Live Thread: Cavs vs Hornets
2025-12-14Happy snowy Sunday, Cavs fans. Cleveland hosts the Charlotte Hornets today who are just as injured as everyone else.

Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen returns to the lineup just in time for Evan Mobley to go on the injured list for 2-4 weeks with a calf strain. He joins Strus, Merrill, and Nance on “out” list. Looking forward to some Tomlin minutes. Go Cavs.



DAMN RAOUL —— I HAVE A HEADACHE READING YOUR ROTT POST——- VERY IMPRESSIVE 👍👍👍—- AM SURE YOUR IQ IS “ OFF THE CHARTS “ !!
Man. Y’all gotta chill.
Time for a chill-the-hell-out pod?
Hope the writers over at KJG listen to it. F$@king bedlam over there.
pretty clear that some (most? all?) of the KJG stuff is AI slop. For example, the story titles — no human could come up with anything so repetitive and lame.
ball knowledge
Mitchell’s gone by next season if Korby doesn’t fix this:
https://x.com/automaticnba/status/2001044346766758154?s=20
try and find some players who don’t shit the bed against contending teams would be a good place to start
https://x.com/CJenkins_Wx/status/2000966159072727040?s=20
CLF bro.. i have always appreciated the “shit the bed” phrase for its journalistic swagger.. let’s hope mitchell doesn’t start “hitting the bottle”
LMFAOOO thanks buck!!! Mitchell is having perhaps his best year as a pro, so he’ll hit the road before he hits the bottle IMHO
hard to guess what this means without knowing how it was compiled, and some history on how predictive these numbers are. the wild swings in the data suggest that it is not very meaningful.
hard to guess if ROTT (Rest Of The Team percentage) is meaningful without knowing how it was compiled, and some history on how predictive ROTT numbers are. the wild swings in the data suggest that it is not very meaningful. the nine top players listed are all within 2% of each other, and the ROTT numbers vary by 96%, with little correlation to team standing. consider OKC and Denver for example. SGA trails the Joker by 0.2%, but the OKC ROTT is less than half of the Denver ROTT, but OKC is leading the universe in wins. also, the unusual… Read more »
IN REALITY IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER COME DOWN TO THE LAST SHOT———AND NOT HAVING THAT COMMUNICATION ON HOW TO PLAY IT IS CONCERNING—-WE HAVE LOST WHAT 3 GAMES IN THE LAST SECOND DUE TO NOT BEING IN CORRECT ALIGNMENT
sucks. we’ve also never closed a live game with that lineup and have had like two practices this month. just another effect of all the mixing and matching.
it’s been effort AND communication / execution/ alignment and it sucks. Tomlin gives effort but the foul machine / bad rotations take away from his production. Hunter’s effort stinks but he knows where to be in simple actions
I ain’t buying the “mixing and matching” thoery. most of those guys have been on the same team for years, and they should know how to play in whatever combination.
Pick any 5 man unit and you have one or two guys who that’s not true of, whether Tyson or Ball or Tomlin or Proctor or Bryant. Certainly KA could be exaggerating its effect so as not to throw anyone under the bus.
That said, they just need to make shots. Portland, GSW and CHA were make or miss losses with guys hitting an awful % from even their pet spots
Kenny confirmed the Cavs were supposed to foul on that last possession in regulation, not let Charlotte get up a 3. Grrr.
Refs screwed the Cavs with a no-call on that play. knockdown contact, probably offensive foul, but no call made. even if the call was on DG, the Cavs probably would have won an appeal, and even if they didn’t, it was two shots.
In hindsight, taking DG out was the right move but it’s crazy to see a no-call there
I haven’t watched a replay of it, but in real time it seemed to me like DG tried to sell it. Not saying there wasn’t actually a foul but would have preferred he just try to make the play instead. If he makes the shot you live with it, but it really blows not even challenging it.
Yeah: it’s just a didn’t work out choice by the player. He’s drawn that charge against Tatum so it’s not like he just went off the rails. Just didn’t work out.
Around here we tend to forget that sometimes it’s just luck AND that the other guys get paid too.
CAVS PLAYERS/ COACHES ARE AlL SAYING THE “ CORRECT – POSITIVE “ THING s PUBLICLY——- JUST WONDERING HOW MUCH GRUMBLING/ FINGER POINTING MIGHT BE GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES——- THESE ARE CHALLENGING TIME s WHERE THE TRUE CHARACTER/ COHESIVENESS WILL SURFACE——— ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS READ OUR POST s ( NOMAD INCLUDED—GUILTY) ON HOW NEGATIVE THE VIBES ARE——— SUB ZERO WEATHER DOESNT HELP THE MATTER 🥶🤬
The core 4 has played 4% of possessions together and dropping. Lineups with those four are elite offensively and defensively even with the small backcourt.
We won’t see the team close to together and in form until after MLK Day (where we have OKC), so just find a way to hold the line.
I hear ya, but the guys out there should be around 77%, not 55%.
