Podcap: Suns 134, Cavs 118 (OT) (or, Ice-plosion!!!)
2021-05-05The Cleveland Cavaliers took the best team in the Association, the Phoenix Suns, into an overtime battle, finally running out of gas at the end 134-118. The Cavs were greatly undermanned with only a seven man rotation, but that didn’t stop Isaac “Ice” Okoro, who went toe-to-toe with one of the brightest young stars in the NBA, Devin Booker. Ice turned in a career performance tonight with 32 points on only 16 shots and six assists, while chipping three rebounds AND taking on the defensive assignment of Devin Booker.
Nate “the Podcap Shaman” Smith shepherded first time (ever!) podcast guest Chris Francis into a deep dive on all things Cavaliers, covering all aspects of one of the more entertaining games of the year in a manner that would hopefully make the late great Cavs legend Joe Tait proud. They pay tribute to the man they call “Ice,” Nate allows Chris to nerd out on all the obscure stats, and they cover recent Cavs’ news regarding Anderson “Wild Thing” Varejao’s return, Love’s buyout/trade prospects, and a status report on sometimes controversial Cavs’ figures, Collin Sexton and JB Bickerstaff (#FREEBUCK shoutout to EG!). And of course, it wouldn’t be a complete CtB Podcap without some recommendations for your entertainment.
So so sit back, relax and enjoy… GO CAVS!!! Listen below, download the full audio file, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Spotify.
Loving this pod — starts with the Nate Celtics bombshell, the memory of the morning box score for distant fans in the pre-internet era, some Cavs history, a thoughtful breakdown of the Sexton thing placed appropriately, a great breakdown of various aspects of the Suns game (CP3 esp.), book recommendations, analytics, Timberwolves and Warriors talk, Kevin Love (‘dump it down to his favorite spot on the post and just let him cook’ is always an option, although he doesn’t have the mass he once did as Nate says) — and I’ve still got like 15 minutes to go, this is… Read more »
Let the record show that as the podcast is turning toward conclusion, Nate is now predicting that JB gets fired early into next season “as soon as the wheels start to fall off” — Free Coach Buck indeed! BTW very good Okoro discussion and Cavs position game (particularly on Cedi as a big 2 with a handle that isn’t as reliable as Delly’s, including some references to his FIBA highlights, OK) too, this one is hitting all the notes. I want to see Nate’s coaching almanac
Appreciate you listening and the very kind and thoughtful words Adam!!!
When he was at the Cavs, I remember Kyrie’s disdain for the post-game well.
Cavs 1x/month great game – admire the effort but the OT was hilarious to watch…almost felt like the Suns were insulted it came to this and just stepped up and Cavs had nothing.
Good for Okoro on continuing to grow…key for him is to be consistent…he’s had good games mixed with some clunkers
EARLY INTO THE PODCAST —–( YES THANK YOU CLF FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE —IN KEEPING CTB GOING FOR OUR “BROTHERHOOD ” ) —–NATE I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WERE ONCE A CELTICS FAN ( JUST HAD TO RUN TO BATHROOM AND VOMIT :-) ——–THE MRS NOMAD IS WAY AHEAD OF EVERYONE ON THE + / – METRICS // BEEN “GRADING ” ME FOR YEARS —-I HAVE ALWAYS REGISTERED OUT BIG TIME IN THE ” MINUS ” COLUMN ——WILL CONTINUE TO LISTEN AS THE ” MRS NOMAD’S HONEYDO LIST ALLOWS ” —–SHOUTS OUT TO ICE ( GLIMPSES OF BETTER THINGS TO… Read more »
LMFAOOOOOOOOOOO no matter what the metrics say you’re a winner NOMAD!!!
I too was shocked by the Celtics bombshell NOMAD! Fortunately Nate has more than proven his love for the one and true Cavs, this one was really good. I like your self-analysis on the metrics, fantastic
Oh man, Nate I’m partway through Invincible myself. So cool.
Will check out DJ Sophie, thanks for the tip CLF!
LMFAOOO no problem, I know I gotta check this Invincible show out!
This was hands down the best Cavs game of the year. In a bit over four quarters we saw everything the Cavaliers could be and reasons they struggle. Against the Suns, an elite-tier playoff team, the Cavs took advantage of a team looking past them and played a game in spots that truly brought out remarkable games from the young core. A quick comparison of both rosters shows how just distant the Cavs are from winning consistently; the absence of speed and athleticism on this team is a problem. Of the three young stars on the Cavs, Okoro is quite… Read more »
Yup, great observation about lack of speed/athleticism in general I agree.
Also 100% agree there are chemistry issues that prohibit maximizing team success.
Also agree that they need playmaking guards and to add a couple of veterans.
Good post Mark!
Agree with all the points. But there is nothing the Cavs can do until they get a lot more talent. It will not come from FA’s or trades, so smart choices and luck in the draft are the only way forward. The Indians manage to remain competitive with about the same disadvantages as the Cavs, so it can be done. The difference is a really good FO compared to a fair to middling FO. The situation in the NFL is very different, but observe how Haslam kept paying off guys to take a walk until be found a crew that… Read more »
Arguably the indians do it with more a disadvantage considering the payroll disparity in baseball. Of course barring another magical 2016 like run they may not be a contender for quite some time considering how little the Dolans can/want to spend. They have found pitching talent over and over. Whether they can build a full lineup of offensive firepower just via trades for prospects and the draft while retaining enough pitching talent to actually contend remains to be seen. The offense has been brutal the past few years. Feel like at some point they will have to go all in… Read more »
48 was good (I was almost a year old). They could have won it a couple of years ago, when they won 22 straight in September. Recall that Kipnis and Santana came off long IR stays, and were put on the playoff squad. Kipnis hadn’t hit in a couple years and wound up playing CF (rather poorly!) and batting 0.100. What a fiasco.
Yeah watched the series with my buddy from chicago. Remember he was freaking out when we went up 3-1. I told him but yeah if this goes to 7 games, Kluber is going to pitch three times. I knew that wasn’t good. Even for an ace it is a tough ask to pitch that many times in that many games on three days rest against that type of lineup, especially after such a workload in the postseason. I wasn’t confident going into game 7. I had a feeling they would figure him out and they did. Of course the bullpen… Read more »
Awesome to hear your voice CLF!!
1 hour & 49 minutes!!! Hoo boy. Gotta block out some time in the diary.
LMFAOOOO honestly didn’t feel that long!!!
And thanks, glad you were able to listen, I can’t stand my voice!!! if there’s a next time I’m drinking a beer and will calm down I get easily excited LMFAOOOOO