RotM

CLEVELAND, OH – February 1, 2012 - Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in the months of December and January.

Irving averaged 18.1 points on .511 shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 28.8 minutes per game. During the month, he ranked 1st in scoring, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage and assists among Eastern Conference rookies. Irving scored 20 or more points in 10 of 20 games and shot at least .500 from the field 12 times in games played in December and January.

Irving scored 20 points on 8-10 (.800) shooting and added three rebounds and six assists (zero turnovers) in a 115-101 win over Charlotte on Jan. 3. At Phoenix on Jan 12, a 101-90 Cavs win, Irving scored a game-high 26 points on 11-17 (.647) shooting and added three rebounds, six assists and two steals in 28 minutes. Irving dished out a career-high tying seven assists to go along with 25 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting and four rebounds in a 102-94 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 16.

The 6-foot-3 rookie scored a career-high 32 points on 12-20 (.600) shooting and added six rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes against the Nets on Jan. 27. In that game, he scored 21 points in the fourth quarter (including 17 in the final three minutes of the game) becoming the first rookie to score at least 21 points in the fourth quarter of a game since Marcus Williams of New Jersey scored 21 points in the fourth quarter on November 24, 2006. He became the first player to score 17 or more points in the final three minutes of the game since Vince Carter scored 18 points in the last three minutes for the Nets against Chicago on April 11, 2006. Against Boston on Jan. 29, Irving made the game-winning shot with 2.6 seconds left to beat the Celtics 88-87. In that game, he finished with a game-high 23 points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists in 33 minutes.

Other nominees for Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month were Detroit’s Brandon Knight, Miami’s Norris Cole and New Jersey’s MarShon Brooks.

2012 CavFanatic

So the new CavFanatics Jersey (kit as the futbol folks call it) had their debut yesterday vs. the Knickerbockers… and they are again a combination of colors that were never meant to be together.

Its page lives here

The jersey page is here

The breakdown: They look to be a combo of the 1987-1994 “Price Era” jerseys and the present day Uni’s. The 80′s blue with the modern rendition of wine and gold.  What I thought really looked good is the bringing back of the CAVS on the front.  I don’t think we should ever go back to CAVS on our primary home uni, but I like the idea of it on the alternate.  If it gets a good response, we could see it used again once we are allowed to introduce an alternate jersey next year (league makes you wait 2 years after changing your jerseys before you can introduce an alt).

Kyrie in CavFanatic

Verdict:  All in all, they are OK I guess.  Not great, but not bad.
Definitely not as bad as last years abomination or even the originals.

The whole CavFanatic jersey thing is a weird thing.  Is the organization going to end up with a hundred different jerseys?  At this rate they will.  We are already up to 30 (THIRTY?!?!?) jerseys in the history of the organization (actually 31 if you count the one game they did Miracle Jersey throwbacks in 1997).

So anyways, yeah.  I already ordered mine (rocking an Irving #2).  It’ll be here next week.

Go Cavs

While looking through the couch cushions on the bus, they accidentally find where Kyrie has been hiding

NBA on ESPN – Shaking the Couch Cushions on the RV

The Rookies

Cavs.com link

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed 2011 NBA Draft picks guard Kyrie Irving and forward Tristan Thompson to contracts, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

Irving, who was selected number one overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, played in 11 games last season with the Duke Blue Devils, averaging 17.5 points on .529 shooting, including .462 shooting from three-point range, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game. The 6-foot-3 point guard started the first eight games of the season, scoring 16 or more points in five of the eight games, including a 31-point, six-rebound and four-assist effort versus Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Thompson, who the Cavaliers took with the fourth pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 13.1 points on .546 shooting, team highs of 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game in 36 games. The 6-foot-9, 227-pound forward posted a season-high 26 points on 9-14 shooting (.643), 10 rebounds and three blocks in 37 minutes versus Kansas State and collected a career-best 15 rebounds and 17 points in 38 minutes versus Michigan State.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard/forward Anthony Parker to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.

