Podcast Episode 80: Mopey Mo, LeBron Finds his Shot, and the Cavs’ Threats
2016-01-03https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/podcast-episode-80-mopey-mo-lbj-finds-his-shot-and-cavs-threats
Happy 2016, everyone. Tom, Evilgenius, and I are back in the podcast booth this week going over (almost) all of this week’s Cavs news. We celebrate the Cavs’ 3-0 bounceback week with a bevy of questions. Is LeBron’s shot really back? Why is Mo Williams is so mopey, and what should the team do about it? Who are the Cavs’ top threats in the East? The West? Are the Cavs’ establishing a system? Is this team’s roster set? Is there anyone they should add? Would Markieff be a good complement? Is Mozzy back to being Mozilla? What’ve we been doing on our Christmas breaks? Plus, as a special bonus outtake, we discuss the league’s worst hair.
As always, you can listen above, on SoundCloud, or on iTunes.
Great podcast guys. EG hit it on Thompson or Delly being the third most important player thus far.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said team plans to get former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett more time in D-League. Bennett has back issue. —- Sam Amico
He must be on the Delly diet plan?
The only, ONLY redeeming thing to that horrible pick was the fact that no one else in that draft has amounted to much. But man, what a horrible pick.
It was hilarious during the summer of Lebron I kept having to read on another (non Cavs) board about how ripped AB was, and how he was going to be a ‘monster’. He. Can’t. Play.
Should Delly have been the number 1 overall pick that year?
Sounds like Love is questionable with an illness tonight, and no DeMarre Carol for the Raps.
Thanks Tom, EG, Nate. Really enjoy these podcasts. Was Very happy to hear Nate’s NY resolutions to do more. Some moments were just hilarious
Report: Mo Williams arrived late to Saturday’s game, barely joined teammates in cheering
http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/01/04/report-mo-williams-arrived-late-to-saturdays-game-barely-joined-teammates-in-cheering/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Dave Mc actually reported this after the game. I was surprised you didn’t post it then, you’re usually on the case.
I guess I missed it. It’s discussed in the podcast a little, but I thought I’d add the article regarding Mopey Mo!
I don’t have much use for Mopey Mo. They need Flaming Mo. Or even Flaming Homer.
Thanks guys, this was excellent. I selfishly hope you can do it every week, but I will look forward to them regardless.
Regarding Whiteside, he’s going to get the max from somebody, but I think they are going to regret it. He is a class A bonehead, and might be the most immature player in the league. In that regard, I hope the Heat give him the max.
The latter part of this month is going to tell us a lot about the team’s progress. We play the Spurs twice, and the Warriors, Mavs, Clippers, and Bulls. Also Houston on the second night of a back to back in Houston. I’m excited to see the team healthy against stiff challenges.
W,W,W,W,W,W,W
No match
You’re either delusional or a troll. Either way, I shouldn’t even respond to any of your posts.
Reminds me of the scene in Casino, back when Deniro actually acted and wasn’t looking to cash checks.
When he had to fire Joe Bob Briggs character- Your either in on it or too f’n dumb to recognize it; Either way you’re outta here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcZHSGyos6g
Agreed. We will, without a doubt, be 73-9 this year.
Good podcast. I really enjoyed the detailed analysis of Cavs defense. Yes Whiteside is better than Howard for Heat. I was surprised there wasn’t much discussion on Cavs offense such as why are they still not doing well shooting the 3 ball? You talked about Lebron, JR and then TT’s free throws but not much outside of that on offense.
They shot the three well against Phoenix, and even though they struggled against the Nuggets from the outside, they still had open shots and just missed them.
Kyrie still hasn’t found his shooting form, but you have to believe that will come eventually. Their percentage wasn’t stellar in the Orlando game, but they still hit 12 triples.
All that to say, as long as the defensive intensity is there, even if Cavs are not hitting their shots… they should still have no problems beating most teams. The shooting will come around…
Yeppers. And we know that they ahve that extra playoff defense gear from last year.
