Kevin Durant scored 21 points to lead six double-figure scorers for defending NBA champion Golden State and the Warriors pulled away in the third quarter to beat Utah 126-101 on Wednesday. The Warriors hit 33-of-46 shots in the second half, outscoring the Jazz 42-22 in the third quarter to blow open a close game in which Durant — who added six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots — didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Continue reading “Durant leads Warriors over Utah, Cavaliers fall to Kings”

Lebron Curry

After a surprisingly slow start to the 2017-18 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a lengthy team meeting on Tuesday to address their struggles. The Cavaliers (3-4) have struggled on the defensive end through their first seven games of the season as they currently rank 27th in the NBA after giving up 109.8 points per 100 possessions. Continue reading “Cleveland Cavaliers hold “air-it-out” meeting”

Lebron James Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James is an enigma. LeBron and I are the same age and we grew up in the same area. NORTHEAST OHIO. We graduated the same year of high school, 2003. I went to Charles F. Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio and LeBron attended St. Vincent St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. I have been following LeBron pretty close since we were probably in 7th or 8th grade. That’s when I first heard of James. I heard about him on the AAU circuit. He was actually dunking back then which is pretty crazy to think about. Think about a middle school kid coming down and dunking on everybody. Crazy to think about right? Well LeBron was doing it. When we got to 9th grade I ended up moving from Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland, Ohio because my mother ended up taking a job in HR with General Electric in Cleveland. I was still following LeBron pretty close and also playing myself. He ended up starting for St. Vincent St. Mary under Coach Keith Dambrot. Dambrot is now Akron University’s head coach. LeBron had an amazing high school career and I really don’t even need to get into that right now. Long story short we all knew LeBron was for sure going to the NBA as the #1 pick in 10th grade. To say LeBron would end up as arguably the best player of all-time. I can’t say that I would’ve thought that would happen. To say LeBron would have made this big of an impact on an entire region I would’ve never imagined. LeBron returning to Northeast Ohio has revitalized us in a way I have never seen anywhere else and I have been all over. I will talk about the resurrection of a Cavaliers franchise, the economic impact on the region, and the future of the Northeast Ohio and LeBron’s place in that.

When James announced that he was returning to Cleveland Cavaliers it instantly brought hope to Northeast Ohio. I have never seen anything like this in my 29 years on this planet. LeBron is ONE MAN and has this much power. Imagine how that just feel for him. Pretty crazy to think about huh? In an instant the Cleveland Cavaliers were considered a favorite to win the Finals this year. LeBron downplayed everything saying that it would take a lot of hard work in and time and it may not happen his first year. However it is now the month of June and the Cavaliers are here, in the NBA Finals. Let’s see if the Cavs and LeBron can get it done. They are only 4 wins away.

The economic impact on the region as a whole is going to be unlike we have ever seen.  The businesses in downtown are beginning to thrive again now that LeBron is back in town. With LeBron comes a sold out Quicken Loans Arena every night. And that creates a trickle down effect from  there. There is now a casino downtown which makes playing for real money in New York state that much more accessible. Dan Gilbert owns it and is doing pretty well might I add. All of the restaurants and bars are now thriving again as well with the return of The King. If he can bring a championship to the city then imagine what is going to happen. PANDEMONIUM.

Lastly, LeBron James has brought a sense of hope and pride to a region that I admit was dying before. A lot of people leave Northeast Ohio to pursue what they think are greener pastures elsewhere. LeBron James even did it himself when he decided to leave all he ever knew and explore a once in a lifetime opportunity to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and join the Miami Heat. He had a very successful run in South Florida. He went to four straight finals, winning two of them. He decided that he had a chance to do something really special not only for his own legacy but for Northeast Ohio as a region. And that’s to bring us our first championship.  I truly believe that this is DESTINY and that it will happen this year. Let’s go CAVS. #AllInCle #AllForOne

Rasheed Wallace Assistant Coach

Rasheed Wallace was once famous for catching alley-oops at UNC and then became (in)famous for being a player either loved or hated while collecting technical fouls like it was a hobby during a lengthy NBA career.

