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I thought it would be interesting to compare the current Cavs with the 2010 Cavs playoff team. This got kind of long----
Coaching:
On one side, we’ve got Mike Brown. Mike Brown is a system coach. He’s an NBA lifer, so he knew what goes on before and after the games. He used that experience to make a system that prepared the team for the playoffs. Build a steady rotation that doesn’t make waves in the locker room. Create a bunker mentality for the players. Grind out the game with defense. Let the transcendent super star take over in the final minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, he had an offensive play book, but it was so ridged and complex that the players usually chucked it out the window, and Brown didn’t seem to mind as long as they stuck with the defensive system. His style wasn’t pretty to all fans, but it did a good job at getting the Cavs to the second round of the playoffs every year and often made players with weak defensive skills into useful parts. The problem was that as the team would get to close to the top of the mountain, and the talent difference between teams was slim, Brown was getting beat out by better tacticians when it mattered.
On the other side we’ve got Blatt, who was well loved in Europe and had a rep as an excellent tactician. I have mixed feelings about Blatt so far. He’s the Cavs coach, so I want him to do well, but he has not handled the press like a vet coach and his rotations in the first 50 games of the season often ended up somewhere between ”head scratching” and “face palming”. The players chucked his the play book out the window too and I feel that if Blatt was in the same situation that Mike Brown was as a rookie coach, he would have lost the team. Fortunately for Blatt, the midseason trades cleaned out the drama & brought in the parts he needed. Blatt has also befitted from the fact that the 2015 Lebron is grown up enough to eventually let go of his share of the drama and get on with winning games. Ultimately though, this has just been an introduction so far. The real show starts in the playoffs, and that’s where Blatt’s real NBA legacy is going to be created.
Point Guard:
27 year old Mo Williams vs. Kyrie Irving - Like Mo, Kyrie is considered a scoring guard. Both can score from anywhere on the floor, but Kyrie scores more efficiently and with a higher volume. Like Mo, Kyrie isn’t considered a good defender, but Mo really lacks lateral mobility while Kyrie has some better wheels. Kyrie has also put in a lot of effort to learn that side of the game this year. Mo struggled to bring the ball up the court under pressure, while Kyrie looks at traps as a chance to show off some of the best dibbling skills in the NBA. Interesting note: Mo has a better wing span and standing reach that Kyire.
Shooting Guard:
Anthony Parker vs. J.R. Smith - Parker & Smith are both great shooters with prototypical SG length, great mobility as defenders and both had enough basketball skills to be capable of initiating the offense for short stretches. Parker was 34 by the time he came to Cleveland, while Smith is 29 and that makes a big difference in athleticism. Parker was well known for having a remarkably mature & focused personality while Smith? Maybe J.R. has grown up. At least for a little bit.
The Lebron:
25 year old LeBron James vs 30 year old LeBron James – He can’t fly as high, but he’s certainly grown up a lot. He knows what he has to go through to get another ring. Hopefully he’s also able to explain it to his team mates so they can learn through winning instead of learn through losing.
Power Forward:
Antwan Jamison vs Kevin Love - Kevin Love shoots better than Jamison. Kevin passes better. It’s pretty safe to say that Love is at least as good of a defender. I have never seen Kevin attempt a “flick shot”. No one in the world would argue that the clear fact that Kevin rebounds better. So just in case I’m not being clear, I think the Cavs have vastly improved at PF on just about every level that you can measure. Now he just needs to shoot the three better than Jamison's playoff rate of 25%.
Center:
Shaq vs. Mozgov - Shaq’s defensive numbers in the 2010 playoffs were horrible and his offense was not enough to make up for it. Shaq couldn’t defend the pick and roll even if you gave him Nick Van Exel’s baseball bat. The 2010 Cavs really lacked a rim protector in the worst way and Mozgov has enough strength, length and nimbleness to protect the rim in a number of great ways. The best part is that he’s not going to demand touches from guys that can be volume scorers. Interesting note: Reviewing the numbers, I see that the 2010 Shaq had a decent 8 foot shot going on from the middle of the key while Mozgov has been hitting his 18 foot baseline jumpers.
Bench:
Anderson Varejao vs . Tristan Thompson - Both were the 6th man for the team. Varejao was the better finisher and cutter while Tristan Thompson best super power seems to be that he’s nigh invulnerable. Both finished games because Coach liked that they could switch on the pick and roll. Neither could stretch the floor or even hit reliably hit a mid-range shot. On paper they look so much the same, but Thompson has never been able to move the +/- needle like Varejao could.
