After opening the game with a first half as depressing as the 3 halves of Cavailers' basketball that had preceeded it, the Cavs responded from a 54-45 halftime deficit with a momentum changing second half to close out B-Roy and the Blazers 104-99 in a game they absolutely had to have.  In addition to doing what his team needed him to do offensively, King James brought a little bit of D as well to close this thing out... 

And I don't think I need to tell you what Austin Carr had to say about that one.  But I will share with you the opinions of those esteemed bloggers from around the web who weighed in on last night's win - speaking on the play of Anderson Varejao specifically:

Wating For Next Year, Jacob:

"In the second half, LeBron (33-7-7) and his sidekick Mo (14-10), who was also suffering from the stomach flu, mercilessly pounded the basketball into the painted area for cutting teammates. Anderson Varejao was at his absolute finest tonight, finishing 10-17 from the floor in 36 minutes off the bench. Yes, the big story with our forwards was the Shaq getting pokedin the eye, but when Anderson can produce like he did last night offensively, the Cavaliers won’t need the plodding Shaqtus come crunch time in big games."

Cavs: the blog, John Krolik:

"If there was any doubt coming into this game that Anderson Varejao is the Cavs’ best big man by a fairly wide margin, it should be erased after this game...9 of the Cavs’ 11 field goals in the fourth quarter were assisted, and 6 of those 9 were baskets by Anderson Varejao, a guy who never stops moving and looking for seams when the ball is in somebody else’s hands. Varejao’s off-ball movement the whole game was beautiful, but in the fourth quarter Varejao was just putting on a clinic..."

King James Gospel, Cody:

"The Wine and Gold then [Friday] took the floor against an undermanned Portland Blazers team and headed to the locker room at half time down 54 – 45.   After LaMarcus Aldridge put in two quick buckets over JJ Hickson to open the third, Mike Brown turned to Anderson Varejao and Mr. Efficiency responded with 18 second half points to turn the game around."

And lastly, an opposing teams' take on the performance of our beloved Brazilian...they don't like him as much...

Bust a Bucket...A Blazers Blog, Sheed:

"Anderson Vareflop. This guy drives me crazy. His sole purpose is to irritate and draw fouls from the opponent. The only problem is he is dirty, grabbing and pushing to get what he wants. The refs seem to like him, but when they don't? He goes crazy and complains about every single call.  The ugly part of all this? He torched Portland, especially on the pick and roll. He had a season high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Portland had no answer for him. It looked way too easy for the Brazilian sideshow Bob look alike. Oh well, perhaps we can throw some defense at him next time, right?"

Sheed, from the best Blazers blog in Portland - Bust a Bucket - was nice enough to stop by Stepien Rules today for a Q and A in anticipation of tonight's Cavaliers - Blazers game.  My questions, and his answers, are as follows:

Where do you project Portland to be, come playoff time as far as seeding goes? How many playoff rounds do you foresee them winning?  Is a Western Conference title realistic, or are the Blazers a year or two away from those goals? 

Now that is a great question. Coming into the season many Blazer fans, including myself, had very high hopes. I thought we’d win 56 games and get a 2 or a 3 seed. Since that time, situations have changed. Injuries, poor play, and the excellent play of other Western Conference teams has made a play-off run tough.  At this point, making the playoffs is the goal. It will likely be a 6-8 seed and a tough first round match-up. I think they could possibly win a series in the right match-up, but getting to the Western Conference Finals seems impossible at this point.  The Western Conference goes through Los Angeles, at least for the next few years. Until the Lakers slow down, no one else is coming out of the West. You’ve seen how they’re playing this year, they are stacked and motivated. 

How good is Brandon Roy? Specifically, if you could pick any NBA player to lead your franchise, how many guys would you pick before you took Roy? 

There aren’t too many guys in the NBA who are young, talented and poised like Brandon. He’s definitely in my top 5-10 if I were picking.  His all around game and ability to close games is what really makes him stand out.  Of course you have Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant, but after that, there are a lot of great players who bring different skills. I am happy with Brandon in Portland, and our GM will get the right personnel pieces for Roy to succeed. 

With Oden going down again, reportedly for the duration of this season, what's the feeling in Portland about his career prospects long-term? 

This is the question of the year for Blazer fans. After this latest injury, I know even the believers had to be worried about the future of Greg Oden. He has been injured so much in his short collegiate and NBA career, it’s natural to be concerned about the future.  But, there are positive things to gain from this situation. First of all, He’ll be 22 in January. He is still very young, and there is really no reason to think he won’t be coming back next season ready to contribute.  Greg is also a very hard worker. He trained his backside off this summer, and we know he’ll do whatever it takes to get back to where he was this year. I don’t doubt Greg Oden, we just have to be patient and hope he turns out like Zydrunas Ilgauskus, injured early on, but very productive in his NBA career. 

