Trifecta: QuickCap, Preview, and Live Thread
2022-01-10Sorry for the lack of a timely recap, the snow storms in Virginia took out power for nearly a week and it’s been a scramble to catch up on the time lost! Some thoughts on the game last night and the game tonight…
1. Mid-season Crisis
The biggest thing that stuck out from the game last night was how much the team misses Ricky Rubio. It’s not hard to think that the guys are all heartbroken for their teammate. The Cavs are 2-4 without Rubio, 2-5 if the New Orleans’ game is included. How the team responds to this adversity will shape the rest of the season.
The Cavs lacked competitiveness (outrebounded 54-42 and that was without Draymond Green) and unselfishness (outassisted 24-21). Ironically, the defense was still incredible with the Warriors shooting 40% from the field and only 23% from three. But Rubio’s leadership void, especially with his experience in big games, is a daunting basketball problem that they have to solve in order to keep their playoff status.
2. A solution to Lauri’s shooting woes?
These are the top five combos of the main rotation bigs: Lauri, Love, JA, and Mobley. The thing that jumps out is that three out of the top four lineups have Lauri playing at the power forward or center positions. It begs the question, “is Lauri at the small forward position the way forward for the best version of the Cavs?” There’s no question Lauri’s shooting this year the worse numbers of his young career. But the big three’s defense is near elite. A thing to watch going forward is if J.B. deploys Lauri at the 4/5 with more regularity to get his shot going.
3. A couple of great quotes from last night
Jarrett Allen on the Warriors outrebounding #Cavs 54-42: "First and foremost, I’m going to take responsibility for that. The offensive rebounds, the rebounding, I should have done better going out there. If anybody else takes the blame, they're just being humble. That’s on me."
— Kelsey Russo (@kelseyyrusso) January 10, 2022
#Cavs J.B. Bickerstaff said tonight's game was a learning experience for them.
"Our message to our guys is, we're good enough. So we're gonna find ourselves in games like this. And we have to be prepared to be more forceful and more determined."
— Kelsey Russo (@kelseyyrusso) January 10, 2022
4. Back to back in NoCal
Tonight, the Cavs take on a floundering Sacramento Kings that has fired its head coach and is looking to possibly overhaul their entire roster. It’s the perfect opportunity to erase the bad taste of last night’s beatdown. Darius Garland sounds like a “go” even though he came up gimpy at the end of the game last night.
In a contrast of styles, the Kings play no defense while the Cavs do. If the Cavs can stay gritty on the defensive end, they can win ugly. They may have to given the reality of dead legs on a back to back.
Tip off is scheduled for 10:00PM ET and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Ohio/Great Lakes, GO CAVS!
CONGRATS TO KOBY —-CAVS LOOKING TO STABALIZE THE FRANCHISE—A GOOD SIGN
I am against trading Rubio. Only way I’d do it is if he said he does not want to come back.
Now, Sexton & Markannen? Yes.
Or, if it is for a buyout, and he said that he will come back next season. And that might well be the case — where the Cavs are at right now would be a very nice place for Rubio to conclude his career.
Agree on all fronts.
Totally agree, I want Rubio to be a Cav for years to come. But if there’s a way where we can trade that expiring contract to a team looking to off load money and it’s a player that fits our culture (it’s so nice to say that) then yes, I really hope Rubio is back in the wine and gold when he’s ready to play again, the irony is we might be in a better position to resign Rubio because of the injury. All the “contenders” looking for a trade deadline push for the finals obviously aren’t interested anymore.
YOU MAKE SOME VERY GOOD POINTS WCC–AM IN AGREEMENT—-DO I WANT THE CAVS TO CONTINUE TO BE COMPETITIVE THIS YEAR// ADVANCE TO THE PLAYOFFS—HELL YES —B UT AGAIN DO NOT TRADE AWAY THE FUTURE—–WANT THE CAVS IN 2-3 YEARS NOT ONLY BE COMPETIVE BUT COMPETE FOR A CONFERENCE TITLE IF NOT MORE—–IF THERE IS A TRADE OUT THERE THAT FITS OUR ” BLUEPRINT—-PRESENT– FUTURE NEEDS// POSITIONS// AGE /// ATTITUDE “– THEN COUNT ME ALL IN —JUST BE WISE// PRUDENT ON MAKING THAT DECISION
agree with N.
Garland, Mobley and Allen for Westbrook, Wall, and Draymond.
Who says no?
I hope this is a joke.
LMFAOOOO c’mon Raoul you should know!
Haha – I get too serious at times!
you and me both my friend!
I absolutely want Rubio back, but if we can trade his expiring contract for a guard that can help us now and in the future, and sign Rubio to a new deal this summer (I’m unsure of the rules) then we should do that. Rubio needs to be a part of this young team for the next few years, perhaps even more than Sexton.
I mean, who the heck knows, but I feel like if they plan on keeping Rubio long term, trading him significantly reduces those odds he comes back.
And I’m not sure who’s available, but have a hard time believing there’s much to get excited over if they’re being traded for an expiring.
” A WIN IS A WIN ” WE SHOULD ALL BE HAPPY BECAUSE IF WE WOULD HAVE LOST WE WOULD ALL BE SCREAMING/// FRUSTRATED——-AND A BIG HELL NO ON ESPN’S PROPOSED TRADE 0F 2022 1ST ROUND PICK// RUBIO’S CONTRACT FOR ERIC GORDON —-I LIKE GORDONS GAME–TO SOME EXTENT—BUT I DON’T LIKE IT THAT MUCH !!!
Any idea when Okoro is due back? He has been gone a long time.
two/three weeks after injury probably has another week at least?
Could only watch the first quarter of the Kings game before bed, but was feeling pretty confident at that point. Glad I didn’t have to see the last two minutes live, but a win is a win.
Hope DG can soldier on with whatever back/ hip thing he’s nursing.
This win against Kings..WE TAKE THOSE!
100%
Garland Mobley high screen and roll got it done in the clutch thats always a good sign
good call!
WEST COAST TRIP WON’T BE DOING “LIVE –LATE -POSTS “—JUST WATCHED REPLAY—-RONDO SO FAR HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD FIT WITH THE CAVS —-WOULD LOVE TO SEE LAURI HAVE GAME LIKE HE HAD LAST NIGHT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS –SAY LIKE EVERY GAME— IAM ” OLD SCHOOL” AND KNOW IN A DIFFERENT ERA GUYS WERE PLAYING 40+ MIN’S // A NIGHT // BUT ALSO LOOK AT THIER LONGEVITY IN THE LEAGUE OR THEREFORE LACK OF—-MOBES 42 MIN’S ON A BACK // BACK—-HEY DON’T MESS WITH THIS KIDS HEALTH // FUTURE// HAVE TO WATCH THOSE MIN’S —EVEN IF HE IS ONLY… Read more »
the way Mobley moves effortlessly on the court, i’m not sure minutes takes quite the toll on his body as others in the league.
a close one where the Cavs still struggle to hold leads and close out games but they got it done…just from highlight perspective – the Cavs bigs came to play this time which was nice – Lamar seems to be playing pretty good and not THAT big drop off b/w him and Okoro (dont know if thats a good/bad thing), and Rondo seems to be solid replacement for Rubio. Also props to Mobley for making big shots at the end….dude is only going to get better. GO CAVS!
jazz are sooo vulnerable to a gobert injury. But if he is healthy they have a legit title shot. Very on edge. We should get a win if he is out. Favors was a menace but is now in OKC i think?