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Podcast 327: Accountability’s for Suckers
2026-06-03Welcome to the great settling, Cavs fans. After watching one of the most exciting (Western) Conference Finals in history, we await the start of The NBA Finals, and lament what could have been if the Cavs had only held on in Game 1. After the biggest fourth quarter playoff collapse in team history, and one of the two worst in NBA History, neither the Cavs front office, roster, or coaching staff has taken accountability for the utter abdication of common sense, toughness, and composure that was Game 1. As we saw with OKC/San Antonio, Game 1 of a playoff series can change everything. For San Antonio, it was validation that they were ready to compete with the champs, and they would not under any circumstances go gentle into that good night; and for Cleveland Game 1 was a demoralizing loss which has apparently left the Cavs on cruise control with the speedometer set comfortortably on “happy to be in the ‘offs.”
To break down the recent reports that the wine and gold have moved into a nice Craftsman in the exurbs on the banks of denial, Nate Smith and Elijah Kim rafted into the podcast booth to give a current state of the team. What are the rumors around Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, CPJ, Tyrese Proctor, the coaching staff, and the coming offseason? Are Giannis or LeBron walking through that door? Will we be forced to watch Dennis Schröder next year? Will Nate have the will to turn on the games? Eli channeled his inner Brian Windhorst to let you all know.
After going through the Cavs ugly loss, the CtB brain trust looked to the Spurs, Knicks, and Thunder to see if there were any lessons to be taken from the top three teams in the league. Two themes emerged: “trust the young guys,” and “play taller players.” We broke down the amazing OKC series, the ridiculous upside of Wemby, the Spurs’ stellar young core, whether the Knicks have a chance, and the great disappearing Chet Holmgren (and why Kenny doesn’t have the balls to bench players who’re sucking). We gave our series picks and our pitches. It was cathartic, even as we settled into living a lyric from Father John Misty’s “bored in the U.S.A.”
As always, catch us below, download the full audio file, or listen on Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, or Spotify.
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THEY HAVE CAVS PICKING HIM IN SOME DRAFTS——ATHLETIC/ HIGH MOTOR/ STRONG—— HAS WORK TO DO ON HIS SHOOTING
I think the big man from St. John’s (Ejiofor) has a chance to be a solid contributor. Not sure he lasts until the end of Round 1 but the 25-35 range seems to be the sweet spot for him.
DeLARREA / SG —-POSSIBLY THERE—- MIGHT BE A “ SLEEPER- SOLID “ PICK
I’d lean into need more than BPA. Given where we are picking, the level should be fairly flat across the various positions unless there is an unexpected drop for someone.
Needs: 1) SF/PF type. 2) Backup bigs (4/5 or 5). 3) PG.
Dream falls:
1. Lendeborg, PF/SF Michigan
2. Graves, SF/PF, Santa Clara
More likely:
1. Reed, C, U Conn
2. Veesaar, C, North Carolina
3. Jefferson, SF/PF, Iowa State
DONT THINK REED IS GOING TO BE THERE FOR US
GLAD ITS NOT US FOR THAT “ RANSOM “ MONEY
So, heading into draft:
Signed (10): Mitchell, Mobley, Allen, Strus, Schröder, Merrill, Tyson, Tomlin, CPJ, Proctor.
Player Option: Harden.
FA (4): Wade, Ellis, Bryant, LNJ.
Giannis to the Heat. Glad it’s not Boston.
Giannis is a major gamble. if he regains most of his early form it is a huge win. if he continues his rapid deterioration it will be a disaster. like the guy, but hate the team, so …
???
His only deterioration has been injury. He averages 30/10/5 per 36 on 60% shooting.
He has a eraged 30/10/5 per 36 8 years in a row and only 3 active players have ever done it once: Westbrook, Luka, and I cannot remember the other.
He’s great and worth unloading the clip for. Team won’t be great to start but it’s a lot of stuff and some movable pieces that teams like.
Some interesting players on both MIA and MIL now that might shake loose. Turner, Ware, Jovic, Portis…
YEAH I READ ALSO——— I PUT REEDs NAME OUT THERE EVEN BEFORE THE NCAA TOURNAMENT——DO NOT WANT ANOTHER SMALL GAURD —— SEE CAVS SIGNED CPJ —NOW THEY NEED TO LET HIM PLAY—— ALSO POSTED IF PROCTOR HAD STAYED IN COLLEGE HE WOULD BE A TOP 15-20 PICK SO IN MY OPINION CAVS ARE GETTING 2 – 1st round PICKS THIS YEAR 👍🏀
decent draft guide from Cornelisson:
https://kingjamesgospel.com/cavaliers-draft-tiers-who-to-take-who-will-be-gone-who-to-avoid
Trae Young 4/212. CJ 1/21 extension.
