2009/2010 NBA Regular Season | ||
---|---|---|
![]() | VS | ![]() |
23-40 | 50-15 | |
March 12, 2010 | ||
Wachovia Center | ||
7:00 PM et | ||
Radio - WTAM 1100 / FSOhio | ||
Probable starters: | ||
Louis Williams | PG | Mo Williams |
Jrue Holiday | SG | Anthony Parker |
Andre Iguodala | SF | LeBron James |
Elton Brand | PF | Leon Powe |
Samuel Dalembert | C | J.J. Hickson |
It seems like forever since the Cavaliers played a basketball game. In NBA circles, getting 4 days off in mid-March is forever. The rest came at the perfect time. LeBron James was able to take a week off and only miss 2 games. Antawn Jamson will sit tonight, giving him 6 days off between games. He hopes to play Sunday against the Celtics. All the bumps, bruises and finger injuries - Mo Williams and Anthony Parker -should be feeling much better. Oh yea, #23 returns to the lineup and he should be filled with energy.
The Cavaliers, undermanned from top to bottom, beat the Spurs on Monday night. It was the type of win that can give everyone on the roster, from #1 to #15, the confidence necessary to finish the season and head into the playoffs. It was the 50th win of the year for the Cavaliers - the first team in the NBA to win 50 games this season. That is significant too. The past two years, the team that got to 50 wins first has won the NBA Championship. Boston did it in 2008, the Lakers did in 2009. Can the Cavs make it 3 straight years?
3-in the Key
1. At 50-15 (.769), Cleveland owns the NBA's best record and leads the league with highest point differential at +7.2 and has won seven of their last eight games and is 24-7 (.774) in 2010, which is the best mark in that span. With Monday's win over San Antonio, the Cavaliers became the NBA's first team to win 50 games this season and a playoff spot. It's the first time in franchise history that Cleveland has been the first NBA team to reach 50 wins in a season and the fourth time in the last five seasons they have reached the 50-win mark: (2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10).
2. The Cavaliers have won 13 of its last 18 road games and at 22-11 (.667), their road record is tied for the best (Boston) in the NBA. LeBron James leads the league this season in scoring on the road at 31.0 ppg.
3. Cleveland has defeated Philadelphia six consecutive times at the Wachovia Center, outscoring the 76ers 100.8-94.2 and outshooting them .478-.458 in those games. In the Cavs win on Dec. 16, LeBron James tallied 36 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals and one block. With Philadelphia leading 94-90 midway through the fourth, the Cavaliers held the 76ers to one field goal in the final five minutes to close out the game.