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[jbk1234]

I was all on board with trying to get him with the MLE until he said he didn't wanna play the role he's good at.

I'd probably still have a conversation with him. I personally don't like him but he could fit well if he would accept his role. Then go get Lyles or Gabriel for the BAE.

If the Cavs sign non-shooters with our exception money, I'm going to take leave of my senses.

I wouldn't call Brooks a non-shooter, per se.

I personally don't just want the Duncan Robinson archetype starting at SF. Doesn't matter because JB would have that archetype glued to the bench anyway.

Strus or Divencenzo are my 1a/1b wings for the MLE, they're just really short.

Jalen McDaniels is a close 2nd for me to those guys, given his frame.

He's getting old and he's short too, plus probably wants to get paid but I'd at least call Crowder's agent.

Not sure how realistic any of them are.

It would be a steal, imo if they could convince Lonnie Walker to take the BAE.

I'd call Brooks a bad shooter. He's certainly eager enough, but opposing teams are pretty eager to leave him unguarded. His career average from 3 is worse than Cedi's.

The Cavs aren't getting the next Kyle Korver with the MLE, but they really, desperately need that rotation player other teams are afraid to leave open from distance. I agree with Tooskie that they also need someone with size who can shoot.

We have two bigs who can't shoot, two guards who can, an entire roster of players who opposing teams will live with taking the shot, and a coach who doesn't understand why spacing is important. It's a problem.

You bring in a couple guys who are good defensively but can't shoot, and that's who JBB is going to play. Outside of a backup 5, I wouldn't even give him the chance.

[ijspeelman]

I was all on board with trying to get him with the MLE until he said he didn't wanna play the role he's good at.

I'd probably still have a conversation with him. I personally don't like him but he could fit well if he would accept his role. Then go get Lyles or Gabriel for the BAE.

If the Cavs sign non-shooters with our exception money, I'm going to take leave of my senses.

I wouldn't call Brooks a non-shooter, per se.

I personally don't just want the Duncan Robinson archetype starting at SF. Doesn't matter because JB would have that archetype glued to the bench anyway.

Strus or Divencenzo are my 1a/1b wings for the MLE, they're just really short.

Jalen McDaniels is a close 2nd for me to those guys, given his frame.

He's getting old and he's short too, plus probably wants to get paid but I'd at least call Crowder's agent.

Not sure how realistic any of them are.

It would be a steal, imo if they could convince Lonnie Walker to take the BAE.

I’ve done scouting on Lonnie on the Spurs and man do I not like the guy.

I think he’s been better on the Lakers though.

[JonFromVA]

Josh Hart likely remains a Knick, but stranger things have happened than a team going some other direction.

[JujitsuFlip]

If the Cavs sign non-shooters with our exception money, I'm going to take leave of my senses.

I wouldn't call Brooks a non-shooter, per se.

I personally don't just want the Duncan Robinson archetype starting at SF. Doesn't matter because JB would have that archetype glued to the bench anyway.

Strus or Divencenzo are my 1a/1b wings for the MLE, they're just really short.

Jalen McDaniels is a close 2nd for me to those guys, given his frame.

He's getting old and he's short too, plus probably wants to get paid but I'd at least call Crowder's agent.

Not sure how realistic any of them are.

It would be a steal, imo if they could convince Lonnie Walker to take the BAE.

I’ve done scouting on Lonnie on the Spurs and man do I not like the guy.

I think he’s been better on the Lakers though.

Yeah, idk much about Walker. Lyles would probably be a great get for the BAE as well.

[JujitsuFlip]

If the Cavs sign non-shooters with our exception money, I'm going to take leave of my senses.

I wouldn't call Brooks a non-shooter, per se.

I personally don't just want the Duncan Robinson archetype starting at SF. Doesn't matter because JB would have that archetype glued to the bench anyway.

Strus or Divencenzo are my 1a/1b wings for the MLE, they're just really short.

Jalen McDaniels is a close 2nd for me to those guys, given his frame.

He's getting old and he's short too, plus probably wants to get paid but I'd at least call Crowder's agent.

Not sure how realistic any of them are.

It would be a steal, imo if they could convince Lonnie Walker to take the BAE.

