CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cavaliers coach
Mike Brown
was stingy with his praise after Saturday night's 102-96 preseason victory over the Charlotte Bobcats in North Charleston (N.C.) Coliseum.
In the midst of voicing his displeasure with the team's transition defense and sloppy offense, Brown singled out two players without having to be asked.
"I thought Anthony Parker's minutes were really good," Brown said. "He had seven rebounds. I thought Andre Barrett came off the bench and was solid for us running the team down the stretch."
Barrett, a 5-foot-10, 172-pound free agent who has played 67 games with six different NBA teams since 2004-05 and spent last year in Spain, had four points and three assists in 14 minutes. With the Cavs in need of another point guard, he'll likely get a good look, although he must be viewed as something of a longshot to make the team.
Parker, though, is a lock. The rangy swingman signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract during the summer. On media day, he talked about doing whatever was necessary to help the team win. The next day, in the absence of Delonte West, he became the team's starting shooting guard -- the same role he held the past three seasons in Toronto.
It has not been a difficult transition.
"The guys that were here last year made it easy to come in," Parker said. "It's a fun group of guys. We have a lot fun off the court, and that chemistry translates onto the court as well."
Parker had 11 points and seven rebounds -- all on the defensive end -- in 23 minutes on Saturday. He made four of five shots overall, including one of his two 3-point attempts and hit both his free throws. In the two victories over Charlotte, Parker has averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18:38.
Brown was asked if Parker was better than he expected.
"Before we got him, I felt he was really good, and I still feel he's really good," the coach said. "He's just smart. He's long, a solid athlete. The stuff he does we haven't had here since I've been here in terms of being able to come off the screen and be a threat to catch and shoot."
It would appear Parker becomes even more important with West's uncertain status.
"He does because he makes us deeper," Brown said. "He and Jamario Moon are guys who make us deeper. Knock on wood, if somebody gets injured down the stretch, we have guys who started last year who can step in instead of getting guys who may not have started in this league or may not be starters in this league. We feel like we have starters coming off the bench who can step in and fill the role of anybody who's out for any reason at all."
Big news: Shaquille O'Neal is growing on LeBron James. Literally.
A Charleston reporter asked James what had surprised him the most about O'Neal.
"How big he is," James said. "Until you're around him every single day, you kind of forget how huge he is. Every time I see him, he gets bigger and bigger."
Familiar faces: The Bobcats feature ex-Cavs Flip Murray, DeSagana Diop and Stephen Graham. Although Graham had just two points against the Cavs on Saturday, it seems he has become one of coach Larry Brown's favorites.
"Ever since I've been a coach, the Stevie Grahams, the Eric Snows, the George Lynches, the Tyrone Hills -- guys who had grit and good character and were great teammates -- they've always been tremendous contributors to teams I've been on," Brown said. "I look at Raja Bell. There's a lot of guys who haven't had great opportunities and made the most of the chances they've gotten. I'm hopeful Steve will be another one of those guys."