All seems quiet on the Cavaliers’ trade front as we approach today’s 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline. Numerous national reports have stated that Danny Ferry is cooking the phones at various levels of urgency to get ‘er done. (Edit at 2:40 EST..the Cavs are in talks with Phoenix for Shaq! Ben and Pavlovic for the big man is the offer. Doesn't look likely at this point...Brian Windhorst of the Plain Dealer has the Suns asking for Wally and Sasha and the Cavs possibly trying to include a third team in the mix.) My question is: Are the Cavs legitimate championship contenders even if Ferry is unable to pull off a deal?
My answer is: Yes, with the disclaimer that getting another piece would lessen the task’s degree of difficulty.
In any contending season there’s always the feeling that you want your team to do something at the trade deadline. John Hart was never able to get that front-line pitcher during the Tribe’s 90s heyday. He did pick up Kevin Seitzer for Jeromy Burnitz…while that was pretty awesome Seitzer was not quite the player the Indians needed to win that elusive World Series championship.
Are the Cavs, like the Tribe teams of the past, missing that one significant ingredient that could prevent them from winning a ring? I’d say the answer is “no.” If they have one deficiency I suppose it’s in the frontcourt. There were some A-list names connected to the Cavs’ over the last few days…Stoudemire, Jamison…fans see those names and their eyes light up.
Those same fans see an older Z, an achy Wallace, and an unpredictable Andy and quail in mortal terror that those three will not be good enough to beat the Lakers or Celtics. The home loss against the Lakers freaked people out…LA was without Bynum and their big men still ate us up inside, nervous fans point out. “We can’t waste Wally’s $13M magic bullet!! Let’s get Shaq!!” they cry.
I admit the LA game was an eye-opener. Lamar Odom was grabbing offensive boards all over the place and simply popping them back in the hoop. Z and Co. could not handle Pau Gasol’s inside game, either. But one game against a possible Finals opponent doesn’t necessarily mean grabbing the biggest, most expensive “name” you can find. Hell, the Cavs were 2-0 against San Antonio in the 2007 regular season. That didn’t mean much come June.
I’m all for “winning now:” Just tell me what trade scenario gives us the most realistic chance of doing so without blowing up the roster or sacrificing chemistry. We’re not going to trade half the team for Chris Bosh, and it looks like Phoenix is going to hang on to Stoudemire. Same with the Wizards and Jamison, although Washington’s stance doesn’t seem as concrete as the Suns. Marcus Camby interests me – a “character” guy who can defend and rebound and would not make waves about getting minutes. However, the Clips don’t seem interested in dealing him, either.
That leaves us with the likely scenario of the current roster staying intact. That is not a horrible thing. Delonte West, our best one-on-one defender and another guy who spreads the floor for the offense, will be back in the next week. This squad just needs to get back to the defensive intensity that saw them murdering teams at the beginning of the season. Another big man would help (Joe Smith buyout, anyone?), but the Cavs don’t necessarily need one to win a title.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
As the deadline turns...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Shoot - At Least for One Night (Okay Ten Minutes) I Thought I was Back in the Late 90s
As usual, things become a little more interesting on the "Road to WrestleMania" and this year is no different. As the WWE prepares for it's yearly megashow, the storylines take different twists and turns from the monotonous angles that we're accustom to these days. Brand crossovers, mainstream entertainers, wrestling legends returning, anticipation of the upcoming draft, etc. make the weeks leading up to 'Mania at least watchable from a viewer's perspective.
Don't get me wrong... with Vince McMahon's monopoly on the business, the industry has a LONG way to go to get back to it's renaissance of the mid to late 1990s and the Monday Night Wars. This period marked a time of daring writing and surprises each and every week. The day Scott Hall, coming in from the crowd, interrupted a match on WCW television and "shot" about, among other things, how "we" [WWF a the time] were declaring war marked a rebirth of the industry. The (first) Invasion Angle, which led to the birth of the Outsiders, and then the NWO revolutionized the sport. Shooting became customary. Talking about other companies (which was never done before) was a weekly formality. And breaking kayfabe (breaking character) to advance a storyline was used more than ever... which leads us to last night's Raw.
