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Episode 157: Strus to Miss Start of Season, Again
41 Plays10 days ago
Alex and Corey give their reactions to the Max Strus injury that will see him miss the first 3 to 4 months of the season. We give our thoughts on possible options to fill Strus's role in the starting lineup and how this will also impact the bench lineup as well. Then we take a look at the Cavs preseason & regular season schedule and call out some notable games to look forward to. We give our expectations for the upcoming season and whether the regular season actually matters or not for this team.
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Transcript
Alex's Guitar Passion
00:00:15
Speaker
Hey Cavs fans, welcome to another episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast, the podcast for diehard Cavs fans. I'm Corey. I am here with Alex. Alex, it's been a minute and before recording, you kind of had your guitar out.
00:00:30
Speaker
that how you've been keeping your time, yeah you know, busy with with no Cavs basketball? Is that how you're feeling your time? Yeah, I've been playing a lot lately. What do you play? Got a new guitar, too, actually.
00:00:42
Speaker
Just got a Schecter Solo 2. It's kind of their Les Paul style guitar. ah Pretty much anything rock. So a little bit of Pink Floyd.
00:00:55
Speaker
just Just kind of messing around. You know, just we'll pick up a guitar, noodle, play through some chord progressions and that's pretty much It's just a good stress reliever. Absolutely.
00:01:06
Speaker
That's awesome. Guitar is one of those things I wish I wouldve learned how to play. Never learned. Maybe there's time for that. But ah yeah, that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. it's a It's a journey. It's not something you You pick up and ah really start playing songs with. i think that's I think that's my fear. It's like, ah, am I ready to make that commitment? And the Cavs season's going to be here before we know it. I'm just, not going to have the time, Alex.
00:01:30
Speaker
So you were smart to do it over the summer.
Max Struess' Injury Update
00:01:33
Speaker
um So with that being said, Alex, it's it's been a little bit, and it's kind of crazy to think that we're only about a month away or so ah to the preseason, and then Cavs basketball will be there you know right around the corner after that.
00:01:47
Speaker
So I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get excited until um we learned that another starter from the starting five will be missing the start of the season. And that's where I wanted to start um this episode to get your take on the Max Struess injury. um They're calling it. He underwent surgery for a Jones fracture in his left foot. Do you know what a Jones fracture is? Have you ever heard that before?
00:02:17
Speaker
I've heard of it before, but I'm not sure exactly what it means. ah Same here. Same here. it a specific bone in the foot? Couldn't tell you. Couldn't tell you. ah But he sustained it during off-season training, and the injury is expected to keep him sidelined for three to four months, Alex.
00:02:37
Speaker
So that takes you to the end of the year, pretty much. right Potentially beginning of 2026. Yeah.
00:02:45
Speaker
And what's kind of crazy is and I haven't seen a lot of fans talk about this, um is that he actually missed the start of the season last year as well with an injury.
00:02:56
Speaker
I don't remember what it was for, um but the Cavs were able to do just fine without him. If you remember, they started off the season, what, 15, 16 and 0 or something like that.
00:03:08
Speaker
But I'm not so sure, Alex, it's going to be the same hot start this this year around with Struis out and Derriere Scarlet out. Probably not. I mean, that was...
00:03:19
Speaker
That was wild last season, how hot we started. Like, i would never expect to start that hot. It's kind of funny, me and Struis, we both got this left foot injury at the same time. Because my left foot's killing me.
00:03:30
Speaker
do do Do you think Max Struis is at home right now, playing a little Pink Floyd on the guitar? And just, you know, you guys are living the same life. I hope so, man. Yeah, I think we probably are.
00:03:42
Speaker
mean, I go out in the driveway, shoot shoot a few hoops. I used to go inside. I play the guitar a little bit. used to call Alex Dylan Wendler. And because I always thought he kind of looked like him a little bit.
00:03:54
Speaker
And maybe now you're just start calling you Max Drew's, you know, both out with an injury, both playing guitar. You know, not not practicing your shot like you should be.
Team Impact of Struess' Absence
00:04:05
Speaker
But Alex, how big of an impact in your mind is it missing Max Drews from the start of this season? Oh, man, i think it's huge. I think, you know, we're already down Garland.
00:04:18
Speaker
um We got Lonzo Ball, who is listed. I don't know. Did you know that he's listed as day to day? like When I pulled up the Cavs roster for the season on Yahoo Sports, it has Garland on the injury reserve, Struess on the injury reserve, and Lonzo.
00:04:37
Speaker
Day to day. i haven't really haven't really heard anywhere and any of the reports since he was traded. Like, what is his actual health level right now on ah on ah on a percentage level? Is he 75 percent healthy?
00:04:53
Speaker
Is he 90 percent healthy? where and And also, where is he expected to be by the start of the season? The only thing I saw was that they are expecting or I saw reports of the Cavs not planning on playing him in back to back games, um which I don't know how many there are on the season. But there's there's always ah a handful, right?
00:05:16
Speaker
um You know, to fit in the amount of games that they try to do in the amount of time that they try to do it. um So that's a bit concerning that that's already the approach they they want to have. But at the same time, you know, what we all really care about is guys like Struis and Lonzo Ball and Garland being there when it matters.
00:05:34
Speaker
So at the end of the day, it takes them not playing ball and back to back games and we lose. Yeah. five to 10 extra games during the season because of it, but everybody's healthy playoff time.
00:05:47
Speaker
I'll take that, that bet all day. Right. Um, but I'm with you. i think it, it, it, Struis is kind of an underrated, player, especially on this team, right? Because you have some other star players in front of him.
00:06:02
Speaker
But Struis is just that workhorse. He's that guy that just plays on both ends of the ball and is very capable of getting very hot as well. so He's a hustle guy. He's an energy guy. and he he gets He helps get other players involved. He's three-point threat.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yes, yes, definitely. And it never he never stops. He didn't have the best playoff run, but he was still putting in effort. But where I think it's magnified this year is with Garland also being out.
00:06:29
Speaker
um And we don't really know what we're going to get out of that point guard position. Is it going to be Lonzo Ball and then Donovan Mitchell playing point guard on back-to-back nights? like I've made my comments on that, that I don't love Mitchell playing point guard.
00:06:44
Speaker
you know So you start to go down this path of you know an an injury to a guy like Struz becomes more magnified because at least he's been here for a couple of years now. He's integrated with that starting lineup and and now he's not. And now we got to integrate someone else.
00:06:59
Speaker
um So three to four months is is a pretty submit significant time. i don't remember how long he was out last year, Alex, but I want to say it was shorter. thought it was like six weeks or something like that. It certainly wasn't nowhere around three to four months last year.
00:07:14
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say more minutes for Sam Merrill, more minutes for Craig Porter Jr. But as I'm scrolling through this Cavs roster on Yahoo, Sam Merrill's listed day to day. Craig Porter Jr.'s listed day to day.
00:07:27
Speaker
What is happening here? maybe Maybe some extra minutes for Jalen Tyson. I could definitely see that. ah Definitely. I think Tyson's going to be one of the guys that's going to have a great opportunity this year, similar to what Craig Porter Jr. had a couple seasons back, and hopefully Tyson could take advantage of it.
00:07:45
Speaker
Because not only is Garland out, not only is Struess out, there's no Ty Jerome. Right. So that's going to open up opportunities for for a guy like Tyson and and and Merrill and and so on and so forth.
00:07:57
Speaker
So I'm with you there. And, um you know, we'll we'll see if some of the decisions the Cavs made in the offseason, if if they pay off or not. Right. But Alex, who are you If you're the coach or either you're the GM, you're calling the shots, who are you inserting in the starting lineup um in Max Struess' absence in the first quarter plus of the season?
Lineup Adjustments and Opportunities
00:08:23
Speaker
Well, I think they'll experiment with a ah few different lineups. Like I said, I think Sam Merrill will be a key to help fill that role. And Jalen Tyson, I think, will get plenty of minutes as they sub different guys in and see what works best in the starting lineup.
00:08:39
Speaker
and then what works best in the second lineup. line up Yeah, I think, and you and I were talking a little about this the other day at work. um We were walking out together and, you know, it seems like the easy answer is to just insert Hunter into the starting lineup, right?
00:08:56
Speaker
And I really wouldn't have a problem with that. I think i think that would give me confidence in the starting lineup yeah more than what I have right now, right? Because Hunter is, he's a reliable scorer. He's a big body. He could do a lot of different things. Yeah.
00:09:11
Speaker
But I also wonder if the Cavs like him so much in that six-man role that they'd be hesitant to do that and and look elsewhere, like a Sam Merrill.
00:09:22
Speaker
Or they have experimented off and on with starting Dean Wade in the past when we've had injuries. If you move Hunter to the starting lineup, sure, any one of those guys can can have a night, but it's not on a consistent basis like Hunter can be consistent.
00:09:38
Speaker
So they really don't have another score that can come off the bench where you can rely on to get you double digits if they were to move Hunter into the starting lineup on a night-to-night basis. So we're talking about losing Struis and you're talking about inserting Hunter.
00:09:50
Speaker
Who are you playing at the two then? Mitchell. Mitchell's my starting. Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points in Cleveland. um Is probably arguably the second or third best player in Cavs franchise history. He's going to be my starting shooting guard this year, Alex. I'm pretty positive of that. I don't think Jalen Tyson's going to beat him out.
00:10:08
Speaker
We'll see. Yeah. man Who's your starting shooting guard? what no well Well, I mean, I'm assuming, I guess I was just assuming Mitchell at the one.
00:10:19
Speaker
No, i don't i know. No, I don't want to know. No, no, no. Somebody else has to play the one. I mean, you can't you can't just have Lonzo Ball playing 48 minutes. Well, this is where Craig Porter Jr. is going to get another shot. Last year, he kind of got buried in the roster a bit because the cows were so hot and were so deep that Porter Jr.'s services weren't really needed.
00:10:42
Speaker
And when he did play, it was so inconsistently that he was hardly able to make any impact. like he was a couple years ago when Garland was out. And I also think this is why they drafted a point guard in the draft. I think Proctor at times will get opportunities as well, specifically in scenarios where if they do sit ball on the second night of a back-to-back, well, now Craig Porter Jr. is starting and Proctor's playing you know backup minutes or maybe a little bit of Mitchell in there just to keep the ship going.
00:11:10
Speaker
But I wouldn't go with Mitchell as you yourre you your every game starting point guard. He's not a real point guard. It's just him bringing up the ball. And we want him catching the ball on offense and making something happen, not trying to create for others, not that he can't, but he's just going to more effective catching that ball coming off a screen or in the corner or, you know, for a backdoor alley-oop or something like that off of a pick is where he's going to be more effective in my opinion.
00:11:38
Speaker
Yeah, no, no, I agree with you. I just don't think that we have any other playmakers really. Yeah. Well, right, and that's why... anyone that can even get the ball up the court. I mean, look at the you know the playoffs. Geez, against the Pacers, we think no one could get the ball up the court.
00:11:54
Speaker
It's ridiculous. Yeah. But that's why I think Hunter remaining in the second unit it might be the better play, even though it's tempting to to insert him into the starting lineup. um Because, again, ah Sam Merrill can come in off the bench and hit three threes. He can also go 0 for 8,
00:12:12
Speaker
so for eight and can't get to the rim, can't post up anybody. like he's He's limited, right? Dean Wade has been very streaky, and lately he's he's underperformed, I would say, the last two years now, and part of that is injuries.
00:12:28
Speaker
I think this is his final year to kind of, you know, do something, make an impact on a consistent basis, or or maybe it's time to move on. Who's that? Dean Wade. Dean Wade.
00:12:39
Speaker
And I've already seen articles on Dean Wade. Dean Wade is like... one of the biggest candidates to be, to be moved in a trade because of you know, the salary cap and the value that he's still kind of holds and he's on a cheap contract, but there's other people that can be inserted, but I don't have that confidence in anybody right now.
00:12:58
Speaker
Um, which isn't, you know, a great feeling. And, and again, magnifies an injury like to a Max Drews, who you at least know what you're getting on a night to night basis.
00:13:12
Speaker
Yeah, it'll be interesting. um Luke Travers is in there too, man. We got two Aussies now, Luke Travers and Proctor. so yeah Yeah, and you got to remember too, you know like Larry Nance Jr. is on the team this year. He's a big, but he's not a ah big big. He's an undersized big.
00:13:30
Speaker
you know Do they plug him in there every once in a while at the small forward position? you know Maybe they do something like that. um Maybe it's a lot of small ball. you Atkinson will get creative.
00:13:41
Speaker
i do think you're right, i think which will be frustrating, by the way, but I do think they will... kind of be forced to play with the starting lineup and have different versions of it the first 20 games of the season, 30 games of the season, until they figure out what but kind of works.
00:13:59
Speaker
um Because there really isn't just a ah sure thing to to insert there, including Lonzo Ball at the at the point guard position. Boy, you know what would have been the sure thing to insert there?
00:14:10
Speaker
I do. Ty Jerome. Absolutely. Yeah. 9 million. Alex, we were talking about that too when we were walking out the other day. like Man, that's going to come up a lot this season to bite us in the butt if things don't go as as planned. and And again, really, when I say that, it's like,
00:14:31
Speaker
expectations on this team are higher than they're ever going to be with this group. Like, in my opinion, it's this year they got to get over the hump or it's time to start making significant decisions on your roster.
00:14:43
Speaker
Right. And, you know, if we do have rocky times, it's going to be so easy to say, man Ty Jerome right now be running this ah offense while Lonzo Ball is out yet again with an injury. Craig Porter Jr. isn't ready to step up. and We don't want Mitchell playing in point guard. Ty Jerome would have be able to come right in there, play a starting role, and and be fine.
00:15:04
Speaker
But we don't have that luxury anymore. and It feels like the roster is not as deep as what it was a year ago as a result. I feel the same way. like I feel like this team isn't as good as last year's team.
00:15:20
Speaker
And I don't know why I feel that way, because really there hasn't been much change to the roster besides losing Ty Jerome and Tristan Thompson, right? Anakuro. Anakuro. Anakuro. Yeah, that's that's a good call out.
00:15:34
Speaker
And we brought in Larry Nance Jr. and Lonzo Ball, and I just don't know that either them are really an upgrade to that incredible regular season that we had last year. so Realistically, they're probably not. right Because even though with Okoro, a lot of people would say he underperformed as a fifth draft pick.
00:15:55
Speaker
Again, he was a hustle guy. He was athletic. He was young. He was starting to knock down some shots. He's able to do some things, not on a consistent basis, but you knew what you had with him.
00:16:06
Speaker
Ty Jerome has the breakout season of his career. Amazing season beyond expectations. We got lucky there. Right. And then, ah TT, you know, who didn't play a lot, um, which is there, right.
00:16:21
Speaker
Kind of a wash, um, But with Lonzo Ball, who's been injured for the last two and a half years, that doesn't instill a lot of confidence. And Larry Nance Jr. at this point of his career is just more of like a nice story.
00:16:33
Speaker
He's returning home again, but really how much gas does he have left in the tank? He came out and came tos he he came out and and basically said he feels like he's one of the missing puzzle pieces to this whole thing.
00:16:45
Speaker
And i'm I'm hoping he can sit here and contribute, but I don't know what the realistic expectations are for him. I haven't really been following him in the last you know a couple years since he since he moved on from the Cavs.
00:16:56
Speaker
Yeah, I haven't either. He's 32 years old, so it's not like he's a dinosaur, right? He's not a dinosaur, but I'm not... ah He's probably dead... in Dead center in his prime or just a little trending downward past his prime, but he's not ancient. I mean, he's not 40-year-old LeBron here.
00:17:15
Speaker
I would say i would i would view Larry Nance Jr. as an upgrade over TT because I see Larry Nance Jr. actually being used in the rotation to where TT was not.
00:17:28
Speaker
you know, used on a regular basis in, in the rotation. Um, the problem is, is if he doesn't produce, you know, then what, then you're kind of in trouble, right?
00:17:38
Speaker
Um, cause you're still thin at that big position in my, in my opinion, you still just got Alan Mobley and then, and then Nance. Yeah. Larry Nance Jr. can make a shot from three feet away from the hoop, whereas TT couldn't.
00:17:51
Speaker
Absolutely. So it'll be interesting to see Max Strews going down yet again is it is a tough blow. and I, I had heard that, um you know, a lot of people in the organization feel for Max right now because he was working his tail off in the off season and,
00:18:08
Speaker
And that again, that shows in the regular season as well, because he's again, one of those guys that just is always out there putting in effort. So you hate to see that happen to a guy like that. That's you know just trying to work on his game in the offseason. But, you know, um he'll be back and, you know, the Cavs will to figure it out.
00:18:28
Speaker
So the other thing I want to talk
NBA Schedule and Streaming News
00:18:30
Speaker
about, Alex, something else that happened since our last episode, which was a little while ago now, is that the 2025-2026 NBA schedule came out, including for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
00:18:42
Speaker
um We now know some things. We know that um preseason starts on October 7th, I believe, against the Chicago Bulls. They have four preseason games. They're all away games.
00:18:55
Speaker
I think they play the Bulls twice, the Celtics, and and somebody else. i can't remember right now. They're all away games. All away games, which I thought was interesting. I don't know. Two of them are away games. Two of them home games.
00:19:08
Speaker
Are they really? thought I saw all of them. were why Okay. Then I misread that. um And two of those games will be nationally televised. And Alex, this is the first year where there's going to be some, this is going to be weird.
00:19:21
Speaker
There's going to be some basketball. There's going some NBA games on additional streaming services, channels, whatever you want to call it. Cause there's going to be games on Peacock.
00:19:32
Speaker
There's going games on prime. There's be games on the yeah ESPN slash ABC app. And then your typical, you know, local ballet sports and and and so on and so forth. um First, are you...
00:19:49
Speaker
do you like that? That's that games will be on so many different networks. Now I know you're not going to, know how you watch games and I know how I'm going watch games. I won't, I won't be bouncing all around like that because we don't have to, but like, do you think that's good for the NBA to offer games on, on all these different platforms now?
00:20:12
Speaker
I don't think so. I think it's a pain in the ass. I think it's going to make it very difficult to find the game. I want to watch. And if you're going to want to watch every game, then you got to subscribe all these different subscriptions.
00:20:27
Speaker
No, I think it's pretty lousy. You know, put just put all the games on Fox Sports Ohio for me. Come on. Well, and the thing, too, is I'm i'm with you. Right. Like if you're the casual NBA basketball fan, like you, you don't have Peacock because you want to watch the five Cavs games that will be on there this year. That's right. Five games will be on Peacock.
00:20:48
Speaker
OK, so you're not you're not purchasing a subscription of that. But if you're already an existing subscriber to Peacock and you're somewhat interested in sports and basketball, like, oh, there's there's a Cavs game on the night and I can actually watch this.
00:21:00
Speaker
Like, I think that's what it's for. um But the thing is, is so few games are on these other services. there There'll be four Cavs games on Amazon Prime. It's like if that game is also on Valley Sports, Ohio or FanDuel, whatever it's called now, FanDuel, I think, right?
00:21:17
Speaker
FanDuel Sports. Yeah. cause They bought them out. Like if that game's also on FanDuel, even though if I have a Prime subscription, why wouldn't I just watch it on FanDuel? Right. It's where i'm watching all my other games and and it's just, yeah, instead of bouncing all over the place.
00:21:32
Speaker
I think it might be good if you're like, ah You said casual fan, but I mean like super casual fan where you're not even looking for the Cavs games. You're just looking for those blockbuster matchups. Like you turn on Peacock and you're like, oh, what NBA games on tonight? Oh, it's Lakers, Mavericks. Perfect. You know, like you don't like you just watch the blockbuster games or, you know, I think maybe that's what they're going for. I don't know. It it really sucks if you're hardcore fan and you just want to watch your team every game of your team.
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, and here's the other crappy thing too is I'm looking at the regular season and like here's some of the games that are going to be on and Peacock. You have Detroit, Milwaukee, Toronto, Charlotte, San Antonio,
00:22:19
Speaker
um Orlando, Some of these games are on ah Peacock and NBC at the same time. So there's actually more than five. There's like 10 games.
00:22:31
Speaker
um You know, so I mean, it's not like there's some decent teams in there, but it's not like the cream of the crop of the other matchups for for the Cavs. Right. And if I look at prime, let's see what we got for prime, Indiana.
00:22:46
Speaker
ah Minnesota.
00:22:51
Speaker
Golden State and Atlanta. Arguably playoff teams. That's a little bit better than the Peacock ones. But again, you know, it's just if I could watch that game locally and I'm ah um a Cavs fan that watches basketball games, I'm probably not watching on these other services.
00:23:08
Speaker
Um, but it's interesting. This is the first year of that we'll see if it works. We'll see if this expands beyond the season and if they continue to, you know, increase those number of games or anything like that.
Cavs' National Recognition
00:23:20
Speaker
Um, but Alex, the calves this year have 24 nationally televised games. Okay. I wanted to see where does that stack up against like, who's the highest teams in the league with, with how many games ah nationally televised, um,
00:23:38
Speaker
Well, 24 is the Cavs. There are four teams that have 34 games nationally televised, which is the highest in the NBA. Wow.
00:23:49
Speaker
And i was like, oh, wow, 24 games. That's that's that's pretty good. Yeah, but sounds like a lot. But then I saw that the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder all have 34 national televised. I would have guessed the Celtics were would have been one of those.
00:24:07
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, which would have been horrible because they're not going to be, you know, the same team without Jason Tatum this year, right? Much like Indiana won't be without with their injuries as well.
00:24:19
Speaker
But the Cavs get 24 nationally televised games. um But most importantly, Alex, for the first time since I believe the twenty seventeen twenty eighteen season,
00:24:31
Speaker
the calves get a christmas day game Yeah, that's exciting. Christmas Day at noon. Yes. It's the first game, which is a little unfortunate. um But hey, by then, you're done. You're done. You're done with the Christmas gifts, right? Your kids are already done opening up their gifts. You've done breakfast.
00:24:48
Speaker
You know, it's time to sit around and just enjoy enjoy some Cavs basketball. I'm excited about that. and They play the New York Knicks on Christmas day. They also open up the regular season against the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks. We paired up a lot with us on those nationally televised games, but man, Alex, how fun was it?
00:25:08
Speaker
You know, making those title runs with, with the big three here. And every year there was a Christmas day game. And those were some of the funnest games to watch. And there were some classics.
00:25:18
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. And in even the Christmas Day jerseys, those always pretty cool. Yeah. So I'm excited to see, you know, the Cavs on Christmas Day again. i don't remember.
00:25:30
Speaker
Is that game? Is that game home or away? It's at New York. Of it is. Of course it is. Yeah. Tickets as low as $278 already. I do that. So we're both looking at the same.
00:25:45
Speaker
We're both looking at ESPN right now. Yeah. That's being broadcast on ABC and ESPN. Yes. Yes. yes yes That's cool. I also heard that we are playing on Martin Luther King Day, which is another great day for for for basketball fans. is there's you know Just like Christmas Day, there's there's basically basketball on you know from from noon till midnight.
00:26:08
Speaker
So that's cool that the Cavs are getting some love in those areas because they didn't play um on Christmas Day. And I don't believe they played on Martin Luther King Day last year either. so um Do you feel that the Cavs, you know, they're getting more recognition, more nationally televised games?
00:26:29
Speaker
Do you feel that also, you know, from the NBA's eyes or like from the Cavs fans eyes, does that also increase expectations for this team?
00:26:42
Speaker
um Like they obviously fell short last year. They've kind of disappointed for a couple years in a row now. I saw, I forget who it was. if it was a there was a report that some GM, some unnamed gm was saying this was the year.
00:26:58
Speaker
Like, they have to go to the finals or they basically have to blow it up and and rethink their their strategy. And the fact that they're playing on Christmas Day, they're getting more nationally televised games, signals that the NBA is treating them like a title contender to give them that that platform, that spotlight.
00:27:18
Speaker
But do you kind of agree with that? And I kind of said this earlier, but do you agree that like this, this is kind of the last run i think of keeping things as is. And if they fall short again, like, do you, do you feel that core four survives past this season?
00:27:33
Speaker
I think as is is kind of leaves a lot to be, there's a lot of movement there, right? Like this season is definitely as is compared to the last season. We, we barely made any roster changes.
00:27:47
Speaker
ah do I think that they need to blow up like the core four? No, I don't think so. I think they definitely need to shake it up as to who the role players are around them.
00:27:59
Speaker
But I think Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, shoot, Garland's 25, Mobley's 24, Mitchell's 28. um You know, around those three, i think these guys are still in the prime in their career for at least Mitchell, at least, you know,
00:28:17
Speaker
at least three more seasons. yeah Garland, four or five more seasons. Mobley, six, seven more seasons. So I wouldn't give up on any of those guys, you know, just because they failed to make it to, you know, I don't know, conference finals.
00:28:36
Speaker
But you definitely got to shake up, you know, the rest of the roster. Yeah, and it'll be interesting to see kind of how the season plays out. We're starting off with some injuries to kick off the season. Hopefully the amount of injuries once the season starts are limited. That'd be a major blow if there was another injury. Wow, we already have Carlin and Struess out early on. So obviously this team needs some some luck on their side when it comes to health, which is always a factor. And I think...
00:29:07
Speaker
where i am coming at with this season. And, and I wonder if Cavs fans feel the same way. Like ah starting to get a little bit excited. Cause like, Oh man, Cavs basketball is a month away. Like that's exciting.
00:29:20
Speaker
But at the same time, I think I am approaching this year a little bit differently. Um, I'm always going to have my opinions. We're always going our opinions. We would like to talk Cavs basketball. well That's why we do this podcast.
00:29:33
Speaker
Um, But to try not to get too high or too low this year because I've been fooled a couple times now. We've been fooled a couple times now by the regular season version of this Cleveland Cavaliers team.
00:29:47
Speaker
And the hardest part of this season will be waiting, watching this team and waiting to when it actually matters next April and May. in June.
00:29:59
Speaker
um Obviously the journey there, we want to see them, you know, playing good basketball, looking like they're continuing to improve and so on and so forth. But as things get rocky, as things are very high and they're playing great, I'll also keep in the back of my mind, like, okay, this is great or this sucks, but it really doesn't mean anything because the New York Knicks look like crap.
00:30:21
Speaker
I'm weeks leading up to the playoffs, right? Like Indiana Pacers were playing better, but they started off the season real poor. I remember like they were under 500 through the first 30 games. Like, so the regular season only goes so far.
00:30:36
Speaker
So I just, I'm being a little bit more guarded this year with, with the regular season version of the Cavs. are you in that camp or are you just like, man, i just take a game by game day by day, me and my guitar.
00:30:50
Speaker
a and I just, I just want to watch some Cavs basketball. Yeah. You know what? I know that in the grand scheme of things, regular season doesn't matter, but as someone who watches 82 games,
00:31:06
Speaker
I want to see him win. Like I'm not watching, watching to see him lose 40 games during the regular season and only win 40. And then, you know, they're going to, they're going to play in the playoffs the way they're going to play in the playoffs. And they're either going win a championship or they're not.
00:31:23
Speaker
But the,
00:31:26
Speaker
90% of my time watching the Cavs is going to be regular season games. So I want to see them win those games, even if they don't matter in the grand scheme. like app Absolutely. and It's entertainment, right? And I want to be entertained. like And I don't and I know everybody's going to say regular season doesn't matter. Who cares as long as they win in the playoffs? Well, it does matter because...
00:31:48
Speaker
I'm a Cavs fan and I watch all the games and I want to see him win. Absolutely. And I don't know how much I buy into the stock yet because I'm trying not to fool myself, but you know, it does feel like in a lot of reports have come out that like, Oh, this is going to be the easiest path. Like the Cavs should dominate or the Knicks should dominate because the Celtics and Pacers are most likely going to take steps backwards because of the injuries. Yeah.
00:32:15
Speaker
But everybody always forgets there's always teams that make leaps every year. Right. And I don't I couldn't tell you, is that is that Detroit? Is that Orlando? Like there's Orlando finally figured out and all of a sudden become a top three team in the East and and a serious threat. Like somebody will make that jump as well.
00:32:33
Speaker
But it'd be horrible to see the Cavs kind of also not continue to be like, hey, we're we're the top dogs. you know like And they need to play like that. And and that should result in the Cavs winning basketball games this year.
00:32:45
Speaker
And I've already seen predictions and reports um that the Cavs are predicted to be the number one seed again in the regular season. And I hope that happens. But also they'll still be a piece of me, Alex. It's like, all right, you know this is fun. This is good. Or this is really bad right now.
00:33:02
Speaker
But again, it in the grand scheme of things, what matters truly is is come playoff time and it's time to get over the hump. It's time to to make a run at the finals and get there and get that experience this young for this young group.
00:33:18
Speaker
um I think that you know you will see. i mean, I think the Magic are going to be better. They're going to be a good team. Much better team this season. And I think the Bucs will be too.
00:33:29
Speaker
Both those teams made pretty good upgrades in the offseason. Yeah, and I think Detroit will continue to to be there too. They they also added Karis LeVert over the offseason, right? And we know what he brings.
00:33:40
Speaker
JB, another year with those guys. Cunningham, another year older and wiser in the league, now has playoff experience under his belt. That was a hell of a series with the Knicks, right? So that that team is starting to learn to understand what it means to win as well, and they're they're a gritty team.
00:33:57
Speaker
Like to me, Detroit becomes the new Indiana Pacers team that I worry about in a playoff matchup because just because their style is is very Pacers-like as far as aggressive and just nonstop.
00:34:09
Speaker
you you know, in your face and so on and so forth. So they also got that coach. That's pretty decent. Yeah. Yeah. they hit the Hey, they do. They do. JB JB is a, is a pretty decent coach. I won't argue that.
00:34:19
Speaker
Yeah. Um, so it's, I know we haven't even started the season, but that's where my mind's already at. My mind's already at may and, and, and, and June and and basketball when it counts. And, you know, it's fun watching Cavs basketball, but it's also torture to wait that long again to get to those games. Um,
00:34:37
Speaker
I do feel, Alex, it is going to take, like Ty Jerome, having a breakout season. One of these other players are going to have to step up because you're going to put a lot of time. you know You just committed four years to Sam Merrill. you know Jalen Tyson's going to get a lot of run. Craig Porter Jr. is going to get another opportunity.
00:34:55
Speaker
you know you need but You need one of those guys. Dean Wade's going to get another opportunity right yet again. One of these guys has got to pan out as far as become somewhat of a consistent contributor.
00:35:07
Speaker
You know, and I think that'll help as well with, with, with, with with the season and the calves continuing to to play winning basketball. If those guys continue to struggle, you can't have four or five guys in your second unit that, that, that struggle consistently.
00:35:21
Speaker
Right. So you need those guys. You need a couple of those guys to, to become factors this year and be rotational players on a consistent basis for this team. Yeah. Yeah. We need a, we need a few guys to step up and be ballers. Exactly.
00:35:33
Speaker
Exactly. So the Cavs do have Alex ah one more open roster spot that I haven't seen a lot on as far as what the Cavs might do with that.
Speculating Roster Additions
00:35:46
Speaker
um I think quietly they have moved away from TT, right? They have not brought him back. um TT hasn't really said much, hasn't announced retirement from basketball or anything like that.
00:35:59
Speaker
but we're bringing in Larry Nance Jr. That was kind of the writing on the wall for TT. And again, TT, you know, Cavs legend, all that stuff. But let's be honest, he's not really contributing on a night in and night out basis.
00:36:12
Speaker
um But with that 14th roster spot, Alex, if you if you had a wish ah wish list of what to do with that, a realistic one, any any names or players jump out to you. i heard Malik Beasley.
00:36:25
Speaker
is a name that was thrown out there um and most recently. But is it is it some some veteran guy that is just sitting at the end of the bench? Do you want to be aggressive and go after a Beasley?
00:36:38
Speaker
Someone that can contribute. We'd probably get outbid. But like what would you like to see him do at that last roster spot? Yeah, I think Malik Beasley would be a good target. yeah I really don't know who else is out there.
00:36:52
Speaker
ah We could go after another big, like Al Horford. I heard, i heard he was going out West. Oh really? i' last dont i don't know if it was the Warriors or or what. i don't even know if it became official or not, but I heard he was out there.
00:37:07
Speaker
Well, Kawhi man, Kawhi, Kawhi is in some trouble. Maybe, maybe he'll part ways with the Clippers and he'll be available. Kawhi Leonard. Have you heard? I don't, I guess I haven't looked at our what our salary situation is.
00:37:17
Speaker
Not very it need to be a ah vet? We looking at a vet minimum? They might actually it might be a able to afford you, but not much more than that. ah but So no MLE, huh? No, no, no, no. They don't they don't have very much. It's it's basically vet man, which is where I think Beasley is unfortunately not going to. Some team's going to pay him more than than the vet men.
00:37:38
Speaker
Maybe a Ryan Hollins? There you go. ah Henry Sims. Oh, man. See, see you you were just talking about, I don't want to watch a 40-40 win team and 40 losses. but You know, those those type of names and Christian Skyenga and Manny Harris and Sammy Urdan and Luke Herringote. Those are the names from those. Herringote. Oh, my gosh.
00:38:04
Speaker
Those are the names and the fun times we had with those those subpar, you know, non-winning franchises, Alex. Yeah, yeah. yeah maybe Maybe we can bring back Colin Sexton. Yeah, yeah. There you go.
00:38:15
Speaker
What's ah Dion Waiters up to these days? I'm actually surprised he's not like in the big three league and like winning just MVPs left and right. I don't know, to be honest with you.
00:38:26
Speaker
don't even know how old he is. He's got to be. he can't be that old. He's got to be Kyrie age wise, right? Early 30s. um i in I'll go 33.
00:38:37
Speaker
ah Did he get drafted the same year as Kyrie? Now I can't remember. Year after. he was the year after. Oh, he's 33. He's older than I thought. oh He should be in the big three. year older than then Larry Nance Jr., who you're saying is over the hill.
00:38:53
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Yep. Dang. Waiters was a bucket. Waiters was a bucket though. Um, so yeah, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll see Alex and Hey, I sent you a highlight video of a former Cavalier who's currently playing in the NBL league, the national basketball league, which is like an Australian league.
00:39:16
Speaker
Um, Dylan Windler. putting up some numbers over there. he had nice highlight video of him going around on YouTube, putting up 29 points. Maybe the calves bring him back to to fill that last roster spot, Alex.
00:39:27
Speaker
Maybe. You never know.
Dylan Windler's Overseas Performance
00:39:31
Speaker
Well, they seem to like to bring back players from the past. available. He is available. He is available. Smarto Samuels. Yeah. Yeah.
00:39:38
Speaker
Another good one. ah Okay. it's It's been a while since we've done an episode and we're we're definitely going down the rabbit hole here, Alex. but Yeah. I didn't even get to tell my Machine Gun Kelly story yet. how I ran into MGK at the airport.
00:39:54
Speaker
your Your boy, your boy MGK. ah Late night on a red eye Wednesday night. was flying back from Chicago and I didn't even, I didn't know who it was. I didn't recognize him.
00:40:08
Speaker
He had a hoodie up and sunglasses on and he had his back to me and he was wearing a guitar on his back. Yeah. everybody Everybody's got a guitar now these days, I guess, huh? I guess, I guess. And I said something to and i was like, eh, nice guitar or something. I don't know.
00:40:23
Speaker
He didn't acknowledge you. I didn't even like know. well I didn't even think that it could possibly be him. Like I i barely know who he is to begin with. And I saw this huge...
00:40:36
Speaker
monstrous, gigantic black guy that looked ah a lot like LeBron James beard. And I thought, I was like, oh, is LeBron here? And then he turned around, I could see his face and no, it wasn't LeBron. And then I saw the skinny tall dude standing next to him with a guitar on his back.
00:40:50
Speaker
Yeah. Bodyguard. And I was like, oh, okay. Yeah. Bodyguard. Then it clicked. And I like, oh, okay. m It's MGK. I didn't. it would have been better to run into like Craig Elo instead or something like that.
00:41:03
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I didn't realize it was him until he like, because he had his back towards me and he turned and I saw like the blonde hair sticking out of the hoodie and the sunglasses on. It's like, oh, geez.
00:41:14
Speaker
That's funny. I'm just going to keep walking then. Right. Right. Right. And then I listened to his new album that released like two days after, after he flew into Cleveland. Right. And I've listened to it like a dozen times since. i'm ah I'm sorry to admit.
00:41:30
Speaker
That's funny. I'm just too lazy to to like remove it from my playlist. So I just let it go. Right. And there are some catchy songs on there. I mean, yeah, he switched from rap to.
00:41:43
Speaker
He calls it rock and roll, but it's more pop. Generic pop rock. He's going to Kid Rock. Kid Rock roll. Nah, Kid Rock went country. I would say kid even Kid Rock is a little more rock than then this. This is, I don't know. He's got some like some rock on there.
00:42:00
Speaker
Like one song sounds like a rejected Blink-182 song. One sounds like, I don't know, kind of generic pop song after generic pop song. And there's a little bit of rap in there.
00:42:12
Speaker
There's one song that's actually pretty good and talks about him him growing up growing up in Cleveland. I can't remember the name of it. He talks about getting his beat stolen, riding the blue line. It's like, oh, oh that's kind of cool. I remember it in the blue line.
00:42:25
Speaker
but So you can relate a little bit. Yeah, that's funny. Yeah. Well, good stuff, Alex. Anything else on your end you want to throw out there or talk about Cavs basketball-wise?
00:42:40
Speaker
Can't really think of anything else. I'm surprised we had this much content, uh, cause nothing's really been happening besides the struce injury schedule release. Uh, what else?
00:42:51
Speaker
Cleveland rockers, I think named a president, I want to say. so that's still happening. Yeah. The Browns, uh, Cleveland Browns. Don't know if that stadium is going to happen in Berea. That's right.
00:43:06
Speaker
You know, it is still, a The Cavs are still the surest thing in town. Right? So, hey, be be thankful, Cavs fans. I caught a Guardians game.
00:43:19
Speaker
It was great, but they lost.
00:43:23
Speaker
In person, did you go? or just on Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was actually, you know, my buddy Josh went to, we had tickets to see the Silver Sun pickups at the House of Blues, and there was a Guardians game earlier that day, and we were like, oh, well we'll get tickets, we'll see the Guardians game, we'll go straight from there to The House of Blues will make a day of it.
00:43:41
Speaker
That was great. Yeah, that's awesome. Good stuff. All right, Alex. Lots to do in downtown Cleveland. Get out there. really Absolutely.
Podcast Sign-Off
00:43:50
Speaker
Well, let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast. want to thank you, Cavs fans, as always, for tuning in and listening.
00:44:00
Speaker
And Alex, let them know where they can follow us and connect with us. Follow us on Twitter at Cavs Pick and Roll. Shoot us an email. CavsPickAndRoll at gmail.com. Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook.
00:44:13
Speaker
Leave us a rating or review. We'd appreciate it All right, Cavs fans. There it is. will talk to you again soon. Peace out, Cavs fans.