Game Thread | 2021-22 Season | Game #2 | Hornets @ Cavs | Oct. 22, 2021

[Rich]

Celtics got smoked tonight.


Just praying they go into the tank and Brown becomes somewhat available.

I'd trade this year's lotto pick, do a swap, and move on from Garland/Okoro/Sexton. At least two of the 3.

They'd want Mobley.

 

[JJ_PR]

I don't know man....Wiggins is still an awful perimeter defender. The Warriors hid him on defense by having him defend bigger players last year.

He's THAT bad defensively? Talk about putting all that athleticism to waste.

 

[I'mWithDan]

I missed the game tonight but everyone keep their head up. From my view. the only thing that truly matters this year is Mobley’s development.

We finally have a chance at building around a true franchise player and if he shows that ceiling throughout the year, I’m more content to hold assets and be patient.

We have young guys that hold value around the league but I’m most certainly not dumping them to simply plug a roster hole. I am patiently waiting for an opportunity to grab someone, who may become available, that can be attached to Mobley moving forward and compliment him as his running mate.

 

[daddywags]

Don't trade draft picks. We're too far away for that.

 

[Cassity14]

I know it’s the game thread, but I’m feeling lonely in my optimism in here right now.

It feels like there is a lot to build on these first two games. We have real talent at each position around the roster except wing. Yes that’s a glaring hole, but we’ve hit on each of our draft picks with perhaps the exception of Okoro who still has time to sort it out. 3/4 success rate on picks is… not easy. And I think Lauri, Allen and Rubio are all shrewd moves. Cedi and Love are finally where they belong on the bench, and JBB is tinkering with lineups which is all we can ask for at this point.

These guys are young and exciting. Let them grow. Now is the time to build around the talent we have and no longer think BPA mentality. I’m looking for the FO to be aggressive in sorting out the hole at wing. Enjoy the year along the way watching some legitimate talent.

You're not alone. Game threads are a mess when the regular naysayers haven't written off the team yet. The Cavs have some legitimate pieces. Allen looks like a nice signing through 2 games, Lauri brings that much needed outside shot, and Rubio is the ideal second unit general. Unfortunately, Lauri isn't a small forward and Rubio isn't a starter.

I think the Okoro negativity is coming from last season more than anything. He looks like he has an NBA role when he's out there in lineups that make sense. A future star? Probably not.

There is a massive, gaping hole on the wing that exacerbates other, smaller issues, but that's not the fault of the guys on the floor or the coach on the bench.

This Cavs team is instantly a postseason threat with an all-star caliber wing on it. Much easier said than done, but they have plenty of guys who can play, and a future superstar to continue to build up.

 

[KevinLoveFan]

I know it’s the game thread, but I’m feeling lonely in my optimism in here right now.

It feels like there is a lot to build on these first two games. We have real talent at each position around the roster except wing. Yes that’s a glaring hole, but we’ve hit on each of our draft picks with perhaps the exception of Okoro who still has time to sort it out. 3/4 success rate on picks is… not easy. And I think Lauri, Allen and Rubio are all shrewd moves. Cedi and Love are finally where they belong on the bench, and JBB is tinkering with lineups which is all we can ask for at this point.

These guys are young and exciting. Let them grow. Now is the time to build around the talent we have and no longer think BPA mentality. I’m looking for the FO to be aggressive in sorting out the hole at wing. Enjoy the year along the way watching some legitimate talent.

Cavs are definitely more watchable and competitive than OKC has been so far. I think I can guess which of the two teams I'll be watching more this season.

 

[Rich]

Jarrett Allen has 8 total rebounds in 2 games.

He's not doing enough for what he's getting paid atm.

 

[Ozone]

Mobley, Rubio and Sexton combined for 14 turnovers. That is fucking awful.

Mobley is gonna make a lot of rookie mistakes if he plays over 30mpg, but Rubio is the veteran here. He had 6 TO's all by himself and most of those were unforced errors. He's trying to do a bit too much.

I'd like to see some more patient ball movement. We don't have to shoot or drive after one pass.

