• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

Cavs 06-07 season thread

Apparently there are some live Cav fans in toledo.

Cavs fans appear, take their shots


Idle thoughts from an idle mind, while wondering if kids still play tetherball:

Well, who knew there were so many Cavaliers fans in our midst?

I hadn?t heard from even one in a couple decades, but since I wrote the infamous ?Cavs can?t beat the Pistons? column and, more accurately, in the aftermath of the Cavaliers indeed beating the Pistons, they have come out of the woodwork and from under rocks or from wherever Cavs fans spend their nocturnal hours.

They want apologies, they want retractions, they want a hefty carcass ? mine ? on a rotisserie spit.

OK, here goes. I was wrong. Is that good enough? If a person makes enough predictions he or she is bound to miss now and again. Over 30 years I have now been wrong 1,174 times, by actual count. I?m used to it; you should be, too.

The Pistons stunk, or is that stank? They underachieved yet again. I overestimated their strength at the basket. I expected their guards to occasionally make a jump shot. They were not, repeat not, the better team. LeBron was very, very good, even breathtakingly spectacular at times, and his supporting cast was far better than I imagined possible. I must have been a boob to pick against ?Bron and Boobie.

So, now the Cavaliers are on to the NBA finals. Congrats to their loyal fans, hundreds of whom filled my e-mail inbox over the past several days.

Of course, y?all know the Cavs can?t beat the Spurs.

? The dog-fighting video that ESPN showed recently was about the most revolting thing I?ve ever seen. Don?t know about you, but I couldn?t watch it all. If it is proven that Michael Vick is one of those who is missing a chromosome and finds dog fighting to be a noble ? well, not sport, that?s for sure ? a noble activity, then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should throw the book at him. After I clicked the hotel TV off, I called home to talk to my golden retriever.

? If Tank Johnson can stay out of trouble, he has a new fan. The Bears defensive tackle, who has already served prison time for violating probation on a gun charge, was suspended for the first eight games of next season by Goodell. Johnson?s reaction was surprising and refreshing: ?Roger Goodell?s a fair man. ? If it?s in the best interest of the NFL, then I?m all for it, too.? If Tank keeps his nose clean and undergoes counseling, Goodell said the suspension will be knocked down to six games. Sounds like it?s worth rooting for the guy.

? Lou Piniella gets a four-game suspension for arguing with an umpire and the manager of a minor-league team gets just three games for making a fool of himself and the game? The guy?s lucky to still have a job. I have to give him credit for one thing, though. Crawling from second base to the mound, chewing off the end of the resin bag, then hurling it like a grenade to explode in white dust at the umpire?s feet was indeed original.

? We say good-bye this week to Jim Tichy, as classy as they come in the media business. He?ll sign off Friday after 33 years as sports director at Ch. 24, WNWO. I?ll remember him as a champion of the little guy ? high school sports other than football and basketball, local hockey, auto racing, bowling, etc. ? who covered those things long before other stations jumped on the bandwagon. A tireless worker and a good guy, here?s hoping Tich?s retirement lasts even longer than his proud career.
 
Upvote 0
I would try to trade Z, Gooden and any other player not named Gibson or LBJ to the Twolves for Garnett. Any other player they wanted to add or draft picks would do the trick. He obviously wants out of Minnesota and that kind of complement to LBJ would be unstoppable. Hell I'll even pitch in to pay some of that salary if it would help.:biggrin:

All kidding aside, thats the weakness of this team at the moment in my opinion. When we play teams like San Antonio, Dallas, Miami, Phoenix, Houston or Minnesota we have no answer for their big men. Z can't spell D and he's too slow on the offensive end to press the opponents big man for minutes. Adding AV to the equation makes a huge difference. A starting lineup that looks something like this:

C Garnett
PF Varejo
SF LBJ
SG Gibson
PG Hughes

Maybe I'm dreaming but thats a championship team right there. If we would've been able to lure Redd away from Milwaukee it would all be a moot point right now. A shooter like Redd can make up for the lack of a big man in a lot of cases. Unfortunately, shooters like Redd or Arenas are few and far between.
 
Upvote 0
I think the team is fine the way it is, aside from a few minor changes. They've gotten to the finals because of chemistry. That's the most important thing that people forget. I like Gooden. He isn't afraid to play, even though it's been told that Lebron is the star of the team. I've watched Gooden since his days at Kansas. He had tremendous potential then and his game, in my opinion, is hasn't reached it's peak yet. I think you should keep him and look for a center that can be backup to Z and take over for Z in a few years. Z's size is something to remember, also, as it can cause problems for teams. I'd like to see a trade for Sasha. I like his willingness to make plays, but they've mostly been bone headed plays that I've seen lately.

I look forward to tommorow's game. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that this will be one of the best series in a long time and it will be something people will be talking about for some time. However, I've been known to be wrong.
 
