The Return Of The Orange Unis - The Akron Beacon Journal's Brian Windhorst (as solid of a beat writer as you will find) reported in his Wednesday column that the Cavaliers special event uniforms this season will be all orange. They were gold two seasons ago, and blue last season. Still no word as to whether or not the orange uniforms will be replicas of the ones the team wore in the World B. Free days, or how often they will wear them. I'm one of the few fans that actually liked the old orange threads ... but I was also a big fan of the blue uniforms they wore last season, so I hope those don't go away completely.Varejao Being Sued? - Windhorst is also reporting on his weblog that Greek national team player Nikos Zisis is still pretty upset about the elbow he got from Anderson Varejao in the FIBA World Championship and wants to sue him. Windhorst reports that a law student reader informed him that there is a legal precedent for a player being able to sue another player for something that occured between the lines. Zisis had to undergo surgery after spending a week in the hospital as a result of the elbow that Andy struck him in the head with.
Hughes Still Can't Bend His Injured Finger - Windhorst also reported in his Cavaliers Notebook earlier this week that Larry Hughes still cannot bend his middle finger on his right hand ... the same finger that caused Hughes to miss 46 games last season. In a conflicting statement, Hughes said ``I'm not a hundred percent. It is not where it was. I don't have any problems with it. I can reach with it, I'm able to block shots, everything I couldn't do last year I can do now. I would love to have some more range of motion, but if not, I can play the way it is now. They said I should see progress, so ask me again next year.'' I don't like the sound of this.
Offensive Changes For The Cavs In Store - Sticking with Windhorst and the ABJ for one more story, he reported that the Cavs are tinkering with their offense to make it less reliant on the role and presence of a true point guard, one of the glaring weaknesses on this Cavaliers team. The offense will continue to be designed and run by assistant coach Hank Egan, and will also still be heavily reliant on the high pick and roll. However, the adustments seemingly will allow LeBron James, Larry Hughes, David Wesley, and potentially Shannon Brown to initiate things more ... as opposed to last season when Eric Snow and Damon Jones were the primary top of the key players offensively.
Donyell Dead Set On Being Better This Season - The talent deprived Branson Wright of the Plain Dealer penned a column earlier this week about Donyell Marshall, who has been working his ass of this off-season, and is dead set on reestablishing himself as more of an inside-outside threat after basically just hanging around outside the arc last year during the regular season. We saw a different Donyell in the playoffs, and that was a huge key to the Cavs advancing as far as they did last year. Marshall has made a commitment to physical conditioning this summer, spending many hours running and lifting weights. This is great news, as we all saw "The Old Donyell" emerge in the playoffs, wreaking havoc at both ends of the floor, and relegating Drew Gooden to the bench in the fourth quarter. Marshall was a Cavalier Killer in his days with Toronto, Utah, and Golden State due to his ability to post smaller players up, block shots, rebound ... and step out and hit the occassional three ball. This is the Donyell the Cavs expected to see last year, and hopefully the version they get this year.
LeBron Dines With Warren Buffett - LBJ had lunch with the second richest man in the world, Warren Buffett a couple weeks back. When asked for comments on the lunch, LBJ said "He's probably one of the best men I've ever met and it was the greatest experience I ever had . . . he's one of the most level-headed guys I know. It was a great experience."
NBA Adopts New Basketball - The NBA went to a new basketball starting this year, and reaction from the players is mixed. The league replaced the leather balls that they have used for 35 years, and went to a composite microfiber model. The league says the new ball is inherently better, has a better grip, and mentions that composite balls are used in every other league in the world. Some griping superstars say that the ball is slick when it gets wet, sticky when dry, and to quote Shaq ... it ""feels like one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls." LeBron's take? "It has a fake leather material, but it's a basketball. I've probably played with 20,000 different ones in my life. I'll put it in the hole.''
Daniel Gibson Joins The Blogosphere - Cavs rookie point guard Daniel Gibson is maintaining a weblog on the Cavaliers official site, where he is chronicling his adjustment to the NBA after leaving the University of Texas after his sophomore season. In his first entry, Gibson talks about his routine as a rookie, living in downtown Cleveland, and dining with veterans Eric Snow and David Wesley.
Oct 05, 2006 7:00 PM