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Ilgauskas is a man of reason for Cavs

Veteran center says team good enough to win it all

By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist

Published on Friday, May 23, 2008

Veteran players usually have something intelligent to say.

They've been around. They understand what it takes to win. They know a good team from a bad one.

There are exceptions, of course. Jeff Garcia didn't strike many good chords in his one year with the Browns. But the veteran whom you know as professional is worth listening to.

Usually.

So when Zydrunas Ilgauskas addressed the media following the Cavs' Game 7 loss in Boston, he piqued interest.

Z has been around when the Cavs did not make the playoffs, and he has been around when the Cavs went to the NBA Finals a year ago and came within a whisker of beating the Celtics this year.

He offered that ''the good thing'' about playing for the Cavs nowadays is that ''if you don't win a championship, it's a failure.''

Interesting that would be considered a good thing, but considering the nine years he has played, the team's recent play probably is a refreshing step forward to Z.

Too, the Cavs are hearing a lot of public complaints despite reaching the NBA Finals and taking the team that won 66
games to within one big shot of losing in the semifinals.

In the big picture, those are good seasons.

Z also said ''we have a good team here'' and added of possible changes: ''Sometimes you got to be careful because the grass is not always greener on the other side. We do have a good team here.''

Interesting.

Z pointed out that several teams made pre-deadline trades. It worked for one team — let's set the Cavs aside — and that is the Lakers, who got Pau Gasol from Memphis for a folding chair and some water bottles.

Jason Kidd didn't transform Dallas, and the Mavericks had to give up a retired player to get him. The Suns lost with Shaquille O'Neal, just like they could have lost without him.

San Antonio presses on, and that's a team that has been together a long time. It's also a team that is the Cavs' model.

The Cavs' trade deadline move?

They got rid of a problem, brought in a defensive guy in Ben Wallace, who did contribute in some games — wasn't it good to see a Cleveland player standing up in Game 7 the way Wallace did to Kevin Garnett? — as well as a good backup for the front line in Joe Smith and a nice guard in Delonte West.

Wally Szczerbiak? It's amazing how he's viewed following his play in the Game 7 loss.

Z feels the additions made the team better than a year ago.

''We had a good team to win it all this year,'' he said. ''This year, the road to the Finals was a lot tougher for us.''

The Cavs did not play any team as good as this year's Celtics in the early rounds a year ago. This is their own fault, of course. Had the Cavs played better in the regular season, they could have won the third seed. They didn't, for many reasons.

Ilgauskas said the season started with ''that damn China trip.'' That was during the preseason, and it was not easy.

The NBA and its marketing arm (and LeBron James) liked it for financial reasons, but traveling that distance for that amount of time takes a lot out of a person, no matter how much money he makes. Then the regular season started with an extended trip to the West Coast.

''November was as tough a month as we've had as a team since I've been here,'' Ilgauskas said.

Of course, at that time, too, Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao either were holding out or just coming back from holding out. Their holdouts hurt the team.

Neither guy ever got into a rhythm. Both were injured — which some believe was a consequence of missing training camp. By year's end, Varejao was trying spinning drives from the top of the key and Pavlovic was dribbling off his foot and throwing bad inbounds passes.

Much was made of these guys during their holdouts; in retrospect, given their contributions, it's amazing anything was made of it.

The Cavs then battled many injuries, and had to remake their team following the moves. Coach Mike Brown said he never had been through a year like this one. Despite that, Ilgauskas said the Cavs had ''a good team to win it all.''

A good team to win it all.

It does not mean it cannot get better or improve.

Just that it was, in the words of a nine-year veteran who has seen a lot, ''a good team to win it all.''

Perhaps that should be the thought to carry forward in the offseason.

The answer will come as we see how Boston does the rest of the playoffs.

Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.

Veteran players usually have something intelligent to say.

Get the full article here.



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