2021-22 regular season thread

[LivingLegend]

Okoro won himself JBB's newly invented junkyard dog chain after the game against the Wizards for his defense on 6'9" red hot Kuzma, which reminded me that some people don't think he can defend bigger players because they can just shoot over him.

Not the case, this night, and part of it no doubt was the the refs were allowing the Cavs to get right up on the Wizards and play them super tight. As the Cavs and Isaac build their defensive reputation, hopefully we'll see this more often than just a home game .vs. a lower ranked team.

The more positions Isaac can defend even if it's just on a temporary basis on a switch or to slow a hot player, the more valuable he's going to be. Meanwhile he's 8 of 17 on his 3pters so far in February (47.1%).

My biggest beef (outside of banishing Windler from the team despite them being on life support for guard play, but I digress) is that Okoro needs to start being aggressive on offense. He has the athletisism to beat anybody and get into the paint--he just really really needs to work on his ball handling.

The Cavs have 4 guards on the injured list. If there was anytime to start dipping your toes into the uncomfortable end of the pool--now is it. His confidence needs a boost and far too often does he go missing on offense without even an attempt.

I would like for JB to challenge Okoro in the next few games to take 12+ shots per game and start 'hunting' his shots. His inability to shoot off the dribble is killing him right now because people are just waiting for him to drive and cut him off. Time to get comfortable taking some pull ups. 12+ shots per game Isaac. Lets goooo. Time to get tossed in the deep end and get comfortable.

He has no dribble moves to get around defenders and he has no pull up midrange game. Its either stand in the corner and shoot wide open 3s or trying to blow past the defender with his shoulder down.

I have faith, but being comfortable with the uncomfortable is how you get better and grow. Cant be scared to take the shots your not comfortable with. I dont care if you brick 10 mid range pullups in a row. Keep taking them. Thats the only way you get better. There is no reason Okoro cant develop a good mid range pull up game and be a good standstill corner 3pt shooter like PJ Tucker.

[JonFromVA]

Okoro won himself JBB's newly invented junkyard dog chain after the game against the Wizards for his defense on 6'9" red hot Kuzma, which reminded me that some people don't think he can defend bigger players because they can just shoot over him.

Not the case, this night, and part of it no doubt was the the refs were allowing the Cavs to get right up on the Wizards and play them super tight. As the Cavs and Isaac build their defensive reputation, hopefully we'll see this more often than just a home game .vs. a lower ranked team.

The more positions Isaac can defend even if it's just on a temporary basis on a switch or to slow a hot player, the more valuable he's going to be. Meanwhile he's 8 of 17 on his 3pters so far in February (47.1%).

My biggest beef (outside of banishing Windler from the team despite them being on life support for guard play, but I digress) is that Okoro needs to start being aggressive on offense. He has the athletisism to beat anybody and get into the paint--he just really really needs to work on his ball handling.

The Cavs have 4 guards on the injured list. If there was anytime to start dipping your toes into the uncomfortable end of the pool--now is it. His confidence needs a boost and far too often does he go missing on offense without even an attempt.

I would like for JB to challenge Okoro in the next few games to take 12+ shots per game and start 'hunting' his shots. His inability to shoot off the dribble is killing him right now because people are just waiting for him to drive and cut him off. Time to get comfortable taking some pull ups. 12+ shots per game Isaac. Lets goooo. Time to get tossed in the deep end and get comfortable.

He has no dribble moves to get around defenders and he has no pull up midrange game. Its either stand in the corner and shoot wide open 3s or trying to blow past the defender with his shoulder down.

I have faith, but being comfortable with the uncomfortable is how you get better and grow. Cant be scared to take the shots your not comfortable with. I dont care if you brick 10 mid range pullups in a row. Keep taking them. Thats the only way you get better. There is no reason Okoro cant develop a good mid range pull up game and be a good standstill corner 3pt shooter like PJ Tucker.

If Isaac's problem is that his 2 offensive moves have been scouted, force feeding him possessions isn't going to help. I'd rather see other players get those possessions and continue to grow their game and Isaac can work on other areas in practice and off-season.

But hey, if he's been practicing something, I'd fully expect to see him at least try it in a game.

One thing that would help is if he keeps knocking down those wide open 3's, defenders will eventually decide to play him tighter and close out on him quicker; and that should make it a easier for him to drive.

