| Sasha Set To Make A Splash |
CLEVELAND - It’s not going to take Cavaliers shooting guard Sasha Pavlovic long to match his previous NBA playoff experience.
In fact, barring early foul trouble in Game 1 Sunday at 12:30 p.m. against the Washington Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena, it will happen with eight minutes to play in the first quarter.
“I’m excited,” Pavlovic said Friday following a lengthy practice. “I love playing basketball. It’s going to be a new, great experience for me. I’m going to go out and play as hard as I can.”
A year ago, the 6-foot-7, 239-pounder didn’t really get an opportunity to play in the playoffs. He got in three games, but for a grand total of just four minutes.
This time around, Pavlovic will be on the floor for the opening tip, which will make him the only new face in Cleveland’s postseason starting five of a year ago.
The quiet, laid-back native of Serbia-Montenegro got that opportunity when Larry Hughes shifted to point guard. He made the most of his chance, averaging 12.7 points as Cleveland went 20-8 with him in the starting lineup.
Pavlovic’s timing couldn’t have been better, as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Still just 23 years old, he’s likely to command a multiyear contract that starts at the mid-level exception, which was $5.2 million this season. The Cavaliers will almost certainly match any offer their young shooting guard receives, because Pavlovic now looks like he could start in the NBA for years to come.
“I worked very hard over the summer,” Pavlovic said. “I just wanted to be ready. I set my mind on playing good defense, because I knew my offensive game would come. I go out every game with that mind-set.”
That’s exactly the approach Cavaliers coach Mike Brown wants from his players. The second-year head coach almost never says anything negative about any of his players, but he has said repeatedly that the only reason Pavlovic didn’t get more opportunities earlier in the season was because of his defensive shortcomings.
A great leaper and surprisingly strong, it wasn’t a matter of not having the physical ability, though Pavlovic’s lateral mobility is just average by NBA standards. In this instance, it was more a matter of desire and shaking some bad habits developed as a youngster in Europe, where many players’ idea of good defense is choosing the worst offensive player to guard.
“Sasha’s come a long way,” Brown said. “He still has a ways to go, but I like his progress.”
Pavlovic has come so far that if Cleveland had ended up playing Miami in the first round, he probably would have started the game defending Heat superstar Dwyane Wade. Against Washington, he’ll open against DeShawn Stevenson, the Wizards’ second-leading scorer now that Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler are out with injuries.
“I’m a lot more confident in my game now,” Pavlovic said. “I’m playing like I used to play in Europe.”
Offensively, Pavlovic is multifaceted, though he’s still not the greatest ballhandler. He goes to the hole extremely hard and is a great finisher, he can make 3-pointers and he understands subtleties like flow and floor spacing.
That’s why the fourth-year pro set career highs in games started (28), minutes per game (22.9), field goals made (222) and attempted (490), field goal percentage (.453), 3-pointers made (60) and attempted (148), 3-point percentage (.405), free throws made (100) and attempted (127), free throw percentage (.787), rebounds per game (2.4), assists per game (1.6), steals (55), blocks (17) and scoring average (9.0).
Just as important as any statistic, Pavlovic has become a consistent player who contributes every night. Over his first three years in the league - he played for Utah as a rookie - he showed flashes of brilliance, but they were always followed by long periods of nothing.
“He’s getting the opportunity to play now,” said Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, who is one of Pavlovic’s biggest supporters. “He could have done the same thing last year as he’s doing now.”
James should know, because he went up against Pavlovic every day in practice when the latter was on the second unit.
“That helped me a lot,” Pavlovic said. “He’s the best player in the league. It was great to play against him. It means a lot to have LeBron believe in your ability. I think that’s great. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
Used courtesy of: The Chronicle-Telegram |
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