Short-handed Cavs Provide Slow Start to 2011

Following the last week of December, Cavs head coach Byron Scott said the thing he was looking forward to the most was that 2010 would be complete.

While his feelings were not encapsulated within the ever so scientific Cleveland Fan Sentiment, his words were undoubtedly echoed by all of the fans of the Wine and Gold.  Unfortunately, as luck may have it, Scott was forced to start of 2011 without three of his starters, all experiencing injuries in the loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. 

With Mo Williams (hip flexor), Daniel Gibson (thigh) and Anderson Varejao (cheek) all out, Cavs fans were greeted with Manny Harris and Leon Powe in the starting five, continued playing time for Ramon Sessions and Antawn Jamison taking a vast step forward in a time of need.

All things considered, the Cavaliers, despite losing back-to-back contests to the Bulls and Mavericks, are showing the occasional flash of brilliance that can give one some hope.  A month ago, the Cavs were losing games by 20-plus points.  Though losing 17 of their last 18 games, the last batch of losses were in games where the Cavs were either winning at one point or were at least within spitting distance.

But even in nights where Antawn Jamison can put up a season-high 35 points on 14-22 (.636) shooting, a team-high 10 rebounds and one steal in 39 minutes, the Cavaliers still find themselves down nine points to a Mavericks team that is playing without Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, two players collectively responsible for nearly 40 points per night.  But so it goes with two starters out and one playing at less than 100 percent.

“We just didn’t have enough guys play well tonight,” said Scott following the loss to Dallas. “That’s pretty much the bottom line. “[Antwan Jamison] played great and [Ramon Sessions] was fantastic. We just needed a few more guys to chip in and we just didn’t have it tonight.”

With regard to Sessions, the slashing combo guard had a very strong game with 19 points on 9-13 (.692) shooting, a season-high seven rebounds and a season-high 12 assists in 30 minutes off of the bench. It was his first double-double with the Cavaliers, the 14th of his career. Once again, he was able hit jump shots, find open teammates and even throw down two dunks in transition.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, “Sesh” is the first Cavs player in the history of the franchise to tally at least 19 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists off the bench. He is also the first NBA player to reach those numbers off the bench since Clyde Drexler tallied 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds on Jan. 1, 1986. As we mentioned last week, Sessions continues to show vast improvement over his early-season struggles and is earning minutes with or without injuries to the backcourt.

“I think Sessions is in a nice little groove right now,” said Scott.  “He understands his role when he comes in the game. The one thing we talked about last week was him just coming in and being aggressive: trying to get to the basket, trying to get his teammates the ball, really pushing the ball. I think he’s doing all those things right now and he’s in a real good groove right now. Hopefully he can keep playing that way because he’s playing great.”

Sessions and Jamison will need to continue to keep playing at a high level if the Cavalier are going to break their current losing streak.  Hosting Toronto this Wednesday, the Wine and Gold depart on a five-game road trip that will feature a heavy dose of Western Conference opponents.  If Scott’s 2011 is going to get off on a better foot than the latter part of 2010, he will need his leaders to keep leading while his starting five gets fully healthy.

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(AP Photo/Ron Schwane)