New rules to keep the Cavs from sucking down the stretch

Wally’s Rule: No dribbling. And, dude, leave your shirt on, eh?

In his blog entry following the Cavs’ loss to Milwaukee on Saturday, Brian Windhorst mentioned that Anderson Varejao needs a rule when it comes to his role in the offense. Wrote Windy: “Before Anderson Varejao wanted to prove he was a scorer he led the team in field goal percentage. Now, he routinely misses handfuls of shots in a row. He should have a rule. Any time he dribbles, he is not permitted to shoot. Catch-and-shoots or layups only.”
A great call. And it got me thinking. Wild Thing isn’t the only player who could use some rules to keep himself from doing things he has no business doing, and to encourage him in doing things he’s inherently good at. Everyone on the team is guilty of this at some point. They get wrapped up in the excitement or pace of the game, are forced to improvise with the lack of a cohesive offensive strategy, or think more highly (or, in the case of Z, lowly) of their skills than those abilities merit, and suddenly you have Anderson Varejao dribbling down the paint for a fall away jumper while I ponder throwing my Budweiser at the television. Beer’s expensive, and I can’t afford a new TV. So things need to change.
Here’s my list of other rules for the Cavs: …

This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2008.