Delonte West vs. Shumpert – Shumpert, like West before him, gives most of his contribution on the defensive end of the floor. Shumpert was supposed to be able to play PG, while Delonte actually could. Delonte showed a more versatile offensive game, but he seemed to lose his 3 point shot in 2010. That limited Delonte’s ability to help the team on offense when LeBron took the ball. Let’s hope that Shumpert does better than Delote’s 16% 3pt shooting in the playoffs. And stays away from Gloria. =)
Jamario Moon vs Shawn Marion - I was surprised to see that the Cavs 8th man in the 2010 playoffs was Jamario Moon. The 2010 Jamario had dunks and corner threes, just like Shawn this year. Jamario shot 50% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. Wouldn’t it be great if Marion could step up and do that too? Well if he doesn’t, the Cavs have a chorus line of other old combo forwards that can.
JJ Hickson vs James Jones - Back in 2010, JJ#1 got his 8 minutes a game off the bench like clockwork. Coach might feel that JJ#2 deserves similar minutes. Neither could defend, but at least JJ #2 can stretch the floor. JJ#2 also seems to be smart. JJ#1? He never gave me that impression.
Z vs Perk - Even with his March vacation, Z was pretty much done by the 2010 playoffs. He only played 70 minutes total and didn’t get in for every game. +/- suggests that Z did OK on defense, but his offense had declined so much that he was a mess on the floor. That’s how Perk has played this year. If there’s 70 minutes that has to go to a vet on the 2015 team, I’d like to see those minutes go to Mike Miller.
Daniel Gibson vs Dellavedova - Two flawed players, but Dellavedova is more rugged, knows how to look off a pass. Delly shoots the 3 well enough to be useful in the offense but Gibson shot 47% on the three ball that season and was a better defender against quick guards. I forget what happened, but Gibson fell completely out of the rotation in the 2010playoffs. Was he injured? Judging by what we see on twitter, some people appear seem to suggest that they’d be happy if the same thing happened to Delly this year.
Chemistry:
The core of the 2010 Cavs had the advantage of playing together for a long time and they were coming off a great 2008-09 campaign, but things seemed a little wrong after the trade deadline. The Jamison trade upset the balance some how, and I give some credence to the rumors that LeBron was sick of Mike Brown by that point. The Gloria James stuff is like the Bermuda triangle. Can't disprove it, but eventually everyone will forget about it because it doesn't make any sense.
2015 team seems to be going into the playoffs with some great camaraderie. I enjoyed watching Wednesday's meaningless game a lot. Everyone on the team looked excited about this year's playoffs.
Coaching:
On one side, we’ve got Mike Brown. Mike Brown is a system coach. He’s an NBA lifer, so he knew what goes on before and after the games. He used that experience to make a system that prepared the team for the playoffs. Build a steady rotation that doesn’t make waves in the locker room. Create a bunker mentality for the players. Grind out the game with defense. Let the transcendent super star take over in the final minutes. Contrary to popular opinion, he had an offensive play book, but it was so ridged and complex that the players usually chucked it out the window, and Brown didn’t seem to mind as long as they stuck with the defensive system. His style wasn’t pretty to all fans, but it did a good job at getting the Cavs to the second round of the playoffs every year and often made players with weak defensive skills into useful parts. The problem was that as the team would get to close to the top of the mountain, and the talent difference between teams was slim, Brown was getting beat out by better tacticians when it mattered.
On the other side we’ve got Blatt, who was well loved in Europe and had a rep as an excellent tactician. I have mixed feelings about Blatt so far. He’s the Cavs coach, so I want him to do well, but he has not handled the press like a vet coach and his rotations in the first 50 games of the season often ended up somewhere between ”head scratching” and “face palming”. The players chucked his the play book out the window too and I feel that if Blatt was in the same situation that Mike Brown was as a rookie coach, he would have lost the team. Fortunately for Blatt, the midseason trades cleaned out the drama & brought in the parts he needed. Blatt has also befitted from the fact that the 2015 Lebron is grown up enough to eventually let go of his share of the drama and get on with winning games. Ultimately though, this has just been an introduction so far. The real show starts in the playoffs, and that’s where Blatt’s real NBA legacy is going to be created.
Point Guard:
27 year old Mo Williams vs. Kyrie Irving - Like Mo, Kyrie is considered a scoring guard. Both can score from anywhere on the floor, but Kyrie scores more efficiently and with a higher volume. Like Mo, Kyrie isn’t considered a good defender, but Mo really lacks lateral mobility while Kyrie has some better wheels. Kyrie has also put in a lot of effort to learn that side of the game this year. Mo struggled to bring the ball up the court under pressure, while Kyrie looks at traps as a chance to show off some of the best dibbling skills in the NBA. Interesting note: Mo has a better wing span and standing reach that Kyire.
