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Am I the only one that eager to see this guy play?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt8LPF4hFEU[/youtube]

I am very interested to see Karasev take the floor at the next level. I realize there is some bias here, but are the Cavs not one of those teams that everyone should be interested in watching this season? Tons of talent, tons of questions marks.

Almost equal amounts of both. What does crack me up is how people are assuming that everyone with the Cavs will be injured because of their injury histories, but none of the players with injury histories on their team will spend any time on the IR this year. Other than Bynum we really don't have anyone that has had any serious injuries (well considering that Varejao could have died, but it wasn't an injury that would limit his ability on a court).

I know it has been mentioned before, but I am willing to bet that Varejao, minus the blood clot issue, and Irving would have played in significantly more games the past 2-3 seasons if Cleveland had been playoff-bound. Look at Luol Deng, do people really think he would have played just as many minute, in just as many games the past few seasons if Chicago was a lottery team?

mcfly1204 wrote:I know it has been mentioned before, but I am willing to bet that Varejao, minus the blood clot issue, and Irving would have played in significantly more games the past 2-3 seasons if Cleveland had been playoff-bound. Look at Luol Deng, do people really think he would have played just as many minute, in just as many games the past few seasons if Chicago was a lottery team?

Couldn't it be considered that if Andy and Kyrie had been healthier these past two years, that Cleveland would have been possibly playing for the playoffs, and thus, would have played more even more?


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mcfly1204 wrote:I know it has been mentioned before, but I am willing to bet that Varejao, minus the blood clot issue, and Irving would have played in significantly more games the past 2-3 seasons if Cleveland had been playoff-bound. Look at Luol Deng, do people really think he would have played just as many minute, in just as many games the past few seasons if Chicago was a lottery team?

75 games played is actually pretty good for Deng. He's only topped that 3 times in his 9 seasons.

Teams not in contention certainly aren't going to rush players back from an injury or even a bruise; but you can't develop talent if you can't get them on the court, so I wouldn't expect more than maybe 5 games.

Scoot McGroot wrote:

mcfly1204 wrote:I know it has been mentioned before, but I am willing to bet that Varejao, minus the blood clot issue, and Irving would have played in significantly more games the past 2-3 seasons if Cleveland had been playoff-bound. Look at Luol Deng, do people really think he would have played just as many minute, in just as many games the past few seasons if Chicago was a lottery team?

Couldn't it be considered that if Andy and Kyrie had been healthier these past two years, that Cleveland would have been possibly playing for the playoffs, and thus, would have played more even more?


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Not really, at all. We were trying to get high lottery picks these past two seasons, not plateau as an eighth seed.

As for Karasev, I wanted him since last December. Such a good scorer, he played in one of the better leagues outside of the NBA and was a high level scorer, and contributed for the Russian national team as well. He's got a smooth stroke, he's only 19 and has the tools to be a good defender, he'll need a year or two to adjust to the NBA. but I think he can be starting caliber at the guard position. With plus-size, and being a probably 40%+ 3-pt shooters, we got a steal.

Scoot McGroot wrote:Couldn't it be considered that if Andy and Kyrie had been healthier these past two years, that Cleveland would have been possibly playing for the playoffs, and thus, would have played more even more?

Not without investing in a bench that could hold a lead. They would have ended up picking later in the draft, though, but potentially could have ended up with the same players.

I can't wait to see Karasev. At the least he brings a flair that should be fun to watch.

JonFromVA wrote:

Scoot McGroot wrote:Couldn't it be considered that if Andy and Kyrie had been healthier these past two years, that Cleveland would have been possibly playing for the playoffs, and thus, would have played more even more?

Not without investing in a bench that could hold a lead. They would have ended up picking later in the draft, though, but potentially could have ended up with the same players.

Hmm? I'm not sure what you're referencing.

My theory is that Kyrie was such a better player than Shaun Livingston and Anderson was playing so much better than Tyler/Speights, that if Kyrie and Andy were healthy for the first 60 games of the year, the Cavs would have been in the playoff hunt, easily. At that point, the Cavs would have had games to play for, and Kyrie and Andy would have played as many of the last 22 games as they physically could. Unfortunately, they physically couldn't, and their injuries early in the year pushed them out of any sort of contention for the playoffs all too early. Sort of a vicious cycle kind of thing, if you will. That was all. However, both should be healthy this year, and the Cavs should be in the playoffs, no matter what, this year.

Scoot McGroot wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:

Scoot McGroot wrote:Couldn't it be considered that if Andy and Kyrie had been healthier these past two years, that Cleveland would have been possibly playing for the playoffs, and thus, would have played more even more?

Not without investing in a bench that could hold a lead. They would have ended up picking later in the draft, though, but potentially could have ended up with the same players.

Hmm? I'm not sure what you're referencing.

My theory is that Kyrie was such a better player than Shaun Livingston and Anderson was playing so much better than Tyler/Speights, that if Kyrie and Andy were healthy for the first 60 games of the year, the Cavs would have been in the playoff hunt, easily. At that point, the Cavs would have had games to play for, and Kyrie and Andy would have played as many of the last 22 games as they physically could. Unfortunately, they physically couldn't, and their injuries early in the year pushed them out of any sort of contention for the playoffs all too early. Sort of a vicious cycle kind of thing, if you will. That was all. However, both should be healthy this year, and the Cavs should be in the playoffs, no matter what, this year.

Andy would have been back if not for the blood clot - that shut the door on his season. Period.

Kyrie could have come back earlier from his injuries, but wouldn't have played any more games if that led to him aggravating the injury or worse led to a more serious injury.

But my point was that even when Andy and Kyrie were playing together, the Cavs were still losing games because the bench destroyed any lead the starters would build.

I guess that people don't really understand that an embolism can actually kill you

TheOUTLAW wrote:I guess that people don't really understand that an embolism can actually kill you

Whoa now. I do. My response was to the argument that Andy and Kyrie weren't really injury prone the last couple years, not just this past year. That's where the whole Andy "self-fulfilling prophecy" reference came into play. I certainly understand a possible blood clot to the lungs and how it's simply impossible to play anything athletic on blood thinners.

Just watched the Wine vs Gold scrimmage. Karasev didnt get a lot of burn, especially since Coach Brown cut the game 25 minutes short, lol, but I think we have ourselves a very nice player here. I think he's going to be a lot better, a lot quicker than most of us thought.

Yay, of course since you actually watched the scrimmage you must give more info regarding Bennett as well. IJS

The scrimmage is up on cavs.com feel free to give it a watch. Coach Brown cut it about 25 minutes short since the floor was getting slippery due to humidity in the gym. It's only about an hour and a half watch.

Bennett looked like a rookie who hasnt played in 6 months and is trying to get his weight under control. He looked like he was huffing and puffing up and down the court. He missed his first several shots, and a couple of them pretty badly. His bright spots were definitely his rebounding and this monster dunk that he got up and put down so quickly that no one saw it coming.

I really like this kid. I haven't seen him take anyone all the way to the rim, but he does appear that he'll take them off the dribble and pass. And his shooting is very good.

Quick release, his shot isn't flat, and so far it is always on line. He looks to have a good BBall IQ as has been reported as well. I am excited about both he and Bennett after last nights game. Its great to have hoops back again to watch and talk about.

are any of these games on Fox Sports?