News and notes
Posted March 26th, 2006 by Brian Windhorst
Before you get started, check out my Sunday Column on Flip Murray perhaps pricing himself out of Cleveland and LeBron’s best individual rivalry.
Here’s some stuff from the last week or so:
–Donyell Marshall has grumbled for the last few months about how the media has concentrated too much on his poor field goal percentage this season and not enough on what else he contributes, especially rebounding. It was an interesting tactic, Damon Jones’ first reaction to his prolonged slump was to go into denial about it as well. After heating back up recently, Marshall. admitted he’d gotten down on himself because he was shooting so poorly. Jones also copped to his bad play recently, revealing to me that Shaq had called him up and told him to shape up, which led to him putting in more practice time. Both are playing better now, perhaps admitting there was a problem was the first step.
–I always thought Ira Newble’s role would be as a situational defender, but I didn’t think it would be for individual possessions late in games. Three times in the last week Mike Brown has thrown him out there at the last second for just a few seconds. I wish I could’ve seen his face when he was told to sub in for the last shot against the Lakers last week after not taking off his warmup all day.
–I thought my unofficial tracking of Newble’s efforts on jump shots, 1-of-28 by my count by the way, was a woeful stat. That was before I was informed by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer last week that I’d seen history when the Bobcats rookie Kevin Burleson made a basket against the Cavs. Apparently it was his first hoop since Jan. 13, since then he’d been 0-of-33 shooting. Can you get your mind around that?
–Might be wise for Cavs fans to root for the Indiana Pacers to pass the Washington Wizards for the No. 5 playoff spot. Of course, things may be different with Larry Hughes, but the Cavs don’t seem to have the defenders to play with the Wizards, at least based on the last two matchups.
–If you’re interested, I will be answering questions on Hoopshype about the Cavs this week. Should you want to submit one go to the web site.
–Since some have asked about blog favorite Bob Finnan of the News-Herald, here’s an update: He became sick during the Cavs road trip to Dallas. After coming home he had to go into the hospital for a week but is feeling better and was recently discharged. I’m hoping he can be back doing his great reporting this week.
March 26th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Way to tough it out today against the Rockets. Lebs with a strong game, albeit shaky shooting. Damon Jones is shooting very well of late. Cavs have a chance at making a run if Jones and Marshall live up to their billing.
March 26th, 2006 at 6:00 pm
There is a substantive difference between the words “billing” and “hype.” In light of the fact the Cavs are consistently struggling against bad teams missing their best players, then you’ve got major difficulties that go way beyond the next five years of marginal (and declining) talent clogging the salary cap.
Good to hear about Finnan, though. I hate to kick a man when he’s down, but maybe next time he’ll know better than to demand that the man stewardess fetch him that second bag of rancid peanuts. I don’t care if Finnan’s a frequent flyer, a one bag limit means one bag.
By the way, and perhaps I’ll post it later, Marshall’s actually not having major shooting problems. Then again, maybe I won’t post it, there’s a lot of numbers that will bore people to death. I killed a couple of hours with a pen and a calculator and performed some calculations with each and every year of Marshall’s career. As it turns out, it is NOT his shooting that’s been a problem, per se. It’s been his shooting SELECTION. Accordingly, since Brown and Ferry are the guys that give Marshall the green light to shoot from wherever’s he’s standing, it’s the Brown and Ferry genius combo that is the root cause. His aging legs certainly don’t help the equation, either. But the underlying blame should be directed towards Brown and Ferry.
March 26th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
All I’m saying is more nights like Damon’s 4/5 from 3’s and they are on the right track.
Basically, they need to keep making more wide-open threes than they miss, and they will have a shot.
I’m sure Alan has some stats that say DJ and DM can’t make shots and were never good shooters, etc, but the bottom line is that these guys are NBA players, so an open three should be made more than it should be missed.
March 27th, 2006 at 4:39 am
The Cavs have placed too much emphasis on three point shooting. A couple specialists don’t make a good shooting team. Good shooting teams consistently make mid-range jump shots, which opens things up inside.
Marshall is especially frustrating to watch: I’ve seen him make a few nice drives along the baseline but he’ll only drive if it’s clear all the way to the rim. What’s the matter with getting by that first guy and canning a 12 or 15-footer, or dumping the ball inside when a second defender comes over to help?
Even with his tired old legs, Marshall can rebound, block a few shots, put the ball on the floor and shoot. It looks like he can do a little of everything but just doesn’t want to.
March 27th, 2006 at 10:44 am
Well, since Brian has again perpetuated Jones…”revealing to me that Shaq had called him up and told him to shape up,” I have been persuaded to come forward and reveal that Ron Jeremy called me up and told me to get back on that horse and bang thousands of chicks.
Of course, neither I nor Jones are telling any semblance of our respective outrageous egomaniacal self-promoting truths, but since when does the truth matter in sports journalism? If it ultimately makes it into print, then it stands to reason that it must be true.
