Indianapolis -- Mike Brown and I have a fundamental difference in the way we view basketball.  Mike always, and I mean always, focuses on defensive reasons why the Cavs win and don't win.  He was hired as the head coach for this philosophy.  I, on the other hand, usually focus on offensive reasons when analyzing the Cavs.  Hey, Mike knows more than me and he's the guy getting $2 million to coach so I'm not going to second guess him most of the time.

UPDATE:  Larry Hughes' injury is more severe than first thought.  From what I am hearing, expect him to be out for a while.  Probably at least a week and maybe more.  Right now, though, all I'm prepared to guarantee is that he won't play over the weekend.

--With 6.7 seconds left, why does the inbound pass come to LeBron?  On the floor were Larry Hughes, who was 8-of-8 at the line and Drew Gooden, who was 9-of-12.  In fact, Drew might've been the best choice because he doesn't really feel pressure.  The way Drew is wired, I don't think he sees clutch free throws as anything different than those in practice.

Charlotte, N.C. -- Was it me or was the most aggressive thing LeBron James did last night was play dead?  Did you see that flop in the fourth quarter?  I mean European soccer players -- aka Manu Ginobili -- would've been proud.  Except they would've waited for a stretcher to haul them off the court before popping back up to get maximum value.

I know everyone loves to forecast stuff at this time of year and sure it is fun to read about it and bicker.  I did power rankings for the Beacon Journal's preview section, which never made it online, but I ranked the Mavericks the best in the West, the Pistons the best in the East and the Cavs sixth overall.