Tonight was a bad night for TV. The Bachelor is back, much to the horror of husbands nationwide – Notre Dame reinforced the nauseating SEC domination narrative, and the Cavs got blown off the court by the Bulls minus Derrick Rose. And knowing this Cavs team, if Rose had played it probably would have been a close game until the Cavs blew the last 2 to 6 minutes. The recap’s going to be a little different tonight. Feel free to love or hate the format as it probably won’t continue in this matter either way. Colin, Dani, and I were live-emailing each other during the game posting our thoughts. They are posted with whatever context is needed for the game. To give the voices an identity I’ll put D, C, T. Necessary context will be in italics.
<- 1st Quarter ->
D – The warm feelings are coming on early for me tonight. Kyrie seems to be playing more methodically, perhaps looking to repent for his turnover-fest last night. Tristan had an ugly turnover, but he also had a powerful drive to get an easy layup against Boozer, and Tyler Zeller had one HELL of a block! We’ve got a 13-9 lead, and I couldn’t be happier. Actually, I could- a win and Kyrie’s third-straight 30-point game would do it. Kyrie Irving finished the 1st quarter with a healthy 9 points and 4 assists. The Cavs led by 8 after a very solid all around effort from the starters. The 3s were falling early too (a season-long trend).
T – CJ Miles continues his strong 1st quarters. 2 of 4 from 3. Nice balanced scoring from the Cavs. Keeping with the laws of KyrieISOball the Cavs wind down the clock and despite a double team they get no open look for anyone as Kyrie forces as airball. This play was more egregious hero ball than most because the Bulls actually doubled Kyrie on the drive, not just once he got in the paint. He still didn’t look for a teammate. Fortunately, the Cavs intercepted the outlet pass off the airball and CJ Miles almost canned a 30 foot three at the 1st quarter buzzer.
C – C.J. Miles makes no sense. It’s a wonder he holds together at a molecular level. He should open a dry-cleaning joint where half the time they return your clothes brighter and cleaner than ever and the other times they just draw dinosaurs all over them with permanent markers. I think I hate him.
Colin - this is in the mail. Hope it fits.
<- 2nd Quarter ->
C – Tristan Thompson has decided, against maybe the best defensive post pairing in the league (Noah and Gibson), to grab every offensive rebound he can get his hands on and finish it with finesse. Am I happy right now? Is this what joy feels like? Thompson had a nice first half. He finished with 12 points including 100% of his free throws and as Colin alluded to, he had 7 rebounds in the first half including 4 offensive boards. Unfortunately all the Cavs success dried up quickly in the 2nd half. TT finished with a productive 14 and 8 in 32 minutes on 50% shooting.
D – Tristan with another fantastic move! Get that Wild Thing bum outta here! [Edited due to logical fallacy]
T – Bulls are methodically scoring now. Cavs need to get some stops to keep this one from slipping away. Chicago took it to the Cavs early in the 2nd against the Cleveland 2nd unit before the Cavs seemed to stop the bleeding on offense. But they never really stopped the Bulls from scoring, especially inside. The Bulls picked the Cavs apart with passing and when the Cavs collapsed the Bulls always swung it to an open 3 point shooter. They finished the game 10-14 (!) from 3 and 5 of those came in the 2nd quarter onslaught. Tristan Thompson scored 8 of the Cavs 20 second quarter points and the Wine and Gold went into the half down only 3.
<- 3rd Quarter ->
The 3rd quarter started out a back and forth affair between the research triangle (Boozer 6, Irving 3, Zeller 2). At 7:05 left in the 3rd, Nomadic Nate Robinson came in and began an aggravating night. He dished out 2 dimes keeping the Bulls assist-train rolling. (They finished the night with 34 assists on 44 baskets!) The only lifeline was some inspired play by Dion Waiters – he scored 8 straight points to try and stem the Bulls offensive exploitation of Cleveland’s interior D.
T – Really a terrible possession by Kyrie there. Irving received a screen from Thompson at the top of the key in which Tristan switched sides at the last second. It was a very effective screen and it gave Kyrie a healthy amount of free space. He could have easily pulled up from 15 (he was wide open) but choose to keep pounding it until the help came. Normally this wouldn’t be so bad but there was only a few seconds left on the clock when TT set the screen. Kyrie’s clock awareness was not there and he picked up his dribble with no one open to pass to as his pass attempt was tipped out of bounds by Chicago with the clock about to expire. Rather incredibly, with 0 seconds showing on the shot clock, the Cavs inbounded the ball to a leaping Zeller who tipped it in off the glass to save the possession.
