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Episode 151: Playoff Preview vs Miami Heat
45 Plays2 months ago
Alex and Corey react to the Cleveland Cavaliers finishing the regular season at 64-18 and locking up the number 1 seed in the playoffs. We discuss the last few games of the season and what made this season so special so far. Then we break down the first round matchup against the Miami Heat. We give our thoughts on what the Cavs need to do in this series to ensure they quickly advance to the next round. We end with taking a look at other playoff matchups around the league and how they may play out.
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Transcript
Introduction and Season Achievement
00:00:16
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. And Alex, we have finally reached that milestone. The regular season has finally come to an end.
00:00:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Excited, man. Let's get to the postseason. Number one seed. Can't wait. they they They held on to the number one seed all season long. They clinched the number one seed from the last time we recorded.
00:00:48
Speaker
Finished with a record of 64 and 18, Alex, which is only two games off from franchise record. Be honest. Are you a little disappointed they didn't go for that record or even surpass it?
00:00:59
Speaker
Or you cool with the 64 18? um A little bit, because the way we were going, you know, midseason and towards the end of the season, I thought I thought we had a chance to break the record. I thought we were chasing the, you know, the 70 win season.
00:01:14
Speaker
mean, we could have. Yeah, yeah, we could have that that that five game West Coast trip. Yeah, that killed us. That killed us right there, man. That killed us. But yeah.
00:01:25
Speaker
The Cavs have ah finally reached the point that they wanted to be back in right? Which is playing meaningful basketball, you know, the rest of the way here.
00:01:37
Speaker
And the Cavs, you know, locked up that number one seed with a couple games to spare and and really got to take advantage ah by resting players the last, what, at least three games of the season, Alex,
00:01:50
Speaker
And I don't know about you, i actually kind of had fun the last couple games watching some other players you don't typically get to see. But in a way, it's also felt like it's been forever since I've actually watched a Cavs game with like our guys, our rotational guys and stuff.
Cavs vs. Bulls Game Highlights
00:02:07
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Funny you say that because I just went to a Cavs game. You did? went the... Cavs versus Bulls game last Tuesday. It was also the Cleveland Guardians home opener, which ah made it interesting getting downtown and finding parking, which was a nightmare.
00:02:26
Speaker
Yeah. A lot of people walked straight from that Guardians game over to the Cavs game. So that was pretty cool.
00:02:35
Speaker
that would have been the way to do it right there. that That's a, that's a full day of, uh, some downtown fun right there. And you know what? It was, it wasn't very warm, but it was a nicer day than what I thought it was going to be because the sun was out at least. And, you know, um, but yeah, how did, didn't you, how did you get those tickets? Cause weren't they kind of a last minute thing?
00:02:55
Speaker
Yeah. Buddy texted me at the last minute. So do you want to go the Cavs game? Like, yeah, let's go. was like, man, it was probably like two hours before the game. So and you probably got the tickets cheaper than what they would have been if you would have bought them ahead of time. Right.
00:03:10
Speaker
Twenty five bucks, maybe upper uppers, but like row five or row six, um probably 30 yard line. So they were pretty nice view. Good seats for twenty five bucks.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah. For twenty five bucks to go to a Cavs game, like it almost feels like that's not even realistic anymore. Right. If you were buying tickets in advance. So I think the beers cost us more.
00:03:33
Speaker
Yeah, I believe it. What about that parking? Didn't you say the parking? Oh, the parking. Oh, man. Like it was atrocious because everybody was already there for the Guardians game that started at like three o'clock.
00:03:46
Speaker
Like all the lots were full. They were all $70, $80. So we like sat in traffic. think we missed almost the whole first quarter of the game.
00:03:57
Speaker
ah Just trying to find parking. We ended up parking all the way over in Playhouse Square Parking. Oh, wow. But by then it was $20. twenty dollars So yeah I guess there's a ah bright side there.
00:04:09
Speaker
Right. Next time, I'm just going to take the red line, man. I'll park at Puritas or Brook Park and take the RTA in. There you go. There you go.
00:04:21
Speaker
Well, obviously we want to talk about, you know, the playoffs and um we're recording this on Friday nights. We're less than 48 hours away from the Cavs first game, which we now know who we're playing against.
00:04:33
Speaker
But before we get into all that.
Impressive Performance of DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome
00:04:35
Speaker
Kind of just to go back to wrap up, you know, the regular season for the Cavs, you went to that Bulls game, the Cavs win that game. ah Real quick, was there anything that stood out to you from that game? It was a pretty convincing win from what I remember.
00:04:50
Speaker
ah The Cavs won 135 to 113. I think the Cavs were in control most of that game. The Bulls make a run as any and NBA team did, but never really had a chance in that game. Yeah, I mean, it was ah it was actually a good game. it You know, Cavs started their starters, except Donovan Mitchell sat.
00:05:07
Speaker
um It was a pretty good, close game through the first quarter. Cavs just blew them out in the second quarter going into halftime. And then they started bringing in a lot of the the bench.
00:05:20
Speaker
And Bulls went on a run, made a little more interesting going into the fourth, and then Cavs turned it back on, but got to see a lot of ah DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome out there on the court together.
