2023-24 Regular Season Thread

[ryanf]

How did Victor Wembanyama put on 15 lbs this summer but Mobley only put on 7. I know different genetics is a thing but this seem pretty common. Is it the Cavs trainers? Other players juicing while Mobley isn't? Dafuq going on.

it's easy to put on pounds if you're skinnier

 

[ice cream man]

JBB is so dumb. Basketball 101: pushing the ball gets you better looks. Playing faster makes things easier on your players, not harder. Ask Duncan/Parker/Ginobili.

 

[catfish]

it's easy to put on pounds if you're skinnier

Sounds like our guy is a picky eater according to his brother.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Cavs are at home against Orlando tonight. If Mobley starts at center again he'll have to deal with Wendall Carter, Jr, who's listed at 6'10", 270 pounds. Carter, 24, is entering his 6th NBA season and has started 247 games. It will be interesting to see if Evan can handle a guy that outweighs him by 120 pounds (OK, maybe only 55).

Hopefully when we play these guys in the regular season Allen will be available and Mobley will check last year's ROY Paolo Banchero (6'10", 250). If JBB starts the same lineup tonight as on Tuesday then either LeVert or Strus will be guarding Banchero. Uh, right.

I have to believe Jones will start at center with Mobley on Banchero. That will be a fun matchup to watch in the first half.

Orlando might have the best young front line in the league with Carter, Banchero, and Franz Wagner, who averaged 18.6 ppg last year. Banchero is 20 and Wagner just turned 22.

The Magic started 5-20 last year and finished 29-28. They are an up-and-coming young team IMO.

These teams played in the last week of the regular season with the Cavs winning 117-13 (I'm not counting the game two days later when no starters played for either team). That game was interesting because the Cavs used nine players, but three of them barely played. Lamar Stevens played 10 minutes, Rubio 11, and Cedi 5. The Cavs basically went with six players as Wade started and LeVert scored 19 off the bench in 36 minutes. Mitchell scored 43 points on 23 shots. JBB started Wade over LeVert in order to get more size in the front court against Orlando's three front line starters who are all 6'10". It worked.

I brought it up to show how different the Cavs' bench will be this year. Instead of Stevens, Cedi, and a diminished Rubio they'll have Niang, Jerome, and Jones. They'll still have Wade, Okoro, and LeVert. That is a very experienced and pretty talented bench.

When you think about the lack of shot creation and scoring ability of guys like Stevens, Cedi, Rubio, Okoro, and Wade it's no wonder the Cavs were near the bottom in scoring last year. They had no firepower off the bench when LeVert was starting. That's changed a lot.

 

[AustinCarr]

These teams played in the last week of the regular season with the Cavs winning 117-13 (I'm not counting the game two days later when no starters played for either team).

Damn, no wonder the Cavs had a good point differential last year.

 

[2 For The Brew]

JBB is so dumb. Basketball 101: pushing the ball gets you better looks. Playing faster makes things easier on your players, not harder. Ask Duncan/Parker/Ginobili.

This is why Doug Moe won so many championships as coach.

Denver was 23rd and Miami 29th in Pace last season.

San Antonio was 27th in Pace 2006-7 when they won the title. They increased to 10th in 2013-14 for Duncan’s fifth ring.

I don’t think the correlation - much less the causality - between Pace and Wins is as strong as you imply. There’s not one template for team success because players have differing strengths and limitations. No chance you can push the pace with Embiid for example.

 

[Cavatt]

This is why Doug Moe won so many championships as coach.

Denver was 23rd and Miami 29th in Pace last season.

San Antonio was 27th in Pace 2006-7 when they won the title. They increased to 10th in 2013-14 for Duncan’s fifth ring.

I don’t think the correlation - much less the causality - between Pace and Wins is as strong as you imply. There’s not one template for team success because players have differing strengths and limitations. No chance you can push the pace with Embiid for example.

And you can't push all the time. In the playoffs they slow that down. That was a major reason for the playoff loss was that the Cavs could not stop the break because they turned the ball over so much. The combination of fast break points and 2nd chance points for the Knicks was too much

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I think the pace depends on the personnel. If you have players who are great in the half court offense like Embiid or Doncic or Jokic then why push the pace? If you have a superstar who you want to play as many minutes as possible then you can't have him sprinting up and down the floor.

Last year the Cavs were highly dependent on Mitchell and Garland. Okoro, Mobley, and Allen could not create offense. Neither could Wade, Cedi, Stevens, or anybody else.

Teams that run at every opportunity need a deep bench. We had nobody behind Garland and Mitchell that could generate offense so JBB decided to slow the game down, reduce the possessions, and allow Garland and Mitchell to be on the floor as much as possible.

