Live Thread: Celtics @ Cavs
2016-02-05
The Celtics are in town to battle the Cavs tonight. Cleveland is coming off a lackluster performance against the Hornets and an undeserved overtime win against the Pacers. Tyronn Lue’s guys are starting to look like the David Blatt team that would take ill-advised shots, dribble the life out of the ball, and forget that defense is half of a basketball game.
However, it’s not all bad. In the overtime win against the Pacers, the Cavs looked transcendent through two quarters. In the loss against the Hornets, they looked amazing through two quarters. In the first half in Charlotte, the Cavs hit 53.5% of their shots and had 11 assists. However, they shot 37.5% in the second half and had just five assists. The Wine & Gold have been falling into old habits the second half of games lately.
Tonight’s game is about following a game plan for four full quarters.
The Celtics have won 10 of their last 13 games and Isiaih Thomas will be looking to score. Thomas is averaging 21.4 points this season and is Boston’s whole offense. Last game against the Cavs, Thomas scored just 12 points. Cleveland will need to keep him from going off. Kyrie Irving can’t be playing from behind on defense or Thomas will make him regret it.
The Cavs also need to move the ball against the Celtics. Boston is in the top ten for points allowed and sports the 2nd best defensive efficiency in the league (98.7). Cleveland will have to get the ball up the floor quickly and get into their offense early in the clock, so Boston isn’t able to set their defense.
And, finally, Kevin Love needs to play like he’s one of the Big Three. He scored 12 points against Charlotte and it took him 12 shots to do so. If Kevin is on, the rest of the team has a lot more room to work with.
I’m predicting a bounce back win, 110-93.
Matthew Dellavedova will miss his second straight game due to hamstring soreness.
THANKS MIKE —GOOD READ FROM SAM ( HE ONCE WAS OUR LOCAL SPORTS WRITER ) HE WROTE / SAID WHAT EVERY CTB PERSON ( EXCEPT FOR COLS MAYBE ) WANTED TO SAY …….AND SAM IS NORMALLY “OVERLY ” POSITIVE WITH THE CAVS
Even Sam Amico, who usually is too much of a Cavs apologist, has a bit of bite after this one:
http://amicohoops.net/2016/02/dribbles-time-for-lebron-cavs-to-get-it-together/
AGREED MIKE—DELLY IS HUGE PART OF OUR SUCCESS—-TROUBLE IS WE PROBABLY WON’T BE ABLE TO SIGN HIM THIS OFF SEASON —-
BTW, the Cavs have a negative point differential with Delly not on the floor this season, which is completely unsurprising to me. I don’t know what the hell KI is doing most of the time he’s out there.
That’s really an unbelievable stat given how much talent is on this team. TT doesn’t have any offense if Delly sits. He’s been terrible the last two games. Can’t even make tip ins.
ALSO 60 % FOUL SHOOTING FOR PLAYERS MAKING MILLIONS —MY HIGH SCHOOL TEAM IS AT 71 % AND I’M NOT SATISFIED ( NOT HAPPY WITH THAT ) —–BE ACCOUNTABLE / BE A PROFESSIONAL / GIVE A SH** !
OK I GUESS WE HAVE A VERY ” HAPPY ” LOCKER ROOM ( REASON BLATT WAS FIRED ) —-NOT !! STARTER MINUTES WAY UP AND STILL LOSING A.C. / AND FRED ARE UPSET / A TRUE RARITY LUE’S “CLUELESS” EXCUSES ARE OLD ALREADY IF WE WERE GOING TO LET BLATT GO / WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A PROVEN COACH (THIB’S ) READY TO TAKE OVER–LUE LEARNING ON THE JOB IS PATHETIC WE MIGHT AS WELL BE HONEST —-A TRADE NEEDS TO BE MADE —THIS PRESENT GROUP WILL NOT WIN (PROBABLY NOT EVEN GET THERE ) A NBA CHAMPIONSHIP — TEMAS… Read more »
If they don’t get their house in order, they aren’t getting past the 2nd round of the playoffs.
