For the past two seasons there has been plenty of talk about LeBron bolting his hometown of Cleveland for the bright lights of New York City.

In his career, LeBron has been fantastic at the Garden. He’s averaged 30.1 points, 6.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in ten trips to The Garden. In his last two trips to the Mecca of Basketball, he’s had a 52-10-9 game and a 50-10-8 game.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on LeBron tonight to see if he can put on another show on Broadway.

Also on tap for tonight, the undefeated Nuggets make their only trip to Miami to take on Dwyane Wade and the Heat; the Pistons look to continue their dominance over the Magic in Orlando; and the Suns try to outrun the Celtics in Boston.

Continue reading "LeBron Makes His Only Trip to The Garden Tonight"

After several hours parked in front of the NBA League Pass for the past two days, it’s time for some first impressions.

The Good

Ty Lawson

How good was he last night? I predicted the Denver Nuggets to be the third best team in the West this season, and that was assuming that Ty Lawson would play like a rookie point guard.

But his 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds, plus very solid fourth quarter minutes in a close game against a decent Utah team, shows that he may be a real X factor for this team moving forward.

Brook Lopez

Lopez was a monster last night, finishing with 27 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. Of course, the Nets lost, mainly because they couldn’t hold off the mighty T’Wolves down the stretch, but it certainly wasn’t because of Lopez.

Continue reading "First Impressions"

Continue reading "How Can the Washington Wizards Improve to Contender Status"

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Also, I’m curious to see what kind of pregame theatrics the Cavs come up with. You know Shaq can’t stand to be out of the spotlight, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to one-up LeBron’s chalk thing with something of his own.

Continue reading "NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts"

"LOS ANGELES (AP)—Blake Griffin’s (notes) NBA debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a broken left kneecap.

The stress fracture could sideline the Oklahoma star for six weeks, the team announced, promising further information Tuesday."

What a disappointment this news is. Watching Blake Griffin debut on Tuesday night was going to be the highlight of the TV schedule for me. The Lakers, Cavs, and Celtics are all going to be good this year, we already know that.

And while it’s always fun to watch really good teams play, one of the best parts of the new season is getting to watch high profile rookies make the transition to the NBA game.

Continue reading "Disappointing First Impression of Blake Griffin"

Apparently Cleveland isn't big enough for both of them because Bron Bron says that Braylon has jealousy towards him.  The best part of the whole thing is.. who in the heck does Braylon Edwards think he is?  Really?  You want to roll IN Cleveland against LeBron?  Uhhhh.. Bron might be the greatest player in the NBA by the time his career is over.  He's from Ohio.  He's balling in Cleveland; they just made it to the Eastern Conference finals last year.  Did you know that Braylon?  Meanwhile, you had a all things go right Pro Bowl year in 2007.. and then?  Oh.. the Browns went 4-12 in 2008 with you leading the charge with 16 dropped passes.  NICE.  Now, you're in a contract year.. playing for a team that hasn't scored a TD since... well, according to this calendar since this guy was a factor in the NFL.  So, what are you going to do?  Simple.  Instead of going home, going to bed, and coming back ready to work hard on Monday.. why don't you, Braylon, head out on the town with your boys and at 2:30 AM punch a guy that LeBron calls "130 pounds and smaller then my kids."  

Continue reading "Braylon Edwards Assault"

Per request of one of my fellow UVa graduates, future business partner, and one of my best friends, Mr. Heron Mehrehtab, I am providing some analysis on the 2009 Virginia Cavaliers football team.  Being a former Cavaliers football player, most would assume that I have an insider’s knowledge of the Cav’s current situation and they would be partly right in that assumption.  I have played with many of UVa’s current players and I have played under the tutelage of many of the coaches.  But this team is much different from the one that went on to win the 2006 Music City Bowl.  This team doesn’t feature the likes of D’Brickishaw Ferguson, Tom Santi, Jon Stupar, Tony Franklin, Marcus Hamilton, Chris Long, Clint Sintim, Ahmad Brooks, Kai Parham, Jason Snelling, Wali Lundy, Cedrick Pearman, Brad Butler, etc. (all recent NFL players for those of you keeping track).  However, this team does have some exciting young talent and a coaching staff who tries and often succeeds at preparing their young team for every possible situation.  As a player I know that Coach Al Groh stressed the importance of situational football.  The question that has to be on Coach Groh’s mind right now is, “How the hell did we get ourselves into this situation?”

Continue reading "The Cav Report Dark Days in Hooville"

Western Conference Playoffs:

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2. San Antonio Spurs

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Dallas Mavericks

5. Denver Nuggets

6. Utah Jazz

7. Phoenix Suns

8. New Orleans Hornets 

Easter Conference Playoffs:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2. Boston Celtics

3. Miami Heat

4. Orlando Magic

5. Chicago Bulls

6. Atlanta Hawks

7. Toronto Raptors

8. Indiana Pacers 

The turnover from last year is small with the Suns replacing the Rockets in the Western Conference and the Raptors and Pacers replacing the Sixers and Pistons in the Eastern Conference. There is however, some movement in the standings, except at the top. 

Continue reading "NBA Playoff Predictions"