I'd call Brooks a bad shooter. He's certainly eager enough, but opposing teams are pretty eager to leave him unguarded. His career average from 3 is worse than Cedi's.

The Cavs aren't getting the next Kyle Korver with the MLE, but they really, desperately need that rotation player other teams are afraid to leave open from distance. I agree with Tooskie that they also need someone with size who can shoot.

We have two bigs who can't shoot, two guards who can, an entire roster of players who opposing teams will live with taking the shot, and a coach who doesn't understand why spacing is important. It's a problem.

You bring in a couple guys who are good defensively but can't shoot, and that's who JBB is going to play. Outside of a backup 5, I wouldn't even give him the chance.

I mean we kinda have those guys in Merrill and Windler and those are JB's least favorite archetypes.

Anyway, I suppose Ingles and Seth Curry fit the mold you seek, even tho they're old and in Seth's case short.

A tier down but younger would potentially be Saric, Mykhailiuk, and Terrance Davis.

I think any of those 5 guys are attainable for what the Cavs have to offer, heck they may even be able to get 2 or 3 of em if everything fell right.

[JonFromVA]

I wouldn't call Brooks a non-shooter, per se.

I personally don't just want the Duncan Robinson archetype starting at SF. Doesn't matter because JB would have that archetype glued to the bench anyway.

Strus or Divencenzo are my 1a/1b wings for the MLE, they're just really short.

Jalen McDaniels is a close 2nd for me to those guys, given his frame.

He's getting old and he's short too, plus probably wants to get paid but I'd at least call Crowder's agent.

Not sure how realistic any of them are.

It would be a steal, imo if they could convince Lonnie Walker to take the BAE.

I'd call Brooks a bad shooter. He's certainly eager enough, but opposing teams are pretty eager to leave him unguarded. His career average from 3 is worse than Cedi's.

The Cavs aren't getting the next Kyle Korver with the MLE, but they really, desperately need that rotation player other teams are afraid to leave open from distance. I agree with Tooskie that they also need someone with size who can shoot.

We have two bigs who can't shoot, two guards who can, an entire roster of players who opposing teams will live with taking the shot, and a coach who doesn't understand why spacing is important. It's a problem.

You bring in a couple guys who are good defensively but can't shoot, and that's who JBB is going to play. Outside of a backup 5, I wouldn't even give him the chance.

I mean we kinda have those guys in Merrill and Windler and those are JB's least favorite archetypes.

Anyway, I suppose Ingles and Seth Curry fit the mold you seek, even tho they're old and in Seth's case short.

A tier down but younger would potentially be Saric, Mykhailiuk, and Terrance Davis.

I think any of those 5 guys are attainable for what the Cavs have to offer, heck they may even be able to get 2 or 3 of em if everything fell right.

Hard to say who JBB might or might not use ... he didn't seem to trust his bench or even the guys he stubbornly stuck with in the regular season like Isaac and Lamar.

[jbk1234]

I'd call Brooks a bad shooter. He's certainly eager enough, but opposing teams are pretty eager to leave him unguarded. His career average from 3 is worse than Cedi's.

The Cavs aren't getting the next Kyle Korver with the MLE, but they really, desperately need that rotation player other teams are afraid to leave open from distance. I agree with Tooskie that they also need someone with size who can shoot.

We have two bigs who can't shoot, two guards who can, an entire roster of players who opposing teams will live with taking the shot, and a coach who doesn't understand why spacing is important. It's a problem.

You bring in a couple guys who are good defensively but can't shoot, and that's who JBB is going to play. Outside of a backup 5, I wouldn't even give him the chance.

I mean we kinda have those guys in Merrill and Windler and those are JB's least favorite archetypes.

Anyway, I suppose Ingles and Seth Curry fit the mold you seek, even tho they're old and in Seth's case short.

A tier down but younger would potentially be Saric, Mykhailiuk, and Terrance Davis.

I think any of those 5 guys are attainable for what the Cavs have to offer, heck they may even be able to get 2 or 3 of em if everything fell right.

Hard to say who JBB might or might not use ... he didn't seem to trust his bench or even the guys he stubbornly stuck with in the regular season like Isaac and Lamar.

