Monday, December 3, 2007

Northern Exposure

Hey everyone! A.C. here – what’s happening?

I wanted to write about the Cavaliers last three games away from The Q, but first I wanted to introduce a new "Ask A.C. Mailbox" where you can send any questions you have to me, and I’ll try to answer as many as I can in my next blog. Just click and submit!

Being without LeBron lately has been difficult. But by not having him this early in the year, you can look at the glass as half-full instead of half-empty. In other words, you have guys who have a chance to step up and play some heavier minutes and the coaches have had a chance to evaluate their contribution.

I think our team should be stronger – in the long run – when LeBron comes back because of this situation. Guys will have to play more minutes that count and they have to be the ones helping out the team – not LeBron. And I think that’s going to bode well for the team later on down the line.

On the other hand, it showed how much LeBron means to us. He is the MVP of the league.

There were some bright spots, despite the record. I thought Boobie played pretty decent for being under the gun. He’s the guy who had to distribute the ball and I think he learned a lot about using his dribble to help his teammates out, instead of using it to score himself. Naturally, Gooden and Z continue to be one of the best front courts in the league. They’ve been stellar all season.

But the three-game streak did show that in our backcourt, we don’t have a lot of guys who can get their own shot. We have guys who need to help them get a shot. We have to find ways to use the pick-and-roll to force penetration. We have to get more dribble-penetration in order to set up better shots for our guys – and we don’t have a lot of that when LeBron’s off the floor.

I thought the Cavs played pretty well, defensively. Toronto’s a little different than Boston, and they’re difficult to defend because they have big guys who can shoot outside. The Pistons are tough because they invert their offense – they have their big guys outside where they can shoot it, and they also have guards who can post you up.
Daniel has been one of the team’s focal points with LeBron out of the lineup. And I think over this whole stretch that Boobie realizes that teams are going to go after him. He fights back. He’s not just going to let teams beat him up.

I had to go through that same situation, where they came at me because I was an offensive-minded player. But you have to learn to play the other end of the floor. He’ll learn how to stay out of early foul trouble. Sometimes when you find yourself in a compromising defensive position, you have to just back off and say, ‘So be it.’ You can’t get in foul trouble that early in the game because of what you mean to the team.

And Boobie will understand that as he goes through his career.

For three games, teams tried doing that to him – either trying to isolate him and take him one-on-one down low, trying to get him in early foul trouble. Especially with LeBron not in the game. Boobie’s the next guy that they feel they have to stop. It’s hard for them to focus on Z and Gooden because they’re already at the basket and once they receive the ball, you can double them. But dribble-penetration is what teams try to stop, and that’s why they’re trying to get Gibson off the floor.

But overall, I think the Cavaliers have actually had a super month.

I didn’t think they would be 9-9 – because of the China trip, coming back to the West Coast. And if you think about it, our record on the road early last year was not good. But we’re finding a way to fight back on the road now.

Road games are almost like home games for us now, except without our crowd. The Cavaliers’ quality of play doesn’t change a lot, and I think they learned that in the Playoffs – that you always have to bring the same effort whether you’re on the road or home.

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