Podcap: Warriors 129, Cavs 105 (Or, Closer Than The Score)
2018-12-06According to the score, the Warriors blew the Cavs out by 24 points. The game was close though, I swear. The Cavs finished the first-half on a 19-5 run hitting five 3s to be up six. The third quarter didn’t go as planned though, as the Warriors outscored the Cavs 37-22 behind 15 Kevin Durant points. By the time the fourth rolled around, Cleveland was done for and the Warriors just kept adding onto their lead.
Rodney Hood led the Cavs early on getting 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter. Collin Sexton led the team in scoring with 21 points on 7-14 shooting. He went 3-3 on 3s, including two during the Cavs big second quarter run. Tristan Thompson caught another double-double with 14 points and 19 boards. And, Cedi was probably the best all around Cavalier with 16 points on 6-12 shooting to go with three boards and two steals. The team even managed to limit their turnovers to just ten on the evening.
However, the Warriors are perhaps and the most efficient team at getting points off turnovers and managed 17 points from the miscues. They also blazed from behind the arc hitting 18-34. Stephen Curry dropped 42 points hitting nine 3s, four of which came in the first quarter. Kevin Durant had a near triple-double putting up 26 to go with 10 boards and nine assists. Klay Thompson had a relatively quite outing getting 16 points on 5-15 shooting.
The Cavs played fairly good defense during the game, but the Warriors capitalized on nearly every mistake they made. And, when they weren’t exploiting a weakness after several good defensive rotations, Curry would bomb a 30 foot 3-pointer over a defender. Their talent simply swallowed up the Cavs, and the Cavs offense just disappeared in the second half, as the ball just wasn’t finding the open man and guys couldn’t create on their own. Cleveland had just eight assists in the second-half after notching eight in the second.
Nate Smith and myself went to the Pod Booth after the game to discuss the past couple of Cavs games, who we think is making it to the Finals, trades for current Cavs, who we like in the West, new Cavalier Alec Burks, and much more.
Check us out below, on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
https://soundcloud.com/ctb-5/episode-188-closer-than-the-score
Charge records tonight:
151 points = franchise record.
83 1st half points = franchise record
Smith 16 assists = ties franchise record (Cook, Perrantes).
Panic trade time for Houston.
Shouldn’t have blown up the team.
God yes to Melo on the Lakers.
Rockets losing by 35 in Utah in a game where Gobert got ejected 2 minutes in and Mitchell has 4 fouls. And are better rested.
CHARGE GO FOR 151 PTS TONIGHT —BONZI WITH 25 / 22 IN 1ST HALF—SCOOCTCHIE WITH 16 ASSISTS
Good Charge update.
https://twitter.com/joevardon/status/1070856523503554560
Oh god yes please
Anyone watched Duke lately? Watched their last two and about 3 of their last 5. Having a hard time evaluating Zion because of how they utilize him. Almost entirely post, especially since teams seem to be zoning them more. Would like to see him be given a bit more freedom to create on the perimeter/as the ball handler in the p and r. Obviously that really difficult to do against a true zone. I I get it, as he is most effective the way Duke is utilizing him, but it is hard to make that translate to the next level… Read more »
Yeah… I watch every game. It’s a pretty simple evaluation and you pretty much covered it. I’d like to see him as a roll man in the PnR, but that’s not Duke’s offense… they’re an isolation heavy team. He’s not a good shooter, he can put on the floor and finish, he can pass a little bit, he can dominate in the post, he’s best in the open court, he can defend well. That’s pretty much it, and I think Duke is using him the most effective way, which is in the post. That’s going to translate in the NBA… Read more »
I hope so. It is just hard for me to see based on most of their competition so far. Why I can’t wait for the Acc play, Acc tournament, and NCAA. At that point we will have a better idea of how dominant he can be just in the post right off the bat because he will consistently be playing guys who are his size or bigger and with some of his athleticism. If he scores down low as easily as he has, he may come in and be an outstanding offensive rookie. If not he may need to get… Read more »
They’ve already played 3 of the top 10 teams in the nation… pretty sure we already have a good idea how he looks in the post.
And if the last few games are any indication, we’ll get to see how his passing and finishing in the paint is because teams will be zoning up Duke to prevent him from dominating the paint.
