The second part of our series Hooping on Foreign Hardwoods checks in with ex-Cavaliers' Lottery pick Luke Jackson.  For part one of our series featuring Martos Napoli's Damon Jones, click here.   

Hooping on Foreign Hardwoods: Luke Jackson

In 2004 Cleveland Cavaliers GM Jim Paxson spent the 10th pick of the NBA draft on a SF from Oregon named Luke Jackson.  The Cavaliers needed some outside shooting at the time, and the four year product from the PAC-10 looked like a nice fit.  Five seasons later, with an NBA career stat line that reads 73 games played with a 3.5 ppg average, he's still a good fit.  Only now that fit is in Italy... playing for Carife Ferrara.

And he's off to a good start with the Italian club since signing this offseason.  Through yesterday, Luke's played in 13 games for Carife Ferrara averaging 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per contest.  His high game this season was on January 9th when he scored 30 against Benetton TV.  He also scored 23 points twice, the first game of the season against Banca Tercas, and on December 12th against Scavolini PS.  On November 22nd, against Damon Jones' squad Martos Napoli, he tallied 16. 

 

To Jackson, according to the Italian Basketball site Blog Ferrara, playing in Italy so far reminds him of the good old days up in Eugene, as he explained to the site earlier this season...

For a recap of the Cleveland State Vikings win over University of Illinois-Chicago last night at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland check out my story on the game posted at Midwest Sports Fans right here.

If you missed the last game - 62-57 win over Loyola - follow the links from here over to MSF for that recap as well.

Next up for CSU is Butler on Thursday at Butler.  Next home game is against Wisc-Green Bay Friday the 22nd.

 

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I felt pretty good about this one heading into the game, and stated as much during the Wine and Gold Pregame Podcast last night.  The Cavs were somewhat rested coming off a week that included a few off-day practices, and essentially an intrasquad scrimmage type game against the beleaguered Washington Wizards on Wednesday.  Couple that with the fact that the Nuggets were coming into last night's game riddled with injuries, highlighted by the fact that Carmelo Anthony did not play.  Ty Lawson did not play either, Chauncey Billups was just getting back after missing some time, and the Birdman - while he did play - was also questionable leading up to tip-off.  It looked like all the makings were there for the Cavaliers to start off their five game west coast trip on the right foot against a team that was starting Joey Graham and Aaron Afflalo - no offense to those NBA role players specifically.  Only none of those things mattered in the end, and while Cleveland had their chances down the stretch, they didn't win.

On to the next one I guess...Portland on Sunday at 9pm.  Join Glenn and I for a re-cap of this one, as well as a preview of the Blazers - Cavaliers match-up one hour prior to tip-off in Portland during the next live streaming of the Wine and Gold Pre-Game Podcast...

For now, allow my esteemed colleagues in Cavalier blogging to offer a few highlights as to the reasons why the Cavs fell last night for the 10th time this season...

Cavs Fall Apart Late in Loss to Nuggets, Waiting for Next Year - Jacob:

"Overall for the game, he [LeBron] took 28 field goal attempts, had eight turnovers and in the second half, shot the ball 18 times against only one assist for himself. I don’t care how many points he puts up or how well his defense/rebounding is doing, but that is not the recipe for a Cleveland victory on the road. In fact, it was the sixth time in his career including playoffs that he ended up with the magic combination of 28 FGA’s and 8 TO’s, and the Cavs are now 1-5 in those games. Poor performance by LBJ in this one, especially considering his only two three’s were in the closing seconds."

Cavs outplayed in Denver, King James Gospel - Cody:

"LeBron James poured in a game-high 35 points on a 12 of 28 showing from the field.  He added 7 assists and 6 rebounds to the stat line but also recorded a team-worst 8 turnovers on the night.  Mo Williams added 11 points on 3 of 7 from downtown while posting 6 assists in the losing effort.  Neither Mo nor LeBron could find any sort of rhythm on the night and, as a result, the Cavaliers were dropped by an undermanned Nuggets team...Overall, the Cavaliers recorded 19 turnovers in a sloppy performance..."

