Shaquille O’Neal is on the move again. This time, Shaq will join LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The LeBron and Shaq show will attempt to bring an NBA championship to the city of Cleveland for the first time.

In return for Shaq, the Phoenix Suns received Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, cash and a second round pick in next year’s draft. The Suns did the deal for financial reasons as Pavlovic has an unguaranteed contract and Wallace is said to be leaning toward retirement.

The 37-year-old O’Neal is coming off of a very good season. He averaged 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.7 assists per game. He shot 60.9% from the field and 59.5% from the line.

The Cavs need Shaq to give LeBron some help. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic, the Cavs struggled to find offensive options. They also struggled to defend the rim. Shaq should help in both regards.

Marketing-wise, this is a dream for Cleveland and the NBA.

Shaq and Lebron (Image: Zuma Press)

Mike Brown won 66 games as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was rewarded by being named the NBA Coach of the Year. However, after the Cavs got eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference, some news outlets have reported that the organization has contemplated firing him.

Could Mike Brown Really be Fired? (Image: Zuma Press)

Reportedly, among those who believe that Brown was outcoached in the series against the Magic is owner Dan Gilbert. One name being floated around as a potential replacement is Pat Riley, who currently works in the front office of the Miami Heat.

After these reports surfaced, the Cavs completely denied that Brown’s job is in jeopardy. Personally, I can’t imagine that Brown could get fired in this situation. Outside of LeBron James, Brown doesn’t have much to work with offensively. And defensively, Brown had the Cavs playing very good defense for practically the entire season.

That said, if the Cavs stumble at all next season, Brown could be fired — this time for real.

A few days after his Cleveland Cavaliers were ousted by the Orlando Magic, LeBron James went under the knife. The Cavs released a statement saying that James had a benign growth removed from his mouth. The surgery reportedly took five hours and involved the parotid gland.

Not the greatest of weeks for LeBron James (Image: Zuma Press)

Apparently, James and his close friends and family knew that he’d require offseason surgery at the end of his playoff run. The good news is that no further surgery is planned.

The self described Chosen 1 had a season filled with many highs. He had a tremendous regular season and earned his first Most Valuable Players award. In the postseason, he put up breathtaking stats — 35.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game.

At 24, James has plenty of time to win at least one NBA championship. It just won’t be the 2009 version.

With the Orlando Magic holding a 3-1 advantage in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James needed to come up big to keep the Cleveland Cavaliers alive. On Thursday night, he did just that.

In 46 minutes, James scored 37 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out 12 assists. He finished 11-for-24 from the field and 15-for-19 from the free throw line.

LeBron James was King James in Game 5 (Image: Newscom)

For once, the Chosen One actually got some help. Mo Williams had 24 points and hit 7-of-14 shots from the field, including 6-of-9 three-pointers. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points, while Delonte West chipped in 13 points.

The Magic can’t be too disappointed in their play. Early on, they fell into a 22-point whole but they battled all the way back and even took control of the game in the third quarter. It took a heroic effort by James to extend the series to Game 6.

Dwight Howard was again a monster in the middle, totaling 24 points, ten rebounds and two assists despite fouling out in 37 minutes. Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic in scoring with 29, while Rashard Lewis scored 15.

Game 6 will be played in Orlando on Saturday. Considering that Game 7 is in Cleveland, the pressure shifts to the Magic to slam the door on King James and the Cavs.

With the score tied at 100 with 0.5 seconds left in the game, Dwight Howard thought he was fouled on his last field goal attempt in regulation. In the overtime period, Howard powered his Orlando Magic past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers by a final score of 116-114.

Dwight Howard Dunks Over LeBron James (Image: Zuma Press)

In overtime, Howard had 10 of his 27 points. He also finished the game with 14 points, four assists and three blocks. He got help from Rafer Alston’s 26 points and the 17 points apiece for Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus. Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Magic.

LeBron James had about a 40-footer to tie the game at the end of the overtime but his shot hit the side of the rim. James finished the game with 44 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 49 minutes. Mo Williams, who had guaranteed a win coming into the game, scored 18 points but hit only 5-of-15 shots from the field.

The two teams will play again on Thursday. LeBron and the Cavs will try to secure a home win to keep their homes alive, while Howard and the Magic will try to advance to the 2009 NBA Finals.

