DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs Regular Season Continued

Cleveland will never, ever beat GS in a series.

I think we were lucky as HECK to be up 2-1 last year.

Knew there was going to be overreactions if we won or lost. I'm dissapointed in Kevin Love being a no show and missing extremely easy shots.

Game went about Joanie expect... Actually closer than I thought it was going to be

Good defenses but we looked horrid on offense and need to work in free throws... Not bad though...

Yep, over-reaction sums it up. Love was a no-show, Kyrie was even worse than that, and Lebron was a liability at times as well. If we hit even 32% of our three pointers, most of which were wide open looks anyway, we'd win by 8 or more. That's not even counting all the free throws we bricked at the end of the game.

Kyrie was a shell of himself. He's not dangerous at all until he works back into game shape. When we have to rely on Delly to generate any sort of offense, then we're going to have problems. It's December, so I'm still not that concerned. It's not like they played us out of the gym and we were forced to take highly contested shots all game. We had a terrible shooting night and were still in it for most the game.

I was frustrated by the fact Curry had 7 rebounds too. We did a phenomenal job on him defensively though.

Whooptie F'n Doo.... The Cavs lost a regular season game to the Warriors.

Who cares, it's a long season and this is coming from a self proclaimed "doom and gloomer"

I remain confident that the Cavs will turn it on after the break and carry it to the postseason.

No kidding. They shot like crap and were in it until the end. It was pretty impressive that they held GS to under 90pts on their home court.

j/c:

Some comments:

--Love was a no-show? He had 18 boards. He had a double--double. Having an off shooting night does not equate to a "no-show."

--The whining over the rotations and Blatt is so annoying. You experiment w/rotations at this point of the season or did someone forget that?

--Delly is playing better than Mo. Mo play No defense. He also is not a guy who plays well in big games. Delly actually played well.

--Kyrie looked really bad. Very tentative. Poor effort. No quickness. Huge liability at this point.

--I really liked the line-up when LeBron and Kyrie were on the bench. I think we had TT, Love, Shump, Delly, and I can't remember the 5th....maybe Smith??? But, they were defending and playing w/toughness. Cut into the lead and then we brought back and LBJ and Kyrie, which effectively ended the toughness aspect.

--I HATE LeBron's game. Excel made some good points. No one can really stop him when he drives or posts. Yet, he settles for 3s. I am so sick of him pounding nails. I think he dribbles w/out going anywhere more than any player in the history of the NBA. Not only does he then have to settle for a late shot-clock 3, but all the other guys end-up standing around. It's not winning basketball.

--I thought Love, TT, and Delly played w/a lot of heart in that game. I'll never get the TT hate.

--Golden State passes the ball. That really helps them offensively. You make the defense work harder when you are moving the ball. They get tired and you get better shots. LeBron says he is an intelligent player, but he hasn't figured that simple fundamental rule yet. You are actually doing the defense a favor when you pound nails.

--I thought our defense played fairly well. The scheme was sound. We our just so weak on the perimeter. Kyrie and Mo are pathetic. LeBron walks back too many times on D. Otherwise, the other guys did well.

--I think we can compete w/the Warriors. We had an off shooting night. Our FT percentage was horrid. And if LBJ ever decides to play team basketball and smart basketball rather than hero basketball and selfish basketball, there will be no doubt about who is the best team in the league. I doubt that ever happens, so we gotta hope that we shoot the ball extremely well in 4 games out of 7 in the Finals.

That was the first Cavs game I watched all season. Man, the Cavs were missing everything!

All-in-all, the game pretty much went how I thought it would. Golden State is obviously a really tough team to beat.

Even if everyone is healthy I will unfortunately have to agree with you here. Hope we are both wrong.

My feelings also...after sleeping and rewatching this morning..this is what I thought and your comment on when Kyrie and LBJ came back into the game.

But man Blatt's rotations I dont understand...maybe the timing of how he uses people is what I mean?? I'm trying to learn the game beyond a casual fan..so what I say can be off and I'll admit that.

I liked watching those Detroit Bad Boy teams...and I understand the game is very different now...but Im sorry man the Cavs play very inconsistent on D. If Lebron played the whole game like he did for that small stretch at the end of the game it would have been a different outcome.

Tristan I know you like the guy but his offense seems very limited ...will it develop?? I hope so...but that contract was ridiculous.

Alot of what you say about the Cavs I agree with...and I think it will get ironed out by may...I hope so because the wife and I will be at the playoff games this year and I want to see the Cavs get the Chip this year...that will be a moment in life that I'm glad to have hopefully "witness" it live

This is the time of year to experiment with rotatitions. But outside of that, which rotations did you have issues with? Golden State is a very dangerous team. They will pick and roll you to death and get mismatches. That's why Moz sat most the game. He's a liability when he has to defend outside the paint. Then they have some tall wings, and an MVP who's hard to stay in front of as well. So this was a good game to try and see who can hang with who.



