Recap: Cleveland 91, Boston 103 (or cheer up. It’s Christmas.)
2012-12-19
like a drum
We measure events by their ability to pierce the cacophony of the world around us. During December this is an especially difficult task. The days are filled with caroling and figgy pudding, desperately trying to finish (or avoid) work before a long weekend, parents coming to see their grandchildren, Christmas shopping, Star Wars Christmas specials, holiday editions of Chopped, bowl games, worrying over bills, and elementary school concerts where the soundtrack from hell is played by 4th graders with hand bells. In the wake of the season, it seems as if the gravitas of this Cavaliers teams is fading quickly. I can tell by the way the comments have quieted. I can tell by the way no one talks about the Cavs at the office. The Cavs are drifting to the small print in the Beacon. Terry Pluto seems worn to the nub. The Cavs are in danger of fading into afterthought status: the winter Indians.
This game was endemic of the squelching of the buzz. The Cavs sorely missed Anderson Verajao: bringer of energy. Without him it seems as if the Cavs have none — no hustle, no excitement, no fire. Dion Waiters seemed as if he was trying to summon that fire at times, but he had no effective way to channel it. After a meh first half in which the Celtics started to inch away, the Cavs melted down in the first half of the 3rd quarter – lacking energy and direction, and ended up down 80-60. Somehow, 3 minutes later they’d cut the lead in half on a 12-2 Samardo Samuels, Kyrie Irving run.
Tyler Zeller, in his best offensive game of the season, helped cut the lead to 80-84 about halfway through the 4th. Tyler looked like he was at UNC, hitting on an array of jump shots, hooks, and freethrows though I believe that Kevin Garnett scored all twelve of his points on turnaround jump shots with Tyler Zeller (not really) guarding him. Speaking of (not really) guarding… Gee, Kyrie, Dion… all did a lot of that.
Then the Celtics pulled away, as basketball teams tend to do when the team they’re battling doesn’t play any sort of disciplined or coherent defense. The Celtics also realize what most teams should have realized throughout the year: to beat the Cavs in the late 4th quarter, just make anyone other than Kyrie beat you. The Celtics double and triple teamed Irving, and Kyrie obliged their dogged defense with a turnover, Gee too, and Dion Waiters with two more. It was certainly a game of runs, and The Celtics made more of them. Terry, Rondo, and Pierce ran the offense and dropped an easy 8-0 run in less than a minute. And that was the game.
I fear very much that we are at a tipping point for the Cavs. The Cavs are in danger not being a promising young team with a bright future, and instead being a lousy team that doesn’t play defense, doesn’t have an identity, and has a questionable future. The Cavs are wandering in the wilderness right now, and I’m not sure Byron Scott is their Moses.
I know the schedule will get better. I know the draft is coming. I know that they have two more games before Sunday. I know TT is trying. He’s even hitting free throws, and he’s learned how to pass. I know he’s the only Cav playing defense. But as a tribe, the Cavaliers seem listless: guided by a never ending series of baffling decisions on and off the court. Why is Dion Waiters jacking up long 2s and hogging the ball? Why isn’t he coming off the bench after Miles was so effective as a starter? Why is Luke Walton our de facto backup point guard? Why when he can barely stand up did Andy even travel with the team? Why not tell him to sleep an extra day? Why isn’t Casspi playing? Why can’t Paul Pierce’s defender resist the temptation to help? Why don’t all four other Cavs on the floor rush to pick a guy up the way Boston does? Why can’t Gee play defense any more? Why aren’t we doing anything about global warming? Why does the inevitable entropy death of the universe make me cry? Why isn’t Byron Scott screaming?
As another CtB staffer told me, “Watching the Cavs offense is like watching a pickup game. Watching the Cavs defense is like watching a train wreck.” I think that’s an apt description. But I’m not going to dwell on it too long. I think I’ll go check out the botanical gardens while my folks are in town, or maybe take Saturday and go eat my way through the West Side Market. I hear the Life of Pi is good, and I’ve got to take my kid to see the Hobbit. Maybe I’ll even watch a good basketball game tomorrow night.
Jim –
Great comment. I think what’s missing from the culture side of things is some vet depth on our bench. Having a couple older (27-32) guys who know what it takes to stick around in the league and will work hard to do their assigned job.
