2022-2023 Regular Season II: Cardiac Cavs

[kidduck]

Mobley is going to keep working on his strength. He has been pushed around
enough and has begun to see the results of really going at the weight training
this year. His work ethic is on display every game. He won't get the bulk to
equal Embiid, but EM can out-quick him to compensate for the difference.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I'm not sure we would gain much getting to the #3 seed anyway. The scenario is pretty much the same - We would have homecourt over a team we should beat in round 1 and be a sizable underdog in round 2. Granted, I'd rather take my chances with Boston than the Bucks in round 2, but there's not a huge difference.

We beat Boston three times (all in overtime) while losing to them once (by four points). In four games the Cavs are 3-1 against Boston and have outscored them by 10 points.

So I like our chances against Boston better than Milwaukee, although I'm sure we would lose to either of them without home court advantage. Both teams have a huge edge in playoff experience and I'm not confident in Okoro, Stevens, or Cedi in a playoff situation. I also think Rubio has a ways to go before he's fully recovered.

That being said, Okoro is shooting 40% on 3's in March (12-for-30) and hitting that game winner against Brooklyn should give him a lot of confidence. Cedi is hitting an astonishing 46.5% of his 3's in March and LeVert is at 46.4%. If these three guys can somehow continue to hit north of 40% from deep anything can happen in the playoffs.

Four games against Boston proved the Cavs are right there with the Celtics. Three of those games were tied after regulation and the other was a 4-point Celtics win. It doesn't get closer than that.

 

[Peacedog]

I think the playoff minutes going to out non core 7 (counting LeVert and Rubio) will be 10-12 minutes. So I don't think what we get out of Osman/Stevens/Wade/whoever will be all that relevant in the post season.

 

[cavsfever]

Is anyone else looking at the standings and just grinning like a fool? I’d rather be in third place too but heading for 50+ wins and secure in fourth place is just so awesome for a non-Lebron Cavs team. Taking the time to enjoy it.

If we don’t win our first round series some of the savor will be lost but I’m not worrying about that now. Congrats Cavs!

 

[jjvors]

The Sixers lose to Golden State Friday so the Cavs are 3.0 games out of 3rd place. The Sixers play the second game of a back-to-back on the road tonight in Phoenix (23-12 at home), so if they lose there it's 2.5 games. Then after a day off they play Denver on the road, their 3rd game in four nights on the road. The Nuggets are 30-6 at home.

Don't look now but if the Sixers lose in Phoenix and Denver while the Cavs beat Houston they'll be 1.5 games behind Philly on Tuesday. The Cavs will have four games left against Charlotte, Orlando, and Indy plus a home game against the Knicks and on the road against Atlanta. Meanwhile the Sixers would have road games at Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Atlanta and home games against Boston, Toronto, and Dallas.

There's still a chance for the Cavs to finish 3rd but the Sixers have the tiebreaker so the Cavs would have to finish 6-1 while the Sixers go 3-6. Not very likely.

No sweat. I expect us to go 7-0 now. The Sixers will need to go 5-4 to stay ahead of us.

The two games I worried about were the Nets home games. The one remaining game we might lose is in Atlanta.

I'll bet on the Cavs to go 7-0. But not with money. It's only about a 50-50 chance.

 

[jjvors]

We beat Boston three times (all in overtime) while losing to them once (by four points). In four games the Cavs are 3-1 against Boston and have outscored them by 10 points.

So I like our chances against Boston better than Milwaukee, although I'm sure we would lose to either of them without home court advantage. Both teams have a huge edge in playoff experience and I'm not confident in Okoro, Stevens, or Cedi in a playoff situation. I also think Rubio has a ways to go before he's fully recovered.

That being said, Okoro is shooting 40% on 3's in March (12-for-30) and hitting that game winner against Brooklyn should give him a lot of confidence. Cedi is hitting an astonishing 46.5% of his 3's in March and LeVert is at 46.4%. If these three guys can somehow continue to hit north of 40% from deep anything can happen in the playoffs.

Four games against Boston proved the Cavs are right there with the Celtics. Three of those games were tied after regulation and the other was a 4-point Celtics win. It doesn't get closer than that.

And we've improved significantly since those Boston games.

The great thing about the playoffs is, the regular season doesn't matter. Home court doesn't matter too much. Consider the 2016 Cavs when they beat the Warriors. Or the 2015 Cavs when we beat the Bulls after falling behind 2-1.

It's mental toughness overall. Who is the most resilient in adversity? Normally, one bets on the older teams for that, so the Cavs are on the low end of the stick. But young teams can be resilient too. I think the Cavs are, and mentally tough.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I think the playoff minutes going to out non core 7 (counting LeVert and Rubio) will be 10-12 minutes. So I don't think what we get out of Osman/Stevens/Wade/whoever will be all that relevant in the post season.

I think it's going to be matchup-based, so we may dip into Osman or Stevens depending who we are playing and how games are going. Osman in particular is likely to get significant minutes if he gets inserted and gets hot.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

It's mental toughness overall. Who is the most resilient in adversity? Normally, one bets on the older teams for that, so the Cavs are on the low end of the stick. But young teams can be resilient too. I think the Cavs are, and mentally tough.

We hope!

 

[Cavatt]

Is anyone else looking at the standings and just grinning like a fool? I’d rather be in third place too but heading for 50+ wins and secure in fourth place is just so awesome for a non-Lebron Cavs team. Taking the time to enjoy it.

If we don’t win our first round series some of the savor will be lost but I’m not worrying about that now. Congrats Cavs!

The Cavs have been surprisingly consistent this year. Last year they were all over the standings, but they got 4th and they held onto it. I think they could have had 3rd if they had been a little more disciplined.

Seriously, I think they play the right way for the most part. If they just get reps and cut down on the mistakes, they will be favored sooner than later.

 

[Peacedog]

So where are those guys who wanted to trade Mobley, Garland, and Allen (or was it Mitchell) for Luka? His team is out of even the play in at this moment.

 

[Dr No]

I think the playoff minutes going to out non core 7 (counting LeVert and Rubio) will be 10-12 minutes. So I don't think what we get out of Osman/Stevens/Wade/whoever will be all that relevant in the post season.

that looks to be the way its going for sure, but he is leaning on Cedi pretty heavily right now so he may play more. That's our best 8, but I'm a little worried about size and physicality. The Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, and Bucks all have tall and/or physical players. Our Cedi, LeVert, Rubio bench is pretty small - and that's after starting a very small Garland, Mitchell, and Okoro. If Stevens isn't playable and Wade isn't playable, what options do we have if we start getting bullied?

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Wade is a very good defender but I don't know if there's enough time left in the regular season for him to find his 3-point shot. But he'd be somebody we could put on Tatum or Randle and at least make them work hard for their points if Mobley is on the bench.

Cedi has really being working hard on defense recently and I think he's improved in that department.

 

[Pierre Pan]

Raul Neto is questionable with a left hamstring strain and Diakite and Brobley are both on G League assignment for tomorrow’s Houston game.

 

[Lee]

So where are those guys who wanted to trade Mobley, Garland, and Allen (or was it Mitchell) for Luka? His team is out of even the play in at this moment.

You would think with Kyrie, it would be harder to roll backwards on a flat earth, but somehow they have

 

[Jscc]

Time for Koby to get Riley on the phone. Start the Jimmy Butler talks.