D – Tom, you’ve been hating on Kyrie a lot recently. I agree he goes to isolation too quickly and too frequently, but when C.J. Miles and Tristan aren’t moving, and his other options are a Dion Waiters brick or a Tyler Zeller turnover….This is a great point, and turnovers have plagued the Cavs. More analysis on this comment in the closing remarks.
D – If Dion wasn’t heating up right now the game would be a lost cause. I hate Carlos Boozer.
Why would we be 'over it'?
C – Waiters really is improving at the rim, which will hopefully encourage him to rely on drives as his primary weapon on offense. Waiters was 6/6 from the line and was attacking often.
T – Yeah he has looked more comfortable finishing which is much needed.
C - It’s strange to watch the Bulls without Derrick Rose because they’re a slightly less effective team that’s in some ways more fun to watch. Their bigs move the ball really well and it gets them easy buckets near the rim. (Get well soon, D-Rose; I love to watch you play, etc., of course.) Watching the difference between the Bulls and the Cavs offensive sets is jarring. The Bulls waste no energy, make crisp, effective passes, and swing the ball from side to side. It goes without saying they have more talent and experience as the Cavs as well.
D – OMRI CASSPI SIGHTING. DION WAITERS AIRBALL. WOOHOO. Casspi checked in with 3:05 left in the 3rd.
C – “Obligatory Dion Waiters Airball” is a troubling meme.
T – I call it “another Dion Waiters Airball” – Obligatory implies a quota of 1.
D – Despite the huge deficit, Byron Scott will leave Kyrie out of the game until there’s 6:00 left in the fourth and we’re too far back to win anyways. Horrific third quarter; stagnant offense, stagnant defense. Sixteen points down. Gentlemen, take your bets: what’s your call for the final score? Cavs 101 Bulls 98 At the end of 3 the Cavs trailed 88 – 72, meaning Dani needed a 19 point 4th Quarter differential for his prediction to hold true, harking back to the Mike Brown Era.
C – Cavs: Silent Eternity, Bulls: Quiet Decimation, Colin: Beer
<- 4th Quarter ->
C – What is this lineup, by the way? Kevin Jones, C.J. Miles, Omri Casspi, Shaun Livingston, and Tyler Zeller? Who scores? (Rhetorical question, obvs. No one does.)
T – I like this lineup. Plus FREECASSPI!
C – Tom’s going to every Cavs game this year to sit in the upper deck and yell, “WHY WON’T YOU PLAY ONE OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE?” at Byron Scott the whole time. On Cue, Omri had a nice pumpfake, 1 dribble, that led to a sweet mid-range J. He followed it up with a strong drive and a pretty feed to a cutting Shaun Livingston, cutting a once hopeless 22 point deficit to 16 before the Bulls called timeout.
D – If Omri Casspi gets us back in this game I’ll move to Israel.
T – I love this lineup. DISCERNIBLE OFFENSIVE SETS. Players receiving and passing out of the paint. Casspi pump faking people into shots, dribble drive n kicks, and no one dribbling repeatedly. I took this opportunity to reflect on what an actual offense with passing and cutting looks like – this brief few minutes was it. Unfortunately, running what looks aesthetically like a real offense is mutually exclusive with getting stops. And the Bulls quickly destroyed all hope out of the timeout.
T – Good ol Nate Robinson and his Sam Cassel Cheshire Cat Smile.
D – There might be nothing more depressing than watching Nate Robinson shoot your team out of a game. Nomadic Nate came out of the Bulls timeout and promptly drained 2 threes right in Dion’s eye all while taunting him. Robinson and Marco Belinelli had eerily similar (and dominant) stat lines tonight. Both were 5-8 from the field including 3-4 from distance, and both were +24 in 24 minutes. Bulls bench >>> Cavs bench.
T – Wait does the ref not realize that the unnatural leg kick is just part of Dion’s shot?! Dion looks to get an AND-1 on a 3 and although my sound was muted at that point, he was called for an offensive foul. Maybe it was for a previous push off that I didn’t see. If it was because he kicked his leg out, then this applies.
D – When Lebron or Kevin Durant beats you, at least it doesn’t seem shocking and demeaning all the way through- you know it’s coming. When Nate Robinson wins games, it’s like a baby beating the hell out of you with a toothpick.
And that about wrapped it up. The Bulls (this is not a typo) went 12-14 in the 4th quarter, and the 12 included 3 And-1s (in other words, fouling didn’t stop them), 3 triples, and 2 other long 2s. Total domination against Casspi, Leuer, and company.
T – Anyone think B Scott put Casspi and Leuer out there tonight to fail just to give CtB the finger? I do. I don’t.
