The performance of the Cavaliers in their last two games leads me to ask this question:  Was Danny Ferry fooled by the play of the Cavs before the NBA trading deadline?  Either that or Sasha Pavlovic is far more valuable to the wine and gold than we ever thought possible.  With Pavlovic out, the Cavaliers laid two gigantic eggs against the Bulls at home, and versus an undermanned Heat team on the road.

 

Once again, the familiar faces failed Coach Mike Brown.  Of course, he deserves the blame for continuing to put the same guys out there.  One of the definitions of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.  Therefore, if the coach thinks David Wesley is going to play well at some point in time, he is insane.  Wesley’s good games (Golden State, for one) are the exception.  Yesterday’s game is the rule.  He gives the team absolutely NOTHING!

 

Which puts him in the same category as Damon Jones.  Jones threw up a 1 for 6 from the floor yesterday, which means he gave the Cavaliers nothing.  Jones doesn’t move the ball, doesn’t go to the hoop, and plays no defense.  If he’s not making shots, he doesn’t contribute.  Donyell Marshall hit a few shots (three), but at 6-9 had only one rebound.  Yet these guys keep getting playing time, and since Pavlovic was out, they got even more minutes.

 

Just to prove that awful performances are not limited to the bench, when was the last time Drew Gooden played a good game.  Perhaps someone should tell him the All Star break is over.  Gooden gets outplayed by Anderson Varajao on a daily basis now.  Prior to the last month, the former Jayhawk would play well about 50-60% of the time.  That percentage is dropping faster than the team’s bench production.  Gooden has to step it up, and soon.

 

The question remains.  Why can’t Shannon Brown get some playing time?  He has been hurt, but he’s given the team more than Wesley when he has been on the floor.  I’m sure Brown will say he’s not up to par defensively, but how can he get better if he doesn’t play?  He should have been getting some time from the first game of the season, but that ship has sailed.  However, it’s not too late for him to start contributing.  That’s also on the head coach.

 

Yesterday’s loss was disgusting.  There is no reason the Cavaliers should have lost to the Heat, without their best player.  Not if you expect to make a big playoff run.  The ABC announcers were trying to tell us how the Heat have all this talent by trotting out statistics from seven or eight years ago.  If this was 2000, the Heat might be the best team of all time, but it’s not, and all of those guys are in their mid to late 30’s.  Miami is a below .500 with Wade.  Losing that game makes me wish the trading deadline was this Thursday.  Then, maybe Danny Ferry would have pulled the trigger on a deal.

 

JK

 

The NBA trading deadline came and went and GM Danny Ferry decided not to make a move.  With the recent better play by the Cavaliers, and the emergence of Sasha Pavlovic, Ferry figured the status quo was not such a bad idea.  With Dwayne Wade out, possibly for the season, the path is paved for the Cavs to get to the Eastern Conference finals.  Can they get there?

 

The recent good stretch for the team started with some outstanding defensive efforts.  The players have commented that Coach Mike Brown told them they could run more if they played better on the defensive end.  Make no mistake, even though the wine and gold are running more, they are winning games with defense.  In winning five of their last seven games, virtually all of them against playoff contenders, only the Lakers scored 100 points.  And the Cavs won that game.  Five opponents have been held to 90 points or less, with the Cavs winning four of those contests. 

 

Brown also adjusted his playing rotation to give Pavlovic more time, decreasing the minutes of defensive liabilities Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones.  Also, Anderson Varajao minutes have increased, and so has his production.  The Brazilian has made his case to remain in the starting lineup with his play in his starts, subbing for Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  However, although some have said he should replace Z in the starting lineup, we have advocated replacing Drew Gooden, whose inconsistent play translates better to coming off the bench.

 

One thing that has stunned me as of late is the criticism of LeBron James.  James is still averaging 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game.  Those are tremendous numbers, although his scoring is down about five points per game and his assists are off by one per night.  The one thing noticeable in his stats is his free throw percentage, which is also down five points from a year ago.  Improvement in this area will increase his scoring average.  He is being criticized for not caring enough about the game.

 

LeBron is still one of the best players in the NBA.  If you can name four players better than him, you are dead wrong.  He is also 22 years old, and the players he played with at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School are now seniors in college.  He has fallen into the category of being too good for too long, so now the nitpickers have to find something wrong with him.  Besides being an All Pro player, he has never been in trouble, nor does he ever say anything outrageously stupid.  He’s a model citizen.

