Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Search Members Calendar FAQ Portal CTSL Site
  • Navigation
  • Crunch Time Sim League
  • →
  • Public Relations & Financial Department
  • →
  • Team Articles
  • →
  • The Future Is Looking Brighter in Cleveland

LEAGUE NEWS: Pre-Season sim DONE. POST SIM 1 DC'S FOR TOMORROW NIGHT'S SIM.

Welcome to Crunch Time Sim League. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
The Future Is Looking Brighter in Cleveland
Tweet Topic Started: Aug 11 2008, 01:50 AM (234 Views)
bobsakamano Aug 11 2008, 01:50 AM Post #1
Member Avatar
Rookie
[ * ]
Posts:
110
Group:
General Managers
Member
#14
Joined:
06/08/2008
The Future Is Looking Brighter in Cleveland

When the Cavaliers acquired Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets for Delonte West’s expiring contract and two first round picks, there was a buzz going around town about the teams’ championship possibilities. The Cavs had already traded a package of expiring contracts to the New York Knicks for the troubled yet talented Zach Randolph, and signed experienced sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic, and all that was missing was a point guard that could distribute the ball and play good defense. Then the opportunity to bring Iverson to town came about and the final piece of the puzzle was in place.
Posted Image
But…

The Chicago Bulls hired a new general manager who didn’t have the same fondness for the first overall pick in the 2008 draft as his predecessor. Cavaliers GM Bob Sakamano couldn’t turn down the opportunity to pair the 19 year old Memphis product Derrick Rose with 23 year old future hall of famer Lebron James. When asked to comment Sakamano said: “With AI we had a good shot to win this season, but his contract is up at the end of this season, with Rose running the show alongside Lebron we will have a chance to contend for the next decade.”
Posted Image
When we caught up with Zach Randolph after practice he had nothing but good things to say about his newest teammate: “With AI here we had too many scorers, Me, Peja, AI, Lebron, Z, all being scorers (all have averaged at least 17 points a game at one time in their careers) there just wasn’t enough touches going around, so I think Rose is just a better fit with this team.” When asked if he still thought the team could contend for the title this year he responded: “When you have The King…You have a shot every year.”

Also coming over in the deal is former Cav Drew Gooden, who will be making his second stint wearing the Wine & Gold, who will have a much less reduced role than he previously held with the club. Head coach Mike Brown was happy to see “The Patch” back: “Drew is a guy that will come and battle whenever he is called upon. He is a great guy to have just in case someone gets hurt, a guy that will do the dirty work when he is asked to.”

Coach Brown said that the young point guard will be handed the reigns right away and will be the teams starting point guard upon his arrival, so Rose will have to do quite a bit of learning on the job, which will undoubtedly yield some growing pains. We asked Brown if the move had anything to do with the teams’ disappointing 3 and 4 start coach responded: “We were going through a lot of changes so we knew it would take some time for the players to adjust to one another, we had some stretches where we showed we could be the best team in the league.” One of those stretches lasted nearly an entire game, when the Cavs trounced the inexperienced Memphis Grizzlies 129-98 with the former “Big Three” combining for 75 points. With Iverson gone Peja Stojakovic will be called upon to do much more scoring, as well as Zach Randolph who both saw their scoring numbers diminish from the preseason after playing seven games with Iverson.

We also asked Coach Brown if he had any update over the starting center “controversy.” “We needed to bring Z off the bench with AI here because we needed to start Big Ben to make a defensive statement to start the game, but now that is still up in the air. In the end our three main bigs are all going to get 28-35 minutes a game, so we’ll just be able to go with who we need during different situations in crunch time. It’s a good “problem to have.”

One thing all Cavs fans are going to be keeping an eye on is Lebron’s injured groin, which he is expected to miss the next four or five games as a precaution. Lebron was not available for comment, but the Cleveland organization insists it is not a big deal, and that they want to make sure the injury doesn’t linger around and get worse.
Posted Image
When GM Sakamano was asked if he was done making changes to the roster he responded that he was happy with the teams core, but there could still be some changes with the bench and role players, which was imminent when he placed both Quinton Richardson and Chris Duhon on waivers and cut Jerome James. Sakamano said the team still needs to get better defensively, who gave up a scorching 108.7 points a game, which was fourth worst in the entire NBA over the first 2 weeks of the season.

There may be a little big of a learning curve for this young and talented point guard, remember Cavs fans – he is only 19 years old, and when we are going through the tougher times this season, just do what I do and fantasize about the starting backcourt for the Cavs in 5 years time, with Lebron in his prime throwing down a nasty lob thrown perfectly from half court by Rose.

The only thing left to do for Cavs fans is to find a better nickname for the Chicago native, although “Pooh” has some nice sentimental value, this writer thinks the nickname should be left in the family.
Offline
 
BBall121man5 Aug 11 2008, 11:41 AM Post #2
Member Avatar
Bench Player
[ *  * ]
Posts:
236
Group:
League Jobs
Member
#16
Joined:
06/08/2008
Grammar 3/3
Interest 3/4
Length 3/3

$900, go and claim it.
Offline
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Team Articles · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Track Topic · E-mail Topic Time: 3:21 PM Jul 11
Hosted for free by ZetaBoards · Privacy Policy