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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Cavs: Might break even with Zydrunas
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 32-50, sixth in Central, 11th in conference
Coach/VP: Randy Wittman/Jim Paxson
Arena, first game: Gund Arena (20,562); Nov. 8, 1994
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 1,096-1,332/0
Notable: All-time leader in franchise games? Danny Ferry
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Andre Miller
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5.8 apg
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Future star had big numbers as starter
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SG
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Wesley Person
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9.2 ppg
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Had worst season, but can Langdon play?
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SF
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Lamond Murray
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15.9 ppg
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Escaped Clipperland, had best season
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PF
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Robert Traylor
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2.6 rpg
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Other big stat: he showed up at 290 lbs
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C
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Zyd. Ilgauskas
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0 games
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Feet seem healed, and he's got game
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6th
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Chris Gatling
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11.9 ppg
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Two years, six teams; but he can score
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7th
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Trajan Langdon
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10 games
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Has range, they want him to start
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8th
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C. Weatherspoon
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7.2 ppg
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In ninth season, can still put up numbers
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The Cavs must have a healthy Zydrunas Ilgauskas for the whole season. If he can stay healthy, they will make a run at a playoff spot. Although he hasn't played for more than a year due to foot injuries, Ilgauskas is a solid center in a conference that lacks many quality centers. He could lift them to playoff contention. I like Andre Miller at the point. He had an excellent rookie year and will only get better. The other players are decent without being great.
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By Jeffrey Denberg
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
Shawn Kemp's gone. This franchise can breathe easier. The Cavs have acquired some toughness that reflects the personality of their young coach Randy Wittman. With Kemp entering the $20 million-a-year phase of his contract, the Cavs were stuck in mediocrity. They can breathe a little now and there are some bright young players to build around. Andre Miller has the makings of a first-rate point guard, big enough and tough enough to command a team. Wittman can use him in tandem with Brevin Knight and he has the option of working in a rotation with Trajan Langdon, who missed almost all his rookie year with injury. The Cavs also have some firepower in holdover forward Lamond Murray, who gave them 15.9 points a night last season, and enigmatic Chris Gatling, who is now with his eighth team. Gatling has scored between 11.5 and 19 ppg four of the last five years and was moved seven times, anyway. Wesley Person is too erratic but he gives Wittman a deep threat when he's on. And Matt Harpring, acquired from Orlando, is the hard-nosed blue collar forward Cleveland fans can adopt.
The Bad
Imagine, the fate of your team rests with a 7-3 center whose feet are so fragile that in four years he has missed two entire seasons and all but five games of another? How would you like to build around that kind of strength, bunky? When it comes to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs have no choice. They fell in love after he gave them 13.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg in '97-98 and signed one of those seven-year marriage contracts for maximum money. Now, its Zydrunas or Bust until rookie Chris Mihm is ready and Wittman doesn't have time to hold his breath. More trouble -- the Cavs are hurting at power forward where it's so bad they're looking at Robert Traylor or J.R. Reid as possible solutions, even after George Karl dismissed both as hopeless.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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How long can the man in the middle hold up? Ilgauskas has the worst feet the NBA has seen since Bill Walton. If he makes it through the season without mishap he can lead them to respectability. If his brittle bones crack again the Cavs are going to be at the back of the bus and somebody's going to take the hit for it.
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Whose team is this?
Nobody's right now. The Cavs have no identity, one reason their crowds have fallen off to embarrassing lows. Given control, Jim Paxson is making this club over. In his second year as a head coach Wittman is trying to find a style that works and Paxson is trying to give him the players who will fit. Wittman did not take over last season when the Cavs craved an assertive leader. But he understood that he had missed the boat and he says he will be far more assertive this time. What's more, Miller has to be his guy. If Miller is all the Cavs hope he can be, he will take over. But it won't happen overnight.
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| Ilgauskas |
How they'll play
The Cavs didn't dump Mike Fratello because they liked slow, methodical play. This is a team that wants to get up and down the floor. That's why Kemp became so expendable. The problem is getting the ball. If Ilgauskas' feet hold up they will have the rebounding they need. Certainly, they have enough spot shooters and quickness in the backcourt to create some excitement. And that's the key. Cleveland fans have turned to the Indians and the Browns, deserting the Cavs in ever-increasing numbers. Some of it was a protest over Kemp's slovenly ways and building resentment toward his contract. The rest of it was sheer boredom. Fratello played to keep the score down and the games close. That's anathema to the style Paxson and Wittman want for their team.
Projection
No center, no rebounds. No rebounds, no wins. It's that simple in Cleveland. The Cavs could be good enough to nudge .500 this season and that could well get them a bottom rung on the playoff ladder. But this is also a very fragile team, physically and cohesively. With Ilgauskas, they can finish anywhere from sixth to No. 10 in the East, which makes picking their record tough. Expect about a 35-win season. Maybe one round and out at best.
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