Cavs Beat Raptors and Find Another Role Player
The Cleveland Cavaliers have not looked good during the past few weeks of this NBA season. They haven’t played consistently. Their rotations have been strange at times. As a result, they haven’t been able to capture any sense of identity. They lost Larry Hughes to a high ankle sprain about 10 games ago and he appears ready to come back. But in his absence, the Cavaliers have gotten a chance to find out a bit more about some of the newest members of the team.
In beating the Toronto Raptors 95-91 in Cleveland last night, the Cavaliers found a rookie who might be a real spark for the team in a regular role. Daniel Gibson, a second round draft pick from Texas, got his first start for the Cavaliers last night. The start came last night in particular because Daniel Gibson has played with Toronto’s point guard T.J. Ford in the past. Plus, the matchup with Gibson is more favorable than with any of the other guards on Cleveland’s roster because of Ford’s quickness.
The results from Gibson were pretty impressive. Gibson recorded 18 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds and only 1 turnover in his first start. Even more impressively, he held T.J. Ford to 8 points versus his regular season average of almost 15 points per game. Ford did have 10 assists, but overall Gibson did a nice job of keeping Ford off balance for most of the night.
And this is the important thing for the Cavaliers this season. They aren’t desperate to find superstars who can take over games. They have one of the top five in the league already in Lebron James. What they need to find are the role players who can come in and give solid supporting performances when the regulars aren’t getting it done. They need the kinds of players that can come in toward the end of the first quarter when the team is struggling and down by five to ten points and help keep the game under control or take the lead back. If there is any silver lining to Larry Hughes’ injury that has to be it.
Last year, the Cavaliers found Anderson Varejao. This season it appears that they gained a few more capable role players. Damon Jones appears to have his shot back on track. Sasha Pavlovich has also shown more burst and ability this season than at any point in prior seasons. Combine that with a rookie like Gibson or Shannon Brown and all of a sudden the team has the most important thing that an NBA team can have: depth on the bench.
That is the thing that gets NBA teams through the long 82 games of an NBA season. That is what will allow them to go deep into the playoffs. The Cavaliers are a half step closer, despite their unimpressive 11-7 record. They are a step closer to finding the identity of the team. Then the consistency and wins should follow.
FilteringCraig Said,
December 7, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
Which of my details are sketchy? All I said was that they found Varajao last year, meaning that he really kind of blew up when he got back from injury and in the playoffs. He joined the team two years ago, but I wouldn’t say he “emerged” until last season after returning from his injury.
You are 100% right on your last point though. Depth can only be considered depth when it is translated into wins. That will occur through solid practice, and good coaching.
Bill Said,
December 8, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
Get rid of the orange uniforms … please.