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Episode 168: Cavs Up 2-0!
47 Plays2 months ago
Alex and Corey react to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning their first two playoff games against the Toronto Raptors. We talk importance of winning both home games and carrying momentum as the series shifts to Toronto. We talk stand out performances from Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, & Evan Mobley so far in this series. We also call out notable contributions by Dean Wade and Max Strus. Then we give our thoughts on what the Cavs need to do to ensure they continue to play with high intensity in the upcoming road games. We finish by taking a look around the NBA and the other playoff matchups and give our thoughts & predictions on a few other series.
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Transcript
Introduction and Playoff Excitement
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey, Cavs fans. It's Alex. It's Corey. It's the Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast. And we are finally in the playoffs, Corey. I'm so excited. We are finally here.
Cavs' Strong Start in Playoffs
00:00:27
Speaker
We've waited a year since the Cavs' unexpected early exit last year in the playoffs, Alex.
00:00:34
Speaker
We're two games in. So far, so good. Cavs win both games at home. Yeah, it's, a I mean, it's what I expected, playing ah such an inferior team. ah Oh, God.
00:00:52
Speaker
Yeah, no, I mean, the Cavs, they protected the
Concerns About Playing on the Road
00:00:55
Speaker
land. um But I got to be honest, Alex, the last couple years we've been fooled. So always a little bit nervous, you know, going into these games and We're in talk about the two games that happened and and obviously the the series now shifting to on the road.
00:01:11
Speaker
So now my my nerves are a little bit up again. Okay, well, you know you know that place is going to be rocking in Toronto. They have a you know a pretty lively fan base. How how will the Cavs react to that?
00:01:23
Speaker
But very, very excited as a Cavs fan to see that you know the team took care of business the first two games and they're they're up 2-0, sitting in a good spot right now.
00:01:35
Speaker
yeah Yeah, they're playing really well. Maybe we should hone in on Game 1 and talk a little bit about it. yeah Yeah, definitely. Game 1 was on Saturday over the weekend.
00:01:51
Speaker
Matinee game, first game of the entire and NBA playoffs, Alex, 1 o'clock game. That was kind of cool.
Game 1 Highlights and Player Performances
00:01:58
Speaker
um What I remember from this game is it was actually a tight game.
00:02:05
Speaker
Going into halftime, the Cavs only had, what, a five, six-point lead, and it was it was a bit of a grudge match there. it was It was back and forth. Neither team really ever was able to pull away by more than maybe a few possessions, and and that was it.
00:02:18
Speaker
um What stood out to you, at least in that first half, and ah did you did you have a little bit of nerves as well watching that game? Yeah, like you said, it was a it was a close game and it was a battle like it it was really going back and forth.
00:02:35
Speaker
um I liked ah the starting lineup. I thought that starting Dean Wade was a good choice. i think he fits really well with Allen and Mobley, Harden and Mitchell, that lineup.
00:02:49
Speaker
You know, I could have seen them going with Wade or, um you know, Merrill. Struis also a possibility, but I like that they started Wade and, you know, They already had tons of firepower out there, both offense and defense. They kind of needed a a guy that would also be like, you know, defense and a three-point threat just to space the floor.
00:03:13
Speaker
You know, he's he's a big, so he can he's you know he can set the screen. um Yeah, I like what Kenny did for game one. I thought that was a good strategy for them.
00:03:25
Speaker
Yeah, and wade Wade was the highest plus-minus player on the Cavs at plus 20. It only had five points. it came down to everything else he was doing on the court. And it allows the Cavs to put out their their tallest starting lineup combination, right? Because if they were to put Merrill or Struess or even Tyson out there, you know they're not as big of a lineup throwing Dean Wade out there. That's another healthy-sized body.
00:03:52
Speaker
And, you know, the Cavs all of a sudden with Mobley and Allen behind him and and Harden and Mitchell up front, you know, in the backcourt, all of a sudden you got ah you got a pretty big squad.
00:04:03
Speaker
So I definitely think that was strategic. um And kenny Kenny has inserted Wade in and out of the starting lineup for Browns. the last two years he's been here. Right. And, uh, you're right. There's a lot of firepower out there. We don't need a fifth score. We need somebody else that's going to do everything, a little bit of everything else. Yeah. Yeah. He's he's just a good behind the scenes glue guy. Like he can go out there. He can do a little bit of everything.
