Podcast Recap: Cavs 119, Magic 98
2014-04-03
The Cavs completely dominated the Magic. Any worry that CavsNation had about Kyrie and Dion playing together were quickly dispelled. They were completely unstoppable and played the way we’ve been begging them to play for over a year. Kyrie was incredible, finishing 7-8 from the field, converting a bunch of awesome contested shots at the rack, and playing the role of distributor/defense-magnet quite well. Waiter was 10 of 15 shooting. He splashed all three of his 3s, and nine of his other 12 shots were taken in the paint. Perfect. Spencer Hawes, TRUE PATRIOT, flashed his passing and his 3-point stroke and Tristan Thompson was too much to handle. He made all eight of his free throws. Jarrett Jack and SuperDOVA managed the PG position well and Jack threw down a huge dunk. (I’m serious!) The execution tonight was just insurmountable, whether the Magic cared about winning or not. Even the shots the Cavs missed were open. They finished with 62 points in the paint and scored 70 points in the first. The Cavs are making it interesting!
Nate and I hopped in the ole podcast booth to talk at length about the Cavs. Mallory is in the process of posting to SoundCloud and iTunes, but, for now, the Podcast is available at Mixcloud
Tune in to find out about the game, the playoff race, #CavsRank, who the best dressed bench Cav is, which Cavalier legend I get to meet this weekend, and the details of our bet on whether the Cavs make the playoffs. Go Cavs!
Kojo, here’s how the tiebreakers work (in this instance): if Cavs are tied with one team for 8 seed: 1. head to head (lost to ATL, tied with NYK) 2. better winning percentage against conference (NYK .478, CLE .413) we won’t win the head to head tiebreaker against ATL or NYK no matter what… if Cavs are tied with both teams for 8 seed: 1. head to head among the 3 teams (assuming Cavs win tonight against ATL: ATL 4-3, NYK 4-4, CLE 3-4) we won’t win the 3 team tiebreaker even if we beat ATL tonight. bottom line –… Read more »
Kj- that’s a really unfair comparison. Besides being a small sample size, the current Cavs (even playing without Kyrie) has more talent than the Cavs of Kyrie’s first two seasons…
Is PER a good stat to look at? Somehow Dion has a lower PER than he had last year, but he’s putting up better numbers more efficiently.
Jake – it’s a decent tool but it rewards efficiency, usage, and box score stuffing more than winning. I like +/- based stats like RAPM.
I just liked how much he drove the ball last night. He has not done it that often in a game basically all year. Loved it…
Btw, yes, it was a (very) small sample size but the Cavs winning pct with Kyrie out this last time was basically twice the percentage as Kyrie’s career winning pct. so let’s not front and pretend like it’s some sort of lunacy to question his ultimate value to this team. Tons of all-star’s have been traded in this league, kids…
I’ve been saying since before March that we needed to make it through March within 2 games of the 8 seed sinc ethe 8 games in April are all winnable and March was tough. They were 2.5 back and they definitely have a chance. I’m more worried about NYK than about Atlanta. Since Horford went out they have been in free fall and NY has been steadily getting better since the all star break. Friday we have to win and from there were fighting to make up a game or two. Does anyone know how the tiebreaker works? Last I… Read more »
WOW THAT WAS A CLOSE CALL! With Kyrie coming back I thought we had no chance of winning. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!?!? WE GOT SOOO LUCKY, GUYS!
Did anybody notice that after the Orlando game Campy Russell spoke to “talk going around that the Cavs should trade Kyrie?” I knew those guys read this stuff.
We can’t trade Kyrie. There are things he can improve on. There are things he has improved on. There are things he does that are incredible.
Has anybody figured out the odds of the Cavs winning it all yet? ; )
I agree with you T they need to be in these (playoff type games ) to help develop their growth and create a motivation that is what they want to strive to be in every year—kyrie said it himself he is having fun playing games at the end of the season THAT HAVE MEANING TO THEM ——–OTHER THAN A HIGH DRAFT PICK
Win or lose, this 6 game stretch is freaking GREAT for the teams development. These are playoff games for us…
Great breakdown, grover13. You’re correct, Friday is a must win. If everyone finishes with your predictions, then… Cavs 36-46 Hawks 35-47 Knicks 35-47 No tie breakers are in our favor, so we REALLY need the Knicks to bomb down the stretch and they are going to be just as motivated as the Cavs and are also on a roll (3 gm win strk, 7-3 in their last 10). I’m optimistic about the Cavs taking down the Hawks tomorrow night, and then passing them. I’m not nearly as optimistic about the Knicks finishing 2-4. Cavs might need to win out to… Read more »
@Underdog- The schedules are very favorable for the Cavs. I know I’m at risk here for laying down a smackdown jinx, but here are the facts: Cavs have six games left; only one against a team over .500- the last game against Brooklyn, and it’s conceivable that Brooklyn will rest their aging roster in that game. Four games at home, two on the road. @Atl, Cha, Det, @Mil, Bos, Brk Atlanta has eight games left. Five are against playoff contenders, including Miami and Indiana. Cle, @Ind, Det, Bos, @Brk, Mia, Cha, @Mil New York has six games left, all against… Read more »
Everything you need to know about the Cavs playoff chances: http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/playoff-picture-2014
Was the podcast supposed to be over at 31:55? it sounded ilke there was more.
