Re-making The Cleveland Cavaliers From a Fan's Perspective

The city of Cleveland hasn't enjoyed a championship parade in any of the four major four sports since 1974. Back in 2003 the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the jackpot when they drafted hometown kid LeBron James, who was dubbed the "Chose One" and "King James" coming out of high school. James was the "Chosen One" in Cleveland, but his coronation as "King James" didn't come until he took his talents to South Beach in the summer of 2010......the rest is history. Right now the only buzz in Cleveland is the Browns' Quarterback Johnny Manziel, who hasn't even laced up a pair of cleats yet in a regulation game.

Since James departed from the franchise, the Cavaliers were in rebuilding mode. After going a dismal 19-63 during the 2010-2011 season, and having a dubious NBA record for futility with a 26-game losing streak, the franchise was desperate. After having a 19.9% chance of winning the lottery, Cleveland rocked by winning the No. 1 pick. They went on on to draft Duke Point Guard Kyrie Irving, giving him the keys to their car.

Individually, Irving had a good rookie campaign, going on to win the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He accomplished this even though his team failed to make the postseason with a 21-45 record in the lockout condensed season. With the No. 4 pick in 2012, Cleveland decided to bring in Syracuse Shooting Guard Dion Waiters to be  Irving's sidekick.

The 2012-2013 campaign was nothing special with Cleveland, as they struggled creating an identity, as their young core went through the growing pains of the NBA, suffering a multitude of losses with wins far and few between. Cleveland ended another dreaded season with a 24-58 record and had a 15.6% to win the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft. Unfortunately for Cleveland, it was labeled one of the worst drafts in recent NBA history.

*Just with their luck,* Cleveland would go on to win the lottery, and surprise the world by selecting UNLV Canadian freshmen forward Anthony Bennett.  Experts and fans alike shared the same sentiment of shock and awe when Bennett's name was announced. ESPN's Bill Simmons had a classic reaction to the selection, as he exclaimed loudly and was as confused as the viewer.  

Right off the bat, Bennett going No. 1 wasn't a fan friendly pick and his 2013-2014 rookie year did nothing to change people's thoughts. Bennett's inept play was quite moronic at times. His career wasn't off of to a sexy start as most No. 1 picks were in the past. It took Bennett five games to score his first basket as a NBA player and admitted he never previously struggled like that in his basketball life. Bennett's play was so anemic that there was talk of him becoming the first No. 1 pick to be sent to the D-league. The thought was that he would regain his confidence and start to play like a No. 1 pick to a certain degree. 

"It's something I'd think about, for sure," Bennett said on possibly going to the D-league. "It's not a bad thing, especially going down there, hopefully playing a lot, going out there, building my confidence."

"It's a learning process, and all I can do is just work hard, you know?'' Bennett said. "I'm just patient. I missed the whole summer due to the surgery, so I'm kind of behind in everything, trying to catch up on everything. Like I said before, the only thing I can really do is work hard. It doesn't show much in the games, but in practice I've been going hard. My conditioning is a lot better. I lost weight and everything. So it's coming along slowly."

Bennett would go on to average an underwhelming 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in his rookie season.   Bennett's struggles were just one of the reasons the Cavaliers had a tumultuous 2013-2014 season, as Irving and Waiters were involved in rampant trade rumors, and GM Chris Grant was fired.

Many of these problems could have been avoided had Cleveland went a different direction in the 2013 draft, selecting Victor Oladipo instead of Bennett. Drafting Oladipo would've made the most sense, as he is further along in his development, and has been compared to Avery Bradley, but with a higher ceiling. Oladipo isn't a ball dominant guard and is more of a slasher and off-ball player, the type of sidekick that would mesh well with Irving's needs.

With drafting Oladipo, the Cavaliers would have gotten a special player, not only with how he plays but how he carries himself. Oladipo is a very conscientious man with his work ethic that would be contagious to his peers. The Cavaliers needed someone like Oladipo in the locker room as he is youthful but has the maturity level not many 22-year olds carry with them.

Also, Waiters would have been able to slide into the sixth man role, a situation he succeeded in at Syracuse. Scoring is his first, second and more often times than not, his third option. He is a capable distributor when he wants to be, but the Cavaliers already have a ball dominating guard in Irving in the starting lineup, so moving Waiters to the second unit would help everyone involved. In the NBA, if you are a potent scorer with not much else to offer, then you are  better suited to come off the bench with a scoring mentality, ala Jamal Crawford, J.R. Smith, Jordan Crawford, Nick Young and Nate Robinson.  

