Upset Special: Underdog Cavs do what LeBron couldn’t vs. Boston
J.J. Hickson (photo. Keith Allison)
It would be so much more scandalous had the Celtics/Cavs pre-game predictions floating around the Dime office actually come true — that Boston would let Cleveland win just to mess with LeBron James’ head. But realistically, The Replacements knocked off the C’s for simpler reasons: They caught an old team on the second part of a back-to-back, Ray Allen‘s inconsistency reared its ugly head (4-13 FG, 0-5 3PA), Paul Pierce missed shots down the stretch he usually makes, and more importantly, this game meant everything to the Cavs. Fueled by a rowdy home crowd, J.J. Hickson put up 21 points, Boobie Gibson had 16 points and 8 assists off the bench, and Dan Gilbert had 15 shit-eating grins as the Cavs pulled off the upset that will have a lot of people clowning LeBron this morning … If we’re gonna use the same female/relationship analogies everybody was using when LBJ dumped Cleveland, last night would be like breaking up with a girl because you felt you could upgrade, then finding out she’d rebounded and slept with somebody else before you did … Hopefully, Mike Brown was sitting on his couch watching Hickson run past all of Boston’s bigs when it finally hit him: “Man, I should have played that kid more when we played Boston last year!” … Antawn Jamison went into the game saying he doesn’t know his role on the Cavs, and ended up playing just 20 minutes and getting just six shots. Disgruntled outburst coming in 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 … As the final seconds ticked off, Cleveland’s play-by-play guy screamed, “Sometimes, it’s the name on the front of the jersey! Not on the back!” (At least that’s what he was trying to say.) Now why’s he gotta go take a jab at Zydrunas Ilgauskas like that? Oh wait … Meanwhile, the Heat made light work of the Sixers to notch their first official W. Dwyane Wade bounced back with 30 points, while LeBron had 16 points and 7 assists, and Chris Bosh had 15 and 7 boards … In case you forgot, Blake Griffin is a beast. His overdue NBA debut started with a bang — an alley-oop on Nic Batum‘s head in the opening minutes of Clippers/Blazers — and continued with a series of follow dunks, spin moves and putbacks on his way to 20 points and 14 boards. But hopefully you didn’t forget that Brandon Roy is pretty good, too. B-Roy scored the final 11 points of the second quarter, capped by a step-back three in DeAndre Jordan‘s grill to beat the halftime buzzer, on his way to 22 points and 10 boards in the Portland win … Shouldn’t Fab Oberto have to get a red rubber band to hold his hair back now that he’s on the Blazers? … Rookie treatment: L.A.’s Willie Warren, Eric Bledsoe and Al-Farouq Aminu had to wear some ugly old-school prom joints to the Staples Center (“1970s unfortunate tuxedos” according to Mike Tirico). Rookie treatment, Pt. 2: Aminu and Bledsoe played about 30 seconds, while Warren got a DNP … Kevin Durant dropped 30 points on the Bulls (including a big drive-and-dunk on Luol Deng late in the 4th quarter), Russell Westbrook had 28 and 10 boards (including a two-hand dunk plus-one over poor Kyle Korver), but Thabo Sefolosha won the game for OKC down the stretch while scoring all of one point. Thabo was all over the place, getting clutch rebounds, steals, assists and blocks all at the right time … Other big stat lines from everybody else’s Opening Night: Tim Duncan put up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in San Antonio’s win over Indiana; Dirk Nowitzki dropped 28 points and Jason Kidd handed out 18 assists to lead Dallas past Charlotte; Joe Johnson had 22 points and 7 dimes in Atlanta’s win at Memphis; Amar’e Stoudemire had 19 points, 10 boards and 9 turnovers as New York beat Toronto; Brook Lopez posted 25 points, 9 boards and 3 blocks to lead New Jersey past Detroit; Carl Landry had 22 and 11 rebounds as Sacramento edged Minnesota; Chris Paul went for 17 points and 16 dimes to lead New Orleans past Milwaukee; and Carmelo scored 23 in Denver’s blowout of the Jazz … Golden State beat Houston in a fantasy hoops orgy: Monta Ellis put up 46 points, Stephen Curry had 25 and 11 dimes, David Lee had 17 and 15 boards, Luis Scola racked up 36 points and 16 boards, and Kevin Martin had 28 points on 17-of-17 from the line … Yao Ming didn’t play, since it was a back-to-back, and putting him on the court against the Warriors is like riding a Big Wheel on the freeway. So the Rockets won’t let Yao play two games in a row, and they won’t let him play more than 24 minutes in the games he does play. Reportedly, the team also doesn’t allow Yao to watch Fit TV when he’s at home, just in case he might be inspired to try some belly dancing or yoga … We’re out like John Wall‘s Rookie of the Year hype …
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October 28th, 2010 at 3:09 am
J-Lod says:
We’re out like Nets’ 0-18 start..
