NBA Power Rankings: All 30 Starting Centers
By Shane Young
19. Anderson Varejao — Cleveland Cavaliers
Take yourself an art class, and re-create the picture you see above of Anderson Varejao. With the injury luck of — yes, another international center — he’s bound to have the same type of grimace yet again.
In the last four seasons, which had a combined total of 312 possible games, Varejao has only laced up for 146 of them (46.8 percent of the time). It’s not his fault, as he underwent a severe blood clot in 2013 that could have ended more than just his basketball career. He’s had injuries ranging from the upper to lower body since LeBron flew to his four-year college atmosphere in Miami, and it’s killed the Cavaliers’ chances at reaching 40 wins — usually, all it takes to reach the playoffs in the East.
With LeBron returning, Varejao is now about to hit 32 years old, and that’s all James really needs is another rim-protector that can’t stay healthy or may be going over the hill. He had plenty of those experiences with the Heat, don’t kid yourself.
During the Cavaliers’ best season since James left (2013-14), Varejao was available for nearly 80 percent of the season, and his minutes didn’t have to be nearly as steep with the depth Cleveland had up front.
Varejao’s Win Shares, in reality, reached the highest it’s been since LeBron was part of the roster in 2009-10, as he garnered 5.4 on the year.
One quality thing new head coach David Blatt and the crew has to look forward to, is that Varejao doesn’t turn the ball over as much as he used to. Two and three seasons ago, he was racking up Turnover Percentages of 15.2 and 13.7. Since then, it’s been decreasing, and now he won’t have much responsibility with the ball in the paint.
Prepare to focus solely on defense, and let your three juggernauts dictate what happens on the other end, Andy.