Game Thread | Game #47 | Warriors @ Cavs | Jan. 20, 2023

[BigZ94]

No. Last season was last season. I'm telling you that for this NBA season, this team has been better without Darius Garland. Last year's roster was a different roster better built to maximize Garland's talents and hide his issues.

This roster is not and now this offensive "system" we run to go along with the new roster has made Garland, largely, a low impact player compared to his max extension.

Again, I do think Garland has been a tad overrated on this board, but right now, neither the roster or the coaching is making the necessary moves to make him a big time net positive.

The style JBB coaches? Team is probably legitimately better with Mitchell playing point full time and having a bigger backcourt mate with him. That's how I honestly feel. JBB's slow, grind it out, isolation, defense, defense, defense system is not gonna ever get the best out of a Garland/Mitchell backcourt and simply isn't suited for it at all.

Yeah team is much better when our shit coach can do nothing and ride our superstar into the dust.

 

[kevincleveland]

Cavs announcer summary
Brad-Too happy
Fratello-Too Old
John Michel-Wrong too often
Serena-Too hot
Cayliegh-Too Soon to tell
AC-Just right

 

[cabs]

I knew this would happen after we choked against Memphis. Just like the clippers game we had a bad stretch after it. JBB should be fired

 

[Kepler]

JBB is basically doc rivers without the accolades and doc river is a shit coach too

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

There was a lot of breakdowns defensively, a lot of scouting report miscues, stuff that we don’t normally do. - Caris LeVert

They’re good basketball players, and if you’re gonna disrespect them, they’re gonna make you pay. We came out of the gate soft and disrespectful, and they were out there shooting warmup shots with no contest, no challenges, nobody in their space and they gave us what we deserved. - JBB

The question is how many more times is this going to happen? How long will the Cavs continue to play down to the level of the opponent, no matter how low it is?

I'm not sure if it was a perfect storm of EVERYBODY on their team getting hot from outside on the same night or if, as JB said, "they're good basketball players". We're assuming these guys suck. One poster refered to them as "G league" players. Well, maybe they're good players but nobody knows it because the Warriors have Curry, Thompson, Green, and Wiggins.

It's easier to play well if you're in for 30-40 minutes as opposed to short stretches to rest a starter. You can settle in and get into the flow of the game. How many times have we seen a reserve get a chance to start and score 25-30 points? Happens all the time.

But 23 made 3's, which is just four off the franchise record of 27, is ridiculous. The Cavs' players bear a lot of the responsibility. As LeVert said, there were some scouting report miscues and defensive breakdowns. The W's should not have been able to throw a pass from one sideline to the opposite corner and get an uncontested 3.

These guys are legitimate NBA players. Looney is a seven-year vet, JaMychal Green has eight years, DiVincenzo is in his 5th year, Poole his 4th, Jerome his 4th, and Lamb his 3rd. All these guys can play.

Ty Jerome is a 41% shooter from deep. Lamb is hitting 42% of his 3's. These guys can flat out shoot and IMO they'd be solid starters if not for a couple of guys named Curry and Thompson.

What was crazy was that EVERY guy on their team lit it up from deep. Baldwin, the only rookie, was 2-for-3. Green, who is shooting 29% from deep, was 3-for-3. Kuminga, a 28% outside shooter, was 2-for-2. Even their guys that normally don't hit 3's were hitting them. Jerome had to force up a couple with an expiring clock where he was contested and had to rush the shot but they still went in.

I think it was a combination of a great offensive scheme that spreads the floor and moves the ball with multiple passes, creating open shots, and the Cavs' failure to find a way to counter it, plus an unusually hot night from good shooters who were playing "loose and free" with no pressure.

The Cavs were not ready for this. The W's scored 15 points in the first 4:11, draining 3 after 3. They made 9 of their first 10 from deep. They were also killing the Cavs on the glass despite being the smaller team.

Despite all that the Cavs trailed by only 5 points at halftime. They needed to come out strong to start the 3rd quarter and get the game under control. They failed miserably. The Warriors made their first SEVEN shots and scored as astounding 23 points in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter. The Cavs not only came out soft to start the game they came out soft to start the 3rd quarter.

I agree with Fedor. Embarassing. Pathetic. Disrespectful. They got what they deserved. The Warriors bench consists of NBA veterans. There was only one rookie (Baldwin, who played 9 minutes) and no two-way players. These guys have been in the league for years. They know how to play the Warriors' system and they can flat out shoot the rock. They were also thrilled to get a lot of playing time and determined to take advantage of it. In games like this it's the bench team that has all the intensity and motivation while for the other team it's just an easy win. The Cavs fell into the trap again.

 

[bleedwineandgold03]

JBB is basically doc rivers without the accolades and doc river is a shit coach too

Best assessment of the year. Jb is fucking thrash especially the pace of the game we should be running and gunning not walking the ball up the court like we the lebron Cavs and his defensive scheme is fucking overrated

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

One overlooked item is that Love and Cedi went 6-for-9 on 3's and combined for 25 points. Part of the Cavs' early success this season was these two guys knocking down 3's off the bench. They've both been out of it lately so seeing them hitting 3's is a good sign.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

When JaMychal Green was in the game last night the Warriors had an offense that is very difficult to defend - a small ball lineup where all five players can hit 3's. That enables them to spread the floor, drawing Allen and Mobley away from the paint and creating space to drive.

