Live Thread: Cavs @ Rockets
2022-02-02The Cavs are in the Lone Star State to face off against Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets. The Cavs are coming off of a gritty, tough win against the New Orleans Pelicans Monday night, while the Rockets’ tank job is proceeding as intended. The Cavs will be looking to maintain their as a contender for the top seed in the playoffs and take care of business. Unfortunately, Darius Garland and Lauri Markkanen will both be out so the Cavs will have to grind it out on defense if they want to win.
Luckily for the Cavs, the Rockets are the worst defensive team in the NBA, so it should be a chance for Cedi Osman and Brandon Goodwin to build upon their solid outings last game. On the flip side, keep an eye on Eric Gordon, a potential Cavs’ trade target. Garrison Mathews and Josh Christopher appear to be some solid players, far superior than the Green/Kevin Porter Jr. backcourt. At the end of the day, hopefully the Cavs can take care of business against a hapless opponent.
Tip off is scheduled for 8:00PM ET and will be broadcasted on Bally Sports Ohio/Great Lakes, GO CAVS!
ya’ll get any snow?
recap up, sorry for the delay!
Nice, things are looking up for Cavs. DG turned out to be a great pick, a dubious pick at the time since Sexton was picked just a year before. If Cavs can swing a trade, Sexton+future pick, Cavs will be even better.
CONGRATS TO ALL STAR DG—ALLEN SHOULD BE THERE WITH HIM
DG all star baby !!!! No JA? Could still get bumped in when KD sits
Yep.
Surprised Middleton made it.
Not surprised Haren made it, though it is undeserved.
Allen, LiMelo, Bridges, and Sabonis would be my leading candidates to replace Durant.
DG absolutely deserved it. Allen does, too, even with the fall off recently.
“NBA commissioner Adam Silver makes the decision on who the injury replacements are.” —- hopefully he selects Allen since it’s in Cleveland.
looks like DG could be out again tomorrow night, yeesh another night of difficult to watch bball. here’s to hoping for some All-Star nominations tonight!!!!
JUST READ DG SAT OUT TODAYS PRACTICE——–I AM GOING TO SAY HE DOESN’T PLAY TOMORROW WHICH IS FINE WITH ME —–HE IS THE ‘CORNERSTONE ‘ FOR THE FUTURE —DO NOT TAKE ANY CHANCES WITH THIS KID —-WHO KNOWS THE SEVERITY OF THE INJURY// YOU MIGHT SEE DG OUT FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD —WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT INFLUENCE KOBYS DECISION ON MAKING A TRADE
think if Cavs make big splash they will go after Levert from Indy and possibly another decent name…yes that may mean giving up some key guys but i think we’ve seen with injuries and such this team needs extra scoring down the stretch.
The Cavs window doesn’t really open until next year. Trading any up and coming young players for established players would be totally a bad idea.
Very interesting Raoul on the window — listening to some of the podcasts (Lowe, Duncan) interesting to see Brooklyn as fading, “a hypothetical team” — wonder if that will be the case next year and Cavs are mainly looking at Central Division juggernauts (Bucks, Bulls) as main obstacles, plus maybe Heat and Philly? Obviously contending with the middle tier of the East is not at all a given in a 7 game series vs. Charlotte, Toronto, or a demoted (demented? referring to Kyrie’s bizarre ‘leadership’ style) but still dangerous Brooklyn. Anyway would love to see some playoff noise this year,… Read more »
WELL ANOTHER 2 HRS OF SNOW SHOVELING AND ” MORE BEER I MEAN COFFEE CONSUPTION ” –BRUTAL OUT THERE SIMILAR TO CAVS PLAYING WITHOUT 3-4 STARTERS –YES SEXTON IS STILL PART OF THE EQUATION —GOOD THING WE ALL ARE NOT GM’S —WE WOULD HAVE MADE A DOZEN ” PANIC ” TRADES BY NOW—-YES I AGREE WITH CLF// AND ALOT YOU –GD POSITION NEEDS SHORED UP// JUST HAVE TO BE SMART OF WHAT WE ARE GIVING UP AND REALISTIC ABOUT HOW COMPETITIVE WE ARE NOW// THIS YEAR BUT MORE IMPORTANT HOW COMPETITIVE DO WE WANT TO BE NEXT YEAR// FUTURE —IF… Read more »
that weather looks atrocious, hope you are staying warm and well-hydrated NOMAD!
The Nets have lost 6 in a row. Fragile Sockpuppet, Fat Beard Quitter, and Flat Earth are spiraling down. And I love it. Fat Beard Quitter in Hou. 1. ’12-’13 Hou. 45-37. L Rd 1. 2. ’13-’14 Hou. 54-28. L Rd 1. 3. ’14-’15 Hou. 56-26. L WCF. 4. ’15-’16 Hou. 41-41. L Rd 1. 5. ’16-’17 Hou. 55-27. L WC SF. D’Antoni Yr 1. 6. ’17-’18 Hou. 65-17. L WCF. CP3 Yr 1. 7. ’18-’19 Hou. 53-29. L WC SF. CP3 Yr 2. 8. ’19-’20 Hou. 44-28. L WC SF. No CP3. 9. ’20-’21 Hou. He quit. 10. ’20-’21… Read more »
I think I finally found something I have in common with the beard: we’re both sick of Kyrie’s shit.
haha!
