General manager David Griffin was on the verge of firing head coach David Blatt and LeBron James went one step closer to retirement because he had lost a step compared to his Miami days.
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COVERS CONSENSUS: The public is giving Cleveland the edge at home against an underachieving Wizards squad with 56 percent of wagers coming in on the Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points and eight assists for Cleveland, who snapped the Wizards’ four-game winning streak and avenged a loss in Washington on Sunday when James sat out to rest.
All Star John Wall led the Wizards, scoring 17 points and adding eight rebounds and seven assists.
James had 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while making his first start at power forward and Kyrie Irving had 21 points and eight assists in the Cavaliers’ 108-83 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
For Boston to be successful, they need to put up more of each.
With the Cavaliers playing uninspiring basketball of late, and with a rumor that Kyrie Irving is unhappy in Cleveland, LeBron’s workouts with Wade and weird tweets only stir the pot. LeBron did a great job just spreading the floor, running and setting picks. After another missed shot by Boston, James gets the rebound and takes it up the court on his own for the jam.
Center Timofey Mozgov had six dunks while finishing with 14 points, Matthew Dellavedova had 12 off the bench and shooting guard J.R. Smith and reserve Tristan Thompson had 10 each.
Fans once again were dumbfounded as to why James was subtweeting his teammates instead of just telling them directly, but this was only the beginning.
“I remember every loss vividly, including Scrabble with my family”, Stevens said”.
The Spurs reeled off a 9-2 run on the strength of a 3-point play by Leonard and 3-pointers from Diaw and Patty Mills to eventually forge a 57-54 lead at halftime. “It’s just an old-fashioned tail whipping”.
Since their last game, the Cavs had been surrounded by drama. He got a night off for rest in Toronto’s next game, and then came out against the Jazz on Wednesday and scored 32 more points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
In between, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ new-look, small-ball lineup was a smashing success. While the Cavs are certainly capable of blowing out a team like Indiana, Cleveland was on-point the entire game, never allowing the Pacers to gain a significant lead. But if they have aspirations of a deep playoff run, Saturday was a good lesson that they won’t do themselves any favors by losing their cool. The Wizards bench was not at full strength because of the conspicuous absence of Alan Anderson, who has proven to be a valuable commodity in his two-week playing tenure as a Wizard. He writhed in pain for more than a minute after being flagrantly fouled and did not return, motioning to reporters that he was too uncomfortable to speak following the game. Beal is still working his way back from stress fracture in his leg. “He gives us a scoring punch”, coach Randy Wittman said.
“Our offense is a lot faster, a little bit more precise with me at the four”, James said. “We were able to keep our composure, get some stops, make some shots and win the ballgame. He’s getting back to being aggressive, taking it to the basket”.
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On their previous visit to Cleveland, the Celtics rallied in the final seconds to beat the Cavs 104-103 on February 5. “With the team we have constructed, we can play big, we can play small”. “It’s something that we’re looking to do”.
