Two of the Cavs' most talented players play the same position -- J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison. How will Byron Scott find playing time for both?
There's little question that the Cavaliers are banking heavily upon J.J. Hickson emerging in his third season as a pro power forward. But how will the team mesh the talents of Hickson and the veteran reliability of Antawn Jamison?INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- There's no shortage of uncertainties for Byron Scott to deal with in his first weeks working with his new Cavaliers team.
Speaking honestly, which is already becoming a trademark, Scott admits he's not sure about most of his starting lineup and probably won't be for some time. But just two days into practice, his most weighty and perhaps delicate issue is becoming clear.
Two of the Cavs' most talented players play the same position -- J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison. This is not new. Last season, needing to play Anderson Varejao at power forward to make room for Shaquille O'Neal, the promising Hickson was benched during playoff games.
That will likely not happen again, Hickson is perhaps the team's most valuable asset. After a strong performance in summer league, it is pretty clear that Scott's mandate is to play Hickson a great deal.
"Am I going to commit to [Hickson] playing a lot of minutes? No. But do I think he will? Yeah," Scott said. "I think he's going to have a great opportunity this year to really shine and be one of the most improved players in the league."
However, that's the issue. Scott -- and the front office -- believes Hickson is primed for a breakout season. Yet Jamison is one of the team's most established players.
Regardless of who might start, to be effective common sense dictates that they will have to be able to play long stretches on the court together.
"If it's best for me to come off the bench ... when I'm out there on the court I've got to play to the best of my abilities," says Antawn Jamison.They were able to do that last season for a month when Hickson started at center and Jamison started at power forward. But that was a Band-Aid move because of injuries and LeBron James was there to help make up for the lack of size with his rebounding and defense. There is little doubt that the 6-9 Hickson's natural position is power forward.
"I think I am more of a power forward and I think Coach Scott knows that," Hickson said. "Whatever he wants to do, he knows I'm with it. He knows what he's doing and whatever formula he comes up with we know we're going to make it work."
Well, Scott is certainly going to try.
It seems his first experiment will be to occasionally play Jamison at small forward. At 6-9 and a good rebounder, Jamison has been an All-Star power forward. But because he's been a good shooter and can play on the perimeter, he's been shifted to small forward at various times in his career.
"It is really about holding my own against small forwards on the defensive ends," Jamison said. "It is going to be a task, it's being able to get those old bones down and move with some of the quicker small forwards in the league."
Whether Jamison can do it is certainly questionable, especially at age 34. There are highlight films made up of what James, to use one example, did to Jamison when he guarded him at times during three playoff series against the Wizards. So Scott has some backup plans. That would including moving Hickson around to find a place for Jamison.
"I think J.J. can guard [power forwards], [centers] and even some [small forwards]," Scott said. "He's one of those guys who is very versatile that I can put out there in a bunch of difference situations."
Scott isn't the first coach to attempt to deal with this situation. Jamison has been willing in the past to shift his role to fit in.
When he came to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003-04 season, Jamison was at the same spot at Dirk Nowitzki. So Jamison came off the bench and ended up winning Sixth Man of the Year. So he's willing to play small forward and adjust and even come off the bench to make it work, even if that is not his preference.
"I've done it before, that's one thing I've been dealing with my whole career," Jamison said. "I've had 10 or 11 coaches in my 13-year career and every coach saw me as a different player.
"You'd like to be out there starting, that's what I've been doing for a while. It's realistic to think that you've got to play certain guys at certain positions. If it's best for me to come off the bench ... when I'm out there on the court I've got to play to the best of my abilities. We'll see what happens, if that's the case there's no need to pout about it."