Playoff Live Thread (Game 5): Cavs vs Magic
2024-04-30Good evening, Cavs fans. It’s put up or shut up time for Cleveland. To say that the series hangs in the balance for Cleveland would be an understatement. There’s no way the Cavs can win the series of the don’t win tonight. But let me digress. Looking ahead feels like it’s been the entire problem for Cleveland so far this entire season. Donovan Mitchell recently said he wants to be “the face of the NBA,” and the Cavs’ have made no secret of the fact that they think Evan Mobley is a future all star or more. Maybe the Cavs, their fans, their players, their front office, etc. should stop looking at what the future holds and start looking at the now. Win the possession, the quarter, the half, the game, no matter who is on the floor (and Jarrett Allen may not be due to broken ribs).
One thing I love about about Nikola Jokic is that he doesn’t worry about being the face of the NBA, endorsements, regular season awards or records… He just focuses on making the best basketball play every single fucking possession. And the right basketball play is the one that helps his team win the quarter, the half, the game, the series, the playoffs. So stop talking about the summer. Stop talking about the past two games. Get on your horse and give it to Magic every fucking single play.
I don’t understand why Emoni Bates isn’t playing at all. He’s 6’8″ and can shoot the 3. He can’t do any worse than Niang. Plus why not use their 3 point specialist. No one else is scoring except the guards.
JB Bicker staff may be a good defensive coach but that’s all I can say about him.
Chuck
LT up
No Allen (no surprises), no Gary Harris, starting Mook.
Did LeBron fire Ham?
That is my guess, and I am not impressed. While LBJ can still be a top five guy for brief periods, I doubt if any coach in the world could have won with the Lakers. It is the team he picked.
Yeah I’m not sure where the Ham as bad coach narrative came from. I don’t know if he’s a “good” coach, all I know is that series was closely contested in fact the Lakers were leading the majority of the time across the games. And Anthony Davis’ 100,000th injury largely swung the last game. The Lakers didn’t underachieve, they just had a tough first round draw.
So much parity. The draw and health mean so much
JB CAN GO COACH LEBRON/ LAKERS 👍🙏🏀——-FOR CAVS GOOD LUCK TONIGHT— HAVE ME SOME ICED DOWN. “ EVIL 👿 GENIUS PURPLE MONKEY DISHWASHER—— CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PORTER “ ——- BRING IT ON HOME EVIL 👿 ONE. 👍🍺🍷
Partly explains why the series was entertaining.
https://x.com/TommyBeer/status/1786245509360808412
Draymond pretty sharp when he isn’t being an idiot:
https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-draymond-green-drops-truth-bomb-why-darvin-ham-shouldnt-be-fired
Off the court, he always been pretty sharp.
Referring to his analysis of the game, which conveniently rules out dickpics.
I mean, same.
(to the “off the court” comment, not the dick pics)
Could this month’s Cavs team have hung w either of these teams?
Eh. I’m tired of hypotheticals. Play the team in front of you.
Great series. Honestly that game 2 robbery looming larger now.
Oh well, at least one uber annoying team is done.
I think it’s over for Philly
Things I was wrong about: trading for Josh hart.
I wanted him, the Cavs just didn’t have the juice to get him.
Meh…we probably dont get the NY Josh Hart. We would have gotten what JB could get out of Josh Hart. He still has to be fired or we are screwed.
They left Hart wide open
zero doubt that Hart was hitting that.
Both of these teams are so annoying in so many ways, but it’s enjoyable watching them destroy each other.
Honestly they are competing at a super high level. I respect the hell out of it.
I think this gonna end up a goal tend. But it’s soooo close.
That’s a great call they rarely get right.
So close
Find someone who loves you the way refs love Brunson.
The Brunson grift.
Just such great core strength.
The only core I know is the Core 4
Nick Nurse is a dope.
Yep.
Good lord, Maxey. What a game.
JFC I hate when Embiid starts grifting.
I loath this Knicks team.
I mainly hate that they are allowed to play physical as hell, but at the same time, you’d best not even brush Brunson.
