Live Thread: Cavs vs. Nuggets (#DuckSoup)
2018-03-03
Yeah… I know the kind of soup that JR Smith threw at Damon Jones has been revealed to be of the chicken tortilla variety, yet the absurdity of the action itself has me thinking back to the classic antics of the Brothers Marx. Who knows what led to the hurling of the potage… but I can imagine JR issuing the epic warning “Of course you realize, this means war!” just before letting it fly.
Once upon a time (not that long ago… even though it seems like ages), former Cavs coach David Blatt took his struggling team bowling for morale. Now, Swish’s bowling for soup has left a salty aftertaste for a young and reconstructed team that is still struggling to find their footing. While Jones had to do the literal ducking on Thursday after shoot around, the Cavs are left having to do some of the figurative kind from another embarrassing chapter of this Season of Why?
Rather than blow this too far out of proportion (as Twitter did most of yesterday), maybe this soup opera will get JR re-focused on doing the right things on the court. After all, the Cavs need both him and the other survivor of the stew of midseason trades, Tristan Thompson, to return to peak form if the team hopes to get back to the Finals. Meanwhile, JR’s spirit brother, Jordan Clarkson, threw a little pepper of his own at the end of the loss to the Sixers… angrily firing the ball at Dario Saric after a garbage time dunk… and getting himself ejected in the process. More reason for concern? Or, is it good to see some fire from both of the team’s resident “irrational confidence” guys?
Well, we’ll soon find out as the Cavs take on the visiting Denver Nuggets tonight at the Q, a game that marks the return of JR’s inverse, RJ. Maybe just having Richard Jefferson’s presence back in the building will help lift the comedic spirits of the team. Cleveland could use some cheering up, having gone 2-3 since the All Star Break, with all three losses coming at home. Not exactly a recipe for success. Yet, the Nuggets are no slouch, arriving with a 34-28 record and a newly restored Paul Milsap in the lineup… so, the Cavs will have to stir things up defensively to prevail.
Prediction: The Cavs get their offense simmering on high heat from the perimeter to duck another home loss and ladle out some soup to the Nugs in a spicy 127-118 victory.
Catch all the action starting at 7:30 EST on FSO… and of course dish to your heart’s content below…
Bon Appetit… and GO CAVS!
I really hate these uniforms… Cavs are as stubborn in using them as Ty Lue is in playing TT and JR…
Bonfire time
I do think even Holland would be better than JR. He would at least shoot and make some threes
The Cavs defensive debacle is 100% lack of effort and unity. It’s so strange, I can’t ever recall a team with LeBron playing such consistently bad defense. I don’t know if there’s a switch to flip this year. I’m not sure what the coaching staff can even do? There’s evidently no accountability. We can’t blame K-Love and IT anymore. I don’t know – I’d never bet against LBJ, but I don’t even feel confident that this team can make it out of the first round. Guys just don’t play hard often enough and they don’t play like a team. We… Read more »
Yup nance and cedi only hustlers, I think Lues decision to unconditionally give tt and jr big roles really sap the energy from this team
If JR and TT are going to keep getting major minutes from Lue, Cavs won’t get past the second round at best. I feel foolish thinking the team would go 21-5 to close the season. The OKC and Boston games are fading memories, and increasingly looking like outliers. Cavs just can’t lose 4 games since the break at home.
Jr realized better to take no shots than go 1 for 8 , but lue can’t understand to play him tops 10 min
In 8 minutes…
https://twitter.com/CavsFredMcLeod/status/970111939010596864
Good thing TT is so good at inbounding the ball after made baskets, or I’d question why he played so many minutes…
Hahhaha that’s a great point
Someone needs to paint a can of Campbell’s on the side of the basketball in the second half…
If JR hits a huge three in the 3rd to get us going…Are you ready with your best soup memes?
Souped up and ready to go…
KOBY NEEDS TO FIND AWAY TO GET RID OF TY / LAEGEBNBURGERBASKETS
How does Lue not understand that nance is a way way better player than TT and even if he doesn’t start he needs to be getting the bulk of the minutes? It’s obvious to everyone on the entire planet that has ever watched a basketball game except for Lue…SMH
FIRE LONGABARDI
I GUESS IT IS SAFE TO SAY THE SHORT TERM —POST TRADE EXCITEMENT/ OPTOMISM IS OVER—-EVEN WITH KLOVE COMING BACK —THINK THE EASTERN CONFERNCE IS BETWEN CELTS/ RAPTORS ( SIXERS ARE A DARKHORSE )—-SORRY ABOUT BEING A PESSIMIST (AND THE RETURN OF THE CAPS )—–BACK TO SOMETHING MORE ENJOYABLE—-GRANDKIDS !!!
