Podcast Episode 118: Brooklyn Brooklyn (Recap) and Kyle Korver Dreamin’
2017-01-07Recap: Cleveland 116, Brooklyn 108
With the Big Three finally healthy, the Cavs traveled to Brooklyn to face the league’s worst squad. Cleveland handled their business for three quarters and then kept letting their foot off the gas, before popping the clutch into neutral as the Nets scored 40 in the fourth and kept the game interesting enough that the Big Three had to keep them at bay during garbage time.
LeBron led Cleveland with an uber-efficient 36 on 14-20 shooting to go with nine rebounds, six assists, five turnovers, and +19 in his 35 minutes. Kyrie Irving struggled early but scored 16 in the fourth to notch 32 on 10-27 shooting and 9-9 at the line with four dimes. Kevin Love struggled with his shot too (5-17), but got it going late with a couple threes to finish with 17 points and a game high 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, the big three played a lot of red carpet defense as Boban Bogdonovic dropped 23, Caris Levert, 19, Trevor Booker, 13, and Brook Lopez, 17 – mostly against LeBron, Kyrie, Love, and Thompson respectively. There was lots of halfhearted D followed by more intense D to extend the lead, followed by halfhearted D. The only consistently decent defender was DeAndre Liggins who was +17 in 18 minutes despite only scoring 5 points.
Brooklyn’s “big four” went a combined 27-45 (60%). Fortunately, they threw away more balls away than RGIII, as Cleveland pilfered fourteen steals. Also fortunately, Brooklyn had some real bricklayers including former Cav, Joe “1-9” Harris. Ultimately, the only conclusions worth drawing were that Brooklyn stinks, Kay Felder and LeBron are no good together, the Big Three are healthy again, Jordan McRae can’t shoot (0-5), and that Liggins might be better than Shump.
Post-game, Evil Genius and I got in the podcast booth to talk about the game, Kyle Korver, trade possibilities, the playoff picture, David Griffin’s genius, the coming road trip, and so much more. You can listen above, on the Allmighty Baller Podcast Network, and on iTunes. If you’re interested, check out ABPN’s main page for more entertaniing NBA audio.
FWIW, McRae has a longer wingspan than Liggins.
McRae: 7’0″
Liggins: 6’11”
http://cavsnation.com/jordan-mcrae-ready-nba/
http://legionhoops.com/deandre-liggins-the-cavs-ultimate-warrior/
Kyle Korver’s 3-point shooting is expected to give the Cavaliers a boost, but the Hawks were much better when he sat this season, especially defensively. They allowed 106.4 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court, compared with 98.4 with him off the court. They shot roughly the same percentage on 3-pointers with Korver on the court (33.7 percent) as they did with him off (33.6 percent).
From ESPN
Another interesting stat from ESPN on the Warriors collapse. Teams had won an amazing 662 games in a row when entering the 4th quarter with a 19 pt lead, which the Dubs had over Memphis (98-79). The last team to comeback from that deficit was the Pacers in April 2013 rallying from 20 down to beat……….. the Cavs. Thankfully, I don’t remember that game.
Nice podcast. Really liked the Korver analysis the most. Also share the concern expressed about RJ. As discussed, perhaps too many minutes is the problem for him. I did catch the last 4 minutes of the Dubs/Grizz game. KD has indeed failed so many times in the clutch most spectacularly vs the Dubs last year. The Cavs and LBJ have always been in his head, and hopefully we are in the Dubs’ head too now.
THE GRIZ DO IT AGAIN TO THE DUBS ( GOT THEIR NUMBER ) OTHER TEAMS NEED TO WATCH THOSE GAMES AND SEE HOW/ WHAT THE GRIZ DO AGAINST THEM——ENJOYED YOUR ” BIG 4 ” BROOKLYN COMMENT —–WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS ROAD TRIP —I AM HOPING FOR AT LEAST A 4-2 RECORD BUT IT EASILY COULD BE 2-4 —–HOPEFULLY WE ARE WELCOMING / BLOGGING ABOUT THE ” KYLE ARRIVAL “
Their road trip success might well depend on how much they attempt to integrate Korver. Initially he will weaken defensive rotations, mess with offensive spacing, and occasionally cause a pass to no one–all due to unfamiliarity. If they plug him in at ten minute intervals, they may well go 4-2. If he’s playing 20+ in an effort to rest others, we may lose a few of those winnable ones (against Utah, where they don’t play so well, and the following night against Portland)…truthfully, I wouldn’t mind 1-5 if that one win is against the Warriors…
That Griz comeback was an awesome thing to behold… turned it on about halfway through the fourth… It reinforces my feelings about KD… he’s not a clutch player and never has been. Until he can become that… advantage Cavs in a Finals match up…
Liggins is only good at basketball, unlike Shump who can rap, design medalions, get arrested for possession, etc.
Advantage: Shump
Painfully awesome commentary.
You forgot that Shump starred in Kanye’s latest video.
Liggins has domestic violence in his past so theres that
Great equalizer!