bleeding.

Go Cavs!