InstaCap [R1G2]: Cavs 117, Pacers 111 (The Big 3 Impose Their Wills) 2017-04-17 Off By Tom Pestak Editor’s Note: No print recap for this game. Nate’s laptop broke. Hard to beat Tom’s instacap anyway. Playoff Live Thread: Cavs vs Pacers, Game 2, #HeroBall The Wood Shop: Kevin’s Finally Being Kevin
Harden is such a turd with his patented ‘I’ll hook your arm and flail up a shot’ BS ‘drawing a foul’ move… Just call it an offensive foul, that’s what it is…
Toronto should be very very concerned heading to Milwaukee. Bucks could easily have won both matches and if either Delly or Brogdon hit those open 3s at the end then I think they do. Hopefully it goes 7 so they both come in to the semis with no energy left.
Could say the same about the Cavs :)
Toronto doesn’t have LeBron though. DeRozan and Lowry are good, but not on Kyrie’s or LeBron’s level.
The Bucks are not threatening without Jabari. What a huge loss for them.
Guess who’s got the worst all time coaching record (2-10) in the playoffs with a minimum of 10 games coached?
That’s right… it’s this guy…
yesssss
I bet Boston is regretting the one seed right about now…
Imagine if they get swept…unlikely, but possible…has that ever happened to a one seed? Hold on, I’ll ask Bill Simmons…
Some Celtic fanboy can write a book about this era of Celtic basketball and title it ‘The Curse of James Young’. I’d buy that for a dollar.
[img]http://www.heyuguys.com/images/2011/04/ill-buy-that-for-a-dollar.jpg[/img]
Celtics are toast. No chance they come back from 2-0 unless bulls get injury bug
President Stevens looks shellshocked.
You mean…
this guy?
He looked less confident and emphatic on the sideline…must be the contacts…
Those dang TNTBulls
+1. Unbeatable on TNT.
You can give Carter-Williams minutes, if you want, but he should never be taking any shots except dunks and layups. (MAYBE) Just wasted possessions when he guns it.
The Celtics are seriously choking. Have a number 1 seed ever been sweep before?
I honestly think they aren’t very good, and also a terrible matchup against the Bulls. Bulls have the best player on the floor, and they destroy them on the boards every game.
Any news on JR’s injury?
Think I’m going to send Simmons an email about my ‘Rondo Theory’, where a washed up former star comes back to play his former team in the playoffs and utterly destroys them. I think Bill will see the genius of my new theory immediately.
Nice work.
The runs in this Toronto Milwaukee game are insane. Teams just trading ten point bursts.
Delly drilling treys and laying guys out with screens.
Delly is everyman’s hero.
Bulls are coming together at the right time… Rondo looks like he’s back to Boston form.
Bulls learning that you’d better not even LOOK like you may have touched Thomas when he drives to the hoop…
CONGRATS TO ” BIG EDY ” BEING NAMED D -LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR —-HINT : TY YOU MIGHT WANT TO GIVE THIS GUY A FEW MINUTES
Kudos to Nate for name dropping EDY. Damion Jones, the warriors rookie big was player of the month for Mar-Apr. We have high hopes for him next year.
Ligs was 2x dpoy and got cut. Sadface
Kyrie becoming No. 2 in Cavs playoff scoring is a reminder of what a brief heyday the Wilkens/Price/Daugherty Cavs had.
They only made it out of the first round twice. And they always had injuries at terrible times, including the ’89 series that ended with The Shot (pre-Kyrie version) and the ’92 ECF against (who else?) the Bulls. Daugherty’s back injury ended his career at age 28.
They really deserved better. If Rick Mahorn hadn’t concussed Price in ’89, when they were probably playing better than anyone in the league, how things might have been different.
Interesting.
Tom, you’re getting ambitious with these productions. As the Cavs work their way up to championship-level defense (we hope), you’ll be working your way up to some Industrial Light & Magic stuff by the Finals. Maybe LeBron as the Last Jedi.
lol. My wife watched and said “what’s with all the crap in the background! your blanket fell down….come on you look like a hoarder.”
Lol. Wives are the best.
