Discussing the Two Guards

I’m all for Parker to keep starting as long as things are still rolling like they are. Delonte has been playing great off the bench, sort of like Andy.

Delonte is one of the 5 most important players on the team. We don’t NEED him per se, but it would help an awful lot.

Parker is the Mike Sanders of this team.

It will be tough in the playoffs to get by without Delonte, but the Cavs are deep enough that they’ll manage. Jamario can pick up some of the defensive slack (though he’s not as good as Delonte) and Boobie might see some floor time as a scorer.

Parker has brought decent value for his price. He can wiggle and create his own shot occasionally, at least when we play a lesser team. His outside shot is kinda sorta consistent. And he’s certainly an upgrade over spacey Sasha. A guy in that pay range will have some weaknesses. If he was a good penetrator or a lock down defender we probably would not have been able to fit his salary under the cap. Don’t see who else Ferry should have signed with the salary available.

D Weezy’s attorneys will be able to get another continuance and I expect them to do so. The Constitution mandates a “speedy” trial. This means a trial must occur within one year of the date of indictment. I believe West was indicted in August/September. I’d expect West’s attorneys to get one more continuance, until late June-July and then plead to a lesser charge.

Alternatively, they could always plead now to a less charge. This would almost assuredly be probation. Stern would levy some sort of suspension but the hope would be West would be back for the play-offs.

Of course there is always the chance that he pleads and gets jail time and/or Stern comes down hard on West. This is why I was more in favor of finding another guard than big at the trade deadline.

It’s possible to me that West’s speedy trial is more his right to waive than the state’s to enforce, within reason. It’s also possible to me that, as he is innocent until proven guilty, the court there would recognize West’s financial expectancy concerning the playoffs and not unnecessarily stomp on him.

Parker always seems to make one or two dumb plays a game. He’ll bite on a pump fake (foul), he’ll step out of bounds on the side line three, he won’t take his open shot and force an extra pass… I dunno if it’s because he’s not used to every game being important or what (Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson have had similar problems this season), but it’s usually a mental mistake and more often than not, it frustrates the hell out of me.

Like Denny said, Delonte has the stones to waive off LeBron when he starts going all Le-Iso and his moves in the post (or The Office) consistently delight me. He’s one of the few Cavaliers that can create a shot for himself and for others (something Parker definitely cannot do).

I think whether or not Delonte is playing in crunch time will come down to the matchups (West is too short) and how well Mo Williams is playing.

This person you follow who tweets about Parker/Delonte during the game sounds smart.

@16

I kind of like it when Windy or J.A. Adande or John Hollinger tweet during games, especially if I’m not watching them.

@Matt I disagree with your analysis on multiple points.

@18

Little clarification on last year’s playoffs.

It wasn’t Delonte’s lack of size, per se, that killed us but the lack of size/quickness on the Cavs in general. We didn’t have any 4s that could stick with Rashard Lewis so Lebron drew coverage on him which left Delonte to guard Hedo who is much bigger because he’s a tall 3. Delonte was called to guard out of position which he doesn’t have the size for. His stature is not a problem for pretty much any of the 1s and 2s in the league and some of the smaller 3s.

Once it became obvious that Hedo was too tall for Delonte, Lebron moved over to him which allowed Lewis to annihilate Ben Wallace/Joe Smith.

@Matt

We do generally agree, though still Parker’s length isn’t necessary against tall GUARDS. Delonte can handle guards. He can’t handle tall small forwards, which was the Hedo problem. And in that situation I’d rather see Moon out there.

I have liked Parker’s defense in spots. He’s good when he bodies up on people, for instance. I like him on the team but I don’t really think his defense is comparable on guards when compared to West’s. I’d take West on D 100% of the time, if his head is right.

@Matt I just think Parker is the perfect role/bench player and is not a legitimate starting SG. He’s basically followed the same pattern that he did in Toronto except in Toronto every now and then he had a game where he put up some nice numbers. What is his highest scoring game this season for the Cavaliers? Maybe 15 or 16 points. That is not something worthy of a starting SG in the NBA, period. It’s basically the same thing I said for the past few years when it came to the position of PF on this team. It’s not until the addition of Antawn Jamison that the Cavaliers have had a bonafide starting PF.

There is a ton more I can say on why I feel West is a much better option then Parker but I think you get my point.

Does Delonte have starter capability? Absolutely! Pretty much for any team in the league. However I think Mike Brown is using him right. Delonte is pretty much our Lebron of the second unit. He goes in against backup guards for the other teams and has a field day. There’s only so many basketballs for the starting unit and between Lebron and Mo it would be a waste to have him in there. That’s why JJ starting is a good move. He doesn’t demand the ball and just feeds off of Lebron and Mo for easy buckets. How many times last year did we see the Cavs jump off to a huge lead only to give it right back in the 2nd qtr. Why? Because we had no scorers on the floor. Mike Brown is doing the right thing and like what was mentioned earlier in previous posts, he gets him in there in crunch time. And by the way, the Cavs would take a major hit if Delonte doesn’t play in the playoffs. He’s arguably our second most important player.

@Matt I guess it’s kinda like the Bulls with MJ. LeBron does the majority of the work until these other guys do what they do. I personally would just like to see some of these other guys do more but obviously you cannot argue with the results.

I don’t think I’d go as far as you and say “our starting lineup (when healthy) has 4 of the best scorers in the league at their respective positions in Mo, LBJ, Antawn, and Shaq” but it’s obviously working as I said earlier.

boogey: What’s always been clear to me is that part of Mike Brown’s strategy is that the second unit is also extremely effective. He may shorten his bench a bit in the playoffs, but I suspect that part of his plan is to use more of his bench than his opponents, wearing out the opposing starters while his starters are resting.

Something to call out the 4-letter for: versus the Pistons, LeBron did not have the highest points, assists, or rebounds, and yet the 4-letter called him the Cavs’ “top performer”. Not saying LeBron isn’t great, because he clearly is, but that’s the way they tend to ignore all Cavs not named LeBron or Shaq, and this was disrespecting Powe’s game.

Parker was the right call earlier in the season with neither a 4 or 5 who could stretch the floor. We sacrificed on the defensive side for his range. Now that we have Jamison at the 4, we should be starting Moon at the 2, as his is our best defensive option at the 2.

Oops didn’t mean for the bold.

The magic date for me was March 3rd, when Delonte was held out of the game for unknown reasons. Makes you wonder how many other games he’s going to miss. I’m not worried about the court case for this year (I do wonder if he’ll miss all next season in jail, but that’s next year). I am worried about whatever made him miss March 3rd. He’s missed games because of shoe color, of being afraid to get on the plane, and for unknown reasons. He’s a great guy, but ‘relaible’ and ‘Delonte’ don’t belong in the same sentence without a ‘not’.

Delonte also has a very characteristic style of play, which I don’t think works with our starters very well. Delonte had 26 minutes last game, with one assist, in spite of effectively being the point guard. While Delonte is a very good shooter and defender, I’m unimpressed by his ability to distribute the ball. That’s going to get him into trouble. To use a football comparison, he’s got happy feet- he runs out of the pocket too often.

I used to dislike Mo’s tendency to demand the ball and hang onto it for too long, especially if he was having a bad shooting day. But since his injury, Mo’s improved enormously on this. This last game is a good example- 0-5 at the half, but still +11, 3-10 for the game, but still +20. Why? Well, those 7 assists and 1 turnover have a lot to do with it. He’s playing in control, and it really shows. I’m a lot less worried now that a bad shooting day by Mo will sink the team.

But I can’t see Delonte making that improvement. I just can’t.