He needs to be willing to lose a few regular season games in order to get the team's offense working better than it did last season. He was too quick to go to his crutch of max defense and just let Mitchell shoot, way, way too often. He has to be willing to live with shooters slumping. Dialing back minutes is one thing. Disappearing guys from the rotation is something else altogether.

But most importantly, he really needs to start focusing on spacing when he puts together his rotations. No coach is getting shooters who can defend 1-10. He's going to have to balance lineups accordingly. Most of the guys coming off the bench in the NBA are deficient in one area or the other.

[JujitsuFlip]

I'd call Brooks a bad shooter. He's certainly eager enough, but opposing teams are pretty eager to leave him unguarded. His career average from 3 is worse than Cedi's.

The Cavs aren't getting the next Kyle Korver with the MLE, but they really, desperately need that rotation player other teams are afraid to leave open from distance. I agree with Tooskie that they also need someone with size who can shoot.

We have two bigs who can't shoot, two guards who can, an entire roster of players who opposing teams will live with taking the shot, and a coach who doesn't understand why spacing is important. It's a problem.

You bring in a couple guys who are good defensively but can't shoot, and that's who JBB is going to play. Outside of a backup 5, I wouldn't even give him the chance.

I mean we kinda have those guys in Merrill and Windler and those are JB's least favorite archetypes.

Anyway, I suppose Ingles and Seth Curry fit the mold you seek, even tho they're old and in Seth's case short.

A tier down but younger would potentially be Saric, Mykhailiuk, and Terrance Davis.

I think any of those 5 guys are attainable for what the Cavs have to offer, heck they may even be able to get 2 or 3 of em if everything fell right.

Hard to say who JBB might or might not use ... he didn't seem to trust his bench or even the guys he stubbornly stuck with in the regular season like Isaac and Lamar.

Lol well, that is a very fair point. Why I said I'd have JB involved with every transaction this summer.

Not that he can't change his mind but still.

[JonFromVA]

I mean we kinda have those guys in Merrill and Windler and those are JB's least favorite archetypes.

Anyway, I suppose Ingles and Seth Curry fit the mold you seek, even tho they're old and in Seth's case short.

A tier down but younger would potentially be Saric, Mykhailiuk, and Terrance Davis.

I think any of those 5 guys are attainable for what the Cavs have to offer, heck they may even be able to get 2 or 3 of em if everything fell right.

Hard to say who JBB might or might not use ... he didn't seem to trust his bench or even the guys he stubbornly stuck with in the regular season like Isaac and Lamar.

He needs to be willing to lose a few regular season games in order to get the team's offense working better than it did last season. He was too quick to go to his crutch of max defense and just let Mitchell shoot, way, way too often. He has to be willing to live with shooters slumping. Dialing back minutes is one thing. Disappearing guys from the rotation is something else altogether.

But most importantly, he really needs to start focusing on spacing when he puts together his rotations. No coach is getting shooters who can defend 1-10. He's going to have to balance lineups accordingly. Most of the guys coming off the bench in the NBA are deficient in one area or the other.

I just expect him to think through his approach, anticipate the problems, and have answers. Yeah, we can come up with answers for him, like use lineups with proper spacing and run an offense; but he's actually had a lot of success doing things his way and I'd all but shut-up with my complaints about our spacing because of it.

So commit to something. That's all I want.

If he wants to have a flexible roster that can respond to different matchups, then he would certainly need to focus on getting those different rotations ready to go and used to playing with each other. I mean, even Mike Brown managed that back in the day with lineups he used to start, lineups he used when we needed to hold a lead, and lineups he used when we needed to catch-up. Ty Lue once famously dealt with Jonas Valanciunas by letting Channing Frye bomb 3's on him until Casey benched him.

But if JBB would rather grit & grind and go defense first until the bitter end, then he should get his defenders on the floor and give them things to do when their wide open corner 3's aren't dropping. Prepare his bigs to contest and rebound. And if someone (whether that's Love or Osman) mucks up his defense then get them off the floor. Instruct the guys how to cope with a more physical opponent. And if going fast to counter a team that's too physical is abhorrent then by all means, match physicality with physicality ... don't leave Isaac, Lamar, Lopez, heck - even Neto glued to the bench.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking for a plan. I'm looking at how I can help the plan, and I'm monitoring the plan to see if it starts to take hold. Adversity is a strong motivator.

