Game 58: Cleveland Cavaliers (16-41) vs. Philadelphia Sixers (36-22) - 7:00 PM ET

ducler · Post #1 » by **ducler** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:10 pm

tundraknight · Post #2 » by **tundraknight** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:42 pm

Drummond out with a calf strain.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2873093-cavs-andre-drummond-ruled-out-vs-joel-embiid-76ers-with-calf-injury

I don’t even see the point in playing TT since he likely doesn’t have a future with this team.

It’s a shame Dean Wade never gets playing time to develop.

tundraknight · Post #3 » by **tundraknight** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:55 pm

Stillwater wrote:I would love for them to add Okongwu to Love Drummond and Nance once TT leaves , might need a top 5 pick though the way hes been balling,definitely a sleeper option. I mean Nance and Okongwu long term front court is exceptionally athletic

Yeah Okongwu has been soaring up draft boards. Some people say he gives them Bam vibes.

Slightly off topic but I also envisioned Dylan Windler to have a similar impact for the Cavaliers that Duncan Robinson has had with the Heat.

What got me thinking about it is this article I just read today about trying to place blame on Belien for Dylan Windlers season ending injury.

https://sports.yahoo.com/did-john-beilein-methods-lead-182016814.html

Stillwater · Post #4 » by **Stillwater** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:01 pm

Very interested to see how often Nance gets minutes at the 3 like the 4th in the comeback win... that was huge and an underrated factor shadowed by KPJ's career game so far.
Sexton can score even more on the 2nd unit so on some nights I am bringing him off the bench esp with no Exum option available and Garland has to play with good shooters or his value will sink to nothing while he is unable to get going as a scorer and must rely on his passing right now. But if his scoring struggles continue I want to see KPJ as the main ball handler and creator and both Sexton and DG as scorers both brought off the bench...in favor of Cedi or McKinnie at the 2 guard off KPJ in the sl that will give the Cavs plenty of size defensively and give them an idea of how best to make their draft pick based on if they want to draft a high ceiling wing or a true PG with size that can actually play defense.

tundraknight · Post #5 » by **tundraknight** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:27 am

With both Embiid and Ben Simmons out, I doubt the 76ers will make a comeback.

I just hope the Cavs don’t win enough games to lose their 1st Round Pick.

A win tonight would make the Cavaliers go from #2 overall to around #5 overall in nbatankathon.

At #5 the lowest the Cavaliers could drop is to the 9th pick.

Regardless of how the Cavaliers finish the season, I just want the lottery luck to finally come back to Cleveland.

I know it’s nice to finally see them play well. But it just makes me nervous winning too many games to close out the season.

Post #6 » by **jbk1234** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 3:11 am

tundraknight wrote:With both Embiid and Ben Simmons out, I doubt the 76ers will make a comeback.

I just hope the Cavs don’t win enough games to lose their 1st Round Pick.

A win tonight would make the Cavaliers go from #2 overall to around #5 overall in nbatankathon.

At #5 the lowest the Cavaliers could drop is to the 9th pick.

Regardless of how the Cavaliers finish the season, I just want the lottery luck to finally come back to Cleveland.

I know it’s nice to finally see them play well. But it just makes me nervous winning too many games to close out the season.

I feel like with a couple of adjustments, we could lose out pretty easily.

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Stillwater · Post #7 » by **Stillwater** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:39 pm

Another quality effort from Sextons Nance Love and TT... Got good minutes from everyone really even Delly hitting shots again and Zzz contribution was real.
Garland and KPJ had off nights but I definitely see how they can fill a role even this season the way jbb is using these line ups.
It's really baffling to me how anyone could think this team wasn't tanking under Beilein. They obviously are pulling the plug on tanking and cutting loose all these guys letting their games come to life. Memphis obviously had a strick hold on what they would allow jbb to do there, so much better here so far it's giving me coy potential vibes for next season.

JonFromVA · Post #8 » by **JonFromVA** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 4:32 pm

Stillwater wrote:Another quality effort from Sextons Nance Love and TT... Got good minutes from everyone really even Delly hitting shots again and Zzz contribution was real.
Garland and KPJ had off nights but I definitely see how they can fill a role even this season the way jbb is using these line ups.
It's really baffling to me how anyone could think this team wasn't tanking under Beilein. They obviously are pulling the plug on tanking and cutting loose all these guys letting their games come to life. Memphis obviously had a strick hold on what they would allow jbb to do there, so much better here so far it's giving me coy potential vibes for next season.

Well, first off, we've just beaten two teams that are lousy on the road that were missing multiple key players. Our talent actually stacked up decently. The key has been a combination of effort and lineup adjustments.

Heck, I mentioned in another thread that Collin had played a lot better in a reserve lineup paired with Delly rather than Dante, and we got to see that last night due to Exum's injury and it worked well again.

If we were out-right tanking, wouldn't JBB be under the same mandate to tank?

Seems to me, it comes down to two things. A certain level of incompetence/inability to connect from Beilein, and a certain level of belligerence from the players themselves. The fact Bickerstaff was Beilein's associate head coach and reportedly in charge of both lineups and the defense really interesting. It seems we have a case of either Bickerstaff sabotaging Beilein by not speaking up and helping him manage the team, or Beilein was shutting him down and forcing his way.

There was a report recently that the FO wants Bickerstaff to keep bringing Porter Jr off the bench ("keep him in a position he's comfortable"), so, clearly there is a certain level of meddling; but they seem to be fine with JBB benching whoever he wants to finish games.

We have a lot of players who can contribute, but they're all pretty darn inconsistent. It makes a lot of sense to roll with the hot hand.

Post #9 » by **jbk1234** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:18 pm

Read on Twitter

?s=20

JonFromVA · Post #10 » by **JonFromVA** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:01 pm

Well, it was only a few days ago were were down 30 points by half-time on Dwyane Wade retirement night, but if JBB can get them to give effort for something close to 48 and not just when they feel like it or from the guys who will be free-agents; this will be a far more entertaining team.

Stillwater · Post #11 » by **Stillwater** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:14 pm

https://www.fearthesword.com/2020/2/26/21155464/cleveland-cavaliers-philadelphia-76ers-recap

Post #12 » by **jbk1234** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:25 pm

Stillwater wrote:https://www.fearthesword.com/2020/2/26/21155464/cleveland-cavaliers-philadelphia-76ers-recap

I'm not sure what the point of that article is. Yes Love had 13 points (on only 9 shots). He also had 6 assists and 9 rebounds. Once again Sexton led the team in FGAs and once again he lead them in points. We know he can do that.