Recap: Cleveland 112, Philadelphia 108 (or, How to Thaw)
2016-11-27
To say the Cavs started this game cold would be an understatement. They were encased in carbonite. They missed their first 12 shots and started the game down 10-2 . They were so lethargic they had one live thread commenter positing that they were hung over from their trip to Columbus and the inevitable victory party after the Buckeyes’ win yesterday.
Many of those Cavalier misses were due to the paint protecting presence of Joel Embiid. Embiid had two blocks in the first minute, and the Cavs drove with trepidation after that. Embiid played with a lot of swagger on both ends of the court this game, shooting without hesitation on his way to 3-4 from three, 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. He also got into it with RJ towards the end of the first half as Embiid finished through a Jefferson blocking foul, and then taunted the veteran as he was sprawled out under the basket. Remarkably, no technicals were assessed for either player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEmUfZ24D_U
But I digress. While Embiid was a factor, the Cavs just seemed to have a lid on the basket and two feet in mud through most of the first 30 minutes. And, every time they would cut the deficit, Philly would pull away by waltzing to the basket and either scoring or kicking out to wide open shooters. It didn’t help that Cleveland spent good portions of the game without Kevin Love who, while driving, got clocked by an elbow from Robert Covington. The refs let Kevin wipe away enough blood to convert two freebies and then run to the locker room for five stitches.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Cleveland started to make up the early deficit when Embiid went to the bench and Kyrie and LeBron attacked Jahlil Okafor around the basket. They scored nine straight at the rim including a Kyrie And 1. Love would return at the end of the first quarter two score eight (set up by LBJ) in the final two minutes to put Cleveland down just 24-30.
The Wine and Gold did a fantastic job of closing the quarters and grinding their way back into this game. The last two minutes of the first went 8-5 Cavs, the second 9-2, and the third, 6-3. In the second quarter, after going down 14, the Cavs shook off the effects of hibernation sickness as LeBron put in an enormous three to stop the bleeding. Cleveland started to lock in on defense (TT had a big block on Ilyasova), and the team started hitting the offensive boards, including this gem where LeBron started out outside the three point line to flush a Jordan-esque putback of a TT missed free-throw. Cleveland finished the half down 52-58.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B4S4cwYRJ8
They ground this one out despite abysmal scoring from the wing. J.R. Smith went 0-11 from the field, and he, RJ, and Dunleavy combined for 0-15 from deep for the game. But Swish and RJ defended hard and made some hustle plays to help turn this one: they counted three offensive boards, two steals, and a block between them.
Things looked grim to start the third though, as Kevin Love was nowhere in sight and Ty Lue had summoned James Jones to start the quarter. With no Shumpert (hamstring) and no Frye (bereavement), Lue opted for Jones’ professionalism and floor spacing. Cleveland was again afraid to attack Embiid, and the long balls were not falling until James Freaking Jones broke the seal with a splasher off a LeDime, and Kyrie followed it up with another three from the King 40 seconds later.
We all exhaled when Kevin Love checked in. Apparently his cut was still bleeding at halftime, and his wound needed re-dressed. He finished the quarter beautifully, with a three, a gorgeous give-and-go with the King, and a driving two handed dunk. The Cavs started aggressively doubling the post every time Embiid had the ball forcing the Sixers offense out of their rhythm and into turnovers. Another JFJ three, a LeBron and-1, and highlighted the rest of the quarter as the Cavs cut their deficit to 77-81 to end the third.
The fourth started with the baffling lineup of LeBron, Liggins, Jefferson, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson, which caused James to just start jacking up ill-advised jumpers in isolation. Fortunately, neither team had scored by the 10:33, and Ty Lue put in JR and Kyrie to rest the the King. Kyrie immediately canned a triple. Kevin headfaked Dario Saric into giving him three free throws. Uncle Drew threw in ridiculous, partially blocked, layup over Embiid and then followed that by crossing up Joel, ducking under him and finishing with a nifty lefty to give Cleveland their first lead.
Kyrie continued his Mister Fourth Quarter act by attacking poor Nik Stauskas and Ilyasova off the dribble. TT started making his presence felt as he grabbed an o-board, got fouled and swished both charity shots, then he crashed from the left side for an dunk from James. After more MFQ and another TT dive for two, Cleveland was up 10 with 3:42 left before an Ersan Ilyasova triple and a bad LeBron pass gave Philly a glimmer of hope.
It was quickly erased as a missed Embiid putback led to yet another Tristan Thompson bucket from James. But, yet, again, LeBron got sloppy with the ball for a turnover, Embiid and Irving traded baskets, and Ersan Ilyasova got fouled by Jefferson on a three for a four point possession, putting the Sixer down only five with a minute left. On review, the foul call was ludicrous, as Ersan just flailed his leg into RJ’s groin as his goofy Turkish ass was falling over.