I honestly think we win a couple more games with a more experienced backup PG, a more experienced SF, and a big man a la K-Mart.
We were a borderline playoff team last year before AV went down; now we are 2nd worst in the league…does anyone else have a problem with this regression (please don’t say Jamison is the reason we were 10-12 spots higher)? My tipping point was probably the Raptor loss (although the amount of open 3s by Pierce drove me nuts) where we were playing a team without arguably their 2 best players at our home, rested, and with full squad. Our D was horrendous and the rotations were just as bad.
We were a borderline playoff team last year before AV went down; now we are 2nd worst in the league…does anyone else have a problem with this regression (please don’t say Jamison is the reason we were 10-12 spots higher)? My tipping point was probably the Raptor loss (although the amount of open 3s by Pierce drove me nuts) where we were playing a team without arguably their 2 best players at our home, rested, and with full squad. Our D was horrendous and the rotations were just as bad. I think there are two things here that are two… Read more »
One other thing. If Grant doesn’t trade picks, and spends them on busted players, doesn’t that act as a wasted asset? How is that any different than spending money on a guy who doesn’t pan out? I’d say it’s just as likely to set a team back.
I get your idea of flexibility, I do, but I think there’s a middle ground that has to be hit, and we’re just not there. What ‘s happening now feels like full fledged tanking. In year three of a rebuild that’s not where you should be…
I get what you’re saying, JAG, I really do. But I think you’re overstating the value of a 18th overall pick. At least in terms of trade value. High picks (1-10) have a TON of value, but after that the value falls rapidly. I’m not saying give up on Waiters/Zeller/etc. Actually quite the contrary. I’m saying let these guys grow into their roles with no pressure. Lets be honest, the lack of real scorers/these crazy losses are probably causing Waiters to jack up more stupid jumpers than he’s already inclined to take. That’s definitely not good. That goes for Tristan… Read more »
@Mallory
Your last comment expressing worry about TT, Dion and Zeller is exactly the type of thinking that team’s that fail fall into. They prematurely judge what they have, panic and make rash moves to improve short term, mortgaing their future. You would get tired of first round exits while making the playoffs regularly. Especially when the local stations started broadcasting Heat games locally because the local frontrunner fans started outnumbering the Cavs fans.
@Mallory There is no magic formula. It is all about being prepared to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. The frustrating part is that you can’t completely control the luck factor. All a GM can do is position his team to take advantage of any and all opportunities. You’re right to a degree when you say it is a crap shoot, but the best positioned teams can improve their “luck” dramatically with their preparedness. By maintaining multiple future draft picks, salary CAP space and roster flexibility Grant is doing about all that he can be asked to do.… Read more »
Corey Hughey is officially my favorite person on these threads. Anyone who references Chief Keef is a friend of mine. Rawris and Rovas
Lets put it this way – you guys always say the plan is going accordingly…was the plan (and again, this isn’t pessimism, this is real, hard, cold facts) a probable bench PF who can’t shoot at the #4 pick, a SG who shoots WAYYY too much at the #4 pick, and then get a back up center? Because that’s what we have now. Those three guys could literally go ANY direction. They have just as much, if not more, of a probability of becoming complete and total failures as they do of becoming stars. And that’s just based purely on… Read more »
JAG by your estimates, when is a team finally good enough to turn it on? 5 picks? 6 picks? What about Dallas? Who were their super stars beyond Dirk? Lets look at the middle-of-the-road teams – Atlanta, Indy, Philly, Denver, etc. etc. The common thread? They don’t have a superstar. Not one. Now, if you believe Irving is a super star, then that immediate raises us out of that class, right? I’ll contend that as long as you have the best guy on the floor, you always, really, should have a chance of winning. As long the rest of your… Read more »
@Isaac I totally agree that building a “culture of losing” is a major concern. I don’t see it becoming a problem for the Cavs as long as they keep determined winners like Irving and Varejao on the team as well as keep acquiring players of high character. They should keep improving enough to keep the fire lit on these guys and I don’t see Scott becoming a quitter unless they add a group of knucleheads for him to coach going forward. I’m more worried about the fans disenchantment, but that will be a short lived phenomena once the real winning… Read more »
@Mallory
The benefit of seeing your team be bad is found in looking at the alternative. If you like treadmills. they could spend their assets and improve just enough to be a middling team, without the remaining assets to improve enough to ever move up. Cue the next rebuild…
I’m really not trying to be a negative Nancy, but I just don’t see the benefit to sitting around and watching a team be awful if you’re Chris Grant. Any GM who feels they can’t build a competitive team without four top 5 picks in three years isn’t exactly a trustworthy GM. Particularly when one of those picks was Tristan Thompson.
