Game 60: Spurs @ Cavs 2/13/2023

[ijspeelman]

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[ijspeelman]

Rolling in the first half

[JujitsuFlip]

I just seen a highlight of that crossover by Mitchell...

[ijspeelman]

Cavs didn't roll as easily in the second, but held on to a double digit lead most of the way

[jbk1234]

Wade needs more minutes, and if he's not going to get them when the opposing wings are shooting right over Okoro, LeVert, and Cedi, I don't know when he will. It can't be the case that he comes in, misses and attempt or two, and gets yanked foe the rest of the game.

[ijspeelman]

Wade needs more minutes, and if he's not going to get them when the opposing wings are shooting right over Okoro, LeVert, and Cedi, I don't know when he will. It can't be the case that he comes in, misses and attempt or two, and gets yanked foe the rest of the game.

He's been off, but I do think he needs more minutes to keep getting momentum.

This game, he had a bad defensive possession (got back cut) and then wasn't horrible in his 5 and a half minutes on offense, but wasn't crazy. Made a shot he normally wouldn't get and then missed his three.

The team has also been unable to get him three point attempts (I hesitate to say he's not getting the attempts bc I think he finds himself open more than he gets the ball), but I also think he's been shooting less of his more contested shots (not necessarily contested, but not wide open).

Is him getting less attempts designed by the opponent's defense and helping us create more open looks near the basket or are we just not finding him and/or is he not moving as well off-ball? I really do not know.

[yoyoboy]

LeVert is just such a liability. It’s madness that he gets more minutes than Wade. A washed up Green should hopefully soak up some of his minutes. He can’t be any worse than Caris.

[toooskies]

I think JBB just wanted to experiment with some smaller lineups. He's tried LeVert a bit at the 4, first the other night against Chicago and again here. He's figuring out what he can go to if we run into a night where we can't play Wade (or Love) due to fouls, injuries, matchups, or whatever. We played some games last year with Windler and Cedi as our forwards and won those minutes and the Spurs game with a good lead is as good a time as any.

But Dean Wade looks a little... reluctant to try to make an impact offensively, which wasn't the case coming out of the gate this year.

[jbk1234]

I think JBB just wanted to experiment with some smaller lineups. He's tried LeVert a bit at the 4, first the other night against Chicago and again here. He's figuring out what he can go to if we run into a night where we can't play Wade (or Love) due to fouls, injuries, matchups, or whatever. We played some games last year with Windler and Cedi as our forwards and won those minutes and the Spurs game with a good lead is as good a time as any.

But Dean Wade looks a little... reluctant to try to make an impact offensively, which wasn't the case coming out of the gate this year.

If he's out there with the starters, he should be reluctant to do much besides shoot open 3s or an occasional back cut when the opposing team gives it to us. Guys like LeVert, Cedi, and Okoro bringing yet another defender into the paint isn't what we need.

But that's just him at SF. Allen can't sustain these minutes. If you're going to roll with an 8-man rotation, which frankly is a little dubious this early, one of the guys 6-8 has to be a big.

[toooskies]

I think JBB just wanted to experiment with some smaller lineups. He's tried LeVert a bit at the 4, first the other night against Chicago and again here. He's figuring out what he can go to if we run into a night where we can't play Wade (or Love) due to fouls, injuries, matchups, or whatever. We played some games last year with Windler and Cedi as our forwards and won those minutes and the Spurs game with a good lead is as good a time as any.

But Dean Wade looks a little... reluctant to try to make an impact offensively, which wasn't the case coming out of the gate this year.

If he's out there with the starters, he should be reluctant to do much besides shoot open 3s or an occasional back cut when the opposing team gives it to us. Guys like LeVert, Cedi, and Okoro bringing yet another defender into the paint isn't what we need.

But that's just him at SF. Allen can't sustain these minutes. If you're going to roll with an 8-man rotation, which frankly is a little dubious this early, one of the guys 6-8 has to be a big.

Wade hasn't been out there with the starters, though. He's been the first/only big off the bench since Love got shelved. He is not playing anywhere close to Love's aggressiveness in that role, however-- we've been heavily deferring to the core four unless it's Rubio or to a lesser degree, LeVert.

Can Allen sustain the minutes he's played? Well, the Cavs have the fewest games remaining in the league; don't have any more travel outside the eastern time zone; only have two more back-to-backs, one of which being immediately after the All-Star break; we have four pairs of games where we don't have to travel between road games; and our schedule is one of the easier schedules in the league, with five games against Charlotte and Orlando. It's going to be the easiest stretch of the season. He might be able to do it.

But I'd much rather that Wade step it up so that we can get somewhere near 30 minutes each for Allen/Mobley/Wade in our big man rotation.

[jbk1234]

I think JBB just wanted to experiment with some smaller lineups. He's tried LeVert a bit at the 4, first the other night against Chicago and again here. He's figuring out what he can go to if we run into a night where we can't play Wade (or Love) due to fouls, injuries, matchups, or whatever. We played some games last year with Windler and Cedi as our forwards and won those minutes and the Spurs game with a good lead is as good a time as any.

But Dean Wade looks a little... reluctant to try to make an impact offensively, which wasn't the case coming out of the gate this year.

If he's out there with the starters, he should be reluctant to do much besides shoot open 3s or an occasional back cut when the opposing team gives it to us. Guys like LeVert, Cedi, and Okoro bringing yet another defender into the paint isn't what we need.

But that's just him at SF. Allen can't sustain these minutes. If you're going to roll with an 8-man rotation, which frankly is a little dubious this early, one of the guys 6-8 has to be a big.

Wade hasn't been out there with the starters, though. He's been the first/only big off the bench since Love got shelved. He is not playing anywhere close to Love's aggressiveness in that role, however-- we've been heavily deferring to the core four unless it's Rubio or to a lesser degree, LeVert.

Can Allen sustain the minutes he's played? Well, the Cavs have the fewest games remaining in the league; don't have any more travel outside the eastern time zone; only have two more back-to-backs, one of which being immediately after the All-Star break; we have four pairs of games where we don't have to travel between road games; and our schedule is one of the easier schedules in the league, with five games against Charlotte and Orlando. It's going to be the easiest stretch of the season. He might be able to do it.

But I'd much rather that Wade step it up so that we can get somewhere near 30 minutes each for Allen/Mobley/Wade in our big man rotation.

Sometimes players need runway to get to peak performance. Wade isn't Cedi. This isn't his sixth year in the NBA and he missed almost the entire first half of the season.

Speaking of runway, JBB's has been almost unlimited in terms of rotations and personnel. His preferences are apparently informing the F.O. in terms of trades. Love is out of the rotation completely. The Cavs are going to need both Wade's size and shooting in the playoffs. There should be a conversation about Wade's PT IMO.