Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #46 | Cavs @ Bulls | Jan. 19, 2022 | 8:00 p.m.

[CavzAddict]

Bad defensive game overall. No need too overanalyze it. On to the next. And we do need a player to just get buckets in situations like yesterday

 

[Jake]

The Bulls made it a statement game of sorts. They got us covered even when depleted.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

They’re a really good team, and they have really good players. To go on the road against a team that had lost four games in a row, they were going to come out with that sense of purpose. - JBB

Between the Bulls being determined to win this game and the Cavs playing their 8th game in 13 days, seven of which were on the road, the Cavs just didn't have the energy to finish.

It was a one-point game with 4:18 to go, but the Bulls finished 14-2 as Garland committed a turnover and got called for an offensive foul. Allen missed a point blank put-back. DeRo had an amazing 3-point play in the paint and next possession kicked it out to Vucevic in the corner for the dagger. Great effort by the Cavs but they ran out of gas in the last four minutes.

As for Okoro, I like a lot about the kid but it's a very legitimate question as to whether we can win in the playoffs with a shooting guard who does not score, assist, or rebound.

The guy I hope be becomes is Ayo Dosunmu. This kid is a rookie, 6'4", 200 pounds, and was the 38th pick in the draft. He's shooting 55.4% overall and 45.7% on 3's for the season. In his last three games he got to start due to injuries. His averages; 39 minutes, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, on an insane 23-for-30 from the field and 7-for-10 from deep. The Bulls appear to have struck gold with this kid. He looks like the steal of the draft. If he starts the rest of the season and continues to play at this level he'll be in the conversation for ROY.

I think it's BS that a team plays a six-game road trip on the west coast, comes home for one game, then has to go out on the road. The schedule played a big part in this loss but the win was there for the taking with Ball and LaVine out. The Bulls are in first place for a reason.

Miami, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Philly and Brooklyn all won so the Cavs lost ground on everybody. But the key takeaway is Lauri Markkanen has now made 18 of his last 38 three-point attempts for 47.4%. He has definitely found his outside stroke and he's getting better by the week at sealing smaller defenders under the rim and getting easy buckets. He's really coming on and that will be huge in the second half.

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

I like JBB but he’s going to HAVE to show in-game rotational growth. Both ends of the court impact the output, not just the defensive.

This game was lost in the 2nd quarter when he went away from a clear offensive advantage in Mobley who had been dominating Derozan.

Mobley had 12 in the first quarter and ended the game with 6 more points after sitting for like the last 8 mins of the second quarter. Lauri has an axe to grind anytime we’re playing Chi so he was always going to shoot any shot where he gets even a peek at the rim, but we should have stayed committed to exposing the small ball lineup with DDR at 4 and used Mobley on him on the other end just as much through all schemes. If you stay attacking DDR early, he’s not able to carry them late on the offensive end.

I gave JBB credit for junking up the Bulls offense with a box and one with Mobley wrecking havoc as the one, but when Donovan adjusted his sets to attack the zone and started getting open corner 3s and we went back to man, he inexplicably put Okoro on DDR and allowed DDR to get his legs under him again and cook him enroute to winning the game.

Okoro on DDR is just bad coaching. He’s made his career off getting smaller wings on him by hook or crook and surgically getting shots off against their single coverage in midrange. Like his entire career. Last year he cooked Okoro just the same while in SAS and even when Okoro made it tough, DDR found he could just elevate over him. Mobleys discipline and length would have neutralized DDR the entire night outside of the terrible officiating which kept rewarding him for travels.

There are a few DDR like wings who I’m worried about seeing in a playoff series and JBB assuming he can just let Okoro “battle” his way through the matchup. The smaller and weaker guys like the ones he just shut down (KI, Murray, SGA) sure, he can neutralize those and grateful for it. The bigger stronger and longer ones like DDR, PG, Tatum he shouldn’t even be asked to cover with Mobleys instincts and discipline out there. Use the defensive unicorn you’ve got at your disposal who showed you he was ready to win that matchup on both ends.

