Game Thread | Game #62 | Nuggets @ Cavs | Feb. 23, 2023

[Comeback kid]

Dean Wade heading towards being out if the rotation AFTER Kevin Love was removed from the rotation is an absolute head scratcher.

He was out of the rotation BEFORE Kevin Love was removed. 4 games in a row now he hasn’t played in the last half. And less than 10 minutes.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Cavs were outscored by 33 points on 3's and lose by 6. This is their Achilles heel and will continue to bite them. Garland, Mitchell, and Cedi combined to go 4-for-19 on 3's while 6'10" Michael Porter Jr was 6-for-10 and Jokic 2-for-2. Porter was the difference in this game.

Denver is the best clutch team in the NBA and showed it tonight as the Cavs missed their last five shots. The jump shooting was horrendus all night - it was like pulling teeth to make anything other than a dunk or layup. I lost track of how many wide open jump shots were air balls. It was embarassing. What were these guys doing over the break? It looked like Mobley was the only one who picked up a ball in the last eight days.

No offense from Okoro, Wade, or Stevens. Only 18 points from the bench and 2 from our starting small forward.

Mobley certainly made a statement with 31 points and 9 boards. He looks rejuvenated and ready to take the next step.

Denver is the better team but I thought with Aaron Gordon out and playing at home we could steal a win. The win was right there for the taking, but the awful outside shooting, not just on 3's but on mid-range 2's, combined with the Nuggets shooting 47.2% on 3's, did us in.

 

[CavzAddict]

I just got home..should I even ask what happened? Or is my first thought correct, they imploded during the 4th?

We couldn't hit 3s and they could. In a nutshell.

 

[cavsfever]

There were like 8 guys in the paint the last 5 minutes every Cavs possession.

It’s because we can’t shoot 3s. I mean we have a few guys who can, but as a team we can’t seem to

P.s I see everyone above me already making the same obvious point

 

[Green Lantern]

5:48, 101 - 105, good guys.

Then implosion.

14-4 RUN...great...

 

[CavsKermit]

That 40% is so long ago. It's basically an anomaly. Short lived. He can't even get solid minutes so he must be building a house in practice too.

Kevin Love was also at 40% before his finger broke. We saw how much value that was to the team.

Wade's career average is 37% on a little over 3 attempts per game. I'll live with 37%.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Thanks for your usual great writeup.

Yet I disagree with: "If this one is tied coming down the stretch expect Jokic to take over and win the game."

I expect Mitchell to take over and win the game.

Sorry, the Nuggets are the best in the NBA in late and close situations because they have the league's best player. In the 4th the Cavs doubled Jokic which left Porter open for 3's and he knocked them down.

The Cavs needed to build a lead going into the last couple of minutes because if it's close they weren't going to win. They missed their last five shots.

 

[Real Deal]

14-4 RUN...great...

Doubling Jokic early in the post and the ball hopped. We must learn to play straight up and see if Mobley can handle his own late. That scheme won't fly in the playoffs. Especially when the opposing coach knows the double is coming, JBB's double fed into Malone's play, and it was the back breaker. 1 more pass lead to a dot.

 

[Real Deal]

Wade's career average is 37% on a little over 3 attempts per game. I'll live with 37%.

I'm all for this, I'm more angry at JBB for the handling of Dean's minutes. He's obviously the best shooter our of Cedi, Okoro, Stevens, Cooked Green (if he's cooked, we don't know), and LeVert.

 

[CavsKermit]

Sorry, the Nuggets are the best in the NBA in late and close situations because they have the league's best player. In the 4th the Cavs doubled Jokic which left Porter open for 3's and he knocked them down.

The Cavs needed to build a lead going into the last couple of minutes because if it's close they weren't going to win. They missed their last five shots.

The Heat, the Sixers, the Nuggets... we struggle to score in the final minutes against good teams because our spacing is jacked, and our spacing is jacked because JBB values defense over spacing.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

If we ever get a consistent shooter our wins will go up 20%. Just one role playing shooter.

And a coach who knows how to coach offense. Wins will go up ANOTHER 20%.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

As quickly as Okoro ‘arrived’ he has departed. Six straight games of single digits. On the plus side he did manage to outscore me by two tonight. Solid production out of a starting ‘3’.

Okoro has never been a 3. JBB’s refusal to play a 3 at the 3 is sheer negligence.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Sounds like JBB is just confused.

 

[daddywags]

We need.nore shooting for sure, but tonight the shooters we do have (Garland, Mitchell) shot 3-13 on 3s. That's a loss against a top team.

 

[dice1717]

I just got home..should I even ask what happened? Or is my first thought correct, they imploded during the 4th?

Same script, different day. Not sure why we are surprised or upset at this point. This is our identity