This article was written for NewsNet5 and can be read here: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/basketball/cavaliers/why-lebron-should-just-let-his-game-speak-for-him

Last week among rumors that Lebron would consider Cleveland as a free agent option and was wondering aloud if Cleveland fans and Gilbert would welcome him back, the DC Show was wondering why this recent PR stunt of his had fans asking anything other than for Lebron to just shut up and play.

- Fact is the guy is a great player and if he were to show an interest in coming back to Cleveland to win those sought after championships back here at home, the door should be open to him. We, like him, should be about winning championships and adding that to our image rather than more worried about our image and whether or not people like us.

- Bigger fact, Lebron would make any team better so anyone who just doesn’t want him back must have gotten stuck on one of the 5 steps of  coping with loss in the Kübler-Ross model. Most likely that big step in dealing with anger.

- But the biggest fact right now is that Lebron has at least 2 more years left before he can even be a free agent, and even though his newly hired PR man has clearly given him ideas, he’s best to just shut up and play for now.

- Mike James

Spring Training is when hope springs eternal and everyone is a contender.  OK, let’s cut the bullshit here.  Most teams have no chance whatsoever.  As the baseball season is 162 games, the cream always rises to the top.  It’s not like the NFL, where you can catch a lucky break or two and you find yourselves stumbling into the playoffs.  No way.  Baseball is a grind where luck has no place to hide over the course of a never ending season.  The good teams win and the bad teams lose.  That means that if you live in a city where the ownership has decided to spend their way into contention, you have a chance.

Detroit has all but assured themselves of winning the Central as they have wildly outspent everyone else, and they have managed to do so while Chicago is beginning a total rebuilding project.  That’s really good timing for them.  The Indians are probably the second best team in the Central.  But there is a heck of a gulf between one and two.  In the best case scenario, the Tigers will only edge Cleveland by 15 games.  That means the Indians should be out of it by just after the All Star break, and that’s only if they start strong.  If they come out flat in April?  Uh-oh.  Look for empty seats and lots of discounted fast food promotions.  “C’mon honey!  It’s dollar Sloppy Joe day at the Indians game.  It’ll be better than Corn Dog Night, I just know it!”

No matter what you hope will happen this season, the Tigers are going to win the Central.  I know this like I know that the Browns will bungle the draft.  It is a certainty like death, taxes, and LeBron James needing to be loved.  The Indians have only one chance.  They need Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera to car pool together in Spring Training and have those guys somehow manage to ram their car at high speed into Verlander’s car with everyone breaking their hips.  You’ll need to see a press conference where those three get wheeled out Hannibal Lechter style and words like “total reconstruction” and “massive damage” are thrown around.  It’s just the way it is.  Baseball is unfair, just like life.

The inherent inequality of baseball is a real drag.  For example, in the American League we know that the Yankees, Tigers, and Angels/Rangers are going to win playoff slots and it is February 21st.  We can also be reasonably assured that the Red Sox, Rays, and Angels/Rangers will contend for the remaining playoff berths.  That leaves Baltimore, Toronto, Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota, Kansas City, Seattle and Oakland as the Washington Generals for the season.  If you are a fan of these teams, you have the option of being a naïve optimist, or a pragmatist hoping for an unlikely combination of breakout years, lucky breaks, good health on your team, and horrible injuries to the contenders.

Here’s the worst part of this sad simple truth for Indians fans.  They are in the official “two year window of contention”.  The Indians decided to run the team like a business as opposed to a “team”.  It’s about dollars and cents for them, and it’s not exclusively about winning.  They’d like to win, sure, but only if they can stay in their budget.  They are the woman in front of you at the grocery store with a bunch of coupons and off brand items in their cart.  This type of business approach means they have decided to create an ebb and flow where they know they are going to totally blow for awhile followed by a year or two of having a chance to win something if the stars align and Allah smiles.  This is allegedly one of those years.

Yes Indian fan, welcome to what is going to be referred to as your “good times”.   You need to believe that guys like Lonnie Chisenhall, Michael Brantley, Jason Kipnis and Matt LaPorta are all going to come into their own while Hafner/Choo/Sizemore stay healthy and productive.  Could that happen?  Probably not, but you never know.  Here’s the real problem though, unfortunately, the Indians “contention window” is also in the same window where the Tigers elderly owner is going all in to win a championship.  This guy is moving ahead with the idea of “Fuck it.  I’m eighty-two years old and I can’t take it with me.  I want to ride in a championship parade this October.  Let’s spend some money bitches!”   That’s tough to compete with if you are Cleveland.

Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men…  Enjoy your Two Year Window of Contention while the Tigers roll out Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.  Good times.

-Greg Miller

Read more insensitive stuff written by Greg Miller at http://nursethehate.blogspot.com/

This article was written for NewsNet5.com and can be read here: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/sports/basketball/cavaliers/fans-cry-foul-with-no-cavs-selected-as-all-stars-but-is-this-fair

At the game against the Bucks here in Cleveland last Friday night I had finished up this work about how Anderson Varejao and Kyrie were left off the All-Star roster just before tip. After all, I wanted to make sure I had my glare of disdain properly affixed before Drew Gooden took the court for the Bucks. Never liked that overrated Chris Bosh lite. And there’s nothing like being an overrated lesser version of something that’s overrated in its original form.

