Recap: Cleveland 90, Phoenix 99 (or, this team is maddening)
2014-01-26
By the end of a game like this, it is hard to form a coherent story line, or put much effort into a recap. The first half was exhilarating, the other, frustrating. Deflating. Disheartening.
The evening began well enough. Kyrie dished six assists in first six minutes, including a CJ Miles three and layups by Tristan and Andy; the Cavs lead 15 to 11 midway through the 1st. Things got progressively better, as Luol Deng and TT completed an awesome fast break with a thunderous alley-oop! A Kyrie dish to Andy, followed immediately by Varejao going behind the back to Tristan…20 to 16 Cavs with 3 minutes left in the first. Kyrie and Dion each scored a couple buckets, and going to the break, Cleveland led 29 to 22. Irving tallied seven points, six assists and two steals, while Tristan rolled up seven points and four boards The team registered 10 assists on 13 baskets, against only one turnover.
For the Cavs, the second quarter was blistering. First, a Tyler Zeller offensive rebound and baby hook, then a Miles three, and eventually two Jarrett Jack pull-ups bolstered the lead to 39 – 26 after a few minutes in the second. Next, the Luol Deng school for young post players started. He beat Marcus Morris in the post for a layup and two freebies on consecutive possessions. Later, he backed down PJ Tucker, and when a double arrived, the ball swung to Jack for a three. Again, the Wine & Gold went to Deng on the block…and-one against Tucker! What? Gerald Green wants some, too? Fine, Deng hit a hook shot over him next time down. The Suns had no answer for Luol down low, as the Cavs ran off to a 61 to 41 margin, eventually ending with an 18-point halftime lead. The Kyrie-Jack-Deng-Thompson-Varejao crew killed it. Kyrie posted 13 points on 63% true shooting, with a lovely 7 assists and 1 turnover; he was +17. Tristan pitched in 10 & 7, and was also +17. Deng offered up a box-score stuffing 12 points, 6 rebounds & 4 assists for a +15. Andy and Jack, respectively, finished +14 and +13 for good measure. As a whole, Cleveland threaded 15 assists compared to 5 turnovers, shooting 55% from the field. The defense was solid, holding the Suns, who lead the league in fast break scoring, to zero points in transition, as part of a 40% shooting half.
The second half started slowly, as for two and a half minutes, the score remained knotted at 61 to 43. Soon, that ended for one of the squads. Channing Frye nailed back-to-back-to-back threes, then Gerald Green, then Goran Dragic; the Suns rallied for fifteen points in 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The lead narrowed to eight, as a sense of dread began to creep up on Cavs fans the world wide. The feeling progressed, as Cleveland could not get a shot to fall; they converted zero field goals in the quarter’s final 7.5 minutes. The quarter ended with the Suns taking a one point lead, 67 to 68. The Cavs scored six points for the quarter. Phoenix wasn’t even particularly outstanding, also missing quite a few makable shots, but the Cavalier offense was about as disastrous as offense gets.
And then it got worse. At one point, Cleveland had scored just nine points in over 15 minutes. In an 11 minute stretch, their only field goal was an Earl Clark heave from a broken play with 0.1 second left on the shot clock. Phoenix lead 81 to 70, amidst a 40 to 9 run, finding themselves in the bonus with nearly seven minutes remaining in the final quarter. Midway through fourth, the Suns were shooting a respectable 47% from the field in the second half, while the Cavs converted an embarrassing 17%.
Things began mildly looking up…a TT dunk off a Jack dime, a Kyrie layup, then he drew a foul taking a three. Suddenly the score was 84 to 81, with five minutes to go, and Cleveland with the ball. Whatever slight momentum was developing quickly dissipated though, as after going up for an offensive board, a Phoenix played rolled into Andy’s knee. Varejao went down, in what was a very scary moment for everyone. Fortunately, he got up and kept playing. He found Deng for layup, then Kyrie drove for freebies before canning a 12-footer. The teams traded buckets, as the score sat at 90 to 87 with a little over a minute left. But of course, Channing Frye drained another from deep, Kyrie missed a driving layup, Tristan was called for an over the back foul…and, ball game. Phoenix wins 99 to 90 in this week’s installment of “the season’s low point”.
