What happened to Sasha Pavlovic?

[RudyGay22]

Two years ago, I had him pinned as the next young rising star. He was blocking shots off fast breaks, throwing down nasty dunks, attacking the rim and hitting 3's. I know his D has never been good, but is he really not better than Delonte West?

[Gordon Bombay]

its because he's an idiot half the time and goes into mike brown's doghouse for long stretches of time. friday night we saw "good sasha," but "bad sasha" could very easily rear his ugly head any time now

[CzBoobie]

Ugh, Sasha was NEVER better than Delonte West...

[INKtastic]

Why the knock on his defense, Sasha played strong defense in our finals run. His hold out set him back last year and he's been a victim of rotation this year. We play a 3 guard rotation, he's the 4th guard. Some games (like the hornets), he looks like the guy who started 2 years ago, other games he hesitates on open looks and forces things when there's nothing there and winds back up on the bench.

[L&H_05]

He's the same scrub today that he's always been.. Nothing happened to him..

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Here's what happened.

He got cocky, held out for more cash, missed training camp. No training camp+low basketball IQ= bad play, a stretch of bad play on both ends= Mike Browns dog-house.

MB's doghouse=lack of confidence or drive to improve (see:Devin Brown, Shannon Brown), thus lowering his basketball IQ because he doesn't care enough to prepare himself mentally.

[B Mac]

Because he's a Euro everyone loves to point out his weaknesses even if they have no backing whatsoever. End of story.

[eyejayem]

Sasha is a confidence player. When he was in the second unit and guarding Lebron everyday and then showing that he actually learned something .He was inserted into the starting lineup 2 years ago and finally seemed to be showing his potential as he was the only other person who can drive or create off the dribble. But again that was his contract year. Like someone said he above, he held out and as you can see him and AV was a step behind but he lost even more ground when Wally and Delonte came in because he was already behind Devin Brown and Daniel Gibson. Shoot if Eric Snow could have played he was probably behind him too.

This year I think it is more about trying to get Wally to play because he is more a proven shooter and better BBall IQ. But I think it works for Cavs because they know once Wally is gone and if he is not bought out and returns to Cle than they have Pavs who plays better defense because he is more mobile and it is not much of a step down in production offensively. And hopefully his confidence will return enough to contribute.

[Niko23]

In Boobie we trust nails this on the head. Add in injury to that and you have a BAD mix.

I think Pavs was playing great when he was our starter in 2007 Finals IMO

[Baddy Chuck]

Got a question about Pavs, is his contract only guaranteed for 500K next season?

[bcortell]

RTB, I believe so.

[mg]

The holdout ruined his season last year and it's always been tough for him to get out of Mike Brown's doghouse.

Like most players if he doesn't get consistent minutes or is always looking over his shoulder he's not going to play well. One day Sasha will get 3 minutes of mop up duty and the next day Brown throws him in the starting rotation when Delonte gets injured. I still think Sasha could be a solid role player if he doesn't try to do too much and the coach gives him consistent minutes. People knock his basketball IQ but I don't think he's another Drew Gooden. It just seems like his brain is moving too fast or something..not sure what it is. He definitely has talent and I see what the scouts saw in him. The Cavs just need consistency from him but I don't know if they will get that from him if they don't give him consistent minutes.

[mg]

Got a question about Pavs, is his contract only guaranteed for 500K next season?

His contract is only partially guaranteed for next season..that number sounds about right.

[DowJones]

He was never that good. He has always been an average player at the VERY best. I think some people thought he was better than he actually was but his game has no real rythm.

[ol smokee]

Sasha has a good skills set. I actually think he is one of the best defenders on our team , behind 'Bron, Big Ben, Delonte and Andy. I feel hes one of the best defenders in the league. He just doesn't have star power so he gets the blame for most of the defensive breakdowns. He has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, and he shuts superstars down. They hate playing him. Even when someone does score alot of points on him their percentage is down dramatically. His size and athletic ability is a problem for any team. Ive always felt mike brown holds him back. Mike's an excellent coach but sasha's a good player. We are just so deep that because of that contract dispute last year his career took a major hit. We will need him in the playoffs. I love delonte, but he cant slow down the bigger players come play off time. He cant handle pierce, wade, or any major star in the playoffs cause they will simply shoot over him. We are most effective when sasha guards the opponents main scorer for 3 quarters then ' Bron shuts down the hottest guy in the 4th keeping Bron fresh. I mean seriously if u gaurd The 'Bron in practice, you can guard anybody on game day.

[mg]

I listened to the Windhorst podcast yesterday. Apparently Sasha is only partially guaranteed for 1 million next season. That is a desirable contract but I don't think the Cavs can trade him unless they acquire another perimeter defender. Boobie, Mo, and Delonte are on the short side and Wally(who will likely be traded himself) is not athletic enough to defend the premier SG/SF's.

[freakazoid]

Sweet thread.

As a Utah fan, I can only say thank you for taking Sasha off our hands.

Mo will on the other hand brings nothing but bad dreams. I love that guy.

Best move you guys ever made.

Sasha still sucks. Name anyone else including towell boys who don't suck like Sasha.

Seriously, I'd take Cleveland cheerleaders over Sasha. He really sucks that bad. No joke.

[InBoobieWeTrust]

He dropped 13 points, 4 boards, and 4 dimes against you guys yesterday....

You guys just made the mistake of drafting Sasha, who is nothing more than a solid role player, in the first round.

Now, as for his defense, it's above average..but far from shutdown..and he has his lapses. He was responsible for Okur's wide open game tying opportunity last night....Andy had recovered and took Harpring to prevent a lob to the basket, but Sasha tunnel-visioned Harpring and left Okur(the guy he should have picked up) wide open. He also tends to fall for pump fakes more than the average defender, but his crafty hands and use of his above average athleticism make him a very solid 1-on-1 defender and MB's system enables him to sometimes get a few nice steals from the weak side.

[Benedict_Boozer]

Sasha isn't that bad. He is a nice depth role player. If you don't ask him to do too much - spread the floor, defend, rebound - he is fine.

It's when you ask him to create or be a primary offensive option in the 2nd unit that he has problems

[Nirvana]

Sasha obviously has the talent and physical ability to be a good player, he just struggles with some mental parts of the game. I think he would do a lot better if he were playing a consistent role for a team. With his defense being so much better than it used to be and his ability to shoot, he should be playing somehwere.