Recap: Cleveland 114, Philadelphia 85 (or, tanks for the win)
2014-02-18It was a rout for the Cavs with little to note besides a ferocious dunk by Dion and a hyper-extended knee on the landing. The dunk and the scary moment are illustrated above. Though he missed the second half, Dion is thankfully claiming he’s ok. Whew! After taking the lead, 7-5 in the first, the Cavs led the rest of the way and cruised to a blowout over the Sixers, to claim their fifth straight win. The Cavs were engaged, energetic, and performed like they were playing for something, and Philadelphia… did not.
Philly’s lone highlight came in the form of a ceremonial two day contract that they signed Monday with area high-schooler, Kevin Grow, a young man with Down syndrome, who scored 14 points in his final two varsity basketball games. It was a touching moment when Kevin was introduced to the arena tonight, and he was the highlight of the game for Philly fans. The story took a sad turn after the game, though, when Grow called his agent and demanded a trade.
(I am, of course, kidding about the last part)
Highlighting the Cavs win, Tyler Zeller had 18 points on 6-14 from the field and 6-7 at the line, all in 25 minutes. He played a nice game offensively, and scored eight of the first ten points for Cleveland. Most of this was because Spencer Hawes was playing a defensive style called, “I’m probably getting traded in two days and I don’t give a ____.” Philly, or Spencer decided that Zeller was the guy they were going to help off of, and he made them pay with jumpers and easy dives to the basket. The 15 rebounds were the best part of Zeller’s night, though most of them came off Hawes’ lackadaisical play. Last week, it was reported that the outspoken conservative uses toilet paper with Barack Obama’s face on it. Playing with a $6.6 million dollar contract and exhibiting that level of laziness, I wonder if Hawes realizes the irony of his position on entitlement reform.
Tristan Thompson matched Zeller’s positive play with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Deng had a quiet 13 points. Kyrie’s night was solid but brief. He stayed engaged and finished with 14 and three assists and a game high +24 in 24 minutes. Cleveland held Philly to 35.6 percent shooting and out-rebounded them by a ridiculous 61-44 margin. Mostly, this was due to a complete and total lack of caring by the Sixers.
As Tom Pestak mentioned in our podcast the other night (paraphrasing), “these guys make millions of dollars as professional athletes, and can’t be bothered to play hard? The thing that makes them winners versus losers is trying?” It’s weird to watch Philly through the looking glass of a fan that watched Cleveland suffer through a miserable 26 game losing streak a couple years ago, and suffered through awful effort-free losses to the Kings, The Lakers, and the Knicks. It’s much easier to watch it from the winning side. But this game would not end.
The Cavs nursed a 20+ point lead throughout the second half, and it was hard to watch. Garbage time lasted most of the last 24 minutes. Cleveland kept up the focus, and Philly kept up their lack of it. Bennett finished with a respectable 10 points and 11 rebounds, though I’d respect it more if Philly had showed up. C.J. kicked in another 10, and Dion 13 in 15 first half minutes. Delly had a nice game running the offense in the second half, but his lack of ability to get his own shot is going to be a problem. He has to shoot better from behind the line and find a way to finish near the basket if he wants to ever be more than a third guard. He finished 1-6 and 0-3 from deep.
The NBA has a real problem on its hands. The Sixers players know that the organization does not want to win this year, and they play to oblige. Remember, this Sixers team is mostly the same one that went 34-48 last year, and so far this year, they’re 15-40. Michael Carter-Williams for Jrue Holiday is pretty much a wash. But last year, the hyper-competitive Doug Collins coached Philly, and this year, it’s obvious that either the team has completely tuned out Brett Brown, or they don’t care if they win or lose. The game tonight was a painfully unwatchable product, and I was rooting for the winning team.
Real or perceived, the NBA has incentivized teams to lose by rewarding the worst teams with the best chance to get franchise changing players. As we’ve learned by watching the Cavs this year, it’s not easy to go from a team that is incentivized to lose, to a team that is expected to play hard and try to win. It’s not a light switch that can be instantly switched from “off” to “on.” And I fully realize the hypocrisy of calling this an inferior product when I, and other members of this blog, rooted for “entertaining losses” over the last few years. We’re now watching players who were the fruits of that awfulness, and I’m complaining about the lack of effort on the other team. But it seems that every year the tanking is getting worse, and more and more unwatchable.
