Live Thread: Bulls @ Cavs (or, Magic Number Is Still One)
2025-04-08Good evening CtB!
The Cavs welcome the eternal 10 seed Chicago Bulls to the banks of the Cuyahoga River for a classic Central Division game with a little added meaning for the good guys if they can win, thus clinching the top seed in the East. All signs point to the Cavs engaging in extreme load management once they ensure the top seed in the East. It’ll be interesting to see if that remains the case with the Oklahoma City Thunder sputtering a touch to the end of the regular season as well.
What is there to watch? The greatest weakness of this historic Cavs team is the same as it ever was: physicality and rebounding. How does Coach Kenny Atkinson manage this weakness? The Cavs are now outside the top 10 in rebound rate in the NBA, with the Boston Celtics and surging Minnesota Timberwolves overtaking their spot. Yours truly would certainly take the field above the Cavs to hoist the Larry O’Brien before I’d take the Cavs:
As Kenny Atkinson has continually said over the season: NBA playoff basketball is about turnovers and rebounding. How many extra possessions can you create? How many possessions do you throw away? Every possession matters if you want to win the title.
Other tidbits via pbpstats.com
Tip off is scheduled for 7:00PM Eastern time and will be broadcasted live on Fanduel Sports Network, Go Cavs!
HOPING TO GET ME SOME NYQUIL / OKE – DOKE / 🚦/ TYSON RUN TIME TONIGHT— REST OF THE REGULAR SEASON
Esp Tyson
….
JA getting oppty for all 82
He’ll play 2 minutes.
Completely reasonable
Indy 9.5 point favorites tonight.
CELTICS RESTING THEIR STARS —— SMART
ALSO HOPE KA / CAVS ON THEIR 3rd QTR WOES / PROBLEM s 👍🏀💪
SOME MEDIA OUTLETS ARE CALLING THE CAVS “ A GOOD REGULAR SEASON TEAM BUT MIGHT NOT GET PAST THE 1st ROUND “—— HOPE THIS IS POSTED/ DISCUSSED IN CAVS LOCKERROOM
Yeah, you could talk yourself into a lot if you restrict your viewpoint to how the team has been playing. But, they continued to use different lineups, stuck to their minutes and rotations, where many teams were playing their guys full games. Certainly, shooting was down, as well. I think it would be great to see some greater discipline in the offense especially at the end of halves where maybe don’t green light every open three or let’s not go to the step back as the first shot.
most media is big city and/or east coast centric. they have been going on for years about how the Cavs can’t beat the Celts or Knicks. ignore them.
DAN GILBERT WITH HIS CLF QUOTE—-POSTED —- WE ARE ECF CHAMPIONS—- LFG IN PLAYOFFS “ ——— CLF I WOULD GET COPYRIGHTS ON THAT 👍👍
THATS RIGHT NOMAD #LETEMKNOW #MOREBEERPLEASE
Good game with some really nice moments against a VERY undermanned Bulls team.
Now they can rest up and focus on getting ready.
It’s a new season. Let’s hope Kenny will have a big impact in the post season, too.
I AGREE TOM —- JUST THE TIMING WAS WEIRD—- WINDHORST EXPLAINED THE TIMING—- “ IF HE / NUGGETS DID WELL IN THE PLAYOFFS IT WOULD BE HARD TO FIRE HIM “ ——— MAKES SENSE—— SOME HAVE HIM POSSIBLY GOING TO THE SPUR s —- DEPENDING ON WHAT POP DECIDES
THE 2 GAMES LEFT WITH THE PACERS ARE PRETTY MUCH MEANINGLESS
DID HASLEM SECRETLY BUY OWNERSHIP INTEREST IN THE NUGGETS—— WTF ——- MALONE WILL LAND SOMEWHERE—QUICKLY—- PROBABLY THE GRIZZ —— SUCH IS LIFE IN THE NBA
Malone took them to the promised land, for sure, but he was, in interviews I saw, pretty much an unapologetic ahole, too. And that’s how he described himself. Which, given the nature of the job, I think you should do it your way until they tell you to leave.
