Well, at least we know that Lue can coach and the team can play against the Spurs and Thunder now.  The mugging by GSW in January is still smarting, but the switches seem to be getting things done, and that was without Frye cleared to play and with Kyrie out quickly with flu-like symptoms.

 

On the flip side, did I seriously just see that Andy got picked up by Golden State, of all the places in the league he could have landed off waivers?  If he hits the winning shot against us in Game 7 of the Finals, it will be the most Cleveland moment in the history of Cleveland sports.  Well, OK, that's a competitive pedestal, but it would be up there.

 

Good for Andy. Hated that move. I don't expect Andy to hit any winning ahots but u can sure as hell bet he could take a critical charge from Lebron with the game on the line

It feels like the Warriors front office is basically trolling the Cavs by this move. Does it even make sense for them? I was disappointed to find out that theNBA put a 12 month waiting period on the trade, waive and then resign move after we did that with Z. When I first heard that Andy was being released I was hoping the Cavs were pulling that move again.

I assume GS didn't break the bank to sign Andy.  What team couldn't use another serviceable 7 footer.  If nothing else, they can send him in against the Clippers to foul DeAndre Jordon 6 times.

It feels like the Warriors front office is basically trolling the Cavs by this move. Does it even make sense for them? I was disappointed to find out that theNBA put a 12 month waiting period on the trade, waive and then resign move after we did that with Z. When I first heard that Andy was being released I was hoping the Cavs were pulling that move again.

 

It's 12 months now?!?!  I knew they put a rule in place but players should be able to resign before the following season.

It feels like the Warriors front office is basically trolling the Cavs by this move. Does it even make sense for them? I was disappointed to find out that theNBA put a 12 month waiting period on the trade, waive and then resign move after we did that with Z. When I first heard that Andy was being released I was hoping the Cavs were pulling that move again.

 

I think he was that sought after, he was also being spoken to by the Spurs, Thunder, Hawks and someone else. All playoff teams.

Not a 100% positive on the 12 months. Somebody on WFNY said that was the timeframe.

^ yeah it's 12 months. So even if he is done with the Warriors after the playoffs, he can't resign with the cavs til Feb of 2017.

Breaking CLE News ‏@breakingclenews  2m2 minutes ago

Cavs among teams pursuing Joe Johnson: The Cavs are among a number of playoff teams pursuing Joe Johnson, who has… http://m.tbnn.it/KcKWl2

JJ was my preferred choice the year we went after him, Ray Allen and Larry Hughes.

Breaking CLE News ‏@breakingclenews  2m2 minutes ago

Reports: Joe Johnson bought out by Nets, Cavs interested: Iso Joe might be coming to Cleveland Joe Johnson is one… http://m.tbnn.it/KcS1jx

Yes on Joe Johnson.  HELLS NO on Kevin Martin.

Joe Johnson could work here but he, like Kyrie and LeBron, will have to give up the rock more and be willing to run and play within the team concept Lue is promoting.

^It appears to be moot, now, as the most recent reports has Johnson signing with Miami.

Watching NBA TV and it's really nice hearing analyst Brendan Haywood sticking up for Delly, called him "the best teammate ever" and "the nicest guy in the world." It's actually hysterical that Matthew Dellavadova has somehow become the leagues new version of Rasheed Wallace. What an enforcer haha.

We already knew Curry is on a different planet than everyone else, but last night...geez. And now I've never been more convinced that if we met them in the Finals, Lebron would have to exclusively guard Curry. If he was successful, that would probably be his legacy and clearly would be MVP. I don't want to hear about him being tired guarding him and not facilitating the offense. You don't stop curry, you don't beat the Warriors. Doesn't matter how well he does on offense.  I think it's a challenge that anyone who wants to be the greatest ever would want to take and it would require him playing better on ball defense than anyone has ever. Let's face it, we can cart shumpert or Delly out on him. They are good defenders, but we are talking about a once in a generation shooter. Part of me feels like Lebron doesn't want that task

When you channel your inner Steph Curry....

 

https://twitter.com/NYC/status/695076603697590272/video/1

I watch most of the CAVS Games on TV (and come to some when I'm in town).  I don't know if just's me but

recently (I guess that means a lot of this season) it seems like there's kind of a "lower energy level" in the crowd - at least in the part that one sees in the first ten rows or so from the court.  It seems the crowd has gotten used to the idea that "it's championship or bust" for the Cavs very quickly - and they almost seem a little bored (kind of like a typical LA crowd at a sporting event) half the time.  What happened to that go-crazy, Cleveland-rocks intensity?  I see more of it in other buildings in the NBA - definitely Golden State (I know, they're special)  but places like Oklahoma City and Toronto as well..... anybody else feeling that, or am I getting the wrong impression watching on TV?

^i don't think a lot of cavs fans are enjoying this season because people are nervous. While the body of work is very successful, you are right...I think most anticipate it culminating with defeat. Not to mention, this isn't a raucous Browns crowd, even Indians. This is a wine and cheese, dress to the nines crowd that treats it like a Vegas show.

I don't think many fans expect the Cavs to beat the Curry-ers this time either.

Curry's ridiculous and so was his shot that won the OKC game.  It's hard to see the Cavs even winning one game vs. the Warriors at this point.  But this is the regular season.  Anything is possible in the playoffs.  A week ago, the Cavs went into OKC and blew out the elite Thunder; the same Thunder team that had GSW on the ropes Saturday night - and should have won had they not stupidly passed on calling time out near the end of regulation when OKC had both the ball and a 2-point lead. The OKC game shows me that the sky is the limit talent-wise on how far the Cavs can go; but the biggest problem here is between the ears.

 

At the moment, this team's a mess having lost 3 of 4 since OKC.  LeBron is pissed because he feels put upon in that he has to do EVERYTHING in order for the Cavs to win: Exhibit A: yesterday's debacle vs. the Wiz (Frye - 0 pts, Thompson 2-pts, Love 12), where LeBron departed the game then the locker room midway in the 4th quarter... I wonder if there's some simmering anger of LeBron's toward Kyrie.  Last year, in true LeBronian style, LeBron made a veiled comment hinting the Kyrie didn't man-up and play through pain in Game 6 against the Bulls... Then last Saturday, in speaking about Kyle Lowry's amazing performance, LeBron noted: "That's what All-Stars do."  Ouch!  ... anyone who doesn't see this as anything but a direct shot at No. 2 is living in La-La land.

Curry's ridiculous and so was his shot that won the OKC game.  It's hard to see the Cavs even winning one game vs. the Warriors at this point.  But this is the regular season.  Anything is possible in the playoffs.  A week ago, the Cavs went into OKC and blew out the elite Thunder; the same Thunder team that had GSW on the ropes Saturday night - and should have won had they not stupidly passed on calling time out near the end of regulation when OKC had both the ball and a 2-point lead. The OKC game shows me that the sky is the limit talent-wise on how far the Cavs can go; but the biggest problem here is between the ears.

 

At the moment, this team's a mess having lost 3 of 4 since OKC.  LeBron is pissed because he feels put upon in that he has to do EVERYTHING in order for the Cavs to win: Exhibit A: yesterday's debacle vs. the Wiz (Frye - 0 pts, Thompson 2-pts, Love 12), where LeBron departed the game then the locker room midway in the 4th quarter... I wonder if there's some simmering anger of LeBron's toward Kyrie.  Last year, in true LeBronian style, LeBron made a veiled comment hinting the Kyrie didn't man-up and play through pain in Game 6 against the Bulls... Then last Saturday, in speaking about Kyle Lowry's amazing performance, LeBron noted: "That's what All-Stars do."  Ouch!  ... anyone who doesn't see this as anything but a direct shot at No. 2 is living in La-La land.

 

Ouch. I was so hyped up for this season but once again something is just not quite right with our Cavs. They're not fun to watch. They lose games in the final seconds...but the soap opera dramatic rumors are the worst part of it.

How about just enjoying the Cavs run without spending every second worrying about other teams. They are going to win 60 games this year and likely make a deep run in the playoffs. Golden State is so far into the fans heads.

 

The Cavs have a good chance to beat anybody in the NBA and that includes the Warriors.

How about just enjoying the Cavs run without spending every second worrying about other teams.

 

Cleveland isn't about enjoyment. It's about putting everything under a microscope!

 

To me that's just how sports towns are.

To me that's just how sports towns are.

 

That's how towns with perennial losing teams are.

 

I listened to a grand total of 5 minutes of sports talk this morning. Carmen and Lima, Mike & Mike, and Rizz were all talking talking about Golden State when I flipped them on. I said bleep this and turned it off. I'll just watch the games. I don't need the media telling me the Cavs have no chance.

To me that's just how sports towns are.

 

That's how towns with perennial losing teams are.

 

I listened to a grand total of 5 minutes of sports talk this morning. Carmen and Lima, Mike & Mike, and Rizz were all talking talking about Golden State when I flipped them on. I said bleep this and turned it off. I'll just watch the games. I don't need the media telling me the Cavs have no chance.

 

Just an aside, have you ever listened to the sports media in NY, Philly or Boston? Cleveland media is absolutely tame in comparison. 

Everyone is talking about the Warriors.... or, more specifically, Steph Curry.

 

Heat checks take Steph Currys. 

 

The man sold his soul.  I am convinced of that.  He is shooting 50% on shots between 28 and 50 feet.  No small sample either.  It is over 70 shots for the season.

 

 

Stephen A. Smith is reporting that he's been told that Kyrie wants out of Cleveland, and has been unhappy hear since last year.

Stephen A. Smith and reporting should never be used in the same sentence.

He looked really unhappy last year after the eastern conference finals when he was dancing in the ice bath with Lebron, Jr. and shump

Gutsy win tonight vs a sparky Pacers squadron. Some observations:

 

-Great to see Cavs give the effort, but the chemistry was not so good

-Austin Carr is very frustrated with this team's lack of cohesion

-Delly with a huuuuge three to tie late in the game

-LeBron was yelling something to Kyrie at length during a time out

-Thompson hit a few nice baskets inside during crunch time, showing good touch along with his usual physical play

-Thompson with an amazing block on Paul George to save the game

-Love struggled on offense with Pacers toughness and athleticism

-Paul George is a heck of a player and a good sport

 

Anyhow, another in the win column. Good night!

Great observation Surf. The other thing that stuck out was how many open threes Love passed up.

Kyrie Irving Reacts To Stephen A. Smith’s Comment On Him Wanting To Leave Cavs

http://cavsnation.com/kyrie-irving-reacts-to-stephen-a-smiths-comment-on-him-wanting-to-leave-cavs/

I went to the game and by the 4th quarter the crowd was audibly groaning each time Love passed up a shot. It must have happened 4 or 5 times. Very odd.

I was there as well. I don't know if he's not comfortable with his shot or what. Something seemed off. Glad they could grind out the win, though. We need more TT... He really brings the energy everyone else seems to lack.

I was there as well. I don't know if he's not comfortable with his shot or what. Something seemed off. Glad they could grind out the win, though. We need more TT... He really brings the energy everyone else seems to lack.

 

So did JR. He probably has a lot of floor-burns today after diving after so many 50/50 balls.

I was there as well. I don't know if he's not comfortable with his shot or what. Something seemed off. Glad they could grind out the win, though. We need more TT... He really brings the energy everyone else seems to lack.

 

So did JR. He probably has a lot of floor-burns today after diving after so many 50/50 balls.

 

Good point. He was all over the place. His 3-point shot was off early but he was everywhere.

The Pacers' game was a nice and very needed win but, truth be told, if that George 3-point shot had not been nullified, I feel we'd have probably lost the game despite a very spirited late defensive surge. That was a gigantic referee correction... Thompson was obviously the man at both ends, and Delly drained the go-ahead 3 on LeBron's dish... It seems Love had a crisis of confidence late.  Not only was he passing up 3s with his man 5-10 feet away from him, he twice in a row fumbled the ball; once leading to a turnover.  Lue pulled him late.  I just don't know about Kevin sometimes.  Just when you think that he's pulling it together...

 

The team needed this extra-day's break.  We have the talent to win it all, if we can keep our heads together and play hard... Just over a week ago, we destroyed an OKC team that, this past Saturday, had the Warriors by the neck until they blew the game in the closing seconds.  This should give us at least a little confidence.

I notice that Love plays best early in the game.  I'm wondering if stamina is an issue with him.  He played the most minutes out of everyone last night at over 40.  He seems to be fatigued by the fourth quarter.

Forty minutes is a lot to ask of anyone, especially a big man who moves around a lot.

Last regular season game tonight vs. the Pistons, who are ironically locked in as our 1st round foe in the playoffs.  Of the starters, it looks like only TT will play (in order to continue his consecutive game streak).  Hopefully we can make some quick work of the Pistons in the first round, but it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out somewhat like the Boston series last year.... we win, but with a cost.  The Pistons are an aggressive bunch which has given us trouble at times this year.

 

Not to get ahead of myself, but the 2nd round foe is completely up in the air.  We would play the winner of the 4 and 5 seeds.  The final game of the season will decide the 3, 4, 5, and 6 seeds amongst Miami, Atlanta, Boston, and Charlotte who are all within one game of each other.  If Miami beats Boston tonight, then they are the 3 seed and we will only see them if we both make it to the conference finals.  If Miami loses and Atlanta beats Washington, then Atlanta has the 3 seed..... and, if Charlotte wins too, Miami drops down to 6.

Im really kind of lost on what to expect with these Cavs.  I think I can actually see quite polarizing results.  I know they have superior talent to just about anyone and have seen games where they look championship caliber, then again, I could see this ending in disappointment earlier than the finals (I keep telling myself that they really just don't care about the regular season, and that's why they looked bipolar)...but the reality is, if they experience some of the issues that they did in the season (and fans have every right to think they could)...then they can certainly lose before the finals.

 

Honestly, im sick of all the coverage. the off court drama that both the local and national media impose on the team...that im sure happens with other teams, but media loves to beat up Cleveland and recently LeBron.  From bad team chemistry, to fired coaches, to brands, to Kehlani, to Lebron cryptic tweets, and now the media is blowing a direct message on twitter from Lebron to Rachel Bush out of proportion....the ONLY thing that makes all this go away is a title. Its really nauseating to the point where I stopped watching games and reading articles for the last few months.  Im ready for some good old fashioned, determined, beautiful basketball....I really hope they deliver it.

 

side note.  rooting for Miami tonight.  I want them to get 3 and Boston 6.  I think we dispose of Boston in 6, but Miami scares me a bit...just because LeBron cant seem to win a game down there since he came back to Cleveland...its like a mental block.

Detroit was the one team I didn't want in Round one.  They beat us in the season series 2-1 (tonight's game really shouldn't count).

 

Drummond poses major challenges for us.  Thompson is gritty as hell, but is really undersized to go against the big guy.  Only Mozgov is physically comparable to Drummond, but Timo is unfortunately off in mental La-La land these days just when we need him.  Kyrie also had better ramp up the D against Jackson, or he is capable of smoking us as well-- as he did against No. 2 during the regular season.  And then there's Marcus Morris who, essentially, is playing Drummond's in-the-paint "deputy" much as Greg Monroe did prior to this past year.  In actuality, Detroit is a 8-seed that barely crawled into the playoffs, so we should handle them; esp given the extra playoff gear LeBron always plays in (save that infamous Celtics series in 2010 just prior to Decision I).  As we've seen, LeBron has been ramping up since the Miami loss weeks ago.

 

Let the games begin! ... er, after tonight that is.

Atlanta beat us in the season series last year and we smoked them in the playoffs.

^Atlanta isn't coached by Stan Van Gundy, either, a high-quality coach and a guy who seems to always have the Cavs' number.  Most notably, it was SVG's Orlando Magic, with rising star center Dwight Howard and a bunch of cast-offs and misfits (like Rafer Alston), who beat out arguably LeBron era I's best Cavs team -- a 66-win team, infamously making us one of only 3 teams in NBA history at the time to win at least 65 regular season games and not win the championship (obviously this year, another team will join this hall of shame as Golden State and San Antonio have won 73 and 67 games, respectively).  And because of this stomach-turning upset, we/the nation was forever denied a LeBron vs. Kobe championship -- btw, the Lakers easily disposed of Orlando as we should have been, but for some awful coaching by Mike Brown and the disappearance of Mo Williams in that series.  c'est la vie.

 

SVG tends to get the most out dysfunctional clubs, like Detroit had been prior to his arrival.  I.e: he's taken raw Andre Drummond and helped develop him into one of the elite bigs in the League -- you know AD?...  the center we passed over in the draft to grab mighty Dion Waiters.  Because of this depressing history, I will not rest comfortably until we win the 1st 2 games against Detroit at the Q, despite the fact we SHOULD take this series.

So it shook out like this last night -

 

3- Miami

4 - Atlanta

5 - Boston

6 - Charlotte

^The East should be more interesting than the West.  And even Indy, at 7, could be a load if Paul George gets into a groove... Toronto and Miami could be the Cavs' biggest obstacles to the Finals.

^Atlanta isn't coached by Stan Van Gundy, either, a high-quality coach and a guy who seems to always have the Cavs' number.  Most notably, it was SVG's Orlando Magic, with rising star center Dwight Howard and a bunch of cast-offs and misfits (like Rafer Alston), who beat out arguably LeBron era I's best Cavs team -- a 66-win team, infamously making us one of only 3 teams in NBA history at the time to win at least 65 regular season games and not win the championship (obviously this year, another team will join this hall of shame as Golden State and San Antonio have won 73 and 67 games, respectively).  And because of this stomach-turning upset, we/the nation was forever denied a LeBron vs. Kobe championship -- btw, the Lakers easily disposed of Orlando as we should have been, but for some awful coaching by Mike Brown and the disappearance of Mo Williams in that series.  c'est la vie.

 

SVG tends to get the most out dysfunctional clubs, like Detroit had been prior to his arrival.  I.e: he's taken raw Andre Drummond and helped develop him into one of the elite bigs in the League -- you know AD?...  the center we passed over in the draft to grab mighty Dion Waiters.  Because of this depressing history, I will not rest comfortably until we win the 1st 2 games against Detroit at the Q, despite the fact we SHOULD take this series.

 

That magic team was better than the cavs, period.  If you look at the three regular season games that year, the Magic blew the cavs out twice and lost a tight one at the Q.  While Van Gundy deserves some credit, they were just constructed to beat the cavs.  they fed Dwight until the cavs double teamed and had sharp shooters waiting at the wings to nail threes, which they did all series.  Hardly cast offs, Turkoglu, Lewis, Jameer, PIetrus all flourished in that system.  If they cavs played the magic every game that year, they would probably be a .500 team. 

 

CONVERSELY, that is what gives me hope this post season...even though the warriors won it all last year, the regular season success could potentially make them seem better than they actually are.  7 game series is almost a completely different sport than these 1 game domination efforts that you see in the regular season.

 

That being said, that Magic team was more about the players than Stan Van.  Cavs in 4 or 5.  Not worried at all about the pistons.  Can you honestly look in the mirror and convince yourself the pistons can scare the cavs? 

That Magic team won that series because several of their players (Petrius, Turkoglu, Nelson, Alston) got RED-HOT from the 3 point line.  We couldn't hold several significant leads in that series.  The NBA is like that.  Oftentimes, it is simply a matter of being in a groove at the right time.  The Cavs will need similar good fortune this post-season.  I would love nothing more than for us to grind out way to the Finals and then JR and Kyrie simultaneously go on one of their multi-game tears where they can't miss from beyond the arc.

Sweet opening series win.  We took Detroit's best shot with them shooting 62% in the 1st 2.5 quarters, but still came away with the win.  The Big 3 were ...the Big 3 scoring 81 of our 106 points... Kyrie and LeBron were great, but K. Love was da man imho... THIS is the Kevin Love we traded Andrew Wiggins for.  He was unstoppable today.  One of Lue's best moves has been to post up Love more to get him going early, and not just having him standing around the 3-point line.  Detroit's forwards had no answer for him.  Now we have to dig in and take Wednesday's game and we'll be in the driver's seat.

Has anyone ever noticed that the six letters in the initials for our big 3 are all within four consecutive letters in the alphabet?  They need a name other than the Big 3. I'm gonna try to make IJKL stick.