It’s ridiculous. Although I don’t really feel bad for Embiid not getting calls for rolling around on the ground either.
I kinda hate them both, but I also respect them.
This is a pretty fantastic ballgame.
Brunson is 6’0” Embiid.
He flopped his way to a tie
Knicks put up a 15 point quarter. Glad we aren’t the only ones.
They have sucked bad since the hot start.
Brunson basically has the same whistle as Trae. Pretty disgusting both ways.
Rumor has it Wagner pierced a rib of Allen’s, damn
Dirty POS! We need an enforcer. Wendell may have done the same to Mitch.
Don’t panic, Sixers. Just give it to Batum.
Brunson continuing his flopping campaign.
He’s gonna out-flop Embiid, but only because Embiid isn’t fit. #Flopoffs
Boston:
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2024/05/02/who-would-be-a-better-matchup-for-the-celtics-in-the-next-round-the-magic-or-cavaliers/?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAqEAgAKgcICjDswdMLMLrd6gMw1Ln8AQ&utm_content=rundown
hard to know if Sam is usable in any playoff game where the other team has plenty of time to develop a plan and practice it.
Yeah. He should really help juice the bench in regular season but when teams have a plan, iono.
It’s the Channing Frye problem
https://x.com/the_bball_index/status/1786063097704190006?s=46&t=E8SiRvbZa9K2lria_OU0NQ
Top 10 Guards in off-ball Gravity in the regular season:
1 – Stephen Curry
5 – Sam Merrill
10 – Donovan Mitchell
How we dont use him more is beyond me.
It just hasn’t worked at all in this series: maybe we could try 5 out or something. But Orlando has him marked from the minute he checks in and their second unit also has Isaac to track the primary ball handler who usually gets Sam a lot of his shots off downhill pressure (whether DG DM or Vert)
It’s utterly stupid and just shows how unqualified JB is.
his play has been neutral: he’s not bad like Niang but he’s a zero and he replaces Garland or Mitchell or Vert. I hope they can get something going for him but Orlando totally has his number
JB’s stubborn, and loves his teacher’s pets (Okoro).
He needs a stretch big to play two man game with. Love to see him and Morris get some chemistry like Korver and Frye.
Anybody see anything about chances JA will return for Game 6?
Just realizing today that his injury is the only reason JB made an adjustment (smaller lineup/faster) that forced Orlando out of rhythm. Guarantee he would have otherwise “gone with his guys” despite the ORL blowouts and we’d be down 3-2.
I’m sure they won’t make a decision until game-time.
Well then I hate to say this but I hope JA isn’t ready to play yet. Only way JB will make an adjustment is if it’s forced upon him. Would also like to see Merrill get more than 4-5 minutes, but I’m not holding my breath.
Magic will change lineups if Harris is out – probably Isaac at 2.
Merrill hasn’t really done anything but get cooked by Fultz. It’s not really his fault Orlando has our shooters fully scouted and is really making it tough. Their first priority is clearly to get out to the three, doubly so with Sam Strus and Niang.
Maybe a super small second unit that puts Ingles in the action would help free things up. Might as well try it for the Merrill shift.
How can you really have an accurate picture of Merrill who either doesn’t play or plays very little minutes?
When they’ve played him he hasn’t made shots and the offense isn’t better. Orlando has also made a point to hunt him on defense (doesn’t always work, to his credit). I think they should keep trying but he hasn’t had an effective shift this series against this team. He was -14 in Game 3 with a ton of garbage time but neutral otherwise.
What are you seeing against this team that suggests he can help? We’re five games in.
Again you can’t get an accurate picture of someone only playing them 4 minutes. They need to play shooters and one big. Sam should be one of those shooters and get at least 15 minutes a night.
It hasn’t worked for Sam in this series over five games. Doubling down might work but there’s literally no evidence outside of garbage time that it will.
9 extra minutes of dead time at SG is a pretty big risk for a specialist.
It’s one thing to be a believer in Mook but a guy who has no meaningful playoff buckets in five games getting 15m is quite the leap of faith.
