Recap: Cavs 86, Bulls 84 (No Bank Necessary)
2015-05-11
This series has become a full-on war of attrition. The Cavs and the Bulls are nearly evenly matched and the drama has been overwhelming. And I’m only talking about the on-court drama. There are enough stories (real, embellished, manufactured) off the court to fill a small library. Game 4 was a dogfight from start to finish, an often unsavory spectacle befit two midwestern teams. Both squads had prolonged periods of drowning in quicksand: After harnessing all the momentum and looking to stomp on the Cavs’ throat, the Bulls suffered through seven minutes without a point in the second quarter. A 16-0 run by the Cavs during this stretch tipped the balance towards the Wine and Gold. In the third quarter, the Cavs went scoreless for just over seven minutes. The Bulls’ 13-0 run during this stranglehold gave them a double-digit lead, which, in a game like this seemed insurmountable, especially given the battered Cavaliers’ roster. But there would be one more period of sustained “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”-ery, and it was the Cavs defense completely stifling the Bulls pick-and-roll attack in the middle of the 4th quarter. The Bulls managed a measly six points in the first eight minutes of the quarter, and the Cavs regained control of the battlefield behind some timely pipe-laying by Earl Smith III. The final moments of the game will be discussed for a very long time. In the end, Jimmy Butler hit a huge 3, and Derrick Rose turned back the clock a few years, blew by Iman Shumpert, and squeaked a contested layup past the help defense to improbably tie the game at 84, setting up a grueling overtime. But with 1.5 seconds left, Delly pitched the easiest inbound pass of his life to one LeBron James who drilled a line-toed, long-2 off one leg as the buzzer sounded and the United Center crowd gasped for the wind that had been knocked out of its lungs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtyxmzrlDfs
1st Quarter:
The Cavs played very well to start the game. Their half-court defense was tight and they even snuffed out a few transition opportunities for the Bulls. I was curious how they would respond to the lack of Pau Gasol. Intentional or not, Timofey Mozgov got a lot of action in the early going. He intercepted Rose’s first shot: a driving layup attempt. He scored twice in the early moments, including a nasty left-handed facial over Joakim Noah. (Paging Cardale Jones) Defensively he and TT did a nice job in the first half of the first quarter rotating and cutting off the Bulls driving lanes. The Bulls really didn’t get many easy looks, though Jimmy Butler stroked a few jumpers including a 3-pointer that was painfully reminiscent of a healthy Kyrie Irving: he played around with a screener (Taj Gibson) and eventually hopped behind him, took the handoff, and fired away with little space or time. It was one of those “sheesh if he’s gonna make that” shots.
For most of his career, LeBron has used 1st quarters to get his teammates involved. Not tonight. LeBron was measuring his jumper early, hoping he’d play into rhythm and have an outside shot in his toolkit if/when things got dicey.
https://twitter.com/tompestak/status/597485215896973314
Other than a bail-out 3 from waaaay downtown LeBron was coming up empty. So he morphed into the LeBron we’ve seen a little too much of lately, the one that tries to muscle his way against Jimmy Butler and inevitably turns the ball over. In fact, six of the next eight possessions (seriously SIX!) ended in turnovers for the Cavs, and on the “unforced/all-world defense” spectrum they leaned ‘unforced’. The Cavs gave the Bulls the easy baskets that they could not generate against the Cavs’ half-court defense.
Cleveland may as well have 5 Jay Cutlers out there the way they're turning the ball over.
— Patrick Duprey (@patrickjduprey) May 10, 2015
While the Cavs offense undid the Chinese fingertraps that the defense had placed on the Bulls, they started to settle down on offense and found some creative ways to score. TT popped on a floater, Delly backed down Aaron Brooks methodically before stepping back and hitting a Nowitzkian one-legged J. (I’ll have “Places you don’t expect to find effective post play” for $500 Alex). The Cavs trailed just 28-26 after one, but the wheels were quickly coming off the defense.
2nd Quarter:
The Bulls went small with Rose, Hinrich, Dunleavy, Mirotic, and Noah (who played better than his previous stinkfests) and simply shredded the Cavs on three or four straight possessions, leading to layups and/or wide-open 3s. Coach Blatt quick-subbed TT in for Mozgov after Noah secured a miss and converted the put-back. On the next possession, Rose drove and TT got caught in no-mans-land. Rose dished to Noah at the perfect moment and Joakim flushed. As he pounded his chest the Cavs looked defeated. Though it was only an eight-point deficit it felt larger. And more importantly, with Kyrie struggling from the field and LeBron showing no signs of ditching the turnovers, it wasn’t clear how the Cavs were going to outscore the Bulls (since they suddenly had no answer on defense).
