Cleveland's Finest

I don't think so. People keep saying that we saw what happened when the Cavs held onto LeBron. Meanwhile, the Cavs now look competitive and a few years away from being a winning team. The contrast would be Denver. I don't think Orlando has the players that the Nuggets have to be like Denver when Melo was traded. If Dwight's traded for, say, Bynum and picks, have Bynum and a few picks to build on, but I'd rather let destiny play out to see if Dwight wants to stay. They'll clean house in the summer if he does leave, and if he stays, then it was worth waiting to find out. I just don't like the idea of trading for another franchise center. Then he'll have the history of Shaq and Dwight on his shoulders. Orlando needs to go in a new direction if Dwight leaves.

That may be a bit too harsh. The way he's been playing makes him a possible 6th man of the year candidate. I think he's been just fine. As long as he continues to produce, I wouldn't care.

I don't get why the Kings wanted JJ Hickson. If he's not going to start, and you already have a young PF with potential in Thompson, why have him? He should be starting for a team right now. Went from averaging 14 and 9 last year to 6 and 6.

The Suns have been winning lately, ad a win here pretty much puts them in the discussion to chase for the 8 seed.

Another double double for Anderson, with no Kyrie, and we won! Big game Friday against Milwaukee.

Good point lol...I assumed it was for PS3 but I think it is a Xbox exclusive...

This makes my decision tough...I was deciding between The Show or NBA 2k...now that this deal is out it'll be hard to choose...depends on how bad/good MLB 2k is.

Both games for $69.99 http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-10774-MLB-2K12/NBA-2K12-Combo-Pack-Coming-Exclusively-to-360.html http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/news/NBA-MLB-2K12_360_Bundle_FoB_3D_LEFT_webready.jpg

What can you say? The truth hurts. Perkins is merely stating the obvious, and I don't mind him for being ticked. Of all players, you'd expect the elite ones to not behave like LBJ does. I respect Perkins more too. When he gets hit, you don't see him acting hurt unless he really is. The other guy, on the other hand, complains after every physical moment in the game like an immature narcissist. Don't believe me? Watch the next Heat game. And why shouldn't people target him? If he brings it on himself and isn't proving the doubters wrong, then it can keep ring until he acts like a mature adult whose off-the-court actions feel heartfelt and not forced.

They'll be fine with Lin and Novak.

Well, since pretty much every analyst is now saying it should at least be a discussion, I think I'm right.

I have to listen to these Miami commentators call Luke Harangody "Harangoddy"...so annoying.

More like Eric Bledsoe to the rescue. LAC should keep its team the way it is after the Martin signing, unless there's a further injury. Feel terrible for Chauncey...love his play. I trust him more than any other PG even at this point in his career.

Jamison with a great first half. Made it a 3 point game but down 6 at the half. They have to break through and get the lead.

Very excited for this game. Since our loss against Miami a few week ago, we have beaten New York, Boston, and Dallas...hopefully we can pull off another "upset".

Bottom line, he's made the super bowl five times with the Patriots, and has managed to keep his team relevant even with questionable defense at times, such as this year. Heck, the Patriots finished 11-5 with Matt Cassel after all hope seemed to be lost with Brady's early injury. By beating the Ravens in the playoffs, they earned some respect back from that loss a few years ago. Just because last five years looked bad in comparison to the 3 straight SB wins, you can't say he's overrated.

Before he was released by the Cavs, it was reported he would miss 3 months, so I think it may turn out to be that long. I'd rather get him as healthy as possible then rush him back.

So far, which team would you guys say has been the most surprising? This can be good/bad surprising. I'd have to say the Philadelphia 76ers. I thought they would be in the race, but never did I see this coming. Sure, the schedule may have been a little light, but they still won those games. The improvements on Hawes and the bench make this team look like the East's version of Denver. Other teams I would consider would be the Clippers. I didn't see them clicking this well this early. They have the physicality, experience, athleticism, and the potential to got on a run in the playoffs. In terms of most surprising in a bad way, I'd say the Knicks. When you have Amare and Melo, who have made the playoffs before coming to New York pretty much annually, they have struggled to look like formidable team. I think they'll turn it around though, and this is kind of like the Heat's start early last season. Other teams would be Atlanta and Houston. Didn't see those teams improving as much.

