2023-24 Season | Game #2 | Thunder @ Cavs | Oct. 27, 2023

[LeQuit]

The Mobley hate is gonna start taking root on the board the more he doesn't blossom into a star player right away

Problem with Mobley is the fact that he is not progressing.Usually,players dont make much pts in the very first year,but make good progress on the second,and then even more in the third year.Not only his stats show luck of progressing,but the way he plays.He is still same clumsy Mobley we have seen for previous years,same skinny Mobley that lucks toughness ,power and willingness to lead the team. Im afraid he is just 15-18 pts role player,or Cavaliers coaching and team in general is just not for him to progress anywhere.

 

[JJ_PR]

Well, at least we were competitive & we didn't have two of our starters. It was an ugly game though.

 

[JJ_PR]

The Thunder are a great defensive team & have great length. I expect us to be closer to game 1 in terms of how we perform during most nights.

 

[Jscc]

I feel like many of you are perpetually stuck in 10 year old bodies and looking for something magical to blame. It's no secret sauce, they made their 3s at high rate and we didn't. JBB can't take jumpers for them.

Lots of work to be done everyone. That includes being available.

This is lazy. There were plenty of posts with good information explaining why.

 

[Mr. Orange]

The honeymoon with Mobley is over. He’s a good player but he’s no superstar.

Do you think OKC would trade Chet for Mobley? I don’t think they would.

You simply have to fire JBB.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I don't normally blame the coach since I believe games are won or lost by the players, but in this case I think JBB was slow to respond. With 2:25 to go and the Cavs up by 10 it was obvious the Thunder had to start shooting 3's.

“We gave up 3-pointers,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the loss. “That’s the only way you get back in the game. We had some breakdowns that led to some open looks."

Exactly. The Thunders' only chance was to hit 3's. The Cavs were helping on a dribbler attacking the paint and leaving wide open shooters at the 3-point line. To make up a 10-point deficet you need to make 5 layups while getting a defensive stop every time, and that's hard to do in less than 2:25. The Thunder switched to shooting 3's on every possession and Bickerstaff didn't stop the game and tell his defenders to keep switching on the perimeter and challenge every 3. The Cavs kept chasing the dribbler and abandoning shooters on the edge, allowing kickouts for wide open looks. It was maddening to watch.

I really think JBB let the game get away at the end and then he threw his players under the bus after.

Of course it wouldn't have been an issue if the Cavs didn't shoot 3-for-22 on 3-pointers in the first half. Just shooting a putrid 5-for-22 probably would have won them this game. Going 3-for-22 at home coming off an off day is inexcusable.

Those two uncontested layups they allowed off inbound passes were also nauseating. But it was the defensive stupidity at the end that really got to me. Yeah, maybe if JBB spent less time bleating to the refs and more time paying attention to the game situation we'd do better. We won fewer games last year than our point differential indicated we should. Other teams with worse point differentials won more games. Maybe it is the in-game coaching, or lack thereof.

 

[Mr. Orange]

I don't normally blame the coach since I believe games are won or lost by the players, but in this case I think JBB was slow to respond. With 2:25 to go and the Cavs up by 10 it was obvious the Thunder had to start shooting 3's.

“We gave up 3-pointers,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the loss. “That’s the only way you get back in the game. We had some breakdowns that led to some open looks."

Exactly. The Thunders' only chance was to hit 3's. The Cavs were helping on a dribbler attacking the paint and leaving wide open shooters at the 3-point line. To make up a 10-point deficet you need to make 5 layups while getting a defensive stop every time, and that's hard to do in less than 2:25. The Thunder switched to shooting 3's on every possession and Bickerstaff didn't stop the game and tell his defenders to keep switching on the perimeter and challenge every 3. The Cavs kept chasing the dribbler and abandoning shooters on the edge, allowing kickouts for wide open looks. It was maddening to watch.

I really think JBB let the game get away at the end and then he threw his players under the bus after.

Of course it wouldn't have been an issue if the Cavs didn't shoot 3-for-22 on 3-pointers in the first half. Just shooting a putrid 5-for-22 probably would have won them this game. Going 3-for-22 at home coming off an off day is inexcusable.

Those two uncontested layups they allowed off inbound passes were also nauseating. But it was the defensive stupidity at the end that really got to me. Yeah, maybe if JBB spent less time bleating to the refs and more time paying attention to the game situation we'd do better. We won fewer games last year than our point differential indicated we should. Other teams with worse point differentials won more games. Maybe it is the in-game coaching, or lack thereof.

JBB is a stupid person and a shit coach. He is gonna cost us Donovan.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

I don't normally blame the coach since I believe games are won or lost by the players, but in this case I think JBB was slow to respond. With 2:25 to go and the Cavs up by 10 it was obvious the Thunder had to start shooting 3's.

