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Despite warning, Cavs not ready for defense
By Brian Windhorst Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Oct 13, 2007
CLEVELAND: Before the preseason game Friday, Seattle SuperSonics coach P.J. Carlesimo called Cavaliers coach Mike Brown and asked if he wanted to work against a zone defense.
''I said, 'Yeah, sure, that'd be great,''' Brown said.
Be careful what you ask for.
The Sonics threw a giant helping of zone defense at the Cavs, who were not ready for it despite the warning. Then the Sonics showed off their new up-tempo style offense, which the Cavs weren't ready for, either. The result was a 96-90 exhibition loss, the Cavs' final business before leaving town for a historic trip to China.
For a meaningless game, there was potential intrigue with LeBron James set to face the Sonics' top draft pick, Kevin Durant, for the first time. It fizzled; the two didn't spend much time together on the court. Then James had to leave in the third quarter when he smacked into Sonics forward Kurt Thomas as he attempted to dodge a screen and injured his right shoulder.
It wasn't serious, but it knocked James, who finished with 14 points and five assists, out of the game. Durant had a subpar showing, making just 5-of-22 shots for an unimpressive 15 points.
''It's a stinger, I had one of those before playing football so I know exactly what it felt like,'' said James, who will not miss any time with the injury. ''I was trying to fight through a screen, and I got caught on the wrong spot on the shoulder.''
The Sonics caught the Cavs in the wrong spot in their preseason preparation as they often looked lost against the Sonics' zone. They only really ran one play against it, and it usually didn't work as they were left to hoist up 3-pointers. They took 23 of them and made just four. Enough said.
''We don't have a zone offense right now,'' James said. ''We had some good looks, but we didn't attack the zone the right way.''
The Sonics (1-1) piled up 40 points in the paint, 24 second-chance points and 18 fastbreak points as they also outplayed the Cavs (1-2) around the basket. Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison pounded on the Cavs' power forwards, combining for 29 points and 20 rebounds.
Shannon Brown led the Cavs with 19 points, but most of them came in junk time and from the foul line.
Off to the Far East
The Cavs and a party of about 100 people left Cleveland Hopkins International Airport late Friday night for an 18-hour journey to Shanghai. The team was scheduled to fly to Anchorage, Alaska, an eight-hour trip, where the plan was to refuel before going on to China. Due to the time-zone changes and the international date line, the Cavs will actually land two days after they've taken off, Sunday morning. After four days in Shanghai and an exhibition game with the Orlando Magic, the team will spend four days in the southern gambling town of Macao and play another exhibition game with the Magic.
Players and coaches will be involved in several community events promoting the team and NBA during the trip. Dubbed the China Games, it is the second time in the past three years NBA teams have played preseason games in China.
''I think is it a great opportunity, it will be a new experience for a lot of our guys,'' said James, who has been to China three times on Nike promotional trips and with Team USA.
''I think they'll get a good sense of how the game of basketball has spread.''
Dribbles
James has started to wear some protective gear in an effort to cut down on bumps and bruises. This week he started wearing shinguards and has also gone back to wearing a mouthpiece, which he did throughout high school. ''I'm getting older and I'm getting smarter, just being proactive,'' James said. ''My mom said I needed to start wearing a mouthpiece.'' . . . The team cut guard Chet Mason, a Cleveland native, before the game. He did not see action in the preseason.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: Before the preseason game Friday, Seattle SuperSonics coach P.J. Carlesimo called Cavaliers coach Mike Brown and asked if he wanted to work against a zone defense.
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