Cavs Pass With Fans is Beginning to Wane

The Cleveland Cavaliers are becoming a frustrating basketball team.

After losing superstar LeBron James to his much-celebrated free agency, most of the hoops fans in this city have given them the space to rebuild.

The fact that James didn’t give any clue to the team that he was intending to leave, and that the Cavs management had no Plan B, the following season was a disaster that everyone expected.

The wine and gold went 19-63, and wound up with two picks in the top four of the NBA draft thanks to a trade with the Clippers for Mo Williams.

The following year, armed with the first overall pick in Kyrie Irving, who wound up being the NBA Rookie of the Year, the team improved to 21-45 in a lockout shortened season. This record projects to a 26-56 record for a full 82 game slate.

A seven game improvement is a good start toward the road to respectability.

However, this season has been a huge step backwards. The Cavs currently sit at 8-28 on the season, which projects to an 18-64 season, which puts them right back to where they were the after James went to Miami.

We want to trust Chris Grant and Byron Scott, but right now, it is difficult to do that when the young Cavaliers play so inconsistently. They seem to play to the level of their opponent, which is scary for such a young team.

These guys should be happy to be playing professional basketball and shouldn’t be taking nights off against anybody, especially when their record is so poor. The worst road teams in the NBA have wins on their resume against the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. That’s not a good sign.

While no one misses Antawn Jamison’s shot selection or poor defense, it is obvious that his veteran leadership is missed. With Anderson Varejao now out 6-8 weeks, there is no one on this roster who provides guidance for the youngsters. Luke Walton has been around the league for a long time, but doesn’t get enough minutes to be a leader to the young roster.

That has to fall on GM Chris Grant for not bringing in someone who can show these players how to act and play like a professional. That’s probably a big reason Scott and Grant brought in Shawn Livingston. He’s a veteran and has a good feel for the game.

Because they have so many young players, the Cavaliers have horrible shot selection. They hoist up a lot of ill-advised three point shots, and too often the ball in monopolized by one player, usually Irving.

That comes down to coaching. Scott and his staff need to remind players that they are usually that wide open for a reason, the defense wants them to shoot.

Also, there doesn’t seem to ever be any low post presence, even when Varejao was healthy. It is understandable that rookie Tyler Zeller isn’t strong enough at this point to not get pushed out of the post, but there is no law that says the center has to be the guy to post up.

Perhaps it is Alonzo Gee or perhaps Irving or Dion Waiters who can line up near the basket on offense. There has to be some option.

The fans are starting to get a little angry. After a nice increase in the win total last year, the wine and gold have taken a step backward. As long as progress was being made, there is optimism, but the way the Cavaliers have played this year has some people worried.

TIme for Cavs and Irving to Show Progress

It most certainly has been a disappointing year in sports in Cleveland. All three of our professional sports teams have pretty much stunk in 2012.

One bright spot fans on the north coast thought they had been watching the progress of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in Kyrie Irving and two other top four picks in second year forward Tristan Thompson and rookie Dion Waiters.

So far, the wine and gold have been a huge disappointment, starting the season at 5-22 and on pace for another season of less than 20 victories.

The biggest problem is not the physical ability to play the game, the Cavs have some talent. Look at the teams they have defeated this year.

The Lakers are struggling, but they have talent. The Clippers have one of the NBA’s best records at 19-6. Philadelphia made the playoffs last season. Atlanta currently has the third best record in the Eastern Conference.

All have lost to the Cavaliers, whose lone win over a bad team was an Opening Night win over the Wizards.

They also have close losses to Miami (16 -6), New York (18-6), and Memphis (16-6).

On the other hand, they’ve lost at home to teams like Toronto (8-19), Detroit (7-21), and Phoenix (10-15).

They seem to play to the level of their competition, which has to frustrate their coach, Byron Scott, to no end.

It is true that the Cavaliers are a young team, but it has to drive Scott crazy to see them play with teams like the Heat and Knicks on the road, and then get whipped at The Q by a team like Toronto.

They need to have that same drive and determination in games they can win, particularly at home, as they do against the big boys in the NBA.

Too often, it looks like they play with the attitude of we’re at home and since he can hang with the Heat, we’ll win tonight. They don’t have a professional attitude on a night-to-night basis.

They’ve lost 16 straight games within the Central Division!

Right now, the Cavaliers don’t have anything they can hang their collective hats on. They should, and it should be on the defensive end.

Cleveland has the worst defensive field goal percentage in the league, allowing opponents to make over 47% of their shots. Much of that problem stems from their best player, Irving, struggling at the defensive end.

There is no question that Irving is the team’s best player, now he needs to become a leader, even if he is just 20 years old. He needs to be the guy who takes Scott’s defensive mantra to the floor and show everyone else on the team that he buys in.

That’s the responsibility of being a great player instead of a very good player.

