2021-22 regular season thread

[JonFromVA]

Some possibilities:
- Postseason rosters. Maybe the Cavs expected Mobley/Allen back in time to play, but they won't be, so they need to sign Moses Brown (or some player not on the roster) to the regular roster for the postseason.
- Rewarding Nembhard a little bit. He was on the roster for 7 days-- I wonder if there was some kind of specific thing here, possibly regarding Players' Association membership or insurance or minimum salary calculation for Nembhard's benefit. The actual cash is probably irrelevant.
- Misbehavior. The Cavs wanted Nembhard on the roster, but apparently he was trash-talking the Magic the whole game. That's not exactly the Cavs' style, and JBB might have been put off by it.
- Oopsies. Maybe the Cavs didn't realize that two-ways were ineligible for the playoffs. Maybe someone got told to convert "that guy on the 2-way" and added Nembhard instead of Goodwin.

My guess is that Allen was presumed to be ready before the end of the regular season when Nembhard was initially promoted, but a setback has put him back into the dreaded "indefinitely" category and they're going to be forced to add Brown (and hope Nembhard is available).

It was just weird that we added Nembhard when we clearly still had problems at C and PG. It doesn't fit their MO, but another possibility is they're thinking of adding somebody off the streets who wasn't available before?

Maybe dust off Andy Varejao again ....

Yeah, it does end up paying Nembhard the same as being on the 2-way deal for the rest of the season. I just don't know who's out there that we'd want. Jahlil Okafor? Enes Freedom? Cody Zeller? Marques Bolden? Thon Maker? None of those are that appealing.

It could be that simple ... getting Nembhard the equivalent of his full paycheck for the season. Also I believe there are limitation on which players can be added to a roster and still be playoff eligible, but if Allen isn't good to go ... pretty much any veteran C could be helpful if JBB isn't going to require them to participate in multiple practices before using them.

Heck, it's a mystery to me why JBB doesn't play Ed Davis more.

[JonFromVA]

So... do we think the Bucks will rest their players on the last game and try to fall to the #3 seed to avoid the Nyets in the first round?

[toooskies]

So... do we think the Bucks will rest their players on the last game and try to fall to the #3 seed to avoid the Nyets in the first round?

I'd want every advantage against the Celtics in the 2nd round, including home-court, rather than presume to know what will happen in the play-in.

[JonFromVA]

So... do we think the Bucks will rest their players on the last game and try to fall to the #3 seed to avoid the Nyets in the first round?

I'd want every advantage against the Celtics in the 2nd round, including home-court, rather than presume to know what will happen in the play-in.

Makes sense if they're feeling optimistic, but people could lose their jobs if the Bucks lose in the first round ... and it's common to want to get some extra rest and avoid injury before the playoffs.

Another option is they pull their starters early.

Either way, the Cavs can't treat anything like a gimme and if they want the 7th seed, it looks like they'll have to earn it.

[toooskies]

So... do we think the Bucks will rest their players on the last game and try to fall to the #3 seed to avoid the Nyets in the first round?

I'd want every advantage against the Celtics in the 2nd round, including home-court, rather than presume to know what will happen in the play-in.

Makes sense if they're feeling optimistic, but people could lose their jobs if the Bucks lose in the first round ... and it's common to want to get some extra rest and avoid injury before the playoffs.

Another option is they pull their starters early.

Either way, the Cavs can't treat anything like a gimme and if they want the 7th seed, it looks like they'll have to earn it.

They won the title last year, there's no reason they should be running away from a team who's 6-4 in their last 10 and lost some pretty important games with play-in implications to the Hawks and Hornets.

[JonFromVA]

I'd want every advantage against the Celtics in the 2nd round, including home-court, rather than presume to know what will happen in the play-in.

Makes sense if they're feeling optimistic, but people could lose their jobs if the Bucks lose in the first round ... and it's common to want to get some extra rest and avoid injury before the playoffs.

Another option is they pull their starters early.

Either way, the Cavs can't treat anything like a gimme and if they want the 7th seed, it looks like they'll have to earn it.

They won the title last year, there's no reason they should be running away from a team who's 6-4 in their last 10 and lost some pretty important games with play-in implications to the Hawks and Hornets.

They also just beat the Celtics and the Bulls, and took care of the Bulls decisively 2x. They went in to OT .vs. the Nets. and also lost to the Nets back in February before Durant returned. Even if they end up facing the Hawks or the Hornets, they're both playing better than the Bulls ... and technically the Cavs are up 2-1 on the season series .vs. the Bucks.

So, we'll shortly see how they choose to play it, but I've rattled off quite a few legit reasons they may prefer to rest players and try to land in the #3 spot.

[JonFromVA]

Jarrett isn't expected to play against the Bucks, so his first live game action could be in the play-in. It's asking a lot for him to shake off his rust and contribute right away, but it's where we're at (assuming he's not shutdown for the season). At least Evan will be further along.

