Podcap: Cavs 100, Pacers 97 (or, Idolos Del Aire)
2018-04-19https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/episode-168-idolos-del-aire
LeBron James went all Top Gun on the Pacers in Game 2, scoring 20 points in the first quarter and 46 for the game to lead the Cavs to a victory that wound up a little closer than it should have. In the end, Cleveland evened things up with the feisty Indy squad and their “Iceman” Victor Oladipo. The Cavs supporting cast didn’t wash out as much as they did in Game 1, as Kevin Love, Kyle Korver, George Hill and JR Smith all started and contributed. JR even had a terrific strip of Dipo and pulled the “hit the brakes and he’ll fly right by” move on the other end for an easy bucket. Love got a bit of a scare with what looked like a nasty thumb injury, but according to Ty Lue, he’s no Goose, and will he’ll be good to go for Game 3.
Nate, EG and Tom hopped in the cockpit to break this one down and crack wise about all things Cavs, NBA playoffs and yes, the time Tom watched Top Gun in Spanish in Long Beach (trust us, you won’t want to skip the amazing story at the end of this one…). It also gives us the subtitle of this recap…
As always, you can listen above, on Sound Cloud, Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
That was a great California Spanish Top Gun story by Tom, but no way does it touch Gutterbot. Gutterbot had me screaming, and I think I listened to it ten times.
Blazers overachieved. Break up Lillard and Cj.
Or maybe add to them?
Haha, nah. Just messin around because i want CJ here on our team..
Man, I really hope Pels can challenge GSW
I think they can…. just depends on whether Davis can rise to the occasion.
If Playoff Rondo can continue to play like this, and with Steph slowly getting back, then the Pels have a good fight.
Jrue Holiday can make it very tough for Klay too..
True… the real problem for NOP is not their starters… it’s their atrocious bench.
Too bad Curry likely back for that series…
I think CTB needs to have an entire symposium on whether LeBron is the problem with our offense or Lue. Like do we really think none of the coaches have tried to impose some sort of system on LeBron ever? It seems like he insists on pounding the ball until <10 seconds left and trying to go for the home run
We averaged 111 points this year and had streaks where we routinely hit 120. Our offense isnt bad. We haven’t had more than 1 full season with 7 or 8 of the same players…that’s the issue at least with not having sets to run.
That is true. Houston is basically all spread pick and roll and Harden isos and they had the second most efficient offense this year behind golden state. We were fifth in offensive efficiency this year which obviously is elite.
All good points. It just seems like there seem to be too many times when our 3’s don’t fall but also somehow LeBron can’t get his way in the paint. Happened against Miami , happening against Indy. Even yesterday LeBron’s performance was heavily dependent on nasty mid range jumpers
I have a strong inclination to blame Jeff Green’s minutes on those things
Certainly one of the issues. If teams don’t respect the cavs shooters, or certain ones, then you can try to run the offense the way they do, but it will cause spacing issues until guys start hitting shots.
I think that is partially Indiana’s scheme this series. Shade towards the paint off certain guys in the corners (Green, Clarkson, and Hood occasionally) to pack the paint and stick close to certain shooters like Korver. The thing with the style of offense the cavs have tended to run, is that I think it is fairly predictable and therefore easier to scheme against. Everyone knows generally what they are trying to do save for some surprise plays thrown in every once in a awhile like horns rub. More importantly I think, everyone knows where cavs shooters and weakside players will… Read more »
Impossible to say for sure. They were a hugely ISO team during the Mike Brown years. Some of that was necessary due to the lack of other playmakers. Miami ran some interesting stuff where he was off ball quite a bit and still runs some interesting stuff. If I had to speculate, I would guess LBJ wants to be methodical, have the ball, and run more or less an improvised offense where all his teammates do is react to him. Blatt supposedly tried to institute a more motion based offense in his first preseason and obviously everyone has heard the… Read more »
…complained about the lack of a system
Yeah…I mean there are lots of ways to win a title. Lebron led teams tend to work when he has 2 other shooters and 2 above average rebounders. We are missing 1 shooter pretty much always and one rebounder pretty much always right now.
Those other four guys come from system teams and only wade marginally adjusted. Plus we had zero preseason time with lebron to practice. The whole year has been sputtering past injuries…no time to put stuff like horns rub in place and perfect it.
