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| 1999 Leaders |
| Stat |
Leader |
No. |
Points
Assists
Steals
Turnovers
Rebounds
Minutes Per Game
Field-Goal %
3-Pt. Field-Goal %
Free-Throw %
Personal Fouls
|
Shawn Kemp
Brevin Knight
Brevin Knight
Shawn Kemp
Shawn Kemp
Shawn Kemp
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Danny Ferry
*Derek Anderson
Andrew DeClercq
|
20.5
7.7
1.79
3.0
9.2
35.1
50.9
.392
.836
161
|
| * -- no longer with team
|
|
|
When the Clippers are licking their chops at the prospect of
playing you, it might be time for a little self-examination. "We
looked at the Cavs like they had a lot of talent on their team,
but the system they were in didn't really fit the players they
had," says former Clippers small forward Lamond Murray. "We
didn't fear them at all. We were like, O.K., we've got the Cavs,
we know they're going to slow the ball down, and we know we're
going to win if we play it right."
Thanks to an off-season trade, Murray is now a member of the
Cavaliers, and, provided he recovers quickly from a partially
torn ligament in his left knee, he can help make the prospect of
facing Cleveland a little more daunting to the rest of the NBA.
Last year the Cavaliers were next to last in the league in
scoring and dead last in rebounding, and their locker room
resembled a civil war medical tent. The injuries got so bad that
Cleveland's starting five for the 1998-99 finale consisted of
Danny Ferry, Cedric Henderson, Andrew DeClercq, Bob Sura and
Mitchell Butler, a quintet that racked up 33.7 points per game
last year.
The Cavaliers' attack should get a kick start from rookie coach
Randy Wittman, who promises to play at a faster pace. If the
team's tedious offense had devolved any further last year, the
Cavs would have had to install peach baskets at Gund Arena. "If
you have competent players who can make good decisions on the
court, it benefits you to let them make those decisions, to play
freer and not have everything scripted for them," says Wittman,
who replaced Mike Fratello. "Even when teams are set back
defensively, we're going to run and get into our stuff quickly."
When healthy, the team was dangerous. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas
had 22 points and 17 rebounds against the Hawks in last season's
opener, and six nights later the Cavaliers were in the process of
spanking the eventual world champion Spurs 99-89 when the big man
landed awkwardly late in the game and broke the navicular bone in
his left foot. What had the makings of a breakout season was
over.
Ilgauskas says he is 100% now, which gives Cleveland something
few other Eastern Conference teams can boast: a viable center. At
7'3" he has terrific hands, a soft jumper and exceptional
agility. "Is he a sprinter? No," says Wittman. "But what he can
do if he's the trailer is shoot the basketball. I see him getting
a lot of open foul line jump shots. Plus, we'll have the ability
with Z and Shawn Kemp to play a lot of high-low."
The presence of Ilgauskas will make life easier for Kemp, who
after reporting to camp out of shape spent '98-99 with a giant
bull's-eye on his back. Despite being Cleveland's only real
scoring threat, he poured in a career-high 20.5 points a game.
With Kemp (who's still a hefty 280 pounds) and Ilgauskas pounding
the glass, Cleveland will improve its woeful rebounding and, by
extension, its transition game.
A healthy Ilgauskas on the block will also give Cleveland's
perimeter game a lift. Wesley Person hit 37.5% of his
three-point attempts last season; that figure should go up with
defenders having to worry about either Ilgauskas or Kemp down
low. Murray is also a fair threat from behind the arc, and if he
can regain his form from 1997-98, when he scored 15.4 points per
game, he could be the guy who finally puts an end to the
Spinal-Tap-drummer-like run of small forwards employed by the
team over the last two decades.
Murray came to Cleveland with a load of Clippers war stories
(recurring themes include changing for practice in a supply room
and taking showers without hot water) and a genuine appreciation
for his new surroundings. "After my sentence out there was done,
I feel great," he says. "I'm excited that people are excited
about having Lamond Murray on their team. That's a great feeling,
being wanted."
To rescue Murray from the dumps, the Cavaliers parted with
veteran swingman Johnny Newman as well as up-and-coming shooting
guard Derek Anderson. Cleveland could afford to give up Anderson,
who showed flashes of brilliance, because of its surplus in the
backcourt. A month before the trade, first-year general manager
Jim Paxson raised eyebrows when he took Duke two-guard Trajan
Langdon with the 11th pick of the draft, which even Langdon said
left him "real surprised." Utah point guard Andre Miller, a 6'2"
playmaker with limited shooting range, had been snatched up three
slots earlier, which was also a bit of an odd selection when you
consider that Cleveland drafted 5'10" point guard Brevin Knight
in the first round in 1997.
The Cavaliers, however, see nothing problematic about their guard
glut. "Andre is going to complement Brevin, because Andre's got
some size," says Paxson, who really wanted 6'7" Miami of Ohio
swingman Wally Sczerbiak but couldn't move up in the draft to get
him. "We still had a need at the small forward, but we also
wanted to get another shooter, and Trajan was the best shooter in
the draft."
The newcomers give the Cavaliers a bevy of decent players to
complement one All-Star (Kemp) and another in the making
(Ilgauskas). Of course, you could have said much the same thing
about them last year, and they finished 22-28. So identifying the
key to Cleveland's season is simple. Says Ilgauskas, "Stay
healthy. Stay healthy. Stay healthy."
In a conference loaded with so-so teams, the Cavaliers aren't a
lock to make the playoffs, but if they heed Ilgauskas's words
they'll at least strike more fear than they did last year. How
much more? Well, one thing is certain: They'll be better than the
Clippers.
Issue date: November 1, 1999
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