Imagine you are a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Your star teammate dissed you and the rest of the guys wearing the wine and gold by saying he had a better chance to win with another team.
The media is telling everyone who will listen that the team, as it stands now, isn’t good enough to make the playoffs, and will likely finish under .500 this season. They are comparing you to the guys who play in rec leagues throughout the country, saying that LeBron James and four bums won 127 regular season games the past two seasons.
You know you’re better than that. You know that you and the rest of the guys contributed a great deal to the success of the team the past couple of years. You know you can do more, and you played a lesser role than you are capable, deferring to the guy who used to wear #23 for the Cavs.
You are Antawn Jamison. You are now 34 years old, but you’ve averaged 19.8 points and 8 rebounds per game in your NBA career, and haven’t scored less than 18.7 points per night since your one and only season in Dallas, when you came off the bench to get 14.8 points a game.
However, you scored just 15.8 per night after being acquired by Cleveland last season. Yes, you shot a higher percentage (48.5% compared to your career 45.6%), but the Cavs never really incorporated you into the offense last season.
You are Mo Williams. You are 28 years old and in the prime of your career. You aren’t a true point guard, but you tried to play that role with the Cavaliers. You scored 17.3 per night your last two years in Milwaukee, but scored 15.8 a night last season. Also, your shooting percentage dropped from 48% in 2007-08 with the Bucks to 44% last season.
With the Bucks, you went to the basket more often while the past two seasons; you have been more of a spot up three-point shooter. Your assists dropped by one a game as well.
You are Anthony Parker and you celebrated your 35th birthday in June. You averaged 7.3 points per night last season, your lowest average in four seasons. The points weren’t the only statistic down for you, so were your assists, rebounds, and free throw attempts.
You probably would be a solid player off the bench, considering your age, but last season you spent much of your time on the floor standing in the corner waiting for passes from a penetrating teammate. You know you can do other things to contribute.
You are 22 year old J.J. Hickson, and you are continuing to work on your shooting, so you can be more than a guy who gets dunks as a result of James’ passes. You should be a senior at NC State this season, so you have plenty of room for growth. You scored 8.5 points and grabbed five rebounds per game even though you averaged just 20 minutes per night.
You are Anderson Varajao, a veteran of six years in the NBA, and one of the league’s best defenders at power forward. You scored 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season in just under 30 minutes per night.
You are Jamario Moon, now 30 years old, and a solid defender in the league. You are another player whose offense took a hit playing with the Cavs. After scoring 8.5 points in your rookie year and 7.2 the year after, you scored just 4.9 with Cleveland. Your rebounds and assists were down as well, as the coach didn’t seem to trust you, as your minutes were down about eight minutes from previous years.
These guys have pride and they have been on winning teams. They won’t accept defeat easily, and they know how to make plays.
The other thing is for all of the talk about superstars making their teammates better, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Some of these guys put their personal stats on hold the past year or so. They will need to re-assert themselves for the Cavaliers this season.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 