Game 16 : Cleveland Cavaliers (8-7) @ Boston Celtics (8-6) - 7:00PM

[jbk1234]

This is the first game we've really missed Love. Our spacing is kind of jacked.

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[jbk1234]

Colin's going to have double digit turnovers tonight.

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[jbk1234]

This game is embarrassing.

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[Stillwater]

You knew Boston was going to bring their A game tonight so why in the f didnt the Cavs do the same? head scratcher,back to football it is

[yoyoboy]

It'll be very depressing if Sexton is the only guy we hit on in the draft during this rebuild so far. As a Vandy guy I would love to see Garland be a major piece for us but I really just don't see it. He just doesn't do anything at a high enough level to make up for how small and unexplosive he is. He's not the shooter he was advertised to be. He's a decent passer but nothing special. His dribble is loose and he's not a crafty finisher so when he gets inside he has so much trouble finishing over length. And he's a liability defensively. He reminds me of DJ Augustin and we can't afford to only get a backup PG with that high of a pick.

Okoro has potential but his offense is a long way away and his lack of size will ultimately limit his defensive value.

I think Garland's legit and Okoro is going to be a Smart level defender for us. People need to realize that when you draft 19 year old players, you have to be patient. Sexton looked pretty bad in the first half of last season. It wasn't until pretty late in the second half last season that it really started to click for him.

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Sexton is lightning quick and he has the leaping ability to finish in traffic. He's also a ridiculously hard worker so it was only a matter of time before that midrange shot extended to the three.

What exactly about Garland made him worthy of taking with a top 5 pick? He's a good shooter but he's not an elite one and his size and lack of athleticism further limits his ability to get it off. And that's basically the only ability that led to us drafting him so high because he's average to significantly below average at virtually everything else. I think DJ Augustin is a very comparable player.

[yoyoboy]

We need to tank this year. Unfortunately I still think we can make a playoff push because the East sucks and this team can take advantage of squads that aren't as talented as this Boston team and don't try as hard as the Cavs do (which is usually more effort than tonight).

But we absolutely shouldn't be trying to make it. This team just isn't talented. We need picks high enough where this front office can't blow it.

[jbk1234]

It'll be very depressing if Sexton is the only guy we hit on in the draft during this rebuild so far. As a Vandy guy I would love to see Garland be a major piece for us but I really just don't see it. He just doesn't do anything at a high enough level to make up for how small and unexplosive he is. He's not the shooter he was advertised to be. He's a decent passer but nothing special. His dribble is loose and he's not a crafty finisher so when he gets inside he has so much trouble finishing over length. And he's a liability defensively. He reminds me of DJ Augustin and we can't afford to only get a backup PG with that high of a pick.

Okoro has potential but his offense is a long way away and his lack of size will ultimately limit his defensive value.

I think Garland's legit and Okoro is going to be a Smart level defender for us. People need to realize that when you draft 19 year old players, you have to be patient. Sexton looked pretty bad in the first half of last season. It wasn't until pretty late in the second half last season that it really started to click for him.

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Sexton is lightning quick and he has the leaping ability to finish in traffic. He's also a ridiculously hard worker so it was only a matter of time before that midrange shot extended to the three.

What exactly about Garland made him worthy of taking with a top 5 pick? He's a good shooter but he's not an elite one and his size and lack of athleticism further limits his ability to get it off. And that's basically the only ability that led to us drafting him so high because he's average to significantly below average at virtually everything else. I think DJ Augustin is a very comparable player.

I mean the reality is that Sexton looked every bit as bad as anyone else out that court and Bickerstaff had to yank him twice because he kept turning it over, kept getting cooked on defense, and he was only 3/8. Even now he really struggles to run an offense against good defenses and he's very vulnerable to turning it over when he plays against one. He's a good scorer but he needs to be out there with a legit PG against the better defensive teams.

I wouldn't draw any broad conclusions from today's game except for the fact that the entire team needs to get coached up when they play an aggressive/physical defense like that. There are counters to teams who overplay passing lanes. There are counters to teams that trap the ball handeler aggressively. There are counters to teams who play physical defense. No one on that team was ready for it tonight.

As far as Garland and Okoro, go look at how many games guys like Brown and Smart even started their first two years in the league. You want to force feed guys minutes right out the gate, you're going to have some growing pains. This is a man's league. You ask teenagers to play in it, it's not always going to be pretty.

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[Stillwater]

Yeah imo they are not going to tank since it hasnt worked out with the new odds to do so anyway. But If they continue to struggle a lot more now that teams are aware they have to defend them..they probably wont have to.
That being said I think they keep pushing and other than a few contenders like Boston with multiple ways to score and get stops against teams with no consistently unstoppable offensive weapons besides occasional outings while their young core keeps improving ,they will make the playoffs this season or be just shy of it if moves are made at the dl that shunt the chemistry.

[jbk1234]

One more thing, with Love out, I think you've got to start Garland and Sexton against teams like the Celtics. If they get cooked defensively, so be it, but we just don't have enough offense on the court against aggressive defenses right now.

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[KuruptedCav]

Mama said there'll be days like this
There'll be days like this, my mama said

I get running the rotation in a blowout, but, without the dogs (Sexton and Nance Jr.), it’s hard to watch. Games like tonight are when I wish Delly was available.

Onward!


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[JonFromVA]

I expected us to get blown out in this one. We win games by just outworking the other team. Boston has a bunch of dogs so when the other team is more talented AND works just as hard, it’s tough to win the game.

I didn't expect us to get blown out, I really hoped we'd taken enough steps that we wouldn't see a meltdown like this just because we're playing a team that tries and might even win it with Tatum out, but even our frontcourt wasn't an advantage after Stevens decided to go with Theis and Thompson.

I did expect our backcourt to be tested by Smart and Brown ... but most of the team didn't seem ready for this. Hoepfully it's just a road bump on the path and JBB can use it to make sure they know they didn't actually arrive just because they beat the Nets a couple of times.

As for Cedi, I'm not sure why you're so down on him. I thought he's strung together a number of nice games when asked to step up, but yeah, not this one. As for Garland, it just seems like he has to rebuild his shot and confidence another time. At least his injuries haven't cost him many games, but that's the only thing worrying me at this point. He has a finesse game and getting knocked around and playing hurt seems to affect him.

Anyway, it's kind of like the Celtics bothered to watch tape on us and prepared for us and knew what we liked to do. So, I guess that's an accomplishment of sorts. The Cavs challenge is to keep learning to play together and adding more stuff so they're less predictable. Also try to figure out how to space the floor better and learn how to take advantage of a team that plays aggressive defense and takes care of the ball.