God I hope I’m wrong.
The Thunder are the only team that even MADE it to the final with that make-up in recent years.
Doesn’t that worry anyone else? That ONE team has achieved a good (not even great, yet) team purely through the draft and small deals?
@Kevin Hetrick – Not even: Draft the greatest of all time…. and then wait six years. I wonder if Jordan would have stuck with the Bulls in todays world of constant player turnover?
Guys, name the last team that won the NBA championship with a team of lottery guys they drafted.
That’s all I’ll say. When it happens, we can discuss the merits of it again. But it hasn’t in a very long time (ever?)
Robinson, Duncan Spurs.
That doesn’t really count though, as they were drafted 10 years apart and only because David Robinson and Sean Elliot got hurt the prior season.
Jordan, Pippen, Grant Bulls.
See Mallory, all you have to do is draft the greatest player of all time.
@JAG
I think that what I was trying to say most of all, is that whatever Grant’s masterplan is, I am concerned about accidentally building up a culture of losing and becoming one of ‘those teams’. I understand that on a rational, business level “collecting assets and creating potential options that he can use to go down which avenue he thinks is best” is a good plan. However, mentally I think it can take its toll if the losing is not managed very, very well.
Totally agree JAG. My favorite part of this forum unlike others is the constructive criticism and openness. This is generally a respectful sharing of thoughts without things getting too nasty which is pretty common on the internet. No Chief Keef murder feuds on CTB. In the end it doesn’t matter what rebuilding formula we think would work best. Grant is following the OKC in the sense that JAG described it. Dan Gilbert is our greatest asset, but I can’t imagine him being patient after this season. He’ll want something done and hopefully the timing will be right to trade a… Read more »
I think people are confusing what they perceive to be the OKC model with what Presti’s, and Grant’s real models are. Building almost exclusively via the draft was simply the best branch for OKC to take, and just a part of the much more complicated real Presti plan. Presti apprenticed at SA and that is the real plan he uses. He, like Grant, is all about collecting assets and creating potential options that he can use to go down which avenue he thinks is best when moves have to be made. Presti chose to use the draft with OKC because… Read more »
Kevin – Exactly. The thing is, over the course of these games, I’ve seen (and I imagine many others have seen) nothing to give us hope that this is going to change. I don’t remember that OKC season well enough to comment on any specifics, but I do know that their bench was better than ours, plain and simple. Tom and I actually went through the benches of all the OKC teams a few weeks ago. That average age that one of our commenters posted before says it all. We do NOT need to get younger. Cory – I hear… Read more »
Noah and Deng were already on the Bulls of that Bulls when they won the lottery from the 9 hole. In the end every situation is different. We try to peg this as another OKC model and fear that it’s a Kings fiasco. Each one is different. Different cities. Different owners. Different rosters. Chicago is a big market with a cheap owner. They also handcuffed themselves via free agency on Boozer. They have killer trade assets in the Bobcats 2016 pick and Nikola Mirotic. If they didn’t sign Boozer they could have kept Asik and traded for Harden. Free agency… Read more »
Mallory, I totally agree that Washington is better right now if/when Wall comes back. They have a legit bench and solid vets who can play D. They are also handcuffed with over paid vets. They are at $59 million next year assuming Ariza picks up his option (he will). I’d much rather be in the Cavs place. The Cavs will spend soon. They will flex. Dan Gilbert after all is a powerlifter and probably stronger than any payer in the NBA (I’d wager he can bench more than any because of his stubby arms). Each day just gets us closer… Read more »
What Tom said.
Also, like I said before, chances are, WE ARE NOT OKC. I’ve said this a million times – we shouldn’t be looking at a team that got lucky as the model. Chicago is a MUCH more reasonable model. One star and a bunch of fantastic role players.
