Podcast Episode 65: Love and (Playoff) Basketball
2015-04-30https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/podcast-episode-65-love-and
With all the Cavs news floating around this week, we figured we needed to bring in a ringer. Former CtBer, Colin McGowan, joined me and Tom in the podcast booth for a marathon discussion. “The Mess in Massachusetts” weighed heavily on our minds, as did Kevin Love’s future with the Cavs, and that was just the start. Then we asked the tough questions. Who’s going to step up for the Cavs? Were the Cleveland and Boston suspensions just? Can the Cavs win in the next round? We broke down the playoff match-ups for the Cavs and the rest of the East, and gave our latest finals picks too. Then the Kevin Love surgery news broke! After lamenting, we added our thoughts on David and EG’s Hack-a-DeAndre duel, video games, the the champagne of beers, and, of course T-Shirts! WHEW! Thanks to @cs_mcgowan for a very fun podcast, despite the bad news. Here’s Colin’s Kevin Love article from Wednesday, plus his pieces on the Boston Game, J.R. Smith, and free-throws.
Click above, on SoundCloud, or on iTunes to listen.
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“It’s Tony Snell’s League”
Literally still laughing an hour later. That was genius Tom.
I can’t quite believe I listened to the entire thing. Yowza!
I agree with the parting thoughts on needing transcendent performances from LeBron and Kyrie now, but I also think that the fans have to become more of a force. Something that can give irrational confidence to guys like Delly, Mike Miller, Mozgov shooting his 12 footer, etc.
Crowds at the Q have seemed a bit self-conscious all year. Time to lose that. All In.
This was a GREAT podcast! Thanks for your had work! Extra Bonus pts on Boris Diaw . I love you guys but please the love fest over Windorst is too much. 2010 days are over! His stories this past year don’t have foundation. He’s been more wrong than right and at times it has been mean spirited especially concerning Kyrie, Love and Blatt. Majority of his stories are just what he sees on the TV or press conferences. His last interview with Simmons about the Cavs this past week on Grantland, he wasn’t even at any of the Cavs games.… Read more »
Hack-a-DJ not really working out for the Spurs tonight… He’s shooting almost as well as they are as a team from the line, and they’ve done more to take themselves out of rhythm than they have the Clips…
Meanwhile, the game is more boring than the interminable first round of the NFL draft (which I’m sure most people outside of SA and LA are watching…)
I told myself I wasn’t gonna watch the draft but that Bulls game was after the first quarter so I switched over.
bulls up by 32 pts at half —-might want to reconsider how tough of a series it is going to be
Has nothing to do with the bulls. Celtics were tougher than the bucks are. Bulls have shot the lights out and milwaukee rolled over.
Yeah they won by 50 something points. Yikes! Giannis also got ejected for plowing over Dunleavy. This will be a tough series. I hope they can get something out of Miller/Trix/Jones. The Bulls actually spread the floor pretty well. Losing Loves rebounding/passing is going to really hurt. If only TT could drain 3s.
For us to win it all, we need to match up against the worst defensive team possible. Without Love stretching the floor, teams are going to do everything they can to keep LeBron and Kyrie out of the paint. The writers and posters here have acknowledged it all year: even when Love isn’t filling the box score, he’s making this team better by stretching the floor. Our two best players both thrive getting to the basket. The more teams clog the paint, the worse off we are. I’m not sure which team is the “worst” defensive team left. I don’t… Read more »
Atlanta matches up with us way too well. They play like Boston but 10 times better, smarter, and more in control. We should NOT want to face them. the only advantage we have is that they will probably be overcome by the occasion of making it to the ECF and Lebron will have us super-ready. the bulls are not that scary because i don’t trust their resilience. If we go up 2 games on them i don’t see them recovering that well. They are laying a shellacking on the bucks tonight though. The bucks made a huge mistake getting rid… Read more »
What if somehow the Cavs small ball approach takes off, they don’t miss a beat, and they win championship convincingly without Love. Any chance we offer Love less than Max deal?
I’ve actually had that thought, too. I think, ultimately, a small ball lineup will work against some teams, sometimes, but we lose versatility. Also, LeBron hopes to lengthen, not shorten his career. If you think he’ll play PF next year during the regular season and get hammered in the post, I have some property in the everglades to sell you.
I am confident that the Cavs will get another great player each year for the next few. Somehow. At some point LeBron will take a big cut to make this happen, so he can go to some more finals. He has a shot at becoming the biggest brand in the history of sports. That will pay off huge for decades to come, so his salary is actually a minor contribution to his bottom line.
