Links to the Present: February 15, 2012
2012-02-15
“I told them I hope that the last game was a one-time hangover. I understand from a player’s standpoint, when you’re missing someone as important as Andy is to us, I understand that you’re going to probably feel a little disappointment or sadness that he’s not out there because he gives you everything he’s got. But like I’ve said in the past, it gives other guys opportunities and they better be ready to step up and take the challenge. Hopefully everybody is over with that and we understand that he’s not going to be here for a few days. We still have to move on.” [Byron Scott on Saturday’s loss against Philadelphia]
“Guard Ramon Sessions has averaged 18.3 points and 12.3 assists in his three games in the starting lineup in place of Kyrie Irving. He’s now soared past Irving as the Cavs’ assist leader, 5.7 to 5.1. It’s been almost a year since a Cavs player had back-to-back double-digit assist nights. Sessions had 13 and 16 assists, respectively, against the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee. The last time it happened was by Sessions on Feb. 7, 2011 vs. Dallas (13) and Feb. 9, 2011 against Detroit (12).” [CBS Sports]
“In the last meeting, the Pacers killed Cleveland on the boards, 60-49. They also had significantly more points in the paint, 52-44. Much of that had to do with Roy Hibbert. Hibbert alone grabbed 5 offensive rebounds, and the Pacers as a whole grabbed 17. When you give up that many offensive boards, you consistently give the other team a second chance to score. When that happens, you generally lose games. With Anderson Varejao still out with a broken wrist, it will be mostly up to Semih Erden to try to hold his own on the glass against all-star Roy Hibbert. If Erden struggles, don’t be surprised if Scott opts to use Tristan Thompson at center for portions of the game.” [Conrad Kaczmarek on tonight’s game against Indiana]
“BScott said Anthony Parker (lower back) might return to games next week. May return to non-contract drills later this week” [PDCavsInsider]
“The Cavaliers have activated Kyrie Irving, who missed the previous three games with a concussion. He will be in the lineup tonight against the Indiana Pacers, and is expected to start. Irving got a concussion in the Cavaliers’ loss in Miami on Feb. 7.” [Tom Reed]
Unrelated to the Cavs bullets, but I really hope Jeremy Lin disappears. This whole using his name as a prefix for every damn story about him or the Knicks got old after the first time. Copy editors around the world should feel ashamed.