Mallory,
Actually I don’t disagree with you. I wrote like 10000 words last year pointing out that the “OKC model” had worked once and there were about 10 different ways that very successful teams had been built. During that 23 – 59 season though, they started 3- 29. If they fired their coach, well….
The 20 wins for the rest of the season was primarily based on exactly where OKC was. If the Cavs are horrible all season, well…
SOmetimes I think it’s funny how similarly Cleveland follows the OKC model. Almost like they bought a book from Sam Presti or something, and they are reading the words (but maybe missing the context). Step 1 – Draft twice in the top five in one draft. Pick a player that appears poised to be a top-five offensive player (Durant / Irving) and a player that appears to be a bit more average (Jeff Green / TT). Check. Step 2 – Be bad again. Check. Step 3 – In draft #2, pick a combo guard at #4 in the draft. Make… Read more »
Just checked – 23 and 59. If we hit that number, at this point, I’ll be happy.
So OKC’s patience lasted like 15 games, and they canned their coaches.
In year 1., I mean.
Did OKC draft two top 5?
What was their final record? I’m not sure of where they were at this point, but I’m pretty sure they finished better than we’re paced out to.
Corey, I doubt Washington loses this many games with Wall, Nene, etc. back from injury. They’re likely better than us when these guys return. They actually have an NBA bench.
Scuzz kind of gets the point with his last “I think we saw it coming…getting angry.” The problem is two fold. 1. We, as fans, want to see some semblance of a decent team. I understand that you guys are fine with the OKC model and it makes sense to me, but as I’ve said a million times, that OKC model means squat. It was probably more of a fluke than a map. If Harden/Westbrook don’t turn into the players they are, we’re talking about a totally different path they’ve taken. Similarly, if TT and/or Waiters aren’t stars, we’re screwed.… Read more »
Mallory,
OKC was 3 and 29 in Westbrook’s rookie year. The same year of the re-build that Cleveland is in now (year one = two top five picks, year two = Westbrook / Waiters)
If Irving is an All-Star caliber player and Waiters and another player are in the conversation good things will happen in the near future. I still like Grant’s model and he’s been more aggressive in adding assets than Presti was. Presti just rebuilt at a better time. 2011 had one franchise player. 2012 might have had two (Lillard and Davis). It’s too early too lambast the 2013 draft but it doesn’t look promising. That doesn’t mean that Muhammad, Noel or Bennet can’t be David West quality players There is still a big trade to be had and the Cavs are… Read more »
I’m still not worried long term about this team. I still don’t think Washington or Sacramento are comparable situations. The Wizards drafted Wall. Since Kyrie debuted the general consensus is that KI is better than Wall and that Wall probably isn’t a franchise player. It will be interesting to see what happens when he’s eligible for his extension. Wall’s also been out all season and Nene has been slowed with the dreaded plantar fasciitis. Going after vet salary for Ariza, Okafur and Nene handcuffed them against making a trade for Harden. Sacramento is a situation of it’s own. Lame duck… Read more »
@ Mallory
“Doing it all at once, though, seems silly. Which is basically what we’ve set ourselves up for.”
Not if they are tanking to get a high draft pick. Which, as Rich reminded us, is what they are doing. Whether we agree with it or not, it makes sense according to their plans.
@ Rich “but I do not understand why people are so apt to worry about the sky-falling when they knew full well what the plan was.” Totally agree. Although, it’s easy to forget that when you’re in the middle a bad season. Keeping your emotions in check can be difficult. As I mentioned to Mallory before, Dan Gilbert has proven that he’s not afraid to spend. I believe he will being in quality FAs. Even if it’s not as soon as we want. “So then the season rolls around, we actually are awful, and suddenly we pretend we didn’t see… Read more »
Outside of developing young PGs with a ton of talent and cajoling with the media, is there anything that Byron does well as a coach? The team defense is miserable, especially on the perimeter. This is the #1 problem right now. The guards have no idea when to switch, when to go over/under a screen, which shooters to stay near, when/where to rotate and on and on. And it’s only gotten worse. It doesn’t help that a few of the guys are just miserable defenders (Kyrie, CJ, Boobie on anyone taller than 6’3″), but the mistakes in team defense allow… Read more »
Alright Rich, fair. But the record speaks volumes. Despite playing two fewer games, they’ve won two more. I’m not sure about how they’ve looked recently vs the beginning, but that’s certainly a better record. You can sugar coat and color the stats all you want, but you watch these games and see what happens on the floor and it doesn’t look pretty. —— I’ll fill you in, they are not what they were to start the season. The start they had was a mirage. Their last 10 games (all losses) have had an average point differential of double digits. People… Read more »
I know I can be kind of a prick at times, but I do not understand why people are so apt to worry about the sky-falling when they knew full well what the plan was. It was the “OKC” plan. YOu knew that. THey told us that. So then why, when we are awful in the second year of the rebuild are we going to give up, when OKC, at this point, was worse? Can we at least give it till the end of the year to see if the team starts showing some real improvement? Because I expect they… Read more »
Again, this is NOT to say we’ll never be good, but to not be concerned now seems too willing to accept what the front office is selling.
