Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the category “Cleveland Cavaliers”

05 Jan 2012

Someone should check Hollins’ gymbag

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be short a player for tonight’s game in Toronto after Samardo Samuels was unable to make the trip because he lost his passport.

With Samuels unavailable, Ryan Hollins will fill the backup role at center. If he gets in the game, it will be the first action Hollins has seen since opening night.

Did anyone with the Cavs think to check Hollins’ locker for the missing passport?

***

Cold Hard Football Facts threw a little cold water on Seneca Wallace’s quest to replace Colt McCoy as the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback in 2012.

According to the site:

With a chance to play in the final three games of the season, Seneca Wallace wanted to prove himself worthy of a starting quarterback position. However, he didn’t get the job done as the Browns lost those three games by a combined 13 points. Perhaps if Wallace played one level better than Colt McCoy, the Browns win a few games and Wallace gets a chance to further prove himself in 2012.

Wallace posted a weak 50.27 Real Quarterback Rating. This includes completing only two of 14 passes attempted to Greg Little or Mohamed Maasquoi.

Overall, Wallace finished with a 65.87 QBR, while Colt McCoy finished with a 75.16 QBR. Clearly, neither quarterback worked in this limited offense, and McCoy should be the leading candidate to return as the starter in 2012.

Not sure we like either option, but Wallace definitely didn’t do himself any favors over the last three games of the season.

***

Everton’s Tim Howard became the fourth goalie – and second American – in Premier League history to score a goal in Tuesday’s game against Bolton.

But just like when Brad Friedel scored, Everton ended up losing.

***

Finally, Jonah Keri at Grantland is not a believer in the Window in baseball – the short period of time in which small-revenue clubs supposedly have to compete.

Keri writes that: There is a nugget of truth behind this Window obsession. Smaller-revenue teams have a tougher time signing premium free agents, or retaining their own top players past their initial six years of team control. That puts extra pressure on these poorer teams to bring up a bunch of great prospects all at once, then hope they get good at the same time before they get expensive.

But far more often it’s a … excuse. It’s a vague, faraway goal that always seems several years out of reach. It’s a cover for cheap, greedy ownership, lousy scouting, drafting, and player development, and myopic trades. It’s a weak attempt to placate a fan base screwed over by years of management incompetence and indifference.

We think the Dolans would like to have a word with Keri.

***

Finally, today is the 31th anniversary of the Browns playoff loss to Oakland in the Red Right 88 game.

That was the day we learned what it meant to be a Browns (and Cleveland) fan. We were obviously much younger then and that was the first Browns team we fell in love with.

If only Brian Sipe had thrown the ball to Dave Logan this site would exist under a different name and would possibly have a different tone to it. But that’s not the way it worked out.

If you’re in the mood, video of the final drive is here. If you want to relive that magical season, Jonathan Knight’s book, Kardiac Kids: The Story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns, is an excellent read.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, NBA, NFL, Tim Howard | Leave a comment
31 Dec 2011

Year in Review – Fourth Quarter

As we enter the last few days of 2011, it’s time to take a look at the past year in sports.

While it was another year without a title from any of Cleveland’s teams, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting.

For the First Quarter, check here.

For the Second Quarter, check here.

For the Third Quarter, check here.

The Browns entered October at 2-1, but the wheels quickly fell off as the Orange and Brown looked like an expansion team in losing to Tennessee.

Things got worse the following week when word came out that Peyton Hillis’ agent advised Hillis to miss a game because of strep throat. Somehow a player missing a game because of injury/illness became a controversy, which in hindsight was a precursor to the hysteria surrounding Colt McCoy later in the season.

Coming out of the bye week the Browns got knocked around by the Raiders, squeaked out a win against the Seahawks and closed the month with a loss on the road to the 49ers.

Along the way the team lost linebacker Marcus Benard for the season to a motorcycle accident and the team continued looking for an answer to The Colt McCoy Question.

The month also had us questioning the level of competition the U.S. Men’s National Team faces.

In November, the Indians were movers on the first day of baseball’s off-season, declining the option on outfielder Grady Sizemore, picking up the option on pitcher Fausto Carmona and trading for starting pitcher Derek Lowe.

