Live Thread: Cavs vs Lakers
2015-02-08]
The moribund Lakers are in town, and despite rumors to the contrary, and ankle and wrist injuries, LeBron is going to play this afternoon. Cleveland looks to start another winning streak against the Lakers who’ve lost 12 of the last 13. Players to watch out for: Ryan Kelly is coming off a 20 point season high, and Jordan Clarkson’s been averaging 14 points a game over the last five games. But I don’t like the Lakers’ odds, with the Cavs being ticked off about their loss to the Pacers. Go Cavs.
and I don’t want to forget giving J.R. a ” little love “—-anyone worried that J.R. would ” shut down ” if he didn’t get his ” number of shots ” should discard that worry after watching todays game—-he didn’t shoot a lot but was still playing hard / tough “D”
Good call nomad… JR certainly competed hard even without the ball today… great passing, tough D…. great to see
i second that… He’s playing like a winner. He can sense it as well.
@JasonLloydABJ: LeBron James aims cryptic tweet at Kevin Love. “It’s not a coincidence, man,” he said. Story: http://t.co/dK0d3hC61u
Trying to decipher LBJ’s tweets would be a tough job for Alan Turing… let alone KLove…
LeBron is so odd.
HAHAHA… he is a bit of an odd ball. I think it’s done more for entertainment than anything.
I actually think this is important. It’s about chemistry, and we’ve all seen how LeBron and Love haven’t had much of it. What’s interesting is that LeBron is trying to get Love to change, to come out of his shell and embrace the group (or something like that). But part of it is, I think LeBron is trying to figure him out. Did you see their slightly awkward airborne celebration today? Further, if NBA guys have a relationship, they don’t air personal matters on Twitter. No, I don’t think it means a trade or anything like that, but I’m curious… Read more »
agreed evil he has been a true ” professional ” on / off the court in the way he handles himself
And he’s only ever said that he’s going to be a Cav for a while…
@RuiterWrongFAN: LA reporter asks Kevin Love if Lakers Re option this summer “I’m a Cleveland Cavalier” any scenario to change your mind? “no”
He sure as hell wouldn’t have the opportunity to go 7 for 8 from three with Kobe on that team!
Great response from KLove… Media won’t leave him alone on this issue, but he’s been nothing but consistent with his answers…
EG – there are some folks ere who claim to be buds with Jerry Buss… they apparently want to dump Lin. If true, should we be interested?
It would have to be a buyout by the Lakers for the Cavs to afford him I think. Not sure you want any part of Linsanity. He tends to completely disappear in games…
Agreed EG…. useless on the defensive end, lost confidence on the offensive end.
He also dribbles the hell out of the ball whenever he has it… At least when LBJ does it, you know there’s a good chance of something awesome happening… With Lin, it’s usually either very little, or a disasterous turnover…
Exactly… I think that’s due to his indecisiveness/lack of aggressiveness going to the hoop or confidence in his jump shot, which he had in NY.
thanks, EG — does sound like he’s lost his mojo.
@twithersAP: LeBron as loose as he’s been all season following today’s game. Great mood. Having fun. #Cavs
One of the most complete games he’s had… only downside was his 6 turnovers. One of Kyrie’s best games of the season… 28 pts on 10-14 shooting, 10 assists, 1 turnover. K Love’s best game of the season, 11-18 shooting, 32 pts, 10 rebounds.
Yeah, KI’s line really stands out. He was also playing some feisty D. I can’t believe he’s only 22. What’s his ceiling?
I think 20pt/10 assist is not unreasonable… Just like to see him make a few more plays for his mates, but other than that I’m not sure what else he can really do better.
I loved Mark Price, he’s still one of my all time favorite Cavs, but Kyrie will probably go down as the greatest PG of this franchise… As far as his ceiling, I think he could be a better shooting version of CP3 if he continues to develop his passing game… and that would make him the best PG at least in the EC, if not the league…
I grew up on Mark Price. Incredibly skilled shooter and passer. Kyrie’s skill-set just seems more varied. The young man can beat you so many ways. I think becoming a floor general–like CP3 and Mark Price –takes time and maturity.
