Live Thread: Cavs vs Hawks 2026-04-08 Off By Nate Smith Late LT Cavs fans. Sorry. Likely first round preview with the Cavs taking on the Hawks, and hopefully pre-season style minutes distributions. Tyson and Bryant out for CLE and Jock Landale out till the sixteenth… Live Thread: Cavs @ Grizzlies Live Thread: Wizards @ Cavs
LT up
MOBES STRUGGLES WITH BIG/ PHYSICAL POSTS ——- AGREE DONT THINK HIS OFFENSE WILL EVER PROGRESS TO WHAT WE HAD HOPED FOR
He’s a huge part of the reason that we killed Detroit something like 18 of the last 22 with their same bigs. He was also moving Porzingis off his spot against GSW.
He may not ever be dominant, but what we are seeing now is basically early Siakam, who got all his points on runouts, slop off cuts, and mismatch hunting. Ev has to add some stuff but he is looking like a good enough three level scorer and at least on Bam’s level
👍👍 AGREE/ WINDMILL/ RAOUL
Evan has recently been more aggressive (and successful) against teams without impactful big men. Big question for me is to what degree he can be aggressive/successful against more effective bigs (e.g. Detroit).
From evidence so far, he’s much more dependent on off-ball movement when up against quality bigs. JH helps him here. But I don’t think Mobes is going to turn into a dominant offensive big the way many hoped he would a few short years ago.
HEALTH IS A KEY !! —-MAN I WISH SCHROEDER WOULD HAVE SHOWN MORE—- GIVE US A VETERAN WE COULD HAVE CONFIDENCE IN
We will have a healthy rotation for the first time…in Game 83, Game 1 of the playoffs.
Wild that we won 50+ games with 41 different starting lineups.
I’d love to see Merrill used more strictly as the “third guard” in the post-season. Meaning, almost strictly use him alongside Mitchell or Harden when one of those two is out. And do it a lot – 24 minutes a game? Harden and Donovan each playing 33; Merrill in the 2-guard spot alongside “one” of them when they’re staggered, playing about 24; and Schroeder for “very” limited minutes to give everyone else a short break from ball-handling. I don’t know who’s going to emerge from the pack of Strus, Wade, Tyson, and Ellis in the postseason, but this at least… Read more »
a problem is that Schroder is the only ball handler not named Harden on the team. remember what the Pacers did last year when Garland wasn’t in the game?
CPJ can struggle vs the press, and is a poor FT shooter, but I like his all around game a lot.
Well, that’s true. Schroeder’s postseason stats from last year are impressive but he has not looked good lately here except when the stars were sitting out. I hope they at least don’t use him with Harden, then, that really seems pointless. With Donovan, okay.
agree
THIS TEAM HAS BEEN SO HARD TO GET A READ ON— DUE TO INURYS / TRADES / ROTATION s —— SAME ? HEADED INTO PLAYOFFS—-JA / TYSON/ WADE GOING TO BE HEALTHY—— WHICH STRUS IS GOING TO SHOW UP – SAME WITH ELLIS — DOES SCHROEDER FINALLY “ FIT IN “—— WHAT FUNKY ROTATION WILL KA DEPLOY——— YES WE HAVE THE TALENT TO MAKE IT TO ECF ( or maybe more ) OR I HATE LIKE HELL TO SAY THIS— GET KNOCKED OUT THE 1st ROUND——— VERY 1st GAME WILL TELL ALOT ——-GO CAVS
Well, we have the #4 seed and no one got hurt. Mission Accomplished.
yup
I much prefer the Raptors as our opponent. But I do not think we are a serious threat to go deep. Though late March/April games often do not make good predictors of playoff performance.
Top 4 in East locked.
#5. ATL or Tor. ATL win at Miami. Still #5 with an L if Tor loses OR Orl beats Bos. Tor needs win v Brk at ATL & ORL to both lose.
ESPN with a good summary of scenarios.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48287649/nba-playoff-watch-2026-standings-schedules-projections-clinchings
if we are healthy and playing good we can go way deep. if not, not so much.
probably the biggest question mark is Allen. if JA is 100%, everything falls into place; lots of easy baskets, EM free to roam on D and create havoc, JH impossible to guard, …
AGREED ON TYSON/ HE NEEDS TO HAVE MINUTES/ SCHROEDER?? —- KA LOVES ELLIS ———— WINDY ALMOST SAYING CAVS WONT BEAT HAWKS / GET OUT OF 1st ROUND
not clear that Windy knows much more that Stephen A.
Even if we were heavy favorites, there would still have to be talk. There was plenty of talk last year about Spo and Heat culture being special enough to compete.
HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING YOUR TRIP NATE !!!
Sorry guys. I’ve been traveling so no new live Thread. I wanted the fourth seed and the hawks. Cavs appear to have threaded this needle.
