DION’S ADJUSTMENT WILL TAKE A WHILE
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters (3) looks to pass against New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert (21) and forward Travis Wear (6) in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Heading into the season, many fans had their doubts about how Dion Waiters would fit in with this team. His shoot-first mentality and sometimes-shaky decision making, made fans and analysts question Coach David Blatt’s decision to put Waiters in the starting line-up.
Although, Waiters knew this was always going to be an adjustment, as he told SLAM Magazine.
“So like I told ESPN the other day, I’ve gone back and I’m watching film on D-Wade. I’m studying how he was able to put himself in a position to dominate the game off the ball. I know I’m not going to have the ball in my hands that much. I know I need to be more efficient. I’ll have it some, but I know I need to make adjustments when you have three ball-dominant players like LeBron, Ky and myself. So I’m just getting ready to do whatever it takes.”
It’s safe to say though, I don’t think Waiters was expecting to be averaging only 9.5 points on a 36.8% field goal percentage two games in. Also, after leading the team in field goal attempts in the pre-season, Waiters is averaging 9.5 attempts a game so far this season. It goes beyond the stat sheet though.
Waiters has looked out of sorts on offense, as he has taken some bad shots out of rhythm, looked confused as to where to be on the floor and basically doesn’t look like the player we are used to seeing. Also, Waiters has made some very poor defensive mistakes, which has lead to Coach Blatt benching Waiters in the critical moments of the Bulls game, in favour of Matthew Dellavedova.
Poor play and benching in clutch moments of games isn’t what Waiters was expecting early on in the season. We all knew it would take time for Waiters to adjust to his new teammates but it may take longer then first expected. A move back to sixth man may very well be in the cards for Waiters in the near future.