Empty the Bench

One team has been there, done that, and desperately wants to get there again before their core is broken up. The other franchise is seeking its first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since the 1991-92 season, and sports one of the biggest superstars in the league, nay, the world. Indeed, this matchup between the sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets and second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers features a slew of intriguing, talented players with a gaggle of All-Star appearances between them.

Star power aside, however, there’s no question that this is the JV side of the East’s playoff bracket. In slipping into the #2 seed on the last day of the season, the Cavs drew an incredibly favorable date with the Washington Wizards in Round One, a squad that without All-Stars Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas mostly resembled a lottery team. The Nets took their opening series 4-2 over the Atlantic Division champion Toronto Raptors. The Raps experienced an incredible turnaround during this regular season compared to last, and were on top of their division for most of the year. Still, despite an abundance of young talent that’s only going to get better as time goes on, we’re talking about a team with little to no postseason experience between them that is led by Chris Bosh, one of ETB’s favorite up-and-comers but a guy who seemed overwhelmed at times by the magnitude of the playoffs. Don’t get us wrong–the Nets and Cavaliers deserve to be here. Postseason seeding is what it is, and no one can say that luck doesn’t play a part in any team’s march to the finals.

The Cavs will have had almost a week off after sweeping the Wizards when Game One tips off tomorrow afternoon in Cleveland. As for New Jersey, they’ll have to recover quickly from their somewhat emotionally draining series with Toronto, a series which they probably should have ended a few days earlier. The Nets have the more well-rounded team top to bottom, all things considered, but there’s still plenty of question marks there. Can Boki Nachbar, a key contributor off the bench, erase the memories of his two missed, potentially game-winning shots in Games Two and Six? Will Jason Kidd’s various aches and pains hinder him at all as the series wears on? Can their ragtag bunch of misfits and castoffs in the post continue their streak of solid play? Empty the Bench breaks down the matchups, gives you a few things to watch for as the series unfolds, and looks into our shiny crystal ball to let you know how it’ll turn out.

Backcourt
There’s a decided advantage here for the Nets. Jason Kidd’s all-time greatness has been written about hundreds of times over, but just to remind you exactly what the 13-year veteran is still capable of… the man averaged a triple-double against the Raptors. That’s 14 points, 10 boards, and 13 assists in case you’re keeping score. We’re talking about the best rebounding point guard in the game today, though he is forced to make up for the general lack of presence on the boards elsewhere in the starting lineup. No matter who Cavs’ head coach Mike Brown throws at him–be it Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson, or Eric Snow–Kidd should be able to control the game and assert himself at will.

“Wince” Carter, as the Toronto fans so reverently refer to him, is a professional scorer who hasn’t exactly distinguished himself as a clutch performer in the postseason. Hindsight is 20/20, and we’re not saying that he definitely made the wrong decision here. Still, if you’re a Nets fan (player, coach, etc), what would you rather see happen with the game on the line as the fourth quarter nears expiration: the All-Star Carter take a semi-difficult shot and perhaps draw a foul? Or Carter drive and dish to Nachbar for a less-contested shot, even though the man taking the shot has no big-game pedigree? VC took the latter approach twice against the Raptors, and twice Nachbar missed. Let’s give the free-agent-to-be credit: he led his team in scoring in Round One with 25 points per, despite being the center of attention from the get-go for Toronto, its fans, the media, etc. Still, coach Lawrence Frank has to be hoping for higher percentages (43% FG, 64% FT) against the Cavs.

The Larry Hughes as point guard experiment has worked thus far for Mike Brown, as the somewhat erratic Hughes put in a nice effort against the Wiz with per-game averages of 19 points, 6.8 boards, 2.8 assists, and 96% FT. That was largely against Antonio Daniels, though, who won’t be mistaken for Gilbert Arenas in this lifetime. Hughes was also successful at staying out of foul trouble during the first round, and it’s essential he does just that against Jersey, too.

His backup, the veteran Eric Snow, could very well see more than the 19 minutes/game he saw against Washington due to his solid defensive skills and ability to man up on bigger guards like Jason Kidd. But Snow seems to slow down more and more by the day, and while his defense is still invaluable, his game on the other side of the court is a severe detriment. That’s why Hughes needs to be available at all times and ready to check in as the game dictates. Rookie Daniel Gibson played about 12 mintes a night against the Wiz, but there’s no way Brown can rely on him against Kidd. Look for him to only see the court in a pinch or when Kidds’ backup, fellow rookie Marcus Williams, checks in.