Shooting Guard:
Anthony Parker vs. J.R. Smith - Parker & Smith are both great shooters with prototypical SG length, great mobility as defenders and both had enough basketball skills to be capable of initiating the offense for short stretches. Parker was 34 by the time he came to Cleveland, while Smith is 29 and that makes a big difference in athleticism. Parker was well known for having a remarkably mature & focused personality while Smith? Maybe J.R. has grown up. At least for a little bit.
The Lebron:
25 year old LeBron James vs 30 year old LeBron James – He can’t fly as high, but he’s certainly grown up a lot. He knows what he has to go through to get another ring. Hopefully he’s also able to explain it to his team mates so they can learn through winning instead of learn through losing.
Power Forward:
Antwan Jamison vs Kevin Love - Kevin Love shoots better than Jamison. Kevin passes better. It’s pretty safe to say that Love is at least as good of a defender. I have never seen Kevin attempt a “flick shot”. No one in the world would argue that the clear fact that Kevin rebounds better. So just in case I’m not being clear, I think the Cavs have vastly improved at PF on just about every level that you can measure. Now he just needs to shoot the three better than Jamison's playoff rate of 25%.
Center:
Shaq vs. Mozgov - Shaq’s defensive numbers in the 2010 playoffs were horrible and his offense was not enough to make up for it. Shaq couldn’t defend the pick and roll even if you gave him Nick Van Exel’s baseball bat. The 2010 Cavs really lacked a rim protector in the worst way and Mozgov has enough strength, length and nimbleness to protect the rim in a number of great ways. The best part is that he’s not going to demand touches from guys that can be volume scorers. Interesting note: Reviewing the numbers, I see that the 2010 Shaq had a decent 8 foot shot going on from the middle of the key while Mozgov has been hitting his 18 foot baseline jumpers.
Bench:
Anderson Varejao vs . Tristan Thompson - Both were the 6th man for the team. Varejao was the better finisher and cutter while Tristan Thompson best super power seems to be that he’s nigh invulnerable. Both finished games because Coach liked that they could switch on the pick and roll. Neither could stretch the floor or even hit reliably hit a mid-range shot. On paper they look so much the same, but Thompson has never been able to move the +/- needle like Varejao could.
Delonte West vs. Shumpert – Shumpert, like West before him, gives most of his contribution on the defensive end of the floor. Shumpert was supposed to be able to play PG, while Delonte actually could. Delonte showed a more versatile offensive game, but he seemed to lose his 3 point shot in 2010. That limited Delonte’s ability to help the team on offense when LeBron took the ball. Let’s hope that Shumpert does better than Delote’s 16% 3pt shooting in the playoffs. And stays away from Gloria. =)
Jamario Moon vs Shawn Marion - I was surprised to see that the Cavs 8th man in the 2010 playoffs was Jamario Moon. The 2010 Jamario had dunks and corner threes, just like Shawn this year. Jamario shot 50% from beyond the arc in the playoffs. Wouldn’t it be great if Marion could step up and do that too? Well if he doesn’t, the Cavs have a chorus line of other old combo forwards that can.
JJ Hickson vs James Jones - Back in 2010, JJ#1 got his 8 minutes a game off the bench like clockwork. Coach might feel that JJ#2 deserves similar minutes. Neither could defend, but at least JJ #2 can stretch the floor. JJ#2 also seems to be smart. JJ#1? He never gave me that impression.
Z vs Perk - Even with his March vacation, Z was pretty much done by the 2010 playoffs. He only played 70 minutes total and didn’t get in for every game. +/- suggests that Z did OK on defense, but his offense had declined so much that he was a mess on the floor. That’s how Perk has played this year. If there’s 70 minutes that has to go to a vet on the 2015 team, I’d like to see those minutes go to Mike Miller.
Daniel Gibson vs Dellavedova - Two flawed players, but Dellavedova is more rugged, knows how to look off a pass. Delly shoots the 3 well enough to be useful in the offense but Gibson shot 47% on the three ball that season and was a better defender against quick guards. I forget what happened, but Gibson fell completely out of the rotation in the 2010playoffs. Was he injured? Judging by what we see on twitter, some people appear seem to suggest that they’d be happy if the same thing happened to Delly this year.
Chemistry:
The core of the 2010 Cavs had the advantage of playing together for a long time and they were coming off a great 2008-09 campaign, but things seemed a little wrong after the trade deadline. The Jamison trade upset the balance some how, and I give some credence to the rumors that LeBron was sick of Mike Brown by that point. The Gloria James stuff is like the Bermuda triangle. Can't disprove it, but eventually everyone will forget about it because it doesn't make any sense.
2015 team seems to be going into the playoffs with some great camaraderie. I enjoyed watching Wednesday's meaningless game a lot. Everyone on the team looked excited about this year's playoffs.
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