Well, gotta go. I’m writing from the set of “Saving Ryan’s Privates,” and nothing says Shaq is part of my imaginary tight posse than getting blasted by heavy artillery, exploding grenades and eight Red Cross nurses.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:31 am
I understand that there’s a desire to get as much out of players like Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones as possible. But these guys are designed to be spacers in the offense, opening up room for Z and LeBron to get to the hoop. While neither is a huge individual scoring threat, they keep the defense from jamming the lane, and can make teams pay for double-teaming the stars. They are not there to create their own shots.
And in a different role, we wouldn’t care that they can’t create their own shots. But the problem is, Jones and Marshall are the only two guys getting regular minutes from the bench. The Cavs desperately need a scoring spark when the starters sit down, and since Marshall and Jones are the key bench players, fans are expecting them to provide that spark.
The importance of bench players that can create their own shot is clear when you look at the elite teams in the league. The Spurs have Michael Finley, averaging 9.7 ppg (they also have 3 great starters who can get their own shot, and bench players that play tremendous defense, making up for a lack of scoring punch). The Suns have Leandro Barbosa (12.4ppg), Eddie House (9.7), James Jones (9.3) and new acquistion Tim “pay me to leave” Thomas, (giving them 12.5 a game so far) which has allowed them to withstand the Amare Stoudamire injury. The Mavericks have Jerry Stackhouse (12.6), Marquis Daniels (10.6) and Keith Van Horn (9.0), making up for a weaker starting lineup. The Heat have Antoine Walker (12.0), Gary Payton (8.0) and, until last week, Alonzo Mourning (7.8). All of these players are capable of giving the starters a rest, creating their own shots, and making the defense play all 48 minutes.
(The Pistons, whose five starters have been together all 69 games this season, and average 36 mpg each, have Antonio McDyess coming off the bench for 7.3ppg, and they are by far the anomaly amongst the best teams in the league this year. Likewise, the Nets have had little bench support this season, which has been offset by thier triumverate of star starters. I hesitate to consider them an elite team, as they average only .8 ppg more than their opponents, less than the Wizards and Pacers. The Cavs average 2.1 ppg more than their opponents.)
The point is, while Marshall and Jones average near-respectable point totals from the bench (9.3 and 6.8ppg respectively), they never take the pressure off the starters on offense. They still only get their shots when LeBron or Flip or someone else kicks the ball out after penetrating. This causes fans like myself to get frustrated at Marshall and Jones’ lack of flexibility on the offensive end, and we wish they would do more, especially going to the rim. But this is who these players are, and while it’s fine to be frustrated, we certainly shouldn’t be surprised. Now it’s up to Coach Brown and the rest of the Cavs staff to find a way to get the most out of the pieces that they have, and hope that they can put together a post-season run that the team and the city can be proud of.
March 27th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
As usual, Alan Tucker’s sarcasm is top-notch.
If Damon Jones shot so well last year because of Shaq’s presence, i.e. he always had open looks, I think it’s fair to say that his looks this year are comparably as open.
It seems that a lot of people are underestimating the amount of attention LeBron draws on offense. It’s on par with the amount of attention that Shaq received in his heydey.
Having said that, I think it is not unreasonable to expect Damon Jones to be shooting closer to last year’s average than to his career average.
As for Donyell Marshal, well, I agree with everyone’s comments. He needs to be more dimensional, and he has the ability. Trying different offensive strategies will give him confidence and will open up the outside shot as well.
March 27th, 2006 at 6:00 pm
Sarcasm? I was being totally honest. Listen, if Damon Jones can convince a smart sportswriter to buy into the fantasy that megastar Shaq picked up his megastar telephone with the express megastar purpose of taking his valuable megastar time to give an opposing role player who’s played on 10 teams a resounding pep talk to remind him how great a player he really is, then I should be able to sell the equally realistic fact that I hang with Ron Jeremy. So to speak.
March 27th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
I don’t think the conversation was about being a megastar so much as it was about putting in effort to justify your contract.
I’m sure you were being honest, but if you can’t see the sarcasm in your posts, then we are all doomed.
March 27th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Wow, completely missed the point. The point is common sense dictates that Damon Jones was sitting around the Cavaliers locker room campfire telling tall tales. If Shaquille O’Neal whipped out his phone and called Damon “10 Franchise” Jones as Jones claims, then it’s every bit as realistic that Brian Windhorst and I finished in a scorching dead heat for People Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year.
March 28th, 2006 at 8:09 am
Cold Pizza, nice stuff Brian.
March 28th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Cold Pizza? Is that an expression the kids are using, or did our vacationing blog host make an appearance on that crappy show?
March 28th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
do you think that we can get Mike James next year?? Or do we want him? thoughts tucker?
March 28th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Considering that Shaq and Jones are good friends, I believe him.
March 29th, 2006 at 3:36 am
No disrespect, but there’s a sucker born every minute. Come to think of it, it’s how he got a four-year contract in the first place.
March 29th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Why wouldn’t Shaq and Damon Jones keep in touch? I don’t know why there is any real reason to doubt that two former teammates could be friends.
