Live Thread: Cavs @ Raptors (#WeAreBack)
2018-10-17
If you haven’t read Nate’s ode to our Aluminum Anniversary… make sure you check it out here at halftime.
Meanwhile… are you ready for the 2018-19 NBA regular season?! Because, it’s finally here! The future is now for your Cleveland Cavaliers. Time to find out if Kevin Love can become a Terminator… if Collin Sexton can be the next John Connor to save the franchise from a bleak existence… or if this year is just an introduction to an oncoming post-apocalypse.
The wine and gold trot out a starting lineup of Love, Cedi Osman, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood and George Hill. They’ll face a slightly different looking Raptors team than they faced in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. Toronto adds a potential T-1000 in Kawhi Leonard (replacing DeMar DeRozan), to start alongside OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, Danny Green and Kyle Lowry.
Not many give these new Cavs much of a chance against a Raptors team that should contend for the best record in the Eastern Conference (Cleveland was a 13 point underdog for this one). Yet, what chance really did Sarah Connor have of taking down SkyNet?
Prediction: With LeBron gone, the Raptor machine gets some revenge on the team that terminated them from the last few playoff series… but the scrappy Cavs make it interesting 112-108.
Catch all the action from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, starting at 7:30 EST on Fox Sports Ohio. And, as always, come back and comment below…
GO CAVS!
Ayton looks very light on his feet man. Like his weight is evenly distributed throughout his body. TT looks like he drags his weight, same with Nance when he cuts. It’s like Ayton’s heels never touches the ground
He is definitely good at what he does. There is a reason he got shoveled a lot of money to play at Arizona.
Ayton looks like a more polished Dwight with less athleticism.
I see a lot of Kyrie in Booker in terms of closing the games and taking over. Aside from the fact that they’re pretty much natural scorers. Tho Kyrie is a bit more tunneled vision for 48 mins.
Kyrie is a way better finisher at the rim, but yeah their mentality seems similar. Also Kyrie’s handles are light years better. But mentality wise…I would probably even take Booker over Kyrie.
Book got some pretty slick handles too man but I agree Ky’s got Odin handles. Everyone else’s gunning for 2nd place.
….and Ky imo is the best non-dunker finisher in the NBA. Might be in history
So…assuming the Cavs are fully healthy (meaning JR and LNJ are back and available)…Does this game represent the best of Lue’s decision making, the worst of his decision making, or do we not know enough yet because he doesn’t get to choose 23 anymore? I’m in the camp of TT being supplanted by Nance and Zizic minutes. I have a feeling Zizic is better on D than TT overall, even if switching onto guards isn’t his forte. And Zizic can actually post up AND hit a 12-15 footer, which frees Kevin Love to shoot 3s or post up depending on… Read more »
He is a Doc disciple.
Really though? Cuz I would put Cedi like 4x ahead of doncic. Cedi does more with half the emphasis.
Explain plz
Another thing I noticed about Ayton is he sets fantastic screens. Finds the body of the man. Stands still. Is super wide. The dribble handoff game with him could be great.
Yes! I noticed this too…he will be able to expand to the borderline illegal screens Tom was calling for from Nance soon and he will get soooo many dive alley oops from that stuff. Suns’ guards are willing passers
Nice debut by Doncic…. reminds me of Cedi but has a little bit better shooting stroke and a little bit better vision. But he’s so awful on the defensive end…. really bad. Nothing like Cedi there.
Yep. Fits in with his teammates though in that regard. Because for most of that game, Mavs looked atrocious as a team on d.
HAHA… yeah… but you could tell they made a concerted effort to after him and the same things that showed up on tape showed up tonight. No foot speed, no awareness on the weak side, lack of physicality.
Awareness can be fixed. He is a rookie. Ayton lost his man a few times too, but that is pretty much SOP for rooks. The footspeed thing could be an issue, but physicality can improve.
