Now that the Cavs have won one of the two games that mattered this year, have proven that Kelly Dwyer is a complete fool, and have turned Ryan Hollins into a Cleveland legend and my favorite Cav of all time, the rest is just gravy. Smooth sailing from here to the rest of the season and into the draft. The only thing that can screw it up is wins.

There are six games left and the Cavs hold a slight 2 game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA ping pong ball race. They are losers of 10 straight and we just can't count on them to win a single remaining game. That leaves us with a maximum allowable of 1 win.

"Don't be stupid Kramer" You are probably telling yourself (People tell me this all the time to apparently no avail). "There's no way the Cavs all of a sudden win 2 out of 6 games to close the season." Normally I'd agree with you, but it's not exactly a murderer's row remaining.

The Cavs have games remaining against Charlotte, Toronto, Milwaukee, Detroit, and Washington. The other game is against the Chicago Bulls so there's no problem there. But those other 5 games...it makes me shudder but it is completely within the realm of possibility to win all five of those games.

So, it starts tonight. We can do this. The Bobcats are bad, but they're not THAT bad, right? Right? We better hope so.

But, for the next few hours none of that matters as we all transition into "Cleveland Fan Mode" in which we check our brains at the door and cheer blindly for our team as if there are no repercussions.

As usual, Old Hoss kicks off the diary:

OldHossRadbourn

I must object to this Mid-western beer "Old Style." It is decidedly not old in style. We did not drink urine in my day.

1st Quarter:

Bad news right from the start here:

ABJCavsInsider

Samardo Samuels won't play for #Cavs. Not his wrist this time, now it's a strained groin.

A wrist injury and a groin injury. You don't suppose the two are related do you? Has Samardo been hanging around Hideki Matsui? (The 3 people that get that joke will be delighted.)

I forgot that Paul Silas was the Bobcat's coach. This must be a huge game for him.

11:50 DJ Augustin hits the first shot of the night to put the Bobcats up but the Cavs answer immediately.

10:20 The ball goes off Hickson's hands out of bounds. Uh Oh...looks like JJ got into the butter before the game again.

9:14 Both teams are missing incredibly close and easy shots right now. It's like a continuation of the Butler vs UConn game.

8:30 Hickson hits a left hander to put the Cavs up 6-4 followed by Baron Davis hitting a 3. Baron does have a nice little bag of tricks doesn't he? He keeps it in his beard.

7:00 Alonzo Gee hits a 3. That dude is still on the team? Why am I always surprised by that? Every game.

6:15 Baron Davis banks one home. Cavs up 16-5. The rout is on.

Now  down 18-5 Bobcats call timeout.

The Cavs must have really taken Austin Carr's advice to heart when before the game he was advising them to try to get off to a fast start. It's a good thing Charlotte wasn't privy to this ingenious plan.

BTW – in case you were wondering, Twitter is currently broken. Fantastic. I go to that site 6 times a year. Basically when I'm writing a Cav's game diary. And it's broken.

Tanks fer Nuttin.

A couple of fast breaks are traded and nobody is even close to scoring.

4:00 Harangody knocks down a 3. That dude is good. I like him a lot. I was trying to figure out who he looks like and still can't. Somone suggested to me that he looks like someone on the show "The League." I have not seen it so I cannot attest to veracity of this statement. But we'll go with that for now.

3:07 JJ goes to the rim, makes the shot, and gets the foul. He hits it. Cavs up 26-11. Right now this is a massacre.

Doh Dah Dipiddy (C'mon)

2:25 JJ Hickson takes a great pass and hammers one home. Meanwhile Carr and McLeod have completely stopped paying attention. They are talking about golf.

Not sure I can really blame them.

1:30 Sessions is in the game and makes a runner. Cavs up 30-16.

0:03 The Cavs end up with the ball to end to the quarter and run a play where Boobie gets a nice look from 3. Unfortunately he left it short. Fortunately, Christian Eyenga came flying in and slammed home a dunk that damn near broke the backboard.