00:04:27
Speaker
Um, he had no turnovers, two steals and assists, three rebounds. Yep. i mean, that's, you know, it's exactly what we need him to do. Yeah, absolutely. absolutely um Who kind of stood out to you as far as on on the Cavs? Let's start there.
00:04:44
Speaker
um what What standouts did you see from the Cavs? Struis. Struis far and away like you know man came out and and and dominated. He was hot. He was hitting every just every shot. seemed to be going in that you was taken He went four from for six from three, eight for 10 field goals, 24 points, three rebounds.
00:05:07
Speaker
um Yeah, Struis definitely, ah you know, i thought he could be like the third scorer, but in this game he was the second highest scorer for the Cavs.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah, what what what a great offensive weapon off the bench. And that's just luxury that Kenny has because really on any given night, it's a coin flip. That could have been Sam Merrill that did that, right? That could be Strews. That could be Mitchell that goes off from behind the arc. Harden can go off.
00:05:37
Speaker
ah Tyson can get going if he has the right looks. The Cavs are just, man, blessed with so many offensive options. And for Stoops to do that off the bench, yeah, that was huge and it was really fun to watch for sure.
00:05:53
Speaker
I wanted to call out um James Harden's performance. I got i gotta i gotta to admit, Alex, I'm becoming more of a fan, becoming more of a James Harden fan. I never thought I would say that because for so long, you know, it's just, i don't know, there was something about him.
00:06:10
Speaker
Minus the OKC days, it's just there was just something about him that always just bothered me, the the way he plays and so on and so forth. But we got to watch the last several years with somebody else running the point.
00:06:22
Speaker
And I'm not going to sit here and say it's like night and day, right? I want to throw a little bit of respect to DG, but I do see a difference in how this team is playing, how this team, the offensive sets, the way that Harden is able to find almost anybody at will, but especially the bigs and then just his, um, ability to create his own shot is just, it's, it's outstanding. Right. And he he had a great game, uh, 22 points, 10 assists, just was doing a little bit of everything and hit, hit some big buckets when we needed it, especially when it was close still early on in the first half.
00:07:04
Speaker
Yeah. hey He hasn't been with the team very long, right? And I think he's doing a great job of just fitting in. And yeah, he's's he's just doing a good job of feeding everyone and helping everyone get to their spots and getting their shots.
00:07:20
Speaker
I think he had like 10 assists this game. 10 assists, yeah. Yeah, 10 assists. Yeah, so he's just doing a good job of ah getting that offense running and You know, if if he's the only one out there, he's good at initiating the offense and getting guys their looks. And if it's him and and Mitchell, he does a good job of sharing the ball, passing it around.
00:07:40
Speaker
They definitely take advantage of when they're both out there. You know, who who's going to be the guy that's going to score the ball? Yeah. And he's and he also, you know, when. You know, sometimes the the offense does get a little stagnant.
00:07:54
Speaker
It just does. It does. because And think it's because Harden's hardens like still like figuring things out. But he does a really good job of bailing him out a lot of times, too. like Like, you know, there's five seconds left on the on the clock. Yeah. you know, nobody knows what to do and Harden's got the ball, you know, he'll do the crossover and and step back three and hits it. It seems like more often than not and bails him out. So he creates some sort of opportunity that, yeah um, that there's a good chance it's going to turn
Cavs' Offensive Strategies and Key Players
00:08:23
Speaker
into something, right? Whether it's yeah. Pulling first up back three, drawing a foul, uh, making a last second dish,
00:08:31
Speaker
driving to the rim, getting a bucket. He does do a little bit of iso ball. there there's that's That's when the defense gets a little bit stagnant. Everybody kind of clears out, and he does the dribbling for 10 seconds or whatever it is. But it usually turns into it into a bucket, right?
00:08:48
Speaker
And you're right, they are still figuring things out a bit. But again, it's also like, man, Donovan Mitchell goes out of the game. James Harden can take over. James Harden goes out of the game and you're inserting back down of a bitch like.
00:09:02
Speaker
Teams are going to struggle to to be able to match the firepower that this team has. And then when you throw in someone like a Max Struess, who you're not even thinking about, right, if you're an opposing team that just goes off for 24 points,
00:09:15
Speaker
ah knocking down threes left and right. That's just such a gut punch. Like, how do you, you can't stop them all. And that's the Cavs biggest advantage. This Cavs team's biggest advantage.