I recently watched a condensed version of the Bucks-Nets Game 7, if I’m Durant going for the last shot of OT, I am not just looking at the basket but also civilian Kyrie right next to it with his arms up for the entire possession like he’s signalling a touchdown and just radiating weirdness — I’m not saying KD lacks the ability to focus and Kyrie forced him into an airball 3 but man
I’ll never forget the all-time choke job against the Spurs when he was on the Rockets.
ouch! harsh but true. and the rule changes this year seem to have robbed Harden of yet more mojo / questionably ethical tricks.
I was watching USMNT soccer last night. Missed this one. Looked like a scrappy loss.
I will just reiterate again how I think each team needs 3 PGs (or guys who can legit run the offense). Only having two is a setup for disaster. Both those guys are out now.
I guess it’s kind of nice situation to be in where fans are ticked about some of the recent losses. I mean they are down 4 key players, 3 who would be starting (I know some people aren’t counting Sexton anymore, but come on, he was a starter and that impacts your overall depth). Years back, if only Lebron was out, all bets were off.
Not gonna overreact to a loss to the Rockets. Definitely the right type of game to sit Garland and see if you can steal a W. Schedule is still favorable until the all-star break. I missed the game, but looking at the box score – not sure I agree with the complaints about running guys into the ground and not extending bench minutes? Looks like it was a 9 man rotation with Mobley the max at 36 minutes. Cavs should be aiming to stay in the top 6 by the ASG, get some guys rest/healthy, and then make a push… Read more »
Agree
Cavs get DPE for both Sexton and Rubio:
https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2022/02/cleveland-cavaliers-granted-disabled-player-exception-for-collin-sextons-season-ending-injury-sources-say.html
Rubio trade, Sexton will be a buyout guy.
Isn’t the DPE a different direction than a trade? I think you lose the DPE if you trade the player.
You do. The player you get the DPE for has to be on the roster when you acquire the replacement.
so, does this mean they are NOT planning on trading Rubio? If they do, it better be for a darn good player. I think (hope?) it is more likely they already have an agreement with Rubio for a long term deal.
RIP BILL FITCH—MAN DO I HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF SOME OF HIS COACHED TEAMS—-IN MY OPINION A VERY UNDERRATED COACH
Agree. I think I recall his daughter Lisa playing for Ohio and subsequently coaching at Akron and other places.
YOU ARE CORRECT LEO—THE NARRATIVE CHANGES AS RAPIDLY AS THE WEATHER HERE IN NORTHERN OHIO—–( JUST FINISHED SHOVELING FOR ABOUT 1.5 HRS ……” MORE BEER PLEASE ‘ ) THE INJURIES UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE REALLY IMPAIRED THIS TEAM …..MAYBE WE AREN’T S GOOD AS WE WERE IN THAT FANTASTIC 10 GAME STRETCH BUT ALSO BELIEVE WE AREN’T AS BAD AS THE LAST FEW GAMES—–DG IS THE CATALYST THAT MAKES THIS TEAM GO ALONG WITH RUBIO—WITH BOTH OF THEM OUT ( AND LAURI ) WELL YOU SEE WHAT A DIFFERENCE IT MAKES…..ANY TEAM WITH 3—4 STARTERS MISSING IS GOING TO HAVE A HUGE… Read more »
I love how much narrative has changed since Bucks victory – we were the best team ever —and now we need the All Star break for guys in their early 20s haha…this team is overachieving and things regress to the mean. This is why I was waiting to see how they would perform around All Star break and will be interested to see how they do when March rolls around…if this team crashes and burns (which I hope not) gotta look at JB playing guys way too many minutes and not digging into his bench and finding guys to contribute… Read more »
You know who would be an amazing secondary ball-handler/creator on this team? Ricky Rubio.
:( yup
I have a pity party pretty much every game day over this. Effin bummer.
GOOD MORNING IN SNOW COVERED NORTHERN OHIO—WATCHED 1ST HALF—WILL WATCH REPLAY—-READ ALOT OF THE POSTS—-WOW AFTER THE BUCKS WIN WE LOOKED AT THE SCHEDULE AND REALLY FELT AFTER THESE 3 GAMES WE MIGHT BE SITTING IN 1ST PLACE——IT IMPLODED—DG’S INJURY IS HUGE REASON FOR THAT—ALTHOUGH WE SHOULD HAVE BEATEN THE PISTONS—–WE NEED GD HELP// KOBY HAS TO FIND SOME PLAYER OUT THERE —WITHOUT GIVING AWAY THE FUTURE —TO HELP US COPMPETE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS SEASON –BUT NOT HINDER OUR FUTURE POTENTIAL —TOUGH SPOT// TOUGH DECISION TO MAKE
and then i looked at the rockets last few games…they lost by 30 points to the spurs. 30 points. that’s…uh…obnoxious. they lost by 15 to the blazers. similar. They lost by 14 to the currently slumping but still stacked warriors. they beat the abysmal jazz 4 games ago. Cavs need to take advantage of their schedule or they are who everyone thought they were. A flash in the pan with a solid rookie 4. I am as homer as they get…but the last 3 games have been repeat performances. Love and Mobley are not enough without garland. Rondo is useless.… Read more »
Cavs are 12th in the east in points scored per game. 1st in the east in opp points per game.
