Five Cavs questions for the writers – all in one place.
1. Explain your game-time experience in full.
Dani: It usually begins with dinner. Once I’ve cooked up whatever cheese-related dish (I’m a vegetarian, so it’ll usually be a noodle-cheese combo of some type) I’ll be eating the night of the game, I sit down to watch the game on Fox Sports Ohio. Oh, and I always have iced green tea with the game. Two and a half hours later, the Cavs are usually down by double-digits in the 4th, my dishes are getting crusty, my nails have been bitten to the point of causing intense pain, and my family is wondering why I’m so angry at people named Byron Scott and Tristan Thompson. And I’m too angry at the Cavs to do any of my homework.
Tom: Varies. I sort of loathe the idea of tweeting during games but I love doing it. Fun to watch someone catch fire or throw down a dunk and see how everyone else is reacting. I keep a box score, usually yahoo’s (a habit I started when I played fantasy bball there years ago) open while I watch. I send texts to buddies when crazy stuff happens or when the game is tight. I am more intense than I’m comfortable reflecting on afterwards. I generally watch by myself since I got married and the Cavs started sucking. None of my casual-fan friends are much interested in watching with me anymore. Back in the day I’d have a much more extensive game day ritual/music/clothing/location thing. Now it’s me in front of a laptop. Last game was the first time I tried to watch with my newborn and she threw a fit after Tristan’s 4th missed shot, so I was sort of watching peripherally between pat-a-cakes (the advanced +/- lullaby didn’t soothe her).
Kevin: I have two little kids, so typically game-watching doesn’t start until their bed time. I record the game and watch it. Most of the time, I catch up by the end. This works out really well actually, because viewing time gets halved. Often times, my wife is there and asks questions like, “They play again?” Is my life as glamorous as everyone imagined it?
Nate: Ideally, I like to Tivo every game and start them about an hour late. This way I can fast forward through every commercial, but catch up to the game by crunch time. I can avoid the BS, but don’t have to ignore my phone until after the game is over. I’m usually on my couch, and ideally have a cup of coffee or a beer in hand while I’m arguing with every call and coaching decision.
Mallory: Step 1 – couch. Step 2 – Beer, preferably something Ohio made (Fat Head IPA anyone?!) Step 3 – eyes glued to TV and twitter simultaneously. Step 4 – in the fourth quarter, go on gchat and bitch about immanent loss to Tom, Nate, and/or Colin. Step 5 – Cry myself to sleep. Sigh…I’m not negative!
2. What’s the biggest pleasant surprise of the Cavaliers 2012-2013 season thus far?
Dani: Anderson Varejao turning into an All-Star center. Cavs fans are acting like he’s always been this good, but that’s simply not the case. Andy used to be an eight and eight type of guy. Now he’s averaging fourteen, boards and points alike, and shutting down opposing centers regularly. Basketball writers all around have started to notice this remarkable season Wild Thing’s putting together, and I love it.
Tom: The otherworldly play of Anderson Varejao. A no-stats all-star is in the top-10 in player efficiency rating. On most nights he has been the best player on the court and his career arc in general is remarkable. I love the way he plays the game and he’s taking it to an entirely new level. I hope he retires a Cavalier.
Kevin: Anderson Varejao peaking at age 30. It is really amazing. I mean; 15 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals? That is complete beast mode, like he has a cheat code. I don’t think anyone foresaw dominance for Andy this season, but he is a constant factor in all aspects of the game through the early part of the season.
Nate: The biggest surprise of the 2012-2013 season is Omri Casspi. Tied for 5th in the league in 3 point percentage, and a 15 PER, he’s also been one of the Cavs better defenders (which isn’t saying much), and passable at putting the ball on the floor. After starting out slow, he is one of the Cavs best bench players. I think his and Boobie’s Numbers have been dragged down because of the extended time early on sharing the floor with Sloan and Walton: possibly the two worst players in the NBA. When Casspi gets consistent minutes he’s been even better. The other surprise? …Scott’s inability to see this and the fact that he often plays Miles in front of him.