Kyrie Irving has now missed 13 of his last 14 shots
— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) May 10, 2015
I’m not sure what Blatt said in that timeout (and plenty of fans criticized him for taking so long to stop the bleeding) but the Cavs defended with a renewed intensity from that point forward. The Bulls missed their next 14 shots, and while some of those shots were certainly makeable, the Cavs pushed the Bulls out of their comfort zone. In particular, they forced the ball away from the Derrick Rose high pick-and-roll action. They swarmed around the half-court to contest all the safety valve jumpers and even managed to force a 24-second violation. Even when the Bulls appeared to have a wide open cutter someone on the Cavs would get a fingertip in there to break up an easy bucket. The Cavs chipped away at the other end by aggressively driving into the teeth of the defense. Kyrie Irving deserves credit for playing through his injuries – despite a total lack of explosiveness he still managed to get to the line and had a sweet BuddyBall! dime to TT who elevated for a ferocious flush over Noah (payback).
Mannnnn I know @JoakimNoah tired of getting dunked on
— Cardale Jones (@CJ1two) May 10, 2015
The Cavs continued their stifling D. There was a sequence where LeBron perfectly anticipated a screen coming to free Jimmy Butler. LBJ exploded off his pivot foot, spun like a pass-rusher, and cut off Butler’s drive down the left side of the paint forcing him into a bad miss. He even secured the rebound. He may be mired in a shooting slump and infected with the turnover bug, but LeBron’s D has been stellar and largely unnoticed.
Kendrick Perkins checked in for the final moments of the second quarter. He popped in a put-back, but was also painfully exploited on defense where he was not quick enough to contest a mid-range J by Rose. He also had a ball bounce off his face which led to a Jimmy Butler transition dunk, although it was an irresponsible pass from James Jones. The Cavs held a 49-45 advantage going into the locker room.
3rd Quarter:
The momentum shifted suddenly when Dunleavy and Rose hit back to back 3s. The Cavs were chucking (but not making) 3s on almost every possession and few of them were rhythm looks. The Cavs were very impatient and although they’ve gotten away with these poor habits over a the last few weeks, the lid stayed on the rim in the 3rd quarter. Eventually LeBron tried to make something happen in transition. He attacked Derrick Rose and ran him over. Rose was still moving so it looked like a blocking foul to me, but they called LeBron for the charge. Worse, LeBron rolled his left ankle on the play. He stayed in the game (LeBron’s ankles are made of carbon fiber). Mark Cuban didn’t like it:
https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/597509672531177473
The Cavs continued to fire away as though they were down 15 with 3 minutes to go.
The Bulls built up an 11-point lead and it felt like the curtain was closing on the Cavs’ season after Tony Snell drilled a back-breaking “why not?” 3-pointer while the Cavs had missed so many in succession. Fortunately, the Cavs scored two quick buckets in the final 30 seconds to end the seven-minute-plus drought.
4th Quarter:
LeBron James started the 4th quarter, leading some to conclude he would play the entire game. J.R. Smith buried a step-back 19-footer to start things off. Then, Mozgov drew free throws and converted both. Shumpert checked in for LeBron around the 10 minute mark, and this seemed to be the ideal time to get LeBron a quick respite. J.R. drilled a semi-contested 3 from the right wing after a nice pass from Delly, who spun away from his defender during a high screen and drove towards the left elbow before jumping and shoveling a pass across his body to the right wing where Smith waiting with his pipe wrench. This clutch triple capped-off an 11-0 run stretching back to the final two buckets of the 3rd quarter. It also tied the game at 68. The Bulls came up empty for almost four minutes. LeBron checked back in and on his first possession he fired a pass over to J.R. (in similar-developing sequence as the Delly-delivered dime) who stroked another triple. Jimmy Butler answered J.R.’s barrage with a 3 of his own, tying the game at 73. (That Jimmy Butler is cold-blooded.) The Cavs recognized the hot hand and on the next possession Moz set a down screen that partially freed up J.R., who ran to the top of the key and in one motion set the net on fire with his 3rd trey off a feed from LBJ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpTaxAY0b4A#t=1m31s
Mozgov really came to play in the 4th quarter. The Cavs ran what I would call the last “real offense” of the night when LeBron swung the ball to Kyrie on the left wing. Kyrie immediately drove into the teeth and Mozgov followed behind the action but from the right elbow. Kyrie dumped off a pass to Mozzy who elevated to flush. He was fouled at the apex by Taj Gibson but he calmly converted another two freebies. Then he corralled Iman Shumpert’s missed runner and put it back to give the Cavs a seven point edge. Just a huge quarter for his confidence going forward.
Following a Bulls timeout Mirotic elbowed J.R. Smith and was called for an offensive foul. Smith gave Mirotic a gentle two-handed shove right as the whistle was being blown and was subsequently assessed a technical. (He’s got a reputation)
The JR Smith experience
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 10, 2015
By this time LeBron decided to slow-walk the clock down as much as possible. He tried forcing a switch of Mirotic in the (very) high pick-and-roll so he could take him off the dribble. It wasn’t very effective but at least the Cavs didn’t turn the ball over. At the other end the Bulls were having trouble putting the ball in the basket. On one possession Joakim Noah missed multiple put-backs at point blank range.
