CAVS.SPACE

The Cavaliers improved their record to 9-2 with a 106-82 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Prior to last Thursday's victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Cavaliers had not outscored the opposing team in the 3rd quarter this season--which has continued a long-standing trend of struggling in the 3rd quarter for the Cavs. Yet, for the 3rd straight game, Cleveland outscored the opposition in the 3rd quarter (and the 4th quarter as well)--this time on the road. The recent run of strong 2nd halves may be an indication that the team is ready to take another step towards challenging for the NBA Championship. Stay tuned for tomorrow night's road game versus the division rival Detroit Pistons.

The Cavaliers enter tonight's game versus the Chicago Bulls with a 4-2 record. Here are some early season statistics of note. The Cavaliers are 12th in the NBA in points scored at 98.5 points per game and 5th in field goal percentage at 46.8%. Meanwhile, the team is 7th in the league in points allowed at 92.3 PPG and 7th in field goal percentage allowed at 42.5%. The 6.2 PPG differential is 6th best in the league while the 4.3% FG percentage differential is 5th. The Cavs are 3rd in the league in blocks per game at 6.3, 2nd in blocks allowed at 2.8 BPG, and 1st in BPG differential at 3.5. They were tied for 6th in BPG last season at 5.2 (with a 0.5 BPG differential) and 20th in BPG two years ago at 4.3 (with a 0.0 BPG differential). Although only 14th in the NBA in rebounding at 41.8 rebounds per game, the Cavs are 3rd in rebounds allowed at 36.7 RPG. The 5.1 RPG differential ranks 5th in the NBA. While the team is a modest 17th place in team free-throw shooting, the mark of

Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons made a bold move today, trading Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Although Billups had become an established star, the team had become stagnant--possibly due to the departure of Ben Wallace a few years ago. The Pistons are trying to be less like the Nets of Kidd-Jefferson-Carter and more like the Celtics of Pierce-Allen-Garnett in finetuning their core, but it is unclear whether or not A.I. truly is "The Answer" to the Pistons' desire for another championship. Regardless, the Pistons and the Nuggets have brought some early season excitement to the NBA.