Game Thread | 2021-22 Season | Game #8 | Cavs @ Hornets | Nov. 1, 2021

[Ohio]

I think replacing Larry Nance with a SF who has scoring ability and also obtaining a PF who brings the best of Larry Nance's defense qualities to the floor really raised the floor of this team.

I know his shot isn't falling at the moment, but Lauri has been playing his ass off the past few games. He even looks passable on the defensive end. If his shot comes back, he's such a valuable player for the Cavs.

Lauri is a good player. If/when we managed to get a legit SF in here and Lauri moves to his ideal role of being the first big off the bench - he's going to thrive.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

No his shot has been shitty since the shoulder thing which has been all season then got worse again after Howard popped it. They clearly took him out at the end because of it.
Luckily Garland stepped up and was not phased at all by the pressure . Impressive

When did he hurt his shoulder initially?

 

[Heat Check]

Just crazy to me on a team that shoots like ours that Windler can't get a minute.

Windler is a dude who currently has a .325 career 3pt average and hasn't made a single perimeter shot all season. And we all know he gives you little else anyway.

Probably not someone you expect to come in and save the day. I'm not opposed to giving him a few minutes here and there, but he's too slow to guard SG's and doesn't have enough strength/size to play the kind of switching D at the SF position we want right now. Cedi does.

Windler is locked in as a 10th guy on this team until further notice.

 

[Heat Check]

Game notes:

- Fantastic win. The start we had reminded me of the Mike Tyson quote - "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". The Hornets spent the rest of the game recovering.

- It's funny how the Triple Towers experiment has warped my perspective on what a frontcourt is. When Wade subs in, he's somehow looking small out there. The guy is 6'9''. Some teams are playing dudes his size as small ball centers.

- Allen was truly a man possessed. His ability to just ferociously dunk the ball out of nowhere is second to none. I still think he's too limited a 5 in today's NBA to start for this team long-term, with Mobley (hopefully) being groomed into a space-eating high post offensive hub. But for now, Allen is extremely important on both sides of the ball.

- The midget backcourt is taking years off my life. LaMelo was doing whatever he wanted to these guys. Just too much size. It's also hard to get into an offense when both Garland's and Sexton's defenders regularly have like 4 inches on them. They can't see over the defense, can't see where the help is gonna come from, and end up barreling into 3 guys. That needs to stop.

- I don't think people have really noticed how fluid the positions played by Triple Towers really are. In theory Markkanen is the starting SF, but in reality, he seems to be playing an awful lot of PF these days, spotting up in the corner. Mobley switches between SF, PF and C at a moment's notice, depending on the situation and matchup. As a non-shooter, Allen stays near the basket on offense but he's super-switchable on defense, all the way to PG's.

 

[avs2000]

Honestly, I think the fact that we held up well on this trip makes us so antsy in these games threads. On the latest Chase Down Podcast episode, the guys intimated that the fact that we are so emotional and freaking out after the losses in LA and PHX is a good thing because it shows we are ahead of schedule.

Shit, our schedule to open the season has been downright brutal. No more than one day of rest between games. Six of eight games on the road including a five-game road trip with games in all three time zones. Not to mention how hard much harder it is for youngsters to play on the road. All eight games against teams that made the playoffs last year. We all knew the schedule was brutal at the beginning. After we started 0-2 there were posts that seemed serious about not getting our first win until later this month.

What was the over/under on total wins for us? 27ish? Out of 82? A winning pct of .329? Fucking brutal schedule and these young cats are fucking .500? This team has been so much fun to watch so far, and boy, do I hope it only gets better from here.

That is how I feel. They are fun to watch. I am getting tired of the slamming of garland and sexton. Fact is both have holes in their games
However. Again this team overall is fun to watch, young and talented
Mobley was a gift. And really so was allen
Lauri for nance is a better fit
Defense is top notch. And wait till okoro comes back
Windler has to get minutes just to see what/if he has anything
Wade has to get more time. We can’t be playing people 35-40 mins a game
As for the guards not sure what to do other than not play garland and sexton together

 

[avs2000]

Yes. yes we do. There is very little to gain from from intentionally trying to lose or even wishing we lose as a fan.

