Mike Brown Is An Evil Genius, Or How The Cavaliers Came Together As A Team…For Now
Written By: Andrew | Category: Cleveland Cavaliers | Comments: 23
“I wasn’t really planning on leaving, all I wanted was a raise. How on earth did Michael call my bluff? Is he some kind of secret genius? Hahahahaha…Sometimes I say crazy things.”
–Stanley Hudson, “The Office”
Who on earth are these Cavaliers? For the 2nd game in a row the Cavaliers used precision passing to move the ball all over the court while racking up assists in an impressive offensive effort. Against the Suns Wednesday night the Cavaliers had 29 assists on 45 FGs. If anyone was concerned about DNP-Gate’s effect on the team (yes, I’m pointing the finger at myself), those fears appeared to be eased in this game.
It was great to see Zydrunas Ilgauskas get the ovation he received when he entered the game, but according to reports he requested the team not stop the game or do anything formal for him. This was an unfortunate decision, because you only get to do this once, and I think Z let his justified sulking get in the way of a special moment. You can still tell by Z’s demeanor and body language that he is absolutely steaming over this incident.
Considering this weird and volatile mix of anxiety, apprehension, and general disgust and malaise, it’s somewhat surprising the Cavaliers are playing their best team-oriented basketball of the season. After having 33 assists in their previous game (aka, the DNP-Gate Game), the Cavaliers carried the team effort over into the game against the Suns, and then took it to the next level. In addition to the 29 assists, they only turned the ball over 10 times and had 12 steals and 10 blocks. They had 15 offensive rebounds and 51 total rebounds, both season highs. In other words, everyone on the court was communicating and putting themselves in the right position to succeed.
Eight players had 20+ minutes and 10 players had 10+ minutes. Nobody took more 15 shots, and 7 players scored double figures with Ilgauskas leading the way with 14 points. I cannot recall a more balanced team effort from the Cavaliers in the LeBron James era. But even more important than the stats were the intangibles.
For the first time this season, the team’s chemistry was both apparent and obvious. Perhaps it started with LeBron’s steal at the end of the 1st quarter, when he drilled a 30 footer as the buzzer sounded. The shot was later waived off as he didn’t get if off in time, but the entire team went ballistic when he pulled it off. LeBron jumped into the arms of his teammates and everyone celebrated as if the Cavaliers had just won the Championship. It was the kind of display that outsiders loathed about this team last year, but it’s the unifying kind of reaction that makes this team matter to us, and more importantly, makes the team respond more to one another on the court.
Even beyond that shot, the team seemed to be more expressive in congratulating and high fiving each other. At one point when Z got knocked to the court after a shot, LeBron literally sprinted over to him to help him and give him a pat. Small things? Sure. But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.
So what does this have to do with Mike Brown? Well, quite simply, it was Mike Brown who created this environment when he gave Z his DNP-CD. After the game, Ilgauskas didn’t take questions, but he did give us this gem of a statement:
“I’m not going to go into any details. Once again, I’m going to be a bigger man and walk away from this. I know when I go to bed at night, my conscience is clear. What I’m going to do is continue to do my job. I love this team, I love my teammates; they’re like a family to me. I’m going to come every day to work and try my hardest, win some games and hope to bring a championship to this city because they deserve it.”
As a huge fan of Z’s for his whole career, that statement speaks volumes, and it represents the current feelings of the team. I’m not going to be so audacious as to say that Mike Brown did something so reprehensible in order to serve the greater good of bringing the team together, but the effect remains the same. Through this incident, this team has come together finally.
But will it last? Maybe, maybe not. Brian Windhorst had some pretty strong words about Z’s actions and attitude, saying:
“Zydrunas Ilgauskas asked the organization not to celebrate him breaking the games played record, though the fans gave him plenty of applause anyway. Then after the game he just made a statement and didn’t take any questions for a third consecutive day. It was, essentially, accepting the honor under a protest.
He deserves a lot of praise for what he has accomplished, it was a personal achievement to get through those injuries to get to this point. During that time he has been given an incredible amount of money, more than $130 million. He took losing his starting job to Shaq like a pro and never complained outwardly. And he had a right to be upset by not playing last Saturday and even a right to be upset about a few things that happened behind the scenes over the last couple of days.
But he needs to get past it. He is making it linger and it is not good for the team. He’s not over it and it is clear to everyone on the team. His feelings have been expressed, he has the general public on his side and his coach said he’s sorry both privately and publicly. The only damage being done now is by him.”
If Windhorst is concerned about it, you know the threat is real. For now, Mike Brown has accidentally done this team a huge favor. He has given them the gift of unity, even if it is unity against a decision he made. For now, it seems to be making the team stronger. Lets hope it lasts.
