No Highs, No Lows

Exhibit A of why coaches preach no highs, no lows in an NBA season...and as a fan, it's so easy to get caught up in both...

From the low of lows in Wednesday's loss to the banged up Knicks to the high of highs, beating the Bulls in their barn...

I like what Drew Gooden said best...Yes, the Cavs exhibited mental toughness to pull out such a game, but the true growth will come when the Cavs can lay down the hammer when they get a 13 point lead...that takes an elite team to do that in such a match-up against a good team...

My magic number is still 50 to get the 2 seed...need to go 6-3 to do it...now Boston becomes the most important game of the season...

Trite but true...

On the bus on the way the airport and the biggest topic?...Getting updated scores on the Buckeyes...

Donyell's got a sling box to watch it...the only way to go!!!!!

See you tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. on FSN Ohio.

On to Chicago

It's on to Chicago for game 3 of the trip...If the Cavs are looking for entertainment...there's the little confab between the Bulls and Pistons at the United Center...wouldn't that be a sight if all the Cavs showed up as spectators...it'd be like when these guys all played in summer tournaments growing up, sitting on the sideline, waiting to play the winner...

Actually this one between the Bulls and Pistons will be on TNT, so some TV scouting from the hotel room will work...the Cavs are staying at the same hotel as the Pistons incidentally, so the trip to Chicago had to be pushed back a bit to wait for Rasheed and his pals to check out....

Back to practice tomorrow...I'm sure defense will be emphasized....Mike Brown was not happy after the game last night for obvious reasons...

Don't forget, Saturday's game with the Bulls is a 3 p.m. start...see you then...

The alarm clocks didn't go off until about 10 or so today, after getting into NY about 2am...the guys had a normal team meeting to talk about the Knicks...had the usual brunch feast and then the guys went to their rooms to stay off their feet...no chance to do any Big Apple tours, in spite of the great weather...this is a business trip...

I loved hearing LeBron called a brief team meeting yesterday morning to underscore the importance of this trip and the remaining games...he told the guys that at times he may get on them, and it's nothing personal...and that's what it has to be when the unquestioned leader, (even at age 22) has to ruffle some feathers...that's what a team is all about...and Mike Brown couldn't be happier...Larry Brown always talks about guys taking ownership of their own fate...that's what veteran teams are able to do...

LeBron taking the first team bus to Conseco (arrival 2 hours before game time) may not sound like much...(most regulars on most teams arrive 90:00 before game time) but it sends the right message to everyone, that this is winning time, and what the Cavs do over these final 11 games may go a long way toward plotting out their
post-season success...

It's all a part of what owner, Dan Gilbert calls "inches" in his business blueprint...a few inches last night led to a big step in Indianapolis...

See you tonight at 7:30 on FSN...

Drew Gooden couldn't believe Rasheed Wallace's 65 footer last night in Detroit's regulation saver against Denver, even though he knows Wallace practices that shot...at the end of practice today, Drew took a crack at the same shot a few times...missing by the way..

Drew says his money shot from that distance is underhanded...a bowling stroke if you will...he's made that shot several times at the end of practices in the past...

A good focus at shoot around this morning....a lot of give and take on defensive strategy between the coaching staff and the guys as they made crafted their gameplan...Tonight's game starts a crucial 5 game trip...my prediction....50 wins overall will get the #2 seed in the East...that means 8-4 the rest of the way...very doable...

See you tonight at 7 on FSN...

On the Road Again

The 5 game roadie is underway...We've arrived in Naptown for a big one Tuesday night...

The Pacers are getting healthy with Jermaine O'Neal back...they're just a half game out of the final playoff spot...

In case you weren't sure, the new playoff seeding means the 2nd best record in the conference (Cavs right now) gets the 2nd seed with the remaining division winners seeded 3rd and 4th...

Right now, Chicago is seeded 5th, but would still have home court against the 4th seed (Toronto) because of a better record...

Indy is still in the afterglow of winning the Super Bowl last month, and their new retractable dome stadium (Lucas Oil Stadium) is well on its way to being built..It sits across the street from the RCA dome and will open, fall of '08, seating up to 70,000...Looks sweet...

