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Episode 165: Back On Track
34 Plays18 days ago
Alex and Corey discuss the Cavs getting back on the winning track post James Harden trade! We dig into the Cavs most recent games against the Bucks, Knicks, and Thunder.
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Transcript
00:00:07
Speaker
Oh yeah, oh yeah!
Introduction and James Harden Era Begins
00:00:15
Speaker
Hey Cavs fans, welcome to another episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast, a podcast for diehard Cavs fans. I am Corey. i am here with my buddy Alex. Alex, it's been a long time. How are you doing?
00:00:29
Speaker
Yeah, it's been a while. Kind of a a lot has happened. Yes. All-star game, a few more Cavs games with James Harden. just Snow has melted.
00:00:39
Speaker
and then came back. yeah Well, that's true. It's melting again i melted again. It's melting right now as we speak. so But yes, a little bit has happened. All-Star break went down. i Probably not going to cover too much about that now.
00:00:55
Speaker
um But the most important thing, Alex, is is we are in it. We are in the hardened era. We are about 10 games or so into it. And that's really what we want to focus on is, of course, along with Keon and Schroeder,
00:01:11
Speaker
now here a little bit longer than what they have been since last time we talked and obviously before the Harden trade. um We're starting to see this team um ah as what they can be and what their potential can be.
00:01:25
Speaker
and And Alex, it's it's looking up. It's definitely looking up to to where we were just just a month ago. Oh yeah, they're looking great. I mean, Harden kind of plugged right in and ye man, it's nice having two guys on the floor that can create, create for themselves and create for others and all that playmaking.
00:01:45
Speaker
Um, you know, you had, you had that with Garland as well, but just not to this level. I mean, it's night and day.
Harden's Impact and Team's New Energy
00:01:52
Speaker
Now, and what I really have liked about Harden so far, we all know he can score.
00:01:58
Speaker
We all know he can get to the free throw line and all that stuff, right? ah But there's two things. and The first one is he seems to be bought in.
00:02:08
Speaker
Now, granted, we're in the honeymoon phase still, right? Only 10 games in. We got to see what happens, you know, a couple months from now, the playoffs and and how all that shakes out. but But he seems to be bought in.
00:02:20
Speaker
which is great. The second thing is his passing ability is is outstanding. um Garland was very strong passer as well, but the difference is is Harden is bigger. he is here and actually able to play, and he just has had a knack over his career being great at the two-man game with whatever big he is with.
00:02:45
Speaker
And Jared Allen has definitely already seen the the advantages of that. um Hasn't had a ton of time with mobile yet. We'll talk about that, but I expect that to also be a great pairing with, with mobile as well. And, and Harden just, man, you can't ignore him.
00:03:02
Speaker
And when he does drive and somebody's open, he he usually makes the right, the right play call and makes that pass. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's been great. No, not, not to throw a shaded garland, but I mean,
00:03:19
Speaker
Harden, like you said, he's got the size. He plays good defense. ah You're saying he bought in. um It's kind of funny, though, because like his pregame and postgame interviews, they always ask him, you know, how you know, how's it going, fitting in and ah learning the scheme and and all this. And his answers are just so nonchalant and generic and basic. And he's just like, oh, we're just figuring it out, you know, and like he never gives any more detail than that. It's just.
00:03:50
Speaker
like yeah, I mean, he's just, he's here to win a ring and that's the goal. Yeah. Yeah. As long as that's the goal, I am good with it. I I'd rather have that than some ego testicle response or some, you know, cryptic response or something like that. So.
00:04:07
Speaker
Again, we are only 10 games in, but just the vibe that I i have that I see from Cavs fans, because let's be honest, there there there there was um a healthy amount of us that were a little bit nervous, right? How's this going to work? How's he going to integrate?
00:04:23
Speaker
um You know, so on and so forth. And I think so far, it's fair to say that expectations have not only been met, but also exceeded so far with James Harden.
