Do you want to make Ohio.com your homepage?
XINDEPENDENCE: Dion Waiters returned to practice on Thursday and is expected to play Friday when the Cavs play at the Boston Celtics.
Waiters missed Monday’s win against the New Orleans Pelicans after falling hard to the court during last Friday’s victory at Denver.
“He’s probable for tomorrow,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “We’ll see how his body responds to the work he did today, but we’re hoping he can get out there and play.”
Waiters scored 17 points off the bench against the Nuggets and seems to be settling into a reserve role. LeBron James has already suggested it’s the best role for him on this team and Waiters said he’s the one who went to Blatt and offered to come off the bench.
To read more or comment...After further review, LeBron James did not get a triple-double Monday night after all.
The league took away one of James’ rebounds and one of his assists after watching the tape of Monday’s 118-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Beacon Journal has learned.
In order to maintain the integrity of the statistics, the league’s review process of stats is fairly standard. Last year the league made a couple hundred changes to statistics, but few drew the attention that removing a triple-double from the league’s best player will receive.
“Through our normal review process, we noticed there were two errors in the statistical scoring last night and both have been adjusted,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank told the Beacon Journal.
To read more or comment...CLEVELAND: Twenty-three thoughts for No. 23 in a 118-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday…
1. In four years without LeBron James, the Cavs played 312 games and managed just one triple-double: Kyrie Irving last season in a win against the Utah Jazz. That’s it. James’ triple-double on Monday was the 51st in team history (45 regular season, six postseason) and he now has 35 of the last 36. Prior to tonight, James’ last regular season triple-double for the Cavs was March 16, 2010 at Detroit.
2. Somehow we managed to get through six questions during David Blatt’s postgame press conference and yet no one had asked about LeBron. So finally, after talking for more than 8 minutes, Blatt mentioned James himself.
3. “Everybody expects that. I don’t care that we all know he can do it, but you go out there and you have a triple-double and you lead your team in the moment of truth the way he did, it’s easy to overlook that guy,” Blatt said. “You come to expect it. That’s not a small thing he did out there tonight. The guy had a triple-double against an excellent basketball team and when we needed it.”
To read more or comment...CLEVELAND: LeBron James had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double of the season and the league’s newest “Big Three” dominated in the second half of the Cavs' 118-111 victory Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kyrie Irving had 32 points and nine assists and Love had 22 points and five rebounds, marking the first time all three of the Cavs' stars each scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
James and Irving combined for 30 of the Cavs’ 34 points in the third quarter and the Cavs outscored the Pelicans 16-1 to end the quarter, turning a five-point halftime deficit into an 85-79 lead entering the fourth. Kevin Love made four 3-pointers in the fourth, including three within the first four minutes.
Still, the Pelicans pulled within 101-99 on a lay-up from Anthony Davis, but Love countered with his fourth 3-pointer of the quarter and Irving completed a three-point play to extend the Cavs’ lead to 107-99 with 2:59 left.
To read more or comment...