Cavaliers Clinch Fourth Seed As They Squeeze By Sixers 91-90

It appeared as if the Philadelphia 76ers had defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night as the Sixers started to walk off the court celebrating what they thought was a 90-89 victory. Not so fast said the NBA officiating crew, and called Philadelphia back on the floor. It seems that Sixers center Samuel Dalembert had been penalized with a shooting foul on Cleveland Devin Brown, and that Brown was going to be allowed to shoot 2 at the line. There was no doubt about the foul, Dalembert made contact, the controversy was the time left in the game. According to the time left on the game clock, shown in numerous replays, Dalembert committed the foul after time had expired. The referees saw it the opposite way and Brown hit both his shots, giving Cleveland the 91-90 victory. The win locked up the fourth seed for Cleveland, they will host the Washington Wizards in the opening round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

If you have watched Basketball for any length of time, or if you played it, then you are familiar with the concept of making one pass too many. Sometimes players will pass up the perfect shot attempt to pass it to a teammate, and the scoring opportunity is lost. As we get further and further away from February 21, and closer to the eve of the playoffs, I become more convinced on a daily basis, that is what Cleveland General Manager Danny Ferry did the day of the trading deadline. Danny took a team that went to the NBA Finals last year, and made it considerably weaker. Joe Smith who was having one of the best years of his career for Chicago has hardly been a factor for Cleveland. Wally Szczerbiak has been hot? and cold, and Ben Wallace could legitimately be called a bust. Delonte West is better than anything the previous incarnation had at the point, but again he is not a true point guard. He also has been hot and cold. I truly believe, and this of course is conjecture, and can not be proven, that the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers would handily beat the 2008 version in a seven game series. I also believe that even with the home court advantage that Washington will come out of the first round as winners, we shall see if I am correct in the not too distant future.

Philadelphia led after?the first quarter by a slim 22-19 margin. Cleveland got hot in the second quarter, and the two teams went into the half with a 47-41 lead. The Cavaliers increased their lead in the third quarter to 67-59. But Philadelphia put it into overdrive in the fourth scoring 34 points, and leading to the controversial finish.

LeBron James led the way for Cleveland with a game high 27 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block.? Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal, Devin Brown scored 13 points, ?4 rebounds, 1 assist.

Former Cavalier Andre Miller led Philly with 26 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal. Louis Williams who impresses me more each time I see him, scored 21 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, Willie Green scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block. Thaddeus Young also scored 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, Andre Iguodala scored 10 points, 8 boards, 1 assist. Cleveland is now 45-36, Philadelphia 40-41.