After sweeping their first two series in the 2009 NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked primed to win their first championship. Suddenly, the Cavs are fighting for their postseasons lives. On Sunday night, the Orlando Magic won at home to go up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. If it wasn’t for LeBron’s miraculous shot to win Game 2, the Magic would be up 3-0 in this series.

Dwight Howard Beat LeBron James Again (Image: Zuma Press)

Despite being only able to play 28 minutes due to foul trouble, Howard dominated the action with 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists. At the line, Orlando’s bigman was able to hit 14-of-19 free throws. Rafer Alston poured in 18 points, while Mickael Pietrus had 16 points.

For Cleveland, you wouldn’t need many guesses to figure out who led the way. LeBron James scored 41 points, dished nine assists, grabbed seven rebounds and collected two steals. Although his stats look good, LeBron only hit 11-of-28 shots from the field, including 1-of-8 from beyond the three-point line.

LeBron also didn’t get much help. Mo Williams scored 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting and the only other player in double figures was Delonte West with 12.

Game 4 is obviously going to be a gigantic game. The contest, which is to be played in Orlando on Tuesday, will determine whether the Cavs can climb back into the series or whether the Magic can continue their dominance over the Cavs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were one second away from losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. Trailing the Orlando Magic 95-93 with 1.0 remaining, LeBron James added to his legend by hitting a buzzer beating three-pointer to give the Cavs a 96-95 victory.

Here is the LeBron James video of the game winner:

LeBron James finished the game with 35 points, five assists and four rebounds. He hit 12-of-23 shots from the field, 10-of-12 free throws and 1-of-3 three-pointers — as you can see above in the LeBron video. Helping out LeBron were Mo Williams (19 points, five rebounds and five assists) and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (12 points and 15 rebounds).

The almost hero for the Magic was Hedo Turkoglu. He hit a big three-pointer to tie the game late and then a runner with one second remaining to give Orlando a two-point lead. He ended the contest with 21 points and four assists. Rashard Lewis led the way for Orlando with 23 points and five rebounds, while Dwight Howard had 10 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

With the series now tied 1-1, Game 3 will take place in Orlando on Sunday at 8:30 PM EST. Expect another close game and perhaps another fantastic finish. Another LeBron James game winner in Game 3?

Don’t bet against it.

LeBron James Game Winer (Image: Zuma Press)

By Guest Blogger Jesse Lamovsky

Let’s be honest — since they first laced them up in the fall of 1970, the Cleveland Cavaliers have never been the first and last name in NBA excellence. Still, despite its largely bleak history, the franchise has had its moments, and here are the best of them. The five greatest playoff-series wins for the Cavaliers:

5.) 1992 Eastern Conference Semifinals - Cleveland 4, Boston 3
The Cavaliers won their first best-of-seven series since the Miracle Year of 1976 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history as they outlasted an aging but still potent Celtics team. It wasn’t a particularly close series on a game-by-game basis — four of the seven games were decided by 16 or more points. But amidst the blowouts stood one certified thriller. That was Game 4, a 114-112 white-knuckle classic won by the Cavaliers in overtime to tie the series at two games apiece. Cleveland won that game despite the best efforts of the late Reggie Lewis, who scorched the Cavs for 42 points (Lewis averaged 28.1 points per game in the series, proving that Michael Jordan wasn’t the only wing player whose eyes lit up at the sight of a Cleveland uniform.) In the deciding seventh game at the Coliseum, six Cavaliers scored in double figures and Cleveland rang the curtain on Larry Bird’s career with a dominating 122-104 victory.

4.) 2006 Eastern Conference First Round - Cleveland 4, Washington 2
Making their first playoff appearance since 1998, the Cavaliers made their return to the postseason a stylish one, as they squeezed by the Wizards in a series that saw three games decided by a total of three points. LeBron James won two of those games with last-second shots. In Game 3, his contested leaner in the lane gave Cleveland a 97-96 victory. In Game 5, he tiptoed (some would say traveled) along the baseline and hit a lay-up just before the buzzer to win the game 121-120. And in Game 6, Damon Jones — who had entered the game for the first time just 14 seconds earlier — drilled a corner jumper with five seconds left in overtime to give Cleveland the game, and the series, 114-113. It was the first time since 1992 that the Cavaliers had advanced in the playoffs.