In May of 2014, the Cavaliers become hypocrites by firing Mike Brown one season after calling it a mistake when they originally gave him the pink slip in 2010. In just four short years, Brown has been fired three times (Cleveland twice and Los Angeles Lakers in 2012).

Cleveland now has a vacant head coaching position and many coaches are being linked to their somewhat lucrative position, in which they have many options. Cleveland could hire a former head coach, current assistant coach on another team, or just give someone a opportunity.  Former Warriors coach and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson is a strong candidate. The reason why Jackson has culminated as the best option for Cleveland is because he's a players coach, someone who can get the most out of young players.

Back in the Bay Area, Jackson took a team which was fun to watch but addicted to losing weren't winners at the NBA level, and turned them into one of the most exciting teams with a winning attitude at "Roaracle," the popular nickname for their home court, Oracle Arena. In three seasons, Jackson compiled a 121-109 record (.526) and led Golden State to the second-round of the postseason for the first time since 1991. In the process, they compiled their first 50-win season since 1993-1994. Jackson developed Stephen Curry into an All-Star point guard, something he should have a penchant for after playing the position from 1987-2004. He is the coach Irving needs to take the next step in his development into becoming a floor general and finding the balance between scoring and passing, something he struggled with at times throughout his career thus far.

"Being in our particular position, he'd obviously help a guy like Kyrie [Irving] being as he played the position," Cavs guard Jarrett Jack said about his former coach. "The type of person he is and the attitude he has, he demands certain things -- respect, discipline, togetherness. Those are three things that he definitely incorporates. That's the thing you can't measure in wins and losses."  

One can agree with Jack's sentiment because Jackson preaches to his players as somewhat of a father figure; he is beloved by anybody who crosses his path. Jackson isn't the most stringent person and that's something most players appreciate, but at the same time he isn't a pushover, letting his presence be felt when needed. The Cavaliers need a coach like Jackson to bring a winning attitude back to Quicken Loans Arena, the "Q". With him being a former player, he would gain more respect from players.

On May 20, 2014 the Cleveland Cavaliers become the second team with a 1.7% chance to win the lottery.  This is the third time in four years that the Cavaliers have won the lottery, and unlike the Anthony Bennett pick, they can't mess up this time around with the unprecedented amount of hype this years draft class has received from basketball pundits.

The three top prospects in this years draft are Andrew Wiggins (Kansas), Joel Embiid (Kansas) and Jabari Parker (Duke). You can't go wrong with any of the trio, but all have their flaws going into the draft. Selecting Wiggins is a toss up because watching him play, it seems as if he lives off his athletic ability, a pure talent with no skill. His basketball instincts are up for debate, but for the Cavaliers to be safe their top two choices should be Embiid and Parker.

Embiid has been linked to Cleveland since they won the lottery, but medical reports about his back have made them skeptical about him, even though there are conflicting reports about it. The thing with Embiid is that he's only been playing basketball since 2010. He has a massive amount of potential to blossom into a dominant big-man which is something the NBA is deviating from. Having Embiid would be advantage because not every team has a traditional center, most teams are playing forwards at the five. Embiid, if healthy, would dominate the league and with the look to develop into an Andrew Bynum-type of player when he was a All-Star with the Lakers. 

Even with that said, the Cavaliers would be best off having Adam Silver announce, "With the first pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select Jabari Parker from Duke University." Parker in wine and gold is the best fit because of his scoring and shooting ability, rebounding, athleticism, work ethic and maturity. Parker is an All-Around player and has equal or possibly more potential than Embiid. 

The NBA is entering a golden age of Small Forwards, and to win a championship it's becoming more crucial to have a wing player that can defend and shoot. Parker has all the intangibles and a high IQ, giving the Cavaliers their first real shot to fill the void at the 3-spot since James left a few years ago.

The Cavaliers need to do their homework to make the most of this pick. In all reality, you cannot go wrong with either Parker or Embiid, as either would go well with Irving and Waiters and hopefully a rejuvenated Bennett. In a perfect world Irving and Waiters would already be combined with Oladipo with Parker being added this year and Jackson manning the sidelines. But this is the Cavaliers we are talking about, so they have to make due with what they have and hope it is enough to convince Irving to stay in town past his rookie contract and have some talent come and join him in Cleveland.