 

The problem is he might be too polished for the media.  He gets criticism for saying the Cavs played well in a loss, and he is satisfied with that.  This causes the fans and press to go crazy.  I think he’s just like Nook LaLoosh in Bull Durham.  He’s just watching what he says in public.  I believe that winning is very important to LeBron James.  He’s just trying to keep an even keel with his teammates.  If he stays calm, the rest of the Cavaliers will relax and hopefully play better.  People should not take what is said in post game interviews as gospel.

 

In a curious note, the Bulls’ Ben Wallace said the Cavs were easier to defend last night because Ilgauskas wasn’t playing.  Hopefully, the anti Z contingent heard that.  I guess Wallace doesn’t know what he’s talking about either.

 

JK

 

 

 

 

The Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes picks the Tribe for 4th in the American League Central this season.  The other night on "More Sports and Les Levine", the PD’s Dennis Manoloff agrees with the paper’s beat writer.  Is our usual pessimism causing us the downgrade this year’s edition of the Cleveland Indians?  We thought the Tribe was headed to the post season last year, so we might be accused on being overly optimistic.  But, is the rest of the division that overwhelming?

 

Last year’s division champs, the Minnesota Twins have lost Francisco Liriano to an elbow injury and Brad Radke to retirement.  That’s 2/5 of their starting rotation.  The rest of the rotation consists of youngsters Boof Bonser and Matt Garza, who pitched well in spots last season, and veterans Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson.  Their offense is lead by AL MVP Justin Morneau and batting champ Joe Mauer, but they received big contributions from guys like Nick Punto and Jason Tyner, which probably will not be duplicated.  The Twins have a great bullpen, but if you can’t get six or seven solid innings from the starters, it doesn’t matter how good the starters are.

 

Last year’s AL Champs, the Detroit Tigers had one of those seasons where everything fell into place.  Justin Verlander won 17 games as a rookie, pitching more innings than he had ever pitched.  Kenny Rogers won 17 more even though he has passed 40 years of age.  They received excellent seasons from Brandon Inge, Marcus Thames, and Craig Monroe.  They added Gary Sheffield, one of the best hitters in the game.  However, there certainly are many players on the Tigers who had better seasons that they’ve ever had before.  Also, this is not a young team.  Curtis Granderson is their only regular under 29 years old.

 

The White Sox failed to defend their World Championship last year because their starting pitching fell apart.  So, they traded Freddy Garcia and starter in waiting Brandon McCarthy.  They need Mark Buerhle to bounce back, and hope that Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez pitch better than their ’06 performances.  They’ve taken the same tact as the Twins in strengthening their relief corps to try and shorten the game and take some pressure off of the starters.  They can still score runs as well, but the pitching is what cost them last season.

 

Again, this is not to say the Indians will walk away with the AL Central Division title.  They have question marks in the bullpen and you have to wonder did they improve the infield defense.  Will Andy Marte hit?  Will Jhonny Peralta bounce back?  The point here is that the other teams in the Central have questions as well.  You can certainly see the Tigers and Twins sliding back to 85-90 wins.  They are not the 1927 Yankees. 

 

It will be a four team race in what shapes up as the best division in baseball.  Once again, the Tribe could win 88 games this season and finish third in the Central.  Then again, that number of wins could win the division.  If all four teams beat each other up, a lower win total could take the crown.  The Indians have to do better within the division.  It could come down to which of the contenders have the best record against the Royals.  If the bullpen is fixed, the Tribe has as good a chance as anyone else in the division.

 

KM

 

 

 

Friday morning’s announcement Keith Foulke started the phones ringing on the local sports talk shows.  Once again, we heard all of the problems fans have with the Tribe, "The Dolans are cheap", "They can’t sign big ticket free agents", etc.  The fans went into full blast "woe is us" mode.  On the first day of spring training!

 

Ease up!  I understand that our patience is running thin.  Forty three years without a title will do that to a city.  However, let’s not jump of the bridge yet either.  When the Indians signed Foulke, they said he would compete for the closer’s role.  The former Boston reliever did not save one game with the Red Sox last season.  Not one!  Yet, the fans acted like the guy who retired on Friday was the man who recorded the last out of the 2004 World Series.  There was every chance in the world that Foulke would have been the set up, or even started the season on the disabled list. 