As I stated before... wrestling has become stale because of what I attribute to lack of real competition from another rival company. WWE is over-saturated as well, and breaking into three "brands" seemed like a good idea at the time, but I feel actually LIMITS angle development. Ironically, this is what makes the Road to WrestleMania (the weeks leading up to the event) interesting.
Road to WrestleMania "unofficially" starts at No Way Out, a second level Pay Per View that is the PPV prior to WrestleMania... and this year's did not disappoint from what I've read. SmackDown's Edge lost his WWE Title 18 minutes into his Elimination Chamber Match (and 18 minutes into the show), and then shocked the world by jumping a Raw superstar and taking his place in Raw's Elimination Chamber World Title Match, eventually winning their World Championship Title. 
So now what? A SmackDown star has the Raw belt. And Triple H (another SmackDown star) has that brand's title by winning THEIR Elimination Chamber (the one Edge lost). Oh, what a predicament!
This unpredictability continued on Raw as Edge was challenged by former champ John Cena, whether as Cena put it, it be on Raw or SmackDown.
Then we get Rowdy Roddy Piper, a continuation of a storyline being developed between retired Ric Flair and Chris Jericho (originally with Mickey Rourke involved). Roddy comes to the ring and tells Jericho he's going to "shoot" here. INSTANT CLASSIC!
But the final event that solidified the show as the best Raw in years came at the end. Ever since "The Legend Killer" Randy Orton kicked Vince McMahon in the head, Vince's son Shane (along with his sister Stephanie) have been in an on-going feud that included a fight at No Way Out and continued on Raw last night. Shane was (kayfabe) taken to a hospital the night before after his match, challenges Orton to a street fight.... no rules... fight until someone isn't standing. Stephanie pleads with him not to do it and later is on the phone begging someone to hurry and get there because Shane won't listen. Who could that be on the phone? Vince? Her mother Linda?
Before I continue... in real life Stephanie is married to Triple HHH (with 2 young babies). A few years ago Trips and Steph were a married couple on-camera until (as wrestling gimmick marriage's usually go) they had a big falling out and subsequent "program". After that Triple HHH (with DX partner HBK) tormented Steph and her family, especially Vince. Trips would insult her, call her a slut, etc... all the typical things that come with the territory of working with your wife in the world of professional wrestling.
Anyway, as the years have gone on, and programs evolved (and Stephanie was off-camera having babies) Triple HHH's character evolved as well. When Steph would make occasional appearances, Trips would make innuendos about their real life marriage with comments about Steph's husband having a big you-know-what, slipping her a kiss on camera to infuriate Vince, etc.
So last night on Raw was the Coupe de Grace. Orton beat down Shane, kicked him in the head, and when Stephanie ran to the ring to check on Shane with the paramedics , he delivers a hellacious RKO to her! Suddenly there's a huge pop (a favorable crowd reaction) and Triple HHH (wearing street clothes and apparently who Steph was talking to on the phone about his brother-in-law Shane) flies to the ring, checks on an unconscious Stephanie, and becomes irate... Kayfabe is "broken" as WWE admits to their real-life marriage. In actuality, this is 100% pure kayfabe at it's best. The wrestling
characters have been replaced by real life.
We have our next big feud leading to WrestleMania.... Orton vs. Triple HHH... and remember when I said SmackDown had two champions? My guess is Triple HHH will becoming to Raw, "officially" transferred by Stephanie McMahon or the McMahon family.
For a brief time, wrestling was unpredictable again... and it was memorable enough for me to shoot (write this).
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Mike Brown Goes OFF
If you haven't heard Mike Brown's post-game reaction to the Cavs getting jobbed against the Pacers, you have to listen it here. It is (as Ted Dibiase Jr.'s theme music says) "PRICELESS"!
As he says himself, Coach Brown NEVER does this and all about no excuses, so you know if he's going off like this, he's pissed.
For some reason (maybe because it's just audio) I can't get it to link directly, so you'll have to go to site yourself...
www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/postgame_090210_v2.mp3
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Get on Your Boots, put the CD down, and run...
...At least that is my first reaction after hearing the new U2 song. I think this picture sums it up for me.