I see @JoakimNoah here to play dodgeball
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) May 10, 2015
Eventually Derrick Rose hit one of his falling-left off-balance 3s that looks like….well this is by far the best description I’ve seen:
Rose leads the league in 3s that look like a dolphin breaching
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) May 10, 2015
Pretty much. His line drive 3 brought the Bulls within as many. On the Cavs’ next possession, LeBron’s little cat and mouse game with Mirotic kinda worked as he methodically plodded his way through a sea of Bulls defenders (but with Mirotic in front of him) and popped in a little floater at the rim. It was a pretty clutch bucket from the King. Derrick Rose drove right at Mozgov who was fighting with Noah in the restricted area. Rose ran into Mozzy’s side and then did a little 360 twirl to sell the foul. He canned both freebies to cut the deficit to three. On the ensuing Cavs possession, LeBron drove into a still-moving Noah but it was LeBron that whistled for an offensive foul. This was with under a minute left in the game. It didn’t go unnoticed that Noah got the benefit of this call despite the fact that:
Noah fouls nearly every time he sets a screen.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) May 10, 2015
Rose short-ironed a 3 that was snatched up by TT and then LeBron went Le-Iso on Jimmy Butler and drew a foul. He gently tossed both free throws through the net. (Even as LeBron’s outside shot has been a disaster he’s now 22 of 26 from the free throw line for the series.) With the Bulls in serious danger, Jimmy Butler hit a filthy step-back 3 right in TT’s eye. (I’m gonna start calling him Olaf cus his blood is so frozen he doesn’t even know what summer does to his ilk.) Cavs Timeout. The Wine and Gold still had possession, up two, and that’s when the madness really started.
The Final 27 Seconds:
It wasn’t clear to me whether the Bulls were trying to intentionally foul or not. The Cavs threw it in to J.R. Smith who kinda fell down and immediately called a 20-second timeout. On the next inbounds attempt they had to call another 20-second timeout so as to not commit a 5-second violation. That was the last of the Cavs’ timeouts. Miraculously, James Jones threw a rainbow that LeBron caught on the other side of the court (somewhat calmly too – I imagine other viewers were stuck in an intense bout of crippling paralysis). Derrick Rose and Mike Dunleavy immediately trapped LeBron. With no one really open near him, LeBron tried to step through the trap and cracked Dunleavy in the face with his forearm/elbow. It was an offensive foul but it was so stunning that something like that could happen in that situation. It was the unthinkable. And then, Derrick Rose turned back the clock and blew right by Shumpert. He finished at the rim with a gentle touch past the incoming help D from LeBron. Tie Game! And the Cavs had no more timeouts! Only, David Blatt didn’t know that and tried to call one before Ty Lue practically tackled him. LeBron scooted his way up the court with Jimmy Butler riding him the whole way. He eventually went all the way to the rack and was completely hacked by Noah, who literally landed on top of him. The ball trickled away and no foul was called. LeBron was so furious with the no call that as he threw his arms up to say “WHERE’S THE FOUL!?” he actually moved Jimmy Butler’s entire body about two feet. (Put another way, LeBron can inadvertently move grown men with a gesture.) It was an egregious no-call especially given the events of the previous three minutes of action. The officials took time to discuss the result of the possession as well as the game-clock which showed 0.7. After the review, they reset the clock to 1.5 and awarded the ball to the Cavs. All it took was a simple juke for LeBron to shake free. And then, the best player in the game kissed the rafters with a pure, rhythm fadeaway that sent a shockwave across all of CavsNation.
And my favorite call:
What a call, @CavsJMike. #ALLinCLE #GoCavs pic.twitter.com/ulFUEcAiy8
— Matt (@mattrph23) May 10, 2015
https://twitter.com/ohiogfx/status/597560587279794176
THIS SERIES. Game 5 is Tuesday. The Q’s going to be electric.
The Q was insane today… And it was just a watch party. It's amazing in here @TheQArena @cavs #ALLinCLE https://t.co/4EMGoZk7ak
— Tim Long (@TimothypLong) May 11, 2015
Commentariat: Where were you and what did you do when the ball went through that hoop?
Nate, EvilGenius and I recorded a podcast tonight. Give it a listen for our takes on all the little subplots and individual contributions to tonight’s win.
New Article up…
I agree with scotch—let’s start the game now—-the beer is cold enough —I can start CONSUMING !!—-the way Sessions is playing for the wizards —anyone out there wish we would have picked him up —just throwing that out there for ” conversation “
Yes, He would definitely help since Kyrie is at 30%
Why the heck didn’t Ray Allen come back!?!?
Haha…
https://www.youtube.com/embed/BkW4lQ05Klk
Can everyone admit that the Cavs would’ve swept these Bulls with Kevin Love? And they’d win in 5 with a healthy Irving and no Kevin Love? That they are overrated frauds year after year?
I mean LeBron can’t shoot at all, he’s getting no help from his supposed other star and they are still tied at 2-2. Frauds. Every single year the Bulls are frauds.
I think they would’ve won in 5 with a healthy big 3.
