LEBRON JAMESOne of the neat aspects of the Cleveland Cavaliers' emergence into an elite team over the last several seasons is their presence in the national conversation about the NBA.Cavaliers games are a staple on national television, with, of course, LeBron James the primary drawing card. Tonight's game at Dallas against the Mavericks isn't on ABC, ESPN or TNT, as so many Cleveland games are. It is on Fox Sports Ohio, and has some national presence as it's being shown on NBA TV.The Cavaliers also get their share of acknowledgement in the national print and online media. For instance, they're prominent in Marc Stein's Weekend Dime on ESPN.com, with numerous mentions.Stein's current edition features various "of the decade" topics. Among being included in other categories, James' memorable Game 5 in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons is considered among the "performance of the decade" candidates.Though Stein's winning effort belongs to another player, he writes:What LeBron did to the Pistons in the 2007 East finals -- absolutely dismantling 2004's proud champions by scoring 29 of his team's final 30 points -- certainly had more meaning given the playoff stage and undoubtedly ranks as James' signature game as a pro. Yet it can't top the most outstanding individual performance ever witnessed. Which is what Bryant delivered.And, among Stein's regular features, how about this?Some numbers of note in the East this week:71: LeBron James rumbled for 36 points, six rebounds and seven assists in Wednesday's win at Philadelphia, giving him 71 games with at least 35 points, five rebounds and five assists since James' rookie season (2003-04). Next on the list in the same span is Kobe Bryant with 57 such games. Houston's Tracy McGrady and Miami's Dwyane Wade are tied for third with 30.And, this:The irrepressible Elias Sports Bureau might have outdone itself with this one involving Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Cleveland's two centers produced near-identical lines in the box score in Tuesday's win over New Jersey: Both scored 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting with five rebounds and three blocked shots. How hard is it to produce a line with those specifics? Elias says that players have recorded more than 750,000 box-score lines since the NBA began keeping track of blocks in 1973 … and only two other players in all that time went for 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting with five boards and three swats: Cavs swingman Jamario Moon in April 2008 (with Toronto), and Portland's Greg Oden earlier this season.Covered: Plain Dealer Cavaliers coverage includes beat writer Brian Windhorst's NBA Insider and his "Hey, Brian;" columnist "Terry Pluto's Talkin;' " Jodie Valade's story on forward Jamario Moon's playing days with the Harlem Globetrotters.A win's a win: The Cavaliers have won their last five games, 17 of their last 21 and 20 of their last 25. Some observers have been concerned with the team's seeming penchant to play "down" to the level of some inferior opponents.Chris Beaven writes in the Canton Repository:The Cavs have looked dominant at times in the last month — winning four straight by double-digits at one point — while also delivering some ugly wins of late. But either way they play, they are usually winning.They have gone 17-4 since a 3-3 start, with road wins over Orlando and Miami and home wins over Dallas and Phoenix. The black eye in that stretch is three road losses to teams with losing records.They’ve done much of that during a busy December that has featured 10 games in the last 18 days. By the end of the month, they will have played 17 games in a 29-day span.“It seems like we’ve played a lot of games in a lot of nights already,” Head Coach Mike Brown said. “We’ve been in town, out of town, so our schedule already has been whacky. But you’ve got to give our guys credit for trying to stay focused and trying to fight through the right way.”Tonight, the Cavs open their most difficult road trip with a game at Dallas, followed by Monday night visit to Phoenix. After playing Wednesday at Sacramento, the trip ends Christmas evening with a nationally televised game against the Lakers.“It is a difficult trip coming up,” Shaq said. “It is a good test for us. You know every time that we get into focus mode, we play pretty well. LeBron (James) said it earlier. I said it earlier. It’s a business trip. We are going to a lot of nice cities, but we are going to be locked in as soon as we get on the plane (Saturday).”West a key: Guard Delonte West is one of the Cavaliers' most important players. Writes Bob Finnan for the News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal:When Delonte West is playing at an optimum level, the Cavaliers are a championship-caliber team.But when he lapses into one of his funks, they appear to be slightly above average.There's no question the importance of West to the Cavs.Unfortunately, Coach Mike Brown doesn't know what he'll get out of West on a day-to-day basis.Brown said the Cavs' success this year doesn't hinge on West's prognosis. They'll move on with or without him."We have guys in the locker who are capable players," Brown said. "When you have the guys in there to help pull him along or carry him along, it gives him the opportunity to succeed over time."He's gotten better and better as time goes on. When it comes down to it, all our guys will be in tune."
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