Like I said before G State is a tough out. They are historically good, and we held them to a season low. I'm not worried about our D. They did fine. Our offense blowing open looks was our problem.


TT isn't there for offense. Think of him like Rodman. His job is to defend and get boards. He extends possessions with is offensive boards. His offense is limited, but he has good athleticism, which keeps defenses honest when providing help D. If they forget about him, he's good for a good alley oop or back door slam. He's probably not worth his contract, but he's still extremely valuable.

We really just can't keep up with the length that GS has. Our small ball consists of running 3 guards who don't have the length of their competitors. I really wish Kevin Love would man up. He's looking super weak. I felt morally obligated to donate $1 to the Cavs every day so he could get nourished. He doesn't need to look like Bill Lambier, but would some muscle hurt him? He needs to start taking over too. I swear, Big Z has more muscle than Kevin Love. That said, we'll take them in 6.

It's cool if we disagree. Just talking hoops.

Excel had a lot of good replies to your comments. I pretty much agree w/everything he said.

Oh..........and I hope you have time of your life "witnessing" us winning a championship.

Something I was thinking about yesterday. Iggy can't shoot 3's very well, at least in his career. So you live with him doing it. Why not run match ups like this?

Curry vs Della
Klay vs Shump
Iggy vs Kyrie
Barnes vs Love
Green vs LBJ

Barnes is their weakest offensive player. So stick Love on him. If Iggy wants to shoot jumpers over Kyrie, live with it. We stick our 3 best defenders on their 3 best offensive players and force the role players to try and beat us and defend us. Our bench would out produce them as well.

Ok just off of the top of my head...Ive had a really long day so give some leeway here....There was MO, Delly, I think it was Shumpert, and Tristan ...and sorry the rest i cant remember with out dvr'ing it.

Is this considered a small lineup?? because my first thought was why in the heck are mo and delly on the floor together???

If I have to go back to give u more examples I will...but that was the 1 that stuck out to me...So I guess I need to just understand the playing with the lineups and see what might work for the next time they play??

I can understand that and will keep it in mind for the rest of the games I watch...Idk Excel I'm learning man...I thought they would have their lineups/matchups for each game they have already decided, and then tweak it to who is having a hot game or a terrible one or hurt and adjust from there??

So if I'm wrong I dont mind..I'll learn from people who do know.

Yes the O was not making shots...they held the GW to under 90 so I'll give the D part maybe...or was it GS O didnt hit shots like they normally do?? Either way it seemed like the energy was low on the D side...I had ingested quite a bit of Patron by then so I could be off...I'm still feeling the effects of it...so maybe I'll watch again after the fog goes away.

Tristan...I agree with what you said and have heard him say he patterns his game off of Rodman...I just cringe when I see him trying to create a shot thats not a dunk is all I was saying and understand he is prmarily a defender...but 83 million or whatever it was for that

I shouldve got my nephew into basketball he is 6'9 with freaky athletic ability but hates basketball and is going to follow my brother's footsteps as a nuke boy it looks like. Maybe I'll show him Tristans contract and change his mind

Thanks for responding I want to learn the game...and any input I get is appreciated.

I'm not ganna get mad at LeBron for not driving to the basket in every game of an 82 game regular season.

Regardless if its a high profile xmas day matchup or whatever..

But if he's still doing that in the playoffs? Ugh.

I also don't understand how we could get up 2-1 on them without Love and Irving, but people dont think we would of beat them with them..

J/C ....

Tristan is what he is. He is an energy player, who can make a put back, and grab rebounds.

It doesn't really matter if any other player is better and less expensive, because being over the cap, our choice was to re-sign Thompson, or fill his spot with a guy on a veteran's minimum contract. (or use the trade exemption we have to fill that spot) Neither of these options was likely to give us a player who can do what Thompson can do, so the Cavaliers bit the bullet, and overpaid Thompson since they could not replace him.

That also allowed them to keep the trade exemption they have available for any need they might have around the time of the trade deadline.

As far as the game against Golden State ..... while I was disappointed that we didn't win, I look at a few factors and thus don't feel too bad. These factors are that Moz is still not back to 100%, Kyrie returned to the court a few days ago, and Shump not much before Kyrie.

Someone mentioned Blatt's rotations ..... well, of course they are going to look bad until we get everyone re-acclimated with their intended roles on the team. Mo Williams is used to playing with the starters, so he is going to have to get used to working with some backups. (just as an example) It is going to take some time to get everyone back to full strength, and to full comfort with one another, once again.

Just my opinion, but TT is exactly what this team needs. LBJ needs the ball and shots. Kyrie needs shots and the ball. Love needs shots. JR likes to shoot. Mo likes to shoot and dribble. The Cavs desperately need a guy who does not need the ball to be effective. He rebounds. He defends. He provides physicality---did you notice his incredible strength on that should-have-been flagrant? He doesn't look strong, but he is incredibly strong. He is also one guy where the moment does not become too big for him. In fact, he seems to play better when the games become more important.

