Before tonight's loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers honored Joe Tait, who for 39 years has been the voice of the Cavaliers and is retiring after the season.  Enjoy:

It's hard to believe that a team that previously lost 26 games in a row may not end the year with the worst record in the league. However, with the Cavaliers' win over Charlotte on Tuesday night, the Timberwolves are extremely close to matching them. Cleveland stands at 16-61 and Minnesota at 17-61. During last night's game I really didn't know what to root for. I want the best odds at getting the number one draft pick, but I also cannot root against my team. Of course the Cavs wait until now to start winning games.

Ramon Sessions mixed it up a little bit and finally outperformed Baron Davis. Sessions racked up 18 points and 4 assists in only 21 minutes. J.J. Hickson was once again a complete animal down low, grabbing 19 boards to go along with 16 points. Hickson is really progressing as a player and seems to be fitting well with Byron Scott, finally. A little more defense and fewer midrange jumpers from Hickson would be nice, but we aren't really in a position to be picky at this point.

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It was obvious that the Cavaliers could not top Tuesday night's performance when they travelled to Charlotte on Wednesday. Coming off the win of the season, it would be fair to expect a huge letdown on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. I braced myself for the seemingly inevitable blowout loss, yet was pleasantly surprised. 

There is no burning desire deep within me to beat the Bobcats. Heck, I can hardly name the Bobcats' starting roster. Therefore, I was content with what I got from the Cavs last night which was a  solid performance with a good amount of effort and energy. In my opinion, this reflects well on the character of this team as well as the coaching ability of Byron Scott. The players managed to come ready to play when a complete "no-show" effort would have been all too easy to justify. Granted, the Cavaliers didn't win the game and faltered when it was do or die, but that's pretty much what we expect at this point. When a game comes down to one final possession the star player takes over and does his thing. As you may know, the Cavaliers don't have a star player so it was up to Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker. Now, if you expect either of those guys to come through with a clutch buzzer beater on a regular basis then I cannot help you. However, if you are at all reasonable, you recognize that last night was a very respectable effort from a 15-win team with essentially nothing left to play for.

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This is why we love the NBA. Hell, this is why we love sports. Games like this, although relatively meaningless in the standings, can lift the spirits of an entire city, for one night at least. This game had everything. The drama of LeBron's return. The David and Goliath match-up. The absolutely amazing crowd. Everything off the court was set up perfectly, it was just up to the Cavaliers to step up and put up the fight on the court, and boy, did they ever.

After LeBron skipped out on the introductions and waited until the lights were turned off to take the floor, the Cavaliers faithful brought the venom that he rightfully deserved. Boos echoed throughout the Q every time he touched the ball and cheers erupted each time a hard foul put him on the ground. Little signs of effort is all we wanted from the players. Hard fouls, hustle, and leaving everything on the floor would be enough for us. The discrepancy in talent is obvious, so a win was certainly not expected. Ryan Hollins, Anthony Parker, Baron Davis, Boobie Gibson, and J.J. Hickson gave us all of that and more. The first quarter played out pretty much as expected. The Cavaliers were energized by the crowd and jumped out to an early lead. The Heat rallied to tie the game at 24 a piece by the end of the first period.

Call me cynical, but at this point I was just waiting for the inevitable collapse. Talent would take over as James and Dwyane Wade cruised to an easy win. It never happened. The Cavaliers led by 11 at the half and the lead would grow to as much as 23. Hickson and Hollins abused Chris Bosh all night long, contributing 34 points and 15 rebounds between the two of them. The Heat went on a run of their own, slicing into the Cavaliers lead, outscoring Cleveland 17-1 during a good portion of the third quarter. With the game tied at 83 and Quicken Loans Arena crowd at full volume, the Cavs took over. A final 12-0 run punctuated with a ferocious dunk by Hollins and three-point dagger from Parker put Cavs fans everywhere over the edge. That's when it hit me. Miami had nothing left, the Cavs were going to win. 

