Game Thread: ABC Double Header: Rockets @ Thunder & Bulls @ Cavs

[TurnUpTheHeat]

again are you really this delusional?

I cannot count the ways the schemes are different. First- take your guys knock of Love playing beyond the 3 pt line and stretching the floor- take a REAL center that they run pick and roll with SO much so that he has TWICE the alley oops of the next closest guy in the entire LEAGUE since coming over- the differences are so numerous its ridiculous because Blatt ACTUALLY adapts to his personnel.

And if you think Spoelstra invented the concept of putting shooters around a dominant player than you need to put the pipe the down.

Amongst all your bullshit, you failed to disclose where Blatts offense went.

You also predicted 70 or whatever wins, with their opening day roster.

Regardless of who the players are, the Cavs offensive floor spacing is near identical to what Miami ran.

As far as Blatt, he does nothing.

You can give up any argument to counter that,
Anyone with a brain before last week knew James calls all the shots.
Last week it became public and you still want to act like Blatt has some say in the matter,
He is a well paid PAWN.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

"At the end of the evening practice, Blatt blew his whistle and told the players to clear the court and get off their feet; it was a long day, with many more ahead in this team’s drive for the city of Cleveland’s first major pro sports championship in 50 years. (The NFL’s Browns are the city’s most recent title celebrants, in 1964.)

The coaching staff retreated to their evening meeting, which lasted 30 minutes or so. When they emerged, what they saw was heartening, if not particularly surprising: There was James on the practice floor with four teammates, marching them through the intricacies of Blatt’s offensive system from the perspective of each position, one through five. James had already mastered them all."

 

[Hambombs]

Lebron is the coach and the GM of the Cavs

 

[WiggyRuss]

"At the end of the evening practice, Blatt blew his whistle and told the players to clear the court and get off their feet; it was a long day, with many more ahead in this team’s drive for the city of Cleveland’s first major pro sports championship in 50 years. (The NFL’s Browns are the city’s most recent title celebrants, in 1964.)

The coaching staff retreated to their evening meeting, which lasted 30 minutes or so. When they emerged, what they saw was heartening, if not particularly surprising: There was James on the practice floor with four teammates, marching them through the intricacies of Blatt’s offensive system from the perspective of each position, one through five. James had already mastered them all."

what are you smoking? thats AMAZING.

i just entertains me to no end just how bitter you are and try and find the most immaterial BS to try and bring down the Cavs players and management. It borders on a neurosis.

The Cavs just won their 18th straight home game and are favorites to make it ot the Finals. If you want to put 100% of the credit on LeBron becuase that helps make you feel better about the Heat's failures then that is on you.

When you play with LeBron or coach him it basically means you are going to get all of the blame and very little of the credit.

Thats part of the deal when you sign him up- and I am thankful that Dan Gilbert's ego did not keep him from bringing LeBron back. Think of that- Gilbert and LeBron have one of the most famous feuds in sports history when he leaves- and Gilbert- a self made billionaire and king of industry - puts his ego behind the good of his team- something Pat Riley could not himself do.

Thats why you are mad.

 

[WiggyRuss]

to be honest with you - i dont blame Riley- its how he has built his name- if he is not the GM and gives power to LeBron what is he? He is nothing really

to Gilbert?- He would be the first to tell you he is not a basketball genius. If he is not "running his team" he is entrusting it to people that know basketball a whole lot better than him.---- he is still a self-made billionaire and one of the best businessmen in the world. He could easily have had a grudge against LeBron- said we have Kyrie, Wiggins- and gone a different way.

but he swallowed his pride and did what was best for the franchise- something that Riley could not do. And now the Cavs just won 18 straight and are favorites to get to the Finals and the Heat are not even currently an EAstern Conference playoff team.

I can take whatever "LeBron has all the power" comments that you think are insults. Hopefully you can take all the "Riley has all the power and the Heat cant make the playoffs in the East" comments.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

what are you smoking? thats AMAZING.

i just entertains me to no end just how bitter you are and try and find the most immaterial BS to try and bring down the Cavs players and management. It borders on a neurosis.

The Cavs just won their 18th straight home game and are favorites to make it ot the Finals. If you want to put 100% of the credit on LeBron becuase that helps make you feel better about the Heat's failures then that is on you.

When you play with LeBron or coach him it basically means you are going to get all of the blame and very little of the credit.

