The Cavaliers 2012 playoff hopes could very well be hanging in the balance of their next 11 games. The schedule takes a brutal change for the worse as we have away games with (actually 2 during this stretch) Miami, Atlanta, Boston, and Orlando, and the home schedule is not much better with the Bulls coming tonight, the Knicks, the Nets, Boston, Dallas, and the Clippers. Even for all of us hopefuls, we could potentially beat New Jersey only during this next 11 games, and although we hope not, the possibility is real.

If you consider our most recent defeat from a very beatable Warriors team (we didn't handle the back to back games well) we could end up with a 1-11 record during this stretch, and an overall record of 7-17. Hardly a record that would leave us in hope of securing that 8th and final playoff spot.

Although there is no telling what will happen following this stretch, I cannot imagine it leaving the players optimistic if the losing continues there. We all know what a domino effect losing can have on a team especially during trying times of a schedule. We need only look at how well the Cavs handled the Warriors in the second game of back to back scheduled games. It wasn't pretty.

As a whole they look better than last year, but some same old problems & a few new ones. Parker is same not helping much & still getting beat on defence & below NBA avg for pts scored. Need to trade him before the deadline. I,d rather see Boobie @ #2 Starting. I know Eyanga is @ D league to develope but bring him back. At least he has speed to guard people & push the ball. Erden is not showing anything. He is not aggressie on the boards & cant even set a pick without moving. Hollings needs gone too. Like to know why Samuels isnt getting playing time. He is very aggressive on rebounds & will put up some offense. For those who i hear say trade Andy are crazy ! How many games you think you would win without all the things he does? We say last year when he was injuried. Jamison needs to be more consistant & help hit the boards more. Tristan is looking better every game & was a good pick for the Cavs. They need to cut down on the stupid turnovers. Think they need to go inside a little more to big men & that should help the outside game more. If you dont go inside enough, teams pick up on that & then shut your outside shooting down. And why isnt Scott telling Andy to take the shoots when no one is on him for those 12-15 footers. The more theats you have the harder its to guard. More ball movement all around guys ! Last, i think Scott is keeping second unit in a little to long. Maybe not all of them but a few players. Like to hear some others inputs on this stuff. GO CAVS !!!

Player A is scoring 16.2 ppg, to go along with 6.2 assists and 6.5 rebounds. He is shooting 41 percent from the field, and turning the ball over 3.5 times a game on average. He plays just over 40 minutes a game.

Player B is scoring 15.6 ppg, to go along with 5.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds. He is shooting 44 percent from the field, and turning the ball over 2.9 times a game on average. He plays 27 minutes a game.

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So far it looks to me like this is the roster for next year:

Point Guard: Irving, Sessions

Shooting Guard: ?, Gibson

Small Forward: ?, Casspi

Power Forward: Varejao, ?

Center: T. Thompson, Samuels.

I'm unhappy with Casspi so far. He doesn't look like a starter on a good team to me. Sure, he'll probably get better as the season goes along, but as of now he's a bench player.

Boobie's problem has always been defense...until this year. Now he's guarding shooting guards and looking good doing it. That, combined with deadly three point shooting, makes him a valuable member of the rotation. Even so, I don't think he's a starter on a good team- he can't create his own shot, and I'm not eager to see him go against an All Star.

Why do I have Varejao and Tigger switched? Varejao has a lot of trouble guarding 7 footers. He can't jump much (or at all right now thanks to his ankle), and his jump shot isn't as bad as people claim. Tristan doesn't look tall enough to play center, but his mad hops more than makes up for it. When he puts on some muscle (which I guarantee he will do in the offseason), he'll be the ideal center: stopping big guys, moving over to help with the smaller guys, and slam dunks and putbacks on the other side of the floor.

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[Ed. note: front page'd]

Ben Swanson, who runs the Bobcat's Rufus on Fire blog is in the running for a ten thousand dollar scholarship. He's in fourth place currently, but I think he still has a real chance. Voting ends November 30 and you can vote once a day. This only takes a second to do and would be a very cool gesture and thing to do to help about a fellow sports blogger. 

See Original Post at: http://www.rufusonfire.com/2011/11/16/2565824/i-need-your-help#comments

And Vote next to Ben Swanson at http://www.collegescholarships.org/blog/2011/11/18/2011-blogging-scholarship/

The PR in the soon-to-be NBA locked saga has so far been lame and lamer, depending on which side you support. Because the players (that's my side) are clueless about how to present their side of the debate, I am going to try and lay down some knowledge. I want to try to help fans know what the real debate is about.

Imagine an nba owner as a restaurant owner who is basically absent from the business. He doesn't want to spend every day managing the day to day activities, he just wants to put up the funds and let that cash generate oodles of yearly cashola, thank you very much.