[jbk1234]

Hard to say who JBB might or might not use ... he didn't seem to trust his bench or even the guys he stubbornly stuck with in the regular season like Isaac and Lamar.

He needs to be willing to lose a few regular season games in order to get the team's offense working better than it did last season. He was too quick to go to his crutch of max defense and just let Mitchell shoot, way, way too often. He has to be willing to live with shooters slumping. Dialing back minutes is one thing. Disappearing guys from the rotation is something else altogether.

But most importantly, he really needs to start focusing on spacing when he puts together his rotations. No coach is getting shooters who can defend 1-10. He's going to have to balance lineups accordingly. Most of the guys coming off the bench in the NBA are deficient in one area or the other.

I just expect him to think through his approach, anticipate the problems, and have answers. Yeah, we can come up with answers for him, like use lineups with proper spacing and run an offense; but he's actually had a lot of success doing things his way and I'd all but shut-up with my complaints about our spacing because of it.

So commit to something. That's all I want.

If he wants to have a flexible roster that can respond to different matchups, then he would certainly need to focus on getting those different rotations ready to go and used to playing with each other. I mean, even Mike Brown managed that back in the day with lineups he used to start, lineups he used when we needed to hold a lead, and lineups he used when we needed to catch-up. Ty Lue once famously dealt with Jonas Valanciunas by letting Channing Frye bomb 3's on him until Casey benched him.

But if JBB would rather grit & grind and go defense first until the bitter end, then he should get his defenders on the floor and give them things to do when their wide open corner 3's aren't dropping. Prepare his bigs to contest and rebound. And if someone (whether that's Love or Osman) mucks up his defense then get them off the floor. Instruct the guys how to cope with a more physical opponent. And if going fast to counter a team that's too physical is abhorrent then by all means, match physicality with physicality ... don't leave Isaac, Lamar, Lopez, heck - even Neto glued to the bench.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking for a plan. I'm looking at how I can help the plan, and I'm monitoring the plan to see if it starts to take hold. Adversity is a strong motivator.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking to see if the 4-1 beat down the Cavs just suffered at the hands of an inferior team is informing JBB's plan, and if not, I have questions. While the Knicks were a particularly tough matchup, I agree with the Hollinger piece regarding those issues manifesting again due to what he described as the absence of offensive versatility.

[JonFromVA]

He needs to be willing to lose a few regular season games in order to get the team's offense working better than it did last season. He was too quick to go to his crutch of max defense and just let Mitchell shoot, way, way too often. He has to be willing to live with shooters slumping. Dialing back minutes is one thing. Disappearing guys from the rotation is something else altogether.

But most importantly, he really needs to start focusing on spacing when he puts together his rotations. No coach is getting shooters who can defend 1-10. He's going to have to balance lineups accordingly. Most of the guys coming off the bench in the NBA are deficient in one area or the other.

I just expect him to think through his approach, anticipate the problems, and have answers. Yeah, we can come up with answers for him, like use lineups with proper spacing and run an offense; but he's actually had a lot of success doing things his way and I'd all but shut-up with my complaints about our spacing because of it.

So commit to something. That's all I want.

If he wants to have a flexible roster that can respond to different matchups, then he would certainly need to focus on getting those different rotations ready to go and used to playing with each other. I mean, even Mike Brown managed that back in the day with lineups he used to start, lineups he used when we needed to hold a lead, and lineups he used when we needed to catch-up. Ty Lue once famously dealt with Jonas Valanciunas by letting Channing Frye bomb 3's on him until Casey benched him.

But if JBB would rather grit & grind and go defense first until the bitter end, then he should get his defenders on the floor and give them things to do when their wide open corner 3's aren't dropping. Prepare his bigs to contest and rebound. And if someone (whether that's Love or Osman) mucks up his defense then get them off the floor. Instruct the guys how to cope with a more physical opponent. And if going fast to counter a team that's too physical is abhorrent then by all means, match physicality with physicality ... don't leave Isaac, Lamar, Lopez, heck - even Neto glued to the bench.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking for a plan. I'm looking at how I can help the plan, and I'm monitoring the plan to see if it starts to take hold. Adversity is a strong motivator.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking to see if the 4-1 beat down the Cavs just suffered at the hands of an inferior team is informing JBB's plan, and if not, I have questions. While the Knicks were a particularly tough matchup, I agree with the Hollinger piece regarding those issues manifesting again due to what he described as the absence of offensive versatility.

