Posts tagged AndersonVarejao at FanHouse

Last month, Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed a few games with an injured ankle. Cleveland dropped one of its three games without Z (at Atlanta), but Ilgauskas came back so quickly that any long-term worries about the Cavs' front court stayed out of central consciousness.

Now, Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Z will be out roughly a month with a bone chip in the ankle. As before, the immediate concerns are muted thanks to a stellar team performance (this one a 25-point win over Chicago in which LeBron James only takes eight shots). But over the course of 17 or so games, Z will be missed. No question Anderson Varejao is better than your average third big man, and he should compete well nightly (as he did Friday).

J.J. Hickson, a completely untested rookie, will get into the rotation. Lorenzen Wright might earn some minutes, too; that's a worrisome proposition because Wright hasn't been a legit NBA rotation player in at least two years; the Hawks, who desperately needed big help, wouldn't let Wright off the bench last season. Behind Ben Wallace (a defense role player in the strictest sense of the world) and Varejao, Cleveland's got nothing but question marks.

The Cavaliers have emerged as an elite team, allowing the fewest points per game while boasting one of the league's most potent offenses. But you know what's really scary? They might be getting even better.

Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Cavs and Heat have discussed a deal that could bring Shawn Marion to Cleveland. Why wouldn't the Heat just wait and capitalize on Marion's $17.1 million expiring contract this summer?

Because by trading Marion, they'll likely be able to create even more space: Wojnarowski reports that talks have centered on Wally Szczerbiak (and his $13 million expiring deal) and Anderson Varejao (who's all but certain to opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $6.2 million).

Earlier this week, Cleveland lost bench gunner Daniel Gibson for two weeks as the guard sprained a toe. The Cavs hardly missed Gibson in Wednesday's defeat of Philadelphia. But during that Sixers game, a Cavalier of more import went down late. Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is out indefinitely with a moderate ankle sprain. The typical recovery period for that malady is 2-4 weeks.

Ilgauskas has been Cleveland's second best player this season (and, well, for the last few seasons). Certainly, his offensive output (15 points on 52% shooting, extremely low turnover numbers given his high usage) will be missed. Windhorst reports that Anderson Varejao will assume the starting role, and youngsters Darnell Jackson and J.J. Hickson find themselves in a bigger potential role.

Kenyon Martin has been known to be a (fake) tough and physical player. Part of that act is throwing random elbows and forearm shivers. Luckily, referees like Joey Crawford have been ordained by the basketball Gods above to protect women and children and make sure that that type of play stays off NBA courts. Let's see what happens when those two opposing powers collided in last night's Cavs v. Nuggets match up:



So just in case you missed it, Joey Crawford basically gave Kenyon Martin a flagrant two foul for that little shove he gave Anderson Varejao. Flagrant twos lead to automatic ejections, and of course Martin was not too happy with the call. And he definitely has reason to be upset. I mean, did that really look like a flagrant two to you? If anything it looked like more of Varejao's classic flopping. Of course, Martin did receive a deserved technical foul earlier in the quarter, but this looks like Joey Crawford was just overstepping his bounds again. You would think he would have learned his lesson from the Tim Duncan situation a few seasons back.

(via: Basketbawful)

This offseason, NBA FanHouse will address important questions about the league. It will be a Summer of Answers. First up: the biggest draft busts of the decade.

Unless you're a fan of the Toronto Raptors or a huge NBA Draft nerd follower, you may have read that headline and thought, "who's Rafael Araujo? Never heard of him." That was my initial thought anyway, and that, my friends, is exactly why Mr. Araujo comes in at number four on our Biggest Busts of the '00s list.

When you look back at the 2004 draft, everyone taken in the first seven picks before Araujo turned out to be productive NBA (or Euroleague) players. Well, except for Shaun Livingston who had the gruesome knee injury two seasons ago. But that's no biggie, right? The talent level could have simply dropped off after that point, and Araujo could have been the first on a long list of disappointments who just happened to be drafted eighth overall. Unfortunately for him (and the Raptors), this was a very deep draft.

Players selected after Rafael (pronounced "HA-f-eye-ell" if you believe NBA.com) include Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith, Kevin Martin, Sasha Vujacic, Beno Udrih, Anderson Varejao, Pape Sow ... just seeing if you were still paying attention. The point is this: when a player is selected with the number eight pick, with this much talent still on the board, and his career averages over three seasons are under three points and three rebounds a game, I don't know if "bust" is a strong enough word to describe his NBA status.

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 ...

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Deadspin: Photos of Charles Oakley getting his shirtless party on.

2. The Sporting Blog: The Celtics aren't a realistic model for success.

3. Chad Ford, ESPN: Draft approaching, rumors flying: Anderson Varejao, Leandro Barbosa, Linas Kleiza are some of the names in play.

4. Mike Bresnahan, L.A. Times: Lakers are in no hurry to sign Andrew Bynum to a contract extension.

5. OC Register: Clippers secretly worked out O.J. Mayo.

6. Paul Coro, AZ Republic: Amare Stoudemire declines an invitation to play in the Olympics.

The NBA's decision to start fining floppers next season set the basketball world a'twitter, with plenty of jokes (see above) at the expense of Manu Ginobili and Anderson Varejao. But let's get a touch serious here (just a touch): what's the real impact of the rule? Which teams benefit? Which will be punished?

It's hard to tell, actually. As you see above, the league's best floppers don't only leave their sneakers on faux-charges -- you can flop anywhere on the court. (Even on a screen!) However, considering offense sells tickets and the NBA has proven in recent years to be all about fortifying offensive basketball (see: hand-check rules), let's assume the number of offensive fouls decreases and thus, the number of charges drawn decreases (which assumes the value of $5,000 or whatever is higher than what basically equates to a steal, which is questionable). Who's at risk?

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Brian Windhorst, Ohio.com: Discussing Anderson Varejao's great flops of 2006-07.

2. Paul Coro, Arizona Republic: Shaq would endorse Brian Shaw as the Suns' new coach.

3. West Coast Bias: Tim Donaghy in the witness protection program as you'll-never-guess-who.

4. OC Register: News flash: Laker games are expensive.

5. Epic Carnival: Amusing alternative punishments for flopping.

6. Karen Leigh's Blog: First hand account of ballin' with Barack Obama.

Here's some bad news for Manu Ginobili, Anderson Varejao and every other player who develops an apparent inner-ear disorder every time an opponent so much as breaths in their direction: the NBA will begin fining players next year for taking a dive.

Stu Jackson, the NBA's VP of basketball operations, confirmed to ESPN's Marc Stein on Thursday night that the league will penalize players for "the most egregious type of flops" as determined by in-arena observers and video reviews. The fine schedule has not yet been determined, but given the league's attitude toward technical and flagrant fouls, by the time it's complete it could include escalating fines and (cross your fingers) even suspensions for repeat offenders.

While some players will need some time to adjust, offensive players will love the rule, as will fans at home who no longer have to suffer through games disrupted by players falling down instead of playing defense. Also, I think fining the players rather than calling an actual foul is the way to do it, especially since the motivation is to enhance the flow the game. Plus, I think there will be more pressure on refs to simply "let them play," since officials will be nervous about calling a foul on a play that later earns a player a fine.

I don't think this news will get quite the attention it deserves right now, but it's something fans are definitely going to notice and appreciate next season.