I want Lue to succeed. I really do. It is high time to do more than lip service. This Cavs team cannot go on with lackadaisical defense and Lebron or Kyrie hijacking the offense on ISO in the 3rd quarter. Lue must hold these noncompliant players feet to the fire. I am willing to see a loss if he benches these guys than to continue with the same cycle of woes. If anything these problems are much worse than it was with Blatt. Just do it already. Hopefully if he does it, it will only take once and the problem… Read more »
All I have to say is this team better wake up and grow up. You can’t consistently leave 10+ points at the foul line. You can’t keep trying to play weird lineups even with the personnel you have (Richard Jefferson as a small ball 4). You can’t let the players get back to ISO ball (which tonight wasn’t the worst of recent play). Finally, you can’t just keep on doing the same things over and over and expect different results (the definition of insanity). All everyone talks about is how “great” a leader LeBron is. A leader is someone who… Read more »
What concerns me now is what concerned me most when I heard about the firing. Lue will ride the starters into the ground trying to justify his promotion to win regular season games and wear down the Big Three. Blatt had Lebron, Kyrie and Love playing around 31-33 mpg which to me is just right. If Lue wins at the same clip (which he hasn’t been, but in theory) but has to play Lebron 38 mpg to get there, his hire was a mistake. I still understand from a corporate decision making standpoint why Blatt had to go but Griffin… Read more »
The last 3 games, I’ve checked the score in games that should be easy wins around halftime. I check back – a few hours later – just to check the box score – and as it turns out, we’ve collapsed in the second half, I read reports of little to no defense, no offensive structure, and see the minutes of a 7 man rotation. It’s insane. I can’t believe that Griffin signed us up for this madness!
Seriously, how do you give up 36 points in the fourth quarter?
Not to mention 39…
Even worse 39 pts.
I think I’m maybe more optimistic than most…but I just have more faith in these guys to figure out how to play defense again, and to play more fluid offense. According to reports, Lue has always been the guy to call players out for being lazy on both ends. He’ll have some practices at home to do so. He’s also got a lot of experience listening to how other coaches deal with star players…that’s something that Blatt, no matter how many championships he won in europe, just didn’t have. For better or worse, there are much better basketball minds on… Read more »
Coaching is more than calling out players. I mean, Byron Scott is a master at calling out players. And I’m not saying Lue can’t become a good coach, but he doesn’t have much time to figure it out with a roster with these kinds of expectations.
Not Kobe he doesn’t. LoL
Well, he is a master at throwing players under the bus to protect Kobe and himself, I don’t know if that is a talent any of us want Lue to have to learn, let alone use…
Since when does Byron Scott have any reputation whatsoever? He’s never coached a team worth mentioning and last I checked no one on the lakers is reveling in his ability to get Kobe to stop shooting his growing team out of games. Keeping players accountable isn’t the ONLY thing coaches need to do…but it is a THING coaches need to be able to do. If blatt couldn’t or wouldn’t…he needed to go, and we would be no better off having won this game with Blatt at the helm if he wasn’t planning to keep players accountable. We’re not trying to… Read more »
Well, a bad reputation is still a reputation. When the nicest thing people can say about you is that you are the ideal coach for stealth tanking it says a lot …
Lue hasn’t kept the players accountable either. Bad habits are camping out in the 3rd quarter which have led to 3 losses. Lue has to get tough by action not words.
“He’s never coached a team worth mentioning”
The 2001-03 Nets. He made the finals twice in two seasons, and almost got a game seven the second time.
Prime Jason Kidd has a lot to do with that
I don’t think the Cavs are playing very impressively right now, but this one is mostly a crappy shooting night, and terrible night from the FT line. They really should have won this one. Stinks to lose to the freaking Celtics, and really stinks to lose one like that.
That defense in the 4th was something….
Plus long stretches of wretched offense that involved much more than poor shooting.
“It was the perfect storm (for Boston),” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. “Things just went well for them down the stretch.” — Lue is planning for the excuse parade down RIGHT DOWN EUCLID!!!!!
I’m sorry for the language, but this is bull****.
Call me a homer, an idiot or just plain crazy but I am still confident by playoffs we will be playing at high level and will give the West a run for the finals. Seen too much good in spurts to not think they won’t put it together. Last year was a freaking mess before break. Lebron almost says it out loud, after break is when season begins. Don’t agree with strategy but he has shown he has 3 more gears.
So…ya’ll realize this is just a three game stretch where we’ve played poorly in second halves. It’s not “the cavs have decided to tank for Simmons.” We’ll figure it out. Last year we had a rough start to the season and picked it up after the new year. This year we will go through our rough patches now and come out like lightning after the all star break. and Thank God Kevin Love isn’t needed over the next four games and can rest from now til the all star break if he needs to rest that long. I’m still pretty… Read more »
Scotch I need some of your scotch!