The young Cavaliers have to learn this is a business rather than a game and they need to win games at home against mediocre teams, which you can read as squads of their ilk.

When we see them beating the likes of the Bobcats, Hornets, Pistons, Bucks, etc. with regularity, then they will be turning the corner toward improvement.

The first step toward respectability and then the playoffs is winning the games you are supposed to win. The Cavs need to do just that and do it soon.

Cavs Tough to Evaluate

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit the quarter mark of the NBA season, and to be sure, everyone in the organization thought they would be better than 4-17 at this point.

Still, it is difficult to see exactly where the wine and gold are in their second rebuilding season following the departure of LeBron James.

It is only their second year because the franchise had no back up plan for James’ departure, which if you want to criticize the organization for that, it is understandable.

But the injuries to two key players, Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving and this year’s first round pick, Dion Waiters, make it difficult to judge whether or not any progress has been made.

They were supposed to be the centerpieces, along with Anderson Varejao, to any success and growth the Cavs would experience in 2012-13.

However, Irving has missed 11 games thus far and Waiters has missed the last four. Without two of their top scorers, it has been tough for Byron Scott’s team to score enough points to win.

In the off-season, we commented that the Cavalier roster was made up of a lot of good bench players, but unfortunately, for Cleveland these players have to start.

Players like Alonzo Gee and Tristan Thompson will carve out a long career in the NBA because they can be contributors, but they are miscast as starters, although it may be too early to say that about the latter.

With Irving and Waiters out, that means Scott is forced to start four players who should be playing 15-18 minutes per night off the bench.

That usually doesn’t translate into victories.

With both Irving and Waiters perhaps playing tomorrow night, the time to really start the evaluation process will start. If the Cavs hit the halfway point at the season at 8-33, then the questions about the direction of the team can start.

The injuries aren’t an excuse or reason for some evaluation though.

The biggest bright spot for the wine and gold has been the unbelievable play of Varejao, who leads the league in rebounding and is scoring almost 15 points per night.

It is time to stop saying the Brazilian big man is simply a hustle player and give him his due as a true basketball talent.

It’s not hustle that puts him in position for rebounds and easy lay ups off of the guard’s penetration, Varejao understands the game and has an instinct for it as well.

He’s a great player and deserves an all-star berth this year.

The disappointments have to be Thompson and his lack of progress and free agent swingman C. J. Miles.

Thompson will be haunted for a long time because he was the fourth selection in the 2011 draft, and he did average 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per night. However, he hasn’t taken a quantum leap forward in his second year, improving to just 8.9 points and 7.5 boards thus far.

GM Chris Grant hasn’t said it, but he has to be disappointed that whatever work the second year big from Texas put in this off-season hasn’t translated to more production.

Miles has done a little better as of late, but still missed six games due to Scott’s decision. He’s shooting just 34% from the floor and has taken just 11 free throws, least of any player who has logged 100 or more minutes with Cleveland this season. He was thought to be able to provide some points, but so far hasn’t been able to fill that need.

So, after the first quarter of the season, you would have to grade the Cavaliers with an incomplete. The injuries to its starting backcourt has made it tough to judge progress, and given them a built-in excuse after 20 games.

Irving’s Injury Might Help in a Weird Way

The Cleveland Cavaliers received word that they lost their best player, 2011-12 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving on Monday evening. Then they went out and broke a losing streak by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers.

The leading scorer in that game was Irving’s replacement, little known back up point guard Jeremy Pargo, who scored 28 points and dished out four assists.

While it is never good to lose a player of Irving caliber for a month, there could be some positives to come as a result of the point guard’s broken index finger.

Over the past few games he played, all but one being on the road, the former Duke Blue Devil was getting away from his playmaking duties.

In his first six games of the season, Irving averaged 6.5 assists per night. In the next four contests, he dished out just 4.3 dimes and in the lone home game during that stretch, vs. Dallas, he had none.

This is not to criticize the second year player, as he was doing what he could to try to win basketball games, but it does suggest perhaps his teammates had started to defer too much to Irving and also Anderson Varejao.

Now with Irving out, likely until around Christmas time, it is time for some other people to step it up.

For one, it should make Dion Waiters a better player. He’s one guy who will need to pick up the scoring load without Irving’s almost 23 points per night, and he will have the ball in his hands quite a bit.

He scored 16 points in the win on Wednesday (he did take 22 shots) and had six assists. With Irving out, it would be nice to see Waiters start attacking the basket more. He hasn’t been to the free throw line in the last two contests and only has one game thus far with more than four free throws.

If he starts going to the hole on a regular basis, he should be getting six to eight charity tosses per night. The Cavs’ offense will need that, and it will make Waiters a better player when Kyrie comes back.

Another player who needs to step up is C. J. Miles, who responded with his best game of the season Wednesday, scoring 13 points on five of nine shooting.

