Cavaliers are sore as they head to Sacramento

by John Bena (aka CavsBlogger) on Mar 13, 2009 7:48 AM CDT in Cleveland Cavaliers in the News

Brian Windhorst, the best in the biz when it comes to covering NBA teams has the latest on some of the injuries the Cavaliers are dealing with --

Delonte West --

West has a strained lower back as a result of his hard landing in the third quarter when he ran into Steve Nash. The Cavs took an X-ray here and nothing is broken but he'll probably be getting an MRI at some point. Right now the team is calling it back spasms, which Delonte has battled over the years. Last season he missed a couple games with them. He stayed in the shower for a good 20-25 minutes, probably trying to loosen it up for a hour or so flight to Sacramento.

LeBron James --

LeBron said he experienced a "stinger" down his leg in the third quarter when he nailed knees and shins with Grant Hill and Louis Amundson. He also took a shot in the right thigh from Shaquille O'Neal in the fourth quarter and he's shaking off a mild ankle sprain from Tuesday in L.A. He got his normal full-body ice down after the game and said he was sore but expected to play Friday. He's taking a heavy minute load over the last couple games, though, and the Cavs will probably try to get him some extra rest.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas --

Ilgauskas thinks he suffered a broken nose after getting an elbow from Shaq. It's swollen on the left side and was turning purple after the game. He said he'll play Friday and doesn't intend to wear a mask

How nice would it be for the Cavaliers to get a big lead tonight in order to rest some of these guys. I know the #1 seed is important, but you get the feeling that the Celtics are starting to go into "let's just get to the playoffs healthy" mode.

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That game was brutal on us but,

until we secure HCA for the playoffs, I doubt Brown will give significant rest to these guys. The players have worked too hard to get into this position, so we would need a blowout, IMO, to get them some significant rest. Blowouts on the road are rare so more than likely they will get rest at home, if at all.

Good win as team records continue to fall. Just keep winning and we coast into the playoffs!

Oh The People You Meet When Your Out of Ammo.........

by Juannieboy on Mar 13, 2009 8:14 AM CDT reply actions

Tonight with a win, Cavs can clinch the division

that’s a big deal to finally get over that mental threshold. Guarantees #4 spot in playoff seeding as well.

Brown has been not giving Lebron his 4th quarter rest time, which is troublesome. Lebron is the entire team when it comes to playoff basketball. Without him, we have no hope of a title. He needs to be fresh for the month long playoff run.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Mar 13, 2009 12:09 PM CDT reply actions

Ya, you’re definitely right. With the spot clinched, rest LeBron some more. Home field advantage would be nice but I’d rather have a healthy LeBron than to get to play a few extra games at home.

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by OneSeason on Mar 13, 2009 12:39 PM CDT up reply actions

I disagree with you.

Signed,

The last 16 games of the Cavs/Celtics series.

You guys are crazy if you don’t think HCA is huge this year. Listen, Lebron is 25 and there are no more back to backs once the playoffs start. They will get plenty of rest later. The Cavs need HCA this year. Losing it now would be a huge loss.

by fivekmd on Mar 13, 2009 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions

They aren't going to lose HCA in the East

with Lebron sitting down. In fact, they’ve pretty much sewn it up with a 3 game lead in the loss column and only 17 games left on the docket.

They CAN lose it to Los Angeles, though.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Mar 13, 2009 1:56 PM CDT up reply actions

If we need LeBron for the 4th quarter Brown is gonna play him......

unless his leg is wrapped around his neck or something. All the games up tp this point have been about securing HCA and Roker would be a fool to rest LeBron in the 4th Q and risk losing a winable game and HCA just to keep him fresh.

LBJ and his teamates would likely choke the snot out of Roker for even suggesting it.

Oh The People You Meet When Your Out of Ammo.........

by Juannieboy on Mar 13, 2009 1:28 PM CDT reply actions

Resting him for the first 5 minutes of the quarter?

What happened to all the BS of ‘trusting’ your teammates? Guys like JJ Hickson, Wally Szcerbiak, Sasha, Kinsey have been non-existent these past few weeks. These guys are world beaters and most wouldn’t even be starters on other teams but they do provide valuable ‘down time’ for Lebron to get rest and to get back into the game with energy.

Are we really so thin that Lebron can’t sit down at all in the 2nd half for fear of falling into a death spiral?

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Mar 13, 2009 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions

He sat to start the 4th last night, right?

by JulioBernazard on Mar 13, 2009 2:32 PM CDT up reply actions

He sat from the 12:00 mark in the 4th

to the 11:39 mark in the 4th. 21 seconds of clock time.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Mar 13, 2009 2:46 PM CDT up reply actions

LeBrons normal rest pattern ( with variations) seems to be

He plays most if not all of the 1 st q- depending on the lead
Rest the first 6 to 8 minutes of the 2q
Play to the half
Play most of 3rd q- ( again depending on lead)
Rest first 5-6 miutes of the 4th q (may play all if its a tight game or may rest all if it’s a blowout.

I did not mean to suggest Roker play him the full 48 minutes. I was reffering to the 4 th q only. Sorry my bad.

Oh The People You Meet When Your Out of Ammo.........

by Juannieboy on Mar 13, 2009 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions