Live Thread: Celtics @ Cavs
2016-02-05
The Celtics are in town to battle the Cavs tonight. Cleveland is coming off a lackluster performance against the Hornets and an undeserved overtime win against the Pacers. Tyronn Lue’s guys are starting to look like the David Blatt team that would take ill-advised shots, dribble the life out of the ball, and forget that defense is half of a basketball game.Â
However, it’s not all bad. In the overtime win against the Pacers, the Cavs looked transcendent through two quarters. In the loss against the Hornets, they looked amazing through two quarters. In the first half in Charlotte, the Cavs hit 53.5% of their shots and had 11 assists. However, they shot 37.5% in the second half and had just five assists. The Wine & Gold have been falling into old habits the second half of games lately.
Tonight’s game is about following a game plan for four full quarters.
The Celtics have won 10 of their last 13 games and Isiaih Thomas will be looking to score. Thomas is averaging 21.4 points this season and is Boston’s whole offense. Last game against the Cavs, Thomas scored just 12 points. Cleveland will need to keep him from going off. Kyrie Irving can’t be playing from behind on defense or Thomas will make him regret it.
The Cavs also need to move the ball against the Celtics. Boston is in the top ten for points allowed and sports the 2nd best defensive efficiency in the league (98.7). Cleveland will have to get the ball up the floor quickly and get into their offense early in the clock, so Boston isn’t able to set their defense.
And, finally, Kevin Love needs to play like he’s one of the Big Three. He scored 12 points against Charlotte and it took him 12 shots to do so. If Kevin is on, the rest of the team has a lot more room to work with.
I’m predicting a bounce back win, 110-93.
Matthew Dellavedova will miss his second straight game due to hamstring soreness.
Cavs got what they deserved; Im glad. Better to lose than get a meaningless midseason win. That mozgov suvstitution was ridic but Lue will learn
The Warriors and Spurs understand that to be great you have to make it a habit from the regular to the playoffs. But the Cavs don’t. The Cavs just think that the opposing teams will just surrender and give them the W and what’s happening is the total opposite. Again, the Cavs have to make the opposing teams fear them.
Perfect time to fire a head coach!!!! /s
I’ll be fine without the /s
Should we take an over under on how many coaches @cavsdan will be paying by the end of next season?
The East better get a big lead in the first half of the ASG… chances are they’ll be out of shape and horrible in the second half…
LOL….true. I have a feeling they’ll be well connected, though…
Back on January everyone was saying that we’re in a pretty good position and have all the time in the world to improve. Guess what 1 month later, no needle has been moved. Might be worse now.
You know he’s watching. Just imagine what’s going through Blatt’s mind at this very moment…..
I guess he’s on a relief to be sitting where he is
The cavs have certainly helped him getting a job in the future. Vindicated.
Another game lost because of horrible free throw shooting.
Bingo… Can’t go 21-35 and expect to win… Also, you can’t give up 39 points to the opposition on your home floor in the fourth and expect to win…
Ft shooting doesn’t have to do with the mental makeup of this team.
Actually FT shooting is ALL mental so it perfectly captures their lack of mental toughness.
I wonder what puns Comic Sans Dan will tweet out tonight?
I imagine he may have been reluctant to let Blatt go, but went with Griffin. When Blatt was fired, I said he obviously did a great job incorporating the new players in January and adjusting for the playoff injuries. But the players sulked and knew better. This is a very fragile team now.
Maybe it’s the Delly effect. They’ve looked pretty bad since he’s been out.
Silver lining… Delly might be back tomorrow…
The bad: CLE still can’t handle prosperity. LBJ and Kyrie are fat and out of shape.
The good: CLE is more galvanized and spiritually connected.
It has been nine games and a good 20 days since Lue took over. Can somebody explain what we have achieved by sending Blatt away? Other than slowing down our pace (true fact), getting worse on D (true fact), totally screwing up our substitution patterns ( true fact), playing the same, if not more, ISO ball? Please feel free to elaborate.
Locker room is more connected…
Best formula for a championship
I am serious. I try to stay positive, but this is getting difficult to watch. I wouldn’t want to be Dan Gilbert right now, having spent a fortune to see this hapless group of individuals.
I am operating under the assumption that the season was in jeopardy the moment they fired their 1st place head coach who went to the Finals his 1st year in the NBA.
Championship organizations don’t fire coaches 1 1/2 seasons into their tenure and hire a complete noob as a replacement.
Once a dysfunctional organization, always a dysfunctional organization.
