Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 153: Cavs Sweep the Heat
47 Plays2 months ago
Alex and Corey discuss games 3 and 4 versus the Miami Heat and the end of the first round of the playoffs. We give our predictions on round 2 versus the Indiana Pacers. We also send out our sympathy to Kevin and the Love family on the passing of Kevin's father Stan Love.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Welcome
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey Cavs fans, welcome to another episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast, the podcast for diehard Cavs fans.
Cavs vs. Heat Playoff Recap
00:00:25
Speaker
I'm Corey, and I am here with Alex, who disappeared for a minute, but he is back.
00:00:31
Speaker
He's so excited. He's ready to get to the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Cleveland Cavaliers not only sweep, but annihilate the Miami Heat, Alex.
00:00:42
Speaker
Sorry, Corey, I disappeared there for a minute, just like the Miami Heat did. You mean like Tyler Hero did? and Yeah, yeah. Got banished to the shadow realm.
00:00:54
Speaker
Jeez, geez. What'd you do, hit the wrong hit a wrong button or something? I don't know. It just said all snap and everything crashed and... I had to reload my browser and then boom, I'm back in. Wow.
00:01:04
Speaker
Wow. well Well, welcome to the podcast, Alex. If you're not, if you're not glad to have, you glad to have you with us tonight here. glad Yeah. Yeah. yeah So the Cavs, man, they did what they were supposed to do.
00:01:16
Speaker
They, they swept the team that is, you know, inferior to them and they did it in style. Alex, you know, we'll get into all the records that they broke, um But ah the first thing I want to ask you is, are you surprised by how that series kind of shake shook out and how badly the Cavs put the whooping on the Miami Heat?
00:01:43
Speaker
I wouldn't say that I'm surprised. I mean, I figured, I thought there was a really good chance we were going to sweep them. I mean, it's
Game 3 Insights and Key Performances
00:01:50
Speaker
the Heat. They lost Jimmy Butler. They were actually a 10th seed. I think they were the first 10th seed in the and NBA play-in tournament ever to make to advance to the playoffs.
00:02:01
Speaker
So you had a one seed versus a 10th seed, and... I am surprised by, you know, just how much we kick their arses, but ah no, I'm not surprised by the sweep.
00:02:16
Speaker
I'll be honest, I was not overly, it was slight, but I was slightly nervous about game three. You know, you just didn't know you're going on the road. The series goes back to their hometown.
00:02:28
Speaker
It's kind of a must win game when you're down in that scenario. And Miami didn't come out with any kind of fight. um It came out flat and the Cavs very quickly took advantage of that.
00:02:43
Speaker
And we were just talking, Alex, before we started recording how we were. I was literally laughing out loud watching that game on Saturday. Because it was just, you know, ridiculous. And they win that game by what, 37, I think it was.
00:02:59
Speaker
um Nothing compared to game four, right, which we'll get into. But it was it was awesome to watch that. And even my my my kids and my my wife and stuff like that were just like, this is crazy. The Cavs are not missing anything.
00:03:15
Speaker
and And Miami couldn't do anything about it. Yeah, no, I agree. ah You know, well, yeah, I expected them to have more fight, especially a game three, game four, you know, in on their home court home, you know, advantage.
00:03:30
Speaker
You know, I don't know. i don't know if I have words for it. It was just like you said, he came out flat. They didn't have any fight in them. The Cavs just shellacked them from ah from the drop.
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, a lot of folks contributed in this game. Well-balanced scoring. I want to shout out Max Struess, who was working his tail off on both ends of the floor.
00:03:56
Speaker
Gives you 18, 9, 5. That's a pretty It's a pretty great stat, you know, stat line for, for Max Struess. You Mobley and Allen who the Miami heat, Alex had, had no answer for either that one of those guys.
00:04:11
Speaker
Um, mobile gives you 19. Allen gives you 22. The Andre Hunter chips in 21,
00:04:18
Speaker
Ty Jerome 13, you know, it just great balance scoring.
Team Depth and Balanced Scoring
00:04:23
Speaker
And oh, by the way, Darius Garland didn't even play in this game. And Donovan Mitchell had a horrible game offensively. Only had the chip in 13 points and the Cavs win by 30 plus.