Mallory: It’s gotta be Andy right? I mean, we knew he was good, but did anyone see this coming? Dude has a PER of 23.9, is averaging 15 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals a game, and has his hand in almost any good thing that happens to this team. Andy has been unstoppable and unbelievable. God bless this man for playing out of his mind.
3. Do you make anything of all the little Byron Scott / Dion Waiters (non?)stories?
Dani: Not really. There have, admittedly, been a profligacy of stories about Dion and Coach Scott. But I don’t think any of them hold much meaning or previously unknown knowledge about coach or player. The stories pretty much always confirm two things we already knew: Dion Waiters is a rookie, and Byron Scott is a hard-ass.
Tom: I found it interesting that the Coach was willing to go out on a limb and say that Waiters was the guy he wanted after the selection. He took a lot of pressure off Chris Grant at least among some people when that information was made public. Since then he seems to hold Waiters to a different standard than Irving, and he seems to be giving him the rookie treatment. I like how Waiters is responding – I think he is mentally tough and hopefully B Scott will get the most out of him.
Kevin: If anything, I just hope that Coach Scott treats Kyrie similarly about his defense, because Kyrie is definitely a larger liability at that end that Waiters. No special treatment for superstars was the mantra after Lebron left…
Nate: Not quite sure what the stories/non-stories are supposed to be, but I could definitely see them butting heads. I think that Byron is trying to do some tough love at times, and trying not to let Dion Develop bad habits, especially when it comes to getting on the bad side of refs, and with shot selection. What worries me, and what annoys me is how much of this is because Dion’s “a rookie” and how much of it is because Byron is singling him out. Kyrie, whose defense is atrocious at times, seems to get a pass from Byron, as does Thompson whose offense is atrocious. I’m wondering how much teaching is going on and how much scolding is going on. I don’t mind being tough on players, but I want fairness.
Mallory: Scott was/is a disciplinarian right? Dion is a young hot shot (at least that’s probably what he thinks) who has some bad habits (jacking threes, lapsing on D once and a while) and a stained past (issues with Boeheim) – that sounds like a recipe for butting heads. Now, do I think Scott is really that hard on anyone? I doubt it – have you ever seen him get after a player during a TO or a stupid play? I haven’t. (He mostly just stands there with his arms crossed) I assume this is just largely a media creation. But we’ll see.
4. Have we learned anything meaningful, or is all the rejoicing and hand-wringing silly given the small sample size?
Dani: I think we’ve learned that the Cavs’ bench simply is not good enough to make the playoffs, no matter how well Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao play. No team in the NBA can survive and succeed with a bench that hemorrhages leads like this second unit. They are truly an eyesore.
Tom: I think I’ve learned that individual player analysis for role players can be a fools errand. I had high expectations for CJ Miles, Jon Leuer, and Omri Casspi last season. I’ve had high hopes for so many players the Cavs have gone after in the Dan Gilbert era. So often they look promising and then come to Cleveland. In a lot of ways I think how a team fits together can make a huge difference. The ’09 Cavs team won 66 games despite lots of injuries because they just fit so well together. Many of those players weren’t nearly as effective without [insert any high usage shot creator that draws attention] . Some guys like Larry Hughes were WORSE with LeBron and just needed an uptempo system to flourish. Some guys like Lamar Odom need a beach. I don’t know what Miles needs, maybe a trip to Africa with Dave Chappelle to clear his mind or something. Unfortunately, we haven’t learned anything new about Kyrie or Tristan.
Kevin: As far as sample size; Cleveland has battled a tough schedule. Through Tuesday, they were tied for most games played and most road games. The combined winning percentage of their opponent’s is ninth-highest in the league. They already made one of two west-coast trips for the season. This has not been a fortuitous schedule for the NBA’s fourth-youngest team, who have now played without their starting point guard for one-third of the season. With all that said; Dion is going to be good. He gets to the rim alot, he’s a good passer, and he takes care of the ball well. He collects quite a few steals, with minimal fouls. He turns 21 next month. Eventually, his shots at the rim will start to fall, the schedule will lighten up, and he will mature, and he and Kyrie will form an awesome backcourt.
