Posts tagged WallySzczerbiak at FanHouse

Mike D'Antoni's vaunted offense favors fast, athletic big men who can get up and down the court in a hurry and play above the rim (see: Marion, Shawn; and Stoudemire, Amare) -- in other words, players that are the exact opposite of Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry.

Mike Brown's (lamentable) offense is, well, barely existent. Despite featuring the most exciting player in the game (see: James, LeBron), the Cavs play at an absolute snail's pace, and last year failed to score as many points as they gave up over the course of the entire season.

Do you see a potential match? The internet does: one day after Bob Finnan of the Morning Journal cryptically suggested that "the Cavs could be talking to the Knicks about a big man," Bill Ingram of HOOPSWORLD and Alan Hahn of Newsday followed up by brainstorming trades sending Randolph to the Cavs.

The roster around LeBron James is, for the most part, lamentable. The Global Icon carried his team almost single-handedly to the Finals in 2006-07 and to a seventh game against the would-be NBA Champions this season. He's basically a two-time defending MVP without any trophies. He desperately needs some help.

Danny Ferry takes plenty of lumps for the minor disaster around LeBron, but at least he tries. He has spent plenty of Dan Gilbert's money to put guys who at one point could play a little around James, and he pulled off a major trade at the deadline (though the return package remains circumspect). And apparently, he's off to an active start this offseason, according to the Newark Star-Ledger's Dave D'Alessandro.

As they were putting some of the finishing touches on the Richard Jefferson-Yi Jianlian deal, the Nets received a call from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who offered them Wally Szczerbiak and his expiring, $13.2 million salary for Vince Carter.

According to two Eastern Conference executives, who asked for anonymity so as not to spill Rod Thorn's secrets, the Nets considered it -- but not for very long.

The one thing Ferry has in his favor: he can take all the bad contracts he wants, because the single goal going forward is proving to LeBron this team can take him back to The Finals repeatedly. Teams will always been pawning off stars for expiring contracts, and so long as you employ LeBron you wouldn't be slipping into that Knickerbocker despair.

The funny thing about this trade offer, of course: Ferry wants Carter to help LeBron win a title and resolve to stay in Cleveland. Thorn would want to trade Carter to help free up the cap space to sign LeBron. I imagine these two teams will be hesitant to work with each other in the next few seasons.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

Clearly, the Cavs have not only the talent but the need to try and to win now. If Danny Ferry decides to wait, he might end up trying to win without LeBron James (or without a job) and that ain't gonna happen.

Picks: #19

Needs: In order to win now, Cleveland needs legit (sorry Wally) scoring from the perimeter or some backcourt help. Say what you want for their interior offensive needs, but they have three centers who are going to play. And seriously, think about how Wally and Delonte got loose in the playoffs -- that's a direct result of James being on the same team, not their talents. Now let's add someone who isn't washed up.

Best case scenario: Mario Chalmers somehow falls down to them at 19, which seemed a lot more likely a few weeks, or even days, ago. Instead, how about Courtney Lee, who easily could fall here? Either one would be good (Lee being the better scorer but Chalmers can run the Cleveland "offense")but yet, seems somehow unlikely ...

While the reigning MVP is busy trumpeting his way to the finals and Chris Paul at least able to be satisfied with the progress made this season, the Cavaliers are looking at how to improve their team. And by "improve their team" I mean, "do whatever in God's name it will take to convince LeBron James not to go to New York and abandon them to a cold and lonely legacy of abject failure after being granted one of the greatest draft picks ever." You know. In so many words.

So if you're going to go out and get an upgrade for LeBron, and it's pretty evident that it needs to be scoring. So who's available?

Survey says: Michael Redd.

In an article in the Akron Beacon Journal, Pat McManamon writes that there is a "lot of talk about acquiring Michael Redd from the Milwaukee Bucks" for the Cavs. Redd's got a big contract on a rebuilding squad, and it's been proven that he can't be the guy to get the Bucks where they need to go. Putting him on the Cavs for the 19th pick and trigger-happy Wally Szczerbiak plus parts may be the way to make it happen.

There is nothing more exciting in sports than a Game 7. Expect perhaps finding out that both Mike Brown and Doc Rviers have been kidnapped before this game and that there will actually be some offense. Since that is unlikely to happen -- and certainly not endorsed to happen by anyone here -- we'll have to settle for seeing whether LeBron James can have his best game of this series on the biggest stage.

He has slowly been stepping his game up after abysmal Games one and two, possibly in the pretense of going off during the Eastern Conference Finals and trudging the Cavs back into the Finals. But first things first -- the Celtics are staring at most scrutiny they have faced in years, without a road playoff win and with another Game 7 against a team they should have closed out already, if they were anything like the Boston team of the regular season.

Live Blog begins here at 3:30, or shortly before.

