A Good Problem

Maybe when the smoke clears and we look back on this season, we’ll look at in stages.

One of the biggest trades in franchise history is less than three weeks old, and the Cavaliers still have (at least) one more phase to go through before the regular season ends. That stage will begin when the troika of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic make their eventual return to the lineup.

Coach Mike Brown may have some ‘splaining to do as he tries to dole out minutes, but that’s what they call “a good problem” – like the Browns (finally) have at the quarterback position.

All three are integral to the Cavaliers’ return to the top of the Eastern Conference heap – each contributed to last year’s run. Ilgauskas and Gibson were having excellent seasons. Boobie was coming off a fantastic All-Star Weekend and Ilgauskas was having one of his best seasons in an-already exceptional nine-year career.

Sasha’s season has been uneven. After a contract holdout, he didn’t recapture last year’s aggressiveness until, ironically, the final two games before he got hurt. But with the trade of Larry Hughes to Chicago, Pavlovic’s perimeter defense will be needed now more than ever.

Mike Brown has made every indication that Sasha will be in the starting lineup when he returns. Obviously, Big Z will. Daniel Gibson will get his usual minutes, bringing fireworks off the bench. So, crunch the numbers …

Within days, your starting lineup will most likely be LeBron James, Ilgauskas, Pavlovic, Delonte West and Ben Wallace – provided his back spasms aren’t a lingering problem.

Anderson Varejao, Joe Smith and Gibson are all the immediate first options off the bench. Devin Brown is too versatile and has been simply too good this season to cut his minutes. Damon Jones is having easily his best season as a Cavalier and Wally Szczerbiak is the guy Cleveland brought in for shooting off the bench.

Dwayne Jones and Eric Snow haven’t gotten a ton of regular season minutes, but with defense at a premium in the postseason, Coach Brown will probably find a place for each somewhere in the rotation.

That’s a lot of Cavaliers to stuff into 48 minutes of basketball. And speaking of basketball, there’s only one of those allowed on the floor at a time.

That’s also a lot of options if you’re Mike Brown. And a lot of people to prepare for if you’re an opponent.

Ilgauskas’ presence will do wonders for the entire frontcourt, specifically Wallace. And Z’s return will also move Anderson – who’s had two excellent games as a starter against Indy and Portland – back to his normal position. Joe Smith has been rock solid and it’s starting to look like he’ll have a good night, every night.

The backcourt is where it’s going to be touch-and-go for the Wine and Gold. Everyone is playing well enough to warrant big minutes, and it would be a crime to cut floor time for, say, Damon Jones or Szczerbiak or Devin Brown.

But the Cavaliers are going to have to make it work. Depth is never a bad thing. But lack of chemistry and cohesion can be.

Danny Ferry has given his long-time friend and confidant the pieces that can hopefully take the Cavaliers to the next level. (There’s only one level left.) Now, Mike Brown can prove all his doubters wrong, make this work, and make another run at the Ring.

Fitting all the pieces of this puzzle together is going to be a problem. But it’s a good one to have heading into the final stage of the regular season.