The Great Sasha Debate

I am sorry about the delay between posts and the lack of a review from the Lakers game. I'd like to blame it on a busy inauguration weekend in DC, but in all honesty, I was just really down about the loss, even if we were down two starters and up one Sasha Pavlovic. So, before tonight's game in Portland, I would like to introduce you to a new feature here at LeBlog. Those who know both the Akron Assassin and myself might tell you that we are a bit opinionated. I would say that "opinionated" is just a euphemism for being right all of the time (and I suspect that the Assassin agrees). Anyways, we have decided to let our readers in on a few heated debates between two people who think that they are right all of the time. So, in the wake of Bugs West's recent injury, we toiled over the horror of Mike Brown placing Sasha Pavlovic in the starting lineup. This conversation mostly took place before Pavs shocked the world against the Hornets last Friday and the Lakers game on Monday. Without further ado:

The Great Sasha Debate

LeMarc - Brown can't possibly start Sasha in place of Delonte. I understand the need to keep the rotation in tact, but Sasha will be devastating to the starting lineup. For one, LeBron understandably refuses to pass him the ball. Without Delonte, Lebron will handle the ball a lot more (like he did against the Bulls), which means that when Sasha is out there and LeBron has the ball, we'll be playing 4 on 5. In all seriousness, I prefer that Kinsey gets the starting job.

Akron Assassin - Look, I prefer TK too, but Brown is going to go with Sasha. Why? He has experience starting. He is a known commodity. It preserves his rotation. And Sasha can be a good defender if he puts his mind to it. I think its a no-brainer. Sasha is the guaranteed starter.

LeMarc - Kinsey started 12 games for Memphis in 06-07. Starting Tarence preserves the rotation just as well, if not better than if Sasha started because Sasha would still come off the bench (where he belongs). Sasha is not and has never been a good defender. He just happens to be taller than most two-guards at 6'9". He gets away with slow feet, poor lateral movement, and late rotation because his height forces his man into either driving into our interior defense or adjusting their shot for his height. It's the same effect as me guarding my 10 year-old cousin.

Assassin - So what are you saying? You can't guard your ten year old cousin? Or that you can guard your ten year old cousin even though he is better at basketball than you because Lebron (aka god) blessed you with greater height? My point is this: Who cares why Sasha can guard two guards. If it is because he is taller, than so be it. In any event, starting TK (despite his grand experience with the Grizzles) would not be wise for our team at the present time. We are much better off rolling with Sasha, letting him test the wind, and then bringing in Boobie, TK, Wally, Ben Wallace, and whoever else can play that spot. Don't force a bench player into playing - and guarding- the top players.


Cavs (31-7) 92 - Hornets (23-13) 78

• Pavlovic scores 19 on 7-10 from the floor, 4-4 on threes, adding 6 boards, 1 assist and two steals

• He gives up 15 points to Peja Stojakovich (4-8 on threes) who he guards most of the game

Assassin - Round 1 to The Assasin. Let's hope for the Cavs sake that all the rounds go to me- that will me Sasha plays well.

LeMarc - I hesitate to give you round one outright, just because Sasha had a good shooting night. He guarded Peja for most of the game, and while Peja didn't shoot great inside the arc, he did make 4-8 from 3-point land. Why? Peja didn't play pick and roll much at all, which means that he got some wide open looks. On the other hand, Sasha did score 19 to Peja's 15, so maybe Pavs was right all along... his offense is his defense.

Assasin - Come on. Three balls against the Cavs come from ball rotation. You cant say Peja beat Sasha on each one. And no way Sasha was guarding Peja on all those. The true test will be Monday. Can Sasha slow Kobe enough to keep the Cavs in it?

LeMarc - Ok, I'll give you round one, and I will root for an Akron Assassin victory in the great Sasha debate on Monday. Bring on the Lakers.

LeGame - Sasha Vujacic can tell you everything you need to know. Namely that he is the dirty European that Sasha only wishes he could be.

LeTriangle - For the first time I can remember this year, an opposing coach figured out how to beat our "flash and retreat" defense. LA's ball-handler of the moment would set up well behind the three point line and when our big guy would flash out to the perimeter, he would pass in to the guy in the strong side high post. Most teams don't set up like the Lakers do, so the pass out of the double team is usually around the perimeter, not into the post. That usual perimeter pass allows our big to "retreat" back to the post and deny the inlet pass. The Lakers passed into the post immediately, leaving the Lakers with two guys in the post being guarded by one of our bigs, while our other big was still trying to retreat. Our flash big never retreated in time. I'm not sure how well I explained that, but if you're familiar with the Cavs defense and watched the game on Monday, hopefully you'll see what I mean. In layman's terms, though, the Lakers won because they had a ton of wide open looks at the rim in the second half. I am a big believer in Mike Brown and his defensive prowess, but I also think that a coach has to be willing to abandon his game plan if it's getting beat over and over.

LeTripleTrillion - If you're not familiar with the "Trillion" as a basketball term, take a few minutes and read the first post ever written on Mark Titus's blog, Club Trillion. Mark Titus is a walk-on at Ohio State who only plays garbage time. His goal, in that one minute of garbage time, is to record no statistics so that his stat line reads 1 followed by a bunch of zeros. This has caught on over the past year. The guys at Basketbawful compile stats on trillions and near-trillions on a daily basis as a part of their Worst of the Night feature. Anyways, the Cavs had a triple-trillion against the Lakers, with Darnell Jackson, Tarence Kinsey, and Jawad Williams each recording one minute of playing time and no other stats. See for yourself.

LePavlovic - So the stat line won't be as funny now that Sasha will be getting regular minutes in Bugs West's absence. So I'm going to stick with the highlight and postgame quote, but instead of a full stat line, I'm just going to post one jaw-droppingly awful stat from the game. If you have any better ideas, please share. I'm open to adaptation.

The Sasha Pavlovic Stat Line
34 Minutes & ZERO Rebounds
Highlight: 1Q 10:12 Sasha misses 25 ft. 3-point jumper*
Postgame Quote: "Trevor Ariza is a sissy-pants. In Yugoslavia, clotheslines to face is part of game."

*Kobe had just stoved his finger on the ball and was basically standing off-court waiting for the Cavs to score so he could call a time out to get someone to look at his pinky. So the Cavs are playing five on four and Sasha misses a WIDE OPEN three-pointer. Pathetic.