His salary has little to do with his own desires now that he’s in the Nbpa. His salary is now a political statement
Um, No. LeBron is never going to take a pay cut again. He’s even said as much. Far more likely: he leads the players to destroy the owners in the next CBA, or even to opt out of the CBA and do away with the salary cap system altogether.
exactly my point. thanks for making it better than i did lol
Love will get the max as long as he recovers. he is an insanely important piece to us going forward…especially if Lebron slows down in the next few years
Love that KLove is rocking a Tribe cap in his hospital bed!
https://instagram.com/p/2GQFAss94K/
Pretty sweet. I can see Lakers/Celtics/Knicks fans trying to photoshop this one.
Heh. Maybe not Celtics…
Brad Stevens may offer Love a chance to get back at Olynyk by leading a towel party.
Nice podcast.
@EG- appreciate all your insights, all the time. Thought this interesting regarding the previous thread of how to speed up the game.
Thanks murphy! Means a lot… Apologies if I was a little salty in my responses yesterday. Was feeling particularly ornery for reasons beyond the whole hack-a-whoever debate and it spilled over… Thanks for sharing the Sheridan link! I would love it if both the NBA and the NFL adopted something like this. I came from advertising originally, and though I understand the necessary evil it provides these sports, the breaks have become ridiculously incessant. Ironically, in the age of DVR that we’ve entered, sports is the last bastion of major advertising dollars on television since few people want to record… Read more »
No apology needed. Being in self employed sales for 35 years I’ve got thicker skin than that. Regarding the DVR. I agree I wouldn’t want to record and watch it later, but a 15 minute delay would enable one to speed through most of the commercials until halftime.
Worse than watching the commercials are listening to those idiots on ESPN and TNT. Their constant blabber about everything but what’s happening on the court is maddening. Thankfully I get to watch with AC and Fred during the season.
And, not to beat a dead horse, but the constant blabber only intensifies when they need to fill the space during 41 minute quarters that are extended needlessly due to hack-a-whoever tactics…
As nutty as they can be, I’ll agree wholeheartedly and take Fred and AC any day and twice on Sundays. I do pine for Joe Tait though. I used to just shut the sound off on my TV completely and listen to Joe. Nobody called a game like him. The only equivalent I’ve had is Vin Scully calling Dodger games out here…
I love how much you hate the hack-a-whom. I literally couldn’t disagree with you more…and I think it is amazing when humans have utterly opposite opinions and can still get along. Makes me like humans a lot. Cuz my cats CANNOT handle it when they disagree.
Ha! Good point Scotch. Although, I hope you’re watching the Clips/Spurs game tonight because it might be your last chance to see “hack-a-whomever” ever…
I was just thinking that the Heat and Spurs have won 6 out of the last 10 titles. And been to the Finals a combined 9!!! times.
Those two organizations have had quite the run. I hope this year we see something different.
Question: if Cavs make it to Finals, which West contender do the Love-less Cavs match up best with?
I say Houston. We can play lots of small ball lineups with Trix/Jones and not be over-exposed defensively as long as Mozgov, TT, or Perk are on the floor to bang Howard.
The only team I feel like we cannot beat without Love is GSW. The others I think we can beat, but it will be really really hard. I don’t have a preference among Houston, San Antonio, or Memphis. I think we can, but probably won’t, beat those teams without our starting PF.
IMHO, Wiz over Hawks in 6; Cavs over Bulls (yes, they finish off Bucks tonight) in 6; Cavs over Wiz in 5; Cavs over Spurs in 7 (with Game 7 going into double OT)…
#noexcuses
I just peed my pants even thinking about that. Holy wow…could you? Whoa I need to stop thinking about it.
Good pod. You guys seem to be solidly in the Cavs to Finals camp which is nice to hear.
I think the more games it takes the Bulls-Bucks series to end the better. More rest for KI/Lebron and more wear and tear on Rose, Noah, Taj.
Awesome! My favorite part was a tie between Colin’s Boris Diaw story (I’m only going to wear flip-flops and drink cappuccinos in the mornings from now on) and Tom’s sales pitch on the case for the computer that he built just to play a modded up Skyrim.
Also, Tom, as much as I’d love to take credit for the Blake Griffin plays like he’s holding down the button too long analogy, it wasn’t mine.
The Boris Diaw story is just amazing. AMAZING. One of those stories that someone needs to make into an animated short or something.
Did you say 70% Finals, 20% win it all?
That’s the truth.
I will listen. But I don’t want to listen to anyone talk about hack a Deandre. The NBA will fix this next year I think. And no, “just make your free throws” isn’t a solution.
100% Cavs. I love that I can support my team and disagree with you now. Makes me feel a lot better.
Agree with Nate: Cols is only giving the Cavs 20% to win it all? I am going with 30%. After Wednesday I will give it some more thought.
In the words of Tony Kornheiser, the odds are 50/50. It will either happen or it won’t.