I woke up this morning frustrated by that coaching gaffe.

 

[The Oi]

I like JBB but he’s going to HAVE to show in-game rotational growth. Both ends of the court impact the output, not just the defensive.

This game was lost in the 2nd quarter when he went away from a clear offensive advantage in Mobley who had been dominating Derozan.

Mobley had 12 in the first quarter and ended the game with 6 more points after sitting for like the last 8 mins of the second half. Lauri has an axe to grind anytime we’re playing Chi so he was always going to shoot any shot where he gets even a peek at the rim, but we should have stayed committed to exposing the small ball lineup with DDR at 4 and used Mobley on him on the other end just as much through all schemes. If you stay attacking DDR early, he’s not able to carry them late on the offensive end.

I gave JBB credit for junking up the Bulls offense with a box and one with Mobley wrecking havoc as the one, but when Donovan adjusted his sets to attack the zone and started getting open corner 3s and we went back to man, he inexplicably put Okoro on DDR and allowed DDR to get his legs under him again and cook him enroute to winning the game.

Okoro on DDR is just bad coaching. He’s made his career off getting smaller wings on him by hook or crook and surgically getting shots off against their single coverage in midrange. Like his entire career. Last year he cooked Okoro just the same while in SAS and even when Okoro made it tough, DDR found he could just elevate over him. Mobleys discipline and length would have neutralized DDR the entire night outside of the terrible officiating which kept rewarding him for travels.

There are a few DDR like wings who I’m worried about seeing in a playoff series and JBB assuming he can just let Okoro “battle” his way through the matchup. The smaller and weaker guys like the ones he just shut down (KI, Murray, SGA) sure, he can neutralize those and grateful for it. The bigger stronger and longer ones like DDR, PG, Tatum he shouldn’t even be asked to cover with Mobleys instincts and discipline out there. Use the defensive unicorn you’ve got at your disposal who showed you he was ready to win that matchup on both ends.

I woke up this morning frustrated by that coaching gaffe.

Good analysis.

 

[Heat Check]

I like JBB but he’s going to HAVE to show in-game rotational growth. Both ends of the court impact the output, not just the defensive.

This game was lost in the 2nd quarter when he went away from a clear offensive advantage in Mobley who had been dominating Derozan.

Mobley had 12 in the first quarter and ended the game with 6 more points after sitting for like the last 8 mins of the second half. Lauri has an axe to grind anytime we’re playing Chi so he was always going to shoot any shot where he gets even a peek at the rim, but we should have stayed committed to exposing the small ball lineup with DDR at 4 and used Mobley on him on the other end just as much through all schemes. If you stay attacking DDR early, he’s not able to carry them late on the offensive end.

I gave JBB credit for junking up the Bulls offense with a box and one with Mobley wrecking havoc as the one, but when Donovan adjusted his sets to attack the zone and started getting open corner 3s and we went back to man, he inexplicably put Okoro on DDR and allowed DDR to get his legs under him again and cook him enroute to winning the game.

Okoro on DDR is just bad coaching. He’s made his career off getting smaller wings on him by hook or crook and surgically getting shots off against their single coverage in midrange. Like his entire career. Last year he cooked Okoro just the same while in SAS and even when Okoro made it tough, DDR found he could just elevate over him. Mobleys discipline and length would have neutralized DDR the entire night outside of the terrible officiating which kept rewarding him for travels.

There are a few DDR like wings who I’m worried about seeing in a playoff series and JBB assuming he can just let Okoro “battle” his way through the matchup. The smaller and weaker guys like the ones he just shut down (KI, Murray, SGA) sure, he can neutralize those and grateful for it. The bigger stronger and longer ones like DDR, PG, Tatum he shouldn’t even be asked to cover with Mobleys instincts and discipline out there. Use the defensive unicorn you’ve got at your disposal who showed you he was ready to win that matchup on both ends.