But everything you might hope to see in terms of individual skill from a player is like 5x harder because of our floor spacing and our inability to set effective screens (not that anybody is going to go over a screen if Okoro is running a P&R).

In other news, Collin was back with the team and on the bench cheering, so that helps alleviate my fear he felt detached from the team after they acquired LeVert.

[LivingLegend]

Okoro won himself JBB's newly invented junkyard dog chain after the game against the Wizards for his defense on 6'9" red hot Kuzma, which reminded me that some people don't think he can defend bigger players because they can just shoot over him.

Not the case, this night, and part of it no doubt was the the refs were allowing the Cavs to get right up on the Wizards and play them super tight. As the Cavs and Isaac build their defensive reputation, hopefully we'll see this more often than just a home game .vs. a lower ranked team.

The more positions Isaac can defend even if it's just on a temporary basis on a switch or to slow a hot player, the more valuable he's going to be. Meanwhile he's 8 of 17 on his 3pters so far in February (47.1%).

My biggest beef (outside of banishing Windler from the team despite them being on life support for guard play, but I digress) is that Okoro needs to start being aggressive on offense. He has the athletisism to beat anybody and get into the paint--he just really really needs to work on his ball handling.

The Cavs have 4 guards on the injured list. If there was anytime to start dipping your toes into the uncomfortable end of the pool--now is it. His confidence needs a boost and far too often does he go missing on offense without even an attempt.

I would like for JB to challenge Okoro in the next few games to take 12+ shots per game and start 'hunting' his shots. His inability to shoot off the dribble is killing him right now because people are just waiting for him to drive and cut him off. Time to get comfortable taking some pull ups. 12+ shots per game Isaac. Lets goooo. Time to get tossed in the deep end and get comfortable.

He has no dribble moves to get around defenders and he has no pull up midrange game. Its either stand in the corner and shoot wide open 3s or trying to blow past the defender with his shoulder down.

I have faith, but being comfortable with the uncomfortable is how you get better and grow. Cant be scared to take the shots your not comfortable with. I dont care if you brick 10 mid range pullups in a row. Keep taking them. Thats the only way you get better. There is no reason Okoro cant develop a good mid range pull up game and be a good standstill corner 3pt shooter like PJ Tucker.

If Isaac's problem is that his 2 offensive moves have been scouted, force feeding him possessions isn't going to help. I'd rather see other players get those possessions and continue to grow their game and Isaac can work on other areas in practice and off-season.

But hey, if he's been practicing something, I'd fully expect to see him at least try it in a game.

One thing that would help is if he keeps knocking down those wide open 3's, defenders will eventually decide to play him tighter and close out on him quicker; and that should make it a easier for him to drive.

But everything you might hope to see in terms of individual skill from a player is like 5x harder because of our floor spacing and our inability to set effective screens (not that anybody is going to go over a screen if Okoro is running a P&R).

In other news, Collin was back with the team and on the bench cheering, so that helps alleviate my fear he felt detached from the team after they acquired LeVert.

Im just worried you then run the risk of a Ben Simmons situation with him. That he gets so scared to shoot or do anything outside of the box that he develops the yips. I liked how he continues to shoot 3s even if they aren't falling, but its time to expand his game a bit. Even if its 1-2-3 times per game pulling up in the midrange. Just to get your feet wet and have some sort of foundation to go into the offseason with. Its the backhalf of year 2--time to start opening up in some areas.

Side Note: I have no idea how a NBA caliber player doesnt even know how or have a pullup jumper in the arsenal from FT range. Like, did all of these guys not grow up shooting around the school gym or down at the park? How are you good enough to become a NBA athlete but not know how to shoot a basketball off the dribble. Isnt that the first thing you do when you pick up a basketball at a young age is run around and shoot?

Thats like a pro baseball player going 'Yeah Im in the bigs but I can only hit the ball as a DH because I never learned how to throw a baseball."

I understand its at the highest level, but even if your not great at hitting them--you should have played basketball long enough to know HOW to get the shot off. Okoro has a good looking shooting motion so I dont doubt that he can do it, he just needs to build that self confidence to start attempting them.

[JonFromVA]

My biggest beef (outside of banishing Windler from the team despite them being on life support for guard play, but I digress) is that Okoro needs to start being aggressive on offense. He has the athletisism to beat anybody and get into the paint--he just really really needs to work on his ball handling.

The Cavs have 4 guards on the injured list. If there was anytime to start dipping your toes into the uncomfortable end of the pool--now is it. His confidence needs a boost and far too often does he go missing on offense without even an attempt.