What can be said? This is a team that allows 40 to 9 runs. A squad that loses by 44 points to the Sacramento Kings. The low points are consistently usurped by new low points. The troubling spells of complete ineptitude from the early part of the season are becoming less baffling. The explanation is looking simple. The team just stinks. With every extraordinary loss, it seems more probable that the Deng trade was three draft picks for a three month rental, that may not even make the team that much fun for those three months. Tonight was game 44. There is not much time for this to get significantly better. Going into the offseason in this shape? Ouch.
I’ll move on now. The Canton Charge are 16 and 9. Maybe I will turn my attention to those guys. Of course, it won’t be to see Anthony Bennett play.
A few bullets.
- Kyrie looked great in the first half. Active on defense, distributing the ball well. In the second half, like everyone else, he stunk. He finished with 24 points on 8 of 23 shooting with 9 assists. Of course, the second half was 3 of 14 with 2 assists.
- Tristan scored an efficient 17 points on 70% true shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds. Let’s call him the MVP tonight.
- Andy shot 1 of 9 but lead the team in plus/minus…if “zero” qualifies. At least he got up from the scary knee roll.
- Dion Waiters extends his recent horrible stretch. Tonight it was 2 of 5 shooting, for 4 points, with 2 assists and 3 turnovers in 17 minutes. In his last 16 games, he is shooting 35% from the field, while averaging an assist every ten minutes. This is pretty much the opposite of what was hoped for from Dion heading into the second half of his second season.
- The Suns only shot 42% from the field. Markieff Morris paced them with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
IT IS OFFICIAL—-THE CAVS ” PLAY OFF ” RUN IS OVER—-YOU CAN NOW START “TANKING ” ( OR JUST CONTINUE PLAYING LIKE YOU HAVE ALL SEASON ) —GET ANOTHER HIGH DRAFT PICK ( DO NOT ALLOW C.G. BE INVOLVED IN THIS DRAFT )—–AS MUCH AS I LIKE ANDERSON AND DENG/ THEY ARE TRUE PROFESSIONALS—IT IS TIME TO SEE WHAT THE CAVS CAN GET BY TRADE DEADLINE—ANDERSON STILL HAS UPSIDE TRADE VALUE AND DENG PROBABLY IN THE SHORT TIME HE HAS BEEN HERE HE CAN’T WAIT TO GET OUT OF CLEVELAND ( ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE OF RESINGING HIM )—WILL PROBABLY GO… Read more »
I am in agreement with Jeff Phelps comment—-IT IS TIME TO THROW THE BIRTH CERTIFICATES OUT—–YOU CAN’T KEEP GIVING THE EXCUSE OF THIS BEING A YOUNG TEAM FOR THEIR CONSTANT POOR PERFORMANCES—BY DOING THIS YOU HAVE GIVEN THEM A ” BUILT IN ALIBI FOR LOSING “—–COME ON GUYS IT IS TIME TO SHOW SOME GROWTH / PHYSICALLY/ SKILL WISE AND MORE IMPORTANT MENTAL TOUGHNESS——MIKE BROWN YOU DO HAVE ASISTANT COACHES ON YOUR BENCH ( A COUPLE WITH HEAD COACHING EXPERIENCE ) ARE YOU LISTENING TO THEM OR IS THE ENTIER COACHING STAFF INEPT AT MAKING GAME CHANGES AND COACHING THE… Read more »
Anyone an Insider on ESPN? Can anyone tell me about what the “Is Kyrie Irving pouting?” article is about?
I thought the refs suddenly swallowing the whistles caught the youngin’s by surprise, and they didn’t respond. I blame Brown for that. A team down 20 is going to be allowed to play physical, but that means you can as well. The meta-game changes from execution to who is tougher, and the Cavs should have gotten so chippy the refs had to start tightnening it up again. I thought this was the type of gritty team we wanted to be? When shots aren’t falling you have to be able to get to the basket and draw fouls, and when those… Read more »
2012 is looking like a pretty bad draft class after Davis.
