Live Thread: Cavs at Magic
2014-12-26
In what may end up being the least watched game of the young season, the Cavaliers look to bounce back against the Orlando Magic on the road. With Anderson Varejao on the shelf for the rest of the 2014-2015 season, Tristan Thompson is tasked with manning the middle. TT will get the start after David Blatt’s small ball experiment against the Heat ended in flames. The Cavalier bigman has an opportunity to make himself some serious money if he can prove that his positive minutes off the bench can translate to the starting role. The Magic have some nice young pieces, but not enough shooting to be a playoff contender as of yet. Sound off.
Defense made the difference in this game. KLove actually played really strong on Vucevic, TT was a beast in the last three quarter.
Griffin will have a problem on his hands if doom keeps playing like this. Tempted to trade but where could he find a substitute for the hustle?
#nevertradedion He is the heart of this team right now
that last 5-6 points of Lebron’s scoring average is ALL garbage time free throws. If he just upped his Free Throw percentage in the last 2 minutes of games alone he would average 30 points right now.
Can Delly NOT be the one spotted up in the corner late in games…that should never be anyone except Miller or Love.
+100 to that. He’s just not a confident three point shooter
LOVED the D that Dion just played on Fournier. Own that Frenchman, Dion!!
Lebron drew that crossing set up on the bench…on camera. Good thing no one on the magic bench is watching FSOH coverage.
LOL, I saw that too. AC drew all over it too
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED!!! LBJ driving for the AND ONE!
This next possession better be a drive. STOP with the threes guys!
Seriously… THESE REFS ARE A JOKE!
TT SAVING this game right now. Way too many jacks from outside! Where is the driving?
Blatt riding with this group tonight. Not making the mistake of just putting KLove back in to do it. Glad he’s sticking with TT since he’s a beast out there right now. Do wish KLove could become the guy that HAS to be out there in crunch time though.
HE GOT ALL BALL THAT TIME!!!
MY GOD! THESE REFS ARE TERRIBLE!!! TT getting HOSED on that call!!
He just needs to not play continuous hero ball like the last possession. Draw the double team and kick it out to Love, Miller or Dion.
LBJ now using all of the energy he conserved from the earlier quarters for the last 5 minutes.
TT CLEANING UP THE TRASH!!!
Fred says, “Come on LeBron, play fair” on that last and-one drive. I say “where has that been, please do it some more!”
Man, Delly really needed to hit that three
Ben Gordon is only really good for hitting the occasional three in transition these days. smh
MILLER TIME!!! Miller really heating up from three in the second half
Most active I’ve seen LBJ on defense lately on that last possession. Several jumps and tips before the foul.
Dion playing good D on Harris. Harris just hitting tough/contested shots.
Liking the energy and intensity on the defensive end. Also good to see Dion aggressive and driving on the offensive end. That will be how they win this game.
Cavs should probably just stop shooting threes for a little while.
And then there’s possessions like that where Marion just whips the ball aimlessly in the direction of the backboard
And then, of course, he makes on the next possession
TT saving Matrix again on the offensive glass. Marion should just not take those mini jumpers
Cavs still within striking distance at the end of three. Good that they’re hitting their free throws tonight. Bad that they’re still allowing the Magic to shoot 60% from the field.
In general the Cavs need about 16 minutes of stout defense to win most games.
This is an astute observation. They need a few more stout minutes against good teams.
I’m not one to complain excessively about the officiating, but that was a RIDICULOUS CALL to end the third quarter. What the hell ref? At least ball don’t lie on the first FT. SMH
Cavs starting to tighten the screws on the defensive end again
This Magic run has been a series of unfortunate breaks and break downs
Also, LBJ would be CRUCIFIED if he left again. He’s made his basketball bed now
I wouldn’t worry about Love leaving
The other thing that worries me, since i’m the only one here…is that Kevin Love can absolutely up and leave after this year…and we might be more than tempted to let him do it due to the salary cap implications. That’s all well and good but who can we replace him with that will make Lebron willing to keep his end of the ole essay arrangement come opt-out time. We don’t look like we have the ability to sure up the defensive problems AND keep Lebron, Kevin, and Kyrie on their maxish deals.
