Live Thread: Rockets @ Cavs
2016-03-29
Coming off of a Jekyll and Hyde weekend in the Big Apple, the Cavs return home to the familiar confines of The Q and welcome possibly the only team in the NBA more Jekyll and Hyde-ish, the Houston Rockets.
LeBron James is out tonight, as head coach Tyronn Lue continues to find time to rest his key guys with only nine games left before the start of the playoffs. That means it will be up to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to try to improve the Cavs record sans James to a robust 5-12 over the past two seasons.
Let’s see if Irving and Love can improve off their previous win without James, a 99-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks that saw Irving notch just a single assist and saw Irving’s critics and supporters alike lose their dang minds.
It would have made a lot more sense to rest Lebron on Thursday then it did against the Rockets. Thursday is a game against Brooklyn and is the front end of a back to back.
I don’t expect the Warriors to lose at Oracle, period. The Bullets gave it a good shot, but they are going to lose.
Curry with a behind the back fancy pants pass out of bounds. For once, the sun doesn’t shine on every move he makes. This is a good game.
Has any player played better under Lue than under Blatt? For all the talk about them not wanting to play under Blatt, they sure are making Lue look bad. They are all worse. He’s even making Delly look bad. This is the mentally softest team I’ve ever seen in professional sports. After playing good defense for 24 minutes and taking a 20 point lead, they stop playing D and fall apart. Can’t wait to hear Kyrie talk about being a leader. What’s the excuse now? Still out of shape? Simplified D still too complicated? Everyone is healthy for the first… Read more »
I don’t even know how much to blame Lue. I just think they basically ignore him as much as they ignored Blatt. Because they are 10 time champions, and have this thing all figured out. /s They probably like Lue more than they liked Blatt, for whatever that’s worth…
I honestly don’t think they really care enough about being champions. We talked about this after that Warriors debacle. The losses don’t hurt enough. It doesn’t make them sick to their stomachs so bad they can’t sleep. Drives them to the gym, hour after hour, until they get it right. They just don’t care enough. They care some, maybe a lot, but not enough. LBJ cares. James Jones cares. Delly cares. Those guys never stop working. They push themselves to the breaking point, whatever their shortcomings may be. But Love doesn’t. Kyrie Doesn’t. Shumpert Doesn’t. J.R. doesn’t. Mozgov doesn’t. Even… Read more »
Yeah, this is a good post. LBJ, for all his annoying attributes, at least gives it everything he has. Wish I could say the same for everyone else.
Good post Joey.
There are coaches that needs to remain as an assistant much longer than everyone thought.. Lue is one.
Wizards playing a good game, especially at Oracle. Up by 7.
Bring Blatt back.
13 & 11 from KLove isn’t good enough especially when he’s almost invisible down the stretch
Watching the Warriors – Wizards game, Randy Wittman just said some nice things to Sagar.
Well 22 and 11. 3 and 13. Do not think we are ready for the playoffs. Also based on our point differential, our mediocre record (for a contender), our inability to be effective without james on the floor, our myriad of unacceptable losses for a championship contender, our rotational issues, our defensive disasters, and the complete inability to fit our lone superstar and two borderline all stars (gotta win to be an all star in my book, at least if you supposedly have two on your team), I do not think this is our year. Sample size is nearly the… Read more »
2006 Heat comes to mind. But that team never met a 2016 Spurs/Warriors in the finals.
From what I can remember though, they were really good defensively that whole year no?
They are. But they’re inconsistent a lot of times too. Also fired the coach mid season and finished below expectations. That’s why I said the closest resemblance we have to a title team (if we win this year) would be them..
The difference is they replaced SVG with Pat Riley. A whole world of difference compared to Lue.
How can you not even try to bring Mo or JJ in while the Rockets are making a run!? Damn I’m really pissed
Ugh.. Who’s a great coach to have next year??
Mark Jackson. Book it.
I guess he is a great coach in the sense that we all will say sarcastically “that’s just great, they hired Mark Jackson”…
Oh the more expensive upgraded version of Mike Brown.
No thanks.
Why do you hate galvanization?? /s
I am not sure he is even an upgrade over Mike Brown unless you consider being over the top Christian a big advantage for an NBA coach….
Yeah, but he’s Klutch! Need to expand the brand!
Yeah he’s overrated imo, he took a young GS and lead them on how to win. But it’s different here, we’re not an up and coming team.
He’s not as outdated as Mike Brown tho..
How does Mark Jax coach defense? Hand down, man down?
He says, “Mama, there goes that man!!”
I think they will bring back Lue unless there is a disaster like a second round exit. The problem is that LeBron requires a coach that he respects but lets him do whatever he wants while being a martinet with the other guys… I am not sure any top coach can be fully effective in that role or would want to do it. In retrospect Blatt managed things as well as anyone could, LeBron just didn’t appeciate it. But obviously we need LeBron so there is no point in wishing he was someone else than who he is, so it… Read more »
It is a disaster now. Fire Lue unless it’s a title. Please wake up Jerry Sloan.
I am pretty sure they are still paying Paul Silas… I guess we know the new economic stimulus plan that will be unveiled at the GOP convention in Cleveland “Dan Gilbert will pay you not to do anything.”
