Sasha Learns From Tough Game

[Karma]

Pavlovic learns from tough game

Shooting guard recovers with nine points in start
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter

SALT LAKE CITY -

His super high-profile teammate deflected all the late-game blame, but Sasha Pavlovic had one of the roughest nights of his career last week.

Playing on national television, which also means it was available in his native Europe, Pavlovic's miscues in the closing seconds of the Cavaliers' close loss to the Denver Nuggets were harsh and magnified. He missed two free throws that could have tied the game with 11 seconds to go, and then, when LeBron James stunned the audience by passing to him again, he turned the ball over trying to make another play.

As the glare turned to James, the question arose how he could put the game in the hands of the unproven and rather unknown Serbian. Meanwhile that unproven Serbian might have questioned his own worth.

He didn't.

With the Cavs searching for something, anything, at the shooting guard spot after the injury to Larry Hughes, Pavlovic has come up with several strong performances that likely will earn him more time.

After scoring nine points in his first start of the season in Saturday's win over the Utah Jazz, Pavlovic is going to get more chances.

``What happened in Denver was good for me, I think,'' said Pavlovic, now in his third NBA season. ``It will make me better. That is basketball and those things happen.''

"Look at that crowd! If you had floppy hair, they'd love you" Coach Brown explains to Pavlovic.

Pavlovic has averaged eight points on 46 percent shooting in the past three games. Not numbers that will inspire a massive All-Star write-in ballot campaign, but it has helped take the load off James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
His willingness to get to the basket and not settle for jump shots has been particularly refreshing.

Cavs coach Mike Brown has tried four different subs for Hughes -- Pavlovic, Luke Jackson, Ira Newble and Damon Jones -- and none have been difference-making or consistent.

Jackson had an 11-point game to start the West Coast trip against the Los Angeles Lakers and then fell off. Jones never shot well starting for Hughes, and Ira Newble has made one jump shot all season. So for now, it is Pavlovic.

``I'm searching there for someone to give us consistency,'' Brown said. ``I have to give Sasha a chance just like I gave a look to the other guys.''

Pavlovic started the season in the rotation, but quickly fell out due to defensive issues. Then he missed nearly six weeks with a badly sprained ankle.
His biggest chance to be a long-term answer is now.

``I've been waiting for my chance and it is now,'' Pavlovic said. ``I'm going to stay aggressive. That's how I'm going to get my minutes.''

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[Kypus]

His willingness to get to the basket and not settle for jump shots has been particularly refreshing.

Amen to that. Damon and Luke weren't taking it to the rack. Many of the times Newble took it in he bounced it off the back of the iron. Although Pavs can be indecisive with the ball, at least he can both finish strong and in traffic.

Pavlovic started the season in the rotation, but quickly fell out due to defensive issues.

In the Utah game, it looked like he's catching on to the 2.9-second defense. Hopefully Windhorst comments on this sometime since he watches the practices. He has both the speed and the ability to slip around screens to keep his man in front.

Pavlovic has averaged eight points on 46 percent shooting in the past three games.

Sasha isn't the greatest shooter, but he takes enough good looks to keep the defense honest. Defense is where he has to concentrate in order to keep in the rotation. A few starting SGs that can't shoot, like DeShawn Stevenson (4.6 FGM) and Trenton Hassell (3.6 FGM) , stay in their rotations with defensive hustle . You can average 4 FGMs without even shooting a jump shot, and Sasha's is better than either of theirs. It's all going to come down to defense for him.

 

[blackmagicGTI]

Sometimes Sasha seems lost but it is nice to see him driving.

If he could improve his ball handling he would be much better. A lot of his drives now end up getting swated but he is also not getting the contact fouls that LeBron and others get.

Definitely needs the game experience, good to see he's not too upset about the Denver game. He can only get better.

 

[cdt]

I don't blame hit at all for miscuing on the Denver game there at the end. He was watching the rim as was the other 3 Cavaliers the 5 Nuggets and the entire crowd and viewing audience. That pass even screwed up the camera men, no one thought he'd get it and when he did he tried to get a high % shot and lost it.

 

[thoughtful]

Sasha is only one year older than LeBron. He is two years younger than Luke Jackson. Sasha needs time to develop, and he will be a useful piece.

 

[G-MAN]

yeah but brown should have had his azz in some games before this. instead we are learning while losing. brown has not been a head coach before and has lacked the forsight to get youngsters time on the floor for long road trips and filling in for injury. it is not so much sasha's fault or luke's fault, it's brown's fault.

sasha should look better than luke he's got plenty of more gametime exp. than luke. sasha has put up more points but he's fouled out (or almost) twice in two games and has turnovers galore.

 

[Taiter]

yeah but brown should have had his azz in some games before this. instead we are learning while losing. brown has not been a head coach before and has lacked the forsight to get youngsters time on the floor for long road trips and filling in for injury. it is not so much sasha's fault or luke's fault, it's brown's fault.

Agree, playing what amounts to a playoff roster earlier in the year did us no favors. Hopefully Brown is learning and doesn't go back to a playoff roster once Hughes is back. I really don't think Luke got much of a chance. He played, what, 15 minutes in two consecutive games. The first game he played great, the second terrible. And that was about it for him. I am not saying that as a Luke "fan," but simply as someone who wants to see what we have with this guy before we give him away to another team. Until Luke gets over his tentativeness we are never going to see what we have in him, but that won't happen until he gets consistent minutes for a few weeks. It's hard for young players to develop when the coach has a trigger finger as itchy as Brown's.