I’d like that to happen. There are pretty good reasons it hasn’t! It’s discouraging to lose a new teammate every week and a half
absolutely, but most of the guys on the floor are not playing up to snuff
I put some of that to injuries and conditioning but Hunter is just in the slump of all slumps.
We need these guys to work out of it, but it’s gonna be ugly for (conservatively) a month.
Defensive slump? C’mon…..Hunter getting cooked on the regular .All these guys are used to having the twin towers back there to clean up their mess.Having either one missing exposes how much they count on them.
Counting on your teammates to do their jobs isn’t “exposure” it’s just how the team is constructed, with a strong backline to help the perimeter. Hunter’s shooting slump is hurting more than his stinky defense bc we got him to make shots and he’s never been more than average there.
Hunter stinks at present. We also hated our best POA defender and were happy to see him go.
I didn’t hate him — just thought his O was severly limited
Seriously,you have a second year guy (Tyson) calling out this teams lack of effort..Consecutive losses to the two worst teams in the NBA when they’re also down several players.Doesn’t that speak volumes? Saying this is just a shooting slump is really working to not see the problem. They have never showed the mental and physical toughness to grind through adversity.New York knew it and sent them home. Indy knew it and sent them home.Boston ,they weren’t even close.Orlando,it took a 4th quarter Mitchell explosion to keep them from being embarrassed in a series they should have lost, two play-in situations… Read more »
Anyone blaming anyone is a bum. only person in the same role as last year and healthy is Mitchell: no surprise that he’s been awesome.
Without the full clip and/or consistent lineups we won’t be good. Being frustrated and wanting to bench guys is childish and “root for the backup QB” – the team doesn’t know what it’s doing night to night and that makes things tough as hell. So many timing / cohesion errors.
It’s horrible luck and they are responding well enough. But you can’t will yourself into cohesion and 14 lineups in 27 games is insane discontinuity.
I can blame Kenny for not subbing out Garland for a key defensive possession that led to a game tying shot.
that’s MMQB-ing too. when it rains it pours and obviously in a regular season game there are a million plays you can point to, starting with Allen’s missed dunk to DG’s turnover late to eight layups missed in six minutes.
I didn’t love the decision but that one usually works out fine, luck’s just not with us. super frustrating but Garland obviously tried to foul him! the no-call was nuts and Miller hit a 30-footer after shooting just as badly as Donovan the whole game.
Man, there is no situation late in a possession game where Garland should be on POA defense over Ball, Mitchell, Tyson, Wade, CPJ. Just none.
I don’t think we had an opportunity to sub there.
Absolutely did out of Charlotte TO.
Okay, I was talking about before the Miller 3.
MY BAD — DID NOT KNOW PROCTOR PLAYED TODAY
Lol
5-6 record with Garland’s bum ass starting and he has the 2nd worst net rating on the team… but yeah let’s continue to blame the player who makes half of what he does with a better net rating!!! LMFAOOO
I get that Garland in his current state is a major liability. Not his fault he’s hurt, but clearly the toe continues to limit him significantly. Maybe his offensive game can return to something close to his normal, but I don’t expect the defense to improve much unless and until he’s able to fully resolve the pain and put more stress on the toe in his movement. I would guess that’s not going happen during this season, given how intractable the problem’s been since March.
Which is why they should bring DG off the bench until he actually looks good, as the Spurs did with Wemby last night or Steph last year… may be a moot point anyway after December 15th since the rumor mill is already churning
I agree. On the other hand, it would have been easier to do over the last few weeks with a healthy Strus or Merrill available, so they’d have had the option of sticking Donovan at 1 with a bigger 2. The injuries are just ridiculous this year.
Depends on if they acknowledge the elephant in the room, which is our perimeter POA defense will always be dogshit if DG’s on the court with Spida, and basically whenever DG is on the court period.
Also it’s clear the meta of the league is going the Euro route with hockey rotations and limited minutes, DG and the Cavs should accept it and if he’s gotta be a 25-30 mpg microwave bench guy because of his shitty defense so be it.
because the injuries are ridiculous and because we have a proof of concept that the team is awesome healthy, there will be no moves until we see the starting lineup healthy and if we don’t see it healthy there won’t be moves this offseason outside of Hunter / Wade / Ball.
I imagine that’s correct. I think they have one calendar year left (until next year’s trade deadline) before they really have to choose a long-term direction—in that Spida has a player option for 27-28 that he could decline if he really felt strongly enough about going elsewhere to pursue a ring and had lost confidence about the chances here. “Personally,” I think Chris’ comment above is the correct big-picture analysis; that even at full health, the small backcourt is such a weakness on defense that it puts a ceiling on their playoff potential; and it would be better to keep… Read more »
FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONFIDENTIALITY LAW ——- BUT REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PROCTOR s ABSENCE
I guess it’s going to continue to look rough while they remain in “extended preseason” mode with the constant injury churn. But the fact that Hunter right now has a lock on a starting spot no matter who else is in the lineup, is just killing me. Tyson’s a better option at the 3, and anyone is a better option at the 4.
And it’s contrary to his usual role for his whole career until now.
Starting Tyson and Wade is probably on the menu.