00:05:33
Speaker
And man, those guys, those guys can cook. Such a fun duo. is Yeah, it's just exciting. It's such a good, they they just feed off each other. Both of them can knock down the three. They're both real good at moving the ball.
00:05:45
Speaker
It's just, it's just fun to watch. Yeah. Those two are going to be hopefully big difference makers, you know, this playoff run, because I'm going to have a hard time thinking of another team that has two players, not just one, because there are some teams that have one, but two players that can come off the bench and and produce consistently like Ty Jerome and, and, and Hunter does.
00:06:13
Speaker
And, um, This is also the game, if I recall, where Garland went off late. in the game and started nailing three pointers and really helped put the nail in the coffin. He finished with 28 points this game and, and going into this game, you know, the bulls were playing great basketball, um, and they were playing for something, right?
00:06:33
Speaker
Because we were still at a point to where, you know, for teams like the bulls, things weren't locked up yet as far as where they were going to fall in the in the seedings and, and all that stuff. So good job by the calves kind of just getting it done.
00:06:47
Speaker
um My memory could be wrong here, but i I want to say this might have been the game that actually um locked up the number one seed. It was not mistaken. Yeah. Yeah. They had a little ah celebration at the end of the game and they showed, you know, on the Jumbotron Cavs number one. And yeah, it was it was cool. It's a little ah yeah, it was a nice game to be i just for that.
00:07:08
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And that's the way to do it because the next two games around the road against the Pacers and the Knicks, both teams that were also playing for something. Pacers have always been a little bit pesky, you know, against the Cavs.
00:07:21
Speaker
So to get that win and and to, you know, clinch the number one seed and not kind of let it to chance, ah you know Trying to steal a road win or letting it come down to that last game, you know the final game of the season.
00:07:33
Speaker
ah Good job by the Cavs there. and It's really what allowed the Cavs to be able to rest those players, a lot of those players, for the last three games. and As you said, Mitchell didn't play in that Bulls game, and actually Mitchell didn't play the rest of the the the the season.
00:07:48
Speaker
Just to rest him up, you know he's fine from everything we've heard, but he had that ankle injury. Yeah, I was going to say, he was still nursing that ankle, I think. Yeah. Yeah, but he's been off for like, gosh, you know, two weeks now by the time the playoffs start on Sunday.
00:08:04
Speaker
So but the
Cavs' Depth Against the Pacers
00:08:06
Speaker
Cavs do it. they They lock it up. And, um you know, the next couple of games, they they are what they are. and The Cavs dropped the game against the Pacers on the road. That was a hard-fought game.
00:08:17
Speaker
um What I remember from this game is this is, you know, obviously the first game where we sat most of our starters. um And the Pacers barely, you know, we gave the Pacers everything we could.
00:08:33
Speaker
Ty Jerome was a menaced in this game. So was Hunter. Jerome had 24, Hunter 23. hunter at twenty three And took the Pacers everything they had to beat the Cavs without Darius Garland, without Evan Mobley, without Max Drews and without Donovan Mitchell.
00:08:48
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say, this is the game where we didn't play any of our starters and the Pacers played all our starters and we took them all the way to the end. Yeah. and And we should have won that game.
00:09:00
Speaker
We really should have. Oh man, I was, i remember watching this game and with my, with my youngest daughter in the basement and, You know, I'm like getting pumped up because Ty Jerome is going crazy. The Cavs like somehow or like have a chance to win this game when they really had no business even caring about this game, even though they lost. It was a fun one to watch and just really shows the depth of this team, right? Merrill was going off too, man. He was just stroking threes left and right. was wild. Yeah, exactly. and And what's crazy is last time we talked was about how Merrill was kind of, I forget what game it was, um but, you know, was out there playing minutes, but really wasn't doing anything.
00:09:40
Speaker
You know mean? So the thing about this team is is, anybody is capable of going off at any time. And when you have so many players that can do that, usually more times than not, it's okay when a guy like Sam Merrill isn't going off because he's really like your seventh option on this team.
00:09:59
Speaker
Right. Merrill was playing some scrappy as hell defense that game too. Like, yeah, yeah. He had to get a steal. He was diving for balls. He had a block. He was just mothering dudes. Yep.
00:10:10
Speaker
Yep. You got to love the hustle and, and, and seeing that kind of effort out of, out of a player like him, who's really, you know, just also trying to make sure that, Hey, I want to be part of this rotation come the end of the regular season. Right.
00:10:23
Speaker
Um, and that was a great way to showcase that. And, uh, I, I do think Sam's going to be, you know, important in this playoff run because he can come in and and he could do damage and and not a lot of time. If he's knocking down those threes, as we've seen multiple times now. Right.
00:10:40
Speaker
the The next game, though, um the last game that the Cavs actually won of the season was against the the Knicks um in New York.
Cavs' Resilience Against the Knicks
00:10:50
Speaker
New York was trying to lock up ah their position as the third seed. um So a win would have helped secure that, or I think it was the Bucs losing.
00:11:02
Speaker
The Bucs did lose this game, so that the the Knicks still locked up the three seed. This was another fun game, Alex, because... The Cavs did play some some players. Garland and Mobley played this game.
