Could we get Cousins for Love, Smith and Mozgov?
And who starts at the 4? TT? Lebron needs a stretch four. Love, minus a few bad games, is having a very good season and continues to improve. And as a huge Cousins fan, what happens if his attitude doesn't fit? Then we end up with a Rondo-trade like the Mavs last year. Finally, our depth after that trade is awful.Could we get Cousins for Love, Smith and Mozgov?
What is frustrating me is it looks like a lack of effort some nights. Something is clearly wrong with Moz, but outside of that, all of the other problems should be solved when Kyrie (Mo getting playing time, lacking someone other than LBJ who can create his own shot, TT getting double teamed during rebound opportunities, etc.) and Shump (perimeter D, missing JR's energy off the bench, missing the "defense" lineup of playoffs last year, missing the "five buddies" lineup of last season, etc.) return. If those two return most of the in-game problems (outside of somewhat poor rotations and Moz) will be solved.Even after tonight, the Cavs are on pace to win 59+ games with a team missing 2 of its' best 5 players. Only 2 teams in the league won 59 games last season: Atlanta and Golden State. Hell, only 4 teams won 56 or more.
Do the Cavs need to improve? Of course but expectations were way too high IMO. Injuries have caught up with them in some of their losses. When you don't have 2 of your top 5 guys, an off night or someone struggling (like Moz all season or Love tonight) is just multiplied exponentially. When you're short handed, it's much harder to overcome an off night because there is simply no one else to play.
This team still has enough talent to win games.
Even after tonight, the Cavs are on pace to win 59+ games with a team missing 2 of its' best 5 players. Only 2 teams in the league won 59 games last season: Atlanta and Golden State. Hell, only 4 teams won 56 or more.
Do the Cavs need to improve? Of course but expectations were way too high IMO. Injuries have caught up with them in some of their losses. When you don't have 2 of your top 5 guys, an off night or someone struggling (like Moz all season or Love tonight) is just multiplied exponentially. When you're short handed, it's much harder to overcome a poor individual performance because there is simply no one else to play.
What is frustrating me is it looks like a lack of effort some nights. Something is clearly wrong with Moz, but outside of that, all of the other problems should be solved when Kyrie (Mo getting playing time, lacking someone other than LBJ who can create his own shot, TT getting double teamed during rebound opportunities, etc.) and Shump (perimeter D, missing JR's energy off the bench, missing the "defense" lineup of playoffs last year, missing the "five buddies" lineup of last season, etc.) return. If those two return most of the in-game problems (outside of somewhat poor rotations and Moz) will be solved.
But how do we fix the effort problem? Maybe it is moving Delly to the starting lineup until Kyrie returns? I doubt it is another team meeting, but who knows. Until that gets fixed we'll continue to look complacent for large stretches of games.
Why cant we try out Sasha Kaun?
Interesting. The only part of that I take issue with is the bolded. Right now, Mo and Delly are averaging about the same amount of minutes. What if starting Delly changes that minute load by about "3:00" per night? It provides us an avenue to starting games quicker because of no Mo "layup line". On top of that, I'd posit Mo will have more success as a sixth man.I think it's a mix of frustration, confidence and rotations to be honest with you.
Mozgov seems to be the gasoline on that fire. He's being pulled in games really early and it is starting to fuck up the minute distribution as well as time / score / situation in which players come in.
Trying to wring 30+ minutes out of Jefferson and Jones is just too much.....but it's a byproduct of Mozgov being so ineffective and LeBron, Jefferson and Jones having to absorb those minutes in various lineups. Over our last 10, LeBron has logged 38 minutes per game......that's just too much IMO.
I don't know that playing Delly more is the answer because with Moz doing zero on offense, we really need someone on the perimeter that can take on some of that scoring load. Mo has done that but with Moz playing 5 fewer minutes per game, the trickle down effect on the defense has been bad. It has caused TT to have to log more minutes against starting centers and the defense has been largely ineffective for stretches because of it.
The fix is to get a healthy roster back, which may unfortunately take more time. Until then, they just have to grit out wins and do the best they can over this next 10-15 game stretch.