See you Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday AAU Basketball with the Browns

What a treat for me yesterday, shooting an upcoming segment on Access Cavaliers, seeing the Brown family at an AAU basketball tournament in Rocky River...12 Year-old, Elijah's team won two games...Elijah is very poised on the floor...goes well with either hand, and loves the game of basketball (so does younger brother, Cameron, whose team won a 9 year-old game).

Mike just sat back and enjoyed watching basketball as a Dad....wife, Carolyn does get more emotional about close games than Dad, all his according to Elijah...he also says he thinks his game resembles Daniel Gibson more than any other Cavalier...also admitting his defense needs work...Mike Brown's son, needs help with defense??? Yes, like any 12 year-old, offense is what it's about..so, Mike says he and Elijah have been talking defense....defense...and defense some more.....Can't imagine why!!!

See you tonight at 8 on FSN...

Good Win Friday

Good win last night because the Cavs didn't mess around with that one in the 2nd half...

Today's practice at The Q ended, as always with free throws...Mike Brown changed things up...each player had to knock down three freebies in a row, or run the length of the floor up and back...Larry Hughes, David Wesley and Shannon Brown were the first to perfection...

David shaved off his mustache, and looks 25...

LeBron broke off last night's postgame interview session, when someone looked up at the locker room t.v. and said Kobe Bryant had 50 again....LB said "he did it again?....I'm sorry, I can't talk anymore...I gotta watch this guy."

LeBron also expects the Buckeyes to keep winning...especially because as he says "they're wearing my gear"...he's of course talking about the LeBron Nike shoes and uni's...

See you tomorrow night at 8 on FSN Ohio!!

LeBron and Isiah

As we get ready for tonight's game with the Knicks, I couldn't help but think of LeBron's parallels with Isiah Thomas…arguably the greatest point guard to ever play the game at his size…

He was drafted 2nd overall in 1982, by a franchise that had never been to the NBA Finals…coming off a horrendous season…Isiah was 20, and considered the next coming after two years at Indiana…he had to go three years without a taste of the playoffs….then another four seasons (total of seven) before he won a title…(It took MJ six)…

Isiah had to suffer the pain of defeat along the way, none worse than his infamous pass which cost the Pistons a potential series clinching game-6 in Boston (“Bird stole the ball") in the '87 Eastern finals…the Pistons then lost game-7 and had to live with that emptiness all summer…I remember the look in Isiah's eyes that night in Boston after his gaffe…there was no look of needing pity…yes, pain, but a look of I will not let this defeat me…and it didn't…he was as mentally tough as any athlete I have ever covered…and I've closely covered ten pro title teams in my career…

So, it all comes back to LeBron…and patience…we all want a title in this town yesterday, but at 22, he still has to experience growth, and yes, pain to possibly know what it takes to win it all…let us all be witnesses to it…

See you tonight at 7:30…

A good chance to get win #9 in a row tonight against the banged up Bobcats....Emeka Okafor and Sean May are expected to miss this one..

Larry Hughes still hasn't washed his sweats...can't do it since the Cavs has won 8 in a row since the last washing..

Larry also says he has learned to soften his high lobs to LeBron...the past season and a half he has thrown it too hard...LB just told Larry to throw it up anywhere high and he'll go get it...

Just like Saturday night...

See you tonight at 7 on FSN Ohio..

We've arrived in Charlotte where spring has already arrived....66 degrees....C'mon opening day!!!!

LeBron and Larry both acknowledged after practice, the goal is try and chase down Detroit, especially with the gap now just a game and a half.......

So tomorrow night's game is just as critical to get as was Saturday's with Boozer and his boys..Darius Snow made the trip with Dad...the perfect young gentleman of course...

Daniel Gibson looks like he'll be active tomorrow night...he looks ready, knocking down 4 straight corner treys to win the end of practice shootout with LB, Sasha and the guys...

The quest for 9 in a row is set for tomorrow night at 7 pm...

See you then on FSN Ohio..

Big Win on Saturday

It was a great atmosphere last night at The Q...The combination of two good teams, mixed with St Patty's Day and the return of Carlos Boozer made for quite a party...Scot Pollard's Irish jig was caught by Q Vision....He's lucky he didn't pull a hamstring!!

