Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #72 | Lakers @ Cavs | March 21, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Mobley has been nonexistant defensively in the 4th qtr. He has given up double digits directly. Unlike him.

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It sort of is like the post all star break him

Like I said in the original post, if LeBron decides to take over a game he takes over the game. No way he was going to let the Lakers lose tonight. 41 minutes, 38 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists. He's almost inhuman. DJ Augustin went 7-for-7 for 20 points in 26 minutes to give him some help. Like I said in the preview, watch out for their 3-point shooters off the bench.

Garland was magnificent with 29 points and 17 assists. He kept the Cavs in the game. But LeBron took over the 4th quarter as the Lakers hit 15-of-18 shots until garbage time. I knew if it was close in the 4th quarter LeBron would just take over and win it.

Okoro was 4-for-4 on corner 3's but only had 12 points because those were the only shots he took. But the Cavs were a +12 in his 29 minutes and a -23 in the 19 minutes he was on the bench.

120 points is a nice offensive output but there was no defense for LeBron. Westbrook kicked in 20 points and 11 assists and Augustin could not miss. How have these guys lost 13 of 17?

The Cavs needed more from Love and Cedi, who combined for only 13 points in 38 minutes. Cedi was a God-awful -27 in 18 minutes and Love was -21. When they were on the floor the Lakers rolled. Goodwin was a -12 in 8 minutes. Until Rondo gets back Darius is going to have to keep playing 40 minutes because it all falls apart when he sits down.

LeVert is starting to show some flashes - tonight he had 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench and kicked in a couple of assists. Other than LeVert this was a horrible night for the Cavs' bench.

Garland, Love, and Osman went 5-for-21 on 3's and to beat the Lakers tonight they needed to make 4-5 more of them. Mobley really needs to work on his dribbling. He dribbles way too high and loses it on the spin move a lot.

bleedwineandgold03 said:

I knew the game was lost once the stagnant offense came in I don’t get it

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Didn’t look like our problem was offense tonight.

Lurking Upvoter said:

Just looked it up: Love + Cedi was +11.9 through Rubio injury. They are -4.3 since, not counting tonight. I feel like the bench used to crush every night...

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It’s hard to play basketball, when the soul of your team gets ripped out and stomped on and traded to Indiana.

Dr. Claw said:

Makes complete sense. That was dogshit.

Who knew that a 30something Ricky Rubio was the key to turning this team into something unthinkable?

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You mean, THIS guy?



I knew. I always knew.

Didn’t catch the game. Not sure I want to know what happened…maybe I’ll pull a @Cavatt and read this thread to torture myself tho

How is it that both Love and Cedi are always shitty together and great together? If one doesn't show up, u can guarantee the other won't show up too.

Hopefully Love sleeps better at night knowing that LeBron apologized for dunking on him and wished that it wasn't him he dunked on. He hopes to still be invited to the wedding as well. Sleep tight, Love.

This was a bitterly disappointing loss. Now we move onto the biggest game of our season against the annoying Raptors who refuse to die

I.

Hate.

This.

Fucking.

Offense.

That's all I can say right now.

Heat Check said:

I.

Hate.

This.

Fucking.

Offense.

That's all I can say right now.

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I hate this fucking coach.

I was against the extension and I want a new coach soon. This one is no Bueno.

Ah, fuck it. I'll say a few more words.

The Cavs defended like they couldn't fathom that an NBA team can actually share the ball. Like they had no idea at all that if you double a dude, he's immediately going to throw it to an open man cutting to the basket or spotting up on the perimeter. Surprised every time.

It's mental. You ball-watch on offense, you ball-watch on defense. You play an overall bad brand of basketball. This is where we miss Rubio the most. When Ricky defended, he tried to think like the other team. He saw the court through their eyes. When there was an empty spot on the court, inviting for a cutter, he kept an eye on it. He was always one step ahead and it was infectious.

We're never one step ahead these days. Teams keep yanking us this way and that like we're brainless.

That's the team defense side. Another problem is that we absolutely cannot stay in front of anyone at the point of attack. LeBron abused us there all night long. As happy as I am with Okoro's shooting in this game... if he can't keep himself in front of a couple of old guys (LBJ & Westbrook) in pure 1-on-1 situations, letting them just straight up dribble past him from near midcourt like he's not there or dying on every screen... I'm sorry, I'm gonna call his status as a "defensive guy" into question.

I don't have any good answers to the latter problem. Our whole guard rotation is bad defensively. Isaac is strong but he lacks length, quickness and BBIQ. You can still make it work if you have GREAT team defense, with everyone on the same page, but right now we're just chasing the ball and getting beat 1-on-1.

Nobody's going to stop LeBron alone, but he was getting to his spots unhindered all night long. When you let that guy waltz into the interior, you're dead. He sees every open guy on the court and can deliver the ball to them in a split second. He's lost absolutely nothing on that front.

Once again it looked like we didn't have a plan. On either side of the ball. That's 100% on JBB.

letgocavs said:

Stevens should've guarded lebron more.

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Come on. He was just as helpless as everyone else.

LeBron has the best basketball mind on the planet. You need a strategy to defend his teams. That's on JBB. We have nobody who can just stop him 1-on-1. Nobody in the league does. Isn't that clear by now?

I'm tired of just watching us go into a game with no plan at all. It's infuriating.

All4One1ForAll said:

How can you not hold scoring efficiency against him? When you’re over 10 percentage points below the league average and 5 percentage points below Russell freaking Westbrook, you can’t just dismiss that because he’s trying to “fit in.” He’s also been significantly below league average efficiency his whole career, so this is nothing new. His shot selection is awful and he’s been a non factor on defense. If we extend the guy, that greatly limits the roster flexibility and the potential of this team. Chalk it up as a loss and move on.

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LeVert is unbelievably predictable, so in that sense, he fits right in. He needs to dribble to a certain spot in the middle of the floor to take his customary contested midranger, and everyone in the building knows it. He gets it blocked at least once per game.

Heat Check said:

Come on. He was just as helpless as everyone else.

LeBron has the best basketball mind on the planet. You need a strategy to defend his teams. That's on JBB. We have nobody who can just stop him 1-on-1. Nobody in the league does. Isn't that clear by now?

I'm tired of just watching us go into game with no plan at all. It's infuriating.

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I disagree. You let Lauri guard him and he got so many easy buckets he had 20 and was warmed up by then. Not to mention love taking that dumb charge attempt. Stevens or okoro in his jersey all game would’ve made a difference.