Tag: washington wizards

Cavs’ Need to Stop Expirimenting

A little over a week ago, on November 20th, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost a home game to the Washington Wizards 98-91 to drop their record to 4-8.  After beating the Wizards on the road in the previous game, this was a tough pill to swallow.

Following the contest, Mike Brown told the media that only one player played hard the entire night, rookie G Matthew Dellavedova.  When the Cavs took the floor for the next game in New Orleans, the coach wanting to send a message to his team, started Dellavedova.

The wine and gold blew a 12 point lead late in the fourth quarter that night and they haven’t one a game since, getting blown out in their two road games (San Antonio and Boston) and dropping a home game to the Miami Heat.

In both the road games, the contest was basically over in the first quarter.  Could that be because Cleveland doesn’t start their best players?

It is time for the coaching staff to go back to basics and start the games with veteran players to keep them in the game right from the get go.

Mike Brown needs to settle on a regular rotation to settle down the mess that the Cavs are becoming.

Let’s start at center.  We get that the staff wants to start Andrew Bynum because he can get loose before the first and second halves, and there is no problem with that.  The big man isn’t killing the team with his play and he needs the time to get his game back.

At power forward, Tristan Thompson needs to play more.  The third year man from Texas is averaging 32 minutes per night, but in the last five games, all losses, he hasn’t played more than 26 per night, and has only scored in double figures once, and also only has one game with more than 10 rebounds.

He needs to play at least 30 minutes per night, and probably should get 33-35 minutes.

The small forward spot is a mess, but Earl Clark has to be shaking his head after last night.  On Wednesday vs. Miami, Clark shot 5 of 11 from the floor scoring 13 points.  Against Boston on Friday, he received 12 minutes.

Clark may have problems guarding small forwards, but he is a better shooter than Alonzo Gee.  If Cleveland has the lead, Brown can give more time to Gee, a good defender to protect the lead.

In the backcourt, most people thought the idea would be that Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Jarrett Jack would split the time.  We would start Irving and Jack, another veteran who can help the team get off to a good start, and use Waiters as the key offensive player on the second unit.

Irving should be out there for at least 36 minutes with Jack and Waiters splitting the other 60 at the guard spot.

The second unit should be Waiters and Gee, with Anderson Varejao backing up Thompson and Bynum.  Brown needs to also work Tyler Zeller and Anthony Bennett in the rotation, and he should let them know when they are going to get into each game and give them time.  As young players, they need that type of stability.

That is, of course until GM Chris Grant can deal Varejao to a contending team.  The Brazilian has had a fine career in Cleveland, but with Thompson, Zeller, and Bennett needing minutes, it is time to cash in on the asset.

Brown’s statement about playing hard has the Cavs spinning out of control.  It’s time to go back to basics and tonight’s game against the Bulls would be the perfect time to do it.

JK

 

Does Scott’s Style Work for Cavs?

It was a frustrating week for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

First, they play great for two and a half quarters against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, building a 27-point lead, but then blew all of it in a three-point loss that extending the Miami winning streak to 25 games.

Then on Friday night, the Cavs went to Houston and got completely blown out of the building, something that has happened far too many times this season.

That brought out the critics talking about the performance of Byron Scott as coach.

Scott provides a steady hand to a young group of players, but sometimes it appears his players are not listening to the message he is sending.  Far too often, the wine and gold appear like they have no idea what to do to attack or stop the opponents.

It reminds of the scene in “Bull Durham”, when Crash Davis tells a befuddled manager how to handle his team.  “They’re kids, scare ‘em”.

Sometimes it seems like Scott should take that same tact, and threaten these guys who don’t seem to put out a great effort every night, particularly against the lower tier teams in the NBA.

He did it in a recent game against the Washington Wizards; benching the starters four minutes into a game they were trailing 10-0 at that point.

However, you can’t do that every night.  It gets old, and the players don’t feel it’s genuine when you use that all the time.

One of Scott’s few veteran players, Shaun Livingston, has been vocal about his teammates seeming lack of urgency when it comes to doing things needed to win basketball games.

What can GM Chris Grant do?

There are NBA coaches who do display a great deal of fire and intensity on a nightly basis, but those guys don’t have a long shelf life with a team.  The coach who best fits that mold is Scott Skiles, who usually provides an initial spark when he takes over a team, but wears out his welcome after a year.

Byron Scott is not that kind of guy, and if you look at the coaches who have been on the job for a significant amount of time, you will find the kind of leaders who treat players like men, and pick their spots as to when they show the players who the boss is.

You would assume that Scott wants to take the persona that will keep him employed for a long time.

Unfortunately, the emotionless coach doesn’t play well with the fans, particularly if the team is losing.

You would hope that today’s players have respect for Scott because he played in the league, and was a good player for a long time on some great teams.  Still, it would be better if they played like they respected him.

Perhaps, the coach is taking his time and working with Grant to get the kind of players he wants going forward.  And when those players are in place, a consistent effort will be seen every night.

And behind the scenes, hopefully, Scott is stressing to Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, and Tyler Zeller the way to play basketball on the professional level.

It is maddening for the fans when the Cavs perform so schizophrenic;  it’s probably more frustrating for the head coach.

However, this is probably the last year Scott will get the benefit of the doubt from the fans, and perhaps more importantly, his owner.

JK