The roster is not bad enough to have a bottom three record. The new lottery odds do no reward you with any certainty or even strong odds just for being in the 4-6 slot.

More important than that, just look across the NBA. Far more good to really good to great wings and SF's were taking outside the top 6 than inside:

Giannis, Kawhi, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Zach LaVine, Devin Booker, DeRozan, Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes, OG Anunoby, MPJ, Tim Hardaway, Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges, Oubre, Caris LeVert, Pascal Siakam, Cam Johnson, Lonnie Walker, Devin Vassell, Reddish, Saddiq Bey.

None of those guys were taken in the top6 of their respective drafts. The list of good to elite wings taken in the top6 or even top10 is smaller than than outside the top6 to top10 and within the top6, it also seem that the bust % for wings taken that high is very high.

Yep. Just win games. Start a winning culture. Not just as hardworking culture

 

[avs2000]

I like where your head is at!

Garland, Windler, and Love for Jaylen Brown.

Done and done!

I don’t think you get brown for garland. Windler and love are useless

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

“I think we have learned if we try to separate ourselves from what the team is doing and try to make the hero basketball play then we would have lost that game. But towards the end of the game we stayed locked in with each other and the results showed.” - Jarrett Allen

“To go 3-2 on this trip is a hell of an accomplishment. Any five-game trip you go on, if you come out above .500 it’s a hell of accomplishment. And then you throw in the teams that we played, and then the travel at the end of it, this is a hell of an accomplishment for this group. You see them in the locker room and they’re bonding. They’re coming together. That’s the fun part.”- JBB

They're figuring out how to play together with this unusual lineup of bigs and smalls, and they're figuring out how to weather storms and close games. Beautiful to watch.

I actually don't mind Love being out for a while. We may be better with some combination of Wade/Okoro/Windler taking those minutes.

 

[avs2000]

@avs2000 you are a biased Sexton fan. They both sucked.

They both have holes in their game. That is for sure. Frankly I am disappointed in sextons play so far. If it is shoulder related then sit him for a few games and let it heal
Garland is Garland. Just too passive

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I don’t think you get brown for garland. Windler and love are useless

It would have to be something like Sexton, Markkanen, and a first round pick for Brown. That would give us:

C Allen/Mobley
PF Mobley/Love/Wade
SF Brown/Cedi/Windler
SG Okoro/Brown
PF Garland/Rubio

I would do that deal.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

“What also people have to be aware of is we’re going to get better. Jarrett, Evan and Lauri never played together before. Imagine two weeks from now, 10 games from now, 20 games from now, when they really start to understand each other and their strengths and weaknesses, so opponents can make their adjustments, but this group is going to evolve and evolve into something different than it is right now." - JBB

Can't wait to see this happen.

 

[CleveRocks]

We beat a really good Charlotte team. Held Hayward to what? 6 points?

Cavs are no fluke.. And they will get better..

I am surprised Mobley is holding up as well as he is.. but I said this last year with Okork, I think a lot of rookie minutes tells you what you have and optimizes the rookie growth curve..

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I don’t think you get brown for garland. Windler and love are useless

Ok, offer them Cedi, instead. I’m flexible.

 

[CavsKermit]

It would have to be something like Sexton, Markkanen, and a first round pick for Brown. That would give us:

C Allen/Mobley
PF Mobley/Love/Wade
SF Brown/Cedi/Windler
SG Okoro/Brown
PF Garland/Rubio

I would do that deal.

I'd love that, but the Celtics would ask for Allen or Mobley, maybe both, instead of Markkanen and I'd love that a whole lot less.

Tyler Herro is currently shooting 40% from 3 on 7 attempts per game.

 

[eChameleon]

Good teams find a way to hold on when the other team is throwing punch after punch at you. Thus, we are in fact a good team.