Game Thread | Game #28 | Cavs @ Spurs | Dec. 12, 2022

[Ohioplayer00]

I honestly think we would lose a playoff series to any of the teams in the top 10 except for the Knicks. We’re going to get outcoached and our offense is going to be so easy to stop with playoff game planning, while our perimeter guys and Love will get switch hunted constantly for their poor defense.

Our offensive set doesn’t scare anybody because we spend the majority of the shot clock out at the three point line with Mobley and JA going back and forth playing “hand the ball off to the guards”. How about some inside out game? Start the offensive sets with sending the ball inside to our bigs and then do some damn cutting!

 

[Jscc]

I mean we're also 8-10 since our hot start.

Cumulatively the record is fine but.. we are not a good team, for awhile now, and I have no confidence on any given night that well play well. Doesn't matter who the opponent is.

We aren't building on anything or improving, not figuring anything out.

Eh

This is an elite team at home, but they are going to need coaching to win and develop good habits on the road. They don't have that, and I don't expect them to until JB is replaced or shows miraculous improvement.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Mobley found him right in the corner. 2nd best shooter on the team.

Just gotta hit it

Garland isn’t the second-best ANYTHING right now - except maybe the second-biggest TURD, after Okoro.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

This is an elite team at home, but they are going to need coaching to win and develop good habits on the road. They don't have that, and I don't expect them to until JB is replaced or shows miraculous improvement.

JBB is who he is. He’s been around NBA coaching his entire adult life. He’s not going to suddenly grow a second brain.

 

[Jscc]

JBB is who he is. He’s been around NBA coaching his entire adult life. He’s not going to suddenly grow a second brain.

Then I hope the FO sees that and makes the right next move. Go get Quin Snyder.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I mean we're also 8-10 since our hot start.

Cumulatively the record is fine but.. we are not a good team, for awhile now, and I have no confidence on any given night that well play well. Doesn't matter who the opponent is.

We aren't building on anything or improving, not figuring anything out.

Eh

We’re also undefeated without Garland, and about .500 WITH him…

 

[ticon12389]

Oh Christ didn't people do this like 5 days ago only it was LeBron was gonna murder them.

Specifically, didn't YOU do that 5 days ago?

I did not

 

[cavsfever]

I missed this game. WTF we lost to one of the worst teams in the NBA. This team has just not been inspiring confidence in any way since that 8 game win streak

 

[The Oi]

#cancelcavs

 

[stick]

Spurs won't hit contested shots like that again for the rest of the season. Absurd display.

I'm annoyed by this one but not angry.

Onto the next.

 

[Real Deal]

So wait, we’re not winning the championship this season ?

 

[Jscc]

Spurs won't hit contested shots like that again for the rest of the season. Absurd display.

I'm annoyed by this one but not angry.

Onto the next.

Richardson was hitting 3s with Mobley's hand basically covering his face. All net.

The Cavs defense was decent. It's just not physical. Guys can drive into the paint without fear of being body-checked. They can shoot jumpers that get all net without fear of landing on the defender's feet and rolling an ankle. Do we have any significant hard fouls this season?

We do need an enforcer. Our guys are too nice.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

A lot of it was ourselves. You have to have the appropriate fear of teams. We came out like we were playing a team that lost 11 in a row. We played the record, not the team. We didn’t respect them coming out and that’s on us. That can’t happen. We can’t keep putting ourselves in this position. - Donovan Mitchell

Yes, they keep putting themselves in this position. I knew after the first three minutes this would be another one of those games where they let an inferior team know early that the Cavs weren't ready to really compete, thereby opening the door. The Cavs had three turnovers and allowed three offensive rebounds in the first 2-3 minutes. You could immediately see which team wanted to win more. The Spurs recognized right away they could win this game - the Cavs weren't intense and they weren't physical.

What astonishes me is the Spurs just beat Miami on the road two nights earlier with the same lineup that faced the Cavs. Surely JBB emphasized that before the game, right? Why were the Cavs so overconfident?

We didn’t respect them coming out and that’s on us. That can’t happen.

Well, it did. Again.

That being said, a lack of respect for an opponent doesn't make you miss 3's and Garland and Mitchell were 3-for-13 from deep on a night where we lost by a point.

 

[macbdog]

If anyone is to get Victor Wembanyama, I hope Pops gets him. Would love to see what he would do with him. and I bet free agents would flock to them and he get to finals with in like 3 years

FAs have never flocked to Popp, and I don't see him staying much longer anyway.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Fedor cuts them no slack and he's starting to name names:

There’s no reason to praise a late-game rally on this night. No sense in trying to pull positives. No yeah-butting this one.

If the Cavs want to be taken seriously, it’s time to figure out this road nonsense. They are completely unrecognizable away from Cleveland. So is Garland, who was icing his sore left hand after the game -- an injury that occurred at some point in the first half Monday night.

Garland at home: 11 games, 26.1 points, 50.3% from the field, 46.9% from 3-point range, 8.4 assists and a plus-minus of plus-11.1 per game.

Garland on the road: 11 games, 16.6 points, 33.9% from the field, 28.4% from beyond the arc, 7.4 assists and a plus-minus of minus-5.1 per game.

Jarrett Allen didn't mince words, either.

They came out with more energy than us in the first half. I feel like the whole game we were just timid. Didn’t know when we wanted to step on the gas.

Timid. Overconfident. Disrespectful. Well, at least the Cavs are admitting it. Hopefully this game and the others like it will make them angry and they will start respecting every opponent and starting every game like whoever wins the first three minutes wins the game.