GAME 2...I hate you too Bowen, more than Mikki

I've been derelict writing about the Cavs. What's the point? I'm not impartial. I'm a fan first. I can't look at these games objectively.

For game 2, I would bet heavily on the Cavs. I think the line was 7. I can't see Lebron having two bad games in a row. I'm not saying the Cavs will win, although I like their chances, but I think they'll keep it close and beat the spread.

Yes, they should play Boobie more. They need to go small more, as mentioned by some Cleveland sportswriters. I think they really need to go under every on the ball screen set for Tony Parker. It's pretty obvious. If Parker was a consistent outside shooter, he'd be mentioned in the same breath as Nash or Kidd. He's so fast, penetrates so easily and finishes around the hoop like a big, and the way to guard him is to duck under the screen to be sure you stop his penetration with your guard. Z, Gooden, Varejao will pick up ticky-tack calls bumping him, or let Duncan get good looks close to the hoop when they show to try to stop the ball. Lebron did the best job at this in game 1.

We need to push the ball offensively with a small lineup as much as possible. The Spurs aren't young. Parker Ginobili and Duncan were great in game 1. If they are contained a little more this should be a game.

GO CAVS!

Recommendations

Here are a couple of recommendations to kill some time.

The movie Knocked Up. It's hilarious. I think it's better than 40-Year Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers. Here is a funny link of a deleted scene. Go see it.

Three books:

The Brotherhoods, about Caracappa and Eppolito, the NYPD mafia cops. The book is astounding. It takes you through the background, crimes, investigation and trial of the two most corrupt cops ever.

The Ville, about Mooksville! The book follows the tumultuous high school years of a talented, charismatic teenage man, trying to make something of himself in one of America's most violent neighborhoods. It also follows tragic events at his school. The book illustrates how bad life was and still is in the projects. You can also witness the events through the eyes of a rookie housing cop.

The Things They Carried, ok, a lot of us have read this book in high school or college. I think this book is more relevant now, with what's happening in Iraq. Whatever side of the table you're sitting on as far as Iraq goes, the book takes you through the hearts and minds of soldiers (this is set in Vietnam). The soldiers are barely adult age, but through their experiences you witness the horrors of war and how they face these challenges. The book is brilliantly written by one of the best American writers in the last 40 years, Tim O'Brien. You can also read In the Lake of the Woods.

Boxing

First off, last night, just in time for the Puerto Rican Parade in NYC, at Madison Square Garden, Miguel Cotto, one of my favorite young fighters, ko'd Mooksville native, Zab Judah. I didn't catch the fight but will check it out on the HBO replay.

The UFC is great, but everybody is so down on boxing, especially after De La Hoya/Mayweather fight. There's still a lot of great fighters out there. Check out Andre Berto (pictured), he's a future Champ. Dude's got a neck like you wouldn't believe. Check him out.

KING

Work has me missing a lot of basketball right now, but I was able to make it home at about the 6:00 minute mark in the 4th quarter last night. I had no idea I was in for another 20 or so points from Lebron. The biggest game in Cavaliers history. The best performance of Lebron's career. There's not much you can say or write to relate the will he exerted in that game.

Up until Webber's 3 point play in the 2nd OT, I was thinking to myself, thank God, Lebron does have that killer instinct in him, thank God, he's reached a new level in his game that he will always be able to build on. Perhaps outsiders came to this conclusion earlier in the game, but we're Clevelanders, and we are always optimistic about the future and pessimistic about the present.

After he hit that 3 pointer I realized that the Cavs were going to win game 5 and that Lebron was going to hit the game winner. He just kept answering. In my lifetime, it is, second to Jordan, the most dominating performance I've seen in a playoff game. Tayshaun Prince is a very good player, especially defensively, and Lebron is so thoroughly dominating him that you can see the look of hopelessness on Prince's face every time Lebron drives by him and dunks it.

A lot of people in the media seem to forget that Lebron is in his 4th season and is 22 years old. They can point to Wade and say he won, but Wade had Shaq, along with Toine, Payton, Mourning. How much easier is it for him? C'mon. At this point, Jordan was a rook with the Bulls team that was sub .500 (he was shooting 18% for 3pt). Kobe was a superstar, but like Wade, he had Shaq, among others, and Magic had Kareem. Lebron is doing this much like Jordan had to do it, with little help, so it's easier to compare the two at similar ages. At this point in their lives, Lebron is ahead of Jordan. That's not to say he's going to top out higher than Jordan did, but it's frustrating to see him get hammered by pundits at such a young age.

I'm still absorbing the win and this performance. I can't wait for Saturday's game.