I woke up this morning frustrated by that coaching gaffe.

Excellent post. I was this close to throwing stuff at my TV when JBB went away from Mobley vs. DDR.

Between Mobley going right at DeRozan's chest and Lauri scoring from everywhere, we had the game well in hand. JBB's mistake was subbing in the Kevin Love United Slumpers lineup and leaving it in for way too long.

As for Lauri… amazingly, he scored the 28pts almost entirely without getting plays or actions called for him. That's his great value in the starting lineup. He takes what he can get. But when he's red hot like he was against the Bulls, it's up to the coach to lean on him a bit more than usual.

As I wrote earlier… Mobley and Markkanen were all set for winning this game for us. Then JBB had to start getting cute.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Lonzo has a meniscus tear. Bulls become less of an issue long term. We just need to get the pieces we have all been talking about for weeks.

 

[Heat Check]

Lonzo has a meniscus tear. Bulls become less of an issue long term. We just need to get the pieces we have all been talking about for weeks.

Which pieces are those and who's headed out the door?

 

[bigfoot5415]

Which pieces are those and who's headed out the door?

Rubio, Windler, and Stevens can all go get 1 piece. Use the TPE or DPE for the other.

Need two dynamic wings. One that can handle the ball and one that plays solid defense. Both need to be respectable shooters.

 

[Dr No]

OK, I'm bummed about this game. The following notes are not in any order of importance, but trust me... I'm gonna vent on pretty much everyone and everything. Let's go.

• I've had it with Love's bullshit matador defense. The absolute refusal of this guy to contest ANY shot or drive right now is outrageous. And don't give me his fucking "OK" stat line. The way Kevin lets people score right in his face is demoralizing as hell and ruins the whole idea of team D. Look man, I know your 3pt shooting is putrid now and you're miffed about it, you're old and broken down and running out of gas. But don't just give up free baskets like it doesn't mean anything. That's insulting. Everyone knows you're the weak link on D, but at least give me a hard foul or put someone on their ass now and then.
  
  And before you say "Love's not that important", are you kidding me? There was a period when he was legit being talked about as a 6MOY candidate. He's still playing over 20 minutes per game and is often the first guy off the bench. That matters. I don't expect miracles from Love, but if he's performing like this, most of his minutes HAVE to go to Wade. It's crazy JBB is just refusing to play Dean, even with Love melting down right in front of his eyes. If Love isn't scoring, he isn't helping and a tired Love isn't scoring. The shrinking of our bench in the midst of this stretch makes zero sense. We are fortunate it took until the last game to catch up to us.
  
  
• Probably the worst game I've ever seen from Allen. Maybe he needs a new pair of contact lenses or something, but he's been having a lot of trouble catching the ball and passing it to his teammates for a while now. Just an awful case of the butterfingers. Also missing bunnies left and right and getting absolutely ABUSED by a ground bound Vucevic who's having a shitty season. On offense, JA is clearly the one suffering the most from our lack of spacing. Which naturally brings me to....
  
  
• Okoro. Good god man. 8 points (0-1 from the perimeter) and zero rebounds in 30 minutes from our starting shooting guard (who some people have the audacity to call a "wing")? That is not going to cut it. Okoro has now made a grand total of four 3pt shots over his last eight games. Can't make (or doesn't take) 3's, can't make plays for others, doesn't rebound. Absolutely ruins the spacing. Hey, at least he held DeRozan to 30 points.
  
  This guy is not the answer at the 2 spot and we should stop pretending he is ASAP. Its even worse than the numbers because he's not even being defended and still can't put up points. Other teams didn't guard Stevens and Stevens hurt them - why can't Okoro? If Windler or Cedi got defended the same way, they'd score 20 per night.
  