Trade Comparisons and Team Dynamics
00:04:34
Speaker
Now, at the end of the day, Alex, it won't mean nothing if they don't win the chip at the end of the year, right? But let's enjoy the ride for for at least right now. And to be honest with you, it's it's made Cavs basketball fun again.
00:04:47
Speaker
like it's it's It's been a weird season. It's been a frustrating season to watch as a Cavs fan. And man, it's been fun watching Cavs these last few weeks since since all these trades have gone down.
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah, and it and it hasn't just been hardened, man. like no Watching Keon Ellis and Schroeder check in, it's like just a an injection of energy and playmaking. It's it's fun.
00:05:12
Speaker
I like it. i i won't I won't, because I don't want this come off disrespectful. But it's almost like that spark plug we we got when the Cavs made the trade back in the day for JR and Shumpert. It's just two guys, you know rotational players somewhere else that came in and have been able to fit in, contribute consistently, and and so on and so forth. So I don't think they're better than JR and Shump, but what I'm saying is is like that was two solid pieces that we got in that trade.
Player Performances and Team Depth
00:05:43
Speaker
um and And had been able to be plugged right in right and the calves they just look so different They're just playing so different since yeah, you know these three players came in Donovan Mitchell looks so um Happy refreshed Energized yeah ah since since that trade went down with with garden with with ah garland and and harden right and I think he feels more confident that he he has a true running mate now.
00:06:12
Speaker
um and and And that has has re-energized him as well. And it's probably contributing to the whole team, feeling a little bit re-energized. Jared Allen has has been a beast in the month of February.
00:06:23
Speaker
um Really just kind of came out of nowhere. and And I remember, and I've every day it was something different, Alex, but I'll, I'll admit there. I don't remember when, but at some point before the trade deadline, I was like, you know what?
00:06:36
Speaker
If they move Allen, I'll, I'll, I'll be okay with it. And I've been an Allen supporter. Like don't move him. His, his value versus what you pay him is just, no, you got to keep them. And man, I'm glad the calves didn't move Allen. Cause he, I forget even what game it was now. is couple of weeks ago. He dropped 40 points. Yeah.
00:06:55
Speaker
He's been having a monster month. So um he's just going to continue to to be able to eat because when you have so many options on this team, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, you know, Mobley, like Allen's Allen's literally your fifth option. and as players leave him to go double or help out when Mitchell beats his guy, who's waiting there for the lob?
00:07:17
Speaker
Jared Allen. Right. So he's going to eat just as much as anybody else from from the additions on this team. Oh, yeah. I mean, and a lot of players that we're used to seeing get minutes are now not getting hardly any minutes, right? Like Tomlin, Bryant, Craig Porter Jr. They all got their minutes slashed considerably.
00:07:40
Speaker
I'll even, yeah, absolutely. to To be expected, you know, do feel a little bit for those guys. But let's be honest, when when the playoffs come, no, talk about this every year. I hate the eight, nine-man rotation. but You're not playing 14 guys either, right?
00:07:58
Speaker
And that just speaks to the depth of... what the Cavs actually have on this team when healthy. We haven't even talked about Max Struess, right? And even even Jalen Tyson has, i will say, somewhat been impacted by this because he's he's not playing the same amount of minutes he was before. Cavs are trying to you know put Wade back into the starting lineup and kind of it almost feels like they're trying to recreate that big lineup they had years ago with with Markadon, Mobley, and Allen.
00:08:31
Speaker
And Tyson now has to adjust because now he's playing with the second unit instead of being that second kind of fiddle as he was for a while to to to Donovan
Injury Concerns and Upcoming Games
00:08:41
Speaker
Mitchell. So it's been an adjustment for everybody, but I would say overall, the team has adjusted well.
00:08:47
Speaker
um Again, I think they're eight and two since Harden has got here. They've been playing outstanding over the last 15, 20-something games now. and just ultimately trending in the right direction.
