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Game Thread 2020-21 Season | Game #30 | Nuggets @ Cavs | February 19, 2021

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There were some positives tonight:

- Allen 20 & 10 8/9 and 4 assists.
- Okoro 3/6 from three was good to see.
- Cedi hit 3 threes in the second half, 6 RBS 7 ast. Not great but respectable.

Problem was SexLand was below average offensively. 14/32, 5/14, 4/6, 9 assists 8 turnovers and 1 rebound. They have to do much better offensively, especially against Denver, because the Nuggets are not strong on D but they can pass and shoot and SexLand gives up so much on D.

McGee and Dotson contributed a bit off the bench, Stevens was meh, Windler got a few boards but his shooting was awful.

Overall our defense is still bad and our offense is ugly. The score was closer than the game felt, partly because the effort is there but we‘re just not very good right now due to missing players, inexperience and low talent compared to most teams.
 
Pioneer10 said:
Uggh I think you foundaybe the best comparison to Sexton
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Gun to my head: A Monta Ellis career is probably better than the other two.

BUT, He is trending towards being a decently more efficient scorer than Ellis. Granted, Ellis best season was his 3rd, and then it was pretty downhill from there, so that could happen to Sexton too.
 
I think if love was playing. They still had Exum and he wasn't injured. I understand not playing Drummond. Cause of Allen But Drummond is really good. I think with those 3 players they would be going much better.
 
The Cavs didn't get payback but they lost by 17 rather than 38 so that's something.

They staggered out of the gate as the Nuggets hit their first 12 shots, most of them dunks and layups due to horrible defense. By the time the Nuggets missed their first shot it was 26-14.

The Cavs were down by 19 at halftime and lost by 17 so at least they played them even in the second half, unlike the last game these teams played.

The way Murray was shooting this game was not winnable, however, the Cavs still allowed way too many easy buckets. Murray was an amazing 21-for-25 and just toyed with the Cavs. He just took what was there and made every shot. The Cavs really needed Nance tonight. With Jamychal Green, Gary Harris, and Paul Millsap out the Nuggets just had Murray score 50 to make up for it. No problem at all. If those guys were there Murray would have just scored his average of 19 like the last time these teams played.

The good news is the Cavs had 30 assists. They're averaging 23 so that's an improvement. They also put up 31 three-point shots and hit a respectable 38.7%. Not comparable to the Nuggets' 48.4% but it's a start. More assists and more 3's are what we need.

Okoro had 14 points which was nice to see but five turnovers. Windler does a lot of positive things out there but his shooting is awful; he was 1-for-7 tonight. He misses some really easy shots at the rim and some uncontested threes. But at least he was slashing to the rim in the second half and getting to the rim. Now he just needs to learn how to finish.

Allen was the Cavs' best player going 8-for-9 from the field for 20 points with 10 boards and 4 assists. He was a team best -5 in 34 minutes. The Cavs were competitive when he was in the game.

The Cavs simply don't have anybody on the same level as Murray and Jokic. Those two combined for 72 of the Nuggets' 120 points and added 18 rebounds and 12 assists.

Murray is an example of why we need to be patient. He was the 7th overall pick in 2016. As a rookie he shot 40.4% from the field and 33.4% on 3's, averaging 9.9 ppg. By comparison, Darius Garland as a rookie shot 40.1% and 35.5%, almost identical to Murray. In Murray's second season he shot 45.1% and 37.8%. In Garland's second season he's at 45.2% and 40.7%. Garland leads in assists, 5.3 to 3.4.

I don't expect Garland to average 19.4 ppg in his 5th season like Murray because he's more of a passer and doesn't have the size to get off some of the shots Murray can take. But Garland is at 15.9 now and when you factor in his advantage in assists he could have a similar impact on offense. This year Murray is shooting 45.2% and 35.8%. Garland is at 45.2% and 40.7% and is three years younger.
 
