Podcap: Cleveland 105, Atlanta 99 (Or, the Body Issue)
2022-10-13The Cavs won their first pre-season game of 2022, Wednesday. Despite a slow start, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland combined for 47 points and 15 assists, off a prodigious 47 shots. Jarrett Allen added five blocks, Isaac Okoro got a start for a resting Caris LeVert, and put up a very solid 16 points and three steels with some nifty drives, and silky shooting. The Bench starred Cedi Osman with 16 and Mamadi Diakite who is making it hard for the Cavs front office to keep him off the roster, with a monster 13 point, 11 rebound, three stock night as he helped seal the deal for Cleveland.
Nate Smith and Chris Francis break down the game, go over the Cavs’ rotation, digest the news from around the NBA, and probably overanalyze the muscle mass of more than a couple Cavs. To top it all off, Nate shares a story about abusing his own body during a rough night in Vegas pretending to be a dentist.
Intrigued? Listen below, download the full audio file, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, or Spotify.
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Sorry guys, Live thread up!
ROOTING FOR DIAKITE ( FLY A KITE ) TO SECURE A ROSTER SPOT TONIGHT !!!
GO GARDS—-MAKING US ALL PROUD ….” IN THE LAND ” !!!!!!
Great win today.
Let’s go G’s!!!!
EVEN THOUGH EVAN IS PLAYING TONIGHT MOST OF THE OTHER STATERS ARE SITTING ——WILL JUST BE GOOD FOR HIM TO GET ” SOME RUN ” IN —THE “REAL ‘ GAME WILL BE THE OTHER CAVS “FIGHTING ‘ FOR A SPOT ON THE TEAM —–PERSONALLY I AM ROOTING FOR MY NEW FAVORITE –DIAKITE (FLY A KITE )
If you don’t leave Vegas without at least one story, you never went! But hearing the two of you saying we can see how it goes in a couple years with DM is crazy. They’ve given up assets until 2029. Unless he is hard broken, I expect the Cavs to sign DM after the opt out.
I don’t think it’s crazy at all, two years is an eternity in the NBA and they can recoup future assets if DM wants to go or if the fit doesn’t work.
I agree with you that I do hope they re-sign him, but that’s because I expect things to go pretty well LMFAO.
Yeah I really hope so.
I think DM’s improvement from Philly to Atlanta is very encouraging!
SAW A JAZZ BOX SCORE THE OTHER DAY—LAURI HAD A NICE GAME 18/ 10 –GOOD FOR HIM—STILL GLAD WE MADE THE TRADE ———CLF – THE MRS NOMAD IS READYTO CASH IN ON THE ” NOMAD CAPS $$$$$$ ” :-)
Good for Lauri. Maybe he (and Cedi) will get a bump from their Euro performances over the summer. Rubio sure did after the Olympics.
LMFAOOOOO
I forgot to mention, I think DG has a great shot of being the assists leader this season, as Nate suggested. Mitchell being out there should help him with that.
i’ve mentioned it here before, but my hot DG take is he’ll be league MVP one day. Not bad for a dude who looked pretty lost on the court his first couple of months in the NBA. My only concern with him is the same concern I’d have with any smaller guards in the league. Their bodies tend to take a beating.
ONLY WATCHED 1ST HALF—–CHECKED IN ON THE POSTS LATER—–WTF CLF—-USING THE “NOMAD CAPS “—-I NEED SOME ROYALTIES :-)——” MORE BEER PLEASE ” WILL BE FINE :-)——AGREE WITH ALOT OF POSTS CUT NUMBHARD—KEEP DIAKITE ( FLY A KITE ) AND “ELDER ” MOBLEY—–COOPER / WINDLER / STEVENS IS A TOSS UP ——–DIAKITE ( FLY A KITE ) BASED SOLEY ON THE VISUAL SO FAR BRINGS SOOO MUCH MORE TO THE TABLE THAN DOES STEVENS/ NUMBHARD——-WINDLER—AS I HAVE POSTED BEFORE (REALLY LIKE HIM ) BUT HE NEEDS TO PURSUE A PGA OR EURO CAREER
NOMAD CAPS = $$$$$$$$$
JB said Evan Mobley was able to practice today, and will play tomorrow against Orlando. Will be good to see, even if it’s only 10-15 minutes.
Man I can’t wait to see him and Allen back out there together. Doubt we see it at all for preseason… but just saying.
I think Nembhard must have some dirt on Altman. Or — more likely — on Dan Gilbert. Only explanation for why a guy that obviously talentless is on an NBA roster.
Agree with how you guys see the rotation (pre-Rubio). We have a lot of versatility in how we approach games, matchups, and rest & recovery.
We should not have a set 10 guys that play and 5 that don’t. We have 11-12 guys who should play fairly regularly (or in spots).
