Game 43: Cavs @ Trailblazers 1/12/2023

[ijspeelman]

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[ijspeelman]

Cavs with literally 5 alley-oops as their only made fieldgoals so far.

Trailblazers have made everything and only the Dame lay-up was easy. I hope its not one of those games.

[jbk1234]

Dame is such a blatant ref baiter.

[ijspeelman]

Most notable thing we did this game was fix our weakside help at the half. Dame was beating Allen/Mobley when they went up and no one was getting back to help.

I feel like the Trailblazers made hella contested shots tonight and we were missing a bunch of our open ones.

I, for one, welcome the return of Spanish Jesus. Two very important threes down the stretch.

[TheLand13]

Rubio actually looked really good out there. Hit those two big three pointers, making some really nice passes, doing a good job of keeping the offense running, and the defense was there too. But what I really liked was that he didn’t look rusty at all. I expected him to look like he lost a bit of a step, but based on how he was moving, it looked like he had been playing all season long.

Having him back is going to do wonders for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. I am incredibly excited to have him back. All we need is for Wade to return, and we could be seeing a very improved version of the cavaliers offensively.

[afarmenian]

Rubio actually looked really good out there. Hit those two big three pointers, making some really nice passes, doing a good job of keeping the offense running, and the defense was there too. But what I really liked was that he didn’t look rusty at all. I expected him to look like he lost a bit of a step, but based on how he was moving, it looked like he had been playing all season long.

Having him back is going to do wonders for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. I am incredibly excited to have him back. All we need is for Wade to return, and we could be seeing a very improved version of the cavaliers offensively.

I like Dean but right now he isn't much different than Windler, seems like any kind of light breeze and he gets hurt, and he can play and help this team, in a perfect world he should make Love an afterthought but its just not happening so far.

[TheLand13]

Rubio actually looked really good out there. Hit those two big three pointers, making some really nice passes, doing a good job of keeping the offense running, and the defense was there too. But what I really liked was that he didn’t look rusty at all. I expected him to look like he lost a bit of a step, but based on how he was moving, it looked like he had been playing all season long.

Having him back is going to do wonders for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. I am incredibly excited to have him back. All we need is for Wade to return, and we could be seeing a very improved version of the cavaliers offensively.

I like Dean but right now he isn't much different than Windler, seems like any kind of light breeze and he gets hurt, and he can play and help this team, in a perfect world he should make Love an afterthought but its just not happening so far.

I don’t want him to make Love an after thought. I want him to be able to start at SF and be that third floor spreader that we need to truly unlock our offense.

[JujitsuFlip]

Rubio actually looked really good out there. Hit those two big three pointers, making some really nice passes, doing a good job of keeping the offense running, and the defense was there too. But what I really liked was that he didn’t look rusty at all. I expected him to look like he lost a bit of a step, but based on how he was moving, it looked like he had been playing all season long.

Having him back is going to do wonders for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. I am incredibly excited to have him back. All we need is for Wade to return, and we could be seeing a very improved version of the cavaliers offensively.

I like Dean but right now he isn't much different than Windler, seems like any kind of light breeze and he gets hurt, and he can play and help this team, in a perfect world he should make Love an afterthought but its just not happening so far.

I don’t want him to make Love an after thought. I want him to be able to start at SF and be that third floor spreader that we need to truly unlock our offense.

I doubt Wade ever becomes that. He's not as good of a rebounder as Love but for $6 million, having him back-up Mobley isn't the worst thing in the world.

Upgrading the starting SF and back-up SF spot should be a big focus this coming summer and if not, in summer of 2024 without a question it needs to be a priority because that is potentially Mitchell's final season with the Cavs.

[JonFromVA]

Most notable thing we did this game was fix our weakside help at the half. Dame was beating Allen/Mobley when they went up and no one was getting back to help.

I feel like the Trailblazers made hella contested shots tonight and we were missing a bunch of our open ones.

I, for one, welcome the return of Spanish Jesus. Two very important threes down the stretch.

Gotta give Caris credit as he was our only defender who made any sort of difference when he was guarding Lillard and he wasn't baited in to any fouls THIS time.

As we dream about dealing him before the deadline, we need to be cognizant that his defense and length when guarding wings is something we could miss. There are a lot of tough shot makers in the league and Dame is certainly one of the best; but there's a fair chance we'll need to do better than get a hand up and not draw a foul to slow down a hot shooting wing in the playoffs.

Otherwise just a ton of credit all around, this was a terrific team effort.

[ijspeelman]

Most notable thing we did this game was fix our weakside help at the half. Dame was beating Allen/Mobley when they went up and no one was getting back to help.

I feel like the Trailblazers made hella contested shots tonight and we were missing a bunch of our open ones.

I, for one, welcome the return of Spanish Jesus. Two very important threes down the stretch.

Gotta give Caris credit as he was our only defender who made any sort of difference when he was guarding Lillard and he wasn't baited in to any fouls THIS time.

As we dream about dealing him before the deadline, we need to be cognizant that his defense and length when guarding wings is something we could miss. There are a lot of tough shot makers in the league and Dame is certainly one of the best; but there's a fair chance we'll need to do better than get a hand up and not draw a foul to slow down a hot shooting wing in the playoffs.

Otherwise just a ton of credit all around, this was a terrific team effort.

As for the bolded, after last game, I'll be honest Lillard had the ball with LeVert guarding him and I was just like don't jump at his pump fakes. Lillard had been baiting all game and I didn't want it to end like that.

