L2tP

Shaping up to be an interesting night of basketball for the Cavs’ offseason plans.  If the Cavs lose to Charlotte tonight, they will be in sole possession of the 3rd most lottery balls in the NBA.  If the Cavs win and the Suns lose, there will be a coin flip.

SBNation breaks down all the playoff and lottery situations, here… well, except for the fate of the Cavs’ draft pick.

If the Memphis (at home) beats Utah at 8:00, then the Lakers are in, and the Cavs get their draft pick.  If Utah wins, then LA can still make the playoffs by beating Houston in LA at 10:30.  Both games are on ESPN.

In the Cavs world, Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal reports that the decision on Byron, one way or another, will be made quickly after the season ends.

The Plain Dealer’s Bud Shaw defends Byron, and Terry Pluto moralizes that Kyrie “still has room to grow.”

ESPN reports that the Cavs are expected to be one of the potential suitors if Phil Jackson decides to return to coaching.

In Lloyd’s Cavaliers’ notebook, he notes that Zeller and Waiters will report to summer league along with the Cavs’ rookies, and that Tristan Thompson will have the option.

Speaking of Canadian Dynamite, Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie, has a fantastic expose on Tristan. Much of Dwyer’s work is based on this report by the WSJ’s Stu Woo.  Woo notes that Tristan was on pace to become the most blocked player in NBA history.

For most of the season, nearly 17%, or one in six, of Thompson’s shots had been blocked. That’s well above the 6.3%, or about one of 16, average for the league, according to NBA.com’s statistical website, and it threatened Danny Fortson’s 16.7% rejection rate in 1997-98, which is the highest for anyone who has attempted at least 500 field goals in a season since 1997, the earliest for which NBA.com has data.

But then Zydrunas Ilgauskus worked with TT to develop some touch and the rest was (or hopefully will be) history.  Woo adds this gem of a quote from TT.

“I got a girlfriend,” said Thompson, who added that he asked her out only once. “Most women are interested in me, because I have dimples and I’m Canadian.”

First member of the commentariat that can come up with a good dimple themed nickname for TT gets a free year’s subscription.

Finally, Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer notes that Gee and Thompson are poised to play all in 82 games this season for the Cavs, as long as they log 1 second tonight.  So they’ve got that going for them.  Which is nice.

As never before, Go Grizzlies!  Go Lakers!  It’s the final countdown!