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By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 06:02 p.m. EST, Nov 01, 2009
CLEVELAND: For anyone watching the Cavaliers' first four games and, in particular, paying attention to center Shaquille O'Neal, there has been a growing sense of anticipation — wondering when he will grab the spotlight.
O'Neal came to the Cavs after averaging close to 18 points for the Phoenix Suns last season, but he hasn't had that one game offensively where he has broken out.
Some of the problem can be attributed to bad bounces, where shots just do not fall for him.
The rest of it?
Newness. Growing pains in a new system on a different team.
''It's hard for new guys because of the offense and defense that we are running, so it will take Shaq a while to get familiar and it will take a while for us,'' center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said.
''He's a force in the middle obviously and when he's out there, we need to use him.''
The Cavs have an interesting quandary at the center position. One big man is dominant in the post and the other, Ilgauskas, is best offensively when working from the outside.
Cavs coach Mike Brown considered bringing O'Neal off the bench. ''I probably thought about everybody coming off the bench except LeBron — I think you should always explore who should start and who should come off the bench,'' he said.
But doing that would have been a mistake. Brown knows it, as does James. O'Neal gives the team a presence down low that it has never had before. He's strong and intimidating and you can see flashes that he's still capable of dominating a game.
''It's just games. Repetition. The more games, the more you continue to learn one another,'' James said of O'Neal's play. ''You can only do so much at practice, but you try to apply some things from practice to a game situation. It's going to take some games until we really figure out how comfortable we are.''
You could see some of the potential Saturday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, as O'Neal was an imposing force on both ends of the court. Brown expects that he will see more of that from O'Neal.
''To his credit, I'm still getting used to what I'm going to do rotation-wise, play-call-wise and all that stuff, especially when the game is close,'' he said.
A triumphant return
Brown isn't prone to dishing out praise lightly, but it was clear that not only was he relieved to have Delonte West back in the lineup, but he was happy about it as well.
Having 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, West played as if he were happy to be on the court. Brown said it just showed the skills West possesses.
''He's a guy who can carry a team by himself, like Mo [Williams], like LeBron, and not only that, but he's a guy can run your team and distribute the basketball at the right time so guys can get some great looks,'' Brown said.
No favors
Lost in all the talk of the team's 0-2 start: the fact that the league schedule makers did the Cavaliers no favors in starting them off with four games in five days. James thinks that ultimately, it will help the team, however.
''Everyone else is saying four games in five nights is tough. I'm going to be the one to say it's not and get through it,'' he said. ''For the first week, it's good to have that and I think it was a blessing.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas. Follow Cavs coverage on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cavsabj and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CavsABJ
CLEVELAND: For anyone watching the Cavaliers' first four games and, in particular, paying attention to center Shaquille O'Neal, there has been a growing sense of anticipation — wondering when he will grab the spotlight.
O'Neal came to the Cavs after averaging close to 18 points for the Phoenix Suns last season, but he hasn't had that one game offensively where he has broken out.
Some of the problem can be attributed to bad bounces, where shots just do not fall for him.
The rest of it?
Newness. Growing pains in a new system on a different team.
''It's hard for new guys because of the offense and defense that we are running, so it will take Shaq a while to get familiar and it will take a while for us,'' center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said.
''He's a force in the middle obviously and when he's out there, we need to use him.''
The Cavs have an interesting quandary at the center position. One big man is dominant in the post and the other, Ilgauskas, is best offensively when working from the outside.
Cavs coach Mike Brown considered bringing O'Neal off the bench. ''I probably thought about everybody coming off the bench except LeBron — I think you should always explore who should start and who should come off the bench,'' he said.
But doing that would have been a mistake. Brown knows it, as does James. O'Neal gives the team a presence down low that it has never had before. He's strong and intimidating and you can see flashes that he's still capable of dominating a game.
''It's just games. Repetition. The more games, the more you continue to learn one another,'' James said of O'Neal's play. ''You can only do so much at practice, but you try to apply some things from practice to a game situation. It's going to take some games until we really figure out how comfortable we are.''
You could see some of the potential Saturday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, as O'Neal was an imposing force on both ends of the court. Brown expects that he will see more of that from O'Neal.
''To his credit, I'm still getting used to what I'm going to do rotation-wise, play-call-wise and all that stuff, especially when the game is close,'' he said.
A triumphant return
Brown isn't prone to dishing out praise lightly, but it was clear that not only was he relieved to have Delonte West back in the lineup, but he was happy about it as well.
Having 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, West played as if he were happy to be on the court. Brown said it just showed the skills West possesses.
''He's a guy who can carry a team by himself, like Mo [Williams], like LeBron, and not only that, but he's a guy can run your team and distribute the basketball at the right time so guys can get some great looks,'' Brown said.
No favors
Lost in all the talk of the team's 0-2 start: the fact that the league schedule makers did the Cavaliers no favors in starting them off with four games in five days. James thinks that ultimately, it will help the team, however.
''Everyone else is saying four games in five nights is tough. I'm going to be the one to say it's not and get through it,'' he said. ''For the first week, it's good to have that and I think it was a blessing.''
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read the Cavs blog at http://www.ohio.com/thomas. Follow Cavs coverage on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cavsabj and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CavsABJ
Comments
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clay, mi
Posted 08:47 PM, 11/01/2009
ADJUSTMENTS DO TAKE TIME BUT I ALSO SEE TWO OTHER CONTENDERS WITH NEW FACES & THEY ARE DOMINATING, AS A TEAM.I JUST DON'T FEEL THAT MIKE BROWN HAS THE ABILITY TO COACH THIS TEAM PROPERLY. HE'LL GO FOR THE OLD, GIVE THE BALL TO LEBRON, BECAUSE HE IS SCARED OF LOSING HIS JOB AT SEASON'S END. TRUST ME, THAT IS INEVITABLE. AFTER LOSING Kuester & NOT HIRING ANYONE TO REPLACE HIM I HAD BAD FEELING BECAUSE BROWN IS NOT A GOOD COACH. WITH THE NEW ADDITIONS I THOUGHT THE CAV'S WOULD NOT BE AS GOOD. IT'S STILL EARLY BUT SO FAR I AM RIGHT, MR. POTATO HEAD CAN'T COACH.HE'S MAKING EXCUSES RIGHT NOW.
