April Showers

Nothing has come easy for the Cavaliers this season. From a rough road schedule to start out the season to the nagging injuries that are making the final weeks a struggle, it has been a complete departure from last year’s relatively smooth sailing.

After Saturday night’s debacle in Detroit, Coach Mike Brown knew that he had to make a change and by tip-off 20 hours later, Sasha Pavlovic went from starting two-guard to a DNP-CD. He had ice on his foot throughout the second half, but Brown asserted in postgame that Pavlovic could have played.

Brown knows that time is growing short for the Cavaliers, who have seen their lock on the fourth spot become more tenuous in recent weeks – due in large part to the surging Sixers and the Wine and Gold’s woes on the road. The Cavaliers have won just one road game since making the 11-player trade back in late February – and it took LeBron James scoring 50 points to get that one.

Of course, it’s not too late to finish strong and go into the postseason on a roll. Over the past two seasons, the Cavaliers have gone 14-6 in the month of April, including 8-3 in 2005-06 and 6-3 last season. The 14-6 record is the third-best April record in the NBA during that time behind only the Bulls and Magic.

Cleveland bounced back from an anemic first half against Philly to win it down the stretch. Delonte West had easily his best game as a Cavalier, draining a pair of huge three-pointers in the final two-and-a-half minutes and becoming the first player since Eric Snow – and, obviously, LeBron – to have 11 or more assists in a game for the Wine and Gold.

Talking about his two big bombs, West quipped: “It’s funny because it goes to show how mental this game actually is. I remember sitting on the bench right before we came out from a timeout and thinking, ‘I’m getting ready to hit it; I’m going to sting them.’ Sure enough, the ball came right to me and I let it fly.”

The only other Cavalier to have two good games this weekend was Joe Smith. The rock-solid reserve forward went 9-for-12 from the field, averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 boards in 23.5 minutes per contest. He was 4-of-4 from the floor in Saturday’s embarrassing loss to the Pistons.

He and Ben Wallace were both perfect from the field on Saturday. Big Ben was in the midst of having one of his better games with Cleveland before re-aggravating his back.

The affable Smith probably used the most appropriate term to describe the season: “It is very frustrating and we understand that injuries are a part of the game, but at the same time when you are trying to get healthy bodies back on the floor to get a rhythm it is frustrating.”

Wallace might have been able to go as early as Sunday, but the Cavaliers are going to play it very safe with him and any other essential pieces to this year’s postseason run. Daniel Gibson made his return on Saturday – in limited minutes – but had to leave with soreness in his ankle on Sunday.

The Cavaliers got the win and kept the Sixers at bay. And they were still able to give players like Wallace and Gibson a little extra time to get as close to 100 percent as possible. Gibson, especially, is a critical piece to the puzzle if the Cavaliers are looking to make another big run.

“I know it’s a struggle for him mentally because he’s never been injured in his career,” said LeBron James, in reference to the player he considers a younger brother. “Hopefully he can just get his ankle back right and not think about it much. Hopefully he can just continue to get healthy. We’re going to need him.”

It’s likely that Devin Brown will get another start on Wednesday night when the Cavaliers travel to Charlotte. Cleveland has won 11 of 14 all-time against Charlotte, but it doesn’t feel like it. The Bobcats always seem to give the Wine and Gold a hard time.

It could be a crazy eight games in April, as the Cavaliers look to solidify themselves before making another run at the Eastern Conference Crown. To get there, they won’t be facing an undermanned Wizards squad in the First Round or an underachieving Nets squad in Round 2.

So now it’s time to get healthy and get focused on going into the playoffs on a roll.