Nate: Have we learned anything? Yes. The Cavs are not going to be a playoff team. Their bench is not good enough and they don’t have enough veterans. The question now, is are they going to improve measurably? The only Cavs who’ve done that so far are Casspi, Andy, and Gee. Gee’s numbers on offense aren’t great, but he’s expanded his game, especially from the freethrow line. The handwringing? That’s on Tristan Thompson. I think he needs another offseason to get rid of his bad habits with the ball around the basket. In addition to stopping his habit of keeping the ball to low and mechanically gathering, he needs to learn to keep his shoulders parallel with the backboard and to shield off defenders. He also needs to learn how to dunk with one hand. One of the biggest reasons he has his shot blocked so much is that he opens up to the defender way too much. This is coachable.
Mallory: Honestly, and I know I’ll be attacked for this, I think we have. First, Scott is definitely not the guy we thought he was. Kyrie, in a VERY small sample size, seemed to have modestly regressed (PER, FT%) while not improving his D (his biggest flaw, obviously). Don’t even get me started on Tristan. The only player who has improved under Scott is Andy – you really think that’s because of him? Second, so far at least, I’ve come to believe that Chris Grant either 1. Intentionally built a bench that would be sub-par so he could have us tank or 2. He’s not a great evaluator of known talent. Either way, that’s a cause for concern. Other than that? Jury is still out.
5. What’s the Cavs’ biggest “storyline” going forward?
Dani: What, exactly, is Anderson Varejao worth? I can’t imagine any team will offer the kind of value we would need in return for such a unique, talented player, but what if? What would do it? A top-3 pick? Rudy Gay? Regardless of what Andy’s trade value is, it’ll be fascinating to find out, come trade deadline time.
Tom: If the Cavs are going to win (or even compete for) an NBA championship in the next decade, Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving are both going to have to become all-stars. We’ll watch them progress and overanalyze the hell out of them. In 2 years’ time we’ll know if this core has the potential to get it done. That’s the “biggest” story. The most interesting is going to be the organization’s dedication to patience. I get the sense that Dan Gilbert believes in the formula. I also think he’s an emotional guy that takes losing as hard as we do. This next FA class is not very good or deep, how much patience does the organization really have? Meanwhile, we will be busy debating how much they should have.
Kevin: Easily, the growth of the young guys. When will Kyrie start showing the necessary effort on defense? When will he play 50 games in a row? When do Dion’s shots start falling in the paint? Where does Tristan peak? That question has a huge range of possibilities. Will taking off the mask help Tyler start hitting more than 48% of his freebies and 20% of his jumpers? Part of his allure was his skilled shooting, but so far it has been a complete liability. Can he add 10 pounds of muscle and play with some fire? Also, I guess, “what will the Cavs do with $20 million of cap space?”. That’s a pretty big storyline, too.
Nate: The Cavs biggest storyline? Anderson Varejao being one of the best players in the league. It isn’t just the hustle, the crazy finishes around the basket, and the drawing charges, it’s the overall brilliance of his floor game. He passes brilliantly, puts the ball on the floor as well as any big man in the league, and is among the greatest pick and roll forwards I’ve ever seen. His jump shooting and post moves have been a pleasure to watch. He hit a buzzer beater and had a Hakeem-esque dream shake against Memphis the other night. Unbelievably, he’s playing the best ball of his career at age 30. He’s also in the perfect offense for him. Also amazingly? The Cavs don’t give him the ball enough. If Carlos Boozer hadn’t screwed us, I’d say rip up his contract and give him a new one. He’s so good right now that we owe it to him to put a great team around him to compete as soon as possible — hopefully starting in 2013. Will it be the spring or the fall?
