Watched the Rockets/Jazz game last night and also part of the Warriors/Pelicans game.

Observation: Jay Crowder doesn't seem to do much to help the team. Also his teammates don't pass the ball to him too often, even when he's open. And when he does get the ball and shoots? He rarely seems to make his shot. Personally? I think he's just filling space. P.S. He has a cool hairdo.

Warriors are a well-oiled machine. Tough to beat. Impressive. Champs.

It looks like I'm going to be right on my 4-1 prediction with the Celts and 76ers, although my prediction came after game 1. I'm going to predict the same thing for the Warriors and Rockets. Paul, as good as he is, is in unfamiliar territory (Conf Finals). I think there's a ton of pressure on him to perform well, which I don't think he'll pull off. Why? Because we know Harden will start choking and Paul will have to do more than usual.

4-1 Warriors.

Now that the Warriors are healthy, there's no stopping them.

Celtics close it out tonight.

Warriors almost sweep the Rockets IMO. They'll handle them

Well

No doubt. I heard Durant is wanting more $ and going to ask for a restructure. They can't pay all the people there, that team is STACKED. It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds after the season.

IF that is true, it just furthers the fallacy that pro players aren't after money, just the ring. We here it all the time. "It's not the money..............."

Go 76ers! Extend the series!

I think these elite players like Kevin and LBJ for example, they can chase both depending what they want at the moment. Run for a ring, exercise opt out and then it becomes a run for the money. They usually don't get both in one swing so-to-say.

Talent and etc grants you a lot of luxury/sway it would seem.

I never understood why players would rather have 27 million per year than say 22 million per year if it meant a better chance at a championship.

You want that extra 5 million? Tell your agent to get as many endorsements as possible

To quote the movie "The Replacements"...

"Dwight, I know $5 million a year sounds like a lot of money...

...but I have to pay 10 percent to my agent, 5 percent to my lawyer...

Do you know what insurance costs on a Ferrari, mother..."

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23445...rs-nba-playoffs

*** This is a pretty decent article explaining KLove and Korver's dynamics.. it's readadble here but I'd click on the article to see the video's***

As he walked the ball up after a Toronto Raptors basket with five minutes left in what would go on to be the most catastrophic Game 1 loss in the history of a franchise that specializes in Game 1 losses, LeBron James turned back to Kevin Love and muttered instructions out of enemy earshot: "Go get Kyle."

Kyle Korver had almost reached his starting position in the left corner as James whispered to Love. He's not sure if he even saw the conversation. When Korver does notice LeBron pausing to chat with Love, he can guess the subject matter: "Go get Kyle."

"If I see Bron talking to Kevin, I know what's coming," Korver says. "Other times, I'm the last to know. It's not like he can call out the play. You have to hide it."

The play is this: Love jogging over as if to set a pick for LeBron, only to veer suddenly toward the corner and hammer Korver's man with a pindown screen. It is the meanest version of a set that has spread into almost every playbook.

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It also became the first building block in a unique partnership between Love and Korver that grows more complex with every game -- an improvisational off-ball dance of circles, zig-zags, and screens set in every direction until the defense falls in on itself. LeBron lords over the action from the top of the arc, waiting to fire the ball to whoever pops open.

It has reinvigorated Love, and produced the kind of secondary, LeBron-adjacent offense the Cleveland Cavaliers lacked in limping past the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Love and Korver are second and third, respectively, on the team in postseason scoring. Cleveland piled up 125 points per 100 possessions against Toronto in 99 minutes with LeBron, Love and Korver on the floor, and outscored the Raptors by 41 points over that time, per NBA.com. Korver and Love are 50-of-117 combined from deep -- 43 percent -- in the playoffs.

"Those three together are just really, really good," says Nate McMillan, the Pacers coach who dealt with them for seven games in the first round. "There really isn't anything you can plan for. They just kind of play random basketball."

McMillan still tried. He rejiggered his entire defensive scheme to account for the Korver-Love ballet. He had his center, Myles Turner, defend JR Smith so that Indiana's quickest big man -- Thaddeus Young -- could chase Love. McMillan knew he was dropping Turner into unfamiliar waters.

"We decided we'd rather have Myles defend JR than have any kind of mismatch against the Love-Korver actions," McMillan says.

Dwane Casey, the Raptors coach, stuck with Jonas Valanciunas -- a traditional center -- on Love until Game 4 of Cleveland's sweep. He paid the price.

Korver and Love would smile hearing McMillan describe what they do as "random." Aside from that set pindown play, they react in the moment to how the defense approaches them -- and which two defenders are involved. It mostly starts with Korver positioning himself to run around a Love screen. That is dangerous enough. Staying attached to Korver at all costs is on the first page of any opponent scouting report.

Some defenders plant themselves between Korver and Love, barricading Korver's path to the pick -- a technique coaches call "top-blocking." A variant: Korver's defender might glue himself onto Korver's outside hip, closer to the sideline, taking an angle that would make it easier to maneuver around Love's screen.


NBA
When Korver feels a defender doing that -- almost climbing onto his back -- he'll slice backdoor. If the cut gets Korver open, Love's defender will often sag back to snuff the direct pass from LeBron to Korver. That risks leaving Love open for a 3-pointer.

Against Toronto, Korver used the threat of his backdoor cut to prey on poor Valanciunas -- and to get Love going. He knew Valanciunas would drift back toward the rim, and instead of zipping by the big fella, Korver just smashed him with a pick:


Korver shoved Valanciunas so far as to force Toronto into switching. Korver got out of the way, and let Love feast.

"We really wanted to get Kevin going in the post," Korver says.

Two possessions later, Kyle Lowry tried a different technique to eliminate the backdoor cut. He positioned himself between Korver and the basket, and prepared to chase him:


NBA
Korver understood Lowry would be girding for a race around Love's pick. He faked that way, baited Lowry into overreacting, and then knifed into the very same backdoor cut Lowry was hellbent on taking away:


"We just do these things on the fly," Korver says. "It's just making reads. Everything works better if it's just you making reads."

Korver would be threatening running off screens from Bismack Biyombo. Using a screener who can shoot 3s and post up is unfair. Trap Korver, and Love fades to the corner for a quick-trigger triple. Switch, and Love bulldozes a little guy.

"You can't put a 5 on Love," McMillan says. "You just can't."

Sometimes, Love will rush down and screen for Korver in the corner instead of waiting for him. If Love makes contact, he might plow into the paint and drag Korver's defender with him -- engineering the same switch:


Korver and Love watch film together, hoping to discover new strains of this virus. "He has made me a better pro, in terms of watching film and really breaking it down," Love says of Korver.

A partnership with Love has given Korver a way to remain engaged. A lot of spot-up shooters who play with LeBron stand still, waiting for LeBron to break the defense and kick the ball out. Korver cannot stand still. He's hyperactive, impatient, curious as to what kind of space he can unlock for others just by moving around. He found two muses in Atlanta in Mike Budenholzer and Quin Snyder, a Hawks assistant in 2013-14, but even Budenholzer sometimes wanted Korver to chill in the corner.

There are times when Korver just kind of runs and hits people, like a human bumper car. Without willing partners, it doesn't really accomplish much. (Keep an eye on him on the left side:)


"I still hear Bud in my head saying, 'Quit moving so much!'" Korver says, laughing. But the Cavs have concluded they are more unpredictable with Korver in motion.

"This team wants me to kind of run around," Korver says. "So I have to quiet Bud's voice down."

It also energizes Love, and conjures post-ups for him. It's hard to remember now, but Love was an active and cagey cutter in Minnesota.


When Love feels like a participant, and not a bystander, he tends to play with more spirit on both ends. "We can't just stand and watch LeBron," Korver says. "That's a trap we all fall into. It's fine to do that sometimes. But we have to stay involved."

For the season, the Cavs have scored almost 1.1 points per possession when a Love screen for Korver leads directly to a shot, and almost 1.3 points per possession -- a gigantic number near the top of the overall leaderboard -- when Korver screens for Love, per Second Spectrum tracking data.

Love, Korver and Tyronn Lue keep exploring new wrinkles. How about a back screen from Korver in the middle of the floor as LeBron handles the ball up top?


The Raptors had no clue that was coming. Even if they did, what are you supposed to do? If Korver's man -- Lowry again -- lingers in the paint until Valanciunas recovers onto Love, Korver zips up into an easy triple. Sending help from the corners leaves either Smith or George Hill free. Switch, and Love goes into bully mode while Korver dares Valanciunas to keep up with him.

