Cleveland Rocks

Our story so far:
A great friend of mine gets two free tickets to the game. Yeah, the weather's crappy, but it's King James, who at that time is a "maybe" for the tilt. We slide down to the game, almost literally. I think to myself: how bad can it be?

I should have known better, especially as hard as I've been on Club Timberwolves all year. I would suggest they rename themselves the Minnesota Sleepwalkers. It would bring a needed bit of humor to the club in their last remaining games. Just think: at game introduction, where they have the video of a wolf prowling through the forest, you could instead have a man complete with a one-piece nightie and stocking cap, stumbling through the brush and pine, eyes closed, hands outstretched. Combine that with Eddie Griffin's "The Stroke", and you have two fan favorites, and a way to actually entertain the fans during this awful stretch of basketball.

Reading Robson's Three Pointer, and a couple of other message boards this morning, the fangs are certainly bared. We're all piling on at this point, and with good reason. Watching Blount, M. James, and Davis play so many minutes at the expense of our "blueprint" is a travesty. These guys must know by now that a majority of the real fans in this market really don't think much of them, and it's clear that they have responded in kind. No defense, no ball movement, no rebounding, just quick shots, turnovers and a bad attitude.

What's worse though, is the Minnesota organization. We can see why Wittman was hired; he's even better than Casey at spinning tales that no one believes. His real value must be that he--behind closed doors--has drunk the Ranger cool aid. What would it be like to play awful the last remaining games, not make the playoffs, AND lose the draft pick? A little honesty from the coach, and our VP would be refreshing.

Meanwhile, I'm not sure Cleveland can make an extended run in the playoffs. Other than Lebron, they still lack that other option who can has a dagger in the clutch. Larry Hughes doesn't impress me much, especially at over 40 million dollars. They have some decent post players, but no one who can receive a King James pass with ticks left on the clock for a winning score. That will be the challenge for them in the post-season.