Get Well Ben. Soon. Please.
Cavaliers 102, Memphis 87 (Box)
During the Cavs beatdown of Boston last Friday night, the ESPN crew told us to watch out for this game. We’ve been warned repeatedly by local and national media that this was a potential ‘trap’ game. Could have been. Perhaps the absence of Ben Wallace focused the team, or more accurately- motivated LeBron to carry the team to victory.
The Cavs were fortunate that the long range shot was on tonight. They made 12 triples, shooting 51% from behind the arc. They were also fortunate that the Grizzlies were missing point blank shots. Without Z and Ben the defense suffered. Lorenzen Wright got the start at the 4, but had to be removed quickly after picking up early fouls. Actually, early fouls would be a great way to describe this game. The Cavs found themselves just out of position to stop Memphis on drives to the hoop, particularly in the first half.
They pulled together in the third quarter, playing tough defense on the ball at the top of the arc, and denying entry passes. LeBron found himself in the passing lanes, which led to an easy break away. He was whistled for a tech in the first half on a dunk, and for the life of me I can’t understand why Austin Carr and Fred McLeod didn’t know why he was whistled. It wasn’t because he hung on the rim too long. It was because he pumped his arm against the glass. It was a showboat type move. I’ve actually been surprised he hasn’t been called for it before. He has slapped the backboard on dunks this season, and I’m pretty sure that is a violation.
Speaking of Austin Carr. Our writing team had an email exchange discussing Carr’s announcing. I don’t understand the outpouring of love for Carr. I know he has this kind of aw shucks charm going, but his pet phrases…they’re getting a little tired to me. For example, can you not think of ANYTHING else to say when a Cav hits a 3 pointer? “Deep in the Q” loses something when you have to say “Deep in the FedEx Forum”. And Fred, when the team is on the road, there is more than likely not a Euclid Street for the Cavs to drive down on the way to the hoop. And Carr did not invent “Get that weak stuff outta here.” Sigh. I know. You hate me now. Whatever. Back to the game.
Watching the Cavalier ‘reserve bigs’ play against Memphis, a thought popped into mind. I think it’s time Danny Ferry started working the phones. I like Wally Szczerbiak. I like his grit and willingness to take on bigger players in the post. I like that he moves without the ball as much as any other Cavalier. But I have serious concerns about the depth of big men on the bench, and Wally’s contract could land us some help. Sure, Z could come back and play the rest of the season at the same level he was playing before the injury. Yes, perhaps Ben will keep father time off his back and give us 25 minutes a night the rest of the way. But maybe they won’t. Are you ready to go into the playoffs with Lorenzen Wright or JJ Hickson getting significant minutes? I don’t know that I’d feel very comfortable if I was Ferry. Not with the 2010 countdown clock ticking louder everywhere he goes.
Besides, there is always the chance that Wally will pull an Antonio McDyess and find his way back to Cleveland if he is moved. I think the Cavs really need to add a legit big man to the team. Brad Miller seems to fit the bill. I’d still take Jamison as well.
For fun, check out this clip of the TNT crew doing LeBron’s chalk ritual.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:21 am
If we got Jamison, you could print the Finals tickets now.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Marcus Camby is their man.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:27 am
I like the idea of Miller. You could create a solid rotation of Z, Varejao, Wallace, and Miller (always having a defender and scorer on the floor). Miller can move the ball, and score when needed. Jamison would be good too…I’m all about getting another scorer down low to take some pressure off of Z.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
I think part of AC’s charm is that he really appears to be a fan of the game. Sometimes he seems just as awestruck about Lebron and this team as we are. While I agree his announcing definitely needs some work, Austin is enthusiastic and downright fun to listen to.
Looking to Thursday night, I think we are lucky that the Bulls are also lacking depth with their bigs. Hopefully Ben will be back for the Hornets on Friday.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:35 am
When the Cavaliers won the lottery, I was sitting right next to Austin Carr (and Loozer). Carr started crying when they got the first pick. He is always good in my book.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am
What’s all this talk of Jamison? is there any chance we’d be able to trade with Washington with all the animosity as of late? He’d be great, but i don’t see that happening. I do like the Marcus Camby talk though. Jamison is a great scorer and a pretty good rebounder, but if we’re taking Ben out of the starting lineup, we need to put someone in who has a little more defense. Camby doesn’t score as much as Jamison, but he still averages 12.1 ppg. Plus he averages 4.6 rpg more than Jamison. 13.8 rpg is nothing to scoff at. but more importantly, he’s averaging 2.6 blocks per game. he’s older, but he can still move and run the floor as well as any other bigs. plus at 6′11″, he gives us more size in the front court and can easily shift to the 5 if Brown wants to go smaller and faster, without losing too much height in the center spot. I think if the Clips are looking for cash, Marcus Camby should be at the top of our list.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:39 am
also, i dig Carr. i used to think he was silly, but he’s grown on me. just think of him as a senile old man who can only remember a select few jokes. sure it gets a little old, but the dude LOVES the cavs. i truly hate when i’m forced to watch cavs games on ESPN or TNT. its like they’re rooting for the cavs to lose. Carr gets me pumped.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I think WFNY could create a solid Austin Carr drinking game. This needs to happen.
