Offended
Posted November 25th, 2006 by Brian Windhorst
Indianapolis — Mike Brown and I have a fundamental difference in the way we view basketball. Mike always, and I mean always, focuses on defensive reasons why the Cavs win and don’t win. He was hired as the head coach for this philosophy. I, on the other hand, usually focus on offensive reasons when analyzing the Cavs. Hey, Mike knows more than me and he’s the guy getting $2 million to coach so I’m not going to second guess him most of the time.
However, the reason the Cavs are struggling right now has everything to do with offense in my humble opinion. Offense was the reason the Cavs lost to the Pistons last season just as offense was the reason the Pistons lost three straight to the Cavs at one point in that series.
The other night in Toronto the Cavs scored 87 points against a team that was giving up an average of 106 per game this season. Last night here in Indy they made a grand total of seven baskets in the second half.
Even though it may have seemed boring to many of you, I wrote a lot about the new offense during the preseason. I really liked the back-door cutting and more plays going to the post. Well all that stuff has dried up. Much of that was inserted to take advantage of Larry Hughes’ talents, the Cavs were quite interested in getting more out of their $70 million investment you see, and without those talents it isn’t working too well. They have turned back into a one-dimensional offense with all the stock going into LeBron, who is now being regularly triple-teamed when he shows any aggression in going to the basket.
Perhaps I’m a stuffy fool, but I still believe it is a heck of an advantage to have a 7-foot-3 center who has some pretty good offensive skills. Last night, Zydrunas Ilgauskas got two shots. Two. I know it is a changing NBA and all these teams are making the Cavs play small ball. But last night the Cavs badly needed offense and their efforts to get some were lame. After the Pacers made some changes to stop the middle pick-and-rolls James and Andy Varejao were running the offense basically raised the white flag.
If you look at the Cavs defensive rankings you can see they are near the top of the league. And they’re doing it without anyone who can realistically defend quick guards, which is more remarkable. On that end they are playing close to an elite level. But on offense right now they are below average and that must change if they want to be anything more than a .500 team at this point.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:19 am
brian,
you are absolutely right and i’m getting damned tired of hearing coach brown say ALL the problems are defensive ones. the fact is that SCORING on each possession puts pressure not only on the opponents D but also puts pressure on the opponent to score and vice versa. i am NOT saying anything new or profound here (i’m sure many here may think i never do! ha!)but it is BEYOND frustrating to hear coach brown almost wilfully ignore the elephant in the room.
and speaking of elephants in the room, when are the media people going to mention how strange it is that the cavs, during this losing streak, are not getting ANY calls? did you see that no call on e. snow yesterday? how about the one where d. jones got knocked on his ass while taking a 3-pointer? another no call. the fact is that the opponents are shooting TWICE as many FT’s as the cavs. i know, i know, only “the fans” notice that stuff. it’s beyond the pale to call out the officiating but good god, please at least tell us that the cavs are at least mailing video to the league. and to be honest, i find it insulting to read news accounts of the game that say the cavs didn’t take it inside, hence no fouls were called and that’s just bogus. i watch every second of every game and i see LBJ and Z taking shots inside and not getting calls all the time. just to try and kill this myth, i swear i’m gonna go back and look at the shot charts and try and prove that hoary old chestnut wrong…
btw, i hope shannon gets some run now as the wesley experiment is over. or at least should be. on a positive note, the future looks bright to me with drew, LBJ, andy, shannon and gibson. a helluva a starting five, you ask me…
November 25th, 2006 at 9:32 am
one more thing, listening to people like snyder on 1100 and even you sometimes, act like it’s the rest of the teams fault for Z not getting shots drives me crazy. well, i’m sorry but i’m sick and tired of all the excuses made for why Z isn’t doing it on the offensive end. can someone explain to me why he ALWAYS goes to the middle when posting up? has NO ONE explained the advantages of a drop-step to him? and furthermore, it seems to me that when he was clicking a few games ago, he was making himself availble for mid-range jumpers.
and brian, you say you “believe it is a heck of an advantage to have a 7-foot-3 center who has some pretty good offensive skills” but dude, how do you explain a 7-foot-3 center who’s shooting 42% from the field??? i mean, that is HORRIBLE! he has no “go-to-move” at all. never developed a sky-hook-type shot which would keep him in good stead even as he aged; he has abandoned that short turn-around baseline jumper he used to do. i say the best thing the cavs could do would be to ship him to some western team, say memphis, where he can be re-united with fratello and get a guard or 2 in return (yes, i know you never wannna trade big for small but this is a seni-unique situation) and move on. the team is stuck in some half-way house of wanting to run and move and then stalling because of the roadblocks that are Z and snow.
sorry i ranted so much…
November 25th, 2006 at 11:26 am
This team is just like last year. They’ll win 5 in a row, lose 3 in a row, win 6 in a row, lose 5 in a row, etc. Right now they seem to be on pace to win about 50 games again. However, with the Eastern Conference so weak right now, this is the best time for them to take advantage of it and their not. I’m perplexed how they can beat teams like San Antonio on the road, but lose to Atlanta at home. Championship teams are not this inconsistent. By the way, just wait until they go on their annual West coast trip. Mike Brown has been preaching about the road this year, but I don’t see it yet from his players.
