GT | Preseason #3| Cavs vs. Hawks | Oct 12

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Hawks had all their guys while we were missing our top three power forwards (Mobley, Love, Wade), our probable starting small forward (LeVert), and Rubio. I didn't count Windler, but him, too.

Still whupped 'em. Sweet. Darius was a +24 with a line of 23/12/5. He controlled the game when he was in. The defense held the Hawks to 34% from the field, but did allow 20 offensive rebounds which is definitely too many. But Clint Capela is really hard to contain on the glass. He had 15 rebounds in 23 minutes, including 9 on the offensive glass. He also had four blocks.

Mitchell had an off night shooting but had 8 rebounds, not bad for a 6'1" guard. That is an underrated part of his game.

The Cavs had 30 assists in 40 baskets which is really nice to see.

Okoro surprised me with 16 points but he fouled out. Cedi was an astonishing +28 in 28 minutes and actually got 7 rebounds. Diakite was really impressive although a little out of control on defense. But he's definitely a rim protector and potential 3-and-D guy with awesome length and hops.

Trae Young usually works us over but tonight he was 3-for-17. It looks like he and Murray are still trying to figure out how they are going to work together.

 

[pinoycavsfan]

Impressed with Garland's defensive effort. He might be over matched physically but he gives effort. Gave trae young some trouble.

 

[Pierre Pan]

Diakite is a young Evan Mobley

Ummm….he’s 4 years older than Evan

 

[buzzdog]

Ummm….he’s 4 years older than Evan

Don't stop him, he's on a roll.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I read that Diakite fractured his hip 1 year ago while in OKC. And before that he was on a stacked Bucks roster. So that explains some things why he hasn't found a home yet.

Hoo-boy. Isn’t that a bad injury?

 

[cabs]

Ummm….he’s 4 years older than Evan

I stand by my description

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Cavs are stacked.

I will be watching the minutes in the season.. there is no way that this coach should be able to run his players for long durations out there. He will need to improve on that quickly.

JBB clearly running his players hard in camp, perhaps too hard. I don't know. Garland and Mitchell both looked slow, tired and their shots were short. Garland looked less quick and more stiff. Coaching/training staff will need to look after his back.

With that being said:

Diakite is a fucking keeper and my starter. 3pt shot looks good, rebounding is excellent... finishing as well. Fuck, sign him up ASAP.

Allen was everywhere on defense. Was reading the forum and shut all the haters up. His shot looks smoother.. doesn't have that hitch anymore.

Mitchell is not bashful and I like that. His shots were good. He just didn't have elevation on his layups and his 3pts were short. I thought his defense was excellent. He can be a plus there.. no doubt.

Lopez was useful. His screening is by far our best and his does all the dirty work.

Cedi started like a moron, but picked it up really quickly. Nice. 3pt shooting looks to be instrumental for his team on the wing. It's obvious.

I feel bad for Stevens. He got fucked by the refs and couldn't get it going. HE is in his head and I want him to succeed.

Okoro with an excellent game. Shot looked smoother and he played well overall.

JBB gets a C- from me. Needs to have better rotations and call better plays. I really hope he is going to manage Garland's minutes better this season and have a better playbook. WAnted to see some better sets being run.

Hawks are not a match for us. They matchup terribly with us, especially with Mobley back and Diakite starting. They got bailed out by the refs time and time again, which makes me sad because the product is not good right now. It's so soft. Young is the next manufactured superstar in my book.

Refs, be better.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Impressed with Garland's defensive effort. He might be over matched physically but he gives effort. Gave trae young some trouble.

He defends him better than Okoro.

 

[cabs]

He defends him better than Okoro.

He also guarded Donovan last season better than Okoro and Markkanen, when he wants to he can defend

 

[cabs]

Watching replay of first quarter.. Lopez was spectacularly bad at defensive rebounding.. infact he didn’t even try to get them

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Watching replay of first quarter.. Lopez was spectacularly bad at defensive rebounding.. infact he didn’t even try to get them

Look at his screens and the separation that he creates for the ball handler. He should teach our bigs how to screen because that would make Don and Garland unstoppable.

 

[RubioFanLifer]

Look at his screens and the separation that he creates for the ball handler. He should teach our bigs how to screen because that would make Don and Garland unstoppable.

his hair alone creates 3-4 feet of separation. You can't teach that. It's a god's gift.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Young won't go 3-for-17 against us in the regular season. I have to believe they are still working out how Young and Murray are going to work together - the first backcourt in history to both average 20+ points and 9+ assists the previous season (but on different teams).

John Collins looked very good when he decided he wanted to score. Capela is a load. I'm not sure about their depth, however.

 

[jjvors]

Young won't go 3-for-17 against us in the regular season. I have to believe they are still working out how Young and Murray are going to work together - the first backcourt in history to both average 20+ points and 9+ assists the previous season (but on different teams).

John Collins looked very good when he decided he wanted to score. Capela is a load. I'm not sure about their depth, however.

Austin Carr was pretty dubious about how they'd work together. He said if Trae worked like he did last season, Murray would be completely wasted. If Murray gets minutes, then Trae doesn't.

 

[Cavatt]

Young won't go 3-for-17 against us in the regular season. I have to believe they are still working out how Young and Murray are going to work together - the first backcourt in history to both average 20+ points and 9+ assists the previous season (but on different teams).

John Collins looked very good when he decided he wanted to score. Capela is a load. I'm not sure about their depth, however.

I don't like Murray's game because it isn't diverse. He is going to shoot a lot of mid rangers against us and I hope he does instead of Trae shooting 3s