Anyway, I had been working on this for a few days and the main aspect was why Kyrie was justifiably left off the mid-season superstar showcase, and how Anderson was as deserved as much or more than anyone else but likely was kept off for reasons beyond that of his incredible individual play. Well into the game I started to look over my work again before submitting it and then just as the 4th quarter was getting underway I hit send right as I was being handed this…

Thank you, injury report. Jerk.

And after it turned out to be a fractured wrist following a more comprehensive MRI the next day, for the next month or so the NBA coaches who left him off the All-Star roster as the East’s reserve Center will likely see just how much Andy’s All-Star play meant to his team, and just how much they made a mistake. Something Cavaliers fans already know all too well.

Get well soon you veritable drunken master.

-Mike James

As a man with a variety of rage and anger issues, I realize that it is inherently self destructive to allow a radio show to fill me with all the negative side effects of the aforementioned rage/anger.  However, there is no way even the most centered individual could listen to “Mike and Mike” on ESPN and not have to breathe deeply and go to their “happy place” after 10 minutes of banter between the hosts.  I heard a rumor that the Dalai Lama told a cab driver to “turn that shit off” when Mike Golic pretended to be mad at “Greeny” about some vanilla point one of them was making.

There are many reasons to hate “Mike and Mike”, but here’s what I believe are the key reasons…

1)      I don’t know the exact date when it happened, but there was a particular date in which those two guys thought they were funny and possibly comedians.  This was an error in judgment of gigantic proportions.  No one is less funny than Mike Greenberg.  I’d rather watch Idi Amin do standup than listen to Greenberg try to be funny.

Those two guys remind me of guys you are forced to chuckle along to at places like neighborhood block parties, work functions, and job interviews.  It’s like when you are introduced to the “crazy” guy at the office, and you have to pretend he’s wild when it turns out he drank a pitcher of beer by himself at Chi-Chi’s once, and may have worn a funny hat at an Xmas party.  “Whoa!  Better keep my eye on you there, Greeny!”

 2)      These two guys may be the biggest pussies in broadcasting.  There is no better demonstration of this than when they make a “wager” on something.  “OK Golic…  If the Jets don’t win this weekend, I will wear a Patriots jersey all day Monday.  But if they do… You have to wear my Jets hat!”

Are you fucking kidding me?  These guys are broadcasting primarily to middle aged men who love sports.  You know what kind of bets most guys in that audience make?  Wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear these guys be like the actual men in their prospective audience?

“OK Golic, if the Jets don’t win this weekend I owe you Five Grand and you get to shit in my car.  If the Jets DO WIN, you owe me five grand and you have to get a hand duker from a tranny hooker while wearing a Patriots cap.”

3)      It can’t be just me that realizes that this “Mutt N Jeff” act of theirs is totally contrived.  Can we assume that everyone listening is aware that they have pre planned which side of every “issue” they are on prior to broadcast?

Hey, Greeny thinks Rob Gronkowski shouldn’t have been ripping his shirt off on the dance floor after his team lost the Super Bowl ten minutes ago?  What?  What?!  Golic is going to weigh in from “the player’s perspective” and say it’s OK?  Uh-oh!  Better batten down the hatches!  Here they go again!  Will they ever get along?

4)      All of the previous reasons are enough to hate these two talentless dorks, but nothing is worse than the overly familiar nicknames they use at every opportunity.  The only redeeming quality of their show is the lineup of guests that the ESPN brand is able to leverage.  However, if you want to get the information these guests have, you’ll have to sit through painful cutesy nicknames to get it.

Giants punter Jeff Feagles called in one time, and I swear to God, Golic said something like:  “Feagues!  Thanks for calling in, Feagues.  Feagues, you’ve been in the league a long time, so Feagues, what’s it like on game day this late in the season?”  Why is Golic trying to convince us that he is overly familiar with Mr. Feagles, hence referring to him as “Feagues” as often as possible?  Does the audience not feel like the information from the Giants punter worthy unless it is known that Golic speaks to him like he was eleven?

Those guys call Cris Carter “CC” so often, it’s like they are having a contest with each other to see who can be more chummy.  “CC…  You know more than anyone CC, that when a play has to be made the Giants throw down the field.  So CC, what will they do Sunday?  CC, how will it break down?”  What’s wrong with his given name “Cris” anyway?  It’s one less syllable.  It’s his actual name.  To me, I think it works, no?  Is this “CC” thing a way for Greenberg to insinuate that he and Cris Carter drive around in limos together and troll for Supermodel ass when “CC” comes to The City?

It’s like they went to one of those Dale Carnegie classes where they tell you people like to hear their own name, so you should repeat it as often as possible.  “Thank you for your time today, Jim.  Jim, what are you looking for in your next copier?  Jim, if I can provide that, will you take it today?”  With the added element of the uncreative nickname, these guys just seem like they are the geeky outsiders trying to hang out with the jocks at the “cool lunch table”.

“Hey CC!  CC!  I got you a Dr Pepper!  You want it?  You want it?”

