<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been asked to play higher in an offense that stresses motion and setting picks.The new offense has resulted in early struggles for the center, as he is averaging 7.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 37 percent shooting from the field.Coach Mike Brown installed the offense in order to take pressure off of LeBron James.</div>http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/432...veland_offense/
Even though I'm a Kings and Pistons fan I happen to live in Cleveland and see a lot of Cavs game. He's struggling a lot, but he also is in foul trouble a lot too and is spending a lot of time on the bench because of it.Another reason he struggles is because, well it's a motion offense and he can't move as well as they would like their center to do in this system. They're winning though, so whatever works - keep doing it.
Z isn't a fast player. He also isn't physical. If it wasn't for his height, he wouldn't survive in the league. He is some what of a "Damon Jones" of the center position. He can be sloppy and has no power. He hustles on plays, but half of those plays are things he screwed up and so he trys to make up by diving for the ball.Take the game against the Timberwolves on Friday. Z, in the first quarter, had a defensive rebound right in his hands. He slapped at it, it bounced, he tried to pick it up and knocked it out of bounds. Like I said, he can be sloppy.He has a good sense of where rebounds are going to end up, which is good because if the ball isn't in his area, he isn't going to get it.The real problem with Z this year isn't the new offense alone (although any offense that requires Z to move much is hard on him), the real problem is Z doesn't fit into the Cavaliers physical and developing fast paced game. Where you don't fit as a player, you lack in the stat catagory.The Cavaliers look to get Z going on offense, they like to go to him early in the paint and have him one-on-one by himself, making a move. The problem is, he either does a fade-away or a hook shot. Z can't make a strong move to the basket, if he trys, a offensive foul usually results.I like Z, I just don't think he fits in with the direction the Cavs are begining to go. It is hard to find a good center now-a-days, so I don't want to lose him, but at the same time, I wish we could get a faster, more physical player in the center position (this is why we have AV, but AV is a back-up, not a starter).
