Game 52: 76ers @ Cavs 2/12/2024

[ijspeelman]

[ijspeelman]

[jbk1234]

Second game in a row Niang is killing us.

[ijspeelman]

we are 100% missing Wade for rebounding and defense

[jbk1234]

we are 100% missing Wade for rebounding and defense

Yeah, we need another big. We can't be another Wade injury away from what happened against the Knicks.

[ijspeelman]

we have been incredibly late on our own boards and slow getting back. they are really making us pay in semi-transition

its weird that the defense has been the problem, but the 6ers pace has suffocated us so far

[ijspeelman]

we have been incredibly late on our own boards and slow getting back. they are really making us pay in semi-transition

its weird that the defense has been the problem, but the 6ers pace has suffocated us so far

we were down 9 when I started writing this and up 1 when I finished btw

[ijspeelman]

btw Mobley has been crazy defensively despite the overall bad team defense.

deflections, contests, and blocks galore

[Iwasawitness]

The streak had to end at some point. It's a shame...I wanted it to go on for just a bit longer.

On the plus side, this is the best game Garland has had without question since coming back from injury. Weird that we're about to lose a game where he finds his shot again.

[Iwasawitness]

We actually almost stole that game. Wow. What an effort but good win by the 76ers. The better team won tonight.

[ijspeelman]

yikes is my best way to describe this game

felt like we had multiple opportunities to put this game to rest and just couldn't extend the lead

not gonna be too hard on these guys after the run they've been on, but this is a gross game to lose

I appreciate that the guys got it all the way to the last possession

[Iwasawitness]

yikes is my best way to describe this game

felt like we had multiple opportunities to put this game to rest and just couldn't extend the lead

not gonna be too hard on these guys after the run they've been on, but this is a gross game to lose

I appreciate that the guys got it all the way to the last possession

Yeah, there's been much worse losses than this. With that said, 76ers shooting was really good tonight. They earned this one.

[ijspeelman]

yikes is my best way to describe this game

felt like we had multiple opportunities to put this game to rest and just couldn't extend the lead

not gonna be too hard on these guys after the run they've been on, but this is a gross game to lose

I appreciate that the guys got it all the way to the last possession

Yeah, there's been much worse losses than this. With that said, 76ers shooting was really good tonight. They earned this one.

I know there is more than just him, but Buddy Hield is a scary man. He dances around with Cavs hanging on him and draining shots. He’s been one of my most feared players to watch as an opposing fan for awhile now. Maxey is similar, but for diff reasons

[toooskies]

Didn't get to watch the whole thing, but sometimes you're just flat. I thought the Sixers hit a lot of difficult shots, but they have a bunch of guys that can do that.

Losing to the Sixers here wasn't great but honestly I'd rather them have a chance at the 5 seed if/when Embiid comes back. It could play to our favor in the playoffs if the seeding ends up in the current order.

[JonFromVA]

Of course the Cavs are going to point to the defense/energy/physicality/etc, but sometimes the other team is going to get hot and they have quite the collection of flawed castoffs who get buckets in addition to Maxey. I was getting the feeling we were coming up short in terms of firepower to match them.

Dean would have helped, but we need to get Garland and Mobley going stronger on the offensive end so we don't need Mitchell to make every shot and can overcome Caris having one of his off shooting games. Can we get more from Max?

When we hit the playoffs our opponents will be playing just as hard. We need to get ready for that this time.

[ijspeelman]

Of course the Cavs are going to point to the defense/energy/physicality/etc, but sometimes the other team is going to get hot and they have quite the collection of flawed castoffs who get buckets in addition to Maxey. I was getting the feeling we were coming up short in terms of firepower to match them.

Dean would have helped, but we need to get Garland and Mobley going stronger on the offensive end so we don't need Mitchell to make every shot and can overcome Caris having one of his off shooting games. Can we get more from Max?

When we hit the playoffs our opponents will be playing just as hard. We need to get ready for that this time.