October 28th, 2010 at 3:11 am
QQ says:
The second game of the season and the Cavs/Bron storyline ALREADY stepping up a notch.
It’s just one game, but damn, Coach Scott showing he can craft something of this squad. Love watching a real coach call the shots.
And yeah, cause it’s the first time I posted in months….. FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 28th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Young Gunner says:
Im sure Cleveland fans are partying like its 1999 again
October 28th, 2010 at 3:22 am
J says:
Man bron is a turnover machine..
October 28th, 2010 at 3:23 am
the cynic says:
Highlight of Cavs season?
Blake Griffin is already the best player on the Clippers
October 28th, 2010 at 3:25 am
TripleDouble says:
damn, cleveland gave boston the bizness… and in behalf of all fantasy hoopsters out there, we all say:
RUCK FAMBIS!!!
were out like kvein love’s breakout season…
October 28th, 2010 at 5:48 am
OneZero says:
wow..
Blake Griffin
again, wow..
dont be fooled by his stats, he is more than a beast. a kraken maybe, idk.
only thing is, Im afraid he might get injured playing like that, seriously, dude is all over the court fighting.
October 28th, 2010 at 6:24 am
Miami6 says:
Yeah the Cavs made Z look like a fool for taking his talents to South Beach
October 28th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Did anybody see Josh McRoberts in the Pacers/Spurs game? I didn’t know he had it in him.
October 28th, 2010 at 6:29 am
s.bucketz says:
soooo…u mention amare’s 9 TOs in the game with no mention of him taking over the game down the stretch but no mention of JeBron Lames’ 9 TOs (17 over a 2 game span)???…..slurp slurp slurp
October 28th, 2010 at 6:31 am
s.bucketz says:
ooh yea…that was wit Reggie “Mistaah Grabby Hands” Evans all over him
the way the refs weren’t callin fouls and the toronto announce crew was slurpin him up u wooda thought he was canadia’s black jebus
October 28th, 2010 at 6:45 am
common sense says:
man, dont sleep on russell westbrook, durant gets all the hype but russell could kill, also G.state, they just dont know what defense is but fun to watch, and im hedging my bets on spoelstra getting canned and riley coming in, the heat ship might be too demanding for a newish coach like spo.
October 28th, 2010 at 6:47 am
BC says:
Both the Raptors and Knicks look to be on the way to 20-30 win seasons, and top picks in the lottery.
Do the Knicks still have their #1 pick for the 2011 Draft?
October 28th, 2010 at 6:55 am
common sense says:
oh and Monte Ellis, fully recovered from his moped is gonna rain murder, fantasy killa…
October 28th, 2010 at 7:03 am
ab40 says:
Reportedly, the team also doesn’t allow Yao to watch Fit TV when he’s at home, just in case he might be inspired to try some belly dancing or yoga… haha awesome
the quote of the night was tragic johnson haha when the spurs anouncers was refering to tim duncan bringin the ball up the court.
The other quote of the night was mark jackson absolutely ripping the bulls for not trading for carmelo anthony saying you can get a big who rebounds and blocks shots you can’t get a game changer and a scorer like carmelo anthony. Is he wrong? No because Asik cna do what Noah does.. it’s that simple.
And gs houston was a track meat. I might watch that with my little cousin later on the day because he likes ball and there are highlights and scores all over that game.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:34 am
gilford says:
Blake Griffin’s alley-oop dunk was SICK!
October 28th, 2010 at 7:37 am
BUFFALO BRAVE says:
Riding a big wheel on the freeway?!?
ROFL!!!!
October 28th, 2010 at 7:40 am
alf (from melmak) says:
If Cleveland goes at least 10-5 over the next 15 games I will kneel before Byron Scott and lick his shoes.
Cannot do the top 100 today. Still very much upset over the way Utah lost to Denver.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Stunnaboy2K11 says:
Denver spanked Utah while starting Shelden Williams. I don’t know shit anymore. I mean Jamison had SIX POINTS and they didn;t even PLAY Mo Williams.