Image: Newscom

3.) 2007 Eastern Conference Finals- Cleveland 4, Detroit 2
Playing in their first East Final since 1992, the Cavaliers fell behind 2-0 with a pair of heartbreaking losses at the Palace of Auburn Hills. But then the series shifted to Cleveland, and LeBron James took over. In Game 3, he punctuated his 32-point, nine-rebound, nine-assist performance with the play of the series, his fourth-quarter dunk in the face of Rasheed Wallace. In Game 4, he went for 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the Cavaliers tied the series with a 91-87 win. Game 5 saw LeBron’s performance for the ages, as he scored 29 of his team’s last 30 points and hit the game-winning lay-up with 2.2 left in overtime. And in Game 6, it was the Daniel Gibson Show, as the rookie poured in 31 points on just nine shots to lead Cleveland to a series-clinching 98-82 victory in front of a delirious crowd at the Q.

2.) 1976 Eastern Conference Semifinals - Cleveland 4, Washington 3
The Miracle of Richfield. More than three decades removed, the first playoff series in franchise history is still the best playoff series in franchise history. Four of the seven games in this marathon were decided either in the last five seconds or in overtime, and the Cavaliers won three of them. In Game 2, Cleveland prevailed 80-79 when Bobby “Bingo” Smith drilled a 25-footer with two seconds to play. In Game 5, the Cavaliers trailed 91-90 and Washington’s Elvin Hayes had an opportunity to put the game away at the free-throw line with six seconds left. But he missed both foul shots, and Jim Cleamons dropped in a put-back lay-up at the buzzer to give Cleveland a 92-91 victory. In Game 7, played in front of 21,000 screaming Cavaliers partisans at the old Richfield Coliseum, Dick Snyder broke an 85-85 tie when he banked in a left-handed runner with four seconds to play. When the Bullets’ Phil Chenier missed a desperation shot at the buzzer, fans poured onto the floor, mobbed the Cavaliers players, and in an unconscious homage to Cleveland’s reputation as a football town, tore down the baskets.

1.) ???
And the number-one Cavaliers playoff-series victory? It hasn’t been played yet. Maybe we’ll see it in June.

Jesse Lamovsky is lifelong Cleveland sports fan and a sometimes sports writer. Learn more about Jesse and his writing at swerbsblurbs.com.

By Guest Blogger Jesse Lamovsky

It took a while — more than seven periods, to be exact — but we finally got a glimpse of some drama in what had been a wholly un-dramatic first-round series between the Cavaliers and Pistons. After being punched around for a game and three periods, Detroit finally counterpunched.

Image: Newscom

It began early in the fourth period of Game 2 with Cleveland cruising along with a 79-50 lead and the starters, including LeBron James, tucked securely on the bench. The Cavaliers had jumped out to a 12-2 lead, pushed the advantage to 14 at the halftime break, then blew things wide open with a 31-point third quarter. Beaten to loose balls and offensive rebounds and with the old Detroit fire a mere mass of cooling embers, the Pistons appeared to be floating lifelessly through the evening’s proceedings like a dead goldfish.

Then they suddenly came back to life, thanks in no small part to Cleveland’s reserve corps, which took its foot off the gas way too early. In a seven-minute span in the fourth quarter, the Pistons ripped off a 27-5 run to cut that once-gigantic lead down to seven, at 84-77, with 3:50 to play. The catalyst for the spurt was turnovers: the Cavaliers committed five in the span, including three by Delonte West. They also went more than nine minutes without a field goal, missed free throws, gave up offensive rebounds, and basically stopped competing. It was an all-encompassing meltdown, wholly uncharacteristic for a team that has given consistent effort, 48 minutes a night, nearly every night in this magical season.

Eventually Mike Brown brought the starters back onto the floor, and the run stopped. The Cavaliers restored order, pulled away, and won by 12 points. But for the first time in this series, they had shown themselves to be vulnerable. Now the question remains … will that vulnerability carry over into Friday night’s Game Three at Auburn Hills?