00:04:35
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, yeah, Garland didn't even play. They start Sam Merrill, who didn't make a single shot. Yeah, got Like Donovan Mitchell, four for 14.
00:04:47
Speaker
I mean, yeah, yeah, stinkers. Our guards were stinkers, and we still completely dominated them. I don't know. it's It's wild. It's wild to me just how...
00:04:58
Speaker
good this team is, how deep this team is. You know, a couple players have an off night, somebody's out hurt, and it's still almost a 40-point win. it Yeah, it doesn't, it it really doesn't matter. And, and again, these games are on national television. So you're getting different, you know, you're not getting the, the Brad and John Homer, you know, announcers and they just, they just drool over guys like the Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome being on this roster and, and basically just saying like, what a benefit, what a, what an asset that is to have that kind of production coming off your bench to guys who, who, you know,
00:05:37
Speaker
arguably would be starters on a lot of other teams. Right. And that is the difference maker because the calves aren't relying on one or two guys. They have anywhere from five to seven guys that can go off any night.
00:05:53
Speaker
So, you know, that's, that's a great luxury to have. Yeah, yeah. I absolutely love that second lineup that Kenny puts in with Ty Jerome and DeAndre Hunter on the court together.
00:06:06
Speaker
Those two just feed off each other. Yeah, it's a beautiful thing to watch because they move the ball. They can both knock down the three. They can both get to the hoop. It's it's awesome. I love it.
00:06:16
Speaker
I will say early on in the game, Miami did go up a little bit in the very, very beginning of the game. And i am not a fan of no point guard out there running the offense.
Game Strategy and Player Highlights
00:06:28
Speaker
You have Donovan Mitchell kind of trying to do that.
00:06:30
Speaker
um He was struggling. Sam Merrill didn't, you like we said, didn't really get to do much this game. And then after that first time out and Ty Jerome comes in everything just changed.
00:06:41
Speaker
We were down like 12 to four and we ended the first quarter, I think being up by 10, if I remember correctly. Yeah, it was a hell of a turnaround. And Ty Jerome and just having a point guard out there running an offense, pick and roll, just picking the defense apart makes such a huge difference.
00:07:00
Speaker
And the Cavs never looked back after that. um They didn't have to. um They also killed the Miami Heat on the rebounds, 46 to 29.
00:07:11
Speaker
And that's that's Jared Allen. That's Evan Mobley. That's just hustle from our players. And looking at the assist ratio, 32 to 18, Alex. 60 points in the paint versus 30 points in the paint by Miami. they just you know Just looking at the team's stats, not across the board, but they beat them.
00:07:30
Speaker
in in most categories, every category that mattered. Yeah, all the major categories. It was total domination. Yeah, it it was a great thing to witness for sure.
00:07:43
Speaker
um What do you think about, you know? the the Darius Garland Tyler Hero smack talk that was going on because Garland kind of called out Tyler Hero after game two says or or yeah, it says something what I think along the lines of just pick on Tyler Hero.
00:08:06
Speaker
Just pick on him, right? Like defensively. That's what he said. missed it. Like I heard and i read the comments like afterward and I thought that Garland said something about or or wasn't it a reporter asked Garland like what their game plan was or something and Garland said pick on hero, pick on hero or target hero or pick on hero. And then hero clap, quote unquote, clap back and says, you know, you know, whatever he says. And Ty Jerome got involved and, um you know, so it turned in a little bit of a thing.
00:08:38
Speaker
And then, you know, we didn't find out Garland wasn't playing until a little bit before the game, right? Like that morning, or you started to hear the night before that he was questionable. And that was another reason why I was a little bit nervous. I'm like,
00:08:51
Speaker
Garland's talking smack. It doesn't even play the game. We're on the road. It's a must win game. How are the Cavs going to come out? And yeah, with with within 10 minutes, it was no issue, Alex.
00:09:02
Speaker
How did Jerome get involved? I didn't even hear that part. Yeah, something along the lines like Jerome doesn't even play defense or... I don't know. It turned into a thing. Huh? And I don't know if I'm in love with it.
00:09:15
Speaker
I mean, the calves backed it up, but you know, when you're six foot, nothing guys are, are talking smack. I don't know. It just doesn't feel like this calves team, but Hey, it's the playoffs and, uh, it's only going to get tougher from here as far as their opponents, more physical, more mental.