Stay home, and Love jets in for a layup. "We are just out there manipulating the game," Love says. "Kyle has been gold for us."

Another favorite: Love and Smith set a monster double pick for Korver, only Korver slithers in between the two screens and beelines for the rim. Hell, he might do that, and then U-turn back around Love toward the corner:


Good luck tracking that.

There haven't been many strictly off-ball two-man games this sophisticated involving a big and a wing. McMillan compares it to John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek screening for each other while Karl Malone held the ball in the post. But that involved two guards bobbing and weaving. Golden State's off-ball action between players of all sizes comes to mind.

Korver has imported a lot of the quirks he developed with Paul Millsap and Al Horford in Atlanta, though Love is a more willing 3-point shooter than those guys, with a quicker release. Love brought in an old Minnesota favorite. Does this look familiar?


It should.


"I asked Kevin how he'd feel if I threw him the ball and did that," Korver recalls, "and he was like, 'I did that with Kevin Martin all the time!'"


If they face Boston in the Eastern Conference finals, Love and Korver will have to add even more deception. The Celtics are ultra-switchable with Horford at center, and any three of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum or Marcus Morris on the floor. Smart has spent much of this round hounding JJ Redick, and probably would draw a big chunk of the Korver assignment. He is sturdy enough to withstand at least some of Love's post-ups.

If the Sixers somehow rally, they will have to decide whether Joel Embiid can handle this -- or if they need to stash him someplace else as McMillan did with Turner. (They have already shifted him off of Horford in their current series when possible.)

Either way, Korver and Love are brainstorming. They have discussed changing speeds more -- strolling toward each other, and then accelerating into top gear at the last second.

"I think we can get a lot better," Korver says. "There's the game, and then there's the game Kevin and I play within the game."

great article. There's no doubt that they cause the defense a lot of unnatural rotations and stuff ... especially with lebron on the court too

game 1 is sunday at 330 ... I would always prefer it to be at night; i hate afternoon games

Kyrie Irving: Leaves to be the man, both teams make the ECF without him.

Very funny.

And I say that with a heart full of respect for Kyrie and that June 19th 3-pointer he hit in 2016.

Cavs seem to be pulling everything together at the right time. I still think they have their flaws, which if they were to make the finals, will get exposed.

From the moment they lost last year's finals, to right now, they have literally had 3 different teams. To be where they are now, regardless of what you think of the competition in the Eastern Conference, is nothing short of amazing, and a real testament to how good Lebron is.

I just hope whenever this run does end, with the possibility of this being the swan song for Lebron in Cleveland, that we all don't sit here and eat our young, blaming coaches, players, owners, and everything else.

It was an amazing run. Tons of great memories, one incredible series in June that ended 5 decades of heartbreak.

I know that's not how it will play out. We'll blame Tyron Lue for the Cavs not winning 3 straight championships, as if the Warriors don't have four all stars, and some of us will probably hold it against Lebron for moving his career elsewhere.

I will look back at these last four years as a lot of fun, probably because I didn't overreact to them struggling in January every single season, or because they lost to a really good team like the Warriors.

Boston is a good team, with good young players, I think the Cavs win, but it will be a pretty hard fought series.

If you are one of the top tier players, LeBron, KD, Kawhi, etc.. it's about the ring until have one or two....

GO CELTICS

Toronto has fired coach Dwane Casey, league source tells ESPN.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/994961105809235968

Raptors announce firing of coach Dwane Casey. A fantastic run in Toronto, and a wonderful regular season. But in the end, LeBron himself may as well have written this press release.

https://twitter.com/sam_amick/status/994962479410130944

He still has an outside chance of winning Coach of the Year too.

yeah, that'd be an ironic twist

I thought he already won it?

https://sports.yahoo.com/report-toronto-raptors-fire-dwane-casey-hes-named-coach-year-154347434.html

horrible move

whats funny about this is that they're gonna interview the former hawks HC.

the same HC that had the best record in the east in 2015 with 60 wins.....that got swept by lebron in the Cavs in the ECF lmfao

You don’t fire a guy that gets you to the play offs year after year. I don’t care if you run into a LeBron like player or not.

I wonder if he'll still be available when Lue gets fired....

Exactly... the Raptors aren't losing to the Cavs because Lue is so much better than Casey... they are losing because when the playoffs role around, LeBron is head and shoulders above their best player.. then when some combination of JR/Love/Korver get going, they just can't match up.

When teams like the Raptors have success against the Cavs in the regular season, LeBron's like..

he got crushed by the media for all 3 losses in games 1-3. I figured he'd be gone; they're dismantling anyways now IMO

LOL!

Has the coach of the year ever been fired in the same year before?

No great deed goes unpunished. This is beyond lame; it is stupid blind. He is a solid coach.
Punished for playoffs ain't right at all IMO.

Coaches of the Year:

Avery Johnson (05-06), gone ‘08
Sam Mitchell (06-07), gone ‘08
Byron Scott (07-08), gone ‘09
Mike Brown (08-09), gone ‘10
George Karl (12-13), gone ‘13

Casey is not a great coach, but he's also not to blame for the series loss. I've never seen a pair of athletes more in their own heads than Lowry and DeRozan, and it filters down to the rest of the team. I mean these two were talking about treating first round games each as a game 7, in the FIRST ROUND AS A ONE SEED.

Look at the way game 1 ended. You can't tell me that is coaching. Casey can't run on the court and make a simple put-back.

the idea of having Lowry take the ball out in game 1 was pretty moronic

The Cavs fired Blatt the year after he took them to the Finals. He also had a 30-11 record at the time of his firing, which was the best in their Conference the following year.

game 1 today ... i'll feel good if we get a split. Boston's been bad on the road

Wanted to give a shout out to Kyle Korver,

Your precision from 3pt range is hall of fame, bouncing back is strong, quick release

and we're going to need he and Love to keep playing (and shooting) well.

Cleveland Cavaliers Pregame Scribbles: Kevin Love and Boston's challenge -- Terry Pluto


By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer terrypluto2003@yahoo.com

BOSTON, Mass. -- Scribbles in my Cleveland Cavaliers notebook as they prepare to open the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston against the Celtics:

1. How hard will this series be for the Cavaliers? Tell me how Kevin Love will perform. I expect the Celtics to try to muscle and bully Love, much like Indiana did in he opening round of the playoffs. Boston has the guys to do it, especially 6-foot-9, 260-pound Aron Baynes. Cavs fans will probably start to loathe the New Zealand native by the end of this series.

2. Love averaged 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, shooting a dismal .333 percent from the field vs. Indiana. He had trouble holding his position near the rim in the low post. The Cavs had problems figuring out how to get him the ball. It was a mess. Love was the Cavs' second-leading scorer in that series, making it very difficult for LeBron James, who had to carry such a heavy load.

3. In Game 2 of the second-round sweep over Toronto, Love came alive. Part of it was the coaching staff using some plays where Love received the ball on the move. It also came from Love not settling for 3-point shots. He began to fake his jumper, then drive around the defender and find some surprisingly easy layups at the rim.

4. Love averaged 20.5 points and 11.5 rebounds vs. Toronto, shooting .475 from the field. That Kevin Love can help the Cavs close out this series quickly. But I doubt Boston will play the same soft Toronto defense against Love. If the Celtics don't use brute force with Baynes on Love, they could go with Al Horford - an excellent post-defender because he's quick and smart on defense.

5. I doubt much of anything in this series will resemble the matchup with Toronto. Look for Boston Coach Brad Stevens to take the grueling physical style played by the Pacers in the first round and ask his team to turn up the defensive heat. Boston tends to play that way anyway.

6. Lost in the praise of the Celtics for their unselfishness and toughness is the fact they have two very young and extremely athletic wing players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

7. Tatum has scored a franchise record 20 points in each of the last seven playoff games - the only Boston rookie ever to do that. The 6-foot-8 forward is a cousin to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue. And get this -- Tatum's father and Lue's father have a close friend: Larry Hughes. Yes, it's that Larry Hughes, who played with the Cavs from 2004-08, when James was a young player.

8. Tatum is only 20. He has what post-season scorers need -- the ability to create his own shot when set plays break down. A second-year player, Brown can do the same thing. It's why the Celtics were about to shock Philadelphia and take out the Sixers in five games. Boston was more athletic than the Sixers expected.

