Drew Gooden was injured during warmups of Saturday night’s Cavaliers game against the Indiana Pacers, so Mike Brown was forced to start Anderson Varajao at power forward. The result was a 32 point blowout win by the wine and gold. Granted, Indiana is playing shorthanded with big man Jermaine O’Neal currently out, but the Cavs’ problem recently has been not putting inferior teams away early. Saturday night was a refreshing change.
This is not to say Gooden isn’t a useful player, or that GM Danny Ferry should not have re-signed him during the off season. However, Varajao is the more consistent player at this point, and inconsistent players should come off the bench. If Gooden comes in and plays well, he gets more time. If he’s struggling, the coach can get him out of there.
It’s also time that Varajao gets more involved in the offense. Last season in the playoffs, he became a lethal combination with LeBron James on the pick and roll. The more time the Brazilian gets, the more comfortable he will become when the Cavs have the ball. It’s part of the natural progression of the "Wild Thing" as a player.
There is no question that the team could use Varajao’s intensity at the beginning of a game. Too many times this season, the Cavaliers have gotten off to poor starts, generally against poor teams. This team needs a shot of something at the beginning of games. It cannot depend on LeBron James to provide everything. Someone else has to contribute.
Another problem the wine and gold have had is the reliance on the three point shot. Their average is slightly higher than last year, but it is the timing of the shot that is problematic. The other night against Toronto, the Cavs were down seven in the third quarter and fought their way into the lead in four minutes. They followed that up by shooting three point attempts the next four times down the floor. None connected and Cleveland gave up the lead again. They are too busy trying to bury a dagger instead of showing they are the better team and build the lead by playing good basketball. The coach has to stress that this type of play is not needed.
I do like that Brown is starting to work both Daniel Gibson and Shannon Brown into the rotation, although I would like to see even more of Brown. Both rookies lend some quickness to the Cavaliers which is needed on defense as well as offense. With Sasha Pavlovic going back to his non-existent self, why not give Brown some of his time. Develop him into the back up for Larry Hughes, because you don’t know how many game Hughes will play in this year. The Cavs will need both rookies to make a legitimate post season push.
Has anyone else realized the Eastern Conference is up for grabs? Currently, Orlando has the best record, and although they have a beast in Dwight Howard, most of their players have never made it to the playoffs. Cleveland and Detroit are next in the standings. With the best player in the league, there is no reason the Cleveland Cavaliers can get to The Finals. They just need to learn that every game is important, whether they’re playing the Spurs or the Bobcats.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 