I would like for JB to challenge Okoro in the next few games to take 12+ shots per game and start 'hunting' his shots. His inability to shoot off the dribble is killing him right now because people are just waiting for him to drive and cut him off. Time to get comfortable taking some pull ups. 12+ shots per game Isaac. Lets goooo. Time to get tossed in the deep end and get comfortable.

He has no dribble moves to get around defenders and he has no pull up midrange game. Its either stand in the corner and shoot wide open 3s or trying to blow past the defender with his shoulder down.

I have faith, but being comfortable with the uncomfortable is how you get better and grow. Cant be scared to take the shots your not comfortable with. I dont care if you brick 10 mid range pullups in a row. Keep taking them. Thats the only way you get better. There is no reason Okoro cant develop a good mid range pull up game and be a good standstill corner 3pt shooter like PJ Tucker.

If Isaac's problem is that his 2 offensive moves have been scouted, force feeding him possessions isn't going to help. I'd rather see other players get those possessions and continue to grow their game and Isaac can work on other areas in practice and off-season.

But hey, if he's been practicing something, I'd fully expect to see him at least try it in a game.

One thing that would help is if he keeps knocking down those wide open 3's, defenders will eventually decide to play him tighter and close out on him quicker; and that should make it a easier for him to drive.

But everything you might hope to see in terms of individual skill from a player is like 5x harder because of our floor spacing and our inability to set effective screens (not that anybody is going to go over a screen if Okoro is running a P&R).

In other news, Collin was back with the team and on the bench cheering, so that helps alleviate my fear he felt detached from the team after they acquired LeVert.

Im just worried you then run the risk of a Ben Simmons situation with him. That he gets so scared to shoot or do anything outside of the box that he develops the yips. I liked how he continues to shoot 3s even if they aren't falling, but its time to expand his game a bit. Even if its 1-2-3 times per game pulling up in the midrange. Just to get your feet wet and have some sort of foundation to go into the offseason with. Its the backhalf of year 2--time to start opening up in some areas.

Side Note: I have no idea how a NBA caliber player doesnt even know how or have a pullup jumper in the arsenal from FT range. Like, did all of these guys not grow up shooting around the school gym or down at the park? How are you good enough to become a NBA athlete but not know how to shoot a basketball off the dribble. Isnt that the first thing you do when you pick up a basketball at a young age is run around and shoot?

Thats like a pro baseball player going 'Yeah Im in the bigs but I can only hit the ball as a DH because I never learned how to throw a baseball."

I understand its at the highest level, but even if your not great at hitting them--you should have played basketball long enough to know HOW to get the shot off. Okoro has a good looking shooting motion so I dont doubt that he can do it, he just needs to build that self confidence to start attempting them.

I wouldn't compare anyone to Ben Simmons. Isaac is going to keep working on his game and things will click for him when they click, but we don't have to wait for that, he's already contributing to the team. He's so young, just turned 21 ... Jimmy Butler didn't break 8ppg until he was 24.

If we need to pick a Cavs player to brick mid-range shots as an investment in the future, Evan would get my vote.

[KuruptedCav]

Okoro won himself JBB's newly invented junkyard dog chain after the game against the Wizards for his defense on 6'9" red hot Kuzma, which reminded me that some people don't think he can defend bigger players because they can just shoot over him.

Not the case, this night, and part of it no doubt was the the refs were allowing the Cavs to get right up on the Wizards and play them super tight. As the Cavs and Isaac build their defensive reputation, hopefully we'll see this more often than just a home game .vs. a lower ranked team.

The more positions Isaac can defend even if it's just on a temporary basis on a switch or to slow a hot player, the more valuable he's going to be. Meanwhile he's 8 of 17 on his 3pters so far in February (47.1%).

My concern with Okoro isn’t his height; it’s the lack of durability that comes with playing out of his weigh class so much of the time.

I think Okoro profiles like Gerald Wallace. He makes up for his size with a non-stop motor and willingness to get hit. But with that comes the reminder that Wallace never played more than 71 games and averaged <60 games per season.

His offensive game is a work in progress and that was known. It’s year 2.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[JonFromVA]

Okoro won himself JBB's newly invented junkyard dog chain after the game against the Wizards for his defense on 6'9" red hot Kuzma, which reminded me that some people don't think he can defend bigger players because they can just shoot over him.

