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Ankle to keep guard off court 4 to 6 weeks
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 11:00 p.m. EST, Feb 09, 2009
INDEPENDENCE: Wanted: Athletic guard for top-tier NBA team.
Willingness to fill role required. Smooth shot a plus. Apply: Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs may be the only employer hiring right now, given their current injury woes. The answer may be in juggling lineups or it may lie elsewhere, but there's little doubt that the team continues to face an injury bug that continues to bite, just when things start to look better.
During the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha Pavlovic left with a high ankle sprain that's expected to keep him off the court for four to six weeks. Pavlovic's loss proved significant because he had the task of guarding the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.
With him out, LeBron James had to check the Los Angeles superstar, who though ill, still had some ability. The injury hamstrung the team when Lamar Odom unleashed an offensive barrage that saw him score 28 points and grab 17 rebounds. In any other situation, James would have been able to slide over to Odom, leaving Bryant to Pavlovic.
''It's unfortunate, but we just have to keep on keeping on. We just have to have guys step up and find a way to get it done,'' coach Mike Brown said of Pavlovic's plight. ''That's the good thing about this team. We feel like we're deep and it's going to have to continue to show.''
Compounding the problem: Delonte West continues to recover from a fractured wrist and Tarence Kinsey a sprained ankle. Neither one of them is expected to return until after this weekend's All-Star break. A team spokesman said it's likely both will return a full week after the team returns from its mini-vacation.
For Pavlovic, it's just another in a litany of ankle injuries over the past couple of seasons. The latest comes at a time when he had been beginning to pick up his game, averaging more than 11 points in the five prior games before his injury Sunday.
''The ankle injuries have been following him for the past few years and he can't really get rid of them,'' center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. ''We feel bad for him because he's been playing well and getting a lot of minutes and now he's going to miss significant time and he's going to have to catch up.''
Right now, Brown said his options are limited and players such as Darnell Jackson might have to play out of position. Trey Johnson, signed from the NBA D-League last week, isn't an option right now.
''I'm just getting used to him and he's just getting used to us. In a tight game in the rotation that's a tough thing to pull the trigger and say 'Trey, go out there and get in the mix,' ''Brown said.
For the Cavaliers, it just represents another test on the way to their larger goal — a championship.
''One guy goes down, another guy has to step it up,'' Wally Szczerbiak said.
Jackson's short stint
Brown said that rookie forward Darnell Jackson, whom the team assigned to the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League today, would spend just today's game there and then rejoin the team in Indianapolis for tonight's game against the Pacers.
LeBron honored again
LeBron James picked up his fifth Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award today for his efforts from Feb. 2 through Sunday.
During that span, James averaged 33.7 points, nine assists and eight rebounds per game. He scored 52 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds against the New York Knicks, becoming only the second visiting player, behind Michael Jordan, to have multiple 50-point games in Madison Square Garden. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to score his 12,000th career point.
Quick shot
Sunday's Cavs game improved ABC's fortunes from the same period last year, when the Lakers played the Miami Heat. Overall viewership jumped 72 percent.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterab@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs.
INDEPENDENCE: Wanted: Athletic guard for top-tier NBA team.
Willingness to fill role required. Smooth shot a plus. Apply: Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs may be the only employer hiring right now, given their current injury woes. The answer may be in juggling lineups or it may lie elsewhere, but there's little doubt that the team continues to face an injury bug that continues to bite, just when things start to look better.
During the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha Pavlovic left with a high ankle sprain that's expected to keep him off the court for four to six weeks. Pavlovic's loss proved significant because he had the task of guarding the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.
With him out, LeBron James had to check the Los Angeles superstar, who though ill, still had some ability. The injury hamstrung the team when Lamar Odom unleashed an offensive barrage that saw him score 28 points and grab 17 rebounds. In any other situation, James would have been able to slide over to Odom, leaving Bryant to Pavlovic.
