Overview: Antawn Jamison broke his finger in the third quarter of a 91-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Ramon Sessions and J.J. Hickson combined for 42 points, and were the only players to score 20 or more points.
And now Jamison is gone bullets:
- Let’s talk about the Jamison injury. This is a potentially huge opportunity for the Cavs to get someone willing to work hard on defense in the starting lineup and finish the season/the first games of the Baron era on a respectable note. However, it remains to be seen if the Cavs’ wafer-thin frontline will be able to replace Jamison’s sheer shot creation. I think a replacement-level forward who works on defense would make the team better.
However, I’m not sure if Hollins, Harangody, Erden, or Samardo fit that bill, and I don’t know if Graham can guard fours. The best scenario I can think of is Hollins or Erden starting at center and moving J.J. to power forward, but I’m afraid of J.J. floating back to the perimeter at all. Maybe the Cavs should try and develop Eyenga into a LRMAM forward with his length? Probably not. Or just give Manny Harris the starting four slot. And start Baron at the three. Might as well have fun, right? I need to play NBA 2K less and sleep more.
- I am not saying anything about Jamison here, who by every account is the class act to end all class acts. I’m just saying that if the trade deadline had passed, I was on a last-place team, and I suffered a hand injury, I’d make ABSOLUTELY sure that hand was 110% okay before practicing again. I mean, really absolutely sure.
- Loving Hickson. More offensive rebounds (9) than attempted jump shots (4). Now we’ll see what happens to him without Jamison in the starting lineup.
- Oh, Ramon Sessions, how many more 20/10 games on 13 shots will you be allowed to have? In February, Sessions has averaged 19.9 points per game, 8.8 assists, and shot 56.3% from the field. I’m not saying Ramon doesn’t have serious problems, and I’m not even ready to definitively call him the point guard of the future yet. I’m just saying that if Jonny Flynn was doing this, people in Minnesota would be losing their collective poop.
- Gibson hasn’t been the same since that injury. Maybe Sessions should be the one getting pissed about Boobie calling himself the “King of Cleveland.”
- I’m hoping Parker’s 1-8 was an anomaly and not a “crap, I don’t get to play for the Bulls and Rasual freaking Butler does” thing.
That’s all for tonight/this morning. Until later.
Ramon’s incredibly shifty. God. If he could just get a passable jump shot, and learn to get over a screen, he’d be electric. But end of the game Sunday was the encapsulation of the problem with Ramon: Cavs down by three with the crowd going crazy and Ramon falls asleep on defense, and all the sudden they’re down by 8. Game over. If he could only keep his head in the game defensively… Also. Samardo Samuels looked like a passable NBA bench player. I didn’t think I’d see the day. Philly would be frisky if they had a center.
Totally agree. I was rather thrilled that Jamison went out, but it is clearly now a very serious injury to have. Best of both worlds. I would like to see Erden get some real playing time, but am also terrified of Hickson wandering outside again. Perhaps we can try it with Byron giving Hick the crazy eye anytime he gets jumper happy. Part of the reason he has been boarding better on D is the fact that he can out-quick opposing 5s. We won’t be any good with Hick in the starting lineup until he figures out how to play the four anyway, so perhaps he is ready for the challenge this time. One can only hope. Alternatively, we could go with Hick and Harangody in the starting lineup and have Samardo and Erden play together. Luke hustles and can spread the floor. He also plays a bit like psycho which is always fun.
I have really liked what I have seen out of Samardo the last few games. He is making better decisions with the ball and understanding his matchups a bit better as well. He really does have a nice touch around the rim and even knocked down the open 15 footers. He also didn’t blow as many defensive assignments as Jamison did, but that certainly isn’t high praise.
Hollins continues to amaze me with his various mental breakdowns. What a great NBA body without an NBA head.
Ramon played well, and as usual, inexplicably handed the ball to the other team in crunch time. I can’t wait for the Baron era to begin. Let Ramon do his thing for most of the game, or at least let’s try to have both run the offense, but for the love of god, Baron must be the only ball-handler to close out the games.
