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Man...........I totally disagree w/you guys on whose fault this is.

I still can't believe that guys who know bb can't see what is happening in Cleveland.

Weird.

With great power comes great responsibility.

The Cavs gave the keys (and the checkbook) to LeBron and he is subverting the coach and not giving effort on defense.

Prediction:

If the Cavs lose to the Lakers, Blatt doesn't make it back to Cleveland.

Agreed.

And that would be the mistake that would probably push me over the edge.

Haha. Solid defensive effort here by Lebron in tonight's game.

Defense!

I don't see how you can put all the blame on lebron but think blatt is some genius.. it's silly. ..the biggest issue is defense..and blatts rotations and inability to lead. These offense sets are horrible. And griffin gave up 2 firsts for a guy that can't score rebound or defend and blatt leaves him on bench for quarters at a time. We need a true pg. That would keep the ball out of lebron hands and might free up the offense. Looks like clips are buying out farmar. I'd bring him in and get rid of dellevedova

Cavaliers finally seem to be playing a little in the 4th.

Marion blows the drive, but Thompson cleans it up.

Kobe had 17 assists, AND WE WON??!?!

Marion is so worthless...he misses more layups than any NBA player should...and hes clearly lost a step on defense...not sure how much he has to give us. Well we atleast won last night, I won't say it was a good win, but it was a win. Lakers really suck..so barely beating them doesn't impress me much.. Tonight will be a better test to see how things are going against clippers.. I'm so glad we gave up 2 firsts for a guy that can't even get in the game . The more I watch this team its evident that until Kyrie decides he wants to play team basketball and learn how to run the offense we are going to be mediocre getting by on individual effort. Kyrie is a great ball handler and has shown he can be a prolific scorer at times, but he can't run the offense, he turns the ball over way too much. He would be an amazing 2 guard if he was 4 inches taller. I would love to find a way to get Calderon, or even seeing if we can snag felton, and it looks like farmar will be bought out now that rivers has his son who sucks. Farmar is much better than austin rivers..nepotism at its finest. Shumpert needs to hurry up and get back. JR has been a nice surprise...he's the guy i rather take a clutch shot over anyone on the team...the moment is never too big for him.. speaking of..Lebron and the team in general at the FT line is just unacceptable. You can't be called best player in the game and be shooting 71% FT..thats just poor work ethic..I never shot below 80% and I'm not the best player in the game..lol. I really hope we turn it around because I like Blatt as a person and I know he has the ability to figure out the NBA, he just needs time. But we are running out of it.

Right, Shumpert will take a lot of Marion's minutes away.

There was a report that the Cavs are also interested in Nate Robinson too. He was fantatic as a bench guy in Chicago, but that was a few years back. He went somewhere, played iffy, and then torn up his knee. If we could get the Chicago Nate, that would be great (though his defense was always suspect at best).

We need to get Delly and Marion to the bench.

Robinson is going to the Clippers.

Oh man ... want to talk about making Blatt's job even harder. He already has a team that doesn't always seem to want to play together. They just added a high maintenance guy in JR Smith. He can be effective, but has to play his role, and if he doesn't feel that his role is big enough, well, his history tells us that he will make sure he gets his shots, no matter what.

Then we want to add Robinson, who is just as high maintenance as Smith. Robinson is a shoot first PG. He is shooting 34% from the floor, and only 26% from 3 point range this year. I wonder if adding another old and broken down player is the way to go. I know that he's only 30, but he's a pretty beat up 30 at this point. He doesn't appear to be back to normal after his knee. He has had wrist and back issues so far this season which have forced him to miss games.

I would guess that Blatt is praying under his breath that Robinson signs elsewhere.

Blatt won't have to deal with him very long anyway.

Exactly, pinning everything on Lebron is dumb. They won a grand total of ONE game with him out of the lineup, so unless you want to insinuate that he's coaching everyone to suck behind Blatt's back, I don't know what to tell you.

He's definitely not blameless though. He's playing some extremely lazy basketball. But the problems go a little deeper than, "If Lebron would just play the Princeton offense like Blatt wants, then we'll magically be awesome overnight".

Our main problem has always started with defense. It was one of the biggest issues a few of us had with bringing in Kevin Love. We were pairing a guy that couldn't play defense with an undersized center, 2 other guys that can't play defense, and a SF that only plays defense in the playoffs. So naturally, we've been terrible and our offense hasn't been able to keep us in games. The players threw up the white flag just a few weeks into the season.