00:11:13
Speaker
um You know, kind of everybody played for the most part except for ah Mitchell. Ty Jerome didn't play, actually, and Hunter didn't play. So not everybody. But similar to where the Knicks are playing for something, you're out on the road.
00:11:26
Speaker
um The Cavs really could care less about this game and came out and just, yeah, killed them. I mean, fourth quarter, killed them. Yeah. I was trying to figure figure that out because it...
00:11:38
Speaker
don't want to say the Knicks threw the game, but it kind of seemed like they gave up towards the end. And I wondered if there would be a reason that they would want to lose that game to Jockey for positioning.
00:11:51
Speaker
I don't know. i didn't I didn't really look into it, but... Yeah, I remember i remember seemed a bit strange. The Knicks and Bucks were pretty close or not the Knicks and the Bucks. The Knicks and the Pacers were pretty close in the seedings from what I recall.
00:12:05
Speaker
um And the Pacers finished the four seed. I thought they only a game or so behind Pacers really a game back or something like that. But I could be wrong, but.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it just got to a point where in the fourth quarter, the game the game was back and forth. The Knicks actually jumped out early. That's right. This is the game where the Knicks had a 15-point lead after the first quarter.
00:12:29
Speaker
And the Cavs, instead of just being like, we locked up the number one seed, we just want to rest, we just want to be healthy, we don't really care, battled back into this game and then come the fourth quarter outscored them 30 to 16 and kind of just you know you'd only win this game by six yeah but they battled all the way back from you know you know being down early in the nba a 15 point lead isn't you know the end of the world it seemed like the knicks took the fourth quarter off A little bit.
00:12:59
Speaker
It's just what it seemed like to me. And then I was like, are they playing for something? is there a reason that they would want to drop this game? Because that's just the way just the way it felt. But when I look at the way things ended up with the Knicks having the three seed to play the Pistons at six...
00:13:15
Speaker
I don't know that that that game mattered all that much, so maybe not. Yeah, maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist on that one. Right, right, right, right.
Historical Rivalry with the Knicks
00:13:23
Speaker
Yeah. But this was another great effort, though, again, um ah you know, with a game that really didn't matter to the Cavs.
00:13:30
Speaker
And what was great about this was the Cavs swept a total of 17 teams this season, Alex, which is crazy to think about. And with that win against the Knicks, they were one of those 17 teams.
00:13:45
Speaker
So I think we both said the same thing like the next day at work. Like it always feels good to just stick it to the to the Knicks at this point. Right. Because we're still holding on to that Knicks playoff series when this core four was kind of just getting started a couple seasons ago.
00:14:00
Speaker
And, you know, yeah that's funny, isn't it? you still hold onto that I do hold on to that. Every time we play the Knicks now, I remember that playoff series and I'm like, man, I hope we stick it to the Knicks. Yeah, exactly. And if I'm a Knicks fan right now, you know, I'm looking at what, you know, where we were, you know, we we kind of flip flop, right? The Cavs are now at the top of the East and clearly have to feel like there is a large gap between them and and the Celtics and then the Knicks. Right.
00:14:27
Speaker
Like the Knicks, you know, probably aren't feeling, you know, the most confident right now. That fan base, I mean. Yeah, and it was disappointing because they were rebuilding at the exact same time that we were rebuilding. it almost felt like we were all also drafting against them.
00:14:40
Speaker
Yeah. And they took, ah was it Obi Toppin? I can't remember. They ended up trading him, but. I don't remember either. No, yeah I don't. I don't. I don't remember. I don't remember that.
00:14:52
Speaker
But OK, it seemed like it seemed like I mean, they were very aggressive, right? The last year to bring in Carl Towns, Anthony and, you know, Mikkel Bridges. Like they they had a hell of an offseason last year.
00:15:04
Speaker
ah They were going for They were all in. um But kind of like what we saw for a year or two after Mitchell came in, you got to make the pieces work together. They got to fit. They got to gel. And i don't I don't know their health situation throughout the season.
00:15:19
Speaker
For us, we had a lot of health issues, right? But it also comes down to the players being able gel to be able to adjust. Carl Towns, Anthony was used to being the guy. Mikkel Bridges was used to being in that guy on the previous team.
00:15:31
Speaker
Jalen Brunson used to be in that guy. There's only so many, you know, shots to go around. And, you know, the Knicks are still going to be a good team for for a while. well We'll definitely see them again. um but yeah I mean, I'm not totally shocked that it might have affected their regular season a little bit um because they had some new faces.
00:15:51
Speaker
Let's see what they do in the playoffs. yeah You know, they're they're they got to you know knock off. uh detroit in the first round who's an up-and-coming team that's uh that's a matchup i would not i'm not envious of like i would not want to one that's the last team i'd want to play in the first round if i'm the next it's going to be an interesting series to keep an eye on and we'll talk about kind of the playoff brackets here in just a few but i i wanted to see what your opinion was about that one or which which first round matchup is most intriguing to you outside of the calves obviously
00:16:23
Speaker
but but Most intriguing, yeah, probably Knicks-Pistons. I think that's that's pretty interesting. You can know you got JB leading these this Pistons team that is super overachieving against the Knicks, they were they were they were great last season in the playoffs.
