1.) Mary Schmitt Boyer, of the Plain Dealer, writes: Furthermore, new faces or not, there’s no excuse for the sort of lackadaisical effort the Cavs put forth on defense and rebounding, especially in the second quarter, when they allowed the Hornets to shoot 70.8 percent (17 of 24) and outrebound them, 15-4. Shaq offered his feelings after the game: “We got to man up,” he said. “There ain’t nothing wrong. We’ve got to man up. We have to play our man first and help last instead of always relying on help.”
I think part of the reason the Cavs struggle when adding/replacing pieces is because so much of their success is based on in-game chemistry. The supporting cast is not made of great individual scorers – their success is based on movement, spacing, and a steady diet of cross-court passing from LeBron. Likewise, so much of their defensive prowess comes from excellent help defense, showing (and quickly retreating) on screens, and communication. The Cavs needed a month to integrate Shaq, and it will likely take Antawn Jamison some time to figure out where he needs to be, especially at the defensive end.
2.) Bill Livingston addresses the psyche of Cavs Nation: Theologians argue that doubt can be the cutting edge of faith. But in Cleveland, doubt is the cutting edge that slices away the enjoyment of a splendid season.
3.) The NBA is the ultimate “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” league, writes Adrian Wojnarowski. Good news for those of us that want Z to come home ASAP.
4.) From the Washington Post: The team is “making progress” toward buying out Zydrunas Ilgauskas’s contract, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. An agreement is not expected until Wednesday at the earliest.
The good news is that Z can return to the Cavs 30 days after the TRADE, not the buyout. That means he’ll be back as early as March 21st. Wanna know how I know that?
5.) Brian Windhorst told me so. (A must listen)
6.) Much has been made of LeBron, Danny Ferry, and Mike Brown’s reactions to losing Z. But the person that is probably most affected is Anderson Varejao. Much like LeBron is a big brother to younger players, Z has always taken care of the international players, especially Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic. Joe Gabriele of Cavs.com wrote a piece on Varejao’s importance to the Cavs that includes some very heartfelt quotes from Andy.
7.) You knew it wouldn’t be long before SVG offered his thoughts on Z’s impending buyout. Tim Povtak of Fanhouse has the story.
8.) Through 58 games the Cavs average attendance (home AND away) is 99.8% capacity, or 19,775 a night. Forty years ago, the Cavs hoped for 4,000 a night.
9.) Paul Pierce remains day-to-day but Rob Mahoney doubts that Doc Rivers will keep him from Thursday’s marquee match-up.
10.) Larry Hughes has been waived by the Kings. I can still remember debating the pros and cons of Larry Hughes vs Michael Redd. Not exactly the same as the Amar’e Stoudemire/Antawn Jamison/stand pat debate that consumed the last few weeks of our lives.
I’d like to submit as a post-script Bill Simmons’ piece on the lockout/economic state of the NBA today. Sports Guy at his best speaking passionately on behalf of basketball fans.
There’s a tidbit on the Cavs soliciting “discounted” season ticket renewals for 2010-11 already before anyone knows where LeBron is (staying)going. Anyone who renews before July is either commendably loyal, optimistic, or naive.
Simmons makes some great points. I can’t see how the “summer of 2010″ is a good thing for the NBA. He’s exactly right, no matter what happens, there are going to be fan bases that might be so disgusted that they start spending their money somewhere else.
It really should be an exciting time for the league. The talent pool is incredible. As has been pointed out by many, you can argue that between LeBron, D-wade, CP3, and Durantula we could possibly be seeing four of the greatest players in NBA history competing at the same time. And some big time forces of the last decade are still impact players on competitive teams: Kobe, Shaq, Jamison, Carter, Lewis, Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Duncan.
I don’t get how Simmons can argue that too many teams are not competitive and dumping salaries when at the same time he is arguing that they have lavishly overspent.
he seems to believe both that you need to spend tons of money on an alpha dog and you have no shot without one (the Detroit Pistons called, and they want their championship back from the memory hole…name me the “alpha dog” on the champs Piston team…Rasheed? Chauncey? really???) and also that teams that “over spend” did so apparently because they were…like drunken sailors, which is a great metaphor but doesn’t mean anything.
So, your choices are be mocked by Simmons for “overspending” on the players who are getting you to the playoffs, or be mocked by Simmons for dumping those salaries to overpay others.
Ok, the Wizards are a great example in hindsight, but at the time they resigned him Gilbert was putting asses in the seats, was the face of the franchise, and the team was making the playoffs. Yeah a Max contract seems stupid in hindsight but I don’t think at the time it’s completely indefensible based on those criteria. Would Washington fans have been better off if they cut bait with Arenas, let someone else pay him the Max, and not make the playoffs for a couple years? I dunno if it’s as cut and dry as he makes it out to be.
I should add that I totally agree with him that the fans aren’t going to benefit from the CBA nonsense, but NEWSFLASH, fans have never benefited from labor disputes between Pro Sports Owners and Pro Sports Players. It’s not a situation that creates much benefit for anyone, frankly.
To be fair, I generally waiver between eyerolling hatred and grudging laughter for simmons anyway.
David – I noticed that too about the Pistons, but I think they were sort of the exception to the rule.
Teams have definitely overpaid on players and in some cases (Arenas is a great example) bid against themselves. It doesn’t take hindsight to realize that what Washington did was foolish. It seemed obvious to everyone outside of Washington that their core was not enough to get them deep in the playoffs.
It’s unfortunate that the fans aren’t at the forefront of these discussions, and I applaud Simmons for speaking on behalf of fans. Hopefully the laws of supply and demand will dictate lower ticket prices and more security for season ticket holders.
As a season ticket holder to the Cavs, you HAVE to renew by March 26 and there is no discount. If you don’t, the seats are released to the general public.
Dave,
That Pistons team was the *only* championship team without a first-ballot HOFer in about as long as I can remember. Think about it:
2009: Kobe
2008: KG
2007: Duncan
2006: Shaq and a young Wade
2005: Duncan
2004: nobody
2003: Duncan
2002: Kobe AND Shaq
2001: Kobe AND Shaq
2000: Kobe AND Shaq
1999: Duncan
1998: Jordan
1997: Jordan
1996: Jordan
1995: Olajuwan
1994: Olajuwan
1993: Jordan
1992: Jordan
1991: Jordan
1990: Isiah Thomas
1989: Isiah Thomas
1988: Magic
1987: Magic
1986: Bird
1985: Magic
1984: Bird
1983: Dr J
1982: Magic
1981: Bird
1980: Magic
That’s 30 years, and other than the ’04 Pistons every single championship team had at least one All-Time stud.
Great research, Alex.
Ben Wallace’s HoF probability on BB-ref is .002.
Chauncey’s is a more respectable .375.
I’ll say this, if there was a defensive HoF Big Ben would be first ballot.
So, your choices are be mocked by Simmons for “overspending” on the players who are getting you to the playoffs, or be mocked by Simmons for dumping those salaries to overpay others.
That’s a false dichotomy, David. He was mocking teams for overspending on players who aren’t getting their teams to the playoffs (or past the first round of the playoffs) on their own. Rather than pay these guys reasonably so they can afford to take on more talent, teams pay them extravagantly, surround them with crap, and then give them away for nothing at the trade deadline. Just so they can repeat the whole process again. I think that’s mock-worthy.
Plus, as he noted in the article, the Wizards paid Arenas $111M when the next highest bidder could only offer up to $85M. That’s moronic no matter how you look at it, even without hindsight.
Throw in Moses Malone to that 1983 Philly team.