Keep in mind the 73-win NBA champ Warriors fell to us in the finals in large part because of a deficiency in their offensive and defensive versatility. We got them to play the ISO game and beat them at it by simply cheating off players we didn't mind shooting like Green, Barnes, and Ezeli.

They made scheme adjustments to their switching defense that next season (that's when they brought in Mike Brown), but who knows if they could have adjusted their offense if they didn't bring in Durant. They may have just crossed their fingers and hoped with another year under his belt that Barnes and whoever else they brought in played better.

On the other hand, the Cavs might have been swept if we didn't throw out our defensive system after the first 2 games. Longbardi ran a complex system that the players never really grasped. So, we basically won a championship after Ty Lue acquiesced and dumbed down our defensive plan and offensively our 2 ISO players showed up enough to win us 4.

Our 3rd highest scorer in that series was JR Smith at 10.6 ppg and 35.6% from 3pt. Meanwhile Caris contributed 15 ppg and 36.1% from 3pt. The widest gap is between our lead players: Mitchell and James. An MVP level player can't just show up and play well in 2 out of 5 games in a series.

There's no real moral to this story, other than the playoffs are fickle and if the Cavs only take-aways from the series was that they need to make an adjustment to rebound better and Mitchell has a to play better; they are not necessarily wrong.

[jbk1234]

I just expect him to think through his approach, anticipate the problems, and have answers. Yeah, we can come up with answers for him, like use lineups with proper spacing and run an offense; but he's actually had a lot of success doing things his way and I'd all but shut-up with my complaints about our spacing because of it.

So commit to something. That's all I want.

If he wants to have a flexible roster that can respond to different matchups, then he would certainly need to focus on getting those different rotations ready to go and used to playing with each other. I mean, even Mike Brown managed that back in the day with lineups he used to start, lineups he used when we needed to hold a lead, and lineups he used when we needed to catch-up. Ty Lue once famously dealt with Jonas Valanciunas by letting Channing Frye bomb 3's on him until Casey benched him.

But if JBB would rather grit & grind and go defense first until the bitter end, then he should get his defenders on the floor and give them things to do when their wide open corner 3's aren't dropping. Prepare his bigs to contest and rebound. And if someone (whether that's Love or Osman) mucks up his defense then get them off the floor. Instruct the guys how to cope with a more physical opponent. And if going fast to counter a team that's too physical is abhorrent then by all means, match physicality with physicality ... don't leave Isaac, Lamar, Lopez, heck - even Neto glued to the bench.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking for a plan. I'm looking at how I can help the plan, and I'm monitoring the plan to see if it starts to take hold. Adversity is a strong motivator.

If I'm Altman, I'm looking to see if the 4-1 beat down the Cavs just suffered at the hands of an inferior team is informing JBB's plan, and if not, I have questions. While the Knicks were a particularly tough matchup, I agree with the Hollinger piece regarding those issues manifesting again due to what he described as the absence of offensive versatility.

Keep in mind the 73-win NBA champ Warriors fell to us in the finals in large part because of a deficiency in their offensive and defensive versatility. We got them to play the ISO game and beat them at it by simply cheating off players we didn't mind shooting like Green, Barnes, and Ezeli.

They made scheme adjustments to their switching defense that next season (that's when they brought in Mike Brown), but who knows if they could have adjusted their offense if they didn't bring in Durant. They may have just crossed their fingers and hoped with another year under his belt that Barnes and whoever else they brought in played better.

On the other hand, the Cavs might have been swept if we didn't throw out our defensive system after the first 2 games. Longbardi ran a complex system that the players never really grasped. So, we basically won a championship after Ty Lue acquiesced and dumbed down our defensive plan and offensively our 2 ISO players showed up enough to win us 4.