00:08:59
Speaker
They would have played all year like this, Alex. it It'd be a much different story right now. Yeah, that's where the cat it's just so radically the whole team. I mean, just everybody seems to be playing with so much more of a purpose. It's it's just night and day. It's Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. It's like, wow, what got into this team?
00:09:18
Speaker
needed to stick, though. We need to stick, not just for two weeks, right? It needs to stick the rest of the year and ultimately into the playoffs, which... we'll be here before we know it. I mean, it's, it's, uh, uh, we're recording this on Friday. It's literally March, like in, in a couple of days here. And then you only have a couple, you know, a couple of weeks into April after that, Alex. So ah I'm getting excited.
00:09:41
Speaker
um it helps that this team is starting to trend in the right direction at the right time. And I'm getting excited for, for playoff basketball. Yeah, we we really need these guys to stay healthy, though. This is true. We're starting to run into a little ah in nagging injuries here and there already, and it's...
00:09:58
Speaker
ah you know I don't know if it's good to get those out of the way now. or yeah yeah so let's let's talk about that, Alex. You were just looking at the injury report, and the cat we're recording this on Friday, ah kind of on our lunch breaks. We'll have this out hopefully before the game tonight against the Detroit Pistons, which is a pretty big matchup, Alex. I i would go as far to say it's it's one of those statement games, right, where the Cavs have an opportunity to show that they they belong.
00:10:25
Speaker
But I don't know if they're going to be healthy. so what's what's that what's that ah list look like right now, that injury report? So listed as questionable tonight is Keon Ellis, left index finger fracture, James Harden, right thumb fracture,
Game Controversies and Recent Performances
00:10:39
Speaker
Dennis Schroeder, right ankle sprain, Dean Wade, right ankle sprain, and then Donovan Mitchell is supposedly sitting out with the right groin sprain.
00:10:50
Speaker
That's a it a healthy list, dude. yeah it's healthy That's a healthy list of questionables and and outs. And with with Donovan being out, that that definitely hurts.
00:11:01
Speaker
When they sat him against Milwaukee, which is the second night of a back-to-back, I played it off as they're they're just giving him a break, a rest. that's a little bit concerning that he that he's listed out tonight.
00:11:13
Speaker
And, um you know, I'll just assume Harden sits out and and probably couple more of those guys. So. That makes it challenging tonight, Alex, to to to go play against Detroit, who's been top top of the East all year long.
00:11:29
Speaker
But, um you know, the Cavs have an opportunity. Maybe you have some of other guys step up. Again, the roster is deep, and we'llll we'll we'll see what comes of it. But like you said, yeah, we need this team to be healthy when it when it truly matters here down the stretch.
00:11:48
Speaker
So you want to talk about a few of these recent games? See, we've had the Thunder, Knicks, and Bucks. They're the last three games we've had here. Yeah, unfortunately, they went one and two in those games. you know The Bucks game ah was the most recent. They they were missing Mobley, Harden, and Mitchell.
00:12:07
Speaker
and That's a significant amount of offense there. Yeah. I feel a little cheated. Did you watch this game? did. you how it ended? I did. Yeah. um Not happy.
00:12:19
Speaker
Not happy. Ridiculous. it It was going to be a tough game for the Cavs. The Bucs have been trending in the right direction as of late. You're on the road, second night of a back-to-back, and you're the team traveling. Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back. But Alex, maybe for those that didn't get to see, you want to kind of recap what kind of happened there.
00:12:40
Speaker
Well, I'm just going to go to the last second of the game, which was all you hear it Jared Allen ah launching a little skyhook. His time ticked off and hit it to make the score tied at 118.
00:12:56
Speaker
And they were going to go into overtime. But then the officials replayed Jared Allen's shot and took the two points off. and gave the win to the Bucs.
