Live Thread: Cavs @ Thunder
2020-02-05Oklahoma City has been a trouble spot for the Cavs. The Thunder have won five of the last six in the series and a 148—124 drubbing in January of 2018 still stings. Should be an interesting dynamic tonight as both teams deal with trade rumors. Cleveland is without Thompson, who is officially listed as nursing a quad injury. I’m surprised Henson is playing, given the Cavs’ desire to move him. The Thunder are surprisingly healthy, missing only Roberson, though Nerlens Noel did fracture his face last week.
I expect a drubbing here. But maybe Kev and Co. decide to show out. Go Cavs – and if this is the last night we see Thompson sitting on the Cavs’ bench, it’s been a hell of a run.
Schedule, next 10 is tough: Clips, Hawks, at Wiz, at Heat, Heat, Philly, at NO, Indy, Utah, Bos.
I LIKE TOPPIN / DAYTON —–GOING TO PREDICT THAT YOU WILL SEE HIS STOCK RISE AROUND DRAFT TIME
I think once we realized we may be stuck with Kev for another year (or more), we needed a stabilizer for morale. Plus, the cost was nada, so why not? Drummond is only 26 and one of the best rebounders in league history. His PPG, assists, blocks & steals (top 10 in both, I believe) are all career highs. And he is around 60% on FTs. Plus, he was not begging out of Detroit despite their struggles. We have two borderline all-stars at PF & C. Plus LNJ & TT in reserve. We need length & versatility on the wings,… Read more »
THINK THE CAVS / KOBY REALIZE THEY NEEDED TO PUT SOME “EXCITEMENT / MOTIVATION ” FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON/ FOR THE FANS TO SUPPORT THIS TEAM ——–WHICH UNDOUBETDLY IT HAS DONE ——–LOOK AT ALL THE POSTS FROM YESTERDAYS NEWS ——-BUT REALLY THINK IF WHAT THEY SEE THE NEXT 30 GAMES IS A POSITIVE —-THEY ARE ALL IN AT SIGNING DRUMMOND TO A BIG CONTRACT AND I AM TOTALLY OK WITH THAT ……………LIKE ALL OF US I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL SUNDAY’S GAME……………ALSO HATS OFF TO T.T. BEING SO PROFESSIONAL IN HIS INTERVIEW / COMMENTS ABOUT THE TRADE ……HE COULD… Read more »
SO IF T.T. SIGNS ESLEWHERE THIS SUMMER —-ALMOST GARANTEED HE DOES —DO THE CAVS THEN MAKE A CHEAP OFFER TO ANTE FOR RESERVE ROLE
Depends on the draft position. Wiseman or Toppin are both bigs I would be happy landing. Obi more of a 4/5 with Wiseman a true 5.
Not impressed with the guards/SFs at the top of the class beyond Haliburton.
AAAAAAY—-THE FONZ IS BACK AND ON TOP GOT WHAT HE DESERVES A CONTRACT —-THUMBS UP !!!!
Awesome news
Fonzie is back! Rumblings say only 2 years may be guaranteed.
Starters: Garland, Sexton, Cedi, Love, Dre.
Main bench: Exum, Porter, Fonzie, LNJ, TT
Break glass in case of PG meltdown: Delly
Injured: Windler
Last 2 active spots: pick 1 of Bolden/Zizic + Wade/Mooney.
THAT IS WHAT I PREDICTED ALSO JASON —ABOUT 10-20 REST OF THE SEASON —-CATCH UP TP 7/ 8 TH SPOT ——WE SHALL SEE ——STILL LEAVES THEM WITH A DECENT DRAFT SHOT / PICK
just slightly over Vet’s minimum? seems like a fine deal, nothing clogging the cap space and he has played decently off the bench in spurts
We have 30 games left and are at .250 (20-21 win) pace. I’d hope we go at least .333 (10-20) from here.
The lack of winning nous from all our guards makes it tough.