I work evenings so I get more Joe Tait than Carr, but know Carr has a few pet sayings:
My suggestions:
2 drinks for “The L Train”
3 drinks for “The L Train” on a highlight replay going to commercial
January 14th, 2009 at 11:00 am
@bridgecrosser: 1 drink after AC repeats whatever McLeod just said, but adds a “haha!” on to the end of it.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:04 am
AC is our homeboy. Is he any different than Herb Score was? A huge homer, not very polished but a true fan of the team. He does occasionally come up with some rather astute analysis for all of his tired sayings. I think that’s what the hometown broadcast teams are about. Now when he was paired with Reghi I thought they were great.
I want to like McLeod but there is just something strange there. Maybe because he replaced a quality guy that didn’t deserve to be fired.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I don’t advocate alcohol poisoning, but in a drinking game the phrase “…throws the HAMMER DOWN” lends itself to a chug.
Again, I’m not suggesting anyone actually TRY that, because you’d be in the hospital by the end of every game.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:10 am
And let us all not forget the Mark Price Color Commentary Era.
Wow, you want to talk about bad announcing!
January 14th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Maybe you guys could do a piece on the evolution of AC as a sportscaster (I’m only partially kidding, theres alot of love for him around here it seems).
The trading wally for a big man idea great, Camby would be my top choice there for the reasons Gabriel mentioned. Jamison wouldn’t be bad either but I don’t see the Wizards looking to help the Cavs. No team wants to give away a solid player to a conference opponent mid season, not that it doesn’t happen but it seems looking out west would make things easier.
Anyone know how Camby’s or Jamison’s contracts look?
January 14th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Analogy of AC to drunk, loveable fan sitting next to you is apt, but I just don’t want that guy always sitting next to me, looking to high five me. He can yell in my ear during a big rally, but during the rest of the game? Excuse me, sir, that’s my beer you just knocked over. I guess they think he balances Plastic Man McLeod. But what happened to Jim Chones? He also loved the Cavs, he could quickly analyze why something was happening, he spoke his mind and he could … speak articulately! It’s like the suits said, “What the hell, who cares what Austin says, he’s Cleveland! Those morons will eat it up!”
January 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Are we ever (or have we already and did I miss it) going to see the Cavs wear the uniforms from the Austin Carr era; that is, the home gold jersey with maroon lettering? Still a favorite of all the retro possibilities out there.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am
No thanks on Brad Miller. http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=5982
January 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Let’s see here:
Brad Miller (6-11, 244) turns 33 in April, and is under contract until the summer of 2010. He is making $11.375 million this year and then $12.25 million next year. Averaging 18.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per 48 minutes played.
Antawn Jamison (6-8, 223) turns 33 in June, and is under contract until the summer of 2012 (when he turns 36). He is making about $9.9 million this year, and then $11.6, $13.4 and $15.1 in the next three seasons. Averaging 25.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per 48 minutes played.
Marcus Camby (6-11, 220) turns 35 in April, and is under contract until the summer of 2010. He is making $8 million this year, and then $7.65 million next year. Averaging 16.5 points and 18.9 rebounds per 48 minutes played.
All are above average forwards, and would definitely remain so along Z, Andy and Wallace. Camby is producing the most this season (in terms of FIC, PER, whatever other metric you want to use), despite being the oldest. He is also the cheapest of the bunch, and only under contract for the next year and a half. A RealGM article recently said that he could possibly be had for Wally Szczerbiak and a future first-round pick.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Also, Brad Miller’s PER: 15.76. JJ Hickson’s PER: 14.76. Is it really worth wasting Wally’s contract on that little increase? Give Hickson time. If he keeps developing at the rate he is right now, I have no problem with Hickson getting some minutes in the playoffs.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Jamison’s contract could get ugly on the backside. Camby would be solid. Nice work Jacob.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
@Jacob: I agree for the most part, but I still would like Jamison’s offensive punch more than Camby’s defensive presence. But man, Camby’s rebounding presence might be what puts him over the top. We shall see.
I just do not want any part of Brad Miller.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I think Jamison’s future contract (do you really want to to be eating $15 million on a 35-year-old in 2011-2012) and Sacramento’s high demands (we have to add one net big man, anything else would make us worse) make Camby the obvious favorite. He is one of the best defensive players in the league without a doubt, and really is the only good player on the Clippers this year.
