Events Calendar
In This Section
Patrick McManamon: Varejao's $50 million deal isn't really $50 million
Cavs, Varejao agree on six-year deal
Varejao's deal with Cavs could be worth $50 million
Nike confiscates dunk tapes at James' camp
Economy might put cap on LeBron's future options
Cavs confident Varejao will return
Patrick McManamon: Cavs lack magnetic appeal ... money, too
Cavs hopes for free agency melting away
Most Read Stories
Akron police investigate teen mob attack on family
Woman, 75, charged with beating fawn to death
Akron woman found dead at Brimfield Township store
Man shot outside his Akron home during robbery attempt
Man shot in back near Akron park
Man admits repeatedly biting 2-year-old
Tragic day puts man on path to be Pinnacle owner
Blogs:
Pets:
Dogs' Bark: Not fair! Study shows pups get jealous
The Heldenfiles:
HTTP Error 403
Patrick McManamon:
More on Varejao
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State
Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies
Tribe Matters:
Wedge challenges relievers
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN
All Da King's Men:
Does Medicare Have Lower Administrative Costs ?
Blog of Mass Destruction:
CIA Did Mislead Congress
Akron Law Café:
Breaking Story: CIA Lied to Congress about Secret Program
Varsity Letters:
East basketball update
See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?
Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
First 24 'Guitar Hero 5' songs announced
LeBron, Z and Gooden post statistics similar to Pierce, Allen, Garnett
By Brian Windhorst Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, Nov 19, 2007
CLEVELAND: When you say ''Big Three'' around the NBA these days, most assume you're talking about the Boston Celtics' newly assembled core of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Why not? The Celtics have played great and those three are filling the stat sheet every night.
But the Cavaliers have their own impressive trio performing at a high level and against overall much better competition than the Celtics have faced.
Heading into Sunday's games, LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden were combining to average 59.5 points, 30 rebounds and 10.3 assists. Almost as good as the Celtics' Big Three, who put their numbers together to average 62 points, 22.6 rebounds and 13.3 assists.
So the Celtics' trio might still have the edge, but the point should be taken. The Cavs' frontcourt has carried the load early in the season.
''LeBron has been great for us,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ''He provides everything we need. Both Drew and Z have worked hard and really battled every night.''
As the Cavs' 5-5 record suggests, the output of those three has been desperately needed. With the exception of a couple of good games by Daniel Gibson, there's been very little positive to discuss about the guard play.
There have been significant injuries to Larry Hughes and Eric Snow, the holdout of Sasha Pavlovic was a distraction during training camp, and out on the floor the production has been spotty at best. None of that covers the inability to acquire a point guard during the offseason.
Yet the Cavs have not suffered too greatly because the others have picked them up.
''We can't focus on anything outside,'' James said. ''We know what we have and we have to make the best of it. I think we've done a great job so far.''
Gooden, getting increased minutes with Anderson Varejao still out, has put up his best numbers in his four years with the Cavs. Ilgauskas is off to his most prolific start in four seasons. James' numbers are up across the board from last season.
They've also combined for 15 double-doubles. Ilgauskas has seven. The last time he had seven double-doubles in the course of 10 games was in the 1998-99 season.
''With the guys that we have out we knew that some of the starters were going to have to step up,'' Ilgauskas said. ''We have confidence in ourselves that we can do it.''
Dribbles
James needs three assists to move past Clarence ''Foots'' Walker for fourth place in team history. He currently has 2,113. . . . The Cavs are 15-4 all-time when James has 40 points or more, including 2-0 this season. . . . Three of the Cavs' next five games are against teams with losing records.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: When you say ''Big Three'' around the NBA these days, most assume you're talking about the Boston Celtics' newly assembled core of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
