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2023-24 Season | Game #77 | Cavs @ Lakers | April 6, 2024 | 3:30 p.m.
- Thread starter Wham with the Right Hand
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Pierre Pan
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Déjà vu….Delly and Andy back together …could have used both today
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Pierre Pan
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He had as many turnovers as boards
LeQuit
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I see kind of problem with that. If you just move 2 to 3 guys, rest of them will still carry that "loser mentality" along the way. Problem with this team is not about lack of the talent , it is about hard working, learning and improving. These guys just do not do that, they don`t have a pride leader that will lead and teach them , they are all sheep whom disappeared when it`s hard and important the most, even our best player. I heard about adding pieces here for many years and it doesn't lead us anywhere yet. Circle completed.
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That was fun for a while but when the Cavs came out firing in the 3rd quarter and took a 73-69 lead the Lakers said, "OK, that's enough of that" and went on a 19-0 run. This game was never in question. Anytime the Cavs threatened the Lakers rolled out of bed, threw a little water on their faces, and squashed them like a bug.
It was great to see Garland go 4-for-9 from deep and get 5 steals. Maybe his 3-point shot is coming back. But he shouldn't go anywhere near the paint with Anthony Davis there. AD had six blocks and altered many other shots.
The Lakers are so long that they get hands on a lot of passes. They forced 18 turnovers.
For the Cavs to be competitive they needed all hands on deck and unfortunately Merrill did not show up. He missed three uncontested 3's and was a -20 in 12 minutes. Niang was a -18 despite going 5-for-6. On one Laker possession the Cavs had AD pinned in the corner with two players on him. Niang, who was guarding LeBron, turned his back on LeBron to stare at AD. LeBron blew right past him and got the pass for the layup and dunk. On the next possession LeBron was in the corner and Mobley was staring at AD, so LeBron blew by him for a lob.
I don't understand how if you are guarding LeBron James you would turn your back on him to watch another Laker, who was being guarded. I would never take my eyes off him.
The Cavs' starters did all right for the most part but the bench was horrendus, except for LeVert. The Lakers went on a 15-2 run to start the 2nd quarter when JBB had Morris, Merrill, Niang, TT and Garland on the floor. That's an awful unit. The Lakers chewed it up.
Anthony Davis is a monster on defense. Russell and Prince were on fire from outside. Russell averages 18 and had 23 in the first half alone.
Mitchell is showing flashes but he has a long way to go. He was 4-for-13 overall and 2-for-9 on 3's. Mitchell, Strus, and Merrill were 3-for-18 on 3's. This game could have been competitive down the stretch with better 3-point shooting. The Lakers shot 43.2% on 3's.
It was great to see Garland go 4-for-9 from deep and get 5 steals. Maybe his 3-point shot is coming back. But he shouldn't go anywhere near the paint with Anthony Davis there. AD had six blocks and altered many other shots.
The Lakers are so long that they get hands on a lot of passes. They forced 18 turnovers.
For the Cavs to be competitive they needed all hands on deck and unfortunately Merrill did not show up. He missed three uncontested 3's and was a -20 in 12 minutes. Niang was a -18 despite going 5-for-6. On one Laker possession the Cavs had AD pinned in the corner with two players on him. Niang, who was guarding LeBron, turned his back on LeBron to stare at AD. LeBron blew right past him and got the pass for the layup and dunk. On the next possession LeBron was in the corner and Mobley was staring at AD, so LeBron blew by him for a lob.
I don't understand how if you are guarding LeBron James you would turn your back on him to watch another Laker, who was being guarded. I would never take my eyes off him.
The Cavs' starters did all right for the most part but the bench was horrendus, except for LeVert. The Lakers went on a 15-2 run to start the 2nd quarter when JBB had Morris, Merrill, Niang, TT and Garland on the floor. That's an awful unit. The Lakers chewed it up.
Anthony Davis is a monster on defense. Russell and Prince were on fire from outside. Russell averages 18 and had 23 in the first half alone.
Mitchell is showing flashes but he has a long way to go. He was 4-for-13 overall and 2-for-9 on 3's. Mitchell, Strus, and Merrill were 3-for-18 on 3's. This game could have been competitive down the stretch with better 3-point shooting. The Lakers shot 43.2% on 3's.
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The Lakers had 32 fast break points to 14 for the Cavs. That was embarassing.
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- Garland was the Cavs leading scorer which is the first time he’s done that since March 22, and had his highest point total (26) since March 13.
- JB Bickerstaff should really consider keeping Mitchell on-ball more, like how he had LeVert absorb more point guard duties with teams pressuring Garland. Mitchell’s health will considerably impact his ability to be a dynamic scorer. But it won’t impact his ability to lead, control and manage a game.
- Shifting to more Point Mitchell will allow Garland to focus on scoring more. It may be a bold strategy, but it seems like the Cavs best approach now. Try to get Garland cooking and hope he can do enough scoring to pick up the slack. Also, when Garland is scoring, the rest of his game seems to follow behind as well.
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He’s improving
bushwick_bill
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NBA Teams Record Since All Star Break | StatMuse
The Boston Celtics have an 18-4 record since the All-Star Game.
A sizzling 10-16 baby!!!