00:09:26
Speaker
um and And so far they displayed that in those first two games. It was really fun, Alex, too, because um Jared Allen started off this game with with what, I think it was three dunks, three monstrous dunks.
00:09:38
Speaker
And Jared Allen can get up there, man. He could throw the he could throw it down, but it's not like a constant thing, right? He's not. He's not always looking the the jam on fools. So it's pretty cool to see him come out. Just man, put that ball through the hoop with some authority.
00:09:54
Speaker
yeah He's got that dunk where he looks like the Statue of Liberty. he's yeah it's like as little as a little He takes it all the way to the hoop like that. it's a little and Part of it's the look. all right part of it's the look It's got a little bit of that Julius Erving look to it. like ABA style basketball. oh yeah the the f pro and The headband. yeah and The hair and all that. and just the way yeah he he does that so That was really cool to see and I got to give some props to Evan Mobley as well because he definitely is you could tell he's trying to be more aggressive he did finish at the rim several times in in both games and ah so far you know he he's been he's been solid on the offensive end and able to still do what he does on other side of the ball grabbing rebounds impacting on the defensive end as well so
00:10:44
Speaker
As far as our, I don't know call them the new core four. haven't heard anybody say that yet. can yeah Can you have a core guy? 36? I don't know. But um so far, our our our our top four players, we'll say that, um playing pretty good. Played pretty good this first game, for sure.
00:11:02
Speaker
Yeah. The other thing that I noticed with this game was just how much we used our bench. So we, you know, we we went pretty deep down the bench, even with it being a playoff game. We had, what?
00:11:14
Speaker
Don't, don't count the garbage. Yeah. Don't count the garbage at the end. was 10. It was 10 guys with at least 12 minutes or more, 13 minutes or more. i was so, so happy to see that Alex, because we talked about that in the last episode.
00:11:28
Speaker
I feel like I've said that for last couple of years now is don't, don't trim it down to a seven, eight man rotation. have so many weapons, so many fresh legs, just keep rotating them out.
00:11:40
Speaker
And, uh, hope Hope that continues um because, yeah, it allows people to stay fresh and your two best players played under 34 minutes in this game. They didn't have to play 39 minutes or something crazy like that. like I'm sure some other star players going to be stuck doing in this playoff series. Yeah, I went looking at some of the other box scores to see what other teams were doing. And some, some of them are only playing seven, eight players already and their starters are playing, you know, 38, 39 minutes. And it's like, they're just going to run these guys into the ground and inter around round one. Yeah. And, and you got to realize the playoffs just started, Alex. If you make it all the way to the championship, you're talking to your two months, you're you're you know, you're almost, ah it's almost like another two month mini season just to get through these playoffs and,
00:12:25
Speaker
And we've already seen an injury happen with with Wemby. We could talk about that later. And just every year, there's always some sort of injury or multiple injuries to star players or key role players. And and it can impact so many things.
00:12:40
Speaker
Right. um So I love that Kenny has, at least for now, decided to to let it ride and play fresh legs because it gives a better opportunity, a better odds of the Cavs remaining healthy throughout this playoff run that they're in right now.
00:12:59
Speaker
Now, one one guy that hasn't had a great playoff so far is Jalen Tyson. um we we'll We'll talk about game two. and In game one, he picked up like three fouls, Alex, in like two and a half minutes, two minutes or something like that. immediately. Yeah. And he never really recovered. He was guarding, I think, Brandon Ingram, who, you know, he's a little bit undersized, but I still like that matchup because Jalen's aggressive. And I know that's all it was he was doing was being aggressive.
00:13:31
Speaker
um But he got in some really foul trouble and and he was never really able to recover or really make an impact. But I am glad that that Kenny put him out there because he was one of those guys that I was like, well, what are they going to do if they did trim the roster rotation? You know, was Jalen going to get minutes or not?
00:13:50
Speaker
Yeah, we and we kind of talked about this like. Yeah. A month ago, how Jalen Tyson, you know, he was like that that third offensive threat early in the regular season. And ever since they got Harden and Keon Ellis and Schroeder and the whole dynamic of the team kind of changed, that Jalen Tyson wasn't getting the minutes that he was before. His scoring wasn't needed as much, and he just hasn't quite...
00:14:16
Speaker
fit fit the way that he was or being as effective or efficient as he was earlier in the season. And I, you know, it's just kind of spilled over into the playoffs now where you he's out there.
