Midseason report: Chemistry is Cavs' team strength
Friday, January 23, 2009 12:46 AM EST
By Bob Finnan
RFinnan@News-Herald.comFirst in a two-part series examining the Cavaliers' first half of the season. Saturday: What lies ahead in the second half.
When former NBA coach and current ESPN radio analyst Dr. Jack Ramsay looked at the Cavaliers at the beginning of the season, he had trepidations.
"I didn't think they had the personnel," he said.
The Golden State game at 10:30 tonight will mark the official halfway point of the 2008-09 season.
The more Ramsay watches the Cavs, the more he's convinced they have what it takes to win an NBA championship.
"What they have is a team," he said. "Team is always better than personnel. Of course, your personnel has to be at an NBA level."
Ramsay said he still doesn't think the Cavs have the overall star power of some of the league's elite teams.
Currently, the Cavs are missing two key performers in center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who is sidelined with a sprained left ankle and a chipped bone in his left ankle, and guard Delonte West, who will miss five to six weeks with a fractured right wrist.
"When you match the talent of this team with the Lakers or the Celtics, you're matching Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant with Delonte West," Ramsay said. "You wouldn't think on paper that would be sufficient. It turns out, it is.
"But put aside the matchups and the personnel comparisons. It's what the team is doing. LeBron (James) is having a huge season. This is LeBron's best season. Everyone else is playing well. Delonte is playing well. (Center Anderson) Varejao is playing at his best level. Mo Williams makes a big difference. It's nice to see."
For the numbers freaks out there, Ramsay said the Cavs have hit the trifecta of statistical categories.
"They are leading the league in field-goal percentage allowed at (.422), points allowed at (89.6) and point differential at (11.1)," he said.
"Those are incredible stats. You win with that."
ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said the Cavs have to be taken seriously.
"They have the MVP of the league," he said. "He's playing as well as anyone in the league.
"There's no question they can win it. They play very good defense. They added firepower and punch to lineup since midpoint of season last year. There is no perfect team in the NBA. The Cavs are one of three or four teams that can win it."
The Cavs are off to their best record in franchise history at 32-8. They are also the league's only unbeaten team at home at 20-0.
In awe of 23
Like the rest of the league, Ramsay marvels at James' sixth NBA season. Despite playing fewer minutes, he's second in the league with his 27.6 scoring average and is averaging 7.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.05 steals per game.
"LeBron leads this team in almost every important category," Ramsay said. "He's shooting (49.7) percent, is second in rebounding only to Varejao, and leads in assists, steals and blocked shots. It's been great to see."
Grizzlies forward Darius Miles, once a building block in Cleveland, has kept close tabs on James.
"He's turned into a superhero," Miles said. "He was like Superman when he was young."
He's not surprised in the least the Cavs have climbed to such great heights.
"When you have caliber player like LeBron, you have to surround him with some good guys and try to win a championship," Miles said.
Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni, once an assistant coach under Mike Fratello with the Cavs, is also impressed.
"LeBron is bringing the big-time juice," he said. "He's on a mission. It seems like he's bringing all his gold-medal experience with him."
Iavaroni said the Most Valuable Player award could be earmarked for James. It would be the first time in history a Cavs' player earned the prestigious award.
"I have no doubt in my mind," he said. "You can make a case for (Miami guard) Dwyane (Wade). But that team doesn't have quite the success. I look at (Lakers guard) Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron."
Many think James' improvement has been off the charts. That includes Cavs general manager Danny Ferry.
"He's been incredible for us on so many levels, on both ends of the court, and from the leadership standpoint," Ferry said. "He continues to grow as a leader and a player. It's been very apparent in the first half of the season."
The GM agrees James has made huge strides on the defensive end.
"LeBron has improved defensively every year working in Mike Brown's system," Ferry said. "Having the Olympic experience with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) reinforced what Mike coaches. He's absorbed it and he's grown quite a bit there."
Been there, done that
Cavs power forward Ben Wallace won an NBA championship in Detroit in 2004.
He said he believes the Cavs have the necessary ingredients to win it all in 2009.
"We have a lot of guys who know what it takes to win at this level," he said.
"We are playing as a team. Everyone is on the same page and trying to get better every night they step on the floor."
Wallace said making a run at their first NBA title this year is the Cavs' ultimate goal.
