Quarterly Report

[Karma]

Quarterly report

Technology issues have plagued this blog -- well, that and Alan Tucker -- over the last week. I'm typing this report for the third time. Let's hope it takes and the host site figures stuff out.

Cavs reached the quarter pole over the last week and now they've won two straight. He's my look at what I've seen so far:

LeBron James -- Most impressive stat is he's shooting 50 percent from the field so far. When he was a rookie, he shot 41 percent and averaged 10 fewer points. His issue continues to be defense. He goes for steals about all else. He doesn't work to get in position on defense, which is why he's committed just 59 fouls in 915 minutes. Part of it is so much is asked of him and he plays too many minutes. Grade: A.

Larry Hughes -- I've been a supporter since day one. He does stuff that doesn't show up in the box score. Sometimes he takes jumpers when he should use his driving skills, but this has been a criticism since his Wizard days. His sore Achilles is holding him back a little, as does LeBron when the offense stops moving. But he's been a great addition. Grade: B.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas -- I'm not sure he knows where he belongs in the offense. Sometimes they feed him, something they forget about him. Sometimes he sells out on defense, sometimes he doesn't. He gets extra credit for playing through a lot of pain already. Grade: B.

Drew Gooden -- Nice guy, works hard, does what he's told, will have a long NBA career. I have to believe Mike Brown is already tired of him getting lost in defensive rotations, which happens a lot. Grade: B-.

Eric Snow -- Solid defender who doesn't turn the ball over. He won't like to read this, but at this point in his career he's probably a role player that should be coming off the bench because of his offensive issue. Grade: C+.

Damon Jones -- As I wrote in my Sunday column, he makes 3's and plays average defense. The Cavs knew this. What wasn't expected was his constant complaining about playing time and not starting. Grade: C+.

Donyell Marshall -- His strong rebounding has been a good plus. Sometimes he settles for 3's too much, but he's gotten much better at going to the basket. He's not a great defender because he doesn't have great lateral speed. But this was already know. Grade: B.

Alan Henderson -- Hendu isn't an All-Star, but no one said he was. He's a solid veteran big man, they're hard to find. Grade: B-.

Luke Jackson -- Didn't deliver when he had the chances earlier, hasn't delivered when he's gotten minimal chances lately. Outlook not good. Grade: D.

Sasha Pavlovic -- Injuries have slowed him, hasn't shown much when he's played. Grade: D.

Mike Wilks -- Quality NBA player, he's not great but he's solid. He should get more time against teams with quicker guards that Snow and Jones struggle with. Grade: C.

Zendon Hamilton -- Strange guy. Bonus points for being team cheerleader. Grade: C.

Ira Newble -- Hasn't played yet. Grade: Incomplete.

Anderson Varejao -- Hasn't played yet. If you ask me, he'll be back within a month. Grade: Incomplete.

Martynas Andriuskevicius -- Hasn't played yet. Not close if you ask me. Grade: Incomplete.

Mike Brown -- Sometimes he coaches like he's still an assistant. He conducts very long practices and preaches, sometimes I know the players tune him out. But he has a great philosophy and, more importantly, a strict fidelity to it. If the players eventually by into it, he'll be called a genius. If. Grade: B.

Windhorst Blog

 

[Maximus]

I would give Hughes and Brown C's.
Hughes I think can play much better, needs to be much more consistent. The other night was a great example....explodes in first half, almost nothing in the second. Great addition, but he can do more....especially when you consider he's the highest paid player on the team.
Mike Brown- I question a lot of his rotations, even the starting lineup. Playing Luke & Sasha literally for seconds sometimes leaves me scratching my head. His primary goal he said was to build a team that thinks defense first....he has failed to do that. It's his job is to get the players to buy into his system and that clearly hasn't happened. I expect significant improvement....he is a rookie.

Back to Hughes, check out 82games analysis....I was shocked to see some of the numbers for him. Check out the numbers when he is "OFF-COURT"....amazing.
http://www.82games.com/0506/0506CLE.HTM
http://www.82games.com/0506/05CLE4D.HTM

Drew's are pretty weak too-
http://www.82games.com/0506/05CLE9D.HTM

 

[G-MAN]

LeBron James -- i agree on most of it. if he would just play in between his man and the basket his d would be better and look better. the season is up and down and lebron's d has been up a down. he looks like he's trying harder these last two. Grade: A.