Except it wasn’t a bad draft class. It was a terribly evaluated one. Mcw, Giannis, oladipo, and and Noel have franchise changing potential. Adams, olynik, plumlee, Burke, wolters, and Gobert have role player or better potential. I’m sure I’m leaving guys out, too. It’s clear that the teams drafting high are there because they consistently make bad basketball decisions.
On another note – the Cavs were awesome in the first half against Phoenix. I was fired up!
maybe grant can take a lesson from Portland ‘s g.m—don’t draft position — draft the best player at that slot ( trade for position with the your players —who excel from draft / and your team has an abundance at that position—–can you say LILLIARD/ McCALLUM—–I BELIEVE LILLIARD WAS TAKEN AFTER WAITERS—-WHO WOULD YOU WANT RIGHT NOW ON YOUR TEAM
@ Underdog Porter isn’t doing much better. Papers say he’s being sent to the D-league. THis was a very BAD draft class. I agree I wish Brown would surrender the offense to someone else.
can anyone say titanic—–same old stlye of play / and finding ways to lose——same old comments after the game—-no energy/ no intensity— no sense of urgency ( don’t you think by now there would be one/ sense of urgency )—-i—–mike brown always commenting ” I need to look at the film “—-it is an instant replay of the previous 40 games coach—–I had a bennet sighting –AGAIN at the end of the bench ( where he is developing— THE ONLY THING HE IS DEVELOPING ARE BUTT BLISTERS —–HE NEEDS TO PLAY EITHER AT THIS LEVEL OR THE D-LEAGUE—-I THINK THE… Read more »
@underdog I meant that Mike Brown doesn’t fit our players. We needed a guy like George Karl or Brad Stevens. Either a vet coach who has made teams over achieve or a young guy because screw it why not.
Speaking of Trades, Wasn’t Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on the trading block? He could learn under Deng and have time to work on his offense. He was the pick I really wanted that year…
Why in the world did Gilbert pay Mike Brown $20 MM? Why pay anybody (aside from a championship winner) that much? Are you telling me Brown would not have signed a two year contract – even with a young unproven team?
And yes, Brown absolutely needs to turn the offense over to someone else . . . although I remember when we signed an offensive minded assistant coach (don’t know his name) – he was big on having a point guard dominated offense.
@ Underdog
If Grant were picking for fit/need all along, he probably would have taken Harrison Barnes over Dion.
If Grant was picking for fit and a roster that made sense – Otto Porter would have been the pick. Hands down.
The biggest fear about the Mike Brown hiring was that he has never developed players and continues to not do so. He can teach a defensive system to players but he doesn’t develop them in a way that leads to success. Paul Silas developed LeBron, Brown taught him its a good idea to try on defense. The reason this isn’t working is because Mike Brown needs people who will buy in, we saw all the players buying in early in the season but stagnant offense led to losses and players losing faith and to stop trying. We have quite a… Read more »
This Kyrie can’t play with Dion and vice versa isn’t the problem. Brown simply has NO CLUE WHATSOEVER on how to coach Dion let alone offense.