Not the case, this night, and part of it no doubt was the the refs were allowing the Cavs to get right up on the Wizards and play them super tight. As the Cavs and Isaac build their defensive reputation, hopefully we'll see this more often than just a home game .vs. a lower ranked team.

The more positions Isaac can defend even if it's just on a temporary basis on a switch or to slow a hot player, the more valuable he's going to be. Meanwhile he's 8 of 17 on his 3pters so far in February (47.1%).

My concern with Okoro isn’t his height; it’s the lack of durability that comes with playing out of his weigh class so much of the time.

I think Okoro profiles like Gerald Wallace. He makes up for his size with a non-stop motor and willingness to get hit. But with that comes the reminder that Wallace never played more than 71 games and averaged <60 games per season.

His offensive game is a work in progress and that was known. It’s year 2.

Well, he's got 4lbs on Kuzma ... Isaac's activity is part of what he brings. If he gets hurt doing that, so be it. Physically with his build? He should be fine. He's no toothpick.

[LivingLegend]

team is starting to worry me with how they have been playing lately. Mostly due to injuries, but the defensive intensity just isnt there anymore. Far too often do I see teams have 35pt+ quarters scoring. Bad teams.

I know their legs were fresher at the beginning, but...its almost like JA/Lauri/Mobley arnt having the same stifling impact in against guards they did at the beginning. Teams have scouted and figured them out a bit and they are no longer shutting down the paint anymore. Maybe Im wrong.

Im not fully panicking, but that 5 game losing streak I talked about 5-6 weeks ago that the Cavs couldnt afford--is happening and the Cavs I have a gut feeling are destined for a play-in game. Everybody around them is hitting their stride and the Cavs are struggling to stay above water in the EASY part of the schedule.

Trying not to be a pessimist but man...if Garland/Rondo/LeVert dont hurry back quick, the Cavs could find themselves in the 7-8th seed by the end of next week.

[JonFromVA]

team is starting to worry me with how they have been playing lately. Mostly due to injuries, but the defensive intensity just isnt there anymore. Far too often do I see teams have 35pt+ quarters scoring. Bad teams.

I know their legs were fresher at the beginning, but...its almost like JA/Lauri/Mobley arnt having the same stifling impact in against guards they did at the beginning. Teams have scouted and figured them out a bit and they are no longer shutting down the paint anymore. Maybe Im wrong.

Im not fully panicking, but that 5 game losing streak I talked about 5-6 weeks ago that the Cavs couldnt afford--is happening and the Cavs I have a gut feeling are destined for a play-in game. Everybody around them is hitting their stride and the Cavs are struggling to stay above water in the EASY part of the schedule.

Trying not to be a pessimist but man...if Garland/Rondo/LeVert dont hurry back quick, the Cavs could find themselves in the 7-8th seed by the end of next week.

We've seen them shut teams down when they want to, and they put up strong quarters on both ends in the 1st and 4th quarters. JBB has to somehow convince them to keep the energy up and not get depressed by missing all our guards or by all the turnovers due to their absence.

Goodwin certainly picked up a ton of slack, and this experience should be great for him - you'd think even pushes him ahead of Rondo on our depth chart.

This could be a case of the rest of the league catching up with the Cavs, bringing their own energy armed with a lot more tape on our guys; but let's see if we can get Garland right and LeVert integrated before going there.

[LivingLegend]

team is starting to worry me with how they have been playing lately. Mostly due to injuries, but the defensive intensity just isnt there anymore. Far too often do I see teams have 35pt+ quarters scoring. Bad teams.

I know their legs were fresher at the beginning, but...its almost like JA/Lauri/Mobley arnt having the same stifling impact in against guards they did at the beginning. Teams have scouted and figured them out a bit and they are no longer shutting down the paint anymore. Maybe Im wrong.

Im not fully panicking, but that 5 game losing streak I talked about 5-6 weeks ago that the Cavs couldnt afford--is happening and the Cavs I have a gut feeling are destined for a play-in game. Everybody around them is hitting their stride and the Cavs are struggling to stay above water in the EASY part of the schedule.

Trying not to be a pessimist but man...if Garland/Rondo/LeVert dont hurry back quick, the Cavs could find themselves in the 7-8th seed by the end of next week.

We've seen them shut teams down when they want to, and they put up strong quarters on both ends in the 1st and 4th quarters. JBB has to somehow convince them to keep the energy up and not get depressed by missing all our guards or by all the turnovers due to their absence.

