Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Road Warriors
6 in a row, 4 straight on the road...I like it. The most consecutive road victories for our boys in the 21st century...even better. And here with a review of last nights victory vs the Bobcats is masug24:
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Ho hum, and the Cavaliers finish January with a six game win streak on the road against a depleted Bobcats. As fellow contributors noted, it was a big win.
Some interesting facts: That's four wins in a row on the road... the first time since Z's rookie campaign. The Akron Assassin finishes the month averaging about 32 ppg, the best scoring month of his career. Anderson had ten boards last night in 20 minutes and Drew posted another double double in just 26 minutes.
Sasha had a quiet night, but his presence in the starting lineup has been a breath of fresh air since Larry has been nursing his injuries. I really hope that Brown finds a way to get him minutes when Larry comes back, as Ithink his production hinders on getting consistent minutes. Oh, and Luke looked like the Oregon Luke in his ten minutes, a rare sight lately. Let's hope someone gets interested and maybe we can dump Luke/Henderson/Ira/Damon... some combination to add a little spice to the backcourt before the deadline.
LeBron was spectacular, of course, and while he won't be in the dunk contest (c'mon man, give us a bone), he put on a helluvah show last night. An oop from Snow, a touchdown pass turned reverse dunk from Damon Ones, and a couple more for good measure.
All in all, easy win, but important as our starters got to sit for the fourth quarter and rest their legs before a long stretch of tough games. Also, a rotation idea when Larry gets back.
Starters: Larry, Sasha, Bron, Drew and Z
Rotation: Snow, Damon, Luke/Ira, Marshall, and Anderson
We'd be lacking a bit on defense with the starting lineup this way, but I like Damon coming off the bench at the two guard, since that's his natural position. Just a thought in case Mike Brown is tech savvy and happens to read our blog. Otherwise, I'll keep the faith. Go Cavaliers.
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Go Cavs indeed...
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7 comments:
I'm not sold on Sasha starting over Snow. Snow provides leadership and a steady presence. I think Sasha is playing better just because he doesn't have to be the man, which is true even if he comes off the bench.
Not to nit pick, but Drew only had 1 point in his 26 minutes and this is why he is expendable. He also only had 5 points against the suns. We don't need him to win. I wouldn't make a trade just to make one, but if they can get a point guard like Jason Terry, then a deal must be made. Should be an interesting 20 plus days leading up to the trade deadline. Go Cavaliers!!! Lets beat the Nets on Wednesday!
Good point on Drew. You just don't know if he is going to show up and play. He is verocious on the boards, but so is Andy and Henderson can back him up. Drew is also in a contract year and I do not think we are going to give him the money he'll command on the Free Agent market. Many teams are going to go after him and offer him big money. For us, I think a Jason Terry would be amazing, but then I worry when we have to go up against the Pistons, Heat and other physical teams. We could use a bruising big and a PG. We'll see what happens. I gotta beleive Ferry is talking trade.
I'm not in the locker room or on the practice court, but I would guess that with Bron and Z's production as of late, Brown is not asking Drew to score. He's been inconsistent since the injury, but on the season, he's still averaging 11 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. I'm not convinced that that is expendable. Championship teams have firepower off the bench. Without Gooden, either Anderson or Donyell gets the start and our bench loses strength. That four-man rotation (Z-Gooden-Varejao-Yell) is strong and I'm not sure we should break it up. Do we really want Henderson seeing minutes down the stretch? What if there's an injury and Gooden is gone? Do we want to sign Zendon the team cheerleader to be resigned and split backup time with Henderson? Any trade involving Gooden and Jason Terry would not send a serviceable backup big to the Cavs... you have to have four bigs who can play big big minutes and a fifth serviceable big (Henderson). I honestly don't think we need to make a trade, but if we do, the only big we could spare would be Henderson (Assuming we'd get another big in return)
You boys so crazy. Look, there will never be a trade for Jason Terry involving Drew Gooden. Uh, the Mavs have this Notwitzki guy, and they generally like to run pick and rolls with him and Terry down the stretch. Oh, and I doubt a 34-10 team will break itself up for Drew Gooden.
But Drew is expendable in the right deal. masug does point out that Drew has good numbers, but I think that Andy could get similar numbers just by being on the court. Henderson is already the backup. I think the bigger deal is whether you are willing to go to war with 4 bigs (like the Cavs have all year) or 5. I am for 5- it protects you in case of injury. Unless I get a PG I want in return (or get to ship Eric Snow and his contract out of town), then no deal.
I agree with masug25 on the Gooden debate. I like what we got now, and our big man rotation is just starting to jell. Keeping Z's minutes down is important to maintaining his offensive productivity, and Gooden brings an added dimension on the offensive boards. He can clean up the glass and put back some misses for big points. Yes, he's not scoring right now, but he is playing a bit hurt, and we're getting production from other areas of the team. Unless we can get a difference maker in the backcourt, I wouldn't let him go right now. He's working well in the system, and playing hard every night. I like 'Yell and Anderson off the bench for what they add to team when on the floor, but both of them work best in that role, and not as starters.
Also, I don't think we can sign Zendon Hamilton for the rest of the season since we let his second 10 day contract expire (NBA rules dictate this). It doesn't really matter, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Lastly, is verocious even a word? I know of ferocious and veracious, but not verocious.
We could sign Zendon, but it would have to be for the remainder of the year. As for Drew, I don't want to trade him, becuase i agree we are just starting to come together. But i firmly beleive that it doesn't matter who plays on the front line with Lebron and Z. We all thought Boozer was amazing, he got his big contract and nothing. Drew will get a big contract this off season and it won't be from the cavs. So if the right deal comes along, you have to take it. We do need another big, but that won't happen until after this season. Henderson is a great bench player, there is a reason he has been in the league for 10 plus years. I agree we aren't going to get Terry in a trade, but he is a free agent this summer and Dallas is ready to hand the position to Harris, so who knows. Maybe Tractor gets healthy and we can add him, just a thought!
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