Playoff Podcap: Cavs 128, Raptors 93 (or, Swept Away)
2018-05-08https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/episode-171-swept-away
Contrary to what was posited in the Saturday Night Live sketch that was cut for time last weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ point guard is in fact not a Roomba. However, such a point guard would have been handy in sweeping up the smoldering ashes of the Toronto Raptors following Monday night’s Game 4 extinction level event. As expected, the Cavs completed their impressive clean sweep of the top seeded dinos, by raining fiery rocks from the perimeter and erupting in the paint. All five starters were in double figures, and their guards barely missed a shot in the first half. Their non-Roomba point guard even drove for successive dunks in the first quarter, while LeBron James just calmly dished dimes and crushed any spirit the Raptors had left. It was a resounding, impressive and absolute statement of a closeout game that should leave no doubts about this team’s ability to make a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals.
To break down this game, this sweep, and the playoffs to date, EG, Tom and Eli hopped into the booth for a bit. We talked about how much a reinvigorated and healthy support staff have helped LeBron, who their opponent in the ECF will be, whether or not their rugged first round series against the Pacers will pay dividends in the next one, and what could become of the shattered remains of the Raptors. We also dish a little on President Genius, Brad Stevens, and what the Cavs odds of winning the draft lottery might be. And, we didn’t manage to get too swept away or long in the tooth.
As always, you can catch us above, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
Basketball…please come soon. And please have indians games on off days. This is all. Thank you
Ooh, Paul George just had some sneaky knee surgery. Wonder how that’s going to play out with trades, other teams still think he’s a good bet?
just listened to HOOD ‘S apology / explanation on news —-seems more of a misunderstanding than attitude ——would like to see him perform like the last time against the celts —15 pts / 18 minutes —–ty still seems to have confidence in him —he needs to have that confidence in himself
The thing that bugs me about it the most are:
1) He does not seem to realize he blew a chance to get some confidence & cohesion with his teammates that last 7 minutes.
2) He does not seem to grasp that we lack that cohesion & need to take advantage of every chance we have to grow.
He should stop being mentally weak and start being awesome instead. I got ridiculed long long ago in High School for switching shoes in a slump when asked why, I said “I, needed to get back to the I am the man mentality.” The shoes didn’t matter, I recognized I needed a boost that would mentally make me think I was out of the slump, so I defeated the slump by placebo. This was a valuable lesson and something I’ve used many times in many slumps, just create a mental castle of not being in a slump somehow to overcome… Read more »
Cavs in 4, I think. Maybe 5.
More proof that LeBron is a savant
“I was in the gym when I watched him on the floor against Toronto tell Patrick Patterson where he was supposed to go on the play they had called out of a timeout late in the fourth quarter,” Griffin said. “He was like ‘no Pat, you’re supposed to stand over there and set a pin down for DeMar (DeRozan) over here.'”
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2775366-ex-cavs-gm-david-griffin-lebron-james-told-raptors-how-to-run-plays-in-2017
The pod is a must listen btw
Yep. I think Simmons is truly BS, but listened to every second of that interview. Griff is such an interesting guy and his perspective on Bron (and Kyrie) is fascinating. Really made me wonder what the Ky-Bron thing could’ve become under different circumstances
From my very quick glance: there are 7 players still in the NBA from 2003 draft class and 11 from prior years
Reading that Kevin Pelton article like “………….woooooaaahhhhhhhhhh!”
so will stevens be ‘motivated ‘ by his so called –” COY SNUB “—–and will ty be motivated to out coach the so called ” genious ” and garner a little respect —-I think both have to be aware not to “over coach ” due to these facts———man did I just use –ty and over coach in the same sentence
I don’t think they will try to over coach. I do expect, unfortunately, Lue to be behind the 8 ball.
For the umpteenth time this season the disastrous irving trade is about to hurt is. Instead of being saddled with pouty IT and missing someone like tatum or Rozier or Brown, celts are in a better position. Unless the pick becomes a multi time all star this trade remains one of worst ever.
Do the Cs have Kyrie? I thought not. Neither would we if we kept him.
Instead we have: Hill, a top 10 lotto pick, Nance Jr, Clarkson, Hood, & Zizic.
We gave up Kyrie + proceeds from that trade, Rose, and our pick (25th?).
That is not an all-time loser trade. Though it did help the Cs out.
Yeah, I didn’t know Ky’s knee had suddenly gotten 100% healthy.
The trade got us a lot more than what I was expecting considering Ky’s demands.
He might never be the same player or ever fully healthy again.
He was in no position to make demands. He’s on a two year contract. Dan and Koby folded instead of calling his bluff, and it cost the team.
Maybe. He wouldn’t be playing anyway and his knee scares the hell out of me going forward.
Did you read the Pelton analysis? Might be time for you to admit James is certainly no worse than top three all time. Putiing James any lower does not stand up to pertinent factual analysis like Pelton did.
