2023-24 Season | Game #6 | Cavs @ Pacers | Nov. 3, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.

Frustrating loss for sure. Poor time out management and a few dumb turnovers cost us in the fourth. To try to inject some positivity in here:

I really liked what I saw from Mobley tonight. The DPOY level defense was back today, more than it really had been so far this season. Couple possessions here and there where I felt he took his foot of the gas, but so many time a guard ran at the rim, ran into Mobley and immediately turned it around. On offense, I like the willingness to shoot the 3. His form looks much cleaner than before, even if we haven't really seen the results yet. Overall I felt his touch was better today than it had been the past few games. I wonder if having to play the 5 on D just cost so much energy, it effected his shot making? Great passing as usual

Levert again doing a solid job off the bench. 6th man is really the best role for him. Mightve been able to grab another game in the playoffs last year if we kept him in that position. His defense is solid as the PoA guy and he is a very solid secondary playmaker.

Mitchell had a few hero ball moments I did not love, but he was great as usual. Really kept us afloat in the first half and broke a few runs in the second. Showed some of the secondary playmaking too.

Strus continues to impress me with his all around game. He is without a doubt the most well rounded wing not named Caris we have had since a certain Kid from Akron. His drive game is solid, smart cutter. Much better defender than I thought. Puts in effort on the glass. Really love the pickup.

I thought Okoro was very solid today too. Great defense as usual. Less scoring than when he was a starter, but he didn't vanish. Felt he was doing a good job with connective passing and moving the ball. This is what you like to see from him coming off the bench.

Lastly, despite the rough patches at the end, it was great to see Allen and Garland back. I thought Allen looked very good. Just aggressive at the rim, strong rebounding, and did a great job defensively out on the perimeter. Foul trouble was unfortunate but you can tell how much we really missed him, as we are reminded every time he is injured. Garland had some nice runs in the middle there. I thought his shot selection was a bit iffy and the TO has been covered ad naseum. He seemed a bit slower than usual in the first quarter, but bounced back as the game went on. Hopefully he is back to 100% again soon.

narbar32 said:

That pass by Garland was the dagger to our own heart. What a bafflingly idiotic and lazy mistake. Everybody watching at the game and on tv and possibly even those listening right to left on their radio dials could see not to throw that pass.

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I'm not sure he'll ever cut this part out of his game either. He's a very talented player, but things like this really hurt him. He'll never stopped doing it. These are just horrific decisions. And he will make them throughout the course of game, unfortunately.

stick said:

Uh huh.

You must be watching the game on dial up with a blindfold on, the interior of which likely has some variant of the words, "Evan Mobley". Words you can't see, but feel against closed eyelids.

Look, I dunno. Maybe the fabric of the blindfold is jutting out a bit, the threads scrapping against your face which causes all kinds of annoyance. I get that. That one's on you though.

Yeah, the lead pass (which would have led to a dunk) was off and the two point attempt didn't yield points or free throws, but he helped changed the game around completely and led this comeback in the third quarter to even make this a possession game in the first place. I think there's room for criticism, for sure, but these takes can be solved by taking off the blinders or maybe sewing some new words into it. Hell, maybe even upgrade from dial up.

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stick said:

Uh huh.

You must be watching the game on dial up with a blindfold on, the interior of which likely has some variant of the words, "Evan Mobley". Words you can't see, but feel against closed eyelids.

Look, I dunno. Maybe the fabric of the blindfold is jutting out a bit, the threads scrapping against your face which causes all kinds of annoyance. I get that. That one's on you though.

Yeah, the lead pass (which would have led to a dunk) was off and the two point attempt didn't yield points or free throws, but he helped changed the game around completely and led this comeback in the third quarter to even make this a possession game in the first place. I think there's room for criticism, for sure, but these takes can be solved by taking off the blinders or maybe sewing some new words into it. Hell, maybe even upgrade from dial up.

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I attack Mobley. You attack me. Mobley continues to suck.

godfather said:

I'm not sure he'll ever cut this part out of his game either. He's a very talented player, but things like this really hurt him. He'll never stopped doing it. These are just horrific decisions. And he will make them throughout the course of game, unfortunately.