True. Kentucky may not be a top ten though. They haven’t really played anyone since then. Gonzaga is rightfully number one and he didn’t have a bad shooting game (relative to most other players). Auburn is good and has a very good d and some size. I think we have seen some doubles within the zone especially last few games. I would love to see them hit him when he flashes the high post/free throw line in the middle of the zone, because 16 footers seem to be the j he seems mildly comfortable with, and it would be nice… Read more »
They’ve used him in precisely that spot when opponents have played the 2-3 zone against Duke. His tendency is to use kick out touch passes to set shooters up…. the next step will be to attack the rim off the dribble from that spot and kick out without drawing the charge.
Oh for sure. But it seems to me they usually get him the ball more on the baselines, the other weak point where you can quick post, as opposeed to when he flashes middle. I suppose they have gotten it to him when he flashes middle, but not as much as I would like. I would love to see him catch and shoot a sixteen footer when he does, but that might not be in his comfort zone or their game plan yet.
I would disagree… they don’t use him like that at all. It’s Bolden or DeLaurier that play on the baseline against zone.
They do sometimes. Last night here were some lineups where he was the five and Jack White was the four and he played the baseline role. That was the lineup where they started pulling away in the second half if I remember correctly. It also seems to me they are rarely four out for very long and usually zion starts playing baseline then flashes high post. They have definitely have had both on opposite sides of the baseline and kept them there. It is true in those lineups with Bolden or Delaurier that Zion is the one who flashes elbow… Read more »
Have to disagree… that’s not their offense, and hasn’t been their offense this year at all.
Just look at what he did against UK and Gonzaga… he was the high post man… and that’s all he’s been against the 2-3 zone. Coach K wouldn’t trust anyone but Zion or Barrett at that role…. and it’s been Zion the whole time this year.
Ok then, but I am not saying that isn’t his normal role, but Kentucky wasn’t playing zone and he played on the perimeter and on the low block iso a bunch against them because they tried to play man most of that game. There are lineups where he is soley the lone big, especially last night (Jack White, Jones, Barrett, Reddish, Zion). He hasn’t always flashed because in a four out like with Jack White at the four you don’t have to against a zone. With two true bigs, a la Zion and one of Delaurier or Bolden you would… Read more »
White plays the “5” role even when Zion’s in. He works the baseline against zone and his role is rebounding and defense… and to spread the floor when teams go to man and they run their 5 out offense. I saw the play you’re talking about last night… it was a one-off because Barrett was the flasher to the free throw line, who got Zion the easy bucket on the low post. As I said, Zion and Barrett are the only guys whom Coach K will ask to flash to the high post. And, as I said, Zion was predominantly… Read more »
Alright I give up. You watch them more than me. White seemed to corner or spread last night, but maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention. That is one I was thinking of.
It’s all good… my whole point was to say they’re using exactly how you asked… but he’s NOT going to shoot that jumper you want… that’s all, that was my whole point. And the reason why is because it’s a bad shot for him…. defenses would gladly take him shooting that shot.
Nice thread, guys.
Appreciate it Nate, John B is fun to go down the rabbit hole with, sorry to turn it into a Duke thread!
No need to apologize. We embrace rabbit holes.
Also, catching and shooting a 16 footer would be dumb on his part… that’s a terrible shot for him and he’d get pulled out of the game for ever shooting that shot with any regularity.
He wouldn’t get pulled. He is too crucial to what they do. But yeah, that is me not as a Duke fan but wanting to see them push him. Not as efficient for Duke, but selfishly gives me a better idea of what he can do. Of course Coach K won’t and shouldn’t necessarily do that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it from a scouting standpoint. I want to see him pushed and put into non-comfort zones, for purely selfish reasons on my part as a cavs fan.
Uh, yes he’d definitely get pulled if he tries that with any regularity LOL… Coach K wouldn’t allow him to shoot that shot unless it was a shot clock situation.
Maybe. The whole point of flashing high against a trad 2-3 though is for an open easy 12-15 footer that is an open easy shot for most players or a high low pass baseline based on spacing or kickout if the zone collapses which it shouldn’t in today’s game. But you need to truly flash freethrow line for that spacing. Midrangers are low percentage when they get out to 18-23 feet.
