Game 51: Houston Rockets (37-13) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (30-20) - 8:30 PM EST

[ducler]

[Stillwater]

So I wonder if this likely blowout loss will be enough to get Gilbert and Altman trading.
There aren't any players worth trading the Nets pick available,but we should be able to do something to improve our options in the 1 and 5 spots without giving up much

[Stillwater]

Uni's are solid anyway

[Stillwater]

I predict IT gets reinjured tonight trying to hard

[Stillwater]

I wouldn't even trade our own pick right now should be pretty good

[stinger14]

IT starts, team fell way behind, he sits team looks pretty good, he comes back in and Rockets ho on another run.

Wade
Korver
LeBron
Love (Jeff Green whole Love is out)
Thompson

This should be the starting lineup.

[jbk1234]

I think LBJ can give more effort out of the PF position but I'm really beginning to wonder whether he'd be a good PF. He's late on his rotations and he doesn't really position himself well in terms of offering resistance. Anyway, I'm going to do something I haven't done in years and turn this game off. I can't watch this. IT has to go. Have fun.

[Stillwater]

I think LeBron has just about reached the breaking point with teammates not executing.
The halftime angry bullet pass toward the shot clock is out of character

[Stillwater]

I expect after the deadline if nothing was done to remedy IT3 and Smith's struggles at minimum Shumpert will replace Smith in the rotation bumping Wade to the first unit and we will continue to lose keeping IT3 in the sl until hell freezes over or we find ourselves fighting for the 8 seed.

[Stillwater]

TT stroke looks better than Isaiah right now ,TT just drained a j from the elbow wtf.
Let's play TT at the point for awhile can't get any worse. I think I can hear the boos in the q from my porch when Isaiah throws the ball away.
The fan base is tired, the teammates are tired I guess it's only Gilbert Lue and Isaiah that believe
He's worth giving starter minutes too.

[Stillwater]

If Altman doesn't feel embarrassed by this loss and use it as motivation for a trade he's gone himself.

[Stillwater]

Odds this roster looks the same this time next week 1 in 1000.
Odds It3 is still here 50/50. There is something inherently wrong with banking your season on a underperforming player. Put him on the **** bench or trade him

[gflem]

I think LBJ can give more effort out of the PF position but I'm really beginning to wonder whether he'd be a good PF. He's late on his rotations and he doesn't really position himself well in terms of offering resistance. Anyway, I'm going to do something I haven't done in years and turn this game off. I can't watch this. IT has to go. Have fun.

Agree he should be at the PF at this point, but he wont do it. He has no problem telling Love to play out of position at the C Position, no problem making Crowder play out of position at the PF position, but he himself refuses to play PF.
Lebron is a big part of the problem but I doubt he sees that. Paraphrasing the Spider-Man movie "with great ability comes great responsibility". Lebron has to look in the mirror first and stop pointing fingers at others.
On the other topic, I hope we can deal IT for someone who can help defend on the perimeter. And this team needs a starting 2 guard that other teams have to guard. JR isn't cutting it anymore, Shump isn't the answer and Wade cant handle the minutes at his age, nor does he have a good enough 3 pt shot to spread the floor.
I hope Frye stays, Rose stays, and Cedi. I think Korver has diminishing ability and that contract was a bad idea.

[Stillwater]

I think LBJ can give more effort out of the PF position but I'm really beginning to wonder whether he'd be a good PF. He's late on his rotations and he doesn't really position himself well in terms of offering resistance. Anyway, I'm going to do something I haven't done in years and turn this game off. I can't watch this. IT has to go. Have fun.

Agree he should be at the PF at this point, but he wont do it. He has no problem telling Love to play out of position at the C Position, no problem making Crowder play out of position at the PF position, but he himself refuses to play PF.
Lebron is a big part of the problem but I doubt he sees that. Paraphrasing the Spider-Man movie "with great ability comes great responsibility". Lebron has to look in the mirror first and stop pointing fingers at others.
On the other topic, I hope we can deal IT for someone who can help defend on the perimeter. And this team needs a starting 2 guard that other teams have to guard. JR isn't cutting it anymore, Shump isn't the answer and Wade cant handle the minutes at his age, nor does he have a good enough 3 pt shot to spread the floor.
I hope Frye stays, Rose stays, and Cedi. I think Korver has diminishing ability and that contract was a bad idea.

I personally think Lebron is "unwilling" to cover for team mates defensive mistakes so he is taking off plays etc.
I also think the shear fact that his effectiveness has plummeted since IT3 entered the sl has to be intentional to some degree and by the simple fact that IT3 is not executing and makes life even harder on Lebron offensively.That was magnified further when Love went down.
IT3 even a Boston version is not good enough to get it done against the elite. Lebron knows this, his team mates know this(at least the ones that were here last year and the one's from winning cultures) it is a conspiracy to get Isaiah replaced.
If IT3 did not have the ego or the entitlement it brings with it and simply bought in to playing ltd minutes off the bench or better yet playing heavy minutes in Canton until he was healthy, then I could see this org justifying keeping him on the roster for a scoring weapon if he ever gets back...but everyone and their Grandmother knows he wants to get paid and refuses to accept he must take the long arduous road to recovery somewhere other than on this roster or at minimum somewhere other than as a starter.