CtB Trifecta: Retrospective, Preview, Live Thread 76ers @ Cavs
2022-11-30Good Evening CtB!
The Cavs are officially at the quarter pole of the 2022-23 NBA season. Here’s some thoughts as the Cavs stand 13-8 and among the top of the Eastern Conference…
1. Bench spark in Detroit
The main takeaway regarding the Cavs’ gritty 102-94 win against the Detroit Pistons was how Raul Neto and Mamadi Diakite provided a spark for the Cavs after a listless start by the starters. It was weird how Coach J.B. Bickerstaff refused to turn to Neto while Caris LeVert struggled with his confidence in Toronto against the Raptors. There’s rumors of a Diakite starting appearance, which would be a massive vote of confidence for the University of Virginia product.
The other big takeaway from that Detroit game was how Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell were able to get to the line, 25 attempts between the two of them. Getting to the line is how you grind out offense in the NBA, and it was especially nice to see DG putting up that number of attempts.
2. Wheels come off in Toronto
The wheels came off the offense in Toronto, with a mess of things that were wrong with the game. First off, J.B’s desire to run an eight-man rotation in the second game of a back to back is perplexing. It was clear Donovan Mitchell had no gas at all for the game. Okoro, LeVert, and Wade struggled with varying levels of a lack of confidence. If there’s something to takeaway from the game, it’s how much the Cavs miss Kevin Love and Jarrett Allen in the rotation. Get well soon guys!
3. Getting to the next level
Currently at the quarter pole of the NBA season, the Cavs have amassed 13-8 record and a third seed in the Eastern Conference. By those objective measures, the Cavs have exceeded preseason expectations. But also the Cavs have taken three of their worst losses this season against Eastern Conference playoff foes Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, who account for 50% of the Cavs total losses this season so far. Further, the Cavs Pythagorean Win Expectancy given their elite +5.9 point differential should be around 68% according to Daryl Morey’s model, yet they stand 10% below that at 62%. What does it mean? To yours truly what it means is that there’s another level of play yet to be uncovered. Once they do, they will be serious championship contenders which is surreal to say in all honesty.
4. Philly comes to town
Tonight the Cavs welcome the Philadelphia 76ers to the shores of Lake Erie for yet another massive Eastern Conference playoff showdown. The Sixers are on a roll after a sluggish start to the season, while the Cavs are mired in some .500 ball since the eight game winning streak early in the season. For the Cavs it would be a great chance to build confidence and continue to bury the direct competition. For Philly, it’s a chance to keep the steamroll going and join the elite of the conference.
Both teams will be missing key pieces with James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love, and Lamar Stevens all being out tonight. Philly has now surpassed the Cavs for 3rd in the NBA in defensive rating at 108.1 vs. 108.2. Tonight should be about which team can impose its will defensively, and unfortunately the Cavs will be without their best defensive player in Jarrett Allen. A magical night from DG and Spida could be just what the doctor ordered, Go Cavs!
BREAKING: THE MAMADI DIAKITE AGENDA VINDICATED
#Cavs Lamar Stevens (illness) is OUT tonight, sources tell @clevelanddotcom. With Stevens sidelined, 2-way player Mamadi Diakite is entering the starting lineup tonight, sources say. His 4th career start
Will be Garland, Mitchell, Wade, Diakite & Mobleyhttps://t.co/dTmBLO2YH2
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) November 30, 2022
Podcap up!!
https://twitter.com/NBACouchside/status/1598478974652452864?s=20&t=yqitsGJ9oqVtxvAmys8Ukg
Three Cavs in the top 30
Who are the other two?
Spider dg and allen
PREACH IT CLF —PREACH IT—–IS WHAT I POSTED 2 DAYS AGO——WE SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE ‘ROLO EXPERIMENT ” AND EMBRACE ” THE 3-A-KITE COMING OUT PARTY”—KOBY DO THE SMART THING AND SIGN THIS DUDE
LETS GOOOOOOOO COACH NOMAD!!!!
What? No Moses Brown reunion? I kid, I kid.
I hear you guys on Diakite and Isaiah. Love it in theory and worth trying now, early in the season to see if they can be the answer on a consistent basis, but if they’re uneven, come April, a little more experience in a non-Lopez backup center might be preferable.
yeah that’s exactly my point, it just turned December, teams are trying to peak in March. Let the deep bench bring some energy and chaos into the game, Diakite and Isaiah have earned the right to some minutes.
Lopez is our goon, use him when the game gets nasty.
how does RoLo rate compared to Moses?
