Notebook | Cavs vs. Pistons

Gilbert pleased: At halftime, it was still anybody's game. "I felt really, really good at half," Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said, smiling as he leaned against a concrete wall outside Cleveland's locker room. "But the Pistons showed their years of experience." Gilbert, a lifelong Detroit fan who is modeling his franchise after the Pistons, came away from his first postseason feeling good about the future. There's no reason for him not to. The Cavaliers, making their first appearance in the NBA playoffs since 1998, advanced to the second round and nearly knocked Detroit out before losing 79-61 in Game 7 on Sunday at The Palace. Following the game, Gilbert proudly recounted a season in which the Cavaliers won 50 regular season games; LeBron James furthered his case for being the league's best player; and coach Mike Brown infused the Cavs with a belief that defense wins championships. "From where we came from last year, it's night and day," said Gilbert, who bought the Cavs in March of 2005. "These guys are young guys and hopefully the playoff experience will pay off. We gave the best team in basketball a pretty good scare. We came within inches really of going to the conference finals. I don't know of many teams who have gone so far in their first year together in the playoffs. I'm already excited about next year."
LeBron's new deal: Now that their season is over, the Cavaliers' next big win could come this summer if LeBron James signs his contract extension. The Cavs can officially offer the five-year deal, worth around $75 million, on July 1. James can sign it any time between July 12 and Oct. 31. Because James is playing for Team USA in the World Championships in Japan this summer, it would make sense for him to get it out of the way quickly. Gilbert has no reason to think James won't sign. "Our position all the time is that we didn't see any reason or hear any rumblings other than he's happy here and wants to finish his career here," Gilbert said.
Huge Hughes: Larry Hughes gave the Cavaliers everything he had. After sitting out four games following his brother's death, Hughes returned to the floor for Game 7. He finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and two assists in nearly 26 minutes. "I felt all right," Hughes said. "It's just been a tough year. Even though I wanted to be more aggressive, I have to understand that the timing and rhythm, things aren't there." Hughes, who dressed but didn't play in Game 6 at Cleveland, entered the game with 3:30 left in the first quarter and the Cavaliers down 19-6. Hughes had an immediate impact. He drove to the basket, grabbed rebounds and passed the ball to LeBron James as the Cavaliers clawed their way back into it.
Associated Press