Goodwin certainly picked up a ton of slack, and this experience should be great for him - you'd think even pushes him ahead of Rondo on our depth chart.

This could be a case of the rest of the league catching up with the Cavs, bringing their own energy armed with a lot more tape on our guys; but let's see if we can get Garland right and LeVert integrated before going there.

Yeah but the difference between then and now is that before the Cavs used to be much more consistent Q1-Q4. When the brought energy they would blow teams out by 25+ for the entire game. Now, it feels like they flip switches. They have a good QTR and then they follow it up with some lackadaisical effort where they lose the QTR by 14 and give it all back.

I understand a lot of it is because we literally have no guards on the roster, they just need to hurry back before this dream season goes down the drains. It also sucks that we are giving back all of those great wins earlier in the season against bad teams now. Not sure how much longer you can keep asking Cedi/Love to be your 1-2 scoring punch to win you games every other night before you find yourself in the 8th seed.

[JonFromVA]

team is starting to worry me with how they have been playing lately. Mostly due to injuries, but the defensive intensity just isnt there anymore. Far too often do I see teams have 35pt+ quarters scoring. Bad teams.

I know their legs were fresher at the beginning, but...its almost like JA/Lauri/Mobley arnt having the same stifling impact in against guards they did at the beginning. Teams have scouted and figured them out a bit and they are no longer shutting down the paint anymore. Maybe Im wrong.

Im not fully panicking, but that 5 game losing streak I talked about 5-6 weeks ago that the Cavs couldnt afford--is happening and the Cavs I have a gut feeling are destined for a play-in game. Everybody around them is hitting their stride and the Cavs are struggling to stay above water in the EASY part of the schedule.

Trying not to be a pessimist but man...if Garland/Rondo/LeVert dont hurry back quick, the Cavs could find themselves in the 7-8th seed by the end of next week.

We've seen them shut teams down when they want to, and they put up strong quarters on both ends in the 1st and 4th quarters. JBB has to somehow convince them to keep the energy up and not get depressed by missing all our guards or by all the turnovers due to their absence.

Goodwin certainly picked up a ton of slack, and this experience should be great for him - you'd think even pushes him ahead of Rondo on our depth chart.

This could be a case of the rest of the league catching up with the Cavs, bringing their own energy armed with a lot more tape on our guys; but let's see if we can get Garland right and LeVert integrated before going there.

Yeah but the difference between then and now is that before the Cavs used to be much more consistent Q1-Q4. When the brought energy they would blow teams out by 25+ for the entire game. Now, it feels like they flip switches. They have a good QTR and then they follow it up with some lackadaisical effort where they lose the QTR by 14 and give it all back.

I understand a lot of it is because we literally have no guards on the roster, they just need to hurry back before this dream season goes down the drains. It also sucks that we are giving back all of those great wins earlier in the season against bad teams now. Not sure how much longer you can keep asking Cedi/Love to be your 1-2 scoring punch to win you games every other night before you find yourself in the 8th seed.

A grit & grind style team can't afford to give up points from turnovers, and this was actually starting to become a concern even with Garland in the lineup at least against teams that could contain him. So, we still need someone like LeVert to help us in those situations.

I'll also point out that a team that gets out to a 20pt lead and then holds on for a 20pt win has not exactly sustained the same level of high-level play the whole game. That's one great quarter, and 3 quarters of playing down to the level of the opponent. With our guards missing, it's easy enough to see how some of those quarters can go South due to a cold stretch and turnovers; but sustaining a high level of defense for the entire game is hard.

We were +8.8 when Rubio was on the floor, and +8.4 when Garland was on the floor; and when they were both healthy that was basically 48 minutes minus garbage time.

This team has had a lot of lessons in adversity, hopefully some of them stick.

[LivingLegend]

We've seen them shut teams down when they want to, and they put up strong quarters on both ends in the 1st and 4th quarters. JBB has to somehow convince them to keep the energy up and not get depressed by missing all our guards or by all the turnovers due to their absence.

Goodwin certainly picked up a ton of slack, and this experience should be great for him - you'd think even pushes him ahead of Rondo on our depth chart.

This could be a case of the rest of the league catching up with the Cavs, bringing their own energy armed with a lot more tape on our guys; but let's see if we can get Garland right and LeVert integrated before going there.

