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 …read more

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.
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 …read more

By Guest Blogger Jesse Lamovsky
It’s early yet, but the stunning Game 1 victories by Chicago and Philadelphia over the favored Celtics and Magic bring to mind other unexpected outcomes in NBA postseason play, particularly in the first round. Here are the five biggest first-round upsets in NBA Playoff history, as chosen by me:
5.) 1989: Golden State (43-39) 3, Utah (51-31) 0
Don Nelson’s Warriors stumbled into the Playoffs on a six-game losing streak and had to open their first-round series with two games at the Salt Palace, where the Jazz were 34-7. But Golden State took both games in Utah and …read more

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 …read more

This weekend, the wildly anticipated NBA playoffs began. And while there were some great games, for me, the lasting image is half-Kobe-half-Shaq lecturing me on fear. Though the commercials have been around for a while now, they’ve received heavy rotation during the playoffs. I actually thought the commercials were pretty neat, if a bit unsettling. I was especially impressed how they managed to sync up the speech from each player to create an odd stereo effect. I was noting this when my friend brought their eyes to my attention. They blink at the same time! Ahhhhhh! Don’t believe me, …read more