staycoolbruh
Stycool
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I'm sorry, and I'm usually not al sentimental, but this is SO weird to look at.
From ESPN Insider:
I know he'll probably sign back with us anyway, but you've gotta give the man some love for being the ultimate Cavalier. We still love ya Z.
See ya in 30 days big guy.
Is anyone else excited that we just make an acquisition that gives the Cleveland Cavaliers the best chance in their history to win a title, and the Washington Wizards are the team that gifted us that chance? It's like one final slap in the face to that team if we take one of their players and go out and win a championship with him. :chuckles:
Jamison, not Stoudemire, was the right move
By Jim Ingraham
JIngraham@News-Herald.com
So let's fast-forward to the playoffs and picture this:
Antawn Jamison and his 20.8 points-per-game average camped in one corner. Mo Williams and his 43 percent 3-point accuracy sitting in the other corner. LeBron James, with his 29.9 points per game and 36 percent 3-point accuracy, either with the ball at the top of the key or gunning his engines while waiting for it on the wing. Fearless Delonte West, ready to pop a 3 from the other wing or execute another Kamikaze drive to the rack.
And, oh yeah, spread like a giant redwood in the paint, Mt. Shaq.
Go ahead, Magic, who ya gonna double?
Pick your poison.
That, ladies and gentlemen (who let Brent Musberger in here?) is the bottom line to Wednesday's pick-pocketing of the Washington Wizards. With the addition of Jamison, in exchange, essentially for nothing more than the Cavs' first-round draft pick, which will be so far down in the first round that it might as well be in the second round — I didn't know they allowed purse-snatching in the NBA — the Cavs are now officially offensively lethal.
They basically now have prototypical players at all five positions, four of them All-Stars. They have four shooters with virtually unlimited range, surrounding the big aircraft carrier in the middle.
That's right, the Cavs were so impressed by how Orlando beat them in the playoffs last year — fanning 3-point shooters around the arc, daring the Cavs to double down on Dwight Howard, allowing the howitzers to bomb away unimpeded from the outside — that they have now one-upped the Magic.
The Cavs are now in a position to beat the Magic at their own game.
Better yet, the Cavs' perimeter shooters aren't just catch-and-shoot statues. They are all capable of putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the basket.
Even at 33, Jamison is about as diverse an offensive player as there is in the league. He has lots of junk in his trunk, OK?
He's a far better complement to the pieces already in place on the Cavs' roster, and first unit, than Amar'e Stoudemire would have been. Jamison has more range as a shooter than Stoudemire, and he can penetrate with the ball.
He also already has his big contract. Stoudemire is playing this year for his. Translation: Jamison has no reason to play selfishly. The same cannot be said of Stoudemire. That's another reason Jamison is a great fit.
And here's still another one: The Cavs didn't have to give up J.J. Hickson to get him. The Cavs were able to upgrade at the "4" spot without it costing them their best young big man. That alone may have made the Jamison deal more attractive to the Cavs than the proposed Stoudemire trade.
So Jamison presumably goes into the lineup in place of Hickson, who goes to the bench and comes off it to offer a burst of energy with the second unit.
Jamison's presence gives LeBron another dumpoff option on his drives to the hoop, not to mention another scorer in the lineup.
Jamison's presence also discourages the Magic from the defensive ploy they tried the last time the two teams met. Orlando totally ignored Hickson in that game, doubling Shaq every time he touched the ball. That strategy won't fly with Jamison playing the "4." You do not double off a 20-points-per-game scorer.
So the deal is done, and now it's time to play basketball. The Cavs now know who they have lost, who they have acquired and who they have lost but will eventually reacquire (Hello, Z!).
LeBron presumably signed off on the acquisition of Jamison. Jamison, without question, makes the Cavs a better team, although it may take a few games for the chemistry to coagulate.
In some ways, it's a little like the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol from Memphis two years ago. The Lakers basically got Gasol for free, and he helped the Lakers get over the championship hump the following year.
The Cavs would like a quicker return on the Jamison acquisition. This year would do just fine. Because all that's at stake for the Cavs this season is everything. A championship, and global icon retention, if you know what I mean.
So Jamison needs to come to Cleveland and fit in quickly, but effectively. That's easier said than done. Just ask Vince Carter in Orlando or Richard Jefferson in San Antonio.
Jamison reportedly is a good guy, a good person and a really good basketball player. The Cavs are a really good basketball team that just got even better.
Enough with the trade rumors. Godspeed, Amar'e.
The Cavs now know who they are, and will be for the rest of the season. It's time for them to go make history.
Link:
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/02/18/sports/nh2110670.txt
Rashard Lewis on Cleveland trading for Antawn Jamison: “It doesn’t scare me”
The Magic player that will most feel the impact of Antawn Jamison’s addition to the Cleveland Cavaliers will be power forward Rashard Lewis.
Jamison has caused Lewis problems on occasion. So what does Lewis think about the trade?
“It doesn’t scare me,” Lewis said. “I’ve been on all star teams as well as him. I think it’s going to come down to who executes better on the defensive end. Most definitely a great player. … At the same time one guy doesn’t win ballgames. They do have another guy called LeBron James which is going to be our focus.”
Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said the acquisition made the Cavaliers “pretty formidable.”
“They’re already the best three point shooting team in the league,” Van Gundy said. “They get another guy who can stretch the floor with Shaq inside, LeBron on the perimeter.”
The Magic have lost twice to the Cavaliers this season. The bitter taste of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Magic drives Cleveland to some extent. Their offseason move to pick up Shaquille O’Neal seemed directly targeted toward finding a way to counteract Dwight Howard.
That move alone has helped the Cavaliers run away with the best record in the Eastern Conference. But the Cavs had the NBA’s best record last season and a lot of good that did them.
“We’re the team that knocked them out last year in the playoffs because of matchup problems,” Lewis said. “And they’re trying to correct those things that will help them get over that hump."
Link: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sp...ng-for-antawn-jamison-it-doesnt-scare-me.html
.you know they got all-world on the team
Stan Van Gundy: Master of Panic...but he's right!Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said the acquisition (Jamison) made the Cavaliers “pretty formidable.”
“They’re already the best three point shooting team in the league,” Van Gundy said. “They get another guy who can stretch the floor with Shaq inside, LeBron on the perimeter.”
That move alone has helped the Cavaliers run away with the best record in the Eastern Conference. But the Cavs had the NBA’s best record last season and a lot of good that did them.
Best quote of the article. Calling Lebron all world. :chuckles:
He was talking about Wally.