LeBron James

[Chris]

1) Broussard is terrible, please don't take him seriously.

2) It's December. I know everyone is saying that, but it's true. If this team was a finished product we could assess more, but they're not. Kyrie and Shump have been out and Mozgov hasn't been 100%...we'll know more once the first two come back and some time passes to assess all three. And let's not forget the TPE - I know most don't expect to use it, but I wouldn't put it past them to do so (or trade Varejao) if Mozgov doesn't shape up soon. Finally, like it or not LeBron isn't playing full-go until the postseason. Last night's 4th quarter should be a reminder of what he can do when he's going all-out.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Eh. Yeah. This is the rhetoric we have heard to excuse the very poor play so far, and it isn't wrong. But...

Re: LeBron. And it wasn't enough, against a bad team. Alarming.

Not saying season is over. I'm saying...there needs to be urgency, because right now I see none, and a bunch of dudes talking in the locker room about there being issues isn't enough apparently. It's time to start backing it up with their play.

Told myself I wasn't getting caught up in this shit until January, at the earliest, but here I am. The team has just been so hard to watch that I can't help myself.

 

[Kizzle]

Eh. Yeah. This is the rhetoric we have heard to excuse the very poor play so far, and it isn't wrong. But...

Re: LeBron. And it wasn't enough, against a bad team. Alarming.

Not saying season is over. I'm saying...there needs to be urgency, because right now I see none, and a bunch of dudes talking in the locker room about there being issues isn't enough apparently. It's time to start backing it up with their play.

Told myself I wasn't getting caught up in this shit until January, at the earliest, but here I am. The team has just been so hard to watch that I can't help myself.

Honestly bro

It's easy for us to say urgency and preach it on our computers. But honestly when I see this team I don't see a bad team. When I look at our stats, they aren't bad stats. We are just not trying. And probably won't start trying until February.

Every single time we try we play well and Coke back from whatever deficit we are in. So it's extremely bad to watch for the fans and sucks to see in general but I think it's common knowledge that the team goes as LeBron goes. And just like last year LeBron won't really "go" until after all star break

 

[Steve_424]

Re: LeBron. And it wasn't enough, against a bad team. Alarming.

I'm not a Blatt hater, but if he fouls (as the Warriors did in the exact same spot tonight) that's almost certainly a win.

 

[Chris]

Honestly bro

It's easy for us to say urgency and preach it on our computers. But honestly when I see this team I don't see a bad team. When I look at our stats, they aren't bad stats. We are just not trying. And probably won't start trying until February.

Every single time we try we play well and Coke back from whatever deficit we are in. So it's extremely bad to watch for the fans and sucks to see in general but I think it's common knowledge that the team goes as LeBron goes. And just like last year LeBron won't really "go" until after all star break

They obviously aren't a bad team. But they are playing badly.

And yes, it is easy to preach urgency from our computers. That doesn't make it any less true that it's what they need to have. There is a reason LeBron is on these guys.

But if we're going to the "We aren't going to judge or criticize until after the All Star Break" take, so be it...we will reconvene then when hopefully, their heads are out of their asses.

 

[All4One1ForAll]

So glad we didn't have LeBron out there tonight to mess up this team's beautiful ball movement, right guys?

 

[gourimoko]

So glad we didn't have LeBron out there tonight to mess up this team's beautiful ball movement, right guys?

I know, right?!

 

[roozy]

So glad we didn't have LeBron out there tonight to mess up this team's beautiful ball movement, right guys?

Lebron kept freezing Love out and thus he couldn't get it going, can't wait to see what Love can do when Lebron is off the floor.

 

[Chris Parker]

Don't worry, when Ky comes back Love will get it going, have no problem fitting in...

 

[Paul]

Love will be in his rightful place, a 3rd banana who's upset that he's not the 2nd banana.

It's too bad we don't have someone outside of the big 3 who would be suitable for being a high volume scorer who could get to the basket and draw fouls. With a healthy big 3 we don't need it necessarily, but how often will all 3 be healthy?

 

[go cavs275]

Stephen Curry is having an unbelievable year and is most definitely playing better than Lebron by far. Is he a better player though? HELL NO! So why is he playing so much better than Lebron? Because the offensive system GS runs is PERFECTLY suited for him to have success. And not just him, the ENTIRE TEAM to have success. There is also the added benefit of having 4 plus-defenders playing with him for most of the game, so they can EASILY hide him on defense, which gives him plenty more energy for offense.

There is an offensive system that can be designed to have Lebron, Kyrie, and Love clicking on all cylinders. I don't know exactly what that offense looks like, but I can tell you that the offense we have seen for the past couple of weeks and the offense all of last season is NOWHERE NEAR it.



Also note: I know our offense was "Elite" last year when healthy, but iso was still the focal point of the offense. And that is a problem. If it was Elite while we ran way too much iso, could you imagine what would happen if we ran a proper offense?

 

[ACisKING]

Stephen Curry is having an unbelievable year and is most definitely playing better than Lebron by far. Is he a better player though? HELL NO! So why is he playing so much better than Lebron? Because the offensive system GS runs is PERFECTLY suited for him to have success. And not just him, the ENTIRE TEAM to have success. There is also the added benefit of having 4 plus-defenders playing with him for most of the game, so they can EASILY hide him on defense, which gives him plenty more energy for offense.

