Comments on the goings on
Posted May 12th, 2006 by bwindhorst
Prepare for some condescending opinions…
–The Cavs have no chance in the series with the Pistons. You knew this before the series started, you know it now. Don’t get all upset about it and let it ruin your month. The Pistons can beat them any way they want. Accept it, learn from it and move on. Cavs had a breakthrough season.
–The Pistons are a jump shot team, a very good one at that, filled with players that can post up but would prefer to shoot jumpers and want to drive by would prefer to get fouled or pull up than actually finish at the rim. Why the Cavs give them so much respect by backing off them and double-teaming them, I don’t know. In general I think the entire league gives the Pistons too much respect, which is another way of saying the play scared.
–Speaking of too much respect, as I pointed out in this story, Ben Wallace didn’t get a foul until there were eight minutes left in Game 2. He also didn’t have any blocks. This is very simple to figure out, the Cavs didn’t even think about challenging him. I know he’s a great player and he erases shots at the rim but LeBron James is a great player too and he finishes shots at the rim. If you’re going to do down, go down fighting.
–Donyell Marshall didn’t say anything that anyone should have a problem with. I elected to totally ignore this story because it is a non-story. I was standing there when Donyell made the comment and my thought was "yes, you are correct, Donyell." Now there are some talking heads that think he is a cancer or something. Nonsense!
–LeBron James trashtalked Gilbert Arenas and columnists with nothing else to write about a week later are still buzzing about it. This stuff goes on non-stop in NBA games, especially playoff games. Actually the worst stuff said comes from the bench when opposing players are near. This just happened to be directly caught on camera between the two big stars so it became a big deal. I’ve been going on radio shows and talking about this around the nation and honestly I think it is memorable and high-profile but still another non-story in the grand scheme. Please, everyone get some damn perspective.
–I’ve been getting steadily ripped for my fidelity to Zydrunas Ilgauskas all season after his relatively woeful playoff performance. Z has been bad by his standards and it has hurt the team. Why this is the way he plays when he’s waited so long to get to the playoffs I don’t know. But I still say he’s not used correctly in the half court because the Cavs’ offense is a mystery. Anderson Varejao looks good when the Cavs are in transition, but he’s useless in the halfcourt. The halfcourt is where Z should shine and where the Cavs are getting beat by Detroit. I continue to say he needs to get the ball more in the halfcourt, it’s the only chance the Cavs have.
–Speaking of players I’ve defended all season, I’ve grown tired of hearing about how when Eric Snow is playing it’s 4-on-5 offensively. Well when Ben Wallace plays it’s 4-on-5 offensively for Detroit and they seem to be doing OK.
–I don’t always agree with Scoop Jackson, but his perspective in this piece should be understood by Cavs fans.
–This a late add, but I think this is great stuff. Not just because a guy who has made like $130 million is accused of shoplifting, it may or may not be true. But because it is totally right out of Sopranos when Tony rips off some Armani sunglasses from Johnny Sack’s brother, the civilian optometrist, earlier this season.
May 12th, 2006 at 6:44 am
just for the record, i beat tucker to be the first to post. go cavs.
May 12th, 2006 at 6:46 am
You’re right. I just wish they weren’t playing scared and gave a little more effort. (And maybe won a game or two.) There were also a number of times Wallace didn’t even attempt to block. One of James’s drives I think he was expecting contact from Wallace, didn’t get it and almost blew the lay-up. Time for a little aggression Cavs.
May 12th, 2006 at 7:01 am
Good takes all around, though don’t you think if the Cavs stopped playing scared, drove to the basket, got the ball inside to Z (and he actually played with some intensity / energy & scored) they would “have a chance?” You say it yourself that they are underperforming and giving the Pistons too much respect, but then you seem to turn around and do the same thing by claiming they can’t win. I’m not saying they can or will, just that they need to get their tails out from under their legs and play like they did against Washington & during the season. Didn’t we clean Detroit’s clock once during the regular season?
