<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James was in seventh grade the last time the Cleveland Cavaliers played in the postseason. And he wasn't even a Cavaliers fan. "I was a Bulls fan -- all Michael Jordan back then. I'm all Cavs now," James said. James helped end the NBA's third-longest playoff drought by scoring 46 points in a 107-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, clinching Cleveland's first postseason berth since 1998. The league's brightest young star will be playing in late April for the first time in his three years with the Cavaliers. James said he was pleased, especially after missing the playoffs by one game last season. "I've always felt since I was drafted here that I was going to light it up like Vegas," James said. "I said that on Day One once I got drafted. It's been slow progress, but it takes a few years to put a building up in Vegas, too." The Cavaliers were low-key about their accomplishment, leaving the court without celebrating. "We have bigger goals than that," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "If the fans want to celebrate and the city wants to celebrate, that's fine. We expected to be in the playoffs." Only the Warriors and Clippers have had longer current absences from the postseason. Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the only remaining player from the 1997-98 playoff team, other than general manager Danny Ferry who was a reserve on that squad. Against the Mavs, James was relentless driving to the basket and made several spectacular dunks. He shot 16-of-23 and 4-of-7 from 3-point range, adding five rebounds and four assists as he led the Cavaliers to their sixth straight win. He was still in the game long after the score was out of reach, and took a couple vicious fouls before finally leaving to a standing ovation with 2:18 left. "Before the game started I pulled him to the side and said, 'Tonight you solidify your legacy," Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall said. "A lot of people say he's not going to be a legit star until he makes the playoffs. You clinch it tonight what else can they say. Only thing they can hold him to now is a championship."</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting virve119:</div><div class="quote_post">How did the Cavs clinch a spot before NJ, despite NJ having a better record?</div> I'm pretty sure its based on remaining games.
Congrats to Cavs- they've been blessed with a healthy team (-hughes) and hopefully they finish strong and head into post-season with a ton of momentum.
The playoffs are a completely different atmosphere. There is much more of a sense of urgency. It'll be intersting to see how LeBron performs in his first series considering that this is probably the highest level of intensity he has been up against in his career. I have a feeling LeBron may struggle a bit in his first series, but there is also a good chance he will prove me wrong.
