Podcast Episode 119: “Laxative Endorsement.”
2017-01-18Tom Pestak and Nate Smith tried to shake off the mid-season doldrums and discussed the Warriors’ loss and its significance (or lack thereof). Beyond that we, we examined…
- Tom’s deep dive on Kyrie Irving, analytics, and NBA perception.
- Does LeBron Make everyone a roleplayer?
- Draymond Green, biggest villain in the NBA?
- Cavs Defense: can they go all millennial and be whatever, whenever they want to be, or do they have to conform to some NBA norm?
- The impetus for the Cavs trying to trade one of: Love, Irving, Thompson (assuming things don’t work out this year).
- The awesomeness of Cleveland and the cities of Ohio.
No intro or outro this week, so it’s pure unadulterated Cavs talk. Enjoy it above, on BlogTalkRadio, on The Allmighty Baller page, or iTunes.
Warriorsfan, I just want to say regarding your top talent from the 2013 draft, it’s a two man list. THE GREEK FREAK, and the STIFLE TOWER. And yes, we at CtB were high on both. Though, admittedly, I wanted Oladipo. I almost cried when they took Bennett. Passing on Gobert at 19 was criminally negligent. It can’t be overstated how badly Chris Grant screwed up that draft and should never work again. (And yes, I know I took Tony Mitchell in the below mock draft, but I dumbly assumed that Rudy would be gone by then). I’m still bitter about… Read more »
Thanks Nate.
For what it is worth, warriors missed on Gobert too. But, now, Cavs have a great GM. Teams on top are the ones with great GMs. It starts from there.
Tom & Nate, just wanted to say I really enjoyed the Cleveland suburbs / amenities discussion at the end. We really enjoyed our time living there a couple of years agi and glad to hear it’s on the up-and-up. Would love to get back there to visit next time we are Stateside.
Well, let me know when it happens, and I’ll buy you a beer.
If I was coach Lue, and had it to do over again, I would have sent LBJ to the lockerroom after the assult and played the bottom five for the rest of the game. Because this was a featured game on nationwide TV, that would have caused a stink, and the league would probably have had to act and suspend the donkey for a few game.
Finally listened to the Channing and RJ podcast. That was amazing. The best part was when Channing described his 2 months of college as “I WENT TO APPLEBEE’S HAPPY HOUR EVERYDAY FOR A WEEK”
Frye going to Applebee’s is definitely a thing now
Awesome pod guys! Although I do feel like Geico is stalking me now…
haha yeah i know
WE (CAVS NATION ) ALL GOT “HAMMERED ” BECAUSE WE DEFEATED THE DUBS FOR THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP —–LOOKING AGAIN TO GET ” HAMMERED ” IN JUNE !!!
Oh yeah. Now I remember. We ended that team that said they were “light years ahead” of everyone else. We ended a team that was having a celebration season and proclaimed they were all about “team” and “strength in numbers”. That was super duper fun.
It’s all rainbows and ponies.
Can someone remind me what happened in last year’s Finals?
A lot of people think we got lucky. This year we will have to get REAL LUCKY. It can happen, but it is not a good way to bet.
Ha. Those people are dumb. The team that got lucky was the frauds who didn’t face a healthy team in the entire 2015-2016 playoffs. Once they met healthy teams like OKC and Cleveland they wilted and then fell apart.
Sure: We lost three games to Frauds and barely won 4. So we’re champs, but since we played Frauds, and not a real basketball team, our championship doesn’t mean much. Hopefully we win this year against a team that isn’t Frauds, because then it won’t take away from the championship.
Every time you call a very good team Frauds, it diminishes what the Cavs accomplished. So besides it being lame and inaccurate, it’s insulting to the team you like. So stop it already.
Right Down Euclid(the first) posted this yesterday, but it really is a phenomenal listen. Rj, Channing, and Uncle Drew join Allie on an hour long pod. They touch on EVERYTHING. Haven’t heard this candid a look into the lives of NBA players in years.
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/road-trip-170117
Thanks for the shoutout Nate!
Was absolutely as good as advertised. Really looking forward to the next.
This was fab
In regards to the Warriors constantly looking like the best team in the league: This goes right back to Durant going to the Warriors and how absurd that was. It’s going to take the League about 5 years to recover from that move and re-balance power… There is one thing about a Big 3, but a Big 4? No matter what, that was a bad move for the league.
In different system, TT could be an all star and in a way Cavs does have their own big 4. All star or not, he impacts game more than most all stars.
Nope
So you’re saying in some systems, TT would be just as impactful as Draymond or Klay?
He just doesn’t have the offensive skill set. 3 of the 4 of those guys are 3 of the best two way players in the league. The 4th is perhaps the best shooter of all time… TT would be marginally more effective on the offensive end if we ran sets similar to the Clippers that run sets for DeAndre Jordan, but he is neither the finisher, nor the shot blocker or overall rebounder that Jordan is.
Dude is trolling us. That’s all he does. He disappeared after the Cavs beatdown on christmas and came back after the frauds played well.
More name calling, wonder when the site moderators take notice.