00:13:08
Speaker
Now, I watched the replay in slow motion many, many times over and over and over, and I don't think there was nearly any evidence showing the ball still on his fingertips. oh alex That's my take. Alex like has a letter drafted being ready to send to the NBA. man, I was getting every camera angle. i was like, ah there's not enough evidence here to the roll back a ah call that you had already made. You had already given...
00:13:34
Speaker
the points and said it was a tie game and then you're going to reverse it without enough evidence. Like, i don't know. I didn't definitely a tough way to lose that game because again, the calves could have could have thrown in the towel in that game and they, and they didn't right. And they continue to fight and, and give themselves an opportunity.
00:13:55
Speaker
um you don't see games and that way very often anymore. And I guess that's one of the disadvantages, I guess, of, you know, the amount of, ah camera angles and and the whole replay center that they have, you know, and all that stuff. So it's unfortunate um but they that they lost that game. And there's really not much more to talk about that game, in my opinion. i mean, it was a good game. You got it was it was see guys get minutes that haven't been getting minutes like Tomlin Bryant, Craig Porter.
00:14:25
Speaker
I got him um but got a whole bunch of minutes and and played awesome. Yeah. Keon was great. Knocking down some threes there early. And I sat down to watch that game and I was like, man, this sucks that that these other guys aren't playing. But then I was a little bit excited because like, oh yeah, man, I'm going to get to see Craig Porter Jr. Run around. It's going to be interesting to see what what a shooter do in his first start as a Cavs, you know, so on and so forth. But unfortunately it didn't result in a, in a W right.
00:14:53
Speaker
Yeah, they were struggling a little bit from three-point. Keanu, like you said, was... was knocking them down but you know bryant bryant took five three pointers for some reason he had the green only made one which was super annoying i don't even know what the total amount was but the amount of threes that were being jacked up by yeah both teams was even the commentators were like it's a three-point contest yeah tyson launched six and only made one sam merrill shot eight of them which is normal but only made two right which is rare
00:15:25
Speaker
Yes. Yes, definitely. Definitely. So it was an easily, i feel like we could have won it if we shot as we normally shoot, but absolutely is what it is.
00:15:37
Speaker
Tough, tough loss, tough loss. Uh, but that's one that I ultimately I'm okay with. And here, here, here's the reason why they beat the freaking New York next and they didn't really beat them. They, they, they spank them pretty, pretty good.
00:15:51
Speaker
Um, The Knicks are a team that you're chasing in in the seedings. I won't say there's a rivalry there, but at least we still have a bad taste from from that playoff series a couple years ago.
00:16:05
Speaker
And we it's one of those statement games where you want to prove that you belong because up until that OKC game, um yeah, the Cavs have been having a lot of fun, but it's been against inferior teams, if we're being honest.
00:16:20
Speaker
Right. So I, I was a little bit curious how, how were the calves going to approach this game? how they going to look against the Knicks coming off a top, a tough loss against the thunder couple days prior and a Alex man, this might've been one of the most fun games to watch so far this season.
00:16:39
Speaker
yeah Yeah, it was, like it was a fun game. Yep. I mean, it was, it was a fun game for us because like you said, we gave him a butt kick and like we led the entire game.
00:16:50
Speaker
We just smoked them. We came out in the third quarter and just smoked them, held them to only 11 points. So defense, I mean, has been on another level. We really, you know, bird dogged them up and down the court.
00:17:04
Speaker
And we're just so many players now that are so pesky on defense. Yeah, it's it's great watching Keon Ellis switch in a pick and roll, and then that player is picked up by Jalen Tyson, for example.
00:17:19
Speaker
And even Shooter. Shooter's a little bit of a nagging you know defender as well. like Watching those guys switch, it's like you you you don't miss a beat, right? As far as the defensive um you know tenacity and all that kind of stuff, and and just making life difficult for for the offense. And the Knicks had no...
00:17:39
Speaker
No answer and and in this game for anything the Cavs were doing, which is great. um So we know, Alex, that the Knicks are now coached by two time former Cavalier head coach Mike Brown.
00:17:54
Speaker
And I was literally laughing like out loud at times because they just kept going. The camera just kept. I think if I remember correctly, this game was on Peacock. The camera just kept going to Mike Brown.
00:18:06
Speaker
And I'm like, man, he still makes the same silly, confused, staring off in the distance faces he did 15 years ago when he was here. And I was cracking up.
00:18:19
Speaker
I was cracking up at just seeing Mike Brown. Yeah, seeing Mike Brown out there got me thinking about all the ex-Cavs coaches that are still head coaches now for other teams. I mean, Mike Brown, J.B. Bickerstaff, Ty Lue, like, yeah they're all over the league, our ex-coaches. It's like he's searching for, searching for' like like like it's like he's trying to find Delonte. Where's Delonte? Where's Delonte? It's just like, every time the camera goes to him, he's just like got this look on his face and he's kind of just staring off. and and He's not interacting with anybody. Hardly. It was just Sean, Sean, some gum.
00:18:54
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Instead of spitting in a cup, but whatever. Exactly. But no, that, that, that was a great win. After that, when we were then tied with New York and the seedings, that's where that Milwaukee bucks when would have been, would have been great to see us move ahead of them. um As of now, we're, we're a half game behind the Knicks. Listen, there's still,
00:19:14
Speaker
ah lots of time left in the season. So much can happen here, um with the seating and all that, but it is starting to get a little bit interesting as the Cavs, Knicks and Celtics are all within two games of each other, really.
00:19:29
Speaker
So it'll be interesting to see how things play out down the stretch. Anything else in that Knicks game, Alex, that set out to you then?
00:19:38
Speaker
Um, no,
Areas for Improvement and Team Chemistry
00:19:41
Speaker
not really. i think, uh, You know, rebounding continues to be a little bit of a something we need to work on, especially boxing out and letting the other team ah get offensive rebounds. Like, i I think I was shouting at the TV during this game um with Mobley not boxing out. ah i believe believe I believe it was Robinson that he was letting eat him up on on the rebounding end.
00:20:07
Speaker
Probably Kyle with any towns a little bit too, but... Yeah, they they definitely need to work on that. And it it was really Mobley and Allen, both of still seem to get pushed around by these bigger centers.
00:20:18
Speaker
Well, you just reminded me something on Mobley too that that did aggravate me in that game. Knicks are a smaller team. They don't have the size that the Cavs do, which you know plays should play to your advantage. And and it did in that game.
00:20:33
Speaker
um And there was points in the game where Josh Hart was was on Mobley. And I think it was Harden who dumped it down to Mobley. Mobley could not figure out. Mobley catches it maybe 12, 15 feet out from from the rim, right? So it's not like he caught it down on the block.
00:20:50
Speaker
He could not figure out how to get around Josh Hart. I think he dumped it back to Harden. Harden immediately dumped it back to Mobley and just, it didn't result in like a quality shot or anything like that.
00:21:01
Speaker
We talked about that before. I've mentioned that where he he seems to still struggle a bit to figure out how to back those players down. He kind of, his go-to move is a, is a, is a spin dribble to try to get away. Yeah. It's like, dude, Josh Hart's what, maybe six, four, a little bit of a problem there still, but,
00:21:21
Speaker
um he He pivoted left, he pivoted right, he spin dribble back to the left. It's like, you've got nothing. Exactly, exactly. So definitely areas of his game, he still needs to work on, he still needs to bulk up. I don't realistically know how much bigger he can get.