Do you wish the Blazers had picked Kevin Durant? 

Obviously Durant is an exceptional talent designed for the NBA and it’s rules geared towards offense.  I love Durant, but I don’t necessarily think we’re monumentally better with him here. I’ve tried to figure out how he fits into this team but it would be totally different. There are only so many shots to go around and I don’t see how his 20-25 shots per game fit in.  Portland took Greg with the number one pick because he was a once in a lifetime talent at the center position. He showed crazy upside and ridiculous athleticism. I’m going to be a Greg Oden fan forever. I remember how I felt when we got the first pick, I know who I wanted, and I’m willing to be patient now.  Asking Portland fans if they wish they had taken Durant is like asking me if I wish I had moved to New York after college or taken a different job 4 years ago. We are where we are today for a reason, who knows where we’d be if Durant was here. Perhaps things would be totally different, but I’m not going to worry about it.  

What is something about this Blazers team that the Cavaliers need to watch out for tonight?  More directly, how do they beat Cleveland tonight? 

The Cavs need to watch out for Portland getting hot from deep. Honestly, our 3-point shooters haven’t exactly been shooting well this year. Considering Cleveland has lost their last two, and will be looking to break the streak, only a very good shooting Blazer team can win this game.  A lot of these things are  cliché, but if Portland wants to win in Cleveland, they must limit turnovers. Careless ball handling will kill them. Also, keeping our bigs out of foul trouble will be key. With Oden out, and not much depth in the front court, foul trouble will likely leave the Blazers hoping for a rally in the fourth quarter.

Rocket defenders gave LeBron James a hard time on the perimeter and when James did get in the lane, he had to deal with the Rockets big men. Shane Battier and Trevor Ariza harassed LeBron all night and while James had 27 points, he only made 8 of 21 shots and for the second time in as many days, he turned the ball over five times. This loss adds to the Cavs woes in Houston, as they have lost 6 of 7 times on the Rockets home court.

The Cavaliers (15-7) did cut the Rockets double digit lead to single digits, but were not able to get it close enough for Houston to panic. It did not help that Mo Williams, Shaquille O’Neal, and Delonte West received technical fouls for arguing calls. The Rockets converted those technicals to points and padded their lead. The frustration of the night did not stop with the players.

Cavs coach Mike Brown was ejected by referee Scott Wall before halftime. It is always a good idea to keep your cool, especially on the road, but with the team’s lack of intensity, Brown probably did it more to ignite a spark for his team.

“I don’t like to do that because I think we’re good enough to win no matter which way the calls go,” Brown said. “I took it a step too far.”

For the second straight night, the Cavaliers were hurt by committing 20 turnovers, which led to easy baskets for the Rockets (12-9). Those miscues cost them 22 points and Houston ended up with 18 fast-break points. Ariza led the Rockets with 26 points, including 4 of 6 shooting from 3 point range and getting easy fast-break hoops. Aaron Brooks put in 27 points and held Williams to only 7 points.

West helped keep the Cavs in the ballgame with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting. The Cavaliers did hold the edge in rebounding, 47 – 37, including 11 offensive boards.

To add to the Cavs troubles, Daniel Gibson suffered an injury to his right pinky in the first half and didn’t return. X-rays were negative and he is day to day.

The Cavs return home Friday night to take on the Portland Trailblazers. But their home stand will be short lived, as they will be back on the road to travel to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder.

This article can also be seen at "The Dugout Sports Show".

"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Rockets 12.09.09 - Click to Listen

Brendan and I previewed the Cavaliers/Rockets game on the "Wine & Gold Podcast" on 12.09.09. We hit on the Grizzlies/Cavs game and gave our opinions on bench play, LeBron, and also the play of the Grizzlies and their big three.

OUR GAME PREDICTIONS: THIS SEASON: TIED 1-1-1

GLENN - HOU 101 CLE 90 LeBron James - 31 / Aaron Brooks - 19 points

BRENDAN - CLE 95 HOU 89 LeBron James - 28 / Aaron Brooks - 23

Our next pregame show will be before Friday's Cavaliers/Portland Trailblazers game at 7:00PM ET.

We also will be doing pregame shows for ALL Cavalier games, one hour before tipoff! Just come to the website and join the chat box and listen in!!!

"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Rockets 12.09.09 - Click to Listen

Below are a collection of thoughts on last night's loss to Memphis...

* The Cavaliers game played out in stark contrast to our Wine and Gold Pregame Podcast last night.  Glenn and I started out slow due to working through some technical difficulties, and finished the last 45 minutes real strong...according to me. The Cavaliers started out great, looked to continue their Milwaukee roll, and then turned the ball over 74 times as a team from there en-route to an OT loss against and under .500 team.