The Browns continued cutting away the dead wood left behind by “super coach” Eric Mangini, releasing wide receiver Brian Robiskie.

The fun continued on the field, as the Browns were rolled in Texas, lost on a blocked field goal – and poor snap by formerly reliable long snapper Ryan Pontbriand – against St. Louis, pulled out a win, thanks to a goal-line stand, against Jacksonville and lost on a late touchdown against the Bengals.

Fans struggled during the month to separate reality from perception and some even longed for a past that existed only in their imaginations.

December opened with the Browns losing at home to the Ravens.

Four days later it all hit the fan as the Browns lost to Pittsburgh on an NFL Network Thursday night game and Colt McCoy suffered a concussion at the hands of repeat offender James Harrison.

Harrison earned a much-deserved suspension, but thanks to a poor choice of words by Browns coach Pat Shurmur the local media, always desperate for a controversy surrounding the Browns, worked overtime to create one.

Team president Mike Holmgren tried to calm the waters, but we’re not sure everyone got the message.

The Browns took the Cardinals to overtime before falling in Week 15, and staged a rally that fell short in Baltimore in Week 16 to fall to 4-11 on the season.

Also during December, Clint Dempsey became the highest-scoring American in the Premier League.

The end of the month also saw us make our debut at The Cleveland Fan.

And that’s a wrap on the year in Cleveland sports. Thanks to everyone who read and commented during the year, if you like what you see be sure to come back and spread the word.

We’re looking forward to new opportunities in 2012 and, while we’re not sure what will happen in Cleveland sports, there is no doubt that it will be anything but boring.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year’s.

(Photo courtesy of Cleveland Browns.com)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment
30 Dec 2011

Year in Review – Third Quarter

As we enter the last few days of 2011, it’s time to take a look at the past year in sports.

While it was another year without a title from any of Cleveland’s teams, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting.

For the First Quarter, check here.

For the Second Quarter, check here.

July started on a high note for the Indians, as Austin Kearns’ three-run homer helped beat the Yankees on the Fourth of July. But injuries started to catch up with the team and a lack of offense dropped the team down the standings culminating in the inevitable – a no-hitter at the hands of Ervin Santana.

The front office shocked everyone though, trading for starting pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez at the end of the month. The Tribe gave up both Drew Pomeranz and Alex White – the top two pitching prospects in the organization – in the deal.

The NFL lockout ended in July, bringing the return of the Browns and the official start of the Pat Shurmur era as coach.

Just before the end of the month the U.S. Soccer team named Jürgen Klinsmann as head coach of the national team.

And we had an excellent time at Waiting for Next Year’s gathering at Canal Park.

In August, the Tribe made one last run at Detroit for the division lead as they took 2-of-3 from the Tigers. But a sweep at the hands of Detroit late in the month effectively ended the Tribe’s season.

After falling out of the pennant race, and needing something to draw fans to the games with the start of the NFL season on the horizon, the Indians brought Jim Thome home for a cameo.

Even though the Tribe faded in the second half of the season, it was fun while it lasted.

Browns camp opened with second-year defensive backs Joe Haden and T.J. Ward expressing their excitement for new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron’s 4-3 defense.

We were also left asking, not for the first time, what the Browns were doing at the wide receiver position.

This being the Browns they couldn’t get through training camp without losing a key player, as Eric Steinbach was lost for the year with a back injury.

And the release of the documentary Senna reminded us of the artistry of Formula One driver Aryton Senna.

September brought about the official end of the Indians season, but the team gave fans plenty to cheer about in 2011 and plenty to look forward to next year.

And the Browns were back for the 2011 NFL season with Colt McCoy in his first full season as starting quarterback.

Things got off to a rocky start in Week 1 as the Browns fell to the Bengals following a defensive breakdown. It was only one game but, this being Cleveland, plenty of fans were already on the ledge.

Week 2 saw the team give Pat Shurmur his first victory as an NFL head coach. It wasn’t surprising the team did well, as the game against the Colts was the last with a healthy Peyton Hillis for quite a while.

The Browns followed that win with a late victory over the Dolphins in Week 3 as the defense helped save the day.

General manager Tom Heckert also made the right decision to take it slow when it came to a contract extension with Hillis.

