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Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #15 | Celtics @ Cavs | Nov. 15

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My takeaway is that this is a team that desperately needs the reinforcements to show up. Allen and Mobley have looked pretty gassed over the last two or three games. Rubio is playing too many minutes and it's showing up on the defensive side of the court.

Also, Bickerstaff needs to do a better job of balancing offense/defense with his deeper rotations. Maybe you can get away with Rubio, Garland, and Valentine on the floor at the same time IF both Mobley and Allen are out there with them. But if Valentine is on Tatum, you're not getting stops.

Hopefully, getting back Lauri and Love will help some. Stevens should be back sooner rather than later. But as the season wears on, the Cavs might have to take an L on a Sexton trade just to bring in a secondary ball handler so they can start dialing back Rubio's minutes. They're not sustainable at his age.

Finally, can the Cavs have a couple of go-to responses in the que when other teams trap or double Garland? I've already had a series of mini-strokes in response to the Cavs having zero counters to Love getting doubled for almost his entire time on the roster. This isn't advanced calculus stuff. When opponents are routinely doubling the same guys, someone is unguarded and you need to have counters that are almost automatic in those circumstances.
I gotta say that I think Rubio's defense has been superb lately; much better than the start of the season.

A peak at the on/offs shows that the Cavs D has been 4.7/100 better with Rubio on the court. Especially impressive given that he's played 49% of his minutes with Cedi, and the defense is 10.1 worse with Jedi on the court
 
I gotta say that I think Rubio's defense has been superb lately; much better than the start of the season.

A peak at the on/offs shows that the Cavs D has been 4.7/100 better with Rubio on the court. Especially impressive given that he's played 49% of his minutes with Cedi, and the defense is 10.1 worse with Jedi on the court
Last night, particularly in the second half, his defense was not, by any definition, superb. He was gassed and looking to conserve energy. I also thought his decision making might have been impacted by being tired. He was pressing and ended up 9/20 with only 2 assists and 3 turnovers. Rubio's been great for us this year, but when guys start showing signs of wearing out, you want to get in front of that. He's playing too many minutes and he's playing way too many uninterrupted minutes in the second half.
 
No, obviously you can't fire him right now.

I get people wanting a super good coach, but there really aren't many. Very risky firing your coach. Could be Indiana situation. Who would you get? Atkinson?

I get people want offense too, but you can't have an offense only guy working with Mobley.
 
Last night, particularly in the second half, his defense was not, by any definition, superb. He was gassed and looking to conserve energy. I also thought his decision making might have been impacted by being tired. He was pressing and ended up 9/20 with only 2 assists and 3 turnovers. Rubio's been great for us this year, but when guys start showing signs of wearing out, you want to get in front of that. He's playing too many minutes and he's playing way too many uninterrupted minutes in the second half.
Tough to get assists when there is a dearth of offensive options on the floor.
 
Tough to get assists when there is a dearth of offensive options on the floor.
Maybe I need to reiterate that I think Rubio is having a great season for us. It's just that last night was not a good game for him. He's here to facilitate and he didn't. The Celtics sold out on stopping Mobley, which they did, he had an awful game. But if they're selling out to stop Mobley, then there are assist opportunities for other teammates. Rubio took 20 shots and had 2 assists. The rest of the team had 23 makes. If Rubio assisted on two of those, it follows that he didn't assist on 21 of them. Windler was on the floor for 11 minutes and went 1 for 1. I'll have to go back and see how many of those minutes he shared with Rubio, but that shouldn't happen. He didn't really take what the defense was giving. He pressed instead of facilitated.
 
Not playing Windler with this many injuries is really what has me rather bearish on the rest of the season.

I just don't trust JBB.

Like, I want to walk into his office and scream that the Grit And Grind days are over. You HAVE To have floor spacing these days. All the defense in the world and you're still gonna run into a whole bunch of teams that just get hot and shoot you off the court.

I'd rather he get that message before the season turns to shit.

But this 93-90 stuff won't last.
I’ll let JB know tomorrow as I will be behind the Cavs bench.
 
I’ll let JB know tomorrow as I will be behind the Cavs bench.
Dont forget your nostril plugs and Tom petty wig mask. Cavs stink now
edit: the bench will probably contain players that don't stink so you're good if you stay away from the coach
 
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I’ll let JB know tomorrow as I will be behind the Cavs bench.
Tell JB to start Windler and have him defend Durant in man coverage. Let’s also speed the game up and shoot lots of threes. Grit and grind days are over, so let’s run and gun. Should be no problem outshooting the Nets. We’ll go full Doug Moe. Good chance of holding Brooklyn under 200.
 
Tell JB to start Windler and have him defend Durant in man coverage. Let’s also speed the game up and shoot lots of threes. Grit and grind days are over, so let’s run and gun. Should be no problem outshooting the Nets. We’ll go full Doug Moe. Good chance of holding Brooklyn under 200.
I thought that Durant and Harden may be off for rest tomorrow bad they played b2b and 3 games in 4 days but since they got bullied by Golden State I expect them to play. I want Windler to start and guard Durant. It is unfortunate with Mobley and Allen out but I really want Garland and Okoro to be aggressive tomorrow.
 

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