Cavs’ Joe Tait to Miss Rest of 2010
October 22, 2010The Browns Will Win If…
October 22, 2010
“I think I’ve been pretty good in the preseason. So if I start, I start. If I don’t, it is what it is.” -JJ Hickson
Ugh. Following last night’s preseason win over Milwaukee in Columbus, Byron Scott wasn’t too thrilled with Hickson’s effort or ‘focus’. Here is what Scott said of Hickson–
“It doesn’t surprise me that much, because I’ve seen it at practice at times, too,” Scott said. “To me it’s a lack of focus. I think he wants to do it but sometimes he’s 22 years old and he comes to practice and he’s not focused. He has to get much better. “This is a job, something you have to take seriously. There’s nobody in the locker room that has an excuse because they have a video playbook and a playbook. And we’re always available. So there’s really no excuse. “So he just has to get better. He has to take it a little bit more serious.”
Scott would add that Hickson needs to know the offense in order to start, and right now he has serious questions about whether Hickson is there. The season begins on Wednesday.
Sometimes a coach says things to motivate a player. Most certainly Scott is trying to motivate Hickson here, but this may be a little more of an issue than Hickson playing too many video games. I think there is a legitimate concern over when Hickson will grasp this offense. It should be an offense that is tailor made for a guy of Hickson’s athletic ability. No question about the physical tools. But it is also an offense in which players need to react and can’t get caught wondering what the next cut or move is. You have a split second to gain the advantage over your opponent when you are talking about cuts to the basket and screens. Hesitate and the defender is even.
The Cavaliers are not predicted by many to have a successful season. The over/under on Cleveland wins hovers between 29-31 depending on where you look. ESPN’s Bill Simmons considers Cleveland a lock to be under. In order for the Cavs to have any chance at a winning season, I believe Hickson is going to have to be a player that stands out. He will have to make the jump to a 15 point, 8 rebound guy. If he is spending time on the bench because he doesn’t know how to play within Scott’s system, then he isn’t going to be improving and helping the Cavaliers to a better season than most are predicting.
(AP Photo/Al Behrman)
21 Comments
Hickson’s first weak game of the preseason. Unfortunately, Jamison has looked weaker in each of the games he has played, so I do hope that Scott sticks with his plan to start Hickson and bring Jamison off the bench. 6-2 in the preseason, with one loss coming to a non-NBA team that the Cavs obviously didn’t really prepare for. That’s pretty darn good. They have been finding different ways to win each one… this time they use 18-19 shooting from the free throw line versus 5-7 for Milwaukee. Sessions had a very good game, except for the 5 turnovers. I’m ready to see what this team can do in the regular season.
When Hickson is averaging 18/9 a few weeks from now, we’ll look back at this and laugh 🙂
Watching whether these physically gifted guys finally catch on mentally and excel makes watching sports fun, I guess. Unless you’re counting on them. JJ looks like the type of guy that makes coaches drink heavily.
@2 Who else do they have as long as he plays he should be able to come close to 18/9 meanwhile how many wins? Not many. It’s going to be a long season I don’t care how much you want to run you can’t out run a lack of talent and you certainly can’t outrun a lack of size.
i agree Harv. Hickson is a terrible, terrible defender, and without LeBron that will just be exposed even more. If he isn’t even getting the offense down then he becomes a black hole. Of course, if he couldn’t get the defense down with a guy like Mike Brown, why would we assume that he could get the offense down with Scott?
wow, boogeyman, you’re always here to say something bad about Cleveland teams when we need ya.
@hans I just gave my opinion sorry for being real. Did I lie?
@boogey – you most certainly can outrun a lack of size. in fact, the whole problem with some teams not having size is one of the reasons running teams were created in basketball. if you can’t beat their size, then beat them down the floor.
anyways, I think the Cavs will have plenty of offense. Mo, Gibson, Hickson, Sessions and Jamison (if he wakes up) all can score. They all have offensive talent. The problem will be defense.
I’m not worried about lack of size as much though (it’ll show up in some games like against the Magic, but most NBA teams can’t take advantage like that). I’m worried about defending PGs and wings. Outside of Moon, we don’t have a single player who can even think about locking down a wing player.
now, how many wins? I think anywhere from 30-45 depending on injuries. tough territory to be in as no way is it championship material, but it’s not bad enough to get a good pick either. should be an enjoyable style to watch though.
oh, one thing on Hickson’s defense. half-court sets, it is terrible. he rotates slowly (or not at all), tends to not box out his guy (especially when he’s on the weak side and it’s more important), and he’s so eager to ‘help’ and go for blocks, he often leaves his guy open for an easy dunk.
now, that last little bit might actually work to our benefit a little in our faster system. he’s quick down the floor and on a fastbreak, you want defenders quick to help on the guy driving.
sure, you want them playing more technically sound than Hickson likely will (make sure these are defended in order: ball, passing lane, flyers). but, he’s likely to swat away a few of those layups teams think they have an easy shot on in transition.
that’s the (very small) silver lining on JJ’s defense.
