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Episode 170: Playoff Preview: Detroit Pistons
51 Plays1 month ago
Alex and Corey react to the Cleveland Cavaliers winning game 7 against the Toronto Raptors and moving on to the second round. We discuss game 7 heroics from Jarrett Allen and the overall better play of the team in the second half of the game. We give our opinions of how the Cavs can carry that momentum and lessons learned into the Detroit series. We give our preview to the series and tips for winning a series where the Cavs no longer have homecourt advantage.
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Transcript
Cavs vs Raptors Series Recap
00:00:17
Speaker
Hey Cavs fans, welcome to the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast, the podcast for diehard fans, by diehard fans. I'm Alex, and I'm here with Corey. What's up, Corey? We are still alive.
00:00:30
Speaker
We survived, Alex. Had no doubt. Never a doubt. No doubt. No doubt. i bet I bet you wouldn't have predicted, though, before that series started, it was going to be...
00:00:42
Speaker
Man, as close as a battle as it really was, it was two evenly matched teams that really slugged it out to the first six and a half six and a half games of that series, right? The Cavs finally kind of showed some dominance second second half.
00:01:01
Speaker
of game seven, which we're going to get into and break down and cows make it on the other side. but man, Alex, it was not easy getting there. Not easy. You know, they were always that inferior team from the north. Never had a chance. The the um man, can you imagine being a Raptors fan?
00:01:19
Speaker
it must be like what Cleveland fans felt like during the Jordan era. where you just you you you just you just never got past that team. e And what's crazy is is we're we're way past LeBron and all that stuff, right?
00:01:34
Speaker
And they still just ah can't get past the Cavs. But I'm glad that we still continue that tradition. Sorry, Raptor fans, not really. But your your season's done once again as the result of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
00:01:49
Speaker
Good effort. A for effort. Raptors played a good three and a half games. They they they really did, though, in all seriousness. um Hate the Raptors with the passion. Multiple reasons. I've talked about that for years on the podcast, but ah I'll give them props for the for the effort that they gave in that series.
00:02:09
Speaker
ah They didn't have their starting point guard for the entire series. And for the last two games, they didn't have arguablyably arguably their best player on the team in Brandon Ingram. The Cavs know all about being shorthanded in the playoffs.
00:02:22
Speaker
And this is one of the years in a long time, Alex, where the Cavs weren't shorthanded. And it was still a battle. So, you know, I'll throw some props to the Raptors for that. Yeah, I mean, the Cavs had everybody healthy. The Raptors didn't. I mean, they were missing quickly and Brandon Ingram.
00:02:42
Speaker
But, ah I mean, the stats would say that the team played better without Ingram. But... Like anybody that watches basketball knows that's just not true because he is his own orbit out there on the court and he draws draws guys to him, right? so Absolutely. Absolutely. That's just how the playoffs are. Sometimes you're healthy, sometimes you're not.
00:03:06
Speaker
You know, unluckily we've not been healthy the past Three, four seasons in the postseason. So it's about time we're we're here and we're healthy. We're here and we're healthy. we We had to scrap to get there, but we did survive the first round.
00:03:21
Speaker
And we're still healthy, Alex, on top of it, right?
Key Performances in Game 7
00:03:24
Speaker
So let's let's break down Game 7 a bit. It was definitely a fun watch once so the Cavs kind of got going and started to pull away in in the second half.
00:03:37
Speaker
But man, Alex, early on in that game, it was more of the same with Toronto coming out, throwing the first punch, got up double digits multiple times in the first half on the Cavs.
00:03:49
Speaker
And man, it was kind of like, really? Yeah, we've seen this before a couple times in this series, Alex. Yeah, I mean, the Cavs came out. Oh, they missed like the first couple shots. They had a turnover. Raptors got up.
00:04:04
Speaker
Raptors were up by like eight points real quick. And it's like, oh, here we go again. You know, we're going to just trail them, you know, by eight, ten points the whole game. Yeah.
00:04:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah. That first half, we came back at the end of the second quarter and tied it up. Went nice little run there. I think it was an 11-2 run to to end the half and went into halftime, you know tied at 49 after what was a Tyson's three, I believe, was the last bucket for the Cavs.
00:04:38
Speaker
And that really started that really set up the rest of the game, Alex, because they they started to cook then. going on that run. And I know Alex, you, you probably feel the same way. Cause we're, we, we, we've seen plenty of calves basketball teams that come out of halftime and just, you know, struggle for, for whatever reason, multiple errors, the calves basketball, not just this era that we're in now.
00:05:02
Speaker
And it's like, okay, we're tied. We have the momentum, we have the home crowd, but, but how is this team going to come out in the second half? Thank God, Alex, they came out the way they did.
00:05:13
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, they came out. Yeah, I don't know. It seems like we always talk about how sluggish the Cavs come out in that third quarter and then they fall behind. and But yeah, this game, they came out fired up.
00:05:25
Speaker
They did. they did There was a post-game interview. what they were you know i can't remember who who was asked, if it was Struess maybe it was Mobley, but they asked him you know what was said.
00:05:38
Speaker
You know, they said in the previous game, Schroeder, you know, made a speech during halftime, got everybody fired up. And they asked, you know, who, which player was it this time, you know, that, that gave the speech during the half. And he says, oh, no, it was everybody.
00:05:52
Speaker
Everybody was talking. There was a lot of conversations. There was a lot of back and forth, you know, guys saying what, what, yeah, what they, what they needed, uh, to get this win.
00:06:03
Speaker
I was, I was talking to somebody at work today, Alex, and, Struis's name came up and I said, you know what, I'm going to give Struis a little bit of, a little bit of love and I'm going to do it on here as well because,
00:06:14
Speaker
Max Struess, he wasn't the only guy, but he he had a tough defensive assignment in guarding Scotty Barnes, who is bigger than him, um ah outweighs him, more athletic than he is, and he was tasked to just pester him, be pesky in any way you can.
00:06:33
Speaker
And I'm not saying that he out-dueled Scottie Barnes in that playoff series, but especially the last couple games, I feel like he he did just enough. Just enough. And yeah, he had that boneheaded kind of headbutt moment late in the game, but Strews wasn't afraid.
00:06:50
Speaker
And there was some times where he forced turnover, you know, Jared Allen gets that big breakaway dunk, the crowd goes nuts and all that stuff, and So just some, some love for cute, for, for Max Struis, you know, just kind of being that guy. That's what was a tough assignment. That head, but that was so weird and random. I wonder, I wonder if at that point, Scotty Barnes had five fouls and they're coming up the court.
00:07:14
Speaker
And I wonder if actually what Struis was trying to do was debate him by kind of like stopping and running into him and seeing if like Scotty would kind of nudge him or push him and, Struz probably would have sold it a little bit to try to get him to pick up his his sixth foul. It's the only thing I can think of.
00:07:30
Speaker
yeah But I mean, it was a straight-on headbutt, though. Well, when they showed the replay, he kind of like does it once kind of lightly, headbutts his shoulder, and then he does it a second time. a second time And it's just such an ah it looks like such an awkward movement. And he was totally trying to bait him, but that's, what that's what I mean though. Like of all guys, like Struzes and that guy you would pick to do that. Right.
00:07:53
Speaker
The game is in hand at that point. And he's still out there, you know, just, just, you know, letting them know that he's there, you know? So, yeah. um yeah strew struggled i mean he had that awesome first game in the series right but he kind of was up and down throughout the series but um he did just enough and and on the defensive end he definitely had a tough matchup so again and some love to strews but alex the third quarter of game seven belonged to one man Jared Allen.
00:08:25
Speaker
Your boy. Jared Allen. Listen, Jared Allen is the new Kevin Love. What I mean by that is, is every year when there's trade rumors and trade season and off season, his name comes up every single year and probably will continue to.
00:08:41
Speaker
Right. um But man, he he he just saved your season with that performance he had in the third quarter. He looked like freaking Shaq out there. Nobody can stop him. And what was even more impressive, Alex, how many free throws he made.
00:08:55
Speaker
He knocked every free throw down. It seemed like once he got fouled. It
Rotation Choices Discussion
00:09:00
Speaker
was unbelievable. He was so aggressive. And it's like, man, why can't you do that all the time? Right.