00:14:28
Speaker
i don't know if he really knows what his role needs to be. You know, the things that he was used to doing in the regular season, he's not being asked to do now. We're almost kind of using him the same way we want to want to use, ah you know, like Dean Wade. We just want him out there.
00:14:42
Speaker
If he gets an assist, great. Set some set some picks. ah Be aggressive on defense. Right. Shoot the occasional three if you're open. Right. Which he's never shy on doing that. Right. He'll he'll always he'll always fire that thing up there. Yeah, it's possible. it could be a little bit of a mental thing right now playing with his mind. And, you know, but hopefully he he could get past that and just understand the the bigger picture. Right.
00:15:09
Speaker
In year two, he he is on a championship caliber team and anything and everything that he can do to contribute. um you know, is is what's needed right now. We don't we don't need him to score 25 points anymore because the team has changed.
00:15:25
Speaker
But we need you to go out there for 15 to 20 minutes and give us all you got. Whatever that means. If you score 15 points, great. If you grab eight or nine rebounds, awesome. if you If you lock down the other team's best player while you're out there, even better.
00:15:39
Speaker
Just whatever whatever it takes, basically. So hopefully Tyson can can bounce back. He didn't really have a great game, game two either, a little bit better, but so far, you know, minimal impact from him.
00:15:52
Speaker
It does seem like when he goes into the game, he's like immediately like, in Brandon Ingram's grill or RJ Barrett or Scotty Barnes. Like, and he's like I kind of wonder if Kenny puts him in there just to kind of play mind games with those guys or, you know, try to bully them or a little a little bit, throw them off their game, get physical with them, beat them up a little bit.
00:16:12
Speaker
Absolutely. and And I like that. The Cavs really don't have that. Thomas Ryan is hurt. Otherwise, he'd probably be out there talking some smack a little bit, right? um So the Cavs don't have a lot of just dogs that are, you know, Dean Wade can be aggressive, but he's a silent aggressor. You know, he's never going to.
00:16:32
Speaker
um do some of the antics that that Tyson is is willing to do. So yeah, it's just a different look. he's He's too good of a player not to be playing, just hoping that he can figure it out and and figure out how he can contribute during this playoff run consistently. Because we need him. We do.
00:16:50
Speaker
We need him.
Game Control and Strategic Adjustments
00:16:51
Speaker
So the Cavs go into halftime, Alex, I think with a five or six point lead. um And the third quarter happened. Third quarter was a good time, Alex. The Cavs just came out firing. ah Like you said, Struis is doing his thing. Mitchell's always doing his thing.
00:17:07
Speaker
And things started to click. and the Cavs were able to break the game open um in the third quarter. They outscored the Toronto Raptors by 22. I'm sorry, not by 22. By 14, Raptors only put up 22 points in the third quarter, and the Cavs were kind of able to be in control.
00:17:27
Speaker
There was a couple times that you know Toronto maybe got it back down to around a 10-point game or so, but really there was never any threat. The Cavs always seemed to be able to shut down any kind of run that they they were trying to do.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah, it seemed like the Cavs kind of broke their spirit in the third quarter. And yeah, like you said, anytime the Raptors tried to go on a run, the Cavs had a run of their own. They were playing fantastic defense. I mean, the Raptors really just couldn't get anything going on the offensive end. The Cavs were doing a great job of rebounding, limiting the Raptors any any sort of second chance points.
00:18:03
Speaker
So it was they had the game well in hand. Yeah, absolutely. um Cavs out-rebounded them, thirty three to twenty seven Nine steals for the Cavs, only three um for for Toronto.
00:18:19
Speaker
Turnovers are pretty close. Same with points on turnovers. um Points in the paint, though, what was the biggest difference maker. 52 the 36 for Toronto. again, they have some...
00:18:31
Speaker
for toronto and and again they they have some big bodies, but that doesn't necessarily mean those big bodies can can can handle both Mobley and Jared Allen. And the Cavs should be able to continue to expose that in this series.
00:18:47
Speaker
Yeah, I'm actually a little surprised we didn't use moly and all feed and a little more in the paint because they're really weak at that center position.
00:18:58
Speaker
They are. Yaka Pirtles, he's, I don't know, he's a quality big man, but he's just he's not on the same level as Mobley or Allen. Yeah.
