Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[BuckeyeMafia]

I still think we should sit Kyrie and squeeze a few more minutes out of Jones, Smith, and Shumpert. The Warriors are going to be next to impossible to beat with Irving limping around. If defending Teague is this difficult, Curry will destroy him.

 

[Buckeye737]

Game 2 is going to be critical for ATL, which means it's an opportunity for Cleveland to really step on their throats. Hopefully we'll see some killer instinct.

 

[WolverineMike]

any word on Carrol? I was listening to it on the radio when it happened and they never really said if it looked serious or not. If he's out for a couple games, it could get ugly quick

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Clearly a hyperextension.. and ya never know how those go... altho when you hyperextend on a knee that's already hurt, there;s just not enuf muscle to keep it sturdy

 

[RB07OSU]

Well, I can't be much happier than being down Kyrie/Love and producing that. People talked mad Mark May about JR Smith when he came in but even my NBA knowledge aside, he has been awesome here correct? Every game I have watched since the trade he has been awesome, though tonight was even a step up from that. Might as well have went behind the back on some of those 3's.

Throwing all that aside, you gotta love going up 1-0 considering the odds on the road without Kyrie. I know it is the NBA and anything can happen of course (especially to the Cavs) but that was about as encouraging as you can get. Just going to enjoy this now but I cannot wait until Friday. Part of that is due to two friends who just moved here from Cleveland with about a closet-full of Great Lakes beers to enjoy. The other part is that I get to watch the game with them, which should be even more fun. Let's do this Cavs!

 

[Dryden]

Going back through LeBron's dunk in slow mo and measuring Korver's exit velocity from the paint, I think he may make it to Cleveland on foot in time for the start of Game 3 on Sunday.

Holy shit that was comical.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Going back through LeBron's dunk in slow mo and measuring Korver's exit velocity from the paint, I think he may make it to Cleveland on foot in time for the start of Game 3 on Sunday.

Holy [Mark May] that was comical.

 

[WolverineMike]

Well, I can't be much happier than being down Kyrie/Love and producing that. People talked mad Mark May about JR Smith when he came in but even my NBA knowledge aside, he has been awesome here correct? Every game I have watched since the trade he has been awesome, though tonight was even a step up from that. Might as well have went behind the back on some of those 3's.

Throwing all that aside, you gotta love going up 1-0 considering the odds on the road without Kyrie. I know it is the NBA and anything can happen of course (especially to the Cavs) but that was about as encouraging as you can get. Just going to enjoy this now but I cannot wait until Friday. Part of that is due to two friends who just moved here from Cleveland with about a closet-full of Great Lakes beers to enjoy. The other part is that I get to watch the game with them, which should be even more fun. Let's do this Cavs!

Still can't believe NY traded him and Shumpert for a 2018 pick. Talk about a steal

 

[NFBuck]

Going back through LeBron's dunk in slow mo and measuring Korver's exit velocity from the paint, I think he may make it to Cleveland on foot in time for the start of Game 3 on Sunday.

Holy [Mark May] that was comical.

I think he actually broke the sound barrier.

 

[WolverineMike]

It would be nice to see Cleveland sweep or win in 5 and Houston stretch it to 7. Kyrie needs all the rest he can get if they are going to have a chance in the Finals.

 

[Bucklion]

Game 2 is obviously an elimination game for Atlanta. They ain't winning 4/5 with 3 of them on the road. Hard yo believe, but thrh could be out of it by Friday night.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Still can't believe NY traded him and Shumpert for a 2018 pick. Talk about a steal

Re: For some time, the Cavs had been talking to the New York Knicks about trading for Iman Shumpert. Needing defensive help on the wing, this was a player the Cavs had been targeting since last summer. After holding off on reality for some time, the Knicks finally reached a point that they had to shift gears on the season. They knew season-ending surgery was coming for Carmelo Anthony, it'd been a miserable first two months of play and Shumpert, a free agent-to-be who was looking for a sizable contract, was out with a dislocated shoulder anyway.
But the price for getting Shumpert was also taking Smith to get his contract off the books for next season and, frankly, also in part to get him away from the team. Pouting about his situation and the state of the failing Knicks, Smith wasn't just not producing, he was also a pain. In reality, the Knicks had been looking for a way to get rid of him for months.
Entire article: http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-c...avs-rewarded-for-leap-of-faith-with-j-r-smith

They actually just traded for Shumpert. Cleveland was forced to take Smith (and his contract/salary) to get the Shumpert deal done with the Knicks.