This is exactly what I mentioned in my opening post. People haven't been able to follow his career. He can't even be classified as a flopper anymore. He plays harder than 90 percent of the league, and it's been working.

I would not call the Cavs a bad team necessarily. To me, they are the West's version of the Timberwolves, who most would not say are a bad team.

Anderson Varejao's all-star season -------------------- http://www.macombdaily.com/content/articles/2011/01/10/sports/doc4d2b07f93402e060850598.jpg Now that the starters have been named for the All-Star game, all the talk is heating up on who the reserves should be. It's pretty obvious for some positions, but when looking at the East centers, no name really sticks out. I'm hearing a lot of talk about Roy Hibbert, but one player is not getting enough talk. That player is Cleveland's Anderson Varejao. Following his career more closely, it's easy to see how impressive he has been this year. Obviously when LeBron left, the expectations for his performance increased, and so did his opportunities. Last season he was fulfilling those expectations with career high averages in points and rebounds. Then he got injured, and ended up missing the rest of the season, only playing 31 games. This season, he's come out even more intense, and there have been so many moments in games where he comes up with the key rebound when it looks like there's no way he could get it. For example, his rebound in the final minute in Boston kept our possession, leading to a huge win on the road. These little things are not noticed in the stat sheet. In our last four games against Boston, Dallas, and Orlando, he's had 18, 20, 12, and 17 points along with 9, 20, 15, and 17 rebounds. The point of that is his consistency. He's doing it over long stretches against quality defenses. He's averaging 10.5 points and 11.6 rebounds. Now, looking at his competition the statistics really aren't that far off. Hibbert's averaging 13.8 points and 10.0 rebounds, and Chandler's averaging 11.3 points and 10.0 rebounds. After seeing Varejao's impressive game against the Knicks, in which he frustrated Chandler, I was thinking...after Dwight, how can Varejao not be considered the 2nd best center? Even knowing that he's playing out of position, he has been so effective. He's leading the league in offensive rebounds with 4.6 per game and 96 overall. He's even improved his jumper. He had a nice floater tonight against Dallas. He even has a few nice passes every few games. He's an all-around versatile center. So what's the consensus here? Can he be at least considered a candidate? Be cause so far, I'm not hearing his name anywhere, and it's a shame because when you watch him play, you see how special a player he is. It's rare you find someone that willing to do the dirty work and get loose balls.

Another unbelievable effort by Anderson Varejao with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Again, he deserves the back up center all-star spot. Kyrie with 20 points, 7 rebounds...just awesome in the fourth with some huge finishes at the rim to get the crowd going. And Gee with 12, made a big three and dunk in the fourth. This team is so fun to watch and cheer for. Big win moving forward! Big game Tuesday in Miami!

Congrats man! Was pretty new to the site at the time but I definitely remember you.

This Denver team shows so much fight. Down double digits, now up double digits. I hope we see these two teams in the playoffs. Good match ups and talent all around.

What is Alonzo Gee's Potential? -------------------- http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Alonzo-Gee-Cavs-Med.jpg Almost half way through this season, Gee is looking brilliant. This will be essentially the first full season he'll have played with one team, and from what I've seen during his tenure with the Cavs, he has a wide range of talents. Obviously, he is freakishly athletic. He's won a D-League dunk contest, and has been putting up one-two impressive dunks each game. Second, he's a decent defender. Last season when we played the Knicks, he played Melo pretty good when Melo posted him up. He has the lower body strength to keep his ground. Supposedly he is 219 lbs., which he admitted is true recently, so that explains the quality shape he's in. Thirdly, he's improved his basketball IQ a lot. He's making smart hustle plays and knows when to take the shot or pass the ball. In 40 games last year with the Cavs, he averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds. This season, he's averaging 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds. He's put double digits in 9 games already. If he can keep this up coming off the bench, you'd have to think he'll get an opportunity to start at shooting guard or small forward soon. He's got some good potential and I'm excited to see how he finishes this year. Thoughts?