# Game #1: Hornets @ Cavs (11/2/2005)



## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*VS* 

*New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets* *(1-0) @* *Cleveland Cavaliers* *(0-0)*



*TIME:* 4:00 pm PT, 7:00 pm ET
*TV:* FSOhio, *NBALP*
*Radio:* *WTAM 1100*
*Location:* *Quicken Loans Arena*, Cleveland, Ohio

The season begins with Cleveland trying to hold serve at The Q against the Hornets. The first few weeks might be a time when Cleveland’s sloppy offense lets opposing teams hang tough and try to sneak out wins. LeBron and Zydrunas need to establish their dominance early to set the tone. The Hornets will be on the second night of a back-to-back and might be a little sluggish out the gate. Especially after blowing out the Sacramento Kings, the Hornets might have a letdown if they come out the gate flat. The keys will be keeping an eye on the speedy duo of Chris Paul and Speedy Claxton. JR Smith will also be worth keeping an eye on. It will be up to Hughes to guard and try to contain the high jumping, smooth stroking Smith.


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

NO opens up tuesday night with a 20+ win over the Kings....


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Ugghh, Snow better put the hammer down on Chris Paul becuase D. Jones won't be able to keep up with this guy. Very nice perimeter rotation for the Hornets: Paul, JR Smith, and Mason.

Need to seriously pound this team inside. Z and Gooden all night long with Lebron posting as well.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Wow, handed the Kings a 26 point loss. Should the Cavs throw in the towel to the mighty Hornets? Only time will tell. :laugh:


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

*Beacon Journal | 11/02/2005 | Rebuilt Cavs set sights on playoffs*











> *Rebuilt Cavs set sights on playoffs*
> 
> *By Brian Windhorst
> Akron Beacon Journal*
> ...


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

I am very excited to be able to watch this team play together on TV for the first time this year. I just love the different line ups we can put on the floor and the different things we can do. Unlike last year we were an 8 man roster when it came to PT. 

This year however it could be anyone of different mix's of lineups that gets the job done.

But talking about the game i was able to watch No vs Sac on NBA League Pass, and NO just ran the floor all night long. With no size that is what they will have to do. But with hughes/bron running the floor with them, i like our chances


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

^ Yep we are way more athletic then the Kings


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Sounds like OKC/NO is buying into Byron Scott's system.  The key to the Cavs tonight will be controlling tempo and pounding it inside. They must take advantage of their edge in the paint. Otherwise, who knows what is going to happen. Also Hughes and Bron need to take their defensive assignments seriously.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

It's on, friends. It's on...



...And so it begins...


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Bron And Hughes!!!


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

God I love how this team is built. So many options and so many unselfish players.


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## SamTheMan67 (Jan 4, 2004)

THIS PISSES ME OFF DO U GUYS GET LEAGUE PASS? damnit i have digital cabel and thought id get a free trial and i missed that sick dunk!


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- James free-throw form seems a little more relaxed. Looks good-nailing them.
- Hughes is driving and dishing.
- Gooden is showing great hustle and heart out there (emotional but in a good way).
- Gooden and Marshall are playing on the court TOGETHER.
- Marshall has already nailed a 3-ball.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- Sasha enters game for Hughes.
- Sasha passes up a wide open 3 to hit Marshall underneath for a lay up (great unselfishness).
- LeBron casually banks a 3-ball (remember that old article I posted back in the summer about James improving his 3-point stroke and even intentionally banking in 3's... maybe LeBron banked this shot in on PURPOSE).
- 35-19 Cavs at the end of 1.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Lebron is going off. 3-3's in a row. He's on fire!


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- Sasha nails a 3-ball.
- Cavs second unit playing well.
- David Stern at the game and briefly made some comments on-air.
- LeBron proceeds to nail 3 three-pointer in a row.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

4 3 pointers in a row.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron has 24 points in the half: holey smokes


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- Damon Jones also nailed a 3-ball.

The perimeter shooting is really hot tonight. Every team has hot nights but that half so was hot, I'm hard pressed to remember a shooting exhibition like that from the Cavs in recent memory (there have many many halfs of good shooting with dunks and jumpers but this was the finest jumpshot shooting I've seen in a while).

66-47 at the half.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Hughes seems to be playing well but his boxscore ain't that good: 
0-4, 4 points, 4 assists, 3 TO's

while JR smith has 12 points for the Hornets

Meanwhile, Lebron, Z, Gooden, and Marshall are putting up impressive numbers


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- Z with a put back, Cavs rolling on the offensive glass.
- Z takes a charge.
- LeBron nails another 3-ball.
- Hughes gets his first bucket as a Cav (lay up).
- Hughes nails a midrange jumper.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Lebron looks like he's a man playing amoung boys. How did the Kings lose that badly to the Hornets?