Very true. Which is why I worry now that the chaos of the regular season may finally catch up to us. We certainly have less margin for error now. Guess all anyone can do is hope guys hit shots. Don’t think anything else will be fixable in such a short time. Obviously, in order to have a chance, Lue has to get the right rotations down every game and play the correct personnel at the right times to maximize the style they play and help break some of Indy’s scheme down.
Yeah I wholeheartedly agree. Lineups could make or break us. I’m (unfortunately) impressed with the adjustment Lue made, if it was him, to put an extra shooter out in the starting lineup. I still think nance at 5 in the starting lineup is more sustainable…but it was a nice adjustment
A little of both, methinks.
70-30.
Bigger share on Lebron.
Lebron would have twice as many rings if he was willing to be coached, and was given a good coach, and played within a system. Lebron is the most gifted, talented player of all time.
The fact that, besides Spo’, he never played for a good coach has just as much to do with as it does the Cavs organization. 50/50.
WOW… .NOP crushing Portland…. they’re demoralized.
Yep. I got that series totally wrong on two levels. I thought it would be close (wrong) and the Blazers would win. Though games 1-2 were close.
Love the Blazers… thought the same thing too…. just a terrible matchup apparently. Davis is just running wild on Portland…. Mirotic been a sneaky good pick up… he’s en fuego tonight.
Ben Simmons is basically a young Magic (or LeBron but in some ways more mature/complementary), Saric is like a young Kevin Love, Embiid is a unicorn, Reddick, Ersan, and Bellinelli are knock down shooters, and TJ McConnell seem to be a bit Delly-like. That’s a pretty damn nice mix
In other words, Simmons probably has a better/more complementary supporting cast than LeBron ever did save the Heat years with Ray Allen
Yeah they are built really well. And much of their current roster came together relatively quickly after Embiid and Simmons got healthy. Ersan and Bellinelli were huge pickups for them this season, and Reddick was a great signing last summer. Amir Johnson isn’t a bad backup for the 11 mil a year. Probably much better than TT at this point. They got the number one pick with Simmons and were smart enough to draft him and not overthink it. They also were smart enough to gamble on Embiid getting healthy and to pick him at number three after he likely… Read more »
Convington was an undrafted…damn autocorrect
And Okafor over Porzingis. But hindsight will always show teams are not perfect at drafting.
Hate to admit it but Sixers growing up tonight. Came out and took care of business against a team they should’ve.
Isn’t Miami supposed to be good at D?
This Philly team is so unlikeable, I am rooting for Miami.
Yup
they’re really good though. seemingly too good to be true
although 3 ROY candidates over 2 years + 3 knock down shooters probably would work for most teams.
Why do you think that? I dig pretty much everything about philly from Embiid’s swagger, to Simmon’s ability to control the game as a rookie to Brett Brown’s coaching. I don’t love philly fans, but the team is pretty watchable. Also, I can’t root for a market like Miami on principle.
Love the way they play. Lead the league in passes. Top 10 defense. Young & well coached.
If the Cavs do not win it, I hope Philly does. GSW ain’t got no one to deal with the Process.
Lol, Philly is the funnest and most like-able team in the league. It’s Miami I can’t stand.
Totally disagree. I can’t stand their smugness/arrogance. They haven’t done crap yet and they acting like they’ve arrived.
Embiid gets away with a lot of BS but at least it’s Olynyk on the other end of it.
Justin Anderson providing a little spark here off the bench too!
Re: Belinelli and Illyasova? are we literally a Channing away from being successful? aka a 3rd knockdown 3 point shooter after Korver and Love. We need to set up Clarkson for success
It would help space the floor… but Clarkson just doesn’t have the chemistry or vision to see open shooters on the perimeter yet. He couldn’t find Korver earlier in the year… I hope he continues to develop and expand his game because his athleticism is crazy good.
So, just set him up as a shooter.
yeah exactly
Belinelli been absolutely crucial off the bench for Philly.
This is a really well played game. 85 all. with 3:30 to go… in the third.
OK… A little lacking in D.
feels like an NCAA tourney game
this philly miami game seems amazing in passing
Justise Winslow singlehandedly keeping the Heat in the game here!