I don't have a favorite in this Sasha/Luke thing, I just want the better player. However, it's no surprise that Sasha is playing better with his opportunity because he played in a lot of games last year, whereas Luke is basically a rookie.

 

[G-MAN]

sasha played in 71 games his rookie year with the jazz if i'm not mistaken. i will say i'm not a big fan of playing a guy in one half (without success) and not play him in the second. it's not good for the player. jackson has been shutout of games in the second half too many times.

we are not that good of a team that we have an 8 deep rotation and that's it. too many inexperianced players that need to be seen. once the injury bug came along we showed up with our pants down.

 

[Karma]

Line of subs for Hughes at No. 3 ​

On guard, Brown gives Pavlovic a second start

Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Burt Graeff
Plain Dealer Reporter

The line for auditions to replace injured Cavaliers shooting guard Larry Hughes begins at the fourth-floor practice court at The Q.

Conducting the auditions is first-year coach Mike Brown, and it's been anything but a slam dunk.

Hughes averaged 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and was a solid defender in the first 28 games before having surgery to repair a broken right finger.

The Cavaliers were 18-10 with Hughes starting next to Eric Snow in the backcourt.

They are 3-7 without Hughes.

"Replacing Larry has not been easy," Brown said.

No joke.

First to win the audition to replace Hughes was Damon Jones, who started seven games. Despite starting 66 times last season with the Miami Heat, Jones looked completely out of place as Hughes' successor.

In seven starts, Jones averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 assists and 1.4 rebounds while shooting a dreadful 24 percent (11-of-45) from the field - including 22 percent (8-of-37) from 3-point range.

Next up: Ira Newble.

Newble, noted for playing tough defense, obviously is not fully recovered from a sprained right foot that sidelined him for the first 21 games.

In two starts, he played 25 minutes - scoring three points, getting two rebounds and missing 6 of 7 shots from the field.

"It's now Sasha's turn," said Brown, referring to Sasha Pavlovic.

Pavlovic will make his second straight start tonight when the Cavaliers face the Indiana Pacers at The Q. In Saturday night's 108-90 victory over the Jazz, Pavlovic played a solid 37 minutes - nine points (4-of-9 shooting) and three rebounds.

Pavlovic, 22, is a 6-7, 210-pound native of Serbia-Montenegro who once scored 63 points in a high school game. He's athletic and can shoot from the perimeter, but has been dogged with a propensity to foul.

Pavlovic, a 2003 first-round pick of the Jazz, was picked up by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft and subsequently traded to the Cavaliers for a first-round pick. As a rookie with Utah in 2003-04, Pavlovic averaged 4.8 points in 76 games.

Cavaliers assistant coach Kenny Natt knows Pavlovic as well as anyone. Natt was an assistant with the Jazz during Pavlovic's rookie season and worked hours with him.

"The thing I really like about [Pavlovic] is that he's a really tough competitor," Natt said. "He has a killer instinct offensively and a tremendous amount of confidence. He's capable of getting shots, but needs more consistency in his shooting."

It's apparent that Natt and Pavlovic have a good relationship. "[Pavlovic] is a big clown," said Natt, smiling. "At times, I'd like him to be more serious, but what makes this relationship work is that we can laugh and joke about things."

Pavlovic's baptism into the NBA was a rousing one. In Utah's season-opener two years ago against Portland, he came off the bench to score 14 points in 21 minutes - hitting 6 of 8 shots from the field.

"It's a game I'll never forget," he said. "I got the opportunity to play and played well."

Once more, the opportunity is there. "This is a young kid," Natt said. "He will make mistakes, but it's great to see him get this chance."

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[Karma]

Could someone stamp official on Sasha Pavlovic as our starter till Hughes is 100% healthy. Shoots over 46% from the field, beyond 42% from 3 point land. The kid is an offensive threat with ever growing confidense.

 

[The George]

he has a great stroke when he is confident in his shot.....if hes not afraid to shoot it he will make it ....he looked money tonight as hit a really good stride with that jumper

 

[BlueFalcon189]

hey, how about pavs mixing it up with jermaine oneal? thats good stuff. i dont see jackson fighting with his team if it came down to it. trade jackson for a draft pick while he has some worth.

 

[Rimage]

Pavs wasn't fighting with anyone. He got between Gooden and Foster and for some reason Oneal went after him. I don't think we should measure worth on fighting anyways.

However, Jackson got his technical from Sasha playing him hard. Jackson was visually frustrated with Pavs and tried to get cheap fouls, but Pavs didn't do anything but play in this game. He kind of reminds me of a robot. No emotion. doesn't get too high or too low, just does what he can.

 

[Troy Wingate]

Rimage, I don't think he means it like that. It was great to see Sasha sticking up for his teammate. That shows some toughness. If he was a wimp, he would ran the other way.

 

[RuanuLaw]

He kind of reminds me of a robot. No emotion. doesn't get too high or too low, just does what he can.

I know. That kid scares me. He has that kinda cock-eyed thing going on with no emotion. Uh, scary combination! :shocked: