air's Cavs dynasty

Sensation, yes, Kevin Martin won. I know nothing about him so I can't really comment.

ColickyBoy, Luther Head has, umm, eight points. During the season that is, in four games he's played in!

As for JJ I already had him on my Nuggets team and there are higher rated shooters, but I'll have to wait and see.

It's still a fast-paced dynasty which might not be ideal for someone with no time to check daily, but then again it's mine and I have nothing much to do right now..

And thanks for your support Devin112. As I just said there's a lot of stuff because of the reasons I just mentioned.

Ouch, those 2 loss against the Jazz and the Grizzlies hurts the Cavs chances of making to the playoffs. I hope you can win the remaining games.

Kemp40 Posted:

Ouch, those 2 loss against the Jazz and the Grizzlies hurts the Cavs chances of making to the playoffs. I hope you can win the remaining games.

Yeah, they do, but I got one back against Philly. I now have four games left and I'll be posting their records.
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CAVS TAKE CRUCIAL WIN IN PHILLY

Cleveland 88
Philadelphia 83

Cleveland Cavs took an important win over Philadelphia 76ers at the Vachovia Center in Philadelphia last night. The win means that the Cavs are well in contention for a playoff spot, standing currently at nineth place in the conference behind Milwaukee, with Philadelphia dropping to tenth. The start of the game saw Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Eric Snow start for the Cavs, but Ilgauskas had little part to play as his injury forced him out early. Snow was preferred at shooting guard in order to stop Allen Iverson. After an evenly fought battle it came down to a late three-point attempt by Iverson which would have made it a one-point lead for Philadelphia. Iverson missed, then Jeff McInnis hit his first foul shot and had the second one tipped in off the rebound by Ilgauskas for a huge play. It was all over. LeBron James scored 34 for the Cavs, but other players had a hard time scoring again. Robert Traylor got 12, while Anderson Varejao led the team in rebounding with seven boards. The Brazilian also got six points, a block and a steal and is beginning to find his feet in the NBA. Iverson finished with 22 and four assists for the Sixers, and Chris Webber had 18 and 11.

"This is a huge win for us", said James. "I can't stress how important it was for us to win this game. It won't be easy in the last four games but we won't give up."

The Cavs face Houston next.

Starters:
Cleveland (9-15 before game)
C Z. Ilgauskas
F D. Gooden
F L. James
G E. Snow
G J. McInnis

Philadelphia (8-13 before game)
C C. Webber
F R. Rogers
F J. Mashburn
G A. Iverson
G K. Ollie

Player of the game:
James CLE 34/5/3 stl

Box scores:
Cavs
Sixers

Pictures:


The Sixers started Rogers at PF and Webber at C. It actually worked, too.


Ilgauskas didn't seem to be up for it.


Normally, Varejao couldn't hit the basket if it was twice the size. Tonight he did.

Four games to go
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

Cleveland Cavs' final regular season games are:

HOME to Houston Rockets (12-8)
AWAY to Atlanta Hawks (9-9)
AWAY to New Jersey Nets (14-7)
HOME to Phoenix Suns (15-10)

ROCKETS SHUT DOWN CAVS

Houston 84
Cleveland 70

Cleveland Cavs dropped back to tenth in the conference after a loss against Houston Rockets. In a great defensive display, the Rockets limited the Cavs to just .359 shooting from the field. Cleveland did manage to keep the game as close as five points at half time, and it stayed like that for much of the third quarter, when Tracy McGrady and LeBron James traded several baskets. By the end of the quarter, the Rockets did manage to build an eight-point lead and the Cavs found no way back. In fact, they simply could not find a way to score at any point of the game. Inside, Ilgauskas was up against the towering Yao, and Drew Gooden and Tractor Traylor found their match in Juwan Howard. LeBron James lost his stroke a couple of times against McGrady, and the Cavs backcourt was no better than usual. James finished with 20 points to lead his team in scoring once again. McGrady also scored 20, but Yao Ming was perhaps the most dominant player on the court with 17 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.

"We were up against a great defence tonight", said Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was fully back in action after his injury. "There were no weak links in their defence."