Pretty sure lue has been terrible and we all agree. But also pretty sure there aren’t many coaches around the league that are looking at the amount of time he has had with the roster and think he is drastically underachieving. What other coach has ever had a season like the one we had with player I jury and turnover, and still made the playoffs? Obviously this is another notch in the “Lebron is so much more valuable than even his hype machines at espn say he is” belt…but I dont know why we expect complicated offense from a team… Read more »
Fair points. My issue is that the offense has barely evolved since LBJ got here. It may not have been necessary before this season, but they never really have had anything to fall back on when LBJ and Irving weren’t playing. What happened to the elbow sets for love and Nance. We have barely seen any this series. I have no idea why. They were using some Nance dribble handoffs earlier this year when the new guys came in and did some similar things with love.
I’m almost certain those nance games were when Larry drew was coaching. The all star break really killed our momentum after the trade as well
Yup… agree with John B. Fair point… my issue with Lue is his inconsistent, baffling rotations and his contradictory explanations thereafter. I think we could see better offensive execution just by virtue of having the right pieces on the floor at the right time that fit.
I think the cavs should be able to make it to the finals again. Should being the key word. I hate to harp on Lue, but unless we see some tweaks to the offense, this team will underachieve, perhaps even by losing to the Pacers in 5-6 games. I credit him for the lineup change and for the better defense for portions of this series. However, I think the lack of another playmaker requires some more creative sets on offense to help guys get themselves more open than they currently are. Also while the rotation was better than in game… Read more »
Yup. Agreed re: Lue.
VERY GOOD / EXCELLENT POPINTS—-RIGHT DOWN EUCLID(1ST ) —-MAKES SENSE TO ME
so does an early exit (losing to pacers )–make it easier / more difficult for LeBron to leave—can he say “—should have never traded kyrie—-didn’t get any players to help me in kyrie trade”——-“cavs to cheap—didn’t trade # 1 pick for D. JORDAN “—–I am like a lot of you here at ctb —CONCERNED —if I am a betting man–I bet on the pacers —if betting with my heart it is — GO CAVS —-YES WE DO HAVE LEBRON—BUT HIS SHOULDERS CAN ONLY CARRY A TEAM SO FAR ——-AND YES TY IS STILL OUR COACH
I think it makes it easier for LBJ to leave if there’s an early round exit. I don’t think not trading the pick was necessarily a death blow though. I actually think the pick might be very important depending upon whom they pick. If they can land a potential elite talent…. that could be enough for LBJ to ride the wave.
I think it makes it hard to leave if we exit early. If we go far the narrative is “the league has become a league of super teams and LeBron wasn’t set up for success in Cleveland.” If we exit early and he leaves the narrative is “LeBron is just a NBA vagabond going from good situation to good situation to set up himself up to win. Jordan never did that. Kobe never did that.” On top of that again, where does LeBron go? I think the NBA world wants to see what Philly can become on its own. Putting… Read more »
Ok super out of left field but I think a few here will get this. Watching Inherent Vice and JR is basically Doc Sportello (Jaoquin Phoenix). Well meaning but sometimes hard to see it, better at their job than they get credit for, and a perpetual target for the man.
Nice.
bah what is this photo!? not rendering
I’m getting worried… talking to my non-Cavs NBA fans over the past two games… they’re getting shades of 2007. I don’t know what to think.
2007 would be ok. 2009 on the other hand…
LOL… good point.
I think they are right. Feels like Pacers in 6.
One friend said Toronto might finally get them. Both of them said that it just looks like there’s no help for LeBron…. just makes me wonder.
I don’t ever worry about what non-cavs fans think because they consistently underestimate lebron and also overestimate regular season teams. that said…we could definitely lose to the pacers. And i almost would rather that than a title run unless lue has an epiphany and we get a Cedi podium game
They’re pretty savvy basketball fans but I get your point about under-estimating LeBron. I definitely don’t think they’re over-estimating regular season games.
I keep coming back to Lue…. just really feels like that’s what’s missing from getting the best out of all the players.
Just don’t talk to your non-Cavs NBA fan friends… problem solved ;)
LOL… good thing there’s CtB!!!
I’m officially calling this team “The ADHD All-Stars” with special mention to JR, LeBron, Clarkson, and Jeff Green
EG the cap was fantastic. A lot to love in this podcap, tom’s story was drug induced and hilarious. It’s also fun when you never know what tom will interrupt with a “YES!” or “Oh no!” or “that doesn’t look good….”. I think the narrative post-game is that the pacers feel confident and Lebron and Lue (inexplicably) feel confident…and the rest of the cavs are likely more on edge. Love would be confident aside from his new injury. I think if the cavs take game 3, even if it’s close like this game, the pacers begin to start getting tight… Read more »
Re-watching Q1 from last night and Kevin is playing ELITE defense. Checked Dipo, Collison, and Joseph from the perimeter, shut down Turner twice, took a charge….