Upvote 0
Cavs should stick with what they have for the most part. I still think they'd do a little better with a true PG. The other move I might make would be for another outside shooter. If Ron Lewis isn't drafted, they should try to sign him, or perhaps Humphries from FLA. The more people to spread the floor for LeBron the better. I agree completely with the above poster in that I think Gooden hasn't reached his full potential yet.

The only major player move I'd make in the next few/couple years if I were Ferry would be to mortgage anything I could to trade up to wherever needed to get KK when he leaves OSU. He could learn a lot from Z and has/could have a very similar game which would also help because getting another European style center wouldn't disrupt their style of play. Plus KK has the Ohio and LeBron connection which doesn't hurt the team either.

Additionally, I think that the organization will probably move for an assistant to give Brown some help on the offensive end of the court, which Brown himself has acknowledged the need for.
 
Upvote 0
LitlBuck;857896; said:
I don't know how to tell you this but besides Snow, Sasha is one of the better defensive players on the Cavs roster. You might want to do a little reading on that.
I will agree that he would probably get beat quite a bit at the 4 position on defense but he certainly would create a mismatch offensively and the NBA is all about mismatches.
Lebron is only human. He is not Superman. How long do you want him to play in the NBA? I mean even MJ had someone who started the offense. When Lebron has the ball that is when the Cavs becomes stagnant offensively.

I think you're entirely wrong on that. When it comes to perimeter players, Hughes, Lebron, and Snow are playing better defense throughout these playoffs. Gibson has also shown to be no slouch. Sasha plays adequate defense, but he's still prone to a lot of mistakes, particularly cheap fouls and losing his man. He's young so he'll improve, but he's not near the best defender on this team. Not even close.

I'm not saying we should always run everything through Lebron, but at this time I think everyone is comfortable with the makeup of this team. I'd be interested in seeing how Hughes handles an entire year at the point before we give up on the idea.
 
Upvote 0
Some of you guys make me laugh. We're not going to be able to trade Gooden for a better pf or a good pg. No one in their right mind will take Gooden, Z, and another for KG . Don't plan on getting a big time or even good pg. Think along the lines of Earl Boykins. I've heard they have interest in him. He's all they need in a pg, except his defense could be a problem on bigger pg's, which in his case would be 90% of all the league pg's.

The only players on this team that anyone wants, are the 2 guys that everyone wants to keep; AV and Sasha. Gooden may draw interest from a few teams, especially for his salary and play. I've dogged Gooden many times before, but his defense has improved and there aren't many pf's in the league that can shoot and rebound like him. He's got a great jumper for a big guy and for what he's being paid, he's worth keeping.

Don't expect many changes until Snow, Z, Newble, Jones and Donyell are off the books.

I think Gibson can develop into the type of pg that LBJ needs.

One thing I'm really happy with is the overall increase in everyone's defense. LBJ slacks once in a while, but the others seem to be there to try to cover.
 
Upvote 0
Brutus1;859269; said:
Some of you guys make me laugh. We're not going to be able to trade Gooden for a better pf or a good pg. No one in their right mind will take Gooden, Z, and another for KG . Don't plan on getting a big time or even good pg. Think along the lines of Earl Boykins. I've heard they have interest in him. He's all they need in a pg, except his defense could be a problem on bigger pg's, which in his case would be 90% of all the league pg's.

The only players on this team that anyone wants, are the 2 guys that everyone wants to keep; AV and Sasha. Gooden may draw interest from a few teams, especially for his salary and play. I've dogged Gooden many times before, but his defense has improved and there aren't many pf's in the league that can shoot and rebound like him. He's got a great jumper for a big guy and for what he's being paid, he's worth keeping.

Don't expect many changes until Snow, Z, Newble, Jones and Donyell are off the books.

I think Gibson can develop into the type of pg that LBJ needs.

One thing I'm really happy with is the overall increase in everyone's defense. LBJ slacks once in a while, but the others seem to be there to try to cover.

The guy who wants KG needs to lay off the crack. I am also pretty happy with the current lineup. Guys like Pavs, Gibson, Gooden, Brown and Varejao are nowhere close to their ceiling yet. Other guys like Marshall, Jones, and Snow still have 2 years left on their contracts so no one is going to trade for them this year. If the Cavs can add a Boykins or Blake and another backup backup PF/C I will be happy. Anyone know if Danny Fortson is healthy yet? I've been saying Ron Lewis and Humphries as FA's this year if they don't get drafted for weeks now. You'd have to think that any pure shooter would have to want to play with Lebron.
 
Upvote 0
Are we going to start a new thread for the Finals? Anyone up for that or shoud we keep adding to this one?

I agree the team is not yet where they want to be but I don't think drastic changes are needed. Either way, Gibson needs to get big minutes starting or as the 6th man. They still don't know what they're getting with Shannon Brown. Hughes, in the future, needs to realize he's not a jump shooter and start getting to the hole more, and shooting 20 footers less.

I'm expecting a good series. I hope the defense continues to be solid.
 
Upvote 0
Brutus1;859346; said:
Are we going to start a new thread for the Finals? Anyone up for that or shoud we keep adding to this one?

