Podcap: Chicago 117, Cleveland 104 (or, See You at the Crossroads)
2022-01-20After the valiant effort the Cavs put forth in Chicago, losing to the Chicago Bulls 117-104 in a game that was more more hotly contested than the score suggests, Nate Smith and Chris Squared (Mr. Lyden and Mr. Francis) hopped into the CtB Podcast resort studios to take the temperature of Cavsland after a wildly successful road trip and signature win Monday against the Brooklyn Nets. The CtB trio break down the Chicago game, Brooklyn game, trade rumors, and hand out some Cavs’ prognostications.
The theme (shoutout to legendary local rap group, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony) that emerged from this exciting discussion: Have the Cavs reached the Crossroads? The Cavs have found their franchise pieces and their title window. But how do they go from feel good playoff story to legitimate contention? Are the Cavs the team that beat the Nets or the team that lost to the Bulls? Where will Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman, and J.B. Bickerstaff lead this organization? Are there moves that they should make now? Or do they play the long game? Enjoy the discussion and sound off with your thoughts in the comments below.
Listen below, download the full audio file, or check us out on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify.
live thread up!
Lonzo out as well
READ SOME OF THE TWEETS AL IN FOR BRINGING BACK ‘SMOKIN JOE “—PRODIGAL SON RETURNS HOME —–GOOD FIT FOR ON THE FLOOR AND LOCKERROOM
That would be a needle mover
“DITTO” WHAT VINTAGE POSTED
Great podcast gentlemen. I always learn something listening to you guys and the pitches at the end always instill a sense of community here at CtB rather than us all being a set of random Cavs fans on the internet.
THE OTHER OPTION IF WE DON’T TRADE IS WAIT FOR A BUYOUT—SEE WHAT IS OUT THERE —–WOULD NOT MAKE A TRADE ( GIVE AWAY THE FUTURE ) FOR A PLAYER(S) THAT “DON’T MOVE THE NEEDLE ” THAT WOULD GET CAVS PAST 1ST// 2ND ROUND OF PLAYOFFS—THE PRESENT ISN’T AS VITAL// IMPORTANT AS THE FUTURE
Everything that follows is with absolute respect and gratefulness. This pod was awesome. Just off the cuff thoughts. How on earth is Alec Burks an upgrade over Cedi? And in what world is Alec Burks a creator? He has had a solid season but…they are basically equal over their career in assists. Cedi is light years better on the break. Cedi is light years better as a spot up shooter this year. And even Goodwin is better than Burks this year in assists…why would we give up a pick AND Cedi for a guy who shoots slightly better than Brandon… Read more »
Alec Burks is a better “self-creator” meaning, he creates his own shots off the dribble. For his career, nearly 2/3 of the 2pt shots he’s taken are unassisted. Cedi is not a “self-creator” by definition. The majority of his 2pt shots are assisted. His role is more of a “play finisher” and “secondary creator”. The reason he would be an upgrade is because is he can fulfill the role that Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio fulfilled, which is mainly create their own shots. Both Sexton and Rubio create around 65-70% of their own shots. Just looking at the raw stats… Read more »
Fully agree CLF. Loved Burks when he was on the Cavs and was mightily disappointed when he was let go. Would love to see him back….
Yeah, I like that prior relationship too… I think it increases the odds he won’t be a problem to the chemistry of the group, take coaching/criticism, etc.
agree with you about Josh Hart because he doesn’t create his own shot either… he’s a play finisher and secondary creator like Cedi.
Josh Hart is awesome. He would be great on any team. He is a great perimeter defender, a decent catch and shoot three point shooter and a blossoming playmaker. On top of that, he is arguably the best rebounding guard in the league.Also, by all accounts, he is a great guy. So he would be great on this team, and any team for that matter. If we could get him for Sexton, I would be more than thrilled. But I doubt New Orleans does that, although they are such a mess that anything is possible with them. (For anyone wondering,… Read more »
LMFAO don’t get me wrong, love the player!!! Just not what is immediately needed for the Cavs IMO
Finally getting a chance to listen to the podcap. The kyrie to Philly train is a train I would be very very on board for. I think Simmons would ruin the nets, which I would love. And I think Philly would have an outside shot at a title with Kyrie as long as he can stay healthy…but I think he would get injured within 10 games.
