It's opening night, and Boston is a buzz with their 17th banner, and the rings that go with it...
Dunkin' Donuts sold donuts here for 17 cents to mark the occasion...Paul Pierce made stops at 3 stores to serve some donuts and hand out tickets to opening night. A high schooler passing by walked in to see what the commotion was about and walked out of the store with a pair of tickets...right place, right time!
The Cavs have said they won't watch the ceremony, knowing the motivation to win it all comes from within...
By the way, Mike Brown says JJ Hickson's tardiness recently for a shoot around is in the past. Mike purposely got on the bus early today, and JJ was already seated and ready to go...message received.
On a side note: Boobie's latest head shave includes Batman...he figured something different, since it's Halloween week.
Mike again is hoping to play 10 guys, but finding minutes for that many is always the challenge...for Sasha and Wally, the fit will really be tight. They both know performance will determine how much they see the floor.
Jump on to CavFanatic tonight as I will be providing live updates in the Official Game Thread. let the games begin!
Delonte just got on the bus and told Sasha, "way to win that game for us"
Good to see Sasha get it going in the 4th...3 scoring drives to the hole which then set up a triple. Sasha has a tendency to be hard on himself, and LeBron monitors that closely.
LBJ says the entire team has confidence in the athletic swing man. As LeBron says, "without that confidence from us, he'll lose confidence in himself." They all believe in him..and they make sure he knows that...tonight, before he went back in, they told him to go and just play.
Sasha says his ankle still hurts, and is effecting the lift on his J...but Sasha knows he's got to fight through the pain and forget about it. He says he did that in the 4th Qtr in Philly and just attacked. Mike Brown says Sasha fought especially hard on D, and that's why he stayed on the floor..this team goes up a notch, when #3 delivers.
See you tomorrow on Fox Sports Ohio from the Palace at 7:00pm.
They have painted the town red in Philadelphia, as the Phillies are back in the World Series...the red fountain behind me is evidence that baseball is on center stage. That means the 76ers are talking about it, and so are a lot of the Cavs, as this time of year makes baseball fans out of all of us...and that certainly includes Mo Williams, who is a big baseball buff...click here for his interview with me today for his prediction...
If you ever wondered how we sometimes pass the time on a bus from the airport, wading through rush hour traffic, for instance here in Philly...it doesn't take much...like stringing together Boobie, Mo, Sasha, Big Ben, plus John Bagley, Larry Nance, Bingo Smith, Tarence Kinsey and Dan Majerle...why? There was a billboard for the national Sudoku championships coming to Philly, with $20,000 to the winner...so, I started thinking, 1 through 9 as the game brain teases us...Cavs jersey numbers...hmm...I know, get a life....what a waste of brain power!
(You have to pass the time somehow!)
Speaking of number 2, Mo says there shouldn't be any carry over tonight when he and Andre Miller (hey, #7- I know, give it up) meet again. Both received techs on Saturday night, after Andre flipped the ball at Mo, and then the new Cavs guard got another tech moments later for something he said. Mo says he won't put his team in such a predicament again. In this case he only played about 6:00 minutes. Mike Brown reminded Mo and the entire team, including Z who got a rare tech, that those can be costly points in a heated playoff game. He knows players must protect themselves, but he wants them to be "cautious of how this effects the team" in wanting his guys to react correctly in the heat of the moment...
I will be posting in the Official Game Thread tonight during the game...talk to you then!
Athletes sometimes seem bigger than life, because they are entertainers, but in the end, they are real people too, with the same human frailties we all possess...witness Delonte West, back with the team after being away for nearly two weeks to attend to a personal matter. Delonte has admitted to reporters, he had to seek help for what he describes as a life long battle with a mood disorder. He felt it was time to seek treatment which he will continue to receive as he deals with this malady. Delonte says he did not want to be a distraction to the team and thus went home to DC to get help. The Cavs organization was totally behind him, giving him as much time and support as needed. Delonte thanked everyone for truly making him feel like "family". He says teammates and coaches called him often, sent texts to him to say they are here for him, and missed him.
At first, Delonte felt a sense of weakness, but by admitting he had a problem, he now feels a sense of strength, coming to grips with the problem, and getting therapy. The good news is Delonte says he is 100 percent happy, healthy, and on his road to being himself again. I give him a lot of credit for being open about it, which frankly is part of his therapy, talking about the issue and tackling it. He knows he's not alone in this fight, and as Mike Brown says, the organization preaches family, so this was just an example of taking care of a family member with true love and support. Mike and Danny would have it no other way.
Delonte says he never had so much fun playing in a basketball game as he did against the Spurs, no doubt feeling a sense of freedom, knowing he is fighting off the demons he could not control himself. He's a shining example for others who have hidden such a problem, fearful of perception. To Delonte we all say, welcome back!!!
Hey Gang, I'm courtside in Pittsburgh. Ben and Sasha are out tonight so Andy and Wally are starting at the 4 and 2 spots...
LeBron hit a 3 and Wally a nice backdoor cut on 2 well run plays...
Boston converted 2 turnovers into Fastbreak hoops and Rajon Rondo just made a sweet lay up off a fake pass. Beantowners up 4 early...
Steelers announcer is sitting behind me, he says props to the Brownies for last night...
One quarter in the books...the Cavs coughed it up 5 times in the opening quarter...that will need to be cleaned up in the 2nd. Boobie's at the point with Tarence Kinsey in the back court. Kinsey just made his best move as a Cav - a very quick slash from the left side...
Big Baby just went diving into the front row...it drew more oohs and ahs than a Troy Palamalu hit at Heinz Field...
Hey guys, sorry...the wireless signal here in the 'Burgh is not good...Ben Roethlisberger is here, and maybe he's messin' with our line.
Anyway, 42 free throws so far in the half, has slowed things down. Daniel ran the point for most of his 17 minutes and has scored 11. Anderson has his hands full trying to stay out of foul trouble guarding Kevin Garnett. Andy does look quicker though than a year ago, and is doing his best to stay in front of KG...no easy task. Remember, Andy and KG had words 2 years ago at the end of the season, when the Cavs and T-Wolves hooked up. Ray Allen has looked very good, remember, last May, the Cavs totally took him out of the series. The game has been pretty physical...more so than in Providence on Friday...
Back with you guys later...
Most of the young fellas are back in. I mentioned KG and Andy before...Garnett said a no-no directed at Andy and didn't think the refs heard him...they did! And T'D up the Big Ticket...
J.J. Hickson continues to get better. He's explosive...he jumped out of the gym on a loose ball for a smash. I like his face up game off the block...he scored on a hard pound from 12'...
Darnell Jackson just hit two face up J's...I like this guy's toughness. He already plays and acts like a vet...Cavs by one after 3...
Big Ben (the quarterback that is) has left the building and we have a signal...hmmmmm...
Darnell Jackson hit two more 15 footers and caused a turnover at the other end...Mike Brown mentioned just yesterday how DJ has caught his eye...
Hey, Moondog just came out on the floor wearing a Browns jersey...he was roundly booed (too many of them watched the destruction of NY last night).
Moondog then pulled off the jersey to reveal a Steeler jersey...ovation!!
Can't we just get along!!
Haywood Workman is one of the refs tonight...remember him?
He played with the Pacers primarily...tough, physical guard. He's worked his way into the league...
Leon Wood and the retired Bernie Fryer played in the league and then whistle tooted...not many players have made the jump...
