Bulls 92, Cavs 79: No light at the end of the tunnel

There isn't a whole lot to cheer for right now.

In the latest episode of "We will find a way to lose", the Cavaliers dropped their 16th straight to the Bulls in Chicago.

Putting things in perspective:

The last time the Cavs won a game was December 18th vs. the Knicks.  Its January 23rd.

Had Amare Stoudemire hit a 15 footer to win that game, the Cavaliers would be in the midst of a 26 game losing streak.

In case you were wondering, the franchise "record" (if you can call it that) for consecutive games lost is 24 games.  That record is also the NBA mark for futility.  Do we have what it takes to set the record?

The answer is quite simply, yes. 

Assuming we drop our 17th in a row in New Jersey tomorrow night, the streak will without question reach 21 games.  Following Monday night, we play Boston, Denver, Orlando, and then Miami. 

See a win in that group?  Neither do I. 

After that, we will struggle with Indiana, Memphis, and then Portland to tie the record.  If we can somehow find the courage to lose 24 straight, Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will deliver the Cavs into the NBA record books.

Even when the Cavs muster a comeback late in these games, as they did last night in Chicago, the chances of us actually winning the game are slim to none.

The Bulls did provide us with a ray of hope when we closed within a few points in the 4th quarter, but it wasn't meant to be.  It's kind of like when a shark lets its victim flail around in the water for a few seconds before it closes in for the kill.

Antawn Jamison did finish last night's game with 31 points, which could be viewed as a major milestone in a season with little to get excited about.

Dan Gilbert returned to the Twittersphere recently, thanking fans for support and promising changes.  Gilbert has become uncharacteristically silent during the dark days in Cleveland.

"You don't panic when things get tough.  You think. You examine. You calculate. THEN you strike. And we will strike." - CavsDan

That sounds good in theory, but how much longer will we have to wait for the "strike" part Dan?

You can't really blame Gilbert for the team's struggles.  LeBron left the franchise in a shameful way, leaving us no chance for immediate success after his departure.   

The one thing you don't want to do is make the wrong trade to appease the fan-base.  Sure, it would be nice to see management do something with this inferior roster, but this season is already one to forget.

That being said, maybe now would be the time to unload Antawn Jamison.  He's playing pretty well, and there should be some interest in his offensive abilities.  He can help a contending team right now. 

He's not going to be in the Cavs long-term plans as he's nearing the end of his playing days, and we shouldn't want to keep his big contract through next season.

Let's just hope our owner is serious about making this team a contender.

The one thing that Gilbert should be thankful for is the loyal fans of Cleveland sports.  You don't see this kind of support anywhere else.

Bulls 100, Cavs 91: Not the way we wanted to start the New Year

New year, same story.

We thought with 2010 behind us, we could focus on a new team and a new year. In the back (or front) of our minds, we knew what to expect.

The Cavaliers suffered their 6th straight loss, in a game that the Cavs controlled for most of the 1st half. Missing key players might have played into the defeat, but this is also giving younger players a chance to step up and prove that they can contribute to this team.

You can't really predict who is going to show up in the starting lineup at this point, and last night was no different. The starting 5 consisted of Sessions, Parker, Harris, Jamison, along with Leon Powe who earned his first start of the season.

J.J. Hickson finished with a team high 21 points, and shot well from the field as he made 9 out of 16 attempts he put up. 

Hickson has also started to contribute where we need him to: namely rebounding.  Byron Scott has put an emphasis on his rebounding and has stripped him of his starting role for apparently just that. Over the last several games, it looks as if J.J. has really put forth a solid effort on the boards, and will likely be rewarded with more minutes as he continues to solidify his all-around game.

Manny Harris played 25 fairly efficient minutes, and provided the team with a boost as he nailed a rhythm 3 right at the end of the first half. He is a player with significant upside, and we will be following his progress closely.

Antawn Jamison added 19 points to the effort, but shot poorly going 5/16 from the field. A few of his uncontested shots in the first half even failed to draw iron.  His often-consistent 3 point shot simply just wasn't falling.

Anthony Parker was another sore subject, as his 3/14 game might have been the worst of the season.  Of the six 3 pointers AP attempted, only 1 fell.  A few of those shots were backbreakers, as we needed a 3 to complete a comeback the Cavs were mustering.

All-in-all, this game could have been worse.  The Cavs held a siginifcant lead in the first half before giving it away, and fell all the way down to behind 15 in the 3rd quarter.  They wouldn't give up though; We fought to cut the lead to 91-94 and had a legitimate chance at winning the game.

With Gibson, Varejao, and Mo Williams still out of the lineup it's going to be hard to compete on a nightly basis.  When Parker is playing 40 minutes and shooting 21% from the field, this team doesn't have the offensive firepower to compete with Derrick Rose, Boozer and the rest of the Bulls.

The Cavs play host to the Dallas Mavericks in what will surely be a tough back-to-back.  Although the Mavs are reeling without Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup, they still have a talented enough team to handle a Cavaliers team riddled with injury. 

It's about time the Cavaliers ended this pesky losing streak.  January's schedule should hopefully provide for a few more wins than did December.  All we can hope for is that our depleted roster plays well for 48 minutes.  If not, we're in for a long season. (We already are)