Game Thread 2019-20 Season Game #50 | Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors | Feb 1st, 2020

[cabs]

our players are so soft. Altman loves soft undersized players.

 

[red.]

wow.
Garland finally have a freakin pulse.

 

[jrcross13]

You’ve have a great username color. How did you get that?

I honestly don't know. I made this profile back during the LeBron Safari days, so it's been a while.

 

[red.]

I’d like to see a two man game between Garland and Sexton. They do have a bit of chemistry.

When Garland had those 10 assist, he found Sexton quite a bit.

 

[red.]

Shoulda never took Sexton out when he was feeling it. He was getting caught on screens, but he was the only one scoring.

the bench had zero resistance. Keeping the starters on the bench for all that time was dumb as hell when the bench didn’t exactly outperform the starters defensively.

 

[daddywags]

In the 33 minutes Sexton played they were +1. In the 15 minutes he sat they were -20. Obviously, he was only a smallish part of the 33 minutes, but any suggestion that he was a large part of the blowout is just wrong IMO.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I don't know where to start. That was a pathetic performance against a team that had lost 15 of 16 and was 3-22 on the road. The Cavs made them look like NBA champions. The game was over a few minutes into the third quarter. Draymond Green almost single-handedly destroyed the Cavs with 16 assists in 2.5 quarters. The third quarter was a layup drill for the W's as they destroyed the Cavs 44-19. The fans were booing towards the end of that 28-4 run. Once again the Cavs came out of the locker room totally flat for the third quarter. They looked like they all smoked some marijuana at halftime.

A game like this forces the Cavs management to question if they're on the right track. I don't see how they can play Garland and Sexton at the same time. Love is a joke defensively. Thompson is tough in the paint but has only one skill and can't get up and down the floor.

The Warriors ran the Cavs right out of the gym. The fast break points were something like 27-6 and that doesn't count the open 3's the W's got in transition. The Cavs have got to be the slowest team in the league from rim to rim.

There was one play in garbage time in the fourth quarter. Sexton intercepted a pass intended for the corner and took off. He was immediately ahead of the other four Cavs, but every single Warrior got back on defense and were across the half court line before every Cavalier but Sexton, who quickly found himself with four Warriors in front of him and one just behind. Sexton stupidly drove right into the middle of four Warriors and was stripped of the ball.

What was revealing was how all five Warriors were across half court well before the four Cavs were. This has been going on all year. Love, Thompson, and Cedi are so slow from lane to lane it's ridiculous. There was a play against Toronto where Serge Ibaka fell down on a corner 3 by Cedi. As the shot bounced off the rim Ibaka was laying right beside Cedi. Ibaka scrambled to his feet and beat Cedi down the floor by three steps, in time to stop at the rim, get a pass, and make an uncontested dunk. I played it back a few times. It was astonishing to see a 30-year old center pick himself off the floor and leave Cedi in the dust. He just wanted it more.

Garland had a horrible game, although he made a couple of 3's late to make his numbers halfway respectable. On defense the W's abused him relentlessly, driving on him and backing him down. It looked like an 8th grader playing the varsity. On offense he couldn't get anything going. He had five turnovers and it seemed like every lob or layup he tried was blocked or deflected.

Porter came in and scored 11 points in five minutes, but was useless after that. He was a -25 in 24 minutes despite scoring 19 points.

Green was +26 in 26 minutes, sitting out the 4th quarter after leading the W's to a 44-17 third quarter blowout.

The Warriors were 18-for-35 on 3's, most of which were totally uncontested. They had an incredible 39 assists on 48 baskets. They simply ran and passed the Cavs to death. Almost every shot was a layup or an open 3-pointer. I couldn't believe how many easy layups and uncontested 3's they were getting. I was embarassed for the Cavs. So was Austin Carr. It wasn't the first time this season he was questioning the players' pride. "How can you let them treat you like this?", he asked. I don't know if I've seen a Cavs player commit a hard foul this year. The Cavs gave up 131 points and committed only 15 fouls.

I don't know if I could watch this game if Steph Curry and Klay Thompson suited up. Playing with Green, Russell, and a cast of backups, including Chriss, the Warriors had 105 points by the end of the third quarter. Beilein put the starters back in to start the fourth quarter. Playing against the Dub's bench they cut eight points off the deficit to end up losing by only 19.

I don't see how they can go forward with Love and Thompson. They're both way, way too slow from end-to-end. They can play in the half court game, but once the running starts they are left way behind. Same with Cedi. And Garland is too small to defend anybody. Even Lowry was pushing him around and getting whatever he wanted. Yeah, Garland needs a year in the weight room and he needs to develop a floater because a lot of his layups and getting swatted.

Sexton had a solid game with 23/2/4 and 3 steals. He had one turnover in 33 minutes. Nance was 12/5/2 with one turnover in 23 minutes. Other than those two I didn't see anything I liked.

The Cavs have a stretch coming up where they play two games in 15 days. They need to have some productive practices and Beilein needs to reevalute his lineups. With Garland, Love, TT and Cedi on the floor at the same time they are horrible defensively and can't run with anybody. I'd like to see more of Nance, Porter, and McKinnie. We need more athleticism and more ability to run the floor.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I was impressed with Paschall. Wish we'd taken him instead of Windler.

 

[Dr. Claw]

There was one play in garbage time in the fourth quarter. Sexton intercepted a pass intended for the corner and took off. He was immediately ahead of the other four Cavs, but every single Warrior got back on defense and were across the half court line before every Cavalier but Sexton, who quickly found himself with four Warriors in front of him and one just behind. Sexton stupidly drove right into the middle of four Warriors and was stripped of the ball.