Joel Embiid missed a well defended shot at the basket, A LeBron driving layup quickly quashed any Philly hopes again, and Irving canned two freebies (for his 18th and 19th fourth quarter points) to seal the deal before a Joel Embiid garbage time three made it 112-108, Cleveland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RabldLjFujU
The Good
Cleveland overcame rough shooting by running their offense through the big three four who delivered. KLove finished with 25 and 11 in 28 minutes and was a team high +10. James messed around and got a triple double: 26, 10, and 13 assists. And Irving was only 14-27 for 39 points, including 5-11 from three. Oh and Tristan Thompson was the perfect dive man tonight as he chipped in 12 and 12 including five offensive boards and eight fourth quarter points. Add two triples by Champ, and seeing eye layups by Dunleavy and Jefferson, and there’s your score.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DqdBV8NXSs
LeBron’s passing in the middle of the floor was insane: bounce passes out of the double, skip feeds to the wing, lobs, drives and dishes. I’m convinced he was created in a lab by combing the DNA Magic Johnson, Julius Irving, and Jerry Rice. Oh, did I mention James became the youngest to score 25,000 points in his career?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoSkQVXVxTM
Cleveland won because they were 24-28 from the free throw line and won the turnover battle 9-16. The big three went 22-24 (both misses by James). THAT is hard to beat in the playoffs.
Embiid has the makings of a beast. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a big man able to shoot this well from distance early. He also has a mean streak and superb weak-side defensive timing. When he’s able to play 30+ minutes for 82 games? Watch out. Cleveland was able to get the ball out of his hands in the second half, and he still isn’t a great passer (he rifled more than a couple off teammate’s hands). But this play shows you what great instincts he has. This move for a rookie big, to pass out of the left block post, spot the trap in the corner, and then cut back to the wing for a three displays the kind of confidence and basketball IQ that many players never master.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6OPx-JT5yM
The Bad
The Cavs started out sleepwalking. It was kind of painful to watch. Ty Lue has a tough job to balance the fun and the grind for this Cavs team.
J.R. Smith is slumping big time. He notched an 0-fer tonight on 11 shots. Hopefully he can get some court time and can work out the kinks in his J.
The Cavs bench is razor thin right now. They were outscored 40-10. Lue has no trust in Felder or McRae (both DNP-CDs), and Liggins gave them one steal and one turnover on an inbounds pass. Mike Done-Leavy is probably now behind James Jones on the depth chart. However, McRae, Mo Williams, Liggins, and Dunleavy combine for $9 million in outgoing salary that the Cavs could use in a trade. I just pray to God they don’t give up Cedi Osman and his top half of the lottery talent to do it.
The Sixers are so bad at all the guard and wing spots. Sergio would be a great bench guard for a lot of teams, or as a floor general on a team with some talent. Similarly Gerald Henderson would be a great bench wing for a lot of squads. They’re starting for this team, and they’re over-matched most nights. And don’t forget about Nik Stauskus. He was -22 tonight.
The Ugly
First Kevin Love proves he has the best QB arm in Cleveland…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4JK4k2XkSY
And finally, Robert Covington hears footsteps…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjqc1H83RFs
In other news, Hinkie really wrecked this Philly team with some terrible drafting.
It seems weird to be upset with the depth on a day when Shumpert and Frye were both out. Those guys are our 6th and 7th best players. Of course moving others up on the depth chart makes them look a bit worse.
I think it’s a testament to our depth that we can put a great shooter like JFJ in the game and not miss too much.
Who’s upset? You’re confusing statements on what is going on with the team with hand wringing. Yes they are thin on the bench. Yes there are circumstances as to why they’re thin (sixth and seventh men are out). Why do you have to try to pick a fight about the most innocuous stuff.
Nah, they aren’t thin. They have their starting 5, then Shump who is has been great, Frye who has been great, RJ who was freaking awesome in the playoffs, Dunleavy who has started slow but has a history of being able to shoot lights out from three.
That’s a pretty great team right there.
You make me mental.
Because I think MDJ and RJ are going to be fine? I do not understand why this makes you bang your head on the wall.
To put you back on track, the best IPA of the year was Joseph James Citra Rye. Made in Henderson, NV. http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/joseph-james-citra-rye-pale-ale/201202/
Because you don’t know the meaning of the phrase “right now.”
Serenity now Nate. Serenity now.
I think maybe the reason this world is so messed up is that God has to waste time dealing with prayers like “dear god, please dont trade Cedi Osman or all our hopes and dreams are ruined!”
