Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[Bestbuck36]

They keep picking up these big guys when they really need Shumpert healthy and another guy to come in and do nothing but bother Steph Curry and co. Let's face it, that's the team they are trying to build to beat and other teams are noticing that same deficiency and taking advantage of it.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

i'm not sure if i'm going to because Kyrie wants out.. or that SAS reports it.

 

[exhawg]

That's a sauce I trust. Maybe if Kyrie would play some defense against other good PG's they would be a better team. There's no reason for this team to fall apart every game when Lebron doesn't play. Kind of funny they played some of their best ball when Love, then Kyrie were out in the playoffs last year.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

That's a sauce I trust. Maybe if Kyrie would play some defense against other good PG's they would be a better team. There's no reason for this team to fall apart every game when Lebron doesn't play. Kind of funny they played some of their best ball when Love, then Kyrie were out in the playoffs last year.

i'm not sure if i'm going to because Kyrie wants out.. or that SAS reports it.

(1) Stephen A. Smith may not be the most accurate "reporter", but I doubt that this rumor is 100% fabricated. If you remember, before Kyrie signed his extension, there were many reports that he wanted out of Cleveland. Kyrie is probably best off going someplace where he can be a PG version of James Harden.

(2) Even if the rumor is 100% fabricated, it's still another issue that this team has to deal with (along with chemistry, coaching, defensive lapses, lack of killer instinct, an historic Golden State season, etc.).

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

(1) Stephen A. Smith may not be the most accurate "reporter", but I doubt that this rumor is 100% fabricated. If you remember, before Kyrie signed his extension, there were many reports that he wanted out of Cleveland. Kyrie is probably best off going someplace where he can be a PG version of James Harden.

(2) Even if the rumor is 100% fabricated, it's still another issue that this team has to deal with (along with chemistry, coaching, defensive lapses, lack of killer instinct, an historic Golden State season, etc.).

Another curious thing... floating this like what 2 weeks after the trade deadline?

 

[CFPBuckeye]

This team sucks. Sure, they're first place in the east but whoopty fucking doo. They'd struggle to make it out of the first round in the west. This is a disappointing bunch when you look at the talent on the roster vs. what you actually see on the court.

It's a good thing that I don't bother to watch more than 5-10 regular season games. But if they don't have it together by now, trying to put it together in the playoffs just spells trouble.

I went to one game this year, the game vs. Boston on Feb. 5th. It just about sums up all of their games this season. Look great, look shitty, get to a lead late, blow it by playing like fucking idiots. No offense except iso/and1/chuck it up. Coach is a puppet. Lebron isn't a leader and sure isn't clutch although he almost won the game against Boston. Bad defense lost that game. Yeah, their defense is bad, too.

 

[exhawg]

This team sucks. Sure, they're first place in the east but whoopty fucking doo. They'd struggle to make it out of the first round in the west. This is a disappointing bunch when you look at the talent on the roster vs. what you actually see on the court.

It's a good thing that I don't bother to watch more than 5-10 regular season games. But if they don't have it together by now, trying to put it together in the playoffs just spells trouble.

They have the potential to play with anyone, they just rarely put it all together. You hear stories about the Warriors spending a week of camp last season just working on passing to cut down 5 TO's a game because Kerr thought that was the difference between playoff exit and a title. Obviously he was right. The biggest difference between the Cavs and the Warriors is that the Warriors are willing to listen to their coach even when they think he's crazy. The Cavs are full of players that think they are better than the coach and will do it their way. Even how Lue wants them to push the ball on every possession, but they still walk the ball up the floor 80% of the time. Push the ball, make the extra pass or two, move when you don't have the ball, give effort on D. It isn't fucking rocket science. This team just lacks heart.

 

[CFPBuckeye]

They have the potential to play with anyone, they just rarely put it all together. You hear stories about the Warriors spending a week of camp last season just working on passing to cut down 5 TO's a game because Kerr thought that was the difference between playoff exit and a title. Obviously he was right. The biggest difference between the Cavs and the Warriors is that the Warriors are willing to listen to their coach even when they think he's crazy. The Cavs are full of players that think they are better than the coach and will do it their way. Even how Lue wants them to push the ball on every possession, but they still walk the ball up the floor 80% of the time. Push the ball, make the extra pass or two, move when you don't have the ball, give effort on D. It isn't fucking rocket science. This team just lacks heart.

Sure they have the potential. That's why they are the most disappointing bunch I've ever seen...because when you watch the games, you have to wonder what planet you're on.

 

[ethan]

Damn and I really thought them firing Blatt would fix everything. /sarcasm

Too many players are one dimensional.
Kyrie can score but cant defend or pass.
Love can score but cant defend.
Shump can defend but cant score.