Yeah but the difference between then and now is that before the Cavs used to be much more consistent Q1-Q4. When the brought energy they would blow teams out by 25+ for the entire game. Now, it feels like they flip switches. They have a good QTR and then they follow it up with some lackadaisical effort where they lose the QTR by 14 and give it all back.

I understand a lot of it is because we literally have no guards on the roster, they just need to hurry back before this dream season goes down the drains. It also sucks that we are giving back all of those great wins earlier in the season against bad teams now. Not sure how much longer you can keep asking Cedi/Love to be your 1-2 scoring punch to win you games every other night before you find yourself in the 8th seed.

A grit & grind style team can't afford to give up points from turnovers, and this was actually starting to become a concern even with Garland in the lineup at least against teams that could contain him. So, we still need someone like LeVert to help us in those situations.

I'll also point out that a team that gets out to a 20pt lead and then holds on for a 20pt win has not exactly sustained the same level of high-level play the whole game. That's one great quarter, and 3 quarters of playing down to the level of the opponent. With our guards missing, it's easy enough to see how some of those quarters can go South due to a cold stretch and turnovers; but sustaining a high level of defense for the entire game is hard.

We were +8.8 when Rubio was on the floor, and +8.4 when Garland was on the floor; and when they were both healthy that was basically 48 minutes minus garbage time.

This team has had a lot of lessons in adversity, hopefully some of them stick.

Yeah, I just hope they are able to play in a 7 game playoff series. Even if they lose I dont really care. I just want them to get that confidence and experience so bad for future growth.

[JonFromVA]

Garland is questionable for tonight's game, presumably it comes down to how his back is feeling.

[LivingLegend]

Garland is questionable for tonight's game, presumably it comes down to how his back is feeling.

We're *******ed.

Sorry. But my true pessimism is starting to kick in. Hope we win the play-in game against Charlotte.

[JonFromVA]

Garland is questionable for tonight's game, presumably it comes down to how his back is feeling.

We're *******ed.

Sorry. But my true pessimism is starting to kick in. Hope we win the play-in game against Charlotte.

If we lose a play-in game, we get a lottery pick and get to keep it.

So, it's all good as long as DG's back eventually improves.

It doesn't surprise me that this team as constructed was going to run in to some limitations, but let's at least see if we can get somewhat healthy, get our injured players re-integrated and see.

Even if we can get Garland back to 100%, we still need someone else on the floor who can handle the ball when team's overload on him.

[LivingLegend]

Garland is questionable for tonight's game, presumably it comes down to how his back is feeling.

We're *******ed.

Sorry. But my true pessimism is starting to kick in. Hope we win the play-in game against Charlotte.

If we lose a play-in game, we get a lottery pick and get to keep it.

So, it's all good as long as DG's back eventually improves.

It doesn't surprise me that this team as constructed was going to run in to some limitations, but let's at least see if we can get somewhat healthy, get our injured players re-integrated and see.

Even if we can get Garland back to 100%, we still need someone else on the floor who can handle the ball when team's overload on him.

The problem with this team isnt with what they cant do--its with what they CAN do but they are just not doing it at a high level.

The biggest strength on this team is defense and being matchup nightmares. They are not taking advantage of that at all for the past month. The first 2-3 months they shown that they can be a surefire playoff team if they just do what they are built to do at a high level. Its like the Warriors who are built to chuck 3s only shooting 30%. If you dont do what your team is built to do at a high level, you are going to be in a rough spot.

On no planet should Terry Rozier get to the basket at will for easy looks all game long against Okoro/Allen/Mobley/Lauri in the paint. But those type of performances have been happening far too often recently.

[JonFromVA]

We're *******ed.

Sorry. But my true pessimism is starting to kick in. Hope we win the play-in game against Charlotte.

If we lose a play-in game, we get a lottery pick and get to keep it.

So, it's all good as long as DG's back eventually improves.

It doesn't surprise me that this team as constructed was going to run in to some limitations, but let's at least see if we can get somewhat healthy, get our injured players re-integrated and see.

Even if we can get Garland back to 100%, we still need someone else on the floor who can handle the ball when team's overload on him.

The problem with this team isnt with what they cant do--its with what they CAN do but they are just not doing it at a high level.

The biggest strength on this team is defense and being matchup nightmares. They are not taking advantage of that at all for the past month. The first 2-3 months they shown that they can be a surefire playoff team if they just do what they are built to do at a high level. Its like the Warriors who are built to chuck 3s only shooting 30%. If you dont do what your team is built to do at a high level, you are going to be in a rough spot.

