Cleveland Cavaliers (24-39) New York Knicks (23-40)
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland.
TV: 7:30 p.m., FOX Sports Ohio (Cavaliers Live pregame starts at 7 p.m.)
Projected Starters
CLEVELAND: C Spencer Hawes; PF Tristan Thompson; SF Luol Deng; SG Jarrett Jack; PG Kyrie Irving.
NEW YORK: C Tyson Chandler; PF Amare Stoudemire; SF Carmelo Anthony; SG JR Smith; Raymond Felton.
Pregame Notes:
-- You can tell me the Cavaliers' playoff dreams are finished after Friday's loss at the Bobcats. That's fine. I'm choosing not to believe you, though, until the Cavs are officially eliminated. And to be quite honest, they're not even close to that.
-- OK, they're closer. That I admit. I know, I know. The Hawks lost Friday, too - meaning the Cavs are still only 3.5 games out of the final playoff spot. But guess what? There's now one less game to play. So instead of being 3.5 out with 20 games left, they're 3.5 out with 19 left. But wait! I said I'm staying positive and that I will do.
-- Guess what else? The Knicks are looking better these days. I always talk about how the Cavs' should be better than their record, but take a look at the Knicks' starting lineup. How are they not the third seed in the East? How are they not even in the playoffs?!
-- For the record, I've never before used an exclamation point in a story this season. I've already used two today. Can you tell March basketball brings out the madness in me?
-- The Cavs and the Knicks can't seem to stay out of the news, and mostly for not-so-good reasons that involve tons of speculation. But as Amare Stoudemire told New York reporters, those things can happen when you don't win enough.
-- On Friday, reports out of New York said the Knicks first offered their head coaching position to Phil Jackson, and when he turned it down, offered him a front-office job. A league source told the New York Daily News that Jackson is expected to get back to them next week.
-- For the record, the Knicks still have a coach (Mike Woodson) and people in the front office with a month left in the season. So it's a strange time to be offering other people their jobs.
-- Then there was the big report on ESPN.com about LeBron James returning to Cleveland tonight for Zydrunas Ilgauskas' retirement ceremony. For whatever reason, ESPN almost treats the Cavs like its hometown team. At least, ESPN sure seems to be all about the Cavs when things aren't going well.
-- The story suggested that the Cavs may have lost a chance at James returning when they fired general manager Chris Grant. Or that Grant's firing may have played a role if James decides to stay with the Heat. But Grant was here in 2010, and he sure didn't keep James from leaving. So now James won't come back because Grant is gone? Uh, OK.
-- The story was written by Brian Windhorst, an Akron guy and former Cavs beat writer. I love Brian and trust and admire his work. But if Grant was hatching some grand scheme to get James back by hiring Ilgauskas, as the story suggested, it's a really bad idea. Put the best possible team on the floor and quit making excuses. If LeBron returns to the Cavs (and I still say there's as good of a chance as ever, which isn't much) it's because he wants to play for his hometown team again. I find it hard to believe it would be for Grant or Ilgauskas. Those two were here the first time. And we all saw how that played out.
-- Anyway, back to the game. The Knicks are just 4.5 back, so like the Cavs, they feel like there's still a window to get it together and make an exciting charge to the playoffs. Both teams are right. My advice: Forget LeBron, forget Phil Jackson, forget the hubbub, embrace Z and just enjoy the ride. And all of that probably deserves another exclamation point.
Follow on Twitter @SamAmicoFSO
