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Daequan Cook's return to Buckeye State comes with price: game tickets
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Monday, Dec 29, 2008
CLEVELAND: The Miami Heat's Daequan Cook has to deal with popularity in his home state of Ohio.
Cook, a second-year guard out of Ohio State University and Dayton Dunbar High School, is averaging 9.6 points a game and has played well recently.
He has scored in double figures the past five games and has made at least three 3-point shots in his past seven.
His recent success comes with a cost.
Cook had to scrounge up close to 40 tickets for friends and relatives for his return to the Buckeye State.
''I've just been working hard, being focused and knowing I can have a big contribution to this team,'' he said.
Cook takes umbrage — in a kidding kind of way — when it's mentioned that he is the Heat's version of Daniel Gibson, but the guards serve a similar function. They provide another option for their superstar player — in Cook's case, Dwyane Wade — and their ability to shoot can provide a quick bolt of energy for their teams.
''I bail out a lot of players, but that's my job and to be able to shoot the ball,'' Cook said. ''It's been going down and I have a lot of confidence when the ball is going down.''
Slowly but surely, Cook has grown comfortable in his role under Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
Although he's one of the first options off the bench, he doesn't attribute increased playing time with his success.
''It's just going out there with that confidence. Going out there knowing I could be a part of this team and help this team out,'' he said.
Szczerbiak resting
Wally Szczerbiak thought he could play through the pain and swelling in his knee, but in the end, he believed he might have been hurting his teammates more than helping them. Now the Cavs' forward will sit out for about a week.
''It wasn't getting better, so just give it some rest, get the swelling out of there and hopefully it will be good to go,'' Szczerbiak said.
He first bruised the knee against the Atlanta Hawks more than two weeks ago, injuring the bursa sac near the patellar tendon, he said. Because he doesn't play a lot of minutes, he thought he could tough it out. The Cavs' doctors thought otherwise.
The last time he was out, the Cavs struggled with the rotation. Szczerbiak doesn't expect a problem this time around.
''I think we'll be OK. Guys will be ready to step up,'' he said. ''Everyone needs to be healthy to contribute and I wasn't nearly 100 percent. I need to get myself right so I can play the way I'm capable of playing and help this team in the right way.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
CLEVELAND: The Miami Heat's Daequan Cook has to deal with popularity in his home state of Ohio.
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