Windhorst On the Money - *UPDATED* 8 PM, May 13th

[Karma]

Comments on the goings on

Prepare for some condescending opinions...

--The Cavs have no chance in the series with the Pistons. You knew this before the series started, you know it now. Don't get all upset about it and let it ruin your month. The Pistons can beat them any way they want. Accept it, learn from it and move on. Cavs had a breakthrough season.

--The Pistons are a jump shot team, a very good one at that, filled with players that can post up but would prefer to shoot jumpers and want to drive by would prefer to get fouled or pull up than actually finish at the rim. Why the Cavs give them so much respect by backing off them and double-teaming them, I don't know. In general I think the entire league gives the Pistons too much respect, which is another way of saying the play scared.

--Speaking of too much respect, as I pointed out in this story, Ben Wallace didn't get a foul until there were eight minutes left in Game 2. He also didn't have any blocks. This is very simple to figure out, the Cavs didn't even think about challenging him. I know he's a great player and he erases shots at the rim but LeBron James is a great player too and he finishes shots at the rim. If you're going to do down, go down fighting.

--Donyell Marshall didn't say anything that anyone should have a problem with. I elected to totally ignore this story because it is a non-story. I was standing there when Donyell made the comment and my thought was "yes, you are correct, Donyell." Now there are some talking heads that think he is a cancer or something. Nonsense!

--LeBron James trashtalked Gilbert Arenas and columnists with nothing else to write about a week later are still buzzing about it. This stuff goes on non-stop in NBA games, especially playoff games. Actually the worst stuff said comes from the bench when opposing players are near. This just happened to be directly caught on camera between the two big stars so it became a big deal. I've been going on radio shows and talking about this around the nation and honestly I think it is memorable and high-profile but still another non-story in the grand scheme. Please, everyone get some damn perspective.

--I've been getting steadily ripped for my fidelity to Zydrunas Ilgauskas all season after his relatively woeful playoff performance. Z has been bad by his standards and it has hurt the team. Why this is the way he plays when he's waited so long to get to the playoffs I don't know. But I still say he's not used correctly in the half court because the Cavs' offense is a mystery. Anderson Varejao looks good when the Cavs are in transition, but he's useless in the halfcourt. The halfcourt is where Z should shine and where the Cavs are getting beat by Detroit. I continue to say he needs to get the ball more in the halfcourt, it's the only chance the Cavs have.

--Speaking of players I've defended all season, I've grown tired of hearing about how when Eric Snow is playing it's 4-on-5 offensively. Well when Ben Wallace plays it's 4-on-5 offensively for Detroit and they seem to be doing OK.

--I don't always agree with Scoop Jackson, but his perspective in this piece should be understood by Cavs fans.

--This a late add, but I think this is great stuff. Not just because a guy who has made like $130 million is accused of shoplifting, it may or may not be true. But because it is totally right out of Sopranos when Tony rips off some Armani sunglasses from Johnny Sack's brother, the civilian optometrist, earlier this season.

Whoa. Someone Making Sense

[PATRICK EWING]

This is why I hate it when Windhorst is on KNR... There needs to be a call in.. Cause roughly everytime he comes on and slobs all over Z, the man gets ripped afterwards... Yet, he never gets to explain what he sees or his views at to why..

I would like for BW to answer whether or not he realizes the following:

Does he realize Z can't get any type of position on the block... NONE

Does he realize that when you go to Z the first 4 possessions of the game, the Cavs usually start out 0-4 or 1-3 at best... NOT QUITE "SETTING THE TONE" IF YOU ASK ME

Does he realize Z is getting completely murdered in transition defense

Does he realize Z is shooting 40%

Does he realize Z is averaging a dominant 3 defensive rebounds a game.

Does he realize Z couldn't catch a cold, much less a pass from LBJ in the paint.

And we don't need to even go into his defense...

--Speaking of players I've defended all season, I've grown tired of hearing about how when Eric Snow is playing it's 4-on-5 offensively. Well when Ben Wallace plays it's 4-on-5 offensively for Detroit and they seem to be doing OK.

