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James & Co. believe progress is being made despite their record
By Brian Windhorst Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Nov 09, 2007
SACRAMENTO, CALIF: In the moments after the Cavaliers suffered what had the look of a heartbreaking last-second loss Wednesday night, conventional thinking would dictate that they would be down about the experience.
There was disappointment at the way the Utah Jazz's Deron Williams was able to go the length of the floor for the winning basket in the two-point loss, but the Cavs were in big-picture mode.
The NBA season has plenty of ups and downs, but sitting at 2-3 with three games left on their West Coast trip starting tonight against the Sacramento Kings, the Cavs can't help but feel a bit uplifted.
Despite having their depth devastated by injuries, the holdouts of Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao continuing to linger in their own ways, and a brutal early season schedule, the the Cavs believe they are getting better and dealing with the adversity well.
The fact that they were able to overcome a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter on the second night of back-to-back games on the home floor of one of the NBA's best teams was an injection of optimism.
''You take positives out of these games,'' LeBron James said. ''This is all we got. Personnel-wise, we're not the best team in the NBA and we know that. As a family, we understand what it takes to win. We've won playoff series. We've won big games. We can't look at what anybody else has, we have what we have in this locker room. We can't worry about the outside.
''Our guys understand that and it is great to see that these guys are all working to get better. I don't know if we played this well last year on the road, especially on the West Coast and especially early.''
Just a week ago, the Cavs' immediate future looked shaky after they were blown out in the home opener following a disappointing 1-6 preseason that included several blowouts, even when the starters were playing heavy minutes. They've improved steadily since, despite being the first Eastern Conference team to depart on a long West Coast trip.
The Cavs' offense is especially showing improvement, scoring more than 100 points in three of the past four games. In the past two games, they have 50 assists and coach Mike Brown's drive-and-kick offense is finally showing some signs of life. All of it is pleasing James, who is more than doing his part by averaging 27.6 points, nine rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2 blocks per game.
''We've played three pretty good games out here and hopefully we'll get better,'' James said. ''We're getting into our early offense, we're making shots. It's good. I like the tempo. We're giving ourselves a chance to win. At this point of the season, speaking as a leader, I think we're playing above what I thought we'd be at right now.''
Webber would
consider Cavs
It has been reported by several media outlets that free-agent forward Chris Webber would only consider his hometown Detroit Pistons. According to a source close to Webber, though, he would also consider signing with the Cavs if the role was right. The Cavs are depleted in the frontcourt with Varejao missing and with Donyell Marshall out with injury.
The Cavs have also had some contact with free-agent forward Dale Davis, but currently there are no serious discussions, agent Chubby Wells said.
The Cavs will likely see what the prognosis is with Marshall, who is resting for a week to see if his wrist improves, before thinking about making any moves. There is some concern Marshall's wrist might not respond to rest and more action might be needed.
Right now, the Cavs have limited roster flexibility because Dwayne Jones, who is now the Cavs' first big man off the bench, had his $770,000 contract become guaranteed when he made the opening-day roster. The only player with a nonguaranteed contract is rookie Demetris Nichols, who the Cavs would prefer to keep. The Cavs might try to trade guard Shannon Brown to free up a roster spot if the need arises.
History maker
James had 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists Wednesday for his 11th career regular-season triple-double. He is the first player to post at least those numbers in a regulation game since Elgin Baylor for the Los Angeles Lakers on March 14, 1968.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
SACRAMENTO, CALIF: In the moments after the Cavaliers suffered what had the look of a heartbreaking last-second loss Wednesday night, conventional thinking would dictate that they would be down about the experience.
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