Preview - Cleveland vs. Golden State

Golden State (27-35) will come to Cleveland Tuesday night to play the Cavaliers (12-50).

Golden State has lost six of seven overall and is only 1-4 on their current seven-game road trip despite stellar play from Monta Ellis. Monta scored 27 points against Philadelphia but the Warriors still came up short in overtime.

Ellis also scored 41 points against with a lose to the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland is coming off a 96-81 lose against the New Orleans Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena after beating the New York Knicks in New York. The Cavaliers have yet to find consistency since they broke the 26-game losing streak.

The Cavaliers beat the Lakers and Knicks but losing to the 76ers and the Hornets without their best player is not something to be proud of.

However, newly acquired Baron Davis has given the Cavaliers new hope and the team at times look like they are having fun again.

Davis scored 18 in his debut with the Cavaliers, knocking down a key 3-pointer to help seal the win. Davis also scored 17 points in a lose against the Hornets but it wasn't enough.

It is no lie that both teams are looking to get on the winning side and start searching for some consistency. The Warriors are looking to end their current road streak on a high note and the Cavaliers are looking to find some consistent play out of their young players.

The Warriors and the Cavaliers did hook-up earlier this season. They played on January 7th, when Ellis tore apart the Cavaliers for 32 points and 10 assists. The Warriors lead by as many as 21 points and won the game 116-98.

For the Cavaliers, it will be the first time Baron Davis faces his old team in a Cavaliers uniform. Davis scored seven points for the Clippers back on January 22nd when they played Golden State.

Look for Baron Davis to stay aggressive in which will be the key match-up of the game. Davis vs. Ellis should be a lot of fun to watch.

Tip-off is at 7:00pm at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night.

Here are some of the highlights of the game in January. Hopefully the Cavaliers won't allow Ellis to go for 32 again.

Preview: Cleveland vs. Houston

The Cavaliers are coming off an impressive victory against the two-time defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers.

Tonight the Cavaliers will look to continue their momentum and start the second half off with a winning streak against the Houston Rockets.

This will be the second and final meeting of the season for the two teams.

For the Rockets, they have climbed their way back into the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference and will conitue their mini three-game road trip against teams below .500. The Rockets will play Cleveland, and return home against the Nets while winning against Detriot on tuesday.

The Cavaliers (10-46) went down to Houston in December and lost 110-95 watching Kevin Martin score 40 on them. That game was early in the soon to be recongized streak of losing 36 of 37 games and 26 games in a row.

Antawn Jamison scored 24 points and had five rebounds and two assists in that game. Also, Mo Willams at the time scored 18 points and had a team-high nin assists in the game.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 2-1 weekend and a Los Angeles sweep. Which by the way, feels great to say. Cleveland played their best game against the Lakers and so did Ramon Sessions.

Sessions, who has been filling the role for injured Mo Willams, put on a show against the Lakers. He scored a game high and season high, 32 points coming off the bench.

He has been averaging 19.6 points, 8.9 assists and 2.0 steals in February. He is also shooting a blistering 58 percent from the field as well.

The last time a Cavalier scored 30 or more points off the bench was Larry Hughes. He scored 36 points on ironically the same date as Sessions did. December 11th, 2007.

The key will be to keep Martin under control. He has hurt the Cavaliers in the past by scoring the ball. Martin has scored at least 30 points in his last four games against Cleveland.

Tip-off is at 7:00pm at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Aftermath of the Epic Win: post All-Star Break Implications

The Cavaliers knocked the defending World Champs into further disarray last night, in a game that brought momentary appeasement to a fanbase in desperate need of a meaningful victory.

Cleveland is 2-1 in its last 3 games.  It feels great to say that.  In the month of February, Cavs are 2-0 against teams from Los Angeles.

Of course, the headlines on ESPN are all too easily predictable:  What is wrong with the Lakers?  Losing to Orlando is one thing, but the Cavs? 

Really ESPN?  How about giving us some credit when it's clear we outplayed our opponent?  Why does it always have to be about the other team? 