I empathize with players like Thaddeus Young, who has, throughout his career, been an effective two way player. He’s gone from a player whose organizational goal is to make the playoffs and win as much as possible, to a player whose organization just wants to play for next year. Hes faces a situation with few positive short term outcomes: play too well, and your team won’t want to trade you; play too poorly, and no one will want to trade for you. Having spent his whole pro career playing for the Sixers, It can’t be easy for him when the boos reign down. Hopefully, he’ll be playing for a team that competes by this weekend. Brett Brown can’t be happy with the effort Young and the other starters showed tonight, though, either. Brown was still playing the starters with five minutes left, down 30, which must have been to send a message. The players aren’t idiots, though. No man can serve two masters, and no team can serve two goals: try and lose.
Can we ban KJ?????
@Cory: wrong AND sexist! Bravo…
@Raab BWHAHAHAHA!
I’d think the Hill rumor could have more to do with Andy than Thompson.
I don’t get the criticism towards the bloggers. These cats are probably unpaid and go much more in-depth with their analysis of the team than the [edited] gang that writes for the Plain Dealer. I like that the bloggers have different perspective on the team. Do they jump to conclusions? Sure, all bloggers do. So does Zach Lowe. So does Bill Simmons. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a blog thing.
Vesus
That rumor about Hill makes me wonder if there is some truth to the TT for Barnes talk. I can’t imagine why else they would want another PF.
Never second-guess a winning streak and always tripple-guess a losing streak.
The Cavs are young and learning to play in the NBA and learning to play with each other. The remainder of the season will be credibly better than the first half. Playoffs are very possible.
Well, he awesomely added nothing to the conversation.
Be awesome somewhere else.
Raab is awesome. Dude is super Cleveland and a great writer. Didn’t like the uber-nastiness about Lebron but still respected Raab’s writing skills and ascerbic tone.
Just a suggestion for you lazy-ass motherless puds – the Raab Brigade – who write a whining, rambling, uninformed book every time a local athlete doesn’t meet your drooling fanboy needs: Start your own athletic career or shut the fuck up.
I wonder why your audience can’t stand this guy, Cavs the Bloggers??
Just a suggestion for you lazy-ass motherless puds — the KJ Brigade — who whine every time a write-up doesn’t meet your drooling fanboy needs: Start your own blogs, or shut the fuck up.
Lowe isn’t indicating that it is insurmountable for the Cavs to make the playoffs; he is saying they need to consider the price of making the playoffs as an 8th seed vs. looking towards the future at the trade deadline. Realistically, their only playoff shot is for the 8th seed.
Cavs definitely playing much better as of late, but I think people need to be a little more cautious in automatically assuming that all of the major issues that plagued this team somehow dissipated when Chris Grant was fired.
I don’t understand why the Cavs would want Jordan Hill, either. Was he one of these guys that Brown loved from his time with the Lakers? If we’re going to deal with LA, Deng for Gasol makes more sense. But that just seems like a lateral move at this point. Also, I think the Zach lowe article was pretty fair. He certainly doesn’t watch every Cavs game but I know he has seen more of them than the average national NBA writer. The fact is that this recent streak hasn’t been against top-level competition, so the national people aren’t taking… Read more »
Pretty sure they beat Memphis and Wash, both playoff bound. Look, they lost to Sac by 44 freakin points the first time they played them! Context matters! I love when national guys act like they have watched every minute of a team. He writes like Dion is just now passing out to the 3-point line when driving to the middle, when he has literally done that every game this year. But whatever, these articles always, or almost always, have a theme and then force everything to fit that theme, whether it is factual or not. Look, the Cavs could go… Read more »
Nate, the thing to react to is that we’re in a situation where the games we’re playing are beginning to matter more, and not less. Difficult is a losing statistic. It doesn’t matter how difficult our schedule will be if we hadn’t had this 5 game win streak. The streak is the only reason we’re talking about schedule difficulty. Give the kids some credit…confidence is as important as anything when it comes to winning.
Marc Stein reporting that Cavs are going after Jordan Hill. Because another PF is what we need.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/sorting-through-the-cavs-playoff-fever/ Zach Lowe with a sobering look at the Cavs current five game win streak, including a significant change to the Cavs’ defense: (they’re dropping their big man more in pick and roll). He echos a lot of my thoughts about the pathetic play of Spencer Hawes, using language I can’t reprint here. But this about sums it up. Cleveland has to be very careful overreacting to a cute five-game streak. It is tied for the toughest remaining schedule of any Eastern Conference team, Varejao is banged up, and it doesn’t hold the tiebreaker yet over any of its competitors… Read more »
Bennett is now tied for 3rd in rookie double-double’s and of all rookies with at least one double-double, Bennett has played the least MPG. Just sayin…
I love TT! Probably the last guy I’d want to trade. Just my opinion.
