Live Thread: Cavs vs. Nuggets (#DuckSoup)

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!