Game Thread | Game #24 | Cavs @ Knicks | Dec. 4, 2022

[Wham with the Right Hand]

???? You call that planted firmly on the floor?

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Yep, Love clearly moved both feet before starting his dribble. He stepped back with the right foot rather than keeping it planted. That movement needs to be done over and over in practice until he can execute it perfectly in the heat of a game.

I'm wondering if he's been doing it that way for years but the refs let it go. Fedor said there was a recent "emphasis" placed on calling traveling instead of letting it go. We saw it last night, for sure. Players will have to adjust to the stricter (finally) interpretation. I still don't know why they let players get away with the Euro step where they have the ball firmly in their grasp then take two steps before going up.

Players have gotten into the habit of catching a pass, then taking a baby hop with both feet to get them in the correct position to shoot. I've seen Garland do that. The refs have been ignoring it. We'll see if that changes.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

It was a collective effort of not playing well. We didn’t make shots. We were wide open and it was the guys we wanted taking those shots. They just didn’t go tonight. - JBB

Having two starters out didn't help, either, as well as playing on the road against a team that was totally healthy. But the Knicks got blown out the night before by Dallas. This should have been an easy win with the Knicks coughing it up 20 times and making only five 3's.

Fedor has a column about how badly the Cavs have been playing on the road compared to at home. It wasn't just last night. Donovan Mitchell said they need more "juice" on the road and need to come out with more urgency.

We need to rev it up in the beginning of the game and coming out of halftime. I think that has been our weakest thing on the road so far. Just coming in and being ready for games and having that energy.”

At home the Cavs are an amazing +15.1 in the first quarter. On the road they're -3.9 - a difference of a whopping 19 points in the first quarter. They need to start road games like it's an overtime period and whoever is ahead after five minutes will win the game.

I'm wondering if some of them stayed out late taking in the Big Apple's night life on Saturday.

Donovan Mitchell has been able to stop opponent's scoring runs by creating good shots for himself and making them. When nobody can buy a bucket, he's the one who stops the bleeding.

But playing in front of the biggest group of home town friends and relatives of his career, he was clearly distracted. He took time to give Francisco Lindor a courtside hug, during the game or right before it. He airballed his first shot, an open 3-pointer. He was definitely overwelmed by the occasion and it seemed to affect the rest of the team. Garland missed his first six outside shots.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

Just wanted to mention - this latest game was another reminder of how terrible the Knicks in-game experience is. Just terrible. Few teams have the Cavs experience - it really is top notch - but the Knicks are at the bottom. Their in-game experience leans on being able to show celebrities on the jumbotron throughout the game. That's it. The arrogance.

Even in terms of the VIP experience. You literally have to sit court-side, front row, feet on the floor to be a VIP. In Cleveland they offer VIP (which is pretty cool, you can walk down the tunnels, etc) to at least 5x as many people. If you are sitting close to the court, you can ask the staff in Cleveland to let you take a picture standing on the court after the game and they'll let you, if you are a little patient.

Oh yeah, you also get yelled at on your way into the game by staff lol. In Cleveland everyone is polite. I'm from NJ - I know the rudeness is regional...but Cleveland is just a much better experience.

 

[jjvors]

The Cavs loss to the Knicks was very disappointing, but we got one highlight on the NBA's top 10 from it:

 

[kevincleveland]

Yep, Love clearly moved both feet before starting his dribble. He stepped back with the right foot rather than keeping it planted. That movement needs to be done over and over in practice until he can execute it perfectly in the heat of a game.

I'm wondering if he's been doing it that way for years but the refs let it go. Fedor said there was a recent "emphasis" placed on calling traveling instead of letting it go. We saw it last night, for sure. Players will have to adjust to the stricter (finally) interpretation. I still don't know why they let players get away with the Euro step where they have the ball firmly in their grasp then take two steps before going up.

Players have gotten into the habit of catching a pass, then taking a baby hop with both feet to get them in the correct position to shoot. I've seen Garland do that. The refs have been ignoring it. We'll see if that changes.

he has. this is his go to move. a week or two ago he was called for the same travel, and he stayed there and mimicked his motion over and over, practicing it w/o ball to show official. Traveled each time.

 

[kevincleveland]

Just wanted to mention - this latest game was another reminder of how terrible the Knicks in-game experience is. Just terrible. Few teams have the Cavs experience - it really is top notch - but the Knicks are at the bottom. Their in-game experience leans on being able to show celebrities on the jumbotron throughout the game. That's it. The arrogance.

Even in terms of the VIP experience. You literally have to sit court-side, front row, feet on the floor to be a VIP. In Cleveland they offer VIP (which is pretty cool, you can walk down the tunnels, etc) to at least 5x as many people. If you are sitting close to the court, you can ask the staff in Cleveland to leet you take a picture after the game and they'll let you, if you are a little patient.

Oh yeah, you also get yelled at on your way into the game by staff lol. In Cleveland everyone is polite. I'm from NJ - I know the rudeness is regional...but Cleveland is just a much better experience.

and no annoying organ the whole time

 

[ice cream man]

So JBB and many others think we got good shots last night? Yikes…

It was chuck city…

 

[Lee]

So JBB and many others think we got good shots last night? Yikes…

It was chuck city…

We took many open shots by people who normally hit those shots over 40% from 3, they just didnt go in.

A good shot doesnt mean it went in, it means you were open and you have business shooting a 3-pointer like Garland and Mitchell who were awful last night. It happens. You move on, basketball has its nights, last night was not ours. We looked and played awful.

 

[ice cream man]

We took many open shots by people who normally hit those shots over 40% from 3, they just didnt go in.

A good shot doesnt mean it went in, it means you were open and you have business shooting a 3-pointer like Garland and Mitchell who were awful last night. It happens. You move on, basketball has its nights, last night was not ours. We looked and played awful.

No. DM especially settled for a lot of long contested jumpers. Inside-out 3’s are usually better looks. We had plenty of possessions where we dribbled the heck out of the ball beyond the 3pt line and then fired it up without getting the ball inside first.

I’m sure we can more likely agree on this: there is no offense being run the vast majority of the time. It’s just DG/DM trying to create something out of nothing.

 

[Lee]

No. DM especially settled for a lot of long contested jumpers. Inside-out 3’s are usually better looks. We had plenty of possessions where we dribbled the heck out of the ball beyond the 3pt line and then fired it up without getting the ball inside first.

I’m sure we can more likely agree on this: there is no offense being run the vast majority of the time. It’s just DG/DM trying to create something out of nothing.

Even on a good night, the offense isnt there yet, but its developping but last night was awful.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

and no annoying organ the whole time

Yeah I feel like I'm at church in there

 

[Cassity14]

So JBB and many others think we got good shots last night? Yikes…

It was chuck city…

I thought that the Cavs took a TON of wide open shots, particularly early.

When literally nobody could get them to fall, the offense turned more stagnant, with Mitchell and Garland trying to take over. Star offensive players tend to revert to more selfish play when their teammates can't buy a bucket. That's why they went and got a player like Mitchell who can always get his own shot.

My only issue, personally, with the approach was that they didn't recognize that Mobley could be a major contributor. Either Garland or Mitchell should have been calling plays to get him touches. Free throws are a great equalizer when outside shots aren't falling.