Summer League Recap: Cavs 91, Dubs 74 (or, Best of Nine?)
2017-07-11https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNfK931ep4I
Editor’s Note: Thanks again to CLF for recapping this one.
Tuesday night, I chilled with NOMAD on CtB and watched the summer Cavs own the summer Warriors 91-74. The score is misleading, the Warriors were never in this game. Cavs are undefeated for the summer and were able to completely dominate two out of the three victories. Here are a few observations.
- It was Brandon Paul’s night scoring 21 points going 8-12 from the field, including 4-7 from 3. In the first two games, I saw Paul as a strictly defensive wizard. He’s long, athletic, built, and fast. He understands how to play defense and has a high motor. Tonight he showed a complete offensive game… scoring off the dribble with a jumper or a lay up. His shooting form is very good… but he made nothing against the Bucks. Apparently he’s settled in and making the coaches look very smart for starting him all three games.
- The team defense has been outstanding… for both the starting and second unit. These guys are playing with 100% effort, executing good fundamental defensive principles. They are creating turnovers and getting easy offense off the break. They aren’t giving up any easy baskets. Malcolm Thomas was +20 in this game mainly because of his 10 boards, a pair of blocks and seven points in just 19 minutes.
- A lot of the guys on the summer roster are similarly built: fast, athletic, built, and long. The coaches and players are giving max effort this summer and it’s been enjoyable to watch. Nice job, Damon Jones (the Cavs’ coach for this year in Las Vegas).
- The team offense has improved a lot over the past two games. Guys have settled in a little bit and are making shots. Tonight SirDominic Pointer came through with his best offensive performance with 13 points off 6-8 shooting, and this facial for the NBA play of the day.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3WT66ZawVw
Anthony Gill has been steady with 11 points off 4-8 shooting. Malcolm Thomas who came in as a small ball big chipped in with seven points on 3-5 shooting as well as a healthy 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. The guys share the ball and play good offense.
- The point guards all struggled shooting. Sam Cassell Jr. and T.J. Williams struggled off the bench but still played great team defense. Kay Felder had some highlight moments, but still misses too many open looks (4-14). Felder showed again that he gets anywhere he wants on the court… he just needs a jumper he can make off the dribble or a floater in the paint. Felder did flash some good court vision as well as some tough defense. I’ll be looking to see if Felder can turn in a dominant offensive performance before the summer’s up.
- You can catch a condensed play of the whole game on YouTube, here.
- NBATV had Kerr and Lue courtside. Video clips included below.
The preliminary round of summer league is winding up and now the teams will be ranked according to record and start a double elimination tournament that ends on July 17 if I’m not mistaken. The Cavs will be among the top ranked teams and should have a decent shot at nabbing the summer league championship… GO CAVS!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIPlgn2t3oU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmv8M6_uDNo
I saw a tweet (Skyler someone) that Paul had left the Cavs summer league team. Presumably because he had a contract. No confirmation on it. Hope it is us. Familiar face for Cedi. Plus he could displace Shumpert.
CEDI IS NOW A CAV SIGNED 3 YR CONTRACT / 8.5 MILLION
Woohoo! I guess we will all see first hand what GreekCavsFan was talking about.
*Koby Altman frantically picking up the phone to call Miller’s agent*
Meanwhile in the real world, the Cavs have signed Cedi and Jeff Green and got back Korver. Koby is doing work.
Agree with Cols!
LMAO @ EG and KCP….
http://tesdatrainingcourses.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/kings-college-philippines.jpg
http://kustomcarparts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/KCP-logo-dark1-1024×345.jpg
KCP good sign for the Lakers only 1 year because of next year free agency.
I thought people stopped playing connect 4 in the 80’s?
http://blogimages.thescore.com/tbj/files/2013/02/rajon-rondo-connect-four.jpg
Freaking spurs.
Jeff Green will contribute more than that guy this year.
Is the glass of sewage half full or half empty?
Full.
http://www.fedupusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/BAG.jpg
Such a waste of time, resources, roster spots
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/files/2015/08/CT4DKB.jpg
I think he’s one of those guys the analytics writers like more than the teams seem to.
He’s fine but it’s not a center’s league.
People will keep saying that until a good center shows up and upsets the apple cart. How would you like to have a young Hakeem show up at the Cavs’ camp this year?
This Brandon Paul guy has some talent…
Argh. Take that deal for Shump in a heartbeat.
Jose Ramirez is 2-2 in the All Star game.
And a stolen base.
And Joe Buck would still rather talk about Aaron Judge…
And Kyle Schwarber…
Per Steve Kyler Brandon Paul is leaving Cavs summer league team. Assumption is he has been offered a deal somewhere.
Well that stinks.
Lack of talent recognition by the cavs is mind boggling
Anyone except the warriors would trade their starting 5 for the Cavs starting five.