I thought as the game went on, the crowd shifted from boo without the z at the end, to there's a more important agenda at hand, trying win the East...LeBron lit the fire...

Among the many signs, my favorite was a guy who created Cleveland's 10 most hated list:

1. Art Modell
2. Carlos Boozer
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. NY Yankees
5. Michigan Wolverines
6. Jim Thome
7. Albert Belle
8. Manny Ramirez
9. John Elway
10. Michael Jordan

If the Cavs eventually win an NBA title, Carlos will then slide down a few notches...

See you Tuesday night from Charlotte....How does 9 in a row sound?

Cavs Ready for Utah

The Cavs are looking forward to tomorrow night's showdown with Utah which means two elite teams from the west coming to The Q in the span of five days...Dallas is here on Wednesday...

Naturally Carlos Boozer's return was a topic of discussion....LeBron was asked if Boozer will be booed heavily tomorrow....LB said... "Oh absolutely"...he also acknowledged the former Dukie made a business decision...and then added that both the Jazz and Cavs profited with the deal, eventually bringing Drew and Andy here...

In fact Z said fans should cheer Carlos because the Cavs wound up with Gooden and Varajao...

At the end of practice....Sasha, LeBron, Shannon Brown, David Wesley and Daniel Gibson played their usual 3-point shooting contest...The task: knock down four in a row from five different spots on the floor.. Sasha came up the winner...

See you on St. Patty's Day, at 7:30 on FSN Ohio... ___________________________________________

Walking in Memphis

As Beachwood's Marc Cohn would say...."Walking in Memphis"...a delight today, with spring having arrived down here...The Cavs won't get much of a chance to do that today, since this is a back-to-back, and the guys, especially this time of the season, try to stay off their feet as much as possible...

LeBron will be a game-time call tonight....but I think he will play...his spirits were good last night after the game, as he intently watched the end of the Utah-Miami game in the locker room...This time of year, the guys are all keeping up with the standings, and who's beating whom....LB's getting more treatment today, and I know he is anxious to play...Mike Brown is good at reading guys' true feelings, so if King James wants to go, but truly isn't ready, Mike will know...

On a totally different topic, if you like minor league ballparks as I do, you would love Auto Zone Park which looks like someone literally placed the ball park in the middle of downtown....on one street corner there is a Denny's, on the other corners, a TGI Friday's and a Cafe, and then, on the remaining corner, the ballpark, with red brick walls fitting right in....it's the Cardinals farm club, the Memphis Redbirds...It's a great day for a ballgame...Heck, I'm ready for a doubleheader, with Cavs and Grizzlies being the nightcap...

See you tonight at 8:00 p.m. on FSN Ohio...

Bracketology

Have you filled out your brackets yet?

The Cavs haven’t either…although, Drew Gooden is picking Kansas…(gee, shocker)…I wonder if Scot Pollard is too…with Scotty you never know…he’s a pick from the head, not the heart kinda guy…Eric Snow and Shannon Brown may not admit it, but the Spartans may not be long for this world very much longer…Boobie Gibson will be riding his Longhorns a long way… having Kevin Durant sure helps)…Ira says don’t forget about the Redhawks…Where in the world are Donyell’s Huskies….hmmmm…LeBron still laments the fact the Zips didn’t get a nod…don’t even go there with the NIT, what a joke…

Mike Brown is the reigning locker room bracket champion….by accident though…he, wife, Carolyn, and sons pick one after the other, each selecting a winning team, game by game….Carolyn sometimes is influenced by school nicknames….I have now idea why that system seems to work…Team Brown may be tough to beat again…sometimes hunches go a long way…

See you tonight at 7:00 p.m. from The Q….

Speaking of Shannon...

Aside from the win and the way the Cavs took care of business last night, Shannon Brown's Dr J high wire drive was spell bounding...

What I like about him is he's humble...when I asked him about the play, he just grinned and said "I just play", not wanting to call attention to himself......Shannon is obviously athletic and has toughness (a must if you play for Tom Izzo)..That no doubt comes from being the son of a police officer...