[jbk1234]

JBB needs to pull Garland and keep him on the bench unless this game gets within 10. If he gets injured when we're up by 30+ points, he's never going to live in it down.

[jbk1234]

Goodwin sucks hard. It's remarkable that Rubio went down in late December, and we're heading into the post season with our best option at backup PG being Rondo.

[JonFromVA]

Goodwin sucks hard. It's remarkable that Rubio went down in late December, and we're heading into the post season with our best option at backup PG being Rondo.

Don't worry ... play-in Rondo is a thing, right?

[JonFromVA]

JBB needs to pull Garland and keep him on the bench unless this game gets within 10. If he gets injured when we're up by 30+ points, he's never going to live in it down.

DG played 2 minutes in the 4th quarter, but I think he was told to just go out there and be a distraction for the defense. Rondo was clearly the one tasked with making sure we ran the clock down successfully.

fwiw, I thought Goodwin was coming along nicely at one point in the season, but not everyone can deal with having their role, minutes, and the guys they're asked to play with - constantly changing.

If Allen can't go, there are certainly some good reasons Moses Brown should get some play time to help deal with Drummond and put Mobley back in the free safety role, but JBB has moved away from starting him since Mobley returned and presumably will shorten his bench and lean on the player's he trusts.

[jbk1234]

JBB needs to pull Garland and keep him on the bench unless this game gets within 10. If he gets injured when we're up by 30+ points, he's never going to live in it down.

DG played 2 minutes in the 4th quarter, but I think he was told to just go out there and be a distraction for the defense. Rondo was clearly the one tasked with making sure we ran the clock down successfully.

fwiw, I thought Goodwin was coming along nicely at one point in the season, but not everyone can deal with having their role, minutes, and the guys they're asked to play with - constantly changing.

If Allen can't go, there are certainly some good reasons Moses Brown should get some play time to help deal with Drummond and put Mobley back in the free safety role, but JBB has moved away from starting him since Mobley returned and presumably will shorten his bench and lean on the player's he trusts.

Goodwin is awful. Way too many G League guys come in and try to show they can get buckets in the NBA, and with a backup PG, all you really need is someone who can defend the position, not turn the ball over, and run an offense. We desperately need an upgrade.

[toooskies]

JBB needs to pull Garland and keep him on the bench unless this game gets within 10. If he gets injured when we're up by 30+ points, he's never going to live in it down.

DG played 2 minutes in the 4th quarter, but I think he was told to just go out there and be a distraction for the defense. Rondo was clearly the one tasked with making sure we ran the clock down successfully.

fwiw, I thought Goodwin was coming along nicely at one point in the season, but not everyone can deal with having their role, minutes, and the guys they're asked to play with - constantly changing.

If Allen can't go, there are certainly some good reasons Moses Brown should get some play time to help deal with Drummond and put Mobley back in the free safety role, but JBB has moved away from starting him since Mobley returned and presumably will shorten his bench and lean on the player's he trusts.

Goodwin is awful. Way too many G League guys come in and try to show they can get buckets in the NBA, and with a backup PG, all you really need is someone who can defend the position, not turn the ball over, and run an offense. We desperately need an upgrade.

Goodwin was fine as a playmaker when everyone was hurt. But once we got Garland and LeVert back, he was taken out of that playmaking role and he has been bad off-ball.

But yeah, he hasn't done much of a job running the offense. I'd be fine keeping him or letting him go as 3rd string PG. (Although if we get Rubio in the off-season, he's the backup.)

[JonFromVA]

JBB needs to pull Garland and keep him on the bench unless this game gets within 10. If he gets injured when we're up by 30+ points, he's never going to live in it down.

DG played 2 minutes in the 4th quarter, but I think he was told to just go out there and be a distraction for the defense. Rondo was clearly the one tasked with making sure we ran the clock down successfully.

fwiw, I thought Goodwin was coming along nicely at one point in the season, but not everyone can deal with having their role, minutes, and the guys they're asked to play with - constantly changing.

If Allen can't go, there are certainly some good reasons Moses Brown should get some play time to help deal with Drummond and put Mobley back in the free safety role, but JBB has moved away from starting him since Mobley returned and presumably will shorten his bench and lean on the player's he trusts.

Goodwin is awful. Way too many G League guys come in and try to show they can get buckets in the NBA, and with a backup PG, all you really need is someone who can defend the position, not turn the ball over, and run an offense. We desperately need an upgrade.

He's not awful, and he should try to weaponize his speed and ability to blow by his defender; but when role and teammates keep switching around, his minutes dry up, his contract starts running out, it wouldn't surprise me if he started thinking that if he scored a bunch of points it might help him get his next contract.

[JonFromVA]

DG played 2 minutes in the 4th quarter, but I think he was told to just go out there and be a distraction for the defense. Rondo was clearly the one tasked with making sure we ran the clock down successfully.

fwiw, I thought Goodwin was coming along nicely at one point in the season, but not everyone can deal with having their role, minutes, and the guys they're asked to play with - constantly changing.

