easy solution to Cavs PG problem

[QUOTE=RedBlackAttack]
So, you are lobbying for a guy like Michael Redd, who may be available to us? I don't know. We've tried to bring in shooters before and it hasn't eased the problem. Granted, no one as skilled as Redd, but I'm thinking that the problem lies elsewhere.

Watch the Lakers tonight. See how easily Kobe gets the shots he wants, whether it be in the post, on the spot-up, or driving to the basket. Watch how easily the ball is moved until there is a high percentage shot. You rarely see them hoisting up a ridiculous, low percentage shot with no time left on the shot clock.

Now, a lot of this has to do with Phil Jackson and the triangle. I realize this. But even when they occasionally break out of the triangle, their offense moves so freely.

Why? Because they have all pieces that make an offense work. It wasn't like this when Kwame Brown was in there. They were having difficulty getting that shot. As soon as they brought in Gasol, floor spacing became perfect and their offense was virtually unstoppable.

Right now, we don't have one post threat. LeBron is not ready to make that leap. Z is a spot up shooter. I agree that Z's game of picking and popping or just finding a spot and waiting for LeBron to dish him the ball works well, but that should only be one part of the offense (like Okur in Utah). None of our big men have any post game whatsoever (Smith, Z, Wallace, Varejao).

I like what Z brings to the team (when he isn't disappearing like in Game 7 of the Celtics series), but he is our Okur. Where is our Boozer? We don't have it and, as a result, our floor spacing is god awful.

You have a bunch of guys standing around on the perimeter waiting for LeBron to drive... including the opposing defense.[/QUOTE]

Michael Redd? Maybe. I think Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson, etc. would work just fine. Someone with range like Redd would work better.

But the rest of your post sortof illustrates what I was talking about, because the key difference is, Kobe is a perimeter player.

He's an assassin when it comes to hitting the big jump shot. His earlier game had a lot of drives in it, but after that knee injury his drives came less and less. Not saying he can't, I'm just saying his bread and butter is his jump shot. He's a perimeter player.

Lebron's money area is the key. Yeah, his jump shot has improved, no matter what the casual fans here say, but in the long run, he does his dirty work from 12 feet in.

That's why I believe Z and Smith are the perfect big man for him. And they both thrived in the playoffs up until Z's snooze fest in Game 7.

I think bringing in shooters was the correct answer, its just that Ferry didn't bring in the right shooters. We don't need anymore streaky guys (although I have to admit, I didn't think Wally was streaky), and we need a new coach.

I mean seriously, how much of a coincidence is it now that every good quality shooter we bring in to Cleveland turns into a streaky no-show guy?

That can only happen a few times before you start questioning the system.

Despite the accomplishments we've made in the last 2 years, I sometimes wonder (if not for age) if we didn't have a better team the last year Paul Silas was in town. The offense ran a lot smoother, I know that for sure, and we had a much better rotation. Our bench team had really gelled under Silas, with Tractor Traylor and Varejo coming off the bench.

Mathius

[quote=RedBlackAttack]I disagree just because of his VAST improvement on defense. I don't think it is any coincidence that Mike Brown (a defensive mastermind) was brought in and, almost immediately, LeBron's defense began improving each year he has been here. Right now, he is on the cusp of being an All-Defensive caliber player and I think a lot of that can be attributed to Mike Brown's coaching.



So, you are lobbying for a guy like Michael Redd, who may be available to us? I don't know. We've tried to bring in shooters before and it hasn't eased the problem. Granted, no one as skilled as Redd, but I'm thinking that the problem lies elsewhere.

Watch the Lakers tonight. See how easily Kobe gets the shots he wants, whether it be in the post, on the spot-up, or driving to the basket. Watch how easily the ball is moved until there is a high percentage shot. You rarely see them hoisting up a ridiculous, low percentage shot with no time left on the shot clock.

Now, a lot of this has to do with Phil Jackson and the triangle. I realize this. But even when they occasionally break out of the triangle, their offense moves so freely.

Why? Because they have all pieces that make an offense work. It wasn't like this when Kwame Brown was in there. They were having difficulty getting that shot. As soon as they brought in Gasol, floor spacing became perfect and their offense was virtually unstoppable.

Right now, we don't have one post threat. LeBron is not ready to make that leap. Z is a spot up shooter. I agree that Z's game of picking and popping or just finding a spot and waiting for LeBron to dish him the ball works well, but that should only be one part of the offense (like Okur in Utah). None of our big men have any post game whatsoever (Smith, Z, Wallace, Varejao).

I like what Z brings to the team (when he isn't disappearing like in Game 7 of the Celtics series), but he is our Okur. Where is our Boozer? We don't have it and, as a result, our floor spacing is god awful.

You have a bunch of guys standing around on the perimeter waiting for LeBron to drive... including the opposing defense.[/quote] The spacing in the Triangle for the Lakers with Gasol is awesome. It is actually better than it was with Shaq.