Wins:
12 = GSW
13 = Cavs
14 = Hawks
15 = Minny
16 = NY, Charlotte
17 = Wiz
———–
19 = Detroit, Chicao, Sac
20 = Suns
21 = NO
22 = Spurs, Magic (PO)
23 = Nets (PO)
24 = Blazers
If things go swimmingly, I could see us catching Detroit, but no further. That would put us at puck #8. But if we catch them, perhaps some other teams that improved at the deadline (Hawks, Minny) or just get healthier (Dubs, Wiz) do as well.
Did some roster sluething, it appears we have 13 on standard contracts + Bolden on a 10 day + both 2 ways filled (Wade & Mooney). Cook is back with Canton but with no contractual ties to the Cavs.
Gotta think we either bring back the Fonz or pick up a roster casualty from deadline day.
Can’t really put my finger on as to why, but I’m weirdly optimistic about this trade and the Cavs trajectory over the next 2 years, regardless of KLove’s presence/absence. I just feel like a lot of players are due to capitalise on their maturation (LNJ and Cedi particularly, but the rooks too). And now wIth a piece like Drummond in there, it could be more than just Cavs playing a little better and selling more tickets. The rooks who like shooting from the elbow/perimeter should have a great time playing with him. If it all goes well, he might stay…?… Read more »
Wish I liked Drummond more as a player…he’s a guy you would ride in ’81, not so much now…(but still a better option at C than Cavs had, of course)
Houston may lose tonight, but Houston’s getting wide open 3s and a wide open lane for Harden and Westbrook to drive in… problem is their small ball is hard on defense where they rely on chemistry, speed, and hustle… they’re having to double, help, and recover.
I think the key is it makes the Cavs more fun to watch for the rest of this season. That has to count for something right?
I agree that that was a much larger influence on the trade than most anyone has acknowledged.
I HOPE that the trade has positive returns for the future, but I think an underlooked factor is that it will simply help ticket sales for the next few months while not stunting the rebuild.
bottom line for me.. cavs got somewhat better (perhaps a bit more, time will tell) and gained some flexibility, without paying anything of significant value.. they needed to do something.. without embarrassing themselves (and doing nothing, and being exposed as not being able to do anything to improve the roster of a bottom-dwelling team, would have been worse).. so they avoided 2 unpleasant outcomes.. it’s a perimeter game, but having a huge, fairly young rebounding machine in the center never hurts.. a good day for the organization..
The Cavs stink, and this move likely has zero impact on the next good Cavs team, whenever that is. But they gave up nothing, so it’s worth a flyer. Why not.
God, Giannis is ridiculous…
He’s got next from Bron, I think. With all due respect to Kawhi, KD, & Steph.
His teammates have to love him. As talented as any player in the world, and still plays harder than anyone in the NBA. Hope Bucks fans truly appreciate him.
So, our roster currently:
Garland, Sexland, Osman, Love, Drummond
Exum, Delly, Porter, Nance, TT
Windler, Zizic
Two way: Wade, Mooney
3 spots open? Bolden has to be one. Cook still on the team?
When Giannis gets the ball in his spot, or on the break, he’s as unstoppable as Shaq was.
Yep. Most dominant guy on the break/around the hoop I have seen in a while.
Shaq, prime Bron, prime Doc, & prime Kareem are the only ones even close. Maybe prime Nique. Maybe Dream/Mailman.
But some of those guys were not dunkers. Especially in traffic. Giannis, Shaq, Doc, Nique are the traffic dunkers.
Funny how media peoples crap on Bledsoe’s contract, which I get, but Tobias Harris’s is way worse…it gets mentioned, but not in the same way as Bledsoe’s…nothing like overpaying an okay player on a career year…
Too bad he wasn’t here for the last LeBron/ Kyrie team…he would have helped…
Gonna miss his passing and his defense!