Windhorst is losing credibilty with the quickness....And this article didn't help his cause by any means..

Is he really suggesting that a PG who is a non factor in terms of an offense is just the same as a Center ? What a moron...

A post player can get away with it because of the garbage buckets... It's not like you can't throw an OOP to Ben Wallace... It's not like he can't grab an offensive board and put it back in... Seems like alot teams wanted Dennis Rodman in his day...

Snow is running our offense for goodness sakes... What the hell is this man talking about... Calling it the same is idiocy at it's best..

Oh and by the way... Snow is not 1/100th of the defender Ben Wallace is....

I wouldn't say Windhorst is on the money.... I would say Windhorst lost his marbles...

[Karma]

Snow along with James is the only one to step up his game in the playoffs. However this is still well under what we need at the point. Shame our backup offers even less.

As for Ilgauskas, I guess any opinion supporting him is just thrown out by the mob.

[PATRICK EWING]

No that's not true at all.... I could see where a blind person or one with impaired vision could struggle to see what is going on with Z or the Cavs in general...

But, for the people with pretty good vision or adequate vision , it's more than clear what our problems are with this team..

Perhaps moving Z to the 2nd unit would best suit his current day style of game...Perhaps banging with a lesser opponent would help gain his confidence back as i'm sure he would fair better...It could possibly kill two birds with one stone as well... As it would probably be better for the Cavs since they wouldn't be obligated to give Z his early touches in the beginning of the game which usually results in 0 for whatever his attempts are..

[Karma]

I believe the Cavs make a mistake by just going to Z only in those first plays. defenses are at their most allert and will be heavy on onball pressure, particulary in the post. With no perimeter shooters, Z isn't going to have much space. he is low on confidense and this type of pressure in the opening minutes will lead to forced plays. We can play Z alot better. This is not taking the heat off his poor play. Just looking at ways of making our key players efficient again and a differense maker he can be. Ming Z up at the high post early is my suggestion.

To write of Ilgauskas to me is ignorant. He is a starter, and that should not be messed with. With Hughes doubtful for the remainder of the series, we need to find ways to get Z and others back where they should be.

[PATRICK EWING]

The coach of the year Mr. Avery Johnson himself felt a need for a change in his starting lineup and plugged in Devin Harris for game 2 against the Spurs.. It provided huge dividends and a spark for their team..

Now, that is not to suggest that a change would produce results such as that for our situation... However, it does provide a different look for the opponent and it might just wake his ass up... And I don't see what it would hurt ?...Especially at home with the crowd and energy behind them..

And it's not like we would be losing much, cause he's given us nothing at this point to lose... And again, going up against a Dale Davis or Antonio Mcdyess might just be a bit easier to get his game going as opposed to going up against the defensive player of the year and Rasheed Wallace..

[NarlCavs]

There's a difference in just throwing the ball to Z and giving him the ball in situations where he can be most effective. I'm all for trying to get Z going and giving him good scoring opportunities. Z becomes easy to defend when after he catches the ball the other 4 Cavs just stand and watch and there is little to no movement off the ball or some type of attempt to give him options.

Z gets criticized for not establishing good position and for when he got called for a 3 second violation in game 2. On that play Z came down and established great position in the paint and should have received the ball immediately which most likely would have led to an easy basket or 2 FT's. Instead Snow dribbled away time on the perimeter before finally making an entry pass too late.
Z isn't blameless but an offense that uses motion, ball movement and actually runs sets to put players in the best positions to succeed would make everyone much more effective. There's way too much standing around and dribbling away the shot clock.

I would also put any transition defense problems more on the Cavs perimeter players which is also where most of the defensive problems have occurred against Detroit.

I don't want to get in any more Z arguments. He hasn't played well offensively in the playoffs. Still, this season and going forward I'd rather take my chances with him than without him.

[Karma]

I understand exactly what you are saying pip. We do need a change somewhat. With Larr likely gone, moving Ilgauskas as well may be too extreme.

Z has an extremely tough matchup to refind his touch, but through mixing it up rather then just post him up early hopefully get him back.