9. So take a bow, Terry Rozier. The former Shaker Heights Raider has been starting at point guard for the injured Kyrie Irving. He is another quick, athletic player. The 6-foot-2 Rozier is averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 assists and shooting 43 percent. He has been making one huge shot after another in the postseason. He could be a major defensive problem for Cavs point guard George Hill.

10. Hill has emerged as a key player for the Cavs in the postseason. Love has credited Hill with helping Love get easier shots, especially in pick-and-roll plays. Hill is a veteran point guard who rarely makes turnovers. Lue and James trust Hill to set up the offense. Hill missed three games with a bad back in the middle of the Indiana series. When he returned, the Cavs won five in a row.

11. Can Hill stay healthy? He doesn't want to talk about the back issues. He did say he took several injections to be able to play Game 7 against the Pacers. He looked healthy in the Toronto series, even dunking twice in Game 4.

12. But Hill has a recent history of foot, toe and back problems. Look for Boston to pressure Hill as he brings the ball up the court.

13. In the playoffs, the Cavs like to "take out" the best scorer on the other team. In the Indiana series, the goal was to focus on Victor Oladipo. In the Toronto series, it was DeMar DeRozan. J.R. Smith usually was the main defender,

14. Boston is different. The Celtics have four guys averaging 16-19 points in the postseason: Tatum, Brown, Rozier and Horford. It's a balanced attack and that could create problems for the Cavs.

15. If the Cavs can split the first two games in Boston, they probably are in very good shape. The Celtics are 7-0 at home in the playoffs, 1-4 on the road. The Cavs have been a strong road team in the postseason ever since James arrived in 2014. Some of LeBron's best games have been in Boston.

16. I originally picked the Cavs to win the series in six games. I'm sticking with it. But the more I look at Boston -- especially the Celtics balanced scoring -- the more I believe this will be a very demanding series for the Cavs. And it should be the biggest test James has had in any Eastern Conference matchup since he returned to Cleveland in the summer of 2014.

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2018/05/cleveland_cavaliers_pregame_sc_32.html

GO CELTICS

Pretty slow pace to start the game early.

We are playing decent D but the shots aren't falling.

11-7 Celtics.

Yea, we are missing almost everything. Can't win like that.

We need our own toilet paper cause we are soft

Well we finally found a big softer than Horford, his name is love. Lebron doing nothing on either end

9 to 25, with 3:36 left in the first quarter. Horrible.

Just to show the difference between a coach making a difference or a great player making a coach. Look at Lue vs Stevens. Can you imagine this team without its top two players making it to the finals

It's just nerves. This team lacks confidence. Except for Lebron.

And I think they get really nervous once they all start missing their shots and end up in a hole, like they are now.

And the pace of this game is too slow.

On pace to give up 145 points. Great defensive game plan Lue

We have to win the second quarter to have a chance in this one.

Get it under 10 by the half and Boston will start to feel the pressure.

not an ideal start .. defense is literally crap

We missed a lot of easy shots in the first. That led to some laziness on D.

Rodney Hood with a nice and 1.

whya timeout? TT woulda won the jump anyways

0-7 from 3 right now.

boston is juiced up ... i'm not sure we can crawl back here

hood with an awul shot

So soft

We look really bad right now. Looks like "the other Cavaliers" showed up today.

putrid

Game, great team vs one player who doesn’t look interested

I'm stuck at the bar with Celtics fans.

>.>

35 - 61 at half, Cavs looking like you-know-what.

Well this one is over. 3 minutes into the 3rd the score will be 71-35 when we give up our obligatory 10-2 run to start the 3rd.

Celtics called us out pregame and we ran away with our tails between our legs. Lebron included

I think it’s time to see nance, osman and jose

I don't even know why this is still on my TV. They've dismantled us like a cheap toy.

Well down 1-0.

We need to steal game 2.

I just went down and mowed my dad's lawn for him. I'm glad I left.

Lazy effort. Reward Hoods insubordination with a bunch of minutes. Coach is a schmuck.

Lebron was owned this game. He acted like he didn’t care. Guess it’s harder to justify leaving if you go to the finals for 4th year

1-0 Celtics LeBron Looks Angry Winning Game Two Will Be Tougher ... JMHO

Well, I'm glad I took mom to dinner instead of staying home to watch this turd of a game.

game 2 is pretty important in this series

You weaklings. This game just prepared me for football season. We open at Pittsburgh, right?

Yeah had to turn that one off. Hopefully next time we can start making those threes if we're going to shoot them.

can't wait for game 1 but for now, GO CAVS!

Loafing. Loo should get involved. Absolutely crappy.

What could go wrong playing folks who seem interested/ Maybe they don't score, might miss some rebounds, but they hustle. Act like you give a damn. Take it to the paint. Missing threes? Sit. ANYBODY.

While yesterday's loss was ugly, I will say this about it: Game 1 losses when on the road (ie: no home-court adv) seem to be Lebron's M.O. He seems to have been that way for awhile now.

He'll coast for the first game, trying to feel the other team out. Possibly trying to give them a false sense of security? If they can make a push late in the game and come back and steal one, they'll do it. (See Raptors last series), but if they don't think they can come back, they'll go ahead and take a 20-30 point loss while not exerting themselves too much and letting the other team think they have the series in the bag. Then they come back Game 2, actually try, and attempt to steal home-court before taking the series back home, hopefully with all the momentum.

LeBron Game 1 on the road

2018: L @ Celtics
2017: L @ Warriors
2017: W @ Celtics
2016: L @ Warriors
2015: L @ Warriors
2015: W @ Hawks
2014: L @ Spurs
2014: L @ Pacers
2012: L @ Thunder
2011: L @ Bulls
2008: L @ Celtics
2007: L @ Spurs
2007: L @ Pistons
2006: L @ Pistons

Relax.

https://twitter.com/DownWithDamon/status/995799964277075968

LeBron James on Cleveland Cavaliers' loss: 'Game 1 has always been a feel out game for me'

j/c:

I think Lue needs to shake-up the lineup against Boston. I think Love would benefit from playing the 4.

I would insert TT into the starting lineup and also give Nance some minutes at the position.

I would play Green a bit more when Love rests.

I would like to see how Boston would try and match-up against TT--Love---LeBron if they were all on the floor together.

I think Clarkson and Hood should get some time, especially if Smith and Korver start off cold.

The Cavs thrive or dive depending on how hot/cold their outside shot is. But, we need some size and toughness against Boston and we need to do a better job on the board, thus I think it's imperative that the Cavs go a little bigger against Boston.

In games where we start out fkat, i would insert cedi and nance floor a bit early on. 2 high energy guys to get things moving. Probably can’t go with that lineup for long because of their offensive deficiencies but for a brief spurt i think it would change the whole feel if the game.

Golden State vs Rockets tonight on TNT @ 9 PM for anyone that is interested.

I just hope I can stay up for a half

Tell me about it. Me too.

Me 3.

I'm gonna record it and watch it up to whenever I can, which will probably be the end of the first or second quarter. I'm getting sleepy!

Well the Warriors are stupid good.

The Rockets are easily put back in their place: after all of the narrative and support for Houston during the season .. the Warriors may sweep them.

And this is why lebron leaving and going to the west isnt happening..He goes to the west and he'll never sniff another finals rest of his career. Unless he takes vet minimum and goes to GS, which would damage his legacy beyond repair. But lebron on Philly or Boston and they'd give GS all they could handle.

Yea, the Warriors are obviously the real deal.

Rockets started off well, fans were electric. But the Warriors are better then them/the best team out there. Good game.

Which isn't that crazy to think. Harden has been a playoff dud for most of his career and Chris Paul has had bad injury luck (his or Griffin's). Neither of them has any experience on how to get it done in the conference finals, let alone against a healthy Warriors team firing on all cylinders. This Warriors team may go down as one of the best NBA dynasties ever. We're freaking lucky to have won in 2016.

We've been sold all year how great the Rockets and Warriors match up will be and that it will be the de facto Finals, but here we are and it's a snoozer.

GO CELTICS

j/c:

It blows my mind w/how much complaining D. Green gets away with. He should have been tossed a couple of times last night.

Yep.

I thought he was going to, right at the beginning.

He does add a lot of drama to the game when he gets like that, which can be fun to watch.

Pretty nervous about tonight.

to me, this feels like it's it for the Cavs. Lose tonight and it's REALLY tough sledding

How bent would the league/fans be if the Cavs get one of the top three picks?

