The Cavaliers won an exciting game last night versus the Miami Heat, 92-91. The team struggled early as players seemed uncertain of their roles against the Heat. In particular, while Jermaine O'Neal and Dwyane Wade scored big early, Rafer Alston and Michael Beasley appeared to be giving the Cavs matchup problems.
Rather than giving up early, LeBron James realized that he needed to take over the game for Cleveland. However, while taking primary control over the ball-handling duties, he managed to keep everyone involved. This meant that James did not get too caught up in the showdown moment, as he did in Game 7 versus Paul Pierce and the Celtics in 2008. This also brought back memories of the Cavs team that advanced to the Finals in 2007, as Daniel Gibson shined once he had less pressure on him to run the offense.
A key to the Cavaliers winning this game occurred in the 4th quarter. Coach Mike Brown had the team run the offense through Shaquille O'Neal while James was resting on the bench. There was talk early in the season that Shaq could come off the bench for such a purpose. Regardless of being a starter or bench player, O'Neal provided a glimpse of what life would have been like had he remained with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles. That is, Shaq can get his time as the focal point of the offense when James (or had he stayed in L.A., Bryant) is out of the game. This is greatly beneficial to the Cavs, as they have been known to struggle to field a consistent offense without LeBron in the game.
The interesting thing is that Anderson Varejao really can co-exist with Shaq. The problems of having Varejao and O'Neal in at the same time come from the need to have James, O'Neal, and Mo Williams dominating the ball in the first team offense. With James and Williams out of the way, Varejao regains the freedom he has to wander all over the court, which makes him much harder to defend against. As Shaq draws double teams, Varejao (as well as Daniel Gibson) is able to move around and cut accordingly. The result is a more active offense rather than the stand around offense to which Cleveland too often reverts.
Overall, Mike Brown is showing more and more confidence in his team, in particular the bench players. While Brown has been able to help the team win when they do not have their best stuff, he is now keeping everyone on the roster ready to play. This will pay dividends in the postseason, as injuries can paralyze a team's rotation if backup players are not ready. The rotation should be bolstered once Leon Powe returns to action. If everything goes well there, Powe just may take the starting Power Forward position. While such a move would take J.J. Hickson out of the regular rotation, Hickson's valuable playing experience this season make him much more prepared to play when called upon down the stretch.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Quick Note: Imported Blog
I have decided to merge my blog called "The NBA Memo"--which had been serving as a supplemental blog--with this blog, which has been solely devoted to the Cleveland Cavaliers. As such, all 43 posts from "The NBA Memo" have been imported over. For future reference, posts will be labeled as "Cavs" articles or "NBA" articles.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Lakers, Spurs top teams of the '00s; Decade in Review
The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs were the 2 most successful NBA franchises from 1999-2000 through 2008-2009. The Spurs had more regular season success than any team, having a league best record of 576-244 (only team with .700+ regular season winning percentage) and making the playoffs all 10 years. While the Spurs won 3 Championships in 3 Finals appearances, the Lakers won 4 Championships in 6 Finals appearances.
San Antonio made their run with Gregg Popovich at the helm. To their credit, they kept the same general core group in place throughout, with the centerpiece being future hall of fame forward/center Tim Duncan. This included Duncan taking the torch from now hall of fame center David Robinson. Among the team's key acquisitions were international draft picks Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The result was a team that ranked no lower than #4 in the Western Conference playoff seedings since the Spurs' first Championship at the end of last decade. Also to Popovich's credit, he served as both the team's Head Coach and General Manager through 2002--when he handed the GM reins to R. C. Buford--and has links to a number of successful coaches during the decade--including Larry Brown, Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, Mike Brown, and Doc Rivers. (More can be said about the coaching network in the NBA, as the above coaches and other successful coaches last decade, such as Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Rick Carlisle, have links to each other or to the most successful teams last decade, including the Spurs, Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Detroit Pistons.)
