Links To The Present: All Hugs Edition

LeBron James was feuding with Chris Bosh and the Heat.  The Cavs and Heat were even trying to avoid each other in Brazil; furthermore, Bosh said LeBron is hard to play with, and ultimately, feelings were hurt.  Feelings are miraculously unhurt now.  Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel witnessed a true show of affection between the former Heat player and Chris Bosh.

James squashed the thoughts of their strained relationship with a hug at midcourt before Saturday’s tip-off between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers at HSBC Arena. The players supposedly were feuding once James announced he was leaving the Heat to return to the hometown Cavs. Both denied any rift.

I hope this situation is the last time I have to examine spurned lover type feelings this year.

Joe Gabriele of Cavs.com helped Austin Carr pen an essay about his two trips to Brazil with the Cavs, one as a commentator and another as a player.  Carr gave this enlightening insight into David Blatt’s practice style.

It’s also been fun to watch David Blatt run a Cavaliers practice. I like the way he does it. The whole practice is about teaching, because he’ll stop practice and correct a guy – while it’s fresh on your mind. And he never raises his voice on a guy. Instead, you know by the tone of his voice how serious he is.

Carr also mentions Love’s lack of athleticism.

It’s interesting watching him in practice. He doesn’t jump high but he knows how to position himself for rebounds. He’s very good at that, among other things.

Maybe Carr can say Love “tossed the Hammer up” whenever he makes a good layup or hook shot in traffic.

Kyrie Irving has bought a new home.  The home happens to be Daniel Gibson’s previous residence with his former wife Keysia Cole.  Gibson experienced growth in his defensive skills throughout his career, so maybe his house had some strange air in it that contributed to his defensive development.  Kyrie is already experiencing defensive growth, so if he gets an extra boost from Daniel’s house, he might become a defensive stopper.  I’m just ad-libbing about this news.  There really isn’t much to say about a house purchased by Kyrie.

Referees this season are going to be focusing on verticality, traveling, and illegal screens.  The Cavs won’t be affected by these focuses.  They don’t have a behemoth rim protector that utilizes verticality to alter shots. Although, Anderson Varejao will stand in perfect position with his hands straight up sometimes.  Blatt’s offensive emphasis on passing will help eliminate chances to travel with the ball.

Anderson Varejao adds to the feelings being discussed today with this comment made to Chris Haynes.

“The experience was great, Varejao said. “The atmosphere was unbelievable. It was two times that I had to control myself not to cry. The crowd started to scream my name [and] it was a great feeling looking around seeing my family, my friends and the arena sold out.

Andy played extremely well scoring 12 points on 6-8 shots during the game agains the Heat.  He deserved applause.

Finally, Joe Vardon is reporting that LeBron James may sit out one of the next two preseason games.