[CleveRocks]

I have said it before and I'll say it again. Start Anderson and Drew, and run like the suns fo rthe first 8 minutes, then bring in Z and marshall and both will be more effective.

[cdt]

Karma your giving Zydrunas too much credit here. The first time Damon Jones missed a shot this season you exploded about how bad he was and his inadequacy as a player.

Yet Z can snooz through 8 games of this magnitude and he gets a "Pass Go Collect 200 Dollars"? I agree with []D[][]D on this front it's not effective matching him up against the DPOY and having him throw up hooks from the foul line because he can't back Wallace down.

He is doing everything horrible, FG% down, FT% down, rebounds down, assists does he even have any to date? Constant 3 second calls or offensive fouls when he practically knocks the guy down to get near the basket.

The team has made runs with Varejao in the game because he actually does something. He is athletic enough to run with Ben Wallace and challange him for rebounds. He finishes 90% of the time with a dunk instead of a jab or a "flipsy doo" which results in a missed layup and Z at our end of the court.

I'm all for supporting a player when he does well which I clearly did but when he is hurting the team like he is we need to explore other avenues. Unless we're content with sitting at home watching the rest of these games..

[Cleveland56]

good post CDT.

On the bright side, he is probably the first NBA player to ever make 10+ million a year and sit an entire fourth quarter of a playoff game...

I hate to be d!ck with Karma, but I lost a lot of respect for him and really don't take much of his posts seriously after reading his posts after Damon Jones beat the Raptors at the buzzer late in the season.

Something about being upset they didn't get the ball inside enough to Z and Jones hitting a wide open shot at the buzzer isn't really a big deal.

[Pioneer10]

God Windhorst having a C who is bad on offense IS ABSOLUTELY NOT LIKE HAVING A PG WHO SUCKS. Such a freakin terrible comparison.

Wallace for as much as he sucks on offense still is valuable because he sets up vicious screens/picks, can post up smaller players, AND gets offensive rebounds.

A PG like Snow who doesn't shoot well or penetrate or post or push the ball: there is NO way you can hide him. Just becuase of size his screens are effective and is a much smaller target if he rolls to the basket. He has to stay out on the perimeter which means when he gets the ball and he's open he's not shooting a layup (ala Ben Wallace) but a jumper. In addition, the dude always touches the ball because that's his position

Just a dumb dumb comparison.

[Pioneer10]

Even being upset with Z, I think you have to go to him early in Game 3. But this time go with the pick and rolls with Lebron as you can play to his strenght of the midrange jumper. If he can hit the outside jumper THEN see how he does with the ball in the post with his confidence hopefully up from getting a couple of easy buckets.

If the jumpers aren't falling and he's looks scared again, have a quick hook sit him early for AV. No harm done but generally if a player hits a couple of shots the rest of his game will hopefully come around as well.

[cdt]

He basically said..if your making Bananna Cream Pie and you run short of banannas(Eric Snow) you can just use an Orange(Ben Wallace)

They are both (fruits=defensive players) but they are different breeds of defenders (different fruits)

Doesn't add up..I tried to make a good analogy involving a piece of Bananna Cream Pie I had today so cut me some slack.

[Cleveland56]

Actually the comments on the Windhorst blog make more sense:

I repeatedly read in these parts (and others) that Ilgauskas isn't getting the ball. Been reading it since the regular season started. Well, if Ilgauskas rarely touches the ball, then how in the world does he consistently manage to have a ridiculous sum of turnovers, both during the season and now? I believe a player cannot be credited with a turnover unless that player first possesses the ball to turn it over. Please, correct me if I am wrong about this.

Hey, here's a thought: Perhaps opposing coaches prepare differently during a playoff series than they would during an endless 82-game season. Perhaps they stare at film to prepare for a playoff series, and they instantly realize the center is soft, uncoordinated and horrid when double-teamed and/or when defenses collapse. So they design their series defenses accordingly, and just completely ruin his offensive game. Nah...that can't be it.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The man with a lifetime free pass. I wish I could get myself one of those. I've been looking and looking and looking on eBay, but no luck.