Haha…our quiet little beach community here is a little different then the those SBNation sites. It’s more like a family and Cols is like that awkward cousin we all have to live with.
lol. Seems like he is very comfortable in that role.
Lmao I love to think of us as a beach community.
Nothing against you, warriorsfan, but we endured a lot more name calling from cols during the dark years and honestly if we are going to reprimand him his offensive labels, going so hard after Delly, our nearly adopted son, will get priority. :)
TT has one of the best hands though. Can catch in traffic and most probably rebounds his own miss, kind of like Bo Randolph but not as skilled with post moves . TT’s usage is rate like 10%, that is very low.
There is a reason it’s that low. Like I said, you can make some comparisons to DJ, but I don’t think he’s at that level, despite his positives.
Here is some stats on TT:
75% FG% on post touches
http://stats.nba.com/players/post-touch/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612739
68.8% FG% on paint touches
http://stats.nba.com/players/paint-touch/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612739
60% FG% on drives
http://stats.nba.com/players/drives/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612739
On Mike D Antonio’s offense and warriors offense, I could easily see TT averaging 15 ppg on 60%FG%.
Those numbers are in very limited and very select touches, i.e. when he is the most open he can be. Give him more touches, make defenses pay more attention, his %’s would drop.
You could be right but no way to know. Thanks for interesting discussions in respectful manner.
Cheers.
You are just wrong. You cannot tell me, that TT is of similar quality and impact as any one of Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, or Kevin Durant. You are rationalizing to mitigate the impact that adding Durant to the Warriors has on the league. Don’t get me wrong, I love TT and his game plays a huge role for the Cavs. I also would love it if the Cavs had four players all in the top 3 of their respective positions and 2 that would be considered top 5 in the league. But TT is not and will… Read more »
Cavs big 4 since it has Lebron can be equal or better than Warriors big 4. Infact, if Cavs do want another star, it is possible you can trade for one, like may be TT+Frye+future picks for someone like Melo. Infact, if Cavs used #1 pick on players other than Bennett, you would have your own big 4. All I am saying is that, with careful maneuvering and deft moves, even the current cap rules still allow having 4 all stars in one team. You have to remember, warriors drafting choices in Curry, Klay and 2nd round on Draymond made… Read more »
Once again you are completely wrong.
Uh, the ONLY way you sign Durant is because Steph’s contract was based off of the fact that he signed it with significant knee injuries in mind and no idea he was about to explode… there is some luck in there, and not a small amount of it. Was the organization smart for drafting Curry, Klay, and Draymond? Absolutely. But you wouldn’t have been able to sign Durant if Curry was on an appropriate contract since you wouldn’t have been able to go over the cap to sign a player who wasn’t already on the team. I doubt you would… Read more »
Also add to that the timing of the cap explosion coinciding with Durant’s free agency.
Hypothetically speaking, if Curry’s contract was big, Durant would have not joined in 2016 but could have joined in 2017 by signing Durant first and then going over the cap to extend Curry since warriors would have had Curry’s bird rights. Of course, assuming that Durant signed with OKC same contract as warriors with 2nd year opt out.
Hypotheticals can’t really be applied to an argument… Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge you as a fan for loving the way things turned out, lord knows I would if the tables were turned, as I did when Bron came back, but you must acknowledge the significant amount of luck that played a role in getting Durant. If it wasn’t a problem, the league wouldn’t have made adjustments to the new CBA to make such things even less possible. The perfect storm arose and you were able to sign a top 3 play to a team that already won… Read more »
Speaking of Bennett, I am surprised the Cavs didn’t bring him in for a look. He is still really young, raw and could give some spot minutes. If they could develop him over the next two years, he would have been a valuable asset on a decent contract.
Or maybe he’s just complete trash and lazy.
JMay, I don’t disagree with you at all, just trying to add more angles to the conversation. If Warriors have won, Durant to warriors wouldn’t have happened. Lot of things had to align for Durant to sign with warriors. Warriors would have been able to sign another star willing to join warriors in 2017 if not for Durant in 2016.
Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the league will need 5 years balance is reasserted. As far as I’m concerned, once LeBron is no longer playing, I hope they balance it even more and make it so no team can have more than 2 stars! Huzzah! Helps my mid-market team way more.
that would be good for NBA. NBA did all they can do. For example, Cousins will opt to stay with Kings because he has to give up 80 mils otherwise. But, league can’t predict who will have breakout year and which player in rookie contracts can become all stars. So, a smart and lucky GM can still put together a super team.
Also if we are hypothetically talking about not drafting Bennett, we would hypothetically drafted who else in that draft that could be considered on par with the Warriors’s Big 4? Also it would have hypothetically made us better which wouldn’t have provided us the assets to trade Wiggins for Love… Do you see what arguing with hypotheticals gets us?
BTW, to your question as who else considered on par with Warriors big4 if you had taken instead of Bennett.
, Giannis Antekounmpo, Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo
I’ll give you Giannis… I believe someone here on CtB was a big proponent.
one other thing is Wiggins would have been on rookie contract, means you would have had more option to sign another star. Warriors seriously considered then in rookie contract player in Klay for Love but smartly backed off. Warriors also backed off trading Klay for Harden. Lot of moves and non moves aligned for Durant signing. It is fun conversation to have since it is such a rarity.