Ok, that’s the single most ridiculous falsehood you’ve ever flippantly uttered.
Hell with it, Cavs should trade everybody but Lebron and Kyrie. Doesn’t matter who is on the team, they are gonna go to the finals- east is so pathetically horrible.
Cavs need to get defensive studs all around Lebron and Kyrie. Doesn’t matter how much of an offensive weapon anyone is around them, Lebron and Kyrie aren’t gonna pass the ball in the most pressure packed situations any way. Fill the roster with defensive studs, trade everyone you can to get them.
You been smoking with Cols?
A 73 win team got lucky that Durant is a coward combined with a unprecedented cap spike. This happened. It doesn’t mean we have to spend the entire summer slagging on the Cavs for building a team that Durant didn’t join.
No. That doesn’t solve the 12 minutes a night problem. I’d the Cavs can eke out a draw for 12 minutes a night when LeBron is on the bench, they win.
Yep. Nate is correct.
What draw? Cavs get blown out the second Lebron sits with the current roster. Young defensive talent would actually help with that.
That’s the point. No it wouldn’t, not if they can’t score.
FWIW, I absolutely see us offering another full contract after Osman. We’ll have the bulk of our exception to offer. For buyouts the $$$ won’t matter. Will use it for certain.
Starters: Ky, JR, LBJ, Love, TT. Reserves: Calderon, Shump, Korver, Osman, Green, RJ, Frye + Tavares & Felder. That is 14 plus 2 two ways (Paul + someone: Williams, Prather, White, Pointer, etc). We’ll use that spot. If someone has to go later we’ll release a non-guaranteed guy or trade.
Bill Simmons is back to trolling Cleveland with this wild conspiracy:
Why is John Wall leaving $20 mil a year on the table again?
Why is LeBron taking less money?
Why is the moon made out of cheese?
So I have this theory that the Cavs won’t sign anyone else to a fully guaranteed contract after Osman. Let’s say they sign Pointer and Paul as their two-way players. That leaves one spot after they sign Osman, Green and Calderon. Typically the Cavaliers sign someone to an non-guaranteed deal in that spot that they can waive without paying if necessary. I’m not sure the two-way deals change that. Assuming James Jones is gone, I’d expect the Cavs either do that or another minimum deal so that they can keep the mid-level for buyout candidates in February.
Apparently Tavares is non-guaranteed until January 10. That leaves some flexibility for another guaranteed deal.
THAT WAS KIND OF THE PROBLEM WITH PAUL IN COLLEGE —–NOT MOTIVATED ALL THE TIME / WOULD DISSAPPEAR IN GAMES AT TIMES / HAS ALL THE PHYSICAL TOOLS —-NEEEDS TO COMBINE THAT WITH MENTAL TOUGHNES —-AGREE WITH COLS IS 26 TOO OLD ( ALTHOUGH ON THIS CAVS TEAM HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED VERY YOUNG )——–GREEK CAVS FAN— HOPE YOU ARE WRONG ON CEDI/ WE ALL HAVE BEEN BUIDING OURSELVES UP FOR THIS YOUNG KID !!
Likely because other than Felder, we’ve had no young guys to look forward to except Cedi. And since he’s been over in Euroleague, he’s still a relative unknown.
Kyrie and TT don’t count?
Should have kept Delly!
Ugh. No. He couldn’t even beat out a rookie for the starting PG spot On Milwaukee
You mean the rookie of the year?
Yep. Delly on $2M is fine. Delly on $10M is insane.
Compared to Shump? Take your meds.
Let’s not go through this again. Only one of those players was on the court while winning game seven and the other was benched for Mo freaking Williams.
That just means Lue is clueless about who to put on the floor. He got worse this season, and it cost the Cavs a chance to win it all.
The first three games of the 2015 finals REALLY HAPPENED!! You can’t wish them away to support your goofy theory.
I am sorry if I bring you down Nomad, but I don’t think he is the solution.
I wish the Cavs could pull off a Rich Paul/LeBron James relationship heist for KCP but considering Ron Baker just got a majority of the MLE for the Knicks, aint no way it’ll likely happen, even though it’s like the PERFECT pickup for the Cavs.
Yeah, ain’t gonna happen.
Brandon Paul played for Anadolu Efes last season, Cedi Osman’s team, and I got a chance to watch him somewhat closely in games that mattered. He stood out athletically especially for a 2 guard, the position he was primarily used in Turkey, and has a perfect form on his jumper. I caught myself thinking many times how such an athletic shooter ended up in Turkey. But he too often disappeared in games and I mean it both literally, as his coach didn’t trust him too much, and metaphorically in that he didn’t have the expected impact for his team. And… Read more »
Who do you like from the summer league squad?