That’s not what they’re asking Zion to do when he plays that role.
They’re asking him to attack the rim from there, and kick out to open shooters on the perimeter if they sink to pack the paint and he can’t get to the rim.
The reason they’re asking him to do that is because he cannot hit the elbow/FT jumper.
I get it. It is the best bball strategy. But I wonder if it won’t stunt his development this year. Obviously they see what we can’t in practice. Man I would like to see him handling the ball on the perimeter in a true five out offense with four shooters most of the time. Even against a 2/3 with four shooters you would have to give him some driving lane or risk getting burned. With a true five out a two three is sort of negated. Wishful thinking. They don’t have that kind of team. Not sure there is a… Read more »
??? They’re running the 5 out offense… it’s in their ESPN documentary, it’s precisely what Coach K has implemented this year for them, because Reddish, Barrett, Zion, and Jones can all dribble drive and make plays. And they run against man defense, not zone. They run the high-post offense against the zone. The 5 out doesn’t work against zone because the whole point of it is to create space to drive to the basket, 2-3 zone eliminates that option completely. And I’m not sure what you mean by “stunt his development”…. he’s only going to be there 1 year. The… Read more »
A two three zone is only good if the zone doesn’t have to respect three to four out of five shooters. Why play man when you can gamble against them? Kentucky learned that the hard way. I would rather sag off Barrett, Jones, white and every other shooter in a zone than give them or Zion the interior. Everyone but Reddish a team would rather sag. Five out means little unless teams actually shade more towards shooters than in the paint. My point being you can’t play a two three zone against a team that will pull you to the… Read more »
A “small” ball lineup with Jones, O’Connell, Barrett, Reddish, and Zion would maybe be enough to break the zone from the perimeter. But I get it. They don’t have the personnel. No college team really does to play that way. Barrett and Zion obliterate the boards against most teams, so maybe it passes. But obviously you would lose a ton of interior defense. Again not likely their best lineup but I am simply looking to see what Zion can do on offense in an offense where you can’t sag at all. I am coming at it from a different perspective… Read more »
They’ve definitely run that lineup out there, and it has worked to an extent but only when O’Connell is playing well… yes, they won’t run that lineup out there often because they lose defense and rebounding big time.
Reddish isn’t really a great rebounder or defender, not like DeLaurier or White.
And White can shoot and bang with bigs, so that’s why he sees the court with the big 4 as opposed to O’Connell.
I’d disagree with the notion that they’re not a good enough shooting team, and for the most part, they’ve killed the zone… it didn’t work when UK did it, nor when Gonzaga played it… that’s when they made their comeback. The reason why it they “struggled” against Hartford was because Reddish was off…. and part of the reason why he was so off is because they didn’t get the ball to Zion enough on the high post to collapse the defense. They mostly just swung the ball side to side on the perimeter and jacked the shot after one swing.… Read more »
Part of the Hartford thing in my opinion thing was that they only had two to three guys to keep track of on the perimeter at most times. Put that four out and maybe you break them. Of course it depends on those four out hitting shots. As for your last point, probably yes. No one has the talent of that team. But those four plus Zion is a type of small spacing lineup that I am talking about that is potentially a prime zone obliterating lineup for that team. You could gamble in a two three against those four… Read more »
They actually did precisely what you’re describing with whenever they subbed out Bolden and DeLaurier. They had a ton of open perimeter 3s, especially in the corners. The problem was they missed a lot of open corner 3s, White and Reddish being the main culprits.
Yeah that’s true, Reddish was cold as ice that game.
Zion is the better athlete. Barrett might be the better player. I’d be ecstatic with either.
My thoughts until I see the ACC conference play, tournaments, and NCAA. I think we may have a decent idea after all that.