I’m betting the Magic get the #1, then Suns and then the Griz.

Suns get 1. Ayton to PHX

We're selecting 8th.

Hope we swing it for Kawhi

LBJ sucks at the foul line...

So much for TT slowing Horford down

Lebron hitting just about everything!!!

If hill won’t play defense play jose

Defense is trash

LBJ fade away three ball, sick...

Offense trash, just standing around, it’s like we don’t have a coach

TT comes in and gets right back to being owned

I liked nance out there

Korver is draining everything...

Korver playing well, thank God.

Would've been nice if Hill threw up a better pass and he was able to dunk that ball...

Need a third wheel on offense, Korver and James can only take us so far

Hill has been worthless, I rather see Jose. I like how the team runs with Jose. Not sure what happened to the hill from Toronto series

Guess they aren’t calling flagrants anymore

Cue the cheap shots.

gotta hope he's okay

Time to take the warmups off perk

And just like that sloppy stupidity gives them all the momentum back

Horrible way to end the half, horrible. Hope LBJ is okay.

yeah, that little spurt at the end of the half might end up costly

Better get their act straight because I feel like if we give up the lead, we won't get it back.

we're slipping

ut-oh

And there’s the beginning of the end. Once again we can’t do anything if lebron doesn’t do it. Trash coach

that'll do

What world is Lue living in ??

jeff green is just bad

folding fast

The second the clock strikes zero in game 4 after we are swept Lue should be fired

This defense is criminal how bad it is. Every time I see Lue on screen I want to punch something, mostly him in the face

Jr Smith another no show, same with hill, yet Lue marches them out there with 25+ minutes. Who the hell plays small ball against Boston

Let’s keep love and lebron on bench until there’s no chance of comeback

All I know is we got fleeced in all the trades we made including the Boston trade

Jeff green should be cut after the game for that bs. This whole team is weak and soft. Not even pretending they care

Did they just say the Cavs eyeroll each other more than a couple in a bad marriage?

wtf?

Lebron saying hello 2010 remember me.

This is all terrible and I'm going to stop watching now.

It’s not even that Boston is that good, we are just that bad

Game is too close to give up now.

Still winnable if they start making all of the 3s they are settling for.. they are getting out-hustled by a much hungrier team that is playing like they have something to prove.

I really hate Jr, dude is trash. But this lineup is worse. Makes no sense

We are so weak, we just let team impose their will and we cower

That was a block if there ever was one...

Well ..... I see a sweep coming.

This team is completely out of sync. We are just so sloppy. That pass/turnover is a perfect example. We are not helping on defense ... in fact, we're not playing defense. Lebron James with the least impressive triple double of his life.

How many bad passes is that for the Cavaliers tonight?

It seems like half our passes are bad passes.

Hey guys, lets watch the Celtics play basket ball just like the fans are, we even have the best seats being RIGHT ON THE COURT AND ALL!

Cavs quit about 20 minutes ago. It's embarrassing..

JR freakin' Smith just stood there while the Celtics drove the basket. He didn't even move to help.

I am really pretty furious about the play in this game.

Kizeritis?

I don't think that Kizer had this many bad passes all season long.

And all this without Their two best players. 5/15/18, the Day basketball died in cleveland

Don't insult my Kizer by comparing him to that crap.

JR Smith isn't making any shots, therefore there is no need for him to do anything else.

Cavs will win at least 1 in Cleveland but this series is all but over and there is zero reason for LeBron to stay in Cleveland if his goal is more championships.

2-0

go away with that crap, this isn’t a Celtics board or thread

Agreed. Why would Lebron want to play with this garbage team?

I mean, seriously.

And part of this is Lebron's fault. With guys like JR Smith making 15 million a year, Triston Thompson making 15 million a year.

Then you've got George Hill at 20 million. (guess that's not Lebron's fault)

I mean, seriously. Between JR and George Hill - 3 points. In a playoff basketball game.

It's straight garbage. I don't think there's any chance Lebron stays. I don't think he's having a good time at all

What’s even worse is that Lue stuck with those scrubs without even looking for help

Yup. Without Lebron the Cavs will be in the running for the worst team in the NBA ever next season. I think they are as bad as they were when Lebron left for Miami.

It's just hard for me to think of a reason that Lebron would want to continue playing with these guys when he could just go somewhere else next season

I would think they would do some offseason trades, and get a new coach. Rather than Lebron leave. I don't think lebron WANTS to leave, I think that he would only leave if they don't take some sort of action to fix things, and he feels he has no choice. Pretty sure Gilbert will make some changes happen.

Problem is Thompson, JR, Love, Hill all have 2 more years on their contracts.. who is going to take them?

I'm not sure what magic the Cavs could work to unload some of their bad contracts and still have any money at all to replace it with better talent

Bingo! Aside from Love, who would take any of these guys at their current contracts?


The best I see the Cavs doing is working hard on selling him on a backcourt of Hill and Hood, after a season of gelling with the team.

Not much of a sell..........

And to make it worse we traded a superstar for what’s going to equate to JAG after it only being the 8th pick

things are not looking good.

I'm thankful we won a championship, but realize this team/franchise will be dead in a week

j/c:

Man, what a bunch of whiners dominate this thread. We are in the Conference Finals.

I am actually encouraged after this game.

Moving TT to the starting lineup helped. We got more boards, played better D, and his screens opened up opportunities for LeBron.

Nance gave us some quality minutes, as well. Either TT or Nance need to be in the game.

JR's shot is way off and that is killing us. I think Clarkson should have played when it was apparent JR was off.

We need a bit more from Love, but we gotta keep him at the 4. I'm positive that having TT, Love, and LeBron in the lineup at the same time makes it harder for Boston to defend because J. Brown has to take one of them and he isn't big enough to handle any of them.

We only need one win in Boston and to hold serve at home. I'm not giving up and I suspect the Cavs aren't, either.

Boston had perfect game plan. Smash us in the mouth, let lebron get his and stop everyone else. Thats exactly what happened. Bottom line is we need alot more help. Running guys like Hill and JR out there when they aren't doing anything the whole game is asinine. Blind trust in flaky guys will cost you your job and should.

A good friend of mine (from Boston) said to me..."the story of this series is not that Boston don't have Kyrie, it's that Cleveland don't have Kyrie".

This is the hard truth. LBJ can't do it alone and this supporting cast are not making it easy. The man dominated last night, but where was Smith? Where was Hill? Even the ever reliable Korver couldn't sink a shot in the 2nd half down the stretch. If LBJ does somehow manage to claw this team back to a game 7 and eek out a ECC that alone should be a massive accomplishment and possibly one of his greatest.

That said, having watched game 1 of the WCC I simply can't see how anybody will beat GSW. Rockets have the best chance and even they couldn't stop the buckets from raining down from all over the court.

I'm not saying the Cavs won't win. I'm just bringing up the fact that beyond Lebron, the Cave are ridiculously overmatched verses the Celtics.

I'm not a big Cavs fan (not from Cleveland), but the last I remember Lebron missing the finals was that year that he left Cleveland for Miami. That had to be around 2011.


So, no, I'd never question Lebron's skill. My only point is, Lebron posted a triple double with 40 something points, and the Cavs lost pretty handily. If Lebron leaves the team after the year ends, expect the Cavs to probably be the worst team in the NBA

Vers I appreciate your optimism and you can call me a whiner if you want, but I don't see a team that wants to fight for every loose ball or make the hard play when it needs to be made.

We had a game on the road, one we needed to win, we had a double digit lead, and as soon as the Celtics started making a charge we folded. We stopped hustling on defense, we stopped working for good shots and just started running the shot clock down and heaving up 3-pointers. In hindsight, the young and inexperienced Celtics were playing with a world of confidence and the veteran experienced Cavs looked scared. That's the only way I can explain some of those stupid second half turnovers and poor shot selection - panic.

The best analogy I can give you is Tiger Woods.. for more than a decade the whole golf world knew that if Tiger showed up and played just good, not even great, they couldn't beat him.. he was in everybody's head and they got flustered trying to beat him. That's the hold LeBron has had on the east for years.. then in 2009/2010, people stopped fearing Tiger.. I don't think anybody is afraid of the Cavs any more, they don't sit around expecting LeBron to just rise up and take over.. and even if he does once or twice, he doesn't have enough help to do it consistently.