True… I expect him to improve the most as a help defender… he could be really good that way. But there’s no cure for his lack of foot speed one on one.
yeah they have similar open floor games…but I kinda disagree on him having better vision. Unleashed on the break Cedi was throwing Lebron-like passes with his left and right hand. Although Doncic disguises his passes better…Cedi can telegraph a bit. Nevermind lol. You’re probably right on balance
LOL… love the stream of consciousness there scotch!!!
sometimes i get halfway through a sentence and forget where I’m going haha
That one handed cross court bounce pass on the break Cedi threw for an open three was spectacular though. Weaved it under a defender’s reach while both he and the defender were fast on the move. The one handed bounce is one of the more difficult passes to pull off if it isn’t just a drop pass to a roller.
exactly the one i’m thinking of. He nearly pulled off a 2nd one just a few minutes later. defender got a finger on it, but honestly…3/4 of the way through this season he will have compiled quite the highlight reel of finding angles nobody else seems to find on the break outside of L.A. bron. ugh…gross.
woof…dallas is gonna be such trash. The only chance Doncic has at rookie of the year is if he is literally the best rookie ever to play in the NBA. Cuz they are gonna lose 60+ games
Yeah, their d….ooof.
Honestly, Doncic is already their best offensive player… he could put up numbers. Unfortunately, so will Ayton. But it doesn’t bode well for them that their best weapon is a rookie…. whoever said they’re making the playoffs was off their rocker.
Yeah Smith still has a ways. Where’s Barnes?
Good question on Barnes…. was disappointed in Smith tonight too.
I think Barnes was sitting out a minor injury.
I will say Carlisle is a top 5 coach and has a way of pulling the most out of his teams, but I think the playoffs or even being close is a bit of a reach.
Phoenix could be a sneaky fun team to watch this year.
VERY fun to watch…. their coach did a nice job tonight!!!
Yeah. Think he’ll be great forthat team.
Mark Jackson thinks thoughts that only Mark Jackson can think. The suns have the best mascot in the NBA? They are the suns and their mascot is a gorilla…they have the most confused mascot in the NBA. And Deandre Jordan is not an elite defensive talent. He’s tall and jumps hi. But he is not a switchable big and he leaves his teammates out to dry consistently.
GOOD GOSH>>>> BOOKER UNCONSCIOUS.
Good Lord Booker…..
Wow back to back to you. Jackson shot those with no hesitation. Maybe he won’t bust. He looked so bad in summer league, but that doesn’t mean much now.
Treys
JOSH JACKSON WITH BACK TO BACK THREES!!!
You spot on with the j.
haha!!! Luckily he was wide open…. but that’s all he needs to do!
Absolutely. He looked confident in that shot though. Shot without any hesitation.
AYTON WITH A GREAT DEFENSIVE PLAY!!!
Holy cow, that was from like 28 feet.
BOOKER THROWING DAGGERS!!!!!!
Booker is a supernova. Such a pretty stroke. Booker, Ayton, and Ariza may make this team respectable this season.
Booker is good. He has improved a lot. Thought he was overrated as heck that year he scored 70, but he has some moves. Great stroke. Percenatges were likely less than they would be since that team was so bad last year.
He’s really improved as a playmaker IMO. He is a natural born shooter.
Wow what a shot by booker
THey needed that one too!!! Clutch!
Ayton’s taking over in the beginning of the 4th. Two fantastic post plays in a row.
Sure were. He has 4 assists too. He seems automatic on those 10-18 foot js.
Good catch…. and he’s been pretty good for a rookie on defense. Absolutely no question he was the top pick.
Josh Jackson appears to have improved his jumper somewhat…. doesn’t look atrocious.
Doncic needs to get used to shooting 3s in the NBA.
Doesn’t he still cock it though? Thought I saw one where he brought it into his motion with the same awkward motion. Maybe I was seeing things or maybe it’s more effective.
Yes he does, but the release looks good, and the elbow looks good, and the off hand position looks good. Maybe I don’t remember, but I thought it was all kinds of awful before.
Think you’re right.
Shump -26 for the Kings right now. He’s going to drive their poor fans nuts.
Seems about right.
lmao saw the same thing…. 1-6 from the field too!!! True to form.
Would you rather have shrimp or IT?
I would rather have almost anyone than IT…
WOW… that’s an unfair question LMAOOOO
Hehe. It was an autocorrect but I decided to leave it.
Yeah cavs are back to lottery..
Not ready for that yet. The Raptors are an upper-tier team…
They were down 7 with a couple minutes to go after being down 20 because of sloppy play on the road to a team that could come out of the east, maybe the favorties to come out of the east. A bit early to judge. After 5-10 games we’ll have a realistic guess. You sound like you are trolling as an la fan that is going to get knocked off in the first round for the next two years. Doesn’t matter. LBJ isn’t winning another ship as long as the warriors exist. He knows that. Why he left to go… Read more »
Although sorry if I jumped to assumptions based on your handle.