Interesting to think about DG and Harden in that context.
LMFAO. The Trae Young deal might be the stupidest deal I’ve ever seen. Like who were they bidding against?
CJ is fine. It’s a one year deal and he was great through the trade and the playoffs.
who were they bidding against
I don’t think it’s good value but it makes some sense given their roster, which is cheap outside of AD who I’m not sure is long for them. 4th yr is a team option and Sarr and a few other guys are on rookie deals so there’s no cap crunch as a result until maybe year 3 and then its basically an expiring due to the TO. It’s an overpay but young athletic teams do need competent PG play. That’s hardcapped Toronto and Orlando a bit as compared to Atlanta, who got a good PG in CJ. fascinating so much… Read more »
I also think it’s not just who they were bidding against it’s also who could you sign to agree to come to Washington who doesn’t suck? Look at how much the Kings had to pay to get Schroder
Apparently no one, cause Trae sucks
That’s dumb and glib.
But no one is going to Washington unless the kid they pick is awesome, which won’t be clear for at least two years, at which point Trae is an expiring. It works from a timeline standpoint and in the meantime you have a borderline Allstar PG under 30
HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL 👍🍺👍🍺👍🍺
SIMMO— THAT IS A DAILY RITUAL 👍👍👍—-LIKE HAVING “ MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ ON A DAILY BASIS 👍🤪
I trust as part of the 10 year anniversary, you’ve all re-read the comments from the game 7 live thread from start to finish.
https://cavstheblog.com/?p=42744&cpage=1#comments
great!
WATCHING 2016 HIGHLIGHTS———- STILL THE SAME REACTION OF ………….” MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ —— AT LEAST IT IS NOT AS STRESSFUL WATCHING THE HIGHLIGHTS AS IT WAS WATCHING IT LIVE—— “ THE “ MRS NOMAD ALMOST BECAME A WIDOW THAT NIGHT
My big regret from game 7 is that I was nervously pacing around the house so much during that last couple minutes that I missed “the shot” by Kyrie in real-time 😂.
De Larrea / REED SEEMS LIKE MOST MOCK DRAFTS HAVE CAVS LANDING—— CAN LIVE WITH/ SUPPORT EITHER ONE ——- DeLARREA IS INTRIGUING
…ten years ago today…🎉🏆🎉🏀
Hope you are all enjoying the videos from RJ on their Scottish golf / whiskey trip. They are hilarious. A little sad it doesn’t involve the whole ’16 team, but … schedules I guess.
Dear lord, watching highlights… The Block still gives me goosebumps. What a game. What a team.
I LOVE THESE SOCCER FANS — WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON……………” MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “ 👍👍👍👍
YEAH JUST READ NATE—- DAMN!!
DAMN RAOUL— I JUST FOUND OUT MARTINEZ IS OUT ALSO— “ CLEVELAND CURSE “ 🤬
Chase just put on ten day dl too.
JOSE RAMIREZ OUT 5-7 WEEKS—-SUCKS !!!!!!!!!🤬🤬🤬
Tribe has hit a rough patch
BRING ON THE DRAFT!!!
THE TEAM I COACHED BB THIS PAST YEAR/// MADE THE FINAL — 4 JUST WON THE STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AND WERE IN THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL GAME LAST YEAR———- JUST A GREAT GROUP OF YOUNG MEN AND OBVIOUSLY ATHLETE s !!!👍💪👍💪
That was brutal. Probably the worst coached team I’ve ever seen in the finals. What the hell were the Spurs doing in all those fourth quarter losses?
Brunson is pretty hard to contain at closing time. pretty sure a couple other teams found that out this year
Harper playing like a seasoned pro. Incredible.
Fox is dragging them down.
Killed them.
I’m so envious of this Spurs defense. 9 minutes in the second and the Knicks with only 15 points. That is seriously stifling D.
LMAO STEVERINO —— HOPE HE SHOOTS THE PISTOL BETTER THAN HIS PLAYOFF 3’s
Yikes!!!!
Harden arrest gives new meaning to the term “shooting guard”.