Mallory: Winning. Honestly, despite what the pro-tank collective thinks, the Cavaliers organization is at a dangerous point of potentially losing fans long term – that means fewer season tickets sold, fewer jerseys sold, etc. etc. etc. All that means less money for the Cavs and trouble for the future. Remember, we’re all hard core fans who wont stop watching just because of a few bad years. But most people don’t see the game like we do; unless we’re at least competing – and I don’t mean winning a ton, just more than 3/15 games (which by the way means ~16 wins this year) – I think the organization may be in for some trouble. Of course, we’ve had a hard schedule – if we can at least start to get things back on track, we’ll be fine. But that’s asking for a lot considering what we’ve seen so far.
Thanks, everyone!
REALLY Dumb Question:
Could you get Scott and/or Grant (and/or Gilbert) to join one of your podcasts, even for 2-3 questions? Diplomatically framed things like “What should we look for to see if TT is improving offensively or KI is improving defensively?” Everybody likes to hear about the game-within-the-game, the one that announcers rarely see or TV cameras show. I’d think that Byron would enjoy talking about that.
p.s. we can see if Dan Gilbert’s voice actually sounds like Comic Sans! :)
I could go after Mallory’s last three answers line by line, but what’s the point. He’s just wrong basically everywhere.
Our Cavs are what they are. As Mallory said, we’re much more invested than others. We’re the weirdo’s who care much more than the average fan. The Cavs are our subterfuge. That’s our connection no matter how much we disagree on things. I have and still do think the bench is built by design to improve their lottery odds (2md worst record at the moment). It’s not an accident. Chris Grant knows more about basketball than any of us ever will. We have jobs/school/screenplays/multilevel marketing-pyramid schemes that distract us from black ball. Grant wanted another trip to the lottery and he’s gonna get it…Puh Puh Puh…Period.
I don’t blame Grant at all. If you make a mistake in free agency it will handcuff a GM for years. Grant saw this under the Ferry regime. Ferry had the Lebron gun to head at all times and an open check book…It didn’t work. Grant is trying to build a core through cap friendly lottery contracts. If he hits on three or four of his six first rounders within three years he’ll have a foundation to build around and then the Mensch Gilbert advantage will kick in.
I agree that we need to see more of Casspi. He’s been better than Miles by miles thus far. You don’t want to Brandon Phillips a player and see him thrive elsewhere. If Casspi is meant for another league make sure you know it first. You can’t afford to miss. Especially on a player with his unique marketing ability.
Andy’s trade value….Million Dollar Man…Million Dolla Man y’all…Everyones got a price…Andy is as tradeable as any other player in the league . His actually value (young stud/lottery pick) probably won’t be met via trade. I live in LA and a Fakers fan asked me if I’d trade Andy and cap filler for Pau and I said effff no. I never thought I’d say that. I wouldn’t trade Andy unless I got either a solid 2014 lottery pick (best draft since 2003), a young stud, a sure fire 2013 top five pick.
I’m far too drunk on Patron and Christmas Ale (in LA!?!?!?!) to delve into the Tristan debate, but I’m still all aboard with our friend from the Great White North…I just wish his name was Andrew Wiggins.
1. I watch the game from my couch, sometimes from my desk if I feel like posting on the FTS game thread.
2. Andy Varejao and Alonzo gee. Everyone knows about Andy but Gee has really improved his offensive game from a year ago. The Cavs have finally started getting the ball to him moving in the lane where he is currently a very effective NBA player. As long as he does not dribble the ball at the top of the key in ISO, I think the Cavs have a legitimate NBA SF on their roster.
3. My care-o-meter is at an all-time low for this. Most of these “non-stories” are created by a bored media members with nothing else to write about, and who are not creative enough to generate anything else.
4. We have learned a Few meaningful things:
a. I don’t think Tristan Thompson can be a starting PF on a contending team. (I know everyone in CLE loves him, but if he played for the Kings, you wouldn’t even know he was still in the league. I will counter anyone point-by-point on this.)
b. Mallory doesn’t watch a lot of the Cavs games if Andy is the only person he has seen improve under Coach Scott. Andy, Gee, Gibson, Irving,(Yes he has improved a lot of his situational play specifically in pick and roll offense, he also finishes better around the rim) Omri Casspi are all playing better.
