5 things I think I know about this series
Posted April 22nd, 2006 by bwindhorst
1. The hardest player for the Cavs to control will be Antawn Jamison. Gilbert Arenas will get his points, he’s a great player. But the Cavs really don’t have anyone on their roster who has shown they can defend him. He averaged a double-double against the Cavs this season.
2. LeBron James will be able to get to the basket whenever he wants. The Wizards are lazy defenders in general. While Brendan Haywood is a shot-blocker, for the most part they are weak inside and James is as quicker and stronger than any of their perimeter players. The question is whether James will drive or settle for open jumpers as the Wizards try to bait all teams into.
3. Zydrunas Ilgauskas can be the most effective player in the series, if he stays out of foul trouble. The Wizards simply have no answer for him. Plus throwing it into him will slow the game down, which is what the Wizards hate. He must not be forgotten or under-used, no matter what some blog readers think about it.
4. Arenas will catch fire and making unbelievable shots. He will also go ice cold and take bad shots and weak shots. The idea is to make him work as hard as possible so the hot streaks are few.
5. The Cavs will win the series in six or seven games. I know the Wizards are a bad match-up for the Cavs, I know they beat them three out of four regular season games. But the Cavs have the talent advantage, they have the home-court advantage, they’ve played better basketball for the last two months than Washington, and they have the best player.
Also:
–If you have a few minutes, check out Tom Reed’s great story on Zydrunas and his wife, Jennifer.
–If you read this, you can sound smart to your friends.
–Mad props to Bob Finnan of the News-Herald, who correctly predicted the Cavs record for the third consecutive season. Records are kept for this, but it has to be one. By the way, I said the Cavs would go 47-35 and finish fifth in the East.
–However, before you pat Finnan on the back, he also revealed to me the other he thinks his dog looks like Tracy McGrady. Please take that into consideration.
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:22 am
Check out the great story about Z and his wife? For the sports section of a newspaper? A beat writer is actually encouraging other guys to fall in love with a love story. Is this too sweet, or what? I am not ashamed to say that two paragraphs into the story, I had to go get out my Journey “Escape” CD and put on “Open Arms.”
Well, I guess one of the few legitimate salary cap bargaining chips the franchise has is going to be hanging around for another four years. Not great for the playoffs of the future, but delightful for Sunday tea. When you’ve got the powerful Akron triumvirate of Brian Windhorst, Terry Pluto and Tom Reed practically beating people over the heads with Z’s wonderfulness, then you’re reckoning with the brute force of nature.
Brian, do you love chick flicks, too? So do I. Hey, I’ve got an idea. Assuming you can still meet deadline, at the end of Game 1, the two of us should go walk hand-in-hand to Blockbluster and rent “Sleepless in Seattle.”
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:39 am
Seeing Reed’s story gave me a chuckle, considering it ran the day the team is playing its first playoff game in seven or eight years. Plus, I swear I’ve read this same story before. Or maybe I’m thinking of something I saw on Nick and Jessica?
I suppose it’s a good way to support the big fella when a rational case for his actual performance can’t be made, other than “anyone who thinks different doesn’t know anything about basketball,” or “no matter what some bloggers may think.”
I like Z, don’t think he’s a bum and hope he does well. To say he might be more effective against the Wizards than LeBron is stretching it a bit, however. And the propaganda supporting certain players on this team can be insulting to anyone who actually watches a few games.
April 22nd, 2006 at 11:41 am
Larry, I believe you’re thinking of Nick and Jessica. I can’t fathom you’re thinking of Tom and Katie.
With that said, I actually do think Ilgauskas can be helpful against mediocre teams like the Wizards in a series. Of course, disregarding the fact that every season, not-so-powerful squads always make it into the second round, just like the awesome Wizards did last year. After all, 16 out of 30. As I presume the Cavaliers “team” will do this season, with hard-working lovebird Z dominating the paint against Brendan Fraser, or whoever the Wizards have. GO LOVEBIRD!