Lillard really didn't attempt to fake anyone with any shots so I didn't have to worry about it, but LeVert did play him pretty well all night. I mean he got 50, but he was also an unstoppable force for everyone not named Caris LeVert.

[TheLand13]

I like Dean but right now he isn't much different than Windler, seems like any kind of light breeze and he gets hurt, and he can play and help this team, in a perfect world he should make Love an afterthought but its just not happening so far.

I don’t want him to make Love an after thought. I want him to be able to start at SF and be that third floor spreader that we need to truly unlock our offense.

I doubt Wade ever becomes that. He's not as good of a rebounder as Love but for $6 million, having him back-up Mobley isn't the worst thing in the world.

Upgrading the starting SF and back-up SF spot should be a big focus this coming summer and if not, in summer of 2024 without a question it needs to be a priority because that is potentially Mitchell's final season with the Cavs.

With our limited options at SF, and there not being many options on the horizon, Wade is our best bet for starting at SF.

And it’s not a bad idea. He’s actually a very solid 3/D player, perhaps even an argument can be made for him being a good one. But either way, we need someone that can be the third floor spreader and play good defense.

Kevin Love is the ultimate sixth man, and despite his shooting taking a nose dive as of late, he’s still been extremely valuable. He’s a crafty veteran who can do a variety of things for us. He can score from anywhere, he’s still an elite rebounder, he’s at least capable of drawing charges so he gives us something on defense, he’s a great passer, and most importantly, he gives us that extra floor spreader when he comes out to the floor, potentially unlocking the offense even more and making it hard to adjust to our team.

This is one of the reasons why having Ricky Rubio back is such a big deal. Once Wade is back and in the starting lineup again, Rubio is going to have a pretty nice group of individuals to work with. Okoros been shooting better from the corner recently, Levert can be his secondary playmaker and we all know about the chemistry him and love have. It won’t be long before Cleveland’s bench becomes one of the most dangerous in the NBA just like last year before Rubio went down. It’s a exciting time to be a cavaliers fan.

[JonFromVA]

Lets just start knocking on wood now because it seems the moment we start to get healthy, we get hit by a new wave of injuries.

On the bright side, JBB played 10 men again last night. I think that's 3 in a row?

So, maybe, just maybe we can avoid some injuries if JBB can keep the minutes from getting out of hand.

[TheLand13]

Lets just start knocking on wood now because it seems the moment we start to get healthy, we get hit by a new wave of injuries.

On the bright side, JBB played 10 men again last night. I think that's 3 in a row?

So, maybe, just maybe we can avoid some injuries if JBB can keep the minutes from getting out of hand.

A lot of you are acting like he's had much of a choice in regards to the minutes being played. While I agree that Neto and even Lopez to an extent should be played more, there just haven't been many options for how to switch up their guard rotation.

Rubio coming back is going to change that now. But there are still holes like Stevens that need to be needled out and right now we aren't in any position to do that. But once Wade comes back and he's in the starting lineup again, I could see Bickerstaff running a consistent nine man rotation with Rubio/Okoro/Levert/Love being his consistent unit off the bench. That's actually a very solid bench unit to have especially with a team like this.

Edit: I completely forgot about Osman, who will almost certainly continue to have a role on this team. A ten man rotation could actually be a regular thing going forward.

[JonFromVA]

Lets just start knocking on wood now because it seems the moment we start to get healthy, we get hit by a new wave of injuries.

On the bright side, JBB played 10 men again last night. I think that's 3 in a row?

So, maybe, just maybe we can avoid some injuries if JBB can keep the minutes from getting out of hand.

A lot of you are acting like he's had much of a choice in regards to the minutes being played. While I agree that Neto and even Lopez to an extent should be played more, there just haven't been many options for how to switch up their guard rotation.

Rubio coming back is going to change that now. But there are still holes like Stevens that need to be needled out and right now we aren't in any position to do that. But once Wade comes back and he's in the starting lineup again, I could see Bickerstaff running a consistent nine man rotation with Rubio/Okoro/Levert/Love being his consistent unit off the bench. That's actually a very solid bench unit to have especially with a team like this.

Edit: I completely forgot about Osman, who will almost certainly continue to have a role on this team. A ten man rotation could actually be a regular thing going forward.

JBB was randomly dropping players his out of the rotation and pulling guys (especially the g leaguers) on any mistake because he wants to win far more than balance the minutes and develop players.

But maybe worth his his squad walking wounded he's realized he needs to spread the minutes more? tbd...

[afarmenian]

Rubio actually looked really good out there. Hit those two big three pointers, making some really nice passes, doing a good job of keeping the offense running, and the defense was there too. But what I really liked was that he didn’t look rusty at all. I expected him to look like he lost a bit of a step, but based on how he was moving, it looked like he had been playing all season long.

Having him back is going to do wonders for Cleveland on both ends of the floor. I am incredibly excited to have him back. All we need is for Wade to return, and we could be seeing a very improved version of the cavaliers offensively.

I like Dean but right now he isn't much different than Windler, seems like any kind of light breeze and he gets hurt, and he can play and help this team, in a perfect world he should make Love an afterthought but its just not happening so far.

I don’t want him to make Love an after thought. I want him to be able to start at SF and be that third floor spreader that we need to truly unlock our offense.

Well either way it's a moot point since he can't stay healthy