Recap: Cavs 83, Pacers 102
2012-04-13
Hey, you guys. I’m keeping the recap brief tonight because A.) this was a complete and utter drubbing (at least in the second half) and B.) I’m a little woozy from the healthy dose of cough medicine I’ve taken to subdue the angry hedgehog that’s been living in my throat for the last few days.
–The Pacers and Cavs have played twice in the past 72 hours, and, with the exception of the overtime period on Wednesday and the last two quarters of tonight’s game, the Pacers have basically played the Cavs to a stalemate. It’s not like the Pacers have a Carmelo or D-Wade-caliber scorer on their team, but it’s weird that a team that’s probably going to finish third in the East can have so much trouble scoring for quarters at a time, even against lousy competition.
–This doesn’t mean much, but Donald Sloan was a staggering negative-29 tonight. It doesn’t mean much because he actually played pretty well. His matchup, George Hill, didn’t torch him or anything (4-for-11, seven assists), and Sloan had a decent game (5-for-9, five dimes) aside from coughing the ball up four times. Yet he watched the Pacers outscore the Cavs by almost thirty points when he was on the floor. What I’m saying is, if you see Donald on the street, tell him it’s not his fault.
–Samardo Samuels was 2-for-7 with 10 points, 10 rebounds. He also fouled out late in the fourth. We’ll obviously have this conversation after the season is over, but is Samardo a part of the team moving forward? Is he a tenth man—the type of guy who gets burn when you’re playing Dwight Howard and need some extra fouls to throw at the best center in the league? I know he’s had some weight and attitude issues; that might factor into the Cavaliers’ decision to keep him on board during the Kyrie Irving Era. I dunno. Just something to think about.
–A man named Lester Hudson only played 15 minutes in this one, shooting 2-for-6 and turning the ball over five times. It’s strangely comforting to know he’s not a poor man’s version of Mitch Richmond in his prime.
This Pacers game was the first of a back-to-back-to-back. The Cavs take on the Wiz tomorrow night at the Phone Booth. (Do they still call it the Phone Booth?) Kevin will be covering that game while I try to get my throat to downgrade itself from “cardinal” to “cadmium red.” Until tomorrow, friends.
This comments section proves once again that the drafting system is flawed…
Other note:
Plus Minus is relatively useless in regards to single games (if you get subbed in during an opponent run, it’s not automatically your fault), but there could be something like “explained plus minus”
Like, if Player A plays during a period where the other team outscores you by 10 and he scored 100% of his shots and made no turn-over he shouldn’t get the same -10 like the guy that lost the ball two times.
I know, no very scientific explanation, but something like that…
Interesting, thanks for clarifying Spots & JAG!
Nathan – If neither win the lottery then it’s literally decided by a coin flip who gets to pick ahead of the other.
John,
I’m not sure why the comments are taking so long to load. I’ve asked John to look into it.
Also, in response to Colin’s recap, I think Samuels gets another season, ideally as the 5th big man.
If we hadn’t beat the Raptors a couple games ago, we would be in the driver’s seat for 4th pick and even closer to the 3rd pick.
Oh, i could be wrong…that was purely an assumption. This means that in the unlikely event that the cavs “catch up” to them and tie them, both teams would essentially be in 3.5th position.
Also, if two teams are tied, and neither wins a top 3 pick, *then* what decides who picks first? Like, who would get the 4th pick between the cavs and the hornets if they end up tied, bobcats pick first, wiz pick second, mystery team X picks 3rd?
Nathan,
Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think the NBA has tie-breakers in regard to the lottery. I think they just add up the total of number of “ping pong balls” for the two spots and divide by two. That would give each team a slightly worse chance of winning the lottery than they would’ve had if they had finished alone in that spot and there was no tie.
Loving the old school tank photos.
Side note, for some reason its taken longer than usual for the comments pages to load. Not sure if thats why comments have been down or not.
And feel better soon, Colin!
I really like Gee, but the last few games show why he needs to be Cleveland’s 7th best offensive player. Playing with a team of d-leaguers, 36 year olds and Tristan, just requires him to do too much. I’m looking forward to next year and a talent infusion.
We do “own the tiebreak” (we lost to them) with the hornets :)
Tonight was a great night in terms of standings though. Cavs lose. Nets win, RAPTORS WIN!, and the hornets win. I don’t think the hornets can jump us in the standings, but at least there’s a chance.