The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a bit of a slow start, splitting their first six games. Their coach, Mike Brown, has a lot of new personnel to work with, and he is searching for combinations that work. That accounts for the .500 record thus far. There is no question this team will be a lot better in March and April than it is right now.
There is one combination that needs to be shelved right now, and that would be playing Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the same time. Having the two big men on the court at the same time makes the Cavs slow and unathletic, the two things that hurt the wine and gold in the playoffs against Orlando a year ago.
GM Danny Ferry set out to rectify this situation in the off-season signing Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. They would have the Cavaliers both offensively and defensively, Parker being a good catch and shoot guy, and Moon is a slasher, who can also stick the three. Defensively, both guys are long and athletic enough to the tall wing players who hurt Cleveland last season.
While Parker is starting, Moon has seen less than ten minutes of playing time per game over the last three contests. That is puzzling, particularly since Brown is always emphasizing defense.
There are times when playing the two centers together make sense, such as when they are playing a team like Boston with Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett. However, when you are playing a team like Chicago, with no true center, the move backfires. O’Neal and Ilgauskas simply aren’t athletic enough to be on the floor together covering guys like Joakim Noah.
Offensively, the Cavs need to establish O’Neal as early in the game as they can. Going to the big man right away will force the defense to double him, leaving open shooters. If they choose to guard Shaq straight up, then you keep feeding him because even at 37, there are very few men who can stop him near the basket.
And since O’Neal is an older player, why not play him 26-28 minutes a night, with Ilgauskas getting the rest. It just makes too much sense.
What the coach needs to do is get more time for Moon and another athletic player in J.J. Hickson. The Cavaliers are going to need those guys when the playoffs come around. Mike Brown is trying to see what works, but six games in, I can tell him that having two slow big guys on the floor at the same time isn’t working.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 