 

That’s what we do in this city.  We overreact.  Heck, there are fans hoping the Cavaliers sign 41 year old Scottie Pippen, because he could be the missing piece for the wine and gold.  Pippen hasn’t played an NBA game in over two years.  He might be able to provide some insights to LeBron about playing for a championship team, but he wouldn’t contribute much on the court.  But, that doesn’t stop people from waxing nostalgic about the Pippen who played second fiddle to Michael Jordan for the Bulls. 

 

Most national pundits said the Tribe had a great off season.  They had a horrible bullpen in 2006, and GM Mark Shapiro addressed the problem by signing four veteran relievers.  I’m Shapiro hoped all of them would have ERA’s under 2, but realistically the GM figured if two of them pitched well, the bullpen would be much improved.  As of signing hurlers coming off injuries, the Indians did the same thing before the 2004 season with a guy named Bob Howry, the same guy Tribe critics pine for when talking about the relief corps.  You can’t have it both ways.

 

Cavs’ fans talk about any former star who may come available, without thinking about whether or not the guy can still play, or would he fit in with the team’s philosophy.  Chris Webber got released?  We should get him.  Eddie Jones is available?  We have to have him.  These comments are made because these guys used to be good.  If they could still play at a high level, I’m pretty sure they would not have been cut loose.  Basketball is a sport where team chemistry is very important.  Remember the Lakers of the late sixties that had three of the all time greats on their team (Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor), but couldn’t win a title.  Danny Ferry has to look at this, the fans don’t.

 

There is no doubt Cleveland is starved for a sports championship.  Maybe even desperate.  However, this is no reason to lose all sense of realities about each sport.  Mariano Rivera didn’t retire from the Indians the other day, a righty who didn’t save one game last season did.  Let’s not pretend the Indians season is over because Keith Foulke is gone.  Remember that Bobby Jenks didn’t start the 2005 season for the White Sox, but he was the ace of their bullpen in the World Series. 

 

MW

 

 

The first news out of Winter Haven is the announcement that Keith Foulke will be retiring.  Foulke’s elbow is acting up again, and he decided to call it a career.  Since many had Foulke penciled in as the likely closer for the Tribe this season, this would seem to be very depressing news.  However, since GM Mark Shapiro brought in so many relievers this off season, it just decreases the depth a little bit.

 

There was no guarantee that Foulke was going to be the closer in ’07 anyway.  The Indians made it very clear that the position was an open competition between the former Red Sox relief ace and new acquired Joe Borowski, who saved 36 games for the Marlins last season.  So, Borowski is now the closer.  The competition will now be for the set up role, and among those who will pitch the 8th inning are Rafael Betancourt, Roberto Hernandez, and Fernando Cabrera, assuming he can throw strikes. 

 

Foulke’s retirement also means that Jason Davis and Matt Miller will make the opening day roster barring injuries.  They were to battle for the last spot in the ‘pen, with Miller still having options remaining.  Don’t forget they still have guys like Tom Mastny, Edward Mujica, and lefties Tony Sipp and Juan Lara competing for job as well, although they all will likely start the year in Buffalo. 

 

Shapiro’s theory on rebuilding the relief corps was to bring in several veterans with histories of past success and hope that two or three would come through for the Tribe.  Those guys together with the holdovers would lengthen the bullpen, giving Eric Wedge more options in the late innings.  Foulke can be put in the category of a veteran who didn’t come through.  Obviously, Foulke tipped off the front office of his intentions, since the Indians signed former White Sox’ reliever Cliff Pollitte to a minor league deal earlier this week.  Pollitte was a mainstay for the Sox World Champions in 2005, but had some shoulder problems which contributed to a horrible year last season.  He’s just another arm to add to the mix.

 

Of course, Foulke’s retirement also frees up $5 million for Shapiro to spend.  There aren’t really any free agent relievers worth anything still out there, but he may be able to deal an extra outfielder such as Franklin Gutierrez and pick up a pitcher making a little money whose team wants to get out from under his contract.  Something of this nature may occur toward the end of spring training. 

 

The news of Foulke’s retirement is disappointing, but hardly devastating.  It’s a blip on the radar compared to the Browns losing LeCharles Bentley on the first day of training camp.  The pieces and parts of repairing the bullpen were already in place before the Indians signed Foulke.  He was kind of the cherry on top of the sundae.  If the cherry isn’t there, you don’t throw the ice cream away.  We now know that Joe Borowski will be the closer.  This was fine with everyone before Foulke signed, and it’s okay today. 