Pelton is a stats dweeb with no common sense. He picked the Raps in 6 FFS. I was watching hoops before he was born. Any greatest player debate that excludes Russell, Kareem, and Wilt is so shallow and incompetent that it is not even worth discussing. More facts: Russell won 5 MVPs, 11 titles & made 12 finals in 13 seasons. The only year he lost the finals was when he got injured. 9 times with the best regular season record (12 times top 3). 2 titles as a player/head coach. Two college titles (at San Francisco). One Olympic gold… Read more »
See post below. Performaces in the sweet 16 and round if 8 do not move the needle much on the all-timers list. If they do for you, you are as dumb as Kevin (Raps in six) Pelton.
Jason you cross the CtB line by being insulting. I don’t appreciate you calling me “dumb.” Also, awhile ago, you said of Nate that some people talk basketball and some people know basketball…meaning yourself. Park your ego and stop with the insults. Kevin Pelton has forgot more basketball that most of us know. Keep it up and maybe you will end up like that poster who was banned.
Seconded. Lay off the insults, Jason. Try to remember that insulting the intelligence of your opponent actually just reflects the lack of evidentiary support for your own argument.
So you don’t think we could have gotten more by trading Kyrie straight up to the Lakers? They wouldn’t have given us Nance and a few others? Do you really think those four players can provide anything close to what Kyrie gave us? At minimum, they should have pulled out of the trade when it became apparent that IT wasn’t healthy. Insisted on one of their young guys instead of IT. It was obvious, and I said it then, that IT would not play one useful minute for us in the playoffs. those 4 guys may not even play against… Read more »
Pelton’s detailed take on who is the GOAT in the MJ/LeBron debate.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23456720/is-lebron-james-michael-jordan-greatest-nba-player-all
Good analysis.
Yeah. Nice work. I think it’s accurate that mj was better at his best but lbjs career is best ever. And he’s not done.
Finally actual data to back up the assertion that Jordan’s era was weaker in terms of competition.
is it just me it seems / I am ‘hearing ‘ the so -called “talking heads ” quietly picking the Celtics over the cavs—–think Stevens will devise game plans both offensively/ defensively to give the cavs problems/ beat them —–this is what I am hearing —-I am old —hearing is impaired !!
Well half of ESPN consists of Boston fans.
Listening to the talking heads? Most of them are dumber than Steven A. Better to listen to the Talking Heads!
I think the individual games in this series will be tough. Boston plays good D and hardly ever turns it over. And they never let go of the rope. Hard to blow them out.
However, we will not choke like Philly did in the close games. If we steal game 1 and get our noses in front, they may start to press. Changes the whole dynamic. And the only road game they won was the one Simmons gave them.
Plus, Jeff Green revenge tour. Cavs in 4.
I think it’s Cavs in six or maybe even five if Love continues to play as well vs Boston. What will be insufferable are the constant sideline shots of a pacing Brad Stevens, and the Boston fans’ obnoxiousness . As EG posted, it’s quite telling that no other coach gave Brad Stevens a vote in their Coach of the Year poll. Perhaps other coaches are also annoyed at the anointing of President Stevens as a coaching savant. It will be interesting what defensive schemes Lue comes up with as just taking out just IT was obviously the key to last… Read more »
To quote Sir Charles Barkley from last night, “It was a travesty he didn’t receive any votes.” Thinks it was “jealousy.” Basically said he was amazed the Celtics were still playing. Personally I think he was reading too much into it. It is possible he was a second or third choice for most of them and simply did not receive votes as such. Regardless, the more I think about it, the more tough I think this series could be. Boston is playing with irrational confidence, and that can carry an underdog pretty far and allow them to punch above their… Read more »
Im with John B. I think Stevens is a great coach and although I don’t like his smugness, I would trade him for Lue in a millisecond.
The Celtics are a really solid team. I don’t think they are as tough as Indy but their system works really well.
Cavs in 6, in what should definitely be a great series.
And then Charles admitted Casey deserved it. Implication he would have voted for Casey AND NOT STEVENS.
Sure, but I think he was asserting he should have gotten some recognition. Again since they only got single votes he may have been the second or third choice of everyone. Who knows? Obviously one guy is terrible (ask raptors fans) in the playoffs and the other isn’t but it is a regular season award.
Would coach Lue start Tristan+Love against Baynes+Hoford. Lue is slow to adjust. If he starts with certain lineup, he will stick with it no matter what and won’t change for few games.
I think you go with –
Hill – Rozier
JR – Tatum
KK – Brown
Bron – Horford
Love – Baynes
I don’t think you sit Hill to start TT cause Rozier will feast.
Unless you do Hill, JR, Bron, Love, and TT. Sit Korver instead. Still a risk with one less shooter but it will depend on the impact Horford has.
With the way Love and KK have been playing, I would rather see KK on the court before TT.