That upbringing helped get him through the month long injury and road back...It will be fun to watch him develop...

See you tomorrow night from the Q..

A look of "I told you so" on the face of LeBron this morning after Akron's MAC tournament win last night over Kent....He'll be checking for a final with Miami when the Cavs-Bucks game is over...

Look for LB to have a big scoring night...he had just 8 here in Milwaukee during the Cavs gut it out in the 4th quarter win back in January..

Good test for Sasha tonight defending Michael Redd, after back to back games defending Tracy McGrady and Richard Hamilton...

Sasha says he knows his offense will come back after three subpar games in a row..
See you tonight at 8:30...

Arrival in Milwaukee

We're in Milwaukee...and normally the guys would pick some sophisticated fare for dinner...but tonight, the menu must be accompanied by a certain dish....Satellite...At least for LeBron anyway...he wants to keep tabs on the Zips and Golden Flashes in the MAC semi's....and he's picking Akron to win big...go figure! He jokingly said by 54 points, then backed off, knowing another win over rival Kent is not easy, given the last win came less than a week ago...

LeBron says he is proud of Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce III and how they are now getting the acclaim he felt they deserved as high school teammates...he's also thrilled for Keith Dambrot, adding that the tough love he received from coach in high school has prepared him well for being an attentive listener to the Cavs coaching staff up here in the NBA. He recounted some times at St V-St M when Dambrot would bring guys to tears if they weren't mentally prepared...I don't think LBJ was one of them. He did admit coach said "some harsh things to him" to push the motivational button...

More tomorrow on an interesting adjustment King James has made in this recent scoring binge. Talk to you then.

Instant Classic

It usually takes me a few hours to wind down from any broadcast. It's the nature and the beauty of what we do for a living as broadcasters...last night, I was still wired and wide awake at 2 a.m. It was one of the most enjoyable regular season games of my career.

So many images running through my mind, over and over...Mike Brown running off the floor figuring he had the game won, LeBron's "you can't stop me look" in his eye (which WILL eventually take this team to greatness because he will refuse to lose). His air compressing block of Rip Hamilton's lay-up...Z's fling-it-in the basket rescue shot...and on and on...

But maybe the most heartening images were those of the guys on the bench, wanting the win so badly they could taste it...Damon Jones, instead of feeling sorry for himself with his lack of current playing time, giving suggestions to Mike Brown at his clipboard...Mike welcoming that, and then DJ transferring the message to King James and the guys on the floor....That is bunker mentality to its fullest, and to see it at The Palace against a battle tested team made the whole evening special...I wish all of you could have been in my shoes last night to witness it...

I'm not saying the Cavs are going to the NBA Finals, but that was a growth game last night...let's see how they build upon it....LeBron has to...doing what he did last night merely feeds into his belief that he can will his team to victory when he has to...

Z said it best...LeBron was "unguardable"...I would say indescribable...

See you Saturday night from Milwaukee...

We're at the Palace....for a little shoot around....first time back since the playoffs...There is no way these games with the Pistons are just four of 82, for you fans, or for us, who cover this team, and it's all based on what happened last spring, and how these Pistons stand in the way of what the Cavs desperately want, a trip to the NBA finals...

Mike Brown won't let it become any more or less important than any other game, but human nature tells you the juices flow a little more when you are facing your arch rival...it makes for great theatre...

Eric Snow enjoys coming back to the state where he played his Big Ten hoops, catching up with his college roommate...

Eric was also beaming because of his son, EJ hit the game winning shot in a tournament game over the weekend...he's a 2nd grader, and EJ did it against a 3rd grade squad...so, a big moment in his basketball life...

Speaking of proud Dads...Mike Brown's favorite birthday gift was a book of drawings from 9 year-old son, Cameron, who is the artist of the family....lots of Knights or as we agreed, probably Cavaliers showing their bravery, and each one of them had separate names, including Sponge Bob...It's one of those parental treasures you save for future review...like maybe when Cameron gets his first professional artist gig...

See you tonight at 7:30 on FSN Ohio...

Sunday Workout

The Cavs held a light workout today to clean up some things....Mike Brown again reminded the guys about paying attention to the most minute details for every single drill....Mike is very meticulous and wants his guys to be the same, hammering home it's the only way to go from being a pretty good team to being a great one....