Up to that contest, Miles was dreadful to start the season. The game against Philly raised his shooting percentage to 26.7% on the year. Remember, this is a guy who averaged almost 13 points per night just two years ago. He’s a better player than he’s showed the fans of the wine and gold thus far, and with Irving out, he’s another player who will need to pick his game up.

Irving’s absence should also help decide who the back up point guard will be when he returns. And Pargo gave himself a leg up with his performance in his first start. Coach Byron Scott gave the job initially to Donald Sloan, but when he wasn’t passing or scoring well, the coach started easing in Pargo.

No one expects the latter to keep scoring 28 points a game, but if he can show he progress, it gives Scott a chance to give his best player rest in order to keep him fresh for the end of games.

Sometimes basketball teams need to learn they don’t have to be totally reliant on an all-star player, and it would be better for the team if everyone pulled their weight instead of waiting for the star to do it.

If the Cavaliers learn that collectively over the next few weeks, then Irving’s finger will help in the long run.

Cavs Take a Gamble in Draft

Apparently, Dan Gilbert’s new Horseshoe Casino has the entire Cavaliers’ organization in the gambling spirit, because GM Chris Grant did not take the safe route in the 2012 NBA Draft.

The safe pick would have been to take Thomas Robinson after the Cavs first choice, Bradley Beal was taken at #3 by Washington.

Robinson was the best player remaining on the board, and figured to be one of the three players left for the Cavaliers after Anthony Davis was made the first pick in the process by New Orleans.

The former Jayhawk wouldn’t have filled a need, since the Cavs have Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson, but you can never have enough big men.

Plus, Robinson was regarded by many scouts to be the safest pick in the draft.

However, Grant threw caution to the wind and went with the wing player the Cavaliers really need, guard Dion Waiters from Syracuse, who didn’t start for the Orange.

It’s not a huge reach because most mock drafts had Waiters going in the 7-10 range. But, there are plenty of questions about the new Cav’s game.

He’s a good shooter, strong, and can finish at the rim. He can create his own shot, something very few Cavaliers can do. A few people have compared his game to Dwyane Wade.

On the other hand, Waiters doesn’t seem to go to the basket that often, averaging only 2-1/2 free throws per game. He’s also just 6’4″, so will he be able to guard the #2 guards who have two to three inches on him.

Also, he played in Syracuse’s famed zone defense, so can he defend at the NBA level?

That’s a lot of questions for the fourth pick in a very, very deep draft.

Grant did make a solid move later in the evening, dealing the 24th choice in the first round and two second round picks to move up to #17, and taking the second best center this year, North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller.

Zeller is a legitimate 7 footer, and can run the floor, which should fit well with Kyrie Irving leading the fast break.

He’s also a good shooter, with range to around 18 feet and he’s good from the charity stripe as well, shooting 76% last year.

He does need to gain strength, though, like pretty much every collegiate big man. He will also have to learn to pass out of the double teams that will await him in the pro game.

All in all, it’s a pretty good gamble in the middle of the first round. Several mock drafts had the big man (The New Z?) going in the 10-12 range, so to get him at 17 is a good deal.

Cleveland also received G Kelenna Azubuike in the deal. He’s suffered through injuries the last two years, playing only 12 games combined. He did average 14.4 points per game for Golden State in 2008-09.

He tore his patella tendon in 2009, and had complications with the surgery to repair the injury. If he’s healed, he can be a rotation player for Byron Scott this season.

Another move worth the gamble.

Grant’s legacy is most definitely tied to the Waiters pick. If the guard develops into some version of Wade, he will be hailed as a supreme talent evaluator, if he doesn’t and Robinson turns into a solid pro, he will be vilified.

There have been reports that several scouts feel Grant made one helluva pick.

We’ll let what happens on the court make that decision.

Grant is hoping he hits blackjack at the Horseshoe.

Another Chance to Add Talent for Cavs

Now that the ping-pong balls have dropped and the conspiracy theorists have spoken, the Cleveland Cavaliers now have the fourth pick in this year’s NBA Draft, which coincidentally, they had last year.

Now we can start the speculation as to who the Cavaliers will take with the selection, as well as the other three picks they will have in the top 34 choices.

Here’s what they won’t do. They will not trade F Tristan Thompson to move up to the second pick in the draft. If you have watched NBA basketball over the years, you know the biggest leap a player takes is from his first year to the second season.

Players learn what the NBA is all about, how to condition their bodies for an 82 game schedule, and have a full summer to work on the things the coaching staff and front office want them to improve on.

It is probable that Thompson will come to training camp in October a much better player than he was at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. Think about how much he improved during his rookie year, particularly on the offensive end.

GM Chris Grant should look for someone who can put the ball in the basket, especially since the team lost second leading scorer Antawn Jamison after the season as his contract expired. Coach Byron Scott needs to make up for the 18 points per night Jamison contributed.