Sorry, Mallory, the Love trade isn’t happening, and it would be a dumb trade anyway. Love is walking after next season, whether he’s in Cleveland or Minneapolis. I also disagree with the assertion that Clark is playing because no one else is/can. The big man rotation needs shortened up. It needs to be Andy, TT, ZPA, and some Deng at stretch four (which would add some minutes for Miles at the three). No, the more I go forward, the more I think that this team needs a new person running the whole shebang. Steve Kerr, David Morway, Donnie Walsh, Kevin… Read more »
James – I completely agree. If losing happens, so be it. But playing Bennett just ‘because’ isn’t really going to help anyone – they were doing that at the beginning of the season, to absolutely abysmal results. It’s time for him to go to the D League. Clark is playing minutes because, frankly, there is no one else to play over him. Really, all the reasons you’re citing point to one true failure: Grant’s inability to construct a roster that makes sense. Right now the Cavs are filled with misshapen pieces – too many dribblers, not enough shooters. Too many… Read more »
Mallory – I 100% agree that winning begets winning. I think the Cleveland.com article on Luol Deng’s thoughts is good, essentially saying that the players need to start really holding each other accountable. I don’t want to tank and lose on purpose, but I also don’t want to play Deng 40+ minutes a night while Anthony Bennet sits, Delly is the Great Disappearing Act (starts one game, gone the next), Waiters gets super inconsistent minutes, and Earl Clark plays over, well, anyone younger than him. I think right now the team is in this strange Playoffs-or-Bust mentality that doesn’t make… Read more »
I suspect that this team will win just enough to appear to be in the hunt for the 8th seed in the putrid East. Of course, it’s a mirage to think that a team as bad as the Cavs will suddenly turn into a winning team after the break. Ultimately, I think the Knicks and Wizards will be battling for the 8 seed. Meanwhile, let’s hope for some more lottery luck and better drafting. I had hoped the Cavs would take Noel or Oladipo in the draft. I was scared that they’d take Alex Len. I wasn’t thrilled that they… Read more »
James – I appreciate the positivity, I really do. But if this is the year to “let the young guys grow,” then what was last year? And the year before? At some point the young guys need to…ya know…grow up. In the modern NBA, where teams like Phoenix, Indiana, Golden State, and Portland become contenders via smart moves, not a million top-5 picks, there is no reason to expect growth quickly, efficiently, and effectively. If the Cavs miss the playoffs, so be it. But to say that you think a team with FOUR top 5 picks, even more first rounders… Read more »
@Everyone, I think everyone needs to calm down. My post earlier was referencing to this year, not MB, CG, or the Cavs as a whole for the foreseeable future. Let’s remember that if the Cavs extended their brilliant first half into the second, we might be talking about how MB is a genius and CG put together a young bunch of potentially great players and this home stretch would serve as a springboard for the future (Oh, how optimistic I was after our recent win over the Nuggets…) The Question Presented by this game is our prospect for making the… Read more »
The tanking talk is becoming completely moot. They can’t win if they’re “trying.” Cleveland should just change their name to the Shermans.
While I agree with many of the comments being posted here about the team in general – the reason we lost the game last night was that we were unable to shoot the ball in the second half. Yes, Phoenix tightened its defense some, but if you go back and look at the 3rd quarter again we had plenty (and I mean plenty) of good looks that we just missed. After a few misses the pressure was on and the shooters began to choke. Then we reverted back to the old “losing” style of offense we play. Then, since we… Read more »
Wow. Terry Pluto just took the gloves off on Mike Brown! If Terry Pluto is writing a hit piece, you know things are bad. http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf/2014/01/theres_no_excuse_for_how_mike.html I am an eternal optimist, but its hard to see how this ship gets righted this year. Losing games like they did last night point to deep problems that transcend talent. One of the writers here (maybe Nate?) wrote a nice piece a few weeks ago about the “it” factor that teams need in order to win. Whatever “it” is, we ain’t got “it” right now. And “it” seems very far away. But at least… Read more »
Corey- I feel your frustration about NBA league pass. I had it for a week before canceling because it was so flukey. On PS3, it only worked 1 out of the 4 games I tried to watch. I’ve been watching on nba-stream.com it seems to work a little better than League Pass once you get through all the ads.
I know, Happy. I know. And that’s another dagger in what is supposed to be a good coach. How can you sit there- loss after loss- and call out YOUR TEAM for lack of effort. Isn’t it the coaches job to get the team ready to play? Every time MB does that- criticizing his players for lack of effort- he’s completely oblivious to the fact that not only is he publicly saying “I can’t get my players to play hard every night”- he’s simultaneously destroying his own credibility with his players, by trying to divert the blame to them instead… Read more »
@grover13
That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Notice how we went from a no-excuse close to blaming the team’s “effort” every night?
