Game 26: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Milwaukee Bucks | December 20th, 2016 | 8:00 PM EST

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

We’re probably going to see this Bucks team in the playoffs at some point.



The Bucks and the Warriors play two completely different style of games. MIL relies on a shit ton of length and athleticism that makes “small ball” teams struggle. It’s a bad matchup more than anything else.

Their length had nothing to do with the fact that Lebron couldn't take advantage of Teletovic guarding him, Lebron and the team were lucky to hit those parking lot 3's because the offense just looked really really bad after the 1st quarter.

Lebron can't take anyone off the dribble right now unless he pushes them off or is running a fast break, that's bad especially if the defense switches, switching look really effective against the Cavs right now.
Lebron right now really settles for tough tough shots, fadeaways, long ass 3's.. is it because he can't penetrate well enough? it looks like his legs are heavy.

We might see a different team in the playoffs but Lebron and Kyrie look really slow and unathletic compared to their older self.

Lue can't even lower Lebron's minutes in blowout games so I don't expect him to do it in an OT game but it's getting ridiculous.

If you are not worried and you like how the Cavs look then good touche.

 

[ice cream man]

It's not Lue's fault we have no depth. He has no choice if he wants us to win. Losing Delly hurts us real bad. We have no playmakers outside of our big three. Our offense was a lot of standing around yesterday. We got our big lead because we were pushing the pace and everybody was moving and getting involved. Hopefully we can get LeBron one of those 2 week breaks in February.

 

[Zog]

Their length had nothing to do with the fact that Lebron couldn't take advantage of Teletovic guarding him, Lebron and the team were lucky to hit those parking lot 3's because the offense just looked really really bad after the 1st quarter.

Lebron can't take anyone off the dribble right now unless he pushes them off or is running a fast break, that's bad especially if the defense switches, switching look really effective against the Cavs right now.
Lebron right now really settles for tough tough shots, fadeaways, long ass 3's.. is it because he can't penetrate well enough? it looks like his legs are heavy.

We might see a different team in the playoffs but Lebron and Kyrie look really slow and unathletic compared to their older self.

Lue can't even lower Lebron's minutes in blowout games so I don't expect him to do it in an OT game but it's getting ridiculous.

LeBron looks more athletic than last year...

Not being able to take someone off the dribble is not entirely due to the primary defender. There's a reason that other teams get so many illegal/3 sec defense called when LeBron has the ball. It's because they drastically tilt their defense to where he is on the floor, which makes it much more difficult to get past someone.

 

[shoes22]

Their length had nothing to do with the fact that Lebron couldn't take advantage of Teletovic guarding him, Lebron and the team were lucky to hit those parking lot 3's because the offense just looked really really bad after the 1st quarter.

Lebron can't take anyone off the dribble right now unless he pushes them off or is running a fast break, that's bad especially if the defense switches, switching look really effective against the Cavs right now.

We might see a different team in the playoffs but Lebron and Kyrie look really slow and unathletic compared to their older self.

Lue can't even lower Lebron's minutes in blowout games so I don't expect him to do it in an OT game but it's getting ridiculous.

No, but it does contribute to our issues having no interior rim protection. The defense was a bigger concern for me last night. Teams like the Bucks can get to the rim for layups at will against us and it’s problematic. We need another competent big ASAP.

LeBron and Kyrie are just showing signs of major fatigue. LeBron has gotten conditioned to playing high-level basketball 9 out of 12 months of the year and Kyrie isn’t much better after his Olympic run. The injuries our team is going through just makes it worse because they have to play even more minutes.

After Christmas Lue needs to prioritize rest a lot more than he has been. Especially for LeBron. I want to see Kevin Love lead this team in minutes this season if he’s healthy.

 

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Meh. Milwaukee is a good, young athletic team that gets very jacked to play the champs and James. My only head scratching moments was why James didn't take Parker at the end of the game instead of Shump. I knew it was going to Parker, so I can only assume that Lue knew that as well. Shump is just too small to guard a bull like Parker. Why James wasn't on him was strange. And then with 15 seconds to go in a tie game, why does Kyrie slowly take the ball down court and throw up a long three with absolutely NO ball movement? A couple of head scratchers to be sure, but we got the win. Well done Cavs.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

LeBron looks more athletic than last year...

Not being able to take someone off the dribble is not entirely due to the primary defender. There's a reason that other teams get so many illegal/3 sec defense called when LeBron has the ball. It's because they drastically tilt their defense to where he is on the floor, which makes it much more difficult to get past someone.

I think Lebron looked more athletic last year overall. Right now, some games he looks great and others he looks slow and heavy to me.
I don't remember that last season.

I really don't think he should be the primary ball handler, he isn't quick and fast enough on a consistent basis. Cavs looked good when Kyrie had the ball in his hands in the 1st quarter.
Let Lebron be the Pick and Roll big.

 

[shoes22]

And then with 15 seconds to go in a tie game, why does Kyrie slowly take the ball down court and throw up a long three with absolutely NO ball movement? A couple of head scratchers to be sure, but we got the win. Well done Cavs.