5)      My teeth immediately get set on edge when I hear “Hey Greeny!”  followed by “Yes Golic.”.  The dated idea of Mike Golic being the “big dumb jock with a heart of gold” while Greenberg is the “knowledgeable wispy wiseacre” is tough enough.  However, much worse is the idea that “they argue like cats and dogs, but deep down they love each other like brothers”.  This act is the worst national morning show currently on the air.  If they just went to flowing their guests through the program without trying to instill their paper thin personalities into it, the show would improve dramatically. However, either some dopey agent or program director must have decided that they needed to be “personality driven”.

Speaking from experience, almost every program director and/or agent has no better idea of what to do on radio than your basic standard sized poodle.  Let’s let instinct and common sense rule the day, and somebody tell these guys to stop with the wacky vaudeville act already. It’s enough.

If not for me, think of the Dalai Lama.

-Greg Miller

Read more insensitive stuff written by Greg Miller at http://nursethehate.blogspot.com/

I love that Fausto Carmona is actually Roberto Hernandez Heredia.  This is already the best Indians story of 2012.  In fact, I am so excited that I have already placed a sizeable bid on a wildly discounted Fausto Carmona jersey on eBay.  What a great way to celebrate the sad sack Indians in 2012!  I will place this jersey in my closet next to my “Ron Mexico” Atlanta Falcons jersey with pride.  Mexico, as you may recall, was Michael Vick’s pseudonym when he would check into hotels to have sex with girls and give them herpes.  Allegedly.

How great must that phone call have been to Shapiro and Antonetti?  “Hello?  Mark?  Yeah…  Hey, I have Fausto’s agent on the phone and they have a bit of a problem with getting his Visa down there…  No.  No, it’s nothing like that.  Um…  Well, the funny thing is that Fausto’s name is really Roberto Hernandez Heredia.  Yeah.  And one more thing… He’s 31.  And they still want their $7 million dollars.  Ok.  Ok.  Yeah, I’ll have him call you back when you get a chance to settle down a little bit.”

The Indians are entering this season with some wildly misplaced enthusiasm.  They really feel like they have assembled a pitching staff of “inning eaters” that will go six innings every night, and have their bullpen repeat last year’s shocking excellence to win games.  Carmona, I mean Hernandez Heredia, is still living on the fading glory of his 19 win season in 2007.  Even though it appears he will never be that pitcher again, that guy (whoever he is) will go out there every five games and give you some innings.  He’s going to walk a shitload of guys and give up 4 or 5 runs, but at least you know he’ll be out there.  Now you’ll get Kevin Slowey out there every five days.  Slowey, it should be noted, is basically the same pitcher as Carmona, but with no illusion of future great success.  His real name is also probably Kevin Slowey.  I think if he made up a name, he probably wouldn’t go with “Slowey”.  He’d probably go with something like “Rocket Richards” or “Tyler Wiffington”.

So to recap, the sad sack Indians week that was went like this.  The Tigers lose Victor Martinez for the year, providing a strong glimmer of hope.  The Indians find out Carmona is actually a 47 year old banana plantation worker named Hector Gomez, and is in the clink.  The Indians sign not-quite-even-a-journeyman Kevin Slowey to the rotation.  The Tigers sign Prince Fielder.  Bam!

That turn of events shows you exactly why the Tigers are exciting and the Indians are the Washington Generals.  Look at it like this…  Verlander, Cabrera, and Fielder are all in their prime.  Unfortunately, so are Sizemore, LaPorta, and Trevor Crowe.

It’s going to be a long year.

-Greg Miller

Read more insensitive stuff written by Greg Miller at http://nursethehate.blogspot.com/

It’s good to see Browns fans actually getting worked up about the team sucking ass since roughly before the invention of the internal combustion engine.  Normally Browns fans will not only eagerly eat their annual shit sandwich, but pay a PSL for the “privilege” of a place to sit while they are eating.  There really isn’t any other entertainment product anyone would do this for.  For example, would you go see Creed play if they came on tour every year?  “Yeah, me and the guys from work have gone to see Creed at the Q every single year.  They blow every single time, and ticket prices keep going up.  But, we’re Creed fans and proud of it!  I already got my tickets for the show this Summer.  Hopefully they’ll just kinda blow this time and show a little improvement.”

Mike Holmgren seems so put out by the fans wondering why he has absolutely no sense of urgency.  “Hey, what’s the hurry here?  We have a process.”  He really has gotten indignant about people asking questions about why he has wasted two years coming to the same conclusion as anyone rational person that has seen the team play.  In a nutshell, the problem is this:  They need a lot more good guys.

Holmgren seems to feel he has a pass with his “Been There, Done That” card he plays.  This is known as “The Mike Shanahan Gambit” in certain circles.  The logic being, “I have been a coach for a team that won a Super Bowl, therefore I am beyond reproach on matters of decision making in ALL areas”.  This is an interesting interpretation of past events, as it seems to me in most cases that the team that has a really good quarterback gets into and wins in the Playoffs/Super Bowl.  For example, when Mike Shanahan had John Elway, he was a fucking genius.  Now he just seems like that hothead middle school science teacher you had that pushed you around because he had “authority” over you.  When you looked back at him later you thought, “Man, why was that guy such a dick?” not “Boy, he sure taught me a few things!”