00:09:31
Speaker
And, um, yeah, it was just an interesting thing that kind of just came out of nowhere and, And people were kind of freaking out when it was announced Garland wasn't even going to play in the
Cavs' Dominance in Game 4
00:09:40
Speaker
game. And then afterwards, when they didn't play in the game and the Cavs win the series, it turned into another thing because the Cavs annihilated you know the heat without Garland even having to step foot onto the floor.
00:09:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. i Didn't, didn't Jerome get into it with somebody else like a few weeks ago. you remember that? I do. It was some other, like all some other all-star player. I forget. i forget who it was, but yeah, it was a couple of weeks ago. Was it, was it Lillard?
00:10:08
Speaker
feel like there was somebody on the sideline. He was talking smack to, and they told him that he's lucky he's on a good team or. so Yeah. I i know what you're talking about. I forget. Cause we talked about it. Yeah. Um, but it was a couple of weeks ago and I forget who it was, but.
00:10:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's playoff time, man. It's going to happen. It's entertaining when it gets chippy like that. Yeah. so um That's what makes for a good series. you expect You expect the other team to put up a good fight when there's that much chippiness going on.
00:10:35
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. So the Cavs then move into game four. Yeah. Alex, this game was even more of a dominance than game three was.
00:10:51
Speaker
At one point, the Cavs were up by 60 points in this game. And this game, um my oldest, you know, she wasn't sitting there watching. She comes down, I have a game on, and, you know, we're we're killing them in the first quarter. And she's like, how do they have 41 points? The other team only has 17. They only scored 17 points, right?
00:11:15
Speaker
And then later on into the game, you know, my youngest walks by and she goes, I feel bad for the Heat. Yeah. Because they were losing so bad and they were getting eliminated. And I'm just sitting here again, laughing out loud.
00:11:30
Speaker
Just like, this is unbelievable. Every three pointer that went down, I'm, I'm just jumping up on the couch and just, man, this was quite the game to, to witness Alex. I don't think I've ever witnessed a beating this bad, even going back to the LeBron days.
00:11:45
Speaker
It was ah boring game. It started out interesting and it quickly became, all right, send in the backups before somebody gets hurt. Again, you know, I kind of expected to win.
00:12:02
Speaker
these These game fours, you know, strong team against a weak team, you always expect, you kind of expect it. it's either going to be a dogfight or it's going to be over in five minutes because you're just going to break the other team's spirit.
00:12:19
Speaker
You know, why would they want to win one game just to come back to Cleveland and lose game five? Right. Like what's the, what would be the purpose of that? That would be stupid. So pride surprised me at all that, that the heat took the loss and and that we kicked their butts. What surprised me is,
00:12:37
Speaker
that they didn't make any effort and that it was just over within the first minute of the game. Tyler hero said, we're not going on four. We're not going out like that. Alex.
00:12:49
Speaker
He had a horrible series by the way. He was, he was horrible. Tyler here. Let me tell you as a Cleveland fan, there's always next year. There's always next year. There is always next year.
00:13:01
Speaker
um But yeah, the Cavs knocked down 22 three-pointers in this game. Again, beat them in in just about every category across the board. Jared Allen was an absolute monster in this game.
00:13:16
Speaker
um He was flirting with a triple-double, had six steals, 12 rebounds, 14 points, was just all over the place, Alex.
00:13:27
Speaker
um And then you you know you had guys like DeAndre Hunter and Chai Jerome just rubbing the salt on the wound, coming in off the bench, giving you 19 and 18. And both guys, man, just doing what they do.
00:13:41
Speaker
And that's all she wrote. I think Struis had like, don't remember if it was at the end of the first quarter or the end of the half, but he had a buzzer beater three from half. No, that was that was Ty Jerome. Oh, that was Ty Jerome. Yeah, that was Ty Jerome.
00:13:56
Speaker
And it was like the last like the game was already out of hand by then, obviously. But even the announcers are like, are you serious? Yeah, it was a dagger. was like unnecessary. I'm like rolling on the ground laughing.
00:14:10
Speaker
i was i was giggling. Oh, my God. It was it was ridiculous. And um everybody ate in this game. Third quarter, I was a little bit like, why why are you playing the starters still? But I yeah i get it.