5. Kyrie Irving getting injured is the biggest story line of the year, The Cavs have found ways to lose multiple games in the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter this year. With a very young team, this is going to happen; teams have to learn how to win in the NBA. The Irving injury hurts the progress of our young team, and we’re counting the days till his return. The Cavs need to lose for one more year to obtain another front-court player, I maintain the starting PF of the future is not currently on the Cavs roster.
Witmi –
Casspi has improved modestly under Scott, and it’s been in limited minutes – not ready to declare him a success. Gibson has returned to his 2010 numbers (slightly improved, I’ll give you that) but again, nothing out of this world. Kyrie’s PnR was always decent, Andy’s just become a monster in a way he has never been. Gee has been fine, but lets not exaggerate his impact – his PER and TS% are both down from last year and he’s shooting worse from the three.
The only player who has fully taken their game to a new level under Scott? Andy.
(By the way, on the topic of Gee – ALL of his advanced metrics are down except steals and blocks – we all knew he was our best perimeter defender – He’s actually even worse at rebounding than he was last year.
The strangest thing is his TO% has gone up despite a slightly lower usage – I was, like I’m sure many of you are – under the impression that he had improved his handle. I’ll have to watch this closer in the next few games.
I never finished my) There we go!
I agree.
Mallory is wrong about pretty much everything.
Look at more than numbers and watch Gee on a nightly basis. His decision making on both ends of the court has drastically improved. His offensive repertoire is vastly improved. His handles are better; he defends better on the ball. He has Dion Waiters playing next to him now so he’s not getting the scoring boost but he’s playing much better.
Daniel Gibson is worlds better on defense than before Coach Scott.
Andy is an all-star.
Kyrie’s decision making on the PnR is much improved. Defense focus on him MORE and he’s scoring at a BETTER rate. He’s finishing sat the basket better. If you’re going to blame Coach Scott for the bad, you have to give him credit for the good.
1. Internet
2. Biggest surprise has been CTB thinking that this team was going to make the playoffs and then sinking into depression when it was obvious that they weren’t. 2nd biggest surprise has been Andy for turning into a real actual 2-way player
3. Nope.
4. We’ve learned that the Cavs are going in the right direction and have had two pretty good drafts in a row.
5. Whether or not they continue to improve as the season progresses. Whether or not Dion starts shooting a bit better and Irving shows he has some interest in learning how to play defense.
Look at more than numbers and watch Gee on a nightly basis. His decision making on both ends of the court has drastically improved. His offensive repertoire is vastly improved. His handles are better; he defends better on the ball. He has Dion Waiters playing next to him now so he’s not getting the scoring boost but he’s playing much better.
Daniel Gibson is worlds better on defense than before Coach Scott.
Andy is an all-star.
Kyrie’s decision making on the PnR is much improved. Defense focus on him MORE and he’s scoring at a BETTER rate. He’s finishing at the basket better. If you’re going to blame Coach Scott for the bad, you have to give him credit for the good.
Sorry, dunno why that posted twice.
I think the whole “defenses focus on him more” line is flawed – what, because they had a year to prepare against Kylie? Last year they WEREN’T focused on him? They were double teaming him after just a few games!
I’m not saying any of these players seriously regressed, but to say there’s vast improvement is absolutely an exaggeration.
I’ll rephrase: “teams now have a season of film on Kyrie, have had time to break down his tendancies and to see what teams do to limit him”
Teams know to try and take away X at certain spots on the floor because he shoots a highher % from there, things like that.
Also, literally none of the advanced statistical metrics have converged yet. Gee’s advanced stats being lower at this point in the season is largely meaningless.
That’s definitely fair. But I still think there’s a tendency to exaggerate. Though with Kyrie the sample size is small
“I’ve come to believe that Chris Grant either 1. Intentionally built a bench that would be sub-par so he could have us tank”
I think this is something we may just have to accept for this year. This team (and specifically the bench) is bad by design. While we as fans may have been thinking about grabbing an 8 seed in the playoffs, that was just never part of the Front Office’s plan.
