Live Thread: Cavaliers at Spurs
2015-03-12
The wine and gold visit San Antonio, looking to follow up on an impressive win Tuesday night in Dallas and push their record to 2-0 on their current four game road trip.
There’s never any shortage of intrigue when a LeBron James-led team faces the Spurs. Whether you’re flashing all the way back to the 2007 Finals or have more recent memories — the Ray Allen shot, the Spurs dissection of the Miami Heat in last year’s Finals, Kawhi vs LeBron — this is a match-up with some meat on its bones; one that might be a bit more than just “the next game” for the Cavs star forward. Even with James’ notoriously short memory, he only needs to look back to November 19, 2014, to when these two teams met in Cleveland, to find some extra motivation. That game ended with James dribbling the ball off his foot in the final seconds before he could even attempt a shot and the Cavs fell to the Spurs 92-90.
In that game, the Cavs were led by Anderson Varejao’s 23 points and head coach David Blatt went with an eight man rotation, that saw Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Joe Harris as the team’s lone reserves (not counting the two spot minutes from Will Cherry).
The Spurs are playing like the “same old Spurs” again, but this is a very different Cavs team.
Of course, you’d expect all that to mean that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would rest his entire starting five in tonight’s nationally televised game. Apparently not. Both Tim Duncan (hyper-extended elbow) and Manu Ginobli (illness) are expected to play for the Spurs.
Enjoy. Discuss. Go Cavs!
For some pre-game / half-time listening, check out Tom’s segment this afternoon on Dayton Sports Scene:
https://soundcloud.com/dayton-radio/tom-pestak-3-12-15
GREAT ENTRY PLAY out of the timeout!
Kyrie getting mauled and no call. Lebron not driving. Sounds like a recipe for success.
On back to back plays… Leonard definitely whacked him on the arm on the “block”
Keep head in the game guys. Keep your composure. Spurs just waiting to take advantage
Ignore the refs and just play.
My goodness Kyrie.
Spurs get to foul on every possession but never whistled. Come on!
No call for KI, give me a break.
That was a slideshow’s worth of fouls on that drive.
How was there no foul called on the Kyrie drive?
Duncan moves on every pick. Kyrie or whoever has no chance of going over the screen.
He gets the senior discount…
What just happened? Who got the T?
I guess JR did…
Duncan just stuck his knee waaaayyyy out on that screen. No call. Wth
OMG Duncan!! I didn’t know it was 1999
Who got the technical?
Failing to utilize Love. Or Love needs to be more aggressive with Diaw on him. Come on guys.
Lol JR could hear Chuck blabbin on the court.
Charles: “They’re not going to get a good shot right now…”
JR Swishes three…
Do NOT doubt JR with the shot clock running down!
Time to feed it low to KLove. The more we push this into the paint and make them work hard, the better we will be.
lotta of useless turnovers here by Cavs and game is just super close here….its gonna break open sometime in 3rd quarter
Last two minutes of the half – this is where you earn your money Blatt – can you handle what Pop is cooking?
Get Kevin some touches down in the post please.
Duncan getting some calls…
Dang Duncan……
I guess they don’t call fouls on 38 year olds…
The bigs need to show on the pick n roll with Duncan… Parker is getting too many layups. Either trap him or just stop his drive.
This is why most games TT takes Mozgov minutes.
kyrie and parker putting on a show here….then lebron bricks shots and throws ball to fans haha
Tony Parker on a torrid pace. irving gotta step up. get in his grill, be rough, hit him
Parker is not exactly stopping Kyrie either though… cancelling each other out at the moment…
Agree, agree, agree. Parker has shown that he’s feeling every bump more at this point in his career. The physical play is going to wear down on him. I think we need Shump back on him.
Time to put Parker on the deck. Or at least the big has to help a little more.
Okay, let’s clear the floor for these two for a while. Wow.
Who was THAT pass to, LBJ??
To where jr smith should have ran to. He stopped behind Lebron on the break…so not how you practice it
Still, with the way LBJ sees the floor, you would think he’d recognize JR wasn’t there…
Shaking my head.
THE KYRIE SHOW!!!
Kyrie Irving show!!
Man, Kyrie is special. Really truly special
There you go Kyrie! Go at him!!!
Wow. Kyrie knows what we need right now. Punishing them on the inside.
WOW. Kyrie and Parker going at it now. Parker’s hitting ridiculous shots, and Kyrie’s doing him one better.
This game feels juuuuust a little beyond our ability right now. When Spurs are clicking on all cylinders they are just too much for us. We need more time still.
We are going to win. Why is this game beyond us?
Hmm. In the words of James Harden, “I would disagree.” This game won’t be won or lost in the first half. It will come down to the bench in the late third/early fourth, and who has the energy late.
Dont buy that for a minute. Both teams have amazing offenses and playing like it. Cavs have no reason to feel like they can’t hang and win.
KYRIE GOING NUTS!
KYRIE!!! Driving like a man possessed!!
Kyrie is unconscious. Damn!
Kyrie’s floater is money tonight.
Those are the fouls I don’t like from Delly.
Man, the Spurs are ALWAYS moving around on offense…
There were like 4 fouls on that play…
kawhi leonard is great player just incredible on both ends of floor…as great as Spurs are shooting only up 3 on us so Cavs in good position just gotta tigthen up D
I wanted him so bad instead of tristan. It’s an interesting discussion – wonder how their careers would be if they had switched places.
60% shooting is just too much….. Cavs need to wake up on the defensive end. Fight over the screens.
Spurs are hitting a ton of tough shots. But agree, Cleveland needs to “make them feel ’em.”
Barkley can’t pronounce Delly. ‘S OK CHUCK.
Delly boxin out Duncan!!!
Not worth staying up for this when you’re playing 8 on 5.
Charles likes LeBron without the headband…
As do I. Maybe its a fellow sympathetic balder. Mines worse than LBJs and I’m younger than he is.
Those Navy Blues with gold trims lookin real nice out there
My favorites. I wish we could get those skyline concept jerseys that they mentioned in that post a couple days ago.
Cavs tryin to get to 4-2 in them…
San Antonio gets their offense in the half court so damn fast Even when we make a shot, I blink, and they have 5 guys running their offense already with 18 on the shot clock.
J.R. should have given it up there.
Refs are just cheating for them now
Barkley claiming Kawhi is one of the top 10 players in the league.. agree or not?
I do not. He wouldn’t even start on all 30 teams
Name me one.
Golden state, Cleveland, Oklahoma city if Durante is healthy. He’s top 20. I can think of at least 10 players I would take before him. Pop makes him look better than he is
He’d start over Draymond Green. He’d start at the two for the Thunder. They start freaking Andre Roberson. Come on. At least try to have a coherent argument.
Are you trolling or what? If you’re serious, you need to watch more basketball. He’s easily a top 20 player, maybe even top 15, and arguably (arguably) top 10.
Higher than that. top 8 for sure. Biggest all-star omission.
So he’s good enough to start for, and he is almost certainly the best player on, the defending world champions, but there are teams in the league for which he wouldn’t start? That seems counter-intuitive to me.
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/RPM
Yep. To say he wouldn’t start for all 30 teams is just absurd.
Splitter pulling the South American fouls out of his bag right now…
Good action so far. Cavs need to communicate better on defense Spurs are always moving on offense.
Wendy is a lettuce nymph.
Reek flopped on that charge call. Shump was moving sideways and Reek launched himself staight back.
Charges should never be called on passes… lazy officiating…
crazy back and forth game here some great plays some sloppy and brutal ones as well….fun to watch
Wow! This is certainly playoff-esque.
Some home cooking with the refs right now. That’s ok, we’re still leading.
Yeah, that was a questionable charge call on Shump… I hate that call when the guy passes the ball and the defender falls over. Charges should only be enforced on guys trying to score…
Bron seems to want to take it at Leonard… hope he doesn’t let himself get baited too much out of the team game…
Yeah that is looking dangerous. Hope Blatt’s notices and calls some plays for Mozgov inside to get more fouls on master screener splitter
Good thing is he’s making his free throws and is attacking the rim. As the defense adjusts, I think LeBron will too and things will open up for the rest of the offense.
Refs don’t call an illegal screen when LeBron got picked and then Leonard fouls him on the shot and no whistle.
Come on refs!
We need Marcin Gortat to tell Bron to calm down.
Wow. How did Reek get away wtih that moving screen there?
That was a nice shot by Shump
LBJ looking to attack which is a good sign
schumpert shoots like eric snow….not good!
Shump with a questionable shot there.
He’s been making that shot off the dribble with some regularity…
Regularity is a strong word
And then he hits a sweet deep jumper as I hit submit lol.
His longer jumpers haven’t been falling as much lately, but it seems like when he pulls up off the dribble it’s 50-50
Strong drive by LBJ