AGREE WITH YOU JOHNB —JUST SEEMED LIKE HE DIDN’T HAVE FULL FOLLOW THRU / HOLD THE FOLLOW THRU———I TEACH MY HIGH SCHOOL KIDS —-” HIGH AND WAVE GOOD BYE —FREEZE THE FOLLOW THRU ” –TRY TO VERBALIZE IT SO THEY CAN VISUALIZE IT ——HAVEN’T REALLY STUDIED HIS KNEE BEND–HE MIGHT NOT BE GETTING ENOUGH KNEE BEND TO GET ADDED STRENGTH FOR 3 PT SHOT
Could be. He does get good elevation on his mid rangers and doesn’t have a hitch. Seems to release right before peak or at it, so unsure why that wouldn’t carry through to three point range. He also goes straight up or falls toward the bucket a small amount on threes without fading usually and seems to square pretty well so he shouldn’t be losing power from falling back or from not squaring. Maybe he used to short arms his threes in college. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue now, considering how well he is shooting them in… Read more »
BONZI GOING FOR ” 50″ TONIGHT-ALREADY HAS— 22 PTS WITH ALMOST 6 MIN”S LEFT IN THE 1ST HALF
THINKS HIS SHOT HAS IMPROVED FROM SUMMER TIME / ALOT SMOOTHER / HIGHER RELEASE / BETTER FOLLOW THRU —ALTHOUGH NOT 100 % CONSISTENT- (AKA : K KORVER )- WITH THIS —A STRENGTH OF HIS IS HIS SUPPOSEDLY TIREDLESS EFFORT / BEING COACHABLE TO IMPROVE —HOPE HE CONTINUES TO STRIVE TO GET BETTER
Watching that scouting video he seemed to have good form even then. His shooting elbow position and follow through seemed to be rock solid even at Alabama. He brought the ball up slightly lower than normal, but the release fundamentals are there. I think most shooting coaches would much rather work with a guy who misses long or short than someone whose aim and spin need work. Givony’s main point was that he didn’t have the range or shot selection. But I have to say I have been very impressed with his shot. I really thought he was going to… Read more »
So is shooting Sexton’s major strength at this point? And did anyone see that coming before the season? I certainly didn’t. It seems to be the strongest part of his game. Would like to seem him pull-up from three every time his defender goes under the screen. If he has time and space he seems to be rock solid as a catch and shoot player or off of one or two dribble pull-ups if his defender sags. Seems to me he has very nice balance when given space and consistent form despite his bringing the ball up from lower down… Read more »
AGREE WITH EVIL —CONCERNED WE MIGHT PLAY ‘TOO GOOD ” –PLAY US OUT OF A NICE DRAFT PICK—-POSTED EARLIER THE WAY THE NETS ARE / AREN’T PLAYING –THEY COULD SCREW US AGAIN WITH WORSE RECORD THAN US —–REMEMBER WE ARE GETTING LOVE BACK IN JANUARY —–AND ALSO DEKKER / NWABA / ANTE —-I SEE “W” ‘S WHEN ALL ARE HEALTHY
Yes and no. The way the lotto works this year will most likely be the culprit. Teams at the top have a lower chance to land the top pick (top 3 all at 14%, top 2 were 25% and 20% last year). Plus they are more likely to get jumped (drawing 4 ), worst team could tumble to 5th. We were never as bad as our early season record. Thanks, Ty. Love getting hurt, JR, and the other injuries have set us back some. We are up around 9-10-11 wins if healthy. Fortunately, I think everyone save Atlanta & Phoenix… Read more »
Yep. And considering as you pointed out the worst three all have the same chances and the fourth is not far behind there isn’t much incentive to be the worst. If we somehow went on a roll and wound up with the tenth worst record, that would be problematic as not only would we have a small chance of losing the pick to ATL but we would have similar odds to last our nets pick last year. 3% are awful odds.
Ballad of Buster Scruggs was fantastic, wrapped up very nicely at the end in the stage coach. References Friedrich Nietzsche philosophy on Greek tragedy. I do like slow movies that take the time to tell the story. I would finish it if you haven’t.
I have that on my “to watch” list.
I started on it last night and then my 5yo came downstairs 😁
Liked the first story. Haven’t watched any of the other ones. Sort of reminded me of “Hail Caesar” with the genre mixing. First one was part Gene Autry, part traditional western, and part Coen brother comedy weirdness and dialogue. Will be interested to see what the others are like. Their plots don’t always seem to have a traditional beginning middle and end, but it is hard to beat their offbeat interesting dialogue and characters.
