Preseason Game #4 Cavaliers v. Maccabi Tel Aviv

[Dirk Gently]

Cavs playing pretty sloppy. They should be up by 40 at least.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Good game, Cavs gettin ready to dominate the league!

 

[Kypus]

Good blowout win- got too relaxed there for a while with all the turnovers. Our defense softened up but by then Tel Aviv was already demoralized. Buford and Bynum wore down as the game went on and the rest of their team's energy level dropped with them.

Donyell's conditioning continues to impress. Damon is going to have to be "on" with the 3-pt shooting this year because Yell will be in slashing mode a lot more.

Shannon Brown is a blur going down the court. With that and his crossover, this is going to be fun.

Pollard looked out of shape to me. I could be wrong, he wasn't on the court that long, but he looked wheezy.

 

[Dungong]

Some observations from the game, first time I've seen the Cavs since game 7 against the Pistons:

The Maccabi team is pretty good, they were hanging in there, had some nice sets, just I don't think they're used to NBA rules and they looked like they lost interest at the end there. They got some nice foriegn guys, and yeah, Will Bynum is some fast. They do lack size though...

Lebron looked good, I noticed hes not all that offensively involved yet, or maybe its the Cavs running actual plays. He did seem to be everywhere tonight, coming up big on the defensive end and grabbing a ton of rebounds.

Drew is looking awesome, taking for the most part smart shots.

Z's jumper looks like its back and hes not feeling any more effects from those minor finger injuries.

Hughes looks much better than last year. The elevation he got on that one oop is something we never saw last year. He knocked a couple down from outside too. We'll have to wait for the season to see if hes better used in the offense.

Wesley I wasn't too impressed with, seems he just picked up lots of fouls. He didn't seem that great on D, but you can tell the effort was there. He also hit some open J's, that was refreshing.

Marshall looks much different. Hes definately lost some weight, I heard them saying he lost 30% of his body fat. He's still got a "weird" body type for the NBA, but hes definately put in some hours this summer.

DJ i didn't see much of. Ira was not active. Pavs showed his usual flashes of brilliance mixed in with confusion. Pollard didn't get lots of time, but hes definately going to be an active body out there.

New aquisition Dwayne Jones was active for the game, didn't see a whole lot from him. I dont know if we're going to even need him. Shannon Brown had a monster end to end play, hes a bit raw, and I don't things hes that comfortable handling the ball yet. Gibson looks like the guy we're going to go with when faced with the super-quick guards. He was able to stay with Bynum. Offensively, he looks good with a mid-long range jumper but I don't know if he'll contribute much else for the time being.

 

[Cleveland56]

Recluse, any thoughts?

 

[NarlCavs]

Cavs got off to a slow start and looked a little sloppy but they turned it up. Can't tell too much against an opponent like this.

Snow, Jones and Wesley all look a little slow. Perimeter defense against quality G and quick G's is still a concern for me.

Gooden has had a very good preseason and looked great tonight. Could he finally be getting it? If he can maintain consistency and focus it will be huge.

Z looked slow and seems to be even less athletic. Hopefully it's just because of preseason.

I don't know why Brown and Gibson didn't get into the game until 5:45 left in the 4th. In his 1st 30 seconds on the court Brown makes a play that Snow, Jones and Wesley aren't capable of making.
I still think these 2 should get at least some minutes with the starters or top rotation players. They might be needed at some point so developing a little on court chemistry can only help.

I'm starting to think Brown and Gibson will hardly see any minutes this year unless there are injuries. Their quickness, athleticism and scoring ability would be a help too. I don't have a problem with playing vets ahead of them but they should be quality vets and not mediocre ones with serious weaknesses in their games.

 

[B Mac]

A couple of thoughts:
- I was surprised Maccabi stuck around as long as they did. You could tell they really showed up to play, but just didnt have the talent to win.
- Drew Gooden had another great game, just imagine if he would have played full minutes. I hope that this will quiet the dumb idea that Drew only has good games when we lose. I cant stand reading that.
- Gibby again made me smile. I love his handles and seeing him knock down that midrange jumper with picture perfect form was awesome.
- Shannon plays fast, I just hope he doesnt play too fast for his body.
- Did anyone else hear McLeod say "rim job"? lol That guy sounds like he's announcing for a video game.
- Z again played some great D. I know most Z haters will have conveniently missed that, but he was great. To see him get on the floor to gather the ball and hit Larry for the wide open 3 was a thing of beauty.
- I cant get to excited about this game as it was against a substandard opponent, but a win is a win.

 

[cdt]

McLeod needs to toss out "and [said player] gets the rubber rim job" that's just awful :thumbdown Scotty Dub paused after that and I don't blame him for the ackward silence there's not much you can do to pick up the pieces after that debacle.

I found a nice alternative to montone McLeod...turn on some Joe Tait and mute the TV

 

[bail]

wow our team looked great. ball rotation is better now. Gooden can be our 3rd scoring option! Damon Jones looked bigger and looked better as a point guard also Marshall instead of just standing behind the arc he now improves his inside game. Larry Hughes seems comfortable now, Lebron is in his usual self, same old Z and snow, our dynamic duo rookies looked good Shannon with a nice fastbreak and Gibson can be our future PG. Sasha was ok but sometimes hold the ball too long. Wesley with a couple of 3s. Varejao was Ok needs to practice his free throws, Newble and graham did not play , pollard and jones hmm.. i dont know they looked invisible out there I think we have a very strong team just hope that there will be no injuries,looks like they know each other now coz they played together very well. looks like a championship team to me!

 

[Style]

cartman is mysteriously absent from this thread now that the deal is done.

 

[KingJamesMVP]

I saw highlights on ESPN..

Maccabi Tel Aviv didn't put up much of a fight, did they? :chuckles:

"The King" showed some of his all-around greatness with 8 boards and 8 dimes..