Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #61 | Timberwolves @ Cavs | Feb. 28, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

[bigfoot5415]

They are healthy and 17-9 in their last 26

So whether they are low IQ or not, they are beating a lot of teams, home and away.

Not making excuses but I don’t think everyone here realizes this is not at all the same Wolves we whupped up on back in December.

I realize that. I also believe they have a few fatal flaws tharll prevent them from ever being taken serious as a contender.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Here's the thing.

That missed call on Goodwin? Brutal.


But not a minute before that or so they just gave Okoro 2 FTs after he picked up his dribble and halfcourt and fell over.

Fair point. I thought many of those fouls that went Russell's way were kinda shitty.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Ok.

I’m not really attacking JA here… However there tends to be from time to time performance issues, energy levels and a lack of production from JA when he plays up against the best of the best….

Which is okay and I get it….

I think his next step in development (for his game) is sustaining a high level of play, energy and effort when he’s taking on those kinda challenges….

I think he did fairly well this evening all things considered but in general he tends to lose a step when he’s playing the upper echelon…. But JA has never been a concern of mine really…

JA needs to keep working on that 15 footer from the elbow and free throw line when he's undefended. Once he starts knocking those down he'll be getting 20 points a game.

He also needs to start boxing out instead of staring at the rim when the shot goes up.

The Cavs went nearly 10 minutes in the second quarter without recording a rebound. When the Timberwolves weren’t making shots, they were outworking Cleveland on the glass, earning second-chance opportunities. - Fedor

The Wolves scored 38 points in the second quarter to overcome a 14-point deficit. A big part of that was the Cavs' being unable to secure rebounds. Also, Tim Frazier was a -9 in his 4 minutes of action, although you can't be too hard on him since it was his first game in a Cavs' uniform. In the second half JBB went with Cedi at PG when Goodwin needed a rest.

At one point the group on the floor was the biggest I've seen all year for the Cavs; Mobley, Markkanen, Love, Cedi, and Okoro.

I still don't understand why JBB didn't challenge the horrible call when Beverly clearly dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds. It wasn't even close, but they ruled Goodwin touched it. The refs gave the ball to the Wolves and of course they hit a shot. If JBB challenges it's Cavs ball and those two points are never scored. So on the final inbounds the Cavs would be down by 1 instead of 3 and we could play for a 2-point game winner instead of Cedi throwing up an off-balance 3 that never had a chance.

I think some coaches want to save the challenge for a key situation late in the game but they should understand that 2 points in the second quarter counts just as much as 2 points in the 4th. And if you don't use the challenge early you might not get a chance late, which was the case last night. I think JBB is too conservative on using his challenges.

He would probably argue that after the missed call on Beverly's turnover the Wolves were inbounding with just 14 seconds to shoot so he was confident the Cavs would get a stop and he would still have the challenge. I don't know. I just hate to see us fail to use the challenge in two instances that cost us 4 points and still have it in the coaches' pocket when the game ended.

 

[letgocavs]

Hard to win with our entire backcourt out.

 

[Vipra]

......
I still don't understand why JBB didn't challenge the horrible call when Beverly clearly dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds. It wasn't even close, but they ruled Goodwin touched it. The refs gave the ball to the Wolves and of course they hit a shot. If JBB challenges it's Cavs ball and those two points are never scored. So on the final inbounds the Cavs would be down by 1 instead of 3 and we could play for a 2-point game winner instead of Cedi throwing up an off-balance 3 that never had a chance.
......

JBB is only partially responsible. The league pulls the coaches back.
If the league had any intentions of having less officiating disputes and fairer outcome of close games, it would work towards that. For starters:
1. Let the coaches have two unsuccessful challenges per game. It makes no sense having just one challenge - successful or not!
2. Have one replay-official besides the on-court officials, who can discuss with the on-court officials if needed. That would reduce the time for any review, and eliminate the moronic calls like that 3 points awarded to Charlotte!

But who cares - the league is making money anyways!

 

[KilgoreTrout]

The big problem last night seemed to be the defense. You wouldn’t think that Garland being out would cause the Cavs to give up 127 points. I understand that the Wolves have guys who can score, but what was going ON out there?

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Ok.

I’m not really attacking JA here… However there tends to be from time to time performance issues, energy levels and a lack of production from JA when he plays up against the best of the best….

Which is okay and I get it….

I think his next step in development (for his game) is sustaining a high level of play, energy and effort when he’s taking on those kinda challenges….

I think he did fairly well this evening all things considered but in general he tends to lose a step when he’s playing the upper echelon…. But JA has never been a concern of mine really…

Yeah JA has some times where his energy goes down, but it's sometimes criticized disproportionately here given what he offers overall most nights. Unlike Drummond, he's extremely efficient in FG%. Sure we'd like him to take more open middies since he's good at them, but he's still a double double most nights even without that, so it's not like he never takes shots. Last night, he was too passive rebounding in the first half, but again, he stepped it up in the second. And to be fair to him, almost all bigs born after 1990 have poor box out tactics. And yet JA still vastly outrebounds most bigs of his generation. All in all, he's about the least of our concerns right now, and I think people get too emotional over errors in the game threads here. No one has a perfect game with perfect energy throughout. The Cavs' biggest problems deserving constructive criticism are not JA. It's kind of funny that guys like Okoro and Wade will have some people here rushing to defend their deficiencies while JA gets a lot more heat, but I guess everyone has their favorites...it is what it is.