Larry Hughes -- he does alot on the floor. i like his drive and dish ability. the only thing that makes me crazy is the missed finishes. maybe he's getting less calls while playing with lebron. 20 games in he's been up and down but so has the team.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas -- z has battled and shown probably the most grit of anybody on the team. the cavs need to find z in his midrange game for the offense to go up a notch. they found him in the miami game. hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

Drew Gooden -- drew has done fine. everything that has been asked of him. just might not be the best fit for this team.

Eric Snow -- eric has done fine also. you can't have him guard the best player on the other team right off the bat but ends up with some of that responsibility late in the game. that doesn't show in the box score.

Damon Jones -- his is what he is. again has picked up the d the last couple and shooting better in rythem. i don't like the the fast break threes unless his feet are set. in my mind he plays shooting guard.

Donyell Marshall -- His strong rebounding has been a good plus. Sometimes he settles for 3's too much, but he's gotten much better at going to the basket.(good stuff karma). donyell looks older than 32. plays older (smart but the vert has disappeared).

Alan Henderson -- gets the foul calls that are expected from a fringe bench player but surprises me most the time he's on the floor. not made for alot of minutes.

Luke Jackson -- remember this is 20 games into his ROOKIE YEAR. let him be. if his shot starts falling we won't see that lack of foot speed. sit for a year then come back to play against the world's best. tough to do. remember 20 games in.

Sasha Pavlovic -- he hasn't played really anywhere he has been. he's just a young nice looking player. he could be like the good looking girl that you never talked to in high school. she's always better from far away.

Mike Wilks -- ehhh not a big fan. with the talent we have he shouldn't even touch the floor.

Zendon Hamilton -- i like him. good things happen when he's out there. energy guy that'll be in the league for years.

Ira Newble -- ira has looked like shit this year. he suits are awful. just joking ira.

Anderson Varejao -- Get the f back on the floor. we have missed him the most. just that little extra that we need to get over some of the lethargic play.

Martynas Andriuskevicius -- i say let him play. it can't be good for his brain to be chearleading. hopefully he has a good attitude and z's wife is cooking dinner for him. if feel sorry for the dude.

Mike Brown -- i think it took just too long for him to come up with a different group of plays on offense. i don't think it's a change of offense, just the sets that worked early got scouted and then they didn't work. being a defensive coach i don't think he put time in on that end because it isn't his nature.

defense wins but still you have to put the ball in the hole. we have offensive guys who get depressed shooting 33% and having to d up every play just to stay in the game. it only takes one guy not to play d and it ruins the effort of 4 others. maybe that is what larry told lebron.

 

[ootbttnlagitnbasf]

damon jones is my favorite hand grenade in a light bulb factory. you don't know when or where, but you know that it'll be interesting.

someone should tell the man that he has a multi year contract that pays him the same regardless of playing time or games started.

 

[Dirk Gently]

Interesting stats Maximus. What i notice was the team production by position. Our lowest performing group was pg's. No real surprise there, their PER rating is over 2 points lower than the next lowest group. What stood out was the opponents PG PER is the highest of any opponent position by 2 PER points. So they are not scoring or stopping. SF we are well ahead in all categories. C is better overall than our opponents. SG and PF are close to the opponents with a slight advantage overall to the opponents. The problem here is obviously the production from the PG position. Their overall PER is more than 6 points lower than any other positions overall PER rating.

http://www.82games.com/0506/0506CLE5.HTM

 

[Maximus]

I would give Hughes and Brown C's.
Hughes I think can play much better, needs to be much more consistent. The other night was a great example....explodes in first half, almost nothing in the second. Great addition, but he can do more....especially when you consider he's the highest paid player on the team.

Back to Hughes, check out 82games analysis....I was shocked to see some of the numbers for him. Check out the numbers when he is "OFF-COURT"....amazing.
http://www.82games.com/0506/0506CLE.HTM
http://www.82games.com/0506/05CLE4D.HTM

Drew's are pretty weak too-
http://www.82games.com/0506/05CLE9D.HTM

Windhorst addressed my point on Hughes' bizarre On-court/Off-court numbers....