  
• JBB's in-game decisions continue to be puzzling, to put it kindly. We had a good thing going early, with Mobley succesfully attacking DDR, people moving on offense, Lauri breathing fire. Then JBB decided to insert a slumping Love & co, which destroyed all the momentum. What's worse, he left that disaster lineup out there for waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too long until our lead had evaporated and we were totally out of sorts. We were fighting an uphill battle from there on and never really got back in the game. Just awful game management. Why can't he recognize when the momentum shifts in a game? You HAVE to put a stop to that. Take a timeout, a tech, I don't care.
  
  Also, when a guy is absolutely on fire, you need to go to him again and again and again. All game. Sometimes basketball is not complicated. Feed the hot hand. Even if the guy doesn't make all his shots, the defense is forced to react, which opens things up for everyone else. Lauri made stuff happen pretty much every time he got the ball, and he STILL had only 14 shots and 33 minutes. We wasted a great game by him, and Mobley should have been featured a lot more.
  
  
• Their bench tryhards were better than our bench tryhards. Cedi has completely lost his 3pt shot (he's made a total of five in the last seven games), which is a real problem when Love can't hit anything either. Right now, our bench sucks balls. Rondo won't help much there, if he ever does return. Once again - Wade needs to play. He probably needs to play a lot. Wade has proven over and over that he can play minutes and not hurt us because his defense and passing are always solid, and when his offense shows up, he even helps. Why not let him try and play DDR? He's been good against guys like that this year and on offense he can at least knock down the corner 3.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Lonzo has a meniscus tear. Bulls become less of an issue long term. We just need to get the pieces we have all been talking about for weeks.

Due to having three games postponed due to virus the Bulls have a little more concentrated schedule the rest of the way, which is not good if they have a key player missing. However, he'll be back for the playoffs.

That team they put on the floor last night without Ball looked really good. Coby White is a pretty good player. Then add LaVine to last night's core of DeRo, Vucevic, Caruso, and Dosunmu and that's a very good team even without Ball.

 

[buzzdog]

OK, I'm bummed about this game. The following notes are not in any order of importance, but trust me... I'm gonna vent on pretty much everyone and everything. Let's go.

• I've had it with Love's bullshit matador defense. The absolute refusal of this guy to contest ANY shot or drive right now is outrageous. And don't give me his fucking "OK" stat line. The way Kevin lets people score right in his face is demoralizing as hell and ruins the whole idea of team D. Look man, I know your 3pt shooting is putrid now and you're miffed about it, you're old and broken down and running out of gas. But don't just give up free baskets like it doesn't mean anything. That's insulting. Everyone knows you're the weak link on D, but at least give me a hard foul or put someone on their ass now and then.
  
  And before you say "Love's not that important", are you kidding me? There was a period when he was legit being talked about as a 6MOY candidate. He's still playing over 20 minutes per game and is often the first guy off the bench. That matters. I don't expect miracles from Love, but if he's performing like this, most of his minutes HAVE to go to Wade. It's crazy JBB is just refusing to play Dean, even with Love melting down right in front of his eyes.
  
  
• Probably the worst game I've ever seen from Allen. Maybe he needs a new pair of contact lenses or something, but he's been having a lot of trouble catching the ball and passing it to his teammates for a while now. Just an awful case of the butterfingers. Also missing bunnies left and right and getting absolutely ABUSED by a ground bound Vucevic who's having a shitty season. On offense, JA is clearly the one suffering the most from our lack of spacing. Which naturally brings me to....
  
  
• Okoro. Good god man. 8 points (0-1 from the perimeter) and zero rebounds in 30 minutes from our starting shooting guard (who some people have the audacity to call a "wing")? That is not going to cut it. Okoro has now made a grand total of four 3pt shots over his last eight games. Can't make (or doesn't take) 3's, can't make plays for others, doesn't rebound. Absolutely ruins the spacing. Hey, at least he held DeRozan to 30 points.
  
  This guy is not the answer at the 2 spot and we should stop pretending he is ASAP.
  