 

KM

 

With Marty Schottenheimer’s dismissal from the San Diego Chargers announced on Monday night, immediately Browns’ fans started clamoring for his return.  There is no doubt that the man who has won 200 games as an NFL head coach has been very successful, in the regular season.  However, should Randy Lerner and Phil Savage consider him to replace Romeo Crennel if they decide to go in that direction? 

 

Since the Browns return to the NFL in 1999, they have been a mediocre franchise.  The best record the team has recorded was a 9-7 mark in 2002.  Schottenheimer’s regular season record provides promise that the brown and orange could become a respectable franchise and get back to the playoffs again.  I can see that argument.  Certainly, a 9-7 mark would be a joy compared to the horrible record compiled by the team the past few years.

 

However, it isn’t a long term solution.  Why?  Schottenheimer’s age for one reason.  The former Charger boss will be 64 years old in 2007.  Which means he would be 65 if he would return to the Browns for the 2008 season.  Marty is a players’ coach and can easily connect with the players of today.  That’s not the problem.  The question is how long would he want to coach the Browns.  Having him here for two years isn’t the answer.  That would just mean starting over again in 2010.

 

The other problem is the talent.  Even if Schottenheimer is some sort of wizard, what can he do with the talent on hand.  He might be able to elevate the Browns to an 8-8 or 9-7 record.  If that’s what you want, so be it.  The Browns have been so terrible lately that the team’s fans are willing to settle for a decent team, rather than having the goal be a Super Bowl team.  The biggest problem with the Browns is they don’t have enough players in the above average category at this point.  Until that happens, bringing in Vince Lombardi wouldn’t make the squad a championship contender.

 

There is no question that Marty Schottenheimer can coach.  However, bringing him in just puts some make up over the real problems this team has.  Until more talent is brought in, it will not make that much of a difference.  I’m also guessing that Marty will be looking for a team that can get him to his first Super Bowl, and sooner rather than later.  The Cleveland Browns don’t fit that criteria.  If Crennel is replaced, I’d be looking in another direction. 

 

JD

 

 

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on a winning streak.  After last Sunday’s disappointing loss to the Pistons, the wine and gold have rebounded to defeat the Clippers, Heat, and Lakers at home this past week to raise their record to 30-21, and now have the second best mark in the Eastern Conference.  However, now they hit the road for three straight (interrupted by the All Star break) against quality teams:  the Jazz, Lakers, and the suddenly potent Raptors.  Have they turned things around?  We’ll find out after the next three contests.

 

The Cavs won these three games due to their defense.  All three opponents were held to 90 or less points, and that makes it very easy to win games.  It appears that Coach Mike Brown eased concerns by LeBron James and Larry Hughes by telling them it would be counter-productive to change the offensive philosophy during the season.  Brown probably told the team if they are going to go anywhere this season, it will have to be with an emphasis on the defensive end.  After three games, it looks like the Cavs are bought in.

 

Brown has changed the playing rotation a little bit, shelving for the most part Damon Jones’ one dimensional game and giving more time to the more versatile Sasha Pavlovic.  Pavlovic’s defense has always come under question, but the guy he’s replacing isn’t exactly making all defensive teams.  Sasha can make the outside shot and he can take the ball to the basket which makes him more difficult to defend.  Despite being the "world’s greatest shooter", the opposition knows where he will be on offense, camped behind the three point arc.

 

Jones’ three point shooting has been replaced by rookie Daniel Gibson, who offensively is his clone.  The people’s choice was the team’s point guard, he continues to have problems distributing the ball.  Another no assist game yesterday makes three of the last four in which he has not assisted on a basket, and he now has five dimes in his seven starts.  There is no doubt that at this point in his NBA career, Gibson is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body.  No one is saying he has to be Jason Kidd, but he should be able to get his teammates involved more often.

 

Meanwhile, Eric Snow has benefited from decreased playing time, which was to be expected.  Snow has dished out 31 assists in those seven games, despite defenses playing off of him.  His defense has remained good against the bigger point guards, and his minutes are down to 15 to 20 per night. 

 

The defensive posture also coincides with a decrease in Donyell Marshall’s playing time.  The veteran has played just 13 minutes per game in this "defensive oriented" streak.  Marshall has problems handling power forwards on the defensive end, and if the team is putting its eggs in that basket, Marshall could continue to have problems getting meaningful playing time. 

