Game 17: Portland Trailblazers @ Cleveland Cavaliers | December 1st, 2012 | 7:30 PM

[JSS2306]

Varejao with 8 offensive and 9 defensive... This guy is out of control. What a player.

[Andy4eva]

We are worse than Portland bro. Lillard, Wes, Batum, Aldridge, JJ is a much more talented starting lineup than ours, specially without Kyrie.

Yes but that's where the bench comes into it. Look at the difference. portland have nothing on theirs, absolutely nothing.

[bushwick_bill]

Terrible loss. Just terrible. Gee cant even hit 1 MORE FUCKING FREE THROW and it would've bneen overtime again.

I'm sick of these losses (excluding yesterday) that we should be turning into W's.

Portland have 3 good players on their whole roster and one is a rookie. FML.

Sleep it off...

[Dshuks]

Terrible loss. Just terrible. Gee cant even hit 1 MORE FUCKING FREE THROW and it would've bneen overtime again.

I'm sick of these losses (excluding yesterday) that we should be turning into W's.

Portland have 3 good players on their whole roster and one is a rookie. FML.

Lilliard, Aldrige, Batum, and Matthews is 4 depending on how you rate JJ then maybe there's 5

But Portland most definitely has at least 4 good players

The Cavs as of right now have 3, 2 of them are rookies.

[melecoaze]

Yes but that's where the bench comes into it. Look at the difference. portland have nothing on theirs, absolutely nothing.

Its not like our bench is much better anyway

[Futuredome]

There will be a tomorrow

[BRP Cavs]

Now we know what it feels like...

[drewz05]

Yes but that's where the bench comes into it. Look at the difference. portland have nothing on theirs, absolutely nothing.

That's why they played four of their starters for 44+ minutes while we only had one above 40. Their coach is willing to run their starters for most of the game and ours isn't, which I don't really have a problem with.

[Andy4eva]

Sleep it off...

2.20pm here in Australia

I admit I went OTT just before. That loss really hit me hard. I apologise guys.

[Andy4eva]

That's why they played four of their starters for 44+ minutes while we only had one above 40. Their coach is willing to run their starters for most of the game and ours isn't, which I don't really have a problem with.

They're going to be absolutely rooted come the backend of the season.

[MRMsix6]

The way this entire game went down...this loss better be the difference between drafting 1st and 4th or something.

Guys played their asses off all game and get fucked by a handful of horrible calls and a ridiculous late three. Total stomach punch game.

[Jack Brickman]

No doubt. And I never wanted him. But people were talking shit and he came up huge later in the game.

Well, he did miss like three wide open shots right at the rim. It was comical, and obviously as fans of the other team it's our job to make fun of the other team's players when they do stupid shit.

The problem with Batum is that he's making star money but he'll never be anything better than the second or third best player on a shitty team or the fourth or fifth best player on a good team. But, at the same time, his contract really makes it almost impossible for him to be that fourth or fifth guy because a contending team would be paying three or four other guys that are better than him the same money or more.

As I said, contracts like Batum's are the ones that inadvertently doom teams to years of mediocrity. Batum reminds me a lot of Ariza on the Lakers: an athletic guy who can (theoretically, although not so much in practice) defend and knock down threes. Ariza was great on the Lakers because he was the fourth or fifth best guy on the team. He was a high-value role-player just like Batum should be. Instead, they're paying Batum star money and it's no doubt going to come back to bite Portland in the ass.

[Ruken]

Im tlling you this stretch without Kyrie has been huge for the development of the rest of the team. You put him back in this line up and we start winning some of these damn close games.

On a side note Dion needs to get his shootin percentage up and we need a SF like there is no tomorrow. Gee is great off the bench but god damn.

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Yes but that's where the bench comes into it. Look at the difference. portland have nothing on theirs, absolutely nothing.

Our bench is at the quality of dog shit, while their bench is at the quality of a dog's shit after it eats the first dog's shit.

[CleveRocks]

Actually the bench did Ok, considering that both Omri and Tyler are the bench. Sloan had a good night for sloan, although the first six minutes of the fourth were pretty clearly inferior to the rest of the night and I still dont think he belongs on an NBA team. Taking Portland to double OT without Kyrie and playing big minutes for both Waiters and Zeller is not a bad thing. We went out and competed. Zeller found his inner animal and let it out to play, was really great to see that. Yeah Gee had good and bad, yet remembering his contract, i think he is valuable. Tristan scored more than normal, but was a non factor on the boards for most of the night. Seemed to pick it up at the end.