00:16:42
Speaker
So this will be the Pistons' first dip into the playoffs. Yeah. And JB's got that team rolling efficiently. We know how JB is, how he got the Cavs going with our young guys.
00:16:55
Speaker
I mean, they could they could definitely make a splash there. You know, the other one that I like is the Celtics magic. I think that's a pretty exciting matchup with the bank arrow. So looking forward to watching that one also.
00:17:07
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think that'll be a fun one, too. So let's let's wrap up here. So the last game was against, again, the Pacers. This was at home. um You know, this game was interesting, Alex, because, you know, the Cavs basically played, you know,
00:17:25
Speaker
ah Guys you don't typically see, you know, Craig
Spotlight on Lesser-seen Players
00:17:29
Speaker
Porter Jr. i mean, we've seen him plenty, but Craig Porter Jr., Tristan Thompson, Aikin Tomlin, Jalen Tyson, and Imani Bates all played 40 plus minutes in this game, which did go in double overtime, to be fair with Alex.
00:17:44
Speaker
um But this game was man. I remember being hype about this game, too. I like watching guys like Craig craig Porter Jr. um And we don't get to see him as much now with with Darius Garland having, you know, the season he did, the all star season, Ty Jerome coming in.
00:18:01
Speaker
you know, being a beast in the in the backup position. So Craig Porter jr. You know, we didn't get to see him as much this year, but I like watching him. I liked watching Tyson to see what he was, what he could do out there, which finished with 31 points, by the way, it was fun watching this group and watching them battle the Pacers who were also resting players in what was a really a tug of war match of a game, Alex.
00:18:25
Speaker
that went in double overtime and yeah either team could have won this game like way back in regulation. It it was a war. It was just a back and forth battle.
00:18:36
Speaker
And unfortunately the Cavs ran at a gas at the end, but it was a fun one to watch. Was this the game that Tristan Thompson got ejected from? No, no, now okay na no, no, no. That was the first pace. No, that wasn't.
00:18:52
Speaker
it was a it was a flagrant to foul because Atkinson got ejected.
00:19:00
Speaker
When they called the flag. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't remember what game it was, though. um what game it was It was a while back. It was I think it was before these games that we're talking about. Now, Tristan, Tristan played Tristan played 43 minutes, finished with 20 rebounds.
00:19:16
Speaker
Three points, three points. He was miked up this game and it was funny because Atkinson pulled him out at one point and Tristan's like, I'm good. I could play the whole game. I'm good. He was out there having a blast, man, because you know he doesn't get to see a ton of action. and you know So he was out there having fun.
00:19:35
Speaker
But it was it was a fun game to watch. We got to see you know Luke Travers out there, OKK, Bates, Javante Green, Tristan Thompson, Craig Porter Jr., Jalen Tyson,
00:19:48
Speaker
and Tomlin also who played for one minute, which helps secure his quest to play an all 82 games.
Jared Allen's Consistency
00:20:00
Speaker
Jared Allen started this game and he played all 82 games this season, Alex, which is something that he would do. Yeah. Isn't that, isn't that especially these days, especially these days. And I want to swear during the game,
00:20:15
Speaker
um the broadcast, they were talking about this and he is one of only, I think like six players that did that this season.
00:20:25
Speaker
Um, think about that. Only six players in the NBA this year played all 82 games. Wow. You know, just those numbers were a lot larger back, back in the day. Right.
00:20:39
Speaker
I mean, you had a lot more players, star players that were playing, you know, just about all, all the way, as long as they were healthy. So I that's pretty cool, though, that that Jared Allen wanted to do that. And he just he just such a likable guy.
00:20:51
Speaker
Like he just produces out on the floor. He's a goofy guy that waves to the crowd before every game. He's on a team friendly contract, you know, and and then on top of it's like, you know what?
00:21:03
Speaker
I want to play in every game this year. Yeah. Like, how do you not love Jared Allen? I he's I don't know where I rank him yet as as far as all time best centers in in Cavalier franchise history.
00:21:17
Speaker
But I want to say he's he's in my top three right now. He's in my top three. So you're saying you wouldn't trade him for Zion Williamson? I would not trade him for Zion Williamson, which was an article you sent me last night. It made me laugh, so I had to send it to you. like they they They moved on for the Kevin Durant for Evan Mobley swaps, and now they're saying Zion for Jared Allen, huh?
00:21:37
Speaker
Makes total sense. Yep, yep. That's that's legit right there.
00:21:43
Speaker
Package deal, right? Lots of swaps on our side. Right, right. Like Alan, again, he's on such a team friendly contract and produces so much for you. Why would you trade that guy anytime soon? there's There's no way.
00:21:55
Speaker
No way. But that's the season, Alex. 64 and 18. None of us saw that coming. We we we we we talked about that multiple times.
00:22:07
Speaker
But if you had to wrap up this season in a single word, what word would you choose to summarize this season? A single word.
00:22:17
Speaker
I love throwing these things at Alex without telling him before start recording because then I get sincerity. i get him in an uncomfortable position. b I've thought about it for three days now.
00:22:32
Speaker
Alex has about 30 more seconds. Keep buying me time, Corey. I'm looking around. Do I have any words written down near me? i got a book here. I got an AT&T bill. Damn. yeah yeah ah Outstanding.