May 12th, 2006 at 10:23 am
I repeatedly read in these parts (and others) that Ilgauskas isn’t getting the ball. Been reading it since the regular season started. Well, if Ilgauskas rarely touches the ball, then how in the world does he consistently manage to have a ridiculous sum of turnovers, both during the season and now? I believe a player cannot be credited with a turnover unless that player first possesses the ball to turn it over. Please, correct me if I am wrong about this.
First it was all the fault of Brown. Bad, bad offensive game plan. Brown is an offensive dope. Hire an offensive coordinator. Well, that excuse worked for awhile, but now it seems to have lost its whimsical edge. So now, the excuse focus has been modified to “he’s in a slump.” Next it will be he’s been suffering from an injury, but he’s such a gamer, he didn’t even tell the trainer he’s been playing through such intense pain. Then it will be his brother died, and therefore his mind has been elsewhere. Poor Z.
Hey, here’s a thought: Perhaps opposing coaches prepare differently during a playoff series than they would during an endless 82-game season. Perhaps they stare at film to prepare for a playoff series, and they instantly realize the center is soft, uncoordinated and horrid when double-teamed and/or when defenses collapse. So they design their series defenses accordingly, and just completely ruin his offensive game. Nah…that can’t be it.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The man with a lifetime free pass. I wish I could get myself one of those. I’ve been looking and looking and looking on eBay, but no luck.
May 12th, 2006 at 11:15 am
I agree that the season is a *huge* success even if the Cavs are swept. 50 wins!!
And I’m in complete agreement that the “non-stories” were unremarkable.
But I can recall several times James and Hughes did drive to the basket successfully in game 2. They just kept the ball away from the Wallaces with finger rolls and bank shots instead of dunks. I call that a good adjustment.
Getting 40 points in the paint (to the Pistons’ 16) means your inside game is healthy. If they can get more, great, just keep feeding it as has been said by many people already.
My main problem with Game 2 was that Detroit got to the line 42 times. Sloppy defense like that offers no chance of competing.
Aside from that, my other concern is that the forwards and Ilgauskas have usually not found good positions to get offensive rebounds from outside shots. Sometimes that’s because the shot goes up too early in the clock, sometimes because the low-post players are up top screening, but I think mostly the Pistons are establishing better position and the Cavs aren’t finding ways to beat them.
Yes, the Cavs did have 13 offensive boards in game 2, but most of those came on two or three possessions where they happened to be in good position and kept missing the tips & putbacks. If they can find a step in consistently, they have a real chance.
I recall 82games.com had Ilgauskas with the most points via offensive rebounds this year. That, along with the midrange jumper, will be even more of his game as he gets older, I suspect. He’s losing the ability to back an opponent down to get close enough for the hook shot.
Also keep in mind that the Cavs’ home court advantage was best in the NBA this year, which is another way of saying their road game suffered the most of any team. So hopefully these playoffs demonstrate what they need to do to win away from the friendly confines.
Very exciting season, Mr. Windhorst topped even his own superb reporting from years past, and thanks everyone (even you, Mr. Tucker!) for the great discussions on this board!
May 12th, 2006 at 11:56 am
I admire your obstinance, Brian, but Big Z’s been exposed. The Cavs go to him to start just about every game, but when a team knows it’s coming, Z’s easy to defend. Maybe if he were just a little quicker, a little stronger, or a little less panicky.
In any case, the Cavs don’t have a chance in the halfcourt against the Pistons, who have been playing together for 5 years or so under taskmasters like Carlisle and Brown.
But the Pistons are on cruise control and haven’t been rattled yet. If the Cavs drive to the basket and run, they might steal a game and force the Pistons to make an adjustment or two. Flip Sanders’ playoff record isn’t sparkling.
The Cavs need to keep their most agressive players on the floor. The only thing LeBron’s going to learn from laughers like game one is that he needs new teammates.
