2023-23 Season | Game #82 | Hornets @ Cavs | April 14, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.

[Smooth]

Feel bad for the fans that spent their hard earned money to see a win. They deserve refunds.

If they spent money to see a hard earned win in game 82, they haven’t been fans for too long given we all know there’s typically not much to appreciate on fan appreciation night..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

If the Cavs had won they would have been 3rd since they own the tiebreaker with Milwaukee. In that case they would be playing Indiana first and, if they win, the Knicks/Philly winner second, assuming Philly wins they play-in and finishes 7th.

Instead they get Orlando first and Boston next, if they can get by the Magic. Orlando and Indiana were both 47-35 so I don't think the first round opponent matters; either the Cavs will play well enough to advance or they won't.

Boston was clearly the class of the East, but the Cavs lost to them by 7, by 9, and won by 1. The 7-point loss was on the second night of a BTB in Boston with Mobley out. Same with the 9-point loss two nights later, except we were off the day before. The win in Cleveland was with Mitchell out. That was the Dean Wade game.

The point is the Cavs have been very competitive with Boston all three games.

 

[bushwick_bill]

 

[bushwick_bill]

If the Cavs had won they would have been 3rd since they own the tiebreaker with Milwaukee. In that case they would be playing Indiana first and, if they win, the Knicks/Philly winner second, assuming Philly wins they play-in and finishes 7th.

Instead they get Orlando first and Boston next, if they can get by the Magic. Orlando and Indiana were both 47-35 so I don't think the first round opponent matters; either the Cavs will play well enough to advance or they won't.

Boston was clearly the class of the East, but the Cavs lost to them by 7, by 9, and won by 1. The 7-point loss was on the second night of a BTB in Boston with Mobley out. Same with the 9-point loss two nights later, except we were off the day before. The win in Cleveland was with Mitchell out. That was the Dean Wade game.

The point is the Cavs have been very competitive with Boston all three games.

And we were last year as too... Those games were incredible as well...

132 - 123 OT Win Vert and Don 41 points no DG
114 - 113 OT Win DG 29 and Don 25
117 - 113 L Don 44 and DG 29
118 -114 OT W Don 40, DG 17 and Mobley 25

 

[2 For The Brew]

All in all it was a tough season but we had a lot of great moments along with many disappointments.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

For those unaware, Orlando is a helluva good team, and they will present problems.
I think the Cavs can win in 6-7 games.
I think we can hang with the Celtics.
I'm not sure we can hang with the Heat, 76ers, or Knicks.

 

[bushwick_bill]

For those unaware, Orlando is a helluva good team, and they will present problems.
I think the Cavs can win in 6-7 games.
I think we can hang with the Celtics.
I'm not sure we can hang with the Heat, 76ers, or Knicks.

I prefer this path.

 

[Pierre Pan]

I prefer this path.

Same. The bottom line is we’re either good enough or we’re not to advance. The NBA usually comes down to matchups and we haven’t matched up well against the Knicks and Sixers at all, but other teams do and maybe they can get knocked out by someone else. Time will tell

 

[KilgoreTrout]

If the Cavs had won they would have been 3rd since they own the tiebreaker with Milwaukee. In that case they would be playing Indiana first and, if they win, the Knicks/Philly winner second, assuming Philly wins they play-in and finishes 7th.

Instead they get Orlando first and Boston next, if they can get by the Magic. Orlando and Indiana were both 47-35 so I don't think the first round opponent matters; either the Cavs will play well enough to advance or they won't.

Boston was clearly the class of the East, but the Cavs lost to them by 7, by 9, and won by 1. The 7-point loss was on the second night of a BTB in Boston with Mobley out. Same with the 9-point loss two nights later, except we were off the day before. The win in Cleveland was with Mitchell out. That was the Dean Wade game.

The point is the Cavs have been very competitive with Boston all three games.

Still strange that the Cavs didn’t try harder to avoid Boston in the second round.

That said, I expect the Cavs’ first-round playoff series to look a lot like last year’s.

 

[redruM]

Still strange that the Cavs didn’t try harder to avoid Boston in the second round.

That said, I expect the Cavs’ first-round playoff series to look a lot like last year’s.

I think we will put up a better fight than we did against the Knickerbockers but Id be lying if I said the Magic are an easier path 4 us than Indy

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

That rarely, if ever, happens in the NBA

If one player or coach told the media that they were told not to win, I think the blowback would be worse than whatever the gain might be.

So imagine if JBB gets fired after the season, and says Koby told him to throw that game. Yikes.

Again, that's different from simply being told which players to play/keeping guys healthy.

 

[OldSkool]

I see both sides of the tanking/seeding debate. But at the end of the day, I don’t think that the Cavs were actively changing their strategy during the game (much less the 4th quarter), so this is just how the standings worked out. And with what happened to CPJ, I’m comfortable with the Cavs’ conservative approach going in. We’ll have to hope for the best!

Did you see who were on the floor in the 4th quarter? If they went any deeper on the bench they would have had Campy Russell in there. At one point there wasn't even a true guard out there.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Did you see who were on the floor in the 4th quarter? If they went any deeper on the bench they would have had Campy Russell in there. At one point there wasn't even a true guard out there.

There's a difference between putting scrubs out there who still are expected to try to win, and putting guys out there with instructions to lose.

 

[bushwick_bill]

Did you see who were on the floor in the 4th quarter? If they went any deeper on the bench they would have had Campy Russell in there. At one point there wasn't even a true guard out there.

JBB was clearly worried about being out rebounded. I get it.

 

[OldSkool]

There's a difference between putting scrubs out there who still are expected to try to win, and putting guys out there with instructions to lose.

There was NO WAY Cavs wanted to win that game with the idea that they may have to face the 76ers in the first round. I'm supportive of the move too if you want to read back through this thread. Pro B-Ball is so matchup oriented it isn't funny. We couldn't beat the Sixers without Embiid. I dare you to make a case that we would with him in the lineup now. Cavs played it smart. I think the Cavs could give Boston some problems. Especially if Boston has to play the Heat in the first round. That Miami Voodoo that Spo and Butler have going might be in Boston's head. LET'S GO CAVS!!