00:22:47
Speaker
Outstanding, Corey. Outstanding. That's perfect. I mean, there's so many things. I'm going with just beautiful. It was a beautiful season to witness.
00:22:57
Speaker
Again, the drama, all-time low drama this year. i can't even think of something to complain about or even categorize quote-unquote drama, which we've had because of health issues, because of underperformances, because we had LeBron James for as long as we did and all the cryptic and the constant feeling, that threat of him holding you know the franchise hostage all the time.
00:23:23
Speaker
I can't even remember the last time there has been this less dramatic of a season. And then for the Cavs, for the most part, to retain remain healthy, um had no players go down for really significant, significant time. And for when players did go down, you didn't miss a beat, right? Evan Mobley misses two weeks or whatever it was. No problem.
00:23:44
Speaker
You know, not a big deal. You send three players to the all star game um and yeah you clinch the number one seat. It was it was outstanding and it was beautiful to watch.
00:23:57
Speaker
It was great. It was amazing. It really was. And like you said, the lack of drama this season was like, yeah, I mean, this was the the least dramatic season we've had in such such a long time.
00:24:10
Speaker
it's, it's pretty, pretty, you know, even, you know, trying to do this podcast, it's like, well, what are we going to talk about? The Cavs won six more games, you know? Yeah. There's nothing uh, three game losing streak, Alex. Yes. We can yell at them now. We can, we can, we can complain about something, but then no, not really because we're still, you know, 12 games up on the Celtics or something like that. Or, I don't think it was ever that big, but we, we, we never really had any threat this year either.
00:24:42
Speaker
Right. So that's, that's a very good problem to have though. um And it was great. And now we're at the point of the season where that needs to pay off. right because it needs to carry over into the playoffs and what is hopefully going to be a deep playoff run by this Cavs team. they have Their starters have played the like one of the least amount of of of minutes but as a team in the NBA,
00:25:09
Speaker
Um, they're all healthy. They clinched the number one seed. They have beaten every team in the and NBA. Like there's, there's no reason to have doubt. There's no reason to have confidence issues.
00:25:21
Speaker
There's no injury to point to, to blame if things go South. So now it's, it's, it's, you know, let's see the payoff of all this. And they just got to continue doing what they've been doing all season long.
00:25:33
Speaker
If there was one bit of drama this season, I think it would have to be the trade. The trade for for Hunter. Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:43
Speaker
I don't even know if that was drama because i didn't see anybody not celebrating that or seeing that as a very like it wasn't like a 50 50 split, at least from what I saw. I'm sure there are some people out there like, no, why'd you do that? You traded two rotational players, blah, blah, blah.
00:26:01
Speaker
But for the most part, everybody seemed pretty happy. you know, with that trade when it went down, but it was just kind of that buildup of like, yeah, are the calves going to do something? Cause we know other teams are going to do stuff, which nobody in the East really did.
00:26:16
Speaker
Nobody really made a huge, huge splash. Um, but that was just such a big trade for us. And like we said earlier, Hunter is so fun to watch. Ty Jerome's so fun to watch.
00:26:28
Speaker
And both of them coming off the bench again is, is going to pay huge dividends. Yeah, and Nyang and Levert, man, watching this game that game tonight, ah seeing the Hawks get eliminated, i felt bad for them.
00:26:41
Speaker
Like, Nyang and Levert went from, you know, a team that was bona fide playoff studs to... On the, you know, just barely scraping by with the Hawks and then they get eliminated.
00:26:56
Speaker
If if this was a season a few years ago before the play in tournament was a thing, they would have been in the playoffs. But because they lost to play in tournament games, they're suddenly out of the playoffs.
00:27:08
Speaker
So, you right I mean, right. And, you know, in the past, it feels like they got robbed a little bit. Yeah, and and on top of it, they both contributed heavily in in this game, right?
00:27:19
Speaker
D'Ang dropped 20 points. Levert dropped 15. you know So it wasn't like something where they sat on the bench, couldn't make an impact, or kind of just had to watch it play out.
00:27:30
Speaker
They were out there, you know, they were rotational players and and they put up efforts. and It'll be interesting to see, right? what What's going to happen with Levert with his contract situation this off season. If I remember correctly, I think Niang might have another year or so on his contract, but it'll be interesting to see what happens with those guys and and where they end up, and if Atlanta liked enough of what they saw out of them to keep them around and their plans moving forward.
00:27:55
Speaker
And to be honest with it's going be interesting, not that I really care that much, but it's going to be interesting to see what the cat what the Hawks do just in general. Are they going to go in blow-it-up mode now and rebuild it?
00:28:07
Speaker
I think they've got to shake it up. They've got to shake it up. I mean, they've got Trey Young. DeJounte Murray, that didn't work out. Trey Young is starting to age. He's only going take you so far by himself. it might be time to break up, you know, and and start that rebuild process.
00:28:24
Speaker
So Alex, let's get to it.
Playoff Preparations and Matchup Predictions
00:28:28
Speaker
We're about 30 minutes into this episode. Let's talk Cavs playoffs, man. All right. Because we finally know who our first round opponent is. And we purposely wanted to wait to record this episode until we knew which team that was going to be. And Alex, who is that team?