May 12th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Here’s my problem with all the hometown groupie scribes and the supposed “breakthrough” of 50 wins: I think they would have gotten 50 wins with third-year James combined with second-year James’ roster. I think it’s asinine that local sportswriters are giving Ferry one iota of credit that he doesn’t deserve. Rotten moves that will bite the franchise in the ass for four more years. Admit it, the reason they are better is purely because James is so much better. Paul Silas and last season’s roster with this season’s James is still 50 wins. Instead of being subjected to all the incessant babbling over a heist of the legendary Flip Murray, Ferry could have retained every penny of cap space and leased Latrell Sprewell for a year.
But let’s discuss something far more important: Yesterday, I took the day off, and had absolutely nothing to do. So I’m busy flipping through my 6,000 channels of video garbage, and I happen to stop at “Cold Pizza.” So who should appear for a segment, but our blog host himself! Truly scintillating televison. A split-screen. Former Beacon Journal beat writer Broussard on the left half of the screen, current Beacon Journal beat writer Windhorst on the right half of the screen. Both apparently reading from cards after the producer fed them beforehand exactly what they were going to be asked. Both totally mellow on Quaaludes, both offering nothing but hearsay and rumor about what is supposedly going on around the NBA.
But my very, very, very favorite part of the segment was admiring the six tons of white cement cake they plastered onto Windhorst’s face. Now, I admittedly am no makeup expert, but I believe it was something from The Herman Munster Collection, new from Maybelline. The last time I saw something that royally embalmed, Lenin was taking a nap.
May 12th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
Alan:
What is the point of the final two-thirds of that last post? Did it contribute anything to the purpose of this blog? Or, do you just need to perform verbal masturbation on-line? Just wondering. ‘Cause sometimes I think you post just to admire your own “wit”.
P.S.
Is it absolutely necessary for you to be a complete shit-head 24 hours a day, seven days a week
May 12th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I agree with Tucker, and have said this for a while. Last year’s roster + this year’s Lebs = 50 wins.
Terrible, terrible signings by the Cavs. Z’s net worth is negative because of his bad defense and 3-5 travels per game, Hughes has underachieved, and Jones’ numbers have worked out to about a million dollars per playoff minute. Ha!
The only players worth keeping are Lebs, Snow, Marshall and Varejao. Marshall has struggled, but he seems to “get it” moreso than Jones, so good for him.
Now, I don’t think last year’s roster + this year’s Lebs gets past Detroit either, but at least they have cap space and options heading into the summer to make some good moves.
The only positive from all of this is that when these bad contracts are up (assuming Hughes/Z/etc stay Cavaliers for the remainder of them), Lebs will still only be 25 or so. Still tons of time to get it together.
May 12th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
dpl, in response to your warbling, all I gotta say is it’s a darn shame you missed that “Cold Pizza” segment, and it’s a darn shame you don’t read this blog more often. Because if you did, then you would know the blog host has already spoken about wearing his “Cold Pizza” makeup to practice.
Take my word for it, yesterday Brian looked like a human pastry. If Tractor Traylor was still around, Brian would have been eaten.
May 12th, 2006 at 3:53 pm
Hey, Enkidu, I tried to e-mail you, but your link goes to a box score, not to an e-mail address. So here’s my question to you, since I have never looked at that 82games.com., and I’m assuming it’s a pay subscription site for access to all resources.
How many of those offensive rebound points, let alone offensive rebounds, were the result of Ilgauskas’ very own missed shots? Do they keep stats on that? My best guess is that it was an outrageous disproportionate number.
Ilgauskas plays around the bucket like Bill Walton was forced to play at UCLA, when dunking the ball was deemed a rule violation. David Stern always seems to be cracking down on something, but I don’t think that dunking the ball is one of them.
May 12th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
I just read that late add. That IS pretty funny stuff.
You have to admit it’s a pleasant change of pace, though. Typically when you read about an NBA player, it just involves something boring, like rape or coke. It’s never sunglasses.
But as funny as Howard’s heist of a pair of fashionable spectacles is, I still don’t think it’s as funny as when former Mayor Stokes got nailed for “accidentally” shoplifting a bag of dog food.