JOHNB —AGREE HOPE CAVS HAVE MORE SENSE TO KEEP LNJ’S MIN’S TO WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN/ OR CLOSE TO IT —-HE HAS BEEN PLAYING GREAT BALL ————READ AN ARTICLE TODAY WHERE LNJ SAID HE TOOK THE TIME OFF MORE BECAUSE HE WAS “EMOTIONALLY DRAINED “—DON’T WANT HIM TO GO BACK TO THAT STATE OF MIND ———LNJ IS PART OF THE FUTURE —ACCORDING TO ALL ACCOUNTS T.T. IS GONE THIS SUMMER—–STILL WANT TO SEE T.T. PLAY/ GET MIN’S / NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF LNJ LOSING A WHOLE LOT OF MIN’S
from the ringer..
The Pistons Traded Andre Drummond to the Cavaliers. But Why?
Detroit’s franchise center will cross Lake Erie to team up with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Do the Pistons have a plan? Do the Cavs?
good read
Bah. I’m pretty out on the Ringer with the Spotify acquisition until they prove they’re gonna do right by their writers.
God I hope the cavs aren’t idiots enough to reduce Nances’ minutes to give TT almost all the backup PF and Center minutes to keep TT satisfied. Who am I kidding? This is happening. They’ll take Drummond out early and put Tt in. Then then take love out and put Drummond back in while keeping TT on the floor.
I do not want Larry or Kev playing much small ball 5. If the other team goes small, fine. Against legit Cs, I want TT or Drummond out there.
Might be OK in small doses.
I would still plan for 28-30 for Love/Drummond & 18-20 for Larry/TT. At least in terms of the 4/5 minutes.
Not too many teams have good legit centers anymore. Phil, Utah, Dallas (sort of), who am I missing?
AM THINKING THE SAME JASON –( AS FAR AS MOVING UP THE WON/ LOSS RECORD )—THE TEAMS THAT ARE WITHIN THE CAVS GRASP / WINS —OTHER THAN ATALANTA —-DIDN’T IMPROVE THEMSELVES / ACTUALLY SOME GOT WORSE / WHY I AM THINKING CAVS MOVING UP TO 7—9 SPOTS —–THEN MAYBE PULL A NEW ORLEANS AND GET A TOP PICK OR TOP 5 PICK
LMAO—-SHOULD BE AN INSTANT ESPN CLASSIC —ST WIERDO VS J.R. ———AGREE WITH YOU CLF—-DRUMMOND ON A ‘TRIAL ‘ BASIS TO SEE / CHECK THE FIT
Will be there!
He’ll be a fan favorite in Laker Land.
THINK T.T. IS GONE THIS SUMMER —–UNLESS HIS VALUE HAS REALLY FALLEN OFF–(WHICH APPEARS TO BE TRUE —SINCE WE COULDN’T MAKE A TRADE ) AND THE MONEY WILL NOT BE THERE FOR HIM / FREE AGENCY THIS SUMMER / CAVS RESIGN HIM RELATIVELY CHEAP / STILL THINK THE CAVS ARE HIGH ON LNJ/ ESPECIALLY WITH HIS RECENT PLAY AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN A POSITIVE VOICE ON / OFF COURT —–HE BRINGS MUCH VERSATALITY IN HIS GAME —-SOME MIN’S AT THE 3 FOR HIM ——YES LOVE IS MUCH BETTER FIT FOR DRUMMOND THAN BLAKE ——-THINK DRUMMOND WILL ENJOY PLAYING WITH KLOVE… Read more »
The reason the Cavs veered from ‘interested in resigning TT’ to ‘TT is available’ is because they understand what kind of contract he’s looking for, and they didn’t want to keep him at that price. Highly doubt he’s with the Cavs next year. He may even get another big contract due to the dearth of FAs this summer. Yeah, yeah, I know everybody and their brother thinks they are in the Giannis sweepstakes, but most teams aren’t.
Yeah, TT is probably gone. He was willing to re-up earlier in the year. Whether it was Beilein/Sexland, losing, or the realization we would not meet his number, he changed his mind.
