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While much of the attention on the Cleveland Cavaliers this preseason has focused on Kyrie Irving and other young players, one of the team’s few veterans may be just as important to the team’s success.
That player is 6-11 center Anderson Varejao, who could be key in helping to lead the team this season and in the future, or who could be a valuable trade asset to bring more young players and draft picks to Cavs.
The center from Brazil was one of the main components of the Cavs teams that had the best record in the league two years in a row and challenged for titles. He has always been a relentless defender and rebounder, and did much of the dirty work for past Cavs teams that had plenty of scorers.
During the PK (Post-King) era of the last two years, though, he has increased his scoring in order to help the team, but he has battled injuries and has only played in a total of 56 games. The team has struggled in those two years, and not having Varejao for the bulk of those seasons contributed to the problems.
During his first six years in the league, Varejao mainly came off the bench, except for the 2008-2009 season when he started in 42 of the 81 games he played. His scoring average ranged between 4.6 points per game in the 2005-2006 season to 8.6 points per game in the 2008-2009 season and in the 2009-2010 season. He also averaged between 4.8 rebounds per game in the 2004-2005 season and 8.3 rebounds per game in the 2007-2008 season.
In the PK era, though, Varejao has started every game he has played in and increased his scoring average to 9.1 points per game in the 2010-2011 season and then 10.8 points per game last year. He also increased his rebounding to 9.7 per game in the 2010-2011 season and 11.5 per game last year. Having Varejao out for large portions of the last two seasons obviously hurt the Wine and Gold.
He was healthy enough to play in the Summer Olympics this year for Brazil, and was a key player for that team.
Varejao comes into this season healthy, and the Cavs are counting on him to be a mainstay in the middle. With so many young players on the roster, the Cavs need a veteran presence who can be counted on to defend in the middle, rebound and score easy baskets inside.
A career 51.9 percent shooter, Varejao can score down low and his shooting has improved as he has gotten older. The big man shoots just 3.7 percent from the three-point line, though, as he has gone 1 for 27 from beyond the arc in his career.
He also is a solid defender who has been known to take plenty of charges (some may call them flops at times) and he always works hard. If he can stay healthy, he can be a great example for the younger players and could be a key part to turning the Cavs back into winners.
Of course if the Cavs don’t start winning much this year and if Varejao stays healthy, he also would be a player that could help contending teams and he would surely draw interest from teams looking to trade.
Cavs fans love Varejao’s effort and hustle, and they would be overjoyed to see him rebounding and scoring inside for the Wine and Gold in the playoffs once again. If the the team doesn’t start winning this season, though, they would also like to see more draft picks and good young players to build around for the future.
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