12 Days of Cleveland - The last two days of The Twelve Days of Cleveland will be posted on NoYork.com during the middle of next week. We apologize for the inconvenience, but we’ve decided to make sure the videos are high quality instead of rushing them out. Sorry for the inconsistency. To make up for missing our target date we will be adding a special 13th Day of Cleveland that I’m sure you will all enjoy!
LeBron vs Kobe - The Christmas Day showdown proved three things in the Kobe vs LeBron controversy. 1) The MVPuppets are here to stay and “Dunking on Reindeer” was a great spot. 2) The Cavs are capable of beating the Lakers in Los Angeles. That’s no small feat and hopefully we can repeat it once or twice in June. 3) There will probably never be a definitive answer to who’s better when it comes to Kobe and LeBron, but we know who was better on Christmas Day! A big foam finger to all you Laker fans.
Trade Rumors - There’s a rumor that the Cavs are looking at Washington Wizards Forward, Antawn Jamison. I would love to see Jamison in a Cavs jersey and all my years of hating him as a Wizards player would immediately vanish. There will definitely be a move made before the trade deadline, who knows what the Cavs might be able to work out. If it ends up being Jamison, I would not be upset at all.
NoYork Shirts - We are nearly out of men’s mediums and larges. We will be restocking soon, but if you’re in need of one of these sizes you might want to order quickly. Thanks to everyone who has supported NoYork. Let’s keep Him in Cleveland!
This is a new section of NoYork.com that will rank each player on the Cavs according to their recent performances. If you disagree with any rankings please comment, all reader feedback is appreciated and will be considered for the next installment of power rankings.
1) LeBron - NBA player of the week. To quote The Wire, “The King stay the King.” 2) Mo - Mo’s been stepping up right when we need him. He even took a random act of Kobeness in the back and kept ticking. 3) Big Z - Z hit three straight 3 point shots in overtime against the Kings. 4) Andy - You can’t knock his hustle and it’s at an all time high. Plus, style points for the reverse dunk off LeBron’s between the legs dime. 5) Coby Karl - No player in the NBA looks more out of place when a camera pans to the bench. This alone is worth a spot in the top 5 of the power rankings. 6) Shaq - If I’m not mistaken his first five buckets against the Lakers were power dunks. He also stone-walled Kobe a couple times and didn’t get called for fouls, nice! 7) Delonte West - Delonte’s legs are back, he’s dunking off a couple steps and he’s playing at a high level. The “I love this game” against the Suns was a high point in the road trip for me. Jamario Moon - This guy has springs in his legs and he showed it on this road trip. He bounced back after drawing flagrant fouls from half the league and he’s ready to fly now. (And yes, we realize that our 8 is a smiley face. Yes it was originally a mistake, but we’re keeping it. So here’s to you Mr. Smiley Face Eighth Place) 9) The Real Tony Parker - Solid as always, nothing too spectacular, ninth on the power rankings. 10) Boobie - He’s not seeing a lot of time lately, but he’s still a dead eye shooter when we need it. 11) JJ - JJ seems to have come down from his early season high. He’s back to letting passes and rebounds squirt through his fingers on a consistent basis. Come on JJ we’re going to need you as the season progresses. 12) Danny Green - A constant force off the court, dancing whenever he has the chance. You gotta love that. 13) Leon Powe - Rumor has it that Leon Powe is dunking during work outs lately. That’s enough for 13 on the power rankings. 14) D-Block - He’s pushing our bigs in practice and that’s important. 15) Jawad Williams - He’s the opposite of Coby Karl, you never know where this guy is during the games. He needs to maximize his camera time. High five some teammates and get yourself on TV Jawad!
Melo, when does your contract expire? Nevermind you shoot too much.
Peter Vecsey recently wrote an article that made the possibility of LeBron and Dwyane Wade teaming up sound more probable than ever. Wade was quoted as saying, “Before we agreed to terms, LeBron and I had a couple conversations. I can’t recall exactly what we said, but the gist of it was we wanted to give ourselves the flexibility and the option to play together.”