On the other hand, the Lakers saw more changes to their franchise during the past 10 years. The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant captained Los Angeles to 3 consecutive Championships to open the decade. However, the two players had both superstar talent and superstar egos, meaning neither future hall of famer could accept being secondary to the other player. As such, their last games played together were during the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Lakers fell to the Detroit Pistons. Mitch Kupchak--who had replaced hall of famer Jerry West as the team's General Manager in 2002--opted to sign Bryant to a new contract and trade O'Neal to the Miami Heat following owner Jerry Buss's request that Phil Jackson leave the team following the loss in the Finals. Mitch Kupchak then hired Rudy Tomjanovich to take over as Head Coach, but after Tomjanovich resigned due to health concerns, Jackson eventually returned as Head Coach a year later. To Bryant's, Jackson's, and Kupchak's credit, Los Angeles returned to the Finals twice and won the last Championship to close out the decade. Despite the roster changes, Jackson still runs the triangle offense as taught by former Assistant Coach and now Consultant Tex Winter. Forward Lamar Odom--who was acquired in the Shaquille O'Neal trade--brought a skillset to the Lakers that was similar to Scottie Pippen, who helped Jackson and Michael Jordan win 6 Championships with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. This complemented the acquisition of Pau Gasol, who helped stabilize the post positions for L.A.
Overall, the Lakers, Mavericks, and Pistons all made the playoffs 9 out of 10 years, with the Lakers and Mavericks joining the Spurs as the only 3 teams to win 500+ games and lose fewer than 300 games last decade. While both the Lakers and Pistons led the league in Conference Finals appearances with 6, the Lakers won all 6 of their Western Conference Finals appearances and the Pistons won 2 of their 6 Eastern Conference Finals appearances. On the other hand, of the 11 franchises that advanced to the NBA Finals last decade, 2 teams (the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers) actually finished the decade with a sub .500 record. Granted, the Cavaliers had the 'pre-LeBron James' and 'LeBron James' eras last decade while the Nets saw much success with Jason Kidd as point guard for the bulk of the decade.
Regarding issues of parity, 29 of the 30 NBA franchises made the playoffs at least once, with 26 of the teams making at least 3 appearances. Only the Charlotte Bobcats, who joined the NBA in 2004-2005, did not qualify for the playoffs (though they may qualify in 2009-2010). The playoff situation makes sense, as, although a handful of franchises like the Lakers and Spurs dominated the league last decade, 16 teams make the playoffs each year, meaning that slightly more than 50% of the league makes the playoffs. The teams (other than the Bobcats) with the fewest playoff appearances over the past 10 seasons (Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors) all advanced past the 1st round. This included Golden State's historic upset of #1 seed Dallas in 2007.
While the Spurs dominated the decade alongside the Lakers, the Boston Celtics--who historically have been the Eastern Conference rivals of the Western Conference Lakers--found some success. At the beginning of the decade, Celtic legend Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals in 1999-2000 (where they lost to the Lakers). Then, the Celtics made some breakthrough trades, acquiring stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to complement captain Paul Pierce. The new "Big 3" (following after Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish) brought the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, where they defeated their rival Lakers and won a league-leading 17th franchise NBA Championship. At the close of the decade, the Lakers had won their 15th Championship, meaning that the 2 teams combined have won over half of the Championships in NBA history.
Aside from the dominant franchises, the 2003 NBA Draft was especially important for 4 other franchises looking to make their marks and win their first Championships. While the Cleveland Cavaliers landed LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets took Carmelo Anthony, the Toronto Raptors picked Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade. Along with former Lakers personnel center Shaquille O'Neal and Head Coach Pat Riley, Wade led the Heat to their first title. Under former Spurs personnel Head Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry, James led the Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance. Other picks during the decade, including Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, join James, Anthony, Bosh, and Wade as ambassadors for the league heading into the new decade.
