It is really hard to deal with, the fact that the Cavs season is actually OVER. For the last month I have lived each day to get home and watch each game, living and dying with each and every shot. When the rollar coaster ride came to an end(literally, I saw Game 7 from Cedar Point), the Cavs finished the year with 57 total wins and pushed the Pistons to the brink. After a few days to collect my thoughts I wanted to put a pretty little bow on the ‘05-’06 version of the Cavs before looking ahead to ‘06-’07. Here is my man-by-man look….
LeBron James - GRADE A- - This is probably the easiest grade I had to give. Instead of pointing out what LeBron did, let me ask you, “What didn’t he do?” It seemed every other night he was bcoming the “Youngest Player to do X in history”. It is an understatment to say just how special he is, and how incredible it is going to be to watch him become whatever it is he becomes over the next 10-15 years. LeBron nearly led the team in PPG, Rebounds and Assists, and after the injury to Larry Hughes, put the team on his back and led them to the 4th Seed. He became the youngest player ever to win the NBA All-Star MVP, and finsihed 2nd in League MVP voting to Steve Nash. I have a feeling next year that vote may turn out a little differently. A couple things to improve on to get an A+, however would be on-the-ball defense and FT shooting.
Larry Hughes - GRADE C - I am grading Larry specifically on the time he was on the floor, and have taken the injury into account. It was a tough year for Hughes, professional and personally. After signing the big contract in the off-season, his brother initially got sick soon after. Larry then hurt the finger during the pre-season and was nevere really right the whole year. He finally opted for the surgery Dec. 31, and after complications forced a 2nd operation, missed a total of 45 regular season games. Even after Hughes came back it was easy to see that the finger was not healed and was affecting his jumper. I was also slighlty disappointed with his Defense. A 1st Team NBA Defender last season Larry never seemed as quick and showed an inability to stay in front of players he was defending. I am going to write this season off for Larry and pass him with the expectation that he is going to come back strong next season and be the player we need to help LeBron.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas - GRADE C - Big Z was a Big Disappointment for me this season. I really expected Big things from him, and it just never happened. It isn’t that Z didn’t have a good season, but as the season wore on, and especially in the playoffs, it seemd that Z just may not fit on this team. I like Z and have respect and admiration for the way he has worked to get back to being healthy but I wonder how many miles those feet actually have left. On the court, Z is still slow to help, and by being late is often forced to foul putting the Cavs in a tough spot with very little depth on the front line. In two playoff series that I thought Z could be factor he disappeared, being outplayed by Brendan Haywood in the Wizards series and allowing much smaller players to get key rebounds against Detroit. There are still few quality centers in the league, so Z does have some worth, but I just don’t know if his future should be with the Cavs….
Drew Gooden - Grade B- - Drew is the ultimate Enigma. He can be a monster for a quarter, a half, a game, a week, and then just as fast disappear never to be heard of again. Drew’s strength is his offensive game and that affects his defense. If Gooden gets it started early on offense, he can be a monster on the glass and plays hard-nosed defense. If the shot isn’t falling early, Drew doesn’t play defense. It is this inconsistency that has the Cavs in a serious quandry heading into the off-season. At only 23, Drew is still a very young player. Is he going to grow into the monster or the ghost? IMHO, I would see if the Cavs could sign him to a shorter deal, one that benifits both parties. If Drew is the monster, he becomes a FA sooner and gets a bigger payday. If he disappears, the Cavs’ exposure is reduced.
Eric Snow - Grade C - A true Pro’s-Pro, E-Snow gives 100% every night. Now on the downside of his career, Snow still plays tough D but is a virtual no-show offensively. When he WAS able to add something on the offensive end, the Cavs were very successful, but it didn’t happen nearly enough. It also appears to me that Snow has slowed a bit, and is now a liability on the break. With cannonballs in LeBron and Larry, the PG had better be quick to keep up. There seemed to be numerous times on the break that Snow couldn’t push the ball quickly enough. He also struggled against pressure, taking 10+ seconds to get the Cavs into their sets putting pressure on the half-court offense. This forced the Cavs to go to LeBron James as the primary ball-handler in the 2nd half of games, reducing his effectiveness and size mis-match. I like Eric as a 15-20 minute per night guy off the bench, but his time as a starter in this league has come and gone.
