Lebron James ... Case Closed Is there anymore doubt how special a player LeBron James is? Case in point, his performance leading the Cavs against the Suns a couple of days ago. He willed his team to victory and capped off an impressive run with a monster slam over Steven Hunter of Phoenix. After receiving criticism last year because of his inability to lead the Cavs to the playoffs, inconsistency on the court, and not being aggressive enough at the end of games, LeBron has shed the sophmore jink this year and is out to silence his critics. LeBron is doing it all for the Cavs this season, 28.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 7.8 RPG, 2.4 STLs, 1.6 BLKs. He's been a god for fantasy owners, and has taken control of this team at the young age of only 19. More importantly LeBron has increased his FG% to a whopping 45%, including 35% from downtown. So are LeBron and the Cavs worthy of a playoff spot this season? I think they most certainly are. Drew Gooden ... Boozer Who? Drew Gooden is quickly erasing the painful memories of Carlos Boozer. He's been a glass cleaner on the boards and erupted for 21 of them in their victory over the Suns. Given the minutes, Gooden has been just as effective on the boards as Boozer was doing for the Cavs last season. It has yet to be seen if Gooden can be as consistent as Boozer, but putting up double doubles on a nightly basis will force Silas to play him 35+ minutes. Already on his third team in three seasons, Gooden is trying to shed the journeyman label and find a home on the court. He appears to have good chemistry with LeBron, which is going to be a plus for him, and he's the hardworking player Silas enjoys having on his squad. Hopefully Gooden can be the PJ Brown of this team, and except his role as the defensive interior presence for the Cavs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas ... Putting the 'Z' in buzZ Contract year's usually bring out the best in a player, and Big Z is looking to cash in after this season. The Big man is putting up Big numbers so far including a 35 point /18 rebound night in the first game of the season. The struggle for Z has always been his health and his lack of commitment to defense. He appears to be lighter on his feet this season and Silas looks to be having an effect on his attitude on defense. He's having a career best in rebounds and is using his body better down in the blocks instead of playing his usual matador defense. Still only 30 years old, there is plenty of basketball left in him. One of the things GMs are looking for is a chance to see him perform in the postseason. Currently he leads all centers in PPG at 20.6, but can he do it for 82 games and help LeBron and Gooden lead the Cavs back to the post season? Looking ahead... The Cavs are on a two game win streak and are destroying the Wizards 94-67 today. The win today will put them at the .500 mark, with their next 3 games against the 0-6 Warriors and two against the expansion Bobcats. The Cavs should be able to win all 3 of those gams and give themselves a 6-3 record.