The Cavs will face the surprise team of the season, Atlanta Hawks, next.

Starters:
Cleveland (10-15 before game)
C Z. Ilgauskas
F D. Gooden
F L. James
G I. Newble
G J. McInnis

Houston (12-8 before game)
C Y. Ming
F J. Howard
F T. McGrady
G D. Wesley
G B. Sura

Player of the game:
Yao Ming HOU 17/15/4 blk

Box scores:
Rockets
Cavs

Pictures:


Yao goes up and draws the foul.


T-Mac shows why he should have been selected for the All-Star Game.


This was pretty much the only time Ilgauskas escaped Yao.

Tough loss man!

I cant belive Juwan Howard held you guys!

man, james only 9-of-22...tough to win that way...

Thanks for your support Kobe101, ColickyBoy! I'll be browsing the forums later today but now I'm posting a player-by-player review I did yesterday.

Cavs season review: player by player
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

As the end of the regular season approaches, it's time to take a look at how each player has fared for the Cavaliers. A star rating is also given to every player, ranging from one star (* = terrible) to five stars (***** = awesome).

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, center ***
Big Z has had a solid season. With his scoring, rebounding, shot blocking and height he is still a good center in the league, but he's not exactly the type that will challenge Yao or Shaq, although he can give some weaker centers a hard time. The aging center who has a huge wage bill might be close to the end of his career in Cleveland.

Drew Gooden, power forward ****
Gooden is a great rebounder and an enthusiastic defender and competitor. He has also been able to get a high shooting percentage with his array of powerful dunks. At 23, he should be able to develop his game further and we can only wait and see what he will accomplish next season.

LeBron James, small forward *****
LeBron leads the league in scoring and has had as good a season as expected. Although his rebounds and assists numbers have gone down, he is scoring more points than ever and can still defend any player at his position. James means everything to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ira Newble, shooting guard **
Ira picked up the pace after a slow start to the season. He is the second best open court player in the team behind James, and has developed a good shot selection. He can drive hard to the basket and has a habit of drawing fouls. Definitely a good role player but not starting material.

Jeff McInnis, point guard *
McInnis has performed quite miserably this season, and although improving his game during the course of the season, he still has problems scoring points. His assists figures are not remarkable either, so the Cavs will be looking at point guards to fill in this position.

Robert Traylor, center/power forward ****
Tractor has been an important sixth man for the Cavs. Mainly playing power forward, he has used his strength to great effect to get points on the board. He could struggle against the league's top players, but fits into this role perfectly and will become an even more serious threat if he improves his free throw shooting from .383.

Eric Snow, point guard **
Snow has not really got his chance to shine as Jeff McInnis has been preferred at starting point guard, but Snow hasn't really done anything to draw attention to his own skills either. A solid defender, who will probably have to remain backup point next season as well.

Anderson Varejao, power forward/center **
Varejao got his chance for more minutes halfway through the season and took the opportunity to show of his skills. Despite being an absolutely horrific shooter this season (.105), he has picked up several rebounds and defended well, but he needs to add strength to become a force under the basket.

Luke Jackson, small forward *
Jackson was considered the Cavs' main outside threat early in the season, but has done little to keep his position. There hasn't been much more to his game than a decent jump shot and his role in the team has diminished to almost non-existent.

Anthony Peeler, shooting guard **
Peeler was brought in from Washington to add an outside threat, but has failed to make it to the starting lineup since his first games with Cleveland. His defence remains a question, but he can be relied on to make an open jumper, anytime, anywhere.

Dajuan Wagner, shooting guard/point guard *
Chances have been few and far between for Wagner, and he usually comes on only when the game has been decided. He is not a natural point guard, but at 6'2 is not your ideal shooting guard either.

DeSagana Diop, center *
Diop played some minutes but has recently disappeared due to Anderson Varejao's performances. The Senegalese big man is unlikely to continue in Cleveland.

i like the player review!...great idea...