The Lakers didn't come to play; the Cavs were hungry for a big win heading into the All-Star break.  In front of 20,000+ roaring fans at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs played maybe their most complete game of the season

Ramon Sessions led all players with 32 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals off the bench.  Mo Williams aggravated his injured ankle, and did not return after 3 minutes of action.

Sessions has been playing excellent as of late.  Earlier in the season, he often forgot about his teammates and drove every chance he got.  Now, he seems to be finding that invaluable skill of knowing when to get others involved. 

Ramon has significantly reduced the amount of careless turnovers, and is making his presence felt on the court.  In the first half he finished with 16 points, partly because he got to the free throw line 7 times and made them all count. 

Sessions is the driving force behind the Cavaliers right now.  He even made his first 3 pointer of the season. 

If the Cavs weren't in last place, one could make a strong case for Ramon to be named 6th man of the year.

Christian Eyenga also came to play last night; Number 8 has dramatically improved his offensive game and court awareness throughout the 1st half of the season.

He also managed to school Kobe Bryant, and dunk in the face of Pau Gasol all in one play.  Speaking of Gasol, is there ever a time where he doesn't make an overdramatic yell for a foul as he bricks another lay-up?

Eyenga has the potential to be an impact player for the Cavs.  His defensive intensity alone warrants the playing time he's been receiving.

For all the losses we incurred during the 1st half of the season, its undeniable that the win over the Lakers will help this team's confidence going forward. 

We need to play with the same defensive effort we showed last night, and we could be competitive night-in and night-out.  The Cavaliers haven't had a problem scoring the basketball this season, we're averaging right around 100 points a night.  The problem is consistent defense. 

Granted, we don't have the pieces in the frontcourt to stop the likes of Dwight Howard and pretty much any other legitimate center in the league right now.  The injury to Anderon Varejao for the season hurt this team in a multitude of ways, including but not limited to: defending in the post, rebounding, and energy. 

Jamison attempting to defend Gasol just isn't going to work out well most nights. 

That being said, Jamison did play a great game defensively and the Cavs worked as a team to out-will the Lakers for our 10th victory of the season.

Improving throughout the rest of the season is the main goal for Coach Byron Scott; we have to change the atmosphere of losing and develop our players to bring A+ effort on a nightly basis.

This victory was a step in the right direction.  Hopefully this will propel the Cavs to a strong finish for the rest of the season. 

Cleveland 104, Lakers 99: (Shocking the NBA)

Back on January 11th, the Cavaliers traveled to Los Angeles and lost by an embarrassing 55 points.

Just a month later, the Cavaliers shocked the NBA and beat the two-time defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers 104-99. The Cavaliers (10-46) handed the Lakers (38-19) their third straight defeat in which was the last game of the "Grammy Road Trip" for Los Angeles.

It was a turn around of 60 points for the Cavaliers from the last time these two teams met up just a month ago.

The Cavaliers not only got their revenge but they bounced back from an embarrassing lost to the Washington Wizards last Sunday. The Cavaliers played one of their most complete games this season.

The team played with a strong sense of passion right from the start of the game. They outscored the Lakers 29-21 in the first quarter and was up as many as 12 points in the 1st half.

Ramon Sessions played his best game as a Cavalier this season. He scored a season high and game high, 32 points. He also dished out eight assists as well. Sessions came off the bench behind Mo Williams, as Mo played the first three minutes of the game and did not return.

Mo Williams aggravated his ankle again and Byron Scott decided to let him rest and give him the extra time to give him a full recovery.

As for Ramon, he made his presence felt as soon as he got in the game. He pushed the tempo and got in the paint whenever he wanted. He scored 14 first quarter points and never looked back.

It was the kind of night that felt like nothing could go wrong for the Cavaliers. In the second quarter, with the shot clock winding down, Antawn Jamison shot a ball from the "C" on the Cavaliers logo and make it. Jamison finished with an impressive 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Cleveland improved effort from the last meeting showed at the end of the first half. They scored 51 first-half points compared to 57 points for the entire game in January against the Lakers.