A team that goes in to a season with a 20 year old rookie as its number 2 scoring option, and a rotation that includes a combination Donald Sloan, Luke Walton, Samardo Samuels, Tyler Zeller and Jon Leuer playing significant minutes is not a team that is built for a playoff run.
Corey – just kidding, Cory – are you in a multilevel pyramid scheme? ahaha that whole comment was awesome. And yes, you don’t want to Brandon Phillips on Casspi, well said. Andy for Gasol someone actually said that? Lakers fans keep me coming back for more.
I don’t know any fans who thought this team was going to get into the playoffs this year. Mallory and his uncle seem to be the only people who thought this.
And if you thought this then you haven’t been paying attention to the NBA. Teams don’t usually go from really awful like the Cavs to the playoffs.
“Dani: It usually begins with dinner. Once I’ve cooked up whatever cheese-related dish (I’m a vegetarian, so it’ll usually be a noodle-cheese combo of some type) I’ll be eating the night of the game, I sit down to watch the game on Fox Sports Ohio. Oh, and I always have iced green tea with the game. Two and a half hours later, the Cavs are usually down by double-digits in the 4th, my dishes are getting crusty, my nails have been bitten to the point of causing intense pain, and my family is wondering why I’m so angry at people named Byron Scott and Tristan Thompson. And I’m too angry at the Cavs to do any of my homework.”
From the cheesy vegetarian noodles to the tea to the bleeding nails to the complete dropoff in productivity after the game, this is so similar to me that it’s actually frightening.
Grant is either a genius or a complete idiot to craft this lineup. They are slated for a top 5 pick so maybe that is the genius part. He has brought in 0 good FAs and I don’t think Casspi provides a lot of value with his higher PER and high 3pt% if its for 12 mpg! What is he going to do when they want to compete?
I wanted to love TT and justify the #4 but I can’t at this point. JV does more with less minutes and can shoot FTs and block shots.
““I’ve come to believe that Chris Grant either 1. Intentionally built a bench that would be sub-par so he could have us tank”
I think this is something we may just have to accept for this year. This team (and specifically the bench) is bad by design. While we as fans may have been thinking about grabbing an 8 seed in the playoffs, that was just never part of the Front Office’s plan.
A team that goes in to a season with a 20 year old rookie as its number 2 scoring option, and a rotation that includes a combination Donald Sloan, Luke Walton, Samardo Samuels, Tyler Zeller and Jon Leuer playing significant minutes is not a team that is built for a playoff run.”
I think this is exactly correct.
I don’t get the fascination with bringing in FAs to this team. If you aren’t going to contend for real why waste money on free agent deals unless someone like James Harden or Dwight Howard was going to sign. Wasting money and cap space on mediocre players is what gets NBA franchises in trouble. The approach Grant seems to be taking is the smart one. Hold your fire until you think the team is ready to compete.
I’m sorry, but with 2 really young guards, a really young PF, you just aren’t going to compete. So you build your team slowly. This to me seems to be smart and uncontroversial.
