Round 2, Game 4: Cavs @ Bulls, Sunday, May 10, 2015, 3:30 PM EST

[Jscc]

wtf were the refs supposed to do? In a game they could get nothing right, god forbid they review to make sure everything was right.

Timeout or no timeout, LeBron didn't run the play Blatt drew up anyway. So Chicago should be thankful of the few seconds it gave them to re-set their defense.

 

[Sixth Man]

Amazing shot by LeBron but all the credit in the world to JR Smith. Without his shooting the Cavs wouldn't have been in position to shoot a game winner. Props to you JR!

 

[DougHeil]

I'm still in shock. To think we have played this bad, and mainly because of all the injuries to key players, and are tied up with home court advantage again,... hmm, oh my,..... speechless.

 

[Triple-S]

ESPNews literally just changed the narrative from

"WOW WHAT A SHOT BY LEBRON"

to

"WOW BLATT IS A HORRIBLE COACH WHO ALMOST COST THE CAVS THE GAME"

Unbelievable. I literally watched it in real time.

 

[Jordan]

It's funny to me to watch the Cavs adopt a defensive identity. They were such an offensive juggernaut this year that it is quite the change.

 

[DougHeil]

ESPNews literally just changed the narrative from

"WOW WHAT A SHOT BY LEBRON"

to

"WOW BLATT IS A HORRIBLE COACH WHO ALMOST COST THE CAVS THE GAME"

Unbelievable. I literally watched it in real time.

Yeah. I had to turn it off as it was getting out of hand. They also went on and on about how LeBron changed Blatt's play and said he was going to win it or go into overtime.

Well gee; isn't that exactly what others have done before? Jordan use to call plays for himself in the huddle for game winning shots. It's nothing unusual but ESPN is making a really big deal of it.

 

[kookoo]

It's funny to me to watch the Cavs adopt a defensive identity. They were such an offensive juggernaut this year that it is quite the change.

Without Love, the entire strategy changes. We don't have someone as multidimensional on offense. Kyrie is close because he can shoot and finish consistently but Love is a threat from 3 and has a good back to the basket game. We're really missing his defensive boxing out and rebounding because TT and Mozgov (who are getting held down a lot) are missing a lot of easy boards. But back to my point, Love wasn't a major defensive player and spread the floor so much that our offense was more important than our defense. Whereas with TT as a starter, the floor isn't spread so the understanding is we're going to have a lot less good chances on offense, which means the defense has to work harder.

 

[Sebastian]

My God, this team has such heart!

Love out, Irving gimpy, Shump and LeBron hurting, playing against a revitalized Derrick Rose and they continue to fight tooth and nail no matter how far they get behind. Many good lessons being learned this year by our young guys. Next year, provided they don't suffer horrific injuries, they will utterly wreck teams in the playoffs.

Legendary teams are born of adversity.

 

[DougHeil]

I'm thinking Blatt needs to go with this:

Moz
LeBron
JR
Shump
Kyrie

to start. I like TT off the bench with energy and in the 4th.

 

[The Oi]

So what's the deal with Kyrie?

Is this going to last the rest of the series?

Anything being said on this? It's the key to the rest of the series and whether the Cavs advance.

 

[JPK]

Going into this series minus Love, I thought we would have to become a defensive minded team if we were going to win and still have a shot at a championship. Shumpert and TT have stepped up and the team has now taken on this identity. Are we the same team that were favorites to win a championship two weeks ago? No, of course not, but we have adapted, and continue to adapt to the injuries and find a way to win. In these playoffs, with all of the injuries teams have suffered, the team who adapts the best, not the team who is the most talented, may end up winning it all. ESPN can run with the Blatt is a terrible coach narrative, but with Love out, Kyrie injured, JR missing for two games, and Lebron not playing his best basketball, somehow the series is tied. Anyone who thinks Blatt is not a big reason for this is not paying attention. If we can continue to adapt and Lebron and Kryie move towards their averages, I see no reason why this team cannot still win a championship.

 

[Jscc]

So what's the deal with Kyrie?

Is this going to last the rest of the series?

Anything being said on this? It's the key to the rest of the series and whether the Cavs advance.

Since the biggest problem only seems to be pain management, I have no idea why it's still a problem at all. There are methods to take the pain away.

 

[The Oi]

Since the biggest problem only seems to be pain management, I have no idea why it's still a problem at all. There are methods to take the pain away.

Looks like it's more than just pain management. His shot is way the hell off and it appears that it's because balance is an issue.

 

[Hydroponic3385]

The Cavs are 2-0 when I post this. I've only posted it when I meant it. But considering how sky-high my anxiety is because of this series, I feel I can genuinely post this before every remaining game.

Let's all hope that the amount of anxiety/nausea I feel is positively correlated with Cavs wins. Because if that's the case today, we're winning by like 150 points and going on to win the NBA championship.

 

[jlegg21]

After all that mess... 2-2 going back home. All we could possibly ask for.