There are many theories that have been bandied about as to why the Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled this season. I say "struggled", which shows how far the franchise has come since drafting LeBron James. The wine and gold have a record of 14-9 and currently have one of the four best records in the Eastern Conference. However, there is no doubt that the team has not played up to expectations. Why?
I would agree with those who say Coach Mike Brown’s rotation needs some work. Generally, his first substitution of the game occurs with 4-5 minutes to go in the first quarter when Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones replace Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Eric Snow. This essentially replaces one of the team’s best inside scorers and a pass first point guard with two guys who shoot 3 pointers. Jones is strictly a long range shooter and Marshall is quickly becoming one. Slightly over one half of his shots this season have been from beyond the arc. That’s not helping the offense.
What happens is that either the triple duo is hot and blows the game open or they aren’t hitting the shots and what occurred in Saturday’s game against Orlando happens. The Cavs had a big lead in the first quarter which quickly evaporated. They jumped out to a big lead by taking the ball to the basket and creating easy shots. That ended when Jones and Marshall entered the fray. This early substitution makes the Cavaliers an easier team to defend. The only driving threat becomes James. Defenses can settle into zones and take that part of his game away.
Another problem is that Brown uses Marshall at the "4" spot and he cannot defend the new age power forwards in today’s NBA. Guys like Dwight Howard and Sean May have abused the veteran in the past week. They have too much bulk and power for Marshall to handle. So, the defense suffers after the first subbing since Jones would have a problem guarding a boulder. Thus, the coach’s first personnel move hurts the team on both sides of the ball.
This is not to say Jones and Marshall are useless, but they shouldn’t be on the floor at the same time. A better substitution would be to sub Jones for Snow and Anderson Varajao (if they aren’t going to start him) for Z. This would give the team more balance on offense and defense. At this point in his career, Marshall plays more like a "3", but that would limit his minutes since the Cavs have the best small forward in the game. On the other hand, using him at that spot could result in getting more rest for the King.
One other thing…please give some playing time to Shannon Brown at the off guard spot to spell Larry Hughes. The rookie from Michigan State is being wasted. Last Friday, with the Cavs getting a blowout win against Seattle, Brown didn’t get any badly needed minutes because David Wesley was active for that game. David Wesley! Brown needs to get on the court and to deactivate him for Wesley makes absolutely no sense.
The season has passed the quarter pole, so the time for trying to see who can play and who can’t should be over. Guys like Marshall and Wesley aren’t helping. It’s time to give others a chance.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 