00:14:24
Speaker
But even when the third string guys came in, Javante Green gives you 11. and Tyson gives you six. greg you know Even t Tristan Thompson's making a couple buckets out there. Grab seven rebounds in the fourth quarter.
00:14:39
Speaker
Just across the board, everybody ate good in this game you know in a Cavs uniform. And again, the Heat had no answer. Had very little production from from Tyler Hero. Bam only gave you 13. Wiggins, I was kind of surprised. I was expecting more out of Wiggins in this series.
00:14:58
Speaker
really never got going. And the guy that did the most damage is Nikola Jovich. think is how you say his name. Decent shooter. Gives you 24 points in this game for Miami.
00:15:10
Speaker
um But yeah, not a lot going on for Miami and and the Cavs take care of business pretty easily. Yeah.
Kevin Love's Personal Moment and Team Support
00:15:18
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know. i don't know about Miami. I don't know what they do in the off season.
00:15:23
Speaker
thats So they're in a tough spot. yeah Yeah, I mean, obviously they they got to be deflated right now as as a fan base. But as we know, you know time will pass and you know things will will will look up, especially if they make some moves this offseason.
00:15:40
Speaker
you know who Who knows? Yeah, I don't know. That roster's not in a good spot. It's not. It's not. They do have Terry Rozier. got to remember that. I don't know his contract situation. Obviously, he didn't play in this series.
00:15:51
Speaker
um K-Love is out there, right? Um, we did learn that Kevin love the reason why he didn't play in this series. He announced Sunday morning that, um, his father had passed.
00:16:04
Speaker
Um, so condolences to, K love and his family. That's that obviously makes sense why he didn't play. I was looking forward to kind of seeing K love out there battling, you know, that'd been kind of fun to see, but obviously, you know, um, bigger, more important things are going on right now and in his world.
00:16:22
Speaker
But it was cool to see a moment of embrace before game four ah during the pregame, during the shoot around. K-Love was in the building, ah street clothes, obviously.
00:16:33
Speaker
um But him and Tristan Thompson embraced in a long hug, seemed to be talking. And just the way K-Love was kind of just hugging Tristan, man, you got to see it. You got to see the video. You got to see the picture.
00:16:45
Speaker
Man, he's just buried in Tristan Thompson. And you could just tell that that's a strong bond. which you love to see, right? as As a fan, you love to see former teammates still having that connection, especially you know a championship roster.
00:16:59
Speaker
And K-Love seemed to kind of kind of wipe his eye a little bit as as they broke and he he walked his separate ways. So um Cleveland fans did right by sharing a whole bunch of love for K-Love on social media after that announcement and after that clip came out as well.
00:17:15
Speaker
telling him that, you know, you're, you're a Cavalier for life. We love you. Cleveland loves you, all that kind of stuff. And, you know, so Caleb going through a tough time would have been great to see him in the series, but, um, and, and kind of what happens from here.
00:17:28
Speaker
and I didn't know Alex, his, his father played in the NBA back in the day. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Caleb made a great heartfelt, uh, social media post.
00:17:39
Speaker
It's a lengthy read, but very worthwhile one. It was very good. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Dedicated to his father's stand. so Definitely.
Record-Breaking Series for Cavs
00:17:49
Speaker
Yeah. so So Alex, real quick, there were some some ah historic marks made in this series by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
00:18:00
Speaker
um The 55-point victory in game number four is the fourth largest ah victory in playoff history.
00:18:12
Speaker
It is the largest. ah You know, victory point wise in Cavaliers franchise history, which is pretty cool. um The Cavs did set the new NBA record for the largest point differentiation in a playoff series at 122
00:18:30
Speaker
122. That's crazy. um Game four was the most lopsided playoff victory in Cavaliers history, um which previously broke the previous record, which was the game before that. Game three hit 37 points two days prior.
00:18:48
Speaker
ah the calves are The Miami Heat scored 33 points by the half. The Cavs scored 35 points within the first 10 minutes of the game. Like just bonkers stats like that.
00:19:03
Speaker
Tyler Hero was minus 44 in 31 minutes in game four. This is the worst plus minus any player has recorded in a home playoff game in the play-by-play era.