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(Photo Credit: Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer)
Author: AndrewSchnitkey
Andrew Schnitkey is a founding editor of WaitingForNextYear. Though he has written about every Cleveland franchise over the years, his primary focus is the Cavaliers and NBA basketball in general.Andrew Schnitkey has written 522 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I wonder if anyone outside of Cleveland would have cared at all if the whole DNP-CD didn’t happen? There was a really nice writeup on Ball Don’t Lie. It was cool and I’m glad they didn’t do any corny ceremony or anything. Hearing Z say he had to choke back tears was enough for me.
Man oh Man do I miss articles by Rock on the Cavs … this Andrew guy just doesn’t do it for me
… oh wait a minute
Another highlight last night, at least for me, was watching Delonte celebrate his buzzer beater at the end of the third quarter. I think it was the end of the third quarter anyway. It was good to see him having some fun.
My take on the DNP-CD: There were 3 reasons that Z was really angry about it (2 justified, the other completely understandable):
1. His family, friends, and teammates were all waiting to celebrate what could be reasonably expected to be a wonderful record-breaking. That’s not to be underestimated: it would be like planning a big victory party and then losing the game.
2. This was the first DNP-CD for Z since he came to Cleveland. No question that that’s a nasty feeling for Z.
3. The real reason for this being such a big deal, I think: this was the moment when Z realized that he’s getting old and worn out. He may have understood it on an intellectual level, but that was when it finally hit home – he’s going to be retiring soon (probably at the end of this year, especially if there’s a championship), he’s not going to start at center again in the NBA unless there’s an injury to Shaq, and that he might not play at all in a game. His career is coming to an end, and there’s nothing he can do about it. It’s not totally dissimilar to the feeling a normal guy gets in his late 60′s.
Rumor is that Brown started floating that rumor about Z not wanting to play in the 2nd half….if that’s true then I would COMPLETELY understand Z being upset.
You seem to be the only one who’s heard this rumor Clown Baby… got a link for your insider?
My favorite thing about last night’s game (I got to be there last night) was the pre-game silliness on the jumbo-tron. The Cavs had dressed like characters from the movie The Warriors. Lebron was clinking bottles together, saying “Come out and playeeay, come out and playeeay!” Varejao was Swan. Shaq (with a red-robe) did Cyrus’ “Caaaaaan you dig iiiiiit!?” It all was so corny that it was heartwarming.
Clown Baby and I obviously the same sites outside of WFNY
Consider this a vote for a different color scheme in the text. Black on gray is terrible and hard to read. Even something like the comments, with black in a white box, is better. Please change it. I couldn’t get through the whole post.
Nullster-
Yeah….It’s a board that has some naughty language from time to time. What’s the best way to handle this?
Agreed about the text color. Gray on black seems much harder to read.
Great write-up. It was really nice to see the Cavs having fun out there. Also, LOVE the throwback unis. Brought me back to Mark Price splitting double teams and knocking down threes.
Here’s the post. It’s from a guy that posts under the handle Wine & Gold at Real Cavs Fans. He seems to be the real deal from everything I’ve read:
Luckily, the team is bigger than all this. Mike Brown created a major distraction by not being attentive to all details in the game against Dallas. He slighted Z on a day that he knew was very important to him …we’ve covered all that.
Then in the aftermath, his initial responses to Z were basically validating that it was a conscious decision that he made to bench him on that particular day, irregardless.
When he realized the significance of his oversight, and he was getting wrath from Lebron, the owner, GM etc … his tune changed and he wanted to talk to Z and admit he made a mistake.
But, just prior to that someone decided, to take some heat off Mike Brown, to float a rumor that Z said he didn’t want to play in the 2nd half, which was a lie.
I think Z is (mad-CB) off by Mike Brown’s initial response to him which was basically I’m the coach and I play who I play when I decide to play them. Then, once Mike Brown realized the extent to which this upset Lebron, the owner, and GM, he began backtracking and saying he was sorry, and it was a mistake.
Then I think the capper was, he feels MB was behind a false rumor that was floated to try and take the heat off the coach, that Z asked out of the game in the 2nd half. That was an outright lie, and that really upset Z.
It’s turned into a soap opera, and it needs to die.
The team is far bigger than Mike Brown, and this whole pathetic uncalled for and unnecessary ordeal and distraction.
Luckily, Mike Malone has the offense beginning to click at a higher and more diverse level than we have seen since Mike Brown took over the reigns. The defense has played more consistently as well..
I’ll tell you this …Mike Brown was being scrutinized before all this went down, and the front office and owner aren’t at all happy with the recent decisions and communications problems that have been coming from our head coach.