Agreed Jason, good point I’d like to see 11-12 most nights just for the sake of keeping guys engaged and fresh. Or do what Nate suggested and lean into load management on back to backs.
yeah i dont think an 11-12 man rotation is feasible, not enough time to get into any sort of rhythm but i do like the idea of load management and rest!
I think it’s feasible if guys are bought into “we’re gonna ride the hot hand every night” but granted it would require heavy lifting by the coaching staff to pull it off.
Or just to adjust to what is happening in game. A lot of our guys bring different things. We may need some things some nights, but not others.
I mean, if the other team goes small, I don’t want JB to run Lopez out there as our backup C just because he is one if the 10 guys “in the rotation.” That is a game we can go small with Evan, Kevin, and maybe even Wade/Diakite as small ball 5s. But the latter will in no way work if we are playing Philly or Denver.
I view what we do at PG similarly. Yes, we could stagger DG & Spida so that one is on the court at all times, and use LeVert/Cedi/Okoro or high post Mobley/Love as hubs. But that may wear DG/Spida out, and those other options are kind of iffy. If someone is giving us the TJ McConnell treatment, get Neto in there to run the show and calm things down. But he may not play every night.
I mean, we have 6 guys who are gonna be major parts of the rotation (7 once Rubio gets back). DG, Spida, Allen, Mobley, LeVert, and Love. Lopez as the backup C vs bigger teams makes 7 (or 8). If we assume a 10 man, that leaves Okoro, Osman, Wade, and Neto competing for three spots (2 once Rubio gets back). Ice & Cedi are both wings, but Ice can guard 1-3 and is our best point of attack defender be a country mile. Cedi is a 2/3 who gives you streaky shooting. Wade is a 3/4 who can play… Read more »
Our team ceiling gets a lot higher if Okoro can contribute offensively. He is only 21 and thus is hus first real pre-season. I cannot believe he won’t play at least 20 min a night. Minimum. Of course, our ceiling also gets a lot higher if someone not named Garland or Mitchell can make some jumpers. Or more than one someone. Love can, but there are defensive issues. If one (or some) of LeVert, Okoro, Osman, Wade, or even Windler or Diakite, demonstrate they can hit shots more consistently than the others, they will likely play. Ice’s D is so… Read more »
Yup, exactly what i was thinking Jason thanks.
I agree that Wembanyama (sp) and Henderson are the best 1-2 draft prospects in a LOOONG time.
Agree 7 tankers to start: OKC, Rockets, Spurs, Jazz, Pacers, Magic, & Hornets.
And once the season starts to go south, the Pistons, Knicks, Wiz, and Kings may join in.
Need a stop lineup: Okoro, LeVert, Diakite, Mobley, Allen. (Rubio & Stevens & Wade alternates).
On the other side, we were down 2 starters and 5 rotation guys (Mobley, LeVert, Love, Rubio, Wade) and they were only missing Bogdonavic.
Yes, not having Wade, Levert, and Love more than balances any jet lag scale.
Not to be a wet blanket, but Atlanta flew in from Abu Dhabi. Jet lag could have been a factor.
Also, it’s preseason
Agreed.
Yep. Seems clear.
The 2nd and 4th quarters were a blast. Cedi was making his case for some regular season minutes.
Yes sir! Cedi really clicked last night!
What happens in Vegas…..
LMFAO indeed!
Firesales: As much as I would like to see it, I don’t see the Nets on a downward trajectory. I think Simmons is motivated to show out, as I suspect Kyrie might be too. If KD is in good condition…they may be a problem.
Wait until they hit a bump, then see what happens.
Interesting, spicy Nets take I like it!
The Nets are an absolute wildcard — can wind up anywhere from #1 to tanking.
Simmons might or might not be motivated to show out.
The three Nets superstars all might or might not be batshit crazy so who knows how how they will turn out.
Stevens served Cleveland as well as he could last season. When injury struck, he filled several holes with energy & physical presence. Times change though, and the writing is on the wall.
There are not 2 guys better than him that are unsigned. One, certainly, in Diakite. That gets us to 15.
And if I had to rank the roster, I’d still put Stevens ahead of Windler. Windler makes more than twice as much and has yet to demonstrate he can play functional NBA minutes, or stay healthy.
1. Starters/All-Star level: DG, Spida, JA, Mobley
2. Best of the rest/proven: LeVert, Love, Rubio
3. Edge of rotation/upside: Okoro, Wade, Osman
4. Edge of rotation/vet/limited: Lopez, Neto
—————
5. Non-rotation: Stevens, Windler, Diakite
———
6. Two-way/secure: I. Mobley
7. Two-way/battle: Nembhard, Cooper
Good rankings.
One quibble:
So far we don’t know much abut Diakite, but be appears way better than Stevens or Windler. He might well be in group 3.
Love the pic that’s perfect!!!! Lmfaooooo