Game 29: Pelicans @ Cavs 12/21/23

JujitsuFlip · Post #1 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Thu Dec 21, 2023 9:24 pm

Cavs are without Mobley, Garland, Mitchell, TJ, and Rubio.

JujitsuFlip · Post #2 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Thu Dec 21, 2023 9:26 pm

It says Mitchell is out for his 2nd straight game with an illness but it is most likely due to his shoulder he jammed into the stanchion on Monday night.

JujitsuFlip · Post #3 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Thu Dec 21, 2023 11:50 pm

Same starting 5 as last night.

Post #4 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:11 am

JujitsuFlip · Post #5 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:42 am

Why does Okoro look as tall as LNJ here?

Post #6 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:19 am

JujitsuFlip wrote:Why does Okoro look as tall as LNJ here?

Its a combination of LNJ being hunched over and Okoro being 6'8

Post #7 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:20 am

Doubling off Jordan Hawkins to double Valančiūnas on the perimeter is an interesting decision

JujitsuFlip · Post #8 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:02 am

Emoni Bates has entered the game!

mcfly1204 · Post #9 » by **mcfly1204** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 2:43 am

I ain't even mad. There's still a lot to like about that game.

Post #10 » by **jbk1234** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 3:32 am

I turned it off at halftime. It's hard enough for us to score against good defensive teams with Garland and Mitchell on the floor. Without either of them, you're going to go through some things, and we certainly did.

Post #11 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 3:46 am

mcfly1204 wrote:I ain't even mad. There's still a lot to like about that game.

I'm glad to see Emoni touch the floor within meaningful minutes even if it went poorly

Its odd how much I'm enjoying watching this team without Garland, Mobley, and Mitchell despite the 19 point loss.

JonFromVA · Post #12 » by **JonFromVA** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 3:35 pm

Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

Post #13 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 4:03 pm

JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

JB kept him in through multiple mistakes so maybe there has been direction to let the guys play

JujitsuFlip · Post #14 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 4:23 pm

JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

I guess I take back what I said about guaranteeing Merrill then.

Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Was it his shooting wrist, do we know?

Post #15 » by **ijspeelman** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 6:03 pm

JujitsuFlip wrote:
JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.
I guess I take back what I said about guaranteeing Merrill then.

Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Was it his shooting wrist, do we know?

Looks like a sore right wrist so yeah its his shooting wrist. He was questionable going into the game with the same risk and nothing egregious happened to aggravate the injury, but he didn't come back in

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/cavaliers-sam-merrill-late-addition-to-injury-report/

JujitsuFlip · Post #16 » by **JujitsuFlip** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 7:07 pm

ijspeelman wrote:
JujitsuFlip wrote:
JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.
I guess I take back what I said about guaranteeing Merrill then.

Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Was it his shooting wrist, do we know?

Looks like a sore right wrist so yeah its his shooting wrist. He was questionable going into the game with the same risk and nothing egregious happened to aggravate the injury, but he didn't come back in

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/cavaliers-sam-merrill-late-addition-to-injury-report/

Guess it was sore from carrying the team to the dub over the Jazz with all those 3s lol

Exactly 2 weeks until they have to make a decision on him and TT.

Post #17 » by **jbk1234** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 7:45 pm

JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

Merrill is third-string and Bates is on a two-way contract. Show me another playoff team giving those guys meaningful minutes absent injury. We're no longer rebuilding and development is no longer prioritized over winning. The Spurs were successful making their young guys earn their minutes behind more talented players for decades.

Criticizing JBB for being overly reliant on his starters is fair. Criticizing him for not allowing the very back of the bench to play through mistakes when the game still matters is not. Playoff teams don't do that.

JonFromVA · Post #18 » by **JonFromVA** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 9:19 pm

jbk1234 wrote:
JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

Merrill is third-string and Bates is on a two-way contract. Show me another playoff team giving those guys meaningful minutes absent injury. We're no longer rebuilding and development is no longer prioritized over winning. The Spurs were successful making their young guys earn their minutes behind more talented players for decades.

Criticizing JBB for being overly reliant on his starters is fair. Criticizing him for not allowing the very back of the bench to play through mistakes when the game still matters is not. Playoff teams don't do that.

You might recall JBB said Bates would be competing for ROY on another team. You find playtime for your draft picks because you hope they might contribute something by the end of the season.

Our first finals trip was because Bobbie Gibson stepped up when it mattered most. Porter Jr and Merrill have shown they don't even need much to start contributing, but they'd never have seen minutes outside of blowouts except for the injuries.

As for your research project, feel free to report back to us on your findings, but it doesn't excuse our coach from developing talent.

Post #19 » by **jbk1234** » Fri Dec 22, 2023 11:54 pm

JonFromVA wrote:
jbk1234 wrote:
JonFromVA wrote:Emoni saw the floor because Merrill is hurt now....

He was pretty awful which is a shame because bench players need to play like All-Stars to maybe get minutes.

Merrill is third-string and Bates is on a two-way contract. Show me another playoff team giving those guys meaningful minutes absent injury. We're no longer rebuilding and development is no longer prioritized over winning. The Spurs were successful making their young guys earn their minutes behind more talented players for decades.

Criticizing JBB for being overly reliant on his starters is fair. Criticizing him for not allowing the very back of the bench to play through mistakes when the game still matters is not. Playoff teams don't do that.

You might recall JBB said Bates would be competing for ROY on another team. You find playtime for your draft picks because you hope they might contribute something by the end of the season.

Our first finals trip was because Bobbie Gibson stepped up when it mattered most. Porter Jr and Merrill have shown they don't even need much to start contributing, but they'd never have seen minutes outside of blowouts except for the injuries.

As for your research project, feel free to report back to us on your findings, but it doesn't excuse our coach from developing talent.

Every coach in the NBA talks up their draft picks, but come on now, Emoni Bates wasn't going to be ROY regardless of who drafted him. He was a guy who slipped to the back end of the second round.

JonFromVA · Post #20 » by **JonFromVA** » Sat Dec 23, 2023 4:10 pm

jbk1234 wrote:
JonFromVA wrote:
jbk1234 wrote:
Merrill is third-string and Bates is on a two-way contract. Show me another playoff team giving those guys meaningful minutes absent injury. We're no longer rebuilding and development is no longer prioritized over winning. The Spurs were successful making their young guys earn their minutes behind more talented players for decades.

Criticizing JBB for being overly reliant on his starters is fair. Criticizing him for not allowing the very back of the bench to play through mistakes when the game still matters is not. Playoff teams don't do that.

You might recall JBB said Bates would be competing for ROY on another team. You find playtime for your draft picks because you hope they might contribute something by the end of the season.

Our first finals trip was because Bobbie Gibson stepped up when it mattered most. Porter Jr and Merrill have shown they don't even need much to start contributing, but they'd never have seen minutes outside of blowouts except for the injuries.

As for your research project, feel free to report back to us on your findings, but it doesn't excuse our coach from developing talent.

Every coach in the NBA talks up their draft picks, but come on now, Emoni Bates wasn't going to be ROY regardless of who drafted him. He was a guy who slipped to the back end of the second round.

Not every coach is coaching every game like he could be fired the next day if his team doesn't win. That's a two way problem.

That's causing the disconnect between his actions and his words.

Do the Cavs win tonight?