May 12th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Z has four years and $50 million left? I want him.
May 12th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
If you can work a three-way trade wherein we ship Z, Hughes, and Gooden and get Garnett and Mike Bibby, I’ll take it!
May 12th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
“How many of those offensive rebound points, let alone offensive rebounds, were the result of Ilgauskas’ very own missed shots?”
Excellent question.
The article with Ilgauskas’ tip-in stats is linked in my name below (turns out it’s tip-ins, not general offensive rebounds). There’s no charge at 82games.com to access.
They claim they’ll follow up “soon” with stats on who missed the first shot. Of course, “soon” often means never.
However, if you click on the “Points per FGA” link at the bottom of that page, you’ll see Ilgauskas is among the league leaders in points per field goal attempt, so I doubt he’s the one clanging all the time. Or if he does miss, he gets to the foul line.
May 13th, 2006 at 7:53 am
While LeBron James’ growth has undoubtedly contributed to the Cavs’improvement in W-L record, it almost certainly doesn’t represent the whole (or even the biggest part) of the Cavs improvement.
Essentially, those who say this are arguing that LeBron this year is eight games better than LeBron last year. ESPN.com rated James at 47.09 as a player last year, and at 50.09 this year by their rating system. Give ALL his improvement to the Cavs as a team, and you have a 6% growth. That would project to 44.5 wins from last year.
Using PER, he went from a 25.7 rating to a 28.1 rating, a 9% improvement. Project that over 82 games and the Cavs win 45.9 games instead of 50.
Looking at James’ stats, he shot slightly better from the field, but worse from three-point range and from the foul line. (He did get to the line a good deal more, however.) He had considerably fewer rebounds, assists and steals, slightly fewer turnovers, and very slightly more blocks — all in slightly more minutes this year than last.
There’s no way that that alone adds up to eight games worth of improvement, and it assumes that 6% or 9% improvement in LeBron translates directly into 6% or 9% improvement in the Cavs, which is likely to be high by a factor of two.
Basketball-reference.com has his player wins at 13.9 last year (3rd in the NBA) and at 14.7 (2nd in the NBA) this year. That’s less than one game improvement.
Realistically, his improved play amounted to maybe a couple of games for the Cavs. Remember, he was already playing at a very high level.
May 13th, 2006 at 7:53 am
What’s Ilgauskas’ average, something like three offensive rebounds a game? He only TOTALS about 7 1/2 rebounds a game, correct? So if he gets, say three to four points off of his own offensive rebounds, then do a little math, and that adds up to an extraordinary number of padded rebounds as a percentage of his total rebounds. Is that acceptable for a starting center, let alone one that’s over 10-feet-tall and clogging a salary cap?
And since you brought it up, let’s talk about his foul shots - - The persistent argument goes feed the ball to Ilgauskas in the post. By the same token, a separate argument goes that James must distribute the ball so the other four guys don’t just stand around. But isn’t that *exactly* what happens when you feed Ilgauskas the ball in the post? So why isn’t the identical argument made with Ilgauskas as it is with James? Indeed, if you’re going to buy into that James argument, then shouldn’t the argument be DON’T feed Ilgauskas the ball in the post, because if you do, the offense becomes stagnant?
Ilgauskas is a terrific example of how statistics can mislead, or simply lie. Ilgauskas is also a wonderful example of why the Cavs marketing people just love statistics.
Go Z!!!
May 13th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Oh, please, Kevin. Look, I know you have a zany stats fetish, but sometimes you have to go with your eyes, not with your numbers. If you watched James this season, particular in the second half of the season, you saw a guy that was incredibly assertive and one that simply dominated on a regular basis. A totally different guy than last season, and you could see it in other teams’ defenses. The name on the jersey was the same, but the guy wearing it definitely wasn’t.
There is a reason why God gave you a functional set of eyes and a lot of common sense. You are Kevin Andress. You are not that Greek dude Euclid, the Father of Mathematics. Hate to say it, but sometimes your statistics are as valid as Barry Bonds’ flaxseed oil.