It will if they create more side to side ball swinging. They are still taking a lot of threes that are somewhat contested based on perimeter pasing or simple drive and dish from one side of the court. Their offense isn’t very creative right now.
I was kinda hoping Kyrie would be doing the 3 point shooting challenge in All Stars because when he is practicing…….. it BENEFITS Cavs Big Time. But yeah I know he is still rehabbing. Just love seeing his shot return.
I’ve been pretty happy with the Cavs three point shooting, because they are taking good shots. They haven’t been falling at the rate we’d like, but the looks are good. When that is the case, they eventually start falling. Three pointers for most guys are about rhythm and offensive flow. When its slightly out of synch, that little error is too much for a long shot. LBJ is the prefect example. When he gets an open three look and really sets his posture, he is a great shooter. When the offensive is a little herky jerky and he’s just trying… Read more »
Great pod, guys. The Cavs can’t afford to give up on Mozgov. I don’t think the move to the bench has been the reason for his recent uptick. He is simply getting healthier. We didn’t see the kind of elevation that he exhibited last year until some recent flashes. I truly believe he will be fine. The Cavs need him against the Spurs and/or the Heat. The Cavs distributed their minutes against the Warriors exactly like the Warriors did for the Cavs. In big games, most teams play 8 man rotations with some sprinkle. Yes, even the Spurs do that… Read more »
Nice breakdown Ben!
I didn’t event realize that mid-range 2’s were that insignificant, but it makes sense the way you describe it.
I think most people, other than Col’s agree that Mo is not as vital as Delly and many others on the roster.
Agree on Westbrook!! He can do it all! Offense, passing, assists, defends, blocks , rebounds. Curry doesn’t do all the things he does.
Problem with Moz is he has hands of stone. For every one pass he’ll catch on a pnr or cut to the basket, he’ll bobble 3 which lead to to’s and fast breaks the other way.
Westbrook has been killing it for 15 straight months. He is a monster of a player that is the closest to talent+insanity that Jordan was. Curry’s game is unsustainable, I believe. He’s still great, though, but is given too much credit for his defense. Its not that great. I agree with you on Moz, and health being the primary factor. However, I think the move to the bench has been more helpful for him mentally because it takes some of the pressure off him. He’s a guy that needs confidence. I also agree with you about Mo (we agree a… Read more »
Wish you’d post more, Ben. Agree with your ballot, but I’d still flip Curry and Leonard. End of the season, it might be different, but at this point, I’d still pick Curry.
Right now (not 18 months ago, or four months from now) LeBron is the league third best player behind Kawhi and Curry.
Leonard is not a better player than LeBron. Leonard cannot carry an entire team on his back like LeBron can. Put Leonard on the Cavs in the Finals and we get swept by 50 points every game.
This is nuts. Leonard is good, he’s a great defender who just doesn’t have the ability on offense to be the focal point like LeBron. I wish people would quit comparing stats of low usage guys with guys who carry their teams.
I’m gonna get Cols’ back on this one. Curry and Kawhi have been playing at MVP levels and their stats will back much of this up. But neither of those guys is the type of cornerstone who can be swapped onto virtually any lottery team and instantly have them in title contention. LeBron’s fingerprints are all over the Cavs team and organization whereas the other two guys are arguably products (albeit extraordinarily nice products) of their system/coach/organization.
Your words look so much nicer than LeBron>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Curry>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Kawhi>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Delly>high School players>fat out of shape 40 year olds at the Y.
No, Steph Curry IS the system, Dray Green and Harrison Barnes are the products of it. And Lebron’s fingerprints being everywhere is not necessarily always a good thing.
Good way of stating it, mike.
I don’t think Curry IS the system, more that he’s the cheat-code who BROKE the system. Draymond’s versatility on both ends is every bit as important as Curry’s shooting for that team. Maybe Curry is such a good shooter that his one skill trumps LeBron’s all-around game, but LeBron fills more holes on a roster than just about any player who will ever walk this earth. Maybe having his fingerprints everywhere isn’t always good but if you have a team of average joes no one is taking them farther than LeBron.