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

- Damon Jones has nailed a 3-ball and a long two.

The bench is playing well. You don't see that MAJOR drop off in terms of quality of play. Last year, the standard of play dropped very quickly when the starters left the game.

To answer your question about the Kings, I give the Hornets credit. They keep fighting and they are fast. If you're slow of foot or not very athletic, you will get ran off the court.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Good ball movement out there. Unselfish play all-around. 

91-68 at the end of 3.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Looks like Sasha has the prefrence of Brown for the backup SG/SF spot so far.

Good to see that he's resting Z already


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Luke is about the enter the game. As he went to the scorer's table, there was a "Luuuukkke" chant in the crowd. Even James turned around to see what was going on. LOL


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Luke hits his first shot, seconds after entering the game.


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Towards the end, Hamilton scored and Sasha nailed a tough, rainbow jumper. Then Luke Jackson nailed a 3. 

*
Box Score: Cleveland 109, New Orleans/Oklahoma City 87*


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## KingoftheCourt23 (Jul 20, 2005)

Great game. I watched the whole thing. The Pick n Roll D was much improved and Donyell showed up and played very good. LeBron had the three point stroke and if he keeps it up it could be a lights out year. I know it was only one game verses oklahoma city but man did i enjoy it.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

A great way to start the season. We'll see how this team does against tougher competition.

Basically everybody looked good out there. Hughes didn't shoot well but played great D and was a terrific playmaker out there. Basically the antithesis of what Charley Rosen said what he was: LOL

On a side note: even though he shot awesome from outside, I really hope Lebron doesn't spend too much time out there. He needs to play in the post as well


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## phipsiboy (Apr 3, 2005)

the most interesting stat to me tonight was that eric snow didn't even take a shot...your starting point guard doesn't even make an attempt from anywhere on the court and your team scores 109 points...wow.

i also watched the entire game tonight and the unselfishness of the entire team was just outstanding. great things will come of this team if they continue to play this way.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

I was at this game tonight fellas (courtside seats!) :cheers: 

Most of the key points have been touched on, but just a few things I noticed:

LBJ just keeps getting better and better...the kid is unreal. Watching him in person, he looks even bigger than last season and he just has a "presence" on the court, it's difficult to describe. A few things that stood out were his effort on defense. He got beat a couple times but he wasn't taking plays off and he was in his man's grill all night long. His FT shooting technique is improved as well in that he is much more patient with his shot. And of course the 3's....

Hughes didn't have a great statline, but I thought he actually played well. He moved the ball well, penetrated off the dribble, and his defense was solid. Obviously the bench played well, Donyell looked great and Drew played a great game as well. 

Really the only negative from this game was the penetration, we have to address that. Claxton and Paul were penetrating at will against ALL our guys, Hughes, DJ, Snow, even Wilks. The weakside rotations were also shaky in the 1st half, though Z and our bigs showed well on picks. Again penetration from PG's is gonna be an issue....Tony Parker for example will run a layup drill on Friday if Brown doesn't do something.

I think that's why he went with Snow as the starter


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

Great game to watch, it was truely awesome not seeing Newble out there... haha

Lebron and Z could rest at the same time for big chunks at a time and the team still looked great. 

What i loved to see was Drew Gooden out there in that first quarter, he was tough, no plays ran towards him and he had 7 and 8 after one quarter. 

I really loved the unit with DJ-Bron-Hughes-Gooden-Marshall out on the floor... not saying i dont want Z out there, but from time to time, i really liked this look out their on the floor.

All in all, for thinking our offense would look sloppy, i will take it... Marshall and DJ doing just what we paid them for, Danny Ferry had too have a huge smile on his face tonight.

It will be great too see our team go from playing the worst to the best team in SA friday night


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

The one thing i love about the game tonight and the box score... was the evenly divided minutes...

last year even in a blowout we woulda had lebron and z + 40 min.... look out like 11 guys have big time minutes, and i think even in a close game we will have 9-10 guys playing double digit minutes...

I was kinda caught off guard by having Mike Wilks in there in the 1st quarter... ?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I'm thinking Wilks is out there in large measure to help out with these ultra quick mini PG's like TJ Ford, Paul, Telfair, and the like. Snow is a tough defender but I think even he has trouble witht the really quick guys. You can forget about Jones defending these guys so we're kind of at a loss.

