Ranking the top five wins for the Cavaliers this season:
1| at Lakers, 103-87, Dec. 25
Obvious choice. Winning on the road against the top team in the West on a nationally-televised, high profile game. Mo Williams scored a team-high 28 and the Cavs defense was incredibly tough and physical in the second half.2 | at Miami, 92-91, Jan. 25
Cavs win for the second time in Miami, this time without Mo Williams and Delonte West. Miami had a 14-point lead at one point, Cavs stormed back thanks to a big game from Shaq and of course LeBron, whose duel with Dwyane Wade before halftime was one for the ages. LeBron was clutch at the end of the game, making shots and free throws while DWade was shut down late and missed two crucial free throws.
3 | vs. Portland, 104-99, Dec. 11
Cavs had just lost two back-to-back games at Memphis and Houston. They came back home for the opener of a homestand and defeated a very good Portand team, a victory that spurred a streak that included 12 wins in 13 games. Anderson Varejao scored 22 off the bench and LeBron added 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and had a huge block on a Brandon Roy layup in crunch time.
4 | at Atlanta, 95-84, Dec. 29 AND vs. Atlanta, 106-101, Dec. 30
I am combining these two wins into one, because the Cavs defeated one of the scariest and most athletic teams in the NBA, on back-to-back nights. In the first game, the Cavs defense shut out the Hawks for the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter. LeBron was held to just 14 points but had 10 assists. The next night at Quicken Loans Arena, Anderson Varejao hit his first career 3-pointer at a crucial point in the game, and LeBron responded to the previous night's scoring lull with 48 points. I think these two wins sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the league.
5 | vs. Lakers, 93-87, Jan. 21
The Cavs completed the season-sweep of the Lakers, and the losss prompted Kobe Bryant to question his own team's toughness. The Cavs didn't play that well in this game, but LeBron scored 37 and J.J. Hickson had unquestionably his best game of the season with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Ranking the worst three losses for the Cavaliers this season
1 | at Nuggets, 99-97, Jan. 8
Without Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets get the win as the Cavs were on the first game of their road trip. Denver has always been a place of horrors for the Cavs and this was the case on Jan. 8. The offense was stagnant and the defense gave up lots of points inside to Kenyon Martin. It's hard to say a loss on the road to a playoff team is a bad loss. But I had to pick three.
2 | vs. Bulls, 86-85, Nov. 5
The Cavs lost for the second time at home this season here. Cavs give up 38 points in the paint defensively and offensively were completely out of sync.
3 | at Jazz, 97-96, Jan. 14
This loss wasn't to a bad team, and it was in one of the toughest places to play in the NBA, and the Cavs did come back from a 12-point deficit. But they also gave up a 13-point lead. The 3-pointer at the buzzer by D-League call-up Sundiata Gaines was amazing. Just a tough, tough way to lose on the fourth game of a five-game West Coast swing.
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Super Bowl thoughts (I like the Colts)
As of Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., the Colts are 5.5 point favorites over the Saints. I like the Colts to win, 28-21. I'll take the team with the better quarterback and the defense that doesn't allow as many big plays. I'll be working, so I won't get to watch much. Booo.
Veering away from sports talk for a moment ... Up until Thanksgiving, I had never seen a James Bond film in its entirety. Well, when my in-laws were at my home that weekend, a Bond marathon was on TV and I watched a few minutes of one film. It looked entertaining and my father-in-law Steve was telling me how he loved the Bond films and that I should watch them. My father-in-law has great taste in music and movies, so I took his word for it and decided to watch them, in order (thanks to Blockbuster online, better than Netflix, people). To date, I have watched eight of the 22 "official" Bond films: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever and Live and Let Die. Of the eight, Live and Let Die is my favorite, followed in a close second by From Russia with Love. I know a lot of people think Goldfinger is the best, and I did like it. Just not my favorite. I am continuing to watch the films, and up next is The Man with the Golden Gun. Can't wait. Thanks for the idea, Pops.
As of Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., the Colts are 5.5 point favorites over the Saints. I like the Colts to win, 28-21. I'll take the team with the better quarterback and the defense that doesn't allow as many big plays. I'll be working, so I won't get to watch much. Booo.
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Talking some James BondVeering away from sports talk for a moment ... Up until Thanksgiving, I had never seen a James Bond film in its entirety. Well, when my in-laws were at my home that weekend, a Bond marathon was on TV and I watched a few minutes of one film. It looked entertaining and my father-in-law Steve was telling me how he loved the Bond films and that I should watch them. My father-in-law has great taste in music and movies, so I took his word for it and decided to watch them, in order (thanks to Blockbuster online, better than Netflix, people). To date, I have watched eight of the 22 "official" Bond films: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever and Live and Let Die. Of the eight, Live and Let Die is my favorite, followed in a close second by From Russia with Love. I know a lot of people think Goldfinger is the best, and I did like it. Just not my favorite. I am continuing to watch the films, and up next is The Man with the Golden Gun. Can't wait. Thanks for the idea, Pops.
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Speaking of dads ...My own dad is a Steelers fan, who grew up in Cleveland. How awful. Just saying. Although I am beginning to think he is the smart one of us Meyers, because in his lifetime he has celebrated six Super Bowl championships. Browns fans? We celebrate five-win seasons. Damn.
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For the first time in this space, some Yankees talk.I am an unabashed Yankees fan, as most people know (and much to the dismay of my family and my Ohio friends). Deal with it. Anyway, the outfield has been the main topic of conversation this offseason after the team's 27th World Series title in October. Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon were let go and the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson. I wanted Matsui to return and was impartial to them bringing back Damon. Well it's almost February and Damon still doesn't have a new team as his price tag is too high. Could the Yankees bring him back? Here's the latest story, and from what it says, GM Brian Cashman answers that question with a "No", citing that price tag. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4861828
Apparently, the team offered Damon a one-year deal last weekend but has since backed off. I'd say if they can get him to swallow his pride and take less money, bring him back. Not sure that will happen though.
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