When all five players can hit shots from deep it puts tremendous pressure on the defense. The bigs can't leave their man alone to help a guard or wing who gets beat because it leaves a guy like Green open for an uncontested 3. He was 3-for-3 from deep.

And when all five guys on the floor are hitting their shots, it's almost impossible to defend.

As long as the Cavs have two players on the floor who can't shoot a 3 (Allen and Mobley), they are going to be limited in what they can do offensively.

 

[ice cream man]

When JaMychal Green was in the game last night the Warriors had an offense that is very difficult to defend - a small ball lineup where all five players can hit 3's. That enables them to spread the floor, drawing Allen and Mobley away from the paint and creating space to drive.

When all five players can hit shots from deep it puts tremendous pressure on the defense. The bigs can't leave their man alone to help a guard or wing who gets beat because it leaves a guy like Green open for an uncontested 3.

This is true, but the defensive scheme was not changed.

Can JaMychal Green score on any of our guys outside of Garland, 1-on-1? Can any of last night’s Warriors score on JA 1-on-1? I’ll take those chances before giving JaMychal Green a wide open 3. Just switch the screen.

JBB says nope. Help. Recover. Rotate. Not a good recipe against a quick moving offense where everyone is a threat from deep. The ball moves faster than the man.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Excellent posts @Wham with the Right Hand . Thank you !

I’m generally a defender of the team to a fault but this performance could not be defended.

The bigger issue is what @Rich mentioned: we have two short guards and two bigs in our starting lineup. They are, respectively, quite good on offense but weak defensively and quite good on defense but weak offensively. We lack a 3 and D wing and outside shooting.

Team generally brings effort and defensive focus nightly and Mitchell is a clutch player. That’s enough to compile a lot of wins, especially early in the season. But when we run into a team playing a hypermodern style that is small, fast, shoots the lights out and plays seamlessly we are exposed, especially if our effort or scheme is lacking.

Fingers get pointed at JBB with reason but there are questions about our roster of course.

We’re still young but there are worrying signs. I don’t think changing the coach in the middle of the season makes any sense. I’m also hoping the Cavaliers do not make any rush moves at the deadline unless they clearly make sense. We need the rest of this season and the playoffs to evaluate the coach, the team and the players as individuals. If we don’t make the playoffs again - well, that also gives Koby data.

 

[Kiddo]

Our offense is DG and DM bring the ball up, the bigs come set picks, and we freelance from there. Rarely is there a play ran where I’m thinking “that was actually a set play”. You watch the warriors play offense and that ball is moving around at all times, finding the open man.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The bigger issue is what @Rich mentioned: we have two short guards and two bigs in our starting lineup. They are, respectively, quite good on offense but weak defensively and quite good on defense but weak offensively. We lack a 3 and D wing and outside shooting.

Yeah, that's it in a nutshell. I'm hoping the combination of Okoro and Wade (3 and D), and Love (3 but no D), can get it done. Also, LeVert is coming on (47% overall and 44.4% on 3's in January) and Rubio is working his way back. Okoro is hitting 58% of his 3's in January. Love was 3-for-4 last night, which is encouraging.

I think Wade is excellent defensively and Mobley is getting better all the time. Once we have a front line of Allen, Mobley, and Wade/Okoro we should be able to shut down some offenses enough to win a lot of games by scores like 115-106. The Cavs are allowing 107.4 points per game now and with Wade coming back that number should drop by a couple of points.

But as long as Allen and Mobley have no outside shot the offense is going to be somewhat limited and will consist almost entirely of middle pick-and-rolls or Garland, Mitchell, and LeVert going one-on-one with Okoro, Wade or Love as a corner 3 option.

 

[LeQuit]

Perfect/good offence will beat good defence in most of the cases.Modern NBA league is relied on 3 point shooters more than anything else.Not many teams do care about slow bigs with clumsy and awkward move skills anymore.Small ball teams are often deployed where there is no space for people like Allen,Okoro,Stevens,Lopes and Mobley and those teams beat Cavs hard.Seems like Cavs are 5-10 years behind most of the league teams in roster set up.When we needed bigs we were missing them,now we are missing sharp shooters for 3-4 years so far and athletic 6-9’ - 6-11’bigs whom can move pretty much like SF. I would prefer Cavs to be only offensive team and have 6 to 7 guys on our roster whom can shoot threes,rather than seeing Cavs with Mobley,Okoro,Allen,Stevens and being humiliated by 6-0’to 6-6’ team of players every second games.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Damn missed this one but how the fuck did we manage to lose against the warriors G league affiliate?

Because we have a head coach that can’t make in game adjustments and spends the whole game chirping at the refs!

 

[Medina smoke]

Biggest and only fighter is our smallest player neto