The Cavaliers narrowly escaped yesterday's game against the Kings with a 93-92 win, and rookie Tristan Thompson played a major role in the victory, as Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. With 15 points and 12 rebounds, the Canadian power forward recorded his first career double-double and talked after the game about getting his "groove back." As the Cavs wait to see if Thompson can maintain this level of production going forward, let's check out some other notes out of Cleveland….
- Ben Uzoh, who signed a 10-day contract with the Cavs on February 10th, will not have his deal renewed, reports Reed in a separate Plain Dealer article.
- Within the same piece, Reed looks at J.J. Hickson's disappointment in the trade that sent him to Sacramento last summer, and his struggles with the Kings. Asked if he could make it work in Sacramento, Hickson paused and replied, "Uh, yeah. I think so, yeah."
- Hickson on whether he'd want to return to the Cavs via free agency: "Of course, why not? I'm not saying 'no, I don't want to come back.' If the opportunity presented itself, why not?"
- Omri Casspi, who came to Cleveland in the Hickson deal, also took some time to adjust to his new setting, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. However, Casspi says he enjoys playing for coach Byron Scott and calls his Cavs teammates "a great group of guys."