Thats part of the deal when you sign him up- and I am thankful that Dan Gilbert's ego did not keep him from bringing LeBron back. Think of that- Gilbert and LeBron have one of the most famous feuds in sports history when he leaves- and Gilbert- a self made billionaire and king of industry - puts his ego behind the good of his team- something Pat Riley could not himself do.

Thats why you are mad.

to be honest with you - i dont blame Riley- its how he has built his name- if he is not the GM and gives power to LeBron what is he? He is nothing really

to Gilbert?- He would be the first to tell you he is not a basketball genius. If he is not "running his team" he is entrusting it to people that know basketball a whole lot better than him.---- he is still a self-made billionaire and one of the best businessmen in the world. He could easily have had a grudge against LeBron- said we have Kyrie, Wiggins- and gone a different way.

but he swallowed his pride and did what was best for the franchise- something that Riley could not do. And now the Cavs just won 18 straight and are favorites to get to the Finals and the Heat are not even currently an EAstern Conference playoff team.

I can take whatever "LeBron has all the power" comments that you think are insults. Hopefully you can take all the "Riley has all the power and the Heat cant make the playoffs in the East" comments.

Where to begin?
First of all, where are the insults?
You have been on a season long mission trying to convince yourself and I guess us that Gilbert, Blatt, and Griffin have some type of say as to who will be on the roster and how they will be managed.

My article is just another example of what BS that is.
If you would just agree that it is James calling everything, then there would be no more reason to keep showing you evidence to the contrary.
Notice how you mention Gilbert but never named Griffin as far as the Cavs, then only named Riley but not Arison when talking Heat?

And OF COURSE Arison isn't handing over the keys to his kingdom to James or any other player, ever.
You lose everything that you had previosuly built by doing that.
Since the Cavs FO is viewed as a laughing stock, I suppose they had nothing to lose.
He got the best four years out the prime of his career at a discounted price.
He's still real good, but the graph is starting to decline.
We'll be fine.
Also not sure how you could ever call me bitter, because I said BEFORE he left that I'd prefer he did leave if he insisted on annual opt outs.



Next, it doesn't matter if you win 18 straight home games or 82 straight regular season games.
If you don't win 16 playoff games, your season is a bust and will end just like the other 29 other teams who didn't win.
Ask Kentucky about how great they feel about their 38 game win streak which is now a 1 game losing streak.


As far as the Heat possibly not making the playoffs, most Heat fans would prefer to NOT make them as long as we keep our top 10 protected pick.
We understand the difficulties of this season and know we can trust our ownership and FO to quickly get us back on track (which they already basically did by finding Whiteside and stealing Dragic).

And you call that one of the greatest feuds in sports history?
It was a 1 sided bitch slapping from James to Gilbert.
The only thing Gilbert gains is revenue, which is something he really doesn't need.
He's a BILLIONAIRE.
At least keep your pride and dignity?

Here what went down:

1. Gilbert makes a total ass out of himself.

2.James doesn't give 2 shits because he has moved on to a 1st class organization that makes him a champion.

3. James eventually sees an opportunity to make a ton of cash by having some fake 'gotta go home' Nike campaign combined with getting the man he despises to give him total control of an NBA franchise while at the same time keeping the door open for himself to leave at any time if he chooses.

4. IF the Cavs ever win a title, James is getting all the credit, not Gilbert.

Thats a no brainer for James and certainly goes way beyond anything that you think the Heat might or might not have been able to do to keep him.
He was GONE long before his dramatic, diva, drag it out FA decision nonsense.

 

[gordontrue]

You could have just said : " Blatts offense was horrible, so James is just using similar type players to try to replicate Spoelstras offense.



Anyway, nearly half the Cavs shots both taken and made were 3's, and they only won by 5.

I can almost promise you that if they continue to shoot that many 3's, it will come back and bite them in the ass.

1) That was not really a 5 point game.... despite what the box score says.

2) The Cavs have been consistent with their 3 point shooting... especially in the 2nd half of the season (after the trade). Obviously they hit a couple of crazy half court heaves that don't mean anything, but the solid 3 point shooting is the norm.

Over the 2nd half of the season... 10 teams have taken at least 900 3 point attemts. Only 3 of those teams have shot > 38% over that span. Cavs, Hawks, and Warriors.

 

[bksballer89]

You can throw all the Bulls/Cavs games out of the window if they meet in the playoffs

In game 1, the Bulls were without Jimmy Butler & this was the Cavs team before the trade.

In game 2, the Bulls were without Noah.

