Game 27 | Cavaliers @ Soni.. err Thunder Dec. 21st, 7:00PM (ET)

[rabman_gold]

Are you guys going to stop talking about Joe Smith coming back to the Cavs now? He's nothing special.

3 of 12, -22 in the plus minus, 3 turnovers 4 fouls sandwiched around 4 reb and 5 assists in 23 mins... we can do better I think

Oh, don't kid yourself. Are you seriously only looking at stats?

Didn't you see the hustle that Joey did the whole night? He was trying to outwork Andy and Ben the whole night, yet was also matched up with Z as well. It's not that he was that bad... our front court was just so damn good. He still out-rebounded Andy on a couple of occasions. He did a good job, but our men knew he was a good outside shooter too. Not too many good looks, right?

Still, adding him to our team will only have positive benefits. He stays fresh longer as well as giving Z and Ben more rest. Too many open looks from a driving LBJ. He'll be automatic for 8 points and 4 rebounds every night.

Don't know if we could get him, don't care at this point. We are the better team. I think J.J. and Darnell will get plenty of time to improve their games to get into the rotation. We'll see what can be done once the league gets more clear who has a chance and who doesn't.

 

[Three6Pavia]

I think the real issue with LeBron playing 40+ minutes in a game is that it makes us look bad.

We all know that LeBron has the best players around him that he has had in his entire career, but them people from the ESPN keep doubting. They keep saying he is "carrying the team".
The most reasonable argument to throw in their faces is, "Well we're winning by alot with him playing the least minutes in his career."

This game was ugly as it gets when you play a team that has only won 3 games on the season. Mike Brown didn't want to lose any of the momentum in a road game where we don't have any actual reason to win outside of padding the stat sheet. LeBron kept us ahead of OKC throughout the entire game (except for a few hiccups in the first half), and the lead grew very slowly.

We needed LBJ to go 40+ tonight, sad as it may be. Mike Brown sat him when he was confident that there wasn't any spirit left for a rally in the OKC team. No matter how ugly it was, we still managed to win on the road against a team that gave us a pretty good fight overall. Would we have won this game last year?

 

[-Akronite-]

In our last meeting Joe hit the first shot for OKC off the bench. The man is a pro, whether he has a rough night against one of the best teams or a solid game as usual.

Anyway, his shot wasn't falling and I want him for depth if we go for a swing man through trade.

 

[wuck]

LeBron probably should have come out a few minutes earlier, but the fact is that OKC has been playing much better than their record at home and on the road. Here are other minutes logged by stars against OKC over the last 10 games:

Bosh - 39
Duncan/Parker - 36/37 (higher than their season averages, at home)
Howard/Turkoglu - 39 (higher than their season averages, at home)
Nowitzki - 40 (higher than season average, at home)

Including tonight, LeBron's season average is still around 36 minutes a game. Pretty good. Plus you have to remember that the past 3 road games have not included back-to-backs.

LeBron averaged 40.4 minutes/game last year and 42.5 in 2005-2006.

I like thinking about these very minor worries for a team that is 23-4. It beats the kind of worries we had this time last year (at the gaudy record of 12-15).

"They're not just a good team. They're great," Oklahoma City interim coach Scott Brooks said. "One day that's what we want to be. We want to be like that."

 

[Da_James_Gang]

Man i missed the first half of the game because i lost track of the date lol, lucky i was flicking through channels and caught it at halftime. OKC played us tough, but i had know doubt we would pull it out. Good to see Boobie back also, glad we are at full strength. We are gonna be playing some tough games soon so its time to prove ourselfs to the doubters.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

We won by 11 on the road and I am kinda disappointed.

That's when you know it's a good year!

 

[Green Lantern]

This time OC was up and didn't want to be embarrassed..and of course neither did the Cavs..
I was more annoyed at how many offensive rebounds they got than how many shots they knocked down.

 

[camakazee]

Neat-o stats are up. Sorry for the delay!

 

[Damien O'Connel]

Are you guys going to stop talking about Joe Smith coming back to the Cavs now? He's nothing special.

3 of 12, -22 in the plus minus, 3 turnovers 4 fouls sandwiched around 4 reb and 5 assists in 23 mins... we can do better I think

i have two words for that: Ben Wallace