The Cavaliers have guaranteed themselves of a split on this brutal road trip by beating the Atlanta Hawks, 88-87 last night. Mike Brown took a huge risk by leaving LeBron James in for the entire second half with another tough game against Miami tonight, but it paid off. Had the wine and gold lost in Atlanta, they would have faced the prospect of taking on Dwayne Wade and the Heat with a non-rested LeBron.
The best thing about the end of last night’s game was The King didn’t settle for a jump shot to win the game, he went to the basket and drew the foul. When the Cavs went into the 1-4 set after getting the ball, I thought #23 would try to settle the game on a jumper, but he didn’t, he was aggressive and it paid off.
It also appears that help is on the way to replace the injured Ben Wallace. Joe Smith and Drew Gooden both had their contracts bought out by the Thunder and Kings, respectively, and it appears GM Danny Ferry will choose Smith, and may have him in uniform Wednesday night against Milwaukee.
Smith is the choice because he can be trusted more on the defensive end by Brown. Remember that Gooden rarely played in fourth quarters in his stint with the Cavs because of his problems with the defensive rotations. That, plus the fact that Gooden is wildly inconsistent, makes Smith the better pick up.
Losing Wallace is a big blow, particularly on the defensive end, but it is not as critical of a loss as the injuries to Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Delonte West. Anderson Varajao plays hard on the defensive end, and is a better offensive player. Getting Smith cuts the time of rookie J.J. Hickson, but when you are driving for a title, you have to go with the experience that Smith gives you.
As we saw when Smith was here last season, he is a dependable big man who can make the 10-15 foot jumper on a consistent basis. Shortly after the deal that brought Smith here at the deadline, we wrote that Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak were the big names in the trade, but Delonte West and Smith were the best players acquired. He is just a solid contributor, and he will definitely help the Cavs.
As an added bonus, he should have some life in his legs because he hasn’t been playing recently. His fresh legs will be a help to the wine and gold.
After a tough start to the trip in Houston, the Cavaliers did what they had to do. They beat a depleted San Antonio squad, and knocked off the Hawks to insure the split they needed. They were also patient in passing on a big guy who didn’t fit in in Mikki Moore, and should get the guy they really wanted in Joe Smith. All in all, it was a pretty successful trip no matter what happens tonight in Miami.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 