A View from Cleveland

[MMacOH]

It was asked that I give my opinon of the Cavs in another post.....ask and you shall receive.

I see a lot of positives for the Cavs heading into this year.  The Cavs had some very nice additions in the off season in Mo Williams and JJ Hickson.  Williams should really help the flow of the offense.  He should take a lot of pressure off Lebron and allow him to work within the offense.  I would look to see a lot of pick and pop with Z and Mo this year as well.  Mo will basically run the show, or at least that is what we are hoping here in Cleveland.  Lebron is much harder to guard when he gets the ball in motion.

JJ Hickson is another nice addition for the Cavs, although he may need a year or two to really round into things.  JJ is a very physical power forward with some very nice offensive moves.  He needs work on defense and with his rotations, but he should get better with time.  The hope is that Hickson will turn into the physical force that Carlos Boozer should have been for the Cavs.

The Cavs are also healthy and holdout free this year, which is a welcome change from last year.  Andy Varejao is in excellent shape and playing with a lot of intensity.  This is basically a contract year for Andy, so I am expecting big things out of him.  Sasha is healthy as well, but he has yet to show any of the ability that it looked like he was blessed with 2 years ago.

The Cavs will still be a very defense oriented team this year.  Look for Delonte West (keep fighting that depresssion Delonte), Lebron, Wallace and varejao to really step up the defensive intensity this year when games are on the line.  There was some concern about Mo's ability to play defense but his defense has been much better than expected so far in the preseason. 

The Cavs love to win ugly and I expect that trend to continue this year.  Mo will definitely push the tempo on offense, but the main focus of the team will still be half court defense.  I could type for pages on the Cavs, but I know this is a Boston site so i wil cut this short.  I am curious to hear what Boston's prespective of the Cavs is?  Do you think they are a threat to the Cavs?  Are there any players outside of Lebron that concern you?

[Redz]

  I am curious to hear what Boston's prespective of the Cavs is?  Do you think they are a threat to the Cavs?  Are there any players outside of Lebron that concern you?

First off, good to hear from you MMac (I didn't see you had posted last week).

I'll take it you meant to ask if the Cavs are a threat to the Celtics and not v/v .  We are the defending champs y'know.

The Cavs have to be considered a threat.  They're big and have upgraded at PG.  We saw what Lebron can do to put a scare into you. 

I don't have any huge concerns outside of Lebron, but I don't want to see the Celts get into a muscle match with the Cavs (which is what the Cavs would like to do, no doubt - winning ugly as you say).

[Roy Hobbs]

Who plays the Drew Gooden / Joe Smith role?  Aren't you a little thin in terms of bench big men?

[BballTim]

  Can you really play Varejao and Wallace together? That's a very poor offensive front line. Last year they seemed to make an effort to have either Z or Smith out there at all times vs the Celts.

[MMacOH]

Its good to be back Redz.  Congrats to the Celtics for the championship last year.  I am anxious to see what Mo Williams has in store this year.  He may be someone you want to have some concern for.  You also saw what Z's spot up jumper can do the Celtic's.  I honestly think your biggest concern may be Gibson this year.  He won't be running the point and will be spotting up to hit 3's (which he does very well).

The Drew Gooden/Joe Smith role is basically gone as of right now.  Varejao has worked on his offensive game, but it is still not much of a threat.  Hickson has the raw ability, but it is a lot to ask of a rookie.  PF may be a rebounding/defensive position for the most part.  Our best PF may be Wally World.  Just because he is a 13 million dollar expiring contract that may be bring a PF to us later in the year.

As for Wallace and Andy at the same time, it is a pretty poor offensive front line, but you can get some offense out of it.  It depends on what the game calls for.  Varejao runs the pick and roll very well and it should be open considering Andy will be running it with Mo and the Celtics attention should still be on Lebron.

[crownsy]

I think we have to be concerned. if you had added a good big man scoring threat, which i belive would allow LBJ to work both the drive and kick to a shooter and the drive and dump off to a big who just lost his defender option, id be a lot more concerned.

righ tnow, i still see the cavs as having the same weakness we exploited during the playoffs. without a legit big man scoring threat, you can make LBJ take jumpers in half court, since no one needs to fear the pick and roll with B.Wallace or side show bob.

in short, you lack a "scoring big" ( i know Z can score, but he's a jumpshooter at his deadliest, im talking like a leon powe paint guy) which means your shooters HAVE to be hot.

but, yes im concerned. right now i think we have 3 legit threats. Detroit, clev, and philly.

the magic and raptors may get upgraded if they show me something.

on a side note: good to have you back, mac.

[Hoops]

Lebron is much harder to guard when he gets the ball in motion.

I think I actually agree with that statement. Yet at the same time, I think I actually become less concerned about the Cavs the less Lebron has the ball in his hands. You obviously can't completely deny Lebron the ball, but if you force him into catching it in tough spots (much like we did with Kobe in the Finals) as opposed to letting him catch it on the move in dangerous positions, you can really neutralize him. So, unless Mo Williams becomes a significant scoring threat, I think I'm less worried about the Cavs this year than I was last year in the playoffs. Of course, they could totally prove me wrong as the season goes on.

[MMacOH]

  Can you really play Varejao and Wallace together? That's a very poor offensive front line. Last year they seemed to make an effort to have either Z or Smith out there at all times vs the Celts.

One more quick point on this comment.  Having Smith or Z on the floor at all times guaranteed that one of the Cavs bigs could always stretch the defense with his jumper.  Supposedly Andy has developed a jumper (I will believe it when I see it) so the Cavs may be able to get away with Wallace and Andy.