Nice idea on the player reviews. If you are still in the playoff race, itz absolutely critical that you get all a W for ur remaining games. Hope to see you in the playoffs

Cheers ColickyBoy, CB#4! The playoff race is getting tight. More on that in following posts.
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JAMES RUNS OVER HAWKS

Cleveland 98
Atlanta 79

Cleveland Cavs took a big win over Atlanta Hawks at the Philips Arena last night. They found a way to exploit the Hawks' defence and used it all night. This weapon was LeBron James' open court play, which the Hawks had no way of stopping. James ran frantically from one end of the court to the other, and if you've seen him play it needs no telling that he finished off in style and accuracy. Cavs held such a big lead that James was allowed to sit out for almost the whole fourth quarter, but still finished with a season-high 44 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also had a great game, shooting sweet jump shots to score 26. Hawks' star Al Harrington, who has had a huge season averaging 20.5 points and 8.6 rebounds didn't disappoint either. The Cavs had trouble containing him and he scored 29. Marvin Williams got some good numbers in five assists and four blocks, but being the man defending LeBron James he should have done more to stop the superstar on the fast break.

"It was a great game by him [James]", said Ilgauskas. "When there was even half a chance for us to get a fast break we gave the ball to him, and he delivered. He is the most amazing player I've ever played with."

The Cavs are tenth in the conference behind Milwaukee and Philadelphia. They will have the same record as eight-place Milwaukee (11-16) if the Bucks lose their next game. The Cavs go up again New Jersey next. Meanwhile, Atlanta are still surprisingly in sixth place.

Starters:
Cleveland (10-16 before game)
C Z. Ilgauskas
F D. Gooden
F L. James
G I. Newble
G J. McInnis

Atlanta (10-11 before game)
C J. Collier
F A. Harrington
F M. Williams
G J. Childress
G S. Stoudamire

Player of the game:
James CLE 44/4/3 stl

Box scores:
Cavs
Hawks

Pictures:


Josh Smith catches an alley-oop pass.


Ilgauskas couldn't stop scoring.


This is my favourite screen right here.

Playoff race is hotter than ever
by Chuck Collins, cleveland.com sports writer

Five teams are left to battle it out for the remaining three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. This is the way the standings look:

6 Chicago 11-14
7 Philadelphia 11-14
8 Atlanta 10-14
--------------------
9 Cleveland 11-16
10 Milwaukee 11-16

Cleveland still have two games to go. They face New Jersey Nets away and Phoenix Suns at home. Philadelphia looks to be going strong with three consecutive wins, while Atlanta could still lose their playoff spot after four straight losses.

James is player of the month once again

Cleveland Cavs' LeBron James has again been named player of the month. He won the March award with 30.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Tim Duncan got the Western award with 19.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 blocks. Andrew Bogut of Milwaukee put up an impressive 17 and 10 to get the Eastern rookie award, and Memphis' Hakim Warrick was named Western rookie of the month.

Cleveland 100
New Jersey 89

air's note: Okay, so I played the Nets game and again they had only two big men out of 12. I was going to write "Cavs play smart basketball to win", but it was such a dumb game that it's no fun to make any report.

Here's what I did: I dumped the ball inside countless times to get Krstic into foul trouble. Ron Mercer comes in playing center and I destroy him with Ilgauskas. He had 40 and 13 and three assists. I picked up every rebound there was playing with a 7'3 guy Z against Mercer (6'7). I'll post the box scores anyway.

Looking forward to some real basketball against Phoenix. Should be a good one, unlike this!

Box scores:
Cavs
Nets

Ahh no! I might get the Nets! I might end up seventh and they are second! I'm NOT playing four games dunking on Ron Mercer with Ilgauskas!

LOL ron mercer playing center thatz just so jokes oh well, atleast your in the playoffs. If you win this game, you just might get sixth, or is that not possible? Just win this next ball game against phoenix and worry about who you'll get in the playoffs. If you do get the Nets in the playoffs, then try to make it interesting by making it lk a richard jefferson vs. lebron thing or sumthing lol

The Nets are going crazy! That was weird puting Mercer at C.

Anyway good luck!

Thanks for your feedback, CB#4, Kobe101! Well, it's just got to do with the CPU picking the players with the best ratings in the first 12. They had like two power forwards and a center on the reserves list!

