Live Thread: Cavs @ Nets
2016-01-20The Cavs are on the road again to face the Brooklyn Nets. Last meeting, the game went down to the final shot. LeBron James sank the game winning shot, but the game was closer than it should have been. The Cavs will be looking for a bounce back win against the 11-31 Nets, after receiving a 34 point beat down from the Warriors on Monday.
Last time the Cavs played the Warriors, they faced the Blazers the very next day and lost by 29. After losing to the Spurs, about a week ago, the Wine & Gold handled business against the Rockets less than 24 hours later. The Cavs need to show some resilience and come out firing for this game to silence the people who keep mentioning the loss to Golden State. I’m already sick of hearing about it from my coworkers and this loss could push their trash talk too far.
On Tuesday, the team had a film session and a practice. Lebron James was pleased.
“We actually had a really, really sharp practice getting back to the basics.” [Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com]
3 Things to Watch
1.Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving need to play defense tonight. Against the Warriors, they were lazy. They got blown by and back cut on far too many possessions. They stopped rotating after the Warriors passed the ball just one time. Love and Irving also need to score. If a player’s strength is scoring and they can’t do that or play defense, they have no reason to be on the floor. Irving and Love combined for just 11 points against Golden State.
2.Brook Lopez isn’t an animal. He’s a slow ground bound guy. The Cavalier bigs can’t bite on his pump fakes and play like they are also running in quick sand when they cover him. Lopez is the only player on Brooklyn who is a true scorer. He had 29 points the last time he was in Cleveland. David Blatt should game plan to stop that.
3. The Cavs need to run an offense. Isolation ball doesn’t work against the Spurs or Warriors, so why not practice something else considering those are the two teams they may face come Finals time? The Cavs had 22 assists against Golden State, which is right around their average (they’re 12th in the league). However, most of those assists came off of drive and kick plays. Blatt should try and get the team back to playing how they did the first couple games of the season when the ball whipped around the perimeter and had opposing defenses constantly rotating.
I’m picking the Cavs to win tonight, 106-99.
Champ re-appearing into the bench rotation recently.
Not sure how much the Princeton weave accomplishes, but at least Cavs still moving the ball…
Nice hands, TT!
Delly with the TD attempt… looked like a goaltend…
LeBron fading to the left again on jumpers.
And free throws
That’s what I meant.
Pretty nice block by the Nets’ Brown on LeBron.
You are right. It was a block.
Well apparently Coach Blatt has had enough of the ISO’s and now they are moving the ball well after just 2 or 3 dribbles.
Catch-and-shoot are the only threes I want LeBron taking.
+100
Delly Trey!!
I wish Love has a quicker release on his 3.
Agreed. Needs to work on getting it “up” quicker instead of “out.”
TWSS?
I don’t understand why the Cavs don’t take fouls when they’re in bad positions down by the bucket and still have plenty to give.
Only guy who does that is Delly.
Was wondering the same thing…
TIMO with a nice game against a good big. So want him to be successful.
He’s steadily looking better… noticed his jumper coming back, baseline notwithstanding. Better energy… hopefully it keeps trending that way.
K Love is so assertive today. He has got to be stronger mentally. He is a delight of a player when he has his head in it and when hes touching the ball this much too.
That looked like a mistake pass from Ky to Moz… but hey, it worked…
I think Blatt is trying to give the starters more minutes, to build that chemistry.
KLOVE! Put the ball on the floor and get into the post!
That was meant as praise.
Great ball movement there!
“Good bear… Good bear.”
JRs head is not in the game. Giving up a 3 just to complain about something in the midst of the play. SMH
Yeah, but Kyrie was lost there too.
Blatt with the quick hook on JR.
True as well.
KLOVE aggressive in drawing fouls.
LET’S PUT THESE GUYS AWAY IN THE 3RD —REST THE STARTERS—-GET PLENTY OF BENCH MINUTES —-IS MO PLAYING TONIGHT —WHAT’S THE OVER/ UNDER ON THAT—-COLS GET THOSE KIDS TO BED AND COME JOIN US
He’s too busy watching Bridget Jones Diaries!
Nate has to be proud of Thad Youngs play so far
Always liked him.Love to see him on a good team.
Only 7 assists tonight, but the ball movement is on a different stratosphere from where it was.
Maybe all it took was to get embarassed from the national media to start playing actual basketball. Lets see if after another good winning streak we keep it up or its just a gasp.
They’ll have a better idea where they are after the Bulls and Clippers games coming up.
I think they will be focused now with the spotlight so bright on them. I want to see them after a month or so when they haveput up a winning streak over some hapless East teams. Wheer will the energy and focus level be at. Championship habits are forged every day, they dont come and go. Thats why I hate it when people suggest we have another gear we save for the playoffs. As if we have won so many championships to fall back on, or as if the Jordan Bulls were cruising through the regular season.
I don’t even want to say Love is having a good game at this point. He needs to do this every night. Is this how he plays or just how he plays after he gets embarrassed when losing?
News flash, Golden State is good. Taking apart the Bulls tonight 34-18 after 1.
Bulls locker-room must smell like champagne, too…
The Bulls are not faring much better than us against GS. Down 34-18 after one. Time for panic in Chicago!
Warriors putting similar beatdown on the Bulls… 34-18 after one…
I can’t watch the Warriors for awhile. They traumatized me on Monday.
Just beat me to it.
I don’t know if we’re great minds, but the 3 of us thought alike, lol.
Another nice defensive quarter for the Cavs…. the big 3 are leading the offensive charge as they should be…. All shooting great and LBJ and Kyrie with 6 out of 7 of the team’s assists.