Recap:  Nuggets 99, Cavs 97 (Or, of High Altitudes and Low Effort Levels), Cavs: The Blog - John Krolik:

"LeBron went 6-8 at the rim, and 6-20 on shots outside of the paint. Call me crazy, but I think LeBron should’ve been a little more aggressive in this one...Defensively, the Cavs had a lot of trouble with Chauncey Billups early, who was absolutely carving Mo Williams apart. This was a game where Delonte’s move to the bench hurt the Cavs. During Chauncey’s first stretch of the first half, when Delonte wasn’t in, he scored eight points. During his second stretch of the first half, when Delonte was playing and guarding him, he didn’t score a point."

 

It wasn't too long ago the Cleveland State Vikings were winning the Horizon League tournament and upsetting Wake Forest in the first round of the big dance. Sitting at 2-2 in conference, despite taking some lumps early, that's the same place Gary Waters' group plans on going this year despite only returning two starters from a year ago...

I'll be on press row covering this year's Vikings for Midwest Sports Fans as we move towards March, so allow me to help you keep up with them, by keeping up with me.  My latest article was posted this morning, and can be found right here:

Cleveland State opens Horizon League Play at home with a 62-57 win over Loyola

Next up for CSU is UIC on Saturday at 5:30 and I'll be court-side for it so follow me on Twitter @StepienRules around that time if interested, and look for an article to follow that game as well...

One last thing, I appreciate Jerod Morris - who does a great job with MSF - getting together with me on this, and if you don't read his site daily already, start now by clicking right here.

Cavs tip tonight at 10:30 in Denver...look for the Wine and Gold Podcast at 9:30, one hour before tip...Cheers!

The big news in the NBA for the past few weeks has been the off-court issues with Gilbert Arenas. It seems like ages ago when the big story in the NBA was the off-court issues with Delonte West. The stories are similar: two guards with rough early lives, both careers hampered by medical conditions (one physical, one psychological). Sure there are similarities, but these two incidents are more different than they are the same.

However, after Gilbert's punishment yesterday, an indefinite suspension, many people believe that the punishment was too harsh, while Delonte seemingly got off scott-free. Indeed, one of the reasons Stern cited for the suspension was Agent Zero being "unfit" to play on the court at this time. If you get technical, Delonte's medical condition often makes him unfit to play on the court. And as for the weapons, Gil's weren't loaded while Delonte's were. Hypothetically, wouldn't the psychological condition, coupled with the loaded weapons make Delonte more of a candidate for suspension?

Today on The Basketball Jones, JE Skeets pretty much nailed why these situations are different. 1) Gilbert brought his weapons intothe Verizon Center, and guns are banned from NBA facilities. Delonte's incident was off the court and occurred during the off-season. 2) Delonte and the Cavs have kept the situation under wraps and made sure there were no media field days and outbursts. The Wizards did pretty much nothing to keep Arenas from talking to the media, getting on Twitter, or doing whatever else he did other than keep his mouth shut.

As one of my good friends says, "Don't poke the bear." In this case the bear, David Stern, was already angry and was poked in the eye by Arenas. If Gil and the Wizards worked together better to keep this situation from escalating, there's a good chance the punishment would have come after the legal proceedings were completed. Unfortunately, Gil forced Stern's hand with the infamous finger/gun photo, and here we are today. Stern also seemed to be setting an example with Gil, showing the rest of the league that not taking responsibility for your actions in unbecoming of an NBA player, and it will be punished harshly.

Well, you couldn't expect too much more than that out of the Wizards on a night like tonight.  Their team was already bad yesterday before Agent Double-O Zero decided to call David Stern out via the post game presser begging for a suspension, and once Washington's leading scorer got his wish prior to tip-off tonight, a bad team became even worse one.  And the Cavaliers capitalized.

Luckily for Washington fans the bloggers that cover the Wizards are the exact opposite of the team they follow in that they do a consistently phenomenal job, which at least keeps it interesting.  We were lucky enough to have two of the best stop by tonight for the Wine and Gold Pregame Podcast - in  Kyle Weidie from Truth About It and Mike Prada from Bullets Forever - and we appreciate them breaking down all the goings on that currently surround Gilbert's squad.  And after hearing their interviews with Glenn, I have to admit, the podcast was more interesting than the game.