For sure, but you asked for his ceiling and given how much he’s improved in just a few months of having LBJ around, I think he’ll definitely grow into being that floor general… and probably quicker than anyone thought.
recently kingjamesgospell ran a projected trade with the lakers—-haywood ( THE CONTRACT ) and a 2nd rounder for ed davis and wayne ellington—after watching them play if lakers want to deal I would jump on that—YES SOMETIMES YOUR BIGGEST OPPONENT IN A GAME IS COMPLACENCY —-AND PLAYING THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY AND STAYING FOCUSED— but still a good win and fun game to watch
Yes, that looks good. But, is it something the Lakers would do? The first the team gave away in the “rent Deng while injured” fiasco would look pretty good right now.
This was mentioned before in a prior thread… Lakers wouldn’t consider it in my mind.
Someone said that Cavs had three starters with double-doubles. Mozgov probably only had to catch one more pass to have one, too.
Yeah, I said that they were a Moz bucket from having 4 of 5 starters with double-doubles… If TT had two more boards they could have had five guys with double-doubles… Ridiculous!
@SamAmicoFSO: Teams led to believe Ray Allen to decide where he’ll play in next 10 days. Allen concerned with Cavs when LeBron visited, but not anymore.
Cols may never recover if Ray Ray doesn’t sign with Cavs…
HAHA…. I just worry about Allen’s defense. He was badly exposed against the Spurs. He could come up with some big shots though.
Yeah, plus not playing at all means it will take him a while to get into game shape…
Supposedly he’s been keeping himself in shape. I was watching the Bulls vs Rockets game the other night and Shane Battier claimed that he had just seen Ray and that Ray was in better shape than all 10 guys on the floor at the time…
I remember that too coolshah, which would be nice. Again, the defense is a concern… but would be nice to have a championship guy on the team.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if we didn’t already have James Jones, Mike Miller, and Joe Harris. Biggest concerns for me are still backup PG and backup C. What happens if Kyrie or Mozgov go down?
I just don’t see him signing here. He sure waited too damn long to decide. That’s why I don’t have a good vibe about it. WHo goes if we do sign him?
Wow! Cavs shot 55% from the floor AND from three…
They shot the lights out today… their offense could be legendary if they stay at it.
Do you think the 31 assists helped with the shooting percentage? Hmmm! (Maybe not so much with the threes)
Actually I’d say assist help EVEN MORE with three pointers… getting open 3s make them a lot easier.
And the Cavs gabage unit get outscored by other team’s gabage once again.
GEORGE IS GONNA BE ANGRY!
I figured it out Phil…. George is a paid Windhorst shill!
I STILL think George is really just Mark Jackson…
HAHAHA…. another good call EG.
Or George may be Cols’ alter ego. Have they ever posted in the same thread?
AAHHHH the plot thickens….
Who can say? George only comes around to troll when the Cavs are losing…
Second team is something Blatt’s going to have to work on . . .
Actually I liked whom he put out there today… putting Jones and Harris, they at least were able to score. Need to defend better, but I like the shooting.
Is there any chance that Harris can grow into a Danny Green type in a year or two?
His offensive game is better than Danny Green, better shooter, better off the dribble… he’s not nearly as good as Green on defense, but that’s a great comparison in my mind U-Dog.
Just needs to work on his on the ball and team defense… already has the shooting stroke.
13 of 14. Not too shabby!
No reason not to win the next one against the Heat… might be a tougher one in Chicago before break, but I get the sense that they will want to finish strong…
Both are prime time national TV games…. should be energized for those games!
If we keep playing well a number 2 seed is quite possible. If Atlanta gets knocked off along the way we should have home court throughout.
Defense and intensity will be the key going forward.
Most definitely… it has been the prevailing theme regarding their success.
Would love to see that… it’ll be really interesting coming down the stretch because the Cavs are putting pressure on the teams above them with their recent play.
I think ATL would have to lose like 2 out of every 3 games to lose the number one seed at this point, but I like your enthusiasm… ;)
I meant, if Atlanta got beat by someone in a playoff round – we’d have home team throughout.
Got it… misunderstood what you were saying. Agree with that though…
Aw, no Brendan Haywood today.
That disturbs me. If he can’t get in with a 20 point lead, he won’t be any help if there’s an injury issue with anyone.
Marion sat, too. I guess SHUMP had to get somebody’s minutes.
Yeah, but he’s just soooooo bad… (Haywood I mean)
I can’t figure out:
1) How has he been in the league all this time?
2) How did he get a $10MM contract?
Good freaking question U-Dog.
At least as far as his current contract goes, it’s $2.2 million for this year, and a non-guaranteed $10 million for next year. Which he’ll never see.