Lebron and JR are probably the best two way players we have and everyone else is too old to defend anyone.
Also, kyrie is so injury prone, I don't think he could make it through a full season + playoffs "without" getting knee tendinitis.
(which is why I'm glad he missed the first quarter of the season, maybe he wont breakdown in the playoffs this year)

I expect big changes if this team doesn't make the Finals.

 

[Bucklion]

Kyrie may be gone at the end of the year if they don't make a good playoff showing. He will likely bring quite a bit more than Love in return. The problem is this team has 3 guys who think they are, and have been, #1 option face-of-the-franchise type guys. Most of the time, that doesn't work well. So it was Love last year, and Kyrie this year. This is the down side of "super teams". Chemistry sucks when things don't go perfectly. Maybe KI doesn't like Lue? There's lots of things that could be going on here, but they could blow this whole thing up sooner than later if they bomb out. The Heatles only lasted 4 years, and that was with winning 2 titles.

 

[CFPBuckeye]

Damn and I really thought them firing Blatt would fix everything.

Sarcasm font?

I expect big changes if this team doesn't make the Finals.

They'll make the Finals. They will still have more trouble getting there than they should and then they'll get crushed by the west. You can expect big changes but what can/will they really be able to do? Go after more vets past their prime to ride the bench and play 5-10 scoreless minutes during regular season games and see no tick during the playoffs while keeping the rotation super thin and gassed?

 

[exhawg]

Damn and I really thought them firing Blatt would fix everything.

Too many players are one dimensional.
Kyrie can score but cant defend or pass.
Love can score but cant defend.
Shump can defend but cant score.

Lebron and JR are probably the best two way players we have and everyone else is too old to defend anyone.
Also, kyrie is so injury prone, I don't think he could make it through a full season + playoffs "without" getting knee tendinitis.
(which is why I'm glad he missed the first quarter of the season, maybe he wont breakdown in the playoffs this year)

I expect big changes if this team doesn't make the Finals.

No shit. Lebron can't really leave, but Love and Kyrie could get moved for better fit. Kyrie is fragile, but there isn't a reason he can't play decent D if he gives effort. It isn't like Curry is a lock down defender. Love has seemed to be giving better effort on D, but his offense isn't where it should be. He very well could have looked better with the Wolves than he is with a good team since his usage is way down. I know he wants to play inside out, but with this team his game really needs to be outside in with him being a knockdown 3 pt shooter with the starters and then more inside with the bench and Frye stretching. Shump was supposed to be the 3 and D player than JR has become. Noted Shump's D is better than JR's, but he needs to hit open 3's closer to 40% if he wants big minutes. Lebron deserves some blame as well. He is still and elite player, but his shooting is terrible most of the time. Teams can go under screens and play off of him daring him to shoot. Delly has been a pleasant surprise this year, but tenacity can only get you so far on D when you don't have the athleticism to keep up. TT is doing about as much as he can. He'll never be a big offensive threat, but he chews up a defender just because of his ability to get the lob and offensive rebounds. Timo has probably been the biggest disappointment this year. His game has completely fallen apart.

It's a shame that the team (Lebron) rejected Blatt since I believe he was a better coach than Lue, at least right now.

 

[exhawg]

Kyrie may be gone at the end of the year if they don't make a good playoff showing. He will likely bring quite a bit more than Love in return. The problem is this team has 3 guys who think they are, and have been, #1 option face-of-the-franchise type guys. Most of the time, that doesn't work well. So it was Love last year, and Kyrie this year. This is the down side of "super teams". Chemistry sucks when things don't go perfectly. Maybe KI doesn't like Lue? There's lots of things that could be going on here, but they could blow this whole thing up sooner than later if they bomb out. The Heatles only lasted 4 years, and that was with winning 2 titles.

Lebron came back to Cleveland because he knew the Window was shut with the Heat. Wade is old and Bosh suddenly can't stay healthy. They weren't able or willing to spend money one a bench. They still would have been able to get Whiteside, but he would still walk after this season when they can't pay him since they don't have his Bird Rights. The biggest problem is the Cavs shitty drafting left the cupboard pretty much bare considering how many first rounders they had while Lebron was gone. Even if they hit on half the first round picks this team should have been stacked without needing to make the move for Love.

 

[Bucklion]

Lebron came back to Cleveland because he knew the Window was shut with the Heat. Wade is old and Bosh suddenly can't stay healthy. They weren't able or willing to spend money one a bench. They still would have been able to get Whiteside, but he would still walk after this season when they can't pay him since they don't have his Bird Rights. The biggest problem is the Cavs [Mark May]ty drafting left the cupboard pretty much bare considering how many first rounders they had while Lebron was gone. Even if they hit on half the first round picks this team should have been stacked without needing to make the move for Love.

Yes...that's the one thing living here that is so hard to wrap my head around. 3 different franchises in 3 different sports have managed to fuckface the draft for a long, long time