I think the Raptors are just a good match-up for the Cavs, none of the other teams near the top of the NBA are a good match-up.. I think dominating the Raptors was a mirage and that opportunity doesn't exist against any of the other teams remaining.

I know GSW has an embarrassment of talent.. but Steve Kerr and Brad Stevens are on a different planet from Ty Lue with regard to what they get out of their players..

So call me whatever you want, but it might actually be a blessing if the Cavs don't advance because these struggles against the young up-start Celtics would be 40 point blow-outs against GSW in the finals.

since losing kyrie, the issue has been obvious, outside of lebron, we have all role players. We don't have that guy that can take over a game and determine the outcome. We got fleeced in Boston trade. We should have held out for Tatum or Brown or sent Kyrie to the west.. But no, we basically sent him to the best possible situation in the NBA outside of Philly. But watching our defensive and offense, its also clear we don't have a coach that understands anything. I'd love to see what Lebron could be like with a decent coach. He's always had the dregs of the NBA for his coaches and made them into something they aren't..but at the same time he has caused this mess and inflexibility because he won't ever just say what he wants..rather be obscure or passive aggressive. One way or another I'm ready for this all to resolve itself this summer..we need to start planning whats best for the team and not any particular player. Regardless Lue needs to go

To your point...here is a snippet from Jason Lloyd after last night's game.....

We have enough evidence now to call this how it is: The Kyrie Irving trade has been a disaster. Jae Crowder never adjusted to his role here, and Isaiah Thomas never returned to the player he once was. Instead, he was run out of town right about the time he opened his mouth and missed his first shot.

The toxicity level was so high at one point during this season in Hiroshima that one Cavs player turned and looked at me after one of many particularly ugly winter losses.

“Danny Ainge is a [expletive] thief,” he said. No explanation needed.


And.....

While Irving averaged 25.8 points in this conference finals series last year against these same Celtics, Clarkson, Hood, Zizic and Nance have totaled 23 points through the first two games of this series. Clarkson and Hood, meanwhile, are a combined 8-for-44 (18 percent) on 3-pointers in this postseason.

Hood is a staggering minus-82 in his 12 games this postseason, the worst plus/minus of anyone in these playoffs — and it’s really not even close. Opponents have managed to outscore the Cavs by 82 points while Hood was on the floor despite him playing just 200 minutes. The next-closest is Utah’s Royce O’Neal, who posted a minus-67 in 59 more minutes than Hood has played.

The player with the second-worst plus/minus on the Cavs this postseason?

Clarkson.

Third-worst?

Nance.

Whenever any of those three have been on the floor in these playoffs, the Cavs have been outscored by 164 points. Making matters worse, Irving ended last year’s postseason a plus-124. That’s a 288-point differential in the postseason between Irving and the three key figures the Cavs have left to show for him.

They gave up last night. Re-watch the game. They refused to help on defense, and threw the ball to the Celtics like they were teammates. It was even more discouraging than the game 1 loss, to me.

J/C

What is killing us is there are no other threats outside of LeBron. Sure, Love can get hot, but no one is afraid of Love. They will gladly take the trade off of doubling LeBron and having Love putting up shots instead. Watch the Celtics offense, they are CONSTANTLY passing and getting open shots. We don't, because no one else is getting any attention. Then when we do get an open look, we are missing it and missing it BAD.

I honestly believe this team is as bas as if not worse than when Lebron left. When we traded Kyrie, I told my brother we just ended the Cavs run. I don't think some of you realize just how freakin' good he is. And when you have to account for someone other than LBJ, you have no idea how easy that made it on Lebron.

This team is a mess and will be lucky if we don't get swept, IMO. LeBron is on his way out. Watch for that jersey to be taken off on the court immediately after the Celtics close this out, signaling again LeBron is done. Its been a great run, and we got ship! But, I don't want to see the reactions like we did when he left last time. Brace yourselves, times are going to be tough here soon. Because I don't see us getting another Kyrie when Lebron leaves this time. . . .

I agree. Game 1 got away from them early and they tried to make a couple runs but the Celtics always had an answer.. I could understand not expending a tremendous amount of effort to try to come back and win that game.

Last night though, with just a couple minutes left in the first half the Cavs had an 11 point lead, by the end of the 3rd quarter, they were down by 7.. in 14 minutes of basketball, the Cavs gave up 46 points... but with the game still within reach, the Cavs scored what, 17 points in the 4th quarter?

I thought it was very telling that LeBron started the 4th quarter on the bench as this game was getting away from them.. I know he wasn't there for long but it's not like when he came back in he made any attempt to "take over" and try to turn the tide...

What discouraged me is that none of our guys seem capable of beating 1 on 1 defense. The Celtics just look quicker ..... much quicker.

Maybe it is time to tear it all down ... whether or not they manage to come back in the Finals, or not.

I think that maybe best, tbh.

If LeBron leaves and we get draft at 8, with love and the cast we have, I could see us being a mid tier team. In the NBA, a mid tier team will never make it. You need to get that #1, 2, or 3 pick and get that All-Star.

If LBJ leaves, trade love - cut the rest, and tank next year.

Yea, the one year we missed out on getting the #1 pick when LeBron was gone.. it was Anthony Davis..

That is a real buzz kill.

I do think that there is a way that Lebron stays with the team, and that's if we manage to draft Trae Young. Lebron absolutely loves the kid, and I think that he would love to play alongside him.

Per Jason Lloyd...

In a cruel twist of fate, the Cavs were tantalizingly close to making that improbable leap into the top 3 Tuesday night. The Sacramento Kings, who lost one more game than the Nets this season, vaulted from seventh to second at the lottery. Cleveland’s October loss at Brooklyn becomes a bit more chilling now, since a win could’ve tacked another loss onto the Nets, forcing a three-way tie with the Kings and Bulls for the spot that ultimately jumped to No. 2. Coin flips would’ve decided the winner.

Even more painful, the Kings’ winning combination to get to No. 2 was 14-7-6-8. One of the Cavs’ 28 combinations was 14-7-8-9. One number away. One number from making that Irving trade look a whole lot better. Might be time to open that tequila after all.

The time is drawing hear IMO: this window is about to close in a week.

Lebron will leave (and probably should)
Then we must trade Love, eat the contracts of TT, JR, and whoever else
Start from scratch

I turned the game off as soon as we gave up the lead. I knew we'd never claim it back if we happened to lose it.

All in all, that was a big loss for me. We had looked pretty good and then bam, the hole started to dig itself. Not even sure how I feel about next game.

if we would have started out bad, and then came back but fell short, I would have felt better. but we started out good (well LBJ did) and then we just folded. No energy, not drive, no will. This team is a flopping fish on the deck right now.

i think we have some pieces, but we need to get younger. I think guys like osman, nance, clarkson can get better with an actual coach, not that mouth breather we have now. guys like korver, smith, and hill need to go. If you can find a way to dangle that pick and a player and get Leonard, i think you improve chances of lebron hanging around...I'd also try to do a sign and trade for PG13 for love. Simply we need more guys that can get theirs consistently 1 on 1

IDK I've actually become a big Kyle fan. Some of his shots are what kept the heart beating when it looked on the verge of death. Defense is a liability but...

And IDK what it'll take for the Cavs to get LBJ to stay. Most people, as in 90% probably, think he's gone after having talked about the Cavs today. But I definitely agree, we need some guys that WON'T sit there and watch LBJ and can actually score on their own 1 on 1 and be a threat teams need to acknowledge.

I thought Hood or Clarkson "could" be that but honestly, I'm displeased with both them. Clarkson never passes and misses almost all his shots and Hood just can't penetrate or be a threat.

Korver is old...he's expensive. He was a big reason we got stomped the second half because he couldn't hit anything. He's going to be 38 next year.. tanks about empty

The big reason the Cavs got spanked was JR Smith and George Hill. 3 points between them, and something like 35 million dollars as well.

That's the reason they got spanked. And all JR brought was a lousy cheapshot at the end of the game.

We have a bunch of slow players.
Korver and Love shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.

Having said that, Boston is not the same team on the road as they are at home.
I think that we can take 2 at home if we haven't given up.
Not sure we can take one in Boston though

You do have a point there. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems Love and Korver are the only ones who can score.




All is not lost yet.

