Slam Dunk Central

Hey Cleveland Fan, last season your team made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Saturday night your team was beaten by the Philadelphia 76ers 92-86. The Sixers are 10-14, and so are your Cavaliers after losing their second consecutive game, in fact they have lost 8 games out of their last nine! And these last 2 losses have been with both Larry Hughes, and LeBron James back in the lineup, as well as Anderson Varejao. Now I have a lot of respect for Donyell Marshall as a person, and I think he is a better than average backup big man. But Cleveland Fan if you think that Donyell’s absence from the lineup is the difference between last?season’s 50 win team, and this edition, I have a bridge?in San Francisco I would love to sell you!

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is another man I have great respect for, but can someone please explain to me why Larry Hughes is coming off the bench while Sasha Pavlovic is starting? The only game that Cleveland won Hughes was in the starting lineup and?led the team with 32 points. The last 2 games he has come off the bench, and scored 9 points in each game, and Cleveland of course lost both games. Oh, Sasha as a starter 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, how does this make sense to Mike Brown? Now the Eric Snow move into the starting lineup, I understand, Snow is the only true point guard on the team.?Even though his skills are nowhere near what they once were, he still had 6 assists Saturday night. Now yes, he had only 2 points, but if you are a regular reader of mine you know that in my mind a point guard thinks pass first shoot second. Now if the Cavaliers could only get Eric Snow’s mindset into Daniel Gibson’s body, they may start winning some games, but don’t hold your breath waiting!

The “Andres” Miller and Iguodala, each had 20 points for Philadelphia, while Sixers center Samuel Dalembert?had a double-double 16 points, and a game high 19 rebounds to lead the way. Miller also had 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, while Iguodala, had 4 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. Kyle Korver came off the bench for Philadelphia, scoring 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist.

Drew Gooden had a double-double for Cleveland with 21 points,10 rebounds, while LBJ had 21 points also, 6 assists, 6 boards, 1 steal. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12 points,?9 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, and 2 assists, Gibson did not play due to a bang in the jaw he got in Friday night’s game against New Jersey. He had a wisdom tooth removed Monday, and the contact exacerbated the pain. Cleveland is now more than a quarter of the way through the season, and so far are making my preseason prediction come true. I said after the Cavaliers’ final exhibition game that unless LBJ?averaged a double-double on a nightly basis Cleveland would lose more games than they win. So far I have been spot on!

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