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By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:48 p.m. EDT, Mar 08, 2009
CLEVELAND: LeBron James said something incredible that will give Cavaliers fans a reason to smile. In essence, it's not all about him any longer.
James looked worn out Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena after the Cavs beat the Miami Heat 99-89, the team's seventh game in 10 days.
James scored only 14 points, but he still notched a triple-double, his fourth of the season and 21st of his career.
The team's busy schedule was a reason for the fatigue, he said.
''It was a big factor,'' James said. ''Personally, I felt good when I came in and worked out before the game, but as the game went on, I could tell from my jumper that my legs didn't feel particularly well.''
Enter point guard Mo Williams, doing what he's done all season — picking up the slack. Williams scored 29 points to lead the Cavs to the win.
''It might surprise you guys [in the media] sometimes because you're not used to having two guys that can put up those types of numbers,'' James said. ''It's been awhile since [Mark] Price and [Brad] Daugherty. It's kind of fun to have a guy who we can give the ball to and he can make things happen.''
And make things happen he did. When the Heat battled their way back into the game, Williams continued to hit big shots.
''It's about reads. They don't leave LeBron alone too often and that gave me a lot of room to create,'' Williams said. ''We made them make a decision.''
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said: ''You need to have options down the stretch. Forget about down the stretch. Throughout the course of the ballgame, you need to be able to go to [other options] instead of just riding one guy all the time. I think this team has a lot of options — a lot of choices.''
The bounce back
Resilient is one of many adjectives that can be used to describe the Cavaliers.
Once again after a loss, the team turned around and won the next game. On the season, the Cavs are 12-1 after suffering a loss. Williams said the losses haven't really affected the team.
''No, not at all. We have responded great all year long after a loss, and tonight was no different,'' he said. ''Bouncing back from certain losses and games that we should have won, you just forget about [the loss]. It's definitely positive to see.''
Credit Brown, who has his team focused on that night's game and never beyond.
''I think when you start looking and circling dates or giving one game more importance than another, then that's when you get caught in a tough loss in a game you possibly had a chance to win,'' he said.
Smith's easy fit
It's just been two games and it's too early to judge the move overall, but the signing of Joe Smith looks as if it might turn out the way the team expected.
In his two games back, the 6-foot-10 player is averaging eight points and five rebounds. If he remains consistent, that will be his primary benefit for the Cavaliers.
There's little doubt that rookie J.J. Hickson is a talented player, but his play has been inconsistent. With the Cavs in a championship race, Smith's experience is more valuable.
''Joe is Joe,'' James said. ''You know what you're going to get out of him. He's going to give you more than people think and he's just good for our team. It's like he's been with us all year. He's running sets and doesn't even look like he's out of place and he's only had one practice.''
Brown likes the fact that he bolsters his reserves.
''He gave us some good minutes off of the bench [Saturday]. He's an experienced, veteran big, so we knew that we would get something like that out of him. It's good to be able to have him.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas.
CLEVELAND: LeBron James said something incredible that will give Cavaliers fans a reason to smile. In essence, it's not all about him any longer.
James looked worn out Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena after the Cavs beat the Miami Heat 99-89, the team's seventh game in 10 days.
James scored only 14 points, but he still notched a triple-double, his fourth of the season and 21st of his career.
The team's busy schedule was a reason for the fatigue, he said.
''It was a big factor,'' James said. ''Personally, I felt good when I came in and worked out before the game, but as the game went on, I could tell from my jumper that my legs didn't feel particularly well.''
Enter point guard Mo Williams, doing what he's done all season — picking up the slack. Williams scored 29 points to lead the Cavs to the win.
''It might surprise you guys [in the media] sometimes because you're not used to having two guys that can put up those types of numbers,'' James said. ''It's been awhile since [Mark] Price and [Brad] Daugherty. It's kind of fun to have a guy who we can give the ball to and he can make things happen.''
And make things happen he did. When the Heat battled their way back into the game, Williams continued to hit big shots.
''It's about reads. They don't leave LeBron alone too often and that gave me a lot of room to create,'' Williams said. ''We made them make a decision.''
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said: ''You need to have options down the stretch. Forget about down the stretch. Throughout the course of the ballgame, you need to be able to go to [other options] instead of just riding one guy all the time. I think this team has a lot of options — a lot of choices.''
The bounce back
Resilient is one of many adjectives that can be used to describe the Cavaliers.
Once again after a loss, the team turned around and won the next game. On the season, the Cavs are 12-1 after suffering a loss. Williams said the losses haven't really affected the team.
