Theoretically Ante Zizic

[godfather]

All fine, though I believe Korver should start.

Kinda like Korver off the bench, destroying second units.

Don't see why Korver, Hood, and JR all need to be in the rotation. It's going to cluster fuck up the rotation, a lot...

Really think one has to go. And it should be JR, easily...

 

[MediumBaller]

Kinda like Korver off the bench, destroying second units.

Don't see why Korver, Hood, and JR all need to be in the rotation. It's going to cluster fuck up the rotation, a lot...

Really think one has to go. And it should be JR, easily...

The thing I like about Korver starting is that it maximizes his time with LeBron. A good coach would figure out how to do that while still bringing him off the bench.

 

[macbdog]

View: https://twitter.com/foxsportsoh/status/975919484958470144?s=21


Drew said Zizic deserves playing time and getting TT back will require some juggling but it’s a “good problem” to have. What?!? The solution is to eliminate TT since we’ll have a legit 3 big rotation with occasional small ball mixed in instead of heavily relied on. TT can be an emergency big with Zizic coming off the bench for Nance (I think we should start Zizic personally but that’s too big of a leap for this coaching staff)

You really think he is going to throw TT under the bus before he gets back? Fans can do that but the coaches can"t. The important takeaway is he acknowledged they need to find Zizic court time.

 

[MirORich]

All fine, though I believe Korver should start.

I see it as Hill, Korver, LeBron, Love, Nance with Zicic coming in early for Nance.

Since Nance is so high energy and high IQ, he should work well in almost any lineup. But he should also be “saved” so he can give max effort in short spurts.

I like the idea of him being the first big off the bench. 5-6 minutes. Then a rest. Then back in with 4-5 minutes left in the half.

Repeat that format in the second half with the closing 6 minutes of the game lineup dependent on matchups and game flow.

I think that’s what you suggested for Nance from the get go(staggered, shorter shifts) but it should be easier to do at full strength.

And ite the only acceptable role for TT(very short high energy shifts). Everyone from LeBron, to Lue, to Koby needs to get in the same place age and not ever go back to TT as a 20+ per minute player. Even 12 minutes is stretching it. I do think though that before it’s all said and done there may be a matchup or two in the EC playoffs were TT can be a plus player the way he was in 2016 and 2016. Just very nervous and apprehensive about his return and usage.

Edit: I’m an idiot. I realize I just advocated Nance being the first big off the bench and the starter.

Hmmmm.

Maybe starts. Zicic comes in at 6 minutes. Nance back to start the second quarter. Out at 7 minutes. Back in at 4 minutes to close the half high energy?

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

All fine, though I believe Korver should start.

I'd still start Nance - Zizic first big off the bench. But there's no way this staff makes TT the 4th big.

 

[Cavatt]

I'd still start Nance - Zizic first big off the bench. But there's no way this staff makes TT the 4th big.

Id like to start Zizic and bring Larry in at the end of the quarters when guys are tired. He gives a burst after Z wears you out on the boards. I also think Love needs to get time with both Larry and Zizic. Zizic is a legit scoring threat as a center when love is doubled. Wish Coach Drew had played them together tonight.

Play pick and roll with Jordan and LeBron out there along with another shooter. Deadly

 

[Benedict_Boozer]

Id like to start Zizic and bring Larry in at the end of the quarters when guys are tired. He gives a burst after Z wears you out on the boards. I also think Love needs to get time with both Larry and Zizic. Zizic is a legit scoring threat as a center when love is doubled. Wish Coach Drew had played them together tonight.

Play pick and roll with Jordan and LeBron out there along with another shooter. Deadly

This seems so obvious. Love plays so much better alongside a legit 5 man and our horrible perimeter d would be much less of an issue. Would dominate on the glass, have a scoring threat at the 5 all game long.

And Zizic job is pretty simple. One can dream, Lue would never do it.

 

[LeeBuckeye]

You really think he is going to throw TT under the bus before he gets back? Fans can do that but the coaches can"t. The important takeaway is he acknowledged they need to find Zizic court time.

I'm not that naive, just trying to do my part in willing it into existence with the rest of the forum as I don't believe TT will be the 4th big let alone healthy scratch. What makes me cautiously pessimistic is the Portland game where Zizic only got 6 minutes for what I remember was a really stupid reason.

 

[K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's]

Sad thing is that Zizic will not see the court when Kardashian bum ass returns

 

[Green Lantern]

Amazing, this is the center we have been praying for and he has been sitting on our bench all season. Adding his young potential with Nance, Clarkson, and Cedi and I really think we have a serious shot at keeping Lebron. It would be great if we can convince him to let us keep and use that BKN pick, and if he will stay for that, we could extend Love and build a Spurs style long term dynasty.

I have been saying they need to develop him..it takes time for bigs to develop .
He is improving a lot.
He's young. needs to bulk up and work on his defense.
That time if the G-League helped him a lot..
Working with Vitaly Potapenko is really working.
I think he's got offensive skills , just needs to hone those.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

It wasn’t an easy task.