I think we all need to move to Colorado, Cols has the right idea. No wonder he’s always so bananas over how good yhe cavs are…
And if we don’t “come out like lightning”? Is it still just, “well its not the playoffs”
I agree or is it i have no other option, lol. But I agree just posted similar thought but not as well as you. Need more scotch!
Yeah I am certain they will play better at some point. Do not even care if they lost. Actually, they could drop the next 8 straight and I would still be fine if I was seeing certain things. I do not just want them to play better, I want them to play completely differently, really have since last year. I want them to have a disciplined offense that the bench can execute and succeed at without having one of the big 3 in the game. In other words I want them to have an offense that is not simplistic and… Read more »
LeBron: “It’s how we lost. It hurts. It’s been a while since I felt like this.” — Jason Lloyd
Yes, it has been at least eight games I would think.
WOW… San Antonio- Dallas score at halftime: 62-26.
Phil Jackson has the triangle offense. The Cavs have the Bermuda Triangle offense, where the ball goes to LeBron or Kyrie and is never seen again.
Post of the year!!!!!!
A little on the nose, but well done!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
Omg stealing this.
It’s an honor.
I guess what else is there for us to say? Nothing changes game to game. Despondent, I think that’s how I feel.
I truly feel bad for JR on this loss. JR DID NOT LOSE THIS GAME FOR CAVS! He worked his arse off tonight. He always gives more than 100%. It would have been great to give him recognition for his leadership. He was more focused than Lebron was. Unfortunately, as we speak the headlines are JR lost the game for Cavs. It’s just not right when we seen the effort and heart he put in the game tonight. If more players put that same effort as he did, it would have been a win.
I agree w this. Also Smart saying the plan was to Gould Mozzy on the miss. It looks like he did and no call just butter fingers. Either way shouldn’t of been in this position. But again JR not to blame
Agree, TV63. That last foul was a Tony Brothers call from Game 4 last year. But the Cavs should have had the game put away by then in any event.
Completely agree. Bogus call, but the game felt like a loss regardless if they pull it out or not. Maybe this is another wake up call. They need to stop hitting snooze!
Seriously, how hot is Griff’s seat right now?
He gets fired the day we get eliminated. Maybe a Game 7 Finals loss and he survives. Anything else, toast.
BTW, now that I’m piling on… The uniforms are ugly and so is the arena. Those wine colored seats look like they should be in porno-theater.
Hey just out of curiosity. What do you think of the song “Balling” by ampersand Gabbitz ?
I guess I’m singing it.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAHHAAAHHAHAHAHAA….
Love both of these posts.
Sucks to lose to them. Whatever. Still winning at a high clip. Actually, could care less about losing during regular season. More about how we lose. For instance, did not get to see the first 2.5 quarters. Will have to watch but our defense is not great. Actually horrific from what I saw, at least in parts of 3rd and 4th qtr. Also 42.5% shooting and a 56% assist rate is not great (our assist rate is near 58 for the season). Will not win in June. Need to clean this up. We need to have an actual system in… Read more »
5-3 is not wining at a high clip. Its 5th seed winning. We got beat tonight by A 5th seed on our floor. This team looks worse than the team that lost the finals last year. That’s a fact.
Sorry, that is a cols quote, from last game. Couldn’t help myself. Forgot the sarcasm font. But truthfully, I do not care about wins and losses in the regular season as long as I see things that I like. The problem, I have not seen all that much on offense to like recently (6 games, cavs made contested shots and crazy iso plays, go back and break down possessions ). Defense I am not crazy worried about as this team has shown it can be elite defensively with effort. However they also need to have a great offensive system.
Blatt was doing this. the players, ie lebron, refused to run it. Now they have their way and its clear, if it wasn’t before, that they are idiots.
I should make clear that I am not counting out Lue. But it certainly will be difficult to institute a complex offense in the midst of a season with few practices. Maybe the All star break will give them sometime to implement a ton of stuff.
I have seen nothing in 8 games over two weeks to change my initial thought that firing blatt was a mistake. Lebron undermined him and the right thing to do was to give Lebron an ultimatum. Do it Blatt’s way or leave. That’s what Miami was willing to do. Its the only way. Because Lebron is a terrible coach and GM. He’s learned nothing.
This is just not fun. I feel like a dog chasing a treat tied out in front of me…
Knowing the Cavs they probably trade Delly for a chucker who can’t defend.
Help us, Delly-Wan. You’re our only hope!