I don’t agree that CG intentionally built a bad bench, but I completely understand that logic. It’s funny that lots of commentors think that, Scott Raab said as much in the podcast, and other writers have hinted that at least the failure to change it will indicate a tank-fest. But Mallory says so and everyone does one of these -> http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/121024114420-the-scream-comes-to-nyc-00002725-story-top.jpg
Wait, so why couldn’t the Cavs do this? -> espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/8688182/derek-fisher-agrees-deal-dallas-mavericks
As far as player improvement, in the concrete sense if I saw a system that put players in better position to take advantage of their strengths I would attribute growth to Byron Scott. In this way, playing starters minutes and being the primary pick and roll big has certainly help Anderson Varejao’s production. What I learned from looking through Andy’s career stats is that as his usage goes up his efficiency goes up. That literally almost never happens in that order. Generally, as a player becomes more efficient he “earns” more usage and in turn his shooting efficiencies can suffer (not his player efficiency – that factors in usage). So in Andy’s case you could look at him and totally see him with a very high shooting efficiency when he was coming off the bench and receiving LeBron passes as he cut to the rim. Now he’s playing starters minutes and the Cavs have few offensive weapons and he starts draining mid-range jumpers. This kind of stuff is not supposed to happen. So I will give B Scott “credit” in the sense that under his regime, Andy is forced to be a higher usage player. I would contend that no one in the Cavalier organization had it in mind that him Andy popping mid range jumpers at the end of the shot clock is the most effective way to run and offense. That’s the amazing thing about Andy. The more you ask of him the more he gives. i can’t say Casspi has “improved” under Byron Scott. In a handful of minutes his PER is up from last year, but after his rookie season I had very high hopes for him. Maybe this year is the start of a resurgence for him – Scott needs to give him more minutes. Now Gee you can DEFINITELY give “credit” to Scott the way you give credit to Popovich for Danny Green and credit to the President for job creation. Tough to say whether it was danny, alonzo, congress, or the tech boom that was really what we should be giving credit to, but we all know whose watch it happened under. A good litmus test for me would be to see Waiters improve. I think Waiters is talented but raw, and Scott will certainly have a lot to do with his development. I’d say the same about Thompson but Scott seems more about developing guards.
MF
Ha ha
Why would the Cavs sign Derek Fisher? What possible good will this do?
Answer: none
It’s much better to cycle in young players and hope you hit on one or two than have a bunch of higher priced vets come in just so you and your uncle can feel better.
CG assembled the best bench possible for no money and no long-term commiments to anyone.
PSST..(This means the bench will be bad)
Thanks WitmI
Even Mallory should be able to understand this.
I also want to say that I liked this format for a post. It’s fun to answer the questions in the comments and read others’ answers.
The best answer to question 4 was Kevin’s IMHO. These young Cavs have had a near brutal schedule so far. They’ve only had 5 home games so far, least in the NBA. The craziest part about it is that since KI went down they had an impressive win against Philly, and then three consecutive games where they lead most of the game and were in position to win in the last two minutes on the road in significantly tough places to play (at least in Miami and Memphis – the best team and hottest team respectively right now). Given that KI has thrived so far in his young career on being a 4th quarter closer, it stands to reason that the outcome of those games could have easily gone the other way. I really like the scrappiness the Cavs have shown in the face of the schedule so far, especially lately without the services of their rising star. I think we’re all in for a much better and even more entertaining second half (barring any unforeseen injuries and trades).
Mallory – I thought about the Cavs and Derek Fisher. I don’t think it would have helped the bottom line but it may have helped the team’s growth. In that way I would have supported it but I’m not really upset they didn’t get him.
I don’t think Derek Fisher coming to the Cavs really makes sense for the Cavs or for Derek Fisher. The cavs aren’t putting D-Fish anywhere close to a position where he could win another ring, and unless you think he would have a significant impact on Kyrie and Dion’s development having a washed up 38 year old that is a known quantity take the backup PG minutes makes less sense then seeing what we have in Sloan or Pargo.
I agree about seeing what the deal is with Pargo…but we know what Sloan is.
Andysav – you’re right it doesn’t make sense for Fisher. Your point that he’s a washed up 38 year old is sort of my point. It’s not like signing Andre Miller who would actually get you some wins and not be a part of the future. I think Fisher could be a good influence on the backcourt if he and Scott were on the same page. It would be a mentoring role. I hate to break this to you, but if you are hoping for something long term out of Sloan or Pargo (the way Gee worked out) I think you’re going to be disappointed.
Even if he had wanted Fisher (have you watched him play the last few years?), it’s quite possible that he wouldn’t have wanted to play for a rebuilding team at his age. The Mavs aren’t out of this world, but they at least have a good chance to make the playoffs.
Alright, Fisher is fair.
Honestly, we probably wont play a ton of minutes on any team – the idea is just to add more experience to the lineup. We could use a little more leadership.