I’m disappointed with the C’s they just didn’t care, Ray Ray was missing shots and PP went like 0-3 in the clutch. Still beat Miami though.
LeBron is a TO machine, I think he’s trying to break the record. D-Wade had a D-Wade day 30/7/4/3/2 that’s what I want to see.
Westbrook vs Rose was breath taking but lets drop all the hype about Rose getting a 3 point shot. I don’t see it happening this year. Your right about Thabo winning that game for them though.
Minnesota showed us why they suck, losing ti the Kings sans Tyreke. CP showed us why he is the best PG in the NBA.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:26 am
showydisplay says:
That Shimmy show on FitTv is AMAZING! Had me mesmerized!!!
October 28th, 2010 at 8:49 am
JAY says:
Looks like Spoelstra has leaning towards playing LBJ at the PG spot more. Good. Once LBJ is the starting point guard, the Heat will start to roll. When Wade and Plebron are playing together, one of them HAS to play point. If not, both of them on the wings is not a good lineup for them, chemistry wise.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:06 am
SJ says:
No mention of Hibbert’s 28 pts, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks? This was against DUNCAN, by the way. These two were going at it in the paint… great to watch. The Hibs also hit some long jumpers. Summer of hard work paid off!
October 28th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Stunnaboy2K11 says:
@JAY
I completely agree, besides all Arroyo does is shoot open shots and turn the ball over. Your telling me House can’t do that better?
Also who is with me in renaming the GSW the Golden State Fantasy All-Stars?
October 28th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Chaos says:
Last night was an awesome night for bball and you see a lot of different things that are gonna change in the nba this season. Miami will def have to fight in every game this season because every team they play will fight tooth and nail to beat them. it may not show on the scoreboard but the 76ers played HARD last night…like a homeless dude on bumfights.
Cleveland should have never traded for Jamison. while imma jamison fan, Hickson played extremely well last year as he was extremely active on offense and defense. kid is def gonna keep gettin better and will average 18/8 this season.
Black griffin will hurt himself again if he plays all out all night every night. i like that he plays his ass off but dude give 150 percent all the time
NO will be tough. the got bayless and thornton coming off the bench. one of them will be starting by the 30 game mark. they are both better than belinelli.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:29 am
rangerjohn says:
what no mention of how danny grangers nut sack fouled manus foot on a 3 point attempt? dont worry manus foot was ok, and he sank all 3 FTs
October 28th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Mart says:
Blake Griffin’s Sick Alley:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9nNFmT7F0U
October 28th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Ian says:
shit did i enjoy a clippers game?? damn.
loved the chart they showed on espn (for the kobe nut huggers) about fgm in the last 1mn or 2 (dont remember) of a three point game since roy came into the league. roy was second with the best fgp and bron was first. kobe was 4th shooting a crappy 33%.
spurs looked great last night the big three finally had a great game together.
spurs vs lakers wcf book it!
October 28th, 2010 at 9:43 am
BANG OUT says:
Just some thoughts…
Spurs starting line-up is officially SOLID.
RJ, Timmy, Blair, Manu, TP — }} With these guys, you can go to war against anybody on any hardwood any blacktop any day.
Dallas –}} DITTO
(Caron, Kidd, Jet, Dirk, Tyson)
Houston –}} SORTA DITTO
(AB, Kmart OH, Shane, Scola, Yao/Chuck)
I see a ‘DON’T MESS WIT TEXAS’ theme going on here…
…if you think it’s only a coincidence these teams match up perfectly, then you probably don’t understand the personnel decisions Adelman, Popovich and Carlisle had to make in order to win thier division.
To the surprise of nearly nobody in basketballworld, Collison’s good-ness last year was no fluke.
He’s actually a legit One and a very good One at that.
Good pick up for Indy.
Detroit loses to the Nets who SUPER STUNK last year.
Score, 101 – 98
TMAC was the only Piston who ate DONUTS last night and it showed, he did not SCORE.
At least 2,3, or 4 points TMAC…that’s all y’all needed. That’s all you had to contribute to grab a dub!
Shooooot the EXTREMELY OFFENSIVELY TALENTED Ben Wallace scored more than you bro!
Rondo : 100% 3 pointers made.
#JustSayin
6ers Bench = A Notch Above the Startin’ Five
Lou Williams, Thaddeus and the #2 pick must’ve been watchin’ throwback Nike commercials.
I swear they was on some “my better is better than your better”…
…Screaming directly at Kapono and Hawes…
…and kind of a mumble-whisper (whisple?) directed at Elton Brand. Out of respect for geezers.
So Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette are on the same squad??
Wow, Milwaukee got duped with the Hollwood Shuffle.
No one’s gonna be fooled by those Stunt Doubles.
I’ma start calling Emeka Okafur The 28 Year Old Virgin.
Still, at that age, he’s just not the scoring type.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:51 am
NTstateOFmind says:
“The other quote of the night was mark jackson absolutely ripping the bulls for not trading for carmelo anthony saying you can get a big who rebounds and blocks shots you can’t get a game changer and a scorer like carmelo anthony. Is he wrong? No because Asik cna do what Noah does.. it’s that simple.”
NOPE.
Asik getting 18/19 with 2 steals and 2 blocks? GTFOH
October 28th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Jay10do says:
cavs beat boston,wow! 1 out of the 20 wins the cavs will have this season, .i never watched ah Clipper game until last night ,Blake Griffin is ah Beast , King James to many TOs, Chi Town need the post game of Boozer asap, Utah got killed, CP3 is back, Go Heat!!!
October 28th, 2010 at 10:03 am
That's What's Up says:
QQ – just like your Magic, you actually came in second
I also like post 24 – “Black Griffin”
October 28th, 2010 at 10:07 am
That's What's Up says:
rangerjohn is back and he’s already talking about nutsacks…
Spurs starters look solid but the bench looks weaker than ever.
October 28th, 2010 at 10:46 am
YOUNGFED says:
Uuuummmmm the Pistons did play last night smdh
October 28th, 2010 at 11:07 am
dawut says:
CP3 is lookin a little puffy this year.
Too much krispy kremes
October 28th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Kermit The Washington says:
putting him on the court against the Warriors is like riding a Big Wheel on the freeway
good stuff LOL
October 28th, 2010 at 11:27 am
smdh says:
uuuuuummmmmmm, YoungFed…..Your Pistons DID play last night.
Detroit – 98
New Jersey – 101
October 28th, 2010 at 11:29 am
JBaller says:
Amar’e almost had a triple double… he just missed it by one turnover! At least we got a win – GO KNICKS!
October 28th, 2010 at 11:40 am
LakeShow84 says:
Lol @ youngfed.. cold world lol
Warriors bout to be my favorite team to watch.. That 3rd quarter was RIDICULOUS tho.. Houston shot what 30 FT’s??
Lemme say this.. KEVIN MARTINS GAME IS WEAK.. WEAKKK.. Hes an offensive flopper and that shit is ugly..
oh well
And you trippin DIME.. Cleveland’s highlight of the season will be clinching a playoff spot..
What happens when you have a ABOVE AVERAGE suppporting cast who is polarized around a player who isnt a real leader, acts entitled, obnoxious, and basically plays for his #’s?? That supporting cast is going to defer just like EVERY OTHER supporting cast and HOPE their faith isnt misplaced..
NOW take said underachiever away from team??
OHHHH SHIT.. THEIR NOT THAT BAD AT ALL.. And GUESS WHAT?? they ORGANIZED (Thanks Byron).. play D (Thanks Mike).. and play TOGETHER (no thanks Lebron).. they lookin for each other and playing SMART basketball.. but no we as a basketball culture THINK you need to have dude in there givin you 30/8/8.. maybe for a deep playoff run.. maybe for a chip..
But all that neck talkin below 20 wins talk?? NAH.. i still see them sliding on a losing streak (MAYBE) but they still a solid group of players.. Toronto?? yeah they screwed but CLE will be fine.. they aint contending but they will compete come April..
And guess what
Mike Brown could coach this team to 30 wins too.. ok well 25 for surely..
But nah im just a hater hahahahahahaha
And my quick look at Miami?? They better with DWade takin the load on offense.. Lebron aint even CLOSE to avgin a triple double and Bosh is right where i thought he’d be.. a 15/8 player.. and 15 maybe stretchin it.. he wont get his #’s with limited touches.. and he damn sure aint a banger to make up the difference..
All this talk of who is going to play off the ball?? WHO IS THE FORWARD???? Who got height, size and speed on everyone?? Yeah that player should probably be doin a lil more of the SFish dirty work.. not the 6’4 fuckin guard who has played PG/SG all his life basically lol
Oh well season still early.. But man.. cant wait for some of us to eat crow
October 28th, 2010 at 11:50 am
kobe24 says:
No mention of D-Rose getting absolutely torched by Westbrook? It’s funny how you guys left his stats out when mentioning OKC.