It's obvious that the players have quit on Blatt, but I do agree that getting rid of Blatt isn't really going to fix anything. Perhaps things will get better in a few weeks when Shump is in the lineup and we've got at least half of our starters that can play active defense (when they want to) ... but I'm not sure what we really can do at this point.

thats why i rather sign a guy like farmar...he's a good pg and decent shooter..and can space the floor and knock down a 3..i think he can do alot more than rivers let him do

Right, I'm not saying Robinson should sign here, just that if he does, I want the Chicago version of Robinson (the fearless shooter off the bench that light a fire under the starters butts). Although, there's no version of Robinson that ever played defense, and that's not something this teams needs right now.

Yeah, defense has always been a foreign concept to Robinson. If he is healthy, then maybe he could be that instant offense kind of guy .... but he is also a black hole for the ball, and for a PG, that is hardly the ideal. He has never been a guy to dish out a lot of assists.

It's funny. I was looking at his stats, and did you know that he had 10 blocked shots when he was with the Bulls?

I hadn't seen this:

David Blatt took Cavs bowling instead of practicing Wednesday - CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bask...icing-wednesday

David Blatt surprised the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. The team boarded the bus on the way to "practice" at UCLA, but instead wound up going bowling in Hollywood. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Chris Haynes:

"I was like, 'Where are we going?'" Tristan Thompson recalled to Northeast Ohio Media Group. "I was confused."

…

"I was surprised, but I knew we were going somewhere else once we didn't go the route towards UCLA. I know where the campus is," Thompson said. "It's only five minutes from our hotel. We were leaving Westwood and headed towards Hollywood. I knew coach was up to something."

…

"I think it was a surprise for most guys," Kevin Love said. "It just helped so much. We all needed a break from it all."

…

"It (bowling) didn't seem to affect too many people's jump-shots. This man (J.R. Smith) was throwing a six-pound ball around," Love revealed. "Those events are fun. We were able to go out there and bowl, eat bad food and enjoy ourselves. It had us loose for the game."

The Cavs, loose? That's new. And so is Blatt receiving praise for just about anything, lately. Given all the hoopla and "noise," as Love likes to call it, surrounding the team, this seems like a savvy move by the first-year NBA head coach. That's not to say it's the reason why they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday -- no team should need any kind of excursion to beat the Lakers -- but it probably helped their collective mindset.

Cleveland is back to .500 after the win in Los Angeles. It will be back at the Staples Center on Friday to face the Los Angeles Clippers. We'll see if everybody's still loose then.

I really despise when guys like you misrepresent what I am saying. You are using hyperbole to make me look stupid.

You don't have to agree w/what I say. I don't care if you agree or not, but please stop misrepresenting what my message is in some freaking lame attempt to make me look bad and you look like a know-it-all!

Man, exciting game in LA tonight between the Cavaliers and the Clippers. Cavaliers up 123-119 with the ball and 14.6 seconds left.

And the Cavaliers cannot buy a call. That was a ridiculous non call on a Clipper hanging onto Lebron.

Man, this has been a continuing theme tonight. These officials have been brutal tonight. They have missed so many calls that should have been in the cavaliers favor ...... but the Cavaliers still lead with 2 shots coming, and 9 seconds left.

Delly knocks down 2 shots to push the lead back to 4! Then Lebron grab the rebound off the Clippers miss!

Cavaliers win 126-121!

Nice game by the Cavaliers. They were missing Love tonight, but they played hard all game, and pulled off a tough win.

Kyrie had a huge game with 37, and played some really nice defense on Chris Paul. Tristan Thompson also had a huge game for the Cavaliers, and of course, so did Lebron.

Big win for the Cavaliers, going into a very good team's home court and beating them, while controlling the game down the stretch.

This is really interesting.

Cleveland Cavaliers have expressed interest in backup point guard Jordan Farmar | cleveland.com
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/01/cleveland_cavaliers_have_expre.html

LOS ANGELES – The Cleveland Cavaliers have inquired about recently-waived backup point guard Jordan Farmar, a league source told Northeast Ohio Media Group.

The dialogue was explained as a "feeling-out" process. Farmar, 28, was bought out of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. He clears waivers on Sunday.

In his lone season with Clippers, Farmar and head coach Doc Rivers couldn't get on the same page and his numbers suffered because of it. Last season as a member of the Lakers, he averaged 10.1 points, 4.9 assists and shot 44 percent from three-point range.

He's very much still a quality backup. He also has ties with Cavaliers coach David Blatt, playing for Blatt in 2011 with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The Cavaliers are going through a transformation process with the recent addition of three needle-moving players in Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, but General Manager David Griffin isn't done wheeling and dealing.

The team is in search of a backup point guard. AJ Price was the team's third point guard behind Matthew Dellavedova, but he was waived earlier in the month. Cleveland wants to add more depth at that spot.

"We're at 14. We'd like to address something there at that position," Griffin said in a presser after the team's latest acquisitions.