Coming Friday: Injuries help the Browns season take a turn for the worse, the team continues to prune the dead wood left from the Eric Mangini era, and Colt McCoy’s concussion turns into a manufactured controversy.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment
28 Dec 2011

Year in Review – Second Quarter

As we enter the last few days of 2011, it’s time to take a look at the past year in sports.

While it was another year without a title from any of Cleveland’s teams, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting.

For the First Quarter, check here.

April brought the first full month of Tribe baseball, and the Indians got the season off on a nice start, especially the starting pitching. The month included a 9-2 stretch where the starters threw 74 innings and gave up just 15 earned runs – a 1.82 ERA.

The month also meant the best day for Browns fans each year – the NFL Draft.

Browns fans know, based on his previous work, that the team is in good hands with general manager Tom Heckert and fans were rewarded when Heckert selected three starters in the first two rounds – Phil Taylor, along with Jabaal Sheard and Greg Little.

We tried to warn people that the Madden Curse is real, but no one listened and Peyton Hillis was voted to the game’s cover.

And when it comes to Cleveland teams, we realized it is always good to have options.

May saw the Indians continue on their hot streak and turn into the team that Cleveland needed. The Tribe was led by its starting pitching, a bullpen that didn’t get any respect and a never-say-die attitude from the offense.

Unfortunately, by the end of the month cracks had started to show that would plague the team for the rest of the year.

The Cavs hit the jackpot in the NBA Draft lottery, taking home the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the upcoming draft.

And Jim Tressel paid for his years of lies by “resigning” as football coach at Ohio State.

June saw the Kent State men’s golf team on the verge of its second-consecutive Top 20 finish on the season and the baseball team just miss out on the first visit to the Super Regionals in school history.

The month was not kind to the Indians, who fell out of first on June 14. Leading the downfall was the continued decline of starting pitcher Fausto Carmona.

The rebuilding continued for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA draft, as the Cavs found coach Byron Scott his point guard in Duke’s Kyrie Irving at No. 1 and selected Texas power forward Tristan Thompson.

At the end of the month, the Cavs finally decided they had seen enough of the enigma that is J.J. Hickson, trading the third-year forward/center to Sacramento for small forward Omri Casspi.

And the U.S. Men’s National Team made it to the final of the Gold Cup, only to lose to Mexico 4-2 – after holding a 2-0 lead.

Coming Wednesday: The Tribe makes a major move, the U.S. Men’s National Team starts the Jurgen Klinsman era and the Browns open the 2011 NFL season in less than stellar fashion.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Jurgen Klinsmann, US soccer | Leave a comment
27 Dec 2011

Year in Review – First Quarter

As we enter the last few days of 2011, it’s time to take a look back at the past year in sports.

While it was another year without a title from any of Cleveland’s teams, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting.

January started off with Browns team president Mike Holmgren telling “super coach” Eric Mangini that he and his 10-22 record (2-10 within the division) were no longer needed in Berea.

Thankfully, Holmgren fought off the urge to hire the over-rated Jon Gruden before finally selecting Rams’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur for the job, with the biggest selling point being that Shurmur, Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert are all on the same page when it comes to football philosophy.

One thing that concerned us at the time was Shurmur’s desire to be his own offensive coordinator, which may have hurt the team as it looked to fill out the coaching staff. But the team looks to have gotten it right with the hiring of Dick Jauron to run the 4-3 defense.

The month also found the Cavs deep into a slump that would eventually reach 26 games as the team went from Dec. 18 until Feb. 11 without a win.

February brought spring training and the hope that the Indians would go with a youth movement.

The Cavs pushed their losing streak to the historic brink before finally beating the Clippers in overtime.

Cavs general manager Chris Grant scored the biggest win of the season, trading Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Clippers for Baron Davis and an unprotected lottery pick that turned out to be the No. 1 overall selection in the draft.

The team also helped its draft position when leading scorer Antawn Jamison was lost for the year with a finger injury. While we don’t like to see anyone get hurt, Jamison being out of the lineup helped the Cavs pile up the losses.

As the month moved on, we learned more about why the Browns parted with Mangini, first when they released several “Mangini guys” from an aging roster, and later when general manager Tom Heckert explained the team’s new direction.