Did I mention Christian Eyenga can jump? That dude might be a keeper.

End of 1 - Cavs 34 Bobcats 16

Twitter still down.

2nd Quarter:

So far this is simultaiously the Cavs most dominant game and my least dominant Twe-cap.

11:40 Hollins opens the 2nd with a bucket. Cavs now up by 20.

I might go watch the Tribe game.

The Tribe are down 1-0 in the third. Looks like the Red Sox scored off an RBI single by Jarrod saltilosondndjsgaacchia in the second. JD Drew got thrown out at home. If you'll remember, it was the Red Sox player and noted asshat Ryan Kalish who jumped directly onto Carlos Santana's knee last year and ended the rookie catcher's season a few months early. It almost ended my life with a heart attack too.

I'll bet there was an audible gasp that went through the crowd as JD was steaming home. All 3,523 of them. It wasn't a very loud gasp.

OK, back to the Cavs.

They are still up big. The Bobcats have closed the gap to 17 with 8 minutes left.

8:10 Boobie knocks down a 3 to push the lead up to 44-24.

Tweet: (It's Back!)

MrBen2013

Why can't the #Cavs play with this much effort every night? Oh that's right, it's the curse of Cleveland

No Mr. Ben. Actually what you call lack of effort I call lack of talent.

7:00 Alonzo Gee hits another 3 and all of a sudden the dude has 10 points in the first half. I have to really try to remember he's on the team.

6:10 JJ makes another layup and he has 11. I'm ready to say it, JJ Hickson is good. It wasn't all LeBag after all.

Tweet:

ItsAnt_Buddy

Jus tuned in #Cavs..Dey talm bout erything right now

Dey sur is. Sey talm bout ervthing n den sum fo sur right now. I'm with Ant Buddy.

Tweet:

S1nfully_Sweet

And if Jabron Lames is so great, how come MIA still got EMPTY SEATS in their stands? Won't find that @ a #Cavsgame :)

I could be wrong. I don't know her personally, but I don't think that S1nfully Sweet has considered all of the variables in this well thought out analysis.

Jabron Lames is clever, though.

3:45 Augustin hits a 3. Cavs now up 51-33.

3:00 Baron Davis's beard hits a 3 of it's own and the lead is back to 20.

Last week it took until the very end of the Heat game for me to believe the Cavs would win. This week, I don't see any way for them to lose. There is no way this Bobcats team is coming back. They look terrible.

Mark it, dudes.

1:35 JJ gets fouled and goes to the line Makes 1 and the lead is 19. This is over.

Cavs get the ball for the final shot but nada.

Halftime: Cavs 55 Bobcats 38 Diff +17

Tweet:

CardiacShook Shook

Is all of Cleveland at the Charlie Sheen show? Thought the city was allergic to #winning. #Cavs #Indians

Oh Yeah! I forgot about the Charlie Sheen show. I wonder how that's going? I'll bet it's great. The reviews have been wonderful.

Tweet:

S1nfully_Sweet .Heather.Michelle.

#CAVS have the #3 top Fan Attendance rating in the leauge..Ahead of us? CHI and PORTLAND ..#Cleveland fans are DEDICATED.

S1nfully Sweet seems like a nice kid.

3rd Quarter:

Tweet:

Kamaumos Kam Mosley 

How good are my seats at the @charliesheen show?!Well...put it like this--->Dan Gilbert, owner of the #Cavs is sitting three seats over!!!

I call shenanigans.

11:20 Cunningham of the Bobcats opens the scoring in the 3rd. Cavs lead cut to 55-40. I'm not worried.

9:40 Hickson hits a shot...after the shotclock. Cavs are still scoreless in the second half.

9:01 Bobcat's Henderson hits a jumper. Lead is now cut to 11. Not that I'm worried, but maybe someone aught to poke their head into the Cav's locker room and let them know that the second half has started.

"What if a bank did more than take care of your money, and took the time to find out what is really important?" – Does anyone have any idea what the hell this is even supposed to mean? If I use Key Bank are they going to pay for my kid's braces? Because that's what they seem to be implying.