Based on recent Cavaliers playoff history, that question can be answered in one of two ways. Twice in the last four postseasons, the Cavaliers have been on the other side of a fourth-quarter rally to tighten up a Game 2 rout. In the 2006 East Semifinals, Cleveland’s 27-12 run cut a twenty-point deficit to five in what ultimately became a 97-91 defeat. In the 2007 Finals, Cleveland went on a 27-6 fourth-quarter run to chop a 29-point San Antonio lead to eight, in a 103-92 loss. The former run seemed to change the momentum of the series; the Cavaliers took the next three from Detroit before ultimately losing in seven. The latter, it didn’t even merit footnote status, as the Spurs finished off the sweep in the Q.

Certainly the Cavaliers brain trust (specifically Mike Brown and LeBron James) remember both runs, and the effect (or lack of effect) each had on its respective series. It’s hard to imagine either man brushing off Detroit’s late surge as inconsequential. My guess is that the team will treat it the same way their San Antonio mentors treated Cleveland’s late run in 2007’s Game 2 — as a letdown to be stamped out and not repeated, not as an anomaly to be dismissed.

Based on what happened between the teams in 2006, the 27-5 charge may turn the series in favor of the Pistons. But I wouldn’t hold my breath counting on it to happen. There is too much focus, too much confidence, and too much LeBron cracking the whip for it to happen.

Jesse Lamovsky is lifelong Cleveland sports fan and a sometimes sports writer. Learn more about Jesse and his writing at swerbsblurbs.com.

By Guest Blogger Jesse Lamovsky

There really shouldn’t be too much drama involved in a first-round series between a team with 66 wins and a team with 39, and Cleveland’s 102-84 Game 1 thumping of the Pistons on Saturday was about as drama-free as it gets this time of year. Despite a rather lax defensive effort early, the Cavaliers were never really challenged, methodically building a 12-point halftime lead and keeping Detroit at arm’s length the rest of the way. The Pistons never got closer than eight points in the second half.

The kid will stick in this league: Saddled with early trouble, sidekick Mo Williams was a non-factor early, scoring two points, and Anderson Varejao never really got into the flow, taking only three shots the entire game. Aside from Big Z and Joe Smith, Cleveland’s support cast was sporadic at best before halftime. LeBron had to step up early- and he did. Draining his first four attempts from the field, the wunderkind scored 22 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting with six rebounds and four assists, including a highlight-reel left-handed dime to a streaking Joe Smith early in the second quarter. He ended his marvelous half by banking in a 41-foot runner at the buzzer, putting the Cavaliers up 57-45. I would have been a little surprised to see him miss that shot. He’s that good.

Image: Newscom

Usually a little demure about getting down in the post, LeBron was aggressive in establishing deep position and either using his superior quickness to get around defenders or just turning and shooting right over them. A lot has been made over the state of LeBron’s perimeter shot over the years, but his future is in the low block. The man is the same size as Karl Malone and is too fast for pretty much every power forward in the league. If he continues to refine his arsenal of post moves- the Magic-style running hook, the MJ fade-away, the Tim Duncan banker- he can be as streaky as he wants from outside, because he’ll be unstoppable near the basket.

As for Detroit: Not much you can say about the Pistons. They shot 65% through the first four minutes of the second period, but all it took was one cold spell late in the first half to put them in a hole they were incapable of climbing out. Rodney Stuckey (20 points, 7-of-21 shooting) abused Mo Williams early by bulling right by him to the basket, but inexplicably hung around the perimeter lobbing errant jumpers for most of the game’s remainder. Rasheed Wallace scored eight points in the first half but was waylaid by foul trouble in the second. Tayshaun Prince (four points) was a spectator. Rip Hamilton scored 15 but spent most of the night being chased around screens by Delonte West. For the fourth consecutive game against Cleveland, the Pistons scored fewer than 90 points. Not coincidentally, they’ve lost all four games.

If you want to beat Cleveland, you need to be able to any or all of the following things: play up-tempo, shoot well from long range, or score consistently in the low post. Detroit does none of these things. And they have absolutely no answer for LeBron James. Short of conjuring up a young Dennis Rodman, they still won’t have an answer when Game 2 tips off at 8:00 pm ET Tuesday night.

Jesse Lamovsky is lifelong Cleveland sports fan and a sometimes sports writer. Learn more about Jesse and his writing at swerbsblurbs.com.