Again, coaching remains critical to success in the NBA. Of the last 10 Coaches of the Year, 6 coached in the NBA Finals over the past decade. Larry Brown, who led the 76ers to the Finals in 2000-2001 and the Detroit Pistons to the Finals from 2003-2005 (including the 2003-2004 Championship), had already led the collegiate Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball team to the NCAA Championship in 1987-1988. He had also won 3 Coach of the Year Awards while coaching in the professional American Basketball Association, which merged with the NBA in 1976. Larry Brown is now trying to coach the Charlotte Bobcats to their first playoff berth in team history. Meanwhile, Hubie Brown, who was one of the Coaches of the Year last decade to not coach in the last 10 NBA Finals, returned as an NBA Head Coach after 15 years away from the bench, most of which was spent as a commentator. He won the Coach of the Year Award at age 70. Hubie Brown had won his first Coach of the Year Award back in 1977-1978, at age 44. Meanwhile, Jerry Sloan--who has yet to win a Coach of the Year Award--coached the Utah Jazz to 7 playoff appearances in 10 years, has been with the franchise since 1983, and has served as Head Coach since 1988. Sloan is the longest tenured Head Coach in American professional sports and has held his Head Coach position while over 200 head coaching changes have been made around the rest of the NBA.
*Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, sports.yahoo.com/nba, nba.com, and Wikipedia for statistics.
*Another article: "Who's the top ballclub of the decade? Lakers edge Spurs".
San Antonio made their run with Gregg Popovich at the helm. To their credit, they kept the same general core group in place throughout, with the centerpiece being future hall of fame forward/center Tim Duncan. This included Duncan taking the torch from now hall of fame center David Robinson. Among the team's key acquisitions were international draft picks Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The result was a team that ranked no lower than #4 in the Western Conference playoff seedings since the Spurs' first Championship at the end of last decade. Also to Popovich's credit, he served as both the team's Head Coach and General Manager through 2002--when he handed the GM reins to R. C. Buford--and has links to a number of successful coaches during the decade--including Larry Brown, Don Nelson, Avery Johnson, Mike Brown, and Doc Rivers. (More can be said about the coaching network in the NBA, as the above coaches and other successful coaches last decade, such as Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Rick Carlisle, have links to each other or to the most successful teams last decade, including the Spurs, Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Detroit Pistons.)
On the other hand, the Lakers saw more changes to their franchise during the past 10 years. The duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant captained Los Angeles to 3 consecutive Championships to open the decade. However, the two players had both superstar talent and superstar egos, meaning neither future hall of famer could accept being secondary to the other player. As such, their last games played together were during the 2004 NBA Finals, when the Lakers fell to the Detroit Pistons. Mitch Kupchak--who had replaced hall of famer Jerry West as the team's General Manager in 2002--opted to sign Bryant to a new contract and trade O'Neal to the Miami Heat following owner Jerry Buss's request that Phil Jackson leave the team following the loss in the Finals. Mitch Kupchak then hired Rudy Tomjanovich to take over as Head Coach, but after Tomjanovich resigned due to health concerns, Jackson eventually returned as Head Coach a year later. To Bryant's, Jackson's, and Kupchak's credit, Los Angeles returned to the Finals twice and won the last Championship to close out the decade. Despite the roster changes, Jackson still runs the triangle offense as taught by former Assistant Coach and now Consultant Tex Winter. Forward Lamar Odom--who was acquired in the Shaquille O'Neal trade--brought a skillset to the Lakers that was similar to Scottie Pippen, who helped Jackson and Michael Jordan win 6 Championships with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s. This complemented the acquisition of Pau Gasol, who helped stabilize the post positions for L.A.
Overall, the Lakers, Mavericks, and Pistons all made the playoffs 9 out of 10 years, with the Lakers and Mavericks joining the Spurs as the only 3 teams to win 500+ games and lose fewer than 300 games last decade. While both the Lakers and Pistons led the league in Conference Finals appearances with 6, the Lakers won all 6 of their Western Conference Finals appearances and the Pistons won 2 of their 6 Eastern Conference Finals appearances. On the other hand, of the 11 franchises that advanced to the NBA Finals last decade, 2 teams (the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers) actually finished the decade with a sub .500 record. Granted, the Cavaliers had the 'pre-LeBron James' and 'LeBron James' eras last decade while the Nets saw much success with Jason Kidd as point guard for the bulk of the decade.