 

[wadc45]

It would be nice to see Cleveland sweep or win in 5 and Houston stretch it to 7. Kyrie needs all the rest he can get if they are going to have a chance in the Finals.

My thought as well but he had 5 days rest after the Chicago series and looked as bad if not worse last night than he did in that series. I'm not sure any amount of rest is going to get him back to being his usual self the rest of the playoffs. Obviously can't hurt but I think Blatt is going to have to continue to keep this thing together with super glue and duct tape. He's done a remarkable job so far but they need someone else to contribute off the bench...JR had every bench point last night despite meaningful minutes out of James Jones and Delly. Wish they could get anything out of Shawn Marion but he just isn't an option right now...only 12 minutes so far in the playoffs..

Tristan has been an absolute nightmare for opposing teams in the playoffs. Another 5 offensive boards last night to go with Timofey's 4. Would like to see Timofey continue to play at least 25 minutes and attack the rim rather than settle for jumpers like he did in the 1st quarter. JR and Shump were great defensively last night...JR chased Korver around all night and also D'ed up Millsap very well at times. And on the other end he ate Korver up which has to be a big concern for Hawks fans considering they are already without Sefalosha and now might have to find someone else other than Carroll to defend LBJ. Although Delly regressed offensively (he has to knock down at least 1 or 2 of those open looks) he was an absolute harassment on defense especially after it became obvious Kyrie couldn't stay in front of Teague.

The new Big 3 appears to be LBJ, TT and JR.

My only concern now is getting JR out of Atlanta without incident, and I'm not talking about on the court...I'm sure he is soaking up the local, uh, "culture".

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

It would be nice to see Cleveland sweep or win in 5 and Houston stretch it to 7. Kyrie needs all the rest he can get if they are going to have a chance in the Finals.

I'd still have the winner of the West winning, outside of some crazy injury like James Harden or Steph Curry getting hurt in a clinching game. The Cavs are good, but still a year away. Obviously Love getting hurt doesn't help either, adding to the fact that Kyrie is at maybe 60%. But it's somewhat hard to comprehend just how much better the West is than the East. Put Golden State in the East and they would have won 70 games. Think about that. Put the Cavs in the West and they probably don't break 50 (this year at least). I think they have a very good shot of winning it all next year though.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

My thought as well but he had 5 days rest after the Chicago series and looked as bad if not worse last night than he did in that series. I'm not sure any amount of rest is going to get him back to being his usual self the rest of the playoffs. Obviously can't hurt but I think Blatt is going to have to continue to keep this thing together with super glue and duct tape. He's done a remarkable job so far but they need someone else to contribute off the bench...JR had every bench point last night despite meaningful minutes out of James Jones and Delly. Wish they could get anything out of Shawn Marion but he just isn't an option right now...only 12 minutes so far in the playoffs..

Tristan has been an absolute nightmare for opposing teams in the playoffs. Another 5 offensive boards last night to go with Timofey's 4. Would like to see Timofey continue to play at least 25 minutes and attack the rim rather than settle for jumpers like he did in the 1st quarter. JR and Shump were great defensively last night...JR chased Korver around all night and also D'ed up Millsap very well at times. And on the other end he ate Korver up which has to be a big concern for Hawks fans considering they are already without Sefalosha and now might have to find someone else other than Carroll to defend LBJ. Although Delly regressed offensively (he has to knock down at least 1 or 2 of those open looks) he was an absolute harassment on defense especially after it became obvious Kyrie couldn't stay in front of Teague.

The new Big 3 appears to be LBJ, TT and JR.

My only concern now is getting JR out of Atlanta without incident, and I'm not talking about on the court...I'm sure he is soaking up the local, uh, "culture".

Atlanta does has a reputation during major sporting events.