And that concludes this live-email recap. I have one concluding remark. The Cavaliers do not trust their offense. Quite often, they will run a set, an entry pass will get tipped or a role player will fumble the ball away. And that’s that. They go away from it and revert to isolation hero-ball (for lack of a more creative term). They need to trust the system and make the necessary adjustments. There is nothing gained by giving up on trying to execute more complex plays and sticking to isolation and a two-man game on a team that is lottery bound.
Nate and Dani offered their post-game thoughts as well.
Dani:
-Fantastic first quarter from Kyrie. He came out firing and passing, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. Ugly final three quarters from Kyrie. I’d be more disappointed with him, but the Bulls defense will do that to you- they have a tendency to turn every NBA offense into an iso-happy-mid-range-miss-fest
-Dion really turned it on in the third to keep us in the game when the Bulls started scoring, but he didn’t do much else. The ugly step-back jumpers continue, and they continue to suck. When he drove to the basket, good things tended to happen. Nice passing, though- he had a few inside feeds that took your breath away.
-Zeller was terrible. He kept on throwing the ball right to Luol Deng. Who knows why. Maybe he owed him several favors?
-Tristan was the beast we’ve grown accustomed to over the last few weeks. In the first half. After that, the Bulls interior D clamped down, and he responded meekly.
-Everyone else, well….whatever. Alonzo was a mixed bag as usual, although his defense was pretty awful tonight. Kevin Jones looked solid, although he continues to be very small for an NBA power forward. Omri Casspi sighting! He played well in garbage time. Maybe Byron will let him play next game? Over Luke Walton? That’d be nice. Coach Scott’s rotations continue to be unfathomable.
Unfathomable.
Nate:
-So there’s nothing like jumping up 10 points on a team in the 1st and still losing by 26.
-Nate Robinson: +24 in 24 minutes — or, there’s a reason Shaun Livingston was on the waiver wire.
- Cavs need a guy not afraid to put an elbow in Boozer’s grill. Preferably he’d have the last name Gund.
- Tyler Zeller is softer than the Stay Puff (sic) Marshmallow man.
-Will Cleveland lose by more or less than the Irish? I’m betting less. (Good bet. The Cavs lost by 26, the Irish by 28. What an AWFUL night for TV)
-Do the Cavs have to pay individual postage for mailing this game in, or can they just mail in the entire season in bulk?
-Tristan’s developing post game: a nice development, but the Bulls have already snuffed him out. He needs a counter off the hook shot — even if he is ambidextrous.
-Who’s the next Tom Thibodeau (sic – as in he might be feeling sick right now), and how do we find him?
-So the Starting Five for the all time Cavs hate team has to be Rasheed, Boozer, LeBron, DeShawn Stevenson, and Jordan, right? Throwing this one right to the commentariat. Who’s the Cavs all-time hate team?
It's "Puft".
That moment for me is preserved in this recap – where Omri Casspi drove by his defender, required a help defender, and made a slick dump off pass to a cutting Shaun Livingston who made the bucket. Everyone was moving on that play and it generated an open look.
Did I read in someone’s comment that there is no such thing as a culture of winning? That’s complete bollocks. The reason the cavs did not win between early 1990s and the lebron era is that they didn’t have any culture changers on their roster, in their front office, etc. Culture is everything. In the corporate world, in sports, etc. Lakers basketball success is all about their culture. It draws winners. Culture builds fan bases…it’s what drove the 1994-2000 Indians success, and what has kept Cleveland Cavs fans expectations high even after Lebron left, that we would develop a winner.
If the fan base goes, and the cavs do become the winter indians, we’re in for another decade or so of losing. Cleveland isn’t Miami…it needs culture. The Browns lost their team once because they lost their culture. So did the Supersonics. So did New Orleans. Winning matters…and it matters the rest of this year and next season too.
s87twist,
Cols714 called “winning culture” BS as a rebutal to a point that I wasn’t actually trying to make.
In fairness to cols – if my NBA fan acumen led me to believe that all young players improve except JJ Hickson and Omri Casspi (and Boobie Gibson and Danny Green and Shannon Brown and Christian Eyenga and Ramon Sessions) I wouldn’t understand what all the fuss is either.
@ Tom
I think the things you’ve criticized the Cavs for, blowing a large lead, not executing at a crucial point in the game are due to a lack of experience. In fact, I think you basically state the same thing in the last paragraph of your reply.
The reason I’m not discouraged is that I think that is correctable. Actually, I would argue that it’s the most correctable of any flaws a player could have. I also stated that I believe the Cavs will be better after this season, because I think they will bring in some quality veteran FAs.