Marion had an injury earlier in the season.. I’m hoping they save him up for the playoffs… and Shump should get the minutes, he’s been getting better and better.
Only complaint is giving up 105 to this Laker team… and that’s really nit-picking…
Yup… would’ve like to seen the total 2nd unit buckle down a little bit there, but Lin and Young hit some long bombs.. so not too bad.
To reiterate – I like the job Hubie Brown and Mike Tirico did tonight.
Wish he had them more often than Mark “I need a job” Jackson.
Totally agree. Hubie might be a hundred, but he always brings knowledge and even-handedness to the broadcast. Also a big fan of Tirico… even if he does tend to get a little over-exuberant on occasion…
Cavs were just a Moz bucket away from having 4 of 5 starters with double-doubles… And a couple TT boards away from having five guys with double-doubles… Great all around team win!
How much is Miller getting paid?
Too much, 3 1/2 million I believe.
No just 2.7 million…
Thanks for the correction, my bad… still too much but I’ve heard that he is a guy everyone on the team loves.
Agreed, way too much for a guy to have LBJ talk to
Not too much if he keeps LBJ happy… Not our problem anyway since DG is writing the checks…
And if he hits even one big three in the playoffs, he’ll be worth every penny of that…
He is like another assistant coach on the bench. He knows basketball and knows how to be a professional. He has major value besides his on court contributions
That’s a great point Scotch… I see Blatt bring him in because he knows exactly what he needs to do on the court just based off his bball IQ.
Great point too, EG.
Smokin Joe for three! He’s been hitting them with regularity the last couple of Charge games…
As AC said earlier in the season, he just needs confidence… he has the stroke that can be dangerous!
HARRIS FOR THREEE!!! Would love to see him get more minutes! His defense is needs work, but he has offensive game.
Good to see Shump hit a three there… Is anyone guarding Jeremy Lin right now though?
DOUBLE T is! Great block
It’s not a complete game without a DELLY TREY!!!
He really struggles when driving to his left, however.
Good point coolshah… needs to work on that, and decision making on that in general, thought he had someone open at the top of the key there, Jones I think.
Delly trey – better than chalupas.
Trademark that shit U-Dog!
Delly with a much needed trey!
That was a big shot… kept the game out of reach.
HEY! Harris is getting some run!
And RUDY FOR THREE!!!
Harris must be SUPER tired!
HE’s a young guy…. they’re really trying to get him some playing time I’m guessing with double duty.
Annnnnnnd we’re back to fourth quarter ugliness…
At least Shump and TT is playing
Moz has got to work on his hands… Blatt should make him sleep with a ball
He can work on it, but 50% of having good hands are genetics. Teammates need to learn to throw him waist-high or better catchable passes.
Love the highlights of LBJ Jr. Nine years old and he could probably take Jeremy Lin right now… ;)
So, I guess San Diego is the longest sports title drought city… one more year than Cleveland… Still doesn’t feel like it though…
Especially given the fact that Cleveland is a much richer sports city all the way around than SD.
True that… they haven’t had a basketball team since the Clips left
Yeah, San Diego has been mostly a two-team town. So Cleveland still has the lead easily in number of seasons since the last title — almost 150 vs. about 110.
No way they’ll feel the same joy as Cleveland fans will when that drought ends!
No question about that… They still have great weather and Ron Burgundy to fall back on… ;)
SHUMP quietly with 4 steals, 2 blocks, a couple of nice dunks.
Halfway through the fourth..
Lakers: 85
Big 3: 82
Dammit was one point off haha!
The Lakers shouldn’t have 85. Cavs have to work on their killer instinct. Of course that’s a much better problem to have than all the issues they were dealing with the first half of the season.
Probably hard to keep the intensity against such inferior competition though…
Still holding them to under 40% shooting. 17 offensive boards though..
They have some good size with Davis, Black and Sacre… Also Jordan Hill didn’t even play…
WOW…. they normally don’t give up that many rebounds. But otherwise can’t complain about the defense other than the 1st quarter.
Love and Irving can come out now.
Yeah, but kinda glad Blatt went with them a little longer to spare us from all the carnage of the bench… I don’t know if I could watch another full quarter like the Clips game…
Would like to see either James Jones or Joe Harris or both in the last part of the game.
Harris still down with the Charge I think… He played last night
AAAHHH… good looking out EG.
Blatt not going to make mistake of pulling guys too early this game… also they don’t play again until Wed so no big deal on the rest…
KLove with a double double now… And now Kyrie has one as well!! All three of the big three with double doubles!
