First up, a recap of Adam Sandler's favorite squad in the Association...Cavs beat Bulls, Is the easy schedule harmful?  WFNY - Brendan
 

And if you miss Gus today, as he awaits his second round calls tomorrow, check out his greatest NCAA tournament calls as collected by Midwest Sports Fans - Jerod

There's still time to get your Saturday tourney picks in, and our boy Pete just nailed his play of the day with the 10 unit call on the Gaels...for more - Cleveland Frowns: Saturday Tourney 4-Pack 

For video of Friday's celebration in Athens that hopes to continue tonight as they prepare to tip verse Tennessee.  OU Beats Georgetown, reacts perfectly...Thunder Treats - Dilo

LeBron's block from Wednesday on AJ Price.  LeBron James erases...A Stern Warning - Mookie

Checking in on the Presidents bracket...Baraketology....The Hoop Doctors - Allen Moll

You win with guard play this time of year...Point Guard Play in the Big Dance - SlamOnline

Talking Tournament...A Saturday afternoon chat - CollegeHoops.net

Editors Note:  We're excited to welcome the biggest Cavs fan in Ireland, David O'Leary, on board with us here at Stepien Rules.  In the past he's also blogged for Hoopsworld, and we're looking forward to his perspectives and continued commentary from the Emerald Isle.  Without further ado...

Colour me Wine and Gold, but is it just me, or do we look better now than we have all season? I’d even go further as to say that right now, we are better than at any point of last season. Even when we had that surreal winning streak. Even when we went 39-1 at home (I refuse to acknowledge that 76ers game, meant nothing to anyone!!). I’m fully, 100% convinced that right now, you are looking at not only the premier team in the entire NBA, but also in Cavs history. Better than Richfield. Better than the unfortunates of the eighties who couldn’t get away from Mike and the Bulls. This is it. We’re at peak form at the right moment. Even when we’re playing poorly against Boston, we end up beating them by 11. While missing 17 free throws. Last year when I was at Hoopsworldand we got to this stage of the season I still had my doubts about our credentials, and expressed them openly and regularly. This time around not one tiny doubt lingers.

As we all know, we will go as far as LeBron takes us. All things good begin and end with him. He’s awesome. And I never use the word awesome. But have ya checked out the help? Last year we had Mo as the only legit scorer behind Bron. Sure, we looked like world-beaters against Atlanta and Detroit. Everybody got in on the act. We went 8-0 over the two series while never winning by less than ten points. But when we came up against top tier opposition in Orlando, we stunk. Mo Williams went into hiding. Our depth lacked reliability. We couldn’t cope with their size and shot making. It hurt to watch. It still eats at me because we would have given the Fakers a way better series. But I’m over it. Kinda. Perhaps the biggest thing in helping erase the pain from last year is that this year, we are loaded. L-O-A-D-E-D. Our backcourt rotates as follows; Mo, Parker, Red, Boobie. Whatever the combo, we don’t miss a beat. Boobie filled in amicably when Mo went down. DeLonte is an X Factor with cool tattoos. Boobie and Parker shoot the three at an alarmingly good rate. Even Jamario Moon could easily slide to the two to match up with the taller shooting guards out there, like say, Vince Carter, who has spent time there this season. Our swingmen can cover every facet of the game. We have scoring, rebounding, defense and athleticism in abundance.



LeBron is on another level right now, and hopefully he should get ample rest from now until the end due to our commanding conference lead over the Magic. No need to over-exert number 23. Jamario Moon, Jawad Williams and when we go small ball Anthony Parker offer a variety of different options. Coach Brown is spoilt for choice. And our bigs are exactly that, big. Dwight Howard ain’t gonna back down Shaq. I don’t care what anybody at ESPN or Yahoo!says, Dwight Howard and Shaq is not as one sided as they think. Also, I hope somebody has sent Rashard Lewis the memo telling him that he won’t be able to just spot up when he feels like it and fire away. He may even have to create his own shot off the dribble – how things have changed! Antawn Jamison may be the most ideally gift wrapped 6-9 guy ever. If you could get a bow to fit that is. But while Jamison still doesn’t look 100% in sync with what we do, we still have 12 regular season games left to figure that out. Danny Ferry has pulled off a major coup in Leon Powe. You gotta admit it’s a stacked team.

I don’t see any problems with us advancing right into the ECF. At present, we face Toronto in the first round. They’ll be gobbled up in four games faster than Shaq can think of his next Chris Bosh joke. How sweet will it be to do to Hedo what Hedo done to us last year? About as sweet as when Boston’s age set in sometime in January.

The next twelve games are going to be long and drawn out because for me, and hopefully all you Cavs fans out there, our minds should be focused on one thing and one thing only – getting the ring for the king.

Til next time…

David can be reached via email, by clicking here.

At the 25.9 second mark in the fourth quarter LeBron James hit a three to put the Cavs up 109 - 101.  It gave him 29 points to go along with his 12 rebounds and 12 assists, but more importantly it sent his flock of benchmates into a goose-neck flapping tizzy.  LeBron went to the bench and threw up a gooseneck of his own in response to the applause, but that wasn't the important thing.
  

