Farewell, Timofey Mozgov

[TFIR]

Tristan is better at switching to guard perimeter players.

Nice point there.

 

[TFIR]

They pull him to clear the lane for LeIso mode.

Much rather see KyISO personally.

 

[Baseline Runner]

Tristan is better at switching to guard perimeter players.

The Raptors got back into the game by way of the long ball.

It was mostly Lou Williams that got them back into the game, 24 points on 8 shots.

 

[Otsego Mar]

We need to get him some burn in the 4th down the stretch.

Also, still waiting on that velcro.

 

[Jscc]

They pull him to clear the lane for LeIso mode.

Then why is this a recent thing? LeBron has been doing isolation since we got Timofey.

 

[Pioneer10]

I have to say Horford is the one center this year who actually seemed to give Moz some real trouble out there.
He's going to be a tough matchup for us: looked too strong for Thompson and too quick for Mozgov.

 

[Jscc]

Great job pissing all over Mozgov's contributions to this team thus far, Coach. But I guess pre-Mozgov Cleveland is more your style.

Coach David Blatt has been opting to use Tristan Thompson to close games instead of Mozgov, but wasn’t offering up much reason why.

“Just playing it the way we see it in order to win the games,” Blatt said. “And I think we’ve been doing that pretty well.”

Enlightening.

[...]

Even in Wednesday’s win, when the Toronto Raptors went back to Jonas Valanciunas for the final five minutes, Blatt countered with Thompson instead of Mozgov.

“You could make a great argument for Tristan Thompson for Sixth Man of the Year,” Blatt said before the game against the Raptors. “He’s a gray-area type player, a guy you don’t always notice statistically, but he’s on the floor at money time in most every case and he’s certainly come through for us on a consistent basis.”

http://www.ohio.com/sports/lloyd/ca...ey-mozgov-on-bench-in-fourth-quarter-1.572522

 

[Helium filament]

Lol the acquisition of Mozgov was really the only point of our season. I mentioned this in the Lloyd thread, but the fact that Blatt had more to say about LeBron's headband than Mozgov's reoccurring absence during the fourth quarter is ridiculous to me. I hate how vague Blatt is during interviews.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Let's remember that Blatt is new to the circus that is the NBA media. I'm sure he's sick of the shtick already.

 

[Jscc]

Marla Ridenour's 32 final thoughts

1. What is becoming a daily question about why Timofey Mozgov isn't playing in the fourth quarter became relevant once again when Mozgov scored 19 points (6 of 8 from the field, 7 of 8 from the line), his second-most as a Cav, before leaving for good with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter.

2. In prior games, Mozgov seemed needed for defensive purposes, like Wednesday at Toronto against Jonas Valanciunas. This time it was a matter of taking out a player on an offensive roll and not putting him back in, even when the Suns cut an 80-52 deficit after three quarters to 84-74 with 2:58 remaining. LeBron James had his back brace on when he was summoned, along with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. But still no Mozgov.

3. "He played in the fourth quarter, didn't he?" Cavs coach David Blatt said of Mozgov.

Told no, he continued, "It seemed like he did because it seemed like he did everything. I really wanted to get Perk some minutes and that was the reason." He was referring to Kendrick Perkins, who saw nearly eight minutes of action but was yanked when the Suns started to rally.

4. Mozgov hasn't played in the fourth quarter since the Golden State game on Feb. 26. Before that, the last time it happened was Feb. 20 against Washington in the first game after the All-Star break.

5. "Timo played an outstanding game for us, both ends of the court," Blatt said. "He's a really good player. He's been one of the reasons were 21-5 in our last 26 games. I don't know if that's the best record in the NBA over that period or not, but if it is, then Timo's one of the main reasons."

6. James said Mozgov was a big part of the game plan because the Suns were "undersized" and "undermanned." That's why James said he came out looking for Mozgov.

7. "The first play of the game I wanted to get him the ball," James said. "Not only is he great when he's posting up in the lane, but he can run the floor, seeing him catch a couple lobs today. He was very active and it was big for our team."

8. Blatt first met Mozgov when the Russian center was 17. My theory on Blatt's lack of an explanation is that he doesn't want to say something negative about Mozgov. (Bad hands, perhaps?) In that regard, Blatt is a clone of Indians manager Terry Francona. If a player needs to be criticized, Francona will do it in private or talk around it in his answer.

This is just amazing to me. The last time Mozgov played in the fourth quarter was arguably our two best games of the season. Delly gets all kinds of BS playing time to work through his errors but Mozgov doesn't?

 

[The Oi]

I love it. Never thought the media was entitled to much information regarding strategy, even if that's what the sports journalism world has become.

I would like to see Moz out there in the fourth eventually and I'm certain he will be used.

 

[Jscc]

I would like to see Moz out there in the fourth eventually and I'm certain he will be used.

That's embarrassing though. If it's because Mozgov is having problems with something, he should be working through it during the regular season... not be benched.

If it's because Blatt wants to rest Mozgov then he's getting too cocky and near-comebacks like the Toronto and Phoenix games will eventually harm team morale. The same goes with preferring Thompson over Mozgov. Mozgov has been playing fantastic. So you only get crunch/playing time if you're a coach favorite?

Are these concerns silly?

 

[Otsego Mar]

"If I play in the 4th, I play" - Timo's ghost.

 

[The Oi]

That's embarrassing though. If it's because Mozgov is having problems with something, he should be working through it during the regular season... not be benched.

If it's because Blatt wants to rest Mozgov then he's getting too cocky and near-comebacks like the Toronto and Phoenix games will eventually harm team morale. The same goes with preferring Thompson over Mozgov. Mozgov has been playing fantastic. So you only get crunch/playing time if you're a coach favorite?

Are these concerns silly?

Not silly at all.

I just like that whatever the reason is, he's not telling the media about it.

Detailed explanations of strategy are for Hubie Brown up in the booth. Coaches should say only enough to get these media guys off their backs and still let them earn a paycheck. See Gregg Popovich.

I'm sure he'll be playing fourth quarters before this question gets answered publicly.

 

[PedroFlu]

It just can't be explained, otherwise Blatt would do it. He probably just don't have a clear reason for it. He definitely doesn't seem to be in complete control of his rotation decisions.