Didn’t need a new LT for the Hawks B2B. It’s more efficient this way.
Seemed to me from the outset that Cavs did not want to win this game. They have concluded that they want the Hawks to win the 5 spot, if possible.
Also, TV guys keep talking about Schroeder being a key guy in the playoffs? Seriously? I mean, I guess it could happen, but if you ask me he’s going to get DNPs and 10 minute stints when things get real.
TV guys were so dumb. Had not done their homework on the Cavs. Also, “Oh it’s a Frenchman versus an African” really pissed me off.
agree. it is just insane how many media people have little idea of what they are talking about.
👍 ON SARR /HE IS 27 ———— CAVS AS I SAID 2 WEEKS AGO ( followed by KJG today ) SHOULD DRAFT REESE / UCONN——————— YES PROCTOR SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE RUN——- HE WOULD BE PLAY OFF READY
I don’t think the minutes are there for proctor. I just hope they are for Tyson
Really wished we’d given Proctor a heavier look this year (he’ll get the minutes next year for sure).
yup, his advanced numbers are good enough that he warranted rotation minutes. Wasting a cheap rookie contract again
He got a good amount of time for a rookie given all the injuries, but no place for him at all post-deadline. Still a pretty good rookie season and he didn’t show anything to merit a playoff minute over Schroder.
I was genuinely surprised to see Schroeder’s postseason stats from last year with the Pistons. I agree it makes sense to prioritize that, at this point.
You like that Sarr action, NOMAD?
These commentators are ass.
Eric Collins used to be good, he quickly became a parody of himself
DAMN THEY WERE WINNING
Guardians also getting trounced in the ATL.
GET SARR / MINNIX/ ETC IN THERE
PO rotation guys only, I think. Just aerobic work, no real effort to move the ball. Not going to learn much about the team here.
Full bench getting some time. Nice to see.
harden and strus are playing like absolute shit
Esp Strus.
Goodnight campers.
yup
SHOULD WE STILL HAVE MOBES / HARDEN PLAYING—-WHAT IS THE EFFORT LEVEL
nope, 3rd string should’ve been at the end of the 3rd
mobley bag work and off hand finish on okongwu >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MCCALLUM “ MC-KILLED “ US ——— COULD SEE KUMINGA POSSIBLY PRESENTING A PROBLEM FOR US
SPLASHDOWN 👍——-WILL MISS CHONES —-VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE / HUMOROUS/ DIDNT SUGAR COAT IT
yup, his analysis is top notch,
garbage defense from keon ellis two possessions in a row
Jim Chones retiring? at the end of the season :(
Boooo!!!!!
Agreed, terrible news
Nice energy from Tyson there
TO BE EXPECTED—— PLAY THE Gl LEAGUERS 👍
Cavs seem very ambivalent about winning this game.
IS ANYONE EVEN TRYING TO GAURD MCCALLUM
SIMMO— ALMOST EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE POSTED— 2 WEEKS AGO— REPEATEDLY— ABOUT TERRANCE REESE / UCONN/ CAVS DRAFT PICK
East:
26: Bos: NO, Cha
28: NY: Tor, Cha
29: Cavs: at Atl, Wash
—————–
35: Tor: at NY, Brk
35: Atl: Cavs, at Mia
——————-
36: Orl: at Chi, at Bos
37: Phi: at Indy, Mil (no Embiid)
37: Cha: Det, at NY
———-Play-In Bound
39: Mia: at Wash, Atl
West:
28: Den: at SA (OKC & SA locked #1 & #2)
29: LAL: Phx, Utah
29: Hou: Minny, Mem
Notes.
Boston likeky needs to beat NO (who do not own their pick) to avoid having to beat Charlotte in the last game to stay 2nd. NY has the TB. 3-1 vs Boston. OG & Bridges are made for Brown & Tatum. NY likes all out vs Toronto.
Philly is likely missing Embiid for the year, but at keast the play in and round 1. But should have enough to beat Mil & Indy & stay 7th, u less they just let go of the rope.
Tor/ATL/Orl for 5-6-7. Most likely.
Tonight:
Cavs at Hawks
Raptors at Knicks (b2b for both)
NO at Boston (b2b)
Philly at Pacers (both b2b)
Pistons at Hornets
Heat at Wiz
OKC at Den
Minny at Houston (b2b)
Suns at Lakers (b2b)
CHECK OUT KJG ARTICLE TODAY ( might as well signed NOMAD s name to it ) SEND ME A THANK YOU LETTER
Rather not read it, can you give the TL;DR?
they said the Cavs should listen to NOMAD and draft Tarris Reed.
100% rather play Hawks. I am not sure how the tiebreaker is set up tho.
Weirdly, I’d rather play Toronto. But to do that, we probably need to beat Atlanta. And I’d tather rest guys than not.