Philly lose.
Heat down 14 after 3.
Nets behind in SA, but it is 2nd Q.
HEY BUCKAROO —YEP YOU GUESSED IT CORRECTLY—LILKEV// DROPPING DIMES :-)
Heat down double digits in the ATL late third.
Bulls at Bucks. Someone has to lose.
Philly blew a 25 pt lead at home vs the Clips. Down 1 with 22 sec left. Clips ball.
We could make up ground on 4/5ths of the top teams.
the ringer is positing that the cavs can win the #1 seed in the east.. this year.. too late to place a bet, at least for uncle buck, who only likes playing for very long odds with freaking huge paydays (but only the lunch money),, i will leave the scraps for the less than brave.. still, might just happen.. anyone going to place a bet on the 2022 nba champion cavs ? odds are likely still pretty good on that..
MAYBE JB NEEDS TO GIVE SMITH A 5-7 MIN RUN DURING GAMES TO GIVE ALLEN A BREAK OR USE WADE AND ADJUST YOUR LINEUP—–JUST A LOOK AT LAURI// MOBES MIN’S AND THEIR PRODUCTION IS PROOF ON MONITORING THE MIN’S —ALSO REDUCES POTENTIAL FOR INJURY—KEEPS BODIES FRESH FOR LONG TERM
NOMAD bro.. which character would you enjoy playing on “the hoopers” vid.. i am guessing little kev and his dime dropping.. i love that effing vid..
I THINK WE ALL AGREE WITH DG’S COMMENTS—WE WANT TO WIN WITHOUT LEBRON—–IT WILL BE SOOOOOOO MUCH MORE SPECIAL ———-MAKE IT HAPPEN !!!
fantastic pod as usual, way to go!!! Am in agreement with many of the suggestions put forth per the trades, just don’t see the need to do anything unless something jumps out at you. Regarding the minutes and rotation issue I look at box scores every night (fantasy bball does that to me) and some teams roll with an 9-man rotation and some with a 10. Unless you are Toronto which goes with a 6.5 man rotation, lol. My point is that we are not that much out of the norm EXCEPT that we use Mobes as the backup C… Read more »
great stuff DanK. And what’s funny about the Bulls game specifically, JB was able to keep Mobley and Lauri near 30 minutes, and they were extremely good offensively. Wasn’t able to do that with JA.
wholeheartedly agree DanK. Bigs tire faster than littles. always have. Wade can play 3 mins of Mobes, JA, and Lauri, and 2 mins of Love’s. You don’t have depth if your depth is young and inexperienced and you’re not giving them regular mins. Wade is too young to matter unless he finds a rhythm.
Damn straight I’m greedy for wins, CLF.
It’s been a long 3+ years!!!
LMFAOOOOOOOOO when you’re right you’re right Simmo!!!
Nice little interview with KLove from JJ Redick.
great stuff, thanks for posting!!!
teenage kLove knew how to drop those dimes.. i think he is reconnecting to his youth
I’m out on Lavert. Just watched the Mad Ants beat an almost fully healthy Warriors team.
Gimme Chris Duarte.
haha! me too. If only the nets and pacers valued Levert as much as the trade rumor folks do…we wouldn’t have to entertain his cost at all!
Thirded.
Wade being bad his last time out means ZILCH. No young player is good without rhythm. It takes a decade of experience for guys to develop the kind of rhythm that leads to success in spot minutes. James Jones…Shane Battier…Robert Horry…there is a long list of useful in spot mins players…almost exclusively they were late in their careers before they could perform properly in 5-8 mins a game. Haven’t listened to the pod…can’t wait to. But the wade thing is mind numbing when we are watching JA and Mobley slog around on defense, still protecting the rim basically on instinct… Read more »
Fair points. Please note that I’m examining possible rationales, not actually endorsing them. I agree with you.