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Nets Lose to Cavs, Clinch 6th Seed in East

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 16th, 2014

Brooklyn Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Post Game Recap

Final Score: Nets 85 Cavaliers 114

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The Brooklyn Nets finished up their regular season with a blowout loss at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a tough start to the season starting (10-21) they finished (44-38), which landed them the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first round match-up with the Atlantic Division winning Toronto Raptors.

Player of the Game: Andray Blatche

Jason Kidd elected to rest his starting lineup leaving his bench players to play nearly the whole game with just a seven-man rotation. Andray Blatche in the extended time was able to snag a double-double in the blowout in 39 minutes of play. Blatche finished with 20 points on eight for 18 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. It will be interesting to see how much Blatche will be playing in the playoffs with the emergence of Mason Plumlee and the return of Kevin Garnett.

Positives:

The biggest positive of the game for Brooklyn wasn’t anything that happened from a player on the court, but the way things worked out for them in the standings. The Nets loss and the Washington Wizards win the Nets got the sixth seed, and with the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls both losing, it sets up a first round match-up against the Raptors. The Nets didn’t seem to want any part of the Bulls, and for good reason, so now they get a much better match-up against the young inexperienced Raptors.

Negatives:

Brooklyn seems to be healthy going into the playoffs, but although they will be rested and ready, they are also not heading into the playoffs playing their best basketball, as they have lost four of their last five games, all to teams under .500. The Nets are a veteran group so being healthy is the most important, but it will be interesting to see if their poor play of late will carry into the first round.

Actually on the court for the Nets, they were totally dominated by the Cavaliers in almost every aspect of the game. Off the bench the Cavaliers got a big game from Tyler Zeller, who scored a game-high 22 points on nine for 11 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. Zeller wasn’t the only big man on the team to have a double-double, as Tristan Thompson scored 11 points on five for nine shooting with 10 rebounds.

Dion Waiters came through with yet another good game against the Nets, as he scored 19 points on seven for 12 shooting. In four games this season Waiters has played well this season against Brooklyn, as he finished averaging 19 points per game on 45% shooting from the field.

Next up for the Nets will be Game 1 of their playoff series against the Raptors on Saturday at 1230.

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W2W4: Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers April 16th, 2014

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

April 16, 2014

W2W4: Brooklyn Nets vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Pre-Game News and Notes

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The Brooklyn Nets coming off a loss to the New York Knicks at home will be heading to Cleveland for the final game of the regular season against the Cavaliers. The Nets are now (44-37) on the season and will be either the fifth or sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, which will send them to either Chicago or Toronto.

- Limping In

Brooklyn has been playing great in the calender year of 2014, but heading into the playoffs the Nets don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders in the final games leading into the playoffs. In April the Nets have had four very bad losses, which could have been the difference between them starting a playoff series at home or on the road, as wins may have put pressure on the Raptors or Bulls. They lost four games to teams under .500 including the Knicks twice, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Orlando Magic. Three of those losses have come in the Nets last four games, as Rookie Head Coach Jason Kidd is trying to manage a veteran team for the first time heading into the playoffs.

- Scenarios

Wednesday is the final day of the regular season, and for the Nets it will let them know where they will be traveling to and what seed they will have. A Nets win against the Cavaliers or a Washington Wizards loss to the Boston Celtics will give the Nets the fifth seed, but a Nets loss and Wizards win will put the Nets in the sixth spot, as the Wizards own the tie-breaker. The battle for the third and fourth seed between the Raptors and Bulls can be decided rather easily if the Raptors beat the Knicks they will be the third seed, but a Raptors loss and Bulls win against the Charlotte Bobcats will give the Bulls the third seed. The Nets this season are 1-2 against the Bulls and 2-2 against the Raptors, and it seems like a popular consensus that the Nets much rather play the inexperienced Raptors in the first round than the Bulls, who knocked them out of the playoffs last season, and pose many more problems with their big lineup.

- Bothering the Waiter

If Brooklyn would like to go into the playoffs on a positive note, they would be smart to try and slow down Dion Waiters, who since moving into the starting lineup has been playing very well for the Cavaliers, and has also played very well against the Nets this season. Since moving into the starting lineup, Waiters has averaged 21.4 points per game in his last 14, and playing against the Nets this season he is averaging 19 points per game. Luol Deng will not be playing against the Nets with a sore back, so there should be some extra shots for Waiters to grab on Wednesday.