I agree the team is not yet where they want to be but I don't think drastic changes are needed. Either way, Gibson needs to get big minutes starting or as the 6th man. They still don't know what they're getting with Shannon Brown. Hughes, in the future, needs to realize he's not a jump shooter and start getting to the hole more, and shooting 20 footers less.

I'm expecting a good series. I hope the defense continues to be solid.

Thread started.

I'd like to see Gibson, Pavs, and Hughes kept around 30 minutes a game next season with Brown moving up to the 20 per game range. Another summer should be good for him.
 
Upvote 0
Looking back it was a great season...

There were some ups and downs, but you are going to get that with a young team...I mean our core of guys LBJ, Sasha, Boobie, Andy, Drew are all very young, heck the first three are 21,22, and 23...

This team isnt going anywhere, especially with LBJ...

There are somethings to look back on the season and change...

I may have turned the corner a little on Mike Brown...He does a fabolous job of coaching defense, and if he could just bring in an offensive mastermind to put on his staff I think that we would be ok...It is basically LBJ's team anyways, and IMO that is the reason for the stagnant offense at times, as LBJ is not aggressive enough...

We need to try and find a spot up shooter or 2, that can also help us on the defensive end...DJ is a liability on the defensive end...I think that Shannon Brown will help us out next year...

Either way this team got a taste of the finals and got their ass kicked, now it is time for them to regroup in the offseason, learn how to shoot the ball, and come back next season, with a bitter taste in their mouths...

I also think that the finals showed how much this team needed Larry, even tho some of you guys say that we don't...It goes much deeper than bad shooting at times...
 
Upvote 0
***I started this in the Boobie thread, but started going off on a tangent so I will post the whole thing here***

I don't see the Cavs getting rid of Hughes so he will probably be the starting PG next season. Ginobili (sp) doesn't start for the Spurs and he does a good job so for now I would like to see Gibson in the 6th man role. Out of the Cavs starting lineup Hughes is the only that I would like to see replaced. I think you have to resign Pavlovic and Varejao this off season. Pavs is still young and has nothing but up side once he gets control of his game. He can be like a poor mans Lebron with a better outside shot. I would hate to see him moved and then become a great player elsewhere. Hopefully Lebron will take the summer off and work on his game like he did 2-3 years ago when he went from not being a good shooter at all to being a decent shooter. His next step will be to become a consistent shooter from outside and midrange.
I'm not happy the Cavs lost, especially the way they did, but just making it to the Finals was a huge step. It only took them a season to figure out how to own the Pistons. Pretty much the whole core group is in their early to mid 20's so they still have a couple years before they get into their prime. I just hope that Cleveland becomes a place that players want to play. Out of the Eastern Conference I can't think of another team with as much up side as the Cavs have right now if they can add the right pieces to the puzzle. My biggest worry is that Ferry will give up too much to try to add a second superstar for Lebron. If they trade for any big name Hughes has to be in the deal, which won't happen because nobody is going to pick up his contract right now. The Cavs have had a taste and hopefully they now know what they need to do to take the next step.
 
Upvote 0
ABJ

Great season comes to end for Cavs, fans

By Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND - The season ended in the middle of June.
Cavaliers fans should remember that, and then ask themselves if they ever imagined it could happen this season.
The Cavaliers in the NBA Finals -- first time in the 37-year history of the franchise. Even with the Finals over as the San Antonio Spurs finished a four-game sweep of the Cavaliers with an 83-82 victory at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night, it still sounds strange: Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Go ahead, say it all summer: The Cavs in the NBA Finals. Savor it. Appreciate it. Think about it. Remember the fans standing and stomping and whipping white towels.

Continued....
 
Upvote 0
Dispatch

NBA Finals
Rob Oller commentary: Nothing's guaranteed for Cavaliers next season

Friday, June 15, 2007 3:40 AM
By rob oller


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
0615_NBA_FINALS_glass_sp_06-15-07_C1_5Q71CG3.jpg
Larry W. Smith | Associated Press
The Cavaliers' LeBron James, left, puts up a shot under pressure from the Spurs' Tim Duncan during the first quarter.





CLEVELAND -- Too bad for the Cavaliers that their city is the home of rock 'n' roll and not Hollywood. Although movies are made with sequels in mind, music remains full of one-hit wonders.
So here's hoping the Cavs aren't the Baha Men of the NBA. Here's wishing that Cleveland lets the dogs out again next season -- although with a little more bite than bark.
But don't be so sure.
The common chord in Cleveland, even as the San Antonio Spurs swept the Cavs in the NBA Finals last night, was the familiar Lake Erie refrain of "Wait till next year." There certainly is reason for optimism. LeBron James should keep improving, the team will better understand how to navigate the playoffs -- it needs to show the energy it displayed during the fourth quarter of an 83-82 loss last night -- and young players such as Daniel Gibson should be more comfortable asserting themselves.

Continued....
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top