Zzzzzzzeeeeeerrrrrrrronnnnnnnnnn — that’s Delly’s life saver!!!
Maybe we were mistaken and Delly is the real MVP lol!!
Delly’s better than Kyrie this year.
Yes, he has been. We should’ve paid him last offseason. someone’s going to make him an offer and we’re going to pay through the nose. The whole league is laughing atGriffin. If we don’t win the Finals, and its looking more and more like we won’t, he’s toast, as is Lue.
Steph Curry probably just scored 50 points in a quarter somewhere.
So happy that the Rich Paul All-Stars are running the Cavs!
O No Arch! You forgot your sarcasm tag!
O wait… maybe you mean it…
/s /s /s /s /s /s /s /s /s /s /s
If only Lebron let’s himself to be coached.
Now would be a good time to trade LeBron. The decline is real.
Bluuuuuurrrrp. Bluuuuuurrrrrrrrrrp.
That’s the Cols signal!
Hurry. Cavs:The Blog needs you!
HAHAHAHAHA…. Hey Cols can dish it, so he can take it!
Welp. Can we trade moondog for Ben Simmons?
How many head coaches will Comic Sans Dan pay at once? Also, is Griffin now on the hot seat?
If we are paying them can we bring back the fired coaches? Blatt head and Brown defensive coordinator? Man wouldn’t that be news. I wish I would of listened to my original goal: none watching until after all star break.
I really dig the new midget defensive assistant. He brought some great schemes from Phoenix!
Wonder when was the last time we gave up 39 at home in the 4th. I am just so despondent, since I thought this was Cleveland’s best chance to end the championship drought. And the chasm between us and the Warriors has grown even larger. I imagine some self doubt has crept into the players’ minds over their coup in firing Blatt, who was obviously much smarter than them.
That beating the Warriors gave the Cavs really affected the Cavs in such a bad way.
Maybe a trade would fix it but then again the continuity will go out the window. And continuity is one of the keys to winning championships.
I’m not sure I’m gonna be happy playing in the finals right now.
So, assuming we get out of the East, which is no sure thing, is Ty Lue supposed to outcoach Gregg Popovich or Steve Kerr?
Yaaaaaaa. Go cavs… er….
The curse of LeBron!
I thought the Cavs don’t needed a trade but now I’m starting to believe they do.
Will that fix the issue? I’m not sure.
I’m really starting to believe that the Cavs golden opportunity to win it all was last year.
They had to take TT out by the way. Would have been too easy to foul him on the FT attempt. That was just about the worst case scenario that could have occurred, so naturally it did.
Maybe if David Blatt took the team on another bowling trip a day earlier, he’d still have a job.
Man, Lebron might be stuck with two rings.
Brad: “The play we ran for Avery’s 3 in Dallas..I stole that from David Blatt. The way he coached for a year and half speaks for itself.”
Karma is a bitch.
The fraternity is really hating on the Cavs org right now, rightfully so.
So glad cLueless was paying attention to Blatt’s work over the past season and half. /s
Wowwwww. Coaches unite!
Shows how David Blatt was really respected by basketball’s know-how. Not by some players with “really high IQ”
Humility is the hallmark of intelligence…
But maybe it’s better to brag about how smart one is… /s
Yeah, the ‘Eurogenius’ might have known a bit more than some meathead players and fans. If the players wanted him out, he had to go, but that doesn’t make them a better team.
Question is, how many of the players wanted him out?
Yeah I don’t buy that stupid narrative. I think David Griffin had too much payote traveling back from Phoenix.
Rich Paul counts as a “player” for the organization so that makes it two.
That is a knee straight to the gut
Cavs beaten with a play stolen from David Blatt.
Brad Stevens already went on record saying he stole Blatt’s plays recently to win games on 3s…. said it right after Blatt was fired.
Wow a very direct shot across the bow at Griffin.
Cavs got Warriors paranoia in January, which made them fire their coach, and abandon their plan, which for the most part gave them a good shot. Maybe they weren’t favored, but they had a good shot. Now this team lacks any sort of identity. And they have a coach that has no place coaching a team with these sort of expectations.
Man, I bet that cavs locker room is awesome right now. This new look Cavs is Fun!!!
Sauces tell me Dan Gilbert is on the phone with Thibs’ agent right now.
Or maybe Luke Walton.
Well… that’s a crappy way to start a weekend…
So wait. The Cavs now are 8-8 when JR is shooting more than 12 attempts