What was most important about this whole episode is that I learned two things. 

The first of which was that this three-fingered salute, created to mimic the way Jamario Moon looks after shooting a three, has now moved into the English lexicon in the form of a verb. 

At the timeout after LeBron hit that previously mentioned three, Austin Carr said the following:

"Raise the gooseneck, everybody's goosing.  The game has been put to rest." 

Sure, everybody's goosing has its negative connotations in some circles, but that's besides the point.  If you said previously, he's got the gooseneck up, he's raising the gooseneck, or he's going goosey, feel free to skip right to the point next time.

The second thing I learned is that the gooseneck can also be extended into a two-handed high-five of sorts. 

As pictured below, LeBron came up to Delonte 'double gooseneck' one over each eye.  Delonte was double gooseneck in response on the approach.  Delonte remained that way, and LeBron extended his double gooses towards West for a brief dap at approximately shoulder height.  So before you extend somebody a knuckle today, or ramp up for a chest bump, maybe reconsider and see if you can't work something else in a bit more fresh.

As far as the game itself, beyond the triple double by LeBron, I'm gotta send a shout out in the direction of Maurice Williams as well.  If he has two more games like he had tonight (20 points on 6 of 11 shooting with 5 assists and 4 rebounds) I just might feel like he snapped all the way out of that slump of his, and I also might go back to calling him Mo.  Cavs bench was big as well with 34 points paced by Jawad Williams' 10 on some solid marksmanship and the 4th quarter was the difference.  The Cavaliers scored 38 en-route to the 113-101 victory, and on a side note, it was good to see Rodney Stuckey in the house and hear that he's hopefully moving forward with his recovery as well. 

Cavs magic number to win the central is 1, to clinch the top seed in the east is 9, and to clinch the best record in the NBA overall, the magic digit is now 11. 

Next up the Pacers tomorrow night.  Happy St. Paddy's day lads.

If you haven't been to NBA Base Line yet today, what's wrong with you?  The Mid-March Bloguin MVP and ROY Rankings are currently up, and that's right, you guessed it...you know who is currently ranked 8th:  Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz.

Or maybe that's not what you guessed.  But if what you did guess was that LeBron was number one in another MVP power ranking, stop patting yourself on the back.  The only thing remotely surprising about that is the fact that the league office did not choose to save on postage and send this year's trophy out in the same package they shipped his last player of the month award.  I'd say its his trophy to win, if not for the fact that he's already won it.  As far as the current leaders to win silver and bronze however, my votes were as follows:

1. LeBron
2. Durant
3. Dirk

When all the votes were tallied, the top-3 shook out like this across the network:

1. LeBron
2. Kobe
3. Durant

In case you're wondering, I had Carmelo 4th, and Kobe 5th.  For the complete top-10 according to the esteemed bloggers of this network - and some reasons behind the votes - click here.

We also weighed in on the ROY race.  And no, Christian Eyeanga just hasn't done enough to get my vote.  However, Steph Curry has, and this time around, I had him number one.  My top-3 rook's were as follows:

1. Steph Curry
2. Tyreke Evans
3. Brandon Jennings

All tolled, the top-3 looked like this:

1. Tyreke Evans
2. Stephen Curry
3. Brandon Jennings

For the complete top-5, as well as a collective commentary from the voters, click here.

Anybody can smack a guy in the face going to the basket or land their three hundred pound frame directly on an opposing three point shooter just as he squares up to the basket.  It doesn't take Kevin Garnett's gum smacking towel waving intensity to instill effort like that.  And if I'm a Boston Celtics' fan, I hope LeBron James was right...I hope my team's bored.  Because that's how their playing, and that's how they looked against the Cavs on Sunday.  They looked bored, but what's worse than that, they looked like a team that now 'fakes effort' through their series of lazy fouls, hacks, and cheap shots.  This wasn't a Detroit team of the late 80's type effort that doesn't allow easy lay-ups on defense.  It was the effort of a team that's no where near as good as they were two years ago, a step slower on defense, not as talented off the bench, and extremely frusterated about knowing all that to be true.  Their version of 'intesity' now looks like that 40-year old guy in your rec league that knows he can't keep up with the 20 year old kid, so he grabs his jersey on defense, elbows him for rebounds, and slaps at his hand every time he shoots, and calls it playing tough D.

