Live Thread: Cavs @ Pacers (#PaceYourself)
2016-02-01
The Cavaliers take their seemingly speedier show on the road for a couple of games before returning home for a quick quartet of contests prior to the All Star Break. Tonight’s foe, the Indiana Pacers, generally live up to their fast and furious nickname… clocking in with the seventh best pace of play in the NBA (currently at 99.57 possessions per 48 minutes). So, we’ll see if the Cavs’ pace (or at least the efficiency of their recent more urgent style) will be enough to match the tempo of their hosts.
Posting at least ten fast-break points in their first five games with Tyronn Lue at the helm, the Cavs (34-12) are averaging 13.8 per game, and are in the midst of a four game winning streak. They will also look for a third consecutive game of getting all three of their stars over the 20 point mark (they now sport a 9-1 record when this happens), as LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin continue to share the ball and the scoring load.
The Pacers (25-22), who had been slowed by a six loss in seven game slump in mid-January, have revved things up again lately, beating the Hawks and the Nuggets in their last two. Paul George hasn’t quite been in gear as much as he was earlier in the season, but Monta Ellis and rookie Myles Turner have helped keep the motor running. The Pacers are also still capable of ratcheting up the defense with Frank Vogel calling the shots, and they’ll undoubtedly be up for this rematch after dropping their first meeting with the Cavs back in November, 101-97.
Probable starting lineup for the Cavs includes: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. And, for the Pacers: Monta Ellis, George Hill, Paul George, Myles Turner and Jordan Hill.
Game time is 7 p.m. (EST), and action can be seen on NBATV and FSO, or heard on 1100 WTAM.
Prediction: Cavs continue to pick up the pace and slow down the Pacers… 112-103.
Let’s pick up the pace ya’ll!
Last 10 possessions of the 4th quarter by the Cavs, 9 total passes, per Brent Barry and the NBA TV crew. “There’s a reason why the 4th quarter was a struggle.”
Not much passing in the 3rd, either….not surprising they had 15 points in the 3rd.
At least LeBron admits they were getting into bad habits of not moving the ball.
Whew!! Cavs squeaked out that one. It didn’t have to go down like this. So many many mistakes. I wish Lue would have took control of the ISO, put in the defensive guards in sooner. If Lue can’t control Kyrie’s ISO. No coach can. This is another reason Mike Brown and Blatt would team Delly up in there.
Kyrie’s ISO worked over SAS. So it’s not like it should be completely erased.
No, there was much better ball movement so much it was praised in the papers. We are ALL talking about this game. It was horrible and Lebron himself acknowledged that.
Glad we got the win, but I consider this our first step back.
Major regression. Can they put it behind them on Wednesday?
All the starters 41-44 minutes….wow
Yeah Lue has been playing them a ton in the first half. Needs to be more disciplined in the first half and trust his bench more so if games are tight, the minutes do not pile up in the 4th
Ah… who needs 20 point blowouts anyway… /s
At least we had a dominant first half /s
Lue was just using the Days of Thunder technique. Let them run half the race their way then run half the race his way and then see whose way was better!
Which one was Nicole Kidman?
DeAndre Jordan, come on
Good win, but still worry about the starters playing so many minutes.
Of the 105 players in the NBA who have attempted at least 100 3’s this year, Kobe has the lowest percentage (26%). Want to guess who is the second lowest at 28%. Odd thing is three years ago, LBJ shot 40% from 3, but took less 3 pointers a game then he does now.
Thankfully that’s over.
Just one please…..
..
Uh-oh. Bron has to make one. Shoulda been JR shooting — he got shoved out of bounds in midair.
Well that was good defensive scheming there. Props for that Lue.
Should be game….but watch LBJ brick the FTs
What’s with all of the KI hate? Delly was 0-4 with 4 TOs in 12 mins. Not every game is perfect. Irving is getting us over the finish line on the offensive end in a game where the whole team is struggling and the other team is playing really well.
Difference between hate and criticism, man…
OK. Fixed.
What’s with all of the KI criticism? Delly was 0-4 with 4 TOs in 12 mins. Not every game is perfect. Irving is getting us over the finish line on the offensive end in a game where the whole team is struggling and the other team is playing really well.
Delly was also +10 in his 12 minutes. Kyrie was -3 in his 41 minutes.
Very little ball movement, which was working well in first quarter… 9 passes in 10 possessions in the fourth quarter… Not all on Ky… Lue rode him this game… Delly doesn’t have to shoot well to be out there…
I don’t think Lue ever had Delly and Kyrie together tonight. That is nice line-up to pass up.
I watched it. It was ugly all the way around. But KI led the O to 15 points in 5 mins of OT. Which won us the game.
That’s not something you want to look at and say this will get us wins in the playoffs.
The other team will never just play well according to the CtB.
Haha. Sometimes I feel like its more: “unless everyone plays perfect at all times, its fair to critisize their imperfections.” I mean, I suppose you can look at the world that way, but it’s kind of unrealistic.
I don’t feel like you guys watched this game…
It’s funny that all the things we criticize the Cavs for, the players also acknowledge it.
I think the Pacers played well, but the Cavs didn’t exactly execute an offense after the first quarter…that’s why people are critical.