Used to be a cavs fan but im a lebron loyalist but i still care for the team
Gross
I get it. I just can’t go for the lakers. If it was any team other than the lakers. They are the Yankees of bball to me. I dislike them more than the Celtics. They are on par with gs, but I begrudgingly respect gs. Their arrogance just annoys me and they have some hateable personalities, even though I respect their games. LA though. Just can’t get past my dislike of that team or most of their fans. Kobe fans were the worst. Never have been able to get past that. So I just sort of don’t care what LBJ… Read more »
I currently dislike the Celts and Dubs more than the Lakers. Getting rid of a$$hole Kobe makes the Lakers only half as bad.
Ayton just making it look easy.
He looks comfortable…
very
I feel like Korver in the opening segment–this season will be fun, if only because a championship finish is not the expectation…
This was… fun?
I enjoyed it. Fun to see a team actually try for more than 2 qtrs in the regular season.
Wish Cedi got more run last year… how different t that team might have been with some youthful energy…
What would the playoffs have looked like, at least in the east? Bet you he would have been a major positive had he played and gotten consistent burn in the regular season.
The Finals is where he would have made his mark–imagine his hyper defensive presence and playmaking offense to counteract the Dubs… Ty Lue will always look foolish for not developing the youth last year…
Yup… Cedi instead of JR makes that a completely different series.
Mavs look like the worst team in the league on d.
Yes… just absolutely awful. and no one can hit a jumper.
I didn’t hate Clarkson tonight oddly, and it. Was an OK debut by sexton. Dekker was ridiculously useless on offense, and TT was worse than useless except for the o-boards. I stand by my preseason lineup of starting nwaba at the two and letting Rodney get shots on the bench Lineups. Let him take dekkers’ spot. Also. Feel like kev is too thin without tough muscle mass again
Yep agree on most everything, but I ahve to see more of nwaba. Love really struggled finishing down low tonight.
I can’t get on board with Nwaba starting over Hood. Just not enough shotmaking as it is. I wouldn’t mind seeing Nwaba at the 2 in super small ball lineups with Sexton, Korver, Clarkson, and LNJ/TT/Zizic
Korver should maybe start. Not play starter minutes, but start. Hill, Korver, Cedi, Love, Nance would be a ton of shooting with a little d thrown in.
Could/should be an option.
He’s just so old at this point… hate to be ageist but….
True but we only took 19 threes. Hit 6 so not bad. But you really need to shoot more nowadays. Korver can get it off quickly and in the tight windows that this team might have. His gravity is still immense. He is is often a plus contributor just by his presence/gravity and its affect on the d. You have to account for him at all times. We just don’t really have many guys like that anymore.
7/19
Agree with you on Clarkson and Sexton. I don’t think TT was that bad, but LNJ and Zizic are better. Also, Zizic really unleashed Clarkson and Sexton with his screens…. he reads the game so well on offense. He created driving angles for both of those guys to get up shots.
This game was almost a best case game for Clarkson. I expect him to usually not be this good. Tough to play TT with offensively challenged lineups. I’d really like Cedi to become the alpha dog (much as I hate that idiotic term as a descriptor of basketball players) on this team, a borderline point forward.
And Clarkson still didn’t shoot 50%. Agree on Cedi. Think that will be the only way they consistently get easy shots without a more structured offense.
Though hill really did have a very nice game tonight. 7 assists, 15 points on 50 percent fg.
I think this will be a 90s Belichick team, conforming to their opponents. The way they handle the ball, any number of players may lead in scoring/shooting… Sunday may be their first chance at vistory…
Shots: Love 18 (plus fouls); Clarkson 15; Hood 13; Hill 11… is this the hierarchy for victories?
Definitely not. Cedi needs the second most shots. Should be getting around 16 a game. Clarkson should be getting fewer than 10. I am ok with Hood taking 13 if he is going to start and if he pulls the trigger on threes.
Wow! Josh Jackson almost airballed a free throw to the SIDE of the basket.
Dallas sucks on defense. Doncic might be their best offensive option already. Just worked Booker in the post.
