Unless you are from Brazil, Anderson Varejao probably isn’t the first name you think of when talking about the Cleveland Cavaliers. He might not even be the second or third, but there is no doubt that the very popular curly haired center is Lebron James’ favorite pick and roll partner, and a major reason he was excited to return to his former team.
“He was a huge part of the success we had in my years before. I was happy when I made my decision that he was still part of the team.” James said about being reunited with Varejao.
Varejao, the Cavs best interior defender, and a proven playoff presence, will miss the rest of the season after going down in the third quarter of Tuesday’s decisive victory over the Timberwolves with a torn left Achilles. Varejao’s name and importance to the team may loom even larger in the mind of his fans and teammates now that he is gone for the year.
The news isn’t all that surprising for the oft-injured big man who has missed 166 games due to various injures in his past four seasons, but it comes at a very bad time for the other members of this newer super team, who seem to finally be gelling and are on the verge of hitting their stride as a team.
Even though the stats indicate that the Cavs are better with Tristan Thompson on the floor then they are with Varejao, its common knowledge that Cleveland is very thin in the post, and have been seeking to add a big man since the summer. Now that they know they could be without the player who they signed to a three-year, $30 million extension in October, for some time, they would be wise to hurry and try to find a replacement for the 6.6 rebounds, and 10 pts points per game he provides for them while shooting 55% from the field.
Sources say the Cavs, in recent days, have been in contact with the Boston Celtics about working as a facilitator in three-team trade scenarios. The Celtics, blessed with frontcourt depth in the wake of their recent acquisition of Brandan Wright in the Rajon Rondo deal, have been aggressive recently in their attempts to acquire future draft picks.
I don’t think that there is any doubt in the mind of true NBA fan’s that the Cavaliers will be present and ready to make some noise in the playoffs this year. The question is, how much will they miss, and how effective will they be in replacing the 6-11, Brazilian big man whose defense and magnetic personality may just be the glue who quietly pulls the rest of this team together?
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