8:30 Bobcats now down single digits. It's Cavs 55-46.

7:00 Kwame Brown hits from the paint and the lead is now down to 7.

OK, I'm starting to get a little worried.

6:40 Baron Davis goes to the line and gets the Cavs their first point of the half. At this rate they will score 3 more points before the end of the game.

I don't think that's going to hold up.

Tweet:

demeatloaf Demetri Inembolidis

I'm going to find it really hard to care if the #Cavs blow this lead.

Demeatloaf is a man with his wits about him.

5:11 Ryan Hollins takes a long pass from Baron Davis and gets fouled making the bucket. The Cavs are back up by 10 and Hollins is going to the line.

See? Nothing to worry about.

Tweet:

mmcoleman2 megan coleman

#cavs

Thanks Megan. Great tweet. Very informative.

Tweet:

kathy_parker Kathy Parker

And...it's funny seeing Paul Silas again. He used to coach the#Cavs

I know, right?! That's what I was saying! So funny.

I don't think I'm out of line to suggest that the Cavs lead the league in tattoos.

4:00 Harangody with the slowest drive to the glass I've ever seen scores with a ridiculous teardrop shot that, at it's peak, was approximately 37 feet above the backboard.

It went in. It counts. Cavs up by 8.

Bobcats quickly battle back to close to 4. The score is now 64-60.

OK, I'm worried.

2:00 Harangody with an offensive rebound and a score. Dude cannot miss.

1:21 Augustin with a steal and a bucket. Cavs still up by 4.

Tribe is now up 3-1 on the Red Sox in the game involving a Cleveland team that I actually want to win.

0:05 Cavs get the ball after a Bobcats shotclock violation with a chance to extend the lead. Instead they say "No thanks, we're good" and turn the ball back over.

End of 3rd: Cavs 74 Bobcats 66 Diff +8

Tweet:

HOLLOWMAN_24 ★JaMaL★ ✔ Verified

LOL....ITS A WHOLE QUATER LEFT N #CAVS UP BY 8....TELL ME THIS Y Y'ALL WENT FROM WINNING 60+ GAMES LAST SEASON N (cont)

What in God's Holy Name are you blathering about Hollowman?

4th Quarter:

11:30 My favorite Cav Ryan Hollins hits a jumper to begin the 4th. Cavs lead back to 10.

See? Nothing to worry about. It's in the bag.

11:00 Hollins just absolutely mugs some poor bastard on his way down the floor to get the Cavs the ball back.

10:20 Hillins hits another jumper over Kwane Brown. Hollins is owning Brown like he owned Chris Bosh. For the past few minutes anyway.

9:20 Sessions hits a shot and the Cavs lead 80-69

8:54 Boobie nails a 3 and the Cavs back up by 14.

It's over.

Tweet:

PDBuckeyes Doug Lesmerises

by hoynsie

RT @PDPopDiva: Crowd gives charlie a standing o as he hits stage to the strains of Wild Thing in a Vaughn Indians Jersey#charliesheen

Awesome.

Cavs winning. Indians winning. Sheen winning.

Cleveland winning.

8:15 Harangody is once again Johnny on the Spot and cleans up a miss.

7:48 Hollins runs the floor and gets fouled on the layup. He makes the basket and is going to the line.

Hollins has 7 in the quarter. Lead back to 17.

Tweet:

clevelafan Cleveland Sports Fan

Enough of this winning shit #Cavs, we have ping pong balls to aquire!

Yeah, I know I know. This is true.

Tweet:

PDcavsinsider M.S. Boyer,J. Valade

The Ryan Hollins we know and love from the Miami game has reappeared. He's 5-for-5, 12 pts, #Cavs lead 88-71, 7:48 4Q.

It's official, MSB loves her some Ryan Hollins. And, as goes Schmitty, so goes Cleveland. I know I loves me some Ryan Hollins.

6:15 Sessions is having his way with Augustin. Drives the lane and the lead is 15.

