Eight isn't enough

In this nice article about J.J. learning the Princton Offense, we find this little nugget:

Scott said Hickson will never be Jamison and stretch a defense to the 3-point line, but he is comfortable with Jamison shooting from as far away as 17 feet.

But there is a tradeoff. If Hickson is 17 feet away, he's not in position to rebound. With Jamison's knee bothering him thus far, the Cavs are deficient in rebounders after Anderson Varejao. It's why Scott began harping on Hickson to be a better rebounder.

Hickson responded with eight rebounds in the victory over the 76ers last Friday in Philadelphia, proving again he is capable of answering whatever demands Scott throws at him.

Eight rebounds? That's enough to answer Coach Scott's demands? Really? Eight. From your über-athletic starting power forward? Umm... no

J.J. has the size and ability to average eight per game.  He should get eight boards simply by being on the court for 35 minutes. Hickson should not get praised for eight boards.

Speaking of rebounds, Jason Whitlock lays into Chris Bosh for not getting enough of 'em:

Bosh had one rebound against the Hornets. He’s averaging 5.4 boards through seven games -- five fewer than he averaged in White Vegas last season.

Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony can’t fix this. They’re not long enough, bulky enough, tough enough, talented enough or hyper enough to give the Heat what they’ll need to beat the serious title contenders (Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Antonio) or maybe even the pretenders (New Orleans, Orlando, Atlanta) in a seven-game series.

Miami’s lone 7-footer, Zyndrunas Ilgauskas, is a spot-up shooter. He’s not a defender. He can only give the Heat 15 good minutes.

Jordan’s Bulls not only employed Rodman and Grant, but Phil Jackson kept a stable of assignment-sound big defenders (Bill Cartwright, Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, Will Perdue, Scott Williams).

Bosh has to step up. This week.

 By Christmas, if he hasn’t drastically changed his approach and production, Pat Riley will surely explore every option to move Bosh and acquire a goon.

OK, I’m not an NBA trade expert. I don’t fully grasp how you get the contracts to match up and the value of “expiring” contracts. I’m just going to suggest the kind of players who could make James and Wade as lethal as Jordan and Pippen.

I agree 1000000%.  Bosh is soft. He has to be the guy who's going to get those tough, rugged boards and that's not his game.  I see no way that Bosh is keeping KG, Howard or Gasol off the boards during big playoff games.  He doesn't have the body and he doesn't have that crazy drive that guys like Anderson Varejao and Reggie Evans have.  Rebounding is about wanting the ball more. I don't know if Bosh (or Hickson, for that matter) has the mindset to be that guy.

Speaking of Varejao, Whitlock has an idea for who Miami should pick up:

Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao and Houston’s Luis Scola should be at the top of Riley’s wish list. 

Varejao is ideal. He’s high energy. He’s 6-10. He’s played with LeBron. Scola is off to a ridiculous start in Houston, putting up 22 and 12 through six games.

There is no way in hell that the Cavs are trading Varejao to LeBron's Miami Heat (and, once again, if LeBron had such terrible teammates, why should other teams want them?). First of all, the Cavs already have all of Miami's pick from the LeBron sign-and-trade and the Heat have no young talent. Secondly, if you think Dan Gilbert is going to give LeBron the pieces to win a title, you've got another thing coming. Third, seriously, who would Cavs even want from the Heat?


I will say that Varejao is one of the more attractive, tradable Cavaliers.  He can rebound and defend, he's signed fairly cheaply (thanks to that awful awful GM Danny Ferry) and he's still young (only 28).  Andy is a great fit for a contending team. I just can't imagine that team being the Heat (I've said it before, but Oklahoma City is the perfect spot for Andy. It makes too much sense).