''It's unfortunate, but we just have to keep on keeping on. We just have to have guys step up and find a way to get it done,'' coach Mike Brown said of Pavlovic's plight. ''That's the good thing about this team. We feel like we're deep and it's going to have to continue to show.''
Compounding the problem: Delonte West continues to recover from a fractured wrist and Tarence Kinsey a sprained ankle. Neither one of them is expected to return until after this weekend's All-Star break. A team spokesman said it's likely both will return a full week after the team returns from its mini-vacation.
For Pavlovic, it's just another in a litany of ankle injuries over the past couple of seasons. The latest comes at a time when he had been beginning to pick up his game, averaging more than 11 points in the five prior games before his injury Sunday.
''The ankle injuries have been following him for the past few years and he can't really get rid of them,'' center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. ''We feel bad for him because he's been playing well and getting a lot of minutes and now he's going to miss significant time and he's going to have to catch up.''
Right now, Brown said his options are limited and players such as Darnell Jackson might have to play out of position. Trey Johnson, signed from the NBA D-League last week, isn't an option right now.
''I'm just getting used to him and he's just getting used to us. In a tight game in the rotation that's a tough thing to pull the trigger and say 'Trey, go out there and get in the mix,' ''Brown said.
For the Cavaliers, it just represents another test on the way to their larger goal — a championship.
''One guy goes down, another guy has to step it up,'' Wally Szczerbiak said.
Jackson's short stint
Brown said that rookie forward Darnell Jackson, whom the team assigned to the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League today, would spend just today's game there and then rejoin the team in Indianapolis for tonight's game against the Pacers.
LeBron honored again
LeBron James picked up his fifth Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award today for his efforts from Feb. 2 through Sunday.
During that span, James averaged 33.7 points, nine assists and eight rebounds per game. He scored 52 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds against the New York Knicks, becoming only the second visiting player, behind Michael Jordan, to have multiple 50-point games in Madison Square Garden. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to score his 12,000th career point.
Quick shot
Sunday's Cavs game improved ABC's fortunes from the same period last year, when the Lakers played the Miami Heat. Overall viewership jumped 72 percent.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterab@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs.
Comments
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Posted 01:20 AM, 02/10/2009
Only in Northeast Ohio do sportswriters and their insatiable fetish for hyperbole refer to the injuries suffered by borderline stiffs to be one of the seven signs of the apocalypse. Good riddance to Count Pavlovic.
Posted 08:31 AM, 02/10/2009
Trade for Shaq. Defense and dominance down low will bring us a championship. You think Boston or Orlando could take us in a series with Shaq, Z, Ben and Andy down low playing D?
atlanta, ga
Posted 10:58 AM, 02/10/2009
You must be a Boobie fan. Mike will get to play him 40 minutes now and not have to look down at his little card of minutes. Sasha is a top quality role player that this inept coach has never used properly. Remember he was the starting 2 guard on the team that went to the finals and he gives us size which this team lacks. We won't have to worry about it now though. Let's focus on a coach that was paralyzed with fear when Phil extended his D and confused our non existent offense. Go Sasha!
Posted 11:13 AM, 02/10/2009
Sasha is worthless. He's a guy that every team has, a role player that is a backup 2 guard at best. That "inept" coach of yours got the team to the finals and has this team playing the best defense in the league.
atlanta, ga
Posted 11:33 AM, 02/10/2009
Role players are key to winning championships in the NBA, but that's right we clevelanders, you especially, wouldn't know a thing about this. Mike is a dunce on the offense side of the ball and unfortunately for us, there are 2 parts to the game of basketball
Posted 03:43 PM, 02/10/2009
I've been a Bulls fan my whole life, and saw 6 titles, so some of us on here haven't been Clevelanders our whole lives, we've seen winners, and have seen what an NBA team needs. I'm just saying you can find guys like Sasha anywhere. He's not a rare commodity.
