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02/13/2007 -
CLEVELAND (AP) -Sasha Pavlovic cocked his arm and awkwardly flung the new ball, which wobbled on its flight toward a laughing LeBron James standing at the other end of the practice court.
``Quack, quack,'' James said, teasing his teammate.
``It was the first time I ever held a football,'' Pavlovic, born in Serbia-Montenegro, explained later. ``You can see, I'm not so good.''
Lately, Pavlovic has shown off his skills with a leather ball he can handle.
Buried on Cleveland's bench for nearly three months, Pavlovic has gone from obscurity to necessity for the Cavaliers, who have been battling expectations while searching for an offensive spark all season.
Coach Mike Brown found one sitting a few feet away.
The 23-year-old Pavlovic is playing the best ball of his four-year career. In his last seven games, he's averaging 15 points on 50 percent shooting (34-of-68), with 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 25 minutes.
On Sunday, he scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter in Cleveland's 99-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. At times, Pavlovic was the most impressive player on the floor - more than James or even fellow superstar Kobe Bryant, who were outslashed and outshined down the stretch by the far-less-famous European.
``My confidence is getting higher and higher,'' Pavlovic said. ``I know I'm going to play, that keeps me more consistent. I have to play hard on defense and my offense will come.''
He didn't always feel that way.
A gifted slasher with a decent outside touch, the 6-foot-7 Pavlovic has a smooth offensive game. His defense has been just the opposite, the primary reason Brown rarely used him last season, and why Pavlovic played only four minutes in the NBA playoffs.
Getting Pavlovic to buy into his defense-first philosophy has been a challenge for Brown and his staff.
``When I first got here, we saw how extremely talented Sasha was in practice,'' said Brown, in his second season with Cleveland. ``He is a very capable scorer, passer, runner, slasher, you name it. One of my coaches went to him and said, 'Sasha, you've got to defend.'
``And not even cracking a smile, he looked at my coach and said, 'My defense is my offense.'''
Pavlovic now realizes that to play more, he must move his feet, stay with his man and contest every shot to remain in Brown's favor - and his rotation.
``Slowly but surely he's gotten to a point where he understands that in order for him to play he's got to defend,'' Brown said.
Pavlovic's impact when the Cavs have the ball has been more profound.
The Cavaliers' lack of a true point guard has hindered the team, which ranks 23rd in scoring, 27th in field-goal percentage and last of the league's 30 teams in free-throw percentage.
Pavlovic's added minutes - he's taking time from guard Damon Jones - as well as Brown's decision to start rookie Daniel Gibson at the point over Eric Snow has allowed the Cavs to up the tempo. By pushing the ball, they've been able to initiate their offense more quickly.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday's win, it was Pavlovic, not James, leading the Cavaliers.
Pavlovic, whose infusion into the mix came when James hurt his big toe a few weeks ago, either drove to the basket or worked pick-and-rolls with Anderson Varejao, who added 11 points in the final 12 minutes.
He also made two 3-pointers, all three of his free throws and converted a key three-point play with 1:24 remaining to seal it.
James has seen Pavlovic do it before.
``I go against him every day in practice and he's a very tough matchup for me,'' James said. ``I just always tell Sasha, 'You're going to be very good for us. We're going to need you.' And he has responded.''
Earlier this season, Pavlovic's future in Cleveland seemed uncertain, and until the Feb. 22 trading deadline passes, it still is. But his recent play may have the club rethinking its moves in a season when the Eastern Conference is wide open.
``Sasha has played an important part of our last few wins,'' general manager Danny Ferry said Monday. ``His scoring off the bench and his ability to get to the rim has given us a real boost.''
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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