Cavaliers acquire Jamison from Wizards

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired forward Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal.

The Cavaliers send Zydrunas Ilgauskas and their 2010 first round draft pick to Washington, who also receives Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Drew Gooden.

Ilgauskas, a fan favorite in Cleveland, became expendable since the Cavaliers traded for Shaquille O’ Neal.

Jamison is the type of player who will fit in with any team and make them better on and off the court.

He will give LeBron James a legitimate scorer to take some of the burden off of his shoulders.

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 5:51 pm by steve

Cavs Acquire Jamison in Three-Team Trade

In their ever-present attempt to woo LeBron James to stay with them past this summer, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for two-time All-Star Antawn Jamison on Wednesday in a three team trade.

The Cavs sent Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the rights to Emil Preldzic, and their first round draft pick to the Wizards in exchange for Jamison. The Wiz also sent disgruntled forward Drew Gooden to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Al Thornton, and the Clippers sent Sebastian Telfair to the Cavs.

With the trade, the Cavs instantly cemented their role as unquestioned favorites in the Eastern Conference.

While the Cavs were hot after Phoenix forward Amar’e Stoudemire, Jamison is a much better fit in their system offensively and defensively. Jamison has great range on his jumper, has been a 20-point scorer for years, and should fit in well as a stretch 4 for the Cavs.

The rest of the NBA just got that much more nervous of the Cavs.

Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 11:09 pm by bryan

As stretch drive begins, Cavs carry look of a champion

By Bud L. Ellis

Fifty-four games into the season. Forty-three victories. A gaudy .796 winning percentage. A 13-game winning streak.

Everything is clicking for the Cleveland Cavaliers right now. The top team in the NBA leads the Eastern Conference by seven games over the Orlando Magic. They sit 2 ½ games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the league’s top mark and home-court advantage in the NBA Finals …

Should the Cavs get there. That’s what happened last year, when Cleveland ended up falling to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals. But this year’s Cavs look like a champion. They haven’t lost since falling by one point at Utah on Jan. 14, more than a month ago. They’ve lost just three times since Christmas.

Of course, LeBron James is the main focus of the Cavs, but his supporting cast is playing well and the Cavs seem to be coming together. Will it be enough this postseason? Time will tell.

The journey there starts Thursday in a matchup of division leaders, Cleveland (the tops in the Central) playing host to Northwest Division leading Denver. Friday, Cleveland travels to Charlotte, in advance of a Sunday showdown at Orlando.

—30—

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 8:48 pm by bud

Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz

Shaq Disses Dwight For ‘Superman’

Shaquille O’Neal wants to make sure everyone remembers the NBA’s original Superman before crowning the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard “Superman.”

After Shaq’s Cavs beat the Magic on Thursday night, Shaq took Howard to task.

“When I was coming up and there was Pat Ewing and Hakeem [Olajuwon], I never doubled anybody,” O’Neal said. “You tell me who the real Superman is.”

Shaq watched the Cavs unsuccessfully double-team Howard in the post in the NBA Eastern Conference finals, which caused their demise in the six-game series last year. This year, Shaq has vowed that the Cavs would not double team centers, and to his word, the Cavs have let Shaq keep Howard in check to earn a 2-0 record over the Magic.

“Don’t let them double team me and make it a him vs. me thing,” O’Neal said. “Been doing it 18 years straight. Hakeem, Ewing, Rik Smits, [Tim] Duncan, [David] Robinson, the best of the best, straight up. I never doubled nobody. Nor have I ever asked for double team. If want to bang and push, let’s bang and push. You’re all giving away [Superman] titles, it’s crazy.”

Friday, February 12, 2010 at 11:27 pm by bryan

LeBron Goes Bananas Against Knicks, Scores 47

Something about the New York Knicks brings out the best in LeBron James.

Cleveland’s self-proclaimed King turned in yet another incredible performance against the sad-sack Knicks, throwing down 47 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in a 113-106 win in Cleveland on Saturday night.

After missing the pre-game introductions, LeBron didn’t take long to turn himself onto overdrive. He swished four three-pointers in the last 1:55 of the first quarter, en route to 35 first-half points. He scored 24 straight points for the Cavs in just a 5:29 span at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter.

“It’s something that can’t be explained,” James said of his stunning streak. “It’s a feeling I wish I could be in every game, but it’s not possible. It was a great moment.”

“You sometimes become a fan because he’s taking 3-point shots way beyond the arc,” New York’s Chris Duhon said. “Sometimes you get star-struck and you just start to get in a daze.”

The Knicks didn’t allow themselves to be star-struck the entire game—despite the Cavs holding a 20-point halftime lead, the Knicks cut their deficit to three (at 109-106) before LeBron finished the Knicks off with two late baskets.

Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 12:41 am by bryan

Cavs Run Win Streak to Eight Straight

With LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal in the lineup, its looking harder and harder to beat the Cavs each night.

The two perennial All-Stars combined for 35 points to help the Cavs beat the Grizzlies 105-89 on Tuesday night, boosting the Cavs’ win streak to eight.

For the fifth time in the past six games, LeBron dished out 10 or more assists (he finished with 15 on the night, along with 22 points and six rebounds); his passing excellence comes at a perfect time for the Cavs, while PG Mo Williams remains injured on the sidelines.

But more importantly than the always excellent play from The King… Shaquille O’Neal made his presence felt on the Memphis frontcourt.

Shaq dropped 13 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots in just 21 minutes of action. Extrapolate those statistics to an average 36-minutes/game, and Shaq’s back to his averages from his prime.

“He looks great,” James said. “He’s motivated. When Mo and Delonte went down he decided to step his game up, which we knew he could do. He’s just playing with a little bounce in his step that he didn’t have at the start. But he had a different mindset than we all thought. We all thought he was playing slow, he was just saving himself for the second half of the season.

“He tricked all of us, I guess,” he said.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 11:40 pm by bryan