Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[exhawg]

Nice showing the last two games. JR Smith has absolutely been on fire since arriving and I like Mosgav in the post. Looks like everything meshed well, we had good ball movement, and really good energy. The team that showed up tonight can beat anyone with regularity.

The funny thing is the team last night still didn't really have it offensively. JR Smith was the only guy that was on fire. Team was 8-18 on 3's and Smith was 6-9. I don't know if they played better on D or if the Bulls were that bad. It seems like unlikely guys are always throwing up crazy 3's against the Cavs so far this season and the Bulls didn't have any of that except for Rose going off for a few 3's in a row in the 3rd.

For bring very little on offense Mozgov is a great fit with the Cavs. He does a pretty good job of erasing some mistakes around the hoop that nobody else on the roster can do. He actually hit a could nice pick and pops last night, but besides that seems to have rocks for hands until it comes time to rebound. On the bright side the Cavs don't need offense out of him.

It will be good to see Shumpert get healthy sometime in the next week. If he can be the 3 and D 2 guard and let Smith go crazy off the bench the Cavs are going to start to look much better. They should be able to play good defense for spells with Irving, Shump, Lebron, Thompson, and Mozgov on the floor. Now they just need to find a good backup PG because there is no reason Irving should be playing 40+ minutes in a blowout win.

On the bright side the season doesn't matter as long as the Cavs make the playoffs and figure everything out by then. If they can reach 80-90% of their potential I don't think anyone in the East can beat them. I'd guess last night they were around 70%.

 

[tsteele316]

All I can say is Tristan Thompson is possibly the dumbest person alive. Dude turned down $52 million. He had more shots blocked than points last night. He's a black hole offensively.

 

[WolverineMike]

On the bright side the season doesn't matter as long as the Cavs make the playoffs and figure everything out by then. If they can reach 80-90% of their potential I don't think anyone in the East can beat them. I'd guess last night they were around 70%.

That is the key. They can plug along in a weak East and work on their game and their team continuity as long as they are still in the middle of the playoff pack. Peaking at the right time will be key. I wouldn't say they could easily make the finals, but once in the playoffs, there is to much talent not to expect a Finals run.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

All I can say is Tristan Thompson is possibly the dumbest person alive. Dude turned down $52 million. He had more shots blocked than points last night. He's a black hole offensively.

Doesn't matter, friends with Lebron and has Lebron's agent... As long as he doesn't piss off Lebron he'll be a Cav... He's gonna be extremely overpaid by the cavs...

its shit like this that makes me respect Pat Reilly and Micky Arison for not giving into every one of Lebron's demands.

 

[tsteele316]

Doesn't matter, friends with Lebron and has Lebron's agent... As long as he doesn't piss off Lebron he'll be a Cav... He's gonna be extremely overpaid by the cavs...

its [Mark May] like this that makes me respect Pat Reilly and Micky Arison for not giving into every one of Lebron's demands.

i guess it depends on if you value the extra $5 million or so per year they'd be paying mike miller to keep lebron happy vs. the $71 million they'll be paying this year to likely miss the playoffs once Wade has his customary spring injury fest.

as for tristan thompson, lebron's agent will get him paid, but if you watch them on the court together, lebron just looks at that dude with pure contempt for all the stupid things he does on a nightly basis. you can get a hustle guy with no offensive skill for much less money.

 

[NFBuck]

It's the nba, so I only follow with a passing interest...but where the hell did the Hawks come from? I was just glancing at the standings and saw they have a 5 game lead in the east. WTF?

 

[tsteele316]

It's the nba, so I only follow with a passing interest...but where the hell did the Hawks come from? I was just glancing at the standings and saw they have a 5 game lead in the east. WTF?

you are asking the same question every NBA fan and insider has been asking for a while now. Of course, you have to wait and see if they revert back to typical Atlanta form and fizzle in the spring and get bounced early in the playoffs.

 

[ethan]

Mozgov is a great fit for this team. Just the fact that he is 7'1" alters everyone's shots near the rim.
Rose couldn't drive to the rim, Pau Gasol couldn't consistently shoot over Mozgov.
Cant wait to see Shumpert in the lineup. Cavs killed that trade, getting all these pieces and only giving up Waiters and a Protected First.

Best thing about Thompson is that he is only 23, maybe we can hope he will eventually learn how to dribble?
He is still raw offensively and looks like he has pretty low BB IQ. No way he is worth more than 8Mil a year in my mind.

I also don't think Love is worth max money...but its Cleveland, people will be overpaid.

 

[kujirakira]

So Moz has been a revelation, combined with Shumpert should go a long way to wrapping up the no-defense issues, and JR provides a more potent threat from the bench than 900 year old dinosaurs and precocious teenagers.
This team could be pretty decent by the time preseason is over. Still don't know how the hell Love will fit in though.

 

[exhawg]

Cavs playing big boy defense so far tonight.

 

[exhawg]

So Moz has been a revelation, combined with Shumpert should go a long way to wrapping up the no-defense issues, and JR provides a more potent threat from the bench than 900 year old dinosaurs and precocious teenagers.
This team could be pretty decent by the time preseason is over. Still don't know how the hell Love will fit in though.

