Farewell, Timofey Mozgov

[Unbiased Expert]

He clearly used the time off well, only question is whether it might've been better to shut him down completely in January or something. I don't know enough about knees or his issue to hazard a guess, but it does raise a few questions even as it answers others.

The answer is obvious - they were trying to trade his ass and needed to showcase him.

 

[amurderofcrows]

One of his better showings this year. All he has to do is defend the rim and dunk. That's it. With 2 poor defenders often on the floor, protecting the rim is everything

Well, its not like this team needs more shooters. He has been hitting that little baseline jumper with regularity though.

 

[shoes22]

Played like an atrophic penis on the offensive end tonight but he played fantastic defense on Monroe.

Frankly as long as he continues to get his rim protection skills back I couldn’t care less what he does on the offensive end...not when you have the kind of 3PT shooting we have from our guards and LBJ/Love/Frye playing the other forward positions. Where we need Mozgov is on defense.

He’s trending in the right direction.

 

[tonyn]

Timo getting back into fighting form before the playoffs start?

This needs a "it's happening' gif

 

[Paul]

I found this blog Timofey Mozgov Wrote recently at the Cavaliers reddit forum. There's some useful info on his knee, among other topics.:
https://www.reddit.com/r/clevelandc...ainstorm_a_blog_by_timofey_mozgov_in_russian/

Brainstorm. A blog by Timofey Mozgov (in Russian) (self.clevelandcavs)

submitted 1 day ago by karabutov

Hey everybody!

A Cavs fan from Russia here. A blog post by our beloved Russian center has popped on my news feed today so I thought I'd translate the most crucial bits of it for your enjoyment!

The following text is a translation of Timofey's post

Hey everyone! How are you doing? We're going into the playoffs soon. I'm sure that you follow us and that you have many questions. I am, however, unsure that I'd be able to answer them all. I'd rather have our game show it all. You know, don't count the chickens and what not. But it would obviously be nice to share some things with you. So, I'll try...

...

The first thing I'd like to talk about is my knee. Tell you what guys, it's been the biggest disappointment of the current season! A lot of time and energy was spent and many resources have been used in order to make sure everything would be well on time.

But in reality the recovery process did not go as expected. In theory, it should have taken me about to months. What actually happened is that I haven't been experiencing tangible discomfort only during the last month and a half. I can finally work at my full potential and so I'm slowly reaching my full fighting form.

Let me put it this way: I finally feel like I can play basketball again! And it's an awesome feeling!!!

Obviously, coexisting with this issue has taken a moral toll on me. But alas, such is reality. It really was impossible to do more than me and the team did together.

Naturally, I'm having retrospective thoughts such as: "could we have done anything differently and find another way to solve my problem?" We've asked the doctors whether it was possible to go on without surgery many times? The answer was univocal – the cyst, that has been removed, would keep on growing and the situation only would have worsened.

...

The second thing I'd like to address are the trade rumors right before the deadline. Sure, they were there, but I didn't follow them. Or rather, I didn't deliberately follow them. Clearly, a news story would pop up on my news feed from time to time. I'd read it but I wouldn't let it get into my head.

I've said this many time: what's the point in bothering if you have no influence over the situation anyways. Let's be realistic Let's worry about the things that we can actually change alright? I've gotten used to thinking this way in the NBA. This mindset makes you think using the rules of the game, which you accept by signing a contract with the best basketball league on the planet. After all, the league is a business for everyone involved in it.

This includes Varejao. His case is a good example of what we're talking about right now. The man played on the team for over 10 years. And nothing was guaranteed for him either. He was a great friend and teammate, which is a great asset to have on a team. And yet, he continues his career elsewhere now, and I wish him all the best there!

Thirdly, during the All-Star Break my wife and I went to Miami. We didn't get too lucky with the weather though. Although that's only according to the locals. It wasn't very sunny. But even like this it wasn't the same as Cleveland

We relaxed, spent some time together as a family, and "charged ourselves up with positive emotions". As for myself, I obviously continued to work even there. For that specific purpose, a personal trainer flew to Miami with us and we worked out every morning. After that I had an entire day for myself! And I must say that it helped me a lot. A break like this during the season is great for the morale.

Now, regarding coach Blatt. As I've said earlier, on the one hand, the decision to let him go was unexpected for all of us. On the other hand, it could have happened. Or maybe it couldn't have... Which is why I can't say that we were too surprised. Same as with player trades, coaching stuff changed can also be very unconventional.

This business is run by people who need to make such decisions and hold responsibility for them. Sometimes they lose their jobs themselves, but sometimes they reap the reward of such decisions. I wish David a lot of success in his further career. I'm sure that it will continue in the NBA.

...

My comments from now on

After that Timofey talks about how the team is working hard to get ready for the playoffs, how he met up with some Russian basketball coaches after the team's recent game against the Nets in Brooklyn and how he's hoping to help develop youth basketball in Russia. Then rambles for a bit about how grateful he is for making some friends which are Russian TV personalities and musicians, thanking them for their support.

I thought that this blog helped shed some light on why Mozzy wasn't doing that well out on the court for the majority of this season as well as what was going on in his head, which is why I decided to translate most of it.

I hope you guys enjoy the read!


___________________________________


For those interested, there's the original post in Russian with some photos, etc.

http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/mozgov/924651.html

 

[Change of Pace]

The Grizzlies pick in the Moz trade won't convey again this season.

 

[Taiter]

Moz needs to man up. He has the 2nd worst real plus minus in the league among centers... something like 76th out of 77. This on a team with one of the best records in the league. He's -11 in 8 minutes tonight. He's no all star but he's too good to be the liability he's been all year.

 

[CHIMOCHIS]

This guy is taking his anger out on us for firing blatt

 

[bboy]

no way he's back next year...

 

[Jscc]

Moz needs to man up. He has the 2nd worst real plus minus in the league among centers... something like 76th out of 77. This on a team with one of the best records in the league. He's -11 in 8 minutes tonight. He's no all star but he's too good to be the liability he's been all year.

I thought tonight was just a genuinely bad game for him. But because he's the team's whipping boy [from the coach all the way down to the players], he has no margin of error.

He stated about a month ago his knee discomfort is gone. He got his starting spot back. Now he has one of the worst games this season after being benched.. again.

Lue has no idea what he's doing. There's no stability on this team. And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Moz decided to walk away from this mess.

 

[Woodkid]

K.Irving 39min 5-17,4 TO,3BA +4
K.Love 36min 6-17,3 TO +11
Moz 8min 0-0,1 TO,1 BS -11
MOZ is a terrible player and again lost the game

 

[Taiter]

I thought tonight was just a genuinely bad game for him. But because he's the team's whipping boy [from the coach all the way down to the players], he has no margin of error.

He stated about a month ago his knee discomfort is gone. He got his starting spot back. Now he has one of the worst games this season after being benched.. again.

Lue has no idea what he's doing. There's no stability on this team. And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Moz decided to walk away from this mess.

It was but the guy just plays with no toughness; he's passive. He had a bit of a nasty streak last year. I don't know if it's the injury or shaky confidence (because the team is down on him) or if last year was an outlier.

 

[Adam]

He needs to start to have any kind of impact. I dont get not starting him. TT plays better in the 4th quarter if he doesnt start. I wish lue would focus on making in-game changes that stop runs instead of these cute lineup changes that destroy any shred of rhythm he has. We need him in the playoffs

 

[Simon]

Confidence builder I guess....?

 

[flop]

Confidence builder I guess....?

I knew McRae was good for something.