Check out this article here that economist Dave Berri wrote about Camby when he was traded to LA from Denver:
http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/clipper-camby/
January 14th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Sorry, that wasn’t a very detailed description of Camby from Berri… This one is better:
http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/04/30/a-zen-like-vision-for-denver/
January 14th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Camby is the guy. That would be a great rotation with Ben, Z, Andy and Camby. Camby can give them the size off the bench that they lack in Andy-Ben or Andy-JJ rotations.
The contract expires summer of 2010 so no harm there.
Here’s all I will say, come the East finals, who do you want guarding Dwight How…um…I mean KG? I love Camby for this task. And he can still knock down that awkward catapult jumper from 15 and spread the floor like Z. He and Andy together would be plenty of offense to spread the floor off the bench. Most importantly, when the second unit was in and LBJ went off, if we went cold, we would still have the defensive presence to compensate, i.e. we would not endure rebounding droughts because Andy and JJ just jump at the ball. We would have one fundamental rebounder for each rotation permutation.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
What about AK47? He has a huge contract that runs past 2010 but if we sign Andy this summer (which we should) we arn’t going to have a ton of cap space then anyway.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Don’t forget to drink when he says “get that weak stuff outta here”
January 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
^
Now I know what Simmons feels like when he pulls out a ‘yep, these are my readers.’
January 14th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I think AC is great. I even lobbied WFNY to make a tshirt. (A picture of AC carrying a trash bag with ‘weak stuff’ on it, anyone?) I don’t like Fred McLeod though. Get Michael Reghai back!
January 14th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I love this idea: “I think WFNY could create a solid Austin Carr drinking game. This needs to happen.” — also, I agree, AC has grown on me and it’s because he loves the cavs so much. And whoever above said it, I agree that watching games NOT announced by Carr is way less fun. For Clevelanders, at least.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Yeah, Brian, that’s my point about AC as well. I don’t need to listen to announcers preach at me and spew basketball philosophy as though I’ve never seen a game before in my life. That’s fine for ABC, ESPN, and TNT….I understand why they have to have the announcers they do. But when I’m watching the Cavaliers take on an 11 win team in the middle of the winter, there’s nothing I love more than listening to AC get all excited and blurting out whatever incoherent catch phrases he’s got. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Austin Carr – the guy’s a crappy announcer no doubt, but I have found that he’s grown on me. As someone who has to watch the games in D.C. on his computer from a Slingbox hearing AC’s homerism is nice – it gives me a connection to the Cavs and Cleveland. For me at least, it’s especially needed with Reghi gone.
All of this trade talk is just making me even more excited and I can’t remember being this excited about a Cavs team since, well, ever. Austin Carr actually made what I thought was a very salient point in the post game last night when he said that he thought the Cavs were actually going to get a lot better as the season progressed and that as well as this team was playing, it was still working out kinks. Of Camby, Jamieson and Miller I think Jamieson is probably the best player of the bunch, but I’m not sure his style of play or his contract was ultimately benefit the Cavs. Camby seems like a natural fit and I think he’d be a real hungry player coming from a losing team like the Clips. I don’t want to give up a future number 1 for him though…
January 14th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
**** THE AUSTIN CARR DRINKING GAME VERSION 1.0 ****
This will be updated, continue to add on future threads and I’ll repost when needed:
1 drink
When AC repeats anything McLeod just said a second ago
2 drinks
When AC says “Ah-Ha!” or a close derivative
When AC says “The L Train”
When AC says “From deep in (arena)”
3 drinks
When AC uses “The L Train” refernence in a highlight coming back from or leading to a commercial
When AC uses “throw the hammer down”
Finish your drink:
When they show any of the Cavs banners in the rafters
January 15th, 2009 at 10:48 am
@ bridge – anyone trying your game would likely be dead by the end.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:58 am
AC NK.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:59 am
AC NK. Stupid joke yesterday made my name look like Jay now.
January 15th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
**** THE AUSTIN CARR DRINKING GAME VERSION 1.1 ****
This will be updated, continue to add on future threads and I’ll repost when needed… Updated to include the WEAK STUFF OUTTA HERE
1 drink
When AC repeats anything McLeod just said a second ago
2 drinks
When AC says “Ah-Ha!” or a close derivative
When AC wants “the weak stuff outta here”
When AC says “The L Train”
When AC says “From deep in (arena)”
3 drinks
When AC uses “The L Train” refernence in a highlight coming back from or leading to a commercial
When AC uses “throw the hammer down”
Finish your drink:
When they show any of the Cavs banners in the rafters
April 28th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
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