They would have won Game 1 if JR had played IMHO… They’d be playing to close it out tonight if not for his suspension…
I hope the world sees how much KLove means to the Cavaliers. Of course I hope they go as far as they can possibly go, but I sure do hope the world sees what KLove means to the Cavs.
With a completely healthy roster, we would only lose a game or two in the entire playoffs! And I honestly mean that, not trying to hyperbolize.
We will never know what would have happened. In basketball, you have to play the games. It just doesn’t come down to comparing collections of resumes.
In fact, part of the fun of making predictions is also understanding that any prediction can be subverted by actuality.
Trying to restore the magnificence of the collection of resumes by offering counterfactual predictions serves, I suppose, an emotional purpose.
Yet, in the context of actualities, such predictions are absurd.
So what you’re saying is the things that are plaguing the Cavs this year is what has been plaguing the Bulls the last 3 years.
So yes, in that regard I would definitely agree with you that these Cavs are frauds and will continue to be until they can dominate every playoff series they play in.
The Bulls weren’t contenders when they were healthy. LeBron put an end to that in 2011 playoffs. Frauds. Every year.
From the minute they acquired Gasol I had to explain to friends why the Bulls were pretenders. But what I failed to consider was the playoffs are often about the last team standing. The Bulls have gone from a paper tiger to a legit threat simply by comparing their health to other teams. But I agree that if the Cavs were at full strength, it would be a sweep.
Just saw on Twitter that LeBron has a 25-3 record in the playoffs when Joey Crawford officiates. He is 41-50 when he doesn’t. That’s unbelievable…
I wonder what the record is with Tony Brothers?
Nevermind, that was a bogus stat… It’s actually 13-11 when Joey C officiates and 89-42 when he doesn’t…
That’s hilarious. And also that doesn’t seem like that great of a playoff record for some reason.
Yah, I was gonna say that its more unbelievable that he’s only +13 over .500 if your original stat was true.
Can LeBron carry this team of role players to the next round? That’s the big question. Then we really need Kyrie to get healthier.
If they win tonight then they win the series. Although Howard Beck has the Bulls winning by a hair. As he noted it’s a coin flip. LeBron will need to become efficient LeBron tonight.
@mcten: Mozgov was asked if he thought Joakim Noah was one of the NBA’s better offensive rebounders: “No.” Reporter then asked, top 10? Timo: “No”
He is a bum. Fouls so much and talks endless crap. We win because he sucked at layups. Then he says ” we are right where we want to be”. Lol. I respect Rose a lot for his game and what he has been through but can’t stand Noah. Mozzy is a stud and will have an epic game tonight and will be at the podium w Lebron!
So Mozzy and JR were huge in the 4th, we will need more of them tonight, but I think we need somebody else to go off. Maybe a Delly trey show or a James Freakin Jones sighting. We need spectacular play by many with so many injuries. Bummer that Matrix and Miller seem completely done even tho we have heard nothing about matrix. We need to win this game. Go cavs
Also how about our free throw shooting. We need to keep that up and get to the line. I am hoping Noah gets called on his well documented moving screen early. So glad we have a center who is good at the line. Let’s go cavs
Tom Withers reporting on LBJ’s ankle…
https://twitter.com/twithersAP/status/598138099567210498
I cannot wait 9 more hours. Let’s start the game at noon
timing is everything–my local grocery store finally got in THE ALL FOR ONE IPA —–bought me a case / have them iced down ( in honor of kyrie ) will begin consuming them at 7:00 pm and continue with MORE VICTORY CONSUMATION —GO CAVS —-ALL FOR ONE –ONE FOR ALL
Go NOMAD!
It’s good stuff Nomad.
Keybank Game 5 hype video…
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/598122092379312128
I missed this when it posted, but it’s kind of awesome…
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/596401385886916608/photo/1
Anyone going to the game tonight? Q should be nuts
I think whoever wins tonight will win the series.
I think whoever wins 4 games first will win the series.
Dion Waiters isn’t very active on Twitter anymore.
@twithersAP: #Bulls C Pau Gasol (hamstring) a game-time decision for Game 5. Improved, but team waiting to see how he warms up.
Joey Crawford is apparently the official tonight. He’s a little crazy but at least he’s not lazy like Tony Brothers.
Like who would go on vacation in Cleveland? Cleveland sucks!
I’m gonna mop the Q with your face tonight.
Watch what you say! I’m gonna mop the Q with your face tonight!
I believe that if the Cavs win tomorrow’s game they should sit Kyrie for game 6 and have him as healthy as possible for game 7.
Or play him both games and close it out in 6,
Then rest him for 5 days or so.
Maybe but I believe this series will go 7 anyways. But if the Cavs find a way to end it in 6 it would help Kyrie’s chance of a decent recovery.
But it will be really tough to eliminate Chicago at their gym.
We almost did it twice. If Rose didn’t hit a lucky chuck we might’ve been up 3-1.
I say sit him out this game and see if we can gut it out. Then he’s on four days rest for games 6 and 7 if necessary.