If Allen can't go, there are certainly some good reasons Moses Brown should get some play time to help deal with Drummond and put Mobley back in the free safety role, but JBB has moved away from starting him since Mobley returned and presumably will shorten his bench and lean on the player's he trusts.

Goodwin is awful. Way too many G League guys come in and try to show they can get buckets in the NBA, and with a backup PG, all you really need is someone who can defend the position, not turn the ball over, and run an offense. We desperately need an upgrade.

Goodwin was fine as a playmaker when everyone was hurt. But once we got Garland and LeVert back, he was taken out of that playmaking role and he has been bad off-ball.

But yeah, he hasn't done much of a job running the offense. I'd be fine keeping him or letting him go as 3rd string PG. (Although if we get Rubio in the off-season, he's the backup.)

If Sexton is back, we don't need Goodwin, otherwise it's not a bad thing to have someone on the bench that can beat the other team with speed and play some 2-man game.

[jbk1234]

The primary job of the backup PG is game management. You don't need him to win the game, just not to lose it. Run the offense, protect the ball, and let your best offensive options in the second unit do most of the scoring. He absolutely sucks in that role. We played bad teams during that five game stretch he started for us, dropped two against the Rockets and Pistons, and almost dropped a third against the Hornets but Love got the foul call off the rebound. A rebound that came off of the Goodwin hero-ball miss.

Also, he's really undersized and the Cavs don't need anymore guards like that, especially on the defensive end. It's a message board and obviously debate is a big part of it, but the guy just isn't an NBA player to me. The Cavs need real options who can eat real minutes at backup PG.

[JonFromVA]

The primary job of the backup PG is game management. You don't need him to win the game, just not to lose it. Run the offense, protect the ball, and let your best offensive options in the second unit do most of the scoring. He absolutely sucks in that role. We played bad teams during that five game stretch he started for us, dropped two against the Rockets and Pistons, and almost dropped a third against the Hornets but Love got the foul call off the rebound. A rebound that came off of the Goodwin hero-ball miss.

Also, he's really undersized and the Cavs don't need anymore guards like that, especially on the defensive end. It's a message board and obviously debate is a big part of it, but the guy just isn't an NBA player to me. The Cavs need real options who can eat real minutes at backup PG.

There's lots of ways to use different talents, but I wonder how many "game managers" would be able to just jump in off the streets and get something out of an ad-hoc lineup like Brown-Stevens-Windler-Nembard.

[KuruptedCav]

I am still shocked that Dante Exum isn’t a cavalier today.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[jbk1234]

The primary job of the backup PG is game management. You don't need him to win the game, just not to lose it. Run the offense, protect the ball, and let your best offensive options in the second unit do most of the scoring. He absolutely sucks in that role. We played bad teams during that five game stretch he started for us, dropped two against the Rockets and Pistons, and almost dropped a third against the Hornets but Love got the foul call off the rebound. A rebound that came off of the Goodwin hero-ball miss.

Also, he's really undersized and the Cavs don't need anymore guards like that, especially on the defensive end. It's a message board and obviously debate is a big part of it, but the guy just isn't an NBA player to me. The Cavs need real options who can eat real minutes at backup PG.

There's lots of ways to use different talents, but I wonder how many "game managers" would be able to just jump in off the streets and get something out of an ad-hoc lineup like Brown-Stevens-Windler-Nembard.

Whatever the Cavs need to do to fill the role, they need to do to fill the role. Garland is likely to miss 10+ games a season, and if he continues on his current mpg trajectory, disaster is waiting.

[JonFromVA]

The primary job of the backup PG is game management. You don't need him to win the game, just not to lose it. Run the offense, protect the ball, and let your best offensive options in the second unit do most of the scoring. He absolutely sucks in that role. We played bad teams during that five game stretch he started for us, dropped two against the Rockets and Pistons, and almost dropped a third against the Hornets but Love got the foul call off the rebound. A rebound that came off of the Goodwin hero-ball miss.

Also, he's really undersized and the Cavs don't need anymore guards like that, especially on the defensive end. It's a message board and obviously debate is a big part of it, but the guy just isn't an NBA player to me. The Cavs need real options who can eat real minutes at backup PG.

There's lots of ways to use different talents, but I wonder how many "game managers" would be able to just jump in off the streets and get something out of an ad-hoc lineup like Brown-Stevens-Windler-Nembard.

Whatever the Cavs need to do to fill the role, they need to do to fill the role. Garland is likely to miss 10+ games a season, and if he continues on his current mpg trajectory, disaster is waiting.

Goodwin was like the Cavs 8th choice to be playing backup PG this season ... if they were healthy or worked out: Rubio, Sexton Rondo, Pangos, Frazier, Osman, or LeVert would have been taking care of it.

There's a wide gulf between "not trash" and first choice to be the team's backup PG next season ...