Great podcast guys! Made my already awesome drive to work ( if you have to commute, driving along the ocean sunrise and sunset ain’t bad) and back even better. Sat in the driveway glued to podcast listening to your pitches with a big grin on my face. What a group this CtB crew! Chinese cuisine techniques, an earnest, heartfelt discussion of MLK’s collected speeches… and Nate always with the every man’s voice, honest and intelligent, that makes it all relatable… you guys are so fucking cool!!!
damn WCC appreciate the kindness!
also, envy that commute!!! LMFAOOOO
I think we are decidedly uncool! Which is part of our charm. Really appreciate the listen and the praise, man! You’re a mensch.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Despite my positive short term outlook on the standings, I do not see us as legit contenders yet.
Which is why I don’t want to trade picks for short term vets (1-2 years).
basically agree, but it depends on who the short term vet is. If you find a Ricky Rubio clone, …
yup, i think this is the way… unless there’s a blockbuster brewing.
I’m on the fence because I know that these picks may not be able to play much.
DID A ‘CLF ” CHRIS…..” MORE WHISKEY PLEASE ” :-)——-RAOUL YOU ARE SOOOOO CORRECT—FORGOT—( BETTER YET WANT TO FORGET ) THAT TRADE —-THAT COST US A CHAMPIONSHIP —-HARPER COULD HANG WITH MICHAEL AS FAR AS ATHLETICISM IS CONCERNED
Plus I have his autograph on a towel, at which time I yelled “Ron, hope you wind up with the Cavs”.
Yeah. Fair, but I’ll give him a pass for Ferry. He was also one of the architects for the Toronto championship as an advisor to that team.
Poor little FlatEarther got fined 25k for obscene language in Cavs game.
YEP WAS THINKING THE SAME LEO—-WILL SEE WHAT THE CAVS ” ARE MADE OF ” WITH UPCOMING SCHEDULE—ALSO DO YOU THINK KOBY IS IN A “WAIT AND SEE ” ALSO AS FAR AS MAKING A TRADE —–SEEING HOW THEY PERFORM THE NEXT 2 WEKS LEADING UP TO TRADE DEADLINE ——-ALMOST CAME THRU MY COMPUTER WHEN YOU MISTAKEN EMBRY FOR STEPIEN—-ONE (STEPIEN ) ALMOST RUINED THIS FRANCHISE—–THE OTHER (EMBRY ) ALMOST PUT TOGETHER CAVS 1ST CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM EXCEPT THEIR WAS A ‘CERTAIN ‘ PLAYER ON THE BULLS ROSTER AT THE TIME
I am a big fan of Embry, but he made a disastrous trade: Ron Harper + 3 #1 picks for Danny Ferry (!!). The Cavs might have won a few without that.
Fair enough Nomad! Too much whisky and not enough sleep for me to mix those two up.
I don’t think we will learn about this team completely until after the trade deadline passes (whether the Cavs do nothing or make moves) and thats not a bad thing. I’m not overhyped or down in dumps because this team is still young and they don’t know how to win yet (especially in tough environments, and again thats not a bad thing. I will be curious to see as the season hits late Feb/early March when regular season basketball starts to heat up more how Cavs will react. Outside of Love and Rondo there is no one else on the… Read more »
yup agreed Leo, first time meaningful basketball for the majority (guessing offhand) of the roster.
Haven’t had a chance to listen yet, but guessing you guys may have weighed in on the inexplicable lack of Dean Wade minutes. Frobley looked tiiiiiired last night — Fro just completely lifeless; Bley’s handle loose and sloppy. Anybody have any clue why JB isn’t extending the rotation? Wish some reporter would ask that postgame instead of all the softballs…
Yup, JA was dead last night. I’m with you wish a reporter would ask about Wade.
Two good points made by Mr. Lyden and Nate:
a. Wade wasn’t good last time out.
b. JB trying to promote competition for the last spot.
IMO, Wade’s earned the benefit of the doubt.
If JB is opening up the faucet on each extra spot in the rotation as the season progresses….IF it works….it could be a masterstroke. Crazy brave, though.