 

Whether this emphasis works on the road will be known after this trip.  After these three games, the Cavaliers will also have played as many home games as road games, a true measure of where the team is.  Danny Ferry will be looking closely at these games too.  The trading deadline is coming is less than two weeks.  Ferry needs to have a good feel for where this team is.

 

JK

 

This is not a political statement.  When the Indians signed outfielder Trot Nixon recently, GM Mark Shapiro dicussed how Nixon would fit nicely in the line up in the #2 spot in the batting order.  Looking at how the potential order would shake out, it doesn’t make sense to hit the former Boston player after Grady Sizemore.  It would appear to make the batting order very left handed at the top and very right handed at the bottom.  Here would be the line up against right handers if Nixon hits #2–

 

Sizemore               CF

Nixon                     RF

Martinez                 C

Hafner                   DH

Blake                     1B

Dellucci                  LF

Peralta                   SS

Marte                     3B

Barfield                  2B

 

Although Martinez is a switch hitter, it sets up the first four hitters being lefties, and it also forces Casey Blake to hit fifth which means Travis Hafner won’t get anything to hit.  That can be remedied by hitting Pronk third and Martinez fourth, but does having Blake hitting fifth really a sign of a great offensive team?  Plus, this set up means the last three hitters in the order bat right handed, meaning the opposition can easily use situational relievers to get the bottom of the order retired.  Let’s look at an alternative–

 

Sizemore             CF

Barfield                2B

Hafner                 DH

Martinez                C

Dellucci                LF

Blake                   1B

Nixon                   RF

Peralta                 SS

Marte                   3B

 

This lineup is more balanced in terms of left handed and right handed hitters.  Moving Barfield into the two hole gives the team good speed at the top of the order, and with Sizemore a terror against righties and the former Padre hammering lefties, no matter who is pitching, someone is lethal among the first two hitters.  The only question is Dellucci in the five hole, but he can be switched with Nixon depending on who is swinging the bat better.  It also does not allow opposing managers to bring in situational guys for more than one hitter.  This lineup makes more sense than the urge to put Nixon and his high on base percentage following Sizemore.

 

The lineup could be stronger with Ryan Garko at 1B instead of Blake.  I don’t think Blake is going to suddenly be a 100 RBI guy, but Garko has the potential to do just that.  Now, I realize that Karim Garcia knocked in 50 runs in a half season with the Tribe, so the potential for Garko being a flop is there.  However, we know what Blake can do.  If defense is a major concern, start Garko and remove him after six innings if the Tribe has the lead. 

 

It will be interesting to see if Nixon remains in the #2 spot when the season begins.  The best news is that the crack of the bat and the pop of the ball into a glove starts a week from today.  Spring is on the horizon, in spite of the cold weather northeast Ohio has suffered through lately.

 

MW

 

 

 

 

The NFL mock drafts are starting to come out and the so called draftniks are starting to assign college players to NFL teams as if they were the general managers and/or player personnel directors for each of the pro teams.  Here’s hoping none of these guys ever work for the Browns.  Most have the brown and orange picking either a quarterback or wide receiver with the first pick in this year’s "selection meeting".  If that happens, I may drive my car into the Browns’ headquarters in Berea.

 

The biggest hype in the draft is going to LSU QB JaMarcus Russell, who is big, strong, and has a powerful arm.  However, his performance against good teams (no, Notre Dame doesn’t qualify) has been spotty.  The Sporting News says he is overrated.  Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn is another mentionned as a possible pick for the Browns, especially since he wants to play here, which makes all the insecure fans in Cleveland happy.  I would stay away from both players.

 

When you are picking 3rd or 4th in the draft, you MUST pick someone who is going to be a Pro Bowl player.  I’m not convinced that either one of these players is going to be that type of player.  There is too much risk associated with both players.  Quinn might be a product of Charlie Weis’ offense scheme, could he be effective in another system?  Russell has had one excellent season.  So did Akili Smith, remember him?  Plus, taking a quarterback means you are picking a player who either will not contribute this year or will play, but will go through all the negatives that go with gaining experience.  After a 4-12 season, fans cannot be expected to go through another season where winning isn’t the goal.