In game 3, the Bulls were without Jimmy Butler again & the Cavs were without Love

Obviously yesterday they were without Rose.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

1) That was not really a 5 point game.... despite what the box score says.

2) The Cavs have been consistent with their 3 point shooting... especially in the 2nd half of the season (after the trade). Obviously they hit a couple of crazy half court heaves that don't mean anything, but the solid 3 point shooting is the norm.

Over the 2nd half of the season... 10 teams have taken at least 900 3 point attemts. Only 3 of those teams have shot > 38% over that span. Cavs, Hawks, and Warriors.

I didn't see the game, so fair enough....but either way, that's IMO waaayyyy too many 3's.

As far as the stats, they haven't taken any in the ECF or Finals where you are playing quality opponents who can quickly open up a double digit lead if you miss a few in a row.

If you are the Cavs, and you allow yourself to get caught up in an outside shooting game vs having James attack the paint, then you are doing the opponent a favor.

 

[gordontrue]

I didn't see the game, so fair enough....but either way, that's IMO waaayyyy too many 3's.

As far as the stats, they haven't taken any in the ECF or Finals where you are playing quality opponents who can quickly open up a double digit lead if you miss a few in a row.

If you are the Cavs, and you allow yourself to get caught up in an outside shooting game vs having James attack the paint, then you are doing the opponent a favor.

Fair point.

Yeah, I mean, agree. If they are taking pull up 3's, or dribbling out the shot clock and hoisting 3's... that obviously is a bad recipe. But most of the 3's are coming out of penetration or postup from LeBron or Kyrie. These are good looks.

The high percentage of makes is an indication of getting quality looks.

FTR, some of the other teams that have attempted > 900 3's in the second half of the season:
Warriors, Hawks, Clippers, Rockets, Blazers. Spurs came in at 850. (Only the Hawks, Warriors, and Cavs shot better than 38%)

The Grizzlies are the one very good team that doesn't take a lot of 3s.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Fair point.

Yeah, I mean, agree. If they are taking pull up 3's, or dribbling out the shot clock and hoisting 3's... that obviously is a bad recipe. But most of the 3's are coming out of penetration or postup from LeBron or Kyrie. These are good looks.

The high percentage of makes is an indication of getting quality looks.

FTR, some of the other teams that have attempted > 900 3's in the second half of the season:
Warriors, Hawks, Clippers, Rockets, Blazers. Spurs came in at 850. (Only the Hawks, Warriors, and Cavs shot better than 38%)

The Grizzlies are the one very good team that doesn't take a lot of 3s.

But isn't it the other teams best player who is taking the shots?
My point is, the Cavs would be doing the opposite.
Especially in this post season when the others who are taking those shots don't have the playoff experience.

 

[gordontrue]

But isn't it the other teams best player who is taking the shots?
My point is, the Cavs would be doing the opposite.
Especially in this post season when the others who are taking those shots don't have the playoff experience.

It just comes down to taking what the defense gives you.

If defenders are staying out on the perimeter... that opens it up for LeBron and Love and Kyrie to score inside. If they start packing it down on the interior defense... that opens it up for kickouts to good looks. Its all about getting the best look.

Falling in love with the 3 and forcing the issue is definitely a dangerous aspect for a team that takes a lot of 3's.

 

[bksballer89]

JR Smith is going to shoot the Cavs out of a game in the playoffs. I can feel it.

Unless you're shooting 75% from the floor, I don't want any single player on my team taking 17 3's in one game

 

[gordontrue]

JR Smith is going to shoot the Cavs out of a game in the playoffs. I can feel it.

Unless you're shooting 75% from the floor, I don't want any single player on my team taking 17 3's in one game

I've been convinced of this since the trade. But with the passing of each day I am less and less convinced. 2 things have surprised me about JR.

1) He has been playing very good defense (He has made a handful of jaw-dropping phenomenal defensive plays)
2) He hasn't turned into a shot-jacker.

Yesterday's game was unique. He hit 6 of his first 7 shots. 6 of those were great looks. The other was a (partly) lucky falling-out-of-bounds heave at the buzzer.

In the 3rd quarter his teammates were definitely looking to get him looks at the 3... and were forcing it to a degree. He had a few bad chucks... but several more good looks. This was really the first time I saw that happen with JR.

The likelihood of it happening in the playoffs isn't great, IMO. And if it does happen... it will be because he just torched something like 6 out of 7... which will make it much more tolerable and less likely to negatively effect the outcome.