DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs & Basketball Thread V

Otto Porter is a stud, anyone watch him last night?

He's exactly what we need at SF

we are moving the ball better w/o Kyrie. that speaks in part to the fact that Kyrie still needs to improve his court vision, but largely that just happens to be the best part of Livingston's game. in the long-run, there is no way we are a better team without him, but the team did well in his absence the past two nights (a good sign).

Walton looks like the younger version of himself when he was a valuable glue guy. I am shocked that he's playing this well and continuing to do it (it's been since mid-January).

I am afraid that Speights may be gone ..... but I hope not. He really is a valuable guy. I do worry that he might be playing himself into a starter type salary .... and unless we dump Andy somehow, I also worry that we won't be able to afford him.

I'd dump Andy for Speights in a heartbeat. Andy should not be in the long-term plans of the Cavs. The fact that he'll have missed something like 65% of games over the past three seasons should be enough to indicate that.

Unfortunately at this point I don't know how much of a trade market exists for a guy owed nearly $19 million and who hasn't been able to play more than 1/3 of a (normal length) season.

Not at all. You can't rely on a guy who has proven that he cannot stay healthy. Andy has proven exactly that. He's unreliable. I'll take a decrease in production in exchange for 70+ games as opposed to 25-30 games. Not to mention that Andy being out means that Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller, guys who are part of the long-term plans, are getting a ton of valuable playing time.

If we were an established team where Andy was not expected to be a centerpiece of the team, then yeah, I would take him. But we're not, and we can't have guys who are expected to carry the team spending all of their time hurt.

I'm not saying something one way or the other but it is kind of funny that since LBJ left, he can't stay on the floor.

Hurt this year, hurt last year, hurt the year before.

LBJ years

'06-'07 (first year where his role increased as part of rotation) 81 games
'07-'08 48 games (legitimately hurt)
'08-'09 81 games
'09-'10 76 games

It's interesting, at least.

but you are insinuating something.

i'm not trading an allstar with reduced games played (PER 19 last year and 22 this year) for an average player (PER 14 last year and 17 this year). that is what you are suggesting to do here.

Andy is our Manu. The Spurs aren't giving up Manu anytime soon. And, there are so many players playing into their 30s that I am surprised so few think Andy will be able to do it. It's not like he's relying on elite above-the-rim athleticism to do what he does.

there is no doubt that the Cavs are keeping people out a little longer than we would if we were competing for a playoff berth.

however, I don't think that applies to Andy this time as getting a blood clot and going on a blood thinner regime is no joke.

You know sometimes there is just something that makes you not like a player. This year it is Shabazz, I know he is a good player, good to great scorer. After watching the Bruins beat Washington a couple of weeks ago. I don't want Shabazz.

The ball was inbounded and Shabazz was clapping his hands for the ball and he didn't get it. Someone else shot the game winner and made it. The bruins won and watching him sulk, not congratulate his teammates, he just walked off the court like a little kid, makes me pass on him.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ucla-beats-washington-59-57-051816792--ncaab.html

He's going to get a 3/21 or 4/27 type offer, which the Cavs would be foolish to match. I hope it stays in the $5 mill range, but I doubt it.

Multiple reports that the Cavs are talking buyout with Casspi so that he can sign with the Rockets for the playoffs.

and I'm pretty certain Shabazz is going to be the best player in this draft class.

Scottie Pippen 2.0

Man looking at the playoffs, I kind of feel sorry for the Spurs. They might have to face the Lakers in the first round, which won't be easy. Then a tough physical Memphis team. Then they might have to face the explosive Thunder. Then after they get through that they'd have the pleasure of facing Miami

the west is an absolute meat grinder this year.

Nikola Pekovic is awesome, but dude looks like an Albanian human trafficker from Taken.

Good gawd that photo is bizarre looking. Looks like he found some sort of dwarf version of Zach Galifianakis.

