Cheer up Browns fans, Cavs new season is starting soon

The new season is starting and I'm back to see these new Cavs in action. It's now at the "Q" of course. Sure, the Gund name sounded better. But that's because, like most Clevelanders, I like to live in the past. Other than the new scoreboard, which is awesome, not much else has changed. The new burgundy seats are not in yet. The new hip "antic" dancers, called the "Scream Team", weren't much of a sensation (except the guy who spins on his head for 2 minutes is back. Moondog is still great. The Dance team is still doing their modest-ified stripper show to the same moronic hip-hop music (do we need this at every time-out?). Sometimes it would nice to just talk to the person next to you rather than listening to trash music. But I guess that is the NBA today.

Here's a few picts from the pre-season opening night with my comments. Enjoy!

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Let's start with Eric Snow. He's back and looking good. If he runs the point I've got no problems with that.

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So what do we do with Damon Jones? Is he the man to run the show or do we use him off the bench for instant scoring? Well, that man next to Damon is Allan Iverson and the answer to our questions are: who can guard Iverson or Vince Carter or Michael Redd or all the other guards that killed us last year. Snow and Jones will get their minutes because of their defense, not for scoring or playmaking. By the way, Iverson scored 30 points this evening in a pre-season game.

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Coach Mike Brown is looking good at the pre-season opener. Can he bring a true defensive mentality to this crew? If he can't then we won't get far into the post-season.

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There is still lots of bashing and crashing under the hoop. Here are our two Lithianian enforcers with the long names making it rough in the lane. Can we find a decent backup center this year?

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Larry Hughes will be a great addition to the team this year. Smart, productive, plays defense. LeBron will love this guy.

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Donyell Marshall really can hit the three. He popped a couple in this night. Another great pickup by GM Danny Ferry.

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O.K. Luke Jackson is back and looking great. Same hair (Fluffy we call him). Very aggressive. He should get 10-15 minutes off the bench spelling LeBron and Hughes.

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Luke loves driving to the hoop but doesn't always finish. Once he gets established the referees should give him some calls and some trips to the foul line.

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Big Drew Gooden is back and is doing the job under the boards. Can he find a his role with the new team chemistry?

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I gotta say the new scoreboard is pretty awesome. In fact the lighting and color on the screens is better than actually watching the floor (thanks to new high-definition cameras).

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My prediction is 53-55 wins barring any major injuries. I think they get past Detroit (new coach coming to a team established by a very different coach) but Indiana (hungry after last year's suspension debacle) wins the division. They get past the first round of the playoffs but any further will depend on their willingness to execute on defense. It will be Miami and San Antonio and the winner will be Miami. Lebron wins MVP this year.

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Copyright © 2005 James D. Fisher
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