There’s enough data during the regular season that shows when the Cavs play shooters and one big they’re one of the best teams in the league. Extrapolating Sam’s 4 minutes and saying that he would be just as bad over 15 is just silly. How about we continue playing the core 4 because they’ve done so well with that nonsense. JB let Niang shit the bed for extended minutes each game but Sam has this short leash despite being one of the better shooters in the league. I don’t know why it’s so complicated for you?
You are all over the place, but Raoul has it right: it’s not complicated – he just isn’t useful in this matchup against great perimeter defense with a plan.
Four shooters is fine but Sam is the worst basketball player among all our shooters: just play Mook, Strus, and the usual guards if Niang is still butt. I hope Sam can get off but there’s no indication he can do it against this team. Probably hurts than he burned ORL in the regular season so they are super aware.
Don’t be sad or mad.
😂😂😂😂
Jarret in the top 10 (#9) in “Rims points saved this regular season”.
https://x.com/the_bball_index/status/1786017802538901954?s=46&t=E8SiRvbZa9K2lria_OU0NQ
YEP-GM’s HAVE GIVEN A “ KINGS RANSOM “ OVER THE YEARS TO OBTAIN HARD”ON” —- ALL THEY GOT IN RETURN WAS A “ KICK IN THE NUGGETS “
harden.. 33 min.. 2-12 with 1-7 on 3.. 7 pts.. i love when the capabilities are disappearing in real-time.. mavs up 3-2.. flattie had a “meh” game (but put up 40 in the previous game)..
Whoever wins game 5, wins the series 80 percent of the time. Hopefully the Cavs fall within that 80 percent.
Celtics not missing the Zinger one bit. Luke Kornet +20 and Boston coasting home.
One of the many reasons to hate Boston is they make Al Horford look decent.
https://x.com/The_BBall_Index/status/1785806406211514711
CAVS MUST BE THIRSTY FOR “ MODELO MADNESS “ ——-GOOD TO SEE SOME FIGHT/ INSPIRED BASKETBALL 🏀 ——— NOW REALLY IMPRESS ME AND DO IT FRIDAY ON THE ROAD——GO CAVS ——-“ MODELO “ BEING ICED DOWN——— ALTHOUGH I BOUGHT A 12 PACK OF “GREAT LAKES MEXICAN LAGER 🍺 “ TODAY——- 👍👍👍🍺🍺
I really wished I was in the building at that point late in Q1 when Darius caught fire and was even hitting heat checks. If anyone was attending, I’d love to hear it what it felt like, bc even through the TV the crowd sounded absolutely berserk at that moment. I feel like the whole fan base has been waiting for this from him.
The insane one that got my wife and I out of our seats was the Caris steal and three to close the first.
Magic in 6?
Glass jaws?
It was pretty damn close to being right.
With JA out/hurting, Magic in 7 is still in play.
Don’t be a front runner!
Guys showed a lot of toughness in this one…never let go of the ropes, capped off by Mobley’s excellent block.
I still can’t get over how bad and blatantly one-sided the officiating was. It’s going to be expected with Tony Brothers out there (Game 1 of the 2018 Finals, anyone?), but it was taken to a completely different level last night. I don’t care how well the Cavs play in game 6, a win is not going to be possible on the road unless they get a better whistle than they did last night.
JB gotta take a fine.
same
Still gobsmacked that it took JB four games and a JA injury to recognize that playing his toughest MFs — Morris and Okoro — against these big Florida burly boys might make more sense than relying on a Minivan with a missing three-point shot. Too bad we don’t have Wade and pre-drug-test TT to throw at these bullies, too. The Core Four all seem like good dudes, but not one of them is looking to mix it up. At the end of the day, I think that (and crappy coaching) are the root of this team’s psychological problems. But shutting… Read more »
Agree on Morris, but Okoro was pretty meh. Their utter refusal to stock long wings remains a dunce cap.
Okoro has to get more nasty in him. Given his role, he’s too nice. Too passive.
