From all of us at FTS Headquarters to all of you -- Happy Holidays, no matter how you chose to celebrate!!  GO CAVS!

Time To Kill The Injury Bug

Nothing has stopped the Cavaliers so far this season.  At 19-3, the Cavs have the 2nd best record in the League and look to be a title contender.  Everything has been rolling along beautifully as the Wine and Gold has won 10 straight and 18 of their last 19 contests.

The waters are about to get a bit rough.

That nasty little injury bug has reared it's ugly head this week, forcing Mike Brown to alter his rotation for the foreseeable future. It started on Tuesday Night when Daniel Gibson sprained his big toe.  He is expected to miss at least two weeks.  The Cavs hardly missed a beat in jumping out to a big lead in Philadelphia on Wednesday, then that nasty little pest bit again.  With about 9 minutes to go in the game, Zydrunas Ilgauskas came down on the foot of Donyell Marshall. He limped off the court with what has been diagnosed as a moderate sprain to his left ankle.

The team has not placed a timetable for Z other than to say he would miss this weekend's back to back at home against Philly tonight and tomorrow in Atlanta.  After that is anyone's guess.  Personally, I doubt we will see Z until after the New Year - 3-4 weeks.  With all the problems Z has had with his feet the Cavs and Ilgauskas would be wise to be careful.

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This is fun, isn't it?  Even the most grizzled, bitter Cleveland fan has to smile a little bit, when no one is looking, of course.  The Cavaliers, Cleveland's Cavaliers are the hottest team in basketball, perhaps all of sports, after winning their 9th straight game by 12 or more points last night, an NBA record.  How fitting that the Cavs do it on the same night that two team records fall.

As the Cavs race across the quarter-pole of the season, it is safe to start projecting some things.  Even playoff seedings are in play now, with the Eastern Conference quickly becoming a 2-team race.  Detroit lost again last night, to Washington no less, and appear as though they may never get it together with Allen Iverson in the lineup.  Now 6.5 games behind the Cavs in the Central, the Pistons are also on the verge of being run out of the divisional race as well.

At 18-3, the Cavs are on pace to win 69 games.  They have what might be considered already to be an insurmountable lead in the Central Division.  LeBron James is easily the MVP of the 1st Quarter of the season, more for what he is doing on the defensive end than everything he does on offense.  They are running over everyone, yet questions remain.  Some people just don't believe(Hello, Marc Stein!)  What will it take??

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The Cavaliers had more money to offer, but in the end a sense of loyalty pushed Antonio McDyess back to the Detroit Pistons.

Andy Miller, the agent for McDyess announced that his client has decided to re-sign with the Pistons on December 3rd when the 30-day waiting period expires after the Pistons traded him to Denver as part of the Allen Iverson/Chauncey Billups deal. 

McDyess was owed $13 million this season but ended up accepting a $6 million buy-out in order to regain his freedom.  The Pistons can only offer their bi-annual exception($1.9 million), significantly less than the $5.5 million or so teams like the Cavaliers could offer using their mid-level exception.

"It was a very difficult decision for him. He was weighing good offers financially, along with other variables he thought were important, but going into the year he had a team goal set, and to not finish up with it, he didn't want to do that. He wants to finish the year, finish what he started in Detroit, then reevaluate after the season is over."

Amzing that a player could have so much loyalty for a team that sent him packing in the first place, but McDyess has one goal, a championship, and it is obvious that he feeels the Pistons give him the best opportunity.  Oh, and Detroit will have plaenty of cap space this summer to "assist" McDyess in making up the nearly $5 million he is leaving on the table in 2008-09.

Get ready Cavs fans.  It is going to happen wvery time LeBron plays a game on the road in any major city that looks to be readying for his pending free agency that could happen, ok - will happen - during the summer of 2010. 

LeBron James "holds court" so to speak with the media an hour before every game.  He enjoys the attention, enjoys being able to speak his mind.  Playing in the New York area for the first time this season meant the first time LeBron had the chance to talk to the media in a city that everyone who thinks they are anyone believes James will run to the second he gets the opportunity.  It doesn't matter that James has consistently said he is happy in Cleveland, it doesn't matter that James has never said he is unhappy.

More importantly, it doesn't seem to matter that James' current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, are good......real good.

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This was supposed to be it.  The NBA finally had a Bird V. Magic rivalry that turned the NBA from being a tape delay league to a league with a network of its own.  That kind of excitement surrounded NBA Draft night 2003 when the Cavaliers selected LeBron James #1 and Denver picked Carmelo Anthony at #3.  Remember, going into the draft lottery both the Nuggets and Cavs had an equal chance to win the rights to select James and a bit of animosity had been building between the franchises that many thought were tanking the end of the 2002/03 season in hopes of getting the lucky ball.