  
• JBB's in-game decisions continue to be puzzling, to put it kindly. We had a good thing going early, with Mobley succesfully attacking DDR, people moving on offense, Lauri breathing fire. Then JBB decided to insert a slumping Love & co, which destroyed all the momentum. What's worse, he left that disaster lineup out there for waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too long until our lead had evaporated and we were totally out of sorts. We were fighting an uphill battle from there on and never really got back in the game. Just awful game management. Why can't he recognize when the momentum shifts in a game? You HAVE to put a stop to that. Take a timeout, a tech, I don't care.
  
  Also, when a guy is absolutely on fire, you need to go to him again and again and again. All game. Sometimes basketball is not complicated. Feed the hot hand. Even if the guy doesn't make all his shots, the defense is forced to react, which opens things up for everyone else. Lauri made stuff happen pretty much every time he got the ball, and he STILL had only 14 shots and 33 minutes. We wasted a great game by him, and Mobley should have been featured a lot more.
  
  
• Their bench tryhards were better than our bench tryhards. Cedi has completely lost his 3pt shot (he's made a total of five in the last seven games), which is a real problem when Love can't hit anything either. Right now, our bench sucks balls. Rondo won't help much there, if he ever does return. Once again - Wade needs to play. He probably needs to play a lot.

Yeah, fuck this team for not winning every single game. God.Damn.Them. Bastards!

 

[Dunkqvist]

Due to having three games postponed due to virus the Bulls have a little more concentrated schedule the rest of the way, which is not good if they have a key player missing. However, he'll be back for the playoffs.

That team they put on the floor last night without Ball looked really good. Coby White is a pretty good player. Then add LaVine to last night's core of DeRo, Vucevic, Caruso, and Dosunmu and that's a very good team even without Ball.

I don't know what happened to Coby White during the the injury time but he is now a totally different player. Used to be chucker with no court vision and a ball hog. Now all of the sudden the game has really slowed for him. I doubt they will keep him as they are better off finding minutes for Lonzo, Caruso and Ayo but he is a reasonable asset at least.
E: however he is net negative because of bad D stats.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Can't believe Indiana beat Golden State on the road last night in OT. Curry played well but Klay was 0-for-7 on 3's. Draymond was out and obviously that was key. Just goes to show even the elite teams get knocked off by bad teams every now and then.

The crazy thing is the Pacers were missing four starters; Sabonis, Brogdon, LeVert, and Turner, plus a key reserve in T.J. McConnell. They started Justin Holiday and four guys off the bench and beat the Dubs at their house. Wow! The Dubs were 16.5 point favorites.

When you give bench warmers a chance to start they are jacked out of their minds and frequently play over their heads.

At least the Cavs lost to the first place team in the East and it came down to the final four minutes. Can you imagine the reaction on this board if they lost at home to the 13th place Pacers with four starters out?

 

[RchfldCavRaised]

Can't believe Indiana beat Golden State on the road last night in OT. Curry played well but Klay was 0-for-7 on 3's. Draymond was out and obviously that was key. Just goes to show even the elite teams get knocked off by bad teams every now and then.

The crazy thing is the Pacers were missing four starters; Sabonis, Brogdon, LeVert, and Turner, plus a key reserve in T.J. McConnell. They started Justin Holiday and four guys off the bench and beat the Dubs at their house. Wow! The Dubs were 16.5 point favorites.

When you give bench warmers a chance to start they are jacked out of their minds and frequently play over their heads.

At least the Cavs lost to the first place team in the East and it came down to the final four minutes. Can you imagine the reaction on this board if they lost at home to the 13th place Pacers with four starters out?

That game was Rick Carlisle pushing EVERY button on ingame adjustments masterfully.

He didn't let a single offensive possession get run without stopping the ballhandler to feed him the play. Stan Van was working the call and he was calling out offensively and defensively what Carlisle would do and it was CRAZY watching him be right almost every trip down.

If anyone ever says to me that coaching doesn't matter as much st this level, that game was a masterclass both in Carlisle and with SVG showing how to play chess to give your team an advantage.

Loved it