Now Wallace will join the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach, which might be a good move considering that much like Jason Kidd, Wallace has always been a leader on the teams he’s played for. However, unlike Kidd, he’ll have time to learn the coaching side of things without having to be the main guy on the sidelines just yet.

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Dwight Howard has left Los Angeles, looking to find a better fit or just a different fit with the Houston Rockets, but Chris Kaman is returning to L.A., this time as a Laker. Kaman spent several seasons with the Clippers, before Lob City, but has returned to play for the purple and gold with a one year contract.

It was Kaman’s departure that actually cleared the way for the Clippers to create their ‘Lob City’ style, as he was part of the trade that brought Chris Paul to the franchise.

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Cleveland fans have a long history of being treated poorly by their sports franchises, and it turns out that before the days of digital video and always-available scouting reports, the Cavs scouted their expansion draft with trading cards. After reading the story, it’s less crazy than it sounds, and but it’s still pretty astounding.

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The NCAA July “LIVE” period is in full effect starting this week, and all over the country AAU tournaments will be filled with players, coaches and scouts. Basketball Elite will have scouts at several major events this week, and if you can’t get a coach, parent or scout on the phone this month, this is why. It’s a crazy month.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked many pundits and draft analysts last night by choosing Anthony Bennett as the top overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. While many considered this year’s draft to be a weaker draft, that’s a bit of a misnomer; most drafts don’t bring in elite stars, but rather bring in several solid players, several players who will ultimately be journeymen and role players, and quite a few players who won’t be in the league after five years. This is true every year, so why the 2013 draft would be considered significantly weaker is just conjecture.

At any rate, this draft is the last for commissioner David Stern, who won’t be missed, and leaves a league that is rife with unprofitable teams and a business structure based on a few players rather than solid team properties like every other league in the world. During Stern’s tenure, the NBA has limped along with weak profit margins – while the NFL’s profit margin has exploded over the $1 billion mark, and Major League Baseball has almost half a billion, the NBA is just around $183 million in profit (on $4.1 billion in revenue…you have to work really hard to lose that much margin, but Stern has managed to do it), just barely ahead of the NHL. Despite so many people writing that Stern is a fantastic commissioner, the reality is they aren’t business people. After all, a lot of people thought interest-only home loans with adjustable rates were a great idea, too.

But back to the NBA and it’s heralded draft night, there are almost certainly players who will be much better than the pundits think, and time will continue to tell which teams are horrible at evaluating players. The draft also set off several massive trades which may ultimately prove that Danny Ainge and the Celtics know more about building a team than most of the league.

So while no championship is won on draft night, it does show patterns for teams, and it’s always interesting to see which teams consistently blow it while others walk away with solid contributors every year.

The Business of Sports
From: Top Business Degrees

Staff Reports

Kyrie Irving had a brief but spectacular college career, with only 11 games in his freshman season playing for the Duke Blue Devils. Still, he wowed the crowds and proved himself enough to get a shot at playing in the NBA – so much so that he was the number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. We caught up with Kyrie this week to get his thoughts on the NBA lockout, what he’s doing in the meantime and what he thinks he’ll need to do to succeed in the NBA.

While it wasn’t a complete surprise that Irving was such a high draft pick, many people were not aware at how effective Irving would be at dominating the game from the point guard position. One constant about a college point guard is that if he can consistently beat the zone in a top conference and get points at the rim, he’ll almost certainly be able to do it once he takes on the man-to-man of the NBA. Chris Paul is one the best examples of this, another ACC point guard. While Kyrie still has yet to play his first pro game, we think he’ll be able to make the transition and succeed.