I agree with Mark. One of the biggest things that I enjoyed was watching Delonte having fun on the court again. I think that had a little bit to do with the way everyone was acting. I hope they keep this up.
You know how “psychics” always use vague phrasing and riddles to try to get a cryptic point across? That’s what W&G does. Not necessarily saying he’s not an insider, but situations like this, he just throws out a puzzle that can be interpreted 50 different ways, so he’s bound to be right no matter what.
“But, just prior to that someone decided, to take some heat off Mike Brown, to float a rumor that Z said he didn’t want to play in the 2nd half, which was a lie.”
Notice how he doesn’t say Mike Brown was the one who started the rumor. Then, he later implies that Mike Brown WAS the one who started it, but he does it in a way that actually uses Z’s inference as the vehicle to get that point across. So no matter what, W&G’s bases are all covered. He can claim he was right in retrospect no matter what.
I read through the post. Enjoyed its objectivity and agreed with the Micheal Scott comparison… and then I get to the comments and your hating on W&G
Why?!?
I guess you arent a true Cleveland sports fan unless you are tearing down the guys standing on the lines next to you.
Andrew-
You could be on to something. Explains why I get an email asking for $5.99 for every minute I spend reading a post of his….
At any rate it’s interesting. I just have a hard time thinking that even Mike Brown could be so clueless as to overlook the importance of getting Z in that game.
Why? I think I explained why. He seems to prey on Cavs fans by telling them absolutely nothing while making it seem like he’s telling them everything. I obviously read RCF and I have nothing against him personally whatsoever. I’m just saying that in this case, we have commenters quoting W&G as a source for saying that Mike Brown started the rumor about Z when W&G didn’t actually say that at all.
It’s a dangerous, slippery slope, and I’m just saying you should take what he says with a grain of salt, unless he wants to drop all the mysticism and actually come out and say what it is he wants to say.
Again, I’m NOT saying he’s not an insider or doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I just get tired of people misquoting what he says because they read too much into his innuendo.
Conspiracy Theory: Mike Brown and Danny Ferry have been undoubtedly brainstorming trade deadline scenarios for the past few months. All the ideal scenarios involve moving Zydrunas Ilgauskas. There becomes a cognitive dissonance between wanting to do whats best for the team and not wanting to piss the fans off by jettisoning a well like life-long Cavalier as the teams nears the brink of a Championship.
Q: How do they solve this problem?
A: By turning Z into a locker room cancer, in turn making it IMPERATIVE that they trade him at the deadline.
Now for a player as well liked and respected as Z, this is no small feat. Brown and Fery would have to do something so disrepectful, so undermining that Z would be fuming for weeks and become a distraction to the team.
What better way to acheive this goal by giving Z his FIRST EVER DNP-CD in his entire career on the day he is to become the all-time games played record holder in franchise history. (Read that last sentence again, and really let it sink in)
Then for good measure, Mike Brown floats a rumor that it was in fact Z who refused to check into the game in the second half, pushing Z into a state of protest. I believe Brown/Ferry’s even plan is just beginning to unfold. The slighting will not end until Z is in full outward rebellion mode.
Then, the Cavs will have no choice but to deal Z, and the fans will reluctantly accept that this shipping away the big man was a necessary evil.
Its so crazy, it just might be true!
(I started out writing this ironically, then somehwere along the line convinced myself i have hit the nail on the head)
If it had been more about the way others interpret his innuendo, I would have agreed. Started out that way but ended up being about the intent of the person being quoted.
As it was though, it was more pointed and in the vein of a personal unmasking. Like, look here behind the cloak, I could do this and claim to be an insider.
I got enough of that with all the Dawg Pound Mike bashing and jealousy I saw following that meeting and leading up to the Raven game.
If its all about pushing the readers to dig deeper before taking whats inferred into law, then i support that and agree with you. But if its a witch hunt, like the original comment ended up where one is assuming the intentions of another, then that is lame.
Like you say, nothing personal, and to your credit, you dont infer anything in the blog above. I just had a hang up on the assumption of intent in your comment.
Good piece though, again.
No worries Rchfld. Merely a misunderstanding on where both of us were coming from. I tried to explain my intent more thoroughly to W&G on RCF. I’m not backing down from what I said in my comments, just trying to clarify my intent.
Yes sir, I followed up in kind over on RCF.
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Stand up passionate writer.
Mike Brown’s a regular Herb Brooks. (incidentally, one of the best books i ever read was “America’s Coach” which was about Herb Brooks and his coaching legacy. Man, that guy was good. if you’re a coach – it is a must read)