March 29th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Alan Tucker is either a fan of another team, or jealous of Jones’ salary and fame. He’s always negative. The fact remains that Jones is shooting significantly better over the Cavs’ recent winning streak.
I bet Mr. Tucker will have a whole host of negative things to say about tonight’s complete ownage of the Mavericks. In fact, let me get it out of the way so you don’t have to waste space:
- It was a home game, so it doesn’t count.
- The Mavs played last night, so they were tired; therefore, it doesn’t count.
- The Mavs played without a lot of their key players, so it doesn’t count.
- There were a lot of fouls called, so it doesn’t count.
- The Mavs statistically never play well on Wednesdays, so it doesn’t count.
- There was no moon tonight, and the Mavs only play well when the moon is in a waning cresent, so it doesn’t count.
- The price of oil is rising, and Mark Cuban is shorting oil futures, so his net worth decreased today, therefore it doesn’t count.
You are the sucker, Mr. Tucker.
March 30th, 2006 at 12:49 am
Damon Jones drops names like Star Jones drops weight. By the ton.
March 30th, 2006 at 5:20 am
Isn’t it time for our web host to start making a public case for LeBron as this year’s MVP? It’s often mentioned (as in Pluto’s column today) that LeBron probably won’t win the trophy this year, but why not?
If LeBron can will the Cavs to an 8-2 finish the team would end up with 50 wins. Considering their next highest scorer is at 16 pts. per game, Hughes missed half the year and the disappointing performances of their other free agents, that record would be a mighty impressive testament to LeBron’s will to win, especially during this crucial month of March.
Tim Duncan’s not having his best year, the stats of Nash, Billups and Nowitzski don’t really compare to LeBron’s and those guys have more talent surrounding them. Kobe’s right up there stat wise but if the Cavs could reach 50 and I had a vote, I’d definitely go with LeBron.
Does B. Windhorst have a vote, and if so who’ll he go with? (pretend Eric Snow is ineligible)
March 30th, 2006 at 5:57 am
The blog host is on vacation. I’d think the last thing a beat writer wants to check on his vacation is a blog, but what the hell do I know.
Actually, I’d almost agree, but it just has to go to Steve Nash. If the Cavs lost James before the season started, Ilgauskas would again lead the team to the worst record in the NBA. I think the rest of the team is that bad and James is that good. He’s practically won every game on his own. So I agree to that extent…Actually, James missing the year wouldn’t have been a bad idea if Greg Oden was available.
But look at what the Suns were able to do. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.
March 30th, 2006 at 11:08 am
You’re right about Nash and the Suns, Alan, but the season isn’t over quite yet. If the Cavs finish fast, they could wind up just two or three games behind the Suns, who’ve played .500 ball the last ten games or so, including a couple ugly recent losses. Stoudamire’s re-injury may have taken the wind out of their sails.
I also believe the Suns have more talent than the Cavs, even without Stoudamire. Marion may not be an MVP candidate, but you could argue his stats are more impressive than Nash’s. And, outside LeBron, no one on the Cavs roster matches Boris Diaw’s all around productivity: 13 pts., 7 rebs. and 6 assts. Plus, they’ve got about 5 more guys who score in double figures.
It’s doubtful the Cavs will reach 50 wins, but if they do I say LeBron’s got a chance.
March 30th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Ranking of the reporters paid to write about the Cavs. I don’t read all of them all of the time, but that should not matter. Do sportswriters who vote in college football polls see all the teams they vote on play? That’s a rhetorical question. Does it need punctuation, Tucker?
1.Brian Windhorst
2.Branson Wright
3.Burt Graeff
5.Alan Tucker
5. Bob Finnan (sympathy vote)
6.Mary Embry Schmitt Boyer
Best of the rest:Terry Pluto;Les Levine; The Optimist, Michael Reghi; Joe P. Tone; Bill Living-stoned (LeBron’s official biographer).
*LeBron should definitely get MVP consideration. If LeBron’s not in Cleveland the Cavs are not either. That would mean no Windhorst, no blog. Oh the humanity.
March 30th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Why is Red Smith asking me about punctuation? Jeez, you’re freakin’ Red Smith, the legendary dead sports columnist. I should be asking you the questions, not the other way around.
March 30th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Hey, Red, get off Livingston’s back. The guy hasn’t been able to fawn and fawn over a player he’s covered since the day Julius Erving retired. And even then, he somehow still managed to sneak in a few Erving columns, evidently forgetting he had since headed west and obtained employment with a Cleveland newspaper. But your point is duly noted. His James stuff is awfully mushy.
March 30th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
Brian’s not on vacation, he covered last night’s game. Get on top of it Alan! =)
March 30th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
In that case, Maureen, if I’m wrong, then I stand corrected. But Tom Reed, Terry Pluto and Marla Ridenour have been filing way, way too much NBA stuff for the blog host not to be on no vacation at all. I’ll bet you a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich that a vacation had been mixed in there somewhere.