The Ben Wallace Trade

I love the trade, but Nester brought up a point I never thought about. We will rely heavily on Eric Snow and Delonte West on defense because Boobie and Wally aren't good defenders.

Offensively, I think the best lineup the Cavs could put out there is LeBron, Boobie, Wally, Ilgauskas and Joe Smith. All offensive threats. You can't leave Ilgauskas open within 12 feet cause he has a very reliable jumper or he's under the hoop with the best tip back in the NBA. Joe Smith stands 12-18 feet away to knock down open jumpers. Wally and Boobie sitting on the wings hoping for an open look. Even if Wallace is in, he can take Z's spot and look for easy dunks and offensive rebounds. Joe Smith is the biggest addition in the deal and fairly underrated. He can hit open jumpers with more consistency then Drew Gooden, which is probably why he has been involved in every Cav rumor the last two seasons. Sad to see him go, but for now we're improved.

It's nice to have a guard like West who can control the offense, especially with LeBron on his side. He doesn't need to play make, just needs to play some solid defense and knock down open jumpers if LeBron creates it for him.

The Cavs are going to be very tough on the interior. I loved this trade for the sole reason of picking up some extra bodies guessing the Cavs find themselves matched up with Kevin Garnett and the Celtics in the second round. Both Wallace, Ilgauskas and Varejao can bang with him although I'd be worried if KG went outside. As long as Wallace, Ilgauskas or Varejao is patrolling the paint I feel pretty good on our interior defense.

With that all said, I think this trade makes the Cavs a better all-around team. LeBron has much more reliable shooters then he has had in his career. With LeBron and this cast of characters, I think the sky is the limit especially since LeBron gets "it" now. He's a competitor, he's a killer. He's the best talent in the NBA. Could his team be better? Yes. Is this the best group of players he's ever been around? I'm pretty sure. I expect big things and a very entertaining second round to the playoffs.

The Larry Hughes Theory

Danny Ferry has been working on a special project for the last few years, which also explains the lack of moves that the Cavaliers make. Danny Ferry intentionally put Mike Bibby rumors out there all this time to distract the media that Ferry was doing nothing. But really, Danny Ferry was in the basement of the Q working on his project. Non-stop, day and night. He would do nothing else besides watch the Cavaliers play. As Danny watched the Cavaliers play, he showed no emotion because he knew this wasn't the team he'd be cheering for soon. A team where Larry Hughes sucked up and down the court was soon to be forgotten.

That's when it happened. On January 24th, an off day for the Cavs, Danny made an unexpected visit to Mr. Hughes suburban home. He didn't come alone. At his side were Drew Gooden and Dwayne Jones. Danny said a few words and chatted up Larry, until Gooden and Jones swung a bag over Larry's head. The Cleveland Cavaliers had just kidnapped their starting shooting guard, Larry Hughes.

The next night, Larry Hughes was in the starting lineup against the Pheonix Suns. He did something very unexpected, Larry had a great game. Larry followed that up with a very solid performance against the Lakers. The next game in Portland, Larry was up to his old ways again, playing terribly. You would think Larry would be back to normal, right? No! A 28-point effort against the Sonics, followed by one more bad game. Then he broke off four solid performances in a row. What was going on? Larry finally living up to his contract (kind of). Larry was tearing down boards (for Larry Hughes), playing good defense and not taking his normal amount of awful shots.

Then the unthinkable happened. The day was February 11th, 2008. The location is Orlando, Florida. The Cleveland Cavaliers are here to battle with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Little did they know they were in for history....

A LARRY HUGHES 40-POINT GAME!!!

How could this happen?!?! Larry Hughes is terrible! Then I saw it, Danny Ferry in his skybox with a smirk on his face. Right then, I knew something was up. Then I noticed something weird about Larry. His head was sparking as he was walking into the tunnel after the game. This couldn't be. Larry Hughes is a....

ROBOT!!!!

Yes, the real Larry Hughes has been kidnapped by the Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry. Danny finally completed his project which he named "Larry Hughes 3000MAX". Right now he is set to have a bad or average game now and then. Which will last the rest of the season. Next season, Larry Hughes 3000MAX will be set to "destroy" and that's when the NBA is in for some biiiiiiiig trouble.

Quick NFL Playoff Predictions

Seahawks 27, Packers 24
Cowboys 30, Giants 21
Patriots 31, Jaguars 20
Colts 35, Chargers 17

My Thoughts on the NFL Playoffs

The NFL playoffs start Sunday and I thought on chime in on it with my 2 cents. Seeing as my squad (the Chicago Bears) have been out of it for a few weeks, I have a fairly unbiased few on the playoffs. As everyone should know, the New England Patriots are rolling into the postseason as the first team to go undefeated in regular season play since the season was expanded to 16 games. The Colts and Cowboys are the other favorites to win the Super Bowl. As for the other teams the Jaguars and Redskins rolled into the playoffs with impressive endings to their seasons. Can any of these playoff teams stop what seems like an inevitable Super Bowl matchup of the Patriots and Cowboys? Tom Brady Vs. Tony Romo, Randy Moss Vs. Terrell Owens, Jessica Simpson Vs. Gisele.

New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Giants are coming off a very impressive showing against the New England Patriots where they outplayed them for 3 quarters of the game. Brandon Jacobs has been running great lately and if he can keep that up, the Giants could find themselves in the NFC Championship. Eli Manning has to limit mistakes and Plaxico Burress has to play like the big play receiver he is.

So, I found out today that Tampa has the #2 defense in the NFL. That caught me off-guard. Jeff Garcia has been great leading this team to the playoffs and Earnest Graham has been admirable his the starting RB since Cadillac Williams' season ending injury early on in the season. Still, I just don't believe in Tampa Bay. I'm taking the Giants 24-14.

Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks
No one wants to play the Seahawks in Seattle, since they have the league's loudest crowd. Shaun Alexander looks like a shell of himself, only averaging 3.5 yards per carry this season with only 4 touchdowns. The Seahawks got here with the help of their QB Matt Hasselbeck, who just wrapped up his best season as a pro.

The Redskins are playing for their fallen teammate, Sean Taylor who was killed in his Miami home about a month ago. The Redskins are led by a very strong running game with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Who's going to play QB for the Skins, Jason Campbell or his backup who has yet to lose this season, Todd Collins? Either way, I don't see the Redskins winning this one in Seattle. Seahawks 20-17.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Easily the best of the Wild Card round match ups. Week 15, these two teams played in Pittsburgh with David Garrard, Fred Taylor & the Jaguars coming out as the victors. David Garrard is playing as good as any QB right now and he's doing that by not making mistakes. Garrard has only thrown 3 INT's this season and has lost only 2 fumbles. The thing for me that separates these two teams is the running game. The Jaguars have the 2nd best running game in the NFL statistically (only behind the two headed beast in Minnesota).

However, Pittsburgh has the #1 defense. On the flip side, they will be without Willie Parker. That's really, really bad for the Steelers. Big Ben is going to have to come out with some fireworks for the Steelers to advance to (likely) New England. Jaguars 31-17.

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers
This one is easy. Contain LaDanian Tomlinson and this will be a game. Let Tomlinson run free and allow Phillip Rivers to use play action to get himself involved in the game and the Chargers run away with it. I think Vince Young will get a rude awakening to life in the NFL playoffs. But you have to give him a lot of credit for getting the Titans here with very little to work with on offense. Chargers 34, Titans 14.

Well, thats how I think the first round will go. Maybe next week I'll write up another one, but maybe I won't. Anyways, here's how I think the rest of the playoffs will go.

Dallas Cowboys over the New York Giants
Seattle Seahawks over the Green Bay Packers

Dallas Cowboys over the Seattles Seahawks

New England Patriots over the Jacksonville Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts over the San Diego Chargers

New England Patriots over the Indianapolis Colts in a game to be remembered.

New England Patriots 35, Dallas Cowboys 31.