Embiid had an appendectomy today. IDK how long he’ll be out for. But is has to be more than a couple, right? Philly seem less threatening.
poor guy, Embiid is an all time leader in injuries. recall that the Cavs were about to draft him at #1 until they uncovered a stress fracture in his foot (or something)
Would you rather play Hawks or Raps? I would have said Raps until last night, but not sure now.
Cavs IR for Hawks in Atlanta:
Out: Mitchell, Allen, Merrill, Bryant
Questionable: Tyson
OK with that. More OK with the Knicks winning. I would not play Allen or Mitchell again. Merrill either.
too bad Bryant is out
Kind of thin frontcourt if JA and TB both sit. Figured TB would play. Actual injury concern? Guessing not.
If medically prudent, I’d like to see major minutes for Tyson in both remaining games. Still a young guy figuring things out.
Bryant has missed the last 2, so I’d say actually injured. KA sounded more concerned about Tyson’s wind than the toe.
Might see Sarr/Enaruna/Minix tonight.
For sure Tomlin and LNJ.
Best guess:
Harden, Ellis, Strus, Wade, Mobley
Schröder, CPJ, Tyson, Tomlin, LNJ
If Tyson cannot go, Enaruna. If Schroder/XPJ struggle, or we need offense, Proctor.
Kincks up 13 on Celts mid third qtr
Solid game!
Knicks won
Hardin covering bigs:
https://www.fearthesword.com/cavs-analysis/47697/cavs-takeaways-cleveland-cavaliers-atlanta-hawks-james-harden-donovan-mitchell-jarrett-allen-evan-mobley-jalen-johnson
AM SURE QUINN WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE FOUL DISPARITY 35–15 — CAN SEE HIM BEING MORE VOCAL IN PLAYOFFS GAMES —— JA s HEALTH IS CONCERNING—- WHY EVERY PLAYOFFS CAVS HAVE THIS CHALLENGE 🤬🤬🤬
No FGs for the last 7 minutes last night. A lot of FTs, but damn.
Allen does not look right & shouid be rested from here.
100 percent agree. And really, I wonder if that should be a deciding factor on who gets the “9th” or “9.5” spots in the playoff rotation. Meaning – it’s better to plan on some limited Bryant-Mobley minutes than to assume Allen will be able to play 33+ per game..
yeah, the Bryant – Mobley pairing might be needed, time to work on it.
In terms of playing/sitting guys. If there is someone who is struggling physically, I’d sit them regardless. Otherwise, I’d sit back and wait & see who wins the Celtics at Knicks game.If Bos wins, I’d try to take 3rd. If not, then I’d reat guys. Though I still want to get: 1) Mobley to 65 2) Tyson a game to knock the rust off 3) I might want to look at some Bryant/Mobley minutes. It is a combo we have rarely seen. Allen + Bryant does not make much sense defensively. But it Mobley/Bryant is the only other play big… Read more »
I liked the Harden/Olongwu cross match. It lets Allen float off poor shooters and clog the lane and gets Harden off the perimeter.
The Hawks are playing well and will be a tough out.
I have no idea how 5-9 shake out.
Did they play well? Harden was awful and Allen was laboring and we didn’t really get a favorable whistle especially on the smalls.
If Jalen Johnson cannot outplay Evan it will be a very short series
I think it worked defensively. I mean, Okongwu put up decent numbers, butcwe outscored them badly when he was on the court. Johnson was 0-5 from deep with Allen inviting him to shoot. And they struggled on twos near the rim.
Now, Harden shot poorly. Allen looked hampered. But they both got to the line a lot.
And we almost barfed up a 17 pt 3rd Q lead at home.
After all the strategery discussion suggesting a less than robust effort was in the offing, this turned out to be entertaining. Great aggression by JA and EM (though many missed dunks and FTs, esp early), JH shooting struggles in first half but turned it on in the second half, a start w contributions from one DW. And DM went full alpha. Love that mindset.
Not a comfortable win as Hawks were able to reel in, but a quality win against a quality team that was playing to win. Nice.
Glad to work out the kinks but we left so much meat on the bone, this stays a 20 point victory if Harden is decent and FTs are made. I hope JA is better with a week plus off
Kenny subbed offense for defense – haters crying and pissing.
Mobley 20/20 game, ferocious for Allen who is laboring and missed a ton of FTs
So I guess 2nd Atlanta game sees a lot of Cavs starters resting.
Harden fumbles during an extended 1-on-1, leads to Kuminga slam. That’s how to tell your fanbase you are serious.
This game is drunk. Maybe that’s why it’s so fun.
Time to bleach the sheets.
KUMINGA – SOLID PICK UP FOR THE HAWKS
👍🙏 KNOW HOW BUSY YOU ARE
Honestly rather play Hawks in first round.
100%