Finally, March opened with the unraveling of the tapestry of lies that Jim Tressel wove at Ohio State. As the month continued, the spin coming out of Columbus was dizzying. Apparently they never taught anyone at OSU that a lie ain’t a side of the story, it’s just a lie.

Luckily we had the Kent State men’s basketball team, which showed everyone you can be successful the right way.

Sadly, the NCAA didn’t agree, as they gave Cinderella a shocker on Selection Sunday: of the 37 at-large bids for the NCAA basketball tournament, only seven went to teams not in major conferences, one fewer than the previous year. The mid-majors got their revenge, however, during the tournament’s opening weekend.

As the Cavs continued through the month and the losses continued to tally, we started to worry that the team had quit on coach Byron Scott. But the Wine & Gold closed out the month with a victory over the Miami Heat.

And even though they hadn’t played a game in almost two months, the Browns were still in the news.

First, the team resigned back-up quarterback Seneca Wallace as insurance for Colt McCoy, Mike Holmgren told fans to keep calm & carry on and we started thinking about every Browns fan’s favorite time of the year: the NFL Draft.

Coming Tuesday: The Indians find early success, the Browns continue rebuilding the foundation of an aging defense, the U.S. Men’s National Team looks for a Gold Cup and the Cavs grab a point guard.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
24 Nov 2011

A Cleveland sports fan gives thanks

It’s hard sometimes as a Cleveland fan to find things to be thankful for.

With no championships since 1964 and a collective 135-year drought among the Browns, Indians and Cavaliers, things have definitely been tough through the years.

But there are still moments that have us feeling thankful …

Dick Snyder on the dribble drive.

Nate Thurmond

World B. Free

Roy Harper for Brad Daugherty

Trading for Mark Price

The Coliseum for Cavs games in the late ’80s

Lenny Wilkens

Brian Sipe to Dave Logan

Bernie Kosar to Webster Slaughter

Mark Gastineau

Clay Matthews chasing quarterbacks

Run William Run

Gerald McNeil returning kicks at Three Rivers Stadium

51-0

Phil Dawson

Eric Metcalf returning punts at Municipal Stadium

Josh Cribbs

Mark Mosley

Joe Carter for Sandy Alomar and Carlos Baerga

Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar turning a double play

Albert Belle’s grand slam against Baltimore

CC Sabathia in 2007

Cliff Lee in 2008

Orel Hershiser in Game 5

Fausto Carmona in Game 2

Manny being Manny

Dick Jacobs

Midges

Kenny Lofton scoring from second on a wild pitch

Jim Thome deep to right

Tony Fernandez batting against Baltimore

Chuck Knoblauch

That we don’t worship at the altar of a college football coach

Joe Tait

Nev Chandler

Tom Hamilton

That there was once a gleam along the shores of Lake Erie

Finally, we’re thankful for a vibrant, thoughtful, opinionated and far-reaching online Cleveland sports community. The collective IQ of the average Cleveland sports fan fell in the fall of 1995, when the combination of the Indians making the World Series for the first time since 1954 and the news that the Browns were moving to Baltimore short-circuited the brains of most fans.

Those links prove that there is still some brain power out there among the fan base.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians | Leave a comment
24 Sep 2011

Out of sight, out of mind

The NBA announced on Friday that training camps, which were scheduled to open Oct. 3, are postponed indefinitely and that 43 preseason games have been canceled because of the ongoing labor fight between the league and its players.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

The thing is, we’re not sure we really care.

It’s not that we don’t enjoy rooting for the Cavs. And we’re eager to see how coach Byron Scott works rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson into the squad.

It’s just that we have a serious case of labor fatigue at this point. After going through the NFL lockout and all that it entailed, we just don’t have room any more to care about another labor issues involving millionaires and billionaires fighting over the money pie.

The league and its players don’t really care about the fans and, as fans, there is not much we can do about the ongoing labor issues. That’s also contributing to our feeling of ambivalence toward the whole lockout.

Plus didn’t we just go through this in 1999? Wasn’t that work stoppage – which caused the league to miss games – supposed to solve the problem? Why are we here again?

We admit we might feel differently if the Cavs were still a 60+ win team and a threat to challenge for an NBA title. The prospect of missing games under that scenario would be far different.

