I know every team goes through this, so there's no use complaining. But add another injury to the long list of annoying setbacks for the Cavaliers roster. Now Ben Wallace is out for at least a month (but likely much longer) with a broken right fibula. It happened in just about the ugliest game I've ever witnessed - a 93-74 pasting of the Cavs, courtesy of the Rockets. Something about playing in Houston seems to bring out the worst in the Cavaliers. I was hopeful that this year would be different, but it wasn't. LeBron was whistled for early fouls, turned his ankle late in the game, and didn't record an assist. The team shot just 33.8% from the field and totaled just 50 points through three quarters. It was that type of night for the wine and gold.
So what next? The good news is that we don't have to sit and stew over this one for long. There's no time for that as the teams heads to San Antonio to take on the Spurs tonight at 9:30. The bad news? There they will face one of the Western Conference's elite teams without a starter (again). So what's the short term solution for the Cavs? With the Wallace injury they desperately need another big body. No matter what happens with any possible roster shuffling, it will mean more minutes for rookie J.J. Hickson. He has shown flashes of ability this year, but honestly the prospects of him logging heavy minutes in the playoffs does not excite me in the least...
Could the injury to Ben Wallace reunite LBJ and Joe?There are some possibilities out there for the Cavs in terms of available big men. And the timing of the Wallace injury wasn't ideal, but it could have been worse. At least it happened before the March 1 roster deadline. That affords the Cavs the opportunity to pick up anyone who is bought out from their current team in time to sign them before the March 1 and still be eligible for the playoffs. To me that leaves two intriguing possibilities. Number one on my list would be Joe Smith. He hasn't played for Oklahoma City since February 10th, logging 5 straight DNP-CD's. If he is bought out I would think he would love to return here... Another possibility is Drew Gooden. I know, I know, he's not the perfect solution. But again, he's a guy that knows the Cavaliers' system and he was involved in the trade to Sacramento purely as an expiring contract. I would think he would be open to a buyout to play for a contender in the stretch run. Other possibilities include the aging but battle-tested Robert Horry and Alonzo Mourning. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the weekend, but I'm hoping something does get done. Anderson Varejao is much better suited coming off the bench and not forced into the starting role (again). Go Cavs.
