Training Camp News

[Gunther]

Those were great interviews. I especially enjoyed the Shaq and Z interviews. They both have a lot of respect for each other and understand each other's styles very well. I was a little worried about their chemestry (even though they won't be on the floor together much), but I'm not worried about that anymore. Can't wait for this season to start!

 

[Giambiwannabe7]

I just dont see it for the season. I think he might have even a harder time getting minutes this year than last. This is an insanely deep team that is even deeper of powe comes back mid way through.

I'm really banking on this team blowing many teams out of the water again, with many 4th quarters not even seeing our starters on the floor. Mix that with the need to rest our bigs, a growing use of the newly acquired athleticism(JJ fits pretty well in athletic lineups of many types), and a feeling of comfort after going through his first year and I really see JJ getting some decent run this season. I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see him averaging around 20mpg by the end of the season, even with the assumption of a healthy Powe by February.

 

[Karma]

I'm not really agreeing with the comparison of Gooden and Hickson. I know where it is coming from in terms of basketball IQ, but to me they are very different players.

Drew Gooden when he came into the league was a decent offensive player from the get go. Although he drifted a little too much to the perimeter early on he was fairly complete as a player at that end of the floor. I haven't seen any real development offensively. Defensively we all know Drew's limitations. 1 on 1 he was decent, but was a horrible team defender. His awareness was non existent. He did work on his rebounding which is the only part of his game that to me improved over his years. Every other part of his game is at a very similar level to his rookie season.

JJ Hickson on the other hand come out of college quite raw. You can see the explosiveness that made him a very good player in his freshmen season. However there was much development required to compete at the net level. The missed rotations or blown assignments are just as much lack of experience as lack of basketball IQ. His offensive game is raw with plenty of upside compared to Drew's smooth but unreliable offense. Defensively Hickson is a potential top shot blocker unlike Drew. Rebounding wise there is much to work on but it is certainly early days.

Drew Gooden come out of college an NBA ready player that never elevated his game to any great level since his rookie campaign. Hickson is a raw talent with an upside to surpass Drew's average contributions. It also may never take off.

Two very different players in my mind.

 

[Dr. Gymbo]

I'm really banking on this team blowing many teams out of the water again, with many 4th quarters not even seeing our starters on the floor. Mix that with the need to rest our bigs, a growing use of the newly acquired athleticism(JJ fits pretty well in athletic lineups of many types), and a feeling of comfort after going through his first year and I really see JJ getting some decent run this season. I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see him averaging around 20mpg by the end of the season, even with the assumption of a healthy Powe by February.

I agree with you. I want to see J.J. get plenty of minutes when we play teams that are not as big of a challenge, especially if the team takes care of business early in the game. In addition to J.J. Hickson getting playing time, I really want to see Danny Green get some time to play as well. I really cannot wait to see him in action.

As much playing time that our young players can get the better because they either can gain valuable experience and stay with the team or raise their stock for potential trades to go after big time players. I want to see J.J. prove me wrong and have a break-out year. I also want to see Danny Green remain a part of this team just because of his all-around game and ability to do all the little things.

 

[Zog]

LeBron's comments and body language when talking about JJ were extremely encouraging. He almost had a rye smile that said, "watch out for that kid this year, he will do some great things" to me. Maybe I'm looking into it too much, but it seemed LeBron was truly excited about JJ this season, and if LeBron is excited about what someone can do on the basketball court, that's very promising.

 

[lebron_MVP]

Any news on delonte? Any chance he plays tonight?

 

[Cavatt]

I don't think anyone posted this because it came after the other videos were posted yesterday. A lot of the same stuff Lebron said. Why is Lebron spending so much time with Hickson when he is only going to be hear through this season?:chuckles:

<object width="388" height="394" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/06/hickson.091005.cavaliers" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/06/hickson.091005.cavaliers" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="388" wmode="transparent" height="394"></embed></object>

 

[Giambiwannabe7]

Well, JJ certainly looks like his jump from year one to two could in fact be substantial. If the kid can continue to progress defensively I think my prediction of 20mpg may even fall a bit short. Not to mention, instead of garbage time minutes, he could very well see some significant time when the games are still close. I know it's only preseason, but the kid really impressed me tonight.

With the way he was playing, I really could see him fitting into just about any lineup out there. Very impressed by the young man and kicking myself for doubting W&G just a bit earlier this year when he said there are some really high expectations for the kid this year. Excellent start to an important season for JJ. Glad to see him, so far, look like he's up to the task.

 

[JayP146]

Today's interviews from Coach Brown and Lebron:

<object width="388" height="394" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/07/coach.091007.cavaliers" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/07/coach.091007.cavaliers" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="388" wmode="transparent" height="394"></embed></object>

<object width="388" height="394" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/07/james.091007.cavaliers" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/swf/1.1/cvp/nba_embed_container.swf?context=cavaliers&videoId=teams/cavaliers/2009/10/07/james.091007.cavaliers" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="388" wmode="transparent" height="394"></embed></object>