The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering a very tough stretch. It’s not the schedule, but the way the roster is currently set up. The wine and gold will be missing one of their five best players, probably until the All Star break, because of Anderson Varajao’s sprained ankle. How the team compensates for his absence will go a long way to determining the Cavs’ positioning for the playoffs.
Varajao is Cleveland’s best defender on the front line. He also provides energy and is a relentless rebounder. The Cavs really do not have another player to replace what the Brazilian mop top provides. Drew Gooden will get more minutes, but his performance goes up and down like an elevator. He simply cannot be counted on to play well. He is a pretty good offensive rebounder, but he is weak defensively, and makes poor decisions with the ball on offense.
The bigger question is who picks up the remaining minutes. I’m sure Mike Brown will increase Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ minutes as well, probably to about 33-34 per game. If Gooden plays about the same, without driving Brown nuts, that leaves 28 minutes a night at center/power forward. Donyell Marshall is ready to play, but he has become a spot up three-point shooter, who doesn’t contribute defensively, and won’t rebound like Varajao.
That brings us to the two kids, Dwayne Jones and Cedric Simmons. Both players are more like Varajao than Marshall in terms of style of play, so they might just be better fits. The problem is both have very little experience. Jones has played more and does work hard on the boards and on defense, but he is slight of build and seems to get pushed around inside. Simmons hasn’t played much here, but has a reputation as a shot blocker, and was a first round draft pick a year ago. The Cavs need one of these guys to step up in a big way.
Without someone to pick up the defense and rebounding Varajao supplies, the wine and gold could struggle in the fourth quarter. In the early part of the season, before Varajao ended his holdout, Gooden was playing much better. I’m going to guess he’s not going to snap out of his funk because Andy is hurt. And if he does, that signals a much larger problem for the former Jayhawk.
As far as the Jason Kidd rumors go, don’t count on Danny Ferry acquiring him in a deal. First, it would be very difficult for the Cavs to match Kidd’s enormous salary in a trade. The Nets would have to take Larry Hughes, and I don’t see that happening. Second, it is said that the Nets do not want to trade the future Hall of Famer within the Eastern Conference. I’m sure LeBron James would like Kidd in the wine and gold, and I would agree with LBJ’s assessment that the Cavs would win a title with Kidd running the point.
As great as having Kidd would be, it might just be more important to get another big man to provide rebounding and defense in Anderson Varajao’s absence. Mike Brown will have to find out quickly if he has the people to replace one of his best players for a few weeks, or home court advantage in the playoffs might just slide away.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 