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Photo: AP/Lynee Sladky
If things go as planned for the Cavaliers next year, Cleveland tailors are going to be incredibly busy. In the presence of Michael Jordan tonight in the American Airlines Arena, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade put on quite a show in-between all-too-frequent whistles, but the take-away media story from all this is not the typical 2010 talk, it's a potential number change... for King James.
Milk carton mainstay: Delonte West missed his second straight game tonight, and the long, strange saga of Delonte West continues. As time goes on, you can see the team making the appropriate adjustments and building chemistry... often without Delonte. I have no doubt that Delonte can step in and contribute in an important way if he can handle the off-the-court issues (which is a tall order). However, seeing West as a starter and the player he was last year is looking like a longer shot day by day.
Do you want the 8x10 or wallets?: With 3:56 to go in the first quarter, Dwyane Wade forever immortalized Anderson Varejao with a posterizing dunk that shook the rim and sent shock waves throughout the NBA itself. After LeBron James missed a potential highlight-reel dunk on one end, Wade took it to the hole with a giant exclamation point. It was probably the best dunk I've ever seen live action, and one of the best of the past few years. LeBron said afterward that it could be a Top 10 all-time dunk, but I'm not willing to go quite that far. Wherever you rank it, Varejao didn't take too kindly to it, and him and Wade got into it a couple of plays later when Wade swatted at the ball after Andy grabbed a rebound. Varejao glared at Wade, and the two exchanged some pleasantries, then Andy continued yapping with Jermaine O'Neal after he and Wade were hit with technicals. I feel for Wild Thing, but after being embarrassed like that, the best thing to do is shut your mouth and keep playing.
Frenetic First: There wasn't much defense to speak of in the first twelve minutes, as both teams shot well and took several trips to the foul line. Miami shot 50 percent (10-for-20) from the field, while Cleveland shot 46 percent, but used LBJ's trips to the foul line to keep pace with Miami when they cooled off after a 5-for-6 start. The LBJ-DWade battle was on early, and James outscored Wade 15-12 and the Cavaliers held a 35-33 lead. A highly entertaining exchange occurred when Wade hit a three with about four seconds left in the quarter. James then raced up the court with little stopping him as he launched a deep two on the run and nailed it to break the tie as the buzzer sounded.
Changing Paces: The second quarter saw both coaches make some defensive adjustments as both stars got a fair amount of rest. James sat for four and a half minutes, while Wade sat for six and a half. The teams played even for that stretch, and the Heat survived the scoring drought thanks to three jumpshots by backup point Carlos Arroyo. Mo Williams led the Cavaliers with 11 points in the quarter, including three triples.
Dyno-MITE third quarter: Tonight was a sample of what J.J. Hickson can bring to the table when put in a position to succeed. Hickson started by design, but he remained on the court for such long stretches out of necessity due to foul trouble for Varejao and O'Neal. He really flashed his skills in the third quarter when he poured in 11 of his career-high 18 points on the evening. Hickson used a mix of open dunks, post moves, and jump shots to give the Cavaliers a big boost in the scoring department. It wasn't all positive for Hickson tonight since he was abused by Michael Beasley and Udonis Haslem on the defensive ends at times. Beasley finished with 24, and Haslem chipped in with 9. On one play in the second quarter, J.J. failed to cover Beasley as he knocked down a wide-open jumper. LeBron was visibly upset, and it was not the only time that LBJ yelled at J.J. then glared over at Mike Brown on the bench, hoping for a personnel change. However, if Hickson had not come up with a big performance tonight, despite what LBJ and Mo did, the outcome would have been different.
Whistle stop: One of the reasons that the pace change from the first to the second quarter was the officiating. Apparently, Greg Willard, Sean Corbin, and Sean Wright assumed the Miami fans came to watch a James v. Wade free throw shooting contest. The Cavaliers were hit much harder by foul trouble than the Heat. At one point, the foul count was 23 for Cleveland and just 14 for Miami. Anthony Parker, Shaquille O'Neal, and Anderson Varejao all picked up 3 fouls in the first half, and all three of them had 4 fouls after three. Shaq and Z each finished with 5 fouls, while Varejao and Parker did not pick up a fourth quarter foul. At one point tonight, Wade had made 19 trips to the foul line compared to James's 10 attempts. For all the people who complain about LeBron and Kobe getting all the calls, Wade draws a ton of "star calls" as well. Give credit to Wade though for using the whistles to his advantage and continuing to attack the paint, something Cleveland did not fix all night. The fouls evened out a bit at the end as James attacked the bucket, but the Cavs still led in fouls 30-23, and 77 free throws were shot tonight. To put that in perspective, it was enough free throws for the TNT national audience to miss nearly the entire first quarter of the Lakers-Suns game.
Late push, key three: The Cavaliers built an 11-point lead in the fourth, but Wade and the Heat did not go away quietly. D-Wade hit a three pointer with 3:06 remaining that cut the Cavalier lead to just four. For some reason, Coach Brown chose to go back to Anthony Parker to cover Wade, despite Wade making light work of him in the first three quarters and getting him into foul trouble. It was obvious that James was the way to go for guarding Wade in the fourth. Even Jamario Moon, who put forth a solid game tonight (8 points, 6 rebounds in 31 minutes) would have been a better option than AP. Parker's a solid defender, but Wade is much too quick and athletic for the long veteran. The biggest shot of the night came courtesy of James with the shot clock winding down with 2:41 to play. His triple there pushed the lead back to seven, and if James had missed that shot, Miami would've had the momentum, looking to cut the lead to 1 or 2 on the next trip.
Postgame Numerology: In a postgame interview with TNT's Craig Sager, James gushed over Michael Jordan being in attendance to watch him and Wade do battle. He stated that he had been thinking about changing his number next season, because no one should wear Jordan's #23 any longer. He added that he would start a petition to get everyone on board with the idea. When pressed about which new number he would select, LeBron said #6, his number for Team USA.
I admire James's gesture, but as a fan who proudly owns two #23 James jerseys, it irks me a little bit. Granted, as long as James is wearing wine and gold next year, he could wear #666 and I wouldn't care all that much, but it's still something I would rather not seem him do. Just because Jordan and Kobe switched digits doesn't mean you need to. I will say this, I didn't think I would get used to seeing Kobe in the #24 jersey, but I don't really give it a second thought now. I think I speak for Cavaliers fans everywhere when I say that if the team is printing up #6 LeBron jerseys next season, we'll adjust. Meanwhile, I'll find a good tailor who can change the number on at least one of my two jerseys.
 goes to: J.J. Hickson, LeBron James, and Mo Williams. Hickson turned in his best game as a Cavalier on a good night with significant big man foul trouble. In 31 minutes, Hickson hit 7-of-9 shots, racking up 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. James hit the biggest shot of the night, and wore a path to the charity stripe late. LBJ posted 34 points on just 8-of-20 from the field, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Impressively, James hit 16-of-18 foul shots. Mo really brought his A-game on the Florida trip, shooting 10-of-15 tonight, nailing 5-of-7 threes, on his way to 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Team Grade: A-
The Heat are a vastly improved defensive team, limiting opponents to the 3rd lowest points per game average in the early going, but the Cavaliers managed 111 points, 48% shooting, and 47% 3-point shooting. On a back-to-back and without West to defend Wade, it was an incredibly tough, key win for the wine and gold.
The Cavaliers head back home to take on the Utah Jazz Saturday night in Quicken Loans Arena.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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