When Shaq got traded to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic, I didn't think it would really improve Cleveland all that much. Sure, Shaq is a huge upgrade in terms of strength and low post scoring, but he's also a lane clogger that will take away some of LeBron's ability to get all the way to the rim too. Shaq also has never been great against the pick and roll, so that area of Cleveland's defense won't really improve. And Shaq has never been all that happy being a secondary option, which is exactly what he'll be in Mike Brown's offense.
But the more I thought about it though, the more sense it made for Cleveland. Looking back at the Eastern Conference Finals, a lot of the mismatch problems Orlando caused on the outside actually came from the inside. Where Kendrick Perkins was able to push Dwight Howard out further and somewhat neutralize him, the Cavs were extremely deficient. Rashard Lewis wasn't beating people off the dribble as much as he was catching people Anderson Varejao peeking inside and not being able to recover. If he doesn't have to help so much, maybe Varejao won't look as bad trying to cover Lewis this time around.
I really started feeling better about the trade for Cleveland once Orlando made their trade for Vince Carter, virtually assuring that Hedo Turkoglu won't be back. Losing Turkoglu takes away the other matchup that could potentially make a defense scramble against Orlando, which is really how they get their shots. You don't think that of Shaq as a defensive anchor anymore, but he can still play that role just because of his size. And especially against Orlando with Howard and Boston with Perkins, the two other top contenders in the East. Just being able to stay at home more and not come running every time a big man catches the ball down low automatically makes Cleveland a much better defensive team.
On offense, Shaq puts someone dangerous on the block for a team that has a lot of shooters, which is never a bad thing. It does take away from LeBron's effectiveness in isolations, but wasn't that the goal all of last season anyway? It seemed like Cleveland brought in Mo Williams to take LeBron off the ball more and it worked in the regular season. LeBron got a lot more lobs in the halfcourt and back door cuts, which he really needs to develop into a championship threat. He can't just sit at the top and drive against the best defenses because they rotate too well for that. The Spurs proved that in the Finals, and the Celtics proved it last year. Adding
Shaq is definitely a step in the right direction, but Cleveland still needs to improve its forwards. They need a small forward who allows them to play smaller with LeBron at the four in short spurts, and they need a four who can step out and be a threat from 18-20 feet so Shaq and LeBron have enough space to operate. If Varejao has to play too many minutes, you eventually end up playing 4-on-5. But this move does shore up more of Cleveland's holes and make them more versatile than and dangerous.
Next step: Mike Brown has to show he can make these pieces fit. That may be the biggest challenge of all for the Cavs. More on that later this summer.
*That's it from a basketball standpoint, I'm sure the "worldwide leader in sports" will have more to say on what this means to NBA introductions.
Expect a hard-hitting piece on Outside the Lines to follow this up any day now.
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