East Side Boys in the 216 : A Cavaliers Dynasty

[yungroth1]

Damn Melo with 51, not a good defensive effort from the Cavs this game

Definitely.

Melo was on a roll -- he was posting up, shooting from midrange, and even hit two three pointers. He was really on. With Felton gone, I knew Melo would shoulder most of the scoring load, especially since JR Smith was something like 4 of 16 from the field.

We definitely need to work on our interior defensive presence; Melo should not have been able to drive to the lane so easily.

[yungroth1]

2/1/2014
Reported By: Thomas Roth, CPD

Dwight and Company Slay Cavs:
Cleveland Falls to Houston for Second Straight Loss, Waiters Scores 40

The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost two games in a row, essentially negating the buzz from the seven game streak they had.

Dwight Howard, the big offseason acquisition for Houston, scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a high-scoring game which featured 5 lead changes in the first three minutes of the third quarter. James Harden, the bearded scoring wizard, dropped 19 points and had seven assists for the Rockets, who have won 5 of their last 6 games.

Houston was expected to make a lot of noise this season with the signing of Howard. Omri Casspi was offered a deal to come over to Houston, and the former Cavalier made some key defensive stops for his new team to preserve the lead in the waning minutes of the game; the Rockets held on for a 110-108 victory after Casspi blocked a Dion Waiters three which would have won the game for the Cavaliers.

"Omri came in during the final four minutes of the game to compensate for the ankle sprain to Terrance Jones," began coach Kevin McHale, "with (Chandler) Parsons at the four and Dwight at the pivot, we needed a defensive presence to stop the constant barrage of points from Waiters. We weren't able to do that with some of our key defensive guys out, so Omri was the best option at the time."

Best option? More like best player on the floor for the last four minutes.

While Howard and Harden may get all the accolades, it's dirty work which yields the most results; and, isn't it such a piss that those guys never get any credit? With Casspi, he never looks for the applause -- he looks for wins.

"While I didn't go out and drop 25 or grab 10 boards, I still was able to stop Dion," began the international journeyman, "I guess it's me trying to show my old team that they made a mistake letting me go."

The big scorer of the night was Dion Waiters, who started his second straight game after being the sixth man for the entirety of the season. Waiters scored a career high 40 points on 15 for 33 shooting, hitting seven straight shots in the second quarter from midrange.

"(I) was seeing the court real slowed down tonight, man," said Waiters, "and it's nights like these that prove why I was the fourth overall pick a few years ago."

No one has ever doubted his scoring or his ability to be a basketball player; it was quite evident his rookie year that he is a talented young man. His main issue is maturity. Waiters was the star for the Cavs tonight, eclipsing even Kyrie Irving's stat line. However, his antics after the game of celebrating as though they won give an insight into how he perceives the game. Childish behavior does not result in wins -- tonight proved it.

Cleveland looked like it was going to pull ahead early in the fourth, as the Cavs went on a 13-3 run to open the final quarter. The young men from Cleveland pushed the ball up the court, increasing the tempo from earlier in the game. One reason for the increased tempo was the absence of big man Anderson Varejao in the starting lineup. Varejao has the flu and has been limited in practice due to the increased strain it has put on him with all the traveling and movement.

Tyler Zeller had a decent night filling in for the Brazilian center, scoring seven points and grabbing seven boards, four of which were on the offensive end. Zeller, who is known for being a shot creator, scored on beautiful pump fakes and artistic strides to the paint. While Tyler has not gotten the hype his younger brother, Cody of the Bobcats has, he is every bit the player the younger Zeller is. We can expect good production out of him for some time.

"First and foremost, our team is predicated on defensive intensity," began coach Mike Brown, "but our guys are also excellent when they are pushing the tempo and scoring at a fast clip. We need to develop our offensive identity more -- these past two games have proven that much.

Cleveland is going to stay in Texas for the next few days, as they travel to Dallas next to take on the Mavericks. Monta Ellis is number two in the NBA in scoring at 26.9 points a game, leading Dallas to the fourth overall spot in the West. If the season were to end today, Dallas would not only be ahead of San Antonio, but they would also be ahead of the Clippers and Trail Blazers; no one thought in the preseason that Dallas would be making the strides they are making.

Tune in next time for Cavalier basketball.

Player	Pts.	Rebs.	Assists	Steals	Blocks
K. Irving	22	6	6	1	0
D. Waiters	40	5	2	0	0
L. Deng	14	7	4	0	1
T. Thompson	9	13	0	1	3
T. Zeller	7	7	0	0	0
J. Jack	11	3	3	1	0
A. Bennett	5	5	0	0	0
E. Clark	0	4	0	1	0
A. Gee	0	3	3	0	0
A. Varejao	2	5	0	0	2
C. Miles			DNP -- CD
M. Dellevedova			DNP -- CD
Totals	108	56	18	4	6

Bold Indicates Starter

[yungroth1]

2/2/2014
Reported By: Thomas Roth, C

Dion Waiters Formally Requests Trade

One night after scoring a career high 40 points, Dion Waiters has effectively checked out of Cleveland.

Waiters, who started two straight games for the Cavaliers (losing both), cited lack of cohesion and a "toxic" locker room.

"It's crazy in there, man," said Waiters from his apartment in downtown Cleveland, "guys playin' buddy ball; if you ain't in the clique, you ain't succeeding."