Kyrie Irving Interview

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By James Blackburn

Derrick Rose
Flikr/Keith Allison

Bulls Win 92-79
Box Score

Game Recap/Thoughts

  • The Bulls missed a lot of easy baskets in the first half, when they really had an opportunity to stretch the lead.
  • The Bulls played poor transition defense early in the 2nd quarter. They became lazy and complacent, allowing Cleveland to get back into the game.
  • The Cavs are a very scrappy and hard working team.
  • The second unit for the Cavs seems more active on D and run more than the starters.
  • Turnovers and bad shots plague the Cavs. They struggle to defend the post and the paint. They have no shot blocker when Ryan Hollins is out of the game.
  • The Cavs are a decent defensive team in general, they just really struggle offensively.
  • The Cavs lost because they settled into bad habits at the end of the game, shooting contested shots and the inability to defend the paint or the pick and roll, with Hollins out.

Scouting Reports

Cavs

Antawn Jamison (37 min, 12-22 FG, 4-7 3pt, 11 reb, 5 assist, 31 TP)

Strengths- Good shooter from midrange and 3. Does it all on the court- fills up the stat sheet. Versatile scorer who can create his own shot, pull up, or get to the rim. Good rebounder. A very tough cover with what he can do offensively. Good size.

Weaknesses- Struggled defending Carlos Boozer in the post. He allowed Boozer to get too deep post position. Fades to his left when he shoots 3’s, leading to an inconsistent long ball.

Overall- After LeBron James left Cleveland for the sunny beaches of Miami, Jamison has been given the load to carry the offense for this young Cavs team. In his 12th year out of Chapel Hill, Jamison has been a consistent 20-10 guy in the league for years. Jamison’s play this season has been one of the few bright spots for a struggling Cavs team.

JJ Hickson (33 min, 5-19 FG, 20 reb, 1 blk, 13 TP)

Strengths- Excellent rebounder. Very active on offensive boards. Uses athleticism and boxes out and gobble up rebounds and keep the ball alive. Above average athletically. Had a nice block on Rose early in the game. Showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to rim. Takes in at people- takes it strong to basket.

Weaknesses- Needs to continue to work on constancy on jumper. Takes some possessions off on defense. Likes to turn over right shoulder for turn around jumper, but showed the ability to turn over either shoulder effectively. Lacks a go to post move.

Overview- Has really improved since his days at NC State. His offense used to be a dunk or nothing, and this was his case in his early years with Cleveland. The Cavs organization is very high on Hickson, and one can see why with his 20 rebounds tonight. Needs to continue to work on being more of an offensive threat, but has time to grow.

Ryan Hollins (17 min, 1-4 FG, 4-4 FT, 4 reb, 1 blk, 6 TP)

Strengths- Very long and athletic. Good defensive player. Talks on defense and directs traffic on the defensive end. Very active player who hustles and plays hard every minute on the floor. Good shot blocker who influenced a lot of shots tonight. Good rebounder who really crashes the boards. Sets good wide screens. Good team player- great attitude and good body language through out game.

Weaknesses- Needs to get stronger in the upper body. At times he over hedges on the screen and roll and this allows screener to slip screen. Still very raw offensively- dunk or nothing. Brings the ball down too low allowing guards to strip the ball.

Overview- Intriguing player. Very hard worker who competes on every play. A player who you want to see succeed because he works so hard. Had some success last year playing for Minnesota. Hollins, who is entering his 4th year, out of UCLA, would be a great role player for a playoff team like the Spurs or Celtics.

Bulls

Kyle Korver (26 min, 4-9 FG, 3-6 3pt, 3 reb, 2 assist, 2 blk, 11 TP)

Strengths- One of the top 3 shooters in the NBA. Very quick release- can shoot off the screen and with his feet set. Good passer and an underrated defender and rebounder. Has quick hands on defense. Does not try to do too much- knows his role.

Weaknesses- needs to improve ball handling- looks down when he dribbles.

Overview- Another solid game for Korver who has had a productive year so far with Chicago after spending most of his career in Utah. One of the most respected and feared shooters in the NBA.

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