Doesn’t matter who they would have picked at #1, Minny would have gotten Wiggins and that player….
in retrospect, who do you rather have had on team, Love or Wiggins ?
Absolutely Love. Wiggins looks still 2 to 3 years away from his true effectiveness, maybe longer.
Makes sense one to one trading but if Wiggins was with the team, they might have had money to sign another all star.
Bah, and I suppose maybe YOU are willing to gamble LeBron’s time with us and our possible only chance for a championship after a half century drought on the mere chance that an all-star of Love’s caliber would sign with us, but I am not. I’ll take the known quantity every time.
I disagree, TT ain’t even near all star level. Yes he is a great asset defensively but he can’t score the basketball unless is a layup or a dunk and can’t even hit free throws. At the other hand the Warriors have 4 all stars (with 3 of them being superstars). And of those 4 all stars, 2 of them are elite defenders and the most important thing about those 4 guys is that all of them can play make for each other which is the Warriors biggest advantage. Besides the Warriors can you name another team with 4 big… Read more »
I agree with you JMay about the Warriors big 4, by the way who is the oldest? KD at 28?
I’m not sure but they have 4 potential all stars with Steph, Klay, KD and Green. And to add to that is the fact that they have 5 team USA members (that if Iguodala had accepted his team USA invite last summer) on their roster.
THE RAPTORS ARE 1.5 BEHIND THE CAVS —-THE CELTS ARE 3.5 BEHIND —HOW IMPORTANT FOR THE CAVS IS IT TO HAVE HOME CT ADVANTAGE IN PLAYOFFS VS. RESTING THE STARTERS ( ” MINUTE POLICE ” ) AND POSSIBLY SACRIFICING WINS / HOME CT ——-DOESN’T APPEAR EITHER THE RAPTORS / CELTS ARE GOING AWAY ( GO ON LOSING STREAK )
Home court is not important at all. That being said, the Cavs will still be the #1 seed
1. Definitely wrong. 2. Probably right.
Once it became clear that the Cavs were not up to playing Monday (say, by halftime), Lue should have taken LBJ and KI out of the game. If you want home court, it makes no sense to waste LBJ on a can’t win game.
we never would have heard the end of it. super weak sauce on one of the top 5 regular season games of the year for the league
Regarding your discussion on the Cavs needing more plus defenders, it says a lot that Lue has stated JR is the Cavs’ best on the ball defender. The disinterest that Cavs have show in playing defense during the regular season is magnified by a player like Liggins standing out so dramatically for just hustling all the time. What is unacceptable is someone like Channing Frye just standing there looking at loose balls like he did twice against GS. Also, as someone commented in a thread, RJ needs anger management classes. His tirades aren’t helpful. Looks like the Cavs will end… Read more »
Diving for loose balls in the regular season is pointless.
Frye never goes after loose balls, and that is not pointless. Your favorite fat player, Delly dove after loose balls and the Cavs were a better defensive team with him on it. Don’t even know why I bother answering you.
Delly is miserable this year, down to 32% from three and shooting 37% overall. He’s lost his starting job to a rookie 2nd rounder. FYI.
I’m hoping Cleveland can get him back next year!
I’m hoping Cleveland can get him back THIS year!
Sadly the cba prohibits trading a guy you signed to an offer sheet, back to the team that had his rights for one calendar year.
Good. We don’t need a terrible shooter who doesn’t have the quickness to stay in front of guys. We have Liggins, who is a better 3 point shooter and on-ball defender.
Delly has no one to set him up for the catch and shoot 3s. He also normally can’t use his floater because the bucks clog the lane so bad. I really thought he would do great things for the Bucks but it go to show how much playing with LeBron helped him. I do think he has helped the development of Greek Freak and Parker though. He gets them the ball in the right spots. He needs to work on his 3 point shooting and his release, or he may never be a starter in the league. I would still… Read more »
No reason Greek Freak can’t be setting him up if he wasn’t too busy with his Euro3Step
Ah, shucks, I always forget about that rule. Bah humbug…
There’s a difference between diving and just jumping reaching your arms out to grab them.
Oh, totally. In fact I forgot to mention how Kyrie watched three balls just go out of bounds too.
I disagree about RJ’s anger tirades. He is the only guy on the team that even pretends to be an enforcer. Green leveled Lebron. Someone needs to get in his face. I would have actually been just fine with a punch and 5 game suspension from anyone on the team. You can’t let LBJ get pummeled like that and not defend him. I actually see this as a problem. See Celtics 2015, Detroit 2016 playoffs. Teams need to know that crap will be met with resistance.
+1
I agree with you on getting in Draymond’s face after the flagrant LBJ foul. I was more referring to his increasing yapping after a supposed missed foul, slamming the ball down on the court etc. RJ can get angry all he wants against Draymond, and against my better judgment, a pop in Green’s face would have sure looked nice……….but been expensive along with the suspension.