May 13th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Tucker that’s your 7th post. Enough already. You don’t like Z, we know. You think his 10 pts per game in the playoffs is no worse than his 15 per game in the regular season and he’s overpaid. Duly noted.
May 13th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I concur.
May 13th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
While I don’t have the type of writing style to incite the readers like Mr. Tucker does, I still stand by what he says.
You can throw out PER and +/- and all sorts of things like that, and to some extent it’s useful, but, like Mr. Tucker said, at some point you have to step away from all the numbers and make some judgments on your own.
What I see from Z is a guy who has legitimate offensive skills, but they are overshadowed by his laziness in a couple areas:
- He frequently gets in foul trouble early in the game, which would be (more) acceptable for a young guy like Varejao, but is completely unacceptable for a high-priced veteran like Z who is supposedly an integral part of the offense.
- He misses way too many shots from 3 feet and in–essentially tip-ins–because he stubbornly refuses to jump and dunk the ball, instead opting to put the ball on the GROUND and lay it up. These should be guaranteed points, converted 99% of the time, but it’s not. Just typing this paragraph makes me angry, as this bothers me more than any other Z issue does.
- He travels multiple times per game. He has done this for as long as I have watched him, so it’s upsetting that he hasn’t tried to improve this. Probably the best example of his laziness.
In conclusion, Z’s offensive skills are rendered moot by his momentum-killing, lazy behavior. Every time he picks up a bonehead foul, or travels, or misses a gimmie dunk, it stalls the offense and throws the train off its tracks, so to speak. His laziness hurts the Cavs more than any other player’s weakness does.
May 13th, 2006 at 1:54 pm
“Please, everyone get some damn perspective.”
Best BW blog line ever.
May 13th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
I get it that a lot of people don’t care for a statistical approach, but the reason for stats is that, frequently, people make outlandish assertions. Statistics are used to see how credible those assertions are. They can, of course, mislead, but I don’t think they do in this case.
A little background. Years ago in baseball (before the popularization of sabermetrics) it was the rage in articles and columns and letters for people — often respected people — to say things like, “Cal Ripken is worth 30 wins a season all by himself,” or “Take Mike Schmidt away from the pennant-winning Phillies and you have the 1962 Mets.”
I smell a little of this type of thinking in some of the assertions that the whole of the Cavs’ improvement is in LeBron James’ improvement.
Yes, he makes other players better, but he did that last year, too. And last year, he played at the highest levels of efficiency as it was.
I understand the “trust your eyes” argument, but remember that many people in Washington right now are less than impressed with LeBron James because (to them) he obviously is the benefactor of Jordan-esque preferential treatment. Our eyes often tell us contradictory things from the eyes of others who have an investment in their opinion.
So, if Lebron this year is 8 games better than last year, I’d ask you — other than your eyes — what is your evidence?
May 13th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
I am very sorry, but I must respectfully disagree. Without a shadow of a doubt, the best BW blog line ever was this hilarious nugget from September: “A promise from me to update the blog every few days, at least 3-4 times a week.”
After reading that, leaders from every major religious denomination were rolling around on the floor in laughter. Hilarity ensued! It made Jesse Jackson shout a new funny poem, it made the Pope wear a new funny hat, and it made a rabbi proclaim in the Cleveland Jewish News, “If every German was as funny as Windhorst, we’d forgive Hitler!”
May 13th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
Kevin, in answer to your question, sometimes human observation, human judgment and good old-fashioned common sense are the three most accurate statistics of them all. Particularly when discussing what has been surrounding James on this “team.”
Hey, how ’bout Z’s new Amish rabbi look? Handsome? Or the total opposite of GQ? Discuss.
May 13th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
Those trying to discourage Mr. Tucker, please stop. You fail to grasp — perhaps you have not read this blog closely enough — that once upon a time, Mr. Tucker could have had a newspaper internship. And his papa was peripherally involved in the business of pro sports in Cleveland. So he is a cut above you. Maybe two cuts.