SA will be real tough because w/o AV I don't see another Cav that can match up with his size + athelticism and they have Parker. On the other hand I think I would leave Hughes on an island with Manu and let Lebron roam to help against Duncan or Parker.


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## LOYALTY (May 23, 2003)

When they were pushing out to their big lead, the ball movement on the offensive end was incredible at times. I hope thay can keep that up. The defensive energy will have to kick up another notch against the better teams. Donyell, Hughes, and Damon add some serious energy. Hughes needs to stay within 10 feet until he feels like he is warmed up and in rhythm. His shot will improve, but it's nice to see him penetrate and draw the defense then hit an open man for an easy basket.


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

As I said on the general board:

Ridiculous, just plain ridiculous. Not even the biggest LeBron homer could have imagined that LeBron could keep improving his game like this. I saw some better defense for stretches, and a better stroke/form on his jumper. If the D gets really consistent, as in actual consistent, he's already the best perimeter player in the game barring some CWebb-type choking jobs in the playoffs.


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## BEEZ (Jun 12, 2002)

I must say Lebron is unreal. He has clearly taken his game to the next level even though its only one game. Just amazing


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Game Recap:



> *- *Since the days of Naismith, it's been one of the unspoken rules of basketball.
> 
> When a guy gets hot, you keep giving him the ball.
> 
> ...


http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/basketball/nba/cleveland_cavaliers/13069021.htm


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Pluto's thoughts:



> *CLEVELAND - *The Cavaliers made it look easy, and made it fun.
> 
> They made outrageous jump shots from the shores of Ashtabula and rim-bending slam dunks that seemed ready to rip down the ceiling.
> 
> ...


http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/basketball/nba/cleveland_cavaliers/13069038.htm


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## Larry Hughes for Retirement (Jul 5, 2004)

Ahhhhhhhhh i am so pump for this season.... we are a very fun team to watch... I mean on offense we ran plays, for the first time watching the cavs it wasnt toss it to Z and run to the other side, or give it to lebron and clear the floor. 

We can kill teams with pick and rolls, b/c Marshall can slip too the 3 point line and if anyone else helps off their man DJ/Hughes/Sasha/Luke will make them pay. And the way Drew Gooden was crashing the boards and playing like a beast, i hope we can also give him a pay day to keep him around.

I know it was our first game, and most likely against one of the worst teams in the NBA, but hey we will take what we can get.


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## The OUTLAW (Jun 13, 2002)

LOYALTY said:


> When they were pushing out to their big lead, the ball movement on the offensive end was incredible at times. I hope thay can keep that up. The defensive energy will have to kick up another notch against the better teams. Donyell, Hughes, and Damon add some serious energy. Hughes needs to stay within 10 feet until he feels like he is warmed up and in rhythm. His shot will improve, but it's nice to see him penetrate and draw the defense then hit an open man for an easy basket.


I loved it, lots and lots of easy layups and dunks. I love this hole passing thing, especially since they can't just key on LeBron and Z and just leave everyone else open.


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## stlrebfan (Dec 2, 2003)

Really fun game to watch. This group, with time together could be really special. When you have instant offense off the bench as in Jones and Marshall....

Question is, can they guard well enough against the better teams? I think the Cavs can score with anyone.

My 8 yr old watched the entire thing and would not go to school this morning till he saw the lob to Lebron on SC. Larry is his good buddy, and during the season, we don't get much homework done. LOL!


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

The offense last night was godly. There aren't many teams who will be able to score with the Cavs. But they have to continue to focus on defense. The offense, obviously will come, so long as everyone is willing to make the extra pass.

I loved when Luke Jackson came in, and instead of trying to pressure himself and try and show off, he was out there playing unselfishly letting the game come to him. So it seems that attitude of one for all and all for one, is pervasive through the entire team.

It was insane last night. Just waves. Lebron would be hitting, then Damon, then Marshall, then Z, then Gooden--there was little slowdown. And Hughes didn't even have his shot going, but he was showing how valuable he would be to the team withi his passing, ballhandling, and defense.

The Cavs and the Bucks are IMO the two most exciting teams in this early season. And probably the Warriors.


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## Benedict_Boozer (Jul 16, 2004)

Check out this awesome photo of Bron:


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## remy23 (Aug 15, 2002)

Good clip. Thanks Benedict_Boozer.

One cool clip to have would be James' dunk from the lob pass thrown by Hughes. One guy on ESPN said LeBron almost hit his head on the rim and if he really was at rim level, I'd like to see that clip again. When I saw the play, I was more focused on Hughes pushing the ball up the court and how hard James threw it down.


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