Podcap: Cleveland 123, Atlanta 114 (or, “the middle gear”)
2017-12-13https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/episode-154-the-middle-gear
Cleveland beat Atlanta by nine, but the game wasn’t nearly that close. The Cavs led from the second quarter on and by as much as 24 in the early fourth before Atlanta made it respectable in garbage time. LeBron James was brilliant, going 11-13 from the floor for 25 points, while adding 17 of the Cavs’ 35 assists and tying his career high in dimes. Kevin Love added 12 rebounds and 17 points. And Kyle Korver added 19 shooting 6-9 from downtown. It was an embarrassment of riches for Cleveland as six guys scored at least 13 points, and only Taurean Prince (24) and noted heel Kent Bazemore rose to challenge the King and Co (20).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYfSy_1Brbk
Nate Smith, Tom Pestak, and Elijah Kim hopped in the podcast booth to discuss the strange game, all the Cavs’ weird statistical anomalies, the last week of Cavs’ games, and what this “sustained period of excellence” means. We discussed LeBron’s play in possibly the best season of his career, his ability to find the middle gear between chill mode and beast mode, and how he seems more engaged this season. We also talked about what the Cavs will look like when Isaiah Thomas and Tristan Thompson are re-integrated, the LeBron 2018 offseason rumors, took a look at the standings around the NBA, and so much more.
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Really enjoyed Podcast! Thank you for entertaining and informative analysis
Rattling nice pattern and good subject matter, hardly anything else we need D. ddeebkecbdececge
Bulls win their 4th in a row. Clips over Magic. Grizz fall just short in DC. Houston creaming Charlotte. Suns within 3 late vs Raptors.
Yeah George is kind of a paper tiger at this point. What’s he ever done?
Love is fine vs GSW if we play him at the 5. He can take their C, West, or Draymond. Or even Iggy at times.
No WAY I give up Love for George. That is laughable.
nba scouts comparisons —-Knox / George —–Sexton / Bledsoe—-WE SHALL SEE
been watching the charge –‘ZZ” getting some run with them—you can see the raw potential—-will never be an elite post –but he isn’t afraid to bang/ stick his nose in there / good defense / much better post moves than T.T— believe he is only 20 yrs old also —
think he stays if he knows LeBron will stay—have to have some kind of knowledge / feel on his plans before trading for him —if he is staying then T.T. / SHUMP / OUR PICK / CEDI OR ANTE /
agree with Nomad. Don’t think I could stomach giving up Love. Although it could arguably be right move for Warriors.
Oops, PG13 I mean.
If OKC continues to stink, would what would you be willing to give OKC for him? FA at the end of season & keeping in mind he makes 19.8 mil & we would need to ship out around 15.6 mil to make it work.
Apparently he’d be willing to give Cleveland an additional year, at least, if LeBron stays.
I’d be curious to know where that came from.
Brooklyn pick, and any combination of players not named LeBron, Love, IT or Crowder.
I think I am with you. Though I would add Wade, Korver, Green, & Frye.
You are all goofy. Check out how OKC has done since trading for him.
They have Carmelo Anthony. That negates any positives.
That is true. Carmelo could screw up a two person Chinese Fire Drill. Remember all the morons who wanted to trade Love + ??? for Carmelo?
just read where the dubs signed Terrence Jones to their G league team which brings me back to ” enchilada ” who remains unsigned …………has to be a reason that we aren’t aware of …….granted he is not a star caliber of a player but still above adequate reserve
He is resting up until the Cavs to clear a spot. Then the Enchilada, Green, and Crowder will run other teams to death.
I agree with this.
That’s quite a steal.
I think we basically upgrade enchilada with Green. Identical skillset but better. We upgraded from enchilada to the chimichanga
Not only have the Cavs not resigned him, neither have the other 29 teams. Just saying.
pretty good guess by THE NOMAD
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index projects the Brooklyn pick to land at No. 7.2 on average.
So Collin Sexton, Kevin Knox, Miles Bridges….
And a chance to get lucky & take one of the top 5 guys.
Sure could use a 5-6 game Nets losing streak about now.