Nothing but love for TT. I would love it if he sticks around on a more modest deal.
We could also land Wiseman in the draft.
To me, the Drummond trade is a weird “lease” at the chance that he is a long term option. If everything falls in to place with Drummond, then the Cavs just need to focus on wings in the draft while knowing they have Drummond at the 5 and LNJ at the 4.
If Drummond doesn’t seem viable, they still got a cheap trial lease that cost next to nothing and will probably help sell a few more tickets for the rest of the year.
Huh? Giannis has a whole other year. Won’t be a FA until the summer of 2021.
Teams don’t want money on their books for 2021. Any contract TT signs is probably going to be at least 3 years.
Ah I see what you mean.
From an asset collection standpoint, the trade totally makes sense. We got him for virtually nothing and can trade him next year as an expiring if he opts in. He definitely has more value than Knight and Henson. My question is if they did the trade purely for those reasons or if they actually view Drummond as someone they want to keep around. If so, are they not as high on LNJ anymore? Do they expect TT to be gone and to trade Love over the summer? If they keep Love, can Drummond work with him and Sexland? Love and… Read more »
it’s a 1 year test for Drummond and how he fits as a defender and PnR finisher.
I think they see LNJ as a natural 4, small ball 5 and acquiring Drummond has nothing to do with how they feel about LNJ.
Agreed.
AGREE WITH YOUR ROTATION IDEA NATE—————-OK THE CAVS HAVE 30 GAMES LEFT/ ANY PREDICTIONS ON WHAT THEIR RECORD WILL BE THE LAST 30 GAMES —I AM GOING WITH 10 -20 RECORD —–ARE THEY IN JEOPARDY OF MOVING OUT OF TOP 10 DRAFT PICK ?
No
Out of the top 10 on record? No. I agree with Nate. No.
But we could get hot & move up to 7-9th worst and then get unlucky in the lotto.
The problem is you cannot play Drummond and TT together. Drummond gets 30 TT gets 18. I’d play Nance six minutes at the three with love and TT (Drummond isn’t switchy enough to make it work) to get him to 24 min.
Gaaah! No to LNJ at the 3.
Though, given our current SF options, I get why you went there.
Why not? You got a big shooting 4. It can get you a lot of Mismatches. I’d actually live a faster starting unit with love and Drummond, and then a grinder second unit with Nance at the three and just mismatch hunt.
Larry cannot guard quicker SFs. And I would prefer a better shooter/dribbler at that spot.
LNJ can guard 3’s better than most of the Cavs.
I’ve been saying it along with Nate for months…Nance isn’t really a 3, but he’s probably the Cavs best option at a combo 3/4.
Used properly, Nance can absolutely soak up some SF minutes and help the team in the process.
CHINA HERE WE COME I.T. —-GET YOUR “CORANAVIRUS ” VACCINE ———WELL HIS NICKNAME TOWARDS THE END WAS THE “DRAINO ” EXACTLY WHERE HIS CAREER IS HEADED
Lmao
No surprise. I’m sure Kawhi would have been ready to strangle IT before the playoffs even started.
given the deal cavs got on drummond, not surprising the market for TT was weak.. well, their front line should be a monster.. here’s hoping it creates more than a few W’s
the fact that none of the top-tier playoff-bound teams felt the need to grab drummond does support the contention that the outside game is far more important to the current game than the interior game, and until the cavs an get some consistent outside shooting, it is going to continue to be a long slog, with or without drummond.. but considering the terms of this trade.. it’s all good from my lowly perspective
Hardly any of them have 20+ million in expiring contracts they want to dump AND a willingness to eat $28 million in salary if he opts in.
But because he could walk lowers his value for teams that stink with cap space.
Wow. I believe there are only 96 minutes between your 4 and 5 in a game. Does that mean Klove, Drummond and TT each get 32? If Nance is getting 25-30, who is losing his, unless another move is on the way?