Pekovic is a beast of a man. I didn't even know he was capable of smiling. He might be the scariest guy in the league when he's on the court. He looks like someone who should be chasing Jason Statham.

remember when we almost traded for this guy?

phew!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-d...13320--nba.html

What a freakin disaster for philly

Love me some Chris Grant. Smart guy.

I find it funny that some of these bonehead sports talk personalities, and the idiots who call into their shows were railing on Grant, as well as the Waiters pick, and the pick of Tristan Thompson.

I'm not going to sit here and puff my chest out and say I thought either of those guys were going to become good solid players, but I am from the school of wait and see. You have to love people who overreact on freaking draft night.

I've said it before on this forum. I absolutely love how the Cavs are building this thing. The decision happened, and they loaded up on as many draft picks as possible. They hit big on Kyrie Irving, and he's being brought up with company. I never felt like Lebron had that when he was with the Cavs. They had to make other deals to bring players for him. Kyrie is growing with 2 other lotto picks, and a few other guys who are young and have promise. That's how you begin to build a team. There are still crucial moments he has to get right in the next 2 summers, but I'm really happy with how it is going.

I didn't want to take Irving, largely due to his inexperience, and the fact that he had only played a few games in college.

He worried me a great deal.

I had no idea who Tristan Thompson really was.

However, Grant was correct, and got great value with both picks.

This past draft brought us Waiters and Zeller. I loved that we went with a super athletic SG like Waiters, even if he was a backup in college. I also loved the fact that Grant was able to grab a quality big midway through the draft, by trading away spare parts type draft picks.

I think that these 4 players are going to form the core of a really good to great team.

Let's assume that Irving maintains his production of 23 PPG. Let's further assume that Dion Waiters grows from rookie to sophomore, and his PPG increases to the low to mid 20s range as well. (absolutely not out of the question) I can absolutely see Tristan as a15 PPG/15 RPG type player. I love that he has already improved his free thrown shooting significantly, and that he has developed that nice little hook shot. His offensive game is really coming around, and he is hitting the boards really hard.

That's 3 guys I feel really good about.

Let's say that we add a starting quality SF in the draft, and Zeller adds some muscle to his frame and comes in around 250# next season. He's overpowered this year, but still has had a few double rebound games, and is averaging 8.1 PPG/6 RPG. That's solid for a rookie Center. He seems to be wearing down a bit ..... but he should be better prepared next year.

I am really excited about the future of this team.

I didn't have Tristan that high (I wanted Kawhi Leonard). I liked him (he's a UTx guy, so I saw him a bunch), but he seemed pretty limited on offense. Grant did his homework on him apparently and knew he was an incredibly hard worker and banked on him improving.

I fell in love with Irving's game before the foot injury at Duke. He's the only guy who has ever made me subconsciously root for them because his play was (and is) mesmorizing.

I had Waiters behind Terrence Ross, Jeremy Lamb, and Harrison Barnes (of the guys available when we picked). Barnes has been solid and I still have high hopes for the other two, but Waiters is by far the best player at this point.

And, I was a big Tyler Zeller fan. Like J-Lamb, I knew he was going to require some work (does not have NBA strength), but he's so fundamentally strong. I am hoping an offseason helps him make big leaps next season.

Irving's game against Michigan State had me convinced

I saw very little of TT in college, but liked what I heard.

Saw Waiters but was a bit worried since he was a bench guy. Still though I had faith in Grant.

As far as Zeller goes, it's really hard to bang on any pick that nets you back a 7 footer. I know not every 7 footer turns out to be a good pro, but I can't knock you for taking one, especially with where the pick was. I hope he fills out a bit more, I think he's got a good shot to stay in the rotation even when this team is ready to take the next step or two.

What's the floor / ceiling for Waiters?

Floor - He gets complacent, gets fat, becomes more of a chucker, is the first guard off the bench.

Ceiling - Wade 2.0?

Enes Kanter went for 23 and 22 tonight, couldn't help but think of our resident UK guy Top Dawg and his constant pimping of him.

Damn just give this man PT....

To be fair, not a lot of human beings on the planet are as fast as Wade was in his prime