I don’t know much about Nietzsche other than his Ubermencsh philosophical concept. I heard a review of the utterly insane and hilarious John Boorman film Zardoz on the “How did this get made podcast?” which posited the film was heavily based upon Nietzsche’s philosophy and that Sean Connery was supposed to embody the Ubermensch concept in the film. It is one of my favorite “bad” movies for a multitude of reasons, but the plot always seemed utterly insane and impenetrable to me until I heard that review. It had always seemed to me as if Boorman took acid and came… Read more »
Dude I love HDTGM! Go Cavs, and go Jason Mantzoukas!
That was my all time episode because I had been waiting for them to do it since they started that podcast. In terms of big budget main stream Hollywood movies with A list stars and directors there is nothing like it. That was Boorman’s film after Deliverance. He was nominated for directing and best picture Oscars for Deliverance and then he does Zardoz. Truly bizarre context.
I’ll have to check out Zardos.
It’s bats@$t crazy. Worth a watch.
We should have subbed in J.R. Smith for the final minute of regulation, just for ol’ times sake.
That would had been funny.
Nice pod guys! I had fun watching this game… mainly because there was zero pressure to win it unlike the last four years… Thought the Cavs did well to keep it competitive for the majority of three quarters. Too many mistakes, missed shots and also KD and Steph being un-guardable late in the game made it look a whole lot more lopsided… They play like this against the Kings and it’s an easy win… however, as I noticed in the latest mock draft from BR, they are dangerously close to winning themselves out of the Duke trio sweepstakes. Man, I… Read more »
Jordan and Kupchak seem like the guys you could unload TT to.
I have to give TT credit…I gave him some crap here for saying before the season how with Lebron gone he had an opportunity to show how good he is. He’s limited, but he’s been playing like a boss when you take his limitations in consideration.
Agreed. But also still – 29 last night.
-27 actually…
Raw plus minus though. Didn’t see the game. So I don’t know if it matched the eye test. You guys have harped on the dubious credibility of that stat in the past due to the lack of lineup based adjustments and statistical regularization. I still cite it. As all of us seemingly do, but we know it can be extremely misleading on a game by game unadjusted basis.
Why would you trade him? You know he’s actually a guy that WANTS to be in Cleveland. I’m against it. Fans complain when players don’t show loyalty to teams, but that works both ways ya know. I’m all for him being a Cavs lifer.
TT isn’t an offensive threat in any way, shape or form. He’s only scoring because teams are allowing him to. Once teams realize he has stepped up his offense above horrid, they’ll start to pressure him and he will go back to being crap.
Eh. This is not completely true. First. He’s a very good screen setter (not a fantastic roll man mind you). Second he is an infinitely better finisher than he used to be. Just look at his field goal percentage this year against teams packing the paint. Third, offensive rebounding is a skill. He has skills, but is likely at the peak of them.
AGREE WITH YOU JRL / ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ARE IN REBUID MODE —-BUT WITH HIS VALUE AT IT’S HIGHEST IT HAS TO BE A TRADE THAT FAVORS US –” KNOCKS YOUR SOCKS OFF “
THE NETS WON 28 GAMES LAST YEAR– ( SURPASSING MOST PREDICTIONS –) AND SCREWING THE CAVS —–WITH ALMOST A THIRD OF THE SEASON FINISHED THIS YEAR —THEY (NETS ) ONLY HAVE 8 WINS —-COULD THEY POSSIBLY SCREW US AGAIN BY HAVING FEWER WINS THAN THE CAVS THIS YEAR WTF ?
WATCHED THE REPLAY ( MY GAME PLAN THIS YEAR )—DUBS JUST HAVE ” ANOTHER GEAR —SIMILAR TO LEBRON ” WHEN THEY WANT TO SUMMON IT UP—–“MIGHTY “QUINN BRINGS UP A PET PEEVE I HAVE ALWAYS HAD WITH THE CAVS——NOT DEVELOPING PLAYERS / STAYING WITH THEM—-HE WOULD LOOK GOOD AS A RELATIVELY YOUNG BACK UP PT GD —–AS FAR AS DRAFTING GOES —PART OF IT IS DOING YOUR HOMEWORK/ REALLY EVALUATING THE TALENT AND YOUR NEEDS —–THE OTHER PART I DO BELIEVE IS A “CRAP SHOT ‘ –KIND OF TRUE IN ALL SPORTS —–RIGHT NOW THE WAY T.T. IS PLAYING AND… Read more »
TT’s value will never be as high as it currently is, you trade him the moment something worth comes your way.
https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1070520733871284224
That’s not real right?