If this turn around is for real and the Cavs make the playoffs – Deng might stay. Just about everyone on the team is cool and likable (when they’re not bickering). If the Cavs make the playoffs they’ll be considered an “up and coming” team around the league. It would be smart to stay put. But if we revert back to what we were a few weeks ago – who needs that? So, at this point, no one can’t definitively say whether Deng will go or stay. On the other hand, I do think that Barnes will realize his vast… Read more »
IF we could do Barnes foe Deng trade then I’d do it. Deng is unlikely to sign and Barnes When a starter is solid and has a lot cheaper contract. It may help that Barnes and Kyrie are close friends as well. The downside is obvious, Barnes hasn’t been playing well this season and would be another high potential guy that we have to hope develops the way many feel he’s capable of (like Dion and Bennett). There was also the posibility of a Tristan for Barnes trade mentioned on ESPNs rumours. Basically Chad Ford states that if the Griz… Read more »
This may be unpopular, but I’d rather lose Deng for nothing in the offseason than flip him for future assets or middling picks. If he doesn’t play well enough to propel this team into the playoffs (and hopefully a 6-seed or better), then good riddance. It’s time to start winning games and not worrying about gaining MORE future assets. Anyone who read the first few minutes of Chad Ford’s chat today should know that he disagrees. He thinks the Cavs should dump Deng for any future assets they can get because he will bolt in the offseason. I’m glad he… Read more »
Cody:
No one can judge the odds on that. The season has to play out. The Deng/Barnes move is not one I like in the vacuum, but I’m not opposed to moving Deng for the right piece. If Cleveland could somehow get another small forward, I wouldn’t be opposed to Deng for Asik, if Gilbert wants to pony up the extra cash.
@ Nate
“Cleveland has a better shot at the playoffs with Deng than with Barnes.”
True. But what are the odds of keeping him after the season?
Agreed, Kojo. I’m not a huge Barnes for Deng proponent. Cleveland is figuring out how to use Luol, and despite the dip in his numbers, he’s a player that you take for granted how steady he is. Cleveland has a better shot at the playoffs with Deng than with Barnes.
I love Bennett all the sudden and the main reason is that after a defensive rebound he outlets and hustles down the court and if he doesn’t get the board he is usually the first down the court. His shot is starting to fall and I really think he could wind up beig a double double machine with a little seasoning. Barnes for Deng would be terrible … We are finally starting to get some ball movement and all Barnes would do is stop that. I loved Barnes when he was at UNC and I was commenting on here prior… Read more »
Josh, you nailed it in your post. Kudos.
Guys who write for this blog: try to accentuate the positive a bit every once in a freakin while, eh?
Nate, your “average D-Leaguer” comment is utter BULLSHITE. Way to double-down on the wrong there…come on, man.
Lousy write-up, I’m so sick of hearing about nba tanking… it’s just not an interesting subject and it’s a totally overblown nuance of how the league is setup; get over it. It would have been a different story if the Sixers were hitting their threes. The highlight of the recap is that you don’t say “gum drop bear” anywhere even though you later make a foolish comment about how any average dleague player could get that double double. I totally agree with Josh that you and Factor should be banned from discussing rookie talent… I’d even go so far as… Read more »
Meh, I agree with the overall theme of the article: all CAV performances must be taken with a grain of salt considering the energy level of Philly. Nonetheless, all you can do is play who is on the schedule so props to the Cavs for taking care of business.
Any updates on Dion? Man – I can’t help but think this kid has more upside than KI. I know this is blasphemy is some circles, but his combination of speed, strength and blow by ability is WAY better than Kyrie’s. Hope they are both here for many more years.
While I like the thought of a Deng/Barnes swap for the long term….the last thing this team needs right now is another youngster with confidence issues that Mike Brown doesn’t know what to do with.
With a different coach- yes, I’d do it. With the current makeup- could plunge the team back into chaos.
Deng for Barnes I could stomach because Barnes could replace him in the starting 5. I just don’t want to give him up for guys/picks that aren’t potential starters.