Wham with the Right Hand said:
The Cavs didn't get payback but they lost by 17 rather than 38 so that's something.

They staggered out of the gate as the Nuggets hit their first 12 shots, most of them dunks and layups due to horrible defense. By the time the Nuggets missed their first shot it was 26-14.

The Cavs were down by 19 at halftime and lost by 17 so at least they played them even in the second half, unlike the last game these teams played.

The way Murray was shooting this game was not winnable, however, the Cavs still allowed way too many easy buckets. Murray was an amazing 21-for-25 and just toyed with the Cavs. He just took what was there and made every shot. The Cavs really needed Nance tonight.

The good news is the Cavs had 30 assists. They're averaging 23 so that's an improvement. They also put up 31 three-point shots and hit a respectable 38.7%. Not comparable to the Nuggets' 48.4% but it's a start. More assists and more 3's are what we need.

Okoro had 14 points which was nice to see but five turnovers. Windler does a lot of positive things out there but his shooting is awful; he was 1-for-7 tonight. He misses some really easy shots at the rim and some uncontested threes. But at least he was slashing to the rim in the second half and getting to the rim. Now he just needs to learn how to finish.

Allen was the Cavs' best player going 8-for-9 from the field for 20 points with 10 boards and 4 assists. He was a team best -5 in 34 minutes. The Cavs were competitive when he was in the game.

The Cavs simply don't have anybody on the same level as Murray and Jokic. Those two combined for 72 of the Nuggets' 120 points and added 18 rebounds and 12 assists.

Murray is an example of why we need to be patient. He was the 7th overall pick in 2016. As a rookie he shot 40.4% from the field and 33.4% on 3's, averaging 9.9 ppg. By comparison, Darius Garland as a rookie shot 40.1% and 35.5%, almost identical to Murray. In Murray's second season he shot 45.1% and 37.8%. In Garland's second season he's at 45.2% and 40.7%. Garland leads in assists, 5.3 to 3.4.

I don't expect Garland to average 19.4 ppg in his 5th season like Murray because he's more of a passer and doesn't have the size to get off some of the shots Murray can take. But Garland is at 15.9 now and when you factor in his advantage in assists he could have a similar impact on offense. This year Murray is shooting 45.2% and 35.8%. Garland is at 45.2% and 40.7% and is three years younger.
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I don’t think you can compare Garland to Murray. Murray is getting the opponents best defensive player and is game-planned against every night. He’s taking difficult 3’s and taking it to the hole through double teams. No one is putting that kind of effort into slowing down Garland.
 
Dr No said:
I don’t think you can compare Garland to Murray. Murray is getting the opponents best defensive player and is game-planned against every night. He’s taking difficult 3’s and taking it to the hole through double teams. No one is putting that kind of effort into slowing down Garland.
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Murray either his first two years.

He was the backup to Emmanuel Mudiay until Mike Malone finally caught on.
 
Dr No said:
I don’t think you can compare Garland to Murray. Murray is getting the opponents best defensive player and is game-planned against every night. He’s taking difficult 3’s and taking it to the hole through double teams. No one is putting that kind of effort into slowing down Garland.
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I agree. I'm just saying we saw a big improvement in Murray from his rookie year to his second season and gradual improvement since then. We could see the same from Garland, Okoro, and Windler, although they are not comparable physically to Murray, who is a 6'3", 215 pound shooting guard with mad skills.
 
Wham with the Right Hand said:
I agree. I'm just saying we saw a big improvement in Murray from his rookie year to his second season and gradual improvement since then. We could see the same from Garland, Okoro, and Windler, although they are not comparable physically to Murray, who is a 6'3", 215 pound shooting guard with mad skills.
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Is Murray really only 6'3?

I thought for sure he was 6'5

Being guarded by Okoro, he's easily an inch taller than him and looks longer as well.

I pray Murray is actually 6'6 for that reason (I can accept Okoro being a 6'4 sg)
 
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