Also, if you didn't know by now, it was  Mo Williams bobblehead night tonight.  And while Mo Gotti only went for 7 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds, truth is, his bobblehead could have actually started tonight in place of him and the Cavaliers would have won anyways.  Shaq turned in possibly his best half of basketball to date as a Cavalier by scoring 16 of his 17 in the period, LeBron nearly triple doubled without trying (23-8-7), and Delonte West went for 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds in just under 25 minutes of action.  This all lead to the Cavaliers scoring 121 points as a team which was a season high, despite not getting a point from Daniel Gibson. Coming off a couple DNP's, Daniel played 9 minutes on the day rumors surfaced everywhere that he was getting engaged to Keisha Cole. Congrats by the way Boobie, I'll keep my eye out for the save the date.  For the Wizards - in hopefully a Cavaliers audition? - Antawn Jamison went for 26.  I'd really like to see the Cavaliers find a way to get Jamison on the cheap, more on that later.  The only disappointing news of the night was that Fog Raw did not perform at halftime, kind of a bummer.

Next up for the Cavaliers are the Denver Nuggets - in Denver - on Friday night...

And one hour prior to tip-off, be sure to stop back for the Wine and Gold Pregame Podcast, streaming live before each and every Cavs game.

Mike Brown gets more than his fair share of heat, and I'm glad his efforts thus far this season were recognized with the Coach of the Month award that was announced Monday.  He deserved the award.  His team went 14-3 during that stretch, and more than that, it appears he has - already - successfully incorporated a number of new pieces and parts into his complex defensive system that is currently holding opponents to a league best 42% from the floor.  But more than reference the award, I wanted to take a moment to say that Mike Brown's a good coach, and more than that, I'll argue he's the best coach possible for the job he currently holds.  I didn't say best coach in the NBA, but I have, and do think he's the best fit for this Cavalier job and have no problem taking my chances with him at the helm going forward.  Coaching in the NBA, coaching LeBron James at times, managing stars like Shaquille O'Neal, and navigating through situations like that of Delonte West's aren't as easy as picking up a controller and playing NBA 2K10. I think a lot of the knocks against Mike Brown aren't really all that fair, and I'm glad to see him garner some positive pub.  If you want to blame Brown for the offense stagnating at times because LeBron is pounding the ball on the perimeter, than you have to credit Brown for getting LeBron to buy into his defensive philosophies and principals.  Or credit him for being smart enough pick his battles.  Do you think he actually draws up on the dry erase board for everybody to stand around and have LeBron dribble at the top of the key until the shot clock goes down to one and then tells him to shoot it then?  Or do you think they're standing around because LeBron's not doing what everybody just talked about?  Just asking.  Fact is, LeBron's not going to run every play Mike Brown calls, or do everything Mike Brown says, he's a mega star, he doesn't have to.  But Mike Brown is able to find a balance within that, and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for things like that.  Windhorst made the point about a month ago saying that if a guy like Larry Brown were the Cavaliers' coach LeBron would have run him out of town in a year.  And frankly, that doesn't make LeBron wrong, or Larry Brown wrong it just means that situation wouldn't work.  But Mike Brown has mostly worked, does mostly work, and I hope he continues to work his way to an NBA title...or else I will be mostly writing for days on end about how he should be fired immediately.

Photo via Waiting for Next Year (Left to Right) - Fabalolus, Jeezy, LeBron, Drake, Akon:

For more photos from LeBron's 25th Birthday party via WFNY, click here.


Agent Double-O Zero is in a lot of Trouble: Gilbert Arenas will be coming into the Cavs-Wiz game this week under investigation by both the DC authorities and the FBI - The Hoop Doctors, Allen Moll


Dare, Double Dare, Physical Challenge: You owe it to yourself to check out this three part video clip of 1992 NBA All Stars on the set of your favorite game show from 18 years ago - A Stern Warning, Mookie


Larry Hughes voice displeasure over benching: I guess D'Antoni doesn't like pull up jumpers in transition that miss hard off the back iron:  "This is my second or third time now (getting benched).  Its getting old." - SlamOnline


This might happen quicker than you thought: Allen Iverson could be a free agent by Wednesday - Dime Magazine, Aron Phillips


Phil Jackson's remedy for All Star Voting: LA Coach wants those people out of the voting booth - Hugging Harold Reynolds

When previewing tonight's match-up with the Bobcats earlier today, it just felt like the Cavaliers were due for a loss, and it turns out they were.  Had a chance late, as a LeBron James three went begging from the corner, and you were left wondering:  if the Cavs had fouled earlier on that last defensive possession, and had 8 or 9 seconds to try for a game tying three maybe they make it to OT.  But they didn't, and they didn't, and they probably didn't deserve to either.  Truth is, if they had 8 or 9 seconds to work with, LeBron would have dribbled out 7 or 8 of them and then probably shot the same three anyway so what's the difference.