Leonard is more Productive than LBJ right now, because LBJ is saves a lot of his energy on the defensive end. In a playoff series where he is not conserving energy, they match up pretty evenly. Leonard a small edge defensively, LBJ a small edge offensively. LBJ is a better passer, but Leonard isn’t really asked to be a facilitator. Its a great matchup.
Nope.
Nope
and Nope.
Have you ever thought about putting all your in depth analysis into a book?
Genius, JoeyB…
I think they are even too, but i’d say KL’s has a bigger than small edge defensively, and the same of Lebron offfensively over KL.
Guys. If you made it to the end of the pod – this is what I was talking about with Rocket League. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTEaRRhntso
Also, if any of you like video games for PC (steam) or PS4 – give rocket league a try. And if you like it, look me up on Steam. My user name is “Uncle Drew”.
I agree in that I think that if both the Cavs and the Warriors are healthy, I’d give the edge to the Cavs. But if the Cavs the the Spurs are both healthy, I’d give the edge to the Spurs.
Nonononononononono.
The Spurs have a very old Tony Parker, an ancient Tim Dunca, and a broken Ginobili. There’s no way LMA and Leonard make up for that. Plus Danny Green has sucked for 2 straight years now.
Cavs are much better than the Spurs and will run them out of the gym.
I don’t think TP is very old. And my assumption is based on IF everyone is healthy.
Tony Parker is two years older than Lebron. Kawhi Leonard is 7 years younger than Lebron. If TP is very old, than LBJ isn’t far behind, and KL will boatrace him because of his youth.
Niether of those things are true. TP has shown to be very effective as he ages, sans injury. Injury, of course, is a concern for him, but no more so than for us with Love, Irving, Lebron, Mozgov, and Shump all returning from injury.
KI got torched last year guarding ‘very old’ TP, and that’s after KI’s D was supposedly much improved. It is also true that Irving torched TP even worse that game, but my point is no one can handle TP if he is healthy, especially that PnR he runs with TD (very VERY illegally runs that is).
I think part of the reason why there may have been some discussion about Markief Morris, is because he has apparently defended and played very well against Draymond Green over his career. Now, is he worth the expense? Probably not. But I’d take him if Gilbert is willing to spend the money.
Hey, a podcast not after a losing streak!!
Nice job.
And before you rag on Mo, he carried us the first two months of the season along with LeBron. Delly’s been better lately but he can always revert back to sucky Delly. So they have to keep Mo engaged.
You must have been watching a different game. Mo carried us the first 2 months? Huh? A little too much of that Rocky Mountain High this morning Cols?
Ya know. If any PG ‘carried’ us at that time, it was Delly, lol. But keep on keepin’ on Col’s………
Cols, our goal is to pod every Sunday night.
It’s up to the all-powerful Cavs to stay off the losing streaks.
Did you listen to the pod? I had good things to say about Mo.
I have not listened yet, but I’m getting to it, hopefully today. It’s so long that it’s a daunting task. Plus I don’t want to hear people ragging on Mo. Dude was awesome early in the year and then got injured while Delly finally started playing like a real live NBA player. Now Delly is struggling and it would be nice to get back to Mo.
Mo wishes he could play as well as a “struggling” Delly.
Spurs are the only team that scares me period. They matchup really well with us. Only mismatch we gave is Irving vs Parker
A Spurs-Cavs matchup will be decided by who can come off the bench and make plays. Both teams will do what is necessary to break up first and second options on plays, and Pop can disrupt LeIso better than any coach.
Nope. A spurs-cavs mathup iwll result in a Cavs victory because our startser>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>their
Irving>>Tony Parker
JR<=Leonard
Love=Aldridge
TT<<Mills
Shump=Manu
Moz=West
RJ<Diaw
Afer that it doesn't matter.