I’d go 28-30 for Love & Dre and 18-20 for Nance & TT.
Love/Dre works. Love/TT works. Small ball Love/Nance works. LNJ/TT & LNJ/Dre is a bit clogged but workable. Dre/TT is a no go on offense.
Our problem is we do not really have a combo forward to play small ball 4. We have to play with 2 bigs all the time. Cedi is the best option and that is not good. Plus if Sexland is in as well, that is tiny.
No reason to play TT much now. Drummond is much better and extremely similar. Both Love and him should get around 33-34 mpg with Nance getting almost all the backup minutes between them save for a few from TT.
I agree with you there about minutes Jason. Though Nate and I have both speculated a bit about Nance perhaps having some spot minutes at the 3 position. With Nance’s recent resurgence and confidence as a scoring option I think now more than ever is a chance to see if he can occupy some minutes as a combo forward 3. If LNJ is able to develop enough ability to be an occasional fill in at small forward, then tge Cavs could quickly shift from being an undersized team into a team with length to spare. The next few weeks will… Read more »
perhaps after drummond addition, vets (TT & love) can re-up on the commitment scale, like the uber high-over-paid “professional” adults that they are, and bring it every night.. if so, perhaps the ship gets turned around.. they should now be able to beat some folks up badly down low..
Pretty sure TT and Love aren’t the main problem. Drummond makes them tougher but the guard play has to improve to “turn the ship around”.
Drummond hasn’t exactly been ‘bringing it every night’ himself. He looks pretty checked out to me.
Agreed. Nothing says checked out like leading the league in rebounding.
Drummond is such a good rebounder he can lead the league in rebounding in his sleep.
big bank accounts have seldom ‘concentrated” the mind on the job at hand in pro sports.. very few are able to do it when the chips are down.. why i try very hard to minimize the emotional investment in anything related to pro sports
that said, drummond addition should at the least be like a big shot of amphetamine to the team.. he is a difference maker on the boards..it might wear off rather quickly, but it should provide for a lot of activity..
Gotta say I agree with Buck here. Also, while Drummond may or may not have been giving 100% all year, it is absurd to discount his insane rebounding stats and call him lazy. Perhaps there are things he could have done better ar, but you don’t lead the league in rebounding and raise free throw shooting percentage by 20 points or so by being “lazy” or soft. Drummond will not be a magic pill to fix the Cavs overnight. I also really liked Henson this year. Still, all things considered, and even if Drummond walls for nothing in 3 months…… Read more »
ARCH I THINK YOU ARE CORRECT—-WAS HE / DRUMMOND IN THE DION DRAFT ??—————-DO YOU THINK HE WILL RESIGN WITH THE CAVS ———NOT GOING TO FIND ANY PLAYER / NO MATTER WHERE WE DRAFT WITH HIS POTENTIAL / ALSO IF THINGS DON’T PAN OUT —COULD BE USED AS TRADE CHIP FOR NEXT YEAR …………STAY TUNED
if i “disappear” again.. talk to mgmt
DRUMMOND ALSO WILL HELP SHORE UP DEFENSE —-‘ PROTECTING THE PAINT ‘——HAVE TO SAY KOBY FLEECED THE PISTONS ON THAT ONE
It sounds like it was just a salary thing…Pistons didn’t want to pay him next year, and Cavs are okay with it…
HEY / HEY BUCKAROO —WELCOME BACK——GOING TO GO GET A BEER IN HONOR OF YOUR ” COMEBACK ” : -)
drummond deal moves the needle in the right direction.. cavs lucky det was not smart enough to get full value for their stud..
THERE GOES THE “TANKATHON ” : – )
REMEMBER THE ARGUEMENT OF WHO SHOIULD WE DRAFT —T.T. OR DRUMMOND —-NO ARGUEMENT ANYMORE
I believe those were different drafts.
Huh? It was Dion or Drummond.