2024-25 Regular Season Thread

[Thelastcavsfan]

Prozingis being back for the game Sunday is slightly worrying.

That’s great. We need test and need to see them at full strength. Not ideal we’re not though, I will say.

 

[nolookpass]

I'm not sure how viable the Merill-Niang lineup is if they're shooting 36% and 32% respectively from the 3. It's not only that they can be liabilities on the defensive end or even that they are missing their shots, it's also that they have the ULTIMATE green light. So the offense often becomes early shot clock chucking up contested 3s by those 2. Maybe it works if Sam is shooting 40+% from the 3 like he was last year, but at this current rate, it's not good offense, and it kills the flow of the offense given how instant it is. The Hawks commentators kept pointing out that the Merrill shots were bad shots

 

[Rich]

I'm not sure how viable the Merill-Niang lineup is if they're shooting 36% and 32% respectively from the 3. It's not only that they can be liabilities on the defensive end or even that they are missing their shots, it's also that they have the ULTIMATE green light. So the offense often becomes early shot clock chucking up contested 3s by those 2. Maybe it works if Sam is shooting 40+% from the 3 like he was last year, but at this current rate, it's not good offense, and it kills the flow of the offense given how instant it is. The Hawks commentators kept pointing out that the Merrill shots were bad shots

Yea and that lineup is being used with Ty Jerome a lot and it's trouble defensively.

If Niang and Merrill don't pick up their shooting then it really limits who they can play with.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I'm not sure how viable the Merill-Niang lineup is if they're shooting 36% and 32% respectively from the 3. It's not only that they can be liabilities on the defensive end or even that they are missing their shots, it's also that they have the ULTIMATE green light. So the offense often becomes early shot clock chucking up contested 3s by those 2. Maybe it works if Sam is shooting 40+% from the 3 like he was last year, but at this current rate, it's not good offense, and it kills the flow of the offense given how instant it is. The Hawks commentators kept pointing out that the Merrill shots were bad shots

When Strus, LeVert, and Wade are all available I don't think Niang or Merrill sees the court at all.

 

[Niklex316]

Swap out Levert, Strus, Niang, and Wade along with a bevy of 2nds and possibly even the 2030 1st for Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter, Bogan Bogdanovic, and Larry Nance Jr.

Then send out Okuro to Washington for Jonas Valanciunas.

With Cavs being a luxury tax team, they need to bring back 110% of salary out.

All 4 of Hunter/Bogdanovic/Nance Jr/Valanciunas totals approximately 58million in salary needing sent out.

PG: Darius Garland
SG: Donovan Mitchell
SF: De’Andre Hunter
PF: Evan Mobley
C: Jarrett Allen

PG: Ty Jerome
SG: Sam Merrill
SF: Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF: Larry Nance Jr
C: Jonas Valanciunas

PG: Craig Porter Jr
SG: Luke Travers
SF: Jaylon Tyson
PF: Emoni Bates
C: Tristan Thompson

 

[Niklex316]

Sorry that post should have been over in trade idea thread. I posted over there too.

 

[btljc]

1. Team forgot about Mobley as the focal point of the offense when everyone was praising Garland and Jerome for the streak.

2. Opposing teams now have a blueprint on how to beat the Cavs. Attack the guards, attack Niang, look for the double team and swing the ball to the open man.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

1. Team forgot about Mobley as the focal point of the offense when everyone was praising Garland and Jerome for the streak.

2. Opposing teams now have a blueprint on how to beat the Cavs. Attack the guards, attack Niang, look for the double team and swing the ball to the open man.

We'll see if #2 proves to be true going forward. I'm sure that's what they'll try at every opportunity.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

In the two Atlanta games, the Cavs gave up 39 and 37 points in the third quarter. Somebody was making halftime adjustments that worked, and it wasn’t Cleveland. - Terry Pluto

Atkinson admitted he was outcoached.

The Hawks are young, athletic and long, as they love to say in the NBA. The long part has to do with four starters at 6-foot-8 or taller. The youth highlights Atlanta’s physical ability to run and jump. Their athleticism made the Cavs look slow and it led to them being outrebounded by a combined total of 104-84 in the two games. - Pluto

In addition to that, the 3-point shooting is a big concern as the Hawks came in shooting 34.0% and against the Cavs shot 44.7% over two games. Part of that was recently getting Hunter and Bogdanovic back from injury; they combined to shoot 17-for-35 on 3's. But even Risacher, who came in shooting 25% on 3's, was 5-for-10.

Whether the Cavs will be able to defend 3-point shots effectively enough to beat teams with good 3-point shooters is a legitimate question. A huge problem is teams with tall 3-point shooters like Atlanta's group of 6'8" guys. The Cavs don't have the height on the perimeter to bother those shooters - not with Garland, Mitchell, Merrill, Strus, or Okoro.

If Allen, Mobley, and Wade were on the floor together the Cavs could play better perimeter defense. All three have the length and movement ability to contest 3's even against tall shooters.

In two games against Atlanta the Cavs shot 30.2% on 3's. They took 10 more 3's than the Hawks but were outscored by 27 points on those shots. The Cavs came in leading the NBA at 41.5%. Atlanta came in dead last in opponent 3-point percentage at 39.9%. For some reason the league's best 3-point shooting team only made 30% against the league's worst 3-point defending team. What's up with that?

I think the Cavs were a little complacent in the first game, especially after they got out to a 19-point first quarter lead at home. In Atlanta Donovan Mitchell just couldn't buy a bucket, missing 18 shots, Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro disappeared, and the bench was pretty much a no-show as well.

These two losses give the Cavs a lot to work on and they will be getting a decent number of practice days in the next three weeks. By my count the Cavs will have seven games in the next 20 days, so they will have opportunities to work on shortcomings that were exposed by the Hawks.

 

[Dr No]

I think the inevitable cooling off after our torrid start is beginning to reveal a more clear picture of who we are. Allen & Mitchell are who they have been - which is very good to often great players. DG & Mobley are better than last year. Our bench/role players are better and deeper. I don’t expect Jerome to carry the bench regularly, but he is a huge plus this year. To me, the unknowns that will likely go a long way in determining how good we can be and how far we go are: 1. Does Strus elevate the team when he is healthy? 2. Can we keep Vert & Wade healthy? 3. Will we return to the great ball & player movement with which we started the year (and that gave us the most success in the middle of last year).

 

[Pierre Pan]

Of note, Dean Wade is still out for the Celtics game on Sunday. So much for inside info.

 

[amil99]

Of note, Dean Wade is still out for the Celtics game on Sunday. So much for inside info.

He needs off this damn team in the worst way

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Wade came down on a teammate's foot and sprained his ankle. Max Strus is also out with a sprained ankle. Does he need to be off the team as well?

How about Darius Garland breaking his jaw last year? Cut him? Or Evan Mobley needing knee surgery in the middle of the season and missing a month? Have you seen how many All-Stars have already missed a lot of time with injuries already this year and we're only one-quarter of the way in?

 

[Comeback kid]

Of note, Dean Wade is still out for the Celtics game on Sunday. So much for inside info.

You mean Fedor?

 

[Adam]

Bulls shopping Pwill, I know he kinda sucks but damn need some other wings other then Wade. No more Niang again ffs

I think he's another bull that will change teams and look a lot better. Like lauri but not as dramatic obviously