00:21:39
Speaker
Um, but I still think about how big Giannis was when he came into the league and and where he's at now. So it's still lots of time for mobile. He definitely not down on mobile by any means. Um, but I just did, I did notice that it's like, man, you can't, you can't, you can't back down their, their shooting guard. Like, come on. Yeah, and I just took a glance at the box score again, and Mitchell Robinson, 16 rebounds in 19 minutes. That is – you cannot let that happen. that Come on, guys. Yeah, rob Robinson's one of those kind of goofy look goofy guys. um you know he's I don't know if you saw him shoot free throws in that game. Man, what what a form there. But he he he is a big that can do those types of things, get rebounds, get –
00:22:25
Speaker
get, uh, protect the rim and and, and, and so on and so forth. So yeah, the calves definitely need to do better there, but that was really, i would say one of the very few black marks on that game. Cause every, everything else, I mean, the calves were in control that, that entire game, which was great to see. They actually tied for total number of rebounds at 44 a piece. It looks like same with assists as well, which is weird.
00:22:50
Speaker
Um, Yeah, just again, one of the more enjoyable games of this season so far. Probably the last game well we'll kind of touch base on a bit and um what what was a big one because it was kind of used as a measuring stick, right? Or you were hoping so.
00:23:07
Speaker
And OKC even had, ah you know, they were a little bit shorthanded this game as well. um but But last week on ah ah on a Sunday, they've they've matched up with the reigning champs, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
00:23:20
Speaker
I went into this game so like pumped, Alex. I'm like, all right, we're going we're going to see what the Cavs truly are made of in this game. And I'll let you go first. what What did you see in this game? What did you think?
00:23:33
Speaker
You know, ah ultimately, we know that the Cavs lost this game on the road. But but what stuck out to you? I thought it was a ah good um it was a good game. The Cavs just came out flat in that first quarter. They only scored 25 points and let the Thunder score 40.
00:23:52
Speaker
And then so they're playing catch up the entire rest of the game. And they did outscore the Thunder in both the second and third quarter, but they could just never, never really catch up, never really get back into it.
00:24:05
Speaker
But, ah you know, Mitchell also had an off night. He shot kind of poorly He went 0 for 6 from 3. don't know that I have a whole lot more to say about it.
00:24:17
Speaker
Yeah, it was kind of a disappointing game because of how flat they came out. At one point, i think they got down by 17 in the first quarter, and it's just like, oh, you know, the Cavs haven't really done that and in quite a while. Even before the trade, they were doing this a lot in the beginning of the season, get down big, you know, get their way back into it, and and maybe even pull out a couple wins and And listen, I mean, to get down that early, there's still a lot of time left in this game. The Cavs had their chances to to win this game. They were down under, I think it was under five with just a couple minutes left in the game. they definitely weren't out of it, and they had their chances. But ah definitely hurt.
00:24:58
Speaker
um getting down that big that early. and even with even with them missing players, the this Thunder team has just, they they have figured it out, right? There's not a lot of household names there. SGA doesn't play in this game.
00:25:14
Speaker
um you're You're licking your chops as a Cavs fan, right? Thinking this is going to be an easy win. And then you realize how many of these guys, just look how balanced their scoring was. Look at their plus minus. Yeah.
00:25:26
Speaker
they have guys you never heard of that, that are doing things in this game, right? Unless you're a Thunder fan, you don't know who these guys are. So just unfortunate Alex, it would have been great to, to have that result a little bit differently. That really would have cemented like, Holy crap, the Cavs have arrived, but it's okay. That Knicks game made up for it a bit. If they would lost that game and the Knicks game, i would have been panicking a little bit. Yeah. Right. Well, yeah. I mean, it,
00:25:53
Speaker
You nailed it. It's one team that has been together for quite a while and makes a difference is great. And the other team, they've played a total of five or so games together. So you could tell that on the calves, like there was a bit of like, yeah know, who's taking the ball, little confusion.
00:26:10
Speaker
some of the inbound passes weren't like people didn't know what they were doing. ah So there were little mistakes being made. There was quite a few turnovers being made. errant passes, passes going out of bounds, that kind of thing.