From my understanding, Holmgren breezes into the Browns facility now and again, presumably on paydays if he hasn’t signed up for that convenient direct deposit that so many businesses offer employees nowadays.  He really has that air of a guy that has wanted to get the top executive job so he could goof off until he retires.  “Man, this coaching thing sucks.  The media is always on my ass.  I gotta get that Executive President job.  Get behind a desk.  Go in, have a few meetings, talk about the draft once a year, play some golf, and get a nice expense account.  Milk that for a few years and then maybe get a nice little place in Naples.”   Right?  You can’t tell me that he isn’t pissed off that fans actually expect him to do something beyond bringing in his old backup QB from Seattle.

I think that Holmgren was a genius when he had Bret Favre, not so smart for awhile, then got pretty smart again when he milked a couple healthy years out of Matt Hasslebeck.  If he wants things to be nice and quiet in that office of his again, he better get lucky and find himself a better than average quarterback.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see a trade for Matt Flynn or Kevin Kolb this off season.  This is not so much because it’s the right thing for the franchise, but it will quiet down the angry villagers and let the top executives get back to their golf.

-Greg Miller

Read more insensitive stuff written by Greg Miller at http://nursethehate.blogspot.com/

The College Bowl schedule is the biggest sham in sports.  Let’s see if we can follow the logic of it…

All Division One teams play a full season of games.  If they lose even one, they will probably not be invited to play for the mythic National Championship.  If their record is pretty good, or if they are around .500 and travel well, they will be invited to play in an otherwise meaningless game approximately one month after they finished playing their regular season and the “student athletes” should theoretically be on break like all the other students.  The invited schools lose money, as they have to buy a shitload of unwanted tickets at face value just to get in, much like a two drink minimum a Midwestern auto parts rep has to pay at a strip club in Vegas.   The Bowl Games make money since they sell their broadcast rights, and pocket the sponsorship sales.

These games are holiday television programming for degenerate gamblers (like myself) to offer an alternative to the Chipmunks Xmas Special and Hallmark Hall of Fame tearjerkers.  Well, maybe not all of them.  For example, who could live without the rich tradition and the fierce rivalry of when Marshall beat Florida International at the “Beef O’Brady Bowl” in St Pete Florida?  Ah, the pageantry of college football!  How about those alleged 24,000 fans that saw Temple stick it to Wyoming at the “Gildan New Mexico Bowl” in Albuquerque?  When 9-4 Temple lines up against 8-5 Wyoming, you can toss the record books out the window!  They’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge!

Remember how all the games used to go off on New Year’s Day, and it was actually interesting to see this orgy of football?  Now all the “big” games run for a week, providing non-competitive television programming for the male 25-54-target audience.  Does it make sense that in consecutive days you can watch the Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, BBVA Compass Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, and then the BCS Championship Game?  Of course it does!  What drop off in quality teams?  Why wouldn’t you put Arkansas St v N. Illinois directly in front of LSU v Alabama?  I say “no problem”.  Frankly, you might as well schedule that there as opposed to Wisconsin v Oregon, because both games are completely and totally meaningless.

Like many of you, I will look for opportunities to make the meaningless games interesting by placing a friendly wager or five on them.  I used to really get my ass kicked on these until I devised this “Can’t Miss System”.

I believe there are three (3) real keys to winning these bets.  Why only three?  For the most part, these guys don’t give a fuck if they win or lose.  This is a trip out of town where they will eat a bunch of free team dinners and try to score with some strange chicks in business class hotels.  Where normally TCU would handle La Tech with ease, the 11-2 Frogs probably didn’t give a shit about playing in the “San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl” on Dec 17.  I know I wouldn’t have.  Hence, they won but sure as shit didn’t cover.  Then again, they might totally outclass anyone by just showing up.  Who the hell knows what these stupid jock college kids have going on in their heads?  So how can you win these games?  Go to “The System”….

1)      Always bet on the team with lots of potential NFL players in rounds 3-6.  Guys that are going to get first round money are not going to kill themselves in the GoDaddy.com Bowl.  They know they are going first round.  They don’t want to get hurt.  But guys that are on the bubble?  Those guys want some great film, as everyone will remember how that guy brought it in his last game but will now forget how he may have loafed on Sept 8^th vs. New Mexico State.  Look for teams with great athletes that hardly even pretend that they go to school as well.  We’re looking for borderline criminals here…  Virginia Tech, Oregon, Pitt, Baylor, and Florida State are good choices…

2)      Always bet on the team with the uptight prick of a coach.  While the other team is laughing it up at team banquets and riding rides at Disney, these coaches will have their guys running drills in the heat and back in bed at 7:45p.  Look for coaches that want everyone to be as miserable as they are…  Penn State, South Carolina, and Georgia come to mind.  Ohio State will be a go-to as soon as Urban Myer sucks the fun out of football for those dudes on the team.