1. It Starts And Ends With The King: LeBron James finally had the game. 32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, including monster points down the stretch. He had 8 turnovers, but that's okay, because ... okay, that's not okay. James has woken up more and more as this series has gone on, and managed to put together the complete game in Game 6. He's playing with confidence, desire, passion and focus. He's going to need all of that and his God-given obscene talent if he wants to walk out of Boston with the first win by a visitor in the playoffs. The Cavaliers actually ran James at point for long extended periods in the second half of Game 6, which attributed to James' turnovers. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantage is that it ensures that LBJ has the ball and lets him dictate the offense as he sees fit. The disadvantages are the turnovers and the ability for the Cavs to bring the perimeter double. The Celtics brought the low post defender (Leon Powe, usually) to the perimeter to cover LeBron, trap him if he goes to the wing, and force the ball out of his hands. With any other team, this would mean a pretty simple 1-2-3 touch passing to an open low post player for a lay-in. Unfortunately the Cavs have a bazillion dollars in low post players, none of which can actually score consistently down low. Regardless, I would expect more of the same from Game 6 in terms of James strategy on both sides. The question is whether those shots will fall. And if it'll be enough.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Need4Sheed: The patented 'Sheed foul reaction, endlessly looping for your enjoyment.

2. Tim Kawakami's Talking Points: Presenting the first annual NBA No-Defense team.

3. Brian Windhorst on the Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James is glad this didn't happen on Mothers' Day.

4. Mitch Lawrence, NY Daily News: Starbury, meet coach D'Antoni. Now pack your bags.

5. Mike Bresnahan, L.A. Times: Ronny Turiaf won't be suspended for that Game 4 flagrant foul.

6. CelticsBlog: I knew Ray Allen was Jesus, but Wally Szczerbiak as Blue Steel?

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Celtics-Cavaliers Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 4 this afternoon.

1. The Pink Elephant With A Crown In The Room: If LeBron James doesn't have a huge night tonight, and we're talking 25+ points, double digit boards, 5+ assists, the Cavaliers are sunk. There. I said it. The Cavaliers can definitely win this game without James being a dominating factor. They did it in Game 3 and the Celtics look like they have no intentions of winning any games on the road. I seriously question Boston's will to win and chemistry if they're not among the Irish, loud and proud. However, the Cavs cannot win this series without James being his usual magnificent self. Credit Boston's defense for keeping him under wraps, though he seemed to be straining at the ropes in Game 3, threatening to bust loose. The Celtics have done a terrific job on him, forcing him to give the ball up to his questionable teammates. But once this series gets caught into a maelstrom wherein there is a game where both offenses are actually clicking, the Cavs must have James in top form. One huge game from him tonight could set him off. But after three games, the Cavs are only going to get so many chances to spark him. If Coach Mike Brown isn't getting paid to figure out ways to adjust to the defensive pressure on James and get him involved, what is he getting paid for?

I think that we, generally speaking for basketball fans, don't believe that the Cavs can beat the Celtics. Which is weird, because Cleveland has LeBron James. And the Celtics just squeaked by the Hawks. Or maybe we don't think that. But Las Vegas -- who is generally fairly close to the public opinion -- sure does, staking the Celtics a whopping 9.5 points tonight (BoDog).

I find this odd. LeBron went off on the Celtics throughout the regular season, averaging 32.3 points, 9.7 assists and 7.0 rebounds. Of course, you could probably argue that LeBron went off against everyone. You could also argue that when LeBron averages 41% from the floor, not only is he trying to hard but he's not being efficient and that could lead to blowouts by Boston. Then you could go on to point out that I'm running the live blog, so a blow out is already a mortal lock (0-3 on close games if you're scoring at home.)

Still, we're talking about the best player in the Eastern Conference and the future of basketball against three old dudes trying to get some rings in the EC Semis. Besides, the worst case is you just swing by and type "BOOBIE" a bunch of times.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Cav-Celtics Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1 this evening.

1. Three On One: Let's not kid ourselves. You're not tuning in to watch Kendrick Perkins, or Anderson Varejao, or Wally Szczerbiak. You want to see Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett versus LeBron James. And typically, a three-on-one superstar match would be lopsided. But as evidenced by the Atlanta series, Boston is not firing on all cylinders right now, and Paul Pierce, who is supposed to be the offensive juggernaut for the Celtics, has been "eh." Conversely, LeBron is averaging a lot of points but still hasn't had a game where you pile on the superlatives. The Celtics are superb at home, but the Cavs are playing a bit better than the Hawks. Still, with Rajon Rondo covering West and Gibson, LeBron is going to have to pull one of his Kingly acts to get the win tonight.

2. West. No, the Other West: Delonte West was huge for the Cavs in Round 1. West had 10 points and 5 assists per game against the Wizards. He has to continue that against the Celtics. The frontcourt is where the battle will be fought, but the backcourt is where it will it will be won. If Rondo and Allen limit the Cavaliers perimeter shooters and keep West from producing baskets, the Celtics can make quick work of them, LeBron or no LeBron.