HEY BUCKAROO—” THE ROLLING ROCK IV ” IS JUST WHAT THE DR ORDERED—FEEL MUCH BETTER —( STILL PLAYING THE SICK MARTYR WHEN AROUND THE MRS NOMAD —–KEEPS THE MRS NOMAD HONEYDO LIST IN CHECK :-) ———SOME ATHLETE’S –” TALK IT —BUT DON’T WALK IT ‘ ESPECIALLY THE ELITE PLAYERS—–SPIDA —” WALKS THE TALK “–SO REFRESHING TO SEE A PLAYER OF HIS STATUS EMBRACE HIMSELF WITH THE OTHER TEAMMATES—LEADS BY EXAMPLE AND IT DOES—WILL BECOME CONTAGIOUS—-WE ARE SOOOO FORTUNATE HE IS WEARING A CAVS UNIFORM !!!
Man, I wish JA were more durable. I could not be more of a Jarrett Stan so this isn’t a knock on him in any way. I know big men are more susceptible to injury, but it does show the vulnerability of having one as the lynchpin around which your team can really function. I do love what JB did with Diakite last night, but still think we’d be well served with a RoLo upgrade. That said, I want NO PART of the Dwight Howard experience I see some advocating for out there in the (non-CTB) commentariat. Nomad, I think… Read more »
We don’t need a RoLo upgrade, we need JB to play Diakite and possibly Isaiah Mobley and play some small ball some of the time. Some coaching adjustments would go a long way towards unlocking the talent on the roster, which is a legit 11-12 deep.
QUESTION —–WHO REMAINS UNDEFEATED ON TRIVIA NIGHT ———DAVER PLEASE ANSWER THAT QESTION IN 5 SECONDS !!!………AND ALSO KEEP PLAYING// HAVING TRIVIA NIGHT !!!
Sadly probably won’t until next Jan but we are going to have a blowout with our winnings soon. Big party and definitely more beer.
I WILL DRINK TO THAT BUCKAROO——HELL WHO AM I KIDDING —I WILL ……….” MORE BEER PLEASE ” TO ALMOST ANYTHING——–” A HUNGRY DAWG—-IS A DANGEROUS DAWG—–STAY HUNGRY YOUNG CAVS ” !!!!
NOMAD bro.. did you catch a little of spida in the team video jumping up and down to celebrate big momma’s junkyard dog award.. speaks volumes about character.. super star partying with the support staff.. kind of like the CEOs partying with the janitors.. pretty rare.. hope you are on the mend old man.. keep that RR IV in the arm during the recovery
big momma (rebounds and 3s.. what’s not to like?) is exactly the kind of under-the-radar talent that winning FOs need to be able to find and develop on a regular basis.. outstanding job koby (wade, stevens, big momma..) !! this young man needs to be promoted to full-time.. make it happen koby..
agreed 100% if Cavs don’t roster him, someone should/will!
https://twitter.com/bolwrld/status/1598183811321589760?s=46&t=TEf1K2ALAxL5lhSsPb49ww
3-0, Wednesday night trivia
DAVER UNDEFEATED!!!!
19 minutes on the court for the starting lineup, +35.6 on the night LMFAOOOO
Wade, Diakite, and Mobley dominated the boards
and 6 for Caris, 5 for Ice
LOVE IT!!!
OK Coach, keep him in!
let me in coach.. i’m ready to play.. today.. who wrote that tune raoul bro ?
John Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival. Though that was a solo tune.
Put me in coach
I still have the cassette.
yes jason bro.. put me in.. diggin’ big momma kite.. put him in coach
John Fogerty in post CCR days. JF is a great American rocker, and is still at it, lately in a band with his kids.
I hitched to the WC when I was about 19. I saw CCR for free in a SF coffeehouse, and at a giant concert on the beach at Santa Cruz. I had to climb down the cliffs to get in because I had zero money. Wish I could still do stuff like that!
raoul bro.. i know you are digging big momma kite.. put’s a smile on my face.. i lurve underdogs.. u2 i think.. so, yes hitching to WC.. in early 70s.. pre DOS bro.. only big iron in those days.. with punch cards.. a lot of pretty mamacitas on the beach though..
very interesting on how Diakite got to the US and to the NBA
Diakite!!
Mobley Diakite Okoro and Garland all > +40 net rating tonight…. DIAKITE AGENDA IS THRIVING
diakite agenda.. sounds like a good mystery movie
INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY MAMADI DIAKITE COMING TO AN ARENA NEAR YOU!!!
I thought it was a band. I think I saw them open for the Bog Hippies and Zupa Ogorkowa at Beachland.
Diakite earned the JYD award
Memo to JR: Diakite in the rotation from here on out.
IDK,
1) He is still on a 2 way.
2) DG, Spida, Wade, Mobley, JA; Rubio, LeVert, Okoro, Cedi, Love. That is 10. Stevens was playing well before he got sick. Neto + Lopez are situational.
3) We do have an open roster spot. I’d have signed him at the start of the year.
THATS RIGHT
A softer bit of schedule coming up:
Orlando, at NY, Lakers, Kings, OKC (b2b), at Spurs.
