BOSTON: It might be surprising to the rest of the league, but Anderson Varejao is quietly producing All-Star numbers this season. As for actually getting a spot on the Eastern Conference team, that still seems like a long shot.
Dwight Howard is the overall leader in voting and deserves the starting nod at center, but there are a few players behind him — including Varejao — making a strong case for inclusion in the All-Star game.
“He’s been invaluable,” Scott said. “Obviously Dwight is going to be the No. 1 center in the East, but other than that, I don’t know who is playing better at that position.”
Varejao is averaging 9.4 points and 11.1 rebounds entering tonight’s game at Boston. Chicago’s Joakim Noah, second in the voting behind Howard, entered Saturday averaging 8.2 points and 9.1 rebounds.
With Atlanta’s Al Horford injured, the centers putting up numbers most comparable to Varejao (or better) are Indiana’s Roy Hibbert (14.2 points, 9.8 rebounds) and the Knicks’ Tyson Chandler (10.5 points, 10.2 rebounds).
Washington’s JaVale McGee also has similar numbers, but will find it difficult to make the team based on the Wizards’ miserable season, which culminated with coach Flip Saunders losing his job last week. It’s more difficult in the NBA for players on losing teams to be named an All-Star than any other sport.
It’s what could ultimately hurt Varejao and Chandler, too, given the losing records by the Cavs and Knicks.
Varejao’s reputation is that of a high-energy player and a nuisance to opponents, not an All-Star. Even Cavs coach Byron Scott concedes it’s difficult for guys with one worthy season to make an All-Star team.
“First you get the recognition, then everybody says, ‘OK, he’s doing great, let’s see how he does next year,’ ” Scott said. “Obviously the first step is being recognized for his body of work, which I think everybody is starting to notice. But that might not get you on that team. Then it’s next year, let’s see if he does the same thing or better, then you start to raise some eyebrows.”
Varejao has maintained all along he isn’t doing anything differently this season. He is playing just as he always has, but the numbers look better this season because he’s healthy and a full-time starter. That hasn’t always been the case in the past. In his first year as a starter last season, he was injured in early January.
“I really don’t pay attention to that, I just try to be active every night,” Varejao said of All-Star talk. “We have to play to our limit every night to be competitive because we’re a young team with a lot of ups and downs. I’m just playing the way I always played. I have more consistent minutes and that’s why I’m putting up better numbers.”
Still winning
The Cavs might find it increasingly difficult to land a top five pick in next summer’s draft, which was the thought process and general belief all along. The plan was to take the two high picks from last year, pair them with another high pick this summer, use their gobs of cap space and field a more competitive team next season.
The Cavs overall still aren’t a very talented team, but their problem now is the rest of the Eastern Conference. The top of the East is very strong and the bottom is putrid, meaning the Cavs presently remain in contention for the eighth seed in the playoffs.
“If we compete for 48 minutes for the next [48] games we have left, this is a playoff-caliber team,” Antawn Jamison said. “That might be a shocker to the outside world knowing the things that happened last year, and not expecting us to have a chance at the playoffs.”
The Cavs are better suited long-term with another high pick and not a playoff appearance this season, but in order to guarantee a top five pick, the Cavs must finish with one of the league’s three worst records. That’s looking more and more difficult.
Washington and Charlotte each have three victories and the Wizards have already fired Saunders and committed to playing their youngsters this season. New Orleans is rebuilding following the Chris Paul trade, its new best player (Eric Gordon) is injured and they’re shopping center Chris Kaman.
The way things are looking, it will be incredibly difficult for the Cavs to catch any of those three. Now the Bucks, who entered the weekend tied with the Cavs at 7-11, have lost center Andrew Bogut for at least six weeks. The Raptors are shopping underrated point guard Jose Calderon in an effort to shed money and leading scorer Andrea Bargnani is out indefinitely with a second calf injury.
The farther up the standings the Cavs finish, the more lottery luck they’ll need to land a high pick. They already overcame huge odds last season to land the top pick with the Clippers’ selection.
Right now it’s not a matter of the Cavs improving too quickly, it’s the rest of the conference falling off much faster than expected.
Free agency talk
Now that the deadline for teams to extend their own players from the 2008 draft has passed, we can gain a little clearer look at next summer’s crop of free agents.
Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Danilo Gallinari all re-signed and are off the market, but plenty of intriguing names remain, beginning with Eric Gordon and Roy Hibbert.
Gordon was the key piece the Hornets acquired in the Chris Paul deal and it’s hard to believe they’d just let him walk away next summer despite injuries that have really prevented him from taking the court in New Orleans. The team can make him a restricted free agent by extending him a qualifying offer by June 30, giving them the right to match any offer he receives.
The Pacers will have some cap space next summer and are rumored to be planning a run at Gordon, who grew up in Indiana and played for the Hoosiers. The Cavs desperately need wings who can score, so Gordon fills an immediate need.
But he has a history with injuries, he’ll be in high demand and the Cavs have always struggled signing premiere free agents. Besides, management is committed to rebuilding through the draft and not free agency.
Hibbert is also intriguing because he’s a legitimate 7-footer and producing All-Star caliber numbers. Centers always seem to get (over)paid because of their size, so Hibbert could really cash in big.
Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo are a couple of wings who can score and are likely on the move after this season, but both come with some baggage and neither is likely appealing to the character-conscious Cavs.
Rip city
Things could be unraveling in Orlando. Howard ripped his teammates after Friday’s loss to the hapless Hornets, which followed a stunning loss to the Celtics after the Magic led by 27.
“I look at guys and they don’t look like they want to play,” said Howard, who told his teammates to stay in the locker room if they didn’t feel like playing hard.
Of course, it’s a little hypocritical for Howard to be ripping his teammates’ commitment since he’s not committed to them and still wants to be traded.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