“Bringing back Anthony was a high priority for us. We place great value on the leadership, professionalism and veteran presence he brings both on the court and in the locker room,” said General Manager Chris Grant. “His high basketball IQ, ability to shoot with range and play solid perimeter defense made re-signing him extremely important for us.”

Anthony Parker

Last season, the 6-foot-6, 210-pounder averaged 8.3 points on .399 shooting, including .379 from three-point range, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists (the second-highest average in his career) in 29.0 minutes in 72 games (65 starts). He scored in double figures 27 times, including setting season highs in scoring (21) and rebounds (seven) while adding seven assists in 39 minutes versus Minnesota on Dec. 26 and scoring 20 points on 7-9 (.778) shooting, including 4-4 from three-point range, and grabbing seven rebounds in 29 minutes versus Miami on March 29.

Parker originally signed with Cleveland on July 13, 2009. Over the past two seasons with the Cavs, he has started 146 of the 153 games he has played in and posted averages of 7.8 points on .415 shooting, including .398 shooting from three-point range, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.6 minutes per game. His 2.48 assists-to-turnovers ratio ranked 14th in the league while his 0.86 steals-to-turnovers ratio ranked 13th among all players over the past two seasons (min. 150 games).

Z on Draft Day

As reported by the PD’s Tom Reed, Big Z hangs it up.

CLEVELAND: Former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas told the Plain Dealer today he is retired after 13 NBA seasons and two trips to the NBA Finals.

Ilgauskas, 36, spent nearly his entire career as a Cav and helped the franchise evolve from an also-ran to an Eastern Conference champion in 2007. He spent last season with the Miami Heat and former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James.

The center owns Cavaliers career records for games played (771), rebounds (5,904) and blocks (1,269). He is second in points with 10,616.

He ranks 40th all-time in the NBA with 0.81 shots blocked per game. 

 ”Enough is enough,” Ilgauskas said. “My body is beat up and I’m tired physically. There is no age limit, but everyone knows when it’s time.”

Big Z

Ilgauskas is in Cleveland today attending the opening of an urgent care facility that’s owned by his wife. The family has two small kids, who attend school in Miami.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” he said. “I have spent the past 15 years living out of a suitcase. It’s time.”

He appeared in just nine playoff games last season for the Heat, averaging 11.6 minutes and 3.6 points.

Z was a tough dude

It’s believed the player simply known as “Z” will have opportunities to work for the Cavaliers’ organization, but he would not address the topic. His immediate plans are to visit his parents in Lithuania before returning to Miami.

Ilgauskas said he’s been contemplating retirement for the past few seasons. He knew he had played his final game, Ilgauskas said, after the Heat was eliminated by Dallas in the Finals.

He’s most proud of his longevity after early foot injuries and surgeries threatened his career. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, who averaged 13 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

“I will always think of Cleveland as my home,” Ilgauskas said. “This was my kids’ first home. 

All-Time Leader

“There are so many great memories here and I was lucky to play in one place for so long. To experience so many lows and then so many highs was special. There were the division titles and the conference championship. The early disappointments made the winning that much better.”

One of his favorites moments was capturing the Eastern Conference title at the Q against Detroit. The victory propelled the Cavs into their only NBA Finals appearance in which they were swept by San Antonio.

“I really enjoyed those years, but I would tell the young guys not to take anything for granted. We made those trips to the playoffs and had all those national TV games, but nothing lasts forever. I was there when the arena was empty. I can appreciate the whole experience now.”

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Much respect goes out to Z from CavsHistory.  He was the longest tenured Cavs ever, had a great sense of humor and was part of both the lowest of lows and the highest of highs in Cavs history.  Lets hope we get to see #11 hanging up in the Q.

Enjoy the below photo gallery of the big guy.

Will Cleveland Forgive Lebron?