Regarding issues of parity, 29 of the 30 NBA franchises made the playoffs at least once, with 26 of the teams making at least 3 appearances. Only the Charlotte Bobcats, who joined the NBA in 2004-2005, did not qualify for the playoffs (though they may qualify in 2009-2010). The playoff situation makes sense, as, although a handful of franchises like the Lakers and Spurs dominated the league last decade, 16 teams make the playoffs each year, meaning that slightly more than 50% of the league makes the playoffs. The teams (other than the Bobcats) with the fewest playoff appearances over the past 10 seasons (Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors) all advanced past the 1st round. This included Golden State's historic upset of #1 seed Dallas in 2007.
While the Spurs dominated the decade alongside the Lakers, the Boston Celtics--who historically have been the Eastern Conference rivals of the Western Conference Lakers--found some success. At the beginning of the decade, Celtic legend Larry Bird coached the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals in 1999-2000 (where they lost to the Lakers). Then, the Celtics made some breakthrough trades, acquiring stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to complement captain Paul Pierce. The new "Big 3" (following after Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish) brought the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, where they defeated their rival Lakers and won a league-leading 17th franchise NBA Championship. At the close of the decade, the Lakers had won their 15th Championship, meaning that the 2 teams combined have won over half of the Championships in NBA history.
Aside from the dominant franchises, the 2003 NBA Draft was especially important for 4 other franchises looking to make their marks and win their first Championships. While the Cleveland Cavaliers landed LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets took Carmelo Anthony, the Toronto Raptors picked Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat selected Dwyane Wade. Along with former Lakers personnel center Shaquille O'Neal and Head Coach Pat Riley, Wade led the Heat to their first title. Under former Spurs personnel Head Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry, James led the Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance. Other picks during the decade, including Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, join James, Anthony, Bosh, and Wade as ambassadors for the league heading into the new decade.
Again, coaching remains critical to success in the NBA. Of the last 10 Coaches of the Year, 6 coached in the NBA Finals over the past decade. Larry Brown, who led the 76ers to the Finals in 2000-2001 and the Detroit Pistons to the Finals from 2003-2005 (including the 2003-2004 Championship), had already led the collegiate Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball team to the NCAA Championship in 1987-1988. He had also won 3 Coach of the Year Awards while coaching in the professional American Basketball Association, which merged with the NBA in 1976. Larry Brown is now trying to coach the Charlotte Bobcats to their first playoff berth in team history. Meanwhile, Hubie Brown, who was one of the Coaches of the Year last decade to not coach in the last 10 NBA Finals, returned as an NBA Head Coach after 15 years away from the bench, most of which was spent as a commentator. He won the Coach of the Year Award at age 70. Hubie Brown had won his first Coach of the Year Award back in 1977-1978, at age 44. Meanwhile, Jerry Sloan--who has yet to win a Coach of the Year Award--coached the Utah Jazz to 7 playoff appearances in 10 years, has been with the franchise since 1983, and has served as Head Coach since 1988. Sloan is the longest tenured Head Coach in American professional sports and has held his Head Coach position while over 200 head coaching changes have been made around the rest of the NBA.
*Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, sports.yahoo.com/nba, nba.com, and Wikipedia for statistics.
*Another article: "Who's the top ballclub of the decade? Lakers edge Spurs".
Friday, January 1, 2010
Cavs All-Decade Team
Happy New Year everybody!
Well, the '00s are now over, so I found it appropriate to select an "All-Decade Team" for the Cleveland Cavaliers. This task turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. I kicked around the idea of having several groupings and another list or two of players that succeeded in a very short time as Cavaliers. Well, I decided to scrap that idea, as the list of players got to be too long. Instead, I decided to put together a roster of 15 players (separated into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams) and appoint a head coach and an honorary assistant coach. To be eligible for the team, the players had to have been with the Cavaliers for at least a full season during the '00s. Rosters and statistics were acknowledged from 1999-2000 to the 2009 portion of the 2009-2010 season. (Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, cavshistory.com, and nba.com for player information.) Players were allowed to be listed out-of-position if they would possibly play that position in relation to the other players of their grouping. Intangibles (clutch play, chemistry, etc.) were considered in addition to concrete statistics.
