Title: LeBron James Injured in game with Houston
Scrooge McSuck - December 30, 2004 03:34 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
Rockets damage Cavaliers
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal staff writer
CLEVELAND - The silence said it all.
As LeBron James lay prone in the middle of the lane, 20,000 people swallowed their voices, the shoulders of the men in wine and gold sagged, and the Cavaliers' short-term hopes took a pounding.
First, the Cavaliers lost their bona fide star, and then they lost their game Wednesday to the Houston Rockets, 98-87.
While trying to steal a pass from Tracy McGrady late in the second quarter, James stretched out to his left and his momentum carried him directly into the bent elbow of Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo in the middle of the key.
The joint caught James squarely above the left eye, sending him crumbling to the floor.
When the game was stopped several moments later with 1:53 left in the second quarter, James writhed on the floor in pain, lying face down. After several minutes, he rose on wobbly legs and was helped off, the eye already showing signs of swelling behind a towel he pressed to his face.
The Cavaliers described the injury as a peri-orbital contusion. He left soldout Gund Arena with his mother, Gloria, his agent, Aaron Goodwin, and several friends during the third quarter to undergo a CAT scan and X-rays at the Cleveland Clinic. He returned to the building after the game but did not speak to reporters.
The team said it would update his condition today, but sources close to James reported that the X-rays didn't show a break, but he had a bone bruise with swelling and soreness.
It isn't yet clear how long James will be out, but the injury does come during a favorable part of the schedule. The team has four days off before its next game Monday in Charlotte and plays just three games in the next 12 days. It probably ruined his 20th birthday party, though, which was scheduled for Wednesday night at a Cleveland nightclub.
McGrady ended up scoring on a dunk during the possession in which James went down to give the Rockets a 10-point lead. Even with some gutsy play, the Cavaliers couldn't recover.
``When you lose your best player, it is always hard to recover,'' Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. ``We just didn't have enough firepower.''
James wasn't having the best game before the injury. Perhaps showing some signs of fatigue from playing 46 minutes and scoring 40 points Tuesday night in Atlanta, James wasn't at the top of his game, scoring just three points with five assists and three rebounds in 17 minutes before getting hurt.
Though marked by a large asterisk, it is the lowest scoring output of James' 107-game career and the first time he's never recorded a basket.
The Cavaliers (17-12) struggled to find consistent offense all night. The James injury just compounded matters. In all, they shot just 37 percent and mostly had to rely on jump shots without James' penetrating ability and without being able to score inside with Yao Ming (20 points, four blocks) patrolling the hoop.
Drew Gooden scored 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 17 points with 11 rebounds. But Jeff McInnis was off his game, scoring just 10 points while dishing 10 assists, and no one came close to subbing for James.
``It's emotional. You lose his 25 points (per game average), and that's hard to make up,'' said Ira Newble, who had 14 points. ``He's like an MVP. Any team that loses an MVP, how do they look?''
The Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter to tie the game and then twice got it to within three points in the fourth quarter.
But without an equalizer like James, McGrady made the difference. Though he went just 13-of-31 from the floor, he scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to allow the Rockets (14-15) to claim victory.
``Injuries are a part of the game,'' said Silas, whose team fell to 11-3 at home. ``I'm proud of the way the guys played. It's just that we weren't good enough.'' |
Hopefully he's not hurt too bad, and probably isn't, but anything long-term won't work too well in favor of the Cavaliers in my opinion... plus he better be healthy enough for my Fantasy League!
Mad Dog - December 30, 2004 03:36 PM (GMT)
Eh, the Cavs weren't going anywhere this season anyway.
Scrooge McSuck - December 30, 2004 03:37 PM (GMT)
I don't know... the East hasn't been that great this year. The Eastern division is lead by the Knicks who are only 16-13 (I think...I haven't seen a game in a few days), and the Southeast division is home of Atlanta and Charlotte.
They probably wouldn't win the NBA Title, but could still be good playoff contenders if everyone stays healthy... unless it's a scrub player who gets 5 minutes a game.
Edit: Just checked the official standings. Clevland is 17-12 (2nd best record in the East) and have contenders in Detroit (15-12) and Indiana (14-13). Chicago and Milwaukee are lost causes, although the Bulls are pulling together lately.
Mad Dog - December 30, 2004 03:40 PM (GMT)
If they got to the playoffs they'd easily get bounced in the first round. They really haven't beaten anyone so far this year and the team is painfully average for the most part.
Scrooge McSuck - December 30, 2004 03:51 PM (GMT)
Was just checking over the Cavaliers results this season...
They've dropped games to Division basement reserved teams in the East like Milwaukee, Chicago, and New Jersey. They've split two games with the below .500 Boston Celtics, yet also split the 2 games this season with Phoenix, possibly the team I would pick for the NBA Finals because I'm a front runner.
Clevlands standings have no concrete patterns to go by. They can beat bad teams like Charlotte in blow-outs (blushes), or barely beat teams like Golden St. and Torono. They drop games to shit teams that they should easily have beaten though.
Too much of a mixed bag in terms of record against good teams to make something out of it.
TehDoct0r - December 30, 2004 05:13 PM (GMT)
NFC=Eastern Conference. And I don't care about LeBron.
PedigreeMC - December 30, 2004 10:11 PM (GMT)
I actually like Lebron alot. From what hes shown me, he has alot of class, and hasn't been in the headlines for anything bad since hes been in the NBA. For a 20 year old with the amount of hype he has had, thats pretty good when you look at the NBA. Especially when Carmello has taken a big fall.
Its hard for me to argue though, that he is one of the top 5 players in the league right now. He has done quite a bit for not only the basketball team, but the entire franchise. To be 17-12 right now, no matter who they have beaten is still second in the East which is impressive. There are alot of people out there who do not like him just because of the attention he gets but if you ask me, he has more than lived up to it.
Hopefully this injury won't keep him out for too long because he makes that entire team better just being out there. It does not sound all that serious though.
Scrooge McSuck - December 30, 2004 10:24 PM (GMT)
Update is that Lebron is going to play with a protection mask due to a broken bone in his face. How this will effect his game? Only time will tell...
TehDoct0r - December 31, 2004 12:36 AM (GMT)
I really don't have a problem with LeBron himself, I have a problem with his fanboys claiming he's the greatest thing to ever step on a basketball court. Until he wins NBA titles with Luc Longley playing center, stop comparing him to Michael Jordan. That's all I ask.
Scrooge McSuck - December 31, 2004 01:48 AM (GMT)
For the record, I never compared him to anyone... and don't forget, the Bulls didn't have shit for talent with Jordan. Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, a good 6th man in B.J. Armstrong... not too bad of a collection of players.
I also like Carmello Anthony more than LeBron.