That’s why the choice should be between Florida G Bradley Beal, rated by most to be one of the top five players, or UConn guard Jeremy Lamb, a key contributor on the Huskies 2011 national championship team.

There is no question the top pick will be Kentucky C/F Anthony Davis and likely Kansas F Thomas Robinson will be picked in the top three, leaving them unavailable for the Cavs.

A couple of players we will hear plenty about are Connecticut C Andre Drummond, classified as a guy who could be Dwight Howard or Kwame Brown, and North Carolina F Harrison Barnes, who was hyped as a first team pre-season All-America choice before he played his first collegiate game.

Keep in mind, more mistakes are made in the NBA draft on big men than any other position. Yes, a good one is difficult to find, but Grant needs to get a guy who can play the game, not someone Scott will have to prod and cajole in order to get production, which may be the case with Drummond.

As for Barnes, it is difficult to think of any collegiate game that he was part of in which he was a dominant player.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist may be available at #4, but he’s more of a solid player, a guy who does a lot of things well. He has been compared to players like Gerald Wallace and Andre Iguodala, both very good players, but not scorers.

Beal may not be a great leaper or stunning athletically, but he’s a scorer. In watching Florida lose in the NCAA tournament to Louisville, you wondered why the Gators didn’t get the ball to Beal when they were struggling down the stretch.

Lamb is thin, but can shoot off the dribble, can handle the ball, and has a beautiful mid-range game, hitting 60% of his shots inside the three-point arc.

Either would be perfect fits for the Cavaliers and would team with rookie of the year Kyrie Irving to set up a very good backcourt for the future.

The Cavs still need size, but they still have three more picks (although they will likely trade one so they don’t bring four rookies into camp) to beef up the frontcourt.

Once again, Grant’s ability to judge talent will be the key to any progress made by the wine and gold, and also whether he will have an NBA GM position five years from now.

CSP Potpourri

As Cleveland celebrates the opening of the Horseshoe Casino this evening, we just want to express some thoughts on what is going on in the wide, wide world of sports.

LeBron Gets His Third
The former Cavalier received his third MVP in four years, and to be quite frank, we were a little surprised.

Why?

First, the NBA writers are known to have long memories, and they remember last season’s NBA Finals when the supposed most talented player in the game stayed away from the ball in clutch situation like it had “cooties”.

James’ stats were incredible, as usual, but most of the season he was criticized for staying away from game deciding shots in favor of Dwyane Wade, so how can he be the MVP of the league?

Don’t the best players step up for their teams when it matters?

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant or San Antonio’s Tony Parker would have been better picks for the award.

Browns Rookie Mini-Camp
If the Browns’ rookies played in a first year player Super Bowl, apparently they would win. They were that impressive this weekend.

Take it easy!

Look, it is good that QB Brandon Weeden showed a strong arm, RB Trent Richardson is a physical specimen, a “freak” according to Weeden, and WR Travis Benjamin is as fast as advertised.

However, they weren’t wearing pads! They weren’t playing real defense! No one was smacking Weeden as he dropped back to throw!

Nothing has changed since the day GM Tom Heckert drafted these players and signed others as undrafted free agents.

There should be optimism about the draft, it appears the Browns have improved the offense quite a bit. But until they start hitting and playing for real, the jury is still out.

Tribe Roster Moves
In addition to dropping three straight games to Boston after winning the series opener, the Indians also made a few roster moves.

One was required after Josh Tomlin had a sore wrist, and Zack McAllister filled in nicely, giving Manny Acta seven innings Saturday night in a 4-1 loss.

Another came after reliever Dan Wheeler imploded Sunday, giving up six runs in an inning of work. Wheeler joins Jamey Wright and Chad Durbin as failed experiments bringing in veterans relievers. Hopefully, the front office will stay away from these types of guys again.

The last move, sending Jason Donald back to Columbus, is a tad curious, if only because it makes Jack Hannahan the backup shortstop according to Acta.

Look, if Hannahan could play that position decently, he would play there because historically his bat hasn’t been up to par for the hot corner.

The Indians’ roster has been ill-conceived from the get go, and this latest move doesn’t help.

Kyrie Gets An Award
No one should be surprised by the news that Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving has been elected the NBA Rookie of the Year. In fact, the only mystery is will he be given the award unanimously.

It wasn’t all that long ago that fans were saying GM Chris Grant should take Derrick Williams with the first pick and then Brandon Knight with the fourth selection last June.

When you have the first pick, you have to take the best player. Kyrie Irving was clearly the best player in the 2011 draft, so Grant made the correct selection.

And the Cavs have a cornerstone for the future of the franchise. Remember, point guard and center are the two toughest spots to fill on a team.

MW/JD/KM/JK