Tough to win when no player outside of Mo or LeBron scores more than 10 points, and you allow the opposition to shoot nearly 50% from the field (34 of 69).  Mo played pretty much like an All Star tonight going for 27 points and 6 assists, but his 6 TO's certainly hurt the cause.  LeBron's line read a pedestrian 29-7-6 despite the fact that he's the only guy that can make that line seem pedestrian.  I kinda hoped to see a little more life out of Hickson tonight, who had a couple big blocks that I thought could parlay into a more aggressive game offensively for him, but he finished with 5 points in 23 minutes instead.  Delonte looked like he was about to get off, going for 6 points early, but he never did either, finishing with 9, and he couldn't stop Stephen Jackson either when he guarded him.  Jax went for 22 points to lead the Bobcats.  Diop exploded tonight, and that's depressing for any opposing NBA team, scoring more than 8 times his average of 0.9 points per game (he finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks).  Flip Murray scored 10 big points (including a huge 3 in the fourth) for the Bobcats, and Ray Felton hit a dagger to with 3 seconds left to finish with 17.  Gerald Wallace - who would look great as a Cavalier - scored 19 points to go with 12 rebounds.  Shaq went for 10 points and 7 rebounds, which is about all you can ask out of him, meanwhile, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jamario Moon combined to go 0 of 9 from the floor for 1 point...not exactly the spark off the bench you're looking for.  Boobie Gibson got a DNP coach's decision, and you have to wonder what his take is on that...he hasn't exactly earned the right to play as many minutes as Darnell Jackson on a nightly basis, but that's how many minutes he's getting.  Maybe he should shave a water bottle into the back of his head next game to get Mike Brown's attention.

Next up for the Cavaliers (27-9) is the Washington Wizards (10-21), at home, on Wednesday...hopefully the Quicken Loans Arena metal detectors are working when the opposing team arrives.

The Cavaliers were looking to extend a winning streak from 3- games to 4 when they went to Charlotte on November 27th, and they played one of their worst games of the season instead, losing  94-87 to the Bobcats. Fast forward a month, and the Cavaliers (27-8) are currently riding a 7-game winning streak into tonight's match-up at the Q with Charlotte (13-18) - set to tip at 6pm.  It feels like a let-down game to me tonight, but I hope I'm wrong...

Some bullet-points in regards to tonight's match-up are as follows:

*  Since pummeling the Lakers and playing their best game of the season on Christmas day, the Cavaliers have won 4-straight games.
*  The Cavaliers have won 12 of their last 13 games.
*  The Cavs are 10-0 against the Bobcats all-time at home.
*  The Cavs are 1-1 vs. the Bobcats this season (total points: Cavs 177- Bobcats 173).
*  The Bobcats are 2-14 on the road this season.
*  The Cavaliers have won 11-straight at home.

By the way those bullet points were why I said it feels like a let-down game, especially coming right out of the holiday, coupled with LeBron's birthday, Drake's performance, Shaq's Rolls, Andy's 3...but who knows, hopefully I'm wrong.  Charlotte's a decent team with some real talent - specifically Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackons - but if they win tonight it will be more because the Cavaliers beat themselves than Charlotte imposing their will.  The Cavaliers look to start the same way tonight, and for the bad guys, the starting five should look like this...

Projected Starters:

F - Gerald Wallace - 17.8 ppg, 11.9 rpg
F - Boris Diaw - 10.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg
C - Nazr Mohammed - 7.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg
G - Stephen Jackson - 18.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg
G - Raymond Felton - 12.8 ppg, 5.2 apg

ex - Cavs to make an appearance tonight:

Flip Murray (8.3 ppg) who will probably be scoring in this league until his 45, currently comes into tonight as a key reserve for the Bobcats off the bench.  Desagana Diop, conversely, is just on the team, and owes his 9-year NBA career entirely and exclusively to the fact that he was born tall.  The Cavalier lottery pick has never averaged more than 19 minutes per game during a season throughout his NBA career, and has appeared in 11 games this year, averaging about 1 point, 1 rebound per game, over 6.6 minutes of action.  Stephen Graham should also make an appearance in his old stomping grounds tonight, and comes in averaging 4.1 points per game over 12 minutes of action per contest.