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Knicks Playoff Hopes Delivered Big Blow With Embarrassing Home Loss to Cavaliers

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

AFP Photo/Don Emmert

The New York Knicks playoff hopes suffered a big blow Sunday night, as they suffered an embarrassing loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-100. A 15-point halftime lead was not enough for the Knicks, as they imploded in the second half and reverted back to playing how they did prior to their eight-game winning streak. It was a heart breaking loss for the Knicks as the Atlanta Hawks had lost earlier in the day to the Toronto Raptors, presenting an outstanding opportunity for the Knicks to climb closer to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The loss tonight ends the Knicks winning streak at eight, with their next game being the start of their west coast trip Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

Player of the Game: None

Throughout the game there were a couple Knicks that had some positive plays, but nothing sustained through all four quarters.

Match-up of the Game Recap:

Tyson Chandler was a no show for the Knicks tonight. He didn’t have an impact on either end of the court, finishing with only four points, six rebounds and four turnovers; if anything he was hurting more than helping. On the other hand, Spencer Hawes did not have much of an impact either, but he did have a nice highlight with a left-handed floater driving baseline. Hawes finished the night with seven points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Hawes wins the match-up tonight because his team not only got the victory, but also finished +7 while Chandler registered a -17.

-Positives

Amar’e Stoudemire continued his strong play for the Knicks tonight. He finished the game with 12 points on 6-10 shooting from the field, adding six rebounds and one assist as well. Stoudemire has been on fire since being inserted into the starting lineup, showcasing improved defense and continuing to be the Knicks most efficient scoring option.

Offensively, the Knicks guards had a strong game. Raymond Felton scored 14 points to go with eight assists, while J.R. Smith added 18 in the starting lineup as well. Off the bench, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Pablo Prigioni had strong games as well. Hardaway Jr. scored 12 points, while Prigioni made both his three point attempts and handed out three assists as well.

AFP Photo/Don Emmert

At the start of the game, Carmelo Anthony was on fire for the Knicks. He started the game off knocking down 6-7 shots, as the Cavaliers had no answers for him defensively. Anthony’s success early on was a big reason why the Knicks built a 15-point lead going into halftime.

-Negatives

Anthony after those first seven shots struggled mightily. He finished the game making only two of his last 13 attempts, going 8-20 overall for the night. The Cavaliers ramped up their effort in the second half and took Anthony out of the game offensively. The Knicks offense also became stagnant as they became over reliant on Anthony, putting him into isolation situations he was unable to take advantage of.

On the perimeter the Knicks reverted back to how they played prior to the eight-game winning streak. Felton and Hardaway Jr. couldn’t stop a cold and got torched by whoever they matched up against. Jarrett Jack feasted off the poor defense, pouring in a season high 31 points to go along with 10 assists and 5 rebounds. They also had trouble containing Dion Waiters, who scored 22 points of his own.

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Woodson once again hurt the Knicks and showed why he should not be retained beyond this season. Woodson, for the second consecutive game, did not put the Knicks in a position to win with poor game management. Tonight he stood idly while Jack torched Felton, and reverted back to his isolation heavy offense. Woodson made no adjustments after halftime as the Cavaliers came out in the second half determined to get back into the game and the Knicks never mounted a response. It was an embarrassing lose for the Knicks that could have been easily avoided with a little more leadership and smarts shown by their head coach.

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W2W4: New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers; March 23rd, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Sunday, March 23^rd, 2014

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

Pre-Game News and Notes

The New York Knicks will look to continue their winning streak Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are coming off of a semi-disaster from Friday night, as the bench squandered a 15-point lead in less than four minutes. The Knicks have to come in and handle business tonight against a Cavaliers team that has faded from the playoff race, losing their last four games. Here are some things to keep an eye on for tonight.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Player News and Notes:

The Knicks have no new injury or player news. Andrea Bargnani and Kenyon Martin still seem to be nowhere near returning to the court and are looking less and less likely to make a return to the court with every passing game.

The Cavaliers currently are being hammered by injuries. C.J. Miles was unable to get on the court last night and is a game-time decision at best for tonight. Luol Deng has missed the previous three games and looks to be doubtful at best for the game tonight as well. Kyrie Irving is also out once again, as his biceps injury could possibly keep him out the remainder of the season. There is really no reason for the Cavaliers to rush any of these players back as their playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread, so they have very little to play for.