Sadly, Mr. Tucker chose not to pursue his internship. But journalism’s loss — that it was a huge loss is clear from his belittling of this blog’s host, the rest of the sports media, the Cavs front office, and all the numbskull fans who do not share Mr. Tucker’s expertise and wit — is our collective gain.
I know, I know: Mr. Tucker ran out of things to say months ago. No matter. Yes, he is as arrogant as he is ignorant — and now that he has made both a mocking allusion to Larry Hughes’s brother’s death and a Hitler joke in this very thread, it is more tempting than ever to dismiss him as a complete boor. But that would be a mistake, because poor Mr. Tucker can teach us a lesson. Maybe two lessons.
1. Compulsive behavior — in this case, Mr. Tucker posting hundreds of times to this blog as if it were his own, ignoring the host’s requests to back off, and sharing personal anecdotes as if anybody cared a fig — is not simply a character flaw. It often is a symptom of mental illness.
2. Far better to be the sorriest center to ever yank up a jock than to be a hopeless putz consumed by envy and riddled with self-loathing.
Carry on, Mr. Tucker…
May 13th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
I don’t belittle the blog host. In fact, just the opposite. But you, kiddo? I didn’t even know John Carroll had a blog psychology class.
Gilbert seems to like to spend, perhaps after graduation, he’ll make you team shrink. Carry on, Taint.
Although, while it’s on my mind, the win yesterday appeared to directly contradict the Ilgauskas/Varejao assertion in the original post. Didn’t it? But what do I know, I’m compulsive.
May 14th, 2006 at 4:38 am
The notion that the team is better when Z gets plenty of touches in the low post seems more and more ridiculous as the playoffs continue.
Our blog host’s continued fidelity to that assertion may even prevent him from landing that gig on “Around the Horn.”
I’m too lazy to be a stat hound and believe that watching the games is much more important when evaluating a player’s value. Flip Murray is a good example; while his shooting percentage was poor yesterday, he’s unflappable late in games and again hit high-pressure,key free throws in crunch time.
The Cavs win when he plays for reasons that don’t always turn up in the box score. He’s competitive and fearless. The same can be said of Varejao.
As far as Illgauskus’ stats, is there a statistic that compares touches to turnovers, or, alternatively, shots taken plus assists to turnovers? Yesterday, Z took 6 shots, had one assist and two turnovers, which was the worst ratio of shots and assists to turnovers on the team (7-2). LeBron’s ratio was 28-4.
My guess is Z’s ratio would be worst on the team pretty consistently throughout these playoffs; it seems obvious from watching the games but I’m too lazy to find out, like I said.
Kudos to Mike Brown for making sure Varejao was available for the fourth quarter yesterday. It’s exciting to watch the chemistry that’s developing between the team’s two promising young players.
Also, kudos to Alan for all the posts.
May 14th, 2006 at 8:25 am
Alan, of course YOUR eyes tell you the whole of the Cavs improvement is solely because of James’ growth. To say otherwise would mean you’d have to give at least some credit to the people that assembled (or re-assembled this team), and this flies in the face of your season-long harangues about the Cavs management.
So, of course you’re going to “see” that these moves were of no consequence and all the improvement was LeBron and of course “common sense” is going to tell you that the signings were irrelevant to Cav improvement. You’re heavily invested in those opinions.
This is why I sought out a variety of statistical indices to shed light on the situation. Sometimes what we “know” is based very heavily on what we want to be true.
May 14th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Brian wrote today’s Daily Dime on espn.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-060514
May 14th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Kevin,
I agree with everything you said. I go to 82games.com and other sites all the time; I think they’re really interesting and I agree that statistics can sometimes help explain why certain “realities” are not actually so.
My point is simply that in Z’s case, anything 82games or any other site throws out to support him should not be given as much weight as watching him play with your own eyes. I don’t know of any stat that can track “players who most frequently disrupt the flow of a game,” but with the three things I mentioned (missed tip-ins, travels, foul trouble), Z disrupts the flow of the game more frequently than is acceptable for an eight-year, highly-paid veteran who is supposedly an integral part of the offense.
