Cavs made a huge mistake and traded the wrong big man

[Sunlight]

Markkanen dominated tonight against Mobley.

Markkanen 25/16, Mobley 12/7.

[TacoLord]

Not surprising that a Lauri fan can't recognize the excellent defense played by Mobley. If not for 2 egregiously bad calls by the refs mistaking Jordan Clarkson for 2018 James Harden, this game is easily a Cavs win. Quite the home team advantage tonight.

[TheLand13]

Markkanen dominated tonight against Mobley.

Markkanen 25/16, Mobley 12/7.

Lmao um, don’t go off of box scores there bud. Lauri was actually struggling mightily against Mobley tonight. The loss of Allen forced them to change up their defense and that’s when Lauri was able to go off.

[mrmsix6]

Markkanen dominated tonight against Mobley.

Markkanen 25/16, Mobley 12/7.

Mark didn't dominate ****. Tell me you didn't watch the game.

Mobley completely took over the game defensively in the 4th, despite being surrounded by a bunch of traffic cones. And then the refs decided to hand the game to Utah.

[meekrab]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

[TheLand13]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

I’m pretty disappointed in how our fan base is reacting to this. But two wins? I’m assuming the bulls is one… what’s the other?

[Lalouie]

BUT were you thinking that in previous years.

i don't know why or what happened, but i always thought he was drafted too low...a 7'er who could pop 3's off the dribble is a rare thing

[TheLand13]

I still can't believe someone tried to argue that Lauri dominated Mobley by blindly going off of the box score. That has to be one of the biggest oofs I've seen on this site in a while, especially when it's concerning what might be one of the best defensive games Mobley's had in his career so far. And keep in mind, this is a guy who had 8 blocks in one game.

[toooskies]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

I’m pretty disappointed in how our fan base is reacting to this. But two wins? I’m assuming the bulls is one… what’s the other?

The other Bulls win where we fouled DeRozan on the last shot.

OTOH, in the two games combined you'd argue the Cavs got 6 points, whereas the refs handed the Jazz 7 on one possession alone.

[jbk1234]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

The difference with the Bulls win is twofold: The Bulls big men had their feet in the lane before the ball left Mitchell's hands and no one wants to talk about that lane violation; and it was a live action call.

In the Jazz game, someone went to the monitor, watched the exact same play as the rest of us, and made that call. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say the NBA should look into it.

[SeattleJazzFan]

lauri didn't dominate mobley, but he had a better game. yes, mobley was dominant defensively for a stretch there, but lauri's offense offense and rebounding was key for the jazz in the win.

and give me a break, cavs fans, there were so many calls that went the cavs way last night - some egregious ones at that. especially during the comeback. if anybody got screwed by the refs last night, it was the jazz.

but ref complaining is for losers. every fan can complain about calls because refs get a ton of them wrong every game.

[jbk1234]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

I’m pretty disappointed in how our fan base is reacting to this. But two wins? I’m assuming the bulls is one… what’s the other?

The other Bulls win where we fouled DeRozan on the last shot.

OTOH, in the two games combined you'd argue the Cavs got 6 points, whereas the refs handed the Jazz 7 on one possession alone.

If you get a reputation as someone who baits the officials, and Derozan has had one his entire career, that's the risk you run. One of the things I hated about Sexton's game was that he would initiate contact all game long and then get pissed when the officials wouldn't give him the same call in the last two minutes.

[Johnny Bball]

Markennen can;t play like this as a third option. And shouldn't be first or second on the Cavs. Big numbers on a worse team.

[FranchisePlayer]

Markkanen is on track to win the MIP Award...

https://www.nba.com/news/2023-nba-midseason-media-survey

[BarneyGumble]

Long term the Jazz won this trade. Mitchell is undersized and a defensive liability, even if he is motivated to actually play defense. Just wait until the shine wears off for Mitchell and the hero-ball and no defense guy shows up. Bookmark this thread and this comment, because it will happen. Window for the Cavs is this year and next. After that, you probably get the Donovan that has his foot out the door already.

[mg]

As much as I like Lauri he would be the #3 big on that Cleveland squad behind Allen/Mobley. The defense is more important for a team that is going to roll out an undersized backcourt. Lauri would not have the same opportunity to shine in Cleveland as a roleplayer which we already saw last year.

Last night you saw how the Cavs were so much worse when Allen had to go out of the game due to sickness. Their backcourt might get the glory/scoring records but their Allen/Mobley defensive frontcourt is the real identity of that team.

[JujitsuFlip]

However, last time Ainge ripped Koby off too, so he already knew he could get what he wanted when the phone calls were going back and forth.

i dunno; you can argue things worked out better for cleveland than boston, which would imply Cavs won the trade.

And obviously the jazz:cleveland trade wont be known until all thr picks convey and the dust settles, but if Mitchell is who he’s been the last 40games (a top-10
nba playet who fits in), those dont come cheaply

Can you though?

Cavs had 1 playoff appearance since the trade (went to the Finals).

Celtics had 5 playoff appearances since the trade (went to the Finals once and ECF 2 other times).

[mg]

However, last time Ainge ripped Koby off too, so he already knew he could get what he wanted when the phone calls were going back and forth.

i dunno; you can argue things worked out better for cleveland than boston, which would imply Cavs won the trade.

And obviously the jazz:cleveland trade wont be known until all thr picks convey and the dust settles, but if Mitchell is who he’s been the last 40games (a top-10
nba playet who fits in), those dont come cheaply

Can you though?

Cavs had 1 playoff appearance since the trade (went to the Finals).

Celtics had 5 playoff appearances since the trade (went to the Finals once and ECF 2 other times).

I don't think either team really won that trade.
Celtics had just drafted Tatum and he along with Brown are the main reasons for their recent success. They lost Kyrie for nothing.
Cavs still got to the Finals, and lost, without Kyrie that next season but they had to rebuild organically to get back to where they are now. Actually the lottery pick they got from the Kyrie trade turned into Sexton, who they included in the Mitchell trade, so in a way they are still benefitting from the Kyrie deal.

[TheLand13]

Long term the Jazz won this trade. Mitchell is undersized and a defensive liability, even if he is motivated to actually play defense. Just wait until the shine wears off for Mitchell and the hero-ball and no defense guy shows up. Bookmark this thread and this comment, because it will happen. Window for the Cavs is this year and next. After that, you probably get the Donovan that has his foot out the door already.

It's way too early to determine which teams won this trade long term. Right now Cleveland are the clear winners with how Mitchell's been playing. But anything can happen in the future and it can all change just like that.

[TheSeeker]

Cavs complaining about refs handing games out after literally getting two wins from it last week, that's rich.

The difference with the Bulls win is twofold: The Bulls big men had their feet in the lane before the ball left Mitchell's hands and no one wants to talk about that lane violation; and it was a live action call.

In the Jazz game, someone went to the monitor, watched the exact same play as the rest of us, and made that call. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say the NBA should look into it.

If that is the case Lauri should have an extra shot on basically every missed FT as defenders always think he is shooting faster due to his slight pause in release.

Your point on the lane violation makes the missed calls even worse. If it was the only violation rules require another FT. If they catch both teams it is a jump ball at center court. And it looked like both teams entered before the ball left his hand. Last time I saw it happen in the same situation was with Houston and Aaron Brooks. The refs made the right call in that game.