With the aforementioned criteria in mind, Shaquille O'Neal (aka "The Shaquisition") was not eligible for the all-decade team. Likewise, Ronald "Flip" Murray, who was a key acquisition and critical part of the 2005-2006 Cleveland team (the first Cavs playoff team since 1997-1998), was ineligible. Meanwhile, other notable players did not make the cut. The fastbreak dunking of Jumaine Jones is not on this all-decade team, nor are sentimental fan favorites Wally Szczerbiak and Bob Sura. Two more members of the 1997-1998 playoff team that played for the Cavaliers during the '00s--sharpshooter Wesley Person and point guard Brevin Knight--also just missed the cut. Defensive specialist Ira Newble played 224 games with the Cavs from 2003-2008, but he did not make the list.
Here are my selections for the Cleveland Cavaliers 00's All-Decade Team.
First Team
PF Anderson Varejao
SF LeBron James
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas
SG Delonte West
PG Mo Williams
Second Team
PF Carlos Boozer
SF Ricky Davis
C Drew Gooden
SG Larry Hughes
PG Andre Miller
Third Team
PF Shawn Kemp
SF Lamond Murray
C Ben Wallace
SG Sasha Pavlovic
PG Daniel Gibson
Head Coach: Mike Brown
Honorary Assistant Coach: Eric Snow
Comments:
-Overall, Anderson Varejao has played better off the bench. His role as an energetic, productive bench player has been key to the Cavs' success during the past decade. However, in relation to the other Cavaliers of the '00s, Varejao's importance to the team and his status as a fan favorite have boosted him to first-team status.
-Previously thought to be forced into retirement at a very young age due to injuries, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has become the franchise leader in games played. He is the link between the last Cavs playoff era (the Mike Fratello era) and the current playoff era (the Mike Brown era), and also suffered during the massive roster turnover and losing years under the management of General Manager Jim Paxson and Head Coaches Randy Wittman, John Lucas, Keith Smart, Paul Silas, and Brendan Malone. Once he retires, Ilgauskas may end up having his number retired by the Cavs. If a new "All-Time Starting Five" is selected by the team/the team's media, he could replace Larry Nance or Brad Daugherty on that team. Two major accomplishments remain for Z: an NBA championship and a chance to play for the Lithuanian Olympic team.
-Delonte West's all-around play and overall basketball savvy bumped him up to first-team status. He is quietly as good of a defender as LeBron James and Ben Wallace. His well-being and availability remain critical to a Cavs run to the NBA championship.
-Carlos Boozer left the team in a disappointing fashion. Had he stayed, the team probably would have made the playoffs in 2004-2005, meaning that Mike Brown might never have become Cavs coach. However, Boozer's departure led Jim Paxson to trade for Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao.
-Larry Hughes had an up and down run with the Cavs. Sadly, his younger brother passed away during the 2006 playoffs. On the court, Hughes battled with physical injuries. Yet, during the Cavs' run to the playoffs in 2005-2006 and their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006-2007, Hughes was a key component to the team's success, playing multiple positions, including starting point guard.
-In his last season with the Cavs, Shawn Kemp looked sluggish. He had gained a good amount of weight during the NBA lockout of 1998-1999, and personal issues had become public knowledge during his time with the team. When Paxson traded Kemp to Portland before the 2000-2001 season, the organization and the fans were relieved. Despite these facts, Kemp's stats speak for themselves. In addition, Kemp's teammates always stood by his side, emphasizing his importance while with the team.
-Lamond Murray took one of the roster's final spots due to his all-around ability and clutch play. While he could rebound and handle the ball, he had numerous ways to score from all over the court. He made at least one game-winning shot while with the team and was one of the primary reasons Andre Miller led the league in assists in 2001-2002.
-Ben Wallace joined the Cavs at the end of his prime. However, he remained a defensive presence, bringing both interior and perimeter defense to the 4 and 5 positions. He also got his share of rebounds, making him a good role player for the All-Decade Team.
-Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson posted/have posted respectable stats in their time with the Cavaliers. More importantly, they served as key components to the team's run to the Finals in 2007. While Pavlovic took the starting shooting guard position that year, "Boobie" Gibson quickly became a fan favorite and a good complement to LeBron James. Gibson made his mark during the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when he proved to be the additional component to the LeBron/Varejao pick-and-roll combination that the Pistons just could not guard. Gibson served as a top offensive option in Games 3 and 4 of the series and scored 31 points in the clinching Game 6. With Pavlovic's and Gibson's help, the team won 4 in a row to advance to the Finals. As a current member of the team, Gibson remains a fan favorite and a player with a large amount of potential, looking to shed his one-dimensional label as only a 3-point shooter.