HARDEN “ WILD / WILD WEST “ CHARGES WITH ILLEGAL CARRYING OF HAND GUN ——WHAT IS IT WITH HOUSTON ( ATHLETES)
a lot of ’em like to go to clubs where everyone is carrying a gun
Harper looked great. I got his dad’s autograph
Yes. Wow.
Is Mitch Johnson to be fired as well, now, for blowing the big lead?
To his credit, he actually used his timeouts. But he wasn’t great. Leaving fox in was not smart. But he’s not the one jacking threes 5 seconds into the shot clock.
Plenty of Spurs fans saying they haven’t seen worse coaching, but he at least called a few timeouts. I think his charges were gassed (they are mostly kids after all).
Yeah. Really felt like they should’ve brought some vets in sooner.
in the Cavs/Knicks game 1, there was an obvious problem that a coach could do something about: Harden was out of gas, and the Knicks went after him on every play. not so clear what could have been done last night. trying to get players to slow down can lead to going stone cold.
Astounding number of people calling last night’s game the greatest game in NBA history.
Who wants to tell them?
it was a good one thou
T’was indeed.
GREAT IDEA CLF —- WRITE UP ON THE DRAFT—- WHO THE CAVS PICK/ WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE PREVIOUS TEAMS PICKING—- “ LEFTOVER s “—- FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT ALL THE MOCK DRAFT s —- STILL COULD BE A PLAYER WITH POTENTIAL THERE FOR THEM 👍
Atkinson/Harden have some company. Amazing. NBA has to be loving this. Only Spurs fans and professional NY/Knicks haters can fail to be entertained.
Down 3-1, there is a script for a team led by a dominant player…
*sometimes* dominant. Dude was invisible 2nd half. But yes, he’s young….
De’Aaron Fox might have been point shaving. What an awful second half.
Wow.
What a game!
Knicks with that wet sail again.
This would be the biggest comeback ever in a finals game if they pull it off.
JMAY —- THEY HAVE THE CAVS ASSOCIATED PICKING ANYWHERE FROM 10-15 DIFFERENT PLAYERS DEPENDING ON WHEN/ WHAT PUBLICATION YOU READ ——IT IS A DEEP DRAFT TO WHERE CAVS COULD GET A DECENT BENCH PLAYER ——-I ALSO CONSIDER PROCTOR MORE OR LESS A DRAFT PROSPECT “ FOR THIS “ YEAR AS IF HE STAYED ANOTHER YEAR HE POSSIBLY WOULD BE A LOTTERY PICK —— BELIEVE HE WILL SHOW A “ BIG LEAP “ AND BE READY TO HELP THIS YEAR 👍👍
Hopefully there is some dedication to developing him w plenty of non-garbage minutes
yeah, the Cavs did a lousy job of developing players the last few years. gotta turn that around.
This game is just making me madder at the Cavs.
Anyone have any familiarity with late first round prospects that might be available for the Cavs?
THinking about a write up for it JMay stay tuned
About as awful a start for the Knicks as possible…
🙏🙏🙏 PATRICK—— A SPECIAL TIME/ MEMORY——CAN REMEMBER THE ENTIRE SERIES VIVIDLY
10 yr anniversary of the glorious championship approaches. Along these lines, I recommend the “Richard Show” on YT. In various episodes that I have watched, R Jefferson interviews Iman, Kevin, Tristan. Goofy fun that recalls 2016. Smiles
RAOUL—- GAURDS “ NOTORIOUS—JUNE SWOON “ IS COMMENCING 🤬🥎
yeah — the Browns are more entertaining rn
POINTED OUT THE SAME WAY BACK ——- THROUGH THE DRAFT/ FREE AGENCY OTHER TEAMS WILL GET BETTER————- I SEE / HOPE PROCTOR MAKES THE SAME LEAP AS TYSON ( and Tyson continues his growth) —- DEEP DRAFT THIS YEAR——ALL THE MOCK DRAFT s INDICATES CAVS POSSIBLY COULD LAND A PLAYER WHO CAN HELP——— WADE ?? —- SOUNDS AS IF TEAMS ARE INTERESTED IN HIM – CAN NYQUIL REPLACE HIM ————— STAY TUNED — STAY COOL 😎
Well, regarding Tyson and Proctor, developing young players was supposedly the reason why they hired Kenny. They stuck with him and appear to be running it back, so I guess that’s what they’re betting on. As far as the draft goes, I can’t see bringing in a rookie that’s going to make a difference in the playoffs though, at least for the upcoming season.