Starting shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic was a revelation for the Cavs during the second half of the season, helping fill a pressing need for an outside threat Lebron could drive and dish to. When he’s playing with confidence, the 6-7 Serbian can at times look unstoppable. Of course, those stretches are few and far between, and for the most part he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t hurt your team, won’t win it for your team. He didn’t have a great series against the Wizards–7 points, 2.8 boards, 32% FG, 22% from beyond the arc–so it’ll be interesting to see if and when he can shake himself out of the postseason doldrums and step it up. If he badly falters, the Cavs are going to be in a world of hurt. Kidd and Carter vs. Hughes and Pavlovic? It’s not even close, but let’s not forget this is a team game, which brings us to…

Frontcourt
Richard Jefferson looks like he’s finally playing at close to 100% after a nagging ankle injury during the regular season. Never one to be short of confidence as it is, RJ has to be playing with that much more chutzpah after his solid series against Toronto that was capped with a game-winning shot with 8.3 seconds to go last night to send the Raptors home for the summer. His outside shooting is still hit or miss, but when he’s aggressive RJ can make up for it by getting to the hole and drawing the foul. The key for him will be to make Lebron work on defense and try to get him some early fouls and limit his minutes.

There’s a severe drop-off in terms of talent and playoff experience after Jefferson, however. Mikki Moore has come out of nowhere to hold down the starting power forward spot after Nenad Krstic was lost due to injury for the year. Against the Wiz, Moore averaged just under 8 points and 6.5 rebounds and 50% shooting per game. He’s clearly not relied upon for his scoring, but it’d be a big help to the Nets’ Big Three if he could up those averages to, say, 12 points and 8 or 9 boards against the Cavs. Starting center Jason Colllins, well… to be blunt, he kind of sucks.

The trifecta of Lebron James, Drew Gooden, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas will have to consistently be at the top of their respective games throughout the series if the Cavs hope to advance. James was nothing short of brilliant in Round One, going for 28 points, 8.5 boards, 7.5 assists, 1.75 steals, and 42% from the field on average. Still, without Caron Butler’s persistent defense to slow him down, we wouldn’t have expected anything less from King James. He’ll be met with considerably more adversity against the Nets. Gooden and Big Z were fantastic too, combining for 33 points, 21 boards, and 2 blocks a night. Look for those numbers to only go up against the frontcourt-challenged Nets.

Bench
The aforementioned Nachbar sees the most minutes off Lawrence Frank’s bench, and like we said in the intro, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any carryover from his missed shots in the clutch in Round One. There shouldn’t be; your team advanced, so get over it. Plus it wasn’t like he had a bad overall series anyway. The Nets will be happy if he can maintain the 12.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 44% FG he averaged against Toronto. Antoine Wright will see minutes at the guard spot, as will rookie Marcus Williams (though probably in a limited capacity). Rookie Josh Boone and loooooong-time veteran Cliff Robinson are the backup bigs; both will see the floor, but we think Uncle Cliffy is leaned on more than the rook. Not a spectacularly deep bench for the Nets, but a capable one on most nights.

Cleveland’s depth isn’t any better. The Brazilian Sideshow Bob, Anderson Varejao, logged about 20 minutes a night against Washington and is the lone sparkplug off the bench for Mike Brown who consistently brings energy and tenacity. He’s not a scorer, but he’s one of the best at flopping taking a charge and is a capable rebounder. Curiously enough, he didn’t record a single blocked shot against the Wiz. Like we said earlier, Snow and Gibson will help out in the backcourt. Outside of these three guys–and Donyell Marshall–it ain’t pretty.

At the End of the Day…
All things equal, this series is a toss-up if both squads play like they should play. Neither team is overly distinguished in fast breaks, though give the edge to New Jersey with Kidd running the show and Carter and Jefferson streaking up the court hungry for easy dunks and layups. Big Z slows down the Cavs considerably in that department. Both rely on just a few guys to carry the load on offense, and both can dig in on defense and get stops when they need to. We’ll give Cleveland a slight advantage there. Both coaches have been to the playoffs before, though Frank has more experience as a head coach than Brown.

I just can’t see the Cavaliers beating this Nets team in a seven-game series. The starting New Jersey backcourt should absolutely abuse their counterparts, and a LOT of pressure will be heaped on Lebron to pick up the slack. If he has any off nights, the Cavs will be in a world of trouble. Expect a lot of close games, and when it’s all said and done…

Nets in Six

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