-There was not much competition for Mike Brown as Head Coach of the All-Decade Team, as he was the only coach with a winning record. Like Paul Silas, Brown has had franchise superstar LeBron James on his roster for his whole stint as Cavaliers coach. However, unlike Silas, Brown has ingrained team defense into James's and the rest of the team's playing style. Under Brown's tutelage, LeBron has become a premier defender in the league, giving him the complete game needed to become league MVP. Meanwhile, Brown's use of concepts from other sports (such as "hockey assists" and offensive and defensive coordinators) has helped the team become a championship contender, including the franchise's only Finals appearance (2006-2007) and best regular season record ever (2008-2009).
-Point guard Eric Snow played 258 games during the '00s for the Cavaliers, which was less than just 5 players on the All-Decade Team (Ilgauskas, James, Varejao, Pavlovic, and Gooden). Just missing the cut as a player on the All-Decade Team, Snow spent some time as an unofficial assistant coach during the team's run to the 2007 Finals and its roster transition in 2008. Snow's motivational words were caught by ABC during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Snow's savvy on and off the court make him an ideal candidate as a special assistant coach for the All-Decade Team. Hopefully, he will get his chance to become a successful coach in the NBA.
Well, the '00s are now over, so I found it appropriate to select an "All-Decade Team" for the Cleveland Cavaliers. This task turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. I kicked around the idea of having several groupings and another list or two of players that succeeded in a very short time as Cavaliers. Well, I decided to scrap that idea, as the list of players got to be too long. Instead, I decided to put together a roster of 15 players (separated into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams) and appoint a head coach and an honorary assistant coach. To be eligible for the team, the players had to have been with the Cavaliers for at least a full season during the '00s. Rosters and statistics were acknowledged from 1999-2000 to the 2009 portion of the 2009-2010 season. (Special thanks to basketball-reference.com, cavshistory.com, and nba.com for player information.) Players were allowed to be listed out-of-position if they would possibly play that position in relation to the other players of their grouping. Intangibles (clutch play, chemistry, etc.) were considered in addition to concrete statistics.
With the aforementioned criteria in mind, Shaquille O'Neal (aka "The Shaquisition") was not eligible for the all-decade team. Likewise, Ronald "Flip" Murray, who was a key acquisition and critical part of the 2005-2006 Cleveland team (the first Cavs playoff team since 1997-1998), was ineligible. Meanwhile, other notable players did not make the cut. The fastbreak dunking of Jumaine Jones is not on this all-decade team, nor are sentimental fan favorites Wally Szczerbiak and Bob Sura. Two more members of the 1997-1998 playoff team that played for the Cavaliers during the '00s--sharpshooter Wesley Person and point guard Brevin Knight--also just missed the cut. Defensive specialist Ira Newble played 224 games with the Cavs from 2003-2008, but he did not make the list.
Here are my selections for the Cleveland Cavaliers 00's All-Decade Team.
First Team
PF Anderson Varejao
SF LeBron James
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas
SG Delonte West
PG Mo Williams
Second Team
PF Carlos Boozer
SF Ricky Davis
C Drew Gooden
SG Larry Hughes
PG Andre Miller
Third Team
PF Shawn Kemp
SF Lamond Murray
C Ben Wallace
SG Sasha Pavlovic
PG Daniel Gibson
Head Coach: Mike Brown
Honorary Assistant Coach: Eric Snow
Comments:
-Overall, Anderson Varejao has played better off the bench. His role as an energetic, productive bench player has been key to the Cavs' success during the past decade. However, in relation to the other Cavaliers of the '00s, Varejao's importance to the team and his status as a fan favorite have boosted him to first-team status.
