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Game Thread | Game #18 | Trail Blazers @ Cavs | Nov. 23, 2022

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Postgame interviews:

JB at 40 seconds

Mitchell and Allen at 31:30

I wonder what Donovan Mitchell's IQ is. I think it's probably really high. JA is no slouch in the sheer intelligence department either. It's such a pleasure to hear these guys talk about the game, to see their good nature and understanding and appreciation of their positions in the grand scheme of things.
 
I swear, these players bet on themselves that's why they tried to keep the game close so that they can continue to play til around the last 2 minutes of the game. I bet on DM to score over 26 points before the game started and was afraid he might not be able to play during the fourth quarter because of the early double-digit lead. Alas, the Blazers stayed within the game and DM played til he got his average. It was also obvious that they were trying to give Mobley his double-double. Feeding him til he got his.

This is just me though. Nice way to begin the day with a $200 win .
 
Good game overall. Another amazing performance by both guards and Allen which was crucial to this win. Portland without Lillard though...not it.

This team is clearly at their best with spacing. Donovan can destroy any PnR coverage and we are doing him and the team a disservice when we are putting non shooters around him for the majority of the game.

Before the game I said that the lineup that I thought would be the most efficient would be a Garland,Mitchell,Cedi,Wade,Allen/Mobley. We didn't see it.. instead we saw a Mitchell/Garland,Cedi,Lamar/Okoro,Wade,Allen/Mobley which was still our best lineup.

The starting lineup isn't good in the sense that there is just way too much overhelping by the opposing team on everything that we do. Portland is a terrible PnR defending team... and with just proper spacing we could have buried them in the 2nd quarter. The lineup that JBB put out there let them back into the game. They can't keep up with anybody and playing with a Lamar/Mobley/Allen frontcourt made their life much easier than it should have been. Nevertheless, The Cavs talent trumps so much.

What I want to see is Wade inserted into the starting lineup asap pending health. I wanna see a lot of maximized shooting lineups with 1 rim protector with Wade in them. In regards to Wade, I thought that it looked like his knee was still bothering him...looked a tad slower laterally... so he should take it easy until he fully heals if that's the case.

So again...spacing and defense should be maximized with this group, but i'm leaning into the shooting because we need to dictate everything on the floor as this group can be unstoppable offensively if maximized. You also can't allow a team to have fucking Hart on Mobley and get away with it because our spacing is so trash. You see that, you automatically adjust and put more shooters on the floor. We need to start making it a bit easier on this group, and it's so easy to do so...even without an elite wing. It's no surprise that both Wade and Cedi had +17 for the game.

So far this season I believe the Cavs are better with 1 rim protector rather than 2. But we will have to see how they look with a good shooter at the 3 to determine if that's in fact true.

Oh, and another thing about the defensive scheme. I think the Cavs are closing to hard on players that they shouldn't be. I'm not sure JBB realizes that you want non shooters to shoot? especially when you have such a potent offense. I think closing hard on Winslow, Hart, Little is unnecessary even if you are successful with your rotations.. it's just too taxing and not worth it.

Donovan and Garland are pretty special though...overall.
 
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I wonder what Donovan Mitchell's IQ is. I think it's probably really high. JA is no slouch in the sheer intelligence department either. It's such a pleasure to hear these guys talk about the game, to see their good nature and understanding and appreciation of their positions in the grand scheme of things.
Donovan has been tested between 118-128
Allen has been tested between 125-127

Both of them are huge fans of the original GI Joe animated series if that is useful information.
 
I know Damian Lillard wants to be loyal but there’s zero chance he ever wins anything
 
I wanna see a lot of maximized shooting lineups with 1 rim protector with Wade in them...So far this season I believe the Cavs are better with 1 rim protector rather than 2. But we will have to see how they look with a good shooter at the 3 to determine if that's in fact true.
Just to be clear, are you arguing to have Allen and Mobley split 48 minutes at the center position and only play together for very limited minutes, or not at all? IOW, one of them should NOT be starting?

My guess is that not only would Bickerstaff never consider this, it would never even occur to him.

However, there are times in every game where one of them is in and the other out, so as the season goes on we can look at the on/off numbers for those lineups.

In some cases it depends on the opponent. If we're playing Milwaukee and both Brook Lopez and Giannis are in the game I want both Allen and Mobley on the floor.
 
Anyone else interested in a RoLo, Frobley, Drippy, Love outfit?
 
Just to be clear, are you arguing to have Allen and Mobley split 48 minutes at the center position and only play together for very limited minutes, or not at all? IOW, one of them should NOT be starting?

My guess is that not only would Bickerstaff never consider this, it would never even occur to him.

However, there are times in every game where one of them is in and the other out, so as the season goes on we can look at the on/off numbers for those lineups.

In some cases it depends on the opponent. If we're playing Milwaukee and both Brook Lopez and Giannis are in the game I want both Allen and Mobley on the floor.

No, they should start for now. I don't know what the future holds.

But when they split the minutes, Wade should be in there with Mitchell/Garland surrounded by shooters.

I don't love the spacing in the starting lineup. This needs to be fixed, so i'm waiting to see how we operate with a better 3.
 
I know Damian Lillard wants to be loyal but there’s zero chance he ever wins anything
It's easy to be loyal when your salary is almost half your team's cap space.
 
Okay, two of the Cavs make the NBA Top 10 plays. Who are they and what's their ranking?

 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
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