I totally get that. So lets all stop pretending we are in the universe with San Antonio and Golden Stae contending-wise. If we somehow, and I cant think of a plausible way, end up winning the chip, it would be the biggest of surprises.
I agree. Regardless of Blatt’s issues with the team, that firing told me they were probably done this season as a championship contender, if they ever were one.
Griffin should’ve just told the players to man up and quit whining about the coach.
At least it’s all on LBJ from here on out… he’ll get all the credit if they win, and he’ll blame cLueless if they lose which won’t be a good luck on him.
The Lakers did….. and won a Championship.
But this is Cleveland!!
And the Lakers have won 16 NBA championship… the Cavs have won???? So this analogy works because???
You stated that ‘Championship organizations don’t fire coaches 1 1/2 seasons into their tenure and hire a complete noob as a replacement’, as if the Cav’s couldn’t become a Championship organization for doing so. But the Lakers did this exact thing….. twice; And won the title both years.
So it’s possible to make it work, if you have two Hall of Famers (Magic and Kareem), do it early in the season (after 6 games), have a team that is unified in wanting a coaching change, and hire a future Hall of Famer as coach.
What are the odds of a repeat here?
Pretty Slim, just sayin’…… it has been done. And the bigger point was CLF basically saying no Championship type of organization would make such a move, but I think that in and of itself it’s not bad strategy; If you think something is broke you fix it. Did the Cav’s make the smart move, that I don’t know.
What Phil said.
No championship organization pulls that kind of move…. The Lakers example you provided merely proves to be the exception that proves the rule to be true.
Don’t forget!!! AND more galvanized… /s
Yep, exactly this. Okay, you want to fire the coach. Wait until the season is finished. This is just utter nonsense. I seriously don’t see this team getting out of the East. Ty Lue has no clue. But that’s what GM LeBron wanted so….
And what makes me most mad is that Lue is not somebody who just came in and needs time to learn the team. He is here for 1 and half year. So, it is totally mindnumbing that he screwed up so many of the things that were working. Right now, I would welcome Marc Jackson or Thimbodeau with rose petals.
The Cavs are just mentally weak right now.
And best of all is that coach Blatt should be smiling right now.
He understands the rotations and match -ups so well if players X, Y,Z is playing down, you play A,B,C against those opponents. He had more experience mastering it . Now, Lue is on a learning curve to catch up in midseason. It almost seems Blatt got it on defensive line-ups more than what we are seeing from Lue. Mostly because Blatt had to because he had to game plan without star players. This is Lue’s 1st game learning to do that on the fly without Love. Not easy
You know when you’re so upset you just start cracking up and laughing like crazy? That’s me right now. I can’t stop laughing. I guess this is a coping mechanism.
All the sudden this team can’t hit FT’s, they keep getting outrebounded and outplayed.
And I believe that they just think that will all the sudden turn the switch on during the playoffs.
Well Ty…
Last year I always wondered why Timo never played the fourth quarter. I thought they were saving him for the playoffs. Looks like Blatt knew his personnel more than we gave him credit for.
Ty Lue’s internship has gone pretty well. I wonder how many credits he’ll get?
Unless the Cavs magically start getting some guys to play better, I’m not even taking it for granted that they can beat this garbage Celtics team in the playoffs…people can call it PANIC if they like, but they’d be dead wrong…
Celtics are not garbage, and they have maybe the best coach in the East.
Compared to supposed championship type teams, they are garbage. Toronto is much better, and I’m not sure the Cavs right now can even beat the Celtics in a series.
I’ll take Boston over Toronto in the playoffs. Garbage is the Knicks or Jazz. Boston has the 6th best point differential in the NBA.
Sometimes its really, really hard always rooting for Cleveland teams. Why couldn’t I have been born an hour outside of San Antonio?
Just move to Dayton! Ask Tom
Cleveland, we have a problem….. They are playing worse since the change.
TT in for Moz late: a huge mistake.
Er the other way around.
Thank you Ty Lue. Welcome Mark Jackson
I couldn’t believe it with the hands of stone. We are very obviously are not a championship team now. So many poor mistakes the last 30 seconds.
This team has definitely went backward under Lue, but I have to say it….they are more connected.
WE DESERVE THAT. NO STAT WILL EVER BE BLAMED ON THIS ONE.
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Lol at Lue on the sidelines
Missed that what was it?
I wonder if Lue has a Phil Jackson-ism after this one. Zen fuego.
LOL… Vegas was right!!! CLE giving up 39 points in the 4th quarter… cLueless!
I guess they really bLue it there on that last play.
Glad you caught that Lued joke daspec!!! HAHAHA!
