Last month, Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed a few games with an injured ankle. Cleveland dropped one of its three games without Z (at Atlanta), but Ilgauskas came back so quickly that any long-term worries about the Cavs' front court stayed out of central consciousness.Now, Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Z will be out roughly a month with a bone chip in the ankle. As before, the immediate concerns are muted thanks to a stellar team performance (this one a 25-point win over Chicago in which LeBron James only takes eight shots). But over the course of 17 or so games, Z will be missed. No question Anderson Varejao is better than your average third big man, and he should compete well nightly (as he did Friday).
J.J. Hickson, a completely untested rookie, will get into the rotation. Lorenzen Wright might earn some minutes, too; that's a worrisome proposition because Wright hasn't been a legit NBA rotation player in at least two years; the Hawks, who desperately needed big help, wouldn't let Wright off the bench last season. Behind Ben Wallace (a defense role player in the strictest sense of the world) and Varejao, Cleveland's got nothing but question marks.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Never was a huge fan of Ilgauskas, he's about as durable as 1ply toilet paper. His being hurt and out again is so typical of the modern day athlete.
Over the past six seasons, Z's played 472 of 492 possible games. That's 95% availability, and that's pretty durable. He suffered some unfortunate injuries early in his NBA career, but he has fought through it and become one of the most consistent centers in the league.
Do modern NBA players really miss more games than the old guys did?
How do you define old? What era are we talking about? If you're referring to athletes in the 70's and 80's then I would say yeah, today's athletes don't quite measure up to the same level of durability. Not to mention, these guys salaries are through the roof.
You have a valid argument regarding Ilgauskas, guess I've never been a big fan of his.
Could this mean another entrant into the BLOCKBUSTER WINTER OF '09 JOE SMITH SWEEPSTRAVAGANTACULAR?
/pew pew pew splosions galore, so much excitement and loneliness
Multiple contenders need a passable backup big -- Deke's already signed, P.J. Brown's 1920s gangster muscle 'stache and game are "officially retired," Antonio Davis still hasn't recovered from his stint in NYC and I believe Danny Fortson's attached to write/star/score the "X-Men Origins: Bishop" project -- and here sits the Thunder, wilier than Dr. Wiley, holding the one trump card that could make the difference between a 65-win Eastern Conference champ and a 67-win Eastern Conference champ. The suspense is killing me.
/pew pew pew
Brad Miller on the way!!! :D
Trust me...Brad Miller is NOT on the way.The Cavs have some assets to trade,but not on guys like Miller.For now,AV holds the fort down and it's time for JJ and DJ to grow up fast.Bron plays more at the 4 and Sasha needs to prove he's an NBA player.