I wish they could, but I’m not sure Shumpert is sufficiently recovered from his groin injury to take Kyrie’s minutes . . . he was terrible on offense in Game 4. And as much as we all love Delly the guy is a 15-minute change of pace player like a poor man’s JJ Barea, not a spot starter. The returns start diminishing rapidly if he has to play starters minutes against the opponent’s first unit.
He’s already said he’s playing…
@NBA_AU: Matthew Dellavedova’s rise from Maryborough is a true underdog story (via @Downtownball).
→ http://t.co/Vg06c9eC5p http://t.co/ICd0xJuTuF
would like to see cavs / wizards series and LeBron and pierce renew their rivalry—how old is Pierce—Father Time has been more generous to him than our gray beards —matrix / miller / etc.—-he is having a very productive playoffs
And the Hawks tie up the series. Looks like Korver may have traveled on that last possession. I’m glad they tied it up. Pierce missed a 3 to tie it up late in the game.
Tight one in DC.
As I typed this Teague drained a 3, extending the lead to 7. So it’s not as tight as I first stated.
good comments / quotes ( espn ) from LeBron about ” THE PLAY ” really supports blatt and their relationship —-his mature attitude / leadership this past year and especially during the playoffs is very impressive ( not the LeBron that left 4 yrs ago ) very gratifying to see—I am sure the media is disappointed –they have been doing their best all season to divide this team —- ALL FOR ONE —ONE FOR ALL —–GO CAVS !!
@TheRealJRSmith: #JWall your suit tho! #Turrrbile #WorstThenCrCharlesDraftSuit
I love JR!
We need to step on their necks and break their will in the next game. If that doesn’t work a heroic ISO 3-Pt buzzer beater by Delly will work. CAVS are gonna rain 3s and the fans are gonna rain saliva on Noah.
100% sure that if there were going to be long term consequences of Kyrie playing on his injured knee that they would bench him.
I’m thinking that it’s a very minor injury at the moment and they will just monitor it and see if he needs to be pulled.
Kyrie may say he’s fine but the physios will still step in at a certain point.
Exactly. Even Kobe can’t argue to play when it’s bad. And he’s the most stubborn SOB the league has ever seen.
Kyrie needs a quick trip to Germany for Kobe’s magic “treatments”.
Tendinitis mostly just hurts. I don’t think its a long term issue.
Game 5 is going to be tough with LeBron’s ankle and everything else.
But Kyrie’s injury is on his foot. That’s what all reports stated.
He has some foot injury, not sure exactly what, but the tendinitis is in his knee.
When you play with a part of your body that is hurting, you commonly injure another part due to over compensating. He has developed tendinitis because he is putting extra weight on his knees to take pressure off his foot and hip. He is at extreme risk of serious injury at this point….that’s why you are seeing him standing in the corner on most offensive sets.
So I had this image earlier … [img]http://swishnba.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/bwtxfczcmae-dec-large.png[/img] But then I saw a link to this site which keeps track of all kinds of play-by-play statistics and let’s you filter: http://tinyurl.com/pjbkhqo (Lebron Playoff shots in the last 10 seconds to win or tie) Interestingly enough, according to their records, he’s only had 13 shots in the last 10 seconds, and he’s made 7 of them. That’s a shooting percentage of 53%, which would actually top Jordan. Also, of those 6 misses, 1 was a half-court heave against the Magic, 1 was the shot Noah prison raped him on right before… Read more »
http://swishnba.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/bwtxfczcmae-dec-large.png
Arggh, can’t edit posts
Kyrie oughta spend the night in Bron’s liquid nitrogen chamber…
rest / ice / elevate / OTC meds and 6 weeks of inactivity are normal treatments for tendinitis so we can do everything but the 6 weeks of rest —-IF THERE WERE CONCERN BY THE SPECIALISTS OF LONG TERM INJURY I AM SURE THEY WOULD SHUT HIM DOWN —kyrie will play on tues and will be an asset on offense ( even if only for a decoy ) main concern is the bulls will constantly attack him on offense exploiting his injury
In other news, it appears that Gasol is out for game five. That’s good news for Timofy Mozgov.
https://www.numberfire.com/nba/news/5237/breaking-down-timofey-mozgov-s-playoff-impact-on-the-cleveland-cavaliers
NBA Gametime reporting that an MRI shows Kyrie has tendinitis in his left knee…
Link from Washington Post… http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/05/11/cavs-kyrie-irving-gets-mri-reveals-knee-tendinitis-foot-sprain/
I heard they’re also reporting Noah has tendinitis in his face.
It can’t be tendinitis… tendinitis is temporary… that face is permanent.
In addition to his right hip and right foot injuries. So Kyrie has no good wheels…
The tendinitis may be from compensating for his other two injuries
Gotta hope the Cavs win in 6 and get the maximum time off.
LeBron says he’s getting treatment on the ankle and will play tomorrow.
At this point, we have to pull Kyrie. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise. If you rest tendinitis, it goes away in a month. If he pushes through it, it might well turn chronic. Which means it could take years to recover.
