Props to CLE

[Thunder Dan]

Yea he would have closed that 17 pt gap huh?

Go back to playing your Xbox and masturbating in your room son.

laugh all you want but Z being there helps the Cavs a ton- they can space the floor so guys can get in the lane, which the Lakers wouldn't allow them to do. They could guard one of the big guys better. Z is so valuable to the Cavs in many ways, not just scoring. He can hit 3's which allows them to take Bynum out of the lane

[DrHouse]

laugh all you want but Z being there helps the Cavs a ton- they can space the floor so guys can get in the lane, which the Lakers wouldn't allow them to do. They could guard one of the big guys better. Z is so valuable to the Cavs in many ways, not just scoring. He can hit 3's which allows them to take Bynum out of the lane

CLE's problem is their bench sucks. When Lebron goes out the team completely falls apart. The Lakers depth will give CLE problems and force Brown to play Lebron for nearly the full 48.

I agree that Z would help against the Lakers. But he doesn't shoot many 3's so lets be serious please. He's more of a midrange threat. Still I thought the Lakers did an amazing job of trapping James and keeping him away from the basket.

[JoeTait75]

CLE's problem is their bench sucks. When Lebron goes out the team completely falls apart. The Lakers depth will give CLE problems and force Brown to play Lebron for nearly the full 48.

I agree that Z would help against the Lakers. But he doesn't shoot many 3's so lets be serious please. He's more of a midrange threat. Still I thought the Lakers did an amazing job of trapping James and keeping him away from the basket.

When the Cavaliers are at full strength w/Z and Delonte, they've held things down pretty well with LeBron out of ballgames. It's only in the last few weeks, with those guys out, that they've struggled. This is not a one-man team anymore. Z and Delonte aren't stars, but they're solid, smart role players, and they are missed.

And LeBron will play all 48 in the playoffs if he has to. He's done so before in the past. His minutes are going to go up regardless of the relative health of the rest of the team anyway.

As for Z, the quan y of the 3's he's hit don't mean as much as the simple fact that he can hit them, and he has to be accounted for out there. I'm not going to sit here and say the Cavaliers would have beaten L.A. last Monday with Z in the lineup, but they obviously match up far better against the LakeShow with Z than without him. His presence opens up the floor on offense immensely, and he gives them at least a puncher's chance against L.A.'s frontcourt defensively.