After losing 11 straight games to the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers came into the United Center Tuesday and beat the Bulls 101-98 without their best player, second year point guard Kyrie Irving. Chicago has now lost 8 of their last 12 games as they have not been able to put together the full 48 minute effort needed to compete while many of their players rotate in and out of the lineup with injuries. I hate to say it but this fatigue may be the mental result of recent comments coming from Derrick’s camp.
What does Dion Waiters do for Cleveland? Well, he’s a scorer who looks really good going to the basket. In Cleveland, I think they’ll take anything right now, and Dion Waiters is what they’re going to get. He’s a good player who can score in bunches, and Jim Boeheim even said he was one of the most NBA-ready players he’d ever had. So, for Cleveland, that’s a score.
I think MJ will take MKG under his wing and try to develop him into a star. Has the attributes to defend, rebound and attack the basket, however he has an unusual shooting stroke. With the help of MJ, this can be corrected at the age of 18, as he has plenty of time to develop. May reach for Beal for greater offensive power or a big man in Robinson.
Cleveland-based artist/designer George Vlosich will probably be the last guy in Cleveland to ever forgive LeBron James. But rather than burn No. 23 jerseys or spew vitriol on messageboards, Vlosich has found a constructive—and quite comical—way to channel his contempt for the King: t-shirts.
Although George and his brother/associate Greg Vlosich say they don’t truly hate James, they were just as unhappy with “The Decision” as the rest of Cleveland.
“We hate the way he did it and what he did to our city on national TV,” Greg wrote in a recent email to Playbook.
Kyrie Irving must have too much time on his hands.
However, rather than partying hard or getting into trouble with the law, the Cleveland Cavaliers star has been busy showing off his hilarious acting skills.
In this commercial from Pepsi MAX, Irving shows up to a basketball court in New Jersey cleverly disguised as “Uncle Drew.” Well, the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year definitely plays up his character’s old age, before blowing everyone away with his ridiculous skills.
If you haven’t heard of Lester Hudson yet, that’s probably because you don’t live in Cleveland.
Hudson, currently playing in his second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers, has become a bit of cult hero over the last couple of weeks for a basketball team that has had very little to rally around since its King departed. And while Hudson is no Anthony Lin (Hudson isn’t playing in New York, he isn’t Asian, he didn’t go to an Ivy League school and ESPN doesn’t have an obsession with him), he is quietly writing his own underdog story.
As of last night, most teams have played between 47 and 51 games, putting the league at about 75% completion in this lockout-shortened season. With that said, here’s a look at the candidates for end of the season awards.
Rookie of the Year:
LEADER:Kyrie Irving (CLE)- 18.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.6 APG, 47% FG, 40% 3FG. Irving has been sensational this season. After only playing 11 collegiate games, Irving has given Cavs fans hope. Throughout the first half of the season, Irving had the Cavs in playoff contention before sliding as of late. Irving should be an All-Star as soon as next year, and will be thrust into the “best point guard in the league” discussion very soon.
Friday night was the Rising Stars Game, which meant a whole lot of alley-ooping and watching Kyrie Irving show us why he is the next great point guard in the game.
Irving was a ridiculous 8 for 8 from beyond the arc and finished with 34 points, leading Team Chuck over Team Shaq 146-133 as the first big event of the NBA’s All-Star weekend in Orlando (yes, nobody cares about the celebrity game).
And while the game is all show with virtually no defense whatsoever, the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard said he couldn’t remember the last time he was that hot from long range.
LeBron James has got to be one of the least wise people in history. You shunned an entire state, and, then, when you return for a game in Cleveland, you answer a question about ever playing for the Cavs again like this:
“I think it would be great, it would be fun to play in front of these fans again.”
“I had a lot of fun times here. You can’t predict the future. Hopefully you continue to stay healthy. I’m here as a Miami player and I’m happy where I am now but I don’t rule that out in any sense. If I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me.”
Sometimes you have to think that LeBron James enjoys being in the news for more issues that take place off the court than…I don’t know…say, making a clutch shot in the fourth quarter a la Jeremy Lin.
Once again, LeBron opened his mouth and stuck his foot in it. With James making his third return Friday to Cleveland since his high-profile free-agency departure, you knew the media was going to bait him into answering seemingly innocuous questions in a way that only LeBron can. But no one could have predicted a response of his that hinted that he could—wait for it…one day return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Charlotte | 
