Game 1: W

As long as it is feasible after each Cavs game I plan on providing a quick analysis of how the players performed. You can call it the Disappointment Zone Box Score.

[A quick note about two of the measures: WS/Min is Win Score per minute and WSminAA is Win Score per minute above average. That is, the Win Score per minute above (or below) what an average player at a given position would have recorded had he played the same minutes. You can read more about Win Score, if you are so interested, in The Wages of Wins.]

The player of a game — by a wide margin — was Larry Hughes, who was an incredibly efficient scorer: 11-15, 1.67 points per shot.

The worst player of the game was Sasha Pavlovic, who made no positive statistical contribution while he was on the court.

It’s worth noting that Eric Snow played an above average game in his 22 minutes, thanks in part to his efficient scoring and high assist-per-minute total. One game does not a season make, but nonetheless: an above average Eric Snow is always a welcome site. LeBron James was just above average: his horrific free throw shooting and pedestrian shooting percentage were just barely outweighed by his rebounding, assists, and blocks.

Anderson Varejao was — statistically speaking — utterly average. But statistics don’t factor in the influence of big Brazilian hair, at least not yet. With that in mind, Varejao probably contributed just a wee bit more than your average player.

[UPDATE: Disappointment Zone Box Score now has minutes.]