Kyrie needs to rest his knee. If we lose the series because of that, so be it.
I don’t think it’s up to anyone but Kyrie at this point (or his teammates the next time he asks them if he should play). If he wants to go, he’ll go. Would be good though if Blatt found ways to give some of his minutes to JR, Shump and Delly so he doesn’t have to go 40+ every game…
He’ll play. He can rest after the season.
I got tendinitis in my knee as a varsity fencer in college and let it get chronic–now it’s two years later, and I still can’t fence on my knee for any significant length of time.
Kyrie needs to rest now. If he doesn’t, he’s risking creating a problem that will plague him for his entire career. The worst-case scenario (and I really, really hope this doesn’t happen) is that explosive Kyrie will never be back again. If that *does* happen, look back to this moment, when he could have rested for a month and been fully healed.
Everyone’s different. I played football in high school and had tendinitis in my knee almost every season. Never had a problem with it again. I’m sure Kyrie has the best doctors and trainers to advise him. My point doesn’t change. It’s totally up to Kyrie. Not you or me, or really anyone but him. Best advice would be to tweet at him if you want him to stop.
I’m not arguing with you that it’s Kyrie’s decision. But what you’re describing is the difference between tendinitis and chronic tendinitis. And even in professional sports, trainers seem to underestimate the risks.
I don’t understand that Mark Cuban tweet. What does he mean by secondary defenders. Both times Lebron got called for a charge, it was when Rose got in front of him (shuffling feet non withstanding) and when Noah got in front of him (ditto). Both were primary defenders in the moment or so I thought.
Anyone explain this to me please?
Either way those were terrible calls. Both guys were still moving.
Like Someone can’t step in a guy that’s driving and take a charge (like Andy used to do) instead of going for a block. Cuban’s tilting at windmills.
Funny that Cuban is so adamant about adding a rule to address this, but is totally against changing the hack-a-Shaq… Hypocrisy at it’s finest…
If anyone wants to update this graphic, and recalculate the numbers … it’s out-of-date by a year: http://swishnba.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/bwtxfczcmae-dec-large.png?w=648
“I’ll have “Places you don’t expect to find effective post play” for $500 Alex”
…. classic
as for the United Center, via Obi Wan Kenobi:
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. …We must be cautious.”
and Yoda:
“That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go. [Step Back Jumper I must take]”
Anyone read Windbag’s article this morning? He’s clearly pissed that the Cavs won. I’m actually a bit surprised that ESPN published it. All of the criticism on Blatt’s initial call to have Lebron inbound the ball on the last play is revisionist theory BS. It’s easy to say now because the best player in the game made a tremendous shot. If he had missed it, the rhetoric would have been, “Lebron was 2-for-15 from 20+ feet the last two games, what was Blatt thinking?” Or what if the Bulls had double teamed Lebron from the outset? How stupid would he… Read more »
Unbelievable series so far.
Hoping Kyrie can rest up and be effective in Game 5.
I think Blatt’s genius is his game-to-game adjustments. In-game, not so much. Thank God for Lue!
I’ve heard several times today that it’s generally the assistant coach’s responsibility to keep track of time-outs and inform the coach of how many they have left, since the coach is usually too busy doing other things. Maybe Lue forgot to mention it to Blatt until he dragged him off the court. :)
After calling three in a row just to get a ball in bounds, how does everyone not know how many fouls are left? I think it was more just force of habit for Blatt, since normally you would take a timeout to draw up a play there. Although, even if they did have one left, I’m not sure LBJ would have appreciated stopping his full court drive (which should have been called a foul on Noah anyway).
I dunno. Seems like multiple times over the past few months the Cavs have strongly rebounded after a time out on both sides of the ball.
I have been a high school coach for over 25 yrs ( both head and assistant)–I am not trying to point the blame or excuse —-one of the PRIMARY jobs as an assiitant coach is to keep the head coach informed as HOW MANY TIMEOUTS ARE LEFT AND FOUL SITUATIONS / head coach has too many other things on his mind—could it be blatt might not have been informed ?—-also I think -yes– blatt has made mistakes in coaching / questionable decisions —but he has done a FANTASTIC job of staying even keeled/ positive with all the media scrutiny this… Read more »
Good comment, Nomad. Yes, there are things for assistant coaches to keep track of. They burned a couple in a short period of time and Blatt had a lot to be aware of. Lue did a nice job doing his part.
I made a list of why the Blatt hate on Twitter about the final play call is so overstated: LeBron triggered the inbounds against SA when Kyrie hit tying shot. Blatt designed that play. No one cared. LeBron is our best passer and maybe the best passer ever at cross-court pinpoint passes to spot up jump shooters. LeBron is one of our weaker jump shooters and is in the amidst of an ungodly slump. Bulls were only going to give up a jumper. As evidence of the previous point, Cavs Twitter was full of people cursing James down the stretch… Read more »
I don’t really care about any of it. The best player in the game carried a team of role players to a great win. I don’t care about any of this stupid media drama stuff. Only JR or LeBron should’ve taken that last shot. Since LeBron (who historically has been a good jump shooter) made the shot complaining about it is so so so so dumb.