Wow, did we just lose on a last second shot? Great job gentlemen… great job. Sure is fun to be a cavs fan.
Timo gone.
WHAT ON EARTH WAS LUE THINKING SUBBING TIMO ON TT ON THAT LAST POSSESSION
Cavs deserved to lose that stinker. Maybe this will get the entire franchise to do what’s necessary to get this franchise back on track. The Lue era has been a dud!
We need that #1 draft pick.
No Delly = no win.
we deserved that crap. just a load of…oh man i hope we meet those fake-tough guy terds in the playoffs.
Bill Simmons just orgasmed…
Shump with absolutely no challenge on that shot!?
Can’t risk foul. Contested it enough. Good shot. Shouldn’t have been in that position to lose the game.
BS. They’re bit gonna call a foul unless it’s blatant. You cannot let a team down two shoot an uncontested three. He didn’t even have his hand up.
They called that soft non-foul on JR the previous play…
Sauces tell me Dan Gilbert is on the phone with Thibs’ agent right now.
Hahahahahaaaaaa. What a turd of a game.
Hate to say it… but Cavs deserved that…
Hahaha. What a bunch of dumbasses.
See ya Timo! It was nice knowing you!
(I forgot that JR Smith was involved and no game is ever over either way when he’s on the court…) — Bill Simmons
Who does he work for?
Timo did get bear hugged by Smart tho…
somebody tell simmons that the refs just gifted them an and-1 opportunity to make the game closer.
Somebody ask him how his coveted James Young pick is working out…
Shouldn’t be this close anyways.
are you offing kidding me?!
Way to go fellas…
I’m not surprised this game went this way at all. A lot of it was self inflicted
Moz those hands will get you traded real soon.
Bill Simmons, that call on JR is for you!
Seriously though. Wtf with that foul.
JR giveth… JR taketh away…
That was a total crap call.
Perfectly describes the whole Cavs team this year
What are you doing JR?
That seemed like a pretty weak call!
Of course the foul was on JR
At least Kyrie can still hit the free throws…
Kyrie for Mike Conley. Yeah or nay?
Nay
Conley won’t steal the ball out of LBJ’s hands. Neither would CP3.
Conley is a better PG, but no. Older and going to be more expensive.
Never in a million years.
JR in a lot of the games this year has been part the BIG 3
Cleveland’s half court offense is atrocious. Good luck beating anyone in the West with that clogged toilet set.
(Yeah I’m salty but still)
—- Bill Simmons
Please, please trade the Nets pick for Boogie, Bill. Please.
What?! Lue’s running Doc’s favorite sets from Boston and LA!!!
I totally agree with that quote. The Cavs don’t stand a chance against the Warriors or Spurs with this kind of offense.
I agree, but his tweet was just sour grapes crap from someone whose team was losing. It’s much like calling an ex girlfriend who dumped you dirty names. And I’m sure Billy has a lot of experience with that phenomenon…
Nobody runs down the clock like Lebron James lol
Cavs turned up the D finally, and got some huge contributions from JR and Shump at the end…
You looking to get the MVPipe?
My goodness clock management Lebron!!
JR!! Way to be there!
JR is the real MVP
JR saves the game. Give him the game ball. And let him enter the 3-Pt contest.
Tyler Zeller heard what Cols said about him apparently…
Like I said JR>>>>>>> GOAT tonight!!
JR gets the board and gives it to the right man.
TT the Garbageman!
He and kevin love amaze me…neither is the most athletic in the league but they are always in good position for boards
LBJ doing what he can…
LOL Zeller gettin punked.
I know Lebron has the most points but JR really led on both sides of the floor tonight.
amazing how everyone cutting and moving opens up driving lanes for lebron instead of making him stand there and wait for someone to move. it’s a two-way problem.
That is a great observation.
Lue should be emphasizing that in practice.
You know, I’m sorry, I cannot stop thinking about the “it’s a two-way problem.” Maybe this is the Grand Unification Theory of CtB. I mean, Cols loves the superior driving and shot-making abilities of Lebron and Kyrie. And, hey, “what’s not to like” about that? Those guys can take over ball games. And they have the talent and mindset to do it. But there is this thing called team play which can get you easy buckets. And that can win ball games also. I mean, if the other players were moving before, during and after Lebron/Kyrie drive towards the hoop… Read more »
grand unified theory
The refs should just call fouls on the guy guarding LeBron late before the drive starts so both teams can save energy. — Bill Simmons
haha keep posting simmon’s thoughts, arch. they are making this horrible victory much more fun
Such a bro douche. Hey Bill, you’re almost my age, time to grow up.