Our 3rd highest scorer in that series was JR Smith at 10.6 ppg and 35.6% from 3pt. Meanwhile Caris contributed 15 ppg and 36.1% from 3pt. The widest gap is between our lead players: Mitchell and James. An MVP level player can't just show up and play well in 2 out of 5 games in a series.

There's no real moral to this story, other than the playoffs are fickle and if the Cavs only take-aways from the series was that they need to make an adjustment to rebound better and Mitchell has a to play better; they are not necessarily wrong.

I think everyone of our core 4 will continue to struggle to score against good defenses in the absence of spacing. That particular problem wasn't limited to the postseason. But yeah, Mitchell's shooting from distance was a pretty big problem in the series, and as was the case in the regular season, his decision making looks very different when his shots aren't falling.

I wish I had more faith that JBB was capable of solving for that, but I don't. Getting Mitchell integrated into a more team oriented offense, even with adequate spacing, is a difficult ask, but it is what maxing out this roster looks like. I'm not even sure JBB is going to try.

[JujitsuFlip]

If I'm Altman, I'm looking to see if the 4-1 beat down the Cavs just suffered at the hands of an inferior team is informing JBB's plan, and if not, I have questions. While the Knicks were a particularly tough matchup, I agree with the Hollinger piece regarding those issues manifesting again due to what he described as the absence of offensive versatility.

Keep in mind the 73-win NBA champ Warriors fell to us in the finals in large part because of a deficiency in their offensive and defensive versatility. We got them to play the ISO game and beat them at it by simply cheating off players we didn't mind shooting like Green, Barnes, and Ezeli.

They made scheme adjustments to their switching defense that next season (that's when they brought in Mike Brown), but who knows if they could have adjusted their offense if they didn't bring in Durant. They may have just crossed their fingers and hoped with another year under his belt that Barnes and whoever else they brought in played better.

On the other hand, the Cavs might have been swept if we didn't throw out our defensive system after the first 2 games. Longbardi ran a complex system that the players never really grasped. So, we basically won a championship after Ty Lue acquiesced and dumbed down our defensive plan and offensively our 2 ISO players showed up enough to win us 4.

Our 3rd highest scorer in that series was JR Smith at 10.6 ppg and 35.6% from 3pt. Meanwhile Caris contributed 15 ppg and 36.1% from 3pt. The widest gap is between our lead players: Mitchell and James. An MVP level player can't just show up and play well in 2 out of 5 games in a series.

There's no real moral to this story, other than the playoffs are fickle and if the Cavs only take-aways from the series was that they need to make an adjustment to rebound better and Mitchell has a to play better; they are not necessarily wrong.

I think everyone of our core 4 will continue to struggle to score against good defenses in the absence of spacing. That particular problem wasn't limited to the postseason. But yeah, Mitchell's shooting from distance was a pretty big problem in the series, and as was the case in the regular season, his decision making looks very different when his shots aren't falling.

I wish I had more faith that JBB was capable of solving for that, but I don't. Getting Mitchell integrated into a more team oriented offense, even with adequate spacing, is a difficult ask, but it is what maxing out this roster looks like. I'm not even sure JBB is going to try.

Why would he? His job was safe playing a 7 man rotation with zero offensive system.

Firing JB is the best chance to expand the rotation and have an actual offensive system implemented.

[JonFromVA]

If I'm Altman, I'm looking to see if the 4-1 beat down the Cavs just suffered at the hands of an inferior team is informing JBB's plan, and if not, I have questions. While the Knicks were a particularly tough matchup, I agree with the Hollinger piece regarding those issues manifesting again due to what he described as the absence of offensive versatility.

Keep in mind the 73-win NBA champ Warriors fell to us in the finals in large part because of a deficiency in their offensive and defensive versatility. We got them to play the ISO game and beat them at it by simply cheating off players we didn't mind shooting like Green, Barnes, and Ezeli.

They made scheme adjustments to their switching defense that next season (that's when they brought in Mike Brown), but who knows if they could have adjusted their offense if they didn't bring in Durant. They may have just crossed their fingers and hoped with another year under his belt that Barnes and whoever else they brought in played better.

On the other hand, the Cavs might have been swept if we didn't throw out our defensive system after the first 2 games. Longbardi ran a complex system that the players never really grasped. So, we basically won a championship after Ty Lue acquiesced and dumbed down our defensive plan and offensively our 2 ISO players showed up enough to win us 4.

