Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert Gets More “Stern” Treatment

Poor Dan Gilbert.  Everybody knows Commissioner David Stern sticks it to the feisty owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers every chance he gets.

But must he do so even when he’s not trying to?

The Cavs, by all appearances, had received one of the least demanding journeys through this season’s most unusual of schedules.

While the back-to-back-to-backs have evoked the most buzz and lament, the most aches and pains are apt to be produced by the grinding stretches of six games in eight nights that make a mere four-in-five seem like an open run at the Y.

Danny-Boy’s team, though, faces nothing worse than a four-in-five (and only two of them) until April, by which time Cleveland should be no more than spoilers and pesky Anderson Varejao should be on a playoff team.

If Coach Byron Scott’s college kids haven’t hit the proverbial wall by then, the wall may just up and hit them as the season’s final 17 dates require 12 nights of work, including one crazy seven-in-nine survival contest that contains their three-fer.

But until April 10, there’s a comfortable rhythm to the arrangement, even conducive to some real practice time unless the terms and conditions of the new CBA prohibit that.

Looks like Stern’s schedule guru went off-script in giving an outcast like Gilbert a soft touch like this.

Playing on tired legs puts a team at a disadvantage, right?

If so, then playing against a team on tired legs should give a team an edge, especially a team that did not play the night before.

Actually, through Tuesday’s games, a rested team had played against a tired-legged team 51 times, the rested team winning 29 (57 percent) of those contests.

Three teams (Atlanta, Houston and Utah) were booked to play half of their first 10 games against teams who’d played the prior evening.

Two have yet to play a team on tired legs, the 2-8 Nets and Dan Gilbert’s crew, who should be commended for hovering near the .500 mark.

Looks like Stern won’t have to terminate that schedule maker after all.  He didn’t give the Cavaliers a tired opponent until Game 14 against the Bulls a week from Friday.

The Commish keeps conjuring up new ways to say, “Don’t Cross the Boss!”

No wonder Mark Cuban wore a tie to the White House.