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Chris Parker/Cleveland Scene answers your questions

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This is the best Cleveland sports board around, and it isn't close. Great people, great insiders, and great board management.


Don't think you guys realize what a great forum you have here.

Been reading this forum for the past few months from my Tel Aviv apartment (and sometimes at work) and loving the content.

Obviously my interests started with Blatt, but:

  • Delly, JR, Moz, Shump, TT and Kyrie grew on me from just watching them play their ass off. Even if they or Blatt leave Cleveland I will keep track of theses guys.
  • Lebron grew on me as well. Didn't like him to begin with. Never appreciated leaders that actively (and unprompted) talk about their leadership. But the man backs it up to a point where you feel like you want to be led by him as well. Chris Parker's recent peace about LBJ's charity clinched it and now I'm an LBJ fan as well
  • This forum. The sense of community here rubs off on you just by reading posts like Rafter's "How far we've come", the 15 keys by Randolphkeys, the rightful bashing of NEOMG and the TMZ'ish media coverage (which we suffer from in Israel almost as much as the British).
  • Chris Parker. One righteous person in Sodom (sounds better in Hebrew but still good in English). You da man. Congrats on The Gaurdian. Well deserved. You are a unique writer. It's evident from the first paragraph of each and every piece.
 
On a completely unrelated note, two people have said they've heard me or one of my questions on ESPN or in a promo? Can I get confirmation and any context?

How recently? I sent you a link on Twitter like 10 days ago that had one of your questions in a promo video.
 
That article by Chris Parker on Lebron's charity work in Akron was really moving. What really impressed me was that the man is not just giving his money, but he is also giving his time to try and improve the academic performance of young, at-risk children. Ohio is lucky to have him.
 
How recently? I sent you a link on Twitter like 10 days ago that had one of your questions in a promo video.

Gonna have to relocate it. Didn't see you sent a link. You were the first now I had someone else mention it to me...
 
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It isn't super special - it's only the size of a PD column or something , but I did my first overnight sports piece. Certainly challenged to get a writeup done in 30 minutes after game. I failed. 45 minutes late. have to improve. hopefully not at the cost of quality. here it is ...


http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...15-warriors-ignite-overtime-to-down-cavaliers
Yet the Cavaliers were without Kyrie much of the Eastern Conference finals against what many perceived to be a better Atlanta Hawks team and overcame that obstacle, as they did the loss of star Kevin Love after the first round victory over the Celtics. Just when James & Co seem on the ropes, listening to a standing eight-count they’ve suddenly snapped into action. We’ll see if history holds.

The Warriors on the other hand are riding high, holding their home court and showing the many ways they can beat teams from threes (shooting 38% to Cavs 29%) and inside where they trailed the Cavs only by four points in the paint. That’s a great sign for a team that spends so much time on the perimeter.

Nothing is decided but the outcome of one game. The Warriors are in control but fans shouldn’t make plans for 19 June, the night of Game 7, just yet.
Thanks for giving me some hope, Chris! I got chills reading the bolded. And congrats on your first Guardian piece!
 
I got myself in hot water with Blatt by suggesting they were the worst at allowing 3pt %, he threatened to look it up on me.... and hopefully while I didn't ask exactly what you wanted it was pretty close...


speak to the ideas that you went from being a nonthreedefending team last year to play a defense that is very intent upon defending the three. How do you come up with that for your players to change your way from one year to the next?

Well, first of all, I'm going to have to check the veracity of that comment. I'm not just going to let that go. But I will say this. Last year the Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely the worst team defending the threepoint shot in the NBA. They let up the most, the highest percentage. That you can check quickly and We definitely made it a point this year to address that and try to improve in that area, and we did succeed with that. In the NBA game today, that is very, very important. Certainly doing a good job in that parameter of the game, and it's crucial against the Warriors.

Is it more important here than it is in Europe?

COACH BLATT: Well, not necessarily. But as you said, there are a lot of ways to win basketball games. The important thing is to recognize what works for you and what helps you get it done.
 
I can't understand with Blatt whether he doesn't really understand or know stuff and instead relies a lot on intuition (which is not bad per se), or whether he doesn't tell things to the media intentionally. In general he just doesn't strike me as a very logical/scientific type of person (which also isn't necessarily a disadvantage).

Interviews with him contain a lot of fluff but very little basketball tactical/strategic type of reasoning. But many other coaches seem to be like that as well, so maybe exceptional analytical reasoning is not really needed for this profession.
 
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I can't understand with Blatt whether he doesn't really understand or know stuff and instead relies a lot on intuition (which is not bad per se), or whether he doesn't tell things to the media intentionally. In general he just doesn't strike me as a very logical/scientific type of person (which also isn't necessarily a disadvantage).

Interviews with him contain a lot of fluff but very little basketball tactical/strategic type of reasoning. But many other coaches seem to be like that as well, so maybe exceptional analytical reasoning is not really needed for this profession.

He's deliberately vague as he doesn't want to lose a tactical advantage. He never evens confirms the starting lineup until the last minute
 
If we remember the narrative trotted out there in the days leading up to game 1 about Kyrie, I'm sure it was Blatt who was behind the language being used to describe Kyrie's progress. No one knew what to expect on Game Day. Kyrie knew as he stated he felt amazing before the game, but only stated it after the game.

David Blatt is a smart guy. He does have years of experience on a big stage in the other league so he knows how to twist and turn things. He very much wants to get the Warriors thinking one thing and then do the other thing.... in many ways. I believe Cavs win Game 2.
 
Let me try rephrase this into a question, as asked -

"For those of us who followed you in Europe, defensively you were always stressing no easy shots at the rim - even at the expense of allowing the 3pt shot - and your opponents usually shot a very high volume and also a solid % from the 3pt line - but were struggling inside the paint - and the good results followed.
In the NBA it seems as if that took a 180 as you've made major adjustments, and your defense is first and foremost not allowing teams to beat you from the 3pt line holding opponents to one of the lowest %s in the league, while conceding a bit more in the paint .

Could you expand a bit about:
1) If your personal opinion regarding defensive ideolegy changed? is it just an adjustment you had to make due to the nature of the NBA game, or it has to do more with player personal?
2) Why are there such opposing differences between how to approach and what to allow opponents defensively in the European and the NBA game.


speak to the ideas that you went from being a nonthreedefending team last year to play a defense that is very intent upon defending the three. How do you come up with that for your players to change your way from one year to the next?

Well, first of all, I'm going to have to check the veracity of that comment. I'm not just going to let that go. But I will say this. Last year the Cleveland Cavaliers were absolutely the worst team defending the threepoint shot in the NBA. They let up the most, the highest percentage. That you can check quickly and We definitely made it a point this year to address that and try to improve in that area, and we did succeed with that. In the NBA game today, that is very, very important. Certainly doing a good job in that parameter of the game, and it's crucial against the Warriors.

Is it more important here than it is in Europe?

COACH BLATT: Well, not necessarily. But as you said, there are a lot of ways to win basketball games. The important thing is to recognize what works for you and what helps you get it done.



(didn't post this correctly last time)
 
It's weird that he says he has to check the veracity of that comment (I assume that the Cavs didn't defend the three last year?0 then goes on to say the exact same thing (that the Cavs were the worst at defending the three). WTH was he talking about with that answer?
 
Just in case it comes up with your Guardian gig, I learned today that "harry rag" is Brit slang for cigarette. Don't spell it as "hairy rag", that is something completely different.
Hope this helps!
 
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Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

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