Cavs 06-07 season thread

[crazybuckfan40]

I definitely see him being important next year(probably the third SG on the team after Sasha and Hughes) along with Gibson(hopefully the backup PG assuming we get a good veteran this offseason).

I was just saying I don't think he's done anything this year to warrant important playoff minutes.

I think with an emergence of a guy like Brown it would allow for LBJ to get more time on the bench so he isnt logging so many minutes...

Also I don't think that we have the money to bring in a pg that its going to be better than Boobie, and I wouldnt be suprised to see Hughes stay there as well...

 

[Napoleonbuck]

I wouldn't either, but I'm banking on Marshall, Jones, and Newble leaving this offseason by some means or another.

I'm not too worried about Lebron's minutes at this point in the season. Ideally, we get a real PG, Hughes shifts to SG, and Sasha spells Lebron off the bench(with Boobie as backup PG and Brown as backup SG).

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I wouldn't either, but I'm banking on Marshall, Jones, and Newble leaving this offseason by some means or another.

I'm not too worried about Lebron's minutes at this point in the season. Ideally, we get a real PG, Hughes shifts to SG, and Sasha spells Lebron off the bench(with Boobie as backup PG and Brown as backup SG).

I still like Sasha in the starting lineup some how...

Next year Sasha is going to be a guy that will put up 15 on a regular basis...

 

[exhawg]

I still like Sasha in the starting lineup some how...

Next year Sasha is going to be a guy that will put up 15 on a regular basis...

I agree with Sasha in the starting lineup next year. I think he is just getting he feet wet this year and will be even better next year after getting half a season + playoffs of starting experience. I don't believe the Cavs really have any good trade bait this off season and will be lucky if they can unload guys like Jones, Newble, and Marshall (assuming they want to). The only tradeable guys they have are Gooden and Varejao. They might give up Gooden for the right PG, but that would leave their front court weak. They should have the $5 million mid level exception to use on new players, but to get any production from that they will need to find someone that is willing to take less money for the chance to win a championship like the Heat seem to get. Now that the Heat are done maybe the Cavs will have a better shot at getting one of those type of players. As of now I see next years lineup as Hughes, Pavlovic, and James with Gibson and Brown as the primary subs. It would be good to get Hughes, Pavlovic, and Gibson around 30 minutes a game with Brown getting whatever is left.
In the latest Mock Draft that I saw Ron Lewis was the very last pick. If for some reason he doesn't get drafted I would love to see the Cavs sign him as well as Humphrey from Florida.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I agree with Sasha in the starting lineup next year. I think he is just getting he feet wet this year and will be even better next year after getting half a season + playoffs of starting experience. I don't believe the Cavs really have any good trade bait this off season and will be lucky if they can unload guys like Jones, Newble, and Marshall (assuming they want to). The only tradeable guys they have are Gooden and Varejao. They might give up Gooden for the right PG, but that would leave their front court weak. They should have the $5 million mid level exception to use on new players, but to get any production from that they will need to find someone that is willing to take less money for the chance to win a championship like the Heat seem to get. Now that the Heat are done maybe the Cavs will have a better shot at getting one of those type of players. As of now I see next years lineup as Hughes, Pavlovic, and James with Gibson and Brown as the primary subs. It would be good to get Hughes, Pavlovic, and Gibson around 30 minutes a game with Brown getting whatever is left.
In the latest Mock Draft that I saw Ron Lewis was the very last pick. If for some reason he doesn't get drafted I would love to see the Cavs sign him as well as Humphrey from Florida.

I agree with everything you said...I also wuold love for Lewis or Humprey to land here...

Another guy I would like to see get a chance here is the little pg from Wright State...

 

[Napoleonbuck]

I just don't see where Sasha fits in as a starter assuming we address our PG issue sometime this summer.

Unless we feel supremely confident leaving Larry Hughes at PG(which makes sense from a personnel standpoint, but can he play effectively at that position for an entire year?), I just don't see where Sasha starts. I'm hoping Brown talks him into becoming our Ginobli(without the inherent pussiness and whining though) off the bench.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I just don't see where Sasha fits in as a starter assuming we address our PG issue sometime this summer.

Unless we feel supremely confident leaving Larry Hughes at PG(which makes sense from a personnel standpoint, but can he play effectively at that position for an entire year?), I just don't see where Sasha starts. I'm hoping Brown talks him into becoming our Ginobli(without the inherent pussiness and whining though) off the bench.

I am not saying he can't do this, and I would almost like to see Larry come off the bench instead of Sasha...Sasha seems to heat up more when he starts the games, then when he comes off the bench...

I think there is still the option of having Boobie run the point all the time...

 

[Napoleonbuck]

I would be ok with that as well. I was just assuming Larry would start at SG like he has in the past. If Hughes came off the bench, we'd get the same effect. I don't see both of them starting next year though, so I think one of them will have to come off the bench.

 

[exhawg]

I am not saying he can't do this, and I would almost like to see Larry come off the bench instead of Sasha...Sasha seems to heat up more when he starts the games, then when he comes off the bench...

I think there is still the option of having Boobie run the point all the time...

