First Israeli in the N.B.A. Hopes for More Minutes
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Version 0 of 1. PHILADELPHIA — When a driving Kyrie Irving guided a nifty behind-the-back bounce pass to Anderson Varejao for a layup in Brooklyn last month, their Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Omri Casspi, leapt from his seat in fist-pumping delight. Rarely, though, was Casspi, a 6-foot-9 forward, getting off the bench and into a game. A first-round draft pick in 2009 who joined the Sacramento Kings as Israel’s first player in the N.B.A., Casspi, 24, logged just 34 minutes in Cleveland’s first eight games this season, including three minutes against the Nets. In four of those games he did not appear. Recently, Casspi’s fortunes have improved, although the team’s have not. The Cavaliers are 3-12 and have lost 10 of their last 12 games. They recently lost Irving, their point guard and last season’s rookie of the year, through mid-December to a broken finger. In a 110-108 loss to Miami on Nov. 24, Casspi scored 15 points in 15 minutes off the bench, hitting all four of his 3-point attempts. His 26 points combined against the Heat and at Orlando the night before doubled his season total. But even with his increased playing time, the 25.1 minutes a game Casspi averaged as a rookie are a distant memory. He was at 12.5 minutes a game this season, with no starts, after Friday night’s game against Atlanta. (He averaged 31 starts in his first three seasons.) His scoring average has steadily declined, to 6 points per game this season, from 10.3 in 2009-10, then 8.6 and 7.1. His modestly expanded role in recent days came just as Casspi’s eyes gazed homeward, where the cross-border attacks between Israel and Hamas’s militia in Gaza lasted for more than a week until a cease-fire took effect Nov. 21. Casspi’s hometown, Yavne, near the Mediterranean coast, was struck by rockets launched from Gaza, and his parents, Shimon and Ilana, rushed for bomb shelters when air-raid sirens wailed, Casspi said during a conversation in the locker room before a recent Cavaliers-76ers game here. Casspi’s sister, Aviv, serves in the military in the country’s center, a region that also was hit by enemy rockets. And Casspi was concerned that his brother, Eitan, who coaches a junior basketball team near Tel Aviv, would soon be summoned by his paratrooper reserve unit. Telephone calls with his family did not increase during the crisis, Casspi said, because they speak daily, anyway. He said he was not distracted by the fighting back home. “It doesn’t affect me,” he said. “I’m a professional.” And as he struggled for playing time, the soft-spoken Casspi projected optimism that better times would come through sweat equity. Before and after Cavaliers’ practice sessions, he puts in additional time working with the assistant coaches Paul Pressey and Jamahl Mosley on his cuts and movement in the team’s defense-first system. Casspi also works out at night on nongame days, a routine he began with some Kings teammates during his two years in Sacramento. Late last season, Casspi’s first with Cleveland, Coach Byron Scott criticized him and several unnamed Cavaliers as being slow to absorb the playbook. But entering this season, Scott indicated that Casspi had shown improvement both in training camp and in his 10 games last summer with Israel’s national team as it qualified for next year’s European championship. Casspi said he prepared himself to contribute when called upon, and that while he preferred additional court time, he knew he had to earn it. “There are 450 players in the league, and if you ask them, they’ll all say they want to play more,” he said. Lafayette Lever, the Kings’ director of player development, said that in Sacramento Casspi was a hard worker who “put extra pressure on himself,” especially when his playing time dropped. “If he missed a shot, it would be upsetting to him,” Lever said. “And when you’re not playing as much as you want, every moment is critical.” The Kings’ decision to trade Casspi resulted not from their souring on him, but from a poor team’s need “to experiment” with new combinations of players, Lever said. Casspi, too, said he could not identify any turning point that led to a diminished role with Sacramento. As he went through a similar experience early this season with Cleveland, Casspi said he expected the pendulum to swing back. “I always have the faith and belief that things will get better,” he said. “It’s a long season, a long career. It’s a journey. The N.B.A. is a tough league to play in. You’ve got to go through what you go through and learn from the experience.” Scott said that Casspi had earned his increased minutes. His re-emergence in the rotation. Scott said, was a result of Casspi’s being “a little bit more comfortable” within the team’s system and from the inconsistent play of the small forwards C. J. Miles and Alonzo Gee. “I see improvement from last year to this year,” Scott said of Casspi. “He’s gotten more confident in our offensive and defensive schemes. Omri is doing the things he needs to do, and is very capable of doing, to earn his current playing time.” His teammates have noticed. Varejao believes that Casspi could be turning the corner. “He can really help us with his rebounding and playing good team defense,” Varejao said. “He works hard in practice, plays hard, tries to get better, tries to fit into the system coach has.” Against the 76ers, Casspi played an eight-minute stretch in the first and second quarters. He made a 3-pointer early, hit two free throws and missed another 3-point shot. He next saw action early in the fourth quarter, during which Philadelphia forward Evan Turner blocked Casspi’s shot from the top of the key. Later, Casspi caught a 76ers air ball and whipped an outlet pass that led to a fast break. When Casspi left the game for good, he returned to his regular spot in the first seat beside the assistant coaches. In that location, he “stays better engaged with what is happening on the court and learns more,” Scott said. As Casspi sat at his locker chewing bites of a banana before the game, he said he strove to meet his coach’s and his own expectations. Scott “wants me to run hard every time down the floor, on defense and on offense,” he said. “If coach wants me to do it harder, I do it harder.” The morning after the Miami game, Casspi, speaking by telephone before the Cavaliers flew to Memphis, said his increased minutes were “a great compliment to our coaches” who push him to improve. “It’s just the beginning of the season,” Casspi said. “I need to do my job on a consistent basis. You’ve got to stay ready, stay positive. I knew the opportunity would come at some point. You’ve got to take advantage of the opportunities, stay aggressive and play your game.” |