The Cavaliers flat out wanted this game more than the Wizards did. It was proven on the boards as the Cavs outrebounded the Wizards 51-31 and they outrebounded them 18-6 at the offensive end. This game came down to the last 5.4 seconds when LeBron James hit a wide open Delonte West who nailed a three pointer! LeBron James dominated the Wizards once again on Sunday afternoon as he finished up with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Delonte West also had a really good game as he scored 21 points, grabbed 2 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Daniel Gibson had a solid game off the bench with 12 points and 5 assists. The Cavs are now up 3-1 in this series.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played one of the worst basketball games I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes last night. They only shot 39.7% from the floor while allowing the Wizards to nail 52.1% of their shots which explains part of the beat down. The Cavs appear to have motivated the Wizards with their antics near the end of Game #2. LeBron James led the way for the Cavaliers with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Devin Brown was only 2 of 8 shooting from the floor but he still finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 24 minutes off the bench. Zydrunas Ilgauskas finished up with 9 points and 4 rebounds. The Cavaliers are still up 2-1 in this series but it just got a lot tougher with the Wizards suddenly playing inspired basketball.

The Cavaliers pounded the Wizards for the 8th straight meeting between the teams in the playoffs. The game was punctuated by dirty play from the Wizards which just fired the Cavs up. Wizards’ center Brendan Haywood was ejected from the game after knocking LeBron James out of bounds on what looked more like a football tackle than a basketball play. That play really fired the Cavs up. The Cavaliers shot 51.9% from the floor as a team and they outrebounded the Wizards 49-34 which explains the beating they put on the Wizards. The Cavs also played awesome on defense as they held the Wizards to 37.5% shooting from the floor. The Cavs held the Wizards big three (Caron Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Antwan Jamison) to 28 combined points on 10 of 36 shooting (27.8%) from the floor. LeBron James dominated the Wizards again last night as he scored 30 points, snapped up 9 rebounds, dished out 12 assists and blocked 2 shots. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was dominant again in the paint with 16 points and 9 rebounds in only 24 minutes. Wally Szczerbiak had a nice shooting game as he finished with 15 points and 2 rebounds. Daniel Gibson had another solid game off the bench with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Damon Jones put the finishing touches on this game when he hit a three-pointer on the last shot of the game to give the Cavs a 30-point lead and then he mocked a gesture that DeShawn Stevenson made earlier in the game. The Cavaliers are up 2-0 on the Wizards in this series.

The Cavaliers outscored the Wizards 28-17 in the 4th quarter to pull away from the trash talking Wizards. The Cavs only shot 39% from the floor but it didn’t matter on Saturday. LeBron James shot 12 of 19 from the floor and he finished with 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots to lead the way for the Cavs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had LeBron’s back as he finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Delonte West was only 3 of 10 shooting but he still finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. Daniel Gibson was solid off the bench with 11 points and 5 assists in 28 minutes. The Cavaliers are now up 1-0 in this series.

These two teams are deep and they know each other well after meeting two years in a row in the playoffs. Here is a breakdown of this series:

POINT GUARD: Gilbert Arenas came back late in the season and he usually raises his level of play come playoff time. He is not a pure point guard as he would rather shoot than pass. Arenas has more range as a shooter than almost anyone in the NBA, so if the Cavaliers leave him open to double team other Wizards “Agent Zero” will make them pay. Arenas played in 13 games (8 starts) this season for the Wizards and he has averaged 19.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Look for him to have better numbers than he did in the regular season against the Cavs.

Delonte West was added during the season in a trade with the Supersonics. Much like Arenas, West is not a pure point guard. He played in 26 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

EDGE: HUGE FOR WIZARDS

SHOOTING GUARD: DeShawn Stevenson is a decent player but he’s not someone you can depend on and he proved that last season against the Cavs in the playoffs. They needed him to step up with Arenas and Butler hurting and he didn’t. Stevenson played in 82 games (all starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

The Cavaliers will probably be starting Devin Brown as Sasha Pavlovic is hurting right now. Brown is a decent player, but like Stevenson, he usually doesn’t raise his game when the team needs him to. Brown played in 78 games (20 starts) for the Cavs last season and he averaged 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

EDGE: PUSH

SMALL FORWARD: This is a matchup of two outstanding players. Butler has blossomed into a very good player at both ends of the court and he will make LeBron James work for every point he gets in this series. Butler played in 58 games (all starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Butler will also make LeBron James work on defense.

LeBron James is quite simply, the best player on the planet Earth. James played in 75 games (74 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 30.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. James always plays well against the Wizards and he will be focused because of Gilbert Arenas running his mouth in the press.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

POWER FORWARD: Antwan Jamison is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. He played in 79 games (all starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 21.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Jamison will have his work cut out for him as Ben Wallace usually takes his game up a level in the post season.

The Cavaliers brought Ben Wallace in specifically for the playoffs. Coach Mike Brown values defense and hustle and those are two qualities that Wallace brings to the court every night. Just don’t expect him to score a lot. Wallace played in 22 games (all starts) for the Cavs last season and he averaged 4.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game.

EDGE: WIZARDS

CENTER: Brendan Haywood had his best season of his NBA career in 2007-08 so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up in the playoffs. Haywood played in 80 games (all starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the Cavs second option on offense. He played in 73 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers and he averaged 14.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Ilgauskas does need to start dunking the ball instead of tipping it in, but that’s nitpicking as he is a really good basketball player.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

BENCH: Both of these teams have good benches. Point guard Antonio Daniels had to start most of the season for the Wizards and he is a good player. He played in 71 games (63 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Roger Mason played in 80 games (9 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 9.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He can swing between small forward and shooting guard. Andray Blatche is the backup center for the Wizards and he really blossomed this season. He played in 82 games (15 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. F/G Nick Young had a impressive rookie season for the Wizards and he will be a starter down the road. Young has played in 75 games (2 starts) for the Wizards and he averaged 7.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Power forward Darius Songaila also gave a good showing this season for the Wizards. He played in 80 games (13 starts) for the Wizards this year and he averaged 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

The Cavaliers have a very deep and talented bench. C/F Anderson Varejao is Mr. Energy off the bench for the Cavs. He played in 48 games (13 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 6.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Backup point guard Daniel Gibson really stepped up in the playoffs last season. Gibson played in 58 games (26 starts) for the Cavs this year and he averaged 10.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Gibson is one of the best outside shooters in the game as well as Wally Szczerbiak and Damon Jones. Wally Szczerbiak had a rough time in Cleveland after they acquired him from the Sonics. He played in 25 games (1 start) for the Cavs and he averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Joe Smith provides some muscle off the bench for the Cavs as the backup power forward. Smith played in 27 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Sasha Pavlovic is injured right now but he will be back before this series is over. Pavlovic played in 51 games (45 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Damon Jones is a shoot first point guard and his shooting is his only above average tool in basketball. He played in 67 games (3 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 6.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. F/C Dwayne Jones will be sitting at the end of the bench for the Cavs. He played in 56 games (0 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 1.4 points, 2.5 rebounds an 0.2 assists per game.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

PREDICTION: The Cavaliers will win a tough battle with the Wizards in 7 games.