@Tom
I have basically 0 faith that either Sloan or Pargo is going to have any long term impact on the Cavs at all. I just think that given the Cavs current status as a lottery team, seeing what young players might be able to give you makes more sense than giving minutes to a guy on the tail end of his career.
That being said I do think a vet like D-Fish (what with his 5 rings and long history of playing with one of the best 2 guards of all time) probably has a trick or two he could teach our young guards.
Question for you readers -
If we were to make one last FA signing (after we cut Sloan, duh) who would you guys go get?
Probably a stretch to say the Mavs have a good chance of making the playoffs…they’ve had a super easy schedule so far and are nonetheless in 10th position out west.
Bring back Delonte West! Snitches get stitches!
MF II
I wouldn’t sign anyone. I’d try out a bunch of D leaguers or other young castoffs and see if anyone is any good. No reason to spend any real money on anyone. That will come next year and the year after.
“Question for you readers -
If we were to make one last FA signing (after we cut Sloan, duh) who would you guys go get?”
I really REALLY want the Cavs to push for Paul Millsap. Overpay him if needed and it probably will be needed).
A 4-5 year deal that expires when he is 31/32 sounds ideal, he is exactly the kind of player the Cavs need next to Andy.
dude. really into this paul millsap idea.
I like Millsap but if we’re going for a Jazz big I think we might be better served to go after Al Jefferson. Millsap is a good player but what we really need in our front court is a consistent offensive presence. As good as Andy has been on the offensive end this year, he’s not exactly a guy you can feed the ball to in the post and let him go to work. Having Jefferson to carry the scoring load down low would take the pressure off TT offensively and allow him to focus on continuing to play strong D as he develops on O.
Of course the huge downside to Jefferson is that he’s a FA after this season and with his size and skill set I wouldn’t be shocked if some team decides to offer him a max deal, which is probably a little more than he’s actually worth.
@AndySav – yep that’s exactly what I was getting at. Teaching the young bloods the fundamentals.
@WitmI – I love Paul Millsap implicitly. So, I’m totally on board with that. Of course, now we have a logjam at PF again. [Resists urge to talk about not drafting Jonas]
@Andysav – you’re right, Jefferson’s post game would fill a huge void and utah seems to have too many players. He might get near a max deal because he’s a productive big.
The FA class for bigs is extremely weak. There seem to be a whole bunch of PGs that will have some sort of free agent status. I think a guy like Aaron Brooks coming off the bench would be huge. Also, I’d love to get my hands on Tony Allen even though he’s a bit redundant with Gee. What the Cavs should seriously do is pull a Z-like rehabilitation on Greg Oden and get a hometown discount.
Fisher would’ve been fine for us. I don’t quite see how he makes much sense for the Mavericks, but maybe they thought they needed a locker room leader. Fisher is a lousy player now who can’t guard anyone, but has three skills: intelligence, toughness, and three point shooting. I think he’d be great for the Cavs cause they need a vet who is interested in being a coach in the bench and on the lock room. But for the Mavs? They already have Carter, Marion, Kaman, Dahntay Jones, Nowitzki, Kaman, Carter, and Brand. Why do they need a guy who won’t play for them when they already have a ton of vets? Fisher is a pretty polarizing player too. A lot of players really don’t like him because of the way the union stuff went down the summer before last. I find it interesting that Cuban can bury the hatchet with him though. Fisher would have made more sense on a team like the Rockets.
Tom: There’s no log jam when you move Tristan to the bench playing bench minutes. (He’ll have more time to develop if he isn’t tired from bricking free-throws and hook shots in games).
Starting C: Andy. Backup C: T Zeller
Starting PF: Milsap. Backup PF: TT
Goodbye Samardo and Leur. Hello rookie draft pick.
SF: Shabazz(Obv)
I have never seen anything that has shown me that TT is anything other than a defensive role-player. We need to accept this, sign someone to start at his position and move on. Maybe in 3-4 years TT is actually ready to play significant minutes in the NBA, at which time he can split time with Millsap.
Is Greg Oden even willing to try to play again?
I don’t know that he is.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=is+greg+oden+willing+to+play+again