Game Thread | Game #39 | Suns @ Cavs | Jan. 4, 2023

[J_J]

Very happy for Neto - JYD!!!

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I suppose a letdown is unavoidable after the OT win over Chicago on Monday. The Cavs were lucky to escape with a win. Phoenix can't shoot. The Cavs won with defense and finally getting some shots to fall in the 4th when they scored 31.

Mitchell must have had tired legs - he was 6-for-20 and 3-for-12 from deep. Love was 1-for-7 and missed all six of his 3's. LeVert and Neto saved our bacon tonight, along with the clutch 3-pointer by Mitchell and the huge jumper by Mobley, who up until that point looked like he missed the last 40 games, not just two. But he made the shot he needed to.

Mobley was 2-for-9 with four turnovers, but he got some big rebounds.

Love played 38 minutes Monday with Mobley out and an overtime game and it showed tonight.

Chris Paul, age 37, played 40 minutes and was a +7 with 25 points and 8 assists. He made an amazing 3-pointer as the 3rd quarter expired with Love right in his face and jumping off one foot like a layup.

Neither Alllen or Mobley scored a point in the first half. Antonio Lang said the Suns were packing the paint with five guys to not let our bigs touch the ball. When that happens you punish them with outside shots but we couldn't buy a 3-pointer tonight. We missed the first 14; that must be the first time this season we missed the first 14.

This should have been an easy win. The Cavs were 3-for-19 from deep in the first half. Just going 5-for-19 would have made a big difference at the end.

Aybar had 15 points and 18 boards to Allen's 2 points and 8 boards. Aybar kicked his butt; Allen wanted nothing to do with him.

Nice to see them claw out a win coming from behind late on a night when the shots weren't falling. Only two players were on - LeVert was 7-for-11 for 21 points and Neto had 14 points in 21 minutes.

Cedi didn't have good numbers (4-for-12 and he missed two free throws out of four), but he was a team high +11. For some reason the Cavs usually do better when he's on the floor even when he doesn't stand out.

I'm not looking forward to playing in Denver Friday. I hope Darius can go - we needed him tonight.

 

[Pierre Pan]

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Mobley's first game-winner. This should help his confidence.

All five Suns in the paint. Ayton was poised to block Mitchell's layup or floater.

 

[DCTribefan]

Mobley's first game-winner. This should help his confidence.

 

[jjvors]

The game-winning bucket:

 

[kevincleveland]

I absolutely loved the Czar as a coach but can we NOT have him back at the announcers table for the rest of the year ???
He’s horrible! Very knowledgeable but a horrible play by play man

hes the analyst. john michael is doing the play by play. but yes, Fratello is getting old, is quiet and low energy. exact opposite of Brad and especially noticeable after last game. Its weird, because he is good on the post game and on the podcast he does with Phelps. Basketball gold or some such.

 

[DCTribefan]

View attachment 13911

A real athlete’s physique below.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

Nets and Bucks loose! Good. That makes up for the Cavs impending loss in Denver. I have no faith in this team grabbing a road win against a team who is 14-3 at home.

 

[DCTribefan]

Nets and Bucks loose! Good. That makes up for the Cavs impending loss in Denver. I have no faith in this team grabbing a road win against a team who is 14-3 at home.

Umm, they’re probably 14-3 at home for good reason.

 

[bleedwineandgold03]

They're bums (excluding Siakum) that only show up against us. I hope they don't even sniff the playoffs.

I see them play and the calls they get agaisnt us is sickening and I just hate their style of basketball

 

[jjvors]

Things are tight in the East. We're a game and a half out of first. Philly's one game behind us.

Eastern Conference​

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST10	STREAK
1 Boston Celtics	26	12	.684	--	15-8	4-0	15-5	11-7	1-3	5-5	L 2
2 Brooklyn Nets	25	13	.658	1	19-7	5-2	13-5	12-8	0-1	9-1	L 1
3 Milwaukee Bucks	24	13	.649	1.5	12-9	4-3	16-4	8-9	1-1	4-6	W 1
4 Cleveland Cavaliers	25	14	.641	1.5	17-8	7-3	18-4	7-10	6-0	7-3	W 3
5 Philadelphia 76ers	23	14	.622	2.5	15-9	4-3	16-5	7-9	3-1	8-2	W 3
6 New York Knicks	21	18	.538	5.5	12-9	1-4	10-10	11-8	2-3	5-5	W 3
7 Indiana Pacers	21	18	.538	5.5	15-9	2-2	13-7	8-11	0-1	6-4	L 1
8 Miami Heat	20	18	.526	6	8-11	5-1	11-8	9-10	2-1	7-3	W 2
9 Atlanta Hawks	17	20	.459	8.5	13-14	4-3	11-8	6-12	3-1	3-7	L 4
10 Chicago Bulls	17	21	.447	9	15-11	4-3	10-9	7-12	1-4	6-4	W 1
11 Washington Wizards	17	22	.436	9.5	10-14	4-3	10-7	7-15	1-1	6-4	L 1
12 Toronto Raptors	16	21	.432	9.5	11-14	2-7	11-8	5-13	0-2	3-7	L 1
13 Orlando Magic	14	24	.368	12	7-18	2-5	10-11	4-13	1-1	6-4	W 1
14 Charlotte Hornets	10	29	.256	16.5	4-18	3-6	5-14	5-15	1-4	3-7	L 3
15 Detroit Pistons	10	30	.250	17	4-18	0-6	5-13	5-17	2-1	2-8	L 1

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

As an aside, I can’t believe Mike Fratello hasn’t gotten another chance to coach; I feel the Czar would be a nice upgrade for us.

ehh. I dunno that Fratello would be any different than Bickerstaff, just less well liked by the players

 

[jjvors]

With our low scoring game, I didn't think we'd get on the NBA stat boards, but we did.

ASSISTS​

---

1.	LaMelo BallCHA	12
1.	Tyrese HaliburtonIND	12
1.	Fred VanVleetTOR	12
4.	Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL	10
5.	Donovan MitchellCLE	9

THREE POINTERS MADE​

---

1.	Seth CurryBKN	6
1.	Buddy HieldIND	6
3.	Pat ConnaughtonMIL	5
3.	Kevin DurantBKN	5
3.	Caris LeVertCLE	5

 

[Ohioplayer00]

I'm apparently in the minority. I love him. First of all, he's a color commentator, not a play-by-play announcer. I love his nuggets about what's happening on the floor from a coach's point of view. He has some very good insights.

Oh yeah I said he is very knowledgeable but he is sooooooo bland otherwise!!