But for now, our attitude is call us when this is all over.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, lockout fatigue, NBA | Leave a comment
21 Jul 2011
2 Comments

The true voices of the Cleveland fan

Had an excellent time last night at Waiting for Next Year’s gathering at Canal Park.

The night offered up the chance to meet several members of the WFNY staff, as well as Peter from Cleveland Frowns (turns out we have a mutual friend) and several others.

While it was great to meet everyone – and the 20-ounce Leinenkugels were perfect on a hot summer night (draft beer is truly one of life’s little pleasures) – even better was the opportunity to sit and talk with fellow Cleveland fans about why they write.

We had good conversations with Rick from WFNY and with Frowns about why they started their respective sites. It’s interesting that none of the founders of WFNY or Frowns himself ever aspired to be sports writers, but still gravitated to writing because they had something to say and were willing to put their opinions out there.

Sites like Cleveland Frowns, WFNY, The DiaTribe, Ten Cent Beers, RiverBurn (and this one), among others, are all working to make sure the voice of the fan is heard like never before. We are all working, in our own way, to give Cleveland what it needs, rather than something it already has.

And, just as importantly, this group is doing it without any hysterics. It has always drove us batty when we hear people ripping a particular player and then concluding that the player should be traded for a superstar. You won’t find that kind of irrational thought at most of the local sites, which is refreshing.

Rick pointed out that everyone at WFNY has a different style and brings different perspectives to the table. And you can see that applies to everyone else within the community. Frowns certainly has a unique voice, and The DiaTribe is a textbook example of quality over quantity. In their own way, everyone brings something beneficial to the discussion.

During our conversations the point was made that, as recently as 10 years ago, the only way you could be heard as a fan was to wait on hold for two hours so you could have 30 seconds with someone like Greg Brinda. (How depressing is that?)

Now those days are over and everyone – from the teams to the fans – are better off for it.

Rick talked about how front-office people from the local teams read WFNY to learn what fans are saying; Frowns talked about similar experiences with his site. If the teams are reading the sites, that only strengthens the message that the writers and the fans are delivering.

Plus, the more voices that are being heard the better – especially in a one-newspaper town like Cleveland. There is little doubt that the appetite for news about the local teams is enormous, which means there is plenty of room at the table for everyone to share an opinion.

We’re not as hard on the local beat writers as some – primarily because we used to be in the business – but if someone were to only receive their news about the Cavs, Indians and Browns from The Plain Dealer or WKNR, they would walk away with a perspective that is often not in touch with how fans really feel.

But with so many sites available comes a wide variety of opinions and, even if you sometimes disagree, the fact that so many people are talking and investing the time it takes to maintain a site shows the passion of Cleveland’s sports fans.

We’re definitely glad we decided to take a seat at the table.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland fans, Cleveland Frowns, Cleveland Indians, waiting for next year
01 Jul 2011
2 Comments

Cavs send the enigma out of town

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally decided they had seen enough of the enigma that is J.J. Hickson, trading the third-year forward/center to Sacramento for small forward Omri Casspi.

The Cavs also receive a lottery-protected first round pick from the Kings as the team works to rebuild the franchise and stockpile draft picks.

The first round is lottery-protected in 2012, then is protected in 2013 if it is one of the first 13 picks, 2014 (1-12) and 2015-2017 (1-10). If the pick is not sent to the Cavs by 2017, then Sacramento will convey its own 2017 second round draft pick to the Cavaliers.

Got all that?

“This is another step in our on-going process to shape and position our team and roster for future growth and a platform for sustained success,” general manager Chris Grant said in a press release. “We’re excited to add a young, talented, tough-minded player like Omri, that we feel is a good fit for our team and can help improve our perimeter group, while also being able to obtain another important asset with the additional first round draft pick.”

Stat wise, the deal appears to be a wash. In three seasons with the Cavs, Hickson averaged 20.9 minutes a game, 9.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. In two seasons with the Kings, Casspi averaged 24.5 minutes, 9.5 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Both players are 67 percent free-throw shooters, but Casspi is a better outside shooter.

Casspi fills a need on the Cavs, and moving Hickson alleviates the logjam the Cavs had at power forward after drafting Tristan Thompson.

