2023-24 Season | Game #74 | Sixers @ Cavs | March 29, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.

[bushwick_bill]

 

[Tlyons]

I'd keep giving Allen as much rest as possible.

Dude has clearly worn down.

On the bright side Mobley should be pretty fresh for this postseason.

 

[Futuredome]

Mobley and Niang had good games along with Merrill led the team to victory. Mitchell was slightly negative and Garland provided little positive, neither was a large drag. Okoro on the other hand had a -24 bpm.....how is that possible. Him falling off hurts. Wade needs to return.

 

[CavzAddict]

Miami beat Portland by 60. The Blazers have packed it in. Too bad we don't get them on this trip coming up. Denver, Utah, Phoenix, the Lakers, and the Clippers. Ugh.

All of those teams are wildcards right now. They'll either beat the breaks off of us or shit the bed. We don't know what version of those teams we'll get.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Rockets win their 11th straight. Only one behind GSW and two behind LAL. They’re too young and stupid to know they can’t win postseason games. They could knock out a big dog or two if they make the play in.

Draymond said he’s not worried about them. I bet Steve Kerr is scared shitless of Ime Udoka. Ime might do to Steve what he did to … well, you get the idea.

 

[PIP]

Took Evan 9.3 seconds to hoist that corner 3

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I'd keep giving Allen as much rest as possible.

Dude has clearly worn down.

On the bright side Mobley should be pretty fresh for this postseason.

And Strus and Mitchell as well.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Sixers had 24 second chance points out of the 114 they scored. With any kind of decent rebounding we win this one going away.

This was a very impressive win considering:

1. Mitchell was rusty in his first game back, going 4-for-13.

2. Allen was getting beat on the defensive glass and played just 26 minutes.

3. Okoro had probably his worst game of the year with a team worst -10 in only 15 minutes.

4. Wade was out. He is a member of four of the Cavs' five most successful units this year.

5. LeVert was out.

Over the next eight games Mitchell will get his sea legs back and hopefully Wade will return in time to get some games in before the playoffs start and LeVert will be kept out long enough for his wrist to get better because he sure can't shoot at the moment.

If all three of those things happen I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team can do under the bright lights.

 

[Prof123]

Niang is such an enigma

You love him in games like this.

You hate him and hate the coach that puts him in the game when his shot isn’t falling or he’s doing goofy shit.

I think the key is opponent. Against a long athletic team that can run him off the court and exploit him in both the half court and full court/atheltically(like the wolves) he’s near unplayable.

Against a team that’s not quite as long and athletic and has some front court guys that still have elements it also school half court offense in their game, you can get away with playing Niang as long as his shot is falling

Good observation. Niang is very skilled with the ball -- soft touch, good control of angles and spins, good range, floater, etc. As long as he can get the shots off, he will be effective. Against more athletic teams, he isn't as effective.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Good observation. Niang is very skilled with the ball -- soft touch, good control of angles and spins, good range, floater, etc. As long as he can get the shots off, he will be effective. Against more athletic teams, he isn't as effective.

When he's hitting the 3 it forces defenders to close hard on him which opens up the drive off a pump fake and a finish with that deadly floater. It's pick your poison.

He's hitting 46.2% of his 3's in March! He's rewarding JBB's faith in him. JBB kept playing him even though his shot wasn't falling and he was getting abused on defense. Now that faith is paying off.

He's also 11-for-11 on free throws this month. A good guy to have on the floor late when the opponent has to foul.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Mobley is 5-for-8 on 3's in his last four games. Very encouraging. And these are not just wide open, uncontested shots in no pressure situations. He hit one with a hand right in his face and another with the Cavs behind by a point with 28 seconds to go.

Baby steps, but I read that he put in a lot of time shooting stationary 3's when he was out with the ankle sprain (since he couldn't do any running, cutting, etc). We're seeing the results already.

You can't block at 3-point shot by a 6'11" player - the release point and trajectory is too high. If shooting 3's accurately is a skill he has acquired it opens up a whole new world of possibilities, including the ability for the Cavs to have five 3-point shooters on the floor when Mobley is playing center.

It also means Mobley's defender will have to stay on him when he spots up in the corner or at the angle, allowing Allen to work one-on-one in the low post or from the elbow when both bigs are in the game. Previously Mobley's man could drop down and sandwich Allen, creating turnovers and blocked or missed shots.

JBB should encourage Evan to take as many open 3's as he can over the last eight games.

 

[bushwick_bill]

In case anyone missed this!

 

[jjvors]

The last 3 minutes of the game. Very exciting!

 

[buzzdog]

I wasn’t expecting this but Garland did have a good game. Perhaps him guarding Maxey at times and did probably his best game guarding him than before. I would have liked to give it to Mobley.

Has Mook been talking to JR Smith?