Windhorst on the Cavaliers
Cavs haven't seen best of Hughes
His numbers are down from last season, but he's still trying to find his niche with his new team
By Brian Windhorst
Basketball games generate reams of mathematical statistics, yet they are often highly subjective.
Looking at Larry Hughes' complex numbers, for example, the computer suggests the Cavaliers would be better off if he were benched.
Hughes strangely has the worst plus/minus rating of all the players in the Cavs' rotation.
In fact, over a 48-minute average, the Cavs outscore the opposition by about 17 points when Hughes is on the bench.
When Hughes is on the floor, which is a majority of the time because he averages 37 minutes a night, the Cavs and their opponents are about even.
These numbers are the result of some anomalies, like Thursday night when Hughes sat out the fourth quarter when the Cavs outscored the Chicago Bulls by 16 points. But the numbers speak to the fact the Cavs still haven't seen the best of Hughes yet.
Hughes admits he's still adjusting and not playing near his best ball after signing that large $60 million deal in the offseason.
He's been bothered by a sore right Achilles tendon, which he's played through, and more recently by the health of his younger brother, who is in a hospital in St. Louis with heart problems.
His averages -- about 16 points, four rebounds and four assists on 39 percent shooting -- are all down from his career-highs a year ago.
His defense at times has been fierce and at times ineffective.
He's also sometimes forgotten in the offense, going handfuls of possessions without touching the ball as Zydrunas Ilgauskas and LeBron James dominate it.
Last season, Hughes thrived playing with two other offensive powers, Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, because they knew how to use him in the Princeton offense.
Then he really made an impact at the defensive end, leading the NBA in steals.
The Cavs run a very different offense, and coach Mike Brown discourages trying for steals if it means giving up position.
Hughes' attitude and defensive talent surely fit in with the need to get a running mate for James who can guard the other team's best wing to take pressure off him. But the Cavs are still trying to figure out how to use Hughes best, and he's still trying to figure where he fits in.

Dribbles
There hasn't been a trade made yet in the NBA, but word from several insiders is that most general managers are very active in talks. Ron Artest is holding things up. Once the Indiana Pacers make a decision it might trigger a series of other deals.
It seems the Cavs are likely to make a trade at some point, but General Manager Danny Ferry probably will wait until after he sees how strong Anderson Varejao returns from his serious shoulder injury.
The Cavs' most valuable and tradable asset is Drew Gooden, who averages nearly a double-double and has an expiring contract.
That's not to say the Cavs will trade Gooden, but with Donyell Marshall and Varejao aboard at power forward, it is questionable as to whether the Cavs want to commit huge dollars to Gooden or cash out before.
There's also no current room for Luke Jackson and Sasha Pavlovic and both former first-round picks would have some value in potential package deals.

 

[Wine and Gold]

I think Windhorst has a good feel for things ....he overstates Damon Jones defense when he says he plays sometimes ....it's not close to a 50/50 ratio ... His frustrations with Lebron's defense are excused by him playing too many minutes ....but, Lebron and team would find out that if in the minutes he was on the court he truly did execute his defensive assignments with as great a zeal on the defensive end as he does the offensive,.,we'd be a better team overall. His lapses become contagious with everyone else ....very fast. When he goes into a defensive slump, on whole, follows suit. Where as ...they are just the oposite on offense. When he gets hot ...they stand and start watching. It's an odd paradox that needs to be starightened out.

Z's play is the one guy's play that is truky dependant on the other 4's cohesiveness ...he's reliant on stong team play or his overall game suffers. If we can stay in this ystem for awhilke, with the same basic parts ....he'll gradually get better.

To a lesser degree I say that of Larry Hughes. He needs more time on the court with Marshall and Jones ...and this is the time to rest Lebron....then you'll see his drive of kick game play itself to fruition. Just my personal observation there...

Snow is the better overall player between Jones and Snow ...but, would like to see Hughes initiate the half court more often than not ...

Agree that when we play quick points, that it might be an idea to at least give Wilks a look, to see if he can handle that task better ....I;m sure he could do beter than Jones who doesn't really try ...

Anxious to see what Varejao's return brings to our overall game ....he could be a nice spark for the second half ...