00:19:09
Speaker
He's always just a little a step slower. he doesn't have the greatest hands. Yeah. he He really, he really is. Take advantage of that matchup a little more, I think. Yeah, absolutely. And and as a matter of fact, he they they changed the starting lineup and he wasn't in it in game two because of how kind of poor his performance was.
00:19:28
Speaker
um Yeah, he's just not today's NBA center. he's He's more of ah you know an early to mid-2000s center where it was okay to kind of still be a big guy, not the fastest, can't shoot three balls.
00:19:40
Speaker
you know The game is evolving. Yeah. um but he's not going to be that player. But that's a good thing because the Cavs can expose that. i I will say watching Scottie Barnes um hit some three-pointers, wasn't expecting that. um you know He was a negative 22 in the plus-minus, but he was doing things out there.
00:20:02
Speaker
brand Brandon Ingram was the guy the most, though, Alex, where I was like, man, he was hitting so many mid-range shots. Just... Turn around, throw it up there. you know he always had someone smaller on him you know for the most part, and and everything was going down.
00:20:18
Speaker
but and And R.J. Barrett had ah had had a good game as well with 24 points. But just not enough firepower from from Toronto to try to keep up with what the Cavs were doing, and I think that's going to continue to be the story.
00:20:32
Speaker
Emmanuel Quickly, their starting point guard. um you know he he he He was missing from action in these first two games. I haven't heard if he's going to be back or not. um that That obviously plays a factor.
00:20:44
Speaker
But even with Quickly back, I'm still not convinced that that Toronto has enough offensive power. As long as the Cavs are on, um it's going to be tough for for Toronto to get many wins in this series.
00:20:56
Speaker
I'd be surprised if Quickly's not back for their ah their home games. That's what I'm expecting. I'm expecting that. I'm expecting that cause now because now you're in a potential elimination situation. And yeah, if he's able to give it a go, i totally expect it. And, you know, the Cavs got to be ready for that. So we'llll we'll talk about that here in a bit. um Anything else from from game one that stood out to you, Alex?
00:21:23
Speaker
Not that I can think of. Okay. right. So let's move on to game two.
00:21:35
Speaker
Cavs obviously win this game. And also the biggest thing I noticed is they made some adjustments.
00:21:46
Speaker
They were definitely a lot more aggressive on Brandon Ingram. Dean Wade was all over him. Anybody, they were double-teaming him. They were blitzing him.
00:22:00
Speaker
ah Made life very difficult for Brandon Ingram in this game, which was really, again, one of the very few offensive threats that that Toronto had. that's ah yeah i mean that's Again, that's a good strategy by Kenny. yep you know he's stuck with the same the same starters, Wade, Allen, Mobley, Harden, Mitchell again. and yeah i mean They were putting the heat on Ingram. and Rightfully so. he's He's the one player over there that if he gets hot and he goes off, like he can easily drop 30 plus points on us and make it a ah long night. So yeah that's the that's the one guy you want to you don't want him to get going.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah, and he went three for 15, only finished with seven points in 36 minutes of play. So that's that's pretty crazy. I definitely don't anticipate um having that bad of a night, especially in Toronto while they're going to be home.
00:22:54
Speaker
but that was a great strategy to hone in on him. Yeah, Scotty Barnes and and and R.J. Barrett, they got theirs with 26 and 22, but definitely cutting off um you know Brandon Ingram was was huge in this game as well.
00:23:14
Speaker
From the Cavs side, Alex, what what kind of stood out to you? Who was your top performers or just what do you what do you call out from this game? It was really, you know, the top three. Mitchell had 30 points. Harden had 28 points. Mobley had 25. And then, you know, just kind of a sprinkle of little bits of points from here and there, not really a whole lot from the bench in this game.
00:23:39
Speaker
It was really just Mobley Arden and Mitchell carrying the offensive load. And, you know, that's, I mean, that's fine. It it worked. um I would have liked to have seen other guys contribute a little more, but yeah, it's true. So only had six points.
00:23:57
Speaker
Schroeder had five points. Merrill had five points. Tyson had three points. Yeah, and merril Merrill's another guy too. I'm hoping he can get going here because in in both games, he really wasn't able to get going offensively, and we all know what he's capable of doing, right?
00:24:16
Speaker
um And he's been playing so aggressive um you know in the regular season this year. um He's out there, don't get me wrong, he's out there working his tail off, but he just hasn't been able to find his rhythm yet on the offensive end.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah, but he was... He was so hot all regular season, and now we're in the postseason, and he can't make a a three. he's He's our sniper. he's That's what he's out there to do is to is to hit threes. And he went one for three in the first game and then one for five in the second game.
00:24:47
Speaker
Yeah, and a guy like him, Max Strews, et cetera, again, you're you're you're shifting this series on the road. Those are the type of guys that you need to step up.
00:24:58
Speaker
Because James Harden and Donna Mitchell, they're still going to get theirs. They're still going to get 20, 25 plus points in these games. But if nobody else does anything to contribute on the road, that's where the Cavs can potentially find them in a place that they don't want to be. So hopefully Sam can figure it out, you know get it going here a little bit because we're definitely going to need them for these next couple games.
00:25:20
Speaker
And then, like you said, yeah, it was really the three-headed monster of of James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley. and And that's but totally fine. it's it's It's fun watching those guys play.
00:25:31
Speaker
Donovan, always out there doing his thing. James Harden, always aggressive as well. But i'm I'm glad that Mobley was the third fiddle because, as I mentioned earlier, he's aggressive. He's being aggressive. Went 11 for 13 field goal-wise, made a three-pointer, two for three.
00:25:50
Speaker
Uh, free throws, grabbed eight rebounds, couple assists, had a block, you know, just a good overall stat line. And I hope that he continues to be aggressive on the offensive end because again, you know, that Harden and Mitchell are going to get theirs.
00:26:04
Speaker
And if Mobley can consistently become that third guy that gets you 15, 17 plus every game, the cows are going to have a good shot to win a lot of playoff games, no matter who they're playing against.
00:26:18
Speaker
Yeah. And I think as long as we stay a three-headed monster, that's fine. That works. We can win that way. you know LeBron obviously did it in Miami, and he did it with the Cavs, with Kyrie and Love.
00:26:32
Speaker
It's when it becomes a two-headed woman monster or a one-headed monster when you're in trouble. you know it can't you know Like LeBron and Mo Williams, like you know yeah you need you need more than that. You need a lot more than that. so Right, right. Or how about the year it was LeBron and Jeff Green, 2018. That was cool.
00:26:50
Speaker
Uncle Jeff. Yeah, Uncle Jeff. Uncle Jeff. So, yeah, the Cavs take care of business. This game um you know kind of kind of kind of started off you know a little bit close, but then again, you know the Cavs were kind of able to open things up a little bit, and um you know Toronto was definitely trying to be more scrappy, more aggressive, But the Cavs had and just enough firepower to outlast Toronto. And again, holding Brandon Ingram to single-digit points was was a huge part of that.
00:27:24
Speaker
And hopefully the Cavs can continue to figure out the next chess move because... As this series moves on to the road, you you know that there's going to be adjustments coming from Toronto's and
Pivotal Game 3 and Series Momentum
00:27:36
Speaker
Alex. And hopefully Kenny is already thinking that the staff is already trying to anticipate that to make sure that they have a great game plan.
00:27:45
Speaker
for Game 3. um Game 3 is always a pivotal game in any playoff series because if if if if if you're the Cavs and you win that game, man, you really have your foot on their throat.
00:27:59
Speaker
It's really going to demoralize them. If Toronto finds a way to win this game, all of a sudden they have some confidence, they have some hope, and you don't want this to turn into a scenario where all of a sudden you know you're coming back to Cleveland you know tied 2-2 or something like that.
00:28:16
Speaker
So what what Alex, so what do the Cavs need to do to avoid that and in ensure that we're leaving game three, demoralizing them and not all of a sudden in a boxing match?
00:28:28
Speaker
They just need to keep doing what they're doing, playing, playing good defense and, you know, keeping the offense going. Just need to keep the gas pedal down on these guys. Not, not let the momentum shift, not let them get any confidence.
00:28:44
Speaker
Yeah, continue to be aggressive. Move that ball on offense. Continue to play your fresh legs. can don't Don't switch up your rotation. Continue to play those 10 guys.
00:28:55
Speaker
um i think those 10 guys are are fine. There's nobody I can think of that should be playing over them. right there's there's I'm not playing Tomlin. I'm not playing Tomlin right now. I'm not playing Porter Jr. or Proctor or anybody like that.
