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Photo: AP/Kathy Kmonicek
LeBron James was the centerpiece of this game, and he did not disappoint, but the most important thing is the Cavaliers stopped the bleeding after last night's disappointing home loss to the Bulls. They came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, James in particular, and never looked back despite some serious turnover issues in the second half.
Starting lineup shakeup: Wow, if you could have seen the look on my face when I saw the introductions tonight and J.J. Hickson came trotting out instead of Anderson Varejao. My first thought was, "Is Andy hurt? Sick? Missing? Kidnapped?" All of that was due to the fact that Hickson played the worst game of his career in three short minutes last night, and I wrote a few short hours ago that MB had most likely locked Hickson in the doghouse. Instead, Brown rewarded J.J. with the starting nod in what I'm terming "Ginobili-ing the bench". In other words, Mike Brown is trying to create a stronger bench by putting a proven bench performer like Varejao back in what was his niche for so many years. The result was mainly positive as Hickson looked a bit more comfortable being on the floor with LeBron rather than the bench bunch, and Varejao provided a high-energy performance off the pine. Hickson saw 13 minutes of action, shooting 3-of-4 from the field for 6 points. Andy posted a strong game with 35 minutes of action and 8 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Andy was asked after the game if he had a problem with coming off the bench and he said that he was fine with whatever is best for the team. Well, Andy, you might have to get used to it, because it is best for the team in a couple of ways. First, it reunites Andy and Z off the bench, who were so effective together during the 66-win season last year. Next, it pairs J.J. with LeBron, creating more open looks for J.J. to boost his confidence and ease the pressure on him. As long as it doesn't affect Andy's standard minutes (30-35), then I see no problem with this continuing if successful. It will be interesting to see if Mike Brown sticks with his postgame statement in keeping this current starting lineup for the near future against the likes of Orlando and Miami next week.
Under the bright lights: LeBron James didn't let the New York faithful down in the first quarter, putting on an absolute display in the first 12 minutes. James hit 8-of-9 shots in the quarter for 19 points, adding 3 boards and 5 assists, setting multiple teammates up on highlight passes. James was guarded for most of the quarter by former Cavalier and general disappointment Larry Hughes. Hughes has conveyed his worth to any credible NBA team with his new number, 0. More on Hughes later. LeBron took several normally ill-advised shots in the stanza, but given his general ability to make it rain in the Garden, it was justified. He simply gets so juiced for these games that you don't mind him putting the team on his back for this type of track meet. The Cavaliers as a team shot it at an incredible 73 percent clip in the first (16-for-22) hitting the 40 points mark at the first quarter buzzer on a James trey-ball, while the Knicks stumbled along at an 8-for-24 mark (33 percent).
2nd unit lowdown: Once again, the team's big three (LBJ, Mo, Shaq) all sat at the same point in the second quarter as the lineup of Gibson, West, Moon, Varejao, and Ilgauskas went to work. That unit in six and a half minutes was actually a (+3) as the Cavaliers increased their lead to 22. It's nice to see Moon get a chance for an extended run, and the Andy-Z frontcourt is a much better choice than a JJ-Z combo. The Cavaliers also used the same combination of bench players when LBJ took his rest in the fourth.
Helter-skelter and Chucker Extraordinaires: When you play the New York Knicks, you can count on two things: a track meet and an ugly game with a high amount of turnovers. The two guys who probably personify that the best are Larry Hughes and Al Harrington. Neither has a problem with chucking a long distance shot up anyplace, anytime. Fortunately, the Knicks didn't find any sense of heat shooting the ball until the final minutes of the game. New York shot 44 percent, but after three quarters, they were shooting just 38 percent. The Cavaliers shot 54 percent as a team, but they did most certainly get caught up in the turnover game. Cleveland turned it over a stomach-churning 21 times, compared to the Knicks' 16 miscues. James accounted for seven of those on his own. The Cavalier defense was sound enough to keep the Knicks out of the paint and encourage those chuckers to do exactly that. Sure, they'll hit their fair share, especially if they're coming off the hand of guys like Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, but that's something you have to live with in this style of game. For the record, Larry Hughes shot 7-of-13 from the field 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Al Harrington shot 5-of-14 for his 14 points and 4 rebounds.
C.C. two-face: In an interview with ESPN tonight, C.C. Sabathia, fresh off his World Series victory with the Yankees, basically openly encouraged LeBron to follow him to New York, saying "There's nothing like winning in New York." Thanks, CC. You know, there would have been nothing like winning in Cleveland if you had not CHOKED IN THE ALCS WHEN WE NEEDED A WIN UP 3-1! I was happy for you getting the ring after being a model citizen for the Indians, but I see that all it takes is a ring and a giant wad of cash for people to forget their roots. Go to hell, C.C., because hopefully LeBron remembers where he comes from a little better than you did, being raised in the Tribe organization. Rant over.
Can I get a foul?: Not in the fourth quarter, anyway. The officials missed several calls on both ends early in the fourth quarters as things eventually got heated between Delonte West and rookie Tony Douglas. Of course, West has been the equivalent of a loose cannon here in the early going, racking up three technical fouls in four games. Now I know how it feels to have a guy like Rasheed Wallace or Stephen Jackson on your team, where you can never predict when they're going to lose their cool. That being said, the officials should have tightened things up before it got to that point.
Bench Props: The new bench was incredibly effective tonight. The minutes breakdown off the bench was as follows: Varejao (35), Ilgauskas (24), West (22), Gibson (20), and Moon (14). That's great that the Cavs were able to go 10 deep, and the Cavaliers had 35 bench points. The Cavaliers were able to keep Anthony Parker and Shaquille O'Neal's minutes down tonight at 24 and 19 minutes respectively. That's huge, particuarly in Parker's case, as he's been racking up the 2nd most minutes on the team.
 goes to: LeBron James. It's no surprise here. Did you really expect anyone else to capture this award tonight on national television? James had the thing wrapped up in the first quarter, but his stats for all four quarters were solid. LBJ racked up 33 points on an efficient 12-of-17 shooting, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals.
Team Grade: B-
The turnovers were discouraging, and the competition was weak, but I was quite encouraged by the Cavaliers' ball movement and strong shooting performance. It's not going to be nearly this easy next week against much stronger competition, but wins are wins right now, and the Cavaliers got an important one tonight. One last note, if the Cavaliers want to round out their offensive execution better, they've got to hit their freebies. The Cavaliers missed 9 of their 26 attempts tonight (just 65 percent), and they are now 29th in the league in that category. In my opinion, it's a lack of focus more than anything, and let's hope that continues to get refined as the season progresses.
The Cavaliers get four days off before back-to-back road games in Florida against the Magic and Heat. In all honesty, the wine and gold will be fortunate to come away with one win there, as the Amway Arena has been a house of horrors for the Cavaliers lately. Hopefully, the rest does them good, and they can bring their top game against the Magic, who will still be without Rashard Lewis due to suspension. Look for Mike Brown to show off his new weapons in O'Neal, Parker, and Moon throughout the game to see how they square up with the Orlando pace.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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