8-0 without Spida this year. Or is it 9?
Anyway, #1 seed locked in.
Cavs vs:
Magic: 2-1
Hawks: 1-2
Bulls: 4-0
Heat: 2-1
———–
Indy: 1-1 (2 left)
Mil: 4-0
Det: 3-1
You’re correct they’re 8-0 without Mitchell this season.
Three of those eight games were against playoff/play-in teams (Detroit, Memphis, Chicago).
They should have just used the entire postgame show to show footage of national talking heads debate who between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Orlando would be the #1 seed in the East at the beginning of the season.
CONGRATS TO CAVS —- REST THE STARTERS —-.CATCHING OKC IS UNLIKELY AND NOT THAT IMPORTANT
Sorry I couldn’t watch live with u guys. On vacay and wife wanted to watch the guards’ walk off walk, so I had to watch that replay before I could start Cavs. Glad they clinched hoping their scrubs can make it interesting and still maybe catch the Thunder.
Now rest everyone and roll the last 3 with the zoo crew!
So glad they clinched #1 in the East tonight! Gives Donovan as much time as he needs to rest the ankle. And it looks like this was the “get right” game Darius needed.
NO NYQUIL TONIGHT????? 🤨
Excellent! Epic regular season! Exceeded my expectations.
WILL BE INTERESTING HOW KA PlAYS THIS OUT LINEUP WISE ——
Congrats Cavs. One less thing to worry about. Get some rest, but no rust or bad habits
“ OKE – DOKE “ THROWS THE HAMMER DOWN FOR THE. ECF CHAMPS CAVS 👍🏀💪. ……. “ MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ 👍🏀💪🍺
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE THAT BIG LINEUP
POINT DEAN WADE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
CMON CAVS YOU ARE LETTING THEM BACK— GIVING THEM LIFE—— WE NEED THAT KILLER INSTINCT
Kenny finally decoupled Ty and Deandre this rotation to let Okoro and Merrill play together… it’s going beautifully now.
FAST 3rd QTR —PUT THIS GAME AWAY—- THEN CELEBRATION TIME!!! —— “ MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ !!
Some beautiful no look passing from DG. Ty back to being Ty. Even DWade looks good.
PUT THIS GLEAGUE TEAM AWAY —- BURY THEM NOW !!!! ——— WANT TO SEE ME SOME “ OKE – DOKE “ đź‘Ť
RAOUL—- THIS IS FOR YOU—- KNOW YOU ARE A HUGE GAURDIANS FAN —- MY NEPHEW GOT HIRED RECENTLY TO BE IN CHARGE/ DIRECTOR OF OPERATING THE GAURDS JUMBO TRON 👍👍👍👍———— BRIBING HIM TO GET HIS UNClLE NOMAD ON THE TRON 👍🍺
cool!
Evan letting em fly tonight.
GO GAURDIANS —- GO CAVS — GET ANOTHER “ W” AGAINST THE WINDY CITY
JARRETT ALLEN MISMATCH POST UP = JA DUNK
Jesus that was awful offense, luckily JA bailed us out there.
Fanduel will have the first round only sounds like, in case that one person was wondering.
I asked, then forgot to check. Thanks Chris
It will be interesting to see if the Cavs change their rotations going into the playoffs. I certainly think it’s hard to change your identity, but playing through the bigs should be the way forward, and two bigs (Mobley, Allen, Wade, Green) on the floor at all times should be the norm.
yeah, they actually have maximized Mobley on offense pretty well, it’s Jarrett Allen that’s massive low hanging fruit… I posted before, but JA mismatch post ups should be a staple of the offense, he’s 1.59 PPP on post ups this season.
The problem is we’re losing points on Mobley post-ups instead (0.8 PPP at last check)
TONIGHT HAS TO BE THE NIGHT—- GO CAVS !!!—- “ REBOUND— LITERALLY “ FROM KING s DEFEAT!!