Game 71

VS

Cleveland Cavaliers (40-30) @ Milwaukee Bucks (23-44)

Saturday, March 22, 2008
Time: 5:30pm PT, 8:30pm ET
TV: FSN Ohio
Radio: WTAM 1100
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin



HEAD COACHES


Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers franchise has been around since 1970. Its all-time leading scorer has only been in the NBA since 2003. After becoming the franchise scoring leader at just 23 years old, LeBron James looks to add to his total and help the Cavaliers to their third straight win on Saturday when they visit the reeling Milwaukee Bucks. James passed Brad Daugherty as the Cavaliers’ top scorer when he registered 29 points as Cleveland (40-30) beat Toronto 90-83 on Friday night. It took Daugherty 548 games to score 10,389 points while James, the NBA’s leading scorer with 30.9 points per game in his fifth season, now has 10,414 points in 380 games. “These fans have watched me go from zero points to 10,000,” said James, who added 12 rebounds and went 14-for-22 Friday. “They’ve seen me go from a young man to a man now. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had. To be the all-time leader is something that I never dreamed of. But now that it’s here, it’s an unbelievable feeling.” James, averaging 32.4 points and shooting 49.9 percent from the field since the All-Star break, has even impressed his teammates. “It took me 13 years to get 10,000 points,” said veteran Cavs forward Joe Smith, who, like James, was a No. 1 overall draft pick. “It goes to show what kind of talent he is. I know he has at least 30,000 more in him.” Friday’s win was Cleveland’s ninth straight at home, but the team has dropped six of its last seven on the road, including four straight. The Cavaliers will try to end that skid against the Bucks (23-44), who have lost their last six games - their longest skid in what has been a very disappointing season. “I don’t feel like guys have turned me off. People are still paying attention, but that’s a rough question to ask a coach,” Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said after Tuesday’s 112-106 loss to league-worst Miami. Milwaukee led by as many as 14 in that game, but gave up 40 points in what Krystkowiak called a “super frustrating” fourth quarter. “With what we’re going for, that’s what you strive for is to find chemistry. We don’t have it,” Krystkowiak said. “There are a lot of things that need to be looked at. Teams that win games, you’d say that they have chemistry. Teams that don’t, typically don’t. That’s not an indictment on our guys. It’s just that the reality right now is that we’re not clicking together.” Milwaukee’s struggles this season led to the announcement Wednesday that the team would not renew the contract of general manager Larry Harris, who took over the Bucks in July 2003. In Harris’ four full seasons, the Bucks made the playoffs twice, but they’ve finished last in the Central in each of the last three seasons, and are currently in the division cellar with less than a month remaining in the regular season. While the Bucks are bringing up the rear in the Central, they’ve won two of three meetings with the division rival Cavaliers. Bucks guard Michael Redd - a Columbus, Ohio, native - is averaging 27.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists against the Cavaliers, while James is averaging 33.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists and shooting 52.1 percent from the field against the Bucks. Milwaukee expects to have center Andrew Bogut back in the lineup Saturday. The seven-footer, averaging career highs of 13.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots, has missed the last two games with a thigh injury.

Originally Posted by Charley Rosen "A note to long-suffering Cavaliers' fans: Don't get caught in the LeBron James pipe dream. The best King James can ever be is an average NBA player."