3)      Bet against teams that couldn’t care less and don’t have either the “uptight prick” or “NFL draft” factor.  You want teams that always go to a Bowl, but really underachieved this year.  Look for teams that immediately stopped caring after they lost that big season defining game back in mid November.  I would bet against Florida, Texas, and Auburn.

College Football:  Where Every Game Matters!

Or

College Football:  Where Only One Game Matters.  Kind of.

Happy wagering.

-Greg Miller

Read more insensitive stuff written by Greg Miller at http://nursethehate.blogspot.com/

With 4 hours left until the season opener tip, here’s your little more than half a day late, final day till tip off DC Show Cavs preview.

1 day till open…

1 – Byron Scott. I’m not going to hide this fact, I’ve been a Byron Scott fan my entire life. When he made the jump to coaching and eventually took over the duties for a John Calipari failed pro coaching stint which left a decimated New Jersey Nets in 2000, I couldn’t wait to see him be successful again. Didn’t have to wait long either as within his second year there Byron took a team that was a 26 game winner his first year, to back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals the next two winning 101 regular season games along the way. Somehow under still murky circumstances of did he get along with Jason Kidd or did he not get along with Jason Kidd, Scott was chased out mid-season the following year of back-to-back runs, and would seem no coincidence that Jersey hasn’t made it back to the Finals since.

Now before you start thinking the Cavs are title bound in this Scott’s second year here, let’s take a look at his second head coaching stint following the Nets first, because that is where a more realistic parallel comes into better focus. In 2004 Bryon took over the Hornets coaching duty in much the same situation he had in Jersey four years earlier, inheriting a team in the mode of total collapse. Their record his first year looks quite similar to what we witnessed last season in Cleveland, the Hornets won 18 games. In the draft that followed they landed the #4 overall pick selecting a 20 year old sophomore point guard sensation out of Wake Forest named Chris Paul. The Hornets immediately won 20 more games than they had in Scott’s first year because of this going from a 22% win ratio to 46%. This is about the ceiling of what you could be in store for with this year’s Cavs team, a team that doubles its winning percentages from a year ago.

There are legitimate reasons why this could happen but most of it can center on the similarity of Kyrie Irving (who was just named the starter for the opener, something that had been in question) to Chris Paul and how they both perfectly fit Coach Scott’s scheme. This quote from Scott said a few weeks ago at the opening of Cavs training camp sort of says it all:

“To be honest with you, you know who the best mentor for Kyrie is? You’re looking at him. I had this same situation with Chris Paul. I don’t want to sound cocky, guys. I’m the best. You’re looking at him.“

This declaration of Scott’s was in the context of the media’s notion that the now amnestied Baron Davis would play a big role in mentoring Kyrie. And it was only a couple days later after these comments, Baron was cut free.

Scott knows and backs what he speaks, and the players all believe in him. And they should. And so should you as fans because not only has he backed what he said throughout his career as both player and coach, he has done this exact thing before. Successfully. Not only was Byron a guard himself on one of the greatest franchises in NBA history, he has since coached two of the best point guards in the game over the last decade, Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. Scott’s style of ball that is point guard first and friendly, dependent on player movement away from the ball and making the extra pass, aka the Princeton offense, is without question a perfect fit for Kyrie. You should see, much like in Jersey and then when the Hornets, Kyrie Irving and this Cavaliers team now in its second year under Scott’s watch, will be dramatically improved.

2 – Predictions. Excited? Good. Now don’t go overboard. To expect this team to play with post season aspirations at this point is premature considering how far the Cavs have to go from being a 19 win team a year ago to even being respectable this season. However, your Cavs, if things click and are fast tracked it is fair even for a team so young, to be capable of competing at a .500 level. That is unlikely though, but so is the most readily predicted year for this team of only 19 or 20 wins that most pundits seem to be projecting. This team is certain to better than another 19 win year, even if it is in a strike shortened 66 game season. How much better? Realistically, not much. Inconsistent play and mistakes defines young play in this game, but they are better built that most are acknowledging and they will get better as the season progresses.

So, your DC Show prediction for your 2011-2012 Cleveland Cavaliers is…28 wins. Or, keeping in mind the shortened year, a 42% win ratio. Not quite double the win percentage of last year’s anemic 23%, but certainly enough to have you excited about Cavalier basketball this year for sure.

3 – I long for some day soon where I don’t have to do this, but here is your final talking point in previewing this year’s Cavs season. And it’s actually something you’ll be rooting for even when the Cavs season is likely already finished. What am I talking about? Why your 5 favorite teams NOT named the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. In other words, the 5 teams you can best root to have a chance at beating the three pals and a Pat Riley who play in a city built by cocaine trafficking, also known as the Miami Heat. Ugh, I can’t stand this team and its design is honestly what bothers me the most. Yes, they have with Wade and Lebron 2 of the best 5 players in the world, and arguably 2 of the best players to ever be paired together in the sport’s history. Sure Chris Bosh is vastly overrated to be considered in their conversation and mostly should not considered what makes this team so good, so we won’t even bother, but the real problem is what this team has to overcome in its flawed design. And let’s hope they’re tragic flaws at that.