Alright Rich, fair. But the record speaks volumes. Despite playing two fewer games, they’ve won two more. I’m not sure about how they’ve looked recently vs the beginning, but that’s certainly a better record.
You can sugar coat and color the stats all you want, but you watch these games and see what happens on the floor and it doesn’t look pretty.
Btw, for the Bobcats thing – I don’t mean THIS year. But they’re SURELY better than we are right now. Disturbingly. —– Dead last in the league in points allowed. Losers of THIRTEEN straight. See, this is that grass is always greener nonsense that you constantly post. The Bobcats ONLY look good because we are comparing them to last years WORST OF ALL TIME team. Awesome. By season’s end, their record will be worse than Clevelands. And just to be clear, Charlotte is dead last not only in PPG allowed, but Def. Efficiency. They also play at a slower pace… Read more »
@Kevin – No i love your writing. I’m just saying – so much of our “analysis” is based on figuring out how things are going to get better when all these things change. It’s wishful thinking – and I was on board. But at some point, you have to take a step back, and recognize that if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quack’s like a duck – there’s a chance it actually ISN’T going to turn into a unicorn when you start feeding it 27-grain wheat bread instead of tossing it balls of wonder.
Tom,
For the record, I was kidding about your disdain.
I will probably wait until next year before any duck-calling. I liked the Dion & Zeller picks though, so insinuating that I questioned the teams direction would be flaky.
Scuzz –
Totally agree with you. 100%. Which is why large, short term contracts make the most sense. Ones like the Sessions contract.
I agree that Gilbert wont let them remain this low in the cap/losing. But the idea that we’ll suddenly turn it on by signing guys is nuts. It’s not as though next year we’re going to add a bunch of stars via FA at reasonable prices. At some point you have to dive in and hope the risk pays off.
Doing it all at once, though, seems silly. Which is basically what we’ve set ourselves up for.
if only Chris Grant would surround Kyrie with three hall of famers like Rondo had! Why didn’t he think of that?!?!?!
Last I checked, the Cavaliers were within 4 of Boston on the road in the fourth quarter last night, without their second best player Anderson Varejao. The Toronto loss was definitely disappointing, but this is not the game to point to to say the sky is falling.