The comments are a bit strange coming from the former fourth overall pick. After all, he did just score forty points last night and was given the go-ahead from coach Mike Brown to "shoot at will," as the coach himself put it. While Waiters might not have been the star, he was never ostracized by teammates and Brown.

Waiters has requested that the Cavs look at the 76ers, Celtics, and Clippers as possible destinations for him. His hometown of Philadelphia is attractive for the Cavaliers because they have both Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young, who have both reportedly looked at ways to exit Philly. Waiters is also of the belief that if he were indeed to go to Philadelphia that he would be the best player on the team.

A possible trade could include packaging swingman Alonzo Gee along with Waiters to acquire someone like Young, who commands a higher salary than Waiters and Gee put together. However, the one hangup with this deal would be that it could turn out to be redundant; Cleveland has Tristan Thompson and Luol Deng at both forward spots, and Young has been a starter most of his career -- there could be a lack of minutes to get him on the floor.

Boston is another interesting possibility because of their plethora of big men. Boston just drafted Kelly Olynyk, acquired Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace in the Garnett/Pierce/Terry blockbuster, and drafted Jared Sullinger two years ago. With so many guys patrolling the paint and a lack of options outside of Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley for scoring, Boston could make a huge run at the product from Syracuse. The question is what the Cavs would ask for -- could they ask for Kris Humphries, who would provide immediate support to Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller? There's not really a match of talent to acquire Dion.

The Clippers would be an intriguing possibility because it has recently been reported that the Clips are interested in making a run at LeBron this offseason. While Cleveland certainly wants to be in the running to bring their prodigal son back home, they could definitely explore some ideas with their LA brethren. DeAndre Jordan, who commands one of the highest salaries for the Clippers could be moved -- Cleveland has long admired his rebounding and physical play. Pairing Jordan with Tristan Thompson would make the Cavs front line much more athletic than it is, and would promote that running offense.

A darkhorse candidate to look out for is the Dallas Mavericks, who have been discussing unloading Monta Ellis' contract on a team with cap room. Ellis, who was acquired in the offseason to provide a scoring punch in light of Dirk Nowitzki's rapid aging, has not gelled with teammates and was even benched for the entire second half of the most recent game for not adjusting on defense. A change of scenery might be just what Ellis needs to get him back to his days in Golden State, where he was averaging over 21 points a night.

Whatever the Cavaliers do, they need to make a smart, calculated choice; even though they sit at 25-22 right now, they still have a lot of ground to make up if they want to make the playoffs with homecourt advantage. Not only that, but any time you trade a former top-four pick, you have to try and get equal talent in return. The talent is there, but the body of work is not; wherever Dion Waiters lands, lets hope he lands on his feet -- talent is a terrible thing to waste.

[yungroth1]

Updates coming, I have had internet issues the past few days.

[yungroth1]

2/3/2014
Reported By: Chad Ford, ESPN

Trade News:
Dion Waiters Headed to Phoenix in Multi-Player Deal

The Cavs said they were tired of Dion Waiters' attitude.

No one thought they would get rid of him for pennies on the dollar, though.

Cleveland pulled the trigger on a multi-player trade early this morning, around 1:30 EST. The Cavs, who had been looking to unload the former fourth overall pick's emotional baggage and temper, found a willing partner in the Phoenix Suns, who are under performing a bit this season, but could make a late season playoff push with this acquisition.

Cleveland packaged Waiters along with Anderson Varejao and a second round pick, sending the young scorer packing with the former fan-favorite with curly locks. The second round pick was just filler.

Cleveland acquires Channing Frye and Alex Len from the Suns. Frye is in the last year of a ridiculous deal which will yield even more cap room for the Cavs, who could look to bring back Varejao in Free Agency this summer.

Len, a former lottery pick for the Suns, had averaged 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13 minutes a game this season. Len, who was thought to be a surefire prospect at the center position out of Maryland University, never found his groove in first year coach Jeff Hornachek's system. Len has been brought in to be developed under former Cav Zydrunas Ilgauskus, who has a front-office role at this time.

"We're thrilled with the acquisition of Channing and Alex," said Cleveland GM Chris Grant, who had been on the hotseat earlier in the season due to the Cavs' poor attendance and under-performing roster. After acquiring Deng in the offseason and now shedding cap space and gaining a high upside player along with a first round pick, Grant's job might be safe. "I think that even though we lost Dion, we have guys who are going to step up and fill in for him -- we won't miss him or the drama."

Cleveland, who needed to bolster the front line after trading Varejao, will look to Len to get about 13 minutes a night, about the same as in Phoenix. Frye has an injured knee and will be unavailable for full-time game action for a week. The Cavs feel confident in the rotation of Thompson, Zeller, and Bennett; adding Len to the mix is icing on the cake. However, the Cavs realized the importance of the paint right after acquiring the young center and the journeyman stretch forward, so they went out and made one final move.

The Cavs dropped Henry Sims from the active roster down to the D-League; this move opened up a roster spot to bring back former Cavalier Drew Gooden. Gooden, who was with the Cavs when LeBron was on the team, is being brought in for a veteran presence and defensive anchor. Gooden will wear 35 for the Cavs, while Len will suit up in 21. Frye has not received his jersey yet, but it is believed to be 47.

The pick the Cavs acquired in the deal will be anywhere from 10-22 in the draft, depending on their progression later in the season. Maybe with this pick, the Cavs could right the ship and find the right running mate for Kyrie Irving this time.