A) No one has a post game. And don’t listen to Lebron, the day or two he spent hanging out with Hakeem was more seemingly just a part of a publicity tour than it was him actually developing a post up game. He’s starts showing it instead of just talking about it like he has for the last 3 years now, then I’ll start believing him.

B) There is no point guard on the team though rookie Norris Cole of Cleveland State could end up to be this guy, but how he finds valuable minutes on a team that has two guys who create best with the ball in their hands is yet to be seen.

C) Chris Bosh is not a power forward. He was a looter in a riot in Toronto and always looked more a small forward though his size dictates he’s a big. Here’s he’s just insufferable being grouped in with the caliber of play of Wade and Lebron when in all actuality he’s Ringo Starr without the British writ and wry charm. However his is like Ringo when you listen to Beatles records and find out Paul McCartney played most the drums. Meanwhile Miami has him at the sacrifice of what they really need, a real interior presence. I mean c’mon, 96 year Juwan Howard and an undersized Haslim are the only real factor the Heat have in the Paint. It’s not enough.

D) No compliment. They just don’t have it. They are better this year and the addition of Battier and a healthy Haslim will definitely indicate this, but they still either overwhelm you with strong defense and their unmatched talent between Lebron and Wade, or they get beat by a more rounded team with strong firepower, or simply, by a better “team”.

These flaws will be their demise yet again, and these 5 teams are the ones most likely to do it:

1 – The Knicks. I really dislike this team’s composition as is too. With a healthy Baron Davis they are better but even with the improved defense by adding Tyson Chandler, they still have no post presence either and Tyson is not a miracle worker defensively that this team seems it would need to be even considered decent. Basically, in many ways they’re as flawed as Miami. They are the kind of team that matches up well position by position with the Heat and like they did last year, the Heat brings out the very best in them. If Baron Davis arrives in time healthy enough to contribute, though the Knicks won’t have anywhere near the regular season the Heat are about to have, with a hot Carmelo they can beat South Beach and expose and win in a 7 game post season series.

2 – The Magic. Dwight Howard and Big Baby. I know, I know, will Howard even be there, will he ever be as good as he should be, and, will a Van Gundy ever be anything more than a blow hard. Who knows, but the one thing that’s for certain, Miami has absolutely no answer for the interior of the Magic (which to be fair, no one really does) and if they can’t win alone with perimeter shooting, i.e., if Wade and Lebron hit big shots, the Magic are still very capable of beating the Heat.

3 – The Celtics. Let’s face it, the Celtics have one more year in those legs whether we want to admit it or not, and they have 3 things the Heat do not, killer instincts, Kevin Garnett, and Rondo. Do not sell this Celtic team short, Paul Pierce can still give Lebron headaches and Ray Allen can still knock down shots. Add in that Doc Rivers is a better proven coach over Spoelstra who beyond that has guys who seemingly can’t be coached anyway, and you have what would still be seen as an upset in the making. But would it really be? I say no. Again, a good “team” beats the Heat.

4 – The Thunder. The only team in the West I feel are capable this year of doing the deal if were to come to a Finals match up needed to knock off Miami. Lakers have lost too much and gained only a Mike Brown and better jersey sales with the name change of “World Peace“. Dallas felt like a one and done title winner even as they paraded around last year and we all celebrated with them (sorry Shawn Marion, no disrespect). The Clippers look great on paper and will fill highlight reels, but they are still owned by Donald Sterling. Something will go wrong. History never fails here. That leaves the Thunder, a team who has it quite a roster, and match up nearly toe to toe with the Heat but appear to have more complimentary pieces than Miami in doing so. This could be Oklahoma’s year. Which sounds weird and looks weird typed out just now, but believe it. They are very much playing for a ring this year.

5 – And finally the team with the best chance to beat Miami, and the team I feel is the best team in the league this year, the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose. Is he the best player in the game? Could be, actually. Especially if his perimeter and mid range shots continue to improve again over last year’s already dramatic improvement. Consider this, he went from shooting 72 three’s his first year and 62 the next, to taking nearly 3 times the total of his first two seasons last year alone. And his average increased from 24% to a respectable 33%. This means he should improve further this year at it (in the season opener, one in which he won on a last minute shot to be the Lakers bringing his team back down late in the game, he shot 4 of 6), it also means that with the way he slays people off the dribble, if they have to respect this shot of his even more, no one stands a chance against him. The Heat have no answer for him (no one does). A healthy Boozer and Noah. The Heat have no answer there either. Throw in an improved Brewer, Rip Hamilton (a HUGE upgrade over a Keith Bogans) and all around improved play defensively behind 2nd year defensive guru, head coach Tom Thibodeau (who won the NBA Coach of the Year honors in his rookie year last year guiding the Bulls to 62 wins), and you are talking about the best team in the NBA. Crown them. They not only beat the Heat, they might be unbeatable, period.

There you have it, folks, your 2011-2012 NBA year and the DC Show’s Cleveland Cavaliers guide to it. Go any team who beats Miami, go there even being basketball played this season, and most of all, GO CAVS!

-Mike James

Food Poisoning, playing catch up, Santa, and 1 more day to go yet still a day behind. And if you haven’t read days 5,4 and 3 ’Till Tip Off’ before this one, a lot of what I’ll say here might make even less sense. Just Saying.

