Live Thread: Game 1, Heat @ Cavs (or, Strus’ Revenge)
2025-04-20Good evening CtB and Happy Easter!
The Cavs welcome the Miami Heat to the beautiful, sunny banks of the Cuyahoga River for the beginning of the Cavs’ quest for immortality. The good guys are overwhelming favorites, but yet also almost universally doubted when it comes to “the inevitable” Boston vs. OKC Finals. It’s time to #LetEmKnow…
Tip off is scheduled for 7PM and will be broadcasted nationally on TNT as well as locally on Fanduel Sports Network, Go Cavs!
Halliburton ranked as the most overrated player by his peers, via the Athletic. Not sure I agree with this assessment with players like LaMelo Ball and Jalen Green out there.
It reads like taking a high school poll of the least liked person.
I AM RAOUL —— GO GAURDS !!!!
Anyone watching baseball? I was wondering who was in first place in the AL?
Few things brighten my day more than seeing that the Guards beat the Yanks!
BUCKS ARE TOAST ( SO IS DOC RIVER s ) —- PACER s GOING TO BE A TOUGH OUT
Disagree. Bucks almost came all the way back. Dame will be better by G3.
I agree, pacers are making bucks look like statues and they are happy to junk up every single play with you. They are motivated and good chemistry. Will say, I think bucks could make it a series, but, man, Kyle kuzma starts for them 🤷
“ GEM “ IS GOING TO BE “ FIRED 🔥UP “ —PROVE HE IS DESERVING OF THE 6th MAN AWARD——-/ FTS HAD A GOOD ARTICLE ON GEMs CONTRACT WHAT CAVs CAN ACTUALLY PAY HIM—— GO GAURDS GOOD WIN —-GO CAVS
KPJ carrying the Bucks right now.
…and gets a flagrant foul for doing something dumb.
Guards win a gutty one.
Good. Them to destroy him. More motivation for Jerome and
Push-off Pritchard wins 6th man…. RIGGED!
I’m totally shocked that the race wasn’t closer.. if you look at the Stats, Ty is better in every Category..
Ty is playing 9 fewer minutes (19.6 vs 28.1 Min)
PP: 14 pts, 47.2 FG%, 41.1 3PT%, 84.1 FT%
TJ: 12 pts, 51.2 FG%. 42.1 3PT%, 86.6 FT%
How is Ty not up for most improved, BTW?
But this just affirms that a lot of voters are not really well informed and some otgers are none too bright.
As if more evidence is needed…
1st DG is not top 3 for Clutch Player of the year, now Ty doesn’t win. Kenny and Evan better win!
Wait, I’m a little behind – you’re telling me there’s a “Clutch Player of the Year” award, for which DG is not a Finalist?! Wow.
….
Wase has games all the time that are almost complete bagels across the board. This one was just in the POs.
We will need him vs teams with bigger wings. Ditto Hunter. Miami is either smaller (Herro) or bigger (Bam).
good observation on Merrill from KJG: https://kingjamesgospel.com/cavaliers-coach-makes-shocking-decision-reveals-true-quality-atkinson-merrill
Yep. Good article. Though guarding Herro is not in any way playing out of position. They are both SGs.
Mitchell, with his length, strength, & athleticism, or Jerome, with his size, ate both candidates to guard up a spot. As is Strus. DG not so much, unless the guy has no post up game at all.
Finally got to watch the game, the lineup when we finally turned game around in 4th against the zone was strus, Allen, dg, Merrill, and Ty. Great move by ka. Don’t think that was a planned rotation, but the lineup really maxed the movement and ball handling and pressure d at point of attack. Also, thought Isaac and Mobley minutes were great despite not a lot of bow score filler to show for it. Definitely seeing a lot of growth year on year go cavs!
Leonard in imperious form.
He keeps making shots that just seem impossible but they go in.Hands in face,falling down etc
I kind of want the Pistons to win this series. I think they’ll give the Celtics more problems than this Knicks team.
Seconded.
same
JB has an opportunity to build a new playoff rep.
Brunson such a grifter
Yes. Prima donna grifter.
KAT flat as a chinese retread.. stephen a gonna have a stroke..
He’ll make All-NBA this year. Great regular season offensive stats. And beyond Jokic, Mobley, & Sengun, it is hard to find another PF/C type who played 65 who is deserving.