I find it hilarious that Dwyane Wade shows up as frequently as Dwayne Wade in the word cloud of tags.
I would take that also nate
I’m ready for the Clarkson breakout game.
young bloods gonna go off this game…watch
He is much more likely to go 2 for9 than 7 of 9.
maybe I am biased /partial / protective —-having coached allie laforce / and her sister—-but thank you LeBron for your support __”coming to her rescue “—–I too can’t believe allie would do that—-SHE IS TOO PROFESSIONAL !!——hoping now that Rodney ‘s babies are born –maybe it is a huge relief/ can now concentrate on basketball—-need RODNEY TO BE –“UTAH HOOD “—-3 PT SHOOTER DELUXE —CAPABLE OF PUTTING UP 25 + PTS—–if not don’t believe we win this series / going to be a short playoff season —–and a very long off season !!
I’m getting annoyed at zavagno cherry picking stats from bad games. Sample sizes matter.
I’m sure he’d agree with you on sample size, but the point is that Pacers are not a good matchup for Jose. I’d still personally rather have him play than Clarkson. Offense aside, Jose can’t really defend the Pacer guards.
I think you’re right about bad matchup for Jose. I think LeBron showed an instance of frustration at Jose last night and no question Jose had a bad game.
I just think he’s necessary at this point on the offensive side of the ball because Hill and Clarkson aren’t really PGs.
I have no idea who that is.
Writes for FTS. Does some nice analytics
Writes for fearthesword, he’s a great twitter follow.
Pretty cool experience for me to be in the 11th row behind the bench last night. Crowd was going absolutely ballistic when LeBron went up 16-1. I think I may have summoned that performance out of him. We made eye contact for a good 5 seconds before game time while I was fumbling with my camera, trying to get a good picture of him, and he probably wondered what I was doing. Still…wasn’t much of a buzz in the arena after the win. Everyone knows Cavs are gonna have to get a lot more from other players to advance to… Read more »
-The game seemed to really turn after Hill’s 4th and 5th foul to open the 3rd quarter. I think Cavs were up 16 at the time, and both fouls were pretty ticky tack. I can’t help but wonder if the Cavs don’t extend the lead to 20+ if Hill stays in, and we get Zizic and Cedi in garbage time. Hill seemed like he was really starting to get going offensively too. Hopefully that carries into game 3. -I was encouraged that Love stayed on the bench after his thumb injury instead of going right to the locker room. But… Read more »
I’m sure that was fun. I thought Love was a little soft with the ball a couple of times. Go strong, make them foul you, dude.
Interesting; thanks for the notes
Will listen to this in a bit, on a drive to my mom’s…totally sucks that Love gets hurt again on a play that happens 1,000 time in a season…I wish I had the same confidence on a wide open Hood shot that I do in, say, a wide open Calderon shot…there is no good reason that Cedi can’t play 8-10 minutes a game…seriously…
Am I the only one having problems listening to the podcast on the browser page? It won’t load/start no matter what I do. No, I don’t care to install SoundCloud to my phone.
Ok got it to work by turning phone off/on. WTF.
Reboot!
If only Coach Lue had had, I don’t know, 82 games to figure out what Cedi and Zz are capable of doing in an important NBA game. It must be hard for him now since he has NO idea what the young guys are capable of doing.
/End sarcasm.
This seems like LeBron covering for Allie to take heat off of her… a reaction as shocked as his was is tough to fake…
LeBron is literally a professional actor :)
Barely…
Haven’t seen it, but he was supposedly great in Trainwreck.
Yes. He is the best thing about that movie.
Agreed…. just inappropriate from the standpoint of knowing that Pop and LBJ are close, and the blatant need for corporate media to exploit tragedy for ratings, which include the incessant desire to get the first scoop
Lue giving his medical diagnosis on KLove’s thumb before knowing shows how “shoot from the hip” he really is….just like with his rotation decisions. As discussed on the pod, I also think LeBron went to Lue and said get Jeff Green off the starting unit. Lue would have played Green another game otherwise, and the Cavs may have been down 2-0. Cavs better come out ready to play tomorrow. As EG said, Zizic for sure could be helpful against Sabonis and Cedi should be in for defensive energy at the least. That would mean no minutes probably for Jeff Green,… Read more »
Come on man. I don’t care about how Ty shoots from the hip on questions. He didn’t hurt Love’s thumb. We’re getting a bit nitpicky here.