They've got Lebron, who IMO is probably the best player ever. At least of my life. Maybe im a bit biased because i hated the Bulls but Lebron amazes me

Rockets offense was incredible last night. They gotta get one in GS now

I just finished watching it this morning. Great game!

he'd be a little confused and amazed at what basketball has become

Especially that we no longer use volleyballs.

or peach baskets haha

Hey?

What?

Did you guys go to history class that day?

j/c:

Cavs are a 6.5 pt. favorite. I think the Cavs come out strong, feed off of the crowd's energy, and cover the spread.

I'm hoping Lue starts TT and spells him w/Nance. I don't want Love at the 5.

I'm hoping that JR gets hot, but if he doesn't, I want Korver and Clarkson to get his minutes.

We need a bit more from Green. He needs to play well enough to let Love get some rest. I want to stay big up front, because I think it forces Boston to put Tatum on one of those guys and we should be able to exploit that.

The reason we got spanked is more complicated than that. Yes, we went through a stretch where nobody could make a shot (sometimes this happens).. however, this in turn led to our defense and intensity going cold and allowing the Celtics to score with ease... which caused their defensive intensity to increase which led to a bunch of stupid turnovers... we also never changed anything up on offense, we didn't try to get to the rim, we just continued to run down the shot clock and then force a bad shot from 3 in hopes that things would change.

We did NOTHING that good teams do to pull themselves out of a shooting slump or at least survive it until the shots start to fall again...

I watched Boston guys WIDE OPEN , all by themselves , having all day to shoot ..

I completely agree with you. When you are struggling to shoot the ball, you need to get your confidence up. Attack the rim! Instead we start launching contested off balance threes like they are going out of style.

That's the thing... who do we have that can attack the rim? LBJ is our only person that can 1-on-1 (or one vs the whole defense) and get the job done. I mean Hill was guarded by their center, drove him and still got blocked. How is that happening? A PG should be able to drive on a center one vs one... pathetic.

Outrunning them is an option. Transition scoring. Contest every rebound. Most of those missed threes are gifts, because didna have to chase or work, and they are turnovers. Not every shot will be blocked, so stack up the fouls on them. It is OK to drill inside. Coming to a dead stop on offense so you rush a showboat shot is dumb. Loo needs to get folks with hustle out there to run them harder.

Go Cavs!

Cavs have been to three straight NBA Finals. They have won a championship. They are in the Eastern Conference Finals despite the claims that they wouldn't make it out of the first round. The Browns have won one game in two years. Yet somehow, the Cavs are "trash" and "soft" while the Browns are good.

Sometimes I think Cleveland fans get what they deserve. And when LeBron leaves, this team is going to be in the lottery each and every year again.

I want to enjoy our successes w/this team, but all I read is negative BS that is lead by lead. The fun has been taken out of it.

Don't let it bother you. He's predicted a playoff loss in every series since 2015. If everything's as bad as he says it's been, you have to wonder why he even watches the games. I'll bet he's just a hoot to see a game with in person, lol.

I hear you. This should be fun. We're in the playoffs, but the Cavs' threads are so freaking negative. I understand criticism, but man, the team is not "trash." I can't quite verbalize what I want to. Not sure why. I just think being in the playoffs should be a fun time.

this team is trash, outside of LBJ they have nothing to compete.. lebron got this team to where its at, there is no "team" they are a lottery team without lebron, so no, they aren't fun to watch and i haven't watched a full game this series yet because they are so unbearable to watch..Nothing fun about whats been going on..Alot more feel like me than you so boohoo.

j/c

to me as a basketball fan, this team is literally zero fun to watch. Lebron is fun obviously, but the other guys and the way they play is not basketball.

it's one guy dribbling, 4 guys waiting for a kickout 3 near the end of the shot clock. No offensive rebounding, no cutting, ball movement, etc. It's pretty painful to watch.

I fully agree with this take on the Cavs threads. I mentioned this here and there over last couple years that if all you did was read the Cavs thread you would think we were the worst team in the league not in the finals each of those seasons.

At some point you have to get off your high horses and enjoy that this team has been a constant finals team. After all you will have plenty of time to wallow in your self righteous pity when there is no LeBron and we suffer through another 15 or so years of mediocrity post Daugherty, Nance, and Price teams. I do not enjoy the recent games with the Celtics but I for one have enjoyed the last few years of winning. Some things you can't take for granted.

JMHO

You do realize we had had the greatest player in the NBA for 11 years of his career, in his prime - and have only 1 championship to show for it? That is a disgrace. You may call it a success these years, but when you have Lebron, anything LESS than a championship, should be considered a failure.

You just said when Lebron leaves we are going to be picking in the lottery. That means this team is trash, outside of LeBron. That is why people are upset. We had a golden opportunity to WIN 3 or 4 ships, and Dan blew it, and has wasted Lebrons prime because of his ego.

How?

The team is extremely limited because of Lebron's salary. The NBA salary cap is $70 million, and Lebron makes half that. Kevin Love, who Lebron wanted/demanded we trade for, makes $22 million. That's almost the entire salary cap.

We have added big contracts, and Gilbert pays a huge tax every year to support the team around Lebron.

We then had Kyrie demand to get out of Lebron's shadow this past off-season. He wanted to be the star of his own team so badly that he threatened to have his surgery at the start of the season if he wasn't traded. He wound up doing so in Boston anyway.

In what way did Gilbert's ego get in the way?

I think Lebron's demanding to sign TT, JR and trade/sign for Love basically strapped us too much.

Dan blew it?? All he did was run the highest payroll in the NBA the last 3-4 years. A good chunk of the blame lies at Lebron's feet. He's the one that pushed for the Kevin Love deal, which cost us a few assets, including Wiggins. He rubbed Kyrie the wrong way enough that Kyrie asked for the first train out of town. He asked that guys like JR and Tristan Thompson get paid handsomely, and ended up tying up ridiculous amounts of cap space into those guys. He pushed for the "win now" trades which left us with the bare cupboard that we have now. And he also likely pushed David Blatt out the door making way for Ty Lue.

Yes, Lebron is probably one of the best players ever, but his demand for short term business decisions really kill the team's long term future.

not to mention his lack of commitment to us long term really put us in a bind

I legitimately wonder what this team would be like if Lebron wasn't involved. As good as he is, I don't know how much his desire to run everything through him and his demanding to win at all costs affects the team around him. I don't know if he rubs everyone the wrong way with his brand of leadership. I also don't know how much of it is Ty Lue or Lebron. I do know that Kyrie couldn't take it anymore and Kevin Love is dealing with anxiety attacks.

The best this team has looked was the first few days after the big trades in the Winter. The team's offense moved and so did the ball. We looked like a fun team again. But then we quickly moved back to the Lebron + 4 stuff that we normally see.

Without Lebron, we would have Kyrie and Wiggins. (and probably another high pick. We would have had roster flexibility as far as adding free agents.

However, we would not (most likely) have had 3 straight ECF, and a championship.

Grif and LeBron said not to trade kyrie, so dan fires grif and then trades kyrie. Let me know when dan has ever had a FO he hasn't fired after disagreeing with them. Dan is willing to spend whatever it takes, yes. But he needs to but out of the FO side of things.

Yes... may or may not have directed to me but I know my post are usually on the negative side.

I do want to be on record, although I may not always express it, that I think the Cavs team and their consistent playoff and final runs and etc is extremely admirable. I wear my Cavs gear that I've had each chance I can, although most are Hoodies and hats because the shirts always fade out after a few washes.

It wasn't directed at you. I think everyone knows who I am directing it towards. What kills me is how people follow his "lead."

The dude actually said he hoped Lue illness would flair up again so he couldn't coach. Are you freaking kidding me?!?! And only one dude {Punch] called him on it. Congrats to Punch!

I mean...........that's beyond sick! And if you don't like the team..........don't watch. Saying the team is "trash" 100s of times does what?

Let's win a game. Soon. LBJ will please himself. Despite astounding and historic numbers, he also hurts us as well at times. Proof of "Be careful what you wish for!"

I don't even read his stuff all the way through. It's not worth it.

I don't see us winning the EC Finals, and I am disappointed in darn near every aspect of the way they have played thus far against Boston. Hopefully they prove me wrong, but they have looked like an 8 seed playing a 1 thus far.

It's not over, bro.

It wasn't over a couple of years ago when most were trashing us when we lost the first two against GS. I stayed positive. It also wasn't over for Houston when they lost at Home against GS despite most saying they were done.