Pau Gasol finished with a monster effort, 30 points and 20 rebounds, but it wasn't enough. The Cavaliers pushed the lead to 14 points in the second half .

Cleveland had an answer for everything the Lakers threw at them. Christian Eyenga made the highlight of the night. He posterized Gasol for a big throw down and blew the roof off the building.

Eyenga finished with a strong game. He scored 10 points on 5-7 shooting. However, he wasn't the only Cavalier with a timely bucket.

JJ Hickson also had a a strong game. He scored a respectful 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Hickson held up his own against the Lakers 7-footers. When the Lakers made a late-run and got it withing four in the final minutes of the game. Hickson had a momentum changing put-back slam.

Kobe Bryant, who is recovering from flu-like symptoms, didn't have much of an impact in the game. Bryant finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds but still didn't seem to be himself, especially with the game on the line.

The Lakers had 19 turnovers in the game and that lead Phil Jackson enraged. He had to call several timeouts and that lead to screaming at his players in disgust. The Lakers played sloppy all night long and it showed. In the second quarter, Gasol had the ball in his hands and threw a pass to the corner, only to find teammate Shannon Brown sitting on the bench.

The Cavaliers ended a poor first half of basketball with arguably their best win of the season.

The Cavaliers will head into the All-Star break with a lot of momentum and will look to carry that momentum into the second half of the season.

Key comment: It is kind of ironic that when the Cavaliers lost to the Lakers in January, they called the lose "rock bottom" and "embarrassing". Yet a month later, the Lakers might have just lost the worst game of the Pau Gasol era or perhaps Phil Jackson's worst lose as a Laker. So do I dare say that this lost, just a month later when it was "rock bottom" for the Cavaliers would be "rock bottom" for the two-time defending champions?

Preview - Cavs vs. Lakers

The Cavaliers play host to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight, in a rematch of the January showdown that resulted in a 55 point beatdown.

Cleveland no longer has the national spotlight because the team ended that unthinkable losing streak.  Although the Cavs did come out flat vs. Washington on Sunday night, there are signs of progress.

The Lakers are hard to figure out right now.  Finally beating one of the NBA elite teams in Boston didn't translate in the last two consecutive losses.  They were out-classed in Orlando and then suffered a shocking 20 point defeat to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Both teams would love to win this one, and you have to think the Lakers don't really see this one being much of a contest.  You can't really blame them, but they aren't exactly in championship form right now. 

Kobe is still recovering from flu-like symptoms; slowing him down will be part of the battle. 

The other obvious concern is defending Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.  Right now, it's going to be tough to handle their big-men down low.

Mo Williams will need to play well and push the tempo vs. a Lakers team that still plays excellent defense.

J.J. Hickson will need to have one of those 20 rebound games we've seen as of late, if we want to compete tonight.

It's always fun when Kobe and the Lakers come to town, we just have to hope the Cavs are up for the challenge.  It sure would be nice to steal a win against one of the top teams in the NBA. 

Like a broken record: Cavaliers' 11th loss in a row sets team marks in futility

LOS ANGELES — For Antawn Jamison, this was rock bottom.

"It can't get any worse than this," he said after the Cavaliers suffered the worst loss in team history, 112-57, to the Lakers on Tuesday night in Staples Center. "If it is, y'all going to have to help me. I don't know how much of this I can take. This, by far, is the bottom.

"Fifty-five points? That's, like, impossible," Jamison said. "We're professional athletes. How do you lose by 55 points? I don't care who you're playing against. I mean, if this doesn't hurt . . . I don't understand how we're able to have conversations in the locker room. There's nothing to talk about.

"We have to do some soul searching quick because no matter who we play, right now they feel like they can beat us. If we don't have a sense of pride and just play for yourself or something . . . this might be one of the worst teams to go through a season. The frustrating part about it is I know we're better than this. I don't know. Something has to change."

