Cavs drop preseason opener to Raptors: Veteran Ilgauskas still standing tall, even in loss
Rick Noland | The Chronicle-Telegram
CLEVELAND — Zydrunas Ilgauskas is 33 years old and in the next-to-last season of his contract, but the Cavaliers center looks like he could play at least five more years.
The likable Lithuanian is always going to be 7-foot-3 and he’s always going to be able to make shots, which he showed Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena as the Cavaliers opened the exhibition season with a 104-84 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Playing primarily against former All-Star Jermaine O’Neal, who is not nearly the player he was several years ago in Indiana due to knee problems, Ilgauskas had 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting and six rebounds in 22 minutes.
Most of Ilgauskas’ points came on flat-footed perimeter shots from the 17- to 20-foot range. New point guard Mo Williams set up many of the looks off pick-and-roll sets, but the ability to make that shot has been a staple of Ilgauskas’ game for 10 NBA seasons.
“When he gets those looks and has a chance to set his feet from 19 or 20 feet, he looks pretty good,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.
Ilgauskas’ height and long arms also make him a threat on the offensive boards, qualities that are unlikely to disappear with age.
“He’s one of the most professional guys I’ve been around as far as taking care of his body,” Brown said. “He’s skilled and he’s 7-foot-3. You can’t teach that kind of stuff. He could play a long time as long as he takes care of his body and accepts his role.”
In addition to Ilgauskas, who started along with LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic and Williams, the Cavaliers also displayed some nice early offense when their core players were on the floor.
James started it by driving the lane and drawing defenders to him before dropping off a left-handed, behind-the-back pass to Anderson Varejao, who made a reverse layup, got fouled and converted the three-point play.
Moments later, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson drove end-to-end and made a layup following a Toronto basket. That was followed by rookie J.J. Hickson diving on the floor to recover a loose ball near midcourt and getting it to Gibson, who threw ahead to Wally Szczerbiak, who then passed to Varejao for a dunk.
With James watching the final three quarters from the bench, Williams also displayed the ability to create a shot when the offense broke down, something only James has been able to do for the Cavaliers over the past few seasons.
Among the negatives, Gibson had trouble creating enough space between him and his defender to run the offense, Pavlovic got burned for easy baskets several times by Anthony Parker and Wallace left a four-footer two feet short of the rim.
The athletic Hickson, playing with guys who will be in the rotation, did some good things and some bad things. He was quick to the ball off the boards and showed he can attack the rim at the offensive end, but at one point the first-round pick air-balled a wild scoop shot, then committed a silly foul in the backcourt.
Varejao, who played despite a strained left thigh, was his normal active self and did some nice things at both ends of the floor, but he continued his history of blowing a lot of defensive assignments.
All in all, though, it was a fairly successful debut for the Cavaliers, whose current roster included only James, Ilgauskas and Gibson at this point last year.
Cleveland led 51-43 at halftime, but gave up 35 points in the third period and was outscored 26-11 in the fourth quarter, when a lineup that featured Gibson and a bunch of training camp invitees went 5-of-22 from the field.
“There were some good things,” Browns said, “and there were some bad things.”
King sits out
James played the first 8:25 of the game and watched from the bench the rest of the night, as Brown continues his plan of getting the
6-8, 250-pounder a lot of rest in the preseason. Brown is considering sitting out James, Ilgauskas and Wallace for an entire exhibition game at some point, but admits feeling some pressure to play James in non-NBA cities like Providence, R.I., Columbus and Pittsburgh.
“Those people do not get a chance to see him,” he said. “Having said that, you’ve always got to make sure you’re looking out for the best interests of the individual.”
Brown’s plan is to play James 38 to 40 minutes a game in the regular season, which the 23-year-old is in complete agreement with.
“If I could play 48 and play at a high level, I’d do it,” James said.
Tip-ins
With the starting shooting guard spot up for grabs, Brown said Szczerbiak will likely start instead of Pavlovic when the Cavaliers play Boston on Friday in Providence, R.I.
• Veteran Lorenzen Wright didn’t dress due to ingrown toenails, while Delonte West and Michael Dickerson continue to be absent from camp while attending to personal matters.
• Several Cavaliers are taller or heavier than they were listed last season, the most notable being Varejao, who has grown an inch, to 6-11, and added 20 pounds, to 260. Gibson’s weight is up from 194 to 200 and Williams is up five pounds, to 190. Pavlovic has dropped four pounds, to 235, and Szczerbiak is down five, to 240.
• Will Solomon, who played with Medina High graduate Tony Stockman at Clemson, looked very good in putting up 17 points, three rebounds and four assists off the bench. He also made six turnovers.
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or at rickn@ohio.net.
Raptors 104, Cavs 84
TORONTO (104): Moon 1-2 0-0 3, Bosh 4-6 2-2 11, O’Neal 4-9 3-3 11, Calderon 3-7 2-2 8, Parker 5-6 1-1 12, Bargnani 6-12 2-4 15, Kapono 3-5 0-0 7, Solomon 6-11 4-4 17, Humphries 5-7 4-5 14, Adams 2-7 0-0 4, Sampson 0-0 2-4 2, Ukic 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 39-75 20-25 104.
CLEVELAND (84): James 0-3 1-2 1, Wallace 1-4 0-0 2, Ilgauskas 8-12 0-0 16, M.Williams 5-11 0-0 12, Pavlovic 2-4 1-3 5, Szczerbiak 2-5 2-2 7, Gibson 4-13 2-2 12, Hickson 3-6 1-3 7, Varejao 3-4 3-3 9, Kinsey 2-8 2-2 6, Jackson 1-4 0-2 2, Dupree 2-3 1-2 5, J.Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-2 0-0 0, Allred 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-82 13-21 84.
Toronto 20 23 35 26 — 104
Cleveland 28 23 22 11 — 84
3-Point Goals—Toronto 6-11 (Parker 1-1, Bosh 1-1, Moon 1-1, Kapono 1-1, Bargnani 1-2, Solomon 1-3, Calderon 0-1, Ukic 0-1), Cleveland 5-19 (Gibson 2-4, M.Williams 2-7, Szczerbiak 1-3, Kinsey 0-1, Pavlovic 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, J.Williams 0-2).
Fouled Out—None.
Rebounds—Toronto 50 (Bargnani 8), Cleveland 48 (Ilgauskas 6).
Assists—Toronto 26 (Calderon 5), Cleveland 21 (Pavlovic, M.Williams 4).
Total Fouls—Toronto 22, Cleveland 23.
A—18,847 (20,562).
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Filed by Rick Noland | The Chronicle-Telegram October 8th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 5% |
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