When you factor in all the stats, his experience, and his salary (which to my knowledge 82games.com doesn’t do), the criticism is warranted.
I’ve seen and heard “experts” say that aside from LeBron, Z is the “key” to many games; I even heard this during the Washington series. Well, he’s so “key” that he has routinely been benched during the playoffs; the only reason why he has not lost the starting job is because the coaches probably don’t want to cause team conflict.
I hope he is traded in the offseason. Nice person, for all I know or have read, but not a good complement to LeBron in the Cavs’ push for a championship team.
May 14th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Basketball stats are notoriously deceptive. Unlike baseball, where outcomes can really be reliably predicted (or retrodicted) using stats, basketball stats do not represent the game well at all. Whatever the stats show, Lebron has obviously been much better this year than last. He has learned to pace himself and take over the game at critical moments. Look at our record in close games and in road games this year vs. last. The other big improvements were the addition of Donyell Marshall and someone, anyone, besides Newble to play 2-guard. Ira was the worst 2-guard in the league, and he was starting for us.
But any non brain dead person could have done those things. The big danger signs for the franchise’s future are the giant contracts to Hughes and, yes, Z, who are demonstrating in this years playoffs that they are not the players we need to get to the next level. I have been a Z supporter for a long time, but in the 9 games we have played so far in these playoffs I think he has given pretty conclusive evidence that the critics are right and the supporters are in denial. The claim that the Cavs don’t feed Z enough is I think wrong. They don’t feed him because when they do he takes up three quarters of the shot clock and then generally doesn’t score. (That is, if he doesn’t turn it over). Every game I see the Cavs try to feed Z to start out, and every game his lack of athleticism shows. Then the Cavs quite rightly move away from the strategy because they need to get the ball to someone who can score consistently.
May 14th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
And by the way, one cannot praise Lebron enough for what he has done this year with the supporting cast he has. This is the year where it has become clear that barring injury he is indeed going to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. The transition from last year to this year was the transition from all-star caliber play to greatness, defined as the ability to take over games when it matters. The reason basketball stats are deceptive is that in the NBA *when* you score generally matters more than how much you score. Stats don’t measure this at all.
The amazing thing, given his level of play, is that Lebron still has more improvements he can make. Every Cleveland sports fan should be devoutly grateful to LBJ. We are all witnesses!
May 15th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
You can alalyze til the cows come home …our coach puts the best players on the court when we arecoming down the stretch in the 4th qtr. In those moments, Zis consistently finding himself planted formly on the bench. The reason is because he is not helping the team as much as the guys on the court …Donyell and Varejao…or even Gooden. Of all our bigmen getting time …at the most important junctures of the game, Z is behind Marshall, Varejao, and Gooden ..and it’s getting more and more in the negative direction for Z as each game passes.
He’s basically collapsed …you can play the blame game if you wish …but, he’s playing worse than th other three bigs that I’ve mentioned.
May 15th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Blurzz,
My comment was directed specifically at arguments that LeBron’s improvement this year (over last year) was specifically and entirely the reason for the Cavs improvement this year. I don’t believe you made that argument, so it wasn’t directed at you.
Thank you for your insights, however.
May 16th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
The Cavs are gonna take game 5 in Detroit. After attending Larry Hughes’ brother’s funeral, I am sure that experience together is going to be a bonding moment, and will pay dividends. I am not predicting the Cavs taking the series yet, but I would bet on it is I were in Vegas right now.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
It appears I was right, and for the original owner of this blog stating the Cavs have no chance, I wonder if you are ready to retract your statement like Rasheed should have. It is great to see all the doubters squirm in their seats!
May 21st, 2006 at 4:15 am
I GOT JUST ONE THING TO SAY, BEAT DETROIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO CAVALIERS YOU CANDO IT!
WAYNEDAWG