Only downside, KLOVE and LBJ with all 6 of the Cavs’ TOs
Nets announcers with some pretty good lines thus far:
(Regarding an all-bench Nets lineupo in the first quarter) “The problem with this lineup is whos gonna score or create a chance and on the other end, whos gonna defend. ”
When announcers recognize futility.
I’m glad Michigan St. lost. Tired of Tom Izzo!
Love having a much better game tonight…
I believe Shump and JR can create more offense for this team than they are allowed too.
There’s an Old Guy in a Brooklyn jersey trying to jinx Cavs FT shooters.
Probably the same guy who was whistling at the Q when I saw the Nets there.
I like that KLove and Shump are not hesitating. I would like to see the Cavs play like these all time with more ball and player movement and more players attacking and creating for others. If the defender takes away the 3 pointer just put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. In other words take what the defense gives you.
Agree in principal with everything you said, but these are the Nots we are playing They are not trying very hard, lets put it that way.
KLOVE with a double-double already.
I hope we dont blow them out, so that Love can get 25 rebounds.
I don’t think I’ve seen a Cav smile yet. Good. They need to earn those smiles.
They should try to finish this game in the 3rd, so they can rest for tomorrow against the Clippers.
Has any NBA season exposed how irrelevant coaches are in this league? You have an interim head coach on pace to break the most winning season record, a Nets team operating with a brain … I could go on and on.
Yes lol Bulls from the 90’s, Lakers from the 00’s, and Spurs since then are great examples
Great point, but in the case of GS Kerr is overseeing everything of course and he sets the standards. That is the main job of the NBA head coach anyway, plus getting his players to buy in to what he is selling. In game adjustments are overrated, especially in the regular season.
Your argument might have merit if Walton weren’t a Herculoids and hence inherently awesome.
That block looked pretty clean, actually.
Popovich is pretty damn relevant! Sadly this is a rare case because most NBA players are terribly egocentric
Nice defense by the Cavs with exception on T. Young… LBJ and Love leading the offense.
After one quarter, the Nets are competing with us without a coach
Yeah we suck. We should be up 30 like the Warriors would.
Joe Johnson doe
I just found myself yelling at my TV… “WHY ARE YOU WALKING?”
Seems we have gotten the bad and frustrated JR tonight. Bad decisions on O and terrible D thus far. And of course, still getting hosed by the refs on that strip.
I don’t blame him. He was a model Cav for a year and still got no respect from people. He’s probably figuring he should just be Knicks JR if no one is noticing how well behaved and how well he’s played.
If we get Knicks JR from now on we are toast.
COLS IS ON HIS TREADMILL TRYING TO BURN OFF SOME ” DELLY FAT “
deli fat
ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Haha. Not yet. First have to get the kiddos to bed.
Love looks to be markedly improved early on in this game.
The only things Moz is good at at the moment is sealing his defender in transition and being tall. Thats about it.
What do they mean when they say JR Smith is our TinCup? I dont understand?
The name is from a Kevin Costner golf movie. It was his nickname if I recall
JR Smith is the hole in one for the “All For One” ???
That was a nice alley Oop to Love!
Love looks like his shot is on. Let’s see if the cavs stop going to him…
Almost every offensive possession involving Love and ball movement. Lets see if that holds up until the end of the game, as it has happenes many times in the first quarter only to dissapear in the second half.
beat me to it GCF
Good movement to get the Love triple…
Great play by Bron on both ends. Moz needs stickum again.
Where’s box score Cols? We are losing!
Mozgov isn’t the smartest tool in the shed.
Yeah… and then he goes and does that… ugh…
Good to see Moz return the favor on BroLo…
Air Mozgov!!!!!
Mozgov way to kill the offense!
He has no confidence in his baseline jumper right now…
Nice save by Love that time…
Mozzy with the hands already.
JR just got broadsided and no call. Throw out Brook!
KEVIN LOVE GRABBED THAT JERSEY DOWN LOW SO HARD!!! NO FOUL CALLED. YES.
First play to Kev, but he’s striped.
Looks like JR isn’t suspended.
Kyrie putting up the X’s and O’x in the pregame. Love that. I can see why him and Mozgov don’t have the chemistry after their injuries.
Kyrie just called JJ Barea a good defender! Am I missing something?
Barea is a pesky lil dude.
But a good defender?
Hey, if Kyrie thinks so… it must be!
Game recognizes game.
Hopefully Kyrie doesn’t “dribble around like a tweaker roaming around a trailer park” tonight.
What happened to Karasev? Did the Nets or “Nots” cut him?
Good evening CtB! Your numbers for tonight:
CLE is a 13 point favorite over BKN with an o/u @ 197. Smart money is on a BKN cover and the OVER is a slight smart money bet.
I’ll take CLE 105-93 over BKN… The betting suggests CLE will win this one with defense and efficient offense.
GO CAVS!!!
Don’t spend your mortgage $!!!!
HAHAHA!!! That was spent sooooo long ago Arch!!!
Cavs 150 Nets 49!
Cavs have had problems with Brook Lopez – we’ll see how they adjust tonight.
Okay Cavs 149, Nets 50…..
LOL!
I’ll take a prosaic win, providing we get to see actual basketball. I don’t want to see whatever that garbage Monday night was.
Gonna take more than a win tonight to get over the MLK Day Meltdown, but a thorough handling of the Nets would be a positive step in the right direction… Would love to see them locked in and focused, and delivering a beating like the one on Orlando, where they rest the starters in the fourth quarter…