 

[Dr No]

Yeah JA has some times where his energy goes down, but it's sometimes criticized disproportionately here given what he offers overall most nights. Unlike Drummond, he's extremely efficient in FG%. Sure we'd like him to take more open middies since he's good at them, but he's still a double double most nights even without that, so it's not like he never takes shots. Last night, he was too passive rebounding in the first half, but again, he stepped it up in the second. And to be fair to him, almost all bigs born after 1990 have poor box out tactics. And yet JA still vastly outrebounds most bigs of his generation. All in all, he's about the least of our concerns right now, and I think people get too emotional over errors in the game threads here. No one has a perfect game with perfect energy throughout. The Cavs' biggest problems deserving constructive criticism are not JA. It's kind of funny that guys like Okoro and Wade will have some people here rushing to defend their deficiencies while JA gets a lot more heat, but I guess everyone has their favorites...it is what it is.

Let me state up front that I mostly agree with your post. JA is not often one of our biggest problems. However, that last sentence is ridiculous. The difference is JA is a proclaimed part of our big 3, All-star, 100 million contract, untouchable piece of the future. He is not, nor should he be, held to the same standard as Okoro, and certainly not the anyone along the lines of Wade & Stevens, who won’t make in a decade what Allen makes in a year. He’s supposed to be a star and a difference maker on our team and when he isn’t, it rightfully brings criticism. If Okoro or Wade sign a similar deal and the franchise puts similar trust and responsibility upon them such that their role goes from peripheral to central, you can guarantee that the criticism will come accordingly.

 

[Heatcliff Check]

This one really stings. Kudos to the Wolves for executing their game plan to perfection once they got over our early attempt at a knockout punch.

Chris Finch knew that particularly with Garland out, Lauri is the under-the-radar linchpin player in the offense of the starting lineup, and the only spacing threat. Plus, he'd been hot since he returned from injury. So the Wolves decided to take him out of the game. They did a fantastic job.

Now, I dislike Pat Beverley. I think he's a dirty player. Nevertheless, he's the perfect dude to seriously annoy a bigger guy like Markkanen. Whenever Lauri was anywhere near the perimeter, Pat Bev was practically inside his jersey. ZERO space. Lauri is no idiot – he knew he had to go seal Beverley off under the basket, and that's what he did. However, the Wolves knew it was coming, and when the Cavs (slowly) tried lobbing (bad) passes to Markkanen, Minnesota was sending help even when the ball was still in the air. Lauri was immediately crowded, off balance, and couldn't do anything.

The thing is, this kind of thing should always be a trade-off for the defense... but we were not able to exploit the risks the Wolves were taking. They were basically trying their hardest to stop a 3rd option from going off, which sounds like a crazy strategy. But it worked, because removing Markkanen from the equation made everythin a lot harder for Mobley and Allen.

Goodwin was almost the lone bright spot, but man, I just wish he was a better passer and/or slightly taller. The guy simply can't see many of the passing lanes Garland does.

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Let me state up front that I mostly agree with your post. JA is not often one of our biggest problems. However, that last sentence is ridiculous. The difference is JA is a proclaimed part of our big 3, All-star, 100 million contract, untouchable piece of the future. He is not, nor should he be, held to the same standard as Okoro, and certainly not the anyone along the lines of Wade & Stevens, who won’t make in a decade what Allen makes in a year. He’s supposed to be a star and a difference maker on our team and when he isn’t, it rightfully brings criticism. If Okoro or Wade sign a similar deal and the franchise puts similar trust and responsibility upon them such that their role goes from peripheral to central, you can guarantee that the criticism will come accordingly.

I can concede the comparison on Wade, but Okoro was a lottery pick. JA wasn't. Their contracts are different, sure, but Okoro was selected much higher than JA.

You may also counter with the point that Okoro has strong critics here on RCF. He does have some, but I see more people coming to his defense overall than JA.

 

[Dr No]

I can concede the comparison on Wade, but Okoro was a lottery pick. JA wasn't. Their contracts are different, sure, but Okoro was selected much higher than JA.

You may also counter with the point that Okoro has strong critics here on RCF. He does have some, but I see more people coming to his defense overall than JA.

I hear you. I’ve been much harder on Okoro than Allen personally for the exact reasons you give.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Hard to win with our entire backcourt out.

Exactly! Garland, LaVert and Rondo on the court and we would have won this game by double digits

 

[macbdog]

I realize that. I also believe they have a few fatal flaws tharll prevent them from ever being taken serious as a contender.

I agree- the Cavs' lead PG being so fragile, the lack of a backup, and the league adjusting to the Cavs pace and return to the mean of their 3 pt shooting has exposed their flaws as a contender.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Well, one night after beating the Cavs in a game that was tied with 30 seconds to go the T-Wolves beat the Warriors by 15. They're now 18-9 in their last 27. They're playing great basketball right now. And we still would have beat them with our entire backcourt rotation out if not for two blown calls by the refs and an unusually hot shooting night on 3's by the Wolves (43%).

 

[buzzdog]

Well, one night after beating the Cavs in a game that was tied with 30 seconds to go the T-Wolves beat the Warriors by 15. They're now 18-9 in their last 27. They're playing great basketball right now. And we still would have beat them with our entire backcourt rotation out if not for two blown calls by the refs and an unusually hot shooting night on 3's by the Wolves (43%).

Yet here we have people constantly saying we're playing bad teams, denigrating the NBA level talent on those teams, even calling some of our opponents trash. This happens almost every game against many of the mid to lower tier teams, but in reality they're all talented and can win against any other team on any given night.

There's just a huge disconnect between reality and the evaluations and judgement of some of our fans.