They all played poorly in the second half. They won, but it would seem that it was far more of a struggle than it might have been. At least they won though. Hopefully Lue will show them clip after clip of how they played in the first qtr versus rest of the game. Pacers d did pick up tho and shut down transition.
Kyrie is unable to run any sort of offense, he wrecks the rhythm of the team. His hippity hop is not a championship formula.
Man people forget that Kyrie is the type of player that can go off for a double nickel. He’s been back from being out for several months for only about 20 games. He’s going to look ugly sometimes but he can’t get back to that level unless he plays. And he has to play his game. For as bad as he was in the second half he was money in the OT with only one bad possession and he knocked down all his freebies. And he still had 7 assists so he was passing the ball at times.
He got some buckets in OT, but I don’t know that they had any good possessions.
Double Nickle is not championship formula. No idea when people will realize this.
Quinn Buckner = bad announcer who had too much coffee. What a fricking motor-mouth.
Well, they still look like they’re listening to Lue in the huddle… /s
I’d foul them so they can’t take the 3
Lue putting in defensive guards now.
Irving with the worst 20+ point game EVAR
Kyrie handles 0_0
7 assists though. For the amount of ISO you guys have been screaming I thought it’d be 1 or 2.
Is Longabardi past five feet tall? Doesn’t look like it.
Good quality to have in defensive coordinator… no?
Did they just say that Rakeem Christmas is an all star in the D-League? Figures…
He’d be getting MDN minutes right now.
Thanks God they didn’t called the foul on PG. There’s no need to see LBJ brick to FT’S lol
I don’t understand how Kyrie has lost so much of his shooting touch from three. There is a drastic difference btw his confidence before injury and his lack of it now.
It can take a while for things to feel natural again.
Why call a timeout there? Kyrie is the one you want the ball with.
Woulda love to see that open Kyrie 3 to go in, but glad lebron got the rebound and that he didnt get foul. Lets hope they inbound the ball to KI
Boy thank god for TT
Whoops guess that was James with the board
Can’t play TT here.
Lue: Kyrie hold the ball and work some clock
Kyrie: You mean like I’ve been doing all game?
Practice makes perfect, Arch.
At least LBJ got the rebound…
Hopefully Lebron and Kyrie calling my bad in the locker room.
Sounds like an ISO argument
These guys have to be exhausted by now…
Again, why isn’t Lue playing better defensive guards?
Love is certainly proving himself on defense. But there should Shump or Delly out there
How Kyrie’s have played, Im surprised to see he has 7 AST to 3 TO, team high for assist
Even Monta has 5 assists right now
Kyrie needs to stop hanging with Harden. He’s a bad influence. /s
We need 1-2 more good stops without fouling and getting the defensive rebound to win this game
The Cavs may win this, but the 2nd half and OT is as terrible offense as the Cavs have played all year. Brutal.
Love’s defense has literally won us the game. 2 steals and that huge block, plus winning that jump ball after tying up George.
JRs 3 pters kept them in the game. Love’s D decided it
How about that??? When did we ever think we would say that??
Good decision by Kyrie to push the ball in transition… wish the bucket would have gone…
I don’t mean to sound masochistic, but I’d rather watch a game like this than a blowout. Makes it way more exciting.
Just like Cols and I called it, up by 22 in the 4th, oh hold on…
I hope this doesn’t go to additional OT’s. This is some ugly hooping!
For every OT, fans should get a rebate on their ticket price.
Did KLove block that shot???
Interesting possession james
We needed a good look on offense just now, good block by KLOVE
Make the freebies please
This is so hard to watch…….. Like what Love is doing on defense though!!
BIG block from KLove!
Love on point, nice block
What is so difficult about passing the ball??
They don’t trust each other
So much for the players only meeting hashing out their trust issues. Need to do some more trust falls and team building exercises.
I guess Lebron thinks JR can’t shoot
ISO ISO ISO!!!! We love ISO!
ISO IS GLORIOUS!!!!!
you all literally does crack me up with the sarcasm
Ellis is the MVP for the Cavs this game…
Why they still walking it up court?
Have the Cavs had a good offensive possession in OT?
LeBron won’t let Kyrie dribble it anyone.
No more iso for you. Iso for me now!
Lol exactly!!!!!!!!!!
That is hilarious!!!!
I credit him for that decision…
They are going to live or die by ISO tonight
Screaming kevin love is right…that seemed like an easy enough traveling call
Turner showing the flaw of The Process, he is going to be a better two way player than Okafor. Having high draft picks is important but so is actually being able to assess talent, not just draft chalk at the top of the Draft. David Kahn can do that.
ISO Kyrie fail.
Worst ISO possession of the game right there…
Such shiatty basketball…KI making me hate his game
Pacers still moving the ball…
LUE going with the five man rotation.
I think Lue is pushing the starters on purpose. Plus the whole bench was just really bad tonight.
I agree although the bench hasn’t really played.
How would you be able to tell? Lue hasn’t played them enough to know…
Kyrie getting jealous of turner’s 18 footer
He best score now, after playing like ish almost the whole game
ish is the best way by far to curse on forums
Kyrie getting his shot back in the OT tho…
MOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The rare made 2 off the bounce from KI….couldn’t have come at a better time
Big 3 going for 20 the hard way
If Kyrie is going to walk the ball up the floor… move him to the two and put Delly in at PG…