Our 3rd highest scorer in that series was JR Smith at 10.6 ppg and 35.6% from 3pt. Meanwhile Caris contributed 15 ppg and 36.1% from 3pt. The widest gap is between our lead players: Mitchell and James. An MVP level player can't just show up and play well in 2 out of 5 games in a series.

There's no real moral to this story, other than the playoffs are fickle and if the Cavs only take-aways from the series was that they need to make an adjustment to rebound better and Mitchell has a to play better; they are not necessarily wrong.

I think everyone of our core 4 will continue to struggle to score against good defenses in the absence of spacing. That particular problem wasn't limited to the postseason. But yeah, Mitchell's shooting from distance was a pretty big problem in the series, and as was the case in the regular season, his decision making looks very different when his shots aren't falling.

I wish I had more faith that JBB was capable of solving for that, but I don't. Getting Mitchell integrated into a more team oriented offense, even with adequate spacing, is a difficult ask, but it is what maxing out this roster looks like. I'm not even sure JBB is going to try.

Struggling against top-defenses is a common problem for young teams, that alone doesn't concern me. In fact, I'm encouraged our record .vs. other top-10 defensive teams was 14-6.

JBB may very well need to go, but even if that proves to be the case: laying down a defensive identity and structure for the team makes a lot of sense before letting them realize they can win games with a flashy spread offense.

[jbk1234]

Keep in mind the 73-win NBA champ Warriors fell to us in the finals in large part because of a deficiency in their offensive and defensive versatility. We got them to play the ISO game and beat them at it by simply cheating off players we didn't mind shooting like Green, Barnes, and Ezeli.

They made scheme adjustments to their switching defense that next season (that's when they brought in Mike Brown), but who knows if they could have adjusted their offense if they didn't bring in Durant. They may have just crossed their fingers and hoped with another year under his belt that Barnes and whoever else they brought in played better.

On the other hand, the Cavs might have been swept if we didn't throw out our defensive system after the first 2 games. Longbardi ran a complex system that the players never really grasped. So, we basically won a championship after Ty Lue acquiesced and dumbed down our defensive plan and offensively our 2 ISO players showed up enough to win us 4.

Our 3rd highest scorer in that series was JR Smith at 10.6 ppg and 35.6% from 3pt. Meanwhile Caris contributed 15 ppg and 36.1% from 3pt. The widest gap is between our lead players: Mitchell and James. An MVP level player can't just show up and play well in 2 out of 5 games in a series.

There's no real moral to this story, other than the playoffs are fickle and if the Cavs only take-aways from the series was that they need to make an adjustment to rebound better and Mitchell has a to play better; they are not necessarily wrong.

I think everyone of our core 4 will continue to struggle to score against good defenses in the absence of spacing. That particular problem wasn't limited to the postseason. But yeah, Mitchell's shooting from distance was a pretty big problem in the series, and as was the case in the regular season, his decision making looks very different when his shots aren't falling.

I wish I had more faith that JBB was capable of solving for that, but I don't. Getting Mitchell integrated into a more team oriented offense, even with adequate spacing, is a difficult ask, but it is what maxing out this roster looks like. I'm not even sure JBB is going to try.

Struggling against top-defenses is a common problem for young teams, that alone doesn't concern me. In fact, I'm encouraged our record .vs. other top-10 defensive teams was 14-6.

JBB may very well need to go, but even if that proves to be the case: laying down a defensive identity and structure for the team makes a lot of sense before letting them realize they can win games with a flashy spread offense.

I do feel like he laid a good defensive foundation, but if he can't take the next step, then it's time to move on. It feels like the only way we ever come back from being down in late game situations is if Mitchell or Garland get really hot. We don't seem to have set plays that get our players good looks. Some of that has to do with our SF options and spacing, but not all of it. It just seems like there's a lot of untapped offensive potential here.

[JonFromVA]

I think everyone of our core 4 will continue to struggle to score against good defenses in the absence of spacing. That particular problem wasn't limited to the postseason. But yeah, Mitchell's shooting from distance was a pretty big problem in the series, and as was the case in the regular season, his decision making looks very different when his shots aren't falling.

