Make Of This What You Will
February 20, 2008Not So Fast, Big Man
February 21, 2008If these triple-doubles keep rolling in, one is bound to lead to a win. While a win over Houston would have been nice, beating a conference rival in Indiana is just what we needed to get back on track after a sub-par finish before the All-Star break. James put up 31, 14 and 12, but the main difference is easily in what his teammates were able to do.
Larry Hughes led all non-LeBrons with 19, followed closely by Drew Gooden (17), Danny Gibson (15…all on threes), and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (14 points, 17 rebounds).
If I have to pick a downside to this game, stripping out LeBron’s assist totals would leave us with eight for the game. The closest to James in total for the night was Devin Brown with three. That’s not good. But the fact of the matter is James can only get dimes when his teammates can successfully finish, so the higher that total, the better.
Perhaps we’ll see someone new in a Cavaliers uniform to help that assist total? Rock referenced Brian Windhorst’s blog last night, but with the vague references, we’re left to guess at this stage.
Two things come to mind off of the bat. When you mention “blockbuster” trades, even Mike or Andre Miller is pushing it a bit. Yes, they’re good players, but “blockbuster?” Shawn Marion, Pau Gasol and Jason Kidd are blockbuster players. Would either of the Miller’s address our needs? Definitely. Just don’t get carried away with adjectives, get my hopes up, and then give me Jiri Welch for a draft pick.
Another name that seems to be popping up is Seattle’s Delonte West. He came over to the Sonics in the Ray Allen deal and has failed to fit in with the emergence of Earl Watson at the point. The Sonics just acquired Brent Barry from San Antonio, so this makes it even more apparent that West could be dealt. His main downfall for his entire career is that he’s not a pure point guard. Coincidentally, that’s just what we’ve been using – non-point guards at the point. Thus, I’m not sure how he would fit in our offense…
A good note worth mentioning, Anderson Varejao could possibly suit up this weekend after missing a few weeks with an ankle injury. Ironically, we play the Memphis Grizzlies.
In other sports…
Article title in today’s Plain Dealer: “Cleveland Indians pitcher Lee hopes to avoid another bad season.” Well, isn’t that good to know. I hope this is a series of pieces to gear us up for this year. Later this week, look for the article titled “Andy Marte hoping to make contact with the baseball this time around.”
Perhaps this is the reason why Derek Anderson wants “Tony Romo” money?
Looking at this Mock Draft from the JetsBlog, it would appear that Cleveland isn’t the only team looking for Defensive help. Seven defensive players in the top 11 picks? Yikes. The fact that one of those top 11 goes to New England? Even worse.
Have a good Thursday, y’all.
[print_link]
1 Comment
I noticed that Cliff Lee headline also. Good stuff this morning out of the PD.