WaitingForNextYear

Ladies and gentlemen…the bench!

The Cavs will not have their new toys in time to play against the Wizards on Friday, nor will they have their recently discarded toys. Of course, they are still battling injuries as well. So who in the world is left to play?

Well there’s LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That was easy. Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic are out with injuries. Andy Varejao reportedly tested the ankle prior to the Pacers game, and is a possibility for Friday. The point? Well my guess is that we will see Eric Snow and Damon Jones sharing the responsibility. That leaves one more starting spot, assuming Varejao would be somewhat limited in his return. Personally, I’d put LeBron at the 4 and start Devin Brown. That would mean Snow and Damon Jones in the back court, with Z, LeBron and Devin Brown in the front.

I can already hear you. “Don’t mess with LeBron, just surround him with the other guys and let him try to win one himself!” Yeah, yeah except that Washington isn’t a big team, and we’re really only talking about at the defensive end anyway, so keep your pants on.

The biggest problem might be the bench. Assuming that Andy can go at least part time, which is a large assumption, that leaves a bench of…Dwayne Jones. Yep. That’s right. Do the math, our roster on Thursday morning was 15 players. We traded away 6 (Hughes, Marshall, Gooden, Newble, Brown, Simmons) and we will receive 4 back (West, Wally, Wallace, Smith) hopefully in time for Sunday’s game. Two of them are injured, and 1 is questionable. Fifteen minus the six traded players is nine. Nine minus the two injured players is seven. Five will start. That leaves two bench players and one of those will more than likely be a hobbled Varejao. Unless there is a ten day contract in the next 20 hours, the Cavs are playing with half a deck.

Can Eric Snow play 48 minutes? We know Zydrunas can’t, and fortunately we still have Dwayne Jones, so he can get a breather. Another injury and this game is over. If I were the Wizards, I’d be looking to attack the basket and get the Cavs in foul trouble. Oh, and I’d double Lebron. A lot. Like all the time. Seriously.

UPDATE: Have no fear Cavalier fans, the bench got 2 players from the development league today. That’s right, your new Cavs (who are destined to roam the courts in Colorado 10 days from now) are Kaniel Dickens and Billy Thomas! Whew….I was worried there for a minute. Now Lebron only has to score 60 or 70 to beat the Wizards tonight!