I haven’t been able to watch the Summer league at all. Getting all the info by CLF. Paul, if he gets it together, is a nice prospect even at 26.
Oh man, he’s 26. I didn’t know that. Not much development left at this point. Sucks.
Maybe so. But it will be the first time working with NBA coaches, if he gets a spot on the team.
Development is not a function of age but of opportunity, experience, & drive. This line is parroted around the NBA and is total nonsense.
Give us your report on Cedi
Let me start by saying I am not a big believer of Cedi and let me give you some context of the situation that he played in. He too played for Anandolu Efes, who as I wrote above was kind of a mess last season, even if they were one of the most expensive teams in Euroleague ( Side note: There is no salary cap in Europe, so there can be huge differences in the budgets of teams. For example, Cska Moscow was worth approximately 40 million Euros and Olympiacos, the team that defeated them in the Final Four something… Read more »
Continuing from above ..you won’t mistake him for a defensive stopper, not even at the Euroleague level. To sum it up, American players you haven’t heard of like Bryant Dunston, Tyler Honeycutt (he is the one Euro player I really want on the Cavs), Derrick Brown, Deshaun Thomas played in crunch time in front of Cedi. For reference, Kostas Papanikolaou, who played for the Rockets three years ago, was more accomplished and considered a better prospect and is now out of the league. Nikola Mirotic was the Spanish League MVP twice before coming to the NBA and is just a… Read more »
Thanks for the overview on Cedi.
Good stuff, thanks. Anyone comparing ANYONE who hasn’t played in the NBA to Ginobli is kind of nuts. I don’t get comparing guys who may not even be able to play to HOFers.
Went to high school with Derrick Brown!
I THINK THEY KEEP FELDER AROUND FOR ANOTHER YEAR TO REALLY EVALUATE HIS POTENTIAL —-PAUL COULD BE A GOOD “END OF THE BENCH ” PLAYER ……….HAS ANYBODY OFFERED ” ENCHILADA ” A CONTRACT …IF NOT SHOULD WE KEEP HIM AT VET. MIN . ?
I think KF is DG’s personal project, so he ain’t going away.
They’re both the same height. Maybe he can teach him about predatory loans?!?!
I’m not a big fan of Felder. He still can’t really shoot.
Agreed. And I can’t see that tiny man (compared to NBA players) ever being remotely decent on defense. I see no reason to keep him on the roster.
Agree, and if he can’t shoot (and I mean *really* shoot), he ain’t going to stay in the league.
Mugsy & Spud were not great shooters.
Different era.
His FT% was good collegiately. He shows grit & improving court vision. If the shot improves, we’ll have something. Worth another year for certain. Calderon can help him (Kyrie too).
I think his poor shooting is in part due to his lack of confidence in his decision making. He seems to hesitate when he gets open, unsure of whether he should shoot an open jumper or continue to drive to open up the pass. He’s deferring way too much and shooting bad shots because he’s put himself in bad situations by not being aggressive from the start. I’d like to see him with a little of Kyrie’s attitude of looking to be aggressive and score and let that open up the pass. Maybe he just lacks confidence and won’t get… Read more »
Paul seems like a good end of bench guy. Maybe he gets a contract?
THANKS AGAIN CLF FOR “CHILLIN ” WITH ME —–AGREE IF KILLER SHRIMP COULD FINISH ( MAKE THOSE SHOTS ) HE WOULD BE A 20+ SCORER —-STILL LIKE HIS MOTOR / QUICKNESS / ENTHUSIASM —POTENTIAL IS THERE TO BE A SOLID ROLE PLAYER…….HOPE TO SEE MORE OF WHITE— ( AS YOU MENTIONED –PROBABLY RESTING HIM )– HIS STROKE IS PURE !!—–SIR DOMINICK SEEMS MORE CONFIDENT ON OFFENSE THIS YEAR—TAKING A PLAYER OFF THE DRIBBLE/ PUTTING THE BALL ON THE FLOOR AND MID -RANGE JUMPER ( WILL NEVER BE A 3 PT THREAT ) …..PAUL AND WILLIAMS( ALONG WITH SIR “D” PROBABLY… Read more »
Wonder if any of these guys will see a minute of nba action or if we’re just stuck with the same old crew.
They may see some garbage time. But hopefully we have the same old crew.
If I had to guess…. they’ll find their Liggins replacement. Best case scenario is that they find a guy who’s 80-90% of what Shump can do for 10% of the cost. Then they trade Shump for the exception or to snag Melo or Wade in a trade package.
Recorded yesterday. Looking forward to watching it tonight. Thanks again, CLF!
You’re welcome… thanks for the editing!!! Glad you knew about those interviews they were pretty damn insightful!!!
I’m old enough to remember when Sir Dominic Pointer shot 8% from 3. He had a good game.
Brandon Paul is a keeper.