Giannis with a ho hum 103/49/27 game…
Loli
LoL 🤣
Jason Lloyd had a great comment on Klay Thompson the other day, after Klay’s nonsense tweet. He said that Klay was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple. Then he said, he wasn’t the reason the Dubs won 3 of 4 championships, as it was Durant and Curry.
That’s a old line about people born with silver spoons in their mouths. Accurate in Klay’s case. He is the guy I hate the most over their, more than Dray or KD.
We could have had 1/3 of their rotation players. We picked TT over Klay after Irving. We had 2 2nds (I think) before Draymond went. I half-heartedly wanted Klay (more towards Jonas V). Was screaming to take Draymond, twice. And then there is Cook
Glad TT mentioned we screwed up not signing him.
Don’t forget they passed on kawhi to take tt
I wanted Kawhi so bad.
Come on Nate. So did 14 other teams. Kawhi was not on the radar for a top four pick based on general consensus. Tt was if I remember. I don’t mind looking at past drafts, but I don’t think it is fair to blame teams for not drafting picks that 11 teams after also passed on.
Klay is a bonafide idiot, but it’s pretty hilarious how bitter he still is about blowing the 3-1 lead…
I haven’t been reading much BR lately but this popped up on one of my feeds. I’m sure it will interest plenty of you. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2808589-why-doesnt-anyone-want-to-play-with-lebron-anymore
Three things are at play here –
A) The Warriors
B) LeBron’s age
C) LeBron’s ego/age
Why would anyone wanna deal with that?
*C) LeBron’s ego/baggage – not age again.
Kyrie not wanting to play with LeBron, probably doesn’t help his case either.
At this point, you’re right. As long as the Warriors exist as they are, why would anyone want to entangle themselves with all that mess if it doesn’t give them an appreciably greater chance at a championship. This isn’t 2010 when the League was ripe for a super team to take over. Or even 2014 prior to the Warriors’ emergence. There are super teams all over the League now.
JMay – there is only ONE super team with a bunch of really, really good teams behind it.
D) Plenty of people want to play with LeBron.
Plenty of B-Listers. I think there aren’t as many stars as there used to be.
I feel like Davis definitely wants to.
I’m not sure about Leonard or KD, but I think that is also a possibility.
If the raptors come out of the east and push Golden State or win if they have an injury, Kawhi would be crazy to leave unless KD joins LAL.
I guess we will see. AD does seem like the type who wouldn’t mind. Is is not a self-promoter spotlight type (Kyrie) who won’t mind LeBron being the center of attention. And he may be willing to sacrifice for a ring.
I could see CP3 doing it. But they are friends.
Agreed. He was friends with Wade. Wade got Bosh. Allen was a ring chaser.
For Cleveland, Kyrie was alreasy here and already signed. Love wanted out of Minny and wanted to WIN. The rest were ring-chaser types.
The list is really just Wade (his buddy) and Love (who really wanted to win as motivation #1).
And while LeBron may still be the best player come post-season, over the course of 82, it is probably Curry or Kawhi.
Great pod!
Nothing to be ashamed of with this loss. You’re playing against the best team in the league and took it to them for 2.5 quarters.
The only thing to learn is to utilize what you’re are given, meaning not losing track of Nance in the second half. Clarkson needs to be less Clarksonian. And Sexton needs to attack the basket.
As far as Toronto, I said after the trade – if Kawhi is healthy, they are the best team in the East. He’s the best player in the East right now with Giannis coming in second.
Agree JRL. Beasts of the East:
1. Kawhi
2. Giannis
———–
3. Butler
4. Embiid
————-
5. Everyone else (Kyrie, Walker, Dipo, Griffin, a healthy Porzingas).