I guess if you lose 2 of your top scorers and one of your top assists guys…it’s gonna be tough to manufacture enough points to compete.
I still feel like they were playing weird in this game…too many post ups without outlets from the post. But so be it. I’ll gladly take this loss if Garland was in need of an extra few days to get healthy.
free throw disparity aside…how do you shoot fewer fgs than the team you outrebound by 11? Is our pace of play that bad? I don’t know how to find the average shot clock usage but ours has to be off the charts for this year
Goodwin’s numbers look pretty good, including a team high +4.
Obviously not going to be a starter (any time soon), but not a bad rotation player. And he makes FT’s.
KPJ wanted to give the finger to Koby and Green/Wood wanted to outcompete Mobley. They had more motivation to win. And yes, we started Brandon Goodwin. Love the kid, but he can’t be who you’re dropping off FROM…
Guys competed. Just key issues coming up over and over: lackadaisical early in game, boxing out not happening, not getting to loose balls, free throws, poor screening, turnovers, & just not enough point guards. A lot of this is scheduling and minutes/load mismanagement earlier in the season coming back to haunt em. But they competed and I respect that. Good on Houston for a solid (if ref assisted) game.
those whistles are crazy, I finally watched the first quarter, 19 fouls? talk about a choppy game.
Huge missed opportunity. I would have to rewatch but it had the feeling of bad coaching prior to tonight. They had a day off in between last game and this game to draw up some offense without garland. They are either a roster of dunces…or JB did almost nothing figuring they snuck away with a win against a similar record last game so why not wing it?
Meaning JB and his staff’s actual jobs were not accomplished between last game and this game
Come on. Rondo is clearly just roasted and they’re starting a g-leaguer at PG. You can’t overwhelm the kid. Sometimes the schedule and circumstances catch up with you.
what bugs me tho is if we know it, the coaches certainly know it. We just ran an entire game with Cedi running point against a similar team to tonight. We expect coaches to make halftime adjustments for pete’s sake. Why are we not allowed to expect game to game adjustments?
you kind of expect a lot from the coaches every day.
lol yes. I expect a lot from professional basketball coaches when it comes to putting a basketball product on the floor.
right. and always be a lot better than the coaches on the other team.
playing another coaching staff with 15 wins? again. yes.
My favorite part of the last pod was the discussion of behind the scenes coaching decisions being made that seemingly impact games in a negative way but are tactical and not strategic.
But the cavs had no flow from the tip tonight. This wasn’t goodwin’s first game. We threw it to Mobley and Love in the post or at the elbow the ENTIRE game expecting them to make plays. That’s not offense…that’s hope.
I’ll counter with “what did you want them to do this game?” (Aside from “use a GD coach’s challenge”) It’s the third game in four nights with the third different starting guard. They are adjusting. Love and Mobley are clearly their best two creators right now and do their best work from the high post/elbow. Rondo is toast and you can only put in so much new offense in a short amount of time with new players, and the Cavs don’t have a lot of shooters. I will say I wanted to see more wade, but that’s a quibble. It… Read more »
looking at EC standings tonight, I think the current 10 top teams are the ones in playoffs/playin and the five on the outside looking remain current bottom 5 : Wiz, Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, Magic.
make a f****** move Koby!!! WTF your problem???
Agree with this…
From the desk of Chris Francis…..
LMFAOOOO THATS RIGHT!!!
Maybe. I say make a move if it is smart. But look at how often teams make a big move and it is a disaster for years.
oy…antawn jamison comes to mind…lol i’m with you Raoul
right. When LBJ was here, we made many many desperation trades, which on average were not so good (other than getting rid of Larry whats-his-name), and took a long time to recover from. No doubt LBJ insisted on such moves.
But we are in a totally different situation now, and want to avoid doing anything dumb that we will regret next year
is Jamario Moon available?
Didn’t ask for a big move, just a necessary one. Koby was already on borrowed time when Rubio went down TBH.
what do you mean by “Koby on borrowed time”?
https://twitter.com/oldseaminer/status/1489079857829093376?s=20&t=C0xyfINUZu68lnWXeynVzw
Lololololol yep!!
haha!
FT’s gotta change
Love and Mobley with great offensive games, pretty much all i’m gonna take from this game LMFAO
Love and Mobley were great. Okoro was solid. Everyone else was crap tonight.
Goodwin was solid given circumstances.
agreed
Not a great one from JA that’s for sure
When JA is lethargic, we’re dead meat. Needs Garland/Rubio to find him in his spots and get him in rhythm
Ouch
Love on porter there just not going to work.
Whelp.