The value he provides as a player and veteran presence this year (and I admit he hasn’t been spectacular) is more important than getting some crappy future assets for him.
deng for barnes would be good trade for both teams—-barnes needs a fresh start—–believe being around kyrie ( good friends ) would help his game—–warriors get a solid veteran presence in deng —–and we are not going to resign deng —might as well get something for him
The recap was pretty tough, Nate, but I see your point. I watched the game and it was laughable how bad the Sixers were. Actually I didn’t laugh, but grew sad watching the sparse crowd semi-cheer for semi-good plays by Michael Carter-Williams. The real story is that the Cavs had a game plan and executed it. They piled it on as good teams in the league normally do and that is a welcome change from some of the stuff we’ve seen this year. I also liked the vibe when Dion went down. A bunch of guys, including MB went to… Read more »
My thoughts: I understand that Deng is being shopped. I know we can’t package him with players, but can we package him with picks? Deng + our 2014 pick could bring a worthwhile player. Otherwise, I would rather see him leave for nothing in the offseason than trade him for somebody worse, future picks, etc. We should be pushing for the playoffs and we need a real SF, like Deng. Also, Amico tweeted something about how other GMs love dealing with David Griffin. That, to me, is a terrible sign. Grant may have been a dick when it came to… Read more »
I think there is quite a bit more positive to take from Bennett’s game last night. He struggled to get a couple shots to fall in the first half. A month ago, his confidence would have been shot and there would have been no way he could put together anything for the rest of the game. He is now ignoring the misses, and he kept playing and grabbing rebounds. He also showed some more flashes of why Grant took a shot with him. He is very dangerous off the pick n pop at the top of the key. He can… Read more »
If they do move Deng, I wonder if they’ll try to trade for Harrison Barnes. I know he’s not having a good season, but he might start over anyone else on the roster.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10481889/luol-deng-made-available-cleveland-cavaliers-ahead-nba-trade-deadline
I agree with both sides- Cavs played better than the recap gave credit for, but Philly was epically bad, and the game became unwatchable in the second half. Some player comments- – I think the best credit I can give Kyrie is this: the Cavs were up 18-10 before he even took a shot. I think he’s really starting to figure out how to actually run an offense. He had some beautiful two-man game work with Zeller early on. – This is going to sound a bit silly, but I’ve been noticing this for a couple games. You want to… Read more »
The Cavs did exactly what they should have done, ran away with a game that was there for the taking. A few weeks ago, that might not have happened. So the progress is definitely there. The game was important in order to continue the momentum from before the All Star break. The Cavs played with the same energy and team mentality that they were before the break. It was great to see. Bennett was fine last night. I thought he rebounded and defended well. I think he was 2-4 through 3. What I think Nate is trying to say is… Read more »
Agree with Tom. Who sez tanking does not work? Obviously it does not always work. But when it does, look out. Examples: 1. How about the Rockets “greatest tank of all time” for Hakeem Olajuwon? They did it by playing a 40 odd year old former allstar (Alvin Hayes?) for about 47.5 minutes a game. I think he led the NBA in scoring, while the team finished dead last. The next year they started the Lottery. That worked out OK. 2. Or, how about the Spurs, for both Robinson and Duncan? How did that turn out? 3. The Cavs did… Read more »
An average D Leaguer could have done what Bennett did? Sometimes your thoughts are just brutal to read. You spend three months claiming Bennett is the worst pick in history and should be traded for nothing because he had a bad first 100 minutes or so as a 19 year old with zero offseason, and when he starts to play really well you write it off as something literally any player could do. You and Mallory should be banned from discussing rookies until at least two years into their careers. It would save you guys a lot of embarrassment and… Read more »
The anti tanking rhetoric is just silly. There will always be bad teams in the league and they will often look like the Sixers. The worst team record wise has been the Bucks and they were a team mocked for NOT TANKING in the off season as they tried to buy a shred of credibility. Of the teams under 20 wins the Lakers, Bucks and Kings were clearly not tanking coming into the season, the Celtics were kind of tanking (they are still over the cap and only 1 player in their top 7 in total mins has less than… Read more »
Ok. Philly is bad. But how many teams are currently on a five game winning streak? Can we write about the significance of that?
I’d trade Jack for Barnes . . . but that’s about it.