Here is why Dan Gilbert is a F#cking moron. I do not believe that bringing in Mike Brown was Chris Grant’s decision. Watch the interview and how dead inside he looks when he’s announcing that we hired Mike Brown, it’s almost like he just knew it wasn’t going to work. I also like that literally every new Head Coach in the NBA aside from Kidd is over achieving with their team. While Mike Brown is the only guy who moved teams that is actively underachieving. Mike Brown consistently fails to change anything, they saw what we were going to do… Read more »
@Arch-
Sadly, even if Grant is fired, MB isn’t going anywhere. That’s a Gilbert hire. I think the only way Brown leaves is a proverbial walk-of-shame after years of losing, to the point where he’s just too embarrased to collect a pay check anymore.
“Why is he the only one Brown doesn’t hold accountable?”
Thank you, TV63! I have been saying this all season. People in here complaining about Waiters need to pick a new sport. Yes, he makes maddening mistakes. He can also make plays that nobody else on this team can make outside of Kyrie. He needs to be encouraged to make these plays, not benched for arbitrary reasons. Mike Brown is destroying him because he’s not a Mike Brown guy.
All of our best players are worse than last year on offense (Varejao, Kyrie, Dion). This is the coach’s fault.
It’s also the media’s and fans fault. Everyone thought Jason Lloyd’s piece about Kyrie making the all star game was so good… maybe our offense isn’t talented enough to change our best offensive player and take away his green light???
Dion is awful. The guy has no basketball IQ and makes the same stupid mistakes and takes the same stupid shots game after game. But hey, it ends up working on average of once a month so its bound to happen again at some point right? I really don’t like watching him play. Blame it on coaching but eventually, you have to look inward. I think he’s jealous of Kyrie so he takes the same type of jump shots with 15 seconds left on the clock or decides to drive and throw up a completely ridiculous shot that has no… Read more »
I was unable to watch the second half of the game thanks to NBA League Pass Broadband being the great rip off since Belfort sold penny stocks to stupid hillbillys that work at GM. I was irate. I dipped into the Sherman zone for 20 minutes. As a 30 year-old adult I threw a temper tantrum. I broke a glass…After the game I was okay with not watching that meltdown. This team is god damned madding. Living in LA I’ve ripped the shit out of Lakers fans who could ignore their team if things weren’t going well. I now envy… Read more »
Phoenix made adjustments in the second half. MB simply just got outcoached by Jeff Hornacek. Chris Grant got to be fired. MB should be fired..again haha. Someone should tell Kyrie it’s not a street ball. What’s up with 6 assists in the first quarter and only 3 the rest of the game? he should avg 10 assists per game. Get him a tutor. TT is not a starter..maybe CG drafted AB hoping to be a starting 4 but didn’t work out. No excuse for being young, that’s why you have a HC to guide you. Get a new GM a… Read more »
“The low points are consistently usurped by new low points.” Exactly!
Just a little 411 on clutch pts . (NBA stats) Kyrie leads he entire NBA in clutch points at 102 over Lebron. Deng is 39; Andy is 30; TT and Jack are 25, CJ miles is a miserable 7 and DIon is 32. SO why in the hell is Brown leaving out your 3rd best player in clutch for Jack or CJ?? It’s assine and inexcusable coaching.
You spoke of shooting%. Kyrie was 8-23 while Miles was 5-11. Brown only played Dion 17 mins and you expected a win? Love him or hate him, he has been the 2nd largest shooter so what does Mike Brown do? He rewards Jack with 28 mins only for Jack to produce 8 pts, 2 asst 2 rebounds and lousy defense. WhOOP DEE DO!!! Delly had 25 seconds! I’ll say it again Bench plays better D and moves the ball when Delly is in. Even if it’s 5-8 mins; it’s enough to get better production .How many losses does it take… Read more »
If/when the Cavs fire GM Chris Grant, who should replace him? And would Brown last under a new GM?
Well said on Dion, Grover. I don’t understand how they can waste 10 seconds of the shot clock every time he touches the ball. Give me Delly who at least gets the team in position to initiate the offense quickly. Dion’s defense is better than it used to be, but when the pressure is on, Kyrie, Dion, and Jack just pound the rock.