We gotta take these two at home and steal either game 5 or 7 at Boston. I'm not saying we will do that, but it's possible. I'm rooting for my home town team.

my main issues with lebron are what you state, getting deals for his buddies and clients, pushing out a much superior coach, and not committing long term so the FO can plan. The FO gave away first round picks like Molly at coachella. That hurt the long term planning and transition. Funny now that we are down all the BS coming out. Like a cavs player calling AInge a thief, the fact that Lue and Lebron didn't want to trade Kyrie and they wanted Jordan at the trade deadline. Though I agree with both of those. I think Deandre would be much more help then what we've gotten out of those players, but I understand why we traded for them. Whats funny is under Drew they all were playing loose and having fun.. The minute Lue comes back, the tone completely changed and noone played well.

Well ... for what it's worth ...... I have a feeling that Lue will not survive to coach next season in Cleveland.

No proof, just a gut feeling.

yeah win lose or draw I think Lue is done as well..He was exposed greatly this year. Defense is an issue and been progressively worse since he's been in the booster seat

Ummm. . .Start Drew tonight? Let Loo know he has had a relapse and will miss some time?

Tired of Smith yapping at length what we need in this series (hint: mostly offense, shrugs off defense). Did about the worst job out there (or Hill). Me ball and they stunk. Don't preach; produce. Just awfully hard to live with the indifference. Get them off the floor and put some folks out there who work harder. Speed up the play for TOP.

I have a feeling there will be very few guys returning for next season.

Lebron will leave
Lue will be fired
Love will be traded
Korver will be retired
ETC

if i trade love, i'd be looking to get one of those top picks, get 2 pieces for the rebuild

but which teams could afford him and would want him? it'd have to be a team that's "close"

depends if they think they can build around him. A decent coach could get alot more out of love than Lue has

Who's going to give up a top pick for Love? Most teams at the top of the draft are looking to rebuild themselves, not pick up nearly 30 year old big men.

we gave up 2 firsts for Mosgov and a first for korver.....

We were also picking in the 20's. That's not a top pick.

GO CELTICS Now before you get angry first and foremost I am a CLEVELAND BROWNS FAN who happens to be a Celtic fan. Last year when you whipped us I took it in stride, now we are up 2-0 but IMO this series is NOT over and if the Cav's were to come back and win it I will be rooting for them because I am a CLEVELAND fan except when they play the Celtics or the Indians play the Giants thats me ... I am looking forward to a good game tonight

j/c:

Let's Go, Cavs.

Shut the Haters Up!!!!

I agree - LET'S GO CAVS!!!

one game at a time ... try to get it to 2-1 tonight

So far so good.

Did Kevin Love just do that? Never seen him block like that!

17 to 32, cavs up, end of first quarter.

My DirecTV went out because it's pouring here. Happens every time.

What a sorry ass foul!

Boston looks pretty bad so far.

Can't let up, we were up by this much in game two and lost by about this much.

It's like we are playing a different team.

So far so good, helps when everything falls, but need to keep it up. Hill is the key, he’s a guy who can create and when he does it helps everyone else. I don’t see why Clarkson plays over hood or Jose. Playoffs are too much for him

Clarkson looks like he just got his drivers license. He'll mature I think. Jose certainly needs more time, he plays like he's glad to be out there.

Would like to see more Osman as well, young and fiery. Need that hustle.

Wow!

Man if love would have hit that 3

Yeah, caught em lookin'!

When did Tristan Thompson start making his free throws?

Jaylen Brown-The Thinker

I noticed that too! He's been doing better the last several games.

Come on Love, getting handled by a guard

Nice first half!

Going to need a lot more from Love. Dude constantly is a no show. Defense has much more active. Refs are calling everything for Boston

Good job, men!

He is shooting 85% from the FT line in the playoffs. 11-13.

HIs shots may not be falling, but he's working his ass off on defense.

His last two threes almost went in.

61-41 at the half.

Will be nervous if we give up the obligatory 10-2 run to start the 3rd.

Yes he has

We went on a 8-2 run to start the quarter? Wow, i'll take it!

69-45 Cavs.

Could that Baynes guy have travelled any further?

Getting sloppy now

On both sides...

Still up 23 for now.

Good for you. Are you like expecting us to be accepting and understanding?

They're talking about the royal wedding?

The king is holding court now!

Chewbacca, that's funny!

Refs are trash

A collision like that isn't anyone's fault. Should be treated like a caution flag and just restart the possession with time remaining on the shot clock.

Baynes had his arm extended. If anything, it's a foul on him.

87-63 after 3 quarters.

Let's push the lead to 30 in the first few minutes of the 4th and get LeBron some rest.

Nance shutting the paint down

Tatum is the harden of the east . Can’t breathe on him

least he doesn't have that beard

Alright, seems like the Cavs will cover.

Now I just need the over at 205. Going to be close.

Is Hood active tonight? If so, I think he's the only one that hasn't seen the floor.

Great total effort. Big question is can they do this 3 more times

Whether you think you can, or think you can't. You're right.

Henry Ford Sr.

It's up to them.

I'm not sure they can win three more... we'll see...

Huge bounce back game. Glad to see them actually playing like they're capable.

Gotta win 3 of the next 4 now.

Certainly won't be easy. But hey, we were down 3-1 in the '16 finals and look how that went.

we looked better, took care of business

but we have to do it again game 4 and 6 ... and then hope to steal one

j/c:

Very nice win. I knew this wasn't over.

--I'm so glad that Lue is going w/TT in the starting lineup and spelling him w/Nance. Keeping Love at the 4 is huge for us.

--Each series is different, but the bigger lineup is good against Boston. They are not as good when they have to match-up w/our bigger lineup. They can counter w/their bigger lineup, but that unit is not as effective offensively. They can't transition as quickly and their ball movement isn't nearly as crisp. I'm glad Lue is recognizing that.

--I know this might not be appreciated by some, but the screens that TT and Nance set out there are huge for our offense. They get LeBron open and they even set off the ball screens that free up our jump shooters. I love the little nuances of basketball that don't show up in the box score.

--Love played a nice defensive game and was a man on the boards. If he gets hot.........watch out, Boston!

--Obviously, game 4 is the pivotal game in this series. I think the winner of that game wins the series. I hope Lue doesn't mess w/the lineup too much. Keep the starters the same and spell them w/Korver, Green, Nance, and Clarkson.

--Never say die!!!

Boston really struggled with some misdirection stuff on the weak side last night. We actually used our good shooters against them, which is smart.

Well I simply won't lie but I missed the game yesterday. Nice hearing/reading the things I am and have been though. There's still life!

We hit threes, big improvement, but we really frustrated them inside in the paint. We ran the court harder, just a reliable indicator of team efforts. Good effort overall. TT helped big, Love got some going, LBJ held court for The Land, and I loved Nance working hard. He has a scratchy game. Not quite dead yet.

Go, Cavs!

2-1 Boston here we go

Cavs in 6!

This game tonight between the Warriors and the Rockets could very well be the series.

I think the game is close early and the Warriors pull away in the 3rd quarter.

55-54 Warriors at the half.

89-74 Warriors after 3 quarters.

115-98 Warriors when all is said and done.

Rockets have missed 12 layups/dunks so far... Stick a fork in em'.

54-43 Warriors at the half.

yikes.

Despite that shellacking, I don't think GS looks as invincible as they did earlier in the playoffs. Houston just laid down and played dead after screwing up their numerous opportunities.

GS can appear beatable for the entire half, and then all of a sudden go on a 13-0 run in like a minute. It really is incredible.

Not to mention Curry finally caught fire

I was listening to Brian Windhorst this morning on Golic and Wingo's morning show. I'm not the biggest Windy fan, but I thought he really nailed this point about the Cavs offense. He was saying the team is pretty mentally fragile and everything seems to build upon their ability to hit the three-point shot. If the shots are falling, they have extra bounce in their step, they play tougher defense, they move off the ball on offense much more, and they generally play more engaged. If the shots aren't falling however, they just seem to mope and not even try anymore.

I think that pretty much nails it, and why it's so difficult to watch this team at times. When they get into a shooting funk, they just seem to try to shoot themselves out of it. And if that doesn't work, they pretty much throw their hands up in the air. The defense completely goes away and they don't bother trying to pound it inside or try off ball movement to get easier layups or anything. Windy was saying that all the back-door cuts in Game 3 sort of surprised the Celtics, and it was mostly because they didn't see any of that the first two games when the shots weren't going in and the Cavs didn't bother trying them. It's like they don't want to grind out a gritty win if they can't 3-bomb the other team to death.