On Thursday Yahoo! Sports reported the Cavaliers expressed interest in Nate Robinson, who clears waivers Saturday evening.

Cleveland will be extensively evaluating point guards who are on the verge of being waived or bought out. The Cavaliers are not in a rush to fill that last roster spot, but at the opportune time, they plan to snag another floor general.

That game was freaking nuts.


Great play call tonight by Blatt on that sideline out of bounds. Knew Clips were going to overplay Irving and Thompson slipped the screen for the and 1.

and



While we need a backup 1, the last thing we need is another guy who doesn't buy into what the coach is selling. Not saying that will happen, but......

Farmar used to play for Blatt. He will know if he can get him on the same page or not.

We need a ball handler for the 2nd unit. Farmar would do well there (though we also need another big and only have 1 roster spot).

Looks like they were reading my posts about farmar. .lol, it would be a solid pickup. Last night was a great game and was more like what we all envisioned in the beginning. Only comment I have is Shawn Marion freaking sucks. He has nothing left. So many missed layup down the stretch. Oh and this was easily the worst ref'd game I've ever watched. They did not want the clips to lose

If we get farmar and still want to add a big we can always cut delli. He don't belong in nba anyways

I really wish they would be better in transition defense. That would be a good start. Still a nice win though. Lebron looked like the old Lebron last night. Irving was sensational. Outplayed Paul big time. Thompson was great too. Wish we could get consistency out of him. Getting 24/12 is not reasonable, but just being a little more steady.

Shump is going to be a nice addition once he gets back.

LeBron doesn't feel like playing defense. Must have been chill mode.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/23318...k-the-other-way

I've been pleasantly surprised by JR Smith. He's playing hard right now. He's had off nights, but he hasn't been the shot chucking idiot he was in New York. He's trying to rebound and defend too. He's the one guy who has "brought it" every night since we added him.

He has played extremely hard in every game he's played for us so far. He has shown some quick hands on defense too.

Note - the Cavs aren't mentioned in this article


Trade rumors begin to swirl around Miami Heat
BY JOSEPH GOODMANJGOODMAN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
01/16/2015 11:11 PM 01/17/2015 1:05 AM

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers (15) talks to teammates in the second quarter during a game against the Chicago Bulls at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014.
Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers (15) talks to teammates in the second quarter during a game against the Chicago Bulls at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. HECTOR


The Heat might be interested in roster moves that would further break up its championship teams from 2012 and 2013.

Norris Cole, Chris Andersen, Luol Deng, Mario Chalmers, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem all have been mentioned in trade rumors over the past few days and weeks, and activity around the league could trigger changes soon. It’s no secret the Heat is in the market for a power forward after losing Josh McRoberts to a season-ending knee injury, but team president Pat Riley might also be looking to add a guard.

Nothing was imminent before Friday’s game in Sacramento, but the Heat has options and by all signs the team seems determined to improve for a playoff push. The Heat was seventh in the Eastern Conference entering Friday’s game at Sleep Train Arena, and new hope emerged throughout the locker room and front office during this five-game road trip with the quick development of center Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside, who had three double-doubles in five games before playing the Kings, has transformed the Heat’s defense and given Riley and general manger Andy Elisburg more flexibility in which to upgrade the roster. The trade deadline is Feb.19, but trade season is already here and, with many two-year contracts on the books, the Heat could package several players in multi-team deals.

Related

Miami Heat guard Norris Cole dribbles the ball in the second quarter during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015..
Miami Heat guard Norris Cole dribbles the ball in the second quarter during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.. | Hector Gabino el Nuevo Herald File

Miami Heat caps West Coast trip with win over Sacramento Kings
Heat Check Blog
Trade speculation at this point in the season is a reality for most teams, but the Heat avoided much of that drama during its years with LeBron James.

“Welcome to the NBA,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Once you get to this month, rumors and stories out there are wild, and 99 percent of them don’t come true. So, you control what you can control. That’s part of being mentally tough.

“We talk about it all the time. Does that affect your paycheck? Does that affect you doing your job? No. Does that mean it’s easy? Probably not.”

On Thursday, it was reported by Yahoo!Sports that the Heat recently offered Cole, Andersen and McRoberts to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez. That specific deal never materialized, but others likely will be proposed by and to the Heat’s front office in the coming days and weeks. At the very least, the Heat has a $2.6 million exception available to replace McRoberts.

With three point guards on the team, and rookie Shabazz Napier now starting, the Heat could be preparing to move Cole, who is in the last guaranteed year of his contract with only a qualifying offer after this season. Cole is an elite perimeter defender and a two-time NBA champion, but his three-point shooting has dipped this season to 29 percent. The Heat’s new slow-tempo offense works best with consistent shooters.

