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A franchise that has been continually hobbled by bad feet needs, more than anything, to keep its big men vertical

By Marty Burns

Miller's game is All-Star caliber, and most important for the Cavs, he's committed to staying in Cleveland.  Bob Rosato Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Cavaliers "This is one of the few teams in the Eastern Conference that didn't get better. ... If Zydrunas Ilgauskas had stayed healthy last season, the Cavaliers would have been a playoff team and Randy Wittman wouldn't have been fired. With good feet Ilgauskas would be one of the top five centers, easy. Unless he has some kind of miraculous recovery, it's going to be a long year in Cleveland. ... When Ilgauskas went down, Lamond Murray tried to take over. You can tell Murray is a bad teammate -- he just wants you to get him the ball so he can score. ... The Cavs have unloaded a lot of their one-dimensional or problem guys -- Shawn Kemp, Tractor Traylor, Cedric Henderson, Jimmy Jackson, Chris Gatling -- but they haven't gotten the talent in return to make them better. At least they added some toughness in Jumaine Jones , Bryant Stith , and Michael Doleac , who can hold his ground inside. ... Andre Miller is a tough kid, but even he seems weighed down by the losing. He's very good at getting to the basket, but he has limited range and he could be a better passer when he drives. ... I had my doubts about whether Chris Mihm could cut it at the four or the five. But he's gotten better. It looks like they're going to try to run and get the ball to him before the defense can set up. ... The guys like playing for John Lucas . He brings excitement and fun to the franchise, but that's just a short-term fix if they don't win. ... I think Tyrone Hill 's back was hurting last year, but he played because the 76ers were a good team. Is he going to want to play through the pain for a bad team?"

When they acquired 6'11" Michael Doleac on draft day for the rights to North Carolina center Brendan Haywood, the Cavaliers may have gotten more than a quick fix for their frontcourt -- they may have found a remedy to what really ails them. Since leaving Utah in 1998, Doleac has taken courses online during the season and in Salt Lake City over the summer, leaving him a few credits shy of his undergraduate degree in biology. He's considering becoming an orthopedist, which would make him doubly valuable to the Cavs: They need a good foot man as much as they need a backup center. DeSagana Diop of Senegal, whom Cleveland took with the No. 8 pick in June, is already hobbling with a broken foot, following in the ginger footsteps of fellow big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Chris Mihm. "Last summer I had a sprained ankle, and the team treated me like I was dying, sending me to the doctor every day," says Doleac. "People here are definitely paranoid about foot problems, and rightfully so."

No player inspires that paranoia more than the 7'3", 260-pound Ilgauskas, who has missed all but 29 games over the last three seasons because of a fractured bone in his left foot. Before Ilgauskas, 26, went on the injured list last December, Cleveland was 15-9 and in first place in the Central Division. The Cavs wound up 30-52, and for the third straight year their winning percentage declined. Ilgauskas, who had surgery to repair the bone last February, was healthy in training camp; how long he stays that way is anybody's guess.

"If Z plays, great, but we can't hide behind his foot any longer," says coach John Lucas, who replaces the fired Randy Wittman. "We've got to uproot the ghosts of bad luck and bad feet and start winning." Adds point guard Andre Miller, "My mind-set is, What if Z's not out there? What can we do? I look at the worst circumstances first."

Cleveland's bad fortunes have made a fatalist of Miller, who, aside from a spotty jumper and a reluctance to call his own number, has an All-Star-caliber game. The club picked up the option for the fourth year of his contract this month, and he seems content to cast his lot with the Cavs. "I don't want to be a traveling player," he says. "I want to be a guy who fights through the tough times with his team."

That should provide some solace for Lucas and G.M. Jim Paxson, who in the off-season did little more than shuffle the role players around Miller. In addition to the sharp-shooting Doleac, the Cavaliers obtained forwards Tyrone Hill and Jumaine Jones in an August deal with the 76ers for Matt Harpring, Cedric Henderson and Robert (Tractor) Traylor. "Tyrone brings us toughness, rebounding and veteran leadership inside," Lucas says. "Jumaine makes us much more athletic. With him, [Lamond] Murray and [Wesley] Person, I think we've got the shooting to beat zones."

In health, Cleveland's mix of youngsters and well-worn veterans could reach .500; in sickness, the Cavs will languish around 30 victories again. The latter scenario appears more likely. Mihm was productive for stretches as a rookie last season, but he also missed 23 games due to ankle, lower-leg and knee injuries. The 7-foot, 315-pound Diop, an 18-year-old project from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, has a stress fracture in his left foot, an injury unrelated to the broken bone in the same foot that required the insertion of a screw last February. He's expected to return sometime in November.

"There's not a number of wins that would make this a successful season," says Lucas. "A successful season would be continued improvement." Such modest expectations may be reasonable, but in the long run Cleveland will need more than a budding orthopedist to put this team on solid footing.

Issue date: October 29, 2001

Click here to look back at CNNSI.com's preseason Cavaliers preview.