@Mallory Yes, you need to have established talent on a roster. I believe the Cavs know this and will do so. But I don’t think it’s wise to bring in guys who can get you a few more wins, but are not part of the long term solution (especially when your “core” was a single player coming off his rookie year). I think Washington did that with Okafor and Ariza, and look where they are. Detroit did that with Ben Gordon and Charlie V. That’s been a disaster. Let’s not forget how surrounding LeBron with established vets like Hughes, Marshall,… Read more »
Tom Pestak, I had no idea that you carried so much disdain for much of my writing this year. Certainly things are really ugly right now and need to turn around. The offense and defense have to start looking like someone is being coached. Cleveland has two more games this weekend; games they will probably lose. After that, the schedule lightens up. If things don’t turn around, with Cleveland winning at least 20 of it’s final 53 games, a coaching change is definitely in order. While I’m’ not indicating that Cleveland is on this path, OKC started 3 – 29… Read more »
Don’t comment much, but I must say that the comments on this blog stand in such stark contrast to the typical internet rubbish that I feel inclined to contribute. That’s saying alot. The NBA season is long and grueling and I suspect that 2008-2009 OKC had stretches that looked something like this as well. I think it’s important to take note of a couple things, here. #1, Tyler Zeller was a GREAT acquisition given the chips needed to acquire him. While the verdict is certainly still out with thompson and waiters, I don’t think it’s premature to trust the ‘eye-test’… Read more »
The team is just about clinically dead. It has nothing that makes it a team. It is a bunch of basketball players that basically play one-on-one most of the time. When you have a young team that appears to go nowhere, it will ultimately go down. People are trying to live in the make believe land and say that next draft will bring this and that player who will change everything. That will not happen. One third of the season gone and all the Cavs do to adjust with the dreadful track record is sending players back and forth to… Read more »
Carson – You just proved a point I’ve been trying to make all year – I appreciate that. You NEED to have set talent on a roster. Tom and I have been chatting about this on and off, but basically guys like TT, Zeller, Gee, etc. etc. are not TOP rotation guys – these are low bench players on most contenders. They might GROW into great players, but right now that’s not their game. Forcing them to do more than they’re capable of is a recipe for disaster. I just wish we had a get swing, a vet PG, and… Read more »
They’re young and need a better coach who can make adjustments like Doc Rivers can on each opponent. This hasn’t happen because Scott adheres to a his system no matter what is going on in the here and now causing losses in close games. The ugly truth no one wnat to admit is we need a new coach. We can’t possibly do worse. We are at the bottom of the barrel. Scott pulls players when they are hot. Puts in mismatches like Boobie at center? Doesn’t recognize when Andy needs help with big men and refuses to put TT in… Read more »
Comment of the year, Carson. You got it in just two days before the world ended.
“I fear very much that we are at a tipping point for the Cavs…” I agree we are closing in on a point where the rebuild isn’t yielding the success it could. Eventually this lack of discipline and winning could stunt the growth of key players. I point to the roster — the Cavs simply need to put better pieces around the franchise players. Kyrie wasn’t even drafted into a situation he could hope to have success; he inherited a team built on duct tape and D-Leaguers. While it’s nice to wish a #1 overall pick can just come in… Read more »
Byron Scott during games: Arms crossed, detached look, standing quietly away from the bench.
Yep, he definitely does not giving a flying patootie.
Wow – everyone is 3 weeks late to Mallory’s party. The Toronto game was the low for me. In every single one of these “where are we now” running conversations about half of the participants cite the “brutal” schedule. The Cavs are 1 and 9 in their last 10 games and that is against teams with a combined record of .438. They got blown off the floor AT HOME in the 4th quarter against a bottom 10 team in Toronto that was missing its best player – Kyle Lowry. Watching that game I was unable to determine if the Cavs… Read more »
Btw, for the Bobcats thing – I don’t mean THIS year. But they’re SURELY better than we are right now. Disturbingly.
Agree with you Isaac. Everything anyone does on a consistant basis forms a habit. If you get into the habit of losing, you lose hope when you are losing in the 4th, your numb to losing, and quite frankly you stop letting it ruin your day. I don’t think one cavalier still is getting pissed off over losing. Byron doesn’t even care anymore. Its not good. You’re not going to win many basketball games on talent alone, you need to care.
I was going to go off on some diatribe about how these have been my thoughts all season, but I’ll save it. Basically, I think people don’t realize how troublesome this team is. We have such a supreme talent like Kyrie, and yet this organization has done everything in its power to surround him with mediocrity. Unless Waiters and/or TT turn out to be megastars, they will have essentially wasted years of Kyrie’s career and set him back in development. Young players shouldn’t be sent out onto the court and told to just “do what he can.” Which is essentially… Read more »
Nice comments, everybody. I agree wholeheartedly with you, Isaac, and it’s a point that Mallory and I have been talking about all season. I was tired of beating a dead horse. I think the Cavs need one or two culture changers…
Speaking of poor defense, Rondo got to the line 10 times. He averages something like 2.5 FT attempts per game.