This was probably Garland's best game since his return so I am hoping its a sign of things to come. It sucks he missed two clutch threes at the end of the game bc otherwise there wouldn't be too much negative to say lol

[Iwasawitness]

Of course the Cavs are going to point to the defense/energy/physicality/etc, but sometimes the other team is going to get hot and they have quite the collection of flawed castoffs who get buckets in addition to Maxey. I was getting the feeling we were coming up short in terms of firepower to match them.

Dean would have helped, but we need to get Garland and Mobley going stronger on the offensive end so we don't need Mitchell to make every shot and can overcome Caris having one of his off shooting games. Can we get more from Max?

When we hit the playoffs our opponents will be playing just as hard. We need to get ready for that this time.

This was probably Garland's best game since his return so I am hoping its a sign of things to come. It sucks he missed two clutch threes at the end of the game bc otherwise there wouldn't be too much negative to say lol

This was a balanced effort from the Cavs. I guess we could have gotten more out of Niang and Merrill, who were both scoreless despite getting playing time, but I'd like to point out that despite this, this was still one of the more balanced scoring efforts we've seen from the team as a whole.

Offense wasn't the issue here. It simply comes down to this: one team was hitting their shots time and time again, despite us playing good defense.

Do I think we could have gotten a better shot out of the final possession? Perhaps. But as I mentioned before, this is just one of those games that you can't really make too big of a deal about the final result. Sometimes the other team is just better. The only thing that bothers me about this L is the winning streak ending. Otherwise, it doesn't concern me in the least bit.

[JonFromVA]

Of course the Cavs are going to point to the defense/energy/physicality/etc, but sometimes the other team is going to get hot and they have quite the collection of flawed castoffs who get buckets in addition to Maxey. I was getting the feeling we were coming up short in terms of firepower to match them.

Dean would have helped, but we need to get Garland and Mobley going stronger on the offensive end so we don't need Mitchell to make every shot and can overcome Caris having one of his off shooting games. Can we get more from Max?

When we hit the playoffs our opponents will be playing just as hard. We need to get ready for that this time.

This was probably Garland's best game since his return so I am hoping its a sign of things to come. It sucks he missed two clutch threes at the end of the game bc otherwise there wouldn't be too much negative to say lol

Yep, I think so, at least if he can sort out his shooting mechanics. I wouldn't mind seeing him become a little more methodical in his jump shot selection until he locks in. Meaning start with some free thrown line J's and then when that goes in, start looking for shots farther out. Maybe sink some catch & shoot 3's before going to the fall away shot from 30ft.

[JonFromVA]

Of course the Cavs are going to point to the defense/energy/physicality/etc, but sometimes the other team is going to get hot and they have quite the collection of flawed castoffs who get buckets in addition to Maxey. I was getting the feeling we were coming up short in terms of firepower to match them.

Dean would have helped, but we need to get Garland and Mobley going stronger on the offensive end so we don't need Mitchell to make every shot and can overcome Caris having one of his off shooting games. Can we get more from Max?

When we hit the playoffs our opponents will be playing just as hard. We need to get ready for that this time.

This was probably Garland's best game since his return so I am hoping its a sign of things to come. It sucks he missed two clutch threes at the end of the game bc otherwise there wouldn't be too much negative to say lol

This was a balanced effort from the Cavs. I guess we could have gotten more out of Niang and Merrill, who were both scoreless despite getting playing time, but I'd like to point out that despite this, this was still one of the more balanced scoring efforts we've seen from the team as a whole.

Offense wasn't the issue here. It simply comes down to this: one team was hitting their shots time and time again, despite us playing good defense.

Do I think we could have gotten a better shot out of the final possession? Perhaps. But as I mentioned before, this is just one of those games that you can't really make too big of a deal about the final result. Sometimes the other team is just better. The only thing that bothers me about this L is the winning streak ending. Otherwise, it doesn't concern me in the least bit.

The NBA is a bit like the NFL in that defense is still important, but if you can't impose your will offensively when it matters most, you're still going to lose. We need to be able to go score for score against other top offensive teams like we did against the Kings and Clippers.

And while I liked to see our defense pressing the 76'ers when we had no choice, I'm still looking forward to the game we just do it because taking control of a situation is always preferable to acting passively.