As to why I wrote about Philly, and mainly glossed over the Cavs: The Sixers were epically bad, and the Cavs were competent. Aside from that, almost no other conclusions can be drawn from this game. Anthony Bennett was fine, but an average D-Leaguer could have posted his line. Zeller might as well have been playing in an empty gym for all the space Hawes was giving him. I suspect the reason ZPA didn’t play more is because Andy is day to day (and was probably held out because this game figured to be a cakewalk), but Cleveland might need… Read more »
Wow Kyrie and Dion came out playing like wildfire! Good vibes in the air lingering from the All Stars. Kyrie wanted to pass more and Made his Team better last night. Dion was racing around like a man on a mission. I think he would have made 30 points last night as well if it wasn’t for that injury. Man that stinks because things were really starting to come together with Dion. His speed, passing and even the efficiency was improving. Hope he’s not out long. It’ll take a couple of games or so to get back to where he… Read more »
22 points & 21 rebounds from the PF position last night Winning without Andy as Zeller is picking up the slack and looking good.
To summarize an earlier post:
Cavs need to keep Jack in case somebody hyperextends a knee or something. We’re on a path to the playoff and those aspirations can be squashed if we have an injury and Jack has been jettisoned. He’s learning to be a distributor. He’s starting to fit. He’s contributing now.
good win by the cavs/ hope dion is ready to go—need him these next games to continue the ” STREAK “—I like the jack for jammer/ gray better than the Jason terry deal——–has anyone given any thought ( just throwing this out there ) that the real reason that Anderson is not playing/ injured is that teams that the cavs might be talking potential trade (ANDERSON ) have told the cavs no playing time right now ( until after trade deadline ) no team wants an injured product—also cavs may have done this intentionally for the same reason–if he is… Read more »
Tony O I hate to break it to you man. But Bron Bron’s not coming back. It’s just a pipe dream we live in. I know we miss him badly but he’s like the ex that you found sleeping with another man the night before the wedding. I’d rather watch our players grow and develop, eventually beating the Lebron led Heat in a playoff series. I hope u understand, I’m just tired of listening to everyone saying “if he’ll be back”. Agree with your other thoughts. Sergey may very well be Danny Green 2.0! Great win by the cavs! looking… Read more »
Cavs should keep the Jack if Lbron is coming back, other than that they should trade him and let Sergey get some minutes. Sergey is going to be a very good and productive player for Cavs for years to come, hopefully MB will realize that and start developing the youngster.five in a row , not bad at all, they can go another five game and extend it to ten. That would be nice. What’s up with Andy? Is he on shelf in case of a potential trade? If yes , they better get equal or better. Andy has been a… Read more »
Just looked up Jimmer’s stats and they are shockingly good. PER 36 averages of 18.7 points and 4.8 assists and shooting over .400 from three. 16.9 PER, 58.8 True Shooting %. He’s awful on defense, but so are most PGs
Tanking has existed for decades. I don’t really think it’s much different than it always has been other than more media attention being focused on it to feed the 24/7 information monster. Is tanking not just rebuilding? Most teams don’t have the benefit of the cosmopolitan cities and franchises. Even with tanking it’s only half of the equation. You have to draft right guy and forecast how a collection of guys in their earlier 20’s with a ton of money and entitlement will coexist together. I have no issue with the current lottery structure. A hard salary cap is the… Read more »
Beginning to think the real villain with tanking isn’t the NBA but GMs who have decided this is a viable strategy to win even though the data – as far as championships are concerned since so few NBA teams win championships – indicates otherwise. I remember Zach Lowe writing something that suggested teams were now focused on the Pacers’ model as opposed to the Thunder’s model, which had a lot more to do with luck (eg they would have drafted Thabeet instead of Hardem had MEM not picked him). Also I think there may generally be a problem with a… Read more »
We win by 30 and all I know about the game is that Zeller played ok and managed to put up a career game because someone who doesn’t like Obama (at this point who does) was not trying on defense. That 76ers are tanking and that Bennett had 10 and 11. I work sdcond shift sometimes and can’t watch the games. I love coming here to find out how the game went and to decide if I should watch the recording. Usually you do a great job but this recap is alot like the 76ers performance tonight. Does the lowest… Read more »
Tough review Nate. Loved the Grow trade talk.
Anyone else a less than interested in Jason Terry?
KJ,
I’m with you. This whole post was about Philly with a couple sentences about being energetic.
This was the biggest win points wise of the season, we’ve won 5 in a row with Orl tomorrow and it gets no mention. Bennett hit some jumpers, was fast down the court , 2 weeks ago was getting DNP-CD and just respectable?
Also know as a rout. ;)
3 paragraphs on Philly? Umm, ok. Hope Dion is truly fine. He was insanely good in the first half.
Bennett’s second double-double was “respectable?” Oh boy. Here go the goal posts being moved…you heard it here first…