00:28:45
Speaker
The Miami Heat.
00:28:49
Speaker
Are you satisfied with that? I am. Yeah, I think I'm good with that. I think it'll be a good series. You got Tyler Hero over there. You got Bam out of bio. You got this Mitchell guy that I haven't really been following all season, but sure put one on the on the Hawks tonight.
00:29:10
Speaker
So yeah, you got Scary Terry. um They do have Scary Terry. I forgot about Scary Terry. He didn't play in this game, so we need to look up what's going on with him.
00:29:22
Speaker
What's his health situation? um i highly doubt he's going to miss playing a game, a playoff game in Cleveland, which he loves to to to give the Cavs the business, but I don't know his his his health situation.
00:29:37
Speaker
And also, K-Love. You know, K-Love didn't play in this game either. i don't know if he's just out of the rotation or something's going on. He's hurt. Okay. Yeah, he's hurt.
00:29:48
Speaker
I don't know about Scary Terry. He was not on the injury report, but Kevin Love was. Interesting. Interesting. Yeah, the Miami Heat, you know, listen, I kind of felt when I saw it was down to the Heat and the Hawks, I'm licking my chops over the Hawks, right?
00:30:05
Speaker
I think out of the four teams, The Hawks would have been who I ideally would have wanted to play against because i just felt like they were the weakest team out of the four. um Chicago lost, so they were out of it.
00:30:17
Speaker
Orlando gets paired up with the Celtics as a result, and it came down to the Heat and the Hawks. and I'd say a lot of Cavs fans did not want to see us play against the Hawks because of how much we struggled against them during the regular season.
00:30:31
Speaker
Interesting, interesting. Yeah, and and and i'll and I'll be honest with you, you know that that plays a factor, right? Because you know when the Cavs get out of the first round, what's going to be waiting for them is the winner of that Bucs-Pacers series.
00:30:45
Speaker
And I feel like that way about the Pacers. I feel like the Pacers, for whatever reason, always give us a tough matchup. And that could be a you know an interesting second round matchup for the Cavs. It'll be a good little test, which might be a good thing for them, right? they they I don't want them to have a cakewalk and then not be ready for those tougher series.
00:31:07
Speaker
But... Yeah, I'm sure Cavs fans were all over the place. Me personally, I was like, give me the Hawks. um I didn't want Orlando, although it wouldd be fun to beat them again.
00:31:18
Speaker
um and Miami would have been the second team I didn't want. I would have gone Hawks, Bulls, probably Orlando and then Heat. So for me, this is a team I least wanted to play, but I still am and very confident in the Cavs.
00:31:34
Speaker
And should they win this series? Yes. Should they be able to do it in about five games? Absolutely. But you would know and I know anything can happen. um And they have some players over there.
00:31:44
Speaker
I'm surprised you hold the heat so highly regarded here. Is it a spolstra? Is it, you know, what is it? I think i think you know they obviously had some drama with the whole Jimmy Butler thing, and and Jimmy Butler's the better player, but I also feel, not that I've watched Heat games, but Andrew Wiggins can play.
00:32:06
Speaker
And by the way, he also likes to give the Cavs a business as well because we drafted him and then shipped him off for K-Love, right? So you know Wiggins can play, Bam can play, Hero can play, um ah Scary Terry can play,
00:32:22
Speaker
And then they got some other players that are capable of of doing some things. And it's just, I think it makes them more of a a well-rounded roster than if Jimmy Butler was still there.
00:32:34
Speaker
And when I compare them to like the Magic, it's not far. The Magic is a young team that has Bancaro and and you know some some other nice pieces. And um you know they're they're young, they're going to run and gun, they're going little bit physical with you.
00:32:49
Speaker
and we have a little bit of history with them. And um I don't know, I just felt like that would be in in a tough matchup for the Cavs, potentially, because the Cavs could potentially, you know, just overlook them and take them for granted. And, you know, we've we've we've gotten punched in the mouth by the magic before. I mean, that series went seven games last year.
00:33:10
Speaker
Right. So, um you know, it was pretty close. But for me, I wanted the Hawks, to be honest with you. All right. I see ah odds are already up on the first game.
00:33:21
Speaker
Cavs are 11 and a half point favorite. 11 and a half point favorite. It's at home. I mean, the Cavs are well rested again, healthy. yeah they They should win this game. um That's a seven o'clock game, right?
00:33:35
Speaker
I think it's a seven o'clock game is what I saw. Yeah. Which is fun. I mean, it's it feels like it's been a while. Man, with the the fur back back when we won the championship, back in those runs, man, Easter's this weekend.
00:33:49
Speaker
It was fun watching Cavs playoff games you know on Easter while you're at your families and everybody's around hooting and hollering and all that kind of stuff. And it's been a couple of years since we've had that.
00:34:01
Speaker
And seven o'clock's a prime time, too, because you're already done with everything, right? You did all the the family stuff. You did the dinner stuff. You already did dessert. You're just kind of sitting around at this point.
