Live Thread: Cavs vs. Pelicans

Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy had few kind words to spare for his squad in the aftermath of their blowout loss to the often-blownout Minnesota Timberwolves last night. “We didn’t have any energy in practice yesterday, either. It was one of the worst practices I have been a part of in my career…Our problem is sustaining; our problem is that it is a 48-minute game.”

The other problem is that it is a long season, and the Pelicans are looking at significant territory to recoup if they are going to be competitive. Certainly expectations are high, a point which is best made, like so many points about the NBA, by an old friend to the Cavs, current Pelicans GM David Griffin. Speaking upon the occasion of having hired Stan Van Gundy in October 2020, Griffin said:

[Stan] has proven he’s going to win an awful lot of regular season games, winning almost 66 percent of his games in Orlando, better than 60 percent of his games in Miami and for his career, he has a winning percentage above .500 in the playoffs, which is really, really rare. This is a proven winner who can win right now.

Should readers of the blog be wondering if Griff’s projections are thus far playing out, the Pelicans currently have a winning percentage of .405 (with 15 wins and 22 losses). They are resting at the bottom of the rather large middle tier of the Western conference, which is Sacramento Kings territory. The only two teams keeping them presently from the basement status of the conference are the Houston Rockets (11-24) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (8-29).

Here’s Griff riffing for half an hour just before the season started on the “grit, toughness, and a defensive identity” that he wanted the Pelicans to embody this season. (If anyone would like to compare Griff with Cavs GM Koby Altman, who hasn’t given the media a full half-hour of availability since about September 2020, see here.)

One of Griffin and Van Gundy’s key pieces, Zion Williamson, seemed to shrug off the bad loss to the worst team in the NBA:

I still feel the same as I did before the All Star Break. I do still feel like we are almost there. I hate to say it but this, this is the NBA, man. Losses like this happen every so often — not a lot — but every so often, but, you know [starts shaking head], we got to come in tomorrow, ready to play, and, you know, hopefully we will show the world why I said what I said.

[…] Who said it was a bad practice? [Laughs.] Well it was to be expected a little bit. Guys were enjoying the All Star Break. You know it is a long and rigorous season; a lot of guys were probably just resting and enjoying the time with their families or whoever they spend their time with.

If this sounds like dysfunctional underperformance in a ruthlessly competitive Western Conference, it bears reminding that the Pelicans are running just barely ahead of the Cavs in wins and losses. Both teams need to scrap for wins if they are going to be in play-in territory, or, failing that, to default to the omnipresent organization language wherein “building a winning culture” actually means not losing games by insulting margins and having some semblance of a plan as to how to inbound the basketball.

In other news, the Cavs have yet to trade Andre Drummond, and 36-year-old sharpshooter J.J. Reddick (himself the subject of trade rumors) is out for at least a week with heel inflammation. For those looking for additional soap opera angles, Drummond played for Stan Van Gundy in Detroit for several years, but these were apparently harmonious, which is yet more confirmation that Drummond is a good human being.

Larry Nance, Jr., is back in the lineup, Taurean Prince banged his shoulder in practice and is out against New Orleans, and there has been some contractual movement at the guard position.

#Cavs will sign Quinn Cook to a 10-day contract tomorrow and he is expected to make his debut Friday night in New Orleans as Darius Garland is banged up and Matthew Dellavedova remains out. Signing Cook tomorrow maximizes his time with the team. https://t.co/gfxFJlsins

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) March 11, 2021

Kevin Love, who is on a $31,000,000 contract this year, practiced with the team yesterday, as did Darius Garland, but it is unclear if either will play tonight.

If the Pelicans have squandered anything like momentum out of the gates of the All Star Break and are eager to notch their first win after the break, the Cavs still have a blank sheet of paper upon which they can map out a new destiny. Since anything is possible, the Cavs organization put together a short music video that is heavy on verbs, hope, and emotionally manipulative music.

Tomorrow. We're back. See you soon 👊 pic.twitter.com/6ab0Ue6Zry

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 12, 2021

What is professional basketball about, anyway? Making enough threes and finding a defensive scheme that works to win games, or getting chills as you watch JaVale McGee rev up his teammates in black-and-white slow motion before running like a wild banshee into an empty stadium? Sometimes the propaganda hits just where it is meant to. On the other hand, sometimes the same videos that give you chills also flick you with horrific (if temporary) visions, like when they emblazon the word “Build” in gold across the chest of Damyean Dotson.

Here’s a guy who knew something about timing, and when to go big.

So great https://t.co/81YXSGHXim

— HoopsDogg (@oldseaminer) March 11, 2021

When the ball drops tonight it will be up to the Cavs to push back for a change against one of the more moveable walls in the Western Conference. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. EST.