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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets 10/22/2021

PRIOR TO GAME

The Cavs will meet the Hornets in their 2nd game of the season coming off with a loss against the Grizzlies.

Last season these two teams met each other three times, Cavs taking two of the contests. Since so many changes have taken place after April, one shouldn't put too much weight on those results.

Darius Garland hurt his ankle on Wednesday and is questionable for tonight's game. In an unrelated story Collin Sexton was seen dancing and shouting YES!, vigorously.

LaMelo Ball, who made an NBA record in his season-opener, will be someone to watch out for.

FINAL WORDS

Share us your views on:

- Which team do you expect to win?
- What kind of game do you expect to see from both teams?
- What will be the key factors in getting the win?
- Outside of the obvious key players from both teams, who should a casual fan keep an eye on?

Discuss & enjoy the game, folks!

lets see if lauri can bounce back with rubio which is all i asked for. if he has another poor outing, thats not coincidence.

The Hornets are a bad defensive team. If we can't get the offense going against them, I'm going to be really worried about that West Coast trip.

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When we play Lauri, Love, and Wade in the same lineup, it looks like a little kid was playing with the cloning machine.

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I'll say this for Collin, he finishes really well.

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The Cavs need an enforcer. You don't have to be dirty, but a couple hard fouls will help remind the officials where the whistle is.

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Tyrone Hill as a defensive quality control coach?


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jbk1234 wrote:The Cavs need an enforcer. You don't have to be dirty, but a couple hard fouls will help remind the officials where the whistle is.

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Can Ed Davis be that guy?

toooskies wrote:

jbk1234 wrote:The Cavs need an enforcer. You don't have to be dirty, but a couple hard fouls will help remind the officials where the whistle is.

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Can Ed Davis be that guy?

Only if he wants to, but Allen, and now Mobley, get shoved around like you read about.

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To add to this point, Bickerstaff can yell at the officials, or he can put Tacko un the game and remind him he has 6 fouls.

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Not sure what to think really. The offense seems to come easy every game now, even when there are injuries or foul trouble (Garland and Allen) but the defense often looks like it just collapses which makes you wonder if its just pure luck that its working in the first place. Letting opponents score +30 point a quarter is just too much.

Neonblazer wrote:Not sure what to think really. The offense seems to come easy every game now, even when there are injuries or foul trouble (Garland and Allen) but the defense often looks like it just collapses which makes you wonder if its just pure luck that its working in the first place. Letting opponents score +30 point a quarter is just too much.

Our offense has been average to just above average in the first two games. We're not getting the necessary rebounding advantage out of our seven footers due to other teams being overly physical with us. That needs to get addressed, one way or another, or it's going to be a painfully long season.

As far as defense, one of the reasons why it's important to settle into consistent lineups sooner rather than later is due to familiarity with the guys who are on the floor with you. Right now, the Cavs are good for maybe one defensive rotation. If you can run an offensive sequence that requires the Cavs to rotate twice, someone is getting an open look from 3 - as of our players all look at each other as to say you should get out there and challenge.

Neonblazer wrote:Not sure what to think really. The offense seems to come easy every game now, even when there are injuries or foul trouble (Garland and Allen) but the defense often looks like it just collapses which makes you wonder if its just pure luck that its working in the first place. Letting opponents score +30 point a quarter is just too much.

In a sense it was the offense which failed us as it couldn't deliver another 30+ pt quarter once the game was on the line.

I'm not sure what happened to Rubio but he turned the ball over 4 times in that 3.5 minute stretch that Charlotte went on a 19-2 run.

But yes, if our defense was any good, we're scoring enough to win ... it's just looks like teams are not taking the Cavs seriously until they need to close, then they run the lead up on us as needed to secure the game.

Sexton made up for the scoring we were missing due to Garland being out, but it seems to just shift points from other players. Collin is a fairly efficient scorer, but he's not going to score more efficiently than Allen or Mobley getting the ball near the rim with some space.

With the back to back, I wonder if Darius will try to go or just get some more rest on his ankle? It may be another chance for the Rubio+Sexton backcourt to show what it can do.

jbk1234 wrote:

Neonblazer wrote:Not sure what to think really. The offense seems to come easy every game now, even when there are injuries or foul trouble (Garland and Allen) but the defense often looks like it just collapses which makes you wonder if its just pure luck that its working in the first place. Letting opponents score +30 point a quarter is just too much.

Our offense has been average to just above average in the first two games. We're not getting the necessary rebounding advantage out of our seven footers due to other teams being overly physical with us. That needs to get addressed, one way or another, or it's going to be a painfully long season.