The team won 52 without a whole lot going right in the regular season.
But everything broke right for them come playoff time and they barely scraped by just to get swept in the ECF. Hard to see what’s going to go different. To be clear, I don’t think it’s the wrong decision to run it back, but I’m also not optimistic they even make it back to the conference finals.
They barely scraped by because they had 26 games with their starting point guard with maybe…four? Five? against good defenses, none of whom top locked / loaded up on Mitchell in any real way. If you don’t have time to develop a collective counterpunch it’s harder to win.
I’d bet the field over either NY or CLE returning to the ECF but I think we have the second or third best shot at the East next year.
running it back is a long shot, but it is the best shot, so thare’s that
long shots >>> no shot
We do this every year, assume every other east team will get better. There’s always one or two surprise risers (Detroit, Boston if you just go this regular season, Indy last year), two surprise droppers (Philly, Indy this year) mostly mid stays mid (Orlando, Atlanta, Miami) and we keep plugging.
I think not having a different starting lineup every two games will lead to significant improvements.
Slow news week for Cavs (duh) but I watched 5 Good Minutes with Windy. He says that he assumes (though not reporting) Cavs and Harden already have an agreement already in place, structured to get under the 2nd apron. Sorry to anyone hoping Harden would be gone. He reiterated Koby’s stance that Mobley’s not going anywhere. So no Giannis. Thinks the Cavs will focus on retaining Wade over Keon, but mentioned there’s outside interest in Wade, primarily the Lakers. He thinks Cavs will try to get Dean taken care of before he hits the open market.
Yeah, this seems to have been the vibe from straight after the sweep. The argument seems to be that Cavs finished top 4, so don’t change too much. I get it. But there’s a lotta teams that are going to be demonstrably better next year. What does the ballclub do to improve in the NEAR term? Flushing out bench players that have underperformed is one thing – do we think Koby can build a better – even scary – bench? I don’t, with the cards that the Cavs have to play. Let’s see.
Mike Gansey isn’t walking through that door…
(Cause he’s running the Sixers now)
I’m not much of a hockey fan, but the Stanley Cup Finals have been unreal.
I don’t watch hockey, but thought I’d watch part of game 3 (starting beginning of second period). Totally insane. Decided to stay up through the end (9 goals later).
Happened for me in pretty much the same way during the middle of Game 2.
Tie game with less than 30 seconds left, and you’ve got the tallest inbound passer and/or receiver in the league, why not use a TO and advance the ball? So what if they set their defense, they’re good at getting back in transition anyway.
And De Aaron Fox was picking the Knicks apart in the half court during the comeback.
Totally
right. everyone I was with was astounded at the lame play the Spurs called at the end: a bunch of passing to get the worst shooter on the floor a long two? almost as bad as when Varejão took the last shot instead of passing to LeBron.
Wow, I’d forgotten that happened – 2007 Finals? Oof.
THANK s PATRICK 🙏🙏
Finally figured out how to watch the game.
Man, what a Finals so far. Tied game with 2 min to go. NY were up by 14 a few moments ago.
the Spurs got some home reffing in the fourth quarter. an egregious sequence with the game on the line: KAT has the ball on the left sideline, while the defender whacked him five or ten times, looking like he is doing a HacAShaq. then KAT passes, rolls to the basket, and gets a return pass with a clear path to the hoop. the defender gives him a bear hug — both arms around him, holding him to the floor as he tries to shoot — a total of about a dozen fouls on the play. then the play is blown… Read more »
I didn’t see that one, but they let a lot go both ways. KAT himself had a defensive play earlier in the game where he jumped “forward” – not straight up – into a midrange shooter while standing partially in and partially out of the restricted area, made contact with the entire body, no call.
When they called KAT for his 3rd and 4th in quick succession, those looked nitpicky. And they called a tech on Mitch Rob instead of a double tech or no-call when he and Wemby were shoving each other.
WE ARE BOYS STATE TRACK CHAMPIONS 👍💪🏃👍💪🏃👍💪🏃…………… LET THE PARTY BEGIN…………….” MORE BEER 🍺 PLEASE “
Congrats!!! 🎉
👍🙏👍🙏😁WILL DO SIMMO
SIMMO – THIS IS FOR YOU—- COACHING TRACK THIS SPRING/ AT STATE THIS WEEKEND—- MY SOPHOMORE RUNNER JUST RAN A 9:10 / 2 MILE/ FINISHED 3rd —— KID IS SPECIAL 👍💪!!!!!
