Cleveland Cavaliers Midseason Report Card

Am I crazy here, or is someone else seeing that, too? His rebounding numbers are down, but that could be explained by the fact that we don’t miss as many shots this year (hooray for guys who can hit open jumpers! More on that below).

Overall, though, I just don’t think Andy has been playing like Andy this year.

Ben Wallace: C+
>> The turning point in the Lakers game, I felt, was Ben bricking those two dunks in the third quarter. They could have helped stave off the big run the Lakers were on and energized the team and the crowd. And we know how that game turned out.

But his defense has slipped incredibly, and he has largely gotten a pass for it. He’s not quick enough for the athletic power forwards who have just been carving us up this season (see: Odom, Lamar).

And he’s not tall enough to battle with the 6-11 or taller centers in the post, especially without that leaping ability anymore (see: coming up short on two dunk attempts, Lakers game).

Though he still brings the same type of energy and hustle, he just can’t guard anyone one-on-one like he used to.

Delonte West: B+
>> For the record, I have loved Delonte West since he was at St. Joe’s. I had a serious man-crush on him in college, watched his game develop in the NBA, and was thrilled when the Cavs picked him up last year at the trade deadline.

At 25 years old, he’s really found a nice niche (say THAT 10 times fast) as the third or fourth scoring option on a very good basketball team. He’s also our best on-ball defender.

His return to the lineup, which I’m hearing will be pretty soon after the All-Star break, will be the lift that the Cavs need.

The offense has grown stagnant ("stand around and watch LeBron" time) over the few weeks he’s been out. When Delonte returns, I think the offense will start flowing like it was in the first two months of the season.

Mo Williams: A
>> Sidekick (noun): A close companion or comrade. Synonyms: assistant, associate, helper. Antonyms: Larry Hughes, Ricky Davis, Darius Miles.

Over 17 points per game. Nearly 47 percent shooting. Over 40 percent from beyond the arc (a career-high).

Fourth-best free throw shooter in the league (I can’t remember the last time I saw him miss). Did I mention the 44-point outburst last night or the All-Star nod that he FINALLY picked up?

My only complaint is that he’s let LeBron dominate the ball at times, when Williams should be taking control. But his impact on this team has been unbelievable.

Plus, we don’t have to watch him torch us with the Bucks like he had the last few seasons, so that beefs up our win total even more.

LeBron James: A++++++++++
>> Let’s be serious. I’ve been a Cavs fan, and a Cleveland sports fan, long enough to understand that guys like this don’t usually play for teams in our city.

I want you to think about whatever shortfalls exist in LeBron’s game: inconsistent jump shooter, awful from 3-point range, doesn’t post up as much as he could/should, dominates the ball a lot of times on offense.

Now, look at these numbers: 17, 29, 32, 30. Those are the win totals for the Cavs in the four years before LeBron. I’m thinking about going up and adding a few more plusses to his grade.

Coach Mike Brown: A
>> OK, I loved the rant the other night. It has some “Coors Light Commercial” potential to it. (If you missed it, here’s a small snippet.)

Was it warranted? Probably not. After all, in that Pacers loss, everyone not named LeBron combined to make 19-of-57 (33 percent, kids) of their shots and 8-of-15 free throws.

So no, we didn’t deserve to win that game. But on the heels of the second Mo Williams All-Star snub, and the NBA’s ridiculous decision to go back and take away LeBron’s triple-double, Brown played the “no one respects us” card and has decided the team with arguably the best athlete on the planet and a solid corps of role players should embrace the underdog status for the rest of the season. Well played, Coach Brown, well played.

Reason two for the high grade: Brown finally brought in an offensive coordinator to the staff. John Kuester is as responsible as anyone else (including Mo Williams) for the success we’ve had offensively.

Basketball-reference.com (my Bible) has last year’s Cavs rated as the 19th best offense in the league. This year’s version is third, and that’s with long stretches without Z and Delonte.

The Team: A
Despite some recent struggles, you can’t argue with a 24-1 mark at home and a 40-11 record overall. Need I repeat that the Cavs have never been this good, ever???

I know everyone in Cleveland is desperate to move Wally and God knows who else to pick up Amare or Brad Miller. Yes, another big man would be nice, but people...this is a good thing we got going here. Trust me.

(You want some other numbers? Hickson can’t legally go to a bar in downtown Cleveland. Gibson’s not yet 23 years old. Kinsey’s 24. Pavlovic is 25. So is West. Mo and Andy are 26. The only other team I can think of with that kind of youth that is playing at a high level is Portland. Oh, and LeBron is still just 24, as well. Just thought I’d throw that in there.)

I know everyone is in panic mode over losing twice to the Lakers, a team we may or may not face in the NBA Finals (a lot of season to be played out, remind you).

Here’s some recent history to remind you of: 88-81 and 82-78. Those are the scores of the Cavs’ regular season wins over the Spurs in the 2006-07 season, and we all know how that played out in the end.

So don’t be concerned, Cavs fans. Yes, things can be better, but who the heck cares? The Season of Dreams is back on track in C-Town, and we’re all there to Witness it.

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