As for Hickson, he was one of those divisive players that we always seem to have here in Cleveland. He showed just enough talent at times to make some fans think he was the second coming of Larry Nance, but was inconsistent enough to make just as many fans crazy.

And it became clear last season that Byron Scott was frustrated with him.

“It’s just lack of focus. He wants to do it, but sometimes he’s 22 years old and he comes to practice and he’s not focused,” Scott said before the season started. “This is a job and something you have to take seriously. There’s nobody in that locker room that has an excuse because they have a video playbook and they have a playbook. They can go home and watch it on DVD, go home and open the book up and we’re always available. So there’s really no excuse. He has to get a little better and take it more seriously.”

That right there sums up Hickson: in three years he just wasn’t able to focus and take things seriously enough through two coaches with two different systems. Clearly the Cavs were tired of waiting for him to figure it out.

Do they run the risk of Hickson turning into a superstar? Maybe, but the gamble is worth the risk. If all Thompson does is show up every game prepared to do his job, and Casspi can be a decent player, the team will have come out of this deal OK.

***

As for the Cleveland Indians, they have to be glad that June has finally come to a close.

The Tribe ended May in first place by five games over Detroit with a record of 32-20. After a dismal 10-17 record in June, the Wahoos find themselves in second place, a half-game behind the Tigers.

So while people are grumpy that the early lead didn’t last, the Tribe is only a half-game out of first. That’s the important number to focus on, especially when you look at the team’s record the past few years on the last day of June:

  • In 2010, the Tribe was 12.5 games out of first
  • 2009, it was 13 games back
  • 2008, 10 games back
  • 2006, 19 games back
  • 2005, 11 games back

The last time they were this close to first place heading into July was 2007, when they finished June in first place by 1.5 games.

Feel better now?

***

One thing that is keeping us up at night about the Indians, other than the offense, is the workload of starting pitchers Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco and Justin Masterson.

As the Indians stay in the pennant race, they are going to rely more and more on the trio, which have been the team’s best starting pitchers in the first half of the season.

But what’s going to happen in August and September when the innings start to pile up?

Tomlin has thrown 102.2 innings in 16 starts this year; he only pitched 73 innings on the big-league level last year.

Carrasco, with 94 innings, has already pitched more innings than 2010 (44.2) and 2009 (22.1) combined.

We are a little less worried about Masterson, who has 105.2 innings pitched in 16 starts. He threw 129.1 innings in 2009 and 180 innings last year, but he is still on pace for a career high.

If one or more of these three come down with a dead arm later in the season, the Tribe could really be in trouble.

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, J.J. Hickson, NBA trade
24 Jun 2011

The rebuilding continues

The rebuilding continued for the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night in the NBA draft, as the Cavs found coach Byron Scott his point guard in Duke’s Kyrie Irving at No. 1 and selected Texas power forward Tristan Thompson.

Irving is quick, tough and intelligent and if he had played the entire season last year there’s little doubt he would have been a clear No. 1. He made 46 percent of his 3s in college and 90 percent of his free throws.

Scott won in New Jersey with point guard Jason Kidd and in New Orleans with point guard Chris Paul. If there was ever a player to match with a coach, this seems to be it.

As for Thompson, he has a chance to be the second best NBA player to ever come out of Canada. He’s a rebounder – he led the Big 12 with almost four offensive boards a game last year – and a shot blocker. He can also get to the free throw line – he averaged 7.3 free throws a game last year – but was a Shaq-like 48 percent on those free throws.

In a lot of ways, Thompson is a younger version of young J.J. Hickson, which makes us wonder what the Cavs have in mind here.

We know there are plenty of people who wanted the Cavs to select Jonas Valanciunas as he was sitting there when the team picked at No. 4, but we don’t know. Valanciunas only played 14 minutes a game in 14 games last year in the Euroleague and we’re not enamored with foreign players the way some people are.

Plus, Thompson is foreign, even if he did play at Texas.

General manager Chris Grant is going to get some grief for the Thompson pick because too many people fell in love with Valanciunas despite never seeing him. We’ll obviously find out over the next few years if the team made a mistake or not.

But if Irving turns out to be as good as everyone thinks he will be, and Thompson turns into a solid player, then we have to rate this draft as a winner.

(Photo by The Associated Press)

Posted in Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving, NBA draft, Tristan Thompson | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →