BTW, there's something awkward about that photo. How are the heads of the bench players bigger than Kyrie's?

 

Must be a pic of a curved-screen television.  Remember those?

I don't think it's any coincidence that Cavs has won 8 straight now that Kyrie is getting things right. I don't care if they lose to SA on the road but they need to beat GS at home once the Texas triangle trip is over.

My phone camera has a bit of a wide-angle lens to it.

 

Even if the Cavs lose the last two on this trip, they'll have returned home with a winning record (4-2) for the roadie.

Love that commercial. Tweeted that when I saw it last night for the first time.

It seems we still have room for improvement.

 

:-\

It seems we still have room for improvement.

 

:-\

 

Many disturbing issues arose after that ass-kicking last night, and the futures of certain individuals with the team are in question, namely: Blatt, Love and Mozgov.  Blatt, in particular, admitted he didn't have the team prepared (ya think?) and wasn't even aware that JR arrived less than an hour before the game.  Ironically, JR was the lone Cav who showed fight tonight and then got tossed for a bogus F2 call... People may brush off this game as just a regular season game in January, but to do so would be crazy. 

Why has Love completely diappeared on the offensive end since Kyrie has come back? I wouldn't be surprised if Mozgov gets traded along with the trade exceptions.

4 games in 6 nights doesn't help either.

4 games in 6 nights doesn't help either.

 

The Warriors just played game 4 of the past 5 days.  I don't buy that excuse.  These are supposed to be world-class athletes.  The Warriors sure looked that way. 

GS is light years ahead of every other team in the league right now.  It isn't even close.  And they're a match up nightmare for the Cavs.  Primarily because it seems nobody can guard Green or Iguodala.  We put our lock down guys on Curry and Thompson and have to face Curry every possession which completely screws up the rotation defense that is required to prevent a corner three from guys like Barnes and Iguodala.

 

Cavs have a lot of work to do.  Our best hope is that GS gets beat by a team like San Antonia in the playoffs.

Cavs have a lot of work to do.  Our best hope is that GS gets beat by a team like San Antonia in the playoffs.

 

I don't wish this on any team, but the Cavs could also benefit from ANOTHER of these teams getting riddled with injuries (for once).

Cavs have a lot of work to do.  Our best hope is that GS gets beat by a team like San Antonia in the playoffs.

 

I don't wish this on any team, but the Cavs could also benefit from ANOTHER of these teams getting riddled with injuries (for once).

 

... but unfortunately we were at full strength last night and had all weekend to rest from the long trip and, yet, suffered the 2nd worst home lost in Cavaliers history.

The Cavs are so frustrating to watch, for so many reasons. Their weaknesses are glaring.

Im afraid I am losing faith in their ability to win the championship.  Sure they have the talent, but they still don't play as a team.  If you are going to beat a team, you have to play as a team.  The individual junk works against bad defenses and bad teams, but not against the elite.  From where I sit, only three teams have a legitimate shot to win it all.  The Warriors, Spurs and Cavs.  They are now 0-3 against these teams and doubt is creeping in.  Shooting % goes way down against these teams, mostly because they aren't setting each other up for open shots.  They are not adjusting to the elite D's. Unless something changes with the way the team plays, it will end in more disappointment.  Talent is not the issue, Cavs have the most, but playing as a team is what gets rings

Sure they have the talent, but they still don't play as a team.

 

It's probably better for basketball that Golden State and their style wins out over the Cavs and their awful to watch iso ball. 

This was such a disappointment to watch on every front. Even more disappointing was that Blatt was out coached by a rookie interim coach.

The conspiracy theorist in me wants to believe the Cavs did this on purpose to get in the Warriors already-swollen heads, then show up in the finals and stomp them with their REAL team play... :)

The conspiracy theorist in me wants to believe the Cavs did this on purpose to get in the Warriors already-swollen heads, then show up in the finals and stomp them with their REAL team play... :)

 

would be nice, but I just think its the reality.  The cavs are excellent but not elite.  The weight is heavy on Kyrie...I think he is the kind of guy that can change a finals series and disrupt another team.  Lebron is such a great player...once in a generation, but he lacks something.  I cant quite figure out what, but when the crunch time comes (and im not talking about final shot...im talking about real pressure against elite teams)....I feel like he panics and tries to take it over instead of making his team better.  Sure he had that game against Boston when he was with the heat...that is always a possibility to happen.  But if you think about it, Lebron is a Kawhi Leonard free throw from having one ring against a young thunder team. 

 

Im not a coach, expert, player, but I think our great one needs to dig deep himself and figure out how to elevate his players for the full 48 minutes by the time June rolls around.  He is always touting that he is the leader, and he is making everyone better.  But if he really is the leader he believes he is...he will diagnose his own areas of weakness and correct as well.  in my opinion, I think the key to success is to hand the keys over to Kyrie...Lebron needs to be more of a coach on the floor and take up space on the block...drawing more defenders and then opening up space for an actual offense to operate. 

Good post.

That was a good post and pretty accurate in my opinion.

LeBron just isn't as explosive as he once was. He made his living playing iso ball. Either he'd beat you off the dribble or you would double team him leaving someone wide open for a three on the kickout. He's slowed down enough where one player can slow or trip him up. I agree completely with Believeland. He needs to learn a real offense where he is no longer facilitator. Still a phenomenal player but he needs to adjust.

David Blatt was just fired.

David Blatt was just fired.

 

@WojVerticalNBA

Cleveland has fired coach David Blatt, sources tell Yahoo.

 

@WojVerticalNBA  4m4 minutes ago

Assistant Ty Lue has agreed to a multi-year deal as new Cavaliers head coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Just got the notice, too. Wow.

LOL well there goes the season, if that's true.  Serious question- how reliable is Yahoo Sports with breaking sports news?  Any chance this could NOT be true?

 

I like it, if true.  Was this not essentially the plan when they were both hired?  The team has been underperforming and Blatt's authority was gone.  Some sort of midseason reboot was necessary this year, just like last year.

I'm speechless.

It's clear to anyone that the team was not running on all cylinders.

 

I'm sure injuries played a part in that, but there is something wrong.

 

It was a dumb mistake for the San Diego Chargers to fire Mary Schottenheimer after going 14-2. I'm not getting the same "this is stupid!" feeling from this move by the Cavs.

Poor Assistant Coach Blatt :(

Er... FORMER Assistant Coach Blatt... sorry    ;)

LOL well there goes the season, if that's true.  Serious question- how reliable is Yahoo Sports with breaking sports news?  Any chance this could NOT be true?

 

 

Many sources sharing it now, including Sports Illustrated, etc....

Wow. It's all over the media now.

It sounds to me that Blatt was unable to come up with a plan going forward to get where the Cavs need to get to.  The talent on the Cavs is ridiculous and the GS game had to be a measuring stick point of where they are.  To be so seemingly ill-prepared, that is a coaching issue. Hopefully the new guy has a better understanding of how the pieces should go together and how to take advantage of other team's weaknesses.

Dumb, just dumb

Had to be a fight between LeBron and Blatt. Guess who loses in that one...

 

EDIT: sounds like this has been brewing for a while and that Blatt lost the locker room a while ago.

I'm hearing a combo of Jason Lloyd, Chris Haynes and Windhorst.  Together, they're saying the following.

 

1. This was a David Griffin decision; that Griffin was never comfortable with him has coach of this team (remember, Griffin hired him to coach a young team led by Kyrie and Andrew Wiggins).

 

2. That the locker room has come apart under Blatt.

 

3. There was a quiet revolt, from the locker room to the front office, after the Portland blowout and that it likely reached a head Monday night when the Cavs were embarassed at home by the Warriors.

 

Griffin is having a 5:45p press conf.  We should get some clues then.

LOL well there goes the season, if that's true.  Serious question- how reliable is Yahoo Sports with breaking sports news?  Any chance this could NOT be true?

 

 

Just an aside as this is obviously true, but Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo is a very reliable source.  He's one of the best NBA writers out there and frequently beats everyone else on scoops.

Well it was always rumored that Lebron wanted Spolstra fired.  But Riley runs that ship.

LOL well there goes the season, if that's true.  Serious question- how reliable is Yahoo Sports with breaking sports news?  Any chance this could NOT be true?

 

 

Just an aside as this is obviously true, but Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo is a very reliable source.  He's one of the best NBA writers out there and frequently beats everyone else on scoops.

 

Here's the Woj piece...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt-never-stood-a-chance-with-lebron-james-and-his-camp-035612484.html

Ironically, Lue saved Blatt's job last year when he stopped him from trying to call that timeout against Chicago in the playoffs.

 

I agree that Blatt was not hired to coach THIS team. I like the guy a lot, but have to admit that it is becoming increasingly hard to coach NBA players when you have no history in the league.

 

Will be interesting to see how this might effect the lineups and rotations. Does Lue start Timo or TT?  Is Love more involved in the offense?  Does Delly or Mo get the backup PG minutes?  Will Andy see the floor more?  Might Shump be inserted into the starting lineup over JR?  Do we stick to a system or do we morph to fit the style of play of our opponent as we seemed to do under Blatt in terms of pace and lineups?