jake – when Mallory ported it to the “official” soundcloud account, the file got cliped somehow.
It’s an hour and a half long. Just visit the original link until Mallory figures it out.
Tom has agreed to a straight jacket for the next show.
Cavs have been scoring a lot of points lately. I don’t see us as the “grind it out” type of team that Brown likes. We need to be able to win those games – but that’s not what we are.
Dion, interviewed after the game, said that he likes to be on the floor with Kyrie because there is less pressure. He uncharacteristically shot 10-15. Kyrie must feel the same way (7-8). Hawes definitely plays better with Kyrie on the floor.
How many of the teams remaining on our schedule have something to play for?
Great podcast but please get one of these. Background noise always seems to be a problem with the podcasts.
http://amzn.com/B00FK62FSY
Bill – thanks, I will. the background noise was AWFUL. I’m really sorry guys. We’ll do better. It was my bad.
agree with Rodney on craft ( although I love the kid )—not even close to having an offensive n.b.a. game—–hate to bring this up 1 MORE TIME —IN THIS WEEKS SPORTS ILLUST.–HAVE AN ARTICLE ON SHAUN LIVINGSTON –HOW THEY ARE MAKING HIM THEIR TOP PRORITY TO RESIGN—–SIGNED WITH THE NETS FOR A PALTRY 1.3 MILLION—-HOW GOOD WOULD HE LOOK IN A CAVS UNIFORM—HIS VERSATILTY IS ENDLESS—-O.K. GOT THAT OFF MY CHEST “1MORE TIME “—GO CAVS
Craft will a great career in Greece if he wants it. I think he’s got a better shot of Making the NFL as a corner than the NBA. But rumor is he’s going to med school
@cody CJ Miles is up in the air http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/1191/cj-miles along with Andy and AB.
@charlie E I wish we got to see a little more Karasev, but I’m cool with it if we keep getting these wins.
Aaron Craft for Cavs. The man is going to be very serviceable in the NBA.
tom– near Sandusky/ cedar pt
Does anyone have an update on CJ Miles?
nomad – where do you live bro?
I like the Thomas / Dumars comparison . . . except that Joe Dumars was considered to be the best defensive guard in the NBA at the time. Michael Jordan hated him.
If it turns out to be the case, there will be a lot of years of fun basketball to watch – whether the Cavs win a championship or not. If it turns out to be the case, free agents are going to want to play here.
BELATED APRIL’S FOOL JOKE —COULD NOT GET THE GANE ON T.V. LAST NIGHT —-HAD RAIN DELAY OF REDS GAME –THAT WAS REALLY FUN TO WATCH ——–IF THEY ( DION / KYRIE ) CAN CONTINUE TO FIGURE IT OUT AND PLAY TOGETHER IT WOULD BE A VERY DYNAMIC DUO TO WATCH ” BATMAN AND ROBIN “–MAYBE THAT WOULD INTICE ” SUPERMAN / LBJ ” TO POSSIBLY RETURN TO CLEVELAND/ ” BELIEVELAND “—-GOING TO BE INTERESTING ( I HOPE ) DOWN TO VERY LAST GAME WHICH IS ALL OF US FANS EVER WANTED/ HOPED FOR—-GO CAVS !!
Karasev! Everyone looks great right now, except for maybe a few lapses on interior D. What an easy cruise to a win. Tristan looks so smooth from the stripe.
They didn’t miss Andy, even.
This is the tweet I was referring to after Delly almost brought the Cavs back against the Wizards
Trade Kyrie. Dion and Kyrie can’t play together. Oladipo is better than Waiters. Fire Mike Brown.
If this team can sneak into the Playoffs and play Indiana or Miami (who both look lost), it will be a hell of an experience for them. Kyrie and Dion are growing so quickly. Dumars and Thomas doesn’t seem so outrageous anymore.
My apologies in advance for all the background noise – I didn’t realize all my fidgeting with the laptop on my lap was making all that noise. Next time I’ll just put it on a table and not touch it!