As if that wasn’t enough Wade went on to say, “A lot of times in this league, players usually wind up going where they can get the most money. We’re both blessed within that area. We’ve made a lot of money. So we wanted to base our decision on two things, the organization and the ability to win a title. And that’s what we’ll do. When the season is over, we plan to sit down and talk about it. I’m not saying it will happen. But I’m intrigued by the idea.”
So Wade is thinking about joining forces but what does LeBron think about the idea? “I’d like to play here (in Miami), but I don’t mind where it is as long the organization is a good fit and it’s committed to competing for championships. The unknown has me intrigued.”
It would be amazing to see LeBron and Wade on the same team. The talk coming from the two stars seems like it’s a possibility that we’ll see them wearing the same jerseys in 2010? Now the question becomes will they be wearing Cavs jerseys, Heat jerseys, or another team’s jerseys? Sadly enough I believe that if the two players decide to play on the same team, it won’t be in Cleveland. Miami’s combination of cap space and talent seems like the best fit. Keep in mind that the Miami tax structure might also come into play if the two stars are taking lower salaries.
Of course the LeBron/Wade scenario is purely speculation at this point, but it would be fun to see the two players on the same team. I guess we can always hope that LeBron can convince Wade to come to Cleveland, but I’m not counting on it. If Wade did come to Cleveland, Andy wouldn’t be safe in practice anymore…
Seven years ago LeBron was playing in one of the greatest high school basketball games in recent history. Akron Saint Vincent Saint Mary was playing at Ohio State against Columbus Brookhaven. It was the closest game of the year for SVSM, Brookhaven was coming off a state championship the year before with players who would eventually play at Oklahoma, Penn State, and Xavier. SVSM had the king, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce, and Romeo Travis. Enjoy…
Third Day of Cleveland - Where The Wild Thing Is Song - Wake Up by Arcade Fire Inspiration - The Where The Wild Things Are trailer just needed to be tweaked a bit.
Andy is my second favorite player on the Cavs. His hustle sparks the team and his offensive game is coming around. He’s also very good at moving off the ball, which gets LeBron a couple extra assists each game. He’s more valuable than most people would ever imagine.
Fourth Day of Cleveland - Delonte West Song - Whatever It Takes by Joe Budden Inspiration - Listening to this song it seems similar to what Delonte is going through. Obviously no one knows besides Delonte himself, but if I had to guess, this song seems right.
I hope no one takes this song the wrong way. It just seems to fit with what Delonte has going on this year. I’m a huge fan of Delonte and hope he gets through all of his personal turmoil. Whatever it takes, find a way!
Fifth Day of Cleveland - Mo Williams Song - In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins Inspiration - Mo listens to this song before games, enough said.
Mo is an integral part of the team and he seems to be on a mission to prove himself after the Orlando series last year. This post season will be different, I can feel it.
Sixth Day of Cleveland - Jamario Moon Song - Walkin’ On The Moon by The Dream Inspiration - Jamario burning up the sky to a song with his last name in it, how can you go wrong.
Jamario is a great spark coming off Cleveland’s bench. His outside shot is reliable and his focus on the defensive end is very valuable to the Cavs. But let’s be serious, we’re all hoping he gets in the open court and starts walking on the Moon…
Seventh Day of Cleveland - Shaquille O’neal
Song - Strait Playin’
Inspiration - Shaq rapping about Shaq playing basketball, how can I pass that up?
Sorry for the delay in posting the Seventh Day of Cleveland. Once again YouTube rejected the video. Stay tuned as it only gets better from here on out!
8th Day of Cleveland - JJ Hickson
Song - King Leon by Drake
Inspiration - This song describes JJ’s recent success on with the Cavs. He’s matured and really started to blossom as he’s seen increased minutes. “I’m into making history, not into making friends…”
Despite JJ’s recent struggles, he has tons of potential. He’s still young so his lapses in concentration and his inconsistency is to be expected. Keep in mind that he only played one year of college ball, so he’s still pretty raw. For now, let’s enjoy how far JJ has come.
Jamario Moon - This guy has springs in his legs and he showed it on this road trip. He bounced back after drawing flagrant fouls from half the league and he’s ready to fly now. (And yes, we realize that our 8 is a smiley face. Yes it was originally a mistake, but we’re keeping it. So here’s to you Mr. Smiley Face Eighth Place)