Kyrie has a couple “tells” when he’s tired and fatigued, and slowly walking the ball up the court is one of them. Carrying more of the load that Love and JR would normally have does take a toll. His efficiency was a little off last night but he made up for it in volume.

As for LeBron, one positive I want to point out is he seems to be way more accurate with the deeper/30 foot threes than threes right by the line. He’s so strong that those deeper threes result in a better, smoother shot than the closer ones he has to aim more. He also goes straight up on the deep threes instead of fading back.

 

[Zog]

I think Lebron looked more athletic last year overall. Right now, some games he looks great and others he looks slow and heavy to me.
I don't remember that last season.

I really don't think he should be the primary ball handler, he isn't quick and fast enough on a consistent basis. Cavs looked good when Kyrie had the ball in his hands in the 1st quarter.
Let Lebron be the Pick and Roll big.

He looks much more balanced this year to me. And he seems to be dunking more as well. Last year he would fall and trip all the time, seemingly all on his own. Is he at ~2010 levels of athleticism, definitely not, but it isn't a concern to me.

Agree with LeBron being the big on the PnR. Unfortunately we lost the player that was best at feeding him the ball off the roll (Delly). Would be nice to force feed that play and get Kyrie on the same level of passing off the PnR that Delly was at, though.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

He looks much more balanced this year to me. And he seems to be dunking more as well. Last year he would fall and trip all the time, seemingly all on his own. Is he at ~2010 levels of athleticism, definitely not, but it isn't a concern to me.

Agree with LeBron being the big on the PnR. Unfortunately we lost the player that was best at feeding him the ball off the roll (Delly). Would be nice to force feed that play and get Kyrie on the same level of passing off the PnR that Delly was at, though.

Kyrie was passing well at the start of the game.. then he was forced to play as the de-facto sg.
I hope the Cavs are going to look better, in that shape they don't have a chance.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Khris Middleton's a pretty damn good player.

I love this Bucks team. They're fucking long as hell with guys who can shoot and play defense (eventually). Really unique team.

Just a cool, cool team to watch.

I wondered if Middleton counts as a third star. It's possible he does, and that the Bucks are almost there. Unfortunately, for them, they miss out on a year of their "Big 3" learning to play together.

And I like Delly as much as the next guy, but if he was unplayable for US, deep in the playoffs, he will likely be for them, too. His shooting is still off, but it is inching up. Both his assists and turnovers are down, in December. Calendar Year 2015 Delly was a FORCE. 2016 Delly, a little less so.

Giannis is such a beast. Leads the Bucks in every major category.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Their length had nothing to do with the fact that Lebron couldn't take advantage of Teletovic guarding him, Lebron and the team were lucky to hit those parking lot 3's because the offense just looked really really bad after the 1st quarter.

Lebron can't take anyone off the dribble right now unless he pushes them off or is running a fast break, that's bad especially if the defense switches, switching look really effective against the Cavs right now.
Lebron right now really settles for tough tough shots, fadeaways, long ass 3's.. is it because he can't penetrate well enough? it looks like his legs are heavy.

We might see a different team in the playoffs but Lebron and Kyrie look really slow and unathletic compared to their older self.

Lue can't even lower Lebron's minutes in blowout games so I don't expect him to do it in an OT game but it's getting ridiculous.

If you are not worried and you like how the Cavs look then good touche.

Dude... You are bringing me down... LeBron can't take anyone off the dribble anymore? He and Kyrie look slow and unathletic? Is our championship window already closed?

 

[The Oi]

I wondered if Middleton counts as a third star. It's possible he does, and that the Bucks are almost there. Unfortunately, for them, they miss out on a year of their "Big 3" learning to play together.

And I like Delly as much as the next guy, but if he was unplayable for US, deep in the playoffs, he will likely be for them, too. His shooting is still off, but it is inching up. Both his assists and turnovers are down, in December. Calendar Year 2015 Delly was a FORCE. 2016 Delly, a little less so.

Giannis is such a beast. Leads the Bucks in every major category.

Delly will absolutely be playable for them. He only became unplayable for the Cavs because he was injured as I recall. Unfortunately, the Finals are a little bit blurry for me, so details aren't great...but that's my recollections.

A healthy Delly is INDISPENSABLE in the playoffs.

Man, I love that Bucks team.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

Just imagine if Sanders didn't short-circuit and quit on them...

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Delly will absolutely be playable for them. He only became unplayable for the Cavs because he was injured as I recall. Unfortunately, the Finals are a little bit blurry for me, so details aren't great...but that's my recollections.

A healthy Delly is INDISPENSABLE in the playoffs.

Man, I love that Bucks team.

Do we know that for sure? That Delly was playing hurt from January to June? I remember him getting hurt before the ASB and coming back and playing like ass. But his injury ALSO coincided with Blatt's firing. Blatt loved Delly and used him well. Lue didn't seem to use Delly optimally. Of course, Lue might have given Delly less burn, because he was slowed by an injury. In The Finals, as I recall, we lost Game 1, because none of our guards (Delly included) could hang with their long and athletic guards. So Livingston ate us alive. After that, I think Lue said, "We tried this experiment, and it failed, so Delly will spend the rest of the series waving a towel from the end of the bench."

What do we actually know?