Haha.
Maybe this is so. But I do like Cedi the Jedi and we do have very few future assets. On the bright side, if we do manage to improve our bench, our current bunch is already good enough for tops in the league. Watch out world!
The Force is strong in that one…
Has anyone noticed Tristan Thompson has apparently been given the green light by the league to just set blatantly illegal screens without any worry of a penalty being called. He just straight up holds people. He must have taken note after playing against Draymond for two years in the finals that once you’re on a good team the rules don’t apply to you anymore and is taking full advantage of it. Glad we’ve got a guy on our team that can get away with it.
Yeah its funny people wonder why the pnr is so prevalant in the nba :)
Also… how great is JFJ? Dude can still bring it when called upon… He’ll be hitting threes when he’s getting social security checks (if there’s still such a thing by then)…
Social Security is in solid shape, unless the Republicans privatize it. As much as has been written about it, the fixes to keep it solvent for basically forever are simple. The “Social Security is in trouble” mantra exists only so conservatives (who have hated the program since FDR began it) can ruin the program.
Well, they’d certainly have the majority to put an end to it during this coming administration…
No super majority though. Still need to sway some Dems to push the bill. Now in two years when Dems have to defend 33 seats? It just might be doable…
Actually, Republicans only need a simple majority in the Senate to overhaul/privatize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. (Senate rule: A bill that the Senate parliamentarian agrees affects the budget can’t be filibustered.) The House and Senate last year passed a bill — the Paul Ryan budget — to do most of that, knowing Obama would veto it. The only thing preventing them from passing the same kind of bill once Trump takes office would be the political fallout of having it become law. Bush pushed to privatize Social Security in 2005, when he had an R majority in both houses, but… Read more »
Schooled me. Forgot the budget laws can’t be filibustered. I hope public opinion remains strongly opposed to privatizing social security.
Didn’t mean to school you or be obnoxious; sorry if it came across that way.
For anyone of any political stripe interested in making their voice heard, here’s a twitter thread by a former congressional staffer on how best to go about it:
https://mobile.twitter.com/editoremilye/status/797243415922515970
AM GLAD R.J HAD THE FIRE TO GET ” IN EMBIID’S FACE ” —THINK R.J. WAS REMINDING HIM THAT HE IS JUST A ROOKIE —-EARN YOUR STRPES BEFORE YOU START TAUNTING A 14 YEAR VETERAN ——AM CONCERNED WITH OUR BENCH / WHICH I THOUGHT IN PRE SEASON WAS GOING TO BE A STRENGTH —AM SURE GRIFF/ TY ARE AWARE OF THIS ALSO AND JUST WAITING TO MAKE AN INTELLIGENT MOVE AND YES PLEASE DON’T MAKE ” JEDI ” PART OF THAT MOVE—–SHOULD BE FUN TO WATCH KY AND DELLY GO AFTER IT TOMORROW
Loved the Solo reference, and the recap. Missed it live, but went back to watch the highlights. That Covington blown layup made me chuckle… I still think Embiid looks like a giant baby deer out there. I also think he gets up to play the Cavs because his numbers against them are markedly higher than the rest of the NBA. Also, Kev is tough… Bron is almost boringly awesome… and Kyrie gets the coffee because he’s an absolute Closer…
But does he get the cocoa?
Touche’
Even saw the lights on the good year blimp, and they read:
EG’s a pimp!
Thats cold – Nate wrote the article and had the “messed around and got a triple double” line :)
I agree… I loved that line!
I hope he’s not Done leavy. Think Milwaukee would trade us back Delly?
Why would we want him? Dude is a starting PG who is averaging 7 points and shooting like crap. My theory is the good Delly we saw from December-March is the mirage and the real Delly is the one who dread the good his first two years and couldn’t sniff the floor in the Finals.
Rem me Cols, did Channing Frye sniff the floor in the Finals? Should we trade him? Waive him?
First word is “Remind”
Two reasons… passing and defense (or, your two least favorite things in the NBA)
Totally. But they won’t cause they love him, and also the Cavs can’t trade for him for a full year after his signing due to the rules of restricted free agency.
Ah I didn’t realize that about the RFA
They’ll be fine, they’ve got Shump…
Hate to say, told you so, but in Done Leavy’s case, I was right when I said, Cavs got a bad trade, should have given that money to Delly(assuming they are paid same).
They are not paid the same…
Indeed they aren’t paid the same. It was either Delly leaves for nothing or the Cave get SOMETHING in return. We didn’t let Delly walk in favor of signing Done Leavy.
Thanks, I was under wrong impression.
Good write up. I think the bench is fine though. Slow start for some of them but they’ll get it going come playoff time.
Grit