Hickson’s Recent Struggles Should Mean a Return To The Bench
December 13th, 2009 | by Ward Peterson |The Cavaliers began the season with Anderson Varejao in the starting lineup. After struggling out of the gates, coach Mike Brown made the decision to move Varejao to the bench, and then elevated second-year power forward, JJ Hickson, into the starting lineup. The move quickly paid dividends as the Cavaliers went on a nice roll. As teams focused on the much better known and more experienced players like LeBron James, Hickson played extended minutes and was very effective, scoring no less than 14 points in a six game stretch that ended with a 14 point effort in a Cavaliers win on November 21st. Since that time, he has scored in double-digits only once and in the last few games, it appears that Hickson may need to once again return to the bench.
Like an unknown pitcher who starts the season on a hot streak until teams develop a scouting report and figure out their one or two pitches, teams have started to give more defensive attention to Hickson, and since he played with the starters, that has meant that attention was provided mostly by seasoned NBA veterans. The effect of that attention has proven a bit too much for Hickson, and he has struggled to find any kind of rhythm. It seemed to come to a head in the Cavaliers last game , which was a tough win at home against an injury-depleted Portland Trailblazer team who had only nine players active for the game. The highlight…..or lowlight in JJ’s case was at the end of the first half of that game as the Trailblazers were inbounding the ball with 6.2 seconds left in the half from the Cavaliers baseline. Portland’s Jerryd Bayless got the inbounds pass and quickly dribbled up the court, went around a high screen, and went straight to the hoop where Hickson was defending. Hickson was out of position to defend effectively and fouled Bayless with less than two seconds remaining. LeBron James’ reaction was very clear as he showed visible frustration with the careless foul that sent Bayless to the line, where he sank both free throw attempts. As the Cavaliers got the ball and eventually heaved up a prayer from half-court, James could barely contain his frustration as he just walked back up the floor until the half expired. As the Cavaliers headed into the locker room, James yelled “….everybody!”, which undoubtedly led to a half-time of venting and re-focusing as the ended the half down by nine (45-54) to Portland.
Hickson started the second half with the rest of the starting lineup, but appeared to be on a different page than the rest of the Cavaliers. It didn’t take long for Hickson to commit another shooting foul, and with only one minute gone in the half, Mike Brown pulled Hickson and inserted Varejao back into the lineup. Hickson didn’t see the floor again. The final stats: 10 minutes, two fouls, two turnovers, and two points.
Varejao’s presence was noticeable, particularly with his energy and tenacity on the boards and on defense. He also moved well without the ball creating some nice shots for himself. He ended the evening with a double-double, with 22 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes.
After losing the final two games of the last road trip, and falling to third in the Eastern conference, this may not be the time to allow Hickson to continue to cut his teeth as an NBA starter. If Brown wants Varejao to play with the second team, then he should leave him on the floor longer. In my opinion, Hickson needs a bit more time to hone his NBA game. In a season where the Cavaliers have hopes of an NBA title, having your starting power forward doing on-the-job-training, may not be the best idea.
