After going on an eight-game tear through the early parts of December, it looked as though the Cleveland Cavaliers were finally starting to figure things out. LeBron James took on more of a point forward’s role, Kyrie Irving became the go-to scorer, and Kevin Love was seemingly the third option on most nights. But just as things began to look much better, the tides have turned again recently, with the Cavaliers losing three of their last four contests, including Wednesday’s 127-98
Over the weekend, LeBron James called his slumping, underachieving Cleveland Cavaliers “a fragile team.” James is partially right. As a group, the Cavaliers aren’t dealing very well with the lofty expectations put upon them by pundits like me. Right now, they look like a typical front-running team that lacks mental toughness and gives in at the first sign of trouble. That was evident Saturday, when the Cavaliers sprinted to a 26-8 lead in the first eight minutes – and were overwhelmed thereafter
Two of the five NBA games this evening stand out for DFS purposes, with the Cavaliers hosting the Pelicans and the Spurs visiting the Clippers. They could be high-scoring, which is what we want. That’s not to say there won’t be overachievers and bargains in the other three, only that we focus first on those two first. [Read more…]
After having missed the playoffs for the past four-straight seasons—ever since four-time NBA MVP LeBron James left home for the warm beaches of Miami to join Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and the Heat, and after surprisingly good luck in the past two NBA draft lotteries gifted the Cleveland Cavaliers with back-to-back top-overall picks, there may have been little hope for any monumental improvement entering the summer of 2014. That was, of course, before James made the decision to go home, rejoining
About an hour after I had rolled into the Audi Garage next to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and about four hours after I left San Antonio, where I had watched the Mavericks lose Game 7 of the first round of the 2014 playoffs to the eventual NBA champion Spurs, members of the Mavs spoke to the media. On the floor of their practice court, Dirk Nowitzki spoke about the disappointment of that game after taking the Spurs to the
Nice how things change so drastically and so quickly in the NBA. In the season preview that I wrote about the Cleveland Cavaliers one year ago, the five things to watch included Andrew Bynum, Anthony Bennett and Mike Brown’s defensive schemes. Obviously, things have changed dramatically as the Cavs head into the 2014-15 season. With a mere 952 words in Sports Illustrated back in July after Chris Sheridan broke the story two days earlier, LeBron James single-handedly changed the direction – and
Friday brought about the first media days for a few NBA teams. The Miami Heat, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers were among the teams meeting the media before the start of training camp. The Heat are the defending Eastern Conference champions but are retooling. The Knicks are beginning the Phil Jackson era. The Spurs are trying to defend their NBA title. But no team got as much attention Friday as the Cavaliers. [Read more…]
The summer is winding down, and things are about to get interesting for Team USA as they depart for Spain and push forward toward a much-anticipated matchup with the host nation in the gold medal game. Unless, of course, the United States and Spain do not make it all the way to the final. Hey, a Spain-USA gold medal game is NOT a certainty. Strange things can happen along the way. Ask Paul George, who is out for a year with a