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2023-24 Season | Game #20 | Cavs @ Pistons | Dec. 2, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.

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MirORich said:
That made sense last year based on the talent and last minute trade for Mitchell. Where were the shooters that would make a more motion based offense succeed?

This year, with the addition of Strus and Niang to the team and a full year under their belts with the other main guys, you can justly argue that a more diverse offense should be implemented that contains the best of last year with the best of the new guys

For whatever reason, whether injury, ball handling ego clashes, rotation mistakes etc, it’s just not coming together.

I’m fully aboard the Bye Bye JBB train now but I still think people who pin the underwhelming start all on him and think that all are players will be magically fixed and optimized under a better coach are in for a world of hurt.

Most teams in the NBA never come close to putting together a core that reaches the Conference Finals once, let alone Finals. That’s reality.

It as fans, the only thing that satisfies us and makes us feel secure, safe, and rewarded in the investment of time we give to the franchise is the kind of certainty we got in the second LeBron era, we’re dreaming.

Now right now, some changes need to be made for the betterment of the future for sure. And a new leader/coach is the first domino that should fall. But as much as it’s easy to want to scapegoat and lump all the negative into an outgoing element, it’s just not reality. The new coach will come in and hopefully do many things better than JBB. But you can be sure that that new coach will also have shortcomings or blind spots of their own and that we still may need to make a drastic decision about Donovan.

I’m excited because I love being a Cleveland sports fan. But I know the odds of us getting to a ECF run are small and were always small.

TL: DR: mostly rambles
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You LOVE being a Cleveland sports fan?

That’s like saying you love having fire ants crawl all over your genitals and bite them repeatedly.

I mean, I’m a Cleveland sports, because I COULDN’T be anything else. But the only think I like about it is bonding with kindred spirits. We certainly don’t get much of a return on our investment of devotion.
 
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Tlyons said:
I just think Mitchell is fed up with JBB. Mitchell hasn't won a ton but he's won more than JBB. He's All-NBA first team talent. Something this team hasn't seen since the LeGoat.

A different coach imo makes this team a contender.
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A different coach makes this team better.

But I don’t think they can contend, as presently constituted. The two pint-sized guards thing never works. Need to get a 3 for Mitchell, and give Mitchell’s minutes to taller guys, like CPJ and Strus.
 
KilgoreTrout said:
A different coach makes this team better.

But I don’t think they can contend, as presently constituted. The two pint-sized guards thing never works. Need to get a 3 for Mitchell, and give Mitchell’s minutes to taller guys, like CPJ and Strus.
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Why not get a three for Garland and put CPJ in Garland's spot! Mitchell is the only true bucket getter this team has. Put him next to a “pure” PG (Porter) and see how it works!
 
Not an impressive win but a necessary one. The Cavs were outscored by 14 points in the first 8 minutes of the 3rd quarter, turning a 6-point halftime lead into an 8-point deficet. IOW, they came out flat for the 3rd quarter. But to their credit they recovered and finished the quarter with a 15-5 run the last 2:07.

The Cavs held Detroit to 10 offensive rebounds - 8 less than the last game. That was key because they would not have won had the Pistons got 18 offensive boards.

Allen had a nice offensive game with 19 points on 8 of 9 from the field. But he let Duren go 8-for-8, mostly on lobs. When Allen switches off on the ball he needs to go hard and smother the dribbler, not letting him get lobs off. Allen is in no-man's land, not really blocking the shot or the lob but not falling back to stop the lob. I think he needs to show hard on the ball and try to anticipate the lob and bat it away.

Garland was just 9-for-23 but only had two turnovers in 34 minutes, a big improvement over last game, and he was a team high +13. Strus was terrific again, going 9-for-16 with 22 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. Niang and Okoro were each a +15 off the bench. They were huge and the Cavs need that every night. With LeVert out JBB went with seven players. He's obviously not a fan of Porter, Merrill, or TT as they all got 3-4 minutes.

The Pistons' bench went from -9 to -22 while their starters were from 0 to +13. Their starting lineup is not bad, especially Cade Cunningham with a line of 23/11/8. But their bench went a combined 11-for-28.

I was hoping for a decisive wire-to-wire Cavs win, but that was not the case. They went into the 4th with just a 3-point lead. But Okoro set the tone by scoring 5 points and drawing a charge in the first 1:40 of the 4th quarter. The Pistons got as close as 3 points but the Cavs outscored them 10-4 down the stretch to seal the win. They did a great job of holding it together, withstanding Detroit's push, and then grinding it out down the stretch.

I thought Okoro was the key tonight; in 33 minutes he had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals and generally played good defense. Niang missed three 3-pointers and made a smart adjustment by taking it to the rim. If your outside shot isn't falling, switch to something else. Don't go 1-for-9 on 3's like Mitchell did against Portland. Later he came back to the 3 and hit a big one.

The question remains as to whether a starting lineup that includes two small guards and two bigs with no outside shot can win. Mobley hit another jumper from the free throw line tonight, so that is encouraging. The next five games will go a long way to telling us whether this team can win as presently constructed. Hopefully, Wade and LeVert will be ready to go after three days off.
 
KilgoreTrout said:
A different coach makes this team better.

But I don’t think they can contend, as presently constituted. The two pint-sized guards thing never works. Need to get a 3 for Mitchell, and give Mitchell’s minutes to taller guys, like CPJ and Strus.
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I would change that to "ball-dominant". I believe that in the modern NBA, your secondary facilitator must be a frontcourt player.
 
The Human Q-Tip said:
I would change that to "ball-dominant". I believe that in the modern NBA, your secondary facilitator must be a frontcourt player.
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They want Mobley to be that guy, but he needs to improve his ability to drive and finish at the rim when he's crowded or raise up and hit a mid-range jumper if the sag off. He needs to keep working on his spin move which could potentially be devastating if he could do it without losing the ball.
 
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