Just unbelievably bad shot making. Allen started with two missed dunks, ended by missing eight layups in the last minute of regulation and OT.
The fight has been there. Just a few boneheaded decisions at the end BUT those happened last year too. We just don’t have enough offensive talent to make up the margin with Hunter not right and Mitchell missing ten threes.
YEAH WTF IS GOING ON WITH PROCTOR———— REMEMBER A QUOTE FROM LNJ / PRESEASON CANP — “ DRE IS LOOKING LIKE THE NEXT KAWHI “ —— MUST HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE “ INJURED “ KAWHI 🤪🤬
NO SPIDA MAGIC TODAY—( he is drained )— DRE IS LOOKING WORSE EACH GAME—- DO NOT START HIM KA — WTFU — TOMORROW IS THE 15th—- WE WOULD BE LUCKY TO GET A HIGH 2nd ROUND PICK FOR DRE ———/ WELL SO MUCH FOR THE HOPE THAT THE WEEK OFF / “ CHIPPY “ FILM SESSION WOULD BE SEEING VISION s OF LAST YEARS CAVS ———— JB DRINKING A GLASS OF WINE AND SMILING
DG really blew it at the end of regulation trying to draw the foul instead of just defending. Ah well. This season is something else.
Didn’t get to watch, just box score but CPJ (4 minutes, get hurt?), Proctor (is he still on the team?). Hard to figure 40 minutes for DG…
IS IT TIME FOR THE “ EVIL 😈 GENIUS “ PANIC BUTTON
JFC this game
HEY BUCKAROO-“ THE “ MRS NOMAD IS SOOOOO HOT—- SHE ALWAYS KEEPS ME WARM—-YEAH SPIDA s VALUE WILL NEVER BE ANY HIGHER—— LIKE I POSTED EARLIER—- NO TEAM IS TOUCHING THE THUNDER FOR NEXT 2-3, YEARS—- BUILD FOR THEN ————AM SURE I WILL TAKE ALOT OF CRITICISM FOR THAT POST —OH WELL
Post Durant rebuild it took the Thunder something like eight years to win a playoff series.
Spurs have had six seasons in the lottery. Even an Atlanta style soft rebuild when you win the lottery, develop your own Allstar in Johnson, win trades and FA has still resulted in lateral movement at best.
“Build in the future, somehow” is the basketball version of that bootleg Browns jersey with like 40 names at QB.
VERY WILL PUT BUCKAROO “ MEDIOCRE- AVERAGE “. SPIDA MAY “ FORCE “ A TRADE MORE SOONER THAN LATER—— THIS HAS TO BE “ TAXING “ ON HIM
NOMAD BRO.. KEEP THAT MRS NOMAD WARM.. AND RE SPIDA.. THEY SHOULD MOVE HIM BEFORE THE TRADING DEADLINE.. BEFORE HE GETS HURT, AND IS WORTHLESS AS TRADE BAIT.. TIME TO START ANOTHER REBUILD.. WHAT CLE GOT THE LAST FEW YEARS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS.. NO ILLUSIONS.. FAR LESS PAINFUL THAN SUCKING ON THE HOPIUM PIPE..
no rebuild until you control your own draft again.
Spida forcing a trade isn’t a good look for him either with the injuries. We’re going to have to wait it out a bit. No trades before the summer do more than getting rotation guys back (you probably can’t trade Hunter for a guy as good as Merrill rn let alone Strus or Allen)
AM FORTUNATE/ BLESSED I CANT WATCH THIS “ TRAIN WRECK “ SEASON……….. AM ALSO BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO COACH SOME GREAT/ AMAZING HS BASKETBALL PLAYERS THIS YEAR——- REALLY WHERE MY FOCUS REALLY IS!!
hunter.. 15m.. 2pt ? sadly, another mistake.. cavs looking like best is clearly in the rearview mirror (at least as far as the mitchell era is concerned.. can’t imagine he resigns again.. i imagine he wants at least 1 shot at a chip).. at least it looks like they have some young talent.. they have clearly dropped out of the “elite” group.. back into somewhere between mediocre and slightly better than average..
SO SAD — DOES SPIDA HAVE TO PUT ON HIS “ SUPER MAN “ CAPE AGAIN—— EVENTUALLY IT WILL TAKE ITS TOLL——- PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY
Cavs making another weak team look amazing.
This game is terrible
GUESS KA DOESNT READ / WANT OUR “ FREE EXPERTISE COACHING “ ADVICE—- NOT STARTING DG / HUNTER TOGETHER——- HAVEN T WATCHED A CAVS GAME ALL YEAR ( OUR CABLE DROPPED) —- JUST GOING OFF WHAT I READ HERE/ BOX SCORES ——- THANKS GUYS FOR KEEPING ME EDUCATED/ UPDATED—- GO CAVS!!!
Lolonzo
Great hustle Tomlin
Tomlin >>>>>> Hunter
Tomlin’s who I’ve been clamoring for. But I see Dean started at PF today with Allen back and Mobley out; could have had him starting before.
JFC these Garland/Hunter lineups.