But nothing changes for these Cavaliers. Another game, another loss, another injury.

In setting club records for margin of defeat and fewest points in a game, they lost their 11th straight, their 21st in 22 overall, and their 17th straight on the road to fall to 8-30. The previous record loss came in the Cavs' first season when they lost, 141-87, on Nov. 2, 1970. The previous record for fewest points in a game was 59 at San Antonio on March 25, 1997. The 57 points also was a Lakers' record low for an opponent, and this was the third-largest margin of victory in Lakers history.

Meanwhile, Christian Eyenga, who wasn't even supposed to play because of a sprained right ankle, played six minutes before tweaking it in the third quarter. About the same time, Cavs guard Daniel Gibson arrived behind the bench after rehabbing his sprained left ankle in Cleveland for a week. He hopes to be able to take part in practice on Thursday.

But the Cavs sure could have used him on Tuesday -- along with the Marines.

"I thought that was embarrassing," said Cavs coach Byron Scott, who won three championships as a player with the Lakers. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but to come out and not compete? There's no excuse for that. I'm embarrassed because of the way we performed. I'm a Cleveland Cavalier right now and the way we performed last night, that's embarrassing to me.

"I had one other team [New Jersey] come in and I thought we looked a little nervous. But that was the NBA Finals. I haven't had another team come in and look that scared."

Cavs players seemed as embarrassed as their coach.

An hour after the game, guard Mo Williams tweeted: "This [expletive] is embarrassing. I feel like I can't even show my face in Cleve."

The loquacious Jamison was running out of words to express himself.

"In 13 years, I can honestly say I never felt that embarrassed to be on a basketball court," he said. "We knew what we were up against -- the defending champions, playing at home. I don't know. I guess as soon as we saw the 'Lakers' on their jerseys we just . . . I don't know. But it was definitely, by far, one of the most embarrassing moments that I've been a part of affiliated with the game of basketball. There's nothing else you can really say."

This article, written by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer, can be found at Cleveland.com

Preview - Cavs at Lakers: Manny Harris vs. Kobe Bryant

The Cavaliers continue their tough stretch on the road tonight as they face the defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Manny Harris is likely to be matched up against arguably the best player in the Association, Kobe Bryant.

This got me to thinking, how do Manny Harris' rookie numbers stack up with Bryant's so far?

Let's take a look at the numbers.

Kobe Bryant was drafted in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded the would-be legend to Los Angeles.  During his rookie campaign, Kobe appeared in 71 games, starting 6 of those. 

The Black Mamba averaged 15 minutes per game during the 1997 season.  He never scored more than 24 points in a single game, in what was a tough rookie year for him.

Manny Harris has appeared in 17 games this season, starting 5 times.  He's averaging 15 minutes per game, although with recent injuries, that number is surely to sky-rocket.  In the last game alone, he played 41 minutes because Byron Scott believed he was the best player on the floor.

In the game vs. Phoenix, Manny finished with 27 points and only took 13 shots to do it. 

He's far more aggressive than Kobe was in his rookie season, and definitely more important to the team.

At this point in their rookie seasons, they were both shooting 40% from the field, and 81% from the free throw line.  The resemblances are strikingly similar.  Both are scoring shooting guards who play tenacious defense.

The difference is that in their rookie season, Manny looks more ready to contribute on a nightly basis than Bryant did at the same point. 

The main reason?  Kobe went straight from high school to the NBA and Manny decided to spend two years at polishing his skills at the University of Michigan.  (Shoutout to Dylan of UMHoops.com, we appreciate the love)

Surprisingly, the Cavaliers are the underdog in tonight's matchup.  Might have something to do with the fact that Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum could potentially score 40 points each against our non-existent interior defense.

Byron Scott will hopefully play #6 big minutes tonight to see if the game in Phoenix was a fluke. I'm convinced it wasn't.

I'm not saying Manny Harris is better than Kobe Bryant right now.

I am saying that Manny will outplay Kobe Bryant tonight at the Staples Center.