Not a recap: Cleveland 91, New York 101
2013-04-13It doesn’t look like anyone is recapping last night’s game. Apparently, we at Cavs:the Blog are the ones tanking. Kyrie scored 31 points with 6 assists, but did take 27 field goal attempts. Tristan finished with 15 & 11 on 6 of 7 from the field, but had ten combined missed free throws and turnovers. Other than flashes from those two, it was a relatively uninspiring performance. Dion Waiters didn’t play again. Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points alongside 14 rebounds and JR Smith was unconscious, scoring 31 points in 29 minutes on 13 of 16.
JR Smith could not miss last night.
Leave any of your thoughts in the comments.
You know all this talk about firing or not firing Byron Scott made me wonder about something. What if we had another coach these past 3 years with the same situation and same injuries and same depth and same “tanking” philosophy within the org…assuming the record will still be within 2-3 games of Byron Scott’s, would some be asking for that coach’s ouster too? I understand there would be other intangibles and variables. I think the main complaints about BS are his rotations and timeouts. Those were similar complaints about Mike Brown too and probably goes on in most other… Read more »
JAG you mean it wasn’t because Mike Brown left?
Look, I’m trying to look at it from the outside in. I’ve already heard multiple talking heads bring up the “Cleveland needs to start getting help or Kyrie will leave” stuff. I read Ken Bergers post a few weeks back about how Cleveland is one of the least likely teams to make the playoffs, while a team like Dallas is most likely, based solely on the fact that Mark Cuban wants to win. Do I buy it? No. I like the approach and think the future is bright. Do others, including people who dont pay attention to this team buy… Read more »
Game was unbearable to watch. Zeller was awful and Scott wouldn’t put Speights in 3rd quarter. I don’t care if he’s not around next year or not; show the fans a little respect and put him in when Zeller is this bad. Next time fly in Zeller’s parents. He seems to play better when they are there. .
I went to the game last night. Sorry not to get to see Dion and Walton. It is frustrating to watch an entire game in which a second pass basically never occurs. Sometimes in a set you get a pass, but that person basically always drives or shoots, never do you see a second pass to a really open shooter. I wish the team looked like they had been playing together more. Zeller and Caspi just looked completely useless on defense, managing to not affect a drive or shot and still be out of position for a defensive rebound. Hopefully… Read more »
What Offensive Coach, defensive coach would you like to see on the CAVS next year. Maybe not in name, but in style/type.
Kevin, Scott has only really had a partial season last year and a full season this year with the core of this team. That first year was a total lost cause as LBJ left them with nothing to build with. Brian Shaw’s name is associated with the triangle offense. That scares most GM’s and players because it requires players with the right skillset, BB IQ and experience to make it work. The current Cavs don’t fit that mold. Inexperienced youngsters playing that offense look like the T-Wolves of a few years back. It is a system that a coach can… Read more »
It wasn’t a tank job by the writers – just resting the starters to preclude any unnecessary injuries.
I would put the Cavs around the top 30 – 32 jobs
It’s still not a destination job. You’ve got an owner that hasn’t spent in 3 years, a city that can’t attract free agents ever, and recently a coach that was just fired after being given teams that could have done nothing but lose lots of games.
Rich, Dan Gilbert has been spending $21 million per year on Baron Davis and Luke Walton, all for the right to get the 8th pick in 2011 and 24th pick in 2012…I think he still spends money on the team. According to NBA.com, in 2005 the Cavs signed the 3rd, 4th and 10th best players of the free agent class (http://www.nba.com/features/freeagentpreview_050705.html). Obviously that didn’t work very well, but with a team that was building something and had money to spend, free agents came. The Cavs were over the salary cap from then until the end of Lebron’s time and were… Read more »
Kevin,
But isn’t it strange that Brian Shaw has been a hot name for several years now, but has been passed over again and again? Maybe he’s just unlucky, maybe he’s a bad interview, but maybe he’s just not head coaching material.
Kevin, OKC had their pieces in place and with their talent level anyone could’ve coached them that didn’t disrupt their chemistry. Their move was mostly about chemistry. That doesn’t seem to be a problem here. The Cavs haven’t rebuilt to the level of talent OKC has but people here would expect the new coach to work miracles with what they have in place. That would make for a bad situation unless Grant pulled off a miracle and sped up the talent acquisition process. Even then if he did that via the draft there would be a time factor involved getting… Read more »
I think BS gets another year so the question is more of a hypothetical. If the position was surprisingly available, I would imagine it would be one of the top three out there (4 if D’Antoni gets the axe). The bigger question is who the hell would you want (that’s gettable)? Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan aren’t coming here. Nate McMillan? One of the Van Gundy bros? Potato round 2? It would be great if there was a Thibs level defensive coordinator (is there one? maybe I missed him). Otherwise, it’s tricky finding someone. My favorite scenario (other than BS… Read more »
EvilGenius,
I don’t have a grasp on the best assistants around the league, but my preference would be for a first-time coach. A new BS, Brian Shaw, is probably my initial favorite.
JAG,
I don’t know that anyone is expecting miracles. The team has won 25 games. That’s bad. The team shows no semblance of a defense. Scott’s previous two teams quit on him. It seems totally reasonable to me to try a different direction with the coaching situation. Trading the youngsters would be a lack of patience; trying new leadership after three years may be a very worthwhile shake-up.
Kevin,
I am sure the perfect coach would be more than willing to come to Cleveland, knowing that he will be run out of town by the fans if the Cavs aren’t perennial contenders by his second year. Impatience is the killer of rebuilds. Ask Browns fans.
I am on the fence with another year for Scott. I can agree that the bench at the start of the season was horrible. The injuries have been long and taken their toll on the team, and it is still early in the process. Only Andy and Gibson (Cassip to a point) have been around the entire time that Scott has been at the helm. The turn over and additions that have happened do slow down the process of getting use to each other, learning the system, and so forth. But the game management of timeouts, substitutions, lack of Offensive… Read more »
I would say the Cavs rank maybe Top ten NBA jobs. I know this seems way to high, but when you look at the combination of young talent, roster building assets (cap space/draft picks), and front office (CG has a great early track record and you can’t question Dan Gilbert’s committment to the team). You have to put it right behind the contenders. I know having to build a defensive philiosophy, weather, and following up a guy that the young stars really liked would be detriments, but I think a coach would look at the positives and be really excited… Read more »
Joey Joe,
I was asking about the top job likely to be open this off-season, where certainly the Cavs would rank pretty high.
JAG,
It’s been three seasons, from a 13 year NBA coach. There is plenty of information available for people to form an opinion on whether Scott is the right guy or not.
OKC / Seattle kept PJ Carlesimo around for 95 games; that rebuild worked out ok.
I feel a coach would have to want to come to Cleveland first, want to take the team that is assembled, and want to take on knowing the expectations for next year. Taking a 24 win team to the playoffs the next year. I think too make this a team that coaches might want to come too, there are some things that the front office would need to do. publicly and openly let everyone know a change of mindset and mentality is needed going forward. Loosing can not be tolerated to the degree it has this year. Other thoughts: 1.… Read more »
Good thing this was not a recap, because this is not a comment.
I asked this late in the comments section yesterday, but no one responded. If Coach Scott is let-go, where does the Cavs situation rank for “best coaching destination” of the possible coaching vacancies this off-season?