The Cleveland Fan on Facebook

STO
The Cleveland Fan on Twitter
Cavs Cavs Archive Cavs Breeze To Exhibition Win Over Greek Team
Written by Sam Amico

Sam Amico
The Greek team Olympiacos (featuring former NBA players Josh Childress, Linas Kleiza, and Von Wafer) came to Cleveland last night for an exhibition game that saw the Cavs prevail 111-94. Sam Amico was at The Q covering the game for us, and recaps the game for our readers this morning. Sam also spends some time talking about the roster battles that are emerging for this Cavs team, and what the final roster may look like when the team opens regular season play ... now just two weeks away.

CLEVELAND - Random stuff from the Cavaliers' preseason game Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena:

* It's hard to get excited about a game that doesn't count against a team from Greece (Olympiacos Pireus). Unless, of course, you're from Greece.

* I'm strictly referring to Greek reporters, who treated their visit to Northeast Ohio like a middle school field trip. That's not me being critical -- just an observation. I'm sure I'd behave similarly if I ever went to their country.

* Long before game, the Greek media attended the morning shootaround at Cleveland Clinic Courts, where they asked for autographs and even posed for pictures with some of the Cavs. Heck, some of the reporters even shot around themselves, stepping on the practice floor, removing basketballs from a rack and firing up some jumpers.

* By the way, the Cavs won (111-94) despite playing with the relaxed attitude of a team that was holding an inter-squad scrimmage with no one around to watch.

* That's not to imply Olympiacos was completely inept. On top of boasting some decent homegrown talent, its roster featured several former NBA types -- from forwards Josh Childress (Atlanta) and Linas Kleiza (Denver) to Von Wafer (Houston). Childress is in his second year with the club. Also, rookie Patrick Beverley was selected by Miami in the second round of the most recent draft.

* Childress actually looks to have improved since his days with the Hawks. He left as a seventh or eighth man in the NBA, and will return (probably in 2010-11) as a starting small forward.

* As for everyone else, well, as the saying goes, it was all Greek to me.

* Then again, I had at least heard of Olympiacos center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, a former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Clippers. He goes by the nickname "Baby Shaq," and besides not having the real Shaquille O'Neal's size, skills or experience, they were in fact the same player.

* In all seriousness, Baby Shaq is wide (6-foot-10, 309 pounds) and somewhat athletic, but that's about where any comparisons to the real Shaq must end. Schortsanitis also spent some time on a fat farm, having ballooned to nearly 400 pounds after getting drafted in 2003.

* The Cavs' starters played a decent amount of minutes, as LeBron James (12 points, 7 assists) and Shaq (12 points, 5 rebounds) were on the floor a combined 44 minutes. However, Mo Williams and Delonte West didn‘t even suit up, and likely won't play Wednesday against Washington in the final preseason game at the Q. (Although Cavs coach Mike Brown indicated Williams would have played had it been the regular season.) At any rate, this game was more about seeing who might make the roster, as Brown will have to make some cuts in the coming weeks.

* And when it comes to who might make the roster, at least for a short while, it appears Jawad Williams has the inside track at reserve forward over Rob Kurz. That's just speculation, but Williams played 23 minutes against Charlotte on Saturday and 17 minutes against Olympiacos. Kurz didn't play at all Saturday and was in the game for just 2:53 against Olympiacos.

* Kurz clearly has more range on his jumper, but Williams has a better mid-range game and some nice moves around the basket. Williams was a scoring machine in the D-League last season and knows how to free himself for shots.

* I really like free-agent point Andre Barrett and free-agent combo guard Coby Karl, and hope at least one makes the Cavs' roster. Barrett is 5-10 (on a good day), extremely quick and intelligent, and has NBA experience -- having playing with six teams since 2004. Karl is the son of Denver coach George Karl and is scrappy with strong ball-handling skills and a nice shooting touch.

* By the way, Coby was 1 years old when his dad became the Cavs' coach back in 1984. Brown summed up Coby Karl perfectly: "You can tell he has a great feel for the game."

* And wouldn't be interesting to have a guy named Coby (pronounced "Kobe") on the same team as LeBron?

* I know I wrote about this before (and certainly will again), but it's so nice to have someone on the Cavs who can curl off a screen and consistently knock down mid-range jumpers. I'm talking about free-agent signee Anthony Parker, who has done nothing but display poise and solid defense ever since coming to Cleveland.

* Again, the Cavs' final preseason game at the Q is Wednesday against the dreaded Wizards. Tip-off is 7 p.m. The game will not be televised locally.

Sam Amico covers the Cavaliers and NBA for NBA.com, and is a regular contributor to SportsTime Ohio and The Cleveland Fan.

The TCF Forums