But I wouldn’t pay max for him.
Pistons WIN!
Way to go JB!
All NBA basically definitionally deserves a max.
Here we go again. Pistons up 8 after 3. Was 15 mid third.
I think they got this one in the bag.
What’s Spo’s adjustment for game 2? Probably taking the ball out of Ty Jerome’s hands.
I’d imagine they are going to focus on shutting down either/both of DG and Mitchell. They’ll live with making Ty prove he can repeat that performance.
Yeah, think he’s got to find a wrinkle to get something out of minutes with adeboyo off the floor. He’s keeping them afloat mainly on the defensive end, though don and dg got to the hoop regularly
right. most games Ty is “OK”, and sometimes he goes off and dominates. so the opposition can’t game plan to stop Ty, because DG and DM can blow the game apart.
AGAINST THE ZONE — SOME “ HIGH- LOW “ ACTION WILL BE EFFECTIVE—— IF COVERING LOW POST —- RULE OF THUMB — LOOK OPPOSITE—-WING SHOULD BE POSITIONING HIMSELF TO OPEN SLOTS/ SHOT 👍🏀
Want to add that Allen’s d, finishing, and rebounding were really exceptional last night. 4 stocks. As much as some like Mobley versus the zone, I really think Allen should be able to feast at the elbow and on the o boards. Best finisher in the NBA.
The block was a thing of beauty.
a few talkers, maybe Barkley?, are starting to suggest Allen is the Cav’s best player.
Allen is a 16 game player and stabilizes what is otherwise a little bit of a high variance offensive team with that finishing. So important
Watching Darius and Ty floor interview with Serena: https://x.com/SerenaWinters/status/1914171741888225449
Darius brings up the ‘pace’ of the game and I agree that was really good in game 1. Many times they had the play disrupted by a deflection or trap and they would still have 11-12 seconds left on the clock because they got into the action quickly.
This is a huge contrast to JB-era playoff teams that tended to pound the ball and carefully set up so that it always became do-or-die on the main action of the play.
Literally watched this when the Pistons folded to the Kings.
Do you mean the Knicks?
That is a quality observation.
excellent point!
Apparently this was a low pace game in terms of total possessions but my guess is that much of that was Miami grinding it’s gears
AGREED SIMMO —— THINK WE SHOULD START A “ KEEP TY – GO FUND ME “ HALF JOKING— HALF SERIOUS—-I WILL DONATE—— DAN / KA / CAVS HAVE TO ANTE UP AND KEEP HIM 👍🔥👍🏀👍🏀💰💰💰
the salary cap is the only thing that matters. Cavs got an ace in the hole — Ty’s two best friends in the NBA are DM and D’AH.
I think that might be about as good as Bam can play. Cav’s 10-man rotation continues to look fine and they have lots of energy to close out the game.
Dre and Mobley will have better games. It’s not going to be the same players every game, but I think we’re in good shape.
Agree. My only concern is that the Heat came into this game tired. Cavs pulled away in the end, unsurprisingly. As the series goes on, energy levels will even out. From here on, it’s coaching and player management – which the Heat are good at. I expect a fight over at least 6 games.
Maybe, that would presume they somehow get rested up after playing 2 months of playoff games. The supporting cast isn’t there for them, they also said the cavs were more physical and brought the game to them. Exactly what the cavs wanted and addresses an area of inconsistency. I think the trend is closer to sweep than not. Paying more attention to the other series. And dame coming back, though I don’t think that moves the needle in that series
Yeah. With Game 2 being on Wed with two nights rest in the same city, it should help Miami. But Cleveland getting regular rest is going to solve what their biggest late season problem was: exhaustion.
Miami’s 8 man rotation is going stay tired against the Cav’s 10 man. the Cav’s top guys averaged about 30 minutes, Heat’s about 36.
ENJOY WATCHING TY ——- HIS VALUE IS INCREASING —- WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS ALL SEASON—- HE KEEPS SHOWING UP LIKE LAST NIGHT——- HOPE HE DOES—- UNFORTUNATELY “ DOUBLE EDGED SWORD “ —- GOING TO PRICE HIMSELF OUT OF CAVS MARKET
If he gets Cavs a chip, I’m ok with him cashing in.