DIDN’T GET THE CHANCE TO SEE MOST OF THE GAME —RELIED ON YOUR GUYS POSTS/ INFO–THANKS !!—AM HAPPY TO BE 2-0—-CONCERNED THAT IF WE DON’T PUT THESE PACERS AWAY / KEEP THEM DOWN WE WILL COME HOME 2-2-IN THE SERIES AND BE IN A 3 GAME DOGFIGHT–WOULD LIKE TO SEE US IN GAME 3 HAVE A 15 + BLOWOUT GAME —THINK IF THAT HAPPENS WE SWEEP IN 4 OR WIN IT IN GAME 5—AND YES THE ” MIDGET ” LONGENBERGER BASKETS ” HAS TO GO AT SEASONS END
How does the 13-man playoff roster work? Is it set from the beginning and unchanging throughout the playoffs or can it be changed after a series? I noticed Tavares isn’t on the 13-man roster. If it is permanent from start to finish, I just don’t understand why, then, they did the whole thing with Larry Sanders if neither one was even going to make the playoff roster.
Can we all agree Longbardi needs to go after this season ?
I was baffled when he was brought in from Phoenix to begin with. During his tenure, Phoenix was putrid on Defense. Fingers crossed, we need a new Defensive Coordinator that’s for sure.
I dunno…depends on the sway that 2nd tier coaches have with the head coach, how much authority their decisions have within the group. People have been calling for his head for a long time…but do Lue & key players have a problem with him? The other thought is … they were champs last year. If (IF) they win the chip this year….can any of the key personnel really be asked to move on?
Regardless of if the Cavs win the title this year, I don’t think we should content ourselves with 21st in defensive rating… I think it’s reasonable to move on from the person primarily for our defensive schemes, if that is, indeed, Longabardi.
primarily responsible*
Though, this could be just as much a symptom of just not obtaining or retaining (Delly) any defensive minded players.
If Shump could just play his role and be happy with it the guy would be great. But he makes a few good plays, starts feeling his oats and it all goes downhill.
Has anyone else noticed LeBron’s demeanor after games? He went from a master class in passive aggressive communication this year to boring old man this year.
Last year*
Yes have noticed LBJ’s changed demeanour…suspect Lue’s chat with him over social media passive aggressive stuff might have cut through to him. While we are on the subject: Apart from Kyrie’s well-recognised inability to cover his defensive assignments, the thing that really bugs me (and I think is linked to his inability to grow in certain directions) is his demeanour with the press. I’ve lost count of the number of press sessions where he has been downright rude, monosyllabic, prickly etc. His shootaround chat two days ago was one of the worst. I get that it’s an added distraction for… Read more »
Couldn’t disagree with you more. Kyrie doesn’t need to learn any new tricks in communicating with the press. The way players and fans interact is so different from 15 years ago and the press are no longer allowed full control of narratives. This is a hugely positive development, and is affording NBA players a freedom from being pawns in reporters’ wishful thinking storylines.
Shump looked really locked in on this one, which is long over due. Let’s hope JR is okay.
See above. No print recap.
Think some of our late game issues came down to playing Shump. Usually our iso-offense still has pretty decent spacing but Shump has virtually no gravity. When we go into our iso sets I would much rather have Kyle out there even if there is a slight knockback defensively. The space he creates would generate some much better looks and hopefully get us over the line more consistently.
Spurs, Cavs… just toying with the Grizzlies and Pacers.
I agree with you, Tom, that the Pacers were really targeting Kyrie on the defensive end in the second quarter. I hadn’t noticed Kevin Love’s helping out. Will try to remember to watch for that dynamic in the next game.
For me, Kyrie’s entering of the Pantheon of Cavaliers Playoff Scoring is a reminder that we do not have the legacy of, say, the Celtics or the Lakers. I’ve still always enjoyed watching the Cavs play. More reason to appreciate the moment.
I think Anthony Parker must be the Cavs 532nd leading scorer in the playoffs.
Man I hated that guy. Every clutch 3 he’d inevitablly brick.
Reggie just said kawhi Leonard is the best basketball player on the planet. Hope that gets back to Lebron. We need a 40 point blow them away performance from Lebron in game 3…I don’t want to have to play game 5
FWIW, though I think the Cavs issues are real, we are not alone. Memphis has trimmed a 26 pt Spurs lead to 4. The Celtics and Raptors are down 1-0. There were signs of life tonight.
Awesome InstaCap Tom!
Impeccable Leb imitation. I’m not even joking.
Hah. Thanks MikeO. I thought it started weak and then I picked up a little steam
Tom! I’m wearing that same exact shirt!
Solid job Nate on that shirt.
Gracias. I was repping the black tonight.