I’m worried about Boobie. That certainly doesn’t make me unique.
I think we might have to have a no 3ball rule for Eyenga for awhile. He can’t make them, but it is always a surprise to him as he goes into a little depression.
The games have been WAY more entertaining lately, so that is nice. Can’t wait to see the new guys play.
Oops.. I meant Jamison’s injury is NOT serious…you get me.
Sessions is playing really well right now. Sure he still has a few defensive lapses and uncanny turnovers, but still, “stats don’t lie”. Right now he’s playing like a true starting point guard. I’m not sure if it’s because Scott’s system or if Ramon has just improved that much or if he’s on a string of luck. Bottom line if he continues to perform and works hard to get better, we’ll be talking about how underrated he is versus just saying he’s still not a starting pg. He’s 24 which can be considered the start of his prime years.
JJ is starting to look pretty good as well, I’m not sure if it’s because he has less things to think about as a center or is he just starting to really ‘get it’. We’ll see what happens when he moves back to PF (where he belongs). Personally I’m not sold on JJ yet (I have more faith in Ramon’s improvement), but really hope that Scott has gotten through to him and he continues toperform at a double double rate from the PF position.
Eyenga/Manny/Gee/Samuels all have flashes of real NBA talents and then follow-up with why they were either undrafted or D-league guys. In the order listed is how much confidence I have that they’ll become true impact/rotation players in the NBA. Eyenga is as raw as they come and I could actually see all-star potential in him at times. Manny like Gee were standouts in college and I’m not sure if there is a lack of confidence or understanding of the system, but with Jamison out and Moon gone, I’m looking forward to them getting more burn.
Last thought, I really find myself rooting more and more against the Clippers now and felling less bothered when the Cavs lose. I don’t think we are in any danger of playing ourselves out of the lottery but the Clippers – although losing have had a couple of good showings lately. I would love for them to continue to lose and the Cavs get a legit shot at two top 5 picks. As ‘weak’ as what some people say this draft is, there is still a few good peices we can get. There is some talk that some of the top players won’t come out because of the CBA, but I figure if I was – for example – K Irving, my value is so high right now in this draft that I risk more staying in school and then possibly falling down in the draft to other players coming into the league as 1 and done type guys (doc rivers kid for example). So it could be really in the best ineterst of the top guys to come out now when their value is highest regardless what the situation with the CBA is.
I actually like Manny a lot, but his minutes are on a yo-yo.
I agree with the person who said the games are getting more entertaining. Maybe it has been all the home games with the crowd support in the background. It still amazes me how good these fans are. Go Cleveland!
Jamison going down is going to be a disaster for Hickson. There is simply no other option than moving him to 4 and starting Hollins or Erdin at C. Starting Hickson + Samuels is almost laughable. That frontline will get utterly blitzed.
What no one wants to admit is that Jamison is the type of player needed for Hickson to excel. You need a smaller guy to play next to Hickson who can shoot the ball. Why? Because it ensures the opposing teams C will guard Hickson and not the other post player. I really have very little belief in Hickson being able to play well at the PF, but I see no other option for this team.
I get that Jamison can’t defend, but put Samardo or Harangody and not only will you get guys who aren’t going to eb able to defend, but guys who aren’t going to be able to get you 10ppg.
As far as Sessions is concerned I have yet to change my opinion. The guy is a really, really, realllly bad defender. So unless you can play offense like Derrick Rose, you simply aren’t going to be a starting PG on a contending team defending like that, especially when you can’t shoot the ball. Maybe it would be different if we had a team of great defenders surrounding him, but it seems silly to build the team so it best suits RAmon Sessions, no?
Now that’s not to say Sessions can’t be the PG next year or the year after (depending on who is available in the draft), but eventually I think it’s a position that is going to need to be upgraded. Especially with PG talent that is in the East now. Won’t be able to survive with a poor defender at the PG position now.