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James pisses me the off sometimes.
Just shut the up and play.
They have a coach for a reason.
James: Coach should have played Ilgauskas
LeBron James says Cavaliers coach Mike Brown should have let Zydrunas Ilgauskas set a record last weekend.
Ilgauskas has tied Cleveland’s record for all-time games played at 723 and will set a new mark with his next appearance. That could have been at home last Saturday, but Brown elected not to play Ilgauskas in a victory against the Mavericks.
“I definitely thought he should’ve played,” James said Monday. “I’m not trying to stir up anything with coach or whatever is going on with the organization, but sometimes one game is the smaller things. What was on the line was something way bigger than us playing the Mavericks. That was Z breaking the record.”
Ilgauskas declined interview requests Saturday night and on Monday.
James pisses me the off sometimes.
Just shut the up and play.
They have a coach for a reason.
trouble brewing in Cleveland? [/senorspur & djohn]
I think they should have played Z when junk time began in the 2nd quarter... but, I could see why Brown kept him out, the game was up and down, and the Mavs' center was Drew Gooden.
I don't think there's any excuse here. Coach should have gotten him in there. Period. It could have been for 20 seconds. He could have got him in and pulled him out between free throw attempts. It doesn't matter. It's pretty disrespectful not to allow him to get the record. I don't know if he simply forgot or is trying to play some sort of mind game. Brown totally ed this up, not that it's all that big of deal at the end of the day.
That said, James should've just keep quiet.
Agreed. Let the big fella log a single minute just so he can break the record.
our beat writer who knows Coach Brown very well said that he didn't think Brown would put him in for a token minute just to break the record. He could have put him in with the bench players in the 2nd half but he thought that would have been disrespectful to Z. I don't know what would be more disrespectful: not playing him period, or putting him in just to put him in and take out, or put him in with the bench bunch to break a record.
Apparently, they were going to stop the game and honor him, which our beat writer says that once Z didn't enter in the first half, he wouldn't get in the 2nd half because that ceremony would have been weird in the 2nd half of the game.
I can see both sides to this, and unless get gets traded today or tomorrow, or dies, he will break in this week.
Did any of u think Brown would be safe after Shaq arrived? LOL
Well, I agree Lebron should just keep his mouth shut, he is not a coach nor a coaching staff representative, it´s not good for players to mess with coach decision, they have an opinion of course, but keep it to yourself.
But, he is right. Ilgauskas should have played!!! I dont understand why Brown did not let him play, why not even some minutes just for respect.
Updated.
James: Coach should have played Ilgauskas
The Cavaliers concluded practice on Monday with a lighthearted game of football. The one player missing was the same one missing Saturday night—Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Ilgauskas was set to become Cleveland’s franchise leader in games played Saturday against Dallas, but coach Mike Brown elected not to play him. It’s a decision that has upset Ilgauskas and LeBron James.
“I definitely thought he should’ve played,” James said. “As a friend of his, I was very upset and I know he was, also.”
Ilgauskas shares the record, currently at 723 games, with the team’s general manager, Danny Ferry.
He is typically one of the last players to leave Cleveland’s locker room after games. On Saturday, he was the first. He also declined to participate in the team’s pickup football game on Monday, instead choosing to shoot at a basket with an assistant coach for a few minutes before leaving the court without speaking to reporters.
“I’m not trying to stir up anything with coach or whatever is going on with the organization, but sometimes one game is the smaller things,” James said. “What was on the line was something way bigger than us playing the Mavericks. That was ‘Z’ breaking the record.”
Coach Mike Brown said he intended on Ilgauskas playing his usual allotment of about 25 minutes, but the game’s tempo prevented it from happening. Brown stuck with a smaller lineup that included playing James at center for a short stretch in what was arguably Cleveland’s finest game of the season.
Shaquille O’Neal played just 25 minutes in the Cavaliers’ 111-95 win against Dallas that included big nights from Jamario Moon, Delonte West and Anderson Varejao, each of whom played at least 28 minutes.
