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Photo: John Kuntz/Cleveland.com
After just the fifth loss in the Q the past two years on Sunday night against Charlotte, you knew the Cavaliers were going to come ready to take on one of their top rivals of the LeBron era, the Washington Wizards. They were helped by the timely suspension of point guard Gilbert Arenas for weapons charges and conduct, and the Wizards didn't have a prayer from the moment they stepped on the floor. The Cavaliers won this one easily, scoring a season-high 121 points and getting 50 bench points in the rout.
Lunar landing on the sideline, Karl cut: Jamario Moon missed his first of several anticipated games as he recovers from a nagging left abdominal strain suffered a few weeks ago against the Nets. (Thanks again, Devin Harris.) Moon may miss up to three weeks, so the Cavaliers are going to need someone to step up to be another bench energy guy and defender. Tonight, it was Jawad Williams, but Daniel Gibson and Danny Green are other candidates depending on matchups. Jamario will be missed most in games when the team has a capable scoring shooting guard or small forward, such as Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Roy of Portland on the upcoming five game road trip. In other roster news, the team parted ways with guard Coby Karl today. Karl played in just 3 games worth of mop-up duty, and the Cavaliers hope to save some money and keep their options open in the trade and free agent markets with Karl's vacated spot. The Cavalier roster stands at 14 now, with 12 healthy bodies due to Powe and Moon's status on the injured list.
Bigs give early boost: Both J.J. Hickson and Shaquille O'Neal must've popped a Five-Hour energy drink before tipoff, because they each started with a higher motor than normal. In fact, LeBron and Mo took back seats to the other three starters to get them going in the first quarter. The first 16 points came from O'Neal, Hickson, and Anthony Parker. Shaq had five points and four boards in just four minutes before he picked up his 2nd personal foul, his first being a flagrant foul level one on Antawn Jamison. O'Neal wasn't in there long, but it was enough to know that the team could go to him at any point in this game and get a bucket if they wanted. O'Neal scored 21 against the Wizards last time, and he excelled against them in the preseason as well, proving his usefulness in this matchup. Shaq scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting came in just 17 minutes, adding 6 rebounds. Hickson finished with 8 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks in 27 minutes. In all, the Cavalier frontcourt outscored the Wiz bigs 49-43 and outrebounded them 28-14. Give the starters credit for getting that going.
Introducing Jawad Williams, rotation player?: In Moon's absence, it was expected that Daniel Gibson would end up getting most of his minutes, but it was Jawad Williams who made the most of his opportunity tonight. Jawad played a career-high 25 minutes, shooting 3-of-9 from the field for 7 points. Williams also added 4 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and played very good stretches of defense on Antawn Jamison in the second quarter, contributing to Jamison's 1-for-8 start. It was enjoyable to finally see Jawad in his second year with his hometown Cavs to get some extended run in the rotation. You can see why the Cavs have held onto him through several stints; he has potential to fill a need off the bench in sporadic minutes. He has a similar build to Moon, so he is perhaps the team's best option to defend stretch fours like Jamison other than Varejao. 'Wad has a great chance to impress the Cavaliers in these next three weeks, and I think we will see Jawad on a fairly frequent basis in that stretch. Another interesting tidbit from the Jawad experiment was the freakishly huge lineups the Cavs deployed at times involving 'Wad. At one point, the Cavaliers had Delonte at point, LeBron at shooting guard, Jawad at small forward, Anderson Varejao at power forward, and Shaq at center.
Third quarter letdown and recovery: With a 22 point halftime lead, the Cavaliers didn't do much wrong in the first 24 minutes. When they started the second half though, the tide started to turn in Washington's favor, much like it did in the matchup earlier this season, a 17 point Wizard victory after the Cavaliers had led by 17 in the second quarter. But, the wine and gold nipped it in the bud tonight. They survived a 6-for-6 third quarter shooting stretch from Jamison and a 28-17 run to start the third. The third quarter was a wild affair to say the least, with the Wizards just outscoring the Cavs 37-36. As that score indicates, both the Cavalier and Wizard defenses checked out for the 12 minute stretch. The difference was the Wizard D took off the entire evening, allowing the Cavaliers to score their season-high with 121 points.
LBJ rest in fourth, Mo takes a back seat: The Cavaliers accomplished a true rarity for anyone, them in particular, triple digit scoring in the third quarter. With a 21 point lead and 101 points on the board, it allowed LeBron to take his second fourth quarter of the season off, well behind his 14 from last year, but every break you can give LBJ counts. No Cavalier played more than 31 minutes, nine players had at least 7 points, and six were in double digit scoring, which shows the all-around team effort in this one. Mo Williams was one player who stepped aside tonight in a very unselfish manner. Mo took just six shots, making three of them for 7 points in 28 minutes, but his offensive explosiveness wasn't needed tonight in the whole team effort, so Mo let some other guys get in the flow of things. This is a great sight to see after LeBron and Mo dominated the ball in the Charlotte game. Getting Shaq, A.P., Delonte, and the rest of the guys going offensively is important, because you know LeBron and Mo can and will bring it every night.
Last look at Jamison this year?: Antawn Jamison had a strong second half after shooting just 1-of-8 in the first half. Antawn finished with 26 points in 28 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting. When he is feeling it, like he was in the third quarter, he is nearly unguardable due to his size and outside shooting capability. With the Wizards' financial hell, poor record, and the Gilbert Arenas situation, you have to wonder if the 33-year-old power forward is on the block. If he is, think of the Cavaliers as the little kid sprinting to the door to lineup for recess. Jamison would fit in oh so well with the wine and gold, but the dilemma is how do they get him? The only real answer is a Jamison-for-Z deal essentially. This is not a deal I am willing to make unless Z will be bought out and brought back a month later. Z is too important to what the Cavaliers are doing right now. He is a key cog of the bench, he is keeping Shaq's minutes down, and he has recovered from a poor outside shooting stretch to return to a knockdown jumpshooter. But, can you see it, Cavalier fans? A starting lineup of Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, and Shaquille O'Neal? My (and J.V.'s for that matter) mouth is watering just picturing it.
 goes to: Shaquille O'Neal, Anthony Parker, and Jawad Williams. The Diesel got things started early in this blowout bonanza. He logged just 17 minutes, but scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. AP had his highest-scoring game as a Cavalier as he continues to expand his shot arsenal. Parker shot 6-of-8, making his last six shots, hit 4-of-5 threes, and scored 16 points and added 2 blocks. Jawad Williams saw his first extended meaningful action for the Cavaliers, logging 25 minutes and shooting 3-of-9 for 7 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound. The team was an impressive +18 on the floor with Jawad, third best on the evening behind Andy's +22 and Delonte's +21.
Team Grade: A
Shooting 57 percent from the field, outrebounding a team 44-28, and 29 assists on 43 field goals will generally get you where you want to go. It certainly did that for the Cavs tonight, who also held their own block party 9 blocks coming from six different players. The one blemish for the Cavaliers tonight was their 17 turnovers.
All for one. One for all.
Kirk
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With the contract situation, though, Z is about the only option. Though I will hate everything that the trade will stand for, if it brings a championship to Cleveland (provided Z is, in fact, back with the Cavs to enjoy the championship), I will support the trade after the finals.