well, obviously last night was just about as good a game as the cavs had had all year, really. LBJ was at his multi-talented best and at least for one game, should shut up the doubters who do not think he should be the primary ballhandler (to that point, wade is the primary ballhandler for the heat yet i rarely read in the national press any criticism of him for that. certainly not anywhere near the same amount as LBJ gets. of course, wade cannot lead his team to an above .500 record either and seemingly suffers nary a bit for it in the eyes of the nba media. curious, no?) for the team.
in fact, last night was manna from heaven for those of us who have dreamed of a team with 3 guys like LBJ, sasha and hughes all playing interchangeable roles and displaying their many skills all at the same time. it was truly wonderful to see. last night showed the potential of the versatility of this roster.
so, to my "rubik's cube" analogy. the point is that i believe that gibson and sasha have allowed the cavs to "figure out" the puzzle that has been their rotation for all of this year and even goin' back to last year. the effect is really quite amazing. the fact that gibson can shoot and help push the tempo has changed everything, really. and does anyone, even the most staunchest of snow defenders, not agree that he is playing his best basketball of the season OFF THE BENCH? he gives that second unit a bit of stablilty and then sasha gives you "LBJ lite" off the bench as well! it so that now instead of hoping that we maintain a lead when the startes go out, we are actually extending that lead.
as for those defensive-minded fans amongst us, well you must be giddy as you watched hughes, sasha and LBJ ALL guard wade at some point during last night's game and all do a pretty damn good job. esp. sasha and LBJ.
last night could be the turning point we've been waiting for. the effect of sasha and gibson has been like that of a trade. it really has. and the best part to me is that LBJ is 22, gibson is 20, sahsa is 23, andy is 24, drew is what? 25? shannon brown is 22...even hughes is still in his 20's! this team can really be special esp. as the pistons and heat will implode next year. the cavs can be the dominant eastern conference team in the next year and half if last night is anything to go by. for once, it seems like the cavs have figured out what the future of basketball is and it is having versatile, multi-talented players on the floor at the same time doing multiple things.
oh, i am also for benching Z for andy. after seeing how the benching of snow has lit a fire under him, i think Z is the next candidate for this "treatment." his play last night was just short of embarrassing. he did absolutely nothing on offense and his D was almost as bad. his only saving grace is that he did rebound the ball reasonably well. my friend remarked again how Z seems to play with no passion at all. i concur and even wonder if benching him would have any effect on him! but i shouldn't complain too much after that game last night. so, bring on kobe and phil...
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3 comments:
I'm all for going into next season with Sasha and Brown as the Cavs 2 guard rotation.
As for Z, ya he had a bad Miami game, but he had a good LA Clipper game. Personally, I see no reason to bench the guy.
Z is up and down which is disappointing considering how long he's been in the league. He can be valuable at the front of the rim when he's active, but he can be a real millstone too.
I think he would be best on a good team's bench. I'm not sure he'd accept that role in Cleveland without pouting.
Personally, I'd trade him for a similarly overpaid big man who's happy to play defense and rebound in a limited number of minutes. Adonal Foyle comes to mind.
Don Nelson loves "exotics" and would find a good role for Z (he did for Shawn Bradley). At the same time, the Cavs could start using Gooden's offensive abilities more and improve their interior D.
larry, i don't disagree with your points at all, though i'm not quite as high on foyle as you. but i agree that Z is, unlike hughes, tradeable at this point and i even think you could probably sucker the knicks in to giving us frye and one of their 8 point guards for him!
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