Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 140: 6-0 To Start the Season!
62 Plays7 months ago
Alex and Corey react to the hot start to the season resulting in a 6-0 Cavaliers record. We discuss the much improved offense under new coach Kenny Atkinson. We give our thoughts on Dean Wade moving into the starting lineup and how that has made this team even more dynamic. We also discuss each of the core four players and how fantastic they have all looked so far. Of course we breakdown the most recent games and and look forward to a pair of games against the Milwaukee Bucks next.
Twitter: @CavsPickandRoll
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cavspickandroll
Instagram: CavsPickandRoll
Email: CavsPickandRoll@gmail.com
Facebook: Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Cavs Welcome and 'Kavalanche' Phenomenon
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey, Cavs fans. Welcome to another episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast, the podcast for diehard Cavs fans. Alex, the Cavs are now 6-0. They just finished beating their Lando Magic. I don't even think I have to ask how you're doing. But how much fun are you having watching the start of this Cavs season?
00:00:36
Speaker
Oh man, it's been awesome. It's been what I hear coined the term Kavalanche. It's been like Kavalanche. They're rolling through everybody right now. It's been great. It's really fun to
Reflecting on Best Season Start
00:00:49
Speaker
watch. And in the history of us doing this podcast together, which I think in the last episode we called out, this will be our fifth year doing this. I don't know if it's necessarily the fifth season, but it's the fifth year doing this.
00:01:01
Speaker
I can't remember the Cavs having a better start in the time of us doing this podcast together. So it's been really fun. It's very early in the year. It's hard not to get overexcited, but it's also hard not to be overexcited, if you know what I mean right now.
Undefeated in the Eastern Conference
00:01:16
Speaker
um The Cavs are just red hot right now. um One of the only two teams that are undefeated in the NBA. And if Oklahoma played tonight and they lost, the Cavs would be the only team undefeated in the NBA. They're the only undefeated team in the East. Yeah. And who would have predicted that? So um just you couldn't have asked for for a better start.
Victory Over Magic and Jersey Swap Fun
00:01:38
Speaker
And Alex, they just finished against the Orlando Magic. Of course, the Cavs face the last time they face Orlando Magic was in the playoffs last year, seven game series. um So a little bit of history there. um But this game was pretty fun. Home game Friday night game and Cavs were up big. Most of this game, unfortunately, we didn't get to see their young superstar who just got injured the night prior. Ben Caro, I know who you're a big fan of.
00:02:06
Speaker
and was kind of looking forward to seeing him play today. He's fun to watch. I wouldn't say I'm a big fan. You know, he's he's got a long way to go. There's a lot of potential there. Alex is bucking his jersey for for Christmas. He's going to get it for a Christmas gift. The Paolo Bancaro jersey. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I need a new magic jersey. Got to replace that Anthony Hardaway jersey. yeah ah You can get a Drew Gooden or a Sean Kemp, Orlando Magic jersey. Come on, some former Cavs players that played for the Magic. But yeah, he was he was out tonight.
Player Contributions and Play Style
00:02:34
Speaker
um But Jalen Suggs kind of was the only reason why they were able to kind of hang around.
00:02:39
Speaker
Um, he was kind of a one man show. And then you have the, uh, ever popular Wagner brothers. Oh man, I can't stand them. Wagner brothers, man. Oh Lord. They're both, uh, they're both so tough and scrappy and just they are not obnoxious. They're the type of players that you hate until they're on your team. You would love them if you're on your team because of exactly what you said. They're, they're scrappy. They have some size. They could, they could do some things.
00:03:05
Speaker
But yeah, when they're not on your team, you you hate their guts. They're like Draymond Green style, right? and like you don' You don't like Draymond Green, right? um You don't like the Wagner brothers. But the Cavs, man, you know this team, to me, Alex, and I want to get your opinion on this, they just look so different than what we've been seeing and under JB. They do. The last four years or so now. They look almost like a like like like an, er like ah you know what team keeps coming to mind to me?
00:03:34
Speaker
I think of like the running gun Phoenix Sun teams in the early 2000s with Steve Nash and Amari Stoudemire and they're just, man, they just come down the floor and they're they're jacking something up within the first 10 seconds. yeah And it's weird to watch. It's exactly that, right? Like they're running and gunning constantly. yeah It's up and down the court. It's high paced basketball. It's you know the inbound quick, get it down the court.
00:04:01
Speaker
and they're already looking to score they're looking to take that open three right off the bat if they can and you know with you know you got D Wade in there you got Mobley you got Allen you got all these bigs ready to rebound you know get the putback It's hard to beat them. they They've got a formula that works.
Innovative Offense Under Kenny Atkinson
00:04:21
Speaker
ah Hiring Kenny Atkinson as the coach to replace JB, is it's already paying off dividends and you can see that in the offense. Absolutely. and and Atkinson said over the summer that they're going to unleash a new offense. and
00:04:34
Speaker
We've definitely have seen that, um, you know, tonight they jacked up 39 three pointers, the calves, they made 15 for 38%. Um, but man, it's just great to see them being aggressive and they're hitting a lot of threes over the course of these six games, which is what's allowing them. So to really blow these teams out, all their wins have for the most part been by double digits. And I don't know if you saw Alex, um, they're one of the highest scoring teams in the league right now.
00:05:02
Speaker
I think I heard tonight before tonight's game, they're averaging 125 points per game. ah Just a couple games back, they were leading the league at 130 points per game. like who you You never would have thought that because we're just so used to what we've been seeing for the last couple of years you know from an offensive standpoint under JB. So it is refreshing, it is fun, and so far it is working in this very young NBA season.
00:05:29
Speaker
Yeah, you know, they're they're just maximizing possessions. They get the ball, they get it up quickly, get the shot off quickly, they get the ball back quickly, they play awesome defense. They're they've just been great on both ends of the court under Kenny Atkinson. It's just been so much fun to watch that offenses. It just seems so free flowing when you watch them play. ah You know, guys cutting towards the you'll see a guy cut down the lane with the ball, pass the ball off.
00:05:57
Speaker
to another cutting guy that goes down the lane. The guy that cut down the lane under the hoop will go to one of the short corners, either left or right, and they'll rotate. And as the guy drives down the lane, he pulls that defender in and passes the ball to the guy that just cut and is at the short corner. You see him run that play all the time, and it's always leaving somebody open a three point line.
00:06:18
Speaker
yeah yeah maybe maybe i should shut up but no no i know it seems to be like like they're jammed they're hitting threes all the time and it's really one-on-one basketball when you think about it right especially in today's day and age it's just again it's refreshing to see the calves play a modernized offense you know in the nba because again it doesn't feel like we've been doing that and when you have sam merrill it when you have Darius Garland or Mitchell waiting there or even Lavert to catch it out on the wing. Lavert's usually one of the guys driving and kicking it out.
00:06:48
Speaker
But you know what I mean? The Cavs have a lot of weapons as far as three point shooters. And even Evan Mobley is being more aggressive in general overall, but also with his three point shot. And he's knocking some of them down as well. So, I mean, these other teams just got to be so frustrated after playing the Cavs and just getting beat up in so many different ways, not only from the three point line, but then we just talked about Mobley. You got Allen down there. The two of them together as a handful.
00:07:15
Speaker
You got guys like Lavert and Mitchell who can get to the rim at ease and create havoc that way as far as drawing fouls or creating those wide open opportunities for other players. This team just has so many offensive weapons. And it's something that we really always saw. um We just, you know, in years past, health was a concern. ah The style of offense we were playing you know Those two things together just really didn't allow this team to be unleashed like they have been so far this season under Kenny Atkinson.
Deep Roster and Rotation Tactics
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, that's one of the things that you heard Kenny Atkinson say at the beginning of the season. And you'll hear John Michael say it, you know, he said it seems like he says it every every game I've watched every broadcast, but that Kenny Atkinson wants to celebrate the roster. He wants to go deep and he's been playing, you know, 10, 11 guys every game. So it's it's great to see all these guys getting minutes, see them.
00:08:13
Speaker
getting worked in and getting to play and you know that's gonna that's gonna really pay off as the season goes along when you're getting a lot of you know especially at the pace they're playing I hope they can keep up at this pace all season right and not run anybody down you know you don't want injuries that's you know that's what's been killing us the past few seasons but when you're playing this many guys like on the roster it'll help keep some of your starters a little more fresher as the season goes on and No, absolutely. i I love it. And I think last year we were both proponents of that and was one of the frustrations with the rotations last year, playing seven, eight guys in a playoff game and just gassing them, playing them all, you know, 35 plus minutes in a game.
00:08:58
Speaker
When you know you have other players that could have potentially contributed now health issues, you know kind of Limit your confidence in players and right now we're healthy. So it's easy to play 10 guys 11 guys On on these, you know early and NBA games But i'm with you if the Cavs can find a way to continue to play, you know 10 every night Like you said that's gonna pay off Because wear and tear will come. The NBA season is is a long NBA season and you want your guys healthy come play off times. You still need to win games throughout the season and you can have fun doing it like they're doing it so far.
00:09:35
Speaker
But if you could play nine, 10, 11 guys on on you know most nights, man, yeah, it's going to pay huge dividends
Rookie Tyson's Impact and Fan Excitement
00:09:42
Speaker
down the road. And they're mostly healthy, right? We've got a couple of guys out injured. You know, Strews hasn't played a game yet. Craig Porter Jr. hasn't played, I think, the last two, maybe.
00:09:53
Speaker
I think two. Tyson was out. Tyson was out this past game. He's been getting minutes even as a rookie, so that's that's great to see. Lots of potential. When he's in the game, he he plays great. He's always making but right move the right he's a good decision maker when he's got the ball. that That's really what you want to see from these young guys, because everything else will eventually slow down for him. And he's a great shooter. yeah i mean he He was hitting three, he's left and right.
00:10:23
Speaker
ah was that the Toronto game but the Toronto Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it's been really fun I mean, it's really hard to to complain about anybody on the roster right now And that makes it easy when the Cavs are winning, of course, right once some losses come underneath, you know The critique will come out a little bit more um but right now man, it's just just having a bunch of fun watching this team. And let's kind of quickly just talk about this game the night real quick. Again, the Cavs just beat the Orlando Magic in Cleveland. I just want to throw out some quick stats at you. Darius Garland, who also has been having a great start to the season. Well, I'm sure we'll talk a little bit more about him finishes the night with the team high for the Cavs with 25 points.
00:11:10
Speaker
in 22 I'm sorry yeah in 29 minutes um and Mitchell finishes with 22 in 22 minutes so that's kind of key in these last couple games you know there's a trend that's been happening where Players, your star players aren't playing star minutes, you know, they're, they're playing under 30 minutes or right around the 30 minute mark. Evan Mobley was the high guy out of the core 40. He played a total of 30 minutes, Alan with 28 minutes and the calves win this game by double digits, you know, pretty, pretty easily. They were in control of this game for most of it. And that's what you want to see, right? You want to see your starters be rewarded.
00:11:49
Speaker
by playing hard the first, you know, three quarters or so and then getting that fourth quarter off or or a portion of that. So it allows them to stay fresh, especially on a night where they they have a back to back. They play the Milwaukee Bucks ah tomorrow, probably the day this episode comes out. um So giving them that extra time back is is great.
00:12:08
Speaker
and And the Cavs were, you know, their star players were were all efficient tonight. Allen didn't have the best night, scoring wise, but he did, you know, have 10 rebounds, was playing defense. Evan Mobley finished with 14 and nine. And again, Karis Lavert has been huge as well off the bench, finishes with 13 points, six assists and three rebounds. Kind of doing a little bit of everything out there tonight, Alex.
00:12:33
Speaker
Yeah, everybody's just been been playing so great, Cory. I don't know what to say. It's just been so much fun. Dare I dare i say, even Yang has been playing well. I was going to bring that up. First and foremost, I got to give props where props are due. He's looking a little slimmer this year, Alex. He's looking a little bit slimmer. That's what I said. Remember, I said that in preseason, and you're like, oh, no, he's still got a dad body. It's like, you can tell that he slimmed down. He's been working out. And he's made a couple. He's almost like an NBA player. He's made some, dare I say, sneaky moves as a result.
00:13:09
Speaker
as far as his drives to the rim or getting around defenders. And he's hitting. He's hitting some shots. He's hitting three pointers and stuff. So he's another weapon out there as well. And Niang isn't afraid at times to get scrappy with it as well. You know, and he's a veteran big that's been in the league for a little while. And, you know, I know we've poked fun at him basically since he's been on the roster. I know he's still not your number one, you know, as far as, you know, being a fan favorite of him and everything. But Niang, even Niang has had a solid start to the season so far. um So another thing I wanted to talk about before we kind of go back a game or two here, because we definitely want to talk about this Lakers game and LeBron and Bronny coming into town and all that.
Lineup Changes and Player Performances
00:13:53
Speaker
you said You mentioned health a little while ago, and you mentioned Max Drus being out. We all know that Max Drus is going to be out for the at least the first six weeks of the season, which is a blow, obviously, right? um But right now, you know um the Cavs are making it work without him.
00:14:12
Speaker
And when we recorded last time, it wasn't officially announced yet who was kind of going to be you know starting in this place. And of course, it's been Dean Wade. um I wanted to get your thoughts on Dean Wade being moved to the starting lineup. I'll give you my quick My quick thought, it reminds me a little bit, not quite, because he's not as good as him, but it reminds me a little bit of the Allen Mobley marketing starting lineup. Because Allen is 6'10", so he brings some, so but much bigger than Strus, right? Strus has got to be, what, 6'4", at most? So bringing in Dean Wade brings more size to that starting lineup, allows him to defend a lot of different positions.
00:14:53
Speaker
And I can't think of many teams in the NBA that can come with that size in their starting lineup and that agility and athleticism between those three players. So I like it so far, um but what are your thoughts on on Dean Wade being moved to the starting lineup with Strewst out?
00:15:09
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I like it. Like you said, the size that he brings, and he's such a good shooter, too. He can shoot the three, so if you leave him open, he can draw. you know he And he's such a big. he he He matches up against the other team's bigs. And he can draw them out of the perimeter, and it opens up the it opens up the lane for our guys to cut and dish. And you see Lavert doing a lot of that. You see Lavert doing a lot of just driving, dishing. He's racking up assists.
00:15:38
Speaker
all over the place because uh yeah that that lane's wide open for him to uh create and that's what he's he's great at he's the best at you know jb had him uh playing point guard quite a bit last season and i think him Being off ball with ah you know Donovan and Garland mostly playing point, it really helps Lavert to be in a position where he doesn't feel like he has to have the ball to affect the game. He can just catch, drive, create, or catch and shoot, and it's been working great.
00:16:15
Speaker
Yeah definitely and Dean has his moments right like in this game he played 24 minutes only five points but he's kind of an under the radar player still in the league not he's not a he's not a household name right so I don't know how hard he gets scouted by other teams but he is very capable of knocking down that three-point shot and can get to the rim and and do a lot of various things to where I think he is still just very much under the radar. And when he's on and and doing things offensively, that's definitely going to help the Cavs as it most likely will catch opposing teams defense off guard. Yeah, yeah you you asked me about Dean Wade and I talked all about Lavert, but yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all right. Yeah, yeah, Dean Wade. Yeah, I mean,
00:16:59
Speaker
what What more could you want ah for somebody just stepping into a ah starting spot like that and filling in for for Max Truce? I think Dean Waite's been filling it up and taking advantage of every minute that they've given him. So yeah I think it's been a great move.
00:17:14
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it's worked out well so far. And it'll be interesting to see when Max comes back, you know how does that rotation happen? But we're we're a long ways away from that. We're only six games in. So ah you know Dean will will have that spot at least until then, and then Atkinson will have to figure it out from then.
00:17:31
Speaker
um Alex, one other quick thing I forgot before we pivot off the the magic game and we go into the Lakers game. I forgot to call out the that the obviously the the best thing of that was winning the game. But the second kind of most exciting thing that happened, at least in my mind,
00:17:47
Speaker
was Luke Travers made his NBA debut tonight in this game with about four minutes left. Both teams cleared their benches. um You had mentioned Porter Junior wasn't dressed. Tyson wasn't dressed. Streuss is out, you know, so on and so forth. So Travers was dressed for the game. And it was funny because I was texting with one of my friends throughout the whole game. And we were both at the start of the fourth quarter were like Travers is dressed. We want to see him play because they kind of showed him in one of the backgrounds or whatever.
00:18:17
Speaker
And ah sure enough, with four minutes left, he came into the game and within the first 10 seconds of the game, he had a rebound and already drew a foul, made his first but two points of his career. And Alex, he finished with the stat line of four points, four, I'm sorry, hang on here. In four minutes, he finished with four points, two rebounds, two assists, and a block. He was just everywhere and it was just awesome to watch. That's great. That's great.
00:18:44
Speaker
Yeah, big fan of Luke, man. And he just, man, he just has that look. And I had ah posted out on social media a week or two back, he's finally an NBA 2K. He's finally got his first minutes in the NBA, and rooting for Luke and hoping to see, you know, more of him at at various times throughout the season, hopefully in scenarios like this where the Cavs are are blowing out teams and he's just in there having fun and some garbage time. But it's gonna be interesting to see where his, what his development looks like and what he could potentially come into as far as a NBA player. For sure. I'd love to see him succeed. He's a great, a great story.
00:19:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
LeBron and Bronny's Cleveland Visit
00:19:23
Speaker
So it's always a story whenever LeBron comes home and comes back to Cleveland to play in front of this fan base. And Alex, he said it himself after the game, you know, he doesn't know how many more visits he's going to have here. So he he had mentioned it's special every time he comes here. But this time was a little bit more unique because obviously this is the first time where both LeBron and Bronny James played a game together in Cleveland which obviously was going to be the biggest headline of this game going into it and all that stuff and um You know, I get it There's a large portion of the fan base that just they don't want to hear anything when it comes to LeBron anymore. I get it
00:20:09
Speaker
But at the same time, you have to admit, this that was pretty cool. didn't play They didn't play together, unfortunately. Bronny didn't get into the last couple minutes of the game. And did you hear the Cavs fans chanting? Oh, yeah, yeah. mean Yeah, that was pretty cool. Yeah, we want Bronny. Yeah, that was great. They were so loud, you could hear like tv like it It was great. And he finally got in. gar Again, garbage time.
00:20:34
Speaker
and uh ended up scoring his first and NBA points in Cleveland the Cavs went crazy for that as well and Just just a cool moment. You got uh, they played a ah Lebron and brawny tribute video for him. Yeah, I don't know about that Yeah, I was gonna say I didn't like that. I didn't really like that. I wanted to ask you about it was only like a minute long and it's just like At first, I was like, OK, you know, I get it. I mean, the Cavs are always going to want to pay their dues to most likely their best player ever in franchise history. Like there's probably never going to be somebody better to put on the wining goal than what LeBron was. So I get it. You want to pay homage, right?
00:21:17
Speaker
but it was just like, ah I don't know. I don't know. I get it, but I wasn't too crazy about it. Like I'd be fine with them not doing another one until it's his last time here, to be honest with you, which might be, night might might be next season for all we know.
00:21:32
Speaker
Yeah, but you know at that point at that point give him a two minute three minute long video sure but like That was kind of kind of short and kind of I don't know. It's kind of pointless Yeah, it was hard not to notice. Uh, just how old LeBron looked up running up and down that court He looks like old man old man LeBron out there boy He's just bald and he just looks 20 years older than everybody else on the court. It's pretty incredible that he can even keep up with all those young guys. He's only like two years yeah two years younger than me, I think, but still, that's that's amazing.
00:22:13
Speaker
Yeah, he'll be 40 in 2025, right? Right. 40 in 2025, right? It will be 40 this December. Oh, this December? OK, I couldn't remember. remember for his I knew his birthday. I thought it was right after the new year, but maybe it's right at the end. Maybe you're right of the year. So yeah, I mean, he's going to be, he's gonna he's an old man. um I could have swore I saw that he just recorded, maybe I'm wrong on this, but I thought he just recorded a triple double in one of these first couple of games. and Yeah, you did. Yeah, so I mean, at hey.
00:22:44
Speaker
Not too shabby for for an old guy. you know not Not many players are getting triple doubles these days in the NBA. So you know it is one of those things where, yeah, you don't know how many more times he's going to be here. And he's always wanting to put on a show whenever he comes back. And you know what I was looking to do, Alex, before the start of that game is is beat him. Because it always bothered me how often we still seem to lose to LeBron.
00:23:08
Speaker
every time he came back to cleveland so the fact that we smashed the lakers that game like smoked him it was done after halfway through the second like it was done it was such a yeah ah defeating loss for them even anthony davis just he just said like we just played god awful like that was just embarrassing basically they both just seemed to get so frustrated just yep within the first quarter like right off the bat you could tell they were both just like pissed off and defeated and making stupid fouls and turning the ball over repeatedly and just weren't taking care of the ball and couldn't make a basket and
00:23:49
Speaker
You could tell that they thought files weren't going their way and yeah they were just getting it. You know, they're just they play a slow game and the Cavs are playing such an uptempo game yeah that it was just such a big mismatch that they couldn't keep up with the speed the Cavs were playing it. That's no, no. And on top of it, I mean, things were clicking for the Cavs. So, I mean,
00:24:12
Speaker
Evan Mobley and Jared Allen, you know these between the two of them finished with 45 points and that's just those two players Jared Allen went beast mode 20 points 17 rebounds. I don't care. I'm gonna say it I'm gonna make the argument that the value that he brings is along with the contract that he's on, he might be the best center in the NBA. Like I get there's jokage out there and stuff like that. I get in beats out there who hasn't even played a game yet this year. Those guys are making 50, 60 million a a year. Jared Allen's making 20 million a year and putting up, you know, double, double, you know, crazy stats basically on a nightly basis. So from a value standpoint and what you're paying him, he might just very well be the best center in the league based on what you're paying um and what he's giving you back. yeah um Those two alone just killed the Lakers and then you have Mitchell dropping in 24 Garland drops in 16, you know, then you have some other players, um you know pitching in as well and the Lakers just had no answer for the Cavs on the defensive end Totally Alan's just been killing everybody man. He's a
00:25:22
Speaker
and and and he he's had some awesome dunks already in these first five games where he does the like the Statue of Liberty dunk one handed just thumps it. I love that. I love it. He's so fun to watch. He's so fun to watch and you know who else has been really fun and also played really well in this game that we got to talk about.
Ty Jerome's Comeback and Roster Depth
00:25:40
Speaker
is Tigerrealm. So, Tigerrealm played 16 minutes in this game, finished with 14 points, dished out 4 assists, grabbed a couple rebounds. So, you know, last year, Tigerrealm gets injured the second game of the season and misses the whole season. Ended up becoming the butt of jokes by many Cavs fans, even us at various times.
00:25:59
Speaker
We're like, you got to be kidding me. Like, is does, does, does Ty Jerome even exist anymore? Like, you know, we made our comments throughout the year as well. But boy, am I glad the Cavs stuck with Ty Jerome and didn't cut bait with him last year over the season. Because man, I am a huge, growing into a huge Ty Jerome fan. He just does so many things well.
00:26:22
Speaker
And he reminds me a lot of what Rubio used to bring, um or at least that first year, where he basically comes in, runs that second unit, and can also score. He's crafty. He can he plays defense. In this Magic game tonight, he had two back-to-back steals. One led to a wide open three-pointer. The place went crazy after that. He's just out there doing a little bit of everything. And he's so hard to read.
00:26:48
Speaker
because everybody in the league today wants to go 100 miles an hour, right? Either they want to jack up a three or they want to dunk over you. That's that's it. Like, there's no in between. To where Jerome, a lot like Rubio, has that kind of slower game, that crafty post-up guard game to where the defender doesn't know how to react to that. He just takes his time and he just waits for the defender to fall for a ball fake and he just steps through and makes a little floater layup like it's nothing.
00:27:18
Speaker
or if the defender is still there and the other defender you know or you know is coming down for a double team or whatever, he does he makes the right play every time. So, Ty Jerome has been fantastic to watch and even though this Cavs team didn't make any roster changes, having Ty Jerome on this team feels like the roster change because we didn't have him last year and he's been fantastic this year so far.
00:27:44
Speaker
Yeah you know, I don't know if I quite give him the Ricky Rubio comparison yet. He's been fantastic this year. He has been fantastic, but you know what, I see a little bit more Ado-a-dova in him instead of Ricky Rubio. I think he's got a little bit more of that that toughness and scrappiness. He does.
00:28:02
Speaker
He is tough. That Della Dova had in Ricky Rubio where Ricky Rubio was a little more crafty, a little smoother. Tydrome still a little rougher I think. Tydrome has been playing great. He shoots the ball great. I love that he does.
00:28:16
Speaker
when he drives, he gets the, he does the teardrop. Yeah. Now in the lane that he'll hit that he's, he's got that Tony Parker impersonation down. And I love that because that's almost an unstoppable shot when he, when you get that going. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It's been great. I wish we had him last season.
00:28:33
Speaker
yeah yeah definitely and it's and it's tough too because you know if if you did have him last season craig porter junior never gets the opportunity he did you never know that craig porter junior is kind of now waiting in the wings unfortunately for porter junior Ty Jerome is going to make it pretty hard for him to see consistent minutes, right? But, um you know, it's just funny how things work out. And again, I'm glad that the Cavs stuck with Ty Jerome because he's been he's been great running that second unit and and and really a great addition to this team. He kind of helps make up for the loss of of having like
00:29:09
Speaker
not having Max truce right now and and so on and so forth because he can also play off the ball a little bit as well could be out there with the garland he could be out there with the Mitchell or a laverte or so on and so forth he doesn't necessarily always have to have the ball in his hand to make an impact when uh so when strews comes back who are we not going to see on the court I think um you're not going to see Isaac Akuro right now. I think would be the odd man out. So Isaac Akuro actually had a pretty ah decent game offensively tonight. He had a couple of three pointers that um ah the first three pointer was very timely. the The Magic was starting to creep back to like within 11 or 12 or so.
00:29:52
Speaker
um He also made a timing layup, a tough layup, probably could have got an and one on that. um But I think, you know, with this team, there's so many offensive weapons right now. It's hard to pick somebody to sit. And Akuro is a great defender, young, athletic, can keep up with with both most players in the league. But when truce comes back, and if everybody else is still healthy, Akuro might be the odd man out. It's probably mean Akuro and Merrill.
00:30:20
Speaker
And I know Atkinson likes Merrill a lot and Merrill can come in and just start shooting and hitting yeah but in in today's NBA. And and in in in in this offense that he's trying to run, you're always going to go with the guy that's going to score, in my opinion.
00:30:34
Speaker
Right. Yeah, that's tough. I think I think you'll see Merrill lose some minutes. You'll see Niang lose some minutes. You'll see the Coro lose some minutes. Jaylen Tyson, you know, I think, every I think, I mean, they got a Fitz truce in there. So absolutely. ghost Yeah, it could just vary night to night. and and and And not that we want to see this, obviously, but you know, what does the roster look like at that point, health wise?
00:31:00
Speaker
Like i'd be I'd be the happiest Cavs fan on earth if the Cavs were still like completely healthy, like they are now basically by the time Stroust comes back. But you know, if somebody's down or a guy or two's down, it kind of makes it easier, right? Because Stroust is now just filling in for what the minutes that that player was playing before they sat. And you know, you're always going to have to shuffle things around throughout different periods of the year as as as injuries happen and players return from those injuries and so on and so forth.
00:31:28
Speaker
It's a good problem to have, but it's a problem we don't have to worry about for quite a while. Right now, it's just fun watching this team just coming out on all cylinders. And and like I said, putting up almost 120, 130 every night never would have predicted that for this capacity. This team is so deep. That's just how deep this team is. It's incredible that you know we're we're fighting over minutes for for these guys. it's Yeah, that's such yeah like you said, it's just such a great problem to have and any Atkinson wants to celebrate the roster. It's just so deep. This team is this team is going to be so much fun all season.
00:32:03
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. So the Lakers game, um you know we we kind of talked about that. the Lakers really had no answer. um you know And that that game was handled pretty quickly. Probably the the closest game of the season, though, so far, Alex, was the game against the Knicks. This game, out of the six games we've played so far, is the one to me that has felt the most different.
00:32:32
Speaker
in the sense that the Cavs weren't always in control of this game. This wasn't a always fast-paced, run and gun, high-scoring game. This game, very much so, at least to me, had a playoff feel to it. um This game was in New York.
00:32:49
Speaker
And there's there's a little bit of history between these two games are these two teams and the Cavs eke out a win, but they only won by six points. They're only single digit win of the season so far, I believe. So what was your thoughts on this Knicks game? I would i mean i think the score makes it seem like it was closer than it was.
00:33:13
Speaker
It was a close first quarter, we you know but we still let it. ah We just kind of laid an egg in that second quarter. i don't I don't quite remember what happened, what the rotation was, who was on the court, but they just couldn't get anything going in the second quarter. They fell way behind.
00:33:29
Speaker
and then you know they they kind of caught their stride again in the third quarter and then just dominated in the fourth quarter. The score makes it seem a lot closer than it was. you know I was a little worried after they went into the halftime And they were down by, so I can't remember how many points they were down by, but you could tell that they were just struggling against the Knicks. And I wondered what that answer what the answer would be. you know I don't know what Kenny said at halftime or, and just historically being a Cavs fan, like coming out of that out of the halftime and into the third quarter, it always seems like the Cavs are always anemic and
00:34:08
Speaker
just terrible in the third quarter. So I was like, oh, here we go. But that was that was that JB Cavs team. And this is Kenny Atkinson's Cavs team. So that's right. And yeah. and And I'm with you because, you know, we're not going to go into probably any more games beyond this one because, you know, they're just too far back. But the first three games of the season were against lesser opponents, the Raptors, the Troy. And I think who is the other one? Wizards. Wizards. So not not the cream of the crop. Right. Like the Cavs.
00:34:38
Speaker
Should have been three and o after that but then you know you're looking at the schedule and you see the nicks the Lakers which again anytime LeBron you know they're always want to put on a show and then you have the magic young up and coming team in the box back to back and it's like.
00:34:55
Speaker
Man, this is going to be tough. This is going to be a true test for the Cavs. So for the Cavs to get this victory over the Knicks, I thought was huge because it it kind of solidified a little bit of what we saw those first three games. And then on top of it, to smash LeBron and the Lakers, to beat the magic. you know And we'll see what they do against the Bucks here over the next couple of days. It's like, man, this team team feels like it's for real. And this buck or this Knicks game was was the start of that for me.
Garland's Stellar Performance Against Knicks
00:35:25
Speaker
and um you know we've been giving a lot of players props so far and I gotta give props to Darius Garland because he had a he had a heck of a game this game. 34 points in and and in the garden in this game. He was just doing a little bit of everything but man, he was he was hitting. He was firing and he was hitting.
00:35:45
Speaker
finishes with 34 points and I just think about Alex where we were last season with Darius Garland where we were in the offseason same with Alan like you know a large portion of the Cavs fan space was was ready to part with both these guys and both these guys have had excellent starts of the season and got to give props to DG right now.
00:36:07
Speaker
Yeah, DGs. He's playing great. Uh, you know, he came in in the preseason and said that, uh, he talked about, you know, kind of redemption really the season and how fired up he was and how excited he was to get back out on the court. And, uh, he's proved it. He's come out on fire. He brings a whole lot of energy. He's nailing the three. Yes. He looks, his he looks so comfortable shooting the three. Uh, yeah. Loving it.
00:36:37
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, he just looks confident and he's not hesitating. He's not thinking about it. He's jacking up the shot. If it doesn't go, it's on to the next play. He's not giving up when he gets beaten defensively. He actually um has had he had a really nice block on on Brunson at one point in this game. And, um you know, he's he's he had a couple of steals as well. And he's just he's just giving it his all. He's just out there playing basketball and um It's been great to watch and you know, I think every Cavs fan would agree this is the version of DG you want to see and um Hopefully he can keep it up. And if he does All those conversations that we heard for so long can Mitchell and DG play together?
00:37:23
Speaker
um you know Did the Cavs make a mistake giving him that contract? Should the Cavs part ways with DG and all that stuff? you know Is he a top tier point guard in this league? you know If he continues to play like this, you know that all that goes out the window. right All of those rumors and all that kind of criticism goes away pretty quickly. So happy to see it and hope he can keep up with that.
00:37:47
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's it's pretty early in the season to say, hey, you know, look, they've won six games in a row, right? It's working, you know, but ah so far it is. And yeah, and they're putting great together. And I hope they continue. And you know, Kenny Atkinson system is working so far.
00:38:08
Speaker
You know what's just it's so weird. It's like a weird feeling almost isn't it? It's like you see all these these big social media accounts like on a night like hoop central and all these play like you're They're tweeting out all the all the stats after the game and they're tweeting out that the Cavs are still undefeated And that they're there for real and just you know, the hype is building early on in the season. So it's hard to Not to get excited, especially with being a Cleveland sports fan. We've been let down more often than not. So yeah you just said it a couple of minutes ago at halftime at that Knicks game. You were nervous because you're used to the third quarter, you know, egg and so on and so forth. So it it's hard for us to reprogram ourselves, but it's also very fun right now. And um it's just enjoyable basketball to watch and
00:38:55
Speaker
You know, DG and Ty Jerome and Mitchell and Lavert, even Lavert. You know, again, we've talked about Lavert many times over the course of his time with us is he's he was brought here to be the the sixth man, basically. But he's had to play starter minutes and then it doesn't always work. And now you're asking him to do too much. And so far, he's playing in the position that he's meant to play. And he looks great so far.
00:39:19
Speaker
You know will probably be a candidate for six men of the year if he can upkeep this and the team continues to play like they do so Just everything is clicking right now, and it's just very fun basketball to watch Yeah, like you said it's ah it's great to see like so much positive headlines around the Cavs because We're just not used to it. No, know it's Cleveland. And I was listening to NBA radio. I think it was on the first take show. But, you know, all all they ever talked about is the Knicks, the Celtics, the Lakers. It's pretty rare that they ever mentioned the Cavs, but they did do a little bit of a little blurb on the Cavs after they played the Knicks. And they said, this Cavs team is legit. This Cavs team is for real. And it's just great to to hear you know to hear that because
00:40:04
Speaker
We never get to hear that, right? No. And on top of it, you know, your your core four is all locked up contract wise. So there's not some drama of, yeah, they're playing great.
00:40:19
Speaker
But Darius Garland is a free agent this year, or Donovan Mitchell has an opt-out option at the end of the year. like All that noise is not is not there this year. And it makes it harder for the media to generate that noise and kind of false rumors when the Cavs are playing good. Last year, it was very easy.
00:40:40
Speaker
for there to always be kind of negativity around this team because they weren't meeting expectations. And Mitchell, of course, had the opportunity to not sign an extension like he did this year. And when you have someone at his caliber of a player in the league, it just just creates drama, right? So that's all noise that you know it's harder to bring up this year unless the Cavs completely do a 180 or something like that.
00:41:05
Speaker
and ah really struggle for a long period of the season. But as long as they can, you know, play good basketball, stay healthy, their players, locked theirre their rosters locked in, their core is locked in here for several more years. And that's that's very exciting as a Cavs fan to see that as well. Yeah. So so I was just going to say, you know,
00:41:30
Speaker
it doesn't It doesn't fail though when it's starting to get close to the trade deadline. sure so So who is that player on the Cavs that is going to beat, who do you think could be the one that everybody's talking about, oh, the Cavs are going to try to make a move and trade this player. who who is Yeah, working it's very early in the season and I know in my prediction last episode I had mentioned Lavert as potentially being that trade chip piece because I said if the Cavs feel like they're one piece away.
00:42:02
Speaker
and they're gonna go all in, you gotta trade some value to get value back. You can't, I'm sorry, love Sam. You're not gonna just trade Sam Merrill and get you know that athletic young backup big that's just gonna come in and wreck the NBA. It's just not gonna happen. Sam doesn't have enough value to warrant that.
00:42:20
Speaker
right? um It will depend but Isaac Akuro could become that guy and we talked about that when he made his contract extension is that he's young enough, he's on a friendly enough contract that a team can see him as a piece. Some teams having a fire sale, um and we're we're getting way, way ahead of ourselves here, but you know Isaac Okuro could potentially be that young defensive 3 and D guy that some other team has interest in to where he's falling out of the rotation because Truce is back, because Tyson is taking off, because Laverde is still balling, and DG and Mitchell are still working out. and
00:43:01
Speaker
Sam. and cory are I shouldn't have asked this question. yeah i mean like so i mean It's going to really depend, but Akuro could potentially be that. And that's also why I'm glad they brought him back and didn't just let him walk for for nothing, basically, because he could potentially be an asset down the road.
00:43:17
Speaker
Speaking of that prediction episode, we just did last.
Mobley's Evolution and Versatility
00:43:20
Speaker
Yeah, you can't make no adjustments. I shot way too low on the record. I'm feeling like I shot pretty low on the record now. You weren't even in the 50s. You were like at 48 or something. Yeah, I think I did say 48 because I just thought, new coach, it'll take some time to adapt.
00:43:33
Speaker
Whoo. They're coming out of the gate. There's a lot of basketball there's lot esqui left. There's a whole lot. What about, uh, I want to get your thoughts and I, you know, you'rere probably going to be glowing, but you know, we haven't really talked too much about Evan Mobley too much yet, but you know, that was another big thing that we were kind of waiting to see because all we heard off season was, you know, Atkinson is going to unleash Evan Mobley. And, you know, what are you seeing or what are you liking out of Evan Mobley so far this season?
00:44:04
Speaker
Yeah, you know that's all that's all that they talked about in the preseason was how Evan Mobley they were gonna run the offense through Evan Mobley and I wouldn't say they've been running the offense through Evan Mobley but I will say Evan Mobley has been way more aggressive he's always looking to score quick he's looking to shoot it every time he gets the ball he's you can tell he's been working on his footwork, not just on the offensive end where he's you know spinning his way to the hoop and nobody can stop him because he's got crazy wingspan. So once he starts, once he bodies that defender and
00:44:41
Speaker
does a spin move. He's within a foot of the hoop and he's roll it rolling it in or dunking it. But even on the defensive end, like he was making Carl Anthony Towns look like a chump. He was ah shutting down Anthony Davis because he he can so he was sticking right along with him. They could not get around him.
00:45:02
Speaker
is It's awesome. I love the improvement I've seen from Mobly. He's stronger. you know He's not getting pushed around under the hoop like he was. You can tell he put on some muscle. um He's shooting the three a lot. He had what three he shot the ball three three pointers Against Orlando tonight and he's just been shooting the three very well so I like to see that because it keeps the the the defense honest ah You know keeps their big men out of the paint and on the perimeter. So yeah, Evan Mobley. I love it. What do you think?
00:45:38
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, no, pretty much the same. and And this is what we've been waiting for. And it's not like he's coming in and, you know, dropping 25 and 15 every night or anything like that. I mean, that's going to be probably unrealistic when you have someone like a Donovan Mitchell on your team and you have other players that are capable of going off and having big offensive scoring nights like Garland has a couple of times. Lavert is also very capable to get you, you know, 15, 20 points on any given night. But I'm with you. I like that Mobley is no longer hesitating when he gets the ball He is looking to make a move in an aggressive fashion within a second or two of of getting the ball and with him being so versatile You know it it does it keeps the defense honest like he said and he'll probably never be a lethal three-point shooter
00:46:31
Speaker
But the capability that you know with him being able to knock one down every once in a while, with him being able to beat most bigs with his first dribble to the rim and then put them in a bad position to at least draw a foul, if not an and one. And then on top of you know him being able to post up and like you said, his footwork and his spin moves and the wingspan and and all that stuff. So yeah, he's he's a handful and he's still very young. um I think he can put on even more weight yet and become even stronger as he continues his and MBA career. And I think he is going to turn into you know one of the future stars of of the MBA.
00:47:16
Speaker
Yeah, and and that's the thing, right? If you watch any any team, every every and NBA game, they all everybody runs the high pick and roll these days. You'll see the center come out, stand on the three-point line, they pass him the ball, he holds the ball, he passes it to the point guard, he's already there setting the pick, and then he'll roll with the point guard to the hoop.
00:47:39
Speaker
But with Mobley, he can come out to that top of the arc and catch the ball, pass it to the the point guard, ah turn around, the point guard, pass it right back to him, and he can shoot that three. So it's, you know, it's, dude's a triple threat, I mean. Yep.
00:47:58
Speaker
yeah Yeah, he's keeping those defenses honest and he's he's doing something that you're not seeing a lot of other teams be able to do with their big men Right and then throw Alan in the mix. I mean that's that's that's a hand again there's not many teams if any in the NBA that can deal with both a Mobley and an Allen and We'll see again as the course of the season goes on because you know that was also another one of those kind of negativity comments that was constantly around the Cavs. You basically have two bigs that can't shoot, right? Because, you know, Alan can or not Alan Mobley could always shoot a mid range. And again, he's not a three point shooter, I wouldn't say, but that was always one of the question marks are around this team. You know, you got to two guards. Can they play together? They're both small and you got two bigs that are they're both big and can't shoot it. But with Mobley being so all over the place, it really doesn't clog the lineup as much as what
00:48:54
Speaker
People seem to think, you know what I mean? And Alan's doing the same thing. He's coming out, setting picks and he'll go up and get an alley-oop and dunk it on the guy or whatever. And they're doing a good job, I think, of staying out of each other's way. And then with rotations, you can always sub one out and one's in there and plays the center. That's when you bring in the, the nying or whoever you want to play, you know, your backup, you know, power forward position.
00:49:18
Speaker
And um you know it's it's worked out really well so far. And Mobley definitely, it seems like he is he put in work this off season and is definitely evolving. This is a different version of Evan Mobley compared to seasons past.
00:49:36
Speaker
It's what we need to see, man. It's what we need to see. So far, everything that we needed to happen is happening. um Just got to get Strews back and get him into the mix. And this team is going to be even more dangerous when that happens as well.
00:49:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Just need a Travers to evolve into Larry Bird and we are good to go. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely. He needs to grow the stash out just a little more. yeah Yeah. Yeah. So I think really the last thing is kind of just looking a little bit ahead, Alex. The Cavs got the Bucks the next two games Saturday night. So this is kind of this is it's always a fun weekend when the Cavs play like a Friday night or a Saturday night.
00:50:16
Speaker
Right, because it's just it's just weekend basketball. So it's just fun to watch. um They're going to Milwaukee ah tonight after the magic game ended, they're flying to Milwaukee and then they come back to Cleveland on Monday to play the Bucks. So it's kind of one of those weird. They play the same team back to back, but one's home and one's away. And I don't know if you've been paying attention to the standings at all. But so far, the Bucks have been struggling. They're only one in four so far this season. And how awesome would it be if the Cavs just somehow won both those games and just put the Bucks fan base just into 911, you know, ah you know, jumping off the top of the hill, kind of just can you imagine if the Cavs started one in six, like the fan base would be going nuts right now. And the Bucks are kind of on the verge of that. You know, it's not the start that they want to have, right? um They'll figure it out, I'm sure.
00:51:12
Speaker
um But it'd be great if the Cavs can kind of take advantage while they have had a little bit of a rough start of the season. And I don't know what's going on out there. I believe both Giannis, and I know Giannis is healthy. I'm pretty sure Lillard is playing. So not sure if they have some other injuries going on that's impacting their roster right now. But you want to take advantage of those teams. The Bucks are going to be hungry. They know they need to get a win. They need to start to get back on the right side of things. And the Cavs have to recommend a way to not be that team. That allows that to happen.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah this box game is gonna be tough especially since it's you know that. The second night of a back to back yeah and they're on the road so they're driving to Milwaukee right now probably. And the box didn't play to tonight either so they're waiting for you arrested they're hungry yeah. It's going to be a tough game, but can you just imagine like the statement that would make if the Cavs went in there and won that game on the road second night of a back-to-back, and then they just come back to Cleveland. The Bucks are even more defeated. The drama's starting, and the Cavs just smash them at home in front of ah you know a rocking Cleveland fan base, man. Oh, man. That'll be quite something if that happens. We'll see. But either way, man, it's been a fun start to the season for the Cavs.
00:52:24
Speaker
And it's just been a fun ride so far, Alex. It's been great. the
00:52:33
Speaker
It's very early. It's very exciting. Yeah. Can't wait. Yeah, definitely. So with that, Alex, let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the CAS Pick and Roll Podcast. I want to thank you CAS fans as always for tuning in and listening and AP. Let them know where they can listen to us, follow us and connect with us.
00:52:52
Speaker
Follow us on Twitter, I'm still refusing to call it X, at calvespickandroll, shoot us an email, calvespickandroll at gmail dot.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, watch this episode on YouTube, click like, subscribe, leave us a like ah rating or review, we'd appreciate it. All right, CAS fans, there it is. We will talk to you again soon. Peace out, CAS fans.