Rose took 31 shots to score 28 and displayed his improved shot by going 0 for 4 from 3pt territory. He also had several costly turnovers down the stretch and his defense was poor as usual. I think he believes his own hype, because there is no way a player of his caliber should be taking 30 shots.
Westbrook on the other hand got his 28 on over 50% shooting and 12/13 fts. Not to mention 10 boards and six assists. Down the stretch he took over and absolutely torched Rose. While Westbrook was perfectly running the offense, Rose would just pound the ball until the shot clock would run down and either take a bad shot or force a bad pass.
Anyone who thinks Rose is better has been drinking the cool-aid. Your boy lost. MVP candidate hahahhaha
HYPE TRAIN DERAILED, and its only the first game of the season.
October 28th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
bird says:
Is Delonte West injured for the Cs?
October 28th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
WinDelRoj says:
Blake Griffin just goes about his business. works harder than anyone. hope hes around for a long time.
Dime, chances Scola wins MVP?
October 28th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
momma muncher says:
Hhhhhha
October 28th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
sonic says:
Scola will have the stats, but Houston will not get the wins…
October 28th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
76ers fan says:
Monta Ellis gets no credit. He gets no love. He should be mentioned with the future stars of the league like Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, his teamate Stephen Cuury, Derrick Rose and others. Monta is a problem! This is how much respect Monta gets: I still see people spell his name Monte instead of the correct Monta.
October 28th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
76ers fan says:
Monta Ellis gets no credit. He gets no love. He should be mentioned with the future stars of the league like Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy, his teamate Stephen Cuury, Derrick Rose and others. Monta is a problem! This is how much respect Monta gets: I still see people spell his name Monte instead of the correct Monta. Russel Westbrook is a problem too. He doesn’t get enough credit either. Derrick Rose gets more hype but Westbrook is the better passer. Evan Turner impressed especially given his disappointing summer league and preseason. His 16 pts led the Sixers in scoring. he had 16 pts 7 rebs 4 asts 1 blk. Pretty good Debut.
October 28th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Steve Nash says:
I can imagine Dan Gilbert in the locker room with a full size body stand up LeBron James… everytime the Cavs win he rips a piece of clothing off from him jajajaja ala Major League…
October 28th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Ian says:
shit lakeshow
u had me fooled till you said u were a hater. i was scared man.
steve nash
best sports movie ever.
October 28th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Steve Nash says:
Season PREDICTIONS??????
MVP – Dwight Howard
ROY – Blake Griffen
COY – Jerry Sloan
6th man – Nasty Nate
East First Team
Lebron
Wade
Dwight Howard
Rose
Carmelo Anthony * he will be in the East before deadline
West First Team
Kobe
Chris Paul
Kevin Durant
Brandon Roy
Tim Duncan
October 28th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
DNice says:
Russell Westbrook is the nastiest dunker of all point guards. Have you ever seen a point guard throw it down with such power and ferocity? Other then the Baron Davis dunk on AK47 a couple years ago in the playoffs I have not seen a pointguard dunk as hard as Westbrook.
October 28th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
DNice says:
Russell Westbrook is the nastiest dunker of all point guards. Have you ever seen a point guard throw it down with such power and ferocity? Other then the Baron Davis dunk on AK47 a couple years ago in the playoffs I have not seen a pointguard dunk as hard as Westbrook.
October 28th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
lester says:
nobody saw that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8VkvHJzkTI
manu = biggest flopper ever and he got 3 FTs
October 28th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
CoolBreeze says:
@ Jay.
Just so you know, Dwade brought the ball up the court most of the game yesterday. At worst him and Lebron shared the responsibility. But D wade brought the ball up court often.
Blake Griffin’s a beast, whose athleticism and dunks down low remind me of a young Hakeem (with out the defense, blocks, spins and soft touch).
He just seems to jumps so high and so much faster than everyone else.
Derrick Rose over hyped. Still needs to learn how to be a point guard (pass, play defense, run a team) and shoot, before he’s an MVP candidate.
Monta Ellis is great. I love him. But damn! My grand mama could at least score 20, if her team scored a 130 points.
Evan turner had a great stat line. But he didn’t play anything great. Nothing special I promise you. That game was also in major garbage time from the 3rd quarter, when Phila was down 26.
Cavs fans were acting crazy like they were on uppers that whole game, and the players did the same and played out of their mind. But still the Celtics didn’t take that game seriously, cause they were up by 11points in the third quarter and could of stomped them out.
But I guess when you’re a old team you need your rest? Lol.