00:19:17
Speaker
just Just again, just crazy just records set in this series. Cleveland scored 73 bench points in game four. The Heat scored a total of 83 points in the game.
00:19:30
Speaker
Like just mind boggling. Right.
Looking Ahead: Cavs vs. Pacers
00:19:32
Speaker
So like you said, they were 10th seed calves are one seed. But still, I don't think anybody could have predicted a victory this large. And with that, Alex, as, as a team and as a fan base, your net fan base, you're naturally going to be carrying confidence right into the next series.
00:19:50
Speaker
Right. And we just found out tonight as you know, a little before recording this, that we will, in fact, be playing the Indiana Pacers in the next round.
00:20:01
Speaker
And before I get your feedback on that, I just got to throw this out there. I watched the end of that game, actually the whole second half, and went in overtime. The Bucs blew this game big time.
00:20:12
Speaker
This series should still be going on. Giannis had an opportunity to win it in regulation, took a tough pull-up jumper, okay, It goes in OT. The Bucs are up six with under two minutes to go, about a minute 45.
00:20:27
Speaker
Let the Pacers get right back into it. And then they were up six again with 35 seconds left in the game. And they lose the game to the Indiana Pacers on two botched plays by the Milwaukee Bucs.
00:20:41
Speaker
um Just a crazy way for that to end. Who knows what the future has in hold for the Bucs. And like Giannis, you can only imagine... the the rumor mill that'll be starting now with that.
00:20:54
Speaker
But Alex, we do learn that we do indeed get the Indiana Pacers, which should start this weekend. I think Saturday or Sunday I saw will be the first game. And what are your thoughts on on taking on the Indiana Pacers?
00:21:08
Speaker
Well, let me get out my broom. Oh, That confidence. It's going be another sweep, Corey. Let me tell you why. right. Towards the end of the season, our bench played the Pacers, and they barely beat our bench with all their starters in the game.
00:21:26
Speaker
like I'm not worried about the Pacers at all. they yeah you know They played the Bucs. The Bucs weren't a very good team. They have Giannis and nobody else. That's a ah one-man team.
00:21:38
Speaker
They're going to, yeah, they're they've got they've got no chance.
00:21:43
Speaker
The Cavs are stacked. They're not going able to game plan for us at all. They're coming off, you know, they're going to be tired. We're going to, it's not going to be pretty for the the Pacers, I'll tell you that.
00:21:57
Speaker
I'll give the Pacers a bit more respect than that. Nah. I think this will be... A series. I will not be shocked if this goes six games.
00:22:09
Speaker
I think the Cavs win it. um I think if you watch a game in Indiana as the game was tonight, it is one of the loudest arenas.
00:22:21
Speaker
they are one of the most They have one of the most bought-in fan bases. I'm watching this game. They're doing chants in the middle of the game. They're doing this like countdown every time the opposing team is shooting free throws.
00:22:37
Speaker
They're constantly on their feet, making noise. It's like watching a college game almost. It's got to be one of the loudest arenas in the NBA.
00:22:48
Speaker
And, you know, to where like the Miami heat kind of had Tyler hero, bam, and that's kind of it. Maybe, maybe you throw Wiggins in there. The Pacers are a little bit deeper than that. They have Miles Turner.
00:23:00
Speaker
yeah They have Halliburton. You're giving them way too much respect. They got Halliburton think um and T.J. McConnell. Come on. T.J. McConnell, man. He's their tie. T.J. McConnell's old as dirt. Miles Turner.
00:23:14
Speaker
Get out here. I think it's going to more of a series. I really do. Jared Allen and Mobley are going to feast all over T.J. and Turner. i hope so. i do You know, Obi Toppin might be able to push him around a little bit, but he's just not that skilled of a score. i mean, now it's Halliburton is going to be in the same position hero was in where he's going to be trying to carry the load.
00:23:38
Speaker
Yeah. And they're going to get shut down. Pacers are going to get shut down. Well, it'll be interesting again to see because going on the road in the mayapp in Miami will be completely different than going on the road in Indiana.
00:23:52
Speaker
And I'll be interested to see how the Cavs react in that situation. Yeah, I'll give you that for sure. You know, um that if you watch those Heat games, the the fan base did not show up. to those games, especially game four. There was a lot of empty seats there where that won't be the case in Indiana.