We can’t really afford long wings without trading a starter. I doubt it’s a refusal, every trade deadline article for two years has been “Cavs seek wing: other teams asking multiple FRPs”. Does Orlando have the dunce cap for zero guard playmaking or strong rebounding bigs? If Harrison Barnes is 18m a year, Jaden McDaniels is 28m a year, and DFS can’t be had for two picks then the market just isn’t there for what we have to pay. MLE is gonna be like 13m, maybe something is there. Developing Okoro, having developed Wade, getting a decent buyout guy in… Read more »
They could’ve had Derrick Jones Jr. for a song. And did you mean the Jaden McDaniels they could’ve drafted in 2020?
Fair enough on DJJ. Pity we were carrying a dead roster spot with Rubio.
Jaden was also like the eighth wing picked in 2020. I could see Vassell or Deni as having been a reasonable alternative at 5 but no one was talking about Jaden that way, even the most rabid Husky fans.
Yeah Okoro had some good moments, but in the fourth quarter his defense was not bothering Banchero at all. He’s just too small in that matchup. Definitely prefer Morris and Strus as the forwards in the closing lineup if JA remains out for game 6. But, I am happy that they opened the game playing at a faster pace – if you’re replacing JA with Okoro rather than a big as a starter, then you’ve got to run the floor!
Okoro is better defending SGs & PGs. Big SFs & PFs are too long for him. Perimeter forwards he’s fine.
Watching Maxey ball out, I recall he was same draft class as Okoro. I mean, Anthony Edwards too, but Maxey wasn’t in the top 20.
he’s so good.
drafting three point guards in a row would have been pretty wild
The guys at TheStepienRules (have to find it in the way back machine now – as all those guys ended up in front offices) identified Maxey as a top three player that draft according to their analytics and I was always a bit annoyed the Cavs didn’t take a longer look. He was basically a better version of what Sexton was supposed to be: a score first combo guard. It was stupid he dropped as far as he did. That Sexton draft pick was kind of an albatross.
That being said, those guys really liked Cole Anthony which I just did not get. You can’t take a guard who’s too small, and you can take a guard who doesn’t shoot/score all that well in college, but you can’t have both those red flags in the same player.
I’ve said that about Maxey too. He’s a much better Sexton.
On rewatch Mitchell really doesn’t have his feel. Screening to get Suggs ONTO DG, that weird middy on the last posssession, everything short….
All correctable though
Any word on JA for Friday?
JB said he didn’t know after the game.
I caught the second half, and Strus was great down the stretch. Scrambling for last rebound and instantly getting it to Don might have decided the game.
On the very last play, the Magic made the three, but didn’t try to prevent the Cavs from getting the ball in bounds. If they had forced a five second call, they would have had a prayer.
Yeah, Cavs smartly inbounded it very quickly with only .3 on the clock.
Eh. All you gotta do is throw it high up in the air to the other backcourt. Would have taken an all time brain fart to lose there up four (I feel like I’m jinxing myself here).
This Indy game late as hell.
Indy not handling success well. Bucks not just gonna hand them a road elimination game
Did Cavs ever trail by more than 3?
Nope.
tight game!
17 lead changes…
Harris may be hurt as well. that helps a bit although I’d prefer all be healthy for Friday
Any news on the severity of JA’s injury? Honestly, I didn’t know of it until I saw the starting lineups.
I imagine it fucking hurts
we are somehow getting a JB extension after even I am out lmao
We so miss Dean Wade in this series. Isaac Okoro just constantly matched up on guys with 5 inches on him.
Magic were only in this bc they are huge. it really hurt with Allen out
Wait we were only -4 on the glass? dope
with 10 more FGA (means more D-Rebs for opponent)
Neither he nor LeVert guard up well. Strictly 6’6′” and down.
DG, DM, IO, CL, and Merrill are all guys who struggle with size. Strus is undersized at SF.
We need more playable length on the wing and up front. Mobes & Wade are it. Morriszwalks into PO minutes at age 36.
They needed everything they had for that one, but they gave it, so good for them.
Much better play from DG tonight.
Bizarre lineup matchup down the stretch with Orlando going super-size sometimes.
I would have liked to see a liiiiittle more from DG given that Mitchell is DRAGGING. but he was fantastic controlling the game and really guarded Suggs well too