Thats one heck of a series and I think Its pretty damn evenon the starters. I'm sure Cols will pretend that Lebron is on another level thanLeonard but hats not true if these shooting numbers hold up. They probably won't and Lebron will get an edge but if they palyed today that match up is a wash
Something got deleted there when I tried to post
Irving>>Parker
JR</=Leonard
Love=Alridge
TT<<Mills
Shump=Manu
Moz<Diaw
RJ<West
I would say (if everyone is completely healthy) that the Cavs roster is slightly more talented than the Spurs. But the Spurs system is so perfect…
Cavs have a lot of work to do to get to that level.
Goodness. LeBron is much better than Leonard. LeBron’s stats vs Leonard are like 27 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists per game.
Well. So far this season, Leonard is second in Win Shares (barely edged out by Curry). Also, he has shown to be the best player in the league at guarding LeBron. Did you watch the 2014 finals? The Heatles had more talent than the Spurs. But space and pace couldn’t keep up with Pop-ball. Look Cols. The Spurs have one of the best starting 5s in the league (Warriors/Spurs/Thunder/Cavs have best starters) and they EASILY (i mean – beyond any shadow of a doubt) have the best bench in the NBA. Diaw + Mills + Ginobili + DWest have been… Read more »
Don’t make me post LeBron’s stats from that 2014 Finals. He destroyed the Spurs. His teammates, however, Wade and Bosh, sucked completely and totally. Plus that was peak Spurs, they had never played that well before or after the last 3 games of that series. They almost lost the first two games of the series and would have had they had a working A/C unit. I’m forever grateful to that Spurs team because that’s what allowed LeBron to come back to Cleveland and made Cleveland relevant again, but I think that people only remember the last 3 games of that… Read more »
I think Kawaii is the best defender in the NBA. Better than AI, who gave Lebron all he could handle last year. Because Lebron is a great passer, Leonard can’t completely shut him down, but then again, if Lebron forces the issue and tries to beat Leonard 1 on 1, it could be brick city and a turnover-fest.
And if you don’t think Lebron knows how good KL is…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVTU-Gd3T10
Yep. The Warriors are great, but the Spurs are on another level. This team is absolutely terrifying. Initially, I wanted the Warriors to waste energy trying to break the regular season wins record. Now, not so much. I hope GW starts resting up so they can either beat the Spurs or at least tire them out.
Everyone but Cols agrees, the Spurs are scarier than the Warriors.
Cols is the Black Knight from Holy Grail of Cavs commentating.
@Tom I actually agree with shortening the rotation a little bit right now. A 9 man rotation isn’t short. Right now the Cavs have no 4 man unit thats even in the top 100 (4 units) minutes played. They have played like 12 different starting lineups. If they shorten the rotation a little right now and try and get some chemistry I’m all for it. They have no chemistry right now. A couple players do but there are no 5 units that do. None. The Spurs and GS have tons of continuity that have carried over for years. Those don’t… Read more »
Irving, Love, Lebron 33
TT 30
Shump and Delly 28
JR 20
Timo 18
RJ 15
I think its just tough to get a chemistry playing less than 15 minutes a game in my opinion.
See I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to play James Jones and or Varejao a few minutes every game.
James Jones was pretty crucial at times in the playoffs and you really want Andy playing at a high(er) level if you need him come playoff time.
But I think your minute distribution is pretty solid.
I think James Jones and Mo need to play, but Andy has been awful this year. Keep him glued to the bench. My 3 DNP guys would be Cunningham, Andy, and Kaun.
Based on what? AV has barely played… and when he has, he’s been as productive as you’d need a third big off the bench to be…
Pretty solid distribution, but I’d go change: Delly 25 RJ 10 JR 28
Is Mo moping or just under the weather? Could we be reading too much into this?
Sorry but is there supposed to be a download link next to “Share” like there normally is? Thanks