Love has to work on being more of an outside in player rather than inside out. There's no reason he can't become a great catch and shoot 3pt shooter and the post game can come second. From what I've heard his outside game usually comes after he gets started on the inside. He'll never be a good defender, but with guys like Shump, Lebron, and Temo around him just giving effort is enough on defense. Love needs to be on the floor whenever Lebron is getting rest. That should give him 10-15 minutes of being the #1 or #2 option a game.

Looking at it the other way just think what the team defense would have looked like if the lineup was Kyrie, Shump, Wiggins, Lebron, and Temo.

 

[BuckeyeMafia]

My last big concern with this team is what do they do at SG? Shumpert starts, obviously, and then JR Smith is your off the bench offense, but I feel like Mike Miller deserves some minutes as well. Do you put him at SF? That defeats the purpose to a degree because Miller is useless without someone like LeBron on the floor. Irving and Love can suck the defense in, but not nearly to the same level. I still don't know how I feel about Dellavedova. I'm cringing just thinking about him guarding John Wall in meaningful playoff minutes. Though, I guess he can't be any worse than Irving is defensively. And then what about Marion? Do you use Thompson as your backup Center and Marion as your backup PF?

Looking at it the other way just think what the team defense would have looked like if the lineup was Kyrie, Shump, Wiggins, Lebron, and Temo.

Excellent point. Whether or not Love works out in the short-term and the Cavs wind up with a title or two, still not sure it was the right move. I think they may have traded a decade of success for three years of success. Wiggins looked awful early on, but he's figuring it out fast. Faster than any Cleveland fan wanted to see after the trade.

you are asking the same question every NBA fan and insider has been asking for a while now. Of course, you have to wait and see if they revert back to typical Atlanta form and fizzle in the spring and get bounced early in the playoffs.

Atlanta is legitimately decent. They won't get to the Finals or anything, but the fact that they're competitive at all is a testament to the coaching staff. Their head coach, Mike Budenholzer, was a long-time Spurs assistant. The ball movement offense is nearly perfect basketball for any purists out there.

 

[exhawg]

My last big concern with this team is what do they do at SG? Shumpert starts, obviously, and then JR Smith is your off the bench offense, but I feel like Mike Miller deserves some minutes as well. Do you put him at SF? That defeats the purpose to a degree because Miller is useless without someone like LeBron on the floor. Irving and Love can suck the defense in, but not nearly to the same level. I still don't know how I feel about Dellavedova. I'm cringing just thinking about him guarding John Wall in meaningful playoff minutes. Though, I guess he can't be any worse than Irving is defensively. And then what about Marion? Do you use Thompson as your backup Center and Marion as your backup PF?

I would get Lebron more minutes at the 4 when Love isn't in the game. That way Miller could play the 3 and have Lebron on the floor with him. Two of Irving/Smith and Lebron/Love need to be on the floor at all times. I also believe that they need to find another backup PG or Lebron has to be on the floor when Kyrie isn't. One negative about the game last night (if you can call it that) Temo led the team with around 40 minutes. Just for the sake of keeping him healthy and fresh I would cut him off at 30 minutes a game until the playoffs. Too bad Andy went out because they would actually have depth at the 5. I guess if he can get healthy and they can keep Temo Andy can bring 15-20 minutes of balls out Wild Thing off the bench next year.

 

[tsteele316]

I would get Lebron more minutes at the 4 when Love isn't in the game. That way Miller could play the 3 and have Lebron on the floor with him. Two of Irving/Smith and Lebron/Love need to be on the floor at all times. I also believe that they need to find another backup PG or Lebron has to be on the floor when Kyrie isn't. One negative about the game last night (if you can call it that) Temo led the team with around 40 minutes. Just for the sake of keeping him healthy and fresh I would cut him off at 30 minutes a game until the playoffs. Too bad Andy went out because they would actually have depth at the 5. I guess if he can get healthy and they can keep Temo Andy can bring 15-20 minutes of balls out Wild Thing off the bench next year.

i would say mozgov got so many minutes last night because utah has a bevy of really good bigs and cleveland needed someone to protect the rim. it's rare you're going to face a trio of kanter, favors, and gobert every night. when cleveland plays teams with a more traditional lineup, or teams with a big that has zero offensive skill, mozgov will probably get more rest.

 

[NFBuck]

I'd rather have Wiggins right now, let alone long-term. Wasn't a big Love fan going in, and seeing his struggles this season just makes it worse. I HATE 6'10 guys that launch 5+ threes a game and do not defend. Averaging 25-12 on a terrible team looks nice, but 17-10 on a team with other talented players on top of being a black hole defensively makes you a pretty average player...hell, I'd rather have Bosh. At least he plays defense.

But anyway, at least they've looked better the past few games. If they can stay healthy over the next few months and continue to gel, maybe they can make a run in the playoffs. I just don't see them as serious title contenders this year. And I have my doubts long-term with Kevin Love. Just too many flaws that can be exposed by better teams.