 

Another player mentionned as a possible pick is Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson.  Johnson may very well be the best player in the draft, but he isn’t the correct pick for Cleveland.  The team has spent two of the last three years drafting receivers, albeit one of them being a tight end.  It’s time to stop taking the dessert, and pick the meat and potatoes of football.  As good as Johnson may be, he will only handle the ball at the most 100 times a season.  And he’s dependent on someone getting the ball to him. 

 

Although I wouldn’t be unhappy if the Browns took an offensive lineman, I would take Adrian Peterson, the running back from Oklahoma.  Peterson is a better bet to be a star than either of the quarterbacks.  Yes, he has had some bumps and bruises, but he would touch the ball at least 20 times per game.  Couple that with getting an offensive lineman in free agency, and suddenly you might have an effective ground game.  This means throwing the ball when you want to, not because you have to.  It would take pressure off the linemen in pass protection, and would take some of whoever the quarterback would be as well.

 

If either Russell or Quinn is still available when the Browns’ turn comes up, I would be contacting every team who picks from 5-10 in the first round to see if I can extract another pick to move down in the draft.  Maybe you can find another Butch Davis, who will give you a 2nd round pick to move up one or two slots.  That would be a smarter move than draft one of these signal callers. 

 

The Cleveland Browns have many needs, quarterback among them.  I’m not sure that the position is their biggest need.  Help in the running game, and on the offensive and defensive lines are much more critical, and filling those needs will help improve the team’s record quicker.  Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel need to see some progress in the won-lost record too.  Drafting a quarterback or a wide receiver won’t help them in that area.

 

JD

 

 

 

Remember the old television shows, "In Search Of" with Leonard Nimoy, or "Unsolved Mysteries" with Robert Stack?  A current version of these shows would be looking for the concept of the offense for the Cleveland Cavaliers.  If you watch this team on a game by game basis, and can tell me what they are trying to do with the ball, you might also be able to tell me why Michael Irvin works for ESPN, and how he gets into the Hall of Fame over Art Monk.

 

There is no plan, no object for this team when they have the ball.  The floor spacing is poor, there is too much emphasis on the three point shot and too much pounding the ball on the floor.  In short, there is no ball movement when the Cavs are in a half court set, and they do not take advantage of the abilities of the players they have.  You can blame this on the lack of a good point guard if you want, but with the offensive concept being this bad, Bob Cousy or Magic Johnson could not succeed in this system.

 

The Cavaliers have some talent on offense, but they don’t make use of it.  Of course, LeBron James is one of the best players on the planet.  He can create, post up, can shoot relatively well, and can finish.  What is he doing?  Setting up the play.  He gets the ball too early in the possession which allows teams to double team him and make him give up the ball.  The offense should be designed for him to get the ball in an area where he can go to the basket and score or make one pass to someone else who can score.  Too often, James is standing 20 feet from the hoop pounding the ball on the floor.  That’s a gross misuse of his talent.

 

They also have a center with a very deft shooting touch.  Zydrunas Ilgauskas will never be Bill Russell on defense, nor will he be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on offense.  However, he can make an open shot from 15 feet and in, but he doesn’t get that opportunity often.  He looks terrible because the offense doesn’t play to his strengths.  Larry Hughes is slasher and can run the floor.  He displayed last year that we was an excellent mid range jump shooter.  This year, most of his jump shot opportunities are from behind the arc. 

 

Drew Gooden isn’t a bad shooter, and does a nice job with jump hooks from in close.  They have good three point shooters in Damon Jones and Daniel Gibson, but they don’t have a drive and dish game to set those guys up for open looks.  They shoot threes while the ball in being passed around the perimeter.  There’s no inside out plan to the offense. 

 

The most disgusting thing about the offensive philosophy is that the organization knew it was a weakness after last season’s playoffs.  Yet, nothing was done to fix it.  Brown did change his scheme early in the year, but then realized he completely eliminated Ilgauskas as an offensive threat.  It has to be addressed, and the sooner the better.  The philosophy works against poor defensive teams like the Warriors or the Bobcats, but it crumbles when facing a good team like the Pistons.  That’s when coaching needs to kick in.

 

There must be a better plan on offense the rest of the season.  Brown keeps talking about defense, and there is no question that defense wins championships.  However, you have to be able to put the ball in the basket as well, and be able to do it when the three point shot isn’t falling.  There has to be a new philosophy with the ball, otherwise Mike Brown is going to wind up being a defensive specialist as an assistant coach.

 

MW