00:26:23
Speaker
Just as they get used to playing together, it'll it'll pick up. yeah I'm not too worried. i didn't feel like I didn't feel like this game was that much of a litmus test, really. um Yeah, it's easy it's easy to to write it off because it's just like, yeah, this team has been together less than 10 games at that point.
00:26:42
Speaker
Yeah, if we if we if we would have won that game, we would have been on the moon. Right. um But yeah, totally fair. and And kind of going back to the injuries that are that are now there again and stuff.
00:26:55
Speaker
This is what we need not to happen is this team needs time to play together. And as much as I want to see Tomlin running around out there and all that kind of stuff, ah I need the core, the playoff rotation to get time together. At some point, we're going to get Max Struess back, right? Like Atkinson is going to have to figure out what that rotation looks like.
00:27:19
Speaker
And if it continues to be a different rotation every single week, it it makes it challenging, right? So we need some luck on our side, hopefully. Hopefully this year, ah well we definitely have had some bad luck the last couple of years at the at the wrong time.
00:27:36
Speaker
um We still have a little bit of time. It's not April and this is happening. So, you know, if the next week or two is affected by some nagging injuries, okay, it is what it is. Once we get into March and definitely into April, though, you know, really, hopefully the Cavs can minimize those and and we can really start to build our chemistry going into the playoffs.
Anticipation for Upcoming Games
00:27:56
Speaker
And we got a couple of good games coming up right against Detroit, who is the number one team in the East. Play them twice, right? We play them twice. Yeah, we play them twice. So, I mean, as long as and know we got some nagging injuries going on right now, but if ah our guys get healthy and they play and these games against Detroit, I think it'll be a much better indicator of kind of where they're at at the moment.
00:28:19
Speaker
But yeah, it's good. It's just going to take more time to gel. I, you know, I think they'll be even better than they are now, you know, towards the end of March. So, and I'm looking forward to these Detroit games, even if we don't have all of our guys, cause I just, I don't know. I haven't given them much credit so far, right? I haven't been paying attention. Obviously I see that they've been the number one seed all year long, but,
00:28:41
Speaker
I've only watched them in the games the Cavs have played against them so far, which is you know only, what, two? um So I'm curious to see how they truly look um to see, wow, are they really the number one contender? Are they really a team to worry about or not?
00:28:56
Speaker
I want to give some respect, some love. I think JP is doing a great job and it's amazing with the turnaround that they've been able to make and what his second year of of being there. So we do have to take them you know somewhat seriously, but i do I do want to kind of see how they look and and kind of start to pull out those measuring sticks and Um, same with, I know we have the Celtics coming up here in the next week or so as well. So you just face the Knicks. Um, so as we're playing these teams that are ahead of us, it's, it's just pay attention a little bit more closely because those are the teams that you're chasing at this point. Right.
00:29:30
Speaker
Right.
00:29:33
Speaker
Well, Alex, so um other than that, I mean, the Cavs, we just got to continue to see them to to build on the momentum that they've they've had. Hopefully these injuries aren't super serious yet. I haven't heard a timeline on on James Harden yet. Have you heard anything there?
00:29:49
Speaker
No, I haven't heard anything. I haven't heard any timelines. Yeah, so hopefully that's a good thing. ah You know, it's not it's not weeks and weeks, I'm hoping, right? And again, just the Cavs continue to trend and and in the right direction. And I think ah the the rest of this year is going to be a fun season for Cavs fans to watch.
Conclusion and Podcast Information
00:30:09
Speaker
Yeah, can't wait. Awesome. This is a quick one today. Let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast. want thank you, Cavs fans, as always, for tuning in and listening.
00:30:21
Speaker
And Alex, let them know where they can follow us and connect with us. 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.
00:30:36
Speaker
Leave us a like, subscribe, rating, review. We'd appreciate it. All right, Cavs fans, there it is. We'll talk to you again soon. Peace out, Cavs fans.