Cavaliers' playoff lives depend on finding Ilgauskas

	After averaging almost 16 points a game this season, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has scored only 19 points in two playoff games. David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
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CLEVELAND -- He may be the biggest player on the floor, but Zydrunas Ilgauskas has become Cleveland's invisible man.

The Cavaliers' march to 50 wins this season and the fourth seed in the playoffs was as impressive as it was surprising, but it also would have been completely impossible if not for Ilgauskas. The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 rebounds this season but, more important, was a member of Cleveland's starting lineup for 78 games, an impressive number for a player with more screws in his feet than a floorboard. His game isn't as flashy as that of his electrifying teammate LeBron James, but Ilgauskas' contributions are every bit as important. He even carries the only connection this Cleveland team has to the franchise's last playoff appearance -- Ilgauskas is the only Cavalier with playoff experience, you know, as a Cavalier.

So why is it that through two games against the Wizards in this year's playoffs, Ilgauskas has been little more than a bystander? Answers abound. First and foremost, Cleveland doesn't run a lot of plays for Ilgauskas. In Game 1 he received only seven shot attempts, most of which came off offensive rebounds and shots off penetration. In Game 2, Cleveland attempted to get Big Z more involved. The result: a 3-for-13 shooting performance.

It's not like Washington coach Eddie Jordan is lying awake at night devising complicated schemes to stop Ilgauskas. Cavs coach Mike Brown spoke of how Washington did a good job of "sitting on [Ilgauskas'] lap." And even though Cavs forward Donyell Marshall pointed out that Wizards center Brendan Haywood "is no pushover," we're talking about Brendan Haywood, not Bill Russell. "We haven't done a lot of things [to stop] him," said Wizards forward Caron Butler. "Even when we go to double, Brendan just waves us off."

And consider that Haywood is playing only 29 minutes a game in this series, often taking a seat on the bench in favor of Michael Ruffin or Etan Thomas. No, not Wallace and Mutombo. Ruffin and Thomas.

The simple truth is that Cleveland's offense isn't predicated on the low-post games of Ilgauskas or Drew Gooden, choosing instead to utilize (correctly) James' superior court vision and playmaking abilities. But while small ball is fast-paced and fun to watch, it doesn't win championships.

Good post play can stop prolonged scoring droughts (which the Cavs have had) and allow a team to dictate the tempo of the game. The last decade has witnessed a host of dominant post players leading their teams to titles, from Tim Duncan to Shaquille O'Neal. (Rasheed Wallace is no pushover, either.) And let's not forget about Michael Jordan. For all the accolades Jordan received for his gravity-defying moves, Michael made his living in the post. He made the turnaround jump shot cool.

If the Cavaliers hope to avoid the same fate as the Bulls last season (who blew a 2-0 series lead to the Wizards in the first round), they had better figure out a way to get Ilgauskas more involved -- fast. With the series shifting to Washington on Friday for the next two games, Brown doesn't have much time to get James' gang to feed Z while also getting Z to be more aggressive on offense. "We have to look to get him to re-post deeper," says Brown. "If we get him in the right spot, Z will deliver."

For the sake of the Cavaliers' season, Brown had better be right.