00:29:08
Speaker
over those other 10 guys. I think that's fine. I just hope that the players themselves are are ready and understand and and can anticipate you know what that atmosphere is going to be like and just be ready to come out. I i expect Donovan Mitchell to to be maybe a little bit overly aggressive in this game to try to make a point.
00:29:30
Speaker
But I'm really hoping it's it's a team effort because I think when the when the game shifts on the road, um again, you you you need more than just your star players, in my opinion, because it does become challenging on the road in a playoff atmosphere.
00:29:47
Speaker
if you're If you're trying to do too much hero ball and the ball's just not going, if things aren't going your way, all of a sudden it's tough to secure that win. I've always felt like Alex's team has the best chance to win when they have four or five players in double digits.
00:30:04
Speaker
When it's an even balanced scoring effort from the team, it's there's it's it's it's very few far in between that they're on the losing end in those scenarios. Yeah, like I was saying, I think they really need to, you know,
00:30:17
Speaker
feed Allen and Mobley and take advantage of that mismatch in the, ah in the paint, you know, they should be able to feast on Pirtle. Allen's been, you know, yeah, he had some good dunks, but he's been relatively quiet.
00:30:30
Speaker
You know, he only had 10 points in the first game, 10 points in the second game. Yeah, it'd be nice to see him go off. I'd like to see Allen. Let's see a 20-point game out of Allen. Yeah, 2010. Yeah, 2010, 12, 13 rebounds or something like that.
00:30:44
Speaker
um Yeah, and expose expose that matchup for sure. That'd be awesome. So we sell she what what happens here. um Game three is Thursday night, probably the day that this episode is coming out.
00:31:00
Speaker
And then game four is on Sunday. So we will continue following, obviously. um Alex, obviously around the NBA, there's there's other games, there's other series going on right now.
00:31:16
Speaker
and And one thing we haven't touched on yet compared to ah ah most other series, the Cavs are one of the few teams that actually won both of their home games, which puts the Cavs in a great spot, especially if they can figure out to win this game three.
00:31:31
Speaker
As now the Knicks, the Celtics, ah you know, even Detroit, who who who are going to win against the Magic tonight and type that series, they're all going on the road with that pivotal game three.
00:31:43
Speaker
And all of a sudden, you don't want to find yourself being down to one. um But Alex, does any of those other series jump out to you that you're surprised that like, oh man, I can't believe they dropped the game or are you just loving it and soaking it all in that there's other teams that are, I won't say struggling, but are all of a sudden in ah in a competitive series already only after two games.
00:32:03
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's great. I've been catching some of the earlier games, not not quite as many of the later games because they're on those West Coast games are like 10, 1030. But I did catch, you know, like... um think I caught one of the Thunder Suns games.
00:32:20
Speaker
I caught a Spurs trailblazers game. I watched a Celtics 76ers game. So I've been pretty invested in watching a lot of the other series and it's been a lot of fun. It's been relatively competitive.
00:32:33
Speaker
It was it was cool to see the Sixers steal a game from the Celtics, especially after the Celtics deliver that butt kick in in game one. Right. Yeah. I thought for sure the Sixers had just run into a buzzsaw like that was going to be a sweep. But Sixers are fighting. So that's great.
00:32:50
Speaker
um You know, any of the teams that can stretch out these series and and beat each other up, you know, is good for us. It's it's good for the Cavs that basically ah every other series in the East at least is 1-1 right now, right? Because you're already guaranteed that it's going to go longer, little bit longer of a series, right? At least five games.
00:33:14
Speaker
um And if the Cavs do find a way to sweep, you know they'll be sitting in a good spot. Yeah. So, yeah, we'll definitely keep paying attention. And and same thing out West. um It's funny. the the The Lakers go up 2-0 on the Rockets without Luka, without Austin Reeves.
00:33:33
Speaker
We were talking before we started recording. LeBron lebron looks pretty impressive for for being his age and kind of being on his own over there and and to get two wins. and That's pretty impressive to see.
00:33:45
Speaker
And, you know, the the Spurs lost a game. Denver's lost a game. Thunder's playing the Magic. are Not the Magic. The Suns right now. They'll they'll probably get a win there. But...
00:33:56
Speaker
Yeah, it's just always interesting to to see how the other series play out and some of these dogfights that happen. Did you see Wemby leaving the game? Yeah. Man, I was watching that game when that happened, and I just like, wow, his like face just smacked the floor so hard. And it looked like he was out. like i was like, man, Wemby
Injuries and Playoff Unpredictability
00:34:16
Speaker
just got KO'd. He was like down, face-planted for like a full, I don't know, three seconds before he kind of...