I am most certainly not looking at this game in a vacuum. I made a point to Kevin to look at the number of close losses this season. It’s into double digits. I think those losses will become wins with more development from young players, and FAs signed after this season.
You do a fine job of writing, and I get your point (I think). With all the losing, it won’t matter what the Cavs do in the future. An inescapable “losing culture” will have been established.
I don’t buy into the whole “losing culture” concept. There are plenty of examples of teams with multiple losing seasons changing into winners. Golden State is a great example. Check out this link. Only four teams have had playoff droughts of more than four season, and that’s about to change for two of them. No reason the Cavs can’t be one of them next year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_franchise_post-season_droughts
@Tom- interesting Hoosier reference there. Hadn’t considered that. But I think you’re right.
@Scuzz – i guess the crux of my argument is hard to justify. But yes, I am arguing that it is not W/L or “they played a good team close for 3 3/4 quarter” or anything like that. That is sort of bottom line stuff and I recognize that for a very young team with middling talent and only 1 player in his prime (who has been out since mid December) the bottom line shouldn’t be expected to be very good. I guess many of the “good” things I see do not seem sustainable. A bit of a mirage if you will. Random CJ Miles and Jeremy Pargo explosions are probably not the future. I’m sure Kyrie will have a long and industrious career with hitting “game-winners”. That doesn’t a contender make.
There are reasons teams find ways to win when their best players are injured. Reasons many teams will their way to home wins and try to manage the road games. I cannot see what it is the Cavs are building upon other than some stellar individual talent from Irving, some (refreshing) blue-collar hard hat work from Tristan Thompson, and a lot of hope that Waiters, Zeller, and the next 2 or 3 influxes of youth will figure it out. Honestly the only semblance of team cohesiveness I detect is offensively between Kyrie and Varejao and despite my blogging efforts I fear Chris Grant is going to deal Andy.
It’s kinda like – first you need fresh ingredients. Ok, let’s stay positive and assume the Cavs have that. Next, you need them all to be fresh around the same time. (No idea if Waiters is ever going to reach the Wade-like expectations that many of us bloggers [not to mention BYRON SCOTT] have alluded to) Lastly you need to figure out the right quantities (usage, lineups, depth, toughness) to make it taste good. I’d like to see evidence of that. Even if it did not lead to a W, if you could see the path this team was heading down and just had to be patient while it made the journey – it’d be less apprehensive/critical. But I agree with Kevin – this team is at a crossroads and could go in many different directions. The key right now is player development. More on this to come. (Thanks for the writing compliment it means a lot)
Our best play of the night was the inbounds play with .4 on the clock. Didnt think scott had it in him to get a play like that drawn up.
Cavs are fine. Just sit back enjoy the development and take the losses in stride. Here comes Shabazz Muhammad/Noel/Bennett .. all in which if they don’t start will certainly pair nicely off the bench with CJ.
Losing isn’t something great players get accustomed to either fellas. Never once after a loss did it ever sit well with me or any other athlete. It’s the competitive nature of the sport to just be “OK” with losing. In time the losses will change, but it’s just tough when leads are blown and all it comes down to is simple switches on defense and attacking the basket on offense… or running real offense when it comes down to 2 min left. In time.
No way I’m reading through all this (it’s been a crazy busy day at work) but I’ll say this -
I’ve been extremely consistent on my feelings of all this losing. I think the idea of losing to win makes sense only if you don’t have a superstar. The moment you get a star, your goal should be to SMARTLY (NOTE THAT) build a team around them. Allowing them to grow is important, but allowing them to grow into the player you need them to be is more important.
One of the biggest concerns many Cavs fans have noticed is that Kyrie seems to want to do too much at the end of games now. That’s probably partially because he’s more than a little confident, but it’s also probably because he feels like he’s the only one who can achieve what needs to be done. This is a major issue. Barring the addition of an extremely seasoned vet, there’s no reason to think he’ll suddenly have any more trust in his teammates. Call my cynical, but I’m a strong believer in what you see is what you get until I’m given reason to change my mind.
My biggest argument against all this stupid losing is that it’s insane to think Chris Grant needs to draft in the top 5 for so many years to build a contender. Most GMs can nail a pick in the top 4 at least once, and despite how great TT has looked we’re still not sure what we’ve gotten out of him and Waiters.
The fact is if everything doesn’t suddenly click next year, we’ve just wasted three years having the “we’re in building mode” narrative shoved down our throats. I don’t like buying narratives because I think that’s just ownership trying to con fans into continuing to buy tickets.
There is no reason we should be THIS bad three years after Lebron left.
Corey -
What’s the difference between John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Tyreke Evans, and Boogie Cousins? Is Kyrie’s “greatness” really that much greater than the others?
