Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — If it seems as if second-year forward Tristan Thompson often has his shots blocked by an opponent, it's probably because he does.

According to the website 82games.com, Thompson's shot is blocked 22 percent of the time when he throws the ball at the rim. Further, Thompson's attempts when "close" to the basket -- in essence, not a dunk but not a jumper -- is a staggering 37 percent.

By comparison, Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao is blocked 4 percent of the time, overall, and 10 percent when he attempts a "close" shot.

Enter the solution: Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Byron Scott brought in the former Cavaliers big man and current assistant to the general manager Thursday to teach Thompson a thing or two about how to avoid being blocked. Ilgauskas was strolling the Cavaliers practice facility in street clothes Thursday.

The main thing Thompson needs to work on, Scott said, is making quicker decisions -- and moves.

And barring the ability to do so, Scott would prefer that Thompson kick the ball back out to the guard when he gets an offensive rebound, instead of going straight up for a put-back.

"A lot of times [when] he gets it, he puts it on the floor and he's trying to gather," Scott said. "By the time you do all that, you've got two bigs or three guys surrounding you, and they're just trying to push him under the basket even farther. Now he's going up, and most of the time, it's against somebody who is 6-11 or 7 foot, so he's at a disadvantage."

The 6-9 Thompson might be smaller than the 7-3 Ilgauskas, but the Lithuanian still has some tricks to teach. In Ilgauskas' final season in the NBA, with Miami, he was blocked 4 percent of the time and 15 percent of his "close" shots.

" 'Z' has shown him some things I think can be really good for him. It's just a matter of him implementing it to be a little more effective," Scott said. "I think he has that in him. It's just a matter of continuing to do it."

Defense starts with a Gee: A few games ago, Alonzo Gee was assigned to defend Miami's LeBron James. The 6-6 Gee not only gives up a couple inches to the 6-8 James, but also about 30 pounds in muscle.

Several games before that, Gee was tasked with slowing down Oklahoma City's 6-9 Kevin Durant.

Against the Atlanta Hawks, Gee knows who he will defend, too.

"Whoever gets hot, I guess," he said.

The Cavaliers' starting small forward doesn't produce a ton of points (11.8 per game), but Cleveland has come to depend on him as its most valuable defender. Gee has guarded smaller, quicker players and bigger, stronger players.

Typically, though, he just picks up the foe who's playing best.

"I don't hesitate with him guarding anyone we put him on," Scott said. "And the one thing about him is he accepts the challenge. Like I say with Andy, when we put Andy on guys, you don't really worry about that matchup. There's certain guys, obviously, in this league who are going to give Alonzo problems, but for the most part, you don't worry about it most of the time when he's guarding someone."

Harangody waived: The Cavaliers waived forward Luke Harangody and signed forward Kevin Jones on Thursday. Jones was assigned to the NBADL Canton Charge, where he has been playing since the start of the D-League season. In three games, the 6-8 Jones is averaging 27 points on 54 percent shooting and 13.7 rebounds. "Obviously, he's doing a heck of a job down there," Scott said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654