As far as defense, one of the reasons why it's important to settle into consistent lineups sooner rather than later is due to familiarity with the guys who are on the floor with you. Right now, the Cavs are good for maybe one defensive rotation. If you can run an offensive sequence that requires the Cavs to rotate twice, someone is getting an open look from 3 - as of our players all look at each other as to say you should get out there and challenge.

I'm concerned with our 3pt shooting too. We shot just 29% .vs. Charlotte as Cedi was not lighting it up in this one. I mean, I sure hope we don't have to count on Rubio and Cedi to knock down 3's. It should be Lauri, Kevin, Collin, and Darius bringing up our average rather than dragging it down.

Our physicality is a problem, but that's might be something we should worry about when we are winning games and it's what's coming between us and winning a playoff series. That is - unless it gets to the point there's an injury risk if something isn't done.

JonFromVA wrote:

jbk1234 wrote:

Neonblazer wrote:Not sure what to think really. The offense seems to come easy every game now, even when there are injuries or foul trouble (Garland and Allen) but the defense often looks like it just collapses which makes you wonder if its just pure luck that its working in the first place. Letting opponents score +30 point a quarter is just too much.

Our offense has been average to just above average in the first two games. We're not getting the necessary rebounding advantage out of our seven footers due to other teams being overly physical with us. That needs to get addressed, one way or another, or it's going to be a painfully long season.

As far as defense, one of the reasons why it's important to settle into consistent lineups sooner rather than later is due to familiarity with the guys who are on the floor with you. Right now, the Cavs are good for maybe one defensive rotation. If you can run an offensive sequence that requires the Cavs to rotate twice, someone is getting an open look from 3 - as of our players all look at each other as to say you should get out there and challenge.

I'm concerned with our 3pt shooting too. We shot just 29% .vs. Charlotte as Cedi was not lighting it up in this one. I mean, I sure hope we don't have to count on Rubio and Cedi to knock down 3's. It should be Lauri, Kevin, Collin, and Darius bringing up our average rather than dragging it down.

Our physicality is a problem, but that's might be something we should worry about when we are winning games and it's what's coming between us and winning a playoff series. That is - unless it gets to the point there's an injury risk if something isn't done.

I think pushing bug guys in the back with two hands, as they're going up for a rebound, presents an injury risk. Also, it's an obvious foul and unfair disadvantage.

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jbk1234 wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:

jbk1234 wrote:
Our offense has been average to just above average in the first two games. We're not getting the necessary rebounding advantage out of our seven footers due to other teams being overly physical with us. That needs to get addressed, one way or another, or it's going to be a painfully long season.

As far as defense, one of the reasons why it's important to settle into consistent lineups sooner rather than later is due to familiarity with the guys who are on the floor with you. Right now, the Cavs are good for maybe one defensive rotation. If you can run an offensive sequence that requires the Cavs to rotate twice, someone is getting an open look from 3 - as of our players all look at each other as to say you should get out there and challenge.

I'm concerned with our 3pt shooting too. We shot just 29% .vs. Charlotte as Cedi was not lighting it up in this one. I mean, I sure hope we don't have to count on Rubio and Cedi to knock down 3's. It should be Lauri, Kevin, Collin, and Darius bringing up our average rather than dragging it down.

Our physicality is a problem, but that's might be something we should worry about when we are winning games and it's what's coming between us and winning a playoff series. That is - unless it gets to the point there's an injury risk if something isn't done.

I think pushing bug guys in the back with two hands, as they're going up for a rebound, presents an injury risk. Also, it's an obvious foul and unfair disadvantage.

The "solution" could become a distraction or even make matters far worse when the refs have no cause to respect us.

otoh, If our bigs box out properly they wouldn't need to jump.

Mostly we have bigger fish to fry and Koby built a team of lightweight bigs who are going to get pushed around.

JonFromVA wrote:

jbk1234 wrote:

JonFromVA wrote:
I'm concerned with our 3pt shooting too. We shot just 29% .vs. Charlotte as Cedi was not lighting it up in this one. I mean, I sure hope we don't have to count on Rubio and Cedi to knock down 3's. It should be Lauri, Kevin, Collin, and Darius bringing up our average rather than dragging it down.

Our physicality is a problem, but that's might be something we should worry about when we are winning games and it's what's coming between us and winning a playoff series. That is - unless it gets to the point there's an injury risk if something isn't done.

I think pushing bug guys in the back with two hands, as they're going up for a rebound, presents an injury risk. Also, it's an obvious foul and unfair disadvantage.

The "solution" could become a distraction or even make matters far worse when the refs have no cause to respect us.

otoh, If our bigs box out properly they wouldn't need to jump.

Mostly we have bigger fish to fry and Koby built a team of lightweight bigs who are going to get pushed around.

I disagree. Allen missed a good stretch of games with a concussion last year and other teams shoving the Cavs around is a trend that will continue until either the officials or the Cavs impose a cost for doing so.