When it went down the way it did, wit James staying in his hometown and Anthony heading West, pundits proclaimed that these two guys would go back and forth at each other for the next decade.  Never mind that Toronto selected Chris Bosh, or that Miami selected Dwyane Wade, this was the LeBron/Carmelo draft.

via media.collegepublisher.com

Fast forward 5 years, and everyone's dream rivalry has done very little to live up to expectations.  Part of it has to be that Carmelo's Nuggets have won 7 of 9 meetings between the two teams, staggering considering the Cavaliers have won 145 games over the past three years.  The other part is LeBron's Cavs have had much greter Post-Season success, getting to the Easter Conference Finals in 06, the NBA Finals in 07 and the Easter Conference Semi's in 08.  The Nuggets, while having solid seasons, play in the Western Conference which has meant 50 wins, a 7th or 8th seed and a 1st Round exit at the hands of a team like San Antonio.

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You won't read much talk from me on this site about the impending summer of 2010 when everyone with a microphone, a pen or a keyboard are telling you that LeBron James will opt out of his contract and leave the Cavaliers for New York or LA or......Detroit?  Could the Pistons be a player in the much-predicted LeBron sweepstakes?

The move to trade Chauncey Billups, and the 3 years/$36 million left on his deal, might have been the first step in clearing cap space to be utilized in 2010.  Sure, Detroit picked up Allen Iverson and his $20 million but his deal is over at the end of thise season, and unless something incredible happens it is unlikey Joe Dumars will extend that deal.  Rasheed Wallace is also nearing the end of his deal, meaning that Detroit is in fine position cap wise as early as this summer.

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At 1-2, the Cavaliers have admittedly gotten off to a slow start.  I can't blame them, looking at who and where they have played.  3 games, three home openers, 2 of them on the road against elite teams in the NBA would be a tall task for any team.  Start with Boston on the night they celebrate their 17 World Championship, then on to New Orleans, a team that had the 2nd best record is the Western Conference last season. 

Not easy.

That doesn't mean the Cavs are without fault and disappointment.  Heading into another tough road game tonight, this time in Dallas, the Cavaliers committed turnovers are an alarming rate, starting with LeBron James, whose 13 giveaways in 3 games are tied for the most in the League.  The Cavaliers also fell apart in the final minutes against the Hornets, allowing over 100 points to a team playing without two of starting 5. 

That leads the Cavaliers to Dallas, and a tough week overall for the Wine and Gold.  After the Mavericks, the Cavaliers come home to face Chicago on Wednesday and Indiana on Friday before a return trip to Chicago Saturday Night.  4 games in 6 nights, 2 of which are on the road, isn't easy for anyone.

Luckily, the Cavaliers appear healthy.  Delonte West did bang his wrist during Saturday's game and was sent for precautionary X-Rays that were negative.  He is in line to start tonight against the Mavericks.

The Cavaliers also need to get Mo Williams going.  Williams has been putting alot of pressure on himself, most likely due to the fact that he was labeled the "missing piece" when the Cavaliers acquired him.  Coming off of off-season hernia surgery, Williams has yet to reach 100% and that has affected his play.  The Cavs acquired Williams becuase he was a good ball-handler, could hit the open shot, and run the floor.  So far, Williams has struggled with all three and the Cavaliers offense has grown stagnant at times, much like it has the previous few seasons under Mike Brown.

There are no panic buttons to press yet.  The season is young and the Cavaliers have done nothing but lose to two premier teams on the road.  Nothing to be ashamed of in Novemeber.  At some point, however, the Cavaliers need to turn 'it' up a notch.  No time like the present.

The Cavaliers get the privilege to be up close and personal when the Celtics receive their Championship rings and have a 17th banner hoisted to the rafters of whatever the hell they are calling the 'new' Boston Garden these days.  Will they take advantage of every Celtics' fans dream?

Thanks, but no thanks.

The Cavs will be preparing for the game in the locker room, thumbing their proverbial noses at the Celtics as they celebrate last year before commencing this year.  LeBron James, for one, has no desire to watch the Celtics enjoy one last 2007/08 moment that partly came at the expense of his Cavaliers.

"We don't need to be out there watching that; we need to get ready for the game," James said before the team left for Boston. "Congratulations to them. But we're not [like] the fans of Boston. We don't need to be out there clapping for them getting rings."

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Cavaliers Guard Delonte West at last talked about the "personal reasons" that caused him to leave the team for two week earlier this month.  West has sought treatment for depression and a mood disorder that he says he has been dealing with his entire life.

"In a sense, you feel like a weaker man because you have to raise your hand and ask for help," West said. "But I found out over the last week that it made me a stronger person. I came back focused, and with the help of some medicine and talking with people on a regular basis, I'm back in good spirits".

West said the feelings of discontent got so great, so overwhelming, that he considered quitting basketball.

"I felt a feeling of anger and I just wanted to throw it all away and quit the team," he said.

It seems West finally realized he needed help after having a run-in with a high school official during a Cavaliers workout October 3rd.  West considered the incident a signal that he needed help.  Help is what West has received, in the form of therapy and medication.

West returned to the court last night during the Cavaliers loss to the Spurs.  West was elated just to be back.

"Being on the court felt like being on the playground as a child again," he said. "I had the time of my life last night."

Our thoughts go out to West, as well as our hopes that he has gotten the help he wants and deserves.

GO CAVS!