You’re a moron for believing that the lack of effort from the previous games didn’t cost us big in terms of defining roles, making executions and avoiding mental lapses. Now or in the future
What is concerning about this team is that normally championship teams make a jump from year 1 to year 2 where they go from legit contenders that lose in the Finals to Juggernaut. Happened to the Kobe-Pau Lakers, Big Three Heat, even the Kawhi-Era Spurs. Dubs won 50+ games, fired Mark Jackson and never looked back. This team on the other hand is actually quite a bit worse than last year once they got the current roster by adding Moz, JR and Shump. I don’t care what Cols says, they have clearly regressed from the Cavs team that won at… Read more »
Lol there are few more guys aside from Cols and that believes we’re going to be fine and we can easily flip the switch on April. Those idiots..
I guess it is possible just because this team is so weird, but a normal team in their position should be in FTW mode this season, not cruise control, so I find the “they are saving it for the playoffs” theory a little counterintuitive. And it’s funny to me that Cols and his ilk insist there is nothing to worry about when many Cavs from LeBron on down have said they are at least a little worried…
I remember Cols saying we’re on pace to win 60. Lol!
The Cavs are not mentally ready to beat a Warriors or Spurs squad if they make it that far.
From the coaching staff down to most of the players they are not where they need to be mentally to win a chip.
Well, this is what happens when the Movable Object meets the Resistible Force. Most 2016 Cavs game ever.
I feel sorry for Lebron right now. Please don’t let this team to the finals just to get the L again.
Mental breakdowns, cLUEless coaching. Lack of go-to plays when things get rough. Execution to finish the job.
All of which is not going to matter come playoffs right guys? Oh it’s the end March already? The playoffs isn’t the time to figure it out if your a championship team by the way..
This team is basketball dumb. How many early shot clock long twos? How many possessions without a plan?
Everyone on this team besides Lebron continues to show how insanely overrated they are. Including cLUEless.
Tonight should have been a statement game for this LBJ-less squad. Instead it has created more drama/questions/anger. Tonight was a bad thing, a really rrally bad thing.
Why? Cavs aren’t a playoff team without LeBron. They aren’t going to try and win without him come the playoffs.
If the Cavs can’t beat the Raptors on the road (if they get the top seed that is) what would make anyone think that the Cavs will win a Finals game at the road against either the Warriors or Spurs?
Just let the Raptors get the top seed and try to get this team to learn how to win without LBJ.
Kyrie, Mo, JJ, Shump, TT and RJ deserves a win tonight. The rest led by cLUEless deserves to lose..
and these are games that are just so frustrating, how can you not sustain a 19 point halftime lead at home against a dysfunctional houston team ? , Kyrie or Love should have been in to start the 4th. Games like this piss me off and make me wonder why I even watched the damn game
They certainly had no business losing this one…
Kyrie went too long to came back on the 4th. JFJ and Mo never say daylight in the 2nd half. 3 main reasons for the huge lead. But we have Lue as coach so…
This team, from coaching staff down, is an absolute mess. No one knows their role, or can seize the moment when it matters. I’ve been a Cavs fan all my life, but I can’t stand watching this unit. No fight. No spark. No chance.
Lol. cLUEless calling timeout like we can still steal the game.
Just sit LeBron a few more games until the rest of the Cavs learn to win without him.
I agree. And sit Love right next to him until he learns that if he’s not going to be out there taking charge and pushing the team to a win, we can do it without him. Love should have shot the ball he caught at the 3 point line when we were down 1. Kyrie had stepped up and made some shots. Love could have taken the moment, you could hear the crowd — they wanted him to shoot. The moment was too big for him. Disappointing.
Kevin love disappears again.
I’d love it if TT could develop one go-to move in the post…
Wow. That was the play out of the time out?
Wow clueless loses another one… Not going to champ or mo in the beginning of the 4th?????
Of course it’s going to happen! Smh.. Man, I’m so down right now. We deserved to win this game.. Or maybe not
Game over… Once again the mental breakdowns at the end of games are killing the Cavs.
And Thompson getting D’d up at the hoop by Michael Freaking Beasley
Not looking great after that Rockets 3…
Well they sure fell apart.
Go Kyrie!!!!!!!!!
Why is Shump even shooting the ball?!! GIVE IT TO KYRIE
Nice play the by KLove
F**king take over Kyrie
Yeahhhhhh please continue!!!
Wow not even FT’s
Dudes need to go to the hole. Offense is steaming garbage all of a sudden.
Why is JR jacking up 3s this early??
Is like the Cavs totally forgot to play with energy.
They totally forgot they could shoot inside of the 3 point line…
Game over… Once again the mental breakdowns at the end of games are killing the Cavs.
Wow could’ve used champ or mo for that scoring drought!!!
cLUEless can’t recognize that
The Cavs choking once again without LBJ.
$hit have pride guys. This is embarrassing
Kyrie needs to go Iso mode. Stop being scared to score the basketball. You picked up 8 dimes this game, now it’s time to be a superstar and take over.
This one is starting to emit a strong stench…wish they would have gone to Love more these last 3 minutes.
After contributing much of the huge lead we had, Mo and JJ wasn’t seen again. Great job coach
Getting destroyed
Beasley is sub-fuego
Hey guys play D.
Rockets looking to steal game. Cavs MUST get pts in the paint. 3’s not falling
Nice pass from Delly…another cheapo for Harden, el Turdo Grande…