Nate,
Nice thoughts on Tristan’s perimeter defense. As the second half, and my spirits, imploded, I conceded much in the way of analysis for the game. The “MVP” award wasn’t necessarily a token of great honor. The team scored six points in a quarter. Everyone stunk to some extent. I’ll stick with Tristan for MVP, but I don’t think he should add it to his resume.
Jim: Brooklyn is 9-1 in their last 10. Jason Kidd was a much better hire than Mike Brown. Kevin: I have to take umbrage with your “Tristan Thompson, MVP” award. Tristan was the reason the Cavs lost this game, and why things fell apart in the third. Tristan’s inability to guard stretch fours is becoming a gigantic issue. Teams know how to exploit it and it’s killed the Cavs in three of the last five games (Denver, Chicago, and now Phoenix). Give Jason Kidd credit for figuring this out and destroying him with Paul Pierce a few weeks ago. Since,… Read more »
@Jim: Wow. If that is the explanation, that is brilliant. By that logic, I should be ready for the NBA in no time.
What a kick in the nuts. After the first half, I thought the Cavs had turned a corner- Kyrie running the offense like a real point guard, Deng running the offense as a post player, active off-ball movement all over the court, and solid team D. Second half: – Kyrie goes from true floor general back to over-dribbling and shutting out the rest of the team. – Varejao was at least 0-5 from the elbow – Cavs leave open three point shooters all over the court – After the starters blew the lead, from the end of the 3rd through… Read more »
Kid is doing good, they are 20 and 22, not bad for the first year coach. Phoenix is a good team and the team just didn’t shoot well. I still think that they should sign Deng and get another good free agent and a good draft. It’s hard to give up on these guys, there is potential but I don’t know if there is a good Teacher and mentor. There is not many good coaches out there that you can pic from and losing faith in this team is not my pedigree . It’s pretty to root for this team… Read more »
@Matt, the Cavs claim Bennett can develop more as a player by sitting at the end of the bench in the NBA and watching the games. Apparently this type of “development” only applies to Bennett and not the other rookies who have spent large parts of the season in the D-League.
So what is the explanation for Bennett not being in the D-League? Just that it would be embarrassing to the organization? Or that it would hurt Bennett’s feelings? Either way, I don’t see how sitting him on the bench is a better plan. This seems like such a no-brainer it really makes me think this organization has no clue.
Obviously not going to happen, but I wish we could hear Deng’s candid thoughts on Mike Brown after being coached by Thibodeau.
No way Chris Grant survives if/when this team misses the playoffs. The Cavs made a conscious decision to contend this year and it has failed miserably. Not a single move Grant made in the least year has worked out or as planned: 1) Jarret Jack – Overpaid and Jack looks like a middling veteran. At best. 2) Earl Clark – Terrible. 3) Anthony Bennett – quite possibly the worst #1 pick of all time. Is getting DNP-CD on a regular basis and losing minutes to Earl Clark. 4) Deng trade – Good trade on paper but it hasn’t had the… Read more »
Uncle! This one is on Mike Brown. Just awful! Let’s look at 3 years ahead and plan for that time frame. Get what you can for Kyrie/Deng, fire the two stooges (Grant, and Brown). And find a real nba FO that can assess and develop talent. Maybe in 10 years they can be contenders.
Some credit should be given to the Suns, who shot fantastically well in the 3rd and played hard, tough D.
There were so many great things that happened in the 2nd quarter. I don’t think its time to give up yet on this team. They are young and learning how to play.
I forgot we had Dion Waiters.
A few quick thoughts: That loss was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. There is no hope. I’m willing to give one more season a #tankstrong effort. Chris Grant better not screw this next one up (I hope he stays, but that’s a subject for another post…) Why in all that makes sense did Mike Brown play Luol Deng for 40+ minutes? Not to be crazy here, but when we were up by 20 I kept hoping to get our beloved Anthony Bennet some playing time, and give Deng some rest for his Achilles… Why is Earl… Read more »