The big 3 have 83 and counting…
Kyrie really exploiting Jeremy Lin
Kyrie really has perfected the Euro step on his drives. Completely freezes the defender before kissing it high off the glass.
WOW! TT went REALLY high for that lob!
CHALUPAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C’mon Kyrie! CHA-LU-PAS! CHA-LU-PAS!
Love active on D with the nice closeout on Shump’s man.
Blatt wired: “Timo! Bravo! Bravo!”
I like how he’s a cultured gentleman!
If Cavs hadn’t have gotten a bit sloppy in the latter stages of the third, they’d have Chalupas by now…
Why is he not shooting at all? I mean I’m not complaining but how is he not getting shots? We ISO bossing for points or moving the ball? I can’t watch today
Jr. Smith. Autocorrect is the bane of my life
He’s passing a lot and playing good D… Also KLove, Kyrie and LBJ taking most of the threes today…
Why is who not shooting at all?
He’s been moving it really well this game.. Seems like everytime he gets the ball, he’s made the pass for the better–> best shot
AND AGAIN!! Is that a season high?!
Yup! Highest prior to this game was 30 against the Mavs
And Blatt is keeping him in for more!
And Kevin Love with two more 3s to put a nice end to his afternoon :D
KLOVE is MONEY from three today!!!
He’s not shying away from them today! Love how he’s being decisive.
This Clarkson kid is going to be a nice piece for the Lakers going forward I think…
WOW!!! That was some vintage LBJ right there!
There you go… LBJ taking it to the rack
Needs to get better at his FTs though…
He’s looked a lot better with them recently.
And again for the and one….
Just like that after about 5 bad threes in a row a 27 pt lead is down to 16
Not that worried about it, but know what you mean Shumpy… they could easily have more rest if they just kept focus more in games like this…
LBJ promptly drives to the basket for the foul.
Blatt should call a timeout and get these guys refocused
Agreed… probably should’ve called it a possession or two ago.
In fact, right after Irving’s razzle dazzle off the dribble three for a brick haha!
LBJ and Irving stopped running the offense… need to move the ball again.
That looked like a good block by TT….
That wasn’t a goaltend.
Really annoying how anytime this team gets a big lead they just start hucking up bad threes…
I think the Cavs are getting bored and starting to make some mistakes.
Need to get a few more points here… Scrubs need at least a 30 point cushion…
Kind of surprised that LBJ not going for a couple more assists to get the trip/doub
This is like watching the all-star game with all these 3s.
Said it before, but I don’t know how they’re going to play the Three Point Shoot Out in less than three hours during ASB weekend…
I sense a Haywood-Jones-Miller-Harris line up coming to us soon.
As someone called it the other day… the “glue factory” lineup…
LBJ one board and three assists away from triple double now
And Moz’s block was just as sick. YAY for the big man!
If he dies he dies – Mozilla
MOZ!!! Get that weak stuff outta here! So great to see everyone doing EXACTLY what they were brought here to do!
That pass to TT was SICK!
Bounce pass with some side spin.. right on the hands. Too bad Tristan missed the shot
TT and Mozgov need to get on the jugs machine.
Mozzy has trouble catching passes.
Yeah he needs some Odell-Beckham stick-um…
Kyrie and LBJ looks like they’re playing a game of H-O-R-S-E out there…
It feels like the Lakers haven’t contested a shot this quarter… Cavs getting anything and everything they want on offense.
THey have no defensive intensity.
Cavs are just shooting 3s.
But unlike the Pacers game, they are hitting them tonight…
Yeah… if this game wasn’t over before… it IS NOW! LBJ putting on a display right now…
Can the Cavs 2nd unit hang with the Lakers?
Let’s hope so… Maybe they should take Kyrie out right now and rest him until the last 5 minutes just in case…
I agree… I’d like to see some subs right now, but looks like Blatt is trying to ride the momentum.
Almost every time they cut to Love, he has a smile on his face. Even if he is shooting poorly, he is smiling. I think he is having a lot of fun. If he doesn;t re-sign with us, I will be greatly surprised.
I don’t think there ever was a question… to me, I think after the fuss he made about not competing in Minny, it was all about the rings for him.
I think the Browns should really take a look at KLove at QB next year… ;)
HAHAHA…. Amen to that!
sorry guys but the only thing that impresses me about the browns front office is their incompetence. they would mess his head up he might even break up with his girlfriend.