A more responsible answer would just to say Love will get examined post game. It’s a huge difference to the team and the Cavs chances to go from “he’s ok” to “partially torn ligament.” Lue was irresponsible with his comment without knowing the facts.
most people are irresponsible with their comments without knowing the facts lol. Also, facts are not truth, but the best understanding we have at any given moment with the information available to us. But that’s a different conversation to have.
I don’t know what to feel atm. I feel like we are still absolutely capable of getting to the finals because of Lebron. But I just surely know we’re gonna get smacked after that. I hate losing at the biggest stage. Getting smacked in the finals is somehow worthless since we are adding mileage to Lebron for nothing.
Let that sink in, no matter how iron man Lebron is, we are risking our chances another title(s) if this continues.
What happened to the young guys (Nance, Clarkson, Hood)? Just too big of a stage?
Nance was tremendous his first month here. Is he still hurt? Doesn’t seem to impact the game remotely close to how he was early on.
Lue is the worst coach in the NBA. Kevin Love is hurt… again. Not looking good, fellas.
Nance wasn’t bad.
I’m going to look at this as glass half full. It’s not super surprising to see them struggle, they are role players anyway. But just know that all this experience will help them and the team in the future.
Lue on the other hand..
Pundits are right–most playoff newbs look the part. The “lack of explosion” they showed the last two games is most likely hesitation caused by the higher stakes and magnified consequences.
At least Clarkson (and Hood, a few times) started to drive the ball. Notice how many alley oops were attempted in Games One and Two… those are bread and butter Nance time, and I believe only one was thrown last night. I worry the road might not alleviate their fear yet…
I know I am inviting the hate, but.. is Green a playoff newb as well?
Cedi in place of Green is asking too much. Would absolutely love it, not sure what Green is giving you that Cedi doesn’t provide. Lue is taking years off my life.
How can you get much worse than Green right? Fire on all cylinders man. Get Cedi some pt. He had some success outside the U.S so he might’ve the nerve to handle big games. It’s tough to put money on a guy like Cedi if you are coach Lue and I understand that somewhat. But I bet you he would get more minutes under the likes of coach Pop, Carlisle, Kerr. The thing I see is that coach Lue is afraid to risk for the unknown. He’s weak on making in-game adjustments so he ain’t playing guys he ain’t that… Read more »
It’s gonna be swollen as hell. He’ll be able to play but it will hurt.
Bummer..
KLove has a torn ligament in that thumb. Will still play, supposedly. Seems like bad news to me. I don’t know how effective he can be with a bad thumb.
Partially torn… so he should still be partially good…
So, according to Ty, torn ligaments is ‘fine.’ What a dolt.
Shades of Butch Davis and his “teeny-weeny fracture” of Kelly Holcomb’s leg…
watched the replay—good CRUCIAL ‘W” for the cavs —-BUT -DOES LEBRON HAVE TO SCORE 46PTS EVERY GAME -IS DIPPO GOING TO BE IN EARLY -(IST 5 MINUTES ) -FOUL TROUBLE EVERY GAME – WE DID PLAY AT HOME—NOW GOING TO A VERY HOSTILE– ( WHERE WE STRUGGLE ) -ENVIRONMENT -WHAT IS STATUS OF KLOVE’S INJURY—HOW WILL IT AFFECT HIS PLAY -STILL WAITING– (HOPING ) –NEEDING OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION FROM HILL / HOOD -TY IS STILL OUR COACH WILL TAKE THE WIN—–STILL WANT TO BE OPTOMISTIC — BUT AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE NEXT 2 GAMES IN INDIANA -PRAYERS TO POP AND FAMILY… Read more »
wow what a write up!
Can’t believe I forgot to put in something about Cavs still being in “The Danger Zone”
“Danger Zone” calls for a movie or music clip!
Haha
Love the writeup, EG.
With Tom’s story, it kind of wrote itself lol…
Hope you liked the pod pic.
It was awesome
It does feel like the 2015 playoff series with the Bulls. I wish the Cavs still had Delly to give them grit, toughness and an antagonist against Lance Stephenson.
Their Delly is Cedi. But remember, Lue hated Delly anyway.
Looking forward to listening. Would love to join you guys for one of these. My top skill is knowing the name of every player Nate can’t think of.
Tonight it was team names…. he had Spurs on the brain