3 was Sextons number hardly worth noting.
6 was RR and 4 was Mobley's
It was not RR fault entirely either when they were difficult plays against good defenders most of em.'
I thought they played fine until the 4th too many offensive errors.

 

[Dr No]

We couldn’t guard last year. To “fix” this we traded our best defender for a very bad one, moved our best perimeter defender to the bench, and are starting a rookie, who while talented, is still a rookie. What is the record for most points given up in a season?

 

[Ozone]

Does a top 7 protected pick get it done for Reddish? I can’t watch 80
More games without a competent wing.

Cam aint the answer though , would take Cedi starting again over LM as is until LM gets more aggressive scoring. Right now he plays too soft

 

[daytripper]

We know that Allen and Markkanen are poor rebounders. Okoro grabbed 2 boards tonight. Even Sexton was able to grab 4 rebounds. The team just needs much more from Okoro if they are going to force feed him so many minutes.

I do agree the future is bright with Mobley. Unfortunately the roster is so unbalanced again so it's just going to be another long season. At least the first 2 games were entertaining for stretches.

 

[Ozone]

It'd be real Cavs if Scottie Barnes, the player who best fit the bill to fill our wing problem, turns into an immediate star.

already is by the stat line tonight wiping the floor with the Celts.
But I still take Mobley every time.
too bad they didnt do something drastic to also get Barnes to pair with Mobley and Sexton oh well I guess Garland is going to be steph someday is all we got to look forward to lol

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

This game was deja vu from the Grizzlies loss where the Cavs outscored the opponent except for one awful stretch. Wednesday the Cavs were outscored 21-2 in 4.5 minutes and lost by 11. Tonight they were outscored 19-2 in 3.5 minutes to start the 4th quarter and lost again by 11. In both games the Cavs outscored the opponents except for one awful 3-4 minute stretch where everything went wrong at once and nobody could stop the bleeding.

The 4th quarter started with the Cavs down 90-89 and they have the ball. In the next 3:27 Rubio committed four turnovers plus two more by Allen and Mobley. The Hornets converted those turnovers into easy breakaway dunks and also got hot from deep. The Cavs were outscored by 17 points in less than three-and-a-half minutes and the game was over.

They have to find a way to avoid these episodes where they completely implode for 3-4 minutes and get outscored by 17-19 points.

They also have to get stronger on the defensive glass. They gave up 11 more offensive boards tonight and were outrebounded 46-36, as they have been every game so far including the preseason games.

The Cavs allowed 30 points in the paint in the first half and I don't think they improved in the second. For having such a big front line they give up a ton of dunks and layups, not to mention second chance points. Up front they are tall and soft.

It seemed like every time Sexton made a driving layup he ended up on the floor out of bounds and the Hornets were running a 5-on-4 break that always resulted in either an uncontested dunk or an uncontested 3-point shot.

Markkanen is not impressing me at all. He seems slow and he is not shooting as well as I expected. Love is so slow it's painful to watch. He was 2-for-8 tonight and one bucket was a tip-in. He can still rebound defensively and pass the ball, but his offensive game is gone.

At least they didn't let Rozier go crazy. He finished with 6 points. Bridges is the guy who impressed me. 30 points and 7 boards. He scored from deep and on power slams. Oubre had 25 points on only 13 shots off the bench. We need a Bridges or Oubre but we have Marky, Cedi, and Okoro.

 

[cabs]

I’m just glad we missed out on Lamelo, his wizardry would have given me two ruptured testicles

 

[NMCav]

We know that Allen and Markkanen are poor rebounders. Okoro grabbed 2 boards tonight. Even Sexton was able to grab 4 rebounds. The team just needs much more from Okoro if they are going to force feed him so many minutes.

I do agree the future is bright with Mobley. Unfortunately the roster is so unbalanced again so it's just going to be another long season. At least the first 2 games were entertaining for stretches.

Before this season Allen was always a solid rebounder. He's never been known as a poor rebounder. Through 2 games this year he's been terrible though.