@boogey – RE: can’t out run size.
Only one example pops into my head which was 89-90 Loyola Marymount team running ‘the system’. Very talented team though, only one guy at 6’10” Gathers was 6’7″ so it can work I suppose but it’s college vs. the pros. That system didn’t work great in the pros either. Consider me still on the fence till the season starts.
@8 You mean like the Phoenix Suns, how many championships have they won? I think those Suns teams had talent better suited for that style then the Cavaliers currently have but the proof will be in the pudding as they say.
I agree about the defense but after the Mike Brown years I’d gladly sacrifice some D for some O I just don’t see it on this team. You have talent just not enough but maybe Byron Scott can overcome I don’t know. I agree if they run and gun it’ll be fun to watch I just don’t see it translating into as many as 45 wins. If it does it’ll make me sick to think what might have been had Mike Brown been shown the door perhaps a year sooner.
All that aside I think 30-35 wins is most realistic but hopefully I’m wrong and it’s more.
@10 Loyola ran like a bunch of Greyhounds that was the coach who had NBA experience I believe, I forgot his name. It didn’t work in college either if you remember but I have to admit it was amazing to watch. Hank Gathers, that was sad but I remember Bo Kimble. I don’t expect the Cavaliers to run or be able to run anywhere remotely like Loyola did back in the day.
Good article, Rick.
One correction of note:
“Scott would add that Hickson needs to know the offense in order to start, and right now he has serious questions about whether Hickson is there”
Should read:
“Scott would add that Hickson needs to know the offense to start, and right now he has serious questions about whether Hickson is there”
The phrase “in order to” is superfluous. It adds nothing but more words to the article.
@13- Mrs. Leonard? Is that you?
The more I think about this, the less I like our chances this year. I have a feeling this is going to be a really bad team.
@Boogey: I’m not sure ANYONE is saying this is going to be anywhere near championship. Everyone realizes the talent has to upgrade before that. But, I do think they can be a 6-8 seed as the team is constructed. Of course, they may trade Mo and Jamison at the deadline and then we’ll get Harrison Barnes or Perry Jones if there’s a draft. I’ll take either route truthfully.
JJ strikes me as a player who doesn’t really love the game but enjoys being a basketball player. It’s more of a hobby than a love for him. That doesn’t bode well for us because there’s 100’s of those in the NBA and only a select few who truly love the game. (Kobe, Nash, Garnett, Rondo, Rose, Durant, Wade) all those guys bring up images of them in a gym somewhere on a summer night just getting shots up and working on their game. I’m not sure LeBron and the rest of the league has that. I also feel that JJ may have already had that attitude after leaving school early (When he really wasn’t that good but had the physical gifts), but it was further ingrained in him when hanging out with LBJ sooo much. Let’s hope he wakes up and isn’t just tryin to get his, kinda like Baron Davis does.
@14, Rick you know my wife? She’s Mrs. Leonard. Except she teaches math to some of the dumbest 7th graders to ever walk this earth… doesn’t care much about grammar.
Pat- no, my 6th grade(?) teacher was Mrs. Leonard. That comment just sounded like something she would say after grading a paper.
@16 I would hope noone mentioned championship but I hope you are right about a 6-8 seed but I just don’t see it. As for Hickson he’s never impressed me sure he has moments but they have been few and far between. I have always thought he should have stayed in school not only did he lack the physical maturity to play in the NBA but also the mental maturity. His physical skills are progressing but I have my reservations on the mental parts of his game. Not only that but I can’t remember a frontcourt player with a worse set of hands. Count how many times he fumbles the ball, loses the ball, gets blocked and blows dunk attempts. Maybe he’s progressed over the current off-season I don’t know.
[…] last year. I’ll get to that in a minute, but I do have to first admit that after reading Rick’s piece yesterday I am concerned about J.J. Hickson. Not panic, just […]
Bill Simmons also called this season the most anticipated NBA season ever. You know more than the first NBA season ever, or Jordan returning to the Bulls or all the title teams in the past going for another run. Beside the Cavs I could care less. I haven’t even heard anyone getting pumped up for this seaosn beside ESPN.