00:24:09
Speaker
And the Pacers will just, like I said, I mean, they, they for whatever reason seem to to match up. they they They just match up well with us for whatever reason.
00:24:20
Speaker
And I'll take that into account as well. But I'm excited to to move on to the next series. um I'm excited to play the Pacers. I think it'll be a good, it'll be a good little test before they get to Boston because,
00:24:34
Speaker
you know, sometimes sweeping your way through. yeah it's great, right? You get the extra rest, you have the confidence and so on and so forth. And then all of a sudden you run into another juggernaut like the Celtics and, and the competition level isn't neck and neck to what you just went through to get there. Right?
00:24:51
Speaker
So I want the calves to, to have a little bit more adversity and see what they do and how they react to it And can they get through it? Because again, this Cavs team, you know, the most, you know, last year they had some injuries. They had some adversity in that Orlando series. It goes to game seven, get to the Boston series. And then injuries just kind of played a factor.
00:25:11
Speaker
had players that didn't even play in that series right by the end of it. And this group s still needs to learn how to win together in adversity, which they really haven't had to experience a lot yet this year.
00:25:23
Speaker
And it might not be the worst thing in the world if that happens a little bit before they get to Boston or the finals and so on and so forth. ah yeah i I don't believe that at all. I think they already had their at adversity. They had their adversity in the previous year's playoffs. They had the adversity in the year before that playoffs. I mean, the core four has been together now for a few seasons.
00:25:47
Speaker
couple of years now. so They've added Ty Jerome and Hunter are the biggest changes. I mean, this team's been through adversity. ah It's adversity is over. It's time to sweep your way through the playoffs and get a ring.
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah, no, I listen, I, I would love it. I hope, I hope it happens. I just want everybody to stay healthy, you know, yeah keep the minutes down on the
Player Health and Team Dynamics
00:26:11
Speaker
starters. If we can, like we've been doing, just keep doing exactly what we're doing. Keep on trucking.
00:26:17
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm with you there. um Darius Garland, he, you know, I haven't really heard much on him, but I mean, you get the sense that they they just decided to sit him? Like he could, I think he'll be ready to go and play, um you know, the start of this Indiana Pacers series.
00:26:33
Speaker
Although you were telling me, Alex, there are idiots online saying, Ty Jerome over Darius Garland. Like we don'tt need you don't need Garland.
00:26:44
Speaker
It's Ty Sanity. It's Ty Sanity. um Sometimes I think we have too much of that Cleveland Browns blood in us. Like all of a sudden now after the NFL draft, we have another quote unquote quarterback room problem. And now we we we think we have a point guard problem as well.
00:27:01
Speaker
Like, nah. Well, doesn't remember, it work like that you know, the past couple seasons, it it was like, can Garland and Mitchell coexist? I mean, that was the storyline. Sure.
00:27:12
Speaker
And OK, are we going to move Garland now that we got Mitchell? It's like, I forget what. How are they coexist existing now, people? like Yeah, I forget which game. i don't remember if it was three or game four. It might have been game four where they even talked about that. I think it was Doris Burke.
00:27:27
Speaker
who called that out that a year ago at this time, we were talking about, can these two players coexist? Hell, you and I were doing that when we started this podcast back when it was Colin Sexton and Darius Garland and how can they coexist?
00:27:40
Speaker
You know, so on and so forth. It's always easy to kind of, you know, when when things aren't going great to to point out stuff like that. But this team has been crushing it all year long. So I don't want to hear that.
00:27:53
Speaker
We don't need both of them. Why would you not want to have both of them? There's not many other teams in the NBA that has a backup point guard that can produce like Ty can. so um And he's going to get his minutes either way. It's not like he comes in and plays 10 minutes a game. He's going to get 20, 25 minutes a game in the playoffs.
00:28:11
Speaker
So I'm not worried about that.
00:28:15
Speaker
So i was trying to find when exactly the next game is, but I'm kind of striking out. Yeah, I ended up finding it. No, I haven't found it, but I heard that if the game were to end today, like if the if the Pacers were to close out the series at this at the next series, Pacers Cavs would start this weekend.
