Tonight should be a memorable night in franchise history....the chance to not only open the door to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 15 years, but just the third time in Wine and Gold history...to win titles, you have to raise the bar...and that's what the Cavs have been doing the past 12 months...and part of that growth is gaining the ability to close out teams amidst high expectation....which brings us to tonight...

I'm sure a lesson from Game 6 against the Pistons last May can be called upon...playing at The Q is no guarantee...the unwavering focus has to be there from beginning to end...exhibit A, the Pistons' Palace loss to the Bulls last night...now Deroit could find themselves in a seven-game dogfight...the mental toughness it takes to close out the likes of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson would be another part of the Cavs maturation process...and I'm talking about the young core group...LeBron, Sasha, Drew, Andy, and Boobie...heck, even Larry and Z, who have never been to the conference finals before...only E-Snow, Scot Pollard and Damon Jones have felt those burning lights...

On another front, the galvanizing effect of Mikki Moore's flagrant foul on Sasha Monday night was significant in its symbolism as much as its second-half emotional value.....coming to the aid of a teammate in a hostile environment only bonds a team even more in a watershed moment...you see, Mikki is one of those guys whose bark is far worse than his bite...so is Vince Carter's for that matter...some guys act like they want to be physical, when in reality, they don't...Sasha Pavlovic is a lot more rugged than his quiet demeanor would suggest...so is Varejao...Andy says he loves it when the game gets physical...

My frame of reference for rugged folks are the Pistons' three title teams, all built on mental and physical toughness...I saw a major step in that direction by the Cavs on Monday night...this is why Mike Brown's defense-must-be-there-every-night pays dividends in May and June...Danny Ferry has said all along, it's a growth process....and he's right...the next growth step is to lay down the hammer tonight...and this time, 20,562 will be there to help drive the nail...

Please join us for Cavaliers Live pre- and post-game on FSN Ohio...see you then...