Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #71 | Pistons @ Cavs | March 19, 2022 | 8:00 p.m.

Wham with the Right Hand said:

We don't have a backup point guard. JBB clearly doesn't trust Goodwin and Rondo is still out. JBB wants to be able to have LeVert run the offense when Garland is on the bench.

Stevens started tonight but only played 16 minutes. It was like he was a bench player.

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I think taking pressure off DG by playing LeVert next to him is more important than not having a good backup PG. If you run DG into the ground and make it easy for teams to stop him, then JBB is doing the defense's work for them by making the game harder on DG.

Here's the final comparison. A team win for the Cavs, primarily our bench won this game. Individual stats coming up.

We outshot them, outrebounded them, had more assists, and fewer fouls and turnovers. Yet they were close due to the great shooting by Jerami Grant.

Pistons TEAM STATS Cavaliers
109Points113
48.2%Field Goal50.6%
43.3%3 Pointers38.5%
73.7%Free Throws56.5%
38Rebounds45
10Off. Rebounds13
10Steals7
23Assists28
6Blocks4
15Turnovers14
22Fouls (Personal)16

PeonHaiters said:

But we won though….

Again the comment was the “Denver game IS ruined by this game”

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Im not gonna drag this out any longer than this post. It just seems like a game thread is the wrong place to get up in a roar about emotional posts.

Tomorrow we can relax and root against the Raptors...they draw the Sixers...in Philly.

That Sixers team is hard to root for because Harden is just disgusting to watch play basketball. Embiid is a monster though, and Maxey is really fun to watch unless hes destroying us, lol.

But if the Sixers beat Toronto we're back up to a full 2 game lead over them PLUS a tiebreaker. We play them 1 more time, and if we could pull out one more win against them we could really put some serious separation there with like 8-10 games to go after that game.

I don’t know if people realize how hard this game was to pull off after playing a overtime emotional game against a rested team playing there best ball of the year by miles…….

Wham with the Right Hand said:

We don't have a backup point guard. JBB clearly doesn't trust Goodwin and Rondo is still out. JBB wants to be able to have LeVert run the offense when Garland is on the bench.

Stevens started tonight but only played 16 minutes. It was like he was a bench player.

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Well, it's not working, at all...and something needs to be done about it.

Honestly, Osman is the guy who should handle the ball with the 2nd unit. He should split it with Goodwin and Stevens is there as an outlet to occasionally barrel his way to the rim. I know Cedi has his faults but he knows the system and 2nd units rely on system play to be effective, making LeVert an even WORSE fit for that unit right now.

Tlyons said:

Im not gonna drag this out any longer than this post. It just seems like a game thread is the wrong place to get up in a roar about emotional posts.

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I don’t think giving my favorite posters credit for being rational is equivalent to getting up in a roar lol but cool friend. I never even directed anything at you so pretty strange you made 4 posts about it

cavsfever said:

Is it that people seriously thought we would go 1-11 the rest of the way, or that they couldn’t do elementary math?

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It was before the Denver game and there was an argument over whether we needed two or three wins so yes, basic math was an issue.

The two Orlando games were identified as likely wins, but that was it. Stuck on 41-41.

Hilarious read at the time and even better now.

People keep misunderestimating this team. Love it!

Individual stats:

Starters:
Stevens 15-5-0 with a steal in 16 minutes on 6-7 from the field. EFFICIENT!
Markkanen 8-4-2 in 33 minutes, yet he made the 3 that clinched the game.
Mobley 12-11-6 with a steal and two blocks in 35 minutes. Not high-scoring, but a good game for any center on the 2nd half of a back-to-back
Okoro 11-1-2 with a steal in 32 minutes 5-8 from the field
Garland 24-1-12 with 2 steals in 41 minutes. Garland again leads all in minutes played Good thing he's young.

Bench: 43-23-6 in 24 minutes Super productive and the reason we won.
Brown 1-5-0 with a steal and a block in 7 minutes. Only 0-5 from the field and 1-4 from the free throw line. Needs some work.
Osman 16-5-2 with a steal in 7-12 field goals 2-4 from 3 in 20 minutes. A match for Stevens in efficiency.
Love 14-10-2 and a block in 24 minutes. 5-7 field goals, 3-5 from 3, K Love led our comeback in the 3rd.
LeVert 9-1-2 in 24 minutes Only 1-4 from 3, but 3-6 from 2.
Goodwin 3-2-0 in 7 minutes Gave Garland his only break in the game.

K Love's post-game interview:

Bring on the Fakers!!!!

All4One1ForAll said:

Mobley needs like 25 pounds of mass. He's always trying to be fancy with the dribble because he can't just bump guys out the way. Whenever he puts the ball on the floor for more than a second, you can feel a turnover coming.

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That would put him at 240-245, just like Markkanen. I'd be happy with 230-240.

I don’t know what the future and playoffs will hold as far as whether LeVert will start or come off the bench, but do keep in mind that these past 4 games he did have roughly a 24-28 minute restriction on him which was an orgainzational decision. That may have affected the decision to have him come off the bench for now.

I do think that even if he comes off the bench in the playoffs, he’ll still be playing 30-36mpg but I agree that I’d like to see him start.

DCTribefan said:

Are there any rational fans on this board?

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I accused Pip of being rational.

2 For The Brew said:

Doomers are really struggling this season. The Cavaliers keep snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

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Second half of the season has been a struggle, but they have still put up some courageous comebacks. Problem has been the need for all those comebacks.

Winning record is what I wanted, but I will take the 6th seed. Then, next year, the expectations start.