Yep, Silas is gonzo

This blog is psychic, I think.
The Cavs indeed dropped the ballast on Monday, terminating Paul Silas after less than two seasons at the helm.
Critics of the move chastised owner Dan Gilbert for making a rash fantasy-league decision after two weeks on the job. They scolded general manager Jim Paxson for supporting the move in an effort to save his own skin (which, based on Gilbert's non-committal comments at Monday's press conference, will probably be futile).
The fact is, in addition to the vulgar "See you next Tuesday" comment about Carlos Boozer and the run-ins with Ira Newble and Eric Snow, Silas was just no longer the right man for the job.
Silas was a great hire in June 2003, taking over a team with the most-anticipated rookie in decades in LeBron James, a team still dominated by lunkheads Ricky Davis and Darius Miles. Silas gave a team desperately in need of discipline just that.
It didn't stop them from careening to a 6-19 start last year, but the structure gave veteran acquisitions Eric Williams, Tony Battie and Jeff McInnis a chance to get the Cavaliers into the playoff chase.
However, the acquisition of Snow and the maturation of James have turned the Cavs into a much more veteran team, a team that didn't need the heavy-handed discipline of Silas.
The Cavs are much more in need of a tactician now, someone who is good at drawing up plays and making mid-game adjustments, which is what Silas most definitely is not. This team is also in need of someone who will be at least reasonably consistent with his substitution patterns.
Silas has a little streak of Butch Davis in him. In addition to his absolute hatred of having his methods and authority questioned, he, through design or tendency, toyed with his players.
Like Davis with the Browns, players oscillated between the penthouse and doghouse on Silas' bench. Sasha Pavlovic, Lucious Harris and DeSagana Diop would get significant minutes for four or five games, then disappear off the face of the earth for weeks.
Wild energy and possibly crowd-pleasing wild hair were the two things that saved Anderson Varejao from a similar fate.
Sunday, when McInnis rotted on the bench while Snow logged 40 minutes and zero points, was perhaps the most extreme example of Silas' erratically-revolving substitution door.
Inconsistency from the coach is one of the biggest morale killers in pro sports. Over the course of a long season, players want some kind of routine to adapt to, a role to settle into. Silas never gave his players that sense of purpose.
In the end, his players might have stopped playing for their coach. As the Cavs lost nine of their last 12, they played with much less organization and withdrew into their personal games. That usually happens on losing teams. It happened at the horrid start of last season for the Cavs.
Brendan Malone, Silas' interim replacement, is charged with getting this team to the playoffs, which has been the promise on the horizon all season. His reward will most likely be an oustering by Flip Saunders, Mo Cheeks or even Phil Jackson in the off-season.
But the Cavs had to do something to salvage this season. Anything less than the playoffs is unacceptable in light of last year's tease-and-falter in March and April.
Malone will hopefully get his substitution patterns squared away early on and at least get this team to go 9-9 over their last 18 games to finish 43-39, which should be a comfortable playoff record in the East.
Malone doesn't need to be a breath of fresh air. He just needs to be the anti-Silas on game nights for the next month or so.