Serious windburn at those speeds, tell them to take care of their skin!!!
Well, with the additional data of how the WCF ended and how the Finals started, it does seem to indicate the Cavs would be correct to “mostly” run it back rather than blow it up this offseason. Knicks may not win the Finals but they are clearly have the same ceiling as the Thunder and Spurs this season. The win streak they’re on is by scoring margin the most dominant 12-game stretch any team ever had in regular or postseason. The Cavs have a lot of shortcomings in roster construction and coaching, and the podcast breaks it down well –… Read more »
Also I think despite the TOs, too-frequent abandoning of Mobley and Allen in clutch time, and other offensive issues, it’s the decline in the Cavs’ defense that is the biggest ceiling constraint right now. The elite teams won’t allow “anyone” to consistently get what they want offensively for an entire series. Even SGA, the current ISO gold standard, averaged just 19 pts on 34% shooting in the Thunder’s Game 1, 4 and 6 losses, although he carried them in Game 7. The problem is, the Cavs no longer have an elite defense; they play well in spots, but their scheme… Read more »
Brunson definitely redeemed Harden’s infamy somewhat – it wasn’t the Beard getting cooked down the stretch this time, yet Brunson was still cooking like he always does. But to me the stunner was KAT stonewalling Wemby for most of the game. If he’s capable of repeating that defensive effort the Knicks can win and are probably the favorites.
To be clear though, I’d rather see Proctor groomed to start and Mitchell pushed to do more play making, unless they can find a better alternative, with Harden reduced to a 6th man role if not moved for LeBron (I’d welcome that too)
AGREE RAOUL—-THEIR TEAM BALL/ EXPERIENCE REALLY SHOWING UP——M BROWN NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO COACH THE PUTRID KING s BUT GOOD CHANCE HE WILL BE A CHAMPIONSHIP COACH
gotta admit I didn’t think the Knicks had a chance against the Spurs. I was surprised to find myself cheering for them (I watched the second half) — and getting on the Brunson bandwagon. he is smaller than me and dominating a game full of seven and (almost) eight footers. and so many of his wild shots in traffic were swishes! the sequence where he took a bad three, tipped his own rebound out, got to the corner for a return pass, and drained a three — we will be seeing that replay for years. remind me: when was the… Read more »
1990 I’d say.
Also, I gotta tip my hat to Hart, as much as it pains me to say. Playing amazing team ball. 15 rebounds? More?
That was definitely the play of the game! Just when Wemby had given the Spurs the lead.
Could argue Tony Parker in 2014. Kawhi won Finals MVP for his defense on LeBron, but it was really the Spurs’ ball movement offense that carried the day. And with Duncan in his decline phase, Parker was their only All-NBA team nod (2d team) and led the team in scoring as well as assists (both reg season and postseason).
Was Tony under 6-2? Quibbling for shits/giggles only. Cavs fans on holidays after all.
Tony was listed as 6’2, as is Brunson; and he didn’t look any bigger than that to my recollection. I was thinking about Chauncey Billups in 2004 also, but he was 6’3. (Plus it’s hard to say who led that team btw him, ‘Sheed, and Ben Wallace.)
probably about 100% of smaller guys in the NBA lie about their height
NBA Finals Game 1:
Knicks outscore Spurs 35-16 in a 9 min 41 sec span (+2.0 pts/min) on the road.
Eastern Conference finals Game 1:
Knicks outscore Cavs 44-11 in a 12 min 23 sec span (+2.7 pts/min) at home.
Do the Spurs need to fire their coach and rebuild after this season too?
Was interesting that KAT spoke about that in the huddle, saying their defense was most important and that their offense would come back eventually just like it did in Cavs game 1.
Not that I’m advocating for the Cavs to start a rebuild but this is a pretty bad faith argument… Spurs and Cavs are in wildly different phases. Cavs core has been together now for a few disappointing playoff runs, lack a true superstar (Mitchell’s playoff resume speaks for itself), and are more or less at the end of the line as far as options to improve go. Anyone who is griping that the Cavs need to start tearing it down at least have a leg to stand on.
KNICKS ARE IN A “ CHAMPIONSHIP GROOVE “. PLAYING WITH ALOT OF CONFIDENCE/ EXPERIENCE IS SURFACING
Thanks for this guys. Best thing to listen to while watching the NBA finals. Hart just got erased by Wemby. Good times.
It’ll be fun to see whether Hart heads in there for a layup again soon.