Cole is aware that the Heat might be shopping him around, but he said on Friday morning that it’s not a distraction.

“Until I hear something and see the writing on the paper, I’m a member of the team I’m on now,” Cole said. “I want to help my teammates and help us to win, and that’s all I concentrate on. Until it’s in black and white, I really don’t consider it.”

Cole and the Heat couldn’t agree on a rookie-scale contract extension in October, so he will be a restricted free agent this summer.

“I have to remain professional,” Cole said. “It wouldn’t be fair to my teammates if I become a problem or anything, so I remain professional and play to win. I’m a winner. I’m a champion.”

Cole’s uncertainty comes at a time when the Heat is down its starting shooting guard. Dwyane Wade missed his second consecutive game on Friday after straining his hamstring against the Lakers on Tuesday. Spoelstra said Wade’s current left hamstring injury isn’t as severe as a similar injury that sidelined him for seven games earlier in the season. Still, Wade’s absence adds difficulty to the role of Mario Chalmers, who is now starting alongside Napier.

Chalmers began the season as a reserve but had been starting at point guard until Wade’s injury. Now Chalmers is the team’s fill-in starting shooting guard but with some point-guard responsibilities as well.

“It has been an adjustment,” Chalmers said. “As the point guard of the team, you’ve got to be able to adjust and still be able to make plays and still be aggressive. It’s something we’ve got to figure out when it comes to each and every game.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article7091954.html


Would we be interested in any of these guys?

Norris Cole, Chris Andersen, Luol Deng, Mario Chalmers, Josh McRoberts and Udonis Haslem


I would say no to McRoberts seeing as he is out the rest of the season, and no to Deng. I having seen enough recent play from the others to offer an opinion. From the article it sounds like we would be giving up TT if we wanted any of them.

i think playing in NY was just toxic, he's proven when he has something to play for he's an excellent teammate and will play hard. Which is also why Blatts decision to play delli who isn't even an NBA player over JR down the stretch..there is not a single thing that he does better than JR.

Haslem or Anderson i'd take..both would go a long way to fix our bench, defense and toughness

JRs two best years were years that his teams did well. Knicks had a solid year then went to the playoffs and Denver went to the WCF.

I'd take Anderson in a heartbeat, except that we can't fit him on the roster. He is under contract for $5.3 million this year, and $5 million next year. We need a guy who would fit, who could play decent minutes, has been amnestied, and who wants to take a minimum deal to play on a contender. (Like Farmar could be)

Yikes! Remember when this guy was likely to be our pick?

Report: Joel Embiid weighs around 300 pounds, skipping conditioning - CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bask...ng-conditioning

The Philadelphia 76ers' rebuilding plan is centered around big man Joel Embiid and his incredible potential to be a franchise-changing center in the NBA. Despite a fracture in his back and a foot fracture, Embiid was taken third in the 2014 draft by general manager Sam Hinkie because if he's healthy, he's the best prospect in the draft. The first year of Embiid's rookie contract though is going to be him rehabbing his broken foot and waiting to get back ont he court.

According to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, this rehab isn't going that well in terms of Embiid's weight. Embiid weighed about 245 pounds as a draft prospect and is reportedly pushing 300 pounds at the moment after some conditioning issues. He's supposedly had a blowup with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis and missed some conditioning drills in his road to recovery.

Embiid has a weight issue. Although the Sixers wouldn't disclose his weight, a source said he's close to 300 pounds after being 250 pounds at Kansas last season.

His work ethic is being questioned by some inside the organization.

The Sixers are trying to address the added weight. Embiid, however, hasn't always been a willing workout participant, according to sources. He's even blown off conditioning drills, one source added.

An altercation with Davis during the West Coast trip, coupled with Brown's wanting him to be in "more of a structured, stable environment," pushed the Sixers to send him home, the sources said.

Obviously, Embiid's work ethic is being juxtaposed with his fun loving persona on Twitter in which he makes a lot of jokes. It causes some people to question his maturity, even though social media shouldn't really show whether or not he'll be a great player in the NBA. If the reports of his weight are true and especially if the reports of him blowing off limited conditioning drills are true, that's a big problem for the moment.

Embiid isn't going to play this season but he needs to be ready for next season to get his career going. And him being overweight with a history of foot fractures isn't going to give you a lot of confidence in his long-term health. Embiid having frustrations with his rehab isn't a big deal, even if his conditioning drills have been skipped because of it. What is a big deal is if it's a problem that persists long-term and it causes him to not rebound to getting back into his regular conditioning routine.

He won't be able to have a fulfilling career if he can't stay healthy and being in poor shape is a way to almost guarantee he'll be injury prone. But it's too early to worry about that long-term, as long as the Sixers and Embiid can get back on the same page with his health moving forward.