Match-up of the Game: Tyson Chandler vs. Spencer Hawes

Suffering through so many injuries the Cavaliers are pretty thin everywhere, but one player who can still hurt the Knicks is Hawes. The Cavaliers picked Hawes up at the trade deadline from the Philadelphia 76ers and he has brought an added dimension to the Cavalier team as a big man who can step out and knock down some three pointers. Hawes gave the Knicks some problems the last time these two teams met, scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Chandler will have his hands full but should be able contain Hawes. Chandler is playing some really good basketball right now, and should continue to do so tonight.

-Backcourt Battle

Both the Knicks and Cavaliers have moved their prolific sixth men into their respective starting lineups and should make for a good match-up. J.R. Smith against Dion Waiters will be fun to watch throughout the game and easily could have been the match-up of the game.

Both Smith and Waiters are explosive scorers that can take over a game offensively. They both are capable playmakers as well when they want to be. This match-up will be an x-factor in the game tonight as whichever wing gets the better of the other will give their team a nice edge.

-Take Control Early

The Knicks need to continue winning as they currently sit three games behind the Atlanta Hawks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 13 games remaining. Playing on the road, they need to take a stranglehold right from the start and control the game the rest of the way. Getting Carmelo Anthony going early and often will help the Knicks build an early lead to build off of. If the Cavaliers are able to hang around in the game, their confidence will grow and make things much more difficult on the Knicks than they have to be.

-Mike Woodson Coaching Decisions

Woodson had a huge gaffe in the game Saturday night, inserting the bench players into the game before the win was sealed. A loss in that fashion would have been extremely embarrassing and a final blow to the Knicks playoff hopes. Woodson needs to put the team in better positions to succeed and be willing to make changes when necessary. There was no reason those reserves should have been in the game so early, or in the game that long as the lead disappeared. Woodson is lucky he is even the coach of the Knicks anymore and another gaffe like the one Saturday may be the final blow to the Knicks playoff hopes and his standing as the head coach.

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Dion Waiters: Destined To Be A Career 6th Man?

Written By Clevis Murray 

The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Dion Waiters with the 4th pick in the 2012 NBA draft.  The franchise hoped that they had found their shooting guard of the future by pairing him up with the Rookie of the Year and the 1st overall pick of the 2011 draft Kyrie Irving. Dion Waiters being drafted so high in the 2012 NBA draft was a bit of a surprise since he only played 71 career games at Syracuse University under Jim Boeheim and never started however he was considered the best sixth man in college basketball, being named the Big East's sixth man of the year. During his rookie season in the NBA (2012-13) Waiters came off of the bench 13 times in the 61 games he played.  Due to the averages in his rookie campaign 14.7 points, 3 rebounds and 2.4 assists he became known as a scorer......nothing more and nothing less.

As Dion Waiters second NBA season began many believed he was poised for a breakout but new Head Coach Mike Brown wanted to try something different and put Waiters on the bench stating that "The one thing Dion gives us is a nice punch off the bench with the ability to play pick and roll and create shots not only for himself, but for his teammates." With the statement being said former 6th Men of the Year James Harden, Manu Ginobili, J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford all come to mind.  All four had previously ran the pick and roll the most when coming off the bench and were obviously the best at creating their own when coming off the bench with the exception of James Harden who is now a starter with Houston.  For the most part, the players are combo guards who can handle the ball and can get their teammates involved.

Thus far this season Waiters has played his best when coming off the bench rather than starting.  One can say that he has to a point been hindered by teammates.  During his brief stint with the Cavaliers, center Andrew Bynum would demand the ball in the post. Kyrie Irving is known for dominating the ball as well which limits the amount of possessions that Waiters can potentially have.  The situation reportedly grew toxic and there were rumors of fighting.  Waiters reportedly wanted to be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers "because he thinks he'd be the best player on the team." Andrew Bynum was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" and eventually traded to and released by the Bulls.

Waiters is putting up season averages which make him look like a role player but scoring and shooting like a 6th man.  He is averaging 13.5 shot attempts per game, 14.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 rebounds along with 41% FG & 38% from the 3-point line. Comparing his sophomore season to his rookie season shows that there is no improvement at all and he is basically the same player and doesn't follow the motto "Getting better over the summer." But to be fair he is a young player in his 2nd season and will most likely get better over time especially on defense as Mike Brown recently said "defensively he has the capabilities of being a great defender. He’s in the process of learning and growing on that end."