[CT34]

I agree with most of you the Cavs do not have in inside present outside of the big Z.  But to flip it on the Cs who does the Cs have has in inside present?  KG is a jumper shooter, Perk hasn't developed into a inside threat.  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.  If you look at the Cavs that's the same way Wallace and Varejao get their points.

The question is has the Cavs done enough to get pass the Celtics?  Looking at the Pre-season games played so far between the two teams I have to say no.  However the Cavs have the x-factor in LeBron James.  Could Paul Pierce match Lebron James in the play-offs again?  Mind you what help Paul Pierce out was the rest on d he could take due to the fact that Posey was here to take on a LeBron James.

[crownsy]

I agree with most of you the Cavs do not have in inside present outside of the big Z.  But to flip it on the Cs who does the Cs have has in inside present?  KG is a jumper shooter, Perk hasn't developed into a inside threat.  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.  If you look at the Cavs that's the same way Wallace and Varejao get their points.

The question is has the Cavs done enough to get pass the Celtics?  Looking at the Pre-season games played so far between the two teams I have to say no.  However the Cavs have the x-factor in LeBron James.  Could Paul Pierce match Lebron James in the play-offs again?  Mind you what help Paul Pierce out was the rest on d he could take due to the fact that Posey was here to take on a LeBron James.

we have perk. despite the poo he gets, he shot a nearly franchise high EFG%. all you need the guy who offsets the slasher to do is keep the D honest by being able to slam home a dunk.

the kind of low post threat im talking about doesn't have to be shaq, he has to be a guy that can stay active around the rim and catch the ball from the driver (pierce/lebron) and dunk it (perk/powe for boston ? for the cavs).


perk is a very effective inside threat in this scenario. he keeps the D from doubling pierce and kg on cuts because he can finsh at the rim. no oen is going to say "oh man! we have to double perk!!!" but niehter do you see teams abandon him like ben wallce or V for the cavs, because they know he'll hit the 100% "oh look i dunked it!" shot.

im not saying lebron needed elton brand down thier, a guy like drew gooden but with slightly better hands would have been fine. if they find that guy off the bench in thier youngster's, then i'll be more concerned about it. 

[BballTim]

  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.

  I don't agree with this. Powe has a good post game.

[crownsy]

  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.

  I don't agree with this. Powe has a good post game.

same, this is incorrect. leon has a very good post game.

specificly his drop step/ spin move and fall away hook to the right hand side. he needs to be better going to his left with the hook, but he's also added a fall away jumper ALA KG. while it wont be as good as KG's, due to his height, he caught peopel sleeping with it all last year and this preseason by using it as his "changeup" when they shaded his hook to the right.

[CT34]

  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.

  I don't agree with this. Powe has a good post game.

same, this is incorrect. leon has a very good post game.

Don't get me wrong I like Powe and for most of last season I was calling for him to be in the starting 5 in place of Perk.  However Powe does get most of his points off of dribble drives, offensives rebounds and broken plays. 10% of this offensive scores come from the low block.  You can disagree with me all you want it's the truth. 

[crownsy]

  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.

  I don't agree with this. Powe has a good post game.

same, this is incorrect. leon has a very good post game.

Don't get me wrong I like Powe and for most of last season I was calling for him to be in the starting 5 in place of Perk.  However Powe does get most of his points off of dribble drives, offensives rebounds and broken plays. 10% of this offensive scores come from the low block.  You can disagree with me all you want it's the truth. 

why should i bother disagreeing with you when you say your right and i'm wrong on a blanket statement with no facts?

seems like a waste of time to me.

 and leon has a very good post game. you can disagree with me all you want but its the truth.


There! now we both left no room for discussion! lock thread!

but, kidding aside, leon does have a very good post game. he gets points off being a hard worker and catching passes because we share the ball and he works hard, but he's shown a solid post game throughut last year and this preseason.

[MMacOH]

I agree with most of you the Cavs do not have in inside present outside of the big Z.  But to flip it on the Cs who does the Cs have has in inside present?  KG is a jumper shooter, Perk hasn't developed into a inside threat.  Leon Powe get's most of his point off of broken plays and dribble drives by the guards.  If you look at the Cavs that's the same way Wallace and Varejao get their points.

The question is has the Cavs done enough to get pass the Celtics?  Looking at the Pre-season games played so far between the two teams I have to say no.  However the Cavs have the x-factor in LeBron James.  Could Paul Pierce match Lebron James in the play-offs again?  Mind you what help Paul Pierce out was the rest on d he could take due to the fact that Posey was here to take on a LeBron James.

we have perk. despite the poo he gets, he shot a nearly franchise high EFG%. all you need the guy who offsets the slasher to do is keep the D honest by being able to slam home a dunk.

the kind of low post threat im talking about doesn't have to be shaq, he has to be a guy that can stay active around the rim and catch the ball from the driver (pierce/lebron) and dunk it (perk/powe for boston ? for the cavs).


perk is a very effective inside threat in this scenario. he keeps the D from doubling pierce and kg on cuts because he can finsh at the rim. no oen is going to say "oh man! we have to double perk!!!" but niehter do you see teams abandon him like ben wallce or V for the cavs, because they know he'll hit the 100% "oh look i dunked it!" shot.

im not saying lebron needed elton brand down thier, a guy like drew gooden but with slightly better hands would have been fine. if they find that guy off the bench in thier youngster's, then i'll be more concerned about it. 

This is supposedly where Hickson will help greatly.  It may not be this year though.  I have a feeling the low post is going to be the Cavs main focus at the trade deadline.