Hey, Larry, you weren’t possibly thinking of Brad and Jennifer, were you? Call me a hopeless romantic, but I can never say never. Do you want to join Brian and me at Blockbluster? With emphasis on the “bluster.” After we watch the movie, we can talk about boys, then top off the night with a pajama party and a pillow fight.
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:53 pm
My God, Hubie Brown’s plastic surgery is horrifying.
April 22nd, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I believe you may be getting Hubie’s plastic surgery confused with Reghi’s plastic surgery. Reghi has the somewhat extreme facelift, which makes him look pseudo-Asian, plus he’s got a plugs and piece combo. I haven’t seen Hubie in a few months, but the last time I did, he only had the Sinatra-like dead animal sitting on top of his head, with no apparent facial surgery. Like so many people, I think you got the two guys confused.
Somebody help me out here, I haven’t been keeping tabs on Hubie’s recent appearance. Regardless, Brown is still a superb color guy, no matter what he looks like these days.
April 22nd, 2006 at 7:10 pm
Lest somebody accuses me of posting too many times, this is extremely important: I neglected to originally mention that Finnan may not be crazy. I have two dogs, two cats and two parrots that do not resemble anybody I am aware of. However, and I swear I am not making this up, Leroy, my chocolate brown potbellied pig, looks *exactly* like Sam Cassell.
April 23rd, 2006 at 4:49 pm
It’s not just Akron’s own who seem to think Z is important, seems Sports Illustrated thinks so too:
“Cleveland’s staunch refusal to take advantage of Ilgauskas in the post is baffling. Ilgauskas had only seven field-goal attempts while having his number called on the low block only a handful of times. “They ought to dump it down to him every time,” says one playoff participant not involved with this series. “It’s crazy, the guy can score from anywhere and they just won’t give it to him.”"
Also, in the current SI issue (with LeBron on the cover), they mention if the Cavs have ANY chance of upsetting the Pistons in Round 2 they’ll need to get Z involved.
If anyone can name me a championship team besides the Bulls that didn’t have at least a borderline All-Star center/bigman/post player, please let me know.
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:04 pm
The Cavs need all the luck they can get to beat Washington. That means Donyell has to contribute.
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Ben, Golden State, Clifford Ray. Took me half a second. I could go on, but why bother. Silly irrelevant question. It’s James’ show, it doesn’t matter who else or what else is on the floor. Not even Zydrunas Valentino changes what’s obvious to any reasonable observer.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
The parameters you ask for are vague and all-encompassing, Ben. You could have just as well asked for the last team that won a title without a borderline all-star guard/ball-handler/scorer/short guy.
Sometimes a player’s position or height is confused with what he actually does on the floor. For example, the Piston’s best post scorer is currently Chauncey Billups. And in the late ’80s, the championship Pistons’ best post scorers were Mark Aguirre and Adrian Dantley.
Whether Z’s on the floor or not, LeBron is the Cavs best low post scorer and playmaker. The team plays best when it’s got two quick and big defensive disruptors who, on offense, can either stay out of LeBron’s way in the lane or take a pass and finish at the rim.
April 23rd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
alan, you continue to be a legend in your own mind. Clifford Ray and golden state lets see that was at least 25 years ago. The problem with most blogs is the inability to listen to a different opinion and look for the truth in what other have to say. terry pluto has what 25 books out and is well respected in journalism. How many books and who pays you to scout players? Oh, I thought so.
April 23rd, 2006 at 8:01 pm
Oh, come on. I said I could go on…The implication being there are a lot more answers to the question since 1975. Larry hit the nail on the head. This classic “position player” stuff is nonsense. Hell, Bill Laimbeer, as a quick example, was ANYTHING but a low-post center.
Included in Ilgauskas’ fundamental flaws when he’s combined with James is that Valentino is not a finisher (except in the bedroom apparently). Never mind the ridiculous irony of being 7′3″ tall, but a purported “low-post center” that can’t finish, let alone dunk once a solar eclipse, is as valuable to James as a car that will drive you 3/4 of the way to work. So Z (or is that V?) just fills lane space, hanging around for the occasional tip-in. That’s hardly what James needs. Is it?