Farewell, Timofey Mozgov

[Mr. Orange]

Moz looked a bit rattled by the non-calls when the Celtics got physical with him. Some of those jump balls... But, going back to the trade, look at the Celtics bigs, guys like Zeller, Olynyk, Sullinger, all guys picked 12-20. It's hard to find a good big after the top 10, so trading the Memphis pick (which I am not convinced will vest) and next years OKC pick is pretty fair.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

He played like shit tonight. It happens, though.

Yeah, his game wasn't on, but I did like seeing the attitude. It's the first time in the playoffs/learning experience, kind of like when JR lost his temper in that earlier game. He's since rebounded, and I think Mozgov will as well. It's just a brand of basketball they haven't had to play as much, and that's as much of an emotional adjustment as it is a purely basketball one.

 

[ssopata]

Yeah, his game wasn't on, but I did like seeing the attitude. It's the first time in the playoffs/learning experience, kind of like when JR lost his temper in that earlier game. He's since rebounded, and I think Mozgov will as well. It's just a brand of basketball they haven't had to play as much, and that's as much of an emotional adjustment as it is a purely basketball one.

It was good to see him run over and push his way in after Kyrie got leveled in the first half. Guy was getting hacked left and right, even showing the refs his bloody arm. I half expected him to go full on Drago but credit to Blatt and James for keeping this team focused on the task at hand

 

[bobcat22]

Moz-erati loves his cars!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...dium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-league

 

[Pioneer10]

Wish Moz had Love's hands: he could be an All-star with mitts like that.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Wish Moz had Love's hands: he could be an All-star with mitts like that.

If he did, he wouldn't have been on the trade block.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Obviously it was tough this year because of the mid-season move, everything was done on the fly...

But next year, I think(and hope) that LeBron and Mozgov will develop a pretty consistent pick&pop game. Moz seems to like the same spots that Z used to like, and the dude has a good shooting touch. Our spacing will be godly if Moz becomes a consistent threat from 15-17 feet out. It's pretty cool to have 5 starters that can shoot, 4 of 5 which are even better around the rim(Irving, Love, Moz, LBJ). JR can even get a little frisky going to the rim sometimes, hes got the hops.

 

[Otsego Mar]

Teamovay MOZZGOV!

 

[Spencer Hawes]

Love his effort. He's being really physical and is not afraid of contact. Can't wait to for our bigs to beat the shit out of Gasol and Noah.

 

[DougHeil]

I can't believe some don't see the value we acquired with Moz. Rating the trade a b or a c? Really?

Damn trade was an A+ in my book. Moz is a main reason we are where we are.

 

[DougHeil]

ooops. Just noticed this poll was right after the trade. I get it.

 

[blommen]

I do find it quite hilarious how underrated the Mozgov acquisition was in the mainstream media, and how almost all of talking heads categorically proclaimed it to be a lateral move at best. in the meantime there were plenty of people on here who recognized how well Moz would fit in here and who had proclaimed this literally since the end of last season.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Mozgov is about to be extremely important without Love. The Cavs will need him to lift his offensive game and cut back on fouls. The less we see of Jones and Perkins the better.

 

[Paul]

Mozgov is about to be extremely important without Love. The Cavs will need him to lift his offensive game and cut back on fouls. The less we see of Jones and Perkins the better.

Yes, in games 1 and 2 of the Bulls series especially, he will be the one reasonably proficient offensive weapon we have that can perhaps be relied upon more. He scored about 60% of the time this year for the Cavs. If he can polish up his game some (stone hands, turnovers, inability at times to finish at the rim because he's trying to slam the ball too hard, etc.), hopefully we can get a few lobs to him each game. He could also be used on some 10 to 15 foot set shots, as he would probably be open if he can hit them. He's a good foul shooter if he can draw fouls.

He would need to play smart and stay out of foul trouble, but he could definitely be in line for additional shot attempts, especially in games 1 and 2. Let's hope "good Mozgov" shows up for those games.

 

[priceFTW]

Even with one poorly played game, Moz has been a rock for us and can make an argument for having the most positive impact in our first playoff series.

With Moz ON court, the Cavs' DRating is 90.3, equivalent to the best defense in the playoffs by far. The Celtics shot an eFG% of 40.5% with him on the court.

When Moz is OFF court, the Cavs' DRating is a putrid 110.7 with the Celtics shooting an eFG% of 50.9%.

The Cavs' defense is 20.6 points per 100 possessions BETTER with Moz on court in these playoffs.

With Moz ON court, the Cavs are grabbing 83.8% of all defensive rebounds; to illustrate how dominant that is, this % would be equivalent to the best DREB% by a team ever. Yes, it's the Celtics and we've only played 4 games, but consider the next statistic:

With Moz OFF court, the Cavs are grabbing 69.3% of all defensive rebounds. That % would make the Cavs the worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA. As soon as we brought in Moz in the fourth of the last game, the Celtics stopped grabbing ORebs.

For the season, with Moz on court, we were equivalent to the best rebounding team in the NBA. With him off, we were 23rd in the NBA.

We're going to need him to continue to be big for us.