@Isaac Bobcats, Wizards, and Kings are terrible because of poor management with seemingly no vision, just collecting random pieces. They have no leadership, no accountability. Who on any of those teams would you want to lead your team? The Bobcats might get somewhere with Cho. The Cavs have done a great job of collecting assets. Those teams go in to the draft with what they have. Imagine if the Cavs came out of the last two drafts with only Dion and Tristan. And then signed Ben Gordon. That’s what it’s been like being a Bobcat fan. The Cavs absorbed contracts… Read more »
Everyone knew they were going to be bad. It’s what Grant and Gilbert signed up for this season. They chose to not spend in FA. The merits of that decision and the long term effects can be debated. But, this bad? No one saw that coming. Defensively, I’m stunned by how many open perimeter shots they give up. Either from lack of closing out, getting lost, or not switching off a screen. IMO, it isn’t due to lack of talent or athleticism. It’s coaching and effort. I wonder if they’ve started to tune out Byron Scott. I could be wrong.… Read more »
Nate, great recap, thanks. Currently abroad and so the NBA plays in America while I am literally dreaming of basketball. I’m no writer, so this probably won’t be phrased very well, but I have some thoughts I wanted to put out there to the blog. We often (or at least there must be a 50/50 opinion split) say that we want the Cavs to do badly for the lottery, and avoid 8th seed purgatory. This can work for some franchises, I guess. The dream seems to be to spend a couple of years doing terribly, but to look good and… Read more »
I think you hit every nail on that analysis. The cavs certainly aren’t a couple of picks and some smart signings away from being an OKC. They have no bench and what they do have Scott doesn’t know how to use. Let’s hope Grant sees this and adjusts his plan.
GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!
Black Holes may reverse Entropy, so you may be able to possibly scratch that off of your list someday.
Feel better?
My negativity doesn’t seem so crazy anymore, eh?
It’s been a sucky few weeks. I asked Santa for more wins. Lets hope he delivers.
I agree Nate. I get deja vu and cringe when TT gets the ball at the top of the key and looks clueless because it reminds of young Andy. In a lot of ways young Andy and young Tristan are similar. Balls of energy, bounce and hustle that can give you a solid block or board followed by dribbling the ball of his foot a moment later. Thus far Tristan’s (21 years old) sophomore year is comparable to Andy’s (25) fourth season TT/AV 8.4/6.7ppg, 7.8/8.3rpg, 1.1/1.1apg, .7/.5bpg, .9/.8spg, .453/.461%FG, .581/.598%FT. Andy’s transformation this season hasn’t been normal though. If TT… Read more »
Why isn’t he coming off the bench after Miles was so effective as a starter?
———
I must assume this isn’t a legitimate question. Because the answer is extremely obvious. One guy is the future. One guy isn’t. In a season where we are building for the future, the guy who will be here long-term will start.
Bric, Gibson isn’t any better.
I was actually shocked Thompson was 2-10 this game Cory. I thought Thompson played much better than that. He was running the offense passing out of double teams, being agressive. Just goes to show you how lowered my expectations are. That man cannot put the ball in the basket very well.
Just realized the Cavs are on pace for 15 wins…Got damn.
Allowing and encouraging Miles, Kyrie, and Waiters to shoot from any place on the court, at any time of the possession, with any defensive pressure present, helped the team come close in a few games when one or two of the shooters got red-hot. But it DESTROYS teams in the long run. Other players stop moving, shooters start dribbling, defensive players rest, and your team becomes a rag-tag team of individuals playing pick-up ball at the rec center. Time to rein in the young shooters and tell them to wait their time for the right shot. Gibson does this; he… Read more »
Nate Smith! Say it ain’t so! For now, your balls out negativity seems especially warranted, and almost, grotesquely, refreshing in the wake of optimism over the cavs “compete til the 4th” playing style. I think the optimistic side of things says, much like Paul Rudd’s character in some chick flick my wife and I watched after the game, “we are all a small adjustment away from making things work.” Maybe Kyrie can watch some film, learn who breaks free the majority of the time when he is double/triple teamed late in games, and make some better, more advanced passes. Maybe… Read more »
It was pretty brutal. All four of the kids had their moments, but sadly not all together at the same time. Waiters looked great in the first then was terrible the rest of the game. Irving wasn’t aggressive until the third quarter. The Thompson hand off to Zeller at the top of the key was hilarious. I’ve long been a Thompson apologist, bhe more I see of Anthony Bennett the more I want him to be our undersized PF of the future. That doesn’t mean that Thompson can’t be a third big off the bench. I just hope Grant takes… Read more »