2 days till open…

1 -Samardo Samuels. At 6’9″ he is too small to be a power forward yet not only is that his position, he plays even bigger logging occasional minutes at center. He has no bounce. Can’t jump at an NBA level at all. Turns the ball over a lot while being overly physical in forcing his offensive game. This physicality also leads to him fouling a lot, and getting fouled a lot. The last part is okay, but it would sure be better if he shot more than just 60% from the line. All these things, simply, add up to why he went undrafted last year before finally being offered a contract by the Cavs after the post draft summer league. And all of these things also really should have meant he wouldn’t be apart of this Cavs DC Show breakdown this year. Yet, as the odds fighter he is, he is.

Somehow Samardo achieves, and then continues to get better. When you look at this Cavs team and what it is as it rebuilds going forward, something it seemingly already has this year in contrast to last, is a decent amount of depth. Samardo Samuels is a huge factor in this, and his minutes will only increase this year as such. I’ve covered how improved perimeter defense will be key to Jamison’s play this year, and Parker’s, and Boobie’s, and the reason why is what the interior defense should be with Varejao, Casspi and Thompson patrolling the paint (more on this later). Samuels is a perfect compliment for this interior presence off the bench. His per 40 minutes averages in his rookie season in this role, 16 points and 9 rebounds. And just like his minutes from last year, expect those numbers to go up too.

Still don’t believe me on this one? How about we look solely at his pedigreed  journey to the pros even though he went undrafted. He ranked 9th in the nation by Rivals.com in 2008 coming out of high school where he shared billing on the #2 team in the nation alongside Tristan Thompson (yep, that same #4 Cavs pick this year, rookie Tristan Thompson). On that Rivals list only one player ahead of him ended up not drafted eventually in the 1st round of the NBA, and 4 of those 7 other players who were selected, were all selected in the top 10 picks of the draft.  After high school he was of course heavily recruited and finally chose to play for Rick Pitino at Louisville where in his second and final year there, he led them in scoring and rebounding. Not bad. And after last year and continued promise in camp this year, I’m buying it.

And you should buy into this guy too, and then revel in the enjoyment of watching him “achieve, and get better”, and how it is he even fell into the lap of the Cavs in the first place.

2 – Ramon Sessions. Starting to talk depth, folks. It’s a fun conversation made even more fun in thinking this team didn’t even really have a starting lineup last year, yet alone a bench to turn to. Don’t mistake this depth as something better than it is, but the Cavs very much have a team that goes 8 to 9 deep in quality players. Now, because this team is not likely to challenge for the post season yet as there still needs to be more talent, and to have some of that talent it now has get older than 19 and 20 years old, Sessions is and will be caught between both roles as a starter and as a reserve. In other words, on a great team Ramon comes off the bench, on the majority of teams in the league not considered to be great (the teams Dan Gilbert would have all renamed the Washington Generals), Ramon can be a starter. And Ramon will start for this Cavs team, at least in the beginning of the year.

This is not as bad as it may seem as the guy does score. In fact, John Hollinger, ESPN basketball’s very own Bill James of statistics, has pointed out that his rate of scoring last year made Ramon “far and away Cleveland’s best offensive weapon last season“. Of course if he scored around the rim as well as he gets to it, or if he had an outside shot to even take notice of, this debate of starter or not starter wouldn’t even be one. He’d start anywhere. That’s not him though, yet the guy still scores, and always is looking to do so. As Kyrie finds his way, Ramon coming off the bench much like he did briefly with Baron last year, looks better and better. His only real problem? Defense. As in he doesn’t fight through screens defensively anywhere near as well as he uses them offensively, and his lateral movement is as much a threat as it is in playing checkers; yes, it’s as if he’s literally not allowed to do so by rule he’s so bad at it. This too is what makes him ideally, added depth on a good team. The sooner this team needs him in this role, a significant boost off the bench, the more fans will see the promise this Cavs team will begin to show this year. How long this will take? Hate to cop out and keep saying “it’s a young team, who’s best talent are rookies at 19 and 20 years old”, so I’ll cop out with the sage old adage of, it’s why they play the game.

3 – Defense. You’ve heard Coach Scott emphasize it this year. You see pieces in place that illustrates its emphasis. Bottom line, the offense as it is will be far from anything perceived as a consistent threat this season, and all told will likely only slightly improved on last year’s 25th overall ranking in points per game. The defense will have to be better though if this team expects to win more than the 19 or so games most predict them winning. And this is why it’s being so emphasized, and you can see where players have been specifically chosen to compliment this design to make it who this team is headed forward.

Fact: If the defense doesn’t gel, even a shortened season of 66 games will seem like another extra long and arduous one for the Cavs. Trump card fact: With a healthy Varejao and upgrades at small forward defensively with Omri Casspi and power forward with Tristan Thompson, and with Samardo giving those aforementioned solid minutes off the bench, this interior defense should keep their offense in some games their offense alone would have no business keeping them in. This is not a big “if” either in happening. It will gel. When?, is the only real question. If it does sooner than later or at least before the midway mark, look to have some fun this year, Cavs fan. Fun beyond again how much you’re already going to have watching Kyrie Irving wow and amaze you. And “if” this defense works as well as it’s capable, you might even end up with a team no one expects to be any good, actually being just that and surprising a whole league of folks.

