Leon Powe On Winning The Ship His New Teammates And Playing D

Leon Powe On Winning The ‘Ship, His New ‘Mates, And Playing ‘D’

There will be a day in postseason, possibly when the Cavs meet up with the Celtics, that Leon Powe will be the story of the game.  He’ll go off for 20 and 10, even if it’s off the bench, and he will be the reason for the win.  He’ll do it because he can, he’ll do it because he has in the past (including during that magical Celtics’ run), and he’ll do it because he works his butt off like very few players in the L.  I had this conversation with my co-host on The Basketball Jones, J.E. Skeets, as soon as the Cavs signed Powe away from Boston.  Why the Celtics let him go, I really have no idea, unless they know something about his ACL the rest of us don’t.  It was totally, 100% surprising that they couldn’t keep an inexpensive, capable, hard-working man coming off the bench.  Payback comes in May.  Powe joined WKNR in Cleveland to discuss his return date from injury, what he likes in the Cavs, how much he loves the defensive end, and how the Celts won it all.

When will you be recover from your torn ACL?

“We’re shooting for February.  I talked to the doctors yesterday and they all told me that that’s a good date for me, but they said they’re gonna take it day-by-day.  And, they’re gonna see how I progress after each little workout and that’s how they’re gonna take it.  They ain’t gonna rush me back, they said they really want me out there when I’m fully healthy.”

On the Celtics’ mentality when they won the ’ship:

“When we won it, all our guys we was talking about that we had a lot of chips on our shoulders.  When we went out there, we always said that nobody’s gonna give us anything, we had to go out there and take it.  All our guys worked real hard on the basketball court, off the basketball court, and stuck together, and held each other accountable.  From what I’ve seen with this team, I came in there a couple days ago, they’re family oriented and they’re just about winning.  And, I’m pretty sure they’ll hold each other accountable for mistakes that they do, as long as they handle their business on the court, that’s it.”

On how the Cavs have improved this offseason:

“They got a lot bigger, still quick, and more experience, and that’s what you need in a championship team.  And, all the players – I know some of them, and heard about some of them, and watched some of them play – they all got that fight and that killer instinct in them.  In all aspects of the game, that’s what you need to win a championship.”

On his desire to play defense:

“I love it.  In Boston, they had me guarding some of the toughest players in the league, and I would go out there and hold my own, and I like to take on that challenge always.  I remember one game, I told Doc Rivers, I wanted to guard David West that next game.  And, he put me on him and we got the win, and I did a pretty much good job on him… If you watch my games, I love to play defense.  My old teammates will tell you, I like to take charges – I was up there in the lead in charges.  Defense is my game and I love the Cavaliers’ D ’cause they love to play defense too.”