The Cleveland LeBrons are going to the Finals. It would be nice if Kyrie could start helping.
I agree. I think it was the right call to let LBJ shoot it. But having LBJ trigger inbound to a lineup with JR, KI, and JJ also would have been a great design. That is my only point.
Sure, the problem is that only JR or LeBron was capable of hitting a shot. So I think having them both out on the court was a good idea.
I don’t really care either way. Blatt still seems like he’s good at game planning and getting the guys to buy into him just fine.
He just needs to work on game management. He’ll get there.
Kyrie is a little banged up. He’s played 83 games this year compared to 71 last year and 121 games total before that since he left High School. He could end up playing 100 this season if they game 7 every series through the Finals.
He needs to get healthy fast and figure it out. We’ve seen the Cleveland LeBrons movie before. It’s really tough to drag a team of role players to the title.
I don’t think anyone is saying Blatt should be fired for talking through other options on that last play. What could have done him in was the near timeout that wasn’t. If just one ref had seen (I actually think the one on the baseline did and chose to spare Blatt and ignore his gestures) and given Blatt the timeout, it would have been a technical foul and Bulls ball. Bulls almost assuredly win the game if this happens and Cavs find themselves down 3-1. Given Dan G’s history, I don’t find it a stretch to say that if his… Read more »
Agree that the TO would be legit grounds for firing. That would have been huge mistake.
Lots of smart people on Twitter though are saying that it is insane and unimaginable to want LBJ triggering that last play. I totally disagree with that sentiment. It is hyperbolic narrative building – which is what the whole Blatt/LBJ storyline is about.
I agree. LBJ can trigger that play just fine. People are stupid. The play worked out we are now tied and Blatt and James seem to get along just fine.
I agree EG. Had Blatt called the timeout and got a technical allowing the Bulls to win, “The Timeout” gaff would be up there with The Drive, Red right 88, etc. A very big THANK YOU! to Ty Lue!
I agree Hot Sauce. I think it’s Great Coaching 101. If your best player is struggling or you’re worried he might not have the confidence to take that last shot, you call a play that doesn’t involve him. It takes the pressure off of him, and if they don’t have the confidence to take that shot, then they aren’t taking that shot. But you still WANT him to stand up and say, “NO! I want that last shot”. That’s the mindset you want to get out of your best player. You’re empowering him to win the game, rather than just… Read more »
I don’t get the need for Lebron to go out of his way to explain that he scratched Blatt’s play call? That seems like something you don’t need to talk about unless you want your coach to look bad.
I can’t agree more. The Time-Out issue… that could have been a different story. LeBron doesn’t have the history of final shots like Jordan did. Sure, with 5 seconds or so left, there’s no question where the ball is going, but with 0.8 seconds (when the play was originally being designed) is not necessarily LeBron time. GET THE BALL IN should have been point of emphasis #1. LeBron was 9-29 at that point. LeBron showed the confidence of wanting the shot, so he got the shot (wait, where did all the “LeBron is scared of the moment” haters run off… Read more »
I’d also like to mention that when I watched that press conference, I got the sense that LBJ was basically saying that to try to counteract the “well you only got that because you had the extra time that came from the officials having to review the play” narrative. It seemed like he was trying to get out in front of that more than he was trying to throw Blatt under any sort of bus. In addition, I think without the quote from JR being entirely and egregiously misquoted, the whole thing is hardly a story, but once people went… Read more »
Dwight Howard is soft!
He pulled the rare foul out/ejection combo last night…
Terrific recap Tom! What an awesome end to a hard fought game. Would have loved to have been at the Q with all of those crazy people…
It would be so nice if Kyrie Irving stopped playing like Austin Rivers and LeBron remembers he’s a good jump shooter.
And if Austin Rivers stopped playing like Kyrie. GIVE ME BACK MY SON!!!
Haha. Yeah, I think they had a bodyswitching moment.
Grizz up 2-1, Cols. I’m looking forward to that $50. ;)
I don’t see it happeneing. But if it does the Clippers are going to be the team that screws me.
@ESPNCleveland: Windhorst: I’m not feeling great about the #Cavs right now. They are down on options and it will be hard to keep going like that.
I really hope they can grind out wins over the next two games so that Kyrie and Shump can get 5 days or more off before the next series.
That Vine from the Q is hilarious. The guy in a t-shirt and hat behind the hopping kid in the Irving jersey is just slow clapping while everyone else goes insane. He knew all along.
Man if the refs saw Blatt take that timeout I think he’s out of a job this morning. Lue really saved his bacon and then the King saved him on the final play. Shoo.
I think his job was saved from a playoff letdown the minute KLove had his arm removed.
Maybe not this morning, but possibly/probably after the Cavs post-season run was done. Although, he might also have been strung up by the angry mob waiting for him after the team plane landed…
Just wanted to add that I love this blog & the podcasts.