Lebron looks older than Kobe.
Dude has got to start eating Carbs again. That diet has no basis in nutritional science and it drives me nuts. Carbohydrates are important for lots of things besides their calories…I don’t know if he is still on the diet but it would explain a lot of his lack of endurance and loss of first step.
Just notice Rondo and Wall and Lawson all above 10.3 assists per game right now. Lebron would probably help the team a TON by jumping up toward that level for the next several games to get the shooters some confidence. We play the dreaded Hawks in a couple games…holy crap that will be another major beatdown. they are playing insanely good basketball.
or…maybe they have cooled off. down 10+ to the admittedly difficult to match up with Bucks. Still…Lebron at 9+ assists gives us a 90% chance of victory according to our record when he does that
Cavs played much better D in the second. Magic still shooting 60% though. KLove doing a good job of holding Vuch down. Guards need to put a body on Fournier and Gordon the super scrubs.
Maybe some James Jones in place of Mike Miller? He needs some run with the better players on the team…he is dynamite when shooting in garbage time from like 7 feet behind the three point line…can we try getting him some open-ish looks and see what happens?
Love actually playing some pretty good D on Vucevic tonight
Totally agree. He’s been a highlight defensively. We’d be down by a ton if Vucevic if Love and TT weren’t pushing him out of the lane before the entry pass.
Love and TT rebounding like maniacs this quarter
Hooray! LeBron hit both free throws
Man, it sure looked like TT got all ball on that Dedmon shot
Waiters, TT and KLove playing with a lot of energy tonight
TT WITH THE STEAL AND THE COAST TO COAST JAM!!
Delly airball from three. And now he’s afraid to shoot the ball
Fournier may be my least favorite player. Ridiculously French with the “barely-there” topknot. He’s not nearly as talented as the Cavs D is making him seem.
He is crafty, though slower than we are making him look. But he’s a definite bench guard for an nba team. He doesn’t stop the ball and doesn’t hesitate.
Great two man game with Love and Dion. Dion heating up
Dion with a ridiculously athletic drive and score!
Without Kyrie out there, there’s nobody really pushing the ball or running the break
Gordon outscoring the Cavs 7-2 this quarter. Guess the Cavs have no defense for 30+ shooting guards on this trip…
Dion with ANOTHER tech for arguing foul calls. He’s starting to get a bad rep with the refs
Gordon starting to go sub-fuego right now
Hard to believe Cavs just gave up a 32 point quarter to the Magic. Magic shooting 72% so far. Disturbing trend continues.
LBJ must have numbness in his hands or something. He has lost more dribbles this year…yeesh. Why can’t he seem to make the easy pass anymore?
We may lose this game by a lot of points…
I think they’ll win, but not by the margin they should
Poor closeouts on the perimeter and this Fournier guy just destroying the Cavs guards right now.
It’s almost like LBJ actually playing dodgeball out there. Some of these errant passes look more like he’s just firing the ball at guys on the opposing team.
Another layup drill for the opposition tonight. Worth at least trying some Haywood tonight?
Dion with the nifty and-one
Delly getting owned by the Magic guards so far.
KLove putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hoop aggressively against Vuch. I like it
LBJ got STUFFED on that play. He should have passed that one
Love and LBJ both looking to score early. Will have to with Kyrie out
Sweet inside pass from Miller to KLove
Delly Trey! Some decent passing so far
Nice corner three from KLove, then a Miller rebound in traffic. Nice
Kinda dig these Magic unis
Didn’t take long for LBJ first turnover…
At least it looks like Blatt is going to make the right choice and start TT tonight
Why not start Dion over Delly given how Dion’s been playing the last couple of games?
Just announced no Kyrie tonight. Delly gets the start.