Other notables:
Philly 10-13
Knicks 12-10
Magic 15-6
When the NBA reached its All-Star Break in mid-February, the Cleveland Cavaliers held a 36-17 record and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they have gone 10-16 since then, and have four games left to play in the regular season
2022-2023: 13W - 8L
2021-2022: 9W - 15L
Pierre Pan
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Game wrap up from the Fear The Sword crew:
apple.news
Another one bites the dust
After the Cavaliers’ display against Phoenix, it would be fair for one to feel major angst with this upcoming back-to-back stretch in Los Angeles. However, despite the team looking engaged early and matching shot for shot with the Lakers in the first quarter, the cracks began to reemerge throughout the second quarter as they found themselves down by as many as 14 points.
While the team appeared to find its groove early in the third that too was more of a tease of what this version of the Cavaliers is capable of. Unfortunately, though it feels like nothing can truly stick with this team as for every great stretch on both ends this team can muster, it only gets compounded by equal stretches of lifeless offense and defensive lapses by the dozens.
There were strong showings by players offensively such as Darius Garland with one of his better shooting games we have seen lately. Garland posted 26 points on 11-25 shooting. It was a refreshing game to see Darius become more aggressive around the rim, we were seeing Garland getting to the spot and finding ways to get decent looks without having to accept his slighter frame against bigger defenders such as Anthony Davis.
The Lakers Understood the urgency needed to win, while the Cavaliers did not.
The Lakers imposed their will against Cleveland and it felt like the Cavaliers fell into a going through the motions mindset. There were two stretches in this game where the Lakers were able to generate big runs simply off of attentive defense and Cleveland becoming careless with the ball.
These instances emerged early in the second where the Lakers went on a 18-4 run, then again in the third to leave the Cavaliers in the rearview mirror on a 16-3 run. These are backbreaking sequences and while the Cavaliers were able to recover from the initial run in the second quarter even finding the lead early in the third, it too felt like the wind was out of the Cavaliers’ sails.
This is a problem that has plagued the Cavaliers since the All-Star break, and it appears that this game was representative of where each team is currently in their season. The Lakers have appeared to have found something currently on a 9-1 stretch in their past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are either fully locked into games, or find themselves flaming out of games finding themselves 3-7 in their last ten.
As the team looks to another viable threat in the Clippers tomorrow, this team truly now leaves you not knowing which version is going to show up.
The Big Picture
The Cavaliers along with the majority of the Eastern Conference playoff contenders (not including Boston) are all finding their end-of-season stretches to be turbulent to put it nicely. The Cavaliers up and down play lately has made big questions of what to expect when it comes to postseason aspirations, while it would be nice to say we are seeing ways to play in the postseason, that is simply not the case.
The Cavaliers are currently still the third seed in the East, but with how erratic the competition for home-court advantage is as well, it is almost impossible to find a pulse as to where the chips will fall. With another tough game tomorrow and three more winnable games to end the season, home-court advantage is still clearly in view. But it depends on which team shows up.
Cavaliers fall to Lakers 116-97 — Fear The Sword
The Lakers’ defense led by Anthony Davis kept the Cavaliers at bay
Another one bites the dust
After the Cavaliers’ display against Phoenix, it would be fair for one to feel major angst with this upcoming back-to-back stretch in Los Angeles. However, despite the team looking engaged early and matching shot for shot with the Lakers in the first quarter, the cracks began to reemerge throughout the second quarter as they found themselves down by as many as 14 points.
While the team appeared to find its groove early in the third that too was more of a tease of what this version of the Cavaliers is capable of. Unfortunately, though it feels like nothing can truly stick with this team as for every great stretch on both ends this team can muster, it only gets compounded by equal stretches of lifeless offense and defensive lapses by the dozens.
There were strong showings by players offensively such as Darius Garland with one of his better shooting games we have seen lately. Garland posted 26 points on 11-25 shooting. It was a refreshing game to see Darius become more aggressive around the rim, we were seeing Garland getting to the spot and finding ways to get decent looks without having to accept his slighter frame against bigger defenders such as Anthony Davis.
The Lakers Understood the urgency needed to win, while the Cavaliers did not.
The Lakers imposed their will against Cleveland and it felt like the Cavaliers fell into a going through the motions mindset. There were two stretches in this game where the Lakers were able to generate big runs simply off of attentive defense and Cleveland becoming careless with the ball.
These instances emerged early in the second where the Lakers went on a 18-4 run, then again in the third to leave the Cavaliers in the rearview mirror on a 16-3 run. These are backbreaking sequences and while the Cavaliers were able to recover from the initial run in the second quarter even finding the lead early in the third, it too felt like the wind was out of the Cavaliers’ sails.
This is a problem that has plagued the Cavaliers since the All-Star break, and it appears that this game was representative of where each team is currently in their season. The Lakers have appeared to have found something currently on a 9-1 stretch in their past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are either fully locked into games, or find themselves flaming out of games finding themselves 3-7 in their last ten.
As the team looks to another viable threat in the Clippers tomorrow, this team truly now leaves you not knowing which version is going to show up.
The Big Picture
The Cavaliers along with the majority of the Eastern Conference playoff contenders (not including Boston) are all finding their end-of-season stretches to be turbulent to put it nicely. The Cavaliers up and down play lately has made big questions of what to expect when it comes to postseason aspirations, while it would be nice to say we are seeing ways to play in the postseason, that is simply not the case.
The Cavaliers are currently still the third seed in the East, but with how erratic the competition for home-court advantage is as well, it is almost impossible to find a pulse as to where the chips will fall. With another tough game tomorrow and three more winnable games to end the season, home-court advantage is still clearly in view. But it depends on which team shows up.