On no planet should Terry Rozier get to the basket at will for easy looks all game long against Okoro/Allen/Mobley/Lauri in the paint. But those type of performances have been happening far too often recently.

Well, the question is why, and if we understood that, we might be able to predict what we'll see from here on out; but I've been on this coaster before and just because we're heading down now, doesn't mean we won't be heading up.

I expected them to look rested and re-energized after the break, and that hasn't happened so maybe it wasn't rest they needed. Maybe JBB getting tossed for the first time in his career is a hint that the refs aren't calling the games the same way and the team isn't mustering the energy/discipline to overcome it.

Getting the roster healthy may help with the energy level, and maybe the refs will change how they're calling the games when we get to the playoffs ... but for sure our bigs don't always play as big.

[jbk1234]

I've been staying away because I don't want to be negative, and there's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but that LeVert trade is looking so, so bad right now. On top of all the painfully obvious fit issues, he had a really serious injury history. I cannot get over everything the Cavs gave up to get him. We were just bidding against ourselves there.

On the plus side, both the Raptors and the Celtics also overpaid for the guys they landed.

[JonFromVA]

I've been staying away because I don't want to be negative, and there's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but that LeVert trade is looking so, so bad right now. On top of all the painfully obvious fit issues, he had a really serious injury history. I cannot get over everything the Cavs gave up to get him. We were just bidding against ourselves there.

On the plus side, both the Raptors and the Celtics also overpaid for the guys they landed.

Indiana didn't have to accept the best offer let alone trade him, and the amount we overpaid is approximately the difference between the Houston 2nd rounder and the Spurs. Getting that Miami second rounder is an underappreciated part of the deal *if* that's the pick we use to draft Isaiah Mobley.

Unless of course you don't think Mobley's older brother is worth a pick at all, but it just seems like a Cavalier kind of thing to do and better the Miami 2nd than the Spurs 2nd.

Hopefully we'll get another look at LeVert real soon, but by all means, don't let him stop you from posting on the board.

[toooskies]

I've been staying away because I don't want to be negative, and there's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but that LeVert trade is looking so, so bad right now. On top of all the painfully obvious fit issues, he had a really serious injury history. I cannot get over everything the Cavs gave up to get him. We were just bidding against ourselves there.

On the plus side, both the Raptors and the Celtics also overpaid for the guys they landed.

Indiana didn't have to accept the best offer let alone trade him, and the amount we overpaid is approximately the difference between the Houston 2nd rounder and the Spurs. Getting that Miami second rounder is an underappreciated part of the deal *if* that's the pick we use to draft Isaiah Mobley.

Unless of course you don't think Mobley's older brother is worth a pick at all, but it just seems like a Cavalier kind of thing to do and better the Miami 2nd than the Spurs 2nd.

Hopefully we'll get another look at LeVert real soon, but by all means, don't let him stop you from posting on the board.

I purposely avoided mentioning LeVert, but that was the subtext in the McCollum "Around the NBA" post. I am still hopeful for LeVert to turn things on when he gets in the lineup, but we haven't seen enough yet.

Do you draft Isaiah just to keep the Lakers from signing him before we do as a UDFA? I'm sure they (and the Clippers, and a bunch of other teams) will pick him up the same way Giannis's brothers have had careers riding the deep bench for contenders, but then maybe LeVert isn't even available.

[jbk1234]

I've been staying away because I don't want to be negative, and there's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but that LeVert trade is looking so, so bad right now. On top of all the painfully obvious fit issues, he had a really serious injury history. I cannot get over everything the Cavs gave up to get him. We were just bidding against ourselves there.

On the plus side, both the Raptors and the Celtics also overpaid for the guys they landed.

Indiana didn't have to accept the best offer let alone trade him, and the amount we overpaid is approximately the difference between the Houston 2nd rounder and the Spurs. Getting that Miami second rounder is an underappreciated part of the deal *if* that's the pick we use to draft Isaiah Mobley.

Unless of course you don't think Mobley's older brother is worth a pick at all, but it just seems like a Cavalier kind of thing to do and better the Miami 2nd than the Spurs 2nd.

Hopefully we'll get another look at LeVert real soon, but by all means, don't let him stop you from posting on the board.

I'd be really interested in knowing what the second best offer for LeVert was because I'm not at all convinced that it was future cap space and a first.