From Distance: KPJ is a Dawg!

four point play….

1. I have been a bit out of the loop the last couple weeks. My distaste for current Cleveland sports had me firing up the old Youtube to watch late 80s Browns games.

I guess I needed to stoke my fandom by reconnecting with some of my first sports loves, Webster Slaughter, Clay Mathews, and of course, Bernie Kosar.

I watched the Browns/Jets 1986 playoff thriller from beginning to end, and even most of the infamous Denver game to hear how crazy the crowd went as Brennan hauled in the deep ball to give the Browns that precarious lead.

It was awesome.

A few things popped out. First, I miss a world where fans were allowed to have hanging effigies of opposing players. That doesn’t really fly nowadays and it is a shame.

Do I REALLY want to see John Elway hung? Of course not! Well, no. I mean, not from my volition.

In any case, that early Dawg Pound was so much scarier and more fun than the current version. What we miss now is that real connection with the fans. Or even between players.

Those guys were always celebrating with each other and with the fans. They weren’t performing for them, they were more a surrogate for the fans’ will. After a season of watching Odell frickin Blaaahh, the contrast was even more severe.

So, thank you, 1980s Browns. You might have lost to the Broncos three times, but you re-won my heart.

2. With that uptick in Cleveland spirit, I dug into the Cavs games with new fervor! And I felt as though I immediatley got a fever.

Pardon me if this is already common knowledge, but it looks as though Tristan Thompson abjectly HATES… wait for it…

Collin Sexton.

This might be totally off-base, but it seems every time there has been an issue between Beilein and TT, it has come directly after Sexton hikacked yet another offensive possession.

He screamed at Beilein after that timeout right after Sexton jacked a terrible jumper with TT waiting to start play action. It felt more like “and you accept that?!?!”

Clearly, the veterans are having trouble dealing with the youth on this team, but I think what really drives them crazy is how long a leesh Sexton has.

I could be projecting.

I, too, would be ready to cherry pick a dunk If I had to play basketball with Collin Sexton. It is clear the guys like Kevin Porter Jr more than the other youngsters.

Could it be because that kid actually looks to pass the ball and, I don’t know, rotate on defense?!

Garland is less selfish with the rock, but he is putting up rookie-Sexton-esque defensive metrics. Sadly, Collin himself has still never met a first juke he doesn’t want to completely house.

If I am Kevin or Tristan, I am checking my bank account as often as I can to remind myself why I do this.

3. It’s not all doom and gloom. KPJ continues to impress with two-way gold. He plays with a joy, grit, and pace that all point to him having a solid career.

https://youtu.be/qUDUsHWINQw

I really hope any potential trades don’t upset his current comfort zone. More importantly, I hope they don’t get confused into trading the young man in some complicated Love deal.

The starting backcourt has begun to hit a few more of their hope shots. Darius even looks bigger than he did a month ago, so maybe those trainers are doing something good.

Still, there are veterans who are not producing in a way that we had hoped. If Cedi Osman were half the player I thought he could be two years ago, the Cavs would likely be in the playoff hunt.

A lot of that is the coaching staff’s fault. Cedi is good running a pick and roll and yet he has been stripped of any real primary play-making responsibilities.

His defensive instincts are better served if the team defense doesn’t feature two of the worst defensive guards of all-time.

And yet, if Cedi were who I thought he was, he would demand the respect from the coaching staff to have those duties, and he would be a defensive force.

Unfortunately, Cedi seems to be a sweet kid who rides high or sinks low depending on game success. He would be better served if he had a Clarkson personality. I’d settle for a Delly mindset.

That brings me to one of our favorite players. I will actually take this moment to applaud Mathew for sticking with his new shot despite his TERRIBLE shooting percentages.

A new technique can take a long time to truly internalize and it is tempting to go back to the previous form.

He was successful during summer World Cup action with his new one motion jumpshot.

But holy basketball has he missed his open shots this year. Dellavedova is shooting a staggeringly low 11.6% from behind the arc thus far. He has made only five triples all season.

Despite Delly’s struggles, if he and Kevin Porter Jr were to start together, I imagine the team would be more successful. Maybe a defensive focus to start a contest would keep Tristan and Kevin involved.

“But Ben, we have to develop the backcourt of the future!”

Happily.

Kevin Porter and Garland might work. Let Darius have some success coming off the bench.

In any case, if TT and Love play well enough to get a decent trade haul, that would ultimately help any future backcourt more than starting two defensive seives.

In a pleasant world, the Cavs could pull off some Dennis Smith Jr. type deal to land a real player. I was never high on Sexton as you know. I am out on him now even after some decent shooting games.

He just doesn’t understand the facets of the game, and his surprisingly good three point shooting from last season has regressed.

4. My MVP list:

1. Giannis

2. Luka

3. Harden

4. LeBron

5. Siakam

The Luka injury is a bummer and Kawhi will likely be in the top three by the end of the season, but that’s my order thus far.

I think Anthony Davis is probably a better overall player than Bron at this point, but that team runs on King juice.

Some metrics put Luka’s defensive rating as higher than LeBron’s and he was leading the NBA in offensive rating before going out.

Siakam is about as two-way player as it comes right now. The Raps are a fun team to watch on defense especially.

Harden. Like it or not, the dude is as good as anyone not named Giannis.

The Freak is rocking a 34.63 PER. What?

This is an all-time season by a future Hall-of-Famer. Enjoy.