Zydrunas Ilgauskas had some interesting things to say in his year-end get-together with the media, and I wrote about those in Friday’s paper. Of possible changes, Z offered that “we have a good team here” and “sometimes you got to be careful because the grass is not always greener on the other side.” His conclusion: “We had a good team to win it all this year.” Those are strong words, but he’s not a guy prone to making outrageous statements. The Cavs battled many injuries, and had to re-make their team following the trading deadline moves. Coach Mike Brown said he’d never been through a year like this one. Despite that, Ilgauskas said the Cavs had “a good team to win it all.” A good team to win it all. One can dismiss this statement as kool-aid drinking poppycock, or one could take a step back and ponder it. Me, I think after watching how close the Cavs came that I’m going to look at the glass as half full and say that Z was correct – with one caveat. The Cavs were close to winning the East. I don’t think they could beaten the Lakers or the Spurs, but I do think they could have defeated Boston and Detroit. And I think they’d have given the Pistons a much harder time than Orlando did. Thing is, if they’d have gotten through the Celtics and Pistons, they’d have been much more confident and they’d have had LeBron James and … well … this is all dreaming. It’s just interesting, to me at least, when a guy like Z makes such a strong statement. Perhaps it should be given some credence.

One last point … all the tumult the team went through during the season – injuries, trades — in my mind only reinforces the fact that the Cavs have a good coach. I know that when a season ends with Cleveland sports teams that “coach season” starts as well. That’s the time everyone tries to put the coach in the crosshairs and get him fired. Two years ago many people were ready to get rid of Romeo Crennel. Now he has a contract extension. He’s the same coach he was two years ago, but if he loses this year folks will probably want to fire him again. Eric Wedge couldn’t manage. Until he came within a game of the World Series and won Manager of the Year. Brown seems to perpetually be in the crosshairs. People want him out, even though they have no viable or credible replacement at the ready. In one sense Brown is in a great position, getting to coach a team with LeBron James. But because he has James he will never get credit for winning – that will go to James – but he will always get the blame for losing. That’s just a reality that Brown must live with. But try to find any coach in the league who could have had his team as ready for the playoffs as this one was just a few weeks after the roster was re-configured. Mike Brown will admit his mistakes, and will give credit to others when they deserve it (I heard some people criticize Brown for crediting Eric Snow for suggesting a play that worked against Washington and wondered how the guy is supposed to win when he merely told the truth.) Brown emphasizes defense and rebounding. It’s his style. We just have to accept that fact. The offense needs work, but I wonder who exactly is responsible when the offense stagnates, and I wrote about that for Sunday’s Beacon Journal. Too, there isn’t a single game played when questions cannot be asked about a decision here or a decision there. Brown is big enough to admit what he needs to work on, and big enough to work on it. His focus on defense has placed the Cavs in a pretty good position the last two years. The NBA is about the postseason, and Brown has won 26-of-42 playoff games against the East (that’s 61.9 percent) and 5-of-8 playoff series in his conference. He has his team ready for the postseason, and he does well in the postseason. James likes and respects him. The coach is fine. Just fine.

For a voice from outside the area about Brown, here's a post I agree with.

This gentleman thinks the Cavs and James would benefit if he would post up more (he prefers to work outside, folks) and play in more of a fast-breaking offense. That idea sounds great, but he also points out the Cavs do not have the personnel to run a lot.

Check Sunday’s Beacon-Journal for some thoughts I have on the team’s offense