With Kobe, many Laker fans were convinced that the Lakers needed to follow the Bulls model and find a Scottie and Rodman for Kobe, but Tex always said that a great passing center would be even better. Tex has talked about how guys like Walton and Kareem are what the Triangle was made for. Looks like Tex was right. Having watched Pau for the last few months, I can just imagine prime Kareem or Walton in the Triangle. Yikes!

Lebron needs a back to the basket, low post player. Big guys shooting 3's does not help with the spacing; big guys with their back to the basket that can score and pass create great spacing in the offense.

It is ironic that Boozer is almost as good a fit as you could get with their current makeup. Oh well.

So, RBA, what is the solution for Lebron and the Cavs?
What team, past or present, can Ferry look at as a model to build around Lebron?

The Cavs have several players in their rotation who, if they aren't doing their one specific job, they are useless out on the court. If Wally isn't hitting that outside shot, he isn't bringing anything to the table. He doesn't drive to the basket. Ben Wallace is a complete black hole on offense. In many situations, they played 3 on 5 basketball. They then become very predictable. Get the ball to LeBron and get out of the way. Noone else really commands any sort of respect. Plus, they run that same damn pick and roll play with LeBron and Z. The problem is the coaching. If Mike Brown would display some creativity and get the ball to LeBron in a variety of spots, then the defense would be forced to react. They wouldn't know what was coming, and then the outside shooters might get better looks if LeBron kicks it back out to them.

[QUOTE=Mathius]Michael Redd? Maybe. I think Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson, etc. would work just fine. Someone with range like Redd would work better.

But the rest of your post sortof illustrates what I was talking about, because the key difference is, Kobe is a perimeter player.

He's an assassin when it comes to hitting the big jump shot. His earlier game had a lot of drives in it, but after that knee injury his drives came less and less. Not saying he can't, I'm just saying his bread and butter is his jump shot. He's a perimeter player.

Lebron's money area is the key. Yeah, his jump shot has improved, no matter what the casual fans here say, but in the long run, he does his dirty work from 12 feet in.

That's why I believe Z and Smith are the perfect big man for him. And they both thrived in the playoffs up until Z's snooze fest in Game 7.

I think bringing in shooters was the correct answer, its just that Ferry didn't bring in the right shooters. We don't need anymore streaky guys (although I have to admit, I didn't think Wally was streaky), and we need a new coach.

I mean seriously, how much of a coincidence is it now that every good quality shooter we bring in to Cleveland turns into a streaky no-show guy?

That can only happen a few times before you start questioning the system.

Despite the accomplishments we've made in the last 2 years, I sometimes wonder (if not for age) if we didn't have a better team the last year Paul Silas was in town. The offense ran a lot smoother, I know that for sure, and we had a much better rotation. Our bench team had really gelled under Silas, with Tractor Traylor and Varejo coming off the bench.

Mathius[/QUOTE]


It's just not the system that should be questioned, it's Mike Brown's rotations as well. He plays/benches guys for no apparent reason. They can't get comfortable out there, because there is no pattern to what he does. They don't know what to expect. You've talked about this before, so I def. know that you are aware of this.

Where was Devin Brown? I simply cannot fathom WHY he ride the pine for basically the entire playoffs. He started a good portion of the season, and then gets benched?

It also seemed like when we needed offense on the court, Brown had defensive players out there (Andy, Ben). When we needed defense, he had guys whose strong suit was playing offense. He got it backwards.

I think Cavs have a very solid young pg in west.

[QUOTE=RedBlackAttack]

So, you are lobbying for a guy like Michael Redd, who may be available to us? I don't know. We've tried to bring in shooters before and it hasn't eased the problem. Granted, no one as skilled as Redd, but I'm thinking that the problem lies elsewhere.
[/QUOTE]


That's mainly because none of the shooters who were brought in can create their own shots off the dribble. The plays that were run for Hughes would work much better with Redd, especially the curl screens where Hughes bricked many open jumpers from 15-18 feet. Unlike Hughes, his skills are more of a compliment to LeBron, and he can make his own shot without LeBron's help, which the Cavs dont have.

As I said, plug Jason Richardson or Redd into the current Cavs in place of Wally and they get by the Celtics.

[QUOTE=abuC]That's mainly because none of the shooters who were brought in can create their own shots off the dribble. The plays that were run for Hughes would work much better with Redd, especially the curl screens where Hughes bricked many open jumpers from 15-18 feet. Unlike Hughes, his skills are more of a compliment to LeBron, and he can make his own shot without LeBron's help, which the Cavs dont have.

As I said, plug Jason Richardson or Redd into the current Cavs in place of Wally and they get by the Celtics.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure those were actual plays run for Hughes. I don't think Mike Brown knew what a play was before this year.

But the rest of your post is spot on. We need a scorer that looks to create his own shot, and an outside shot would be an added bonus. Then a few role player type spot up shooters would probably round out the lineup.

I don't think the answer is another inside presence. It might get us a title if we had an all star type big man down there, but I don't think it's the only solution, and I think it would have to be a hell of a big man to make up for the lack of a perimeter threat we have now.

Mathius