Small forward is finally winning over his coach, earning consistent minutes
Now we know why Sasha Pavlovic sat on the Cavaliers' bench for long stretches of games. Coach Mike Brown didn't respect his game. But all of that is changing, as the small forward is emerging as one of Brown's key performers off the bench. If Friday's 101-81 victory over Charlotte is any indication, Pavlovic has moved ahead of Damon Jones in Brown's rotation. The 6-foot-7, 239-pounder was the first player off the bench. Even though Pavlovic was just 2 of 10 from the field, he drove to the basket with aggression en route to seven points, dished out a career-high-tying five assists and had four steals. "Slowly but surely, he's earned more minutes," Brown said. "He's being more aggressive. He's been good at the defensive end, too, and has been rebounding. He gives us versatility with his size, strength and athleticism." Pavlovic might be the most inconsistent player on the Cavaliers. He's in one of his good swings right now. One thing in his favor is All-Star forward LeBron James is in his corner. "I've always believed in Sasha," James said. "I go against him 95 percent of the time in practice. I know what he can do more than he does. "I'm always getting on Sasha in games because he can be very good for our team. He's going to make mistakes. Everyone does." James said Pavlovic doesn't understand why he can follow a productive stretch (he had 18 points in back-to-back games against Philadelphia last week) with a game in which he doesn't get off the bench (which happened against Phoenix on Jan. 28). Actually, many observers wondered the same thing. But Brown went back to him in the Golden State game on Tuesday, and he responded with a career-high 24 points. He followed that up with 10 points in a loss to Miami, which included a nice two-handed dunk in traffic. Pavlovic, 23, missed a lot of shots against Charlotte on Friday. "He drove the basketball and got hit a couple times," Brown said. "I said, 'Just make the shot.' He said, 'I'm getting fouled.' The refs are looking at you the same way I did. I looked at you, watched your game. I really didn't respect your game. That's why you sat on the bench. Time went on, and I respected your game more and more. You're getting more playing time now. I love your game. "The refs are doing the same thing. They don't know you and didn't respect your game. You're going to drive and get hit, and they're not going to call it. The more they watch your game, the more they will respect your game. Sooner or later, they'll make the call." On the season, Pavlovic is averaging 5.5 points and 1.7 rebounds and is shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line. He connected on his 100th career 3-pointer against Charlotte. Payback time? The Cavs (27-20) host the Detroit Pistons (27-18) at 2:30 p.m. today at Quicken Loans Arena. They owe the Pistons one after Detroit prevailed, 87-71, Dec. 21. Detroit led by just two points after three quarters at 57-55. However, the Pistons went on a 15-3 run, led by guard Chauncey Billups, to pull away from the Cavs.