I've said this all year, we live and die by the 3 ball. We are mentally weak don't have the intestinal fortitude to push through. Thats why its so important that we play loose and aggressive. They get in their own heads sometimes and can't get out. Lebron does it too...sure he puts up great numbers when others are failing, but its because he stops trusting and tries to do it all himself. Which is the opposite of what needs to happen.

GO CELTICS

This team revolves around its ability to make the 3-pointer.. when they have at least a couple guys draining 3s, they become almost impossible to guard because of everything LeBron can do, plus his ability to find open guys... they play at a fast tempo and their defensive intensity stays high..

When they aren't making the 3s, everything falls apart with it. They become stagnant on offense, they become complacent on defense, they start looking at each other funny...

They are going to have to win a game where they aren't shooting the lights out.... they are going to have to find another way to win...

So , is that where a Coach comes into the picture ??

Coach or LeBron... the rest of the players will follow either one. If we are struggling and LeBron starts settling for contested 3s and not hustling back, everybody will follow.

Wish these games were on FSO...

After watching the Warriors last night, I don't think it matters much what happens tonight. Man, that team owns this league as long as they're healthy.

Yeah... in the industry they'd call it a "monopoly" lol. They're just too stacked and then some.

j/c:

I'm rooting for the Cavs. Of course it's huge for us if we are hitting 3's. LOL.

We brought those guys in because we had LeBron. Other teams are built in a similar mode. The 3-ball is also huge for GS and Houston.

We will always live and die w/LeBron and the 3-pt shot. Where we can change the game is by playing guys like TT [despite what some clueless folks on this board say] and Nance. When you have a great player and a bunch of shooters, you need a guy or two to do the dirty work.

I think this series comes down to this game. The winner of this one wins the series. I am not confident we will win this one, but I would pick my team over the Celtics and that isn't because I am a homer. All one has to do is read my posts on the Browns to realize that.

My concern if Lue tries to get cute and listens to guys like lead and doesn't play TT enough and instead tries to go small against Boston. That would be a big mistake and we witnessed it in game one. I also really don't want to see many more guys than the same starting lineup from game 3 and spell them w/Nance, Green, Corver, and Clarkson.

And for good luck's sake.

Let's Go, Cavs!!!! Shut the Haters up!!!

lets go cavs, shoot well

Must win tonight

LET'S GO CAVS!!!!

Love is playing some solid D. so is TT

Lookin' good so far!

JR Smith looking like he could heat up.

Wow what a flop

Hill has got to be able to break these guys down off dribble

we need to sign love to a max QB deal asap

Seriously. That was sick.

Nice bomber pass by Love, laid it right in there.

Impressive... most impressive.

Oh wow Kyle blocked it followed by a three from Hill. Two back to back plays from players I wouldn't expected.

Defense is excellent

Where was this effort on the defensive end in games 1 and 2?

Celtics with two very bad dunk attempts that quarter.

Wasn't it from the same player?

You got me! But if it was? That's gotta be demoralizing.

korver is absolutely schooling Brown

Kyle Korver is a badass.

Lebron hurting the offense

Ok Clarkson needs to sit

Worst play in b-ball is making a 3 and giving one right back

He's having a great night tonight.

Love needs to start winning , his offense is just non existent

Love with three fouls...

And starting to fall back into bad habits

I can't imagine there is anyone on this planet that would enjoy watching a game with you.

lol its funny watching brad stevens clearly cuss his team out after lebron makes a good move

Need to keep this double digits at half

I love the effort on display. Gotta keep it up. Especially on defense.

Nice flurry to end the half

lol JR throwing it off ppl

Almost made it lol.

Ok no 3rd quarter letdown

Agreed. Avoid the 10-2 run to start the third and push the lead to 20.

Kevin Love has more turnovers than the Celtics at the half.

If it wasn't for our turnover and the Celtics hitting some 3's we would be up by 25 right now.

oh boy here we go

Welp, here we go again

Love has been pretty worthless most of the playoffs. If he’s just average what he did in reg season we’d rarely lose

Next 3 minutes will be big here...

What will the score be at the 6:49 mark of the 3rd?

Kevin Love turnover.

Kevin Love miss.

Kevin Love gives up bucket.

Kevin Love commits foul.

get love off the floor he is killing the flow right now

Kevin Love misses layup.

Kevin Love 5th foul.

Kevin Love should give his game checks back

Stupid mistakes

lol atleast morris is matching love for dumbass fouls

We’ve missed a lot at the line

Problem is Morris isn’t their second option

Jr killing us with stupid passes, turnovers and fouls

Holy crap these refs blow

we refs just blew that call

Refs really bailing out the Celtics tonight.

no contact

Ball don’t lie

Oh snap.

Refs checks must have come at half time

Need to start mking them pay at the line

Defense breaking down like a cheap tent

Come on, seriously. Killing ourselves

Bad on both ends right now and Lue saving timeouts like bitcoin

that was a block baby!

Showing some good grit right now.

Korver or James MVP?

Wow what a play George Hill!

George Hill! Brilliant!

hey we got the lead back to 13. not a completely terrible 3rd quarter.

now its time to close it out!

That was a nice outlet pass after LeBron got blocked. Not sure who what was.

About as good as we can expect for the 3rd, and now we have the best closer in game

Hill lookin' real good.

George Hill is my new hero.

Refs won't let us have it.

Well this looks like the end here. Defense again fails

No idea why green gets so many minutes

Green you blow

Boston wants it more

Pinball.

Painful to watch.

There we go

Love most worthless player in this series , except maybe green

OMG

Pretty ugly game. Refs seem like they have been making it all about them.

That should do it. Best of 3 now

Well, I admit that I had questions as to whether or not the Cavaliers would get it back in gear, but I am glad to see that they have. I feel a whole lot better right now than I did after game 2.

Now they have to steal a game in Boston.

Let's go Cavs!

I was really impressed with George Hill tonight.

I still have doubt about being able to win in Boston. We eeked one out tonight . Going to come down to love actually resembling an nba player

What on earth happened to Kevin Love.

He's like this broken player.

I don't understand.

How did he get broke, and how do we fix it?

Kevin Love is actually 50 years old.

I think we have the psychological advantage in the series now. Boston is going to be overly comfortable at home and I think LeBron will take full advantage of that.

Cavs in 6.

He's not broken at all, just off his shot a little the last couple games. He's averaging double digit rebounds, doing a lot of dirty work, playing good defense... nothing to worry about, just needs to get his shot back...

to me, it looks like this is going 7 now. Boston found some rhythm in the 2nd half, and I think they'll win game 5.

We'll win game 6.

We got away from pounding inside so much. Their love for the quick missed 3 is a narcotic.

We can win in 6, but our next game must start rough. TT can help that. Green cannot.

Consider where we are if LBJ does NOT get 40+ in the three leftovers. Who gets up? I Think we have some fresh legs on the bench just to be runners and dedicated drivers. Beat on the bench of the Celtics.

cavs, baby!

Isn't he playing with a partially torn ligament in his thumb?

j/c:

Tristan Thompson has not lived up to his contract in any way, shape or form, but I have to give him credit in how he has handled Horford these past two games. It's made a big difference. I don't think Horford scored a point until sometime in the 2nd Quarter last night. And clearly he had an impact on him in Game 3.

The switches were fun to watch take shape last night too. It was clearly the game plan to continously get Bron and in many case TT on a smaller defender. It worked well.

non shooting hand I believe

Lot to like about last night. But a lot NOT to like about last night too.

A lot of turnovers, and they team got sloppy again and let boston have some breathing room, but were able to hold them off. IDK if we can hold them off in boston though.

We played great defense for most of the game, then as soon as tides started to turn, that's the first thing to go.

Hats off to Korver, I believe he set the tone last night for the other guys. That hustle for the loose ball was the play of the night I believe.

so, game 5 is Wednesday, game 6 is Friday, and game 7 is Sunday

I expect this to go to Sunday now

thats how i feel too, game 4 had alot to like, but also enough to think that they don't have it figured out yet and their chances of winning 2 of 3 aren't as good as bostons

I would assume that too, but Vegas disagrees this morning. Cavs are -110 to advance to the Finals, which is a slight favorite

What are the Celtics listed as? It is pretty common in a pick em situation to list both teams at -110.

lol!