Cleveland Cavaliers Name Anderson Varejao Starting Center

The Cleveland Cavaliers have named veteran big man Anderson Varejao as their starting center when they open their 2014-2015 NBA season Thursday against the New York Knicks

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With LeBron James at small forward, Kevin Love at power forward, Kyrie Irving at point guard and Dion Waiters at shooting guard, the only starting positions really up for grabs was at center (at least for now).

Many believed the fourth-overall of the 2011 draft, Tristan Thompson, would have the edge. Instead, it will be veteran big man Anderson Varejao who will be starting for the Cavaliers.

“We’re pretty clear on how we want to start and the way we’ve been playing is pretty much how we’re going to go,” Coach David Blatt said following practice on Friday via Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We value them both in exactly the same way. Their contribution I hope will continue to be exactly what it was.”

The Cavaliers believe Tristan Thompson will be just fine in his role off of the bench.

“He’s one of the best guys out there,” Blatt said. “He wants to win and Tristan knows if he’s coming in the second wave that his job is going to be just like it would be if he were starting the game, and that’s to be Tristan. Be a rebounder, inside scorer, all-around-the-court defender and a guy you can really pair and matchup with any other big man on the team.”

Last season, Anderson Varejao played in 65 games, averaging 8.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field and 68.1% from the free throw line. He was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2004 but was dealt to the Cavaliers in a deal that sent Tony Battie to Orlando. In his 10-year career, he’s averaged 7.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.2% from the floor and 62.7% from the charity stripe.

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