Would Holland be any worse than JR at least he would shoot
Th is such a giant problem. Ruins the offensive spacing and is just not any good on d. The d I will give him cuz the team makes his job impossible. But he cannot keep eating into Nancy’s minutes
Playing Nance with those kind of stats for just 8 minutes is criminal…
It’s completely absurd…does Lue not realize it’s too late to try and bump TTs trade value for this year? does TT have compromising pictures of Lue?
I’m glad TT got famous enough to lose his drive to play basketball and date a pathetic reality show character! #LifeGoals
And the Nuggets are on a b2b. Only hope is that Denver starts to miss, as they got whatever shot they wanted.
I guess Koby should have found a way to trade TT and JR too…
Impossible to do that -their such dead weight
It would be amazing to have two useful NBA players in their places…
Every night it’s either defense problem or offense. It’s all a lack of focus on winning. That’s on the coach
Not able to watch the game but why on earth does TT have twice the minutes of Nance in the first half?
Because Kyrie made it flat!
Hopefully cause nance is gonna come in 5 min into 3rd q till the end
Because Lue thinks TT is good at something…
Hopefully so the 2nd half can be the opposite. Although Nance gives twice the effort in his mins so who knows
Really like the defensive adjustments after giving up 37 in the first quarter.
Well they could have given up 80 in the first half! #BabyPoops
Cavs need to send TT to Canton at halftime….
73 points in one half I mean good god that’s embarrassing
Tired of these last possession of the half wasted possessions…just run something…
He’s only been doing it for fifteen years.
JR Smith with 2 assists and 2 boards in one half of basketball and ZERO shot attempts. THIS IS THE STARTING SHOOTING GUARD OF A PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM. Hopefully, this farce ends soon.
A bowl of soup is headed in your general direction even as I type this…
LOL
Looked like a walk… and then a push in the back… oh well
LBJ finally got the two for one concept…
TT is always just late enough getting on shooters to not affect them…
All Nugs do is push the ball and hit the corner threes… no reason Cavs couldn’t do that, they just don’t
This is ridiculous
Tt killin us
Please cut tt
Cut tt and jr, but that would force lue to only play the good players and that would be a really tough position for him
If the shooting guard isn’t going to shoot (or even defend) you just can’t play him.
I thought lue was the Einstein of defense…???
Lue is the Einstein of nothing
Cavs transition defense is horrible
At least TT can hit that jump stop leaner…
But he still can’t dunk…
Big miss, then the Nuggets come down and hit a three, because of course they did…
not able to watch the game (grandkids ) just checked stats–LBJ j with only 5 shots –is he in ‘chill ‘ mode —-if cavs lose tonight I am going with my 2-3 (or worse ) for next 5 games
https://twitter.com/TheKevinBeard/status/970108570145607680
WTF on the FTL Bron?
Nice work Bron. All you need to do is pretend to shot and flail your arms and it’s free shots.
Big three from LBJ
Too much dribbling that time by the Capt.
Denver on an OKC pace for 148 pts. Sure hoped those days were over
TT and JR combined to cover nobody on that last play…
Tristan Thompson “can” be pretty good at inbounding the ball.
Best paid inbounding specialist in the world…
We just need an overpaid cheerleader that’s 5 foot 8 inches.
Cavs gonna give up 75 this half…
Milsap gets away with the hook… who hires these officials? FFS
It would help if Bron made his FTs too!
What’s wrong with Bron at the line these days?
Bron went straight up and blocked it clean… just a terrible m******f******* call…
I hardly ever complain about the refs, but the Cavs have been getting the short end for several weeks now…getting old…
I hate conspiracy theories. But it feels like there’s something going on here.
Probably doesn’t help that Lebron complains all the time…refs probably get fed up…
Probably doesn’t have anything to do w/LBJ publicly calling out the refs last weekend.
Complete BS! Once again the refs blow a call against Cleveland! I hate the Zebras!
Such a terrible call!
Nice follow by Hood himself and then Larry… Hood has had some tough luck with the shots lately…
I truly loathe that call…I don’t remember that ever being called until recent years…
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/970106359378190336
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/970106357054562304
https://twitter.com/twithersAP/status/970105908964536320
Too many open threes for Nugs…
3 point defense reminds me of mike Brown days
Not the best shot on that long three from Clarkson…he probably should have drove there…
Great dunk by nance
I love Nance! He is my favorite player now!
NANCE!
Nance is a godsend…
WHAM WITH THE RIGHT HAND!
That was freaking incredible!
WOW! Nance!
HOPS LIKE POPS!!