Horford is good but I don’t see KK getting torched by him.
think this series will be like Raptors where it will hinge on Game 1. If Cavs come out on top, Celtics will press, and if it goes 2-0 Cavs favor this series will be over quickly. Think Celtics take one of the home games and then Cavs finish it off. Looking at 5 games like last year haha…just think Celtics get a lucky game where everything goes in for them, but I don’t know about their depth though, then again, our bench isn’t all that much either…be good series
My “I would bet some money” predictions
Cavs in 6
Warriors in 6
My “I would hope” predictions
Cavs in 5
Rockets in 7
Still have no idea how salary cap and free agency signings in relation to salary caps work. Are we not allowed to sign Paul George as a free agent if we’re over the cap? In that case can we off load salaries somehow and then sign him? I guess finding someone to take our insanely stupid contracts would be a near impossibility, but hey the magic of the trade deadline seemed like an impossibility so who knows what could happen….
No can’t sign an new free agent over the cap except on vet minimums ( around 900k to like 2.5 mil) or exceptions which come in the form of biannual and mid level. Can sign own free agents. Biannual exception in 2017 is 3.29 million dollars that can be spent to sign free agents for up to 2 years on teams over the cap but under the tax apron (so not the cavs). It can be split amount multiple free agents but the total money per year cannot exceed 3.353 mil. It also cannot be used in consecutive years. Mid… Read more »
Cavs free agents are Hood, James if he opts for Free agency instead of his last year, Calderon, Green. James if he resigns a max or picks up his last year makes the cavs salaries 139 mil for 2018-2019. That is 16 million over the tax and the cavs are a repeat tax team. If the cavs resign everyone it will likely take at minimum 10 million for Hood, and 5 million combined minimum for green and Calderon. That equals 154 million in pure salary. If they use the mid level on someone else you have 159 million, 36 million… Read more »
You cannot sign a FA if the signing puts you over the cap. Your own FAs also count vs the cap until they are renounced or signed by another team. This prevents teams from circumventing the cap by signing new FAs first & then going over the cap to re-sign their own FAs, which is allowed under the ‘Bird rule.’ How far over you can go depends on the type of Bird rights you have (1 year with team, 2 years with team, or 3+ years). If you get a player in a trade, their Bird rights transfer. A FA… Read more »
We are over the cap even if Bron is counted. Spotrac is a good site for tracking cap stuff:
http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cap/2018/
Cap is $101 million.
Signed players (9): Love $24.1, Hill $19, TT $17.5, JR $14.7, Clarkson $12.5, Korver $7.6, Cedi $2.8, Nance $2.3, Zizic $2.0 = $102.5 million = over.
Non-guaranteed = White ($1.5)
Player option = James ($35.6)
James will decline his PO & he is eligible for a raise. So even if we cut White, our cap # will still be above the $139.6 this puts us at.
Even if Bron bolts, we are still over.
You are allowed to go over the cap to re-sign your own FAs & can always sign vet min & rookie deals. Their are also cap exceptions (tax payer mid level). We have 4 FAs. Green, Calderon, & Perkins are vet min guys with holds of $1.5 mil each. Hood is a RFA with a hold of $7.2 mil. $11.7 in cap holds brings us to $151.3. Maybe Hood walks or is signed for less. But Green is likely worth more. And we will likely use our exception (on Green or another FA). Plus our #1 pick will earn a… Read more »
Oops, there/their.
I believe the 139 is with Bron’s player option. So essentially even if he declines his resigning would still put us in appropriately 139 million but with a longer deal if he chose super max. If all free agents are resigned I estimated a minimum of 159 mil, with Hood at 10-15, green at the mid-level and Calderon at the minimum. Luxury tax for that plus salaries would equate to around 308 million for dg next year.
As much as I’d like to pick cavs in 4-5. I’m thinking six. This Celtics team is much better thaln last year just by the nature of rozier and Tatum.
Thinking same thing. Probably a very competitive 6 games similar to the Indy series.
6 is logical. But I think the Cavs are hungrier this year than they were last year…. and I think they have a level of togetherness that wasn’t there last year, clearly.
6 isn’t outrageous nor surprising.. My question to you is who wins in a 7 game series, round 1, Boston or Indy, and how many games.
I’d pick the Cavs in 6, I could see it being less or even the Cavs losing. This could be a huge shooting variance series.
Lack of NBA parity is a real issue, especially from a tv contract point of view. At this rate the cap will drop this year.
I think this series was a bit of an outlier. Philly would have been able to compete. They just happened to be extremely green this year. Utah could have been more competitive with Rubio. Houston got lucky in that regard. The warriors are the warriors. Nothing is changing that. Until another super team comes together with an absurd amount of talent to match, they simply will be in a class of their own. Durant ruined everything after choking hard by chickening out and taking the cakewalk path to multiple championships. Unfortunately, the warriors are here to stay. Unless Boston and… Read more »
Also…the warriors have only faced 2 full squads in the four playoff runs. 2. That’s insane
Looks like Sunday at 3:30.
I think the Cavs benefit from starting on the road…. shake them game 1, slaughter them game 2… finish it out at home.
It certainly adds a level of focus.
Yup and I think it relieves pressure of holding home court before the teams have that “feeling out” period. The pressure is on Boston from the start to hold HCA.
Pressure is on Boston, because we have LeBron, but I anticipate Brad Stevens to scheme well.