Despite only leading by 6 at halftime, this one never really felt close to me.  And I heard the post game talk about a playoff level intensity on the court today, but count me as a guy that didn't see it.  Anderson Varejao played like it was a playoff game, but he always does and his 15 points in the first half en route to 17 and 10 for the game keyed the first half charge.  He was the best 'big' on the court today, and that includes JJ Hickson's boy-hood hero Kevin Garnett.  And memo to KG, JJ's all grown up and not really feeling you as much these days.  I like seeing Hickson not take that garbage from Garnett in the first half, and in 23 minutes of work Hickson's 12 points were solid though he only shot 4 of 10 from the field.  And in the second half, after being forced to watch the most ridiculous halftime piece about how KG blocks shots on dead ball situations, LeBron James was equally ridiculous in a different way.  Scoring 24 points and finishing with 30 -8 - 7 was no surprise, but the post game reasons why the Cavaliers won from Jon Barry were, even though it shouldn't be.  Barry's reason for the Cavaliers win was 'the play of Anderson Varejao.'  And I'm by no means piling on Barry, because I'm guilty of it too sometimes.  LeBron James has come to a point in his career when a stat line that reads 30 - 8 - 7 raises no eyebrows, and its almost too repetitive to say every game that the key to the win was LeBron James.  But he is the key to pretty much every win, and he was again today, no disrespect intended to the best big man on the floor today.  

I'd like to say that Mo snapped out of it today, and he almost did, but he didn't really.  Shot it 5 of 13 from the field and finished with 14 points 6 assists and 3 turnovers.  Not bad, but kinda average.  If Antawn didn't miss 6 FT's (2 of 8) his night would have been better than average but he was 1 for 7 from three and finished with 15 points on 6 of 17 fromt the field.  I hope he doesn't think that since he replaced Ben Wallace at the PF position from a year ago he has to continue to shoot FT's like him now that he's a Cav.  Bend your knees boss.  From Mike Brown's seat, I'm liking more and more just giving LeBron the ball all the time and letting him be the PG.  I'm of the opinion now that Delonte, Jamison, Hickson, and Andy might be the best four to run alongside LBJ with Shaq on the shelf.  And I like Jamario Moon getting the 20 minutes he got at the wing spot as well, and as the playoffs approach, I'm thinking more and more that Mo may be best suited at the off guard spot when he gets the minutes he does.  And I also don't have too much of a problem with cutting back some of those minutes - along with AP's - and divying them up as added time for both West and Moon. 

Getting back to Garnett, I've been holding back on the joining the KG bashing party that's erupted around NBA blogs in the last few years.  As a ninth grader, I met KG - playing on an AAU team with one of LBJ's friends ironically enough - and I always rooted for him.  He was a senior in HS at the time about to be drafted, and he talked to our team, shook all our hands, and even complimented LBJ's friend's hat.  More on that some other time I guess, but I now officially can't stand the way KG plays.  Took about 15 years for me to say that, but I'm glad his Celtics team no longer poses a threat to these Cavaliers...because I don't think they do.  Not this year at least.

The Cavaliers beat the Sixers by five last night, and during the game, LeBron James scored two points by doing this:





As for the rest of the details...


Curse of  Cleveland - Kirk:

"Coach Mike Brown won't save any space in his coaching memory book for this one, but the Cavaliers continued to do what they need to at this point in the season: beat teams that you are supposed to beat. Despite giving up a season-high 66 points in the paint, the Cavaliers clamped down to hold Philly to just 38 second-half points, and Mo Williams and the Cavalier bench led the second half charge. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand played up to their salaries, but the wine and gold used 44 bench points to absorb the absence of Antawn Jamison."

King James Gospel - Cody:

"TheBron returned to the floor and led the way with 23 points and 10 assists.  However, he was a miserable 3-of-10 from downtown and an even less impressive 6-of-12 from the charity stripe.  I think it’s safe to say that he was a tad bit rusty from the week long break.  Mo Williams chipped in with 21 points on a reassuring 8 for 13 shooting performance but only managed two assists from the point guard position.  And I couldn’t help but think to myself while I sat back and watched Friday night’s matchup, “Is there a point guard in the league that can’t beat Mo off the dribble?” 

Waiting For Next Year - Jacob:

"Game ball should definitely go to Delonte West for sealing the deal and playing yet another key role off the bench in this win. Sure it was nice to have LeBron back in the starting lineup after a week of rest, but I have no idea where this team would be without the constant safety valve of West. He finished with 17 points, four assists and a pair of steals. In 12 games since from the injured list on February 11th, he is averaging 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.8 steals in 28.1 minutes per contest."

In an attempt to shamelessly self-promote my basketball writing endeavors humbly notifiy Stepien Rules readers of my basketball blogging/writing efforts posted elsewhere on the web, below are a couple of my latest links...

CollegeHoops.net - MAC Tournament: Game by Game Preview:

I will be posting my credentialed coverage of the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament on CollegeHoops.net as play gets underway this Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.  As a primer, my previews and predictions for the tournament went up this morning, and can be found here.  There will be more to follow, so check back with me at CollegeHoops.net over the weekend if you get a chance.

NBA Base Line - Shaq's still out, Antawn's day-to-day, and LBJ's coming back:

   

Our ever expanding Bloguin Basketball squad launched a new all inclusive NBA Blog yesterday - NBA Base Line.com - and I chimed in with a short update on the Cavaliers injury situation, highlighting the news of Antawn Jamison's MRI results specifically.  For a look at that, click here.  Also, feel free to add NBA Base Line to your book mark tab, and look for that to become the hub of the Bloguin Basketball wheel over the weeks to come.