Jason excellent update —–I am projecting about the # 7 slot / pick
FWIW, a quick injury rundown: Hawks: Collins should be back this week. Dedmon is targeting Christmas. Muscala out indefinitely with an ankle. Bulls: Lavine is targeting Jan. Dallas: Smith Jr is a ? for Monday. Seth Curry is targeting Dec. 18th. Finney-Smith & McRobets out indefinitely. Noel weeks away. Grizz: Conley (achilles) & Selden out indefinitely. Suns: Knight is out for the year, Booker targeting Jan. Kings: Giles out till Jan+, he doesn’t play. Hornets: Zeller is targeting late Jan & Batum could play this week. Lakers: none Clips: Beverly is out for the year. Blake is targeting late Jan.… Read more »
Yep, Nets up to 11th at the moment (less losses than the Magic) as the pulled out a late win at home over the Wall-less Wiz. Dallas beat SA in Kawhi’s return & the Kings beat the Booker-less Suns. Lakers fell at MSG in OT. Wins: 6 = Hawks, Bulls 8 = Mavs, Grizz 9 = Suns, Kings 10 = Hornets, Lakers, Clippers 11 = Magic, Nets Hoping 11th is about as high as they can climb. They have had the easiest schedule of the dregs so far. Tonight: Clips at Magic (someone wins) Grizz at Wiz (Wall returns) Jazz… Read more »
believe we will be watching the nets record ( and Jason will continue to do his great job of keeping us informed )— believe right now we are sitting ( nets pick ) at # 10—–am sure there will be more dialect on trade —do we keep or make a trade — as the season progresses —-nets do concern me —they seem more legitimate ( winning games ) than I gave them credit at the start of the season
jose “put that fork away ” and ” green machine “—both who were heavily blasted / questioned by most of here at ctb ( me included )- have been pleasant surprises–yes jose will lose some minutes when I.T. returns but this is probably a positive / less minutes —allowing him to stay healthy –stay fresh ——believe rose is odd man out / with his injuries / somewhat shaky attitude / poor fit ——–
Calderon and Frye have really gone from end of bench vets providing ‘support’ to main pieces in Cavs rotation. Pretty crazy how injuries can spark other guys, and maybe those little used vets can actually do something positive even in small doses.
I would be stunned if both Rose and Shump are with the team, one of them is going and looks like its Rose. Calderon will definitely lose minutes once IT gets back, but he is dependable and will be helpful if when foul trouble or injuries strike again.
According to ESPN Stats & Info…
LeBron James is the first player to make at least 10 shots, shoot better than 80% from the field and record at least 15 assists in a game since Hall-of-Famer John Stockton for the Jazz against the Rockets in March 1996.
Pretty impressive…
AHHH
The Glove did win a title… with the Heat in 06…
I think tonights game is a fine example of how LeBron would like most games to go. And is an example of why we start slowly vs poor teams so often. LeBron knows at his age, he cannot play as hard for as long as he used to. For years he hasn’t been checking the opponents #1 option until crunch time. This saves him tread on his tires. Sometimes, if the team needs it, he can do it sooner (like he did with Schroder last game). He likes to do the same thing on offense. If he comes out conducting,… Read more »
Per Jason Lloyd – The Cavs are 11-2 with Calderon in the starting lineup. He is still a liability defensively, but he has been steady over these last few weeks. He gets the Cavs into their sets, doesn’t turn the ball over and he can make open 3s. He has just nine turnovers in these last 12 games he has started, an astonishingly low figure.
He has always been steady as point guard. He even led the league a couple of times in assist to turnover ratio from his time as a Raptor, if I recall correctly. He, too, along with Jeff Green has been a revelation.
Yeah, unfortunately he probably won’t get any playing time when IT returns. Also, Cedi will probably lose his PT with everyone healthy.
If he loses it to Rose, it will be a travesty. But it is great to know you have two proven contributors, who will perform at a high level when called upon and won’t complain about playing time. Also, don’t forget that injuries occur, we are going to rest players on back to backs, players coming back from injuries (IT for example) will have their minutes monitored, so there will be minutes to go around.
In his prime, he also led the league in 3PT%, FT%, and had a 50/40/90 season.
He can shoot, and he rarely does anything dumb with the ball or takes a bad shot.
Due to his age and decreased athleticism, he can’t stop penetration much and has trouble creating his own shot or for others off the bounce. But he is engaged on defense and is a good team defender and can still make a clever pass.
“Cleveland beat Philly by nine,” Fewer beers and one last edit needed
Lol. Whoops!
Thanks :p. Fixed.
LOL…. as our shoutouts went to a beer company and eggnog…