Game Thread 2020-21 Season | Game #28 | Cavs @ Clippers | February 14, 2021

[Wham with the Right Hand]

More Cedi...

I think playing team defense. Helping each other and covering each other. That was the best part we were doing at the beginning of the season. Right now we’re just leaving each other on the island and letting them play one-on-one. We can’t do that. We’ve had a tough stretch. We’ve played against really good teams. That’s true. But, I mean, I don’t think that’s an excuse because we’ve already beat good teams, great teams, and we were competing with them. Why not compete right now?

It's a good sign that the players got together on their own after the game to look at the tape and discuss it with each other. It seems like they really want to get better. The NBA TV announcer noted that they were still playing hard in the 4th quarter long after the issue had been decided.

My take on the defense is they get beat off the dribble relentlessly and they don't have the height on the perimeter to effectively disrupt 3-point shots. Guys like Marcus Morris and Paul George just shoot right over them.

They have rim protection this year which is a big improvement over last year, but they don't defend the perimeter and they get beat off the dribble which forces the center to challenge the layup leaving the opposing center free for the offensive rebound and put-back. That's why the Cavs are last in defensive rebounding percentage - their bigs have to leave their man to cover for the wings getting blown by.

 

[pinoycavsfan]

Losing Nance to injury caused the dip in defense and rebounding. But it seems thay the slide in the cavs' defense started when Sexland and Okoro became healthy. Cant play 2 undersized guards and a rookie and expect stops.

 

[Rich]

There is no excuse for getting run out of the gym when they are without PG and Kawhi. Lose - OK - They still have quality players. But we haven’t even been competitive the last 3

The excuse is these players are bad.

Sexton and Garland are gonna put up nice looking boxscores, but they're not good players.

Toss in Okoro, and its a downright awful 1-3.

Not a single one of them can stop ANYONE. There is no player in the league that cant score on these 3.

Altman needs to be done.

 

[kidduck]

The talent of the players is not equal to the Clippers missing Leonard and George, but
on a lower tier, it could be argued that the Cavs are missing their 2 best players in
Love and Nance.

 

[kidduck]

Drummond wearing his 'Farewell' warm-ups last night is kids stuff.

Some leader.

 

[kidduck]

From the LA Times game story:

Playing without two leading, All-Star-caliber scorers is usually an ominous sign.

Against the skidding Cleveland Cavaliers, the omission barely mattered on the way to a 128-111 rout in which the Clippers led by 28 points.

On their way to a seventh straight defeat, the Cavaliers allowed 70 points by halftime, then were forced to call a timeout just 40 seconds into the second half after allowing a three-pointer and layup to Patrick Beverley. The Clippers’ confidence only grew from there. Minutes later, Beverley turned around to face the Cavaliers’ bench before his three-pointer from the corner had even gone in.

 

[kidduck]

Over the last 10 games of 1-9 record, Cavs are being outscored by an average of 17 points per game.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

The excuse is these players are bad.

Sexton and Garland are gonna put up nice looking boxscores, but they're not good players.

Toss in Okoro, and its a downright awful 1-3.

Not a single one of them can stop ANYONE. There is no player in the league that cant score on these 3.

Altman needs to be done.

Whoa, Friend - that’s a Kilgore-esque level of pessimism. You might want to CHECK yoself.

Next think you know, you are going to be saying that we should trade Baker Mayfield and that the Indians/Spiders will never make the WS again. It’s a slippery slope!

 

[Rich]

Whoa, Friend - that’s a Kilgore-esque level of pessimism. You might want to CHECK yoself.

Next think you know, you are going to be saying that we should trade Baker Mayfield and that the Indians/Spiders will never make the WS again. It’s a slippery slope!

Maybe one day.

But it's just math. If they're both good players, and Allen is a good player...that's 3 out of 5 players playing over 30 minutes a night, each, out of a potential 48 minutes.

So then should we be losing every single game we play, by 15+ points?

From the back-up rookie to the standout all-star, everyone can score on them.

 

[ansatsusha80]

The excuse is these players are bad.

Sexton and Garland are gonna put up nice looking boxscores, but they're not good players.

Toss in Okoro, and its a downright awful 1-3.

Not a single one of them can stop ANYONE. There is no player in the league that cant score on these 3.

Altman needs to be done.

It's amazing, how a few weeks can change people's mind. Not,too long ago,people were saying Sexton and Garland have figured it out,how they've been playing good defense, praising Sexton is the team's best scorer and etc.

Now,it's the total opposite, Sexton and Garland ain't good,Okoro is trash and etc.Knowing full well February was going to be a rough month for the team. All of our losses this month are against teams that will legitimately make the playoffs this season.

I don't understand, why people are freaking out knowing February would be a tough month for us,especially when we're a young team. After, tonight we have 5 games left in the month and 4 of them are at home were this team seem to play better.

 

[MirORich]

 

[MirORich]

With Looney and Wiseman both out tonight, GS size will be greatly diminished. Should allow Allen a shot to make a bunch of easy dunks on offense and get blocks on D.

On the flipside, Curry could easily torch us for 50 and watch this be one of those games that the usually inconsistent Oubre and Wiggins are both on.

 

[Rich]

It's amazing, how a few weeks can change people's mind. Not,too long ago,people were saying Sexton and Garland have figured it out,how they've been playing good defense, praising Sexton is the team's best scorer and etc.

Now,it's the total opposite, Sexton and Garland ain't good,Okoro is trash and etc.Knowing full well February was going to be a rough month for the team. All of our losses this month are against teams that will legitimately make the playoffs this season.

I don't understand, why people are freaking out knowing February would be a tough month for us,especially when we're a young team. After, tonight we have 5 games left in the month and 4 of them are at home were this team seem to play better.

I'll be honest, the defense always felt like fools gold. I was amazed early on. but it was totally predicated on forcing an amount of turnovers that hasn't been sustainable.

Sexton and Garland getting beaten like drums on defense is fully and totally expected. They're reverting to exactly as I thought they'd be.

16 teams make thep layoffs in the NBA. THat's half the league.

If you can't even HANG with any of them, let alone win a game, then you suck.

They suck. They're proving it to you every single night they step out onto the court. They're bad.