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IT can be taught out of a players game. Steph used to do this stuff sometimes too. Anyone remember that behind the back into JR in game 7? Not to compare DG and Steph, but it isn't totally hopeless in the long-term (Trying to stay positive)

CroopZ23 said:

'Damn well' my ass. Your standards are shit. Mobley..in crunch time...got stuffed like a turkey by the same guy that gave him 30 points ( on multiple 3's)...not to mention his late game turnover. No way in fuck can you say he played well after that. FOH

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Since you feel the need to call out everyone's standards, lets clarify exactly what yours are then? It reads to me like unless Mobley is returning a peak Duncan type stat line every night he is a loser?

Beanie4Heisman said:

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The 5x5 is coming, you can just taste it

foucault87 said:

Since you feel the need to call out everyone's standards, lets clarify exactly what yours are then? It reads to me like unless Mobley is returning a peak Duncan type stat line every night he is a loser?

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I expect a CONSISTENT 18-20 ppg and 10 boards and 2 blocks a game by Mobley. I expect games where he takes over the game in the 4th. I expect to see evidence of him becoming an outside threat. These standards are not wild..and if they come to fruition...this team will go somewhere.

CroopZ23 said:

'Damn well' my ass. Your standards are shit. Mobley..in crunch time...got stuffed like a turkey by the same guy that gave him 30 points ( on multiple 3's)...not to mention his late game turnover. No way in fuck can you say he played well after that. FOH

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He was fouled by Turner, not stuffed. Watch the replay and Turner laying his body into Mobley.

Wrong thread.

KilgoreTrout said:

He’s Mr. Glass.

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Denzel Ward would like a word.

this is going to sound ignorant but someone (not on the boards) is trying to tell me the play was stopped because of a timeout and that they always stop the game in middle of plays for tv timeouts..there is no way that is right is there?

CroopZ23 said:

I expect a CONSISTENT 18-20 ppg and 10 boards and 2 blocks a game by Mobley. I expect games where he takes over the game in the 4th. I expect to see evidence of him becoming an outside threat. These standards are not wild..and if they come to fruition...this team will go somewhere.

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I think you are expecting what year 5-6 Mobley will be doing in year 3. Of course he isnt going to be meeting your expectations because they are not projective of the reality on the floor.

Mobley is the 3rd, maybe 4th option in the starting lineup. He simply will not get enough touches to average 20 ppg if everyone is healthy. How many teams in the last 20 years have had 3-4 guys at 20 ppg+? The only ones I can think of are the Heatles, KD Warriors, and randomly that one Warriors team with Baron, Jrich and SJax. That is in fact, an unrealistic standard.

I am very encouraged by his passing vision. He has hit 5 assists 3x already this year and led the team in assists twice this season.

As for your other two numerical standards, Mobley is in fact averaging 11.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks going into tonight. And he hit your thresholds. So clearly, that is not an issue.

As for the outside threat, I think this rolls back to the point about touches. He is not going to be given a lot of perimeter touches given the construction of this team's roster. That is totally fine. If he was on some garbage team like Detroit, I am sure he would be putting up 22-12s every night as they head to a 35 win season. But, we are a playoff caliber team and thats not what we are asking him to be. That is fine. If he shows flashes of the perimeter stuff this year, that's what we need. Now if it is 2028 and we are still having this discussion, then there are issues.

I do not think this has been a failure of a campaign so far. He has had a major impact in almost every game so far. The first NYK game was terrible, I will give you that. But his defensive impact remains outsized for a player of his age and experience. I know you seem to think the defensive side of the ball doesn't matter, but the fact is he is a top 10 if not top 5 defensive player in the league. That has a ton of value even if he isnt threatening to lead the league in scoring.

Ricky1319 said:

this is going to sound ignorant but someone (not on the boards) is trying to tell me the play was stopped because of a timeout and that they always stop the game in middle of plays for tv timeouts..there is no way that is right is there?

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TV timeouts only come during dead-ball situations

kookoo said:

If this season is a write-off, I'd rather bring in a coach now who can get the shit habits out. Otherwise you go into next season with a new coach and need half of a season to adjust to that. If the coach we want is out there, they should be taken asap.

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What must be done eventually, should be done immediately…