-Previously thought to be forced into retirement at a very young age due to injuries, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has become the franchise leader in games played. He is the link between the last Cavs playoff era (the Mike Fratello era) and the current playoff era (the Mike Brown era), and also suffered during the massive roster turnover and losing years under the management of General Manager Jim Paxson and Head Coaches Randy Wittman, John Lucas, Keith Smart, Paul Silas, and Brendan Malone. Once he retires, Ilgauskas may end up having his number retired by the Cavs. If a new "All-Time Starting Five" is selected by the team/the team's media, he could replace Larry Nance or Brad Daugherty on that team. Two major accomplishments remain for Z: an NBA championship and a chance to play for the Lithuanian Olympic team.
-Delonte West's all-around play and overall basketball savvy bumped him up to first-team status. He is quietly as good of a defender as LeBron James and Ben Wallace. His well-being and availability remain critical to a Cavs run to the NBA championship.
-Carlos Boozer left the team in a disappointing fashion. Had he stayed, the team probably would have made the playoffs in 2004-2005, meaning that Mike Brown might never have become Cavs coach. However, Boozer's departure led Jim Paxson to trade for Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao.
-Larry Hughes had an up and down run with the Cavs. Sadly, his younger brother passed away during the 2006 playoffs. On the court, Hughes battled with physical injuries. Yet, during the Cavs' run to the playoffs in 2005-2006 and their first NBA Finals appearance in 2006-2007, Hughes was a key component to the team's success, playing multiple positions, including starting point guard.
-In his last season with the Cavs, Shawn Kemp looked sluggish. He had gained a good amount of weight during the NBA lockout of 1998-1999, and personal issues had become public knowledge during his time with the team. When Paxson traded Kemp to Portland before the 2000-2001 season, the organization and the fans were relieved. Despite these facts, Kemp's stats speak for themselves. In addition, Kemp's teammates always stood by his side, emphasizing his importance while with the team.
-Lamond Murray took one of the roster's final spots due to his all-around ability and clutch play. While he could rebound and handle the ball, he had numerous ways to score from all over the court. He made at least one game-winning shot while with the team and was one of the primary reasons Andre Miller led the league in assists in 2001-2002.
-Ben Wallace joined the Cavs at the end of his prime. However, he remained a defensive presence, bringing both interior and perimeter defense to the 4 and 5 positions. He also got his share of rebounds, making him a good role player for the All-Decade Team.
-Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson posted/have posted respectable stats in their time with the Cavaliers. More importantly, they served as key components to the team's run to the Finals in 2007. While Pavlovic took the starting shooting guard position that year, "Boobie" Gibson quickly became a fan favorite and a good complement to LeBron James. Gibson made his mark during the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, when he proved to be the additional component to the LeBron/Varejao pick-and-roll combination that the Pistons just could not guard. Gibson served as a top offensive option in Games 3 and 4 of the series and scored 31 points in the clinching Game 6. With Pavlovic's and Gibson's help, the team won 4 in a row to advance to the Finals. As a current member of the team, Gibson remains a fan favorite and a player with a large amount of potential, looking to shed his one-dimensional label as only a 3-point shooter.
-There was not much competition for Mike Brown as Head Coach of the All-Decade Team, as he was the only coach with a winning record. Like Paul Silas, Brown has had franchise superstar LeBron James on his roster for his whole stint as Cavaliers coach. However, unlike Silas, Brown has ingrained team defense into James's and the rest of the team's playing style. Under Brown's tutelage, LeBron has become a premier defender in the league, giving him the complete game needed to become league MVP. Meanwhile, Brown's use of concepts from other sports (such as "hockey assists" and offensive and defensive coordinators) has helped the team become a championship contender, including the franchise's only Finals appearance (2006-2007) and best regular season record ever (2008-2009).
-Point guard Eric Snow played 258 games during the '00s for the Cavaliers, which was less than just 5 players on the All-Decade Team (Ilgauskas, James, Varejao, Pavlovic, and Gooden). Just missing the cut as a player on the All-Decade Team, Snow spent some time as an unofficial assistant coach during the team's run to the 2007 Finals and its roster transition in 2008. Snow's motivational words were caught by ABC during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Snow's savvy on and off the court make him an ideal candidate as a special assistant coach for the All-Decade Team. Hopefully, he will get his chance to become a successful coach in the NBA.
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