Donyell Marshall - GRADE B- - Donyell was brought in to help stretch the defense and create operating room for LeBron and Larry. ‘Yell pressed early in the season and forgot what had been successful for him early in his career. Towards the end of the season, ‘Yell got back to hittin’ the glass and taking the ball to the basket to open up the outside shot. Like many shooter, ‘Yell needs to get into a rhythem and standing and waiting for the ball makes it difficult. The Cavs need to do a better job next year of calling plays for Marshall and Damon Jones, cutting them off screens to get them in the flow of the game. I think a 2nd year in the system and for Marshall with LeBron will see a big improvement. Marshall’s ability and desire to rebound and play somoe D makes him a valuable contributer.
Damon Jones - GRADE C- - Too much talk, not enogh walk for DJ. When Damon finally decided to keep his yap shut he actually improved his play and his shot started to fall. I think it has become obvious what his role will be on this team and the issue will be whether he chooses to accept it. If Jones can handle being the ”Instant Offense” guy, who may play 10 minutes one night, then 30 another, yet not play at all the next, like he did in the playoffs he can be valuable as well. Just like Donyell, the Cavs have to do a better job of getting Jones the ball in rhythem, instead of letting him stand in the corner for 22 seconds and expecting him to hit a shot. No Defense seperates DJ from Marshall.
Anderson Varajao - GRADE B - We saw glimpses last season of what the future may hold for AV. After hurting his shoulder while playing for his home country of Brazil I was concerned that he may lose a little of what made him a special player. When he came back and got back into the flow, however, AV played even better than I thought. Lightning in a bottle, all NBA teams would love to have a guy like Andy on their team. Gets the tough rebounds, play tenacious D, takes a charge, and doesn’t back down to anyone. In the playoffs, AV raised his game to ANOTHER level by being an offensive threat. Along with LeBron, they ran the High-Screen and High Pick countless times to perfection. Miami did plenty of it again last night with Shaq and DWade. The future is bright for AV, and his coming out party might be a wave good-bye to Drew Gooden.
Ronald ‘Flip’ Murray - GRADE B - Flip did a great job for the Cavs after coming over at the trade deadline. Check out this number….The Cavs were 21-9 with Murray in the starting lineup, including the Playoffs. Pretty impressive. He showed a knack for hitting the big shot and for providing some quick offense. I would love to see Flip back, but he wants to be a starter and will probably take the biggest offer to allow him to do that. IMHO he is best suited to come off the bench since non of his skills is top-notch and he will probably struggle long-term in the starting 5, especially if he ends up with a team that doesn’t have a creator like #23, which last time I checked no one does.
Rest of the Bench - GRADE D- - The biggest weakness of this team is its depth. The Cavs need to do a better job of targeting those “Veteran’s Minimum” guys that can come in in a pinch and get the job done. If you are going to compete with the Ben Wallace’s and Shaq’s of the League you had better have some big bodies to throw at them in a 7 game series. Ira Newble and Alan Henderson were useless to us for most of the season. Sasha Pavlovic needs to figure out that defense is going to be his way to the floor and Luke Jackson just needs to find a way to stay healthy for 2 minutes. The wildcard is Martynas Andriuskevicius. It will be interesting to see his development over the next could of seasons.
Mike Brown - GRADE B- - For a first year coach to win 50 games is pretty special. For a team to do it only 3 years after the team won only 17 games, and after addng 8 new players is almost incredible. There were definitely growing pains, and at times Brown looked a little over his head, but I think the Playoffs are going to be Brown’s time to shine. He outcoached both coaches he faced if you look at the body of work, and if Danny Ferry can add some pieces hat think ‘D’ first, we just may have something in Cleveland.
Those are my thoughts….Please comment and let me know what you think, agree or disagree….
