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.

Websites:

• RealCavsFans – The merger of “Numbers Don’t Lie” and RealCavsFans give you both a strong editorial blog and what I think is the best Cavs fan forum on the web.  I am NOT a fan of CavFanatic. Great sites, I know the dudes that run it and they have a great user experience there.
• WaitingForNextYear – Great editorial blog. I am especially a fan Of Scott’s writing
• Fear the Sword – Great up and comer site.  John has tons of contact and has grown by leaps and bounds as an editorial blogger
• CavsWitness – Forgive Eric for the name of his blog.  He’s a good dude.

News Outlets.

• Plain Dealer – I’m going to miss Windy.  But I like MSB and liked her Cavs coverage before Windy joined the PD anyways.  I’m not a big Pluto fan, but oh well.
• Ohio.com (AB Journal) – Jason Lloyd has great coverage, pre LeBron I’d say that the ABJ may have had better Cavs coverage then even the PD (as we are a Browns town I guess).
• News Herald – Bob Finnan is a great writer and keeps up with the Cavs almost daily.

Twitter (non-cavs):

• Bob Finnan -@BobCavsinsider
• Mary Schmidt Boyer – @PDCavsInsider
• Jason Lloyd – @ABJCavsInsider
• RealCavsFans – @realcavsfans
• Scott at WFNY – @WFNYScott
• John at FearTheSword – @FearTheSword
• Eric at CavsWitness – @CavsWITNESS

Twitter (Cavs Players)

And of course: @CavsDan

LeBron, in your own words: “GET OVER IT”.  I have.

GO CAVS!

Dunkin' Over Crocodiles

declaring for the 2010 NBA Draft, averaging 13.5 points on .549 shooting and 5.9 rebounds in 27.1 minutes in 70 games (all starts). In his sophomore and final season with the Cardinals, he led the team in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (7.0) in 29.3 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound rookie played in five games (three starts) with the Chicago Bulls in the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 12.6 points on .571 shooting and 7.4 rebounds per game.“

He’ll get added to the database when he takes the floor.

Regular Season

So the CavsHistory banner is kindof reserved for Cavs greats. Its basically our Mt. Rushmore. Should Shaq stay or go? If you want him out, leave a comment on who should replace him.

Mt. Rushmore

Check out the ad he placed in the Plain Dealer on Sunday:

Dear Cleveland....

As always, Z is a class act.

Twin #1 (Stephen)

Wayne Embry likes him… and he knows talent (or did).

I hope he does do well, but these seems very Ira Newble-ish to me.

Press release via Cavs.com below.

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

Twin #2 (Joey)

“We’re excited to add Joey to our roster. He adds a tough, veteran presence on the perimeter that will complement the pieces we have in place,” said Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant. “With his strong work ethic and discipline, we feel he is a great match with the culture we have built and continue to build.”

Prior to joining the Nuggets, the 6-foot-7 guard/forward played four seasons with the Toronto Raptors. In the 2008-09 season, Graham posted career highs of 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.8 minutes over 78 games (10 starts). In the 10 starts, he averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 28.3 minutes.

“Joining Cleveland marks an exciting, brand new start for me,” said Graham. “This is a great opportunity and I’m excited to come in and help the team as much as possible.”

In his career, the five-year veteran has played in 338 games, including 76 starts, and averaged 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds. He has shot .815 from the free-throw line and .485 from the field.“

Will add him to the site when he plays a game

Kid Congo

Eyenga, 21, was the Cavaliers’ first round selection (30th overall) in the 2009 NBA Draft. He averaged 3.9 points on .561 shooting and 2.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes in 29 regular season games during the 2009-10 season with DKV Joventut Badalona of the Spanish League. The Spanish League is widely regarded as the second-best domestic league in the world behind the NBA. In 11 EuroCup games, the 6-foot-5 guard/forward posted averages of 3.4 points on .444 shooting and 1.2 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. 

“We’re looking forward to having Christian continue his development on the court here with Coach Scott and our team,” said Cavs General Manager Chris Grant. “He has worked hard and we were very encouraged by his recent performance in summer league.” 

A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eyenga most recently played in all five games of the 2010 NBA Summer League with the Cavaliers, reaching double figures in each of the games. In five games (all starts), he averaged 11.4 points on .435 shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 block in 29.2 minutes per game. 

“I am happy to be here in Cleveland and excited to play with the Cavaliers this season,” Eyenga said. “This is a great opportunity for me and I look forward to playing for Coach Scott and learning from him, our coaches and my teammates.”

The AP submitted a little story about how us broken hearted Clevelanders are taking out their anger in a constructive way.  By giving LeBron gear to homeless shelters in South Florida.

Joe Gabriele of Cavs.com wrote a story about the new shape of the Eastern Conference.  The Cavs and the Heat were dropped into the “Extreme Makeover” category. Something to consider if you bet on sports.

Britt Robson of Sport Illustrated wonders how some of the big signings are going to turn out.

Mark Stein doesn’t think Shaq will be welcome to join the Super-Heat in Miami.  Apparently, some of the bridges he burned while leaving for Phoenix are still burnt. But he still thinks the big guy is still the biggest name left on the FA market.

D-Block

Looks like our old buddy Darnell Jackson may be playing for the Kings and not with the King next year.

Remember how Penny Hardaway was coming out of retirement, maybe to play with the heat?  Well, that only took five days.