“It wasn’t planned. Even as the course of the game went on, I didn’t expect to not play him,” Brown said. “You can call it a mistake, you can call it a coaching decision. I get paid good money and I feel like I’ve done a decent job of treating guys right. Maybe in a lot of guys’ minds, I didn’t this time, I don’t know. But that’s part of being a head coach.”
Ilgauskas has spent his entire 14-year career in Cleveland. He missed essentially three full seasons early on while dealing with broken bones in his feet. He is the team’s all-time leader in blocks and rebounds and one of four in team history to score at least 10,000 points.
“He’s been everything to this franchise and has given everything since he’s been here,” James said. “A lot of the guys that are here do not have the same history that I have with Z. They don’t know what Z has been through.
“I don’t think any of us would’ve been mad if Z started. He could’ve started, been subbed as soon as the game started and that would’ve given the fans a chance to give him a standing ovation. That’s just the way I would’ve envisioned it.”
Brown said he hasn’t given much thought to starting Ilgauskas in Cleveland’s next game, which is also at home against Phoenix on Wednesday, nor was he upset with James’ remarks.
“That’s fine,” Brown said. “This is not the only time he or anybody else on my team has been upset with me.”
Ilgauskas is off to the worst start of his career. He is averaging 7.1 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from the floor. He entered the season shooting 48 percent for his career.
Brown said he goes into every game with a minutes sheet that he keeps in his shirt pocket, but he doesn’t always follow it.
“A lot of coaching, at least for me, is by gut feel,” Brown said. “You know who’s in the game, but sometimes you make decisions based on the flow of the game or matchups on the floor.
“There are times throughout the course of a game when you might have forgotten a certain guy is in uniform, but that wasn’t the case with Z. It was just at the time, matchup-wise, this is what I chose to do.”
Ilgauskas is in the final year of his contract and has hinted he might retire after the season. James was a big proponent in Ilgauskas receiving a five-year contract during the summer of 2005.
“I think he knows I’m behind him in whatever he does,” James said. “Me and Z are the only remaining two from when I was drafted. I stand behind whatever Z does because he’s more than a teammate. He’s a friend of mine and he’s a big part in why this franchise turned around.”
Just from watching the games I seriously always thought Lebron hated Z...lol
But what's the big deal?? the next two games are at home so he will obviously break it at home.
Lebron is gay for Z and Mike Brown (that is the reason his job is safe). If Lebron doesn't like you, you will be traded, see Sasha Pavalavic. Lebron said something about Sasha and his hussle and Sasha was benched for like 3 weeks.
Great recipe for success when a player runs the team.
Hey look, it's Lebron.
This is CLEARLY a diss against Shaq.
He does not want Shaq on the Cavaliers, and he is already demanding Shaq to be traded or James is threatening to sign with the Knicks.
That is what this amounts to. Really. No, really!
it is when he is the best player in the league and not some 2nd tier piece of
Lebron is a class guy that sticks up for his teammates, it's great to see..
he really is the anti-Kobe..
If you don't want to do that, then just shut up
Amen. Just shut up and play basketball.
How much would you like to bet that he'll continue talking about his impending free agency - even though he proclaimed that he was done talking about it.
MB can't win here. He takes a lot of heat for being too predictable with his rotations and not playing match-ups. Then, when he does alter his rotation to match up with a smaller opponent he gets criticized because it just so happens to be on a night when Big Z has flown in his relatives from Lithuania to watch him break the record.
I really doubt MB was trying to make a fool out of Z. It was just one of those things. It would have been nice to get Z some minutes at the end of the first half but it just didn't happen.
Hopefully Dan Gilbert will pony up for Z's family to come back over here and watch him break the record. He certainly deserves to be honored for being such a stalwart through some tough times both personally and professionally.
As for LeBron, well... he really does like Z (everybody does) and it's good to see him stick up for a teammate- especially since Z isn't the kind of guy who is going to go public with this type of complaint- but he should have just left it alone. Mouthing off to the press days after the fact isn't doing anybody any good.
" I'm going to NY in 2010.
Not to join the Knicks, but to play at Rucker Park with some real NY ballers"
I agree, like that time he refused to shake hands after losing and then bailed on the media and left his teammates behind to take the hit. Class act.
Lebron needs to shut his big mouth and play.
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