CAVS REACH PLAYOFFS DESPITE LOSING TO SUNS

Phoenix 84
Cleveland 71

Cleveland Cavs reached the NBA playoffs despite losing their final regular season game against Phoenix Suns. In the first round of the playoffs, the Cavs go up against conference leaders Detroit.

The Cavs started brightly against the Suns by making first five of their shots, but failed to keep up with Phoenix for most of the game. However, with less than two minutes to go on the game they had cut the lead down to five with Phoenix having possession. Walter McCarty got an open look for a three and knocked it down and the Cavs couldn't come back. LeBron James didn't have an easy game but finished with 26 points. Drew Gooden made use of his height advantage against Shawn Marion and scored 18. Steve Nash led the Suns with 19 and four assists, McCarty and Joe Johnson scored 15 each, but Amare Stoudamire was rather quiet with only 10 and five rebounds, although he did block five shots.

Starters:
Phoenix (16-10 before game)
C A. Stoudemire
F S. Marion
F J. Jackson
G J. Johnson
G S. Nash

Cleveland (12-16 before game)
C Z. Ilgauskas
F D. Gooden
F L. James
G I. Newble
G J. McInnis

Player of the game:
Nash PHO 19/4 ast

Box scores:
Suns
Cavs

Picture:


Not a big recap here because in the end the game made no real difference.

FINAL NBA STANDINGS

EAST
Detroit 22-7
New Jersey 19-10
Miami 15-14
Boston 16-13
Philadelphia 15-14
Indiana 14-15
Chicago 12-17
Cleveland 12-17
-------------------
Milwaukee 12-17
Atlanta 11-18
New York 9-20
Orlando 9-20
Toronto 8-21
Washington 8-21
Charlotte 6-23

WEST
San Antonio 25-4
Minnesota 19-10
Phoenix 19-10
Dallas 23-6
Denver 18-11
Houston 18-11
LA Clippers 17-12
Sacramento 17-12
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LA Lakers 16-13
Memphis 16-13
Golden State 14-15
Utah 14-15
Seattle 12-17
Portland 10-19
New Orleans 9-20

I wonder how they make the difference between Cavs and Milwaukee? I did beat them but the Bulls also had the same record.


REGULAR SEASON LEAGUE LEADERS

Sim quarter length was 10 min and I might just change it next season to make the stats more realistic. Anyway, here they are:

POINTS
L. James 27.1
R. Allen 22.4
D. Nowitzki 20.6
K. Bryant 20.5
A. Harrington 19.5
T. Duncan 19.4
T. McGrady 18.9
C. Anthony 18.8
V. Carter 18.5
S. O'Neal 18.2

REBOUNDS
B. Wallace 10.8
E. Brand 10.1
K. Garnett 9.9
C. Boozer 9.9
K. Martin 9.8
....
10th D. Gooden 8.6

BLOCKS
B. Wallace 2.24
A. Kirilenko 2.15
K. Cato 2.03
M. Camby 2.00
R. Wallace 1.93

STEALS
J. Kidd 1.93
D. Wade 1.93
A. Iverson 1.83
B. Davis 1.76
C. Butler 1.69

ASSISTS
S. Marbury 7.2
T. Parker 6.8
S. Cassell 6.4
J. Kidd 6.3
S. Nash 6.2


Paul Pierce and Tracy McGrady were named April players of the month, and Marvin Williams and Chris Paul were named April rookies of the month.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

EAST
1 Detroit vs.
8 Cleveland

4 Boston vs.
5 Philadelphia

3 Miami vs.
6 Indiana

2 New Jersey vs.
7 Chicago

WEST
1 San Antonio vs.
8 Sacramento

4 Dallas vs.
5 Denver

3 Phoenix vs.
6 Houston

2 Minnesota vs.
7 LA Clippers

well...you wouldn't exactly want detriot in the first round...but atleast you wont have big z dunking on ron mercer

Well, actually I prefer it this way. And the Nets will probably sort out their team in the summer. Player-by-player matchup previews coming up soon.

I really love how ur dynasty is so detailed, looks like you put some time and care into it. Good luck with the Pistons, can't wait to see the results.