Mike is intrigued by what Shannon Brown has shown the last two games...his athleticism is obvious, but his poise has jumped out at him. It sounds to me that Shannon has earned a more serious look from Mike, especially with Boobie Gibson out.

Mike hustled off from practice to watch Cameron and Elijah in a boys basketball tournament in Revere.

See you tomorrow night on FSN Ohio!

Happy Orange Day

Happy Orange Day...I haven't checked out my orange blazer which Scott Williams and I each will wear tonight in honor of '86-'87 gang who will be honored tonight at The Q...gotta find the right shade of blue tie to wear...

Daniel Gibson, as you may have heard by now has re-sprained his left big toe...it happened in the 2nd half of the game Thursday night, despite wearing a steel protective device in his shoe...so now it will take rest to get it right....meaning 10-14 days, which translates to 6-8 games...Daniel is a little bummed right now...he had been making strides...and he's only missed one game in his high school/college days...that was one game at Texas due to a concussion...

Boobie was a good source for Shannon Brown to lean upon during Shannon's long road back in January...now, Shannon can return the favor with his friend, over the next week or two, to keep his spirits up...

Speaking of the Cavs #1 pick...Shannon is back from a quick trip to Albuquerque last night, where he scored 14 points and had 6 dimes in a victory...Shannon may get some time tonight, depending on how much Larry Hughes and Damon Jones can give the Cavs...If Larry is okay to go...he'll start against the Raptors tonight, and Sasha will play the 2....

See you tonight...Orange-you glad you'll be spending your Saturday night with us on FSN Ohio?

Sorry, I couldn't resist it...

Shannon Brown is headed to Albuquerque of the NBA D league for a quick tune up game tonight...Originally this was going to be a longer stint, but he'll return to Cleveland in time for tomorrow night's game with Toronto because of Larry Hughes illness and Damon Jones back spasms...

I thought last night was the best Shannon has looked...he confidently knocked down a 3 with a hand in his face, and scored on an aggressive drive to the hole, under complete control...plus, he looked solid on the defensive end...

Shannon has been getting better and better in practice, making up for lost time due to that bone bruise suffered late in December...his confidence has remained in tact...I know he wishes he was getting playing time, but right now he's playing catch-up, and knows he has to be patient...but now could be his time...Mike Brown was pleased with the way his first round pick performed last night....I would not be surprised to see Shannon get some minutes tomorrow night...The Cavs need someone to step up and help with consistent scoring to go with the required defense on this team...the door is open for Shannon to bust through...

The Cavs also have two more assignments left for the Michigan Stater to go to the D-League if they so choose...the idea is to get him game reps as much as possible...don't write him off to be of some help before the season is over...

By the way, last night's season ticket party at the Q was a lot of fun...Q-vision was lowered to nearly eye level, and the crowd was really into the game, especially down the stretch...they came unglued on LeBron's first quarter ridiculous throw down...even AC was high high-fiving me...he nearly broke my ring finger...

Talk to you tomorrow night on FSN Ohio...

On to Dallas

It's on to Dallas for tonight's showdown...the trip to Texas sparked a discussion during Wednesday's morning stretch, among Eric Snow, David Wesley, Donyell Marshall and LeBron James about some of the old arenas...Reunion in Dallas..the Hemisfair in San Antonio, the Salt Palace in Utah and of course the Coliseum of Richfield...

Many times LeBron is curious about memories from the "old guys"...all of them had played at Reunion, which was the Mavs home until 6 years ago...Donyell and David also played at the Coliseum, which prompted LeBron to remember being in the old white building for a WWF showdown...when he was 7 years old...ahh...to be 22 again!...He was only 9 years old when the Cavs played their final game near the Tavern of Richfield...

All of a sudden the sting of Sunday's loss to Miami has been eased a bit by Washington's loss to the Heat Wednesday...and that was at the Verizon Center...maybe the Heat, without D-Wade was written off too quickly...a damaging loss for the Wiz, who now fall a game and a half behind the Cavs for the #2 spot in the East...home court losses this time of year are killers...