The problem is there’s literally one team with cap room. The good news is he’s incentivized to re-sign an early bird contract with Cleveland (probably three year with a third year option) and then he will have full bird rights. Unless someone signs him way over that into cap, or if he does a one year to get to a summer where more other teams have cap room, then his best long term money play is at least to do an S&T with Cleveland.
The s&t is interesting possibility. What would people offer? After this seasons transactions, there’s nothing I won’t believe. Just takes one guy to convince themselves something makes sense
IN 36 MINUTES—— WADE / DRE / ICE STAT LINE……. 0 / 6 / 2 ——— HAVE TO GET MORE PRODUCTION FROM THOSE 3 !!!
NEED TO DEFEND THE 3 BETTER ( HEAT / 42%)—-DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS ( HEAT 19 2nd chance pts ) MOBES HAS TO GET MORE PHYSICAL/ AGGRESSIVE 👍🏀💪
Yep. If there were 3 negatives:
1) Defensuve glass
2) 3PT defense
3) No O from Hunter, Ice, Wade
But we did a good job on Herro, which was the main focus on D. Plus, Mitchell was going nuts getting to the hoop and DG/Ty were on fire. When those 3 are cooking, let them cook. They are our 3 best offensive players.
The other guys (should) come into play when teams have to compensate to stop them.
NEEDED THAT 1st “ W” —-THE 2nd GAME WILL MATCH THE COACHING ADJUSTMENTS/ STATEGIES —SPOESTRA IS A MASTER AT ——MOBES STILL GETTING USED TO THE PLAYOFFS PHYSICALLITY — CANT SEE DRE GOING “ OPFER” AGAIN ( HOPEFULLY NOT) GOING TO NEED HIS OFFENSE—-GO CAVS ………… “ MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “
https://x.com/sportscenter/status/1914131156305347020?s=46
And off the bench.
The guards showed up (DM, DG, TJ, SM) …big time.
The center (JA) showed up.
The forwards, other than maybe MS who only played 21 minutes? Not do much. EM, DH, iO not so good. They all could have been better active against Heat.
Remember who we played…the best zone defense in the league. It’ll take a couple game to get used to. I fully expect Kenny to adjust and for Evan to go off in games 3 and 4
Kevin Love: NWT – Personal
Good to see the Rockets getting spanked!
that could easily end up 4-0. I wonder if a 7 seed has ever swept a 2 seed?
They also damn near came back & won.
They were deer in headlights to start & FVV could not hit anything. Sengun is legit.
If I had an all NBA vote:
1st: SGA, Spida, Tatum, Giannis, Joker
2nd: Curry, Brunson, Ant, Mobes, KAT
3rd: Harden, Cunningham, LBJ, J. Williams, Sengun.
Toughest omissions: Haliburton (Indy), J. Brown (Bos).
Seeing Jerome continue his good play into the post-season and DG conducting and connecting on O.
What a great Cavs 2025 game! Love this team.
I found one: 2016/17 Rd1 vs Indy, Game 2, 117-111 win: Ky 37, Love 27, LBJ 25.
TV says 3rd time in Cavs PO history with 3 guys going for 25+.
Anyone know the other two?
Bron, Ky, K-Love?
Price, Daugherty, + Nancy/Ehlo?
Spida, DG, and Jerome were fantastic.
JA, Strus, and Merrill were good.
Mobley was OK-ish but below expectations.
Hunter, Okoro, and Wade were OK defensively but 0-8 on offense.
Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, & Ty Jerome each had 25+ PTS tonight.
The last guard trio to do that in a playoff game was Steph, Klay, & Poole in 2022.
This game was close throughout but that Ty 4th quarter was magical!
Cavs/Ty close the game on a 26-12 run after being up 95-88 at the 8:32 mark.
Ty had 11 pts and 2 assists for 5 pts – 16 pts
Who would have bet at the beginning of the season that Ty Jerome would be dominating playoff games?
Fwiw there was a lot of hype about how amazing he was looking this offseason. I’m always a little skeptical but it was coming from enough outside sources that I was really excited to see him. Would have not predicted this though.
ENJOYING THE SHOW, MR. RILEY????????????????????
Go Cavs! 1-0!
Darius says “eat a Richard, Miami!”
This one is over!
Darius!
God damn Ty!!!!!!