“We gave up 3-pointers,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the loss. “That’s the only way you get back in the game. We had some breakdowns that led to some open looks."

Exactly. The Thunders' only chance was to hit 3's. The Cavs were helping on a dribbler attacking the paint and leaving wide open shooters at the 3-point line. To make up a 10-point deficet you need to make 5 layups while getting a defensive stop every time, and that's hard to do in less than 2:25. The Thunder switched to shooting 3's on every possession and Bickerstaff didn't stop the game and tell his defenders to keep switching on the perimeter and challenge every 3. The Cavs kept chasing the dribbler and abandoning shooters on the edge, allowing kickouts for wide open looks. It was maddening to watch.

I really think JBB let the game get away at the end and then he threw his players under the bus after.

Of course it wouldn't have been an issue if the Cavs didn't shoot 3-for-22 on 3-pointers in the first half. Just shooting a putrid 5-for-22 probably would have won them this game. Going 3-for-22 at home coming off an off day is inexcusable.

Those two uncontested layups they allowed off inbound passes were also nauseating. But it was the defensive stupidity at the end that really got to me. Yeah, maybe if JBB spent less time bleating to the refs and more time paying attention to the game situation we'd do better. We won fewer games last year than our point differential indicated we should. Other teams with worse point differentials won more games. Maybe it is the in-game coaching, or lack thereof.

Well, do something about it coach. Tell your players the priorities, involve a switching scheme with fucking Mobley one of the best switching defenders in the league, instead of having him try to protect the rim and act as a free safety somehow. Playing small and then not playing a switching scheme at this point in the game when you want to slow the game down, force tough shots and limit the 3pt attempts.

Then he blames the players. I just can't.

 

[Rich]

Problem with Mobley is the fact that he is not progressing.Usually,players dont make much pts in the very first year,but make good progress on the second,and then even more in the third year.Not only his stats show luck of progressing,but the way he plays.He is still same clumsy Mobley we have seen for previous years,same skinny Mobley that lucks toughness ,power and willingness to lead the team. Im afraid he is just 15-18 pts role player,or Cavaliers coaching and team in general is just not for him to progress anywhere.

Take a look at Lauri Markennen for a player who does not fit this mold at all.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Problem with Mobley is the fact that he is not progressing.Usually,players dont make much pts in the very first year,but make good progress on the second,and then even more in the third year.Not only his stats show luck of progressing,but the way he plays.He is still same clumsy Mobley we have seen for previous years,same skinny Mobley that lucks toughness ,power and willingness to lead the team. Im afraid he is just 15-18 pts role player,or Cavaliers coaching and team in general is just not for him to progress anywhere.

He doesn't get a lot of opportunities because of the backcourt being so ball-dominant. Other potential stars get fed the ball specifically to push their development. That doesn't happen with Mobley.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The honeymoon with Mobley is over. He’s a good player but he’s no superstar.

Do you think OKC would trade Chet for Mobley? I don’t think they would.

You simply have to fire JBB.

One of the problems with Mobley playing center is that he is our only rim protector. That means you lose one of his best attributes, which is his ability to challenge players in the perimeter.

He's a natural PF forced to pay center.

 

[Dr. Claw]

JBB is a stupid person and a shit coach. He is gonna cost us Donovan.

hot take: that might not be the worst thing in the world even if he is basically giving the team LeBron stats

JBB needs to somehow communicate to Donovan that YOLO ball in crunch time is bad

 

[Rich]

The honeymoon with Mobley is over. He’s a good player but he’s no superstar.

Do you think OKC would trade Chet for Mobley? I don’t think they would.

You simply have to fire JBB.

No, but why is that some type of insult?

Chet is younger, shoots 3s, and was drafted higher? When both dudes came outta highschool, only one of them entered college as a consensus #1 pick.

And, eventually, Orlando will probably regret not taking him 1.

 

[cavsfever]

Take a look at Lauri Markennen for a player who does not fit this mold at all.

Markkanen was flashing his skills and potential plenty over his first couple of years, he just hadn’t found a team to give him the right role. What’s concerning about Mobley is he’s not yet showing a full range of offensive tools (hopefully he does this year).

 

[cavsfever]

No, but why is that some type of insult?

Chet is younger, shoots 3s, and was drafted higher? When both dudes came outta highschool, only one of them entered college as a consensus #1 pick.

And, eventually, Orlando will probably regret not taking him 1.

This. People seem to have forgotten Chet’s actual potential and long predicted stardom because of some combo of his goofy look, Wemby’s emergence, and his injury last year. There was never a point where the basketball world outside of RCF considered Mobley more promising than Chet and that’s not even a knock on Mobley