I wish I had more faith that JBB was capable of solving for that, but I don't. Getting Mitchell integrated into a more team oriented offense, even with adequate spacing, is a difficult ask, but it is what maxing out this roster looks like. I'm not even sure JBB is going to try.

Struggling against top-defenses is a common problem for young teams, that alone doesn't concern me. In fact, I'm encouraged our record .vs. other top-10 defensive teams was 14-6.

JBB may very well need to go, but even if that proves to be the case: laying down a defensive identity and structure for the team makes a lot of sense before letting them realize they can win games with a flashy spread offense.

I do feel like he laid a good defensive foundation, but if he can't take the next step, then it's time to move on. It feels like the only way we ever come back from being down in late game situations is if Mitchell or Garland get really hot. We don't seem to have set plays that get our players good looks. Some of that has to do with our SF options and spacing, but not all of it. It just seems like there's a lot of untapped offensive potential here.

Sure, and that time will come if the team doesn't improve, but the bigger question in my mind is why weren't Mitchell and Garland hot? That's kind of their job. We haven't built the team around a small back-court for **** & giggles.

[JujitsuFlip]

Cavs should hire Bud.

[ijspeelman]

I'm not an adamant fire JB fan, but it is telling that a team like the Bucks is firing their coach after one-ish bad season (imo due to GIannis and Middleton injuries).

I realize the Bucks have different aspirations compared to the Cavs, but Bud is most likely better than JB and has a better rep around the league. Makes you ask yourself what the Cavs plans are.

I understand that Koby and the FO seem to be preaching loyalty within their organization (cya K Love) with the hopes that it breeds results on the court (and some development as well). I know the end goal is winning a championship, but what are the goals in between?

What can we call a successful season from here?

[JujitsuFlip]

I'm not an adamant fire JB fan, but it is telling that a team like the Bucks is firing their coach after one-ish bad season (imo due to GIannis and Middleton injuries).

I realize the Bucks have different aspirations compared to the Cavs, but Bud is most likely better than JB and has a better rep around the league. Makes you ask yourself what the Cavs plans are.

I understand that Koby and the FO seem to be preaching loyalty within their organization (cya K Love) with the hopes that it breeds results on the court (and some development as well). I know the end goal is winning a championship, but what are the goals in between?

What can we call a successful season from here?

I ask myself the same thing, will the franchise call next season a success if they get to the 2nd round or do they just have to be more competitive in the first round for it to be a success? It's a very valid question.

That was and is my whole issue with the Mitchell trade, this season was basically looked at as a moral victory but at the same time Mitchell only has 2 more guaranteed seasons on his deal. If Mitchell extends next summer, I think I'll probably be fine with the trade and some seasons being counted as moral victories.

It is the win now timeline combined with the short window that currently makes it frustrating.

[ijspeelman]

I'm not an adamant fire JB fan, but it is telling that a team like the Bucks is firing their coach after one-ish bad season (imo due to GIannis and Middleton injuries).

I realize the Bucks have different aspirations compared to the Cavs, but Bud is most likely better than JB and has a better rep around the league. Makes you ask yourself what the Cavs plans are.

I understand that Koby and the FO seem to be preaching loyalty within their organization (cya K Love) with the hopes that it breeds results on the court (and some development as well). I know the end goal is winning a championship, but what are the goals in between?

What can we call a successful season from here?

I ask myself the same thing, will the franchise call next season a success if they get to the 2nd round or do they just have to be more competitive in the first round for it to be a success? It's a very valid question.

That was and is my whole issue with the Mitchell trade, this season was basically looked at as a moral victory but at the same time Mitchell only has 2 more guaranteed seasons on his deal. If Mitchell extends next summer, I think I'll probably be fine with the trade and some seasons being counted as moral victories.

It is the win now timeline combined with the short window that currently makes it frustrating.

I think with how this season ended, we've stunted our growth. I think the assumed timeline was something like:

Second Round -> Competitive Second Round/Conference Finals Appearance -> Competitive Conference Finals -> Finals Appearance

Obviously, none of the above is guaranteed in the first place, but a non-competitive first round was not in the books.

So do we reshape our expectations or expect this team to get to step 2 before hitting step 1?