Greek holiday: Cavaliers breeze to exhibition win over Olympiacos, 111-94
By Brian Windhorst
October 12, 2009, 9:19PM
UPDATED: 11:08 p.m.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So far this preseason the Cavaliers have been giving off the impression that they are in their own world, focusing on their own issues and goals without even noticing the competition.
That was magnified on Monday night when they seemed to just sharpen their claws on some imported visitors from Greece. With LeBron James deciding to work on his passing skills and Shaquille O'Neal enjoying a matchup with a massive body, the Cavs trounced Olympiacos, 111-94.
It wasn't a masterpiece performance, which coach Mike Brown always seems to desire even this early, but it was a pretty complete dismantling. Down the line, the players who were able to suit up all seemed to get something accomplished.
O'Neal's meeting Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the 6-10, 310-pound center who long ago was nicknamed "Baby Shaq," was the most intriguing highlight of the night. The two giant men sized each other up and often crammed into the areas around the basket, each having their moments.
But as is usually the case, Big Shaq had more of them. He scored 12 points and had five rebounds in 21 minutes including two rim-shaking dunks. Those maneuvers, though, had nothing on his short but riveting flight late in the first half.
He and Schortsanitis got tangled up and O'Neal went sailing into the stands. First he side-stepped the first row of seats, then jumped over the second row, and finally landed not so softly on a thankfully empty chair in the third aisle. He popped back up as if he'd hit a trampoline even as the crowd gasped. So did some on the bench.
"I feel bad for the chair," James said.
"He should feel sorry for the chair," O'Neal said. "I just try to land safely, I try to look out for sharp objects."
"I saw him do it before on TV," Brown said. "At first I thought, 'Oh my gosh, he's going to get hurt.' But then I remembered he's Superman, so he was just flying."
Playing the huge O'Neal, Schortsanitis struggled and he did so with the officials, too. Unused to the way the game was called hurt Olympiacos, especially when it came to setting screens. Schortsanitis was called for three offensive fouls and scored just four points in 21 minutes.
"It was a great honor," said Schortsanitis, whose draft rights are owned by the Los Angeles Clippers and may come to the NBA someday. "I grew up watching Shaq, so it was great."
James, meanwhile, was operating the offense with Mo Williams and Delonte West missing. He piled up 12 points but more impressively had seven assists and two steals in 23 minutes.
Five other Cavs scored in double figures. Anderson Varejao was clearly at ease playing against a European team and he darted everywhere in scoring 13 points with eight rebounds. Anthony Parker continued his smooth and efficient play with 10 points and he's now shooting 71 percent (10-of-14) in the three preseason games.
Daniel Gibson, who started at point guard, had a good shooting night and finished with 15 points, four assists and three steals. Coby Karl (10 points) and J.J. Hickson (13 points) were strong off the bench.
In all, the Cavs got about anything they wanted on offense, shooting 55 percent, scoring 66 points in the paint and amassing 30 assists.
Olympiacos was led by former Hawk Josh Childress and his 16 points. Despite the loss, they seemed to enjoy the experience.
Several players got photos with O'Neal after the game. Guard Theo Papaloukas, who was the star in beating a James-led Team USA in the 2006 World Championships, waited 10 minutes in his uniform outside the Cavs locker room for James' autograph. O'Neal sent his signed jersey to guard Yotam Halperin.