00:28:37
Speaker
So I'm not exactly sure. But I mean, makes sense. It's only it's only Tuesday. Yeah, Sunday. They can they can start that series. Not going to give both teams a week off or anything like that.
00:28:51
Speaker
It'd be nice if it was a little sooner. It would be, but that extra rest, that extra time to prep and all that stuff, you know, as cast fans, we'll take that too.
00:29:03
Speaker
Um, I guess the last question I had for you, is there anybody on the calves roster so far? Like, has anybody surprised you like surpassed your expectations? Or is there anybody that has,
00:29:20
Speaker
underachieved in your opinion so far out of the rotational guys that have been playing.
00:29:27
Speaker
ah if anything, I think it is, uh, you know, kind of, I kind of expected a little more Dean Wade action. Yeah. I think he's just not getting the minutes.
00:29:39
Speaker
Um, you know, Sam Merrill has been a little streaky. ah the Coro hasn't gotten as many minutes as I thought he would get.
00:29:51
Speaker
mostly Mostly that kind of thing. nothing Nothing that is all that surprising. Yeah, no, it's not. I mean, and for both those last two, like Dean Wade and Okoro, they're in a different spot than they were a year ago, right? And a year ago, they're playing heavy minutes.
00:30:06
Speaker
They were you know rotational guys to where they're kind of kind of the odd guys out right now. yeah They got some minutes. the Dean Wade played 18 minutes in that game four. And it's it's really a different role for him
Potential Challenges Against Future Opponents
00:30:19
Speaker
now. He's no longer starting.
00:30:21
Speaker
Um, he's coming off the bench kind of behind Hunter. Like Hunter comes off the bench first as another kind of big out there. And, you know, Dean Wade can knock down the three ball, right.
00:30:32
Speaker
But you don't really necessarily need him to do that. You need him to guard. You need him to grab rebounds, kind of just hustle, you know, so on and so forth. And, and for a Coro same thing. He's just as of right now, so far in that Miami series, at least this can change, but You know, Atkinson went with the guys he went with. He went with Merrill and and Ty and Hunter, ah you know, off the bench as his primary guys off the bench.
00:30:59
Speaker
And there just wasn't a ton of time or room for for a curro and wait outside of garbage time. Yeah. But as we move farther along with different kinds types of players, you know, I could see both of those guys getting more minutes, especially when we get to Boston, because Boston has more height.
Pistons vs. Knicks Game Discussion
00:31:15
Speaker
And that's where a Dean Wade can play a bigger impact. Yeah. um Yeah. that's That's a good point. With the heat, you're playing mostly small ball. Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:27
Speaker
but good deal. Other NBA action going around. i think the Pistons are going to stay alive, Alex. and Minute 15 left in the fourth quarter on the road in New York, and they're up six right now.
00:31:41
Speaker
um So I don't think they're going to get closed out. That series will extend three to Boston and Magic are battling. They just started the third quarter. And Boston leading 3-1. Magic has a four-point lead. I might watch that game here for a little bit when we're done.
00:31:57
Speaker
um It'd be interesting to see if the Magic can somehow extend that series. um But yeah, NBA action. Other other rounds, other our other series are starting to close out. We'll see if any other ones in the Eastern Conference do.
00:32:11
Speaker
as well Yeah, the the Knicks have been dodging the bullet. Boy, the Pistons have had them on the ropes. They really have. Very easily could have been three one with the Pistons up instead of the Knicks. Yeah, even even even if the Knicks close out that series whenever they do, if if you're if you're the Pistons, you've got to feel pretty good about yourself.
00:32:33
Speaker
um And again, outside of Cunningham, they don't they don't have, you know, how household names. So they're a team to watch this off season to see if they start adding some more pieces to that team.
00:32:46
Speaker
And yeah, credit to JB. He's got them playing out there and giving New York everything they can handle. It's fun to watch. Yeah. right,
Conclusion and Social Media Connections
00:32:55
Speaker
Alex. Well, with that, let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast. Want to thank you, Cavs fans, as always, for tuning in and listening. And Alex, let them know where can follow us and connect with us.
00:33:08
Speaker
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. Click like, subscribe. We'd appreciate it.
00:33:20
Speaker
All right, Cavs fans, there it is. We will talk you again soon. Peace out, Cavs fans.