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Game Thread 2019-20 Season Game #61 | Cleveland Cavaliers vs Utah Jazz | March 2nd, 2020

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Yea I can't excuse that. It's an 82 game season. You can't keep playing guys 15-20 minutes straight.

And then this tonight was just next level. Like...what's he trying to do? Secure his NCAA Tourney spot with a 7 man rotation? I don't understand. At all.

If JBB won't play Wade or Mooney, Koby needs to use one of the two open roster spots to sign someone to a 10 day that JBB will play. Even if it's just on the level of someone like Blossomgame.
 
So much for the Drummond vs. Gobert matchup I was looking forward to watching. With both Drummond and TT out the Cavs had no chance. Rudy Gobert had 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks and Utah was a +20 when he was on the floor. In addition to the five blocks he altered numerous other shots that were missed and forced the Cavs to pass up shots in the paint they usually would have put up. His presence was huge. I'm sure Sexton, Porter, and Cedi among others are glad they only have to play him twice a year.

Bogdanovic was unstoppable with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. We kept Donovan Mitchell from going crazy but he still finished with a nice line of 19/9/4 and a team high +21.

The Jazz shot 56.6% from the field and 48.8% from deep as they showed why they lead the NBA in 3-point percentage. They also dominated the boards 47-36 but part of that was because they only missed 36 shots while the Cavs missed 49. Utah had a lot more rebound opportunities.

But the Cavs competed all the way to the end. They were outscored every quarter, but not by a lot. The Jazz won the quarters by 6, 2, 4, and 1 point for a 13-point margin. Without Drummond, Thompson, and Garland the Cavs gutted it out and played a pretty good game. Unfortunately, with all the injuries they only had seven players, not counting the Canton Charge guys. The depleted Cavs bench scored 11 points, although Delly had 9 assists.

Collin Sexton stepped up and played possibly his best game of the season with a career high 32 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals while committing only one turnover. The best team stat was the 6 turnovers the Cavs committed. The Cavs are last in the NBA in turnovers per game, averaging 16.6, so only having 6 turnovers is exceptional, probably their best of the season. Part of that is the Jazz don't go for steals - they play conservatively and try to force low percentage shots knowing Rudy will gobble up the rebound. They're 29th in steals per defensive play, so maybe the low turnover number by the Cavs was mainly due to Utah's style of defense. But maybe it was also due to Garland being out.

Sexton held his own and then some in the battle of young scoring guards. Mitchell had 19 points and 9 rebounds but also 4 turnovers. I'd say it was pretty even.

Nance had another nice all-around game with a line of 16/8/8, plus two steals. One of these days he's going to get a triple-double. Kevin Love had 22 points, 9 boards and was 6-for-10 on 3's. The Cavs were +3 in his 32 minutes and -16 in the 16 minutes he sat. A really good game by Kevin and when he sat down things got a lot worse.

So, a very good effort as the Cavs competed well in a game they had no business of winning. Let's hope they get a couple of these guys back for the Celtics game Wednesday.
 
17 win team playing a 7 man rotation in March.

This is dumb. Bickerstaff needs to be thinking bigger picture than this.

I'm assuming this is an injury situation.

Saw the game on recorded delay. I enjoyed seeing the old school guys have a decent game - Delly had some sick passes and Love wasn't afraid to square up long threes when Stifle Tower was matched up on him. Porter played exceptionally well on both ends of the court until he ran out of gas at the end of both halves. I liked how he played Mitchell, especially in the first half. Sexton benefitted greatly being the alpha #1 option. That's the stuff that gives a team like this one a chance.

I felt like this team had two problems going against them:

1. The loss of Drummond hurt. The Zizic Army has to step back and look at what happened tonight against a real big. He was often confused in 2 on 1 defense, and that is a big part of being an NBA center. Nance had to try to cover for them, and he made several mental errors as well, but he is more of a forward than a Gobert Whisperer.

2. Aside from Love and Sexton, the outside shooting kills spacing on offense. They needed more from the "other guys" to create offensive space.
 
I'm assuming this is an injury situation.

Saw the game on recorded delay. I enjoyed seeing the old school guys have a decent game - Delly had some sick passes and Love wasn't afraid to square up long threes when Stifle Tower was matched up on him. Porter played exceptionally well on both ends of the court until he ran out of gas at the end of both halves. I liked how he played Mitchell, especially in the first half. Sexton benefitted greatly being the alpha #1 option. That's the stuff that gives a team like this one a chance.

I felt like this team had two problems going against them:

1. The loss of Drummond hurt. The Zizic Army has to step back and look at what happened tonight against a real big. He was often confused in 2 on 1 defense, and that is a big part of being an NBA center. Nance had to try to cover for them, and he made several mental errors as well, but he is more of a forward than a Gobert Whisperer.

2. Aside from Love and Sexton, the outside shooting kills spacing on offense. They needed more from the "other guys" to create offensive space.

Wade and Mooney played the last minute.

Some of these guys have been logging big minutes lately. It was just a mistake to not play those two here and there. Particularly when it was an 8 point game at half-time and never got closer than that. He's trying to hard right now to eek out wins.
 
Fun game. Too many scoring droughts.

Collin played a team game where he scored big. Good decision-making.

Porter had a lot of good plays, but it wasn't really a whole game.

Utah is schematically a good team and they just try to win quarters. A couple of stars can beat them, but they are a balanced attack.

Lots of good performances in a loss.
 
Without key players it wasn't going to be close .
 
You guys realize that Bickerstaff was doing all the subbing even when Beilein was here.
 
Without key players it wasn't going to be close .
With five minutes to go the Cavs were down by 11. Not exactly close, but they competed and had a chance to win until Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left to push the lead to 14. That was probably the dagger.

The Hawks lost at home last night to Memphis by 39. Orlando lost by 23 at home to Portland. Embarassing. I love the way the Cavs compete and don't get blown out, even with five guys out against a tough Western Conference playoff team with two days off and no injuries.
 
Without key players it wasn't going to be close .

How do you know that? They might have maintained their lead and won if Wade and Mooney rotate in and score a point a minute. And they would actually guard somebody. The 27-13 Charge played the day before in RMF. Should have just given the Cavs the day off and played the Canton players. They would have played their butts off and I think the results would be shocking to most.
 
How do you know that? They might have maintained their lead and won if Wade and Mooney rotate in and score a point a minute. And they would actually guard somebody. The 27-13 Charge played the day before in RMF. Should have just given the Cavs the day off and played the Canton players. They would have played their butts off and I think the results would be shocking to most.
How do I know that?
UH , because I've watched a ton of games and I get a feel for how the Cavs play even when they're short -handed.
 
I’ve coached a ton of games and realize they weren’t short handed. You never KNOW for sure how something will work until you try it. Learn from experience. The Cavs just won’t play two way guys because it might increase their stock and they’d have to match a qualifying offer. Dean especially has scared the pants off them by how well he’s played every time he’s given a chance and by what he’s doing in Canton.
 
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