* Shaq looked great offensively last night, but he guards the pick-and-roll worse than Z.  And Z does a bad job with it.  But don't take my word for that, take the word of Grizzlies Coach Lionel Hollins:  "I was hoping [O'Neal] would still be in the game," Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. "So we could use him in the pick-and-roll."  Via Brian Windhorst.

* During the Grizzlies run to get back in the game, I found myself for the first time in years, sitting on my couch thinking out loud that Mike Brown has got to get Daniel Gibson back into the game.  10 points in the 1st quarter, not heard from again basically until 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, where he proceeded to hit another 3 (13 points on night).  Gibson's playing the best basketball of his life.

* Mo Williams is a great scoring guard, and he can create for others as well.  But he's not a true point guard by any stretch.  While Mo's been playing great, and had some tremendous looks in the first half yesterday (8 assists for the game), an elite floor general would not let all the turnovers, stagnant play, and LeBron watching that occured last night happen.  Not all Mo's fault, but John Stockton wouldn't have let that go on.  

* And neither would Earl Boykins. Speaking of PG's, the Cavaliers don't have one on the roster, and it showed last night.  If you bring an Earl Boykins in off the bench last night in the 3rd quarter, that could have re-directed the ship...instead it sank.

* Hard to find fault with a guy that goes for 43 and 13, and hits what should have been a game winner with less than 20 seconds left in regulation last night, but the Cavaliers only lose focus when LeBron lets them lose focus.  Shouldn't be that way, I know, but he's the leader, and that's his job too.

"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Grizzlies 12.08.09 - Click to Listen

Brendan and I previewed the Cavaliers/Grizzlies game on the "Wine & Gold Podcast" on 12.08.09. We hit on the Bucks/Cavs game and gave our opinions on bench play, LeBron, and also Brandon Jennings. We also threw in a little LBJ/MJ debate and ended the show talking about Allen Iverson.

OUR GAME PREDICTIONS: THIS SEASON: TIED 1-1

GLENN - CLE 88 MEM 81 Mo Williams - 16 points / Rudy Gay - 19 points

BRENDAN - CLE 91 MEM 83 Mo Williams - 23 points / Rudy Gay - 17 points

Our next pregame show will be before tomorrow's (Wednesday) Cavaliers/Houston Rockets game at 7:30PM ET.

We also will be doing pregame shows for ALL Cavalier games, one hour before tipoff! Just come to the website and join the chat box and listen in!!!

"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Grizzlies 12.08.09 - Click to Listen

Continue Reading

Edition 3 of the BlogPoll NBA Power Rankings were released this morning, taking into account the votes cast by yours truly.  I had the Cavaliers at #2.  Is that too much?  I didn't think so, really.  They just blew out the teams ranked #5 - Suns - and #7 - Dallas - to kick off the four-game winning streak they are currently on.  Nevertheless though, the Cavaliers came in at #6 this time around, and the top 5 looks like this:

1. LA Lakers
2. Boston Celtics
3. Orlando Magic
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Phoenix Suns

I had LA #1 overall as well for the record.  To check out the complete BlogPoll NBA Power Rankings, Click Here. 

Additionally, if you missed it last Wednesday, the Bloguin MVP / ROY Power Rankings were also posted on With Malice, and to check those out Click Here.

I had Brandon Jennings #1, Tyreke Evans #2, and Jonny Flynn #3 for the ROY...don't sleep on Flynn...I had LeBron #1 overall for the MVP as well...its gotta go through him this year, no?

EPISODE 3 - WINE and GOLD PREGAME PODCAST - TONIGHT: 

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"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Bucks 12.06.09 - Click to Listen

Brendan and I previewed the Cavaliers/Bucks game on the "Wine & Gold Podcast" on 12.06.09 and like our first pregame show, we did not disappoint our viewers with the second. We hit on the Bulls/Cavs game and gave our opinions on the whole LeBron James/Joakim Noah debacle. I was more old school with my opinion (play and respect the game) while Brendan was more open to the 'new school' NBA. We also hit on the play of Brandon Jennings for the Milwaukee Bucks and what could happen if Zydrunas Ilgauskas gets traded.

OUR GAME PREDICTIONS: THIS SEASON: GLENN 1-0
GLENN - CLE 103 MIL 90
LeBron James - 22 points / Brandon Jennings - 21 points
BRENDAN - CLE 94 MIL 85
LeBron James - 35 points / Brandon Jennings - 14 points

Our next pregame show will be before Tuesday's Cavaliers/Memphis Grizzlies game at 7PM ET.

We also will be doing pregame shows for ALL Cavalier games, one hour before tipoff! Just come to the website and join the chat box and listen in!!!

"Wine & Gold Podcast" Pregame Show vs. Bucks 12.06.09 - Click to Listen