A Bad Reflection?

Dion Waiters has been compared to many players for example Dwyane Wade but he doesn't have the size Wade had when he was younger but does have similar quickness and is truly skilled when heading to the basket but one would be wise not to compare Waiters to a future Basketball Hall of Famers like Wade.  A more accurate comparison for Dion Waiters is Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson or to keep it more current it would be Rodney Stuckey but the most accurate comparison at this time would be J.R. Smith.  The career path of Dion Waiters is becoming very similar to Smith's.  Despite Waiters career still being young, it's still growing similar to Smith's. The perception of Waiters is that he takes bad shots but that’s not the reality, Waiters doesn’t take bad shots but his low shooting percentage is what fuels the perception.

Both J.R. Smith & Dion Waiters have are both two immature NBA players with tons of talent. Remember when people thought J.R. Smith was a future All-Star when he was with the Denver Nuggets but all that changed when he didn't develop, listen and had too many off the court problems which have led to suspensions and hefty fines. His coach Mike Woodson recently said "[He] has got to grow up and do the right things." J.R doesn't listen and was recently fined $50K for untying shoes and his value around the league is continuing to decrease.

In similar fashion to Smith, Waiters usually starts sulking on the court and on the bench when things don't go his way and like Smith he thinks people are after him and nobody is on his side.Waiters has also gotten into an argument with Cavs guard Kyrie Irving and Head Coach Mike Brown. Waiters defensive effort decreases whenever he's not effective on the offensive end displaying his immaturity and like Smith, his teammates can't deal with it on and off the court but thankfully he isn't as immature as Smith off the court with the smoking of marijuana and uncalled for antics.

Dion will hopefully mature as a player and more importantly a person and exceed the expectations that were placed onto him but as of now he's a future sixth man who makes some bad decisions and his teammates are starting to grow tired of it.  There's usually a growth period of about five NBA seasons to see how a player develops as they should have carved out their niche by then, but let's see if Dion Waiters is really a future sixth man. With the way Dion is progressing he is showcasing a limited work ethic but for a young player with a huge upside and it shall be interesting to see how things will turnout down the line.

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W2W4: New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers; March 8th, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Saturday, March 8^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Pre-Game News and Notes

The Knicks will look to continue their winning streak in what is their biggest game of the season to date against the Cavaliers tonight. The Knicks, who enter the game 4.5 games behind eighth place in the Eastern Conference, have the Cavaliers right ahead of them in the standings. A victory over them tonight would pull the teams within a tie and that much closer to a playoff spot. The Cavaliers will be sure to get up for the game as longtime center Žydrūnas Ilgauskas will have his number retired prior to the game. Here are some things to look for in the game tonight.

Match-up of the game: Raymond Felton vs. Kyrie Irving

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Felton has turned things around the last two games for the Knicks and not coincidentally both games have resulted in Knicks victories. Felton has done well getting into the paint and breaking down the defense, opening up easy scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. When Felton is causing havoc in the paint it opens up rolling opportunities for Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire to the rim for alley-oops and open jump shots for Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

A key to slowing down the Cavaliers is containing Irving, which is easier said than done. When Irving shoots at least 40 percent from the field, the Cavaliers are 20-20 on the season; when he is below that they are 3-17 according to STATS LLC. The Knicks have struggled all season containing point guards, but have done a good job in the last two games against Ricky Rubio and Trey Burke. If they are able to contain Irving tonight in any capacity it would go a long way in picking up their third consecutive victory.

-Starting Lineup Clicking

Mike Woodson made yet another change to the starting lineup this week, inserting Stoudemire and Smith to go along with Felton, Anthony and Chandler. Since the change the Knicks have played much better basketball, getting out to strong starts and outscoring opponents 105-66 in the first quarters. The last two first quarters the Knicks have tied and set the highest scoring quarters for the season.

The change to the lineup has gotten the Knicks best players on the court to start the game and the results have been positive. The Knicks aren’t falling behind early, instead taking the control early on and forcing their opponents to climb out of deep holes. The cohesion in the starting lineup is something the Knicks have lacked all season but look to have gotten in the last week.

-Bench Play

With the changes the Knicks have made to the starting unit the bench has suffered. Tim Hardaway Jr. has become the biggest threat off the bench, a large drop-off from Smith and Stoudemire. It is hard to ask Hardaway Jr. to pick up the slack of both those players. One player who could help a lot if Iman Shumpert. He needs to pick things up and help carry the bench scoring load with Hardaway Jr. looking to slow down at times recently.