I FIGURED IT OUT!!!

Harangody looks a little like Toby from the office. I think it's the tiny little beady eyes.

5:35 Sessions gets the steal but misses the dunk at the other end. No matter. This one is in the bag.

4:10 IN THE FACE!!!

Hollins hammers one home Cavs up 94-81

2:24 Bobbie hits another 3. This one is a laugher.

2:00 Baron Davis Alley Oop to JJ Hickson followed by yet another Bobcat brick.

Tweet:

A_Bottiggi Anthony Bottiggi

The #Cavs should win this one

Don't fall off that limb you're out on Tony.

0:07 Cavs have the ball back and the crowd is going nuts. They are one point short of chalupas.

But that's how it ends.

Final:  Cavs 99   Bobcats 89

It wasn't really even that close except for a short spurt in the 3rd when the Bobcats briefly pulled within 4.

This was a good game and a good, if ill timed win for the Cavs. Ryan Hollins with 16 points. JJ Hickson with 16 points and 19 rebounds. Hickson has been showing his potential for most of the second half of the season and now Ryan Hollins's production is finally catching up with his height.

If the Cavs can add some pieces this looks like a team that may be able to make some noise in a few years. They didn't do themselves any favors tonight in that regard.

They now own sole position of the most ping pong balls by the thinnest of margins, only one win worse than the Timberwolves.

But damn if it doesn't always feel better to come away with the win, despite the consequences. Tonight they played with tiger blood and fire breathing fists.

Maybe they were inspired by Charlie.

 

It's official. Stats are brutal. And the NBA does not sugarcoat. Laid out online for all to see, Oklahoma rates the coveted "x" (clinched playoff berth); Chicago proudly stands by their "c" (clinched Central division); LA sports a dignified "p" (clinched Pacific division) and Cleveland cowers behind the big zero ("o-Eliminated from contention").

Much like pre-season games, each match is now quantifiably insignificant. And that's stats for meaningless. With nothing to gain, we risk injury to our psyche and our players. At least the ones not already on the injured list. So where's the motivation for fans and players?

Read more...

Well, we don’t have the New York Knicks to kick around anymore.

After losing eleven straight to the Cavaliers dating back to early in the 2006-07 season the Knicks finally struck back at their tormentors from Cleveland, scoring a 123-107 victory at Madison Square Garden. It was the third consecutive win overall for New York since its nine-loss-in-ten-game swoon of March. It also got the Knicks back to .500 at 38-38 and, in conjunction with Charlotte’s loss to the Wizards, clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2003-04.

Read more...

The Cavaliers did a lot of good things Friday night. The one thing that they didn’t do -- or couldn’t do -- was block out, and that was ultimately what turned them into April fools.

Of course, the results were predictable: Washington 115, Cleveland 107 at the Verizon Center.

Here’s the tale of the game, otherwise known as the tale of the tape: Andray Blatche 6-foot-11, JaVale McGee 7-foot-0 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, Yi Jianlian 7-foot-0. Think Andre the Giant, Goliath and Paul Bunyan swatting at the Munchkins.

Blatche, who averages 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season, ripped off his horn-rimmed glasses, put on his red cape, scored 36 points, yanked down 19 rebounds -- including 16 offensive boards -- and generally harrassed and hounded the Cavs all night. McGee, displaying nifty inside footwork, helped Blatche (as if he needed it) with 25 points on 11 of 15 from the field and eight bounds.

Almost unnoticed was a triple-double by Wizard guard Jordan Crawford: 21 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds.

All told, the Cavs were out-rebounded 64-47 overall and 27-12 on the offensive boards. Compounding their woes, they missed their first eight three-point attempts and finished with a dismal 5-of-22 mark (22.7%) from long range.

Yet, the game was not decided until the fourth quarter.

Score at the end of the third was Wizards 83, Cavs 82. Head coach Byron Scott’s guys had a chance to retake the lead on their first possession of the fourth, but Christian Eyenga missed a layup and J.J. Hickson missed the follow.

Read more...