Day 1 up next, Coach Scott, predictions, and what Cavaliers fans this season really want to know more than anything else.

-Mike James

1 day till Cavs Tip Off and 3 days of catch-up to get done. Santa’s here and there’s 5 games to start the NBA year today, so no stalling.

3 days till open…

1 – Antawn Jamison. As stated in point 3 of “Day 4 Till”, don’t expect Antawn Jamison to be a Cavalier all season. His work here this year with a $15 million expiring contract is most likely to be nothing more than an audition for whatever trade lands him elsewhere. It’s sort of like the Cavs are sponsoring Jamison and each stop he’ll be showcased in hopes it drives up sales. And he has a chance to do just that as the Cavs team he’s now on is going to be better than the one he played on last year when he led all scorers by averaging 18 a game. He did this however by shooting the ball a lot more than usual forcing many of them, and his career low in field goal percentages illustrates this. This year with the newcomers of Kyrie, Omri and Tristan, some of those looks are sure to be more open and therefor are sure to have Jamison once again tops in Cavs scoring.

Scoring of course is what the Cavs will need out of Antawn if they hope to be competitive, but what they’re asking most of him is at the other end of the court. Last year, defensively, Jamison who has always been regarded as a poor defender at best, became a terrible defender. With slow rotation on the perimeter as a defender to nearly no rotation at all sometimes, opponents turned into all-stars against him last year. When defending at Power Forward his opponent’s PER according to 82games.com was 17.4. At Small Forward, which you might see him at frequently his opponents PER was 26.0. In other words, he made all Power Forwards into All-Stars when he guarded them, and he made Small Forwards into Hall of Famers. This has to improve. I mean it couldn’t get much worse, but when headlines like this one that ran the other day in the PD, “Jamison decides to give defense a shot”, you begin to fully know why most every scribe and scout around the league greeted that article with a chuckle.

Antawn will need to play better defense, and I believe he will. He won’t be great, hell, he won’t even be good, but as long as he’s not terrible and he focuses on rotating with perimeter help, he’ll do alright on this lineup that’s going to rely on the big guys in the middle to keep the interior in check.

I hope we get a shooting guard or at least a decent pick for him.

2 – Anthony Parker. I love that the Cavs were able to resign Parker for another year. He’s someone I don’t know how you can’t love if you truly love this game. The main thing about A.P. is that even given last year’s difficulty of a team nowhere near capable of competing, he competed every night. And this is what he brings, even as he’s a veteran going on 37 years old, he’s all heart and determination. He won’t beat anyone off the dribble, he won’t high fly it to the rim, but contrary to what I described with Antawn, he will defend the ball fairly well on the perimeter and he certainly isn’t afraid to be physical when he’s defending guards who like to post up. The biggest positive about Parker’s game though is that fun word of intangibles. Yes, he’s a savvy veteran who can still very much catch and shoot out to the 3 point line, and he sees the court and controls the ball exceptionally well. It’s his assist to turnover ratio, which was the best in the league for his position last season, and then his leadership that this young Cavs team needs more than anything. Basically, get the ball and his teammates in the right position, and don’t turn it over.

Anthony Parker resigned by the Cavs may not have been seen as a huge deal by the Cavs, but it was, and this team, specifically this young team, is made far better with him on the roster than most casual fans of the game will even notice. Love me some A.P., you should too.

3 – Boobie. Remember how he played back in 2007-2008 back when all of Cleveland fell in love with him and he seemed like he would be Lebron’s sought after number 2? How long ago does that seem right now? Well how about this, last year, was Gibson’s best statistical year ever in scoring, rebounding and assists. Yes, even better than the year we all fell for him that eternity ago it may seem. However this was of course masked by the fact that his season last year represented more that of a looter in a riot (my favorite Mark Jackson quote ever), than anything that had an impact on making his team win more games.

His biggest problem of course is that he’s a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. At 6’2″ there’s simply no way he can cover the league’s shooters and his opponents PER defending that position last year of  18.3 illustrates this as clear as day (thanks again to 82games.com). With the upgrade in the paint the Cavs have made by adding Omri and Tristan, and a return of a healthy Varejao, this might not be as bad this year for Boobie as perimeter defense will be the key to his efforts (just like what’s being asked of Jamison), and his quickness and grit might just be enough to make him a legitimate option for the Cavs off the bench for another year of 25-30 minutes a game.

He of course still brings offense, and it’s this shooting that has it so he’s even in the league. The guy can flat out knock it down, and with the ball movement and play that should surface with having the talents of Kyrie added to the team, it should mean that Gibson’s open looks could be a more frequent occurrence over last year when no one Cavalier commanded attention and so no one Cavalier ever had many open looks. Boobie will always be a defensive liability and he needs to keep fighting, but leave the guy open, and he’ll kill you all day.

Day 2 up next, with Samuals, Sessions and Defense.

-Mike James