00:34:24
Speaker
started stirring again. and it's like, holy crap. he's Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and then within like a span of like five seconds, like three other players left the game hurt to other Spurs players like hurt their wrist.
00:34:37
Speaker
And one of the trailblazers players left hurt too. So it's crazy. Every, every year, every year, it feels like there's some sort of injury that,
00:34:48
Speaker
you know, depending, I think when B will come back, but I did read that he has to like wait 48 hours or something like that before we you do any basketball activities. I don't know when their next game is.
00:34:59
Speaker
It's probably over the weekend is my guess is another that series shifts to Portland. Um, but you just, you never know. So even when a team is a heavy, if if if SGA goes down in an injury,
00:35:12
Speaker
all of a sudden, whoever they're playing against has a chance, even though if they they were a huge underdog previously. So you just never know, man, the NBA playoffs, it's it's a lot of luck.
00:35:23
Speaker
It's a lot of who's the healthiest and who's playing you know the best basketball at that time. And so far in the first two games, at least the Cavs are playing great basketball they're and and they're healthy.
00:35:36
Speaker
So hopefully those fortunes continue for the Cavs. So I see the Pistons just beat the Magic. Yep. So they're tied up one one And see, Thunder are playing the Suns right now.
00:35:53
Speaker
And it's almost the end of the first quarter, and the Thunder up by six points. Yep, yep. Oh, I see just saw Thomas Bryant is listed as questionable for Game 3.
00:36:05
Speaker
Okay. I don't know. i don't know.
Potential Player Returns and Depth
00:36:10
Speaker
It'll be interesting. Let's say he's available. Does Kenny play 11 guys?
00:36:16
Speaker
Probably not. Probably not. um You think he gets any minutes? I don't know if he gets any minutes. I don't know.
00:36:27
Speaker
I think he's valuable. I think let him run around there. Let him bang some guys around. Let him grab some rebounds. Let him yell and let him knock down two, three pointers. I'm all for it.
00:36:38
Speaker
I'm all for it. I just don't know whose minutes he takes or, or you split up the minute. I don't know. He doesn't need to play 20 minutes. I don't know who whose minutes he takes.
00:36:49
Speaker
Hopefully not Tyson's. Hopefully not Tyson's i want him to figure it out. You're not taking Strews. You're not taking Merrill. I would argue even though Keon isn't giving you anything offensively, you don't take him because of his defensive efforts.
00:37:01
Speaker
um Who am I missing? Schroeder. Schroeder, you need a backup point guard out there. So I just i just don't see whose minutes he's taking. um But I see value in him being out there on the court.
00:37:13
Speaker
So maybe Kenny can find a five-minute stint for him. you know I don't know. um but yeah I want him to be healthy because I do feel there's going to be spots, especially during this playoff run when matchups change and stuff.
00:37:26
Speaker
<unk> You're going need Thomas Bryant to to be out there on the floor.
00:37:33
Speaker
We'll be paying attention to that and kind of see what happens there. kind of develops
00:37:41
Speaker
Anything else, Alex? Anything Cavs? Anything NBA? I do see you're rocking your new shirt. Good job on that. This is the shirt that Alex unboxed from the Cavs-Sheron Williams sirot competition. that he didn't win He did a totally earn it it didn't win, but he he did get a consolation prize of a Cavs I wasn't a winner, but I still got the shirt.
00:38:04
Speaker
Did you sign up for any of the playoff contests? No, after after I said I was going to, I still haven't. Did you? All right. No, I didn't either. That's why I was asking. So we both got to sign up after we we we get done here.
00:38:16
Speaker
And maybe you'll get lucky again, Alex, and get chosen for the half court shot. ah No, I don't know if I want that. Right, right. That's a quick way to become famous or infamous. Sure, sure, sure.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:38:32
Speaker
All right, well, let's 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 they can follow us and connect with us.
00:38:44
Speaker
Follow us on X at Cavs Pick and Roll. Shoot us an email, CavsPickAndRoll at gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr. Watch this episode on YouTube.
00:38:55
Speaker
Wherever you're listening listen in or watching, click like, subscribe. Leave us a rating or review. We'd appreciate it All right, Cavs fans, there it is. Talk to again soon. Peace out, Cavs fans.