Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #75 | Magic @ Cavs | March 28, 2022 | 7:00 p.m.

[Rich]

Yes and people were saying even when healthy he sucked, wasn't worth the money, was nothing without Kawhi, etc.

Ultimately for this years roster, fit would have been awkward. Long term, I'd take Siakam here over Love or Markannen (and I like both of them).

But it's less about saying we should have traded him I don't think Masai really put him on the market) and more about saying people were acting like he was trash and one of the worst contracts in the NBA

He was never bad. He was always an above average NBA starter to fringe all-star.

The question then was "is he worth max salary money? Probably not."

It's tilted more to "yes" this year but even still....is that a max contract player? Tonight obviously yes but I'd still say he's borderline on that.

 

[DCTribefan]

Man that Nick Nurse.

I kid, I kid. He didn't prevent them from winning a title in the Kawhi year and I think overall he's a solid coach.

If JBB were coaching, Leonard would have missed this shot.

 

[cavsfever]

I would say that tonight between us winning and Charlotte losing we pretty much guaranteed ourselves one of the advantageous 7 or 8 slots for the play in. So we will have to lose two straight to keep our lottery pick LOL.

 

[MirORich]

If JBB were coaching, Leonard would have missed this shot.
View attachment 9308

Man what a photo.

And what a mistake by the Sixers to move off Jimmy Butler so early.

Mostly though, what an incredible shot by Kawhi. That was an incredible series and incredible ending.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

If Mobley is out for a week or two we're screwed. On the bright side, we got the win so we still have a decent chance of getting 8th place.

JBB put in Windler with 5 minutes left and the Cavs down by 2. Wow. That's a lot of trust. Dylan didn't let him down; +15 in 16 minutes with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Moses Brown did a nice job off the bench with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 7 minutes. If Mobley has to miss any games he'll be getting more minutes.

The Cavs' bench was the difference as Windler, Brown, Love (19/7/3 in 32 minutes), and Stevens (+7) all contributed. Goodwin is still struggling as he was a -9 in 9 minutes. JBB can't wait until Rondo gets back.

Darius, with Mom and Pop in the house, had 25 points and 12 assists, including five huge points late to push the lead from 95-92 to 100-92. LeVert struggled with his shot (4-13) but contributed anyway with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. It looks like Cedi might be done for the season as LeVert, Okoro, Stevens, and Windler are all playing well on the wings.

Great defense in the 4th quarter holding the Magic to 21 points.

If the Cavs struggled to beat the Magic they are going to get hammered this week when they have to play four games in five days. It's bad enough Allen and Wade are out - if Mobley is also out we're missing three front line players. We'll be seeing a lot of small ball with Makkanen or Love plus some combination of LeVert, Garland, Okoro, Stevens, and Windler.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Man what a photo.

And what a mistake by the Sixers to move off Jimmy Butler so early.

Mostly though, what an incredible shot by Kawhi. That was an incredible series and incredible ending.

Ehh, not sure the locker room dynamic between Butler/Embiid/Simmons was feasible for a long term deal…we saw what happened WITHOUT Butler involved…

 

[MirORich]

Ehh, not sure the locker room dynamic between Butler/Embiid/Simmons was feasible for a long term deal…we saw what happened WITHOUT Butler involved…

Yeah it was tricky but in retrospect, it was a perfect opportunity to move off Simmons at full value.

Or had you heard/seen it reported that it was Embiid and Butler who had some issues together?

 

[Rich]

Yeah it was tricky but in retrospect, it was a perfect opportunity to move off Simmons at full value.

Or had you heard/seen it reported that it was Embiid and Butler who had some issues together?

Knowing Jimmy Butler, doesn't it seem like he probably has issues with every player in every locker room? He's just not a guy who understands the team dynamic aspect of basketball. He gets it on the court, but totally doesn't off the court.

 

[MirORich]

Knowing Jimmy Butler, doesn't it seem like he probably has issues with every player in every locker room? He's just not a guy who understands the team dynamic aspect of basketball. He gets it on the court, but totally doesn't off the court.

Fair point. And he had that recent flare up reminding us of that. I think he's been great in Miami overall though. Maybe just a perfect synchronicity of organizational outlook and player personality.

 

[jjvors]

I mean sure, but good chance we win MORE than one…

Mavs, @Hawks, @knicks, Sixers, @Magic, @Nets

I see 4, assuming Mobley's back next game. All bets off if he's off the whole week.

 

[jjvors]

Standings update:

Eastern Conference​

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST 10	STREAK
1 Miami Heat - se	48	28	.632	--	30-16	11-2	27-12	21-16	1-3	4-6	W 1
2 Philadelphia 76ers	46	28	.622	1	27-17	6-9	21-16	25-12	3-1	6-4	L 1
3 Milwaukee Bucks	46	28	.622	1	28-18	10-3	26-12	20-16	0-2	7-3	L 1
4 Boston Celtics	47	29	.618	1	30-17	9-7	26-12	21-17	4-3	8-2	L 1
5 Chicago Bulls	43	32	.573	4.5	28-19	10-5	26-10	17-22	0-1	4-6	L 1
6 Toronto Raptors	43	32	.573	4.5	27-20	9-5	20-16	23-16	3-2	8-2	W 3
7 Cleveland Cavaliers	42	33	.560	5.5	25-21	9-6	24-14	18-19	2-0	4-6	W 1
8 Brooklyn Nets	39	36	.520	8.5	27-19	9-6	16-20	23-16	2-0	7-3	L 1
9 Charlotte Hornets	39	37	.513	9	23-23	6-7	20-19	19-18	0-7	7-3	L 1
10 Atlanta Hawks	38	37	.507	9.5	23-24	8-6	24-14	14-23	0-1	7-3	W 2

 

[Rich]

On the Siakam debate, I'd put him on the DeJuonte Murray level. Really solid player, gonna make SOME all-star games, but won't make all of them or even most of them w/o taking another jump.

Like I'd put Garland in that same tier but he's much younger than both of those guys so I wouldn't be willing to project that far out for him.

 

[jjvors]

On the Siakam debate, I'd put him on the DeJuonte Murray level. Really solid player, gonna make SOME all-star games, but won't make all of them or even most of them w/o taking another jump.

Like I'd put Garland in that same tier but he's much younger than both of those guys so I wouldn't be willing to project that far out for him.

On the Darius Garland thread, I put him down as a perennial All-star for the poll. He's not going to get worse and with a healthy squad he'll get more assists and more points, because he'll be more open with more threats. I see him as a 25 ppg 12 apg point guard.

 

[bushwick_bill]

If I told you Cavs would have 43 wins last October, you would have been ecstatic. Shows how much our expectations have risen.

Add in no Sexton or Rubio...

 

[PIP]

JBB put in Windler with 5 minutes left and the Cavs down by 2. Wow. That's a lot of trust. Dylan didn't let him down; +15 in 16 minutes with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The trust that JBB & I have had in this fool all year— finally !!

Validated…