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Respect vanishes before first tip

It's all OK with LeBron; he will just renew title run

By Brian Windhorst Beacon Journal sportswriter

Published on Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007

INDEPENDENCE: Officially, the Cavaliers' mascot is a fluffy dog named after an old rock 'n' roll disc jockey.

It's more appealing to the kids, but at the moment not at all apropos. A better cliche would be a wide-eyed Rodney Dangerfield facsimile.

If you're not following, the Cavs aren't getting a whole lot of respect throughout the NBA. Since summer league in Las Vegas and at various media days around the Eastern Conference this week, there have been various and steady references to the Cavs' run to the 2007 NBA Finals as a signal of how easy the East would be to conquer. It usually starts with the phrase: ''If the Cavs can win the East . . . ''

LeBron James mocked his team's Finals performance in his Saturday Night Live monologue last week, but the veiled insults coming from elsewhere aren't making him laugh.

''I don't think people respect our team, that's all,'' James said Tuesday as the Cavs' training camp got into full swing at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

''It's OK. We're going to prepare for the season. We're going to get beat some along the way, but we know how to win games in the playoffs, and that's what this is all about.''

The sweep by the San Antonio Spurs got the Cavs branded by many as one of the worst teams ever to reach the Finals. Statistical evidence to the contrary such as the team's 19-11 record against the Western Conference last year, or its 12-4 mark against the three East teams it beat in the playoffs last spring probably will do nothing to change that opinion.

''That's something everybody has to deal with until you win it all,'' Larry Hughes said. ''That's just the competition part of it. We lost a few times last season to the Pistons and got down 0-2 in the playoffs, but we still believed we could beat them.''

With the Cavs' relative inactivity this summer, they have been a popular preseason pick to be quickly dispatched as conference champs even before they've raised their banner. Perhaps it is just normal banter for this time of year, but the Cavs are hearing it.

''It absolutely motivates us. We're not an easy team people can just run through. This isn't the same old Cavs,'' James said. ''We're the Eastern Conference champs. They have to come take it from us.''

Coach 'em up

Both Hughes and James worked with new shooting instructors in the offseason. James looked at several instructors and settled on working with Cavs assistant coach Chris Jent, who traveled with James across the country on various trips so he could be on call when James wanted to be in the gym.

''I didn't use him last year as much as I should have,'' James said. ''At first I shopped around, and I really didn't like it. I don't need a shooting coach. I wanted to get someone in the gym I am comfortable with. Why not use someone close to home?''

Partly at the suggestion of the Cavs, Hughes spent a week in Atlanta working with former Cavs star Mark Price.

Price is starting a career as a shooting coach and last week was hired by the Memphis Grizzlies. New Cavs assistant coach John Kuester was in Atlanta with Hughes during the workouts.

''There were some minor things he had to tweak,'' Hughes said of Price.

Hughes, who shot 40 percent last season and struggled on outside jumpers, said: ''I developed some bad habits, and it is hard to correct those things while you're playing so many games.''

Dribbles ...

As he did last season, Cavs coach Mike Brown is expected to give James some of this week's two-a-day practices off. James logged a lot of time over the summer with Team USA. . . . Most players appeared to arrive in good shape despite the shorter-than-normal summer break. Brown said all the players passed his first-day conditioning test. . . . Cedric Simmons was able to take part in parts of practice despite recovering from a left ankle sprain. . . . Echoing last year's training camp, when the ritual got a lot of attention, James is breaking post-practice huddles by chanting ''Championship.''

Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.

INDEPENDENCE: Officially, the Cavaliers' mascot is a fluffy dog named after an old rock 'n' roll disc jockey.

Get the full article here.


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