Northwest Division Preview
October 5, 2008Do the Browns Suffer From Diloneism?
October 6, 2008In Boston last season, the Celtics had a lot of “bonus players” show up and play well. It wasn’t so much about Paul PIerce, KG, and Ray Allen. They are the known quantities and everyone knew they had to play well. And even as Ray Allen struggled, the other two plus a combo of bonus players helped carry the Celtics. What put that team over the top last year was the outstanding play on the periphery of the starting lineup. Guys like James Posey, Kendrick Perkins, Eddie House, Big Baby Davis, and Leon Powe were the bonus guys that really pushed the Celtics over the edge. They were there for the more occasional big plays like spelling starters, grabbing boards, scoring buckets on over-committed defenses and hitting free throws.
These are the types of performances that the Cavs will have to find from their supporting cast this year and I am going to try and rank the other players. For the purposes of this conversation, the “other” guys are any players not named LeBron James, Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I know that Mo Williams isn’t guaranteed to be a top guy, but let’s just assume he isn’t going to go all Larry Hughes on us. Without further ado, I will start with those who have the smallest chance of becoming an impact performer and finish with the guys who I think are most likely to help the Cavs get over the top.
- Darnell Jackson – A role player for Kansas, it is always possible that a guy like this could become the next Carlos Boozer. Then again, Carlos Boozer becoming Carlos Boozer was such a longshot that it amazes me to this day.
- Tarence Kinsey – This guy’s bio calls him a “poor man’s Rip Hamilton,” and then goes on to say that he has a vertical leap that Hamilton could only dream of having. If the Cavs end up playing a lot of up-tempo basketball, Kinsey could find himself exploding up the court to finish fast breaks. If he ends up proving himself, it will probably be at the expense of Sasha Pavlovic.
- JJ Hickson – Hickson showed a lot of potential in the summer league. Like September callup performances, you don’t really want to get too excited over the prospects of a guy from summer league performances. Then again, all this guy has ever done is play physically around the basket on both ends of the floor. Of all the skillsets a young guy can have, rebounding and short-range shooting are pretty applicable to the higher level. I debated putting Hickson higher on the list, but thought better of it because he should have been a junior in college this year and Mike Brown usually errs on the side of playing veterans.
- Sasha Pavlovic – Pavlovic is the eternal prospect. He shows ability shooting the ball, slashing to the basket and also on the defensive side of the ball. Then again, he has hardly ever thrown all three aspects together in a single contest. Well, I guess Sasha has had streaks of maybe 5 games in a row where he looks like a starter. If he can finally “get it” this season he could easily become a part of the winning rotation. At 24 years of age, time and opportunities are starting to run out.
- Wally Szczerbiak – Wally is this high on the list because he has been a good NBA player in the past. If Wally can have one of those rejuvenated years where he becomes a shooting nightmare from the mid and long range, he could be an amazing part of the rotation. The key will be if the Cavs can keep his minutes reasonable and if he can thrive as a more sporadic contributor. Wally still has it in him. Last year for Seattle, Wally shot percentages of 460 and 428 from two-point and three-point land respectively. After coming to the Cavs he shot a mere 359 and 365. He will have to find that old range again.
- Anderson Varejao – Anderson is always going to be an “energy” guy. The hope is that he can also find some range around the rim where Cavs fans don’t feel the need to constantly hold their breath when he holds the rock.
- Daniel Gibson – Boobie is in the top three for me because he has really shown the ability in big moments. He has big-shot potential for days, and he can go one of two ways. Either he can end up being a consistent and complete performer for the Cavs or he can become the next Steve Kerr. Either one will be fine, but I would like to find out this year which one it will be.
- Ben Wallace – A lot of you might think that Ben Wallace is too highly rated on this list. Of all the players on the list, Ben Wallace is the only one who has really been there before. He has played at all-world defensive levels in the past and if he can somehow find that gear again, he could take on Dennis Rodman like qualities grabbing rebounds, playing defense and providing a serious amount of attitude.
- Delonte West – Delonte West is number one on the list for me. There are a few reasons for this. Delonte has the potential to be a scorer like Mo Williams. He has the potential to be a shooter like Daniel Gibson. He handles the ball very well. It is my guess that Delonte is going to find himself on the court during all the big minutes that the Cavs play. He will play down the stretch in close games. He will play on the lock-down defensive lineups. He will play when the Cavs need free-throw shooters. He will play when they need a three. Name a situation where you wouldn’t want Delonte on the court?
8 Comments
Against the Cavaliers, it was PJ Brown putting in air balls and making clutch 15 footers…Ugh…
Terry Pluto reported this weekend that Pavlovic has lost 12 lbs and is in the best shape of his life… Figures, now that he’s third or fourth in line at the shooting guard slot a year after we extend his contract…
I wish people would stop being scared that mo is gonna end up like larry. Larry was never good until his contract year wit the wizards. He averaged 22 pts true, but even then he only shot 42% and got his points from driving the ball and ft shooting. Larry has never had a consistent jump shot in his whole career. Mo has a great jump shot and will show it. Stop thinking that they are anything alike. Good post btw lol
Do you think a lineup of Z, Wallace, LeBron, Mo and West is going to be on the court a lot in crunch time? Last year down the stretch Joe Smith was in on a lot of these minutes, along with Devin Brown, so it will definitely be a new formula for the Cavaliers any way you slice it.
You forgot to mention Lorenzen Wright or Ronald Dupree. Do you think Wright has the chance to be our fourth big man on the depth chart after Z, Wallace and Andy? Will Dupree find any minutes behind Mo, West, Gibson, LeBron, Wally, Sasha and Kinsey?
Twelve Man Roster:
1. LeBron
2. Mo
3. Z
4. West
5. Wallace
6. Andy
7. Gibson.
8. Wally
9. Sasha
10. Kinsey
11. Hickson
12. Jackson, Wright, or Dupree?
Oh yea… hickson would only be a sophomore this year in college
Are our scoring issues resolved? See 45 points combined from Mo and LBJ (established scoring), 20 from Z/Wallace/Andy (Z on decline, W and A can’t hit a layup), 10-15 from Gibson, and 5-10 for West, Shasha & Wally. We will need everyone clicking to get close to the 100 level, especially if Mikey keeps his promise of limiting LBJ’s minutes this year. Then again maybe Gibson or Sasha will have a breakout year? OR we acquire a nice second gun for Wally’s contract during the year? Will be interesting to watch.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-35-15/-I-love-Cleveland–I-love-Ohio–and-I-m-not-going-anywhere–.html
ESPN doesn’t deserve Truehoop
In response to Ricky,
Dont you just love how even when something like this comes out they are quick to say how he is always saying what the crowds want to hear.