We lived in Cleveland for a year up to February but moved back to Australia – I have been getting my fix of Cavalier magic through NBA Game Time in the early hours of the morning.
This morning my wife and I were jumping up and down at 6am as Lebron drained the final shot, trying not to wake our 2yr old daughter up. Latest podcast brings every moment back. Great stuff.
Love to hear it! Good to see the dedication from down under!
That is awesome Simmo. I’d say most Cavs fans share in that joy and enthusiasm.
Good on ya, Simmo! Your countryman Delly is doing your homeland proud. Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! OY! OY! OY!
Kyrie might not be hitting his jumpers but he has earned my respect ( and probably all of Cleveland ) with his GRIT AND DETERMINATION —-if we start to hit our jumpers I really believe it will be lights out for the bulls — NOT ONLY AT THE “Q” BUT THE ENTIRE CITY ” OF THE LAND ” NEEDS TO BE CHARGED/ CRANKED UP COME TUES ——THIS IS OUR CHANCE ON NATIONAL TV TO SHOW ” WE ARE THE BEST DAMN FANS IN THE LAND “
Come on now, we all love Kyrie, but he did nothing in the second half of that game. I just watched it again, he was standing in the corner on basically every possession. If he’s not healthy, he should not be playing as many minutes in Game 5. Especially considering Dellavadova has been surprisingly good.
Agree that he should be playing less minutes, but his tires are leaking air and he’s still playing.
With Wall out (or severely limited) for the next few weeks and Atlanta playing as poorly as they are, if we can just overcome this Bulls team I say we reach the finals.
We’re playing ugly basketball – but the Balls reduce every game to ugly basketball. Unbelievable heart & effort being shown by our roster. Go Cavs!!!
And then we just need to pray for Curry / Conley / Griffin to all get in fights and get banned for the finals!
LeBron and the role players is not as fun as the Big Three. But it somehow got the job done. It would be nice if LeBron and Irving could find their shooting strokes. Great defense. Terrible shooting. Cavs showing lots of grit and heart.
The salt is real with Bulls fans right now. They claim this is an NBA conspiracy to have LeBron in the finals. I love how when Jimmy Butler takes four steps on a game tying layup, it’s a great play. Or when Noah pushes off on every battle for a rebound, it’s heart and hustle. But everything the Cavs do is a foul that’s not being called. Worst fans in sports right now.
I wrote this last night, but local Chicago stations are calling the Cavs “lucky”. It’s a joke. We should probably be up 3-1.
As gritty and hard as wins come.
I think Chicago fans are truly hurting, since they know their roster (save one player tonight) was at full strength, they were playing at home…and they still couldn’t get the job done.
Here’s hoping for a recovered Kyrie game 5 and blow their punk asses back to Chitown.
Its funny that nobody mentions Noah mauling LeBron on his final drive. It was so much a foul that even the Bulls fans they call commentators admitted Noah fouled him.
And there were two charge calls down the stretch on James that were terrible too. Gotta give James credit, he can’t shoot right now but he just goes tot he hoop and hopes he gets fouled. It’s taking a toll on him but he’s gritting it out.
We mention it a few times on the podcast…
I was just mentioning that “grit and hustle” assessment of Noah yesterday when JR got his T for pushing. When Noah pushes (on almost every play, but egregiously to TT in Friday’s game) he doesn’t even get whistled for a foul.
I do have to say, as much as it annoys me, it is nice to have such a clearly defined villain. and to boot, one that so far (hope it stays that way) is simply a glorified loser and nothing else.
Perhaps LeBron’s mysterious elbow injury from five years ago has returned…I sadly missed most of the game as I was working and stupidly forgot to DVR it. Monster rooting and hollering at the buzzer beater.Excellent recap Tom. Considering the Love and Kyrie injuries, Smith suspension and LeBron funk, the Cavs are fortunate to be in this place. Best of three series is with two games at the Q. Hopefully the crowd brings it like the watch party did.
So true. All things considered, 2-2 feels pretty good.
I have a feeling that game 5 will be comparable to the boobie Gibson game 6 (2007). After hard fought rode games, the familiarity of the Q will bring out the best of everyone. I would argue that both lebron and KI are due for a serious hot streak.
This schedule is absolutely insane and in no way conducive to good basketball. And next they are playing on Tuesday and Thursday? Bad craziness. I hope Wiz- Hawks goes to 7 too, just to give Kyrie the maximum chance to heal.
Is something wrong with Lebron, too? Or is his jumper just sort of broken right now? If there was one thing you could always say about him it was that he would somehow find his way to 50% shooting on the night. Not this series.
the schedule is conducive to the cavs beating the bulls. d-rose plays worse with only one day of rest between games. from sb nation, going back to game 6 in round one : “In the postseason, Rose has shot under 30 percent overall and 24 percent from three with one day of rest, and the Bulls are 1-2 in those three games. In the two games played with two days between them, Rose has shot 54 percent overall and 50 percent from three in two Chicago wins.” the nba wants james in the finals, and they will have the refs… Read more »