Not much d being played in this game lol
Jordan looks fat and out of shape
Relatively speaking of course
Ayton witha block on a j
Doncic showing his vision. Ayton seemingly automatic with that j.
OH MY GOODNESS…. DONCIC BEHIND THE BACK POCKET PASS TO DJ!!!
Missed that washing dishes, damnit
It’s gotta be on twitter… I’m putting off dishes until halftime LMAO
Come on big dude. Got to just go up thru everyone
Solid screen by Ayton leads to wide open layup for books
Ooh. Doncic taking it to Ayton.
great finish by him…. and nice pass to DJ on the subsequent play.
Booker and Ayton…. Suns just need a pass-first point guard to unleash those two.
For sure.
Ayton is money from 10-18 feet
MAN>….. AYTON IS INSANELY GOOD.
Yeah, think he’s going to win ROY easy…
yup… he’s going to start all year so the opportunities will be there.
Yes. I was serious a week or so ago when I said I think he could average 20, 12, 3 blocks on 56 to 58 percent shooting. I think he is going to be a monster
double-double with efficient shooting is definitely in the picture.
FWIW, we are on pace to keep our draft pick.
Doncic as a player captured in two plays…. fantastic dump off assist in the paint, gets abused on the switch on defense.
Where was JR tonight?
Sitting out for some injury.
Mo Bamba with a great debut tonight…. 13pts/7rbs/2blocks…. efficient scoring at 1/2 from 3. Not bad.
Was hoping he might fall to us. He is gonna take a while to develop. But he is a possible unicorn.
Was really surprised by his personality when I saw him interviewed… seems like a really good dude.
Looked good in summer league/preaseason
He’s the guy I really wanted in the draft. Still can’t believe the Nets won almost 30 games last year.
I definitely didnt come away from this game thinking the Raptors are the team to beat in the east…not sure they’ll be higher than #3. They will struggle mightily against teams that shoot threes well. Unless we are better on defense than I think we are…but the raps arent that good
Game one.
Celtics come in tomorrow, so we’ll have a better idea then…I think once Kawhi gets acclimated, they may be the team to beat, time will tell.
Kawhi’s first game in almost a year. 2/3 new starters. They were up 20 & Ibaka starting jacking 3s.
They won 59 games last year and Kawhi/Green for DeRozan/???? is a serious upgrade.
I think the Celtics will destroy them. Sad.
Looking forward to seeing Doncic for the first time tonight. Let’s see what the hype is about.
Ayton vs Doncic should be fun. Think those are the ROY frontrunners.
Goodnight peeps.
Catch y’all on the recap.
Rockets down 21 at home to NO with 2 minutes left.
Melo & Howard are two likely HOF players who make every team they are on significantly worse. And have for 3-4 years.
Or more.
Yeesh, Mirotic 30-10…
This. Melo is so bad for his team. Utah passes the Rockets this year.
Perhaps Love was trying a bit too hard.
I have said and will say, he is not a guy you just give the ball to & get out of the way. Move the ball, get a mismatch. Post a small, take a slow big outside. Let him use his versatility & IQ. Still, his +/- was -3.
Yep. You could dump it in the post to him in Minny because he was heavier and could bump guys off him and establish deeper position. He is not that guy now. Also Minnys offense really was suited and tailored to making the game as easy as possible for him. In turn he commanded attention. Like you said, put him in as easy positions as possible.
Yeah, Rubio passing you the ball makes everything easier.
Great point. Gotta guys cutting when Kevin is operating.
Wonder if Bruce watched the game. There was certainly some pseudo-sinister activity going on with the refs and Lowry he could bring to life
Smells like Strawberry…
TT needs to learn to run and screen for a shooter after his first screen, so he pulls the defense with him a little to make up for his lack of offense.
I’m curious to see the pick and roll numbers after ten games. Cavs did not run as many as they have in the past. It was a lot of dribble handoff stuff tonight.
I mean… they were down 20 and came back to within a Cedi drive of being down 5 with a couple minutes to go… that’s some good resiliency…
It was. I’m overall happy with the outcome and the actual game. Had the second quarter not been such a sloppy one, it would the been a 2-4pt game going into the 4th. I’d take that against possibly the best team on the East.
Yeah. Satisfied with that game.