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Cleveland Point Guard, Baron Davis has won't be one of the names you're reading about playing over seas. He's back in Westwood hitting the books.

In a recent ESPN article by J.A. Adande, the Cavalier 1 guard talks about the college life. He says that his plans for the fall (providing there is still a lockout) is to stay enrolled at UCLA and finish out the Fall semester.

"As long as the lockout is going on, I'm going to keep myself in school. Keep me from spending money and doing other stuff. This is like a full-time thing for me right now."

Baron also touched on his appreciation for Cleveland and how much support he feels he has in the city. Davis goes on to say that the drafting of 1st overall pick Duke PG, Kyrie Irving "It didn't bother me at all". In fact he seems quite understand of everything the Cavaliers are looking to do as a team.

"I understand where I am in my career and the labels and the tags that are on me as far as the injuries or being old or unmotivated. I hear all that. And I understand why they took Kyrie. Why wouldn't you take someone of that caliber and that young and just a smart, crazy player? So that doesn't bother me at all. I have someone that I can mentor so that a lot of the things that I didn't work on that could have improved my game, I get to pass that on to some one that has a clean slate."

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* Word is that Cavs guard Anthony Parker has moved out of his Cleveland home and does not plan to return once the lockout ends. Parker is an unrestricted free agent and 36-years old. The Cavs love him, as he’s just a good all-around person to have on the team. But he’s clearly not part of the Cavs’ long-term (or even short-term) plans and he knows it.

* Parker is a native of Napervile, Ill., and very well could end up with Chicago. He would be an excellent fit on a team that finished with the league’s best regular-season record, as the Bulls could definitely use the perimeter shooting and defensive attributes offered by the 6-foot-6 guard.

* Parker is also considered a real candidate to play overseas during the lockout. He spent five seasons in Israel earlier in his career, and another in Italy. He has a strong history in international basketball, having been voted Euroleague MVP on two occasions.

This is according to Sam Amico from Fox Sports Ohio. We basically knew that Anthony Parker's time was close to being done with the Cavaliers, but this report makes it sound official. I'm not sure this really matters too much for the Cavs, however, they now have one less veteran. Furthermore, there is an even bigger question mark at shooting guard. The NBA Draft did not address the issues at the 2 spot for Cleveland and it will certainly be something to keep an eye on going forward.

 Ultimately, this does not really qualify as news, but it is relatively intriguing in a very slow off-season due to the lockout. Anthony Parker still has the ability to be a productive NBA player, but he will no longer be with the Cavaliers. 

Ok I know this is REALLY early to think about, but we got nothing else to talk about with the draft being over and the lockout stopping the FA talk for awhile. So I was thinking about the 2012 draft and whether there is a season next year or not I believe we will get a top 5 pick. I dont think Sactown will get in playoffs next year(if we play) and we wont want to switch picks with Miami, so we will have a top 5 first round and 2 second rounders(ours and New Orleans).

What are you hoping for? Yes a whole lot could change but as it stands now, I see we have 2 future good backups for both SG/SF with Eyenga(SF/SG) and Casspi(SF), but still need a starter at both positions. Also nothing in terms of future Center, but we could have the making of our future PG/PF with Irving&TT.

Looking at the 2012 draft with the possible players coming out, I love Beal with our first pick(I dont think we will be high enough to grab Barnes). Beal is a good defender with an amazing shot that can also play PG. With him we get future starting SG and also our back up PG, with Irving coming off and Beal moving to point and Eyenga filling in at SG.

As for future starting SF, I think Barnes for would perfect. He is a great defender, a hard worker, can shot and create his own shot which will be lacking here a bit. Of course as I stated before I don't think we will be high enough to draft him with our pick; so I am wondering what would everyone be willing to give up to acquire another pick high enough to draft him as well. Me personally would easily give up any or all of Andy/Sessions/Sactown pick/any second rounders they wanted and maybe Miami 2015.

A core of Irving Beal Barnes and TT is things of dreams.

Ok, I'm good with Kyrie at the point, near and long term, with Davis to teach him the ropes.  I'm good with Andy playing center, although would prefer him as a 4.  I'm good with JJ although we now have what- 5 pf on the roster?  I'm even good with Tristan T's upside although will he be better then JJ?

So- post draft what have we got- no true center, no shooting guard, and no shooting forward;  3 pg, and 5 or more pf.  And an expiring TPE!

Please, please tell me Grant has something up his sleeve?  There MUST be trades coming!  Too much $ on pf's, and 3 missing positions!  Couldn't even field a team this way; and if they do, it will be worse then last year. 

I understand the desire for secresy leading up to the draft; although I think it was overdone somewhat.  But now we as fans deserve to hear about plans, options, possibilities; something to keep interest up.