Let me ask you this............who is earning their salary more among:

TT
Kyrie
Andy
Shump

????

I vote Kyrie based the latest Uncle Drew commercial (guest starring Ray Allen)

It's wonderful.

I caught the second half of the GS game, man they were missing alot of shots. LBJ missed two free throws in clutch time, not good.

Offense can't get ANYTHING to go in right now. I'm gonna snap if Blatt says it's defense. Sorry, you need the ball to go through the net too. I don't care how great you are defensively.

This might be the worst game of Lebrons career

Worse than Boston, Game 5?

Can't watch this one as I'm at the hospital. Will have to catch the replay.

Just look at the box score. It says it all.

Yeah, I saw he was a team worse -20 plus, and his shooting looked like he picked up where he left off yesterday.

Down 30 points? What the hell is wrong with this team. Like seriously. Do they not care?

I turned the game off when they went down by 30, and I see that the are still down by 30.

I was set to make a post propping up their performance yesterday.

Nope. Just nope. If you want to play like losers then be losers.

Its not that I dont care..

Its just that the NBA season doesnt IMO really start until after footballs over.. aka All Star Break..

Losing sucks, getting blown out and isnt fun.. but losing a game in December is not the reason a team doesnt end up winning a title..

I can't stand LeBron's attitude and game. It's probably against the laws of nature, but I almost wish he wasn't part of this team.

cavs suck

Sorry Vers I had to recover from Patron head/body missed your post.

Earning their money...hmm..do you mean staying healthy and being on the court and earning it?? cause then Id give it to Tristian....I read your post and gave it some thought last night while watching some movies...instead of the Cavs and by the looks of it I didnt miss much.

Look for te energy and rebounding and I agree with his strength...is that worth 83 million?? and Y-town I read your post...I'll keep it in mind...but being over the cap already would have been even more of a reason I wouldnt have paid him that contract.

Idk who was available or who they couldve traded for I'm just saying I would not have committed that kind of money/length of contract. When I first read 3yr 53mil I felt ok that seems fair...but 5yr 83mil fully guaranteed...no way.

Im partial to Shump I watched him play with the Knicks...and wish he didnt hurt a hammy or groin everytime he makes a cut or runs into someone but I lke Shump as a defender a lot actually.

So I guess Vers being able to stay on the court Tristan would be earning the salary...but that contract is UGLY. I wouldve liked to have a Andy/tristan molded together type player...maybe one wasnt available or even existed at the time they gave Tristan that deal...IDK.

But good post man you made me think and look at it a little differently...and I thank you for that.

I can't stand LeBron's attitude and game. It's probably against the laws of nature, but I almost wish he wasn't part of this team."


Vers I said this same thing to some of my friends who follow the Cavs and got lambasted for saying it...but the thought has crossed my mind more then once...

And also caught some flack for asking if he wouldve even come back to Cleveland if he and his peoples didnt have the run and control of the place...I'm glad I missed this last game...but here is to hoping they get it figured out soon.

It's like he's regressed since he came back to Cleveland. No ball movement. No team concepts. LeBron against the world. It's like he feels he has to personally deliver that championship to Cleveland all by himself and drag everyone else along with him. When in reality, he just needs to play his part in something that can be really special. K.Love needs to tell LeBron to #fitin instead of #fitout.

A fully healthy Cavs team clicking on all cylinders will beat GS in the Finals. But will LeBron allow them to click on all cylinders is the question.

My thought also..

Rish, I think what really burns me is what LeBron says after all of these loses. I didn't watch last night's game, but read an article this morning where he says that they are out of rhythm. By and large, he is the reason that the offense has no rhythm. I agree with Vers on that point 100%. Move the ball, score within the flow of the offense and take the game over ONLY when NECESSARY....

j/c:

--Yeah, I was factoring in how often the guys actually play. I know it seems somewhat unfair, but guys can't help you when they are in street clothes.

--I feel almost guilty bad-mouthing LeBron like that, but man, he frustrates me.

It was a Golden State hangover. Move on and forget it.

I think having Kyrie and Shump back upset the balance the team built without them. Not that it is a bad thing to have them back, but the team will need to rebuild the way they play (rotations, offensive sets, roles, etc).

I'm not worried. The Bulls lost Noah to an injury the night the Nets beat them at home for their third loss in a row and then Butler questioned the coach. It looked bleak for them at best. If I was in Vegas, I would have bet my mortgage payment the Bulls would be outclassed by the red hot Thunder on X-mas. What happened? The Bulls came out strong and controlled the game. (yes, they lose to the Mavs last night, but losing to the Nets and Butlers comments woke the team up)

This season is FAR from over. I'm not worried.

Me, too, Vers. But, I think you are correct in saying it. He uses the word rhythm a lot, but does nothing to create it sometimes. Like you and others have said on this board. He is far more effective driving the lane or posting. He simply can't be stopped because of his physicality.