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By Mary Schmitt Boyer
Sasha Pavlovic has worked his way off the Cavs' bench and onto the court. As his minutes go up, he's proven a solid contributor and is having the ...
Is Sasha Pavlovic playing more because he's playing better, or is he playing better because he's playing more?
The Cavaliers' young guard/forward from Serbia-Montenegro doesn't really care. He just knows he's enjoying the additional time.
"It feels great," he said.
Pavlovic set season highs with 10 points and 18 min utes in the Cavs' 104-79 vic tory over New York on Saturday. His performance has steadily increased the past three games after not playing in the five games before that.
The sporadic minutes have been frustrating for the former first-round draft choice of the Utah Jazz, but the 21-year-old has tried to remain positive.
"I just have to keep my head up and work hard," he said. "I have to fight through that and when I have a chance I have to play as hard as I can so I can be in the games."
Pavlovic was the 19th pick in the 2003 draft. He started 14 games for Utah last season and played in 79 games, averaging 4.8 points and about 14 minutes a game. He was taken by Charlotte in the expansion draft last summer and was acquired by the Cavs for a future first-round draft choice.
Coach Paul Silas said he knew all along what kind of talent Pavlovic had, but the coach said it wasn't until recently that Pavlovic felt confident enough to display his skills for the Cavs.
"He can handle the ball," Silas said Monday after practice. "Today, on the fast break, he went behind his back a couple times and between his legs and laid it up. He's shooting the ball exceptionally well. The defensive rotations are there. He's just playing all out right now.
"I like his whole mental approach, and his confidence level is going up. "
Asked why it has taken so long for Pavlovic to work his way into the rotation, Silas said: "It's me. I like veteran players. Young players have to prove themselves to me."
Pavlovic appears to have done that in the past week.
"It's just consistency that we're looking for and me getting comfortable with him, quite frankly, and trusting he can go out and get it done," Silas said. "He has proven that he can in the last couple games."
On Saturday, Pavlovic was part of the Cavaliers' second unit that dominated the Knicks, outscoring them in the second quarter, 38-14. That performance from his bench caused Silas to rethink his rotation.
"I was very leery of having a 10-man rotation," he said. "But for short periods of time, it might not be all that bad if they're going to continue to play good defense."
Used courtesy of: Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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