"That's our main focus when we step out on the floor," he said. "As long as we stay healthy, the sky is the limit. We came in with the mindset that we wanted to be one of the best teams in the league. We have to go out and do that every night."
The regular season is preparation for what lies ahead.
"We want to get better every day," James said. "We don't want to waste an opportunity to get better, whether it's a practice or a game. We have a big goal and that's to win an NBA championship."
Chemistry lesson
Wallace said team chemistry can't be overlooked. Every team that's won a title has had it.
"Chemistry is always huge," he said. "You've got to like your teammates. You can't always make things happen for yourself. Sometimes you have to make plays for your teammates. If you don't like the guy you're playing next to, it's going to be tough."
Guard Mo Williams said the Cavs' chemistry is what separates them from most teams.
"Everyone believes in one another and trusts one another on both sides of the ball," he said. "We put our work in. We take care of business. We're working our tail off in practice, after practice, before practice. We get in the film room. We look at things we didn't do right and can improve on."
Williams said he credits James' influence for the Cavs being more cohesive than any team on which he's played.
"We have one of the better players — if not the best — in the game," he said. "He's also one of the best teammates I've ever played with. He could separate himself from his other teammates if he chose to, but that's not in his nature. That's not the person he is.
"His teammates feed off him. We are respectful of one another. You don't win games without chemistry. We came into this thing giving everybody the benefit of the doubt. We trusted one another coming in and nobody has let anybody down. That brought the chemistry quick."
When West broke his wrist in the Chicago game on Jan. 15, the entire team walked across the United Center floor to come to his aid.
"Usually when someone is hurt you have two or three, maybe four players come over to him, but the entire bench as well as starters came over to Delonte West," TNT analyst Reggie Miller said. "(It's) something I've never seen. It shows you how much he means to this team ... to Mike Brown to LeBron James to Mo Williams."
Smallish backcourt
Observers were worried when the Cavs paired the 6-foot-1 Williams with the 6-3 West in their starting backcourt. It's too small, they said. They'd have trouble defending some of the big shooting guards.
Williams, acquired in an offseason trade with Milwaukee, hasn't struggled in his new surroundings. In fact, he's thrived, and he is in line for a possible All-Star berth after averaging 16 points and 3.9 assists.
"Mo has done a great job for us," Ferry said. "He really fit in well from a chemistry standpoint. He's a quality person and a hard worker. He has brought a different dynamic to our team. He's a guard who can push the ball at a quick pace and create shots for himself and others at a high level."
When healthy, the combination of Williams, West and Daniel Gibson makes a formidable rotation.
"It's been a strength of our team in the first half of the year," Ferry said.
The Cavs traded for West at the trade deadline in 2008. He's been way better than advertised, especially on the defensive end.
"Delonte West is a very good basketball player," Ferry said. "He's smart and talented.
"Delonte is so good defensively against point guards and '2' guards. Because of that, he gives us the opportunity to play how we've been playing. He's a heck of a competitor. He's an important player for our team, which is obvious to anyone who's watched us."
No respect?
The Cavs were a run-of-the-mill offensive team in 2007-08. They spread the floor and allowed James to do his magic. That's not the case this season.
Coach Mike Brown has implemented many wrinkles to the offense, including his decision to allow Cavs assistant coach John Kuester to run the show on that end of the floor.
They are scoring 4.2 more points per game than they did last year (96.4 to 100.6) — the third-best improvement in the league.
Also, their field-goal percentage has jumped from 43.9 percent to 47.6 percent.
Brown was criticized for his offensive futilities last season. But when it comes time to pass out praise for what's gone right with the Cavs, Brown doesn't seem to get the accolades.
Of course, that could change if Brown were to win Coach of the Year. Bill Fitch was named the league's top coach for the 1975-76 season, the only time it's happened in franchise history.
ESPN's Tim Legler, speaking on "Coast-to-Coast," said he thinks Brown will get the nod.
"When you take a look at a team that is in the top two in the league in offensive field-goal percentage and top two in defensive field-goal percentage allowed, that is the model of efficiency," he said.
TNT analyst Chris Webber said the Cavs aren't getting the respect they deserve.
"They are the most disrespected team in the NBA," he said. "I think it comes down to Cleveland and the Lakers (as the best team in the NBA) and I still give the edge to the Lakers. (Cleveland) is a good team and we don't respect them like we should."
web page Just thought I'd post this as it appears we're starting to get a little bit of respect.
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