I would like that as well, but I think it would be harder to get Hughes to accept a bench role than it would be to get Pavlovic to do it. Maybe if they piss Hughes off enough he will want a buyout from his contract for pennies on the dollar. Otherwise he should shut is mouth and get paid to be a backup if that's what is best for the team. I love having Gibson and Pavs on the court with Lebron since both of them are good 3 pt shooters. Teams want Hughes to shoot because they know he is going to miss most of the time. I would like to see Hughes limited to 30 minutes a game next season which might help his durability some. It seems like Mike Brown has realized in these playoffs that he can't afford to use defensive specialists like Snow. The Nets and Pistons don't respect him and make it that much harder for the other guys to get open. For Lebron to be effective the Cavs need to have at least 2 shooters on the floor at all times to spread out the defense. I really hope Gibson has a great game tonight.

 

[LitlBuck]

I would like that as well, but I think it would be harder to get Hughes to accept a bench role than it would be to get Pavlovic to do it. Maybe if they piss Hughes off enough he will want a buyout from his contract for pennies on the dollar. Otherwise he should shut is mouth and get paid to be a backup if that's what is best for the team. I love having Gibson and Pavs on the court with Lebron since both of them are good 3 pt shooters. Teams want Hughes to shoot because they know he is going to miss most of the time. I would like to see Hughes limited to 30 minutes a game next season which might help his durability some. It seems like Mike Brown has realized in these playoffs that he can't afford to use defensive specialists like Snow. The Nets and Pistons don't respect him and make it that much harder for the other guys to get open. For Lebron to be effective the Cavs need to have at least 2 shooters on the floor at all times to spread out the defense. I really hope Gibson has a great game tonight.

Excellent post and I agree with your remarks regarding Hughes. Let him sit on the bench for a while and he can count his dollars or have him restructure and trade him. I can't believe he has turned out to be such an offensive liability. I love Sasha and Gibson and their athletic ability.


I know that Shannon Brown was injured during the first part of the year and saw very limited playing time. I have not seen anything about him lately. Does anyone know what his status will be for next year healthwise? He certainly could be a viable option for some playing time at the offguard position.

 

[jwinslow]

How much is Larry Hughes guaranteed if Cleveland were to cut him? It seems like Cleveland could find a more affordable veteran to fill a backup/role player role... and put Hughes' non-guaranteed money towards a more useful free agent.

 

[Big Papa]

I am not saying he can't do this, and I would almost like to see Larry come off the bench instead of Sasha...Sasha seems to heat up more when he starts the games, then when he comes off the bench...

I think there is still the option of having Boobie run the point all the time...

God, it would make me sick to pay a guy that much to come off the bench. I wish there were some way of unloading this guy and his contract. He has been such a huge disappointment. Maybe he is not being properly utilized in the offense, which would not surprise me since Brown has no idea how to run an offense, except for get the ball to LeBron and hope he can do something with it. It will be interesting to see how they play with Hughes out tonight. I am not sure it is a bad thing that he is not playing aside for losing that depth. I would rather see Boobie start at the point, but I am sure Snow will start tonight. I just hope that Boobie sees more minutes. We all know that Snow could not shoot to save his life and Gibson has played well, made big shots, and played good defense. He is a lot quicker down the floor than Snow or Hughes and gives us a guy who can also slash to the basket and create down low. Something Snow doesn't do well and Hughes hasn't been doing. I like the Cavs chances tonight, let's get it evened up and go back to Detroit and steal that one like last year.

 

[Napoleonbuck]

I think Snow will play if Billups starts going off. The thing that scares me most about this is Billups getting hot, especially since we go back to Detroit after this game. Even if we win I don't want Billups getting hot. I'd rather have Prince, Hamilton, Webber, Maxiel, pretty much anyone get hot before Billups. That's the one reason why I'm nervous about losing Hughes. Offensively, it wouldn't surprise me if we broke 90 tonight, but his defense has been superb this series. I hope Gibson and Snow are up to the task.

 

[Big Papa]

I think Snow will play if Billups starts going off. The thing that scares me most about this is Billups getting hot, especially since we go back to Detroit after this game. Even if we win I don't want Billups getting hot. I'd rather have Prince, Hamilton, Webber, Maxiel, pretty much anyone get hot before Billups. That's the one reason why I'm nervous about losing Hughes. Offensively, it wouldn't surprise me if we broke 90 tonight, but his defense has been superb this series. I hope Gibson and Snow are up to the task.

I must be missing that, I know that Billups has not been shooting the lights out, but I seem to see guys going by Hughes a lot in this series. Maybe I only notice when he is not playing good defense. I know he has made some good defensive plays in the series, but I don't think we will be missing much defensively if he is out. Snow plays an admirable defense and Boobie was giving both Billups and Prince fits on the offensive end when he was covering them on Sunday. If the Cavs score over 90, we win. Aren't they undefeated this post season when scoring over 86?

 

[Napoleonbuck]

I think Hughes has been great defensively so far. He moves his feet well, cutting off Billups ability to drive and shoot off the dribble(which Billups LOVES to do). He's good at defending the pick and roll. He has active hands, so he gets his fair share of steals. He has been excellent at help defense(as have all the Cavs so far this series, minus a few key mistakes in rotation that has lead to open three pointers).

Hughes' defense has been critical these first three games.

I will give Gibson credit though. He played pretty amazing defense in game three after Hughes went out. He was bodying up Billups(again, denying him the ability to drive and shoot off the dribble) and he even defended Prince well after the switch on a pick and roll, so I have confidence in him. My only worry is if he can go a whole game and play that type of defense throughout(something he hasn't been asked to do yet this year). That's why I think it's important Snow gives us some quality minutes in this game.