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Game 31 | Celtics (19-13) @ Cavs (23-7) | Dec 29, 2016 | 8:00 PM ET

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It is ok to fall out 1st seed. No team in the East can beat a healthy Cavs squad and we're not gonna beat Warriors/Spurs squad for home court advantage in the finals.

Cavs playing with this short of rotation is only going to decrease the odds of repeating.

I disagree. We need the easiest path to the finals so that we can rest and be as healthy as possible. Having home court will greatly help with that.
 
I agree with @Rich. Losing Delly was less about Delly's value in isolation, and more about "the whole being greater than the sum of the parts."

In other words, we didn't just lose Delly. We lost a key piece in our rotation and a third leader on the court. Delly in isolation may not have been worth $40million, but as part of a greater whole, I think he is worth it.

Now we have almost no options to replace him. We should have paid him.

40 million x 5 for every dollar. Luxury tax, amirite?

Gilbert cheaped out there, but I'm sure LeBron gave the go-ahead.
 
40 million x 5 for every dollar. Luxury tax, amirite?

Sure. I'm fine with that. Our rotation is shit and inconsistent, only Ky and LBJ can run an effective offense, and our bench role players are struggling.

Delly would have been worth every penny of that. It was a mistake to not pay him.
 
Sure. I'm fine with that. Our rotation is shit and inconsistent, only Ky and LBJ can run an effective offense, and our bench role players are struggling.

Delly would have been worth every penny of that. It was a mistake to not pay him.

He was a total no factor in the finals. They thought they'd live on without Delly.
 
He was a total no factor in the finals. They thought they'd live on without Delly.

Not true. We got to the finals healthy because of the depth he provided. That was a BIG factor.

It's a mistake to construct a team purely for the Warriors anyways. The Spurs could punk those San Francisco Bitches in the playoffs.
 
Yes. Tighten up is nothing to worry about. If he pulled it, then that's serious.

He was stretching it. So it's merely a cramp.

If you pull your hammy, you don't stretch it.

He will be fine with rest.
 
Not true. We got to the finals healthy because of the depth he provided. That was a BIG factor.

It's a mistake to construct a team purely for the Warriors anyways. The Spurs could punk those San Francisco Bitches in the playoffs.
He was a total no factor in the finals. They thought they'd live on without Delly.
So was Channing Frye. What do you do? Only pay players who are good against golden state, and just skimp everywhere else. We played LeBron 44 minutes and the Celtics played their best player 34. They won the game tonight.
 
Not true. We got to the finals healthy because of the depth he provided. That was a BIG factor.

It's a mistake to construct a team purely for the Warriors anyways. The Spurs could punk those San Francisco Bitches in the playoffs.

Yea but a backup pg isn't going to play against the Spurs either. Or anyone else that shows up in the Finals. The Cavs have found their identity...long wing defenders that can switch and shoot with Kyrie and Lebron taking turns handling the ball. I really don't see why a backup pg would play against anyone in the Finals when LeBron is going to handle the ball as backup pg and either Shump or Liggins will guard the opposing backup point guard.

Losing depth hurts tho for health and rest reasons as you say. Which is why it was a mistake to let Delly go. But I think you will be fine in the Finals without a backup point.
 
Yea but a backup pg isn't going to play against the Spurs either. Or anyone else that shows up in the Finals. The Cavs have found their identity...long wing defenders that can switch and shoot with Kyrie and Lebron taking turns handling the ball. I really don't see why a backup pg would play against anyone in the Finals when LeBron is going to handle the ball as backup pg and either Shump or Liggins will guard the opposing backup point guard.

So? We need to get to the finals healthy. We need to run a deeper rotation the rest of the season and let our bench rotation find a rhythm. The key to that is another floor leader. This game convinced me. I still prefer a PG.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think we plan for ONLY the finals rotation. We also need rotations that get us to the finals healthy. Kyrie and LBJ are carrying too much of the load.
 
So? We need to get to the finals healthy. We need to run a deeper rotation the rest of the season and let our bench rotation find a rhythm. The key to that is another floor leader. This game convinced me. I still prefer a PG.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think we plan for ONLY the finals rotation. We also need rotations that get us to the finals healthy. Kyrie and LBJ are carrying too much of the load.

I actually agree with your point abot depth and health. Having a backup point would save wear and tear on lbj and kyrie. And it was a mistake to let Delly go. My point is just that I dont see the backup point playing against any Finals opponent so I wouldnt trade a wing for a point.
 
I actually agree with your point abot depth and health. Having a backup point would save wear and tear on lbj and kyrie. And it was a mistake to let Delly go. Just that I dont see the backup point playing against any Finals opponent so I wouldnt trade a wing for a point.

The problem here is the "whole greater than sum of the parts" issue.

Sure, in isolation, we shouldn't trade a wing for a PG. But if a PG helps keep LBJ and Ky healthy, and if he helps our bench players (like Dunleavey, RJ, and Frye) gel as a consistent unit, then the result isn't just getting a PG. It's the "rising tide raises all ships" concept.

A wing just gives us another wing. A PG give us so much more than just a PG.
 
In the Cavs' current situation, they need to find the next Delly; i.e. defensive intensity and playmaking skills at or near minimum salary.

By playing as well as he did, he priced himself out of this situation and won a ring in the process. Gilbert is likely trying to maintain some modicum of profitability; who can blame him at this point?

Its up to Griff now to find that guy (or Felder can take a serious leap). I hope he can, because trading any of the top eight players is less than ideal.
 
I am big on patterns and I think you should put away a team early and make sure its out of reach the rest of the time but once again Cavs have to play until the final buzzer after being up 20 at one point.

Doesn't help when you have 18 turnovers and miss 9 free throws.

Look, this team is special. I just want to see the bad habits/patterns nipped but I suppose its human nature.
 

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