This is a situation I often see with Sexton. We know he's faster than everyone else. But it takes everyone forever to get down the court. Often Sexton has no way of making the right play because no one else is over there. And it usually ends like this. Or, Sexton ends up having to dribble until everyone else gets back on offense. And in that situation....

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

This is a situation I often see with Sexton. We know he's faster than everyone else. But it takes everyone forever to get down the court. Often Sexton has no way of making the right play because no one else is over there. And it usually ends like this. Or, Sexton ends up having to dribble until everyone else gets back on offense. And in that situation....

Yes, Sexton would be a more effective player if he weren't on such a slow team. You frequently see Love grab a defensive rebound, fire it to Sexton, and he's across the half court line in a flash and ready to attack in transition but sees three defenders in front of him while the rest of the Cavs are shuffling behind. He has to dribble in a circle until the rest of the team gets there and then set up their half-court offense.

On a team of rim runners Sexton would be a force in transition.

 

[CleveRocks]

I was also at the game, and the overall was a terrible performance

It really did not achieve terrible into the last five minutes of the second quarter. Up to that point it was merely not great basketball. They were up ten, and passing the ball great, but then they just ran out of gas. they couldn't buy a basket, and could not defend..

At the core of tonight's problem was this team couldn't figure out defense beyond occasionally harassing whoever was in front of them. They picked on Garland all night long and he just got bullied. It was like IT level bad, and for the most part he got no help. He rallied a few times offensively after DAR embarrassed him, but he just can't stop anyone with core strength, which is everybody but maybe Lee. He is still quick, and shifty, nice stroke, and a better passer than Sexton, but still makes dumb circus passes in the paint.

Love could not buy a thrill. He was throwing long bricks all night.. had some good passes and tough rebounds even in garbage time, but..

Sexton is part of the problem still. He is the best offensive option when Love is Sucking. He is fast, with and without the ball, and a double screen curl with picks by love and Osman handing off was effective in the first quarter. He is also strong enough physically to harrass another guard, but when they switched him into Spellman or green or even paschall, he also got bullied.

However he was blocked four or five times on that drive into traffic thing and missed the inside pass for dunks on three of those. When he did attempt an inside pass it was thrown to Thompson with four guys on him.. He gets lost on rotations against a good offensive movement pretty much every time.

Porter was better than those two, as he has the strength to defend big bodies, although even he had to work hard against Paschall. I agree with the assesment that he may have more upside than Garland or Sexton.. I think he plays a lot like Iggy, with those long strong arms on defense and can score inside or out... He has some serious range.. But he still got lost often defensively.

Cedi actually had an OK game. He is a team player and does all the little things that don't show on the box score.. but he was trying to cover a lot of mistakes.. Nance was pretty good. Dante played defense a little, but in my opinion does not belong on an NBA floor. Love went out of his way to get him a basket early on.. McKinnie at least looks like he might be a useful bench player..

As for the warriors.. I hate me some Draymond as he is a dirty player. He tried to hurt Sexton and I think deserved a flagrant.. but let's be honest, he is a far better point guard than anyone in a Cavs uniform. I think he is what Nance wants to be.. His court awareness and strength inside, outside shot make him a tough out. I would argue that he is the best player on that team, and it's not close. Russel is sort of like Sexton, but taller, which makes him offensive dangerous.

I like Spellman, and I think he is Draymond light..

Burke is also pretty good. I could see the warriors trading him for an asset, as I think he could get Clarkson level return from a good team.. he makes his open shots and he has a high BB iq.. he shows up in the right place, and a guy like Green, knows what to do with that..

So overall disappointing loss, defensless, no effort in the third. When the crowd is booing you, you have a problem. We are a long way from home..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Interesting comment about Green being what Nance wants to be. Green scored less than 10 points but his 16 assists probably resulted in 35 points, counting the 3's. He's also been on the All-Defense team five years in a row. He actually reminded me of Magic Johnson, a 6'8" point guard with tremendous passing skills. I never saw a player throw that many perfect lob passes in one game. He was like a 6'8" Dellavedova.

Nance has a similar game but not as good, especially on the defensive end. His passing is really coming along and his 3-point shooting has improved tremendously.

 

[ansatsusha80]

Yes, Sexton would be a more effective player if he weren't on such a slow team. You frequently see Love grab a defensive rebound, fire it to Sexton, and he's across the half court line in a flash and ready to attack in transition but sees three defenders in front of him while the rest of the Cavs are shuffling behind. He has to dribble in a circle until the rest of the team gets there and then set up their half-court offense.

On a team of rim runners Sexton would be a force in transition.

I didn't see the second half due to my TV but I will say this far too many times I see the team lagging behind when Sexton is cruising to the basket the other players barely makes it to half court or stay in the backcourt....And,then gives up an easy bucket on defense.

The only players I see that's willing to go on the fastbreak with Sexton are Nance,Porter,Cedi and Tristan.Love doesn't even try to go on the break.

Maybe,Sexton needs to slow down a little bit but it still doesn't change how players just take their time to the basket.

I know one thing, Im tired of the team getting blown out in the third quarter and then try to make it a game in the fourth.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

We don't need Sexton to slow down; we need to get faster, more athletic players who can run the floor and get layups and open 3's in transition or at least fill a lane so the defenders can't bunch in front of Sexton.

 

[Green Lantern]

We don't need Sexton to slow down; we need to get faster, more athletic players who can run the floor and get layups and open 3's in transition or at least fill a lane so the defenders can't bunch in front of Sexton.

Then you need to talk to Altman about that . I have watched how other teams draft these lengthy scrappy /quick/fast players who are nightmare matchups for their opponents.
Cavs don't have that.