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In general the concept of a game going into overtime or "free basketball" is something that fans enjoy. You get to watch your team play in a tightly contested game and get five more minutes of basketball goodness. Apparently, the Cavs and Nets did not receive the memo regarding "basketball goodness," and instead attempted to ruin the game of basketball for everyone watching. Two teams going no where this season is hard enough to watch, but considering that both Baron Davis and Deron Williams were unavailable, it became unbearable. 

Neither team managed to shoot over 40% from the field and neither team managed to score over 100 points even with the overtime period. By the end of regulation, most viewers were just thankful that the game was about to end. Little did we know, we were about to experience an extra period of this horrific basketball. My personal feelings about the game mirrored those regarding the Cavaliers' season as a whole. Just end, please. Eventually it did, and what do you know? The Cavs lost again. 

Kris Humphries was absolutely unstoppable for the Nets. In the first start for Ryan Hollins at the center position, we knew it wouldn't be pretty, but I doubt anyone expected Humphries to score 18 points and grab 23 rebounds. Meanwhile the seven foot-tall Ryan Hollins managed only 5 rebounds and 6 points. Why is he starting again?

I don't really have much else to say. Ramon Sessions played pretty terribly until late in the game when he notched a few assists. However, he still finished with more turnovers (5) than assists (2). Pretty pathetic from your starting point guard, no? J.J. Hickson had 17 points and 17 rebounds which is nice. No one else really showed up in this game. The Sweet Sixteen starts tonight, so go ahead and watch some potential lottery picks and feel free to imagine them in Wine and Gold. 

Follow me on Twitter @Lookitsckaz and follow the blog @FearTheSword. Go Cavs.

Dwight Howard channelled his inner Hakeem as he absolutely destroyed the Cavaliers' front court on his way to 28 points on 9 of 11 shooting and 18 rebounds. He also tacked on 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 4 steals, coming quite close to achieving the elusive "5x5" stat-line. However, it was against the Cavs and therefore you have to discount it just a little bit. After all, he was being defended by Samardo Samuels and Ryan Hollins. Keep in mind, I use the word "defended" very loosely here. 

Truthfully, the Magic did not even play that well. Fortunately for them, they were playing the Cavaliers. I believe we all remember how Orlando's combination of lights-out 3-point shooting and domination down low with Howard disposed of the Cavs in 2009. Two years later, not much has changed for the Magic. A lot has changed for the Cavs. Anderson Varejao used to put forth a valiant effort in attempts to at least slow down Howard, but now Cleveland has absolutely no idea what to do. Without Varejao, Byron Scott was left with J.J. Hickson, Hollins, and Samuels to cover Howard and it's pretty clear how that worked out. 

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There is no question who has been the Cavaliers' emotional leader throughout this entire season and Sunday night, Antawn Jamison left the game with a fractured left pinky. It was not immediately clear how much time the 12 year veteran will miss, but it has become abundantly clear that the Cavs simply cannot catch a break this season. With the new additions of Baron Davis, Luke Harangody, and Semih Erden yet to join the team, the Cavaliers faced yet another uphill battle. A hard fought 95-91 loss to the upstart Philadelphia 76ers does not hurt nearly as badly as losing the 18 points and 6 rebounds that Jamison provides each night. Just another day in the life of the 2011 Cleveland Cavaliers, who fell to 11-48 after the loss. 

Despite Jamison's 3rd quarter exit, the Cavaliers refused to lie down. After blowing an early first quarter 12-point lead, the Cavs found themselves in a 14 point hole well into the second half. JJ Hickson enjoyed another dominating performance, tallying 22 points and 16 boards, before committing a crucial turnover that snuffed out the Cavs' remaining hopes of a comeback. The shorthanded Cavs found themselves trailing by only 3 in the final minutes. With Jamison out of the game, Gibson and Parker were the only players realistically capable of hitting the equalizing 3-pointer. Unfortunately, the Sixers knew this and were amply prepared and responded by blanketing the two sharpshooters, forcing the pass to Hickson. Philly's Thaddeus Young forced a turnover and the Sixers eked out a 95-91 win. 

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