00:34:12
Speaker
And you shoot, sit on the couch and turn on the Cavs game and hopefully watch them beat up on and the Miami Heat in the first game of the playoffs. That's going to be a good way to to wrap up that that Easter Sunday. Yeah, I'll be watching ticket prices.
00:34:25
Speaker
Yeah. i want to what ticket prices are going to be like two hours before the game. game Because yeah game two is on Wednesday at 7 o'clock. That'd be the one to look for.
00:34:36
Speaker
be the one to potentially try to snag one to. I could score some cheap tickets yeah on a Wednesday evening right before the game, maybe it'll be worth it.
00:34:47
Speaker
Yeah. So Alex, in your opinion, you had to kind of break down this series with the Miami Heat, you kind of heard me give my piece on it and you know why i at least respect the Heat. But what did the Cavs need to do, in your opinion, to to win this series and win it in the the least painful way possible? What I mean is is, don't let this drag out to a six, seven game series. Don't make it a war in the first round. You know what i mean? But what do the Cavs got to do?
00:35:15
Speaker
That's the thing about the playoffs, right? I mean, it's a... a much higher level of physicality and that's yeah you got to keep your players healthy so what you know i i'm gonna say it's gonna sound generic but the calves just got to play calves basketball they got to set the pace they got to set the tone they got to play their way that means moving the ball that means getting guys open to hit the three what they've been doing all season long jump out to that big lead and maintain it Yeah, you're playing i mean I totally agree. And what I want to see is can the Cavs keep their cool?
00:35:49
Speaker
Can the Cavs keep their composure? Are the Miami Heat the team to to test the Cavs from a physicality perspective? I don't really know who's really that physical, maybe outside of Bam.
00:36:01
Speaker
um I don't think Tyler Hero is going to go around and start shoving Donovan Mitchell and and and trash talking him. But that second series against the Indiana Pacers, i could totally see that happening.
00:36:13
Speaker
Um, and what are the calves going to do in that scenario? You know, what are they going to when knocked down and, and, you know, and they're, they're on the road and they're down by 15 and, you know, the the game's looking bleak. What do the calves do?
00:36:25
Speaker
Do they keep their cool? Do they keep the composure and find a way to to just remain patient? Um, Yeah, I think that's going to be huge. The physicality thing, um the mental game behind all that as well, not to fall into that trap.
00:36:41
Speaker
of of, you know, all the just the yapping and stuff that's going to go on. And you're right. it's It's such a different style of basketball come playoffs. And listen, the Miami Heat is the first team in NBA history as the 10th seed to go into the playoffs. And that's really because this play in tournament style thing is so new.
00:37:02
Speaker
But they're going go into that like confidence is through the roof. They just won two games to get here. And they're gonna be we came this far. What do we got to lose? Everybody's going to doubt us. Everybody's going to make us the underdog. We used to be in that boat once upon a time. And it was great to be in that. But Cleveland against the world, right?
00:37:20
Speaker
Miami's got to be feeling that same way. So there's always that slight danger available there. And you just don't want them to have that confidence for very long. go Go take care of business on Sunday. Take care business on Wednesday. Go back to Miami up 2-0.
00:37:33
Speaker
Yeah, I think you got to give a lot of credit to Coach Spoh. I mean, yeah, yeah. the Great coach. Yeah, i mean, he he sets the tone. He's a great coach. He's been there a really long time and he's got that team playing great.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Season, season coach, veteran coach, one He's been through the playoffs many
Eastern Conference Playoff Preview
00:37:51
Speaker
times. Yeah, championships. Exactly. He knows he knows what he's up against and he'll remain cool. He'll remain calm.
00:37:59
Speaker
And, you know, he's going to lead his guys the way he the way he does. So. I'm pumped though. I'm looking forward to it. I know you are as well, Alex. it's it's It's felt like it's been an eternity. It's been a fun ride to get to this point because of the success the Cavs had.
00:38:14
Speaker
But it feels like it's been so long since we've talked playoff basketball from from last year's playoff run. and And we're finally here. So it's it's great. We kind of briefly talked about the other playoff you know series that I'll be kicking off, which starts tomorrow on Saturday. So that's cool. you know Playoff basketball weekend. um yeah We got the Pacers and Bucks, the four and five, Knicks and Pistons, three, six, and then Celtics and Magic.
00:38:43
Speaker
And Alex, I think you said, you if if you had to pick one, is that Knicks-Pistons series the one that you would say... intrigues you the most. Yeah, that's that's the one I'm looking forward to watching. I think that's going to be a physical, scrappy game.
00:38:58
Speaker
I just know it will be. That's going to be a fun back and forth. I don't see either team dominating the other team. I think it's gonna you know those are going to be a lot of games that come down to the wire, and they're going to wear each other out.
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think so too. I do think the Knicks ultimately win this series, but it would be kind of fun to watch them struggle a bit. Let them go six games, seven game series. And then after they limp through that series, you know what's waiting for them in the second round, right, Alex?
00:39:25
Speaker
The Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics. Yeah. Or the Magic. Well, if the Magic are there, we'll be licking our chops because that that title, that that making it to the finals run gets a little bit easier. Yeah.
00:39:38
Speaker
the The only bad thing I see with that is, you know, if the Knicks do go through a war and kind of limp through that series with the Pistons, yeah they're going to be able to give the Celtics very much fight.