-You have to integrate 7 new players.
-Kyrie is gone.
-The replacement PG/scoring threat is out til January.
-You have to integrate Crowder, Green, Wade(LeBrons best friend), Rose(a former MVP)
-You have JR in his feelings about Wade
-You have to determine what Calderon can give you
-you have to determine if two rookies who are in the United States for the first time are ready to play real minutes from the beginning or if they needs practice, skills development with Handy and Vitaly and perhaps some games in Canton.

You’ve been given these vets, some by the FO, some directly by LeBron, and charged with making them gel as a team with high expectations.

There are very few coaches who in those circumstances were just going to right away give automatic rotation roles to rookies.

Now after JR could continued week after week to struggle, should Lue have gone to Cedi 8-12 games sooner. Yeah. That was a mistake.

Was Ante perhaps ready to go in real NBA action by mid season? Probably? He’s gotten better each game.

All I’m saying is that these are not coaching crimes against humanity. These are not young players who were buried for 2-3 years. This is the way that almost all non lottery rookies are brought along by the vast coaches on playoff teams are integrated. And they’re not kids who when put into the game looked clueless so clearly they had been coached and prepped decently(yes, some of both Ante and Cedi’s strength are just instinctual)

And probably most importantly, if Cedi and Ante can both reach what their peak levels appear to be, is it not a testament and good sign to the eye for Koby Altman or someone in the Cavs front office?

Specifically to Ante though, great game against a really long team. It is a team though for all its length though that is consistently pushed around by other front courts. Good to see Ante more than hold his own though and excited to have his cheap cost effective rights for another 4 seasons beyond this one.

No doubt that the circumstances were difficulty and the task was not easy at all.

Navigating these especially choppy water required a pilot with particularly astuteness, intelligence, and force of personality. Which is why Lue was exactly the wrong coach for the job.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Wow I hope he’s aiming higher than that.

He’s already got far better hands, better shooting touch, and better BBIQ than Moz

Yeah - doesn’t Moz have dick-fingers?

 

[Crocrodile]

As someone who has saw Ante play in both the Croatian A1 league and Euroleague, I 'm really happy he 's getting some playing time.
Mainly because as a Cavs fan, I saw the need for someone who can play down-low and bang bodies with centers.

He still has a long way to go, when Tristan returns, they should split time and then depending on who has the hot hand, that one should play.
Betting Žižić could be the guy who outplays Tristan while TT could be better in shorter, energetic shifts.

The thing about him I see is that he still plays tentative.
There's a lack of understanding between him and the core-players and he 's a bit starstruck.
Genuinely think he won't come into his own this season, because in comparison to Zubac, he still hasn't put on much quality mass.

He 's a low post player, but he actually can shoot mid-range at a high clip, at least he did in Europe.
Hoping he breaks out a few of these when his confidence rises.

I also think he 's still a bit afraid to play very aggressive because he gets in foul-trouble easily.
When he was on in Europe, he had an extra-gear and was a bull, still haven't seen that in the NBA, really hope to see that soon.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Navigating these especially choppy water required a pilot with particularly astuteness, intelligence, and force of personality. Which is why Lue was exactly the wrong coach for the job.

Damn that's harsh, and probably unfair. The problem could be much simpler than that -- I think he just doesn't like telling people bad news, and that makes it hard for him to make difficult but necessary decisions. He's too empathetic to be a very good leader.

He didn't tell JR to his face he was demoted, but did it by text. He plays veterans who probably deserve less (or no) playing time because he doesn't want to be the bad guy who tells them they're out. It's easy giving a rookie bad news because the rookie knows his best days are ahead of him. You can soften the blow with "you're time is coming, kid." But with a veteran, the message sent with a demotion is of greater emotional impact. And if it is a player who is more emotionally fragile, like JR, that makes it even harder to tell him he's on his way out. So, Lue avoids those difficult conversations/situations by continuing to play them even when they don't deserve it.

Obviously, I don't know the man personally, so this is just a guess. But it explains all the facts we do know -- including why players like him so much -- without making Lue into a caricature. He's not stupid, and he's not unaware. He's okay will telling a guy he screwed up on a given play, etc.., but when it comes to news that may crush a guy...he just has a very difficult time doing it.

Potential side benefit of him coaching from home via consultation with Larry Drew is that he may actually be more willing to make difficult but necessary decisions if he's not the guy who has to deliver the bad news.

And no, I'm not a psychologist. Just happen to play one on the internet.

@King Stannis

 

[avs2000]

We would still need a new coach, and Bron would have to eventually become either a playmaker or a scorer, but not both, and maybe commit to defense.

But if Love can stay healthy and settle into his role, we can draft or trade for a superstar, and Zizic, Nance, Hood, and Clarkson turn out to be way better than expected, we have the raw materials that a real coach could use to contend for years. Even better if we can unload JR and TT for guys who can actually play.

JR will be in his last year so he will be able to be moved. Not sure what we do with kardashian