Thorough article that's worth reading...

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14629892/nba-final-unraveling-david-blatt

Wow! I'm late to this party but I just saw it on the news. I’ve only seen a few Cavs games since LeBron's return.  It was evident that he did not respect this coach. This will be an interesting remainder of the season.  :|

Shot at Crocker Park in Westlake...

 

Tiffani Tucker ‏@TiffaniTucker19  9m9 minutes ago

Just snapped photo of former #Cavs coach  #DavidBlatt out shopping enjoying day, days after being fired.

 

Cavs looked like garbage last night. They are just not an enjoyable team to watch.

LOL well there goes the season, if that's true.  Serious question- how reliable is Yahoo Sports with breaking sports news?  Any chance this could NOT be true?

 

 

Just an aside as this is obviously true, but Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo is a very reliable source.  He's one of the best NBA writers out there and frequently beats everyone else on scoops.

 

Here's the Woj piece...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-david-blatt-never-stood-a-chance-with-lebron-james-and-his-camp-035612484.html

 

Adrian Wojnarowski hates LeBron James.  He proved this by the extensive piece trashing James after The Decision.  While there was plenty to criticize LeBron regarding the decision, Wojnarowski was way over the top in painting the man is the most selfish, self-centered lout on the planet...  Therefore, reading Wojnarowski's take on LeBron is like reading a Breitbart piece on Hillary Clinton.

For opinion and analysis, Woj is solid, but not spectacular. For inside info, he's unmatched

This video offers a different explanation of why Blatt may have been fired. The Golden State game and the "boycott" following that game at Portland may have been a reason...

 

http://bballbreakdown.com/2016/01/cleveland-fires-david-blatt/

I'm hoping Lue's words match his reality.  Obviously, Chicago Saturday night was a horrible debut.  But I'm willing to give Lue at least a few weeks to implement his plan which, in the abstract, sounds impressive.  While some call the Cavs' firing of Blatt foolhardy, I think it was great.  After all, it takes foresight and balls to make a move when a team is on top yet showing signs of trouble (ie: Golden State, Monday, Portland, a few days after Christmas, etc) rather than waiting until the team collapses until making a move.

 

I know it's just 1 game (how many times have we heard this?) but Chicago, with a healthy Pau Gasol, stands a very good chance of knocking Cleveland out of the Eastern playoffs ... forget about Steph & The Boys... Lest we not forget, the Cavs were a hobbling Gasol and a LeBron (Game 4) miracle shot from the parade ending in Chicago last year.

 

I'm also sick of hearing the "Kyrie still isn't right" B.S. We've seen Kyrie go off in a couple games since his return, already; which is consist with Kyrie in the past.  It goes without saying that Kyrie has an amazing skillset and a very high ceiling.  And yet, he has long-term problems (in addition to staying healthy), that he must correct/get corrected, or this team has no shot: 1) he can be a ball hog and over-dribbler, 2) his shot is way too inconsistent, and he’s a lazy defender (again, defense is about effort not skill, and Kyrie has the size, speed and quickness to defend practically any guard – [Exhibit A, Game 1 vs. Steph Curry in last summer's Finals before Kyrie’s OT injury], he simply has chosen not to make this a priority).  We already know about Love's issues (again, even in Saturday's debacle, I do like Lue's positioning of Love both underneath and at the elbow) and, then, LeBron (like Kyrie) just plays too much hero ball and continues to launch 3s and long 2s after he's pounded the ball outside deep into the 24-second clock.

 

Also, per Lue, this team definitely needs to get out and run upon rebounding opponents' missed shot.  But first, as Lue notes, they need to get their asses in shape (which seems a bit incredible, but now that Ty has called them out...).  It also seems hard to believe that each of the Big 3 asked to sit  in the 1st quarter on Saturday because each was winded.

 

These, among a few others, are Lue's biggest challenges to getting the Cavs to a title.  This team has the talent to win it all.  The problem is the Cavs' lack the discipline to play as a unit a la San Antonio or Golden State, and this has been our biggest stumbling block.  And if we’re now counting Chicago as an elite (and I do), the Cavs are now 0-5 vs. those teams.  And this should raise Red Flags for all concerned.

 

^have you ever suffered a serious knee injury?  It takes times to heal physically, but even longer to heal mentally. I certainly haven't seen Kyrie fully back yet. He's had some good games, but he's not yet fully back.