This year we have the guys on the bench who can put the ball in the bucket so we can run more. Jerome is an upgrade over Neto and Rubio, who missed half the season, and if Strus starts LeVert will come off the bench. With Jerome, LeVert, and Niang coming off the bench we should be able to score even if both Garland and Mitchell are resting.

 

[Cavatt]

I think the pace depends on the personnel. If you have players who are great in the half court offense like Embiid or Doncic or Jokic then why push the pace? If you have a superstar who you want to play as many minutes as possible then you can't have him sprinting up and down the floor.

Last year the Cavs were highly dependent on Mitchell and Garland. Okoro, Mobley, and Allen could not create offense. Neither could Wade, Cedi, Stevens, or anybody else.

Teams that run at every opportunity need a deep bench. We had nobody behind Garland and Mitchell that could generate offense so JBB decided to slow the game down, reduce the possessions, and allow Garland and Mitchell to be on the floor as much as possible.

This year we have the guys on the bench who can put the ball in the bucket so we can run more. Jerome is an upgrade over Neto and Rubio, who missed half the season, and if Strus starts LeVert will come off the bench. With Jerome, LeVert, and Niang coming off the bench we should be able to score even if both Garland and Mitchell are resting.

Not only, but also playing defense as hard as JB wanted is only possible with depth if you are also running. They didn't have the horses. I do want to see guys rotated in and out faster to give others more rest

 

[Dr. Claw]

I see what the Cavs are doing, and it will be very good when the mistakes go down. Man, I can't say enough about how much I love Strus and Niang being on this team. Jerome, too.

The Ricky Rubio situation could be a disaster. Not with LeVert and Jerome on this team, and CPJ waiting in the wings.

TT in off-game situations with the team is hilarious

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I see what the Cavs are doing, and it will be very good when the mistakes go down. Man, I can't say enough about how much I love Strus and Niang being on this team. Jerome, too.

The Ricky Rubio situation could be a disaster. Not with LeVert and Jerome on this team, and CPJ waiting in the wings.

TT in off-game situations with the team is hilarious

Maybe not a disaster on the floor. But it would be nice if we could use the roster spot and the money.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Just watched the game against the Magic - kind of discouraging. The Magic starters were all between +14 and +18 in 20 minutes of action. I'm really impressed with this team, especially their young forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. So young and so good. I would trade Mobley for either of them straight up.

Wagner was killing Strus, who had no answer defensively. When we play them in the regular season JBB will have to start Wade or Okoro on him.

The Cavs were getting beaten on the glass, as usual. The rebounds were 12-7 Orlando after one quarter and we also fouled a couple of times to prevent an offensive board. Of course we didn't have Allen so that was a problem, especially against a team with three 6'10" starters on the front line.

The Cavs allowed way too many cuts down the lane for easy layups. When the ball went into the low post the Magic always had someone cutting down the lane and the Cavs got beat a lot. In the first half the Magic outscored the Cavs in the paint by a whopping 30-14.

Mitchell's shot was off (3-for-14) similar to Garland in the first game. Great to see DG bounce back with 19 points in 17 minutes.

It looked like the Cavs were overpassing a bit. They had 20 turnovers. But they did have 28 assists in 37 buckets which is very good. I assume the passing will improve and the turnovers decrease the deeper we go into the season and the more familiar these guys get with each other.

Ty Jerome had 5 points and 4 assists in just 8 minutes. He will definitely contribute to the offense but he looked slow defensively. In fact, I'm wondering if Jerome, Niang, and Strus will give up more points on defense then they will produce on offense. They all look slow-footed and easy to beat off the dribble.

In the 3rd quarter the Cavs were fouling relentlessly, putting the Magic in the bonus at the halfway point. The defense was awful with Mobley and Allen out.

The biggest positive in my book was the play of Dean Wade, who had 14 points and 6 boards in 20 minutes, shooting 4-for-6 from deep. He's a different player from last year and it's obvious his shoulder is much better. They put him on Banchero and he did a very good job defensively. Wade has a chance to be a very good "3 and D" power forward. I won't be surprised if he's the first guy off the bench when Mobley needs a blow rather than Niang. Niang looks fat, to me anyway, but he's got a nice stroke from deep.

 

[buzzdog]

I pay about $100/year for the nba.com. I get all the Cavs games, plus free games and replays.

Do they black out Cavs games if you're within the local radius? I used to have it but I forget.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Just to add we didn't have LeVert or Allen. I don't know why LeVert didn't play.

Seriously, Dean Wade could be a big help this year. He's now 6-for-11 on 3's.

 

[foucault87]

Just watched the game against the Magic - kind of discouraging. The Magic starters were all between +14 and +18 in 20 minutes of action. I'm really impressed with this team, especially their young forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. So young and so good. I would trade Mobley for either of them straight up.

Why would you give up an MVP for lesser talents?