''No, not at all. We have responded great all year long after a loss, and tonight was no different,'' he said. ''Bouncing back from certain losses and games that we should have won, you just forget about [the loss]. It's definitely positive to see.''
Credit Brown, who has his team focused on that night's game and never beyond.
''I think when you start looking and circling dates or giving one game more importance than another, then that's when you get caught in a tough loss in a game you possibly had a chance to win,'' he said.
Smith's easy fit
It's just been two games and it's too early to judge the move overall, but the signing of Joe Smith looks as if it might turn out the way the team expected.
In his two games back, the 6-foot-10 player is averaging eight points and five rebounds. If he remains consistent, that will be his primary benefit for the Cavaliers.
There's little doubt that rookie J.J. Hickson is a talented player, but his play has been inconsistent. With the Cavs in a championship race, Smith's experience is more valuable.
''Joe is Joe,'' James said. ''You know what you're going to get out of him. He's going to give you more than people think and he's just good for our team. It's like he's been with us all year. He's running sets and doesn't even look like he's out of place and he's only had one practice.''
Brown likes the fact that he bolsters his reserves.
''He gave us some good minutes off of the bench [Saturday]. He's an experienced, veteran big, so we knew that we would get something like that out of him. It's good to be able to have him.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas.
Comments
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Posted 09:44 PM, 03/08/2009
The sights are set very high for this team. But whatever happens, it's been the best season I've ever watched a Cavs team play.
They've come together as a team with a relentless effort and identity on both sides of the ball. Really from day 1 this year. Thank You.
Go Cavs !!
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:45 AM, 03/09/2009
LeBron will use the same argument when he leaves after next year - spotlight isn't big enough to share.
Posted 08:21 AM, 03/09/2009
KBADM - I'll put my house up against your trailer that LeBron stays in Cleveland. Spotlight? How about being on the cover of Sports Illustrated while he was in high school, a $100M deal with Nike when he was 18 - he's been in the spotlight all his life. He stays.... Is your trailer on wheels, I'm hoping I can pull it with my truck.
Posted 09:36 AM, 03/09/2009
kbad,
Name us a Cav that was drafted by us, and stayed their whole career.
Can't you enjoy the time a player is here?
da hood (west akron), oh
Posted 09:41 AM, 03/09/2009
who really cares ? in this day and age when peole are struggling just to survive, who really gives a damn about a bunch of multi-millionaires playing a "game" ?
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:04 AM, 03/09/2009
Typical response from an uneducated JA - ras - name calling serves you well. Lets just see how quickly your boy bolts in the summer of 2010 and what excuse is used - then as usual I will continue to be oh so correct.
Akron, Oh
Posted 10:07 AM, 03/09/2009
connelly - ever hear of a guy named Brad Daugherty?
da hood (west akron), oh
Posted 10:34 AM, 03/09/2009
who cares?
Akron, Oh
Posted 02:09 PM, 03/09/2009
Don't let the facts get in the way of stupidity.
Walnut Creek, Oh
Posted 06:40 AM, 03/10/2009
Did anyone watch Dynamic Duos on ESPN? It include great duos like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Coby and Shak, and the number one duo was Jordan and Pippen. There has never been 1 player to dominate and take their team all the way. Look at D. Wade. He's good, but has noone around him. Lebron and Mo are the next dynamic duo, and if they can stay together on this team, we need to build around them, just like Chicago built around Michael and Scotty. Then we might have a championship team for a few years to come.
Posted 02:57 PM, 03/10/2009
Lebron and Mo haven't won anything yet. They aren't even on the radar of comparison to tandems like Kobe/Shaq, Montana/Rice, and I'm not even going to mention the greatest of all time.
As of right now, they aren't among the top 20 NBA tandems of all time. Let them win something before you start shooting off stuff like that.
akron, oh
Posted 03:17 PM, 03/10/2009
they'll blow in the end like cleveland typically does!!
akron, oh
Posted 09:31 PM, 03/10/2009
him share the spotlight? HA HA HA like all guys, he puts his pants on one leg at a time and I couldn't care less which leg he does first... remember freedom speech here so if I don't like him or the cav's or the whole NBA, that's my right to speak here. when he leave to go to NY then maybe ABJ will start to forcus on more local sports and not putting his face (ugly and all with tattoo's) on the front sports pages.
Walnut Creek, Oh
Posted 09:47 PM, 03/10/2009
Oh so you think Jordan/Pippen were there the first year?..I said they could possibly be the "next" dynamic duo..Crawl back in the trailer with KBADM. Clean your eyeballs.
