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Find out the scoop on the CAVS from award-winning sports writer Bob Finnan.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Game 5: Bobcats at Cavs

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (3-2) 115, CHARLOTTE BOBCATS (1-4) 101
at Quicken Loans Arena
Tuesday
RADIO/TV: WTAM/Fox Sports Ohio

WHAT HAPPENED:
The Bobcats have to be the only team in NBA history to have two players named D.J. in their starting lineup. For those of you keeping score at home, DJ White doesn't use periods, a la CC Sabathia.

Now, onto the game. The Cavs continue to play inspired basketball. It's starting with point guard Kyrie Irving, who matched his season high with 20 points. He didn't have a turnover in 22 minutes, which is impressive.

In fact, the Cavs had just nine miscues on the night.

Couple that with good defense and uncanny 3-point shooting and one can see why they moved over the .500 mark for the first time in more than a year. The last time they were over .500 was Nov. 9, 2010.

They shot 50 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from the 3-point line. They've made 26 of 47 from the 3-point line in the last two games.

Center Ryan Hollins made an appearance, his first since the season opener. Coach Byron Scott just isn't getting what he wants out of backup center Samardo Samuels.

"I'm not happy with how Samardo is playing," Scott said.

Once Semih Erden is healthy enough to play, he'll become the backup center. They really want to take a look at what he can do.

Bobcats coach Paul Silas returned to The Q where he coached the Cavs from 2003-05. DeSagana Diop, the Bobcats' backup center, played under Silas in Cleveland. However, he looks a bit heavy and has yet to make a field goal this year. He was 0-for the preseason. He's 0 of 7 from the field in 41 minutes during the regular season. He was the Cavs' first-round pick in 2001 and is almost playing himself out of the league.

KYRIE ON DIME COVER: Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is on the cover of Dime Magazine's latest issue.

UP NEXT: The Cavs start a seven-game road trip at Toronto at 7 p.m. Wednesday. They'll be away from The Q for 13 days.

STARTERS
SF Omri Casspi (6-9, 225) vs. Corey Maggette (6-6, 225)
PF Antawn Jamison (6-9, 235) vs. DJ White (6-9, 235)
C Anderson Varejao (6-11, 260) vs. Boris Diaw (6-8, 235)
SG Anthony Parker (6-6, 210) vs. Gerald Henderson (6-5, 215)
PG Kyrie Irving (6-3, 191) vs. D.J. Augustin (6-0, 180)
INACTIVE LIST
Cavs – G Mychel Thompson, C Semih Erden
Bobcats - F Eduardo Najera, G Reggie Williams
OFFICIALS
Dan Crawford, Kevin Cutler, Gary Zielinski

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice post! Haven't caught too much of the Cavs, but I suppose it'd be quite hard to have a worse year than last season.

How does the playing time work between Irving, Sessions, and Boobie Gibson? Does Irving see the majority of the minutes? Just curious.

BTW, I write for a Knicks blog called Knicks Now http://nyknicksnow.blogspot.com/
Check it out if you please!

January 3, 2012 at 12:40 PM 

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