Scuzz -
The flaw with your thinking is that there are plenty of reasons to be concerned too. How many straight years were the TWolves awful? What about the Warriors? Clips? Grizz?
NONE of those teams became contenders the “OKC” way. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they all did it by giving up on the lottery and actually looking for the best they can do.
There’s been a lot of “wait, just wait! Chris Grant is going to mega deal!” – I’ll believe that when I see it. As I’ve said a million times, assets are only assets when you trade them. Otherwise they’re just young kids/draft picks that may or may not pan out.
By the way, my last comment follows my mindset that we’d be best served trading this upcoming pick, even if it’s the #1, for a real vet. No sure things in this draft, let some other team take their 1/5 shot in the dark. If we can swap that pick for a proven NBA player with some upside, I’d take it in a heartbeat.
mallory, what’s the basement for how good that player would have to be?
@ Mallory
“There’s been a lot of “wait, just wait! Chris Grant is going to mega deal!” – I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Hasn’t Dan Gilbert proven that he’s committed to winning, and he’s willing to spend big when necessary? To me, he has. We’ll see what happens after the season.
Carter -
I’m not really sure – I’ve been toying around with it. Someone in the Iguodala type make (obviously not him) who plays on a team that’s headed down, not up.
Joe Johnson would’ve been a PERFECT Candidate because we have a crap ton of cap room, he could play SF for us, and would actually make us better in the short term and provide leadership.
Like I said, drafting high shouldn’t be a necessity for us anymore. Drafting smart, though…
Scuzz -
Dan Gilbert has, but as far as I can tell he’s not the GM of this team. He’s not the one calling agents/GMs trying to make a deal.
He just gets relayed messages saying “can I do x”
Carter, Maybe Joe JOhnson is a bit old. Lets say Danilo.
Mallory
No, he’s not. Of course, he wasn’t the GM when the Cavs brought in Ben Wallace, Shaq, Jamison, and others. That was Danny Ferry. But you get the point. He’s willing to green light a big FA expense, like P. Millsap.
I don’t know about any of this, but I love the Grumposaur T-shirt and want one of my own.
^^^^ SUCCESS!
Varejao now out three weeks with a “bone bruise.” At some point, are we going to get an actual story about what is going on? Because it’s beyond bone bruise territory.
Mallory
I get your point that the Clips, Warriors, and Griz didn’t become playoff teams the OKC way. But if the Cavs spend big in FA next season, then they aren’t really following the OKC model either. Would you agree? I think they will. Which is why I’m optimistic despite the losing.
Rich I’m hoping to get the actual story on what happened in the 2010 Boston series. Not sure I will ever get it. Also been waiting for Half-Life 3 for 8 years. But yeah, I’d like some real insight into Varejao and Casspi DNPs.
Scuzz -
I understand that source of optimism, I do. I just wish there had been a progressive building of talent. Bonanzas always make me nervous.
it’s always somewhat satisfying to see Dion finish a game with at least 50 percent from the field.
One quibble Mallory- you said there’s no reason we should be this bad 3 years after Lebron left. A major caveat Lebron leaving literally decimated the Cavs in a way few teams in the NBA have ever experienced. This wasn’t a typical rebuilding situation. Our roster was built around him, etc…..I don’t want to rehash old, bad memories. But I would argue that in terms of “years into the rebuild,” I think we’re two, not three. The team we fielded after Lebron left was truly pathetic- we had no talent.
If we are in year three of the rebuild, then OKC was in like year 5 or whatever when they finally turned it around.
Hey guys it’s my first comment here, I started to follow the CAVS campaign this season and I have a question.
Are the injury reports of NBA teams always as superficial as the ones we are getting for Andy?
Here in Brazil when a soccer player gets hurt, after two or three days we get very especific info on the injury he suffered, what is the treatment he will get, and the predicted time to heal, but in Andy’s case all we hear is “bruised knee”.
What’s that?!!
Is it in the joint itself?
Bone?
Cartilage?
Ligaments?
Muscle?
DiO- unfortunately, in the nba teams are often very evasive and secretive when it comes to injuries. Situations like the current one with Andy are still the exception, though.
Mallory.
Its the players around him. Wall should take the next step with this wiz team in the 2nd half if they don’t then they have some issues.
Tyreke can’t shoot, and hasnt worked that part of his gm since entering the lg. Cousin is a head case, with elite talent, but im here telling everyone the obvious. Kyrie and the Cavs take the jump next season with the right pieces from the off season.
I went to this game. The first qtr was great. I pissed off everyone around me… then the rest of the game happened.
Im surprised there isnt as much disgust for T. Zeller. I have never seen a player that big play that soft.