In the big picture, last night’s Cavs game really doesn’t matter. It was a regular season game, on the road, against the Western Conference’s best team. But, there are a couple of things to learn from it:
1) The Cavs miss big Z and Delonte badly
Without Delonte and big Z, the Cavs have no spacing on the floor. Teams are clogging the lane, making it nearly impossible for Bron or Mo to penetrate and forcing the Cavs to shoot outside shots. Without Z and Delonte, the Cavs offense has regressed circa 2005; everyone stand around and wait for Lebron to do something.
2) Lorenzen Wright is terrible
He is old, undersized and slow. He is too small to guard the 5 and too slow to guard the 4. He gets abused on the defensive end and is a liability on the offensive end. I understand he is only a stop-gap until Z gets back and JJ grows into his role, but he is more a problem than a solution.
3) JJ Hickson is not ready
JJ is improving every game, but he is not yet ready for big time minutes. He lacks discipline on the defensive side of the ball and at times looks lost on the offensive side. He lacks size to take players in the low post, and struggles with the 15-foot jump shot.
4) Anderson Varejao is better than I thought
His impact on both sides of the ball is uge (so huge theres no room for the h). He is becoming a better offensive player, thanks to Lebron’s availability to dish the rock, and his defensive tenacity has remained insanely high. As good as he has been lately, he is not a starter and much more effective coming off the bench. This goes back to #1.
5) Craig Sager is Ron Burgundy
No explanation necessary.