00:39:50
Speaker
You know, what I don't want to have happen is the Celtics just sweep them in four. And, you know, we're in a battle with the Indiana Pacers going in six, seven games. you know, have two days rest when that series ends and then have to go play Boston, you know?
00:40:04
Speaker
So I'm thinking I'm looking way ahead, obviously, but it's just fun. Once you see the matchups and you see how the brackets are and stuff, you can kind of already picture the potential, you know, path the Cavs will face to hopefully get to the finals, but also the other teams and what other teams they could potentially intercept with and in what scenarios. Yeah.
00:40:24
Speaker
So is there, I know we're talking a lot about the Eastern Conference here, but is there any matchup in the Western Conference that interests you? I know the Mavericks and Grizzlies are battling right now to see who plays the Thunder thunder number one, but is there any other matchup there that interests you?
00:40:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think if I had to pick one, it probably would be the Nuggets and the Clippers. um Really because when you look around some of these other teams, like the Thunder should theoretically smash whoever they're playing.
00:40:59
Speaker
you know The Lakers, which, ah hey, credit to the Lakers for for finishing the third seed. That's pretty impressive. Yes, they brought in Luka, but your your your best player or your second best player is still 40 years old in LeBron James.
00:41:14
Speaker
And it's not like that team has a ton, a ton of depth. And then you know the Warriors and the Rockets, it's like, you know, okay, I don't know how the Rockets finished the second seed and the Warriors are like, you know, sure, they still got staff. They still got some pieces. They got Jimmy Butler now, right?
00:41:30
Speaker
But I'm most intrigued with the Nuggets because i like if I had to pick a team out West, I like the Nuggets. I like Jokic. I like Jamal Murray. I think he's a great underrated point guard.
00:41:41
Speaker
I like their roster. And then with the Clippers, I can care less about James Harden, but they still have Kawhi. They still some other pieces. And I feel like I feel like that could be a potential battle right there.
00:41:53
Speaker
Who would you pick out West? ah The game that interests me or the series that interests me the most would be the the Lakers against the Timberwolves. Of course, I think that's yeah I mean, LeBron James and Luka versus Ant-Man and Gobert. So I know neither of those teams are very deep, like you said, but I think that's that's pretty exciting matchup.
00:42:14
Speaker
and It'll be interesting to see how that season goes. Yeah, definitely. It'll be interesting to keep keep an eye on the Lakers in general. um You know, here's Alex. Ever since they made that trade for Luca, they've just been steamrolling everyone. They've been they've been they've been hot.
00:42:28
Speaker
you know um And again, im I'm looking way down the road here. But can you imagine? I think we talked about this couple episodes back. And at that point, it was like, ain't no way.
00:42:39
Speaker
But get what? Can you imagine if somehow the Lakers and the Cavs were in the finals against each other? Oh, man. Like but would would would Cavs fans be able to process that?
00:42:54
Speaker
like and handle that, ah especially if somehow the Lakers were to win that series. It very well could happen. Ah, like, and LeBron does it in Clinton, like clinches that in Cleveland and they have that like, uh, all right, let's just get to Sunday.
00:43:11
Speaker
Let's, let's start this playoff run with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Miami heat. Before I started going all crazy over here, but that's kind of some of the dream scenarios. That's the fun of the playoffs, right? Just, you'd never know what's going to happen.
00:43:25
Speaker
You never know what's going to happen. And one, not that you ever hope for this, right? um But one injury can play such a big factor and in a playoff run, right?
00:43:36
Speaker
To where it looks like this team should wrap it up. And all of a sudden, Jason Tatum gets injured. And now that playoff series against the Magic becomes more interesting or against the Knicks or against the Cavs or just whatever.
00:43:50
Speaker
Right. So it's going to be fun to watch. That's one of the great things about the Cavs being such a such a deep team. Definitely. Definitely. At the same time, I don't want a single guy to get hurt.
00:44:01
Speaker
Yeah. Knock on wood. I want everybody, I want, i want again, i want there to be no excuses. Whatever happens, happens at the end of the day, but I don't want it to be 2015.
00:44:13
Speaker
I don't want it to be we lost that championship because we lost both Kyrie and Kevin Love and Dele had to go to the hospital garden stuff. Steph Kurt. Like, I don't want that. I want to be because you know what? The Cavs gave it their all. They had a hell of a season.
00:44:26
Speaker
They just weren't there. They're going to come back, run it back again next year and get over the hump. Not because, you know, some injury or something like that. So. We'll see, man. Here we Yeah. It's playoffs. It's fun.
00:44:39
Speaker
Cavs fans, get ready. I know you're ready. We've been waiting to get here. And Alex, let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast. I want to thank you, Cavs fans, as always.
00:44:49
Speaker
And Alex, go ahead. Follow us on Twitter at Cavs Pick and Roll. Shoot us an email, CavsPickAndRoll at gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr. Watch this episode on YouTube.
00:45:01
Speaker
Whoever you're listening, click like, subscribe, leave us a rating or a review. We'd appreciate it. All right, Cavs fans, there it is. We will talk to you soon. Peace out, Cavs fans.