On the contrary, the Cavaliers have a strong option off the bench in Dion Waiters. Waiters is an explosive scorer and is capable of running the offense as well when needed. Anderson Varejao is also expected to return tonight. It will be in a limited basis, but his return to the court will give the Cavaliers a shot in the arm as he brings a lot of energy and intangibles fans of the Cavaliers have enjoyed watching over the past couple of seasons when he is healthy.

-Keep Momentum Going

The Knicks are in the middle of the softest part of the schedule. Eight of the next nine games the Knicks play are against teams with a combined record of 137 games below .500. If they are to climb into the playoff race and keep their slim hopes alive there is no better time than now to do so. The Knicks have shown under Woodson when things starting clicking they are capable of getting into a groove. If they are to sneak into the playoffs, no matter how undeserving or poor they have played this season, it has to start tonight. On the road in Cleveland is most likely the toughest task the Knicks will have in the next nine games outside a meeting with the Indiana Pacers.

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Cleveland Rocks?.... Not So Much

Written By Clevis Murray 

The Cleveland Cavaliers were expected to make the playoffs in 2014 with their team finally being healthy, players maturing and having a former coach return. Cleveland entered the 2013-2014 NBA season with a decent roster to make a playoff push with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters as their best players and having two solid big men in Anderson Varejao and former All-Star Andrew Bynum. The Cavs would also welcome back Mike Brown who coached the team from 2005-2010 and with the help of LeBron James lead the organization to its first NBA Finals appearance in 2007.  Brown also won the NBA's Coach of the Year Award in 2009 and amassed 127 games in his final two seasons. The addition of Brown was expected to help the Cavs since they were the worst Defensive team in the league in the season prior and he is known as a defensive specialist.

The drama in Cleveland began around mid-December when second-year guard Dion Waiters became unsettled with his new role as a sixth man for the team and lack of touches on offense, the guard then reportedly demanded a trade from the team. Waiters would obviously refute his trade request by saying "It doesn't make sense. This is the team that drafted me. People come up with their own things, man. I know what I said and what I didn't say. That's one of the things I absolutely never said."

Reports would later surface that Waiters did in fact demand a trade from the team in a 3-hour meeting with Mike Brown and GM Chris Grant and wanted to be traded to his hometown team the Philadelphia 76ers because he believes "he'd be the best player on the team." Head Coach Mike Brown would also decide to move Waiters to the bench  because he believed it helped the team win stating "But I like his role right now coming off the bench as a spark plug offensively and then even defensively he has the capabilities of being a great defender." But Waiters was against the move from starter to bench players even though he's playing starters minutes.

After the trade and bench drama involving Waiters reports would also come out that he got into a fight with Tristan Thompson and franchise guard Kyrie Irving the Cavs player only meeting. Waiters apparently accused Thompson and Irving of playing "buddy ball" and refusing to pass him the ball, but Waiters would deny the reports saying

"We men, Nobody got into no altercations or anything like that. We got everything off our chests that we needed to. That’s that. All the other rumors, man, are rumors. Don’t believe it. It’s not true. We talked. Everybody talked. Nobody put their hands on nobody." 

Waiters would go on to miss the next two games due to "illness" but some thought it was due to a suspension since he and Irving allegedly got into a fight. Waiters also believes that Kyrie Irving makes the same mistakes he does on the court by taking bad shots and messing up defensively but believes he gets disciplined and Irving doesn't. To add to the mess, Waiters was recently kicked out of practice but played his usual minutes.

Kyrie Irving is the franchise for the Cavaliers and isn't going anywhere anytime soon and Waiters need to realize that because he isn't the franchise player but a complementary player to Irving, the Cavs might have issues trading Waiters with his presence in Cleveland being the equivalent to J.R. Smith with the New York Knicks this season.

A Failed Experiment

On July 19th, 2013 the Cleveland Cavaliers took a high risk by signing Andrew Bynum to a 2-year deal which would pay him up to maximum of $24.79 million. Now the contract the Cavs signed Bynum to was very clever because only $6 million of it was guaranteed and the second year was a team option. The franchise was very smart to sign the former franchise center to that deal because on December 28th Bynum was suspended indefinitely by Cleveland with pay due to conduct detrimental to the team and the team would start to aggressively trade the big man. Cavaliers guard Jarrett Jack believed Bynum was quiet and wasn't a problem in Cleveland saying

"That's just kind of how people are sometimes, People like to march to the beat of their own drum. That's not saying you're a bad guy, that's just how you are. I thought we actually had a good relationship with him. He wasn't somebody that was reluctant to speak to people. I thought we had a decent bit of camaraderie and hopefully this will pass and be over and we'll be back at full strength soon." 

