Game 40 | Cavs (26-13) @ Wolves (25-16) | January 8, 2018 | 8:00 pm EST

[Cavatt]

Does anyone else think that this team used to play much better with Calderon on the court than they do with IT, or whoever runs the offense?

He's exactly the kind of pace player you should bring in when the offense is so out of rhythm. He is steady

 

[Return of the King]

Well at least it wasn’t a 30 point loss.

 

[redscoon]

Basically, a given that the Cavs are mailing in any non-nationally televised road game in a cold weather city. Tonight really isn't surprising. Maybe that it was by 30 instead of 15 or so, but they chronically don't give a shit with LeBron at the helm. Nobody good enough to carry them when LeBron no shows. IT may change that when he gets his legs back, but until then, any road game is basically watching at your own risk.

 

[Tlyons]

What in the fuck is going on?

 

[Jake]

What I'm seeing is how good Brad Stevens must be. You hear it a lot, how he's considered one of the next best out there. I wasn't sold on it but it becoming apparent. He made Crowder and IT better than they really are. He has a plan to utilize a player to the best of their ability and make it work with the other parts he has to work with. Clearly Lue doesn't have that skill but it's not all on Lue. We got plenty of dead weight too.

 

[cavsfever]

There is plenty of talent on this team.

The vast majority of the team follows LeBron's lead.

LeBron is the worst defender on the floor tonight. Worse than IT. He leads the team at -27..

He doesn't rotate. Doesn't contest. Doesn't play the right scheme. Doesn't give a fuck.

When the best player in the world plays like that, it gives his teammates the green light to cut the same corners he does, hope for an offensive explosion, and turn it on late in games if we can keep it close.

Every LBJ team ever has started and ended with LBJ. That is the price of admission for having him. And I would rather have him than not.

There is a reason the team has performances like this and barely bats an eyelash. We saw it last season as well. Then we unleash hell in the playoffs and would be three time champions if not for injuries and the greatest roster of talent ever assembled on a bunch of lucky circumstances that will likely never present themselves again.

LBJ doesn't care about this game. Means 0 to him. Therefore the majority of the team doesnt care about this game. Therefore when it rains, it pours.

This is NOT the price of admission for having LBJ. He never did the kind of things you're describing his first time around on the Cavs or on the Heat. He was consistently an excellent defender. But you put a crap defensive team around a 33 year old player in his 15th season in the league, guess what, he's not going to want to play three or four players worth of defense every damn night. If the rest of the team responds by slacking off, that is called lack of professionalism or lack of skill on the part of the other players, and it says something about the kind of guys we have. We have two gaping holes in our starting lineup at SG and center, plus a non-factor on defense at PG. You seriously expect LBJ at 33 to defend his position and two or three other positions in regular season games? What will he have left for the playoffs if he does that?

If one actually believes that LBJ never truly has an off night and could be superman every single night if he was just motivated, and he will magically turn our team into champs in the playoffs, then none of us would give a shit about regular season games either. The reason it's upsetting to see a game like this is that when James does have an off night it exposes the rest of the team in a big way. And we all know that we need more than just LBJ to contend for a championship.

 

[SmudgeHog]

I didnt see the game. Was lebron trying to send some sort of point/message to his guys? To Lue?

You don't go -39 in 27 minutes unless you really want to lose, or you are Josh Jackson, Bismack Byombo or Tyler Ulis

 

[Futuredome]

Lue sucks. The team poorly constructed to beat the Warriors. At some point, Lebron is going to mentally "move on".

 

[KilgoreTrout]

A few simple steps to make the team better:
1. Sit JR indefinitely
2. Start Cedi
3. Never let Crowder shoot another 3.
4. Play TT sparingly.
5. Go back to the Bench Mob that was killing it.

A few harder steps:
1. Trade a package including TT and the Nets pick for DJ and Sweet Lou.
2. Hire a real coach.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

This team blew their load during the win streak. Old and tired.

Thompson coming back fucked everything up...

 

[bboy]

Can't wait for the Golden State game

First Toronto and Indiana have to destroy us too...

 

[KilgoreTrout]

First Toronto and Indiana have to destroy us too...

Oh my word. Prepare yourselves for a couple of bloodbaths. Those games will make the Battle of Gettysburg look like a game of touch football.

 

[SmudgeHog]

I would bet a good amount that Toronto will beat the warriors on the 12th.

 

[Andrew]

What a piss poor effort. Why did I bother to watch? Hell, the players didn't bother to play.

 

[Wajdi77]

Hahahaha.... I wasn’t sold by that 20-1 record because we played mostly vs weak teams! This was largely expected when your team is full of old slow players and when you full of dead body’s out there like TT, Calderon, Shumpert, old Wade, JR!
I don’t understand why the FU$CK this idiot in the bench continue to start JR when he has been a negative player not only this year, but also last season! How much JR has to be negative and awful to convince this coach that he shouldn’t start any more as our starting sg?! Fuck you, you have Cedi, damn you give him a chance in the starting lineup and at least he won’t do worse than JR!
I’m sorry guys, with this old and slow team that simply can’t play defense, we simply can’t afford IT in the starting lineup. It simply can’t and won’t work when you have a slow Love, JR ,an overrated defense player Crowder
and LBJ who is getting older and he starts playing some defense only in the PO’!



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