There is an offensive system that can be designed to have Lebron, Kyrie, and Love clicking on all cylinders. I don't know exactly what that offense looks like, but I can tell you that the offense we have seen for the past couple of weeks and the offense all of last season is NOWHERE NEAR it.



Also note: I know our offense was "Elite" last year when healthy, but iso was still the focal point of the offense. And that is a problem. If it was Elite while we ran way too much iso, could you imagine what would happen if we ran a proper offense?

Great points. The offense realistically isnt going to change to a Hawks, Spurs, or Warriors style offense. Part of that is personnel...the Cavs lack multiple creators off the dribble (basically just Lebron and Kyrie) when the ball is swung around. Part of it is lacking enough great passers (besides Lebron, Love, and Varejao). Part of it is relatively uncreative sets - they are better this year than last but nothing close to what they could be in my opinion. Part of it is that the Cavs play waaaaaaay too slow - the offense would be much more dynamic if there were easier baskets and a quicker pace.

 

[shoes22]

Great points. The offense realistically isnt going to change to a Hawks, Spurs, or Warriors style offense. Part of that is personnel...the Cavs lack multiple creators off the dribble (basically just Lebron and Kyrie) when the ball is swung around. Part of it is lacking enough great passers (besides Lebron, Love, and Varejao). Part of it is relatively uncreative sets - they are better this year than last but nothing close to what they could be in my opinion. Part of it is that the Cavs play waaaaaaay too slow - the offense would be much more dynamic if there were easier baskets and a quicker pace.

I agree with all of these points, but you also have to consider that both Kyrie and LeBron are two of the best ISO-players in the league. Most teams are forced to run complex offensive systems to buy a bucket (or aggressive defensive systems to generate fast-breaks), because they don’t have anyone near the caliber of ISO players we have to make that an effective option, let alone having two like the Cavs.

So while I agree we need to strengthen and revamp our offensive sets a bit, I don’t think the coaching staff wants to abandon the ISO option entirely, depending on what the other team’s defense is giving you. I think that’s something Blatt was conscious of last year at the end of January when we were rolling with an elite offense. A good offense by default has a lot of variety to keep the defense guessing, and I think the coaching staff is struggling to find that balance of incorporating some solid offensive sets without getting rid of the ISO altogether.

 

[kookoo]

I feel like Mozgov and Tristan have been horrible at screening. And because of Tristan's lack of offense, LeBron just ends up getting doubled running to the rim.

 

[ACisKING]

I agree with all of these points, but you also have to consider that both Kyrie and LeBron are two of the best ISO-players in the league. Most teams are forced to run complex offensive systems to buy a bucket (or aggressive defensive systems to generate fast-breaks), because they don’t have anyone near the caliber of ISO players we have to make that an effective option, let alone having two like the Cavs.

So while I agree we need to strengthen and revamp our offensive sets a bit, I don’t think the coaching staff wants to abandon the ISO option entirely, depending on what the other team’s defense is giving you. I think that’s something Blatt was conscious of last year at the end of January when we were rolling with an elite offense. A good offense by default has a lot of variety to keep the defense guessing, and I think the coaching staff is struggling to find that balance of incorporating some solid offensive sets without getting rid of the ISO altogether.

Yea very true. And this year, with the Spurs having some good iso players in Leonard and Aldridge, even the Spurs are using iso sets. So the Cavs shouldnt br afraid to use isos.

I was just listing some of the reasons that the Cavs, for better or worse. aren't playing the type of ball-moving style we see from some teams in the league.

 

[NasstyNate]

I agree with all of these points, but you also have to consider that both Kyrie and LeBron are two of the best ISO-players in the league. Most teams are forced to run complex offensive systems to buy a bucket (or aggressive defensive systems to generate fast-breaks), because they don’t have anyone near the caliber of ISO players we have to make that an effective option, let alone having two like the Cavs.

So while I agree we need to strengthen and revamp our offensive sets a bit, I don’t think the coaching staff wants to abandon the ISO option entirely, depending on what the other team’s defense is giving you. I think that’s something Blatt was conscious of last year at the end of January when we were rolling with an elite offense. A good offense by default has a lot of variety to keep the defense guessing, and I think the coaching staff is struggling to find that balance of incorporating some solid offensive sets without getting rid of the ISO altogether.

ISO is a play type, not an offense. People confuse the two. It's a few seconds out of an offensive possession, and the best offenses have a system in which excellent ISO players are put in the best position to score using those talents. The triangle with Jordan/Kobe, the triangle/off-ball screen with Miami, and the movement/passing with GSW are examples of the best.

We are actually running some great stuff in the first three quarters. The early big pin downs, weakside screen and backdoor cut under the basket, Delly/TT combo, and various plays getting Love/JR/Mo open looks are all great. Kyrie will fit right in when back. The big problem is our end of game offense, which regresses to simple PnR with spread 3 on the weak side. That's what I think people mean when they say ISO. The team gets scared and looks for Lebron to do everything. Most times he can. Against good teams is another story. That's on either Lebron or Blatt to change, and I think we know what Blatt wants to do.