Scott says his Princeton offense would be more effective if it has a post-up player who draws attention from the movement of guards who control the pace of the game.
View full sizeSanta Claus might be too busy this week to deliver the Cavaliers a post-up player, but he has until Feb. 24 (the trade deadline) to help make one of coach Byron Scott's wishes come true. And what Scott would like most of all to help the 8-20 Cavaliers is a dominant, back-to-the-basket, post-up player.
So would about 28 other NBA teams, of course. But Scott says his Princeton offense would be even more effective if it had a post-up player who drew attention from the movement of guards who control the pace of the game.
He didn't have a dominant big guy in previous coaching stops in New Orleans or New Jersey, but Scott has been dreaming of the day when he might.
"I've watched teams that have post-up guys and I know what a post-up guy can do as far as this offense," he said. "When you get a good post-up guy, this offense runs even better. Then you have somebody who's a threat that's hard to double because of the movement and spacing."
Barring an opportunity to snag one of the few back-to-the-basket players in the league (Orlando's Dwight Howard probably isn't available), Scott wouldn't mind another dominant perimeter player, a la Chris Paul whom he had in New Orleans or Jason Kidd whom he had in New Jersey. Wish Lists are all about dreaming big, after all.
"Most teams in this league that have a lot of success have either a big-time post up player or a big-time player," Scott said. "Either one. Either a dynamic post-up player or a perimeter player who's pretty damn good. One of those two."
Waiting for shots to fall: If it seems like the Cavaliers' offense hasn't been working, it's not because Cleveland players haven't figured out Scott's Princeton offense.
View full sizeJ.J. Hickson has been playing some at center this season instead of at his usual power forward position.After 28 games, Scott expects there to still be growing pains. But not to the extent that the Cavaliers have endured during their 10-game losing streak, when the Cavaliers shot better than 43 percent just once -- in a 117-97 loss to Philadelphia when they hit 50 percent of their attempts.
And not to the point where the Cavaliers are 29th of 30 NBA teams with a .424 field-goal percentage.
"We're getting great shots, we're just not knocking them down on a consistent basis," Scott said. "I think some of that is because some guys just aren't used to movements and setups to get those shots. It's 28 games into the season, I expected us to still struggle with it a little bit. We're doing a much better job getting shots, we're just not finishing off making shots."
And at center. . .: Entering the season, the Cavaliers had two centers -- Anderson Varejao and Ryan Hollins. Scott said he didn't anticipate playing J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison together. Changing the starting lineup and limiting his bench, however, has meant Hickson is receiving time at center instead of solely at power forward.
"If I want to stay at the rotation I have now, then I do feel more comfortable with him playing backup four and five," Scott said. "With the rotation being at eight, nine guys, I think it affords me the ability to play him at both positions and for him to have success at both positions."
Dribbles. . .: Scott often will take his players on in games of HORSE or other shooting drills, but says his days of playing full-court basketball are long behind him. Why? "Conditioning is the biggest part," he said. "Forty-nine years old is the second-biggest part. Those two right there are probably enough." . . . Hickson, who grew up in nearby Marietta, Ga., said he only needed 12 tickets for friends and family at the Hawks game.
No Larry Brown: NBA coach Larry Brown parted ways with the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday, but Gilbert is not interested in bringing him to the organization in any capacity, according to an NBA source.
Gilbert, a Michigan native, has long had respect for the 70-year-old Brown. Soon after Gilbert bought the Cavaliers in 2005, his initial coaching target was the one-time head of the Detroit Pistons, Brown. Brown had won an NBA title with the Pistons in 2004, and is the only coach to win both an NCAA and NBA title.
Gilbert wound up hiring another Brown -- Mike -- but never wavered in his respect for Larry Brown. At the time, rumors circulated that Gilbert hoped to bring Brown on as a team president. He didn't, but has continued to praise Brown as one of the master coaching minds in the game.