4 of next 6 at home. Only the Kings over .500. Roadies with NY and SA. If we can get a touch healthier (Allen), I smell a win streak coming on.
at Dallas, Indy, Dallas, Utah after that.
No one more than 1 game over .500 until a 3 game homie wrapped around Christmas (Bucks, Raps, Nets). Other than Indy.
Okoro +20 in 22 minutes, playing a lot of minutes at the 4, I love it… bench unit switchable at every position defensively.
Everyone was +20 tonight.
RoLo begs to differ LMFAOOO
Celtics/heat on nbatv. God Boston’s bench is loaded.
And toothy royalty in the first row.
Hey, I like Kate…..
Their top 8 is just ridiculous
After a nice solid overall game by Cabs against a East team, I look for other scores around the league and see Toronto is down 47-74 against New Orleans at the half ! Love it !
Philly seemed to sleepwalk through much of this game. Cavs just stayed on them and they never got going. Super game.
Embiid, in particular, looked like a walking dead…barely had the energy to go foul grifting, even…
Tuned in in the 3rd quarter.Thought I was watching the wrong game.What in the world has happened.?
Could. Not. Miss. Playing great team defense, passing to the open man
Tonight – 15-29 from 3 point range.. (51.7%)
7-38 at Toronto (18%)
This a nice bounce back game..
Defense was sold as Philly shot 41%.
Caris LeVert 22/6/4 +13 off the bench.
Best game of the year? Or the Boston wins?
Boston on the road the best one, but this was also Philly’s worst loss this year… tough choice!
Both Boston wins. I also really enjoyed the Detroit team win earlier this year.
yeah. beating Boston in anything ranks with beating the Yankees!
Me, too on Detroit.
Boston wins.
Gotta give Mimadi the JYD, right?
The Cavs the Blog Dog for sure
DIAKITE OR WADE FOR SURE
Caris? Was electric in the first half to extend the lead
Caris seems to have about one game in 6 where he is REALLY GOOD and the other 5 not very good
DRIVE AND FINISH ICE !!!!!!!!!
42 bench points this game..
DG: 21 points and 9 assist led to 20 points.. basically a 40 point game.
Mobley seemed to get in Embid’s head. He passed up a lot of shots he normally would take.
I was just going to post that.. nice accomplishment for Cedi.
of course, Lenny Wilkins refused to play Ferry, which was dumb (the trade wasn’t his fault). I think the Cavs finally cut Ferry, after which he went on to be a solid part of some Spurs championship teams.
I recall a PLAYOFF game where Wilkins started some lousy walk-on over Ferry, big red haired guy, I think he played at Notre Dame, and he kind of walked up and down the court doing nothing.
Where is Isaiah Mobley? On assignment ?
Charge. Nomad posted some stats downthread.
NETO TO DIAKITE TO CARIS BEAUTIFUL BASKETBALL
thats what I call statement game. Things are clicking for Cavs.
YES SIR THANK YOU WF!!!!
Neto lives!
Cavs tough at home.
Dean Wade with the fish hook
Jimmy Dean
DEAN WADE DRIVE AND FINISH WITH THE OFF HAND
DEPRESSION TIMEOUT DOC
Need DG to get that 10th assist.
Doc is gonna empty the bench
DG TO WADE STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY $$$$$$$$$$
It’s neto time.
IN YOUR DREAMS NATE LMFAOOOOO
Yes it is.
Game over!
HOLY SHIT WHAT A FINISH DG!!! DEAN WADE WILL NOT BE DENIED!!!!
LAKE ERIE SHOW LETS FUCKIN GGOOOOOOOOOOOO
DG overly ambitious occasionally, but what a joy to play with and to watch play…
I’m really enjoying his passing, he’s a great point guard.
That behind the back to Caris. Unreal.
Holy shit DG !!! Ice with the flush what a game !
Ice ice baby!
LeStepback
CARIS STEP BACK JACK LETS GOOOOOOO
Le3ert!
In some respects I get the Rolo thing. Gonna slow down the game and check Embiid.
yeah i get that he wants to wear down Embiid, but he’s going to him way too much.
RoLo is a -3 in a 24 point game and got more minutes than Ice who’s a +16 LMFAOOOO
They play different positions. Allen is hurt. Embiid on the other team. Ya think we shouod put Okoro on him?
Your continued overreliance on +/- in too small sample sizes is also a bone between us.
Ice ain’t covering the big guy
Cedi, babi.
OOTO Cedi!
Nevermind that wasn’t out of time out
WHAT A PASS CARIS TO CEDI!
Mobley leads in +\- with +23
Mobley, Diakite, and Wade had Embiid in jail all night.
Love the game plan— double off Tucker with Diakite
100% guys executed so well too with rotation help.
Too much dribbling..
Got out the slop and close it out early 4th…