November 25th, 2006 at 11:43 am
It is easy, if the Cavs had an above average point-guard the results would be a lot different including the way the Offense looks. Outside of Lebron and Hughes we have No guards that can get into the lane and create when things get tight. Find yourself a point guard and a lot of the problems are healed.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
I’m angry.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Brian’s point with Z is if you’re going to sign him to that huge deal and keep him around, you might try to play to his strengths. If you don’t, you’re just wasting money.
Big men are always reliant on the smalls to get their touches. Z doesn’t bring the ball up or flash towards the wing- he needs a good entry pass or a good pass off a pick and roll.
The guard situation is terrible, I really have no idea how David Wesley can lose his PT to Pavlovic and then proceed to start ball games because Hughes got injured.
The biggest disappointment so far, for me at least, has been the play of Donyell Marshall. I’m not really sure what he’s bringing to the table at this point. To have Gooden or Varejao sitting because of him, at this point, is a crime
November 26th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
I agree with all of the comments and with Brian. The offense is still as pathetic as it was last year. Eric Snow essentially does nothing except waddle down the court and toss it to LeBron. Every time Z rumbles into the lane and winds up that awkward looking hook shot he gets stripped. If he could develop some kind of jump hook rather than that lame windmill hook he would score more. The motion that seemed to be in the offense in some of the earlier games is gone. The only bright spot offensively has been Damon. His shooting is way better than last year and he appears to be more confident. If LeBron continues to do everything offensively, he will be burned out in time for the playoffs.
November 26th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Good comments this week. Maybe Coach Brown and/or Z were reading before the Philly game. I’ve always been a fan of Big Z and hope he sees more games like this. KJ, ya gotta run some more plays for the big guy, he’s been a Cav forever and a damn good one at that.
I’m STILL frustrated about our point guard situation and I just can’t believe no real changes were made AGAIN this year. Offense flows thru the point. Eric Snow had a decent game last night, but as soon as a big game comes up, he’ll be 0-7 or so like always. Damon Jones is stepping up pretty big, but it hurts to see basically every team in the league have better PG’s and realize that we’ve done nothing for three years on the subject. Brown and Gibson have good potential, but they seem to be a ways off and don’t get much play time.
If I were the Cavs, I’d be on the phone trying to hook up with a starting PG. Mortgage the future, whatever. Good vets will be willing to play for us down the road when they realize they can win here. Snow is OK coming off the bench, but mark my words: AI couldn’t win the title with him and neither will we.
Get a starting point guard for cryin’ out loud!
November 26th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
jim, i honestly don’t understand, and i’m not trying to cause a ruckus here, this “run more plays for Z and it’ll be alright” BS i read from you and brian and others. just answer me this: what is his go-to move? and furthermore, explain to me how a 7′3″ man shoots in the mid-40’s?
and at what point do we demand that the player be responsible for his performance and not give excuses or blame his teamates?
of course, last night will give succor to Z and his defenders and i only hope-to-god that this signals some sort of semi-permanent “return to form” for Z and the team…
November 27th, 2006 at 5:18 am
KJ is right–Z will have good games from time to time but a guy with his height and supposed touch should be shooting in the mid-50s.
It’s like his signature shot from the elbow–when he makes that shot it looks like he could do it all day. Unfortunately, he misses that shot an awful lot too.
Even when Z does have a good game it’s usually more like a good half. Teams adjust and he can’t make the next adjustment. That’s why a great game for Z is 20 points; I’m not sure how many times he’s scored 30 in his career but I can’t remember more than a handful.
Twenty or twenty-five minutes a game is perfect for Z–he rebounds and defends much better. Offense may be one reason the Cavs lost to Detroit but I remember at least one game when one defensive rebound could have made an awful big difference too.
November 27th, 2006 at 10:26 am
It pains me to watch the Cavs (except the sweet orange unis). We have no consistant 1 or 2, though I believe Sasha will be a staple on this team for a while. Damon will go cold - you can bet on it.
As for the bigs…who knows? Donyell slimmed down and lost talent along with pounds. Varejao, I’m sorry, has a low basketball IQ. Everyone heaps praises on his scrappy nature, but do you ever watch him? Half the time, he doesn’t even look at the rim as he barrels through defenders or even teammates. Pollard? Well he may as wel be another guard considering how often we play him. And poor, poor Z. If he were cerebral he would’ve developed a killer bank shot like Duncan. If he had fire, he’d finish strong…
November 27th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
Great points of view, I enjoyed reading. Unfortunately I have nothing to add it was so good.
November 27th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
my god, has any one noticed that we all only seem to agree on this blog when referring to the cavs many “faults?!” hahaha! if *that* ain’t a cleveland sports fan attribute, i don’t know what is!
bravo, people!