On January 7th, 2014 the problematic Bynum was traded to the Chicago Bulls along with a future first round draft pick, two future second round picks, and the option to swap first round picks in 2015 for Luol Deng. Bynum was subsequently released by the Bulls in a salary cap move which helped them save about $20 million and to help the team avoid paying the luxury tax. Bynum would eventually sign with the Indiana Pacers on February 1st, 2014 but now reports are surfacing saying that he hasn't worked out since being suspended by Cleveland in late December.  Having acquired Deng might've started another issue.  Deng was used to winning in Chicago and having a stringent coach in Tom Thibadeau but now has the complete opposite in Cleveland with Mike Brown.  Deng hasn't publicly complained about his new team but has reportedly told a close friend "the stuff going on in practice would never be tolerated by the coaching staff or the front office back in Chicago. It's a mess." Cleveland most likely won't make the playoffs this season meaning Deng will most probably leave the organization for a title contender.

The Franchise, Kyrie Irving, has also been struggling this season.  His efficiency from last season has decreased along with his Field Goal & Three-Point percentage.  The young guard is growing through growing pains with the organization being labeled as the franchise player and being the shadow of LeBron James who he ironically knew as a teenager, also countless losses could be affecting Irving and his demeanor. This was supposed to be the season that Irving carried Cleveland to the playoffs for the first time since 2010 with their revamped roster, coaching staff and a spectacular sophomore season and being part of Team USA during the summer of 2013. Irving was made the franchise player after being drafted and hasn't been held accountable for his mistakes which Dion Waiters alluded to before and Jarrett Jack was suppose to have the affect on Irving like he did Stephen Curry but that obviously hasn't happened. A unidentified teammate of Irving says "He’s acting like he doesn't care" and rumors would late surface about Irving already making a decision to Cleveland but would later decline the rumors by saying "I’m pretty sure I’m going to be here for a long time. I’m not saying anything to tell the future, but I’m pretty sure the relationship I have with Dan Gilbert and management extends off the court. I enjoy being here." He also isn't a fan of the criticism his team has gained "Everybody is trying to antagonize this team and put it on me. I’m here for my teammates, I’m here for Coach Brown and the coaching staff and I’m going to play my heart out every single night for the Cleveland Cavaliers."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have also done things that have led to them having a horrible season which included a few players partying the night before their game against the New York Knicks with J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kapernick and other NFL players into the early morning. Cleveland would go on to get a 31-point beating from the Knicks 117-86. Their GM at the time Chris Grant would go on to call the teams effort "not acceptable". Players on the roster aren't enjoying the season as much compared to last season with one player acknowledging the difference by saying "This isn’t very much fun. We were losing last year with Byron, but at least we were having fun." On February 5th, 2014 the Cavaliers were part of one of the most interesting games of the season which came against the 8-man Los Angeles Lakers. Due to injuries the Lakers would finish the game five players due to injuries and Robert Sacre re-entering the game after fouling out. Cleveland trailed by 29 points at one point and would lose 119-108. One day later on February 6th, Chris Grant was relieved of his duties as the General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers and was replaced by David Griffin who would become the interim GM. Chris most notably signed Andrew Bynum and drafted Kyrie Irving, Trisitan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett, the last three are still head scratchers especially Bennett who could've been drafted outside of the Top-10. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert thought the firing who light a fire under his team saying "They’re going to look at each other, look in the mirror, and they’re going to rally."

The blame should go towards everyone but mainly the players because they ultimately have to score and play defense to help the team win games but aren't motivated enough to do so with all the issues going on around the organization. Cleveland could've been a great team if they drafted correctly but there is no time machine where their past mistakes can be rectified and they have to move forward. The team will most likely be in the lottery again and this draft is crucial since it's loaded with top prospects that could become franchise pieces and could also persuade Kyrie Irving to remain a Cavalier. Owner Dan Gilbert has done everything he can to build a winning product on the court but his formula hasn't worked and the franchise needs to go back to the drawing board and put together something that will reward their very loyal fan base.   

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