00:09:07
Speaker
um Now, Toronto's undersized. And we thought that that was going to be one of the pros, right? that That was going to work in the Cavs favor. Absolutely. He kind of just waited too long. He waited till game seven, right? yeah at Brink of elimination to kind of do that.
00:09:24
Speaker
But man, want to see him play with that fire more often because we know he's capable of doing it. Yeah, I mean, this is what we've been saying, you know, feed those big men, take advantage ah of Pirtle in the center there.
00:09:35
Speaker
I mean, I feel like they could have been doing this all along, both him and Mobley. They had every opportunity to to dominate that paint. Absolutely. And not every matchup is going to be like that, right? With Detroit, you got an actual big waiting for you over there and we'll talk about that.
00:09:52
Speaker
And I hope Mobley was taking some notes because at that point, you know, he picks up his fifth foul. He's sitting on the bench. He's watching. And just Jared Allen, Jared Allen, again, saved your season.
00:10:03
Speaker
And it wasn't, it wasn't James Harden. It wasn't Tonovan Mitchell. It wasn't, you know, Evan Mobley. It was, it was Jared Allen that kind of carried the load
Upcoming Matchup Strategies
00:10:13
Speaker
offensively for you in that quarter. And again, is what allowed the Cavs to, to, to get that lead and and really never looked back. So That was just so fun to watch, Alex, and I was so happy.
00:10:23
Speaker
and I remember saying on the last episode, like, man, we're we're due for a Donovan Mitchell game, which we're we're still due for. We're still waiting for, Alex. Okay? But then I also said, man, I want a Jared Allen game because when he scores 20 and above, show me how many times the Cavs lose.
00:10:39
Speaker
Yeah. and And there was. He had an incredible stat line. 22 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks. Yeah, 3 blocks. Yeah. incredible It was awesome.
00:10:52
Speaker
It was, it was fantastic everywhere. He was. And, and Mitchell did start to play a little bit better and his confidence was getting up and stuff like that, but it wasn't, it wasn't Mitchell starting that run and having that classic fourth quarter, you know, Donovan Mitchell takeover. It it was Jared Allen and in the third quarter, which you love to see, right? You love to see.
00:11:12
Speaker
um And Detroit and to Toronto, really never made a run that whole that whole second half. and Nothing more than maybe three baskets, you know maybe six-point runs here and there, but they never even kind of sniffed single digits again.
00:11:28
Speaker
Maybe once at one point, they got down to nine, but um the game the game was out of hand by that, Alex. so Yeah, I mean, Cavs defense really stepped it up. I mean, you could just tell they were guarding the perimeter quite a bit more.
00:11:42
Speaker
i mean, they were just flying around the court. mean, there were lot they were being pesky, locking them down. it's It feels like they were finally playing Cavs basketball this series.
00:11:54
Speaker
Absolutely. We've been waiting for them to play this way, the way that we know that they can play. They finally did it. And hopefully they learned from that. I mean, like, obviously you don't want series to go seven games because there's the risk of injury and your guys being tired. And, and look, the next game is the day that this is coming out. I mean, they only got a 24 hour, 36 hour rest and then they're, you know, getting ready to play again.
00:12:18
Speaker
So it obviously you didn't want it to go that long, but my hope is, is okay. You didn't win on the road yet, but you just went through a grueling series. Hopefully you re that was only the first round. Hopefully you realize what it took to do to get out of that series and the mentality you need to have every single game the rest of the way. Otherwise, you know, you might not be so lucky, you know, moving forward.
00:12:43
Speaker
So hopefully that's a learning experience. They can grow from that and, and just keep on building from that. I think so. You know, this group, uh, it's a, it's a pretty fresh group, right? It's hard. It should be Ellis and Bryant. And, you know, Struz just came back and,
00:13:00
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, this is this is the kind of thing that they need. They need a little adversity. They need to be a little battle-tested. Yes. I think i think overall was a good experience for them. Hopefully it didn't wear them out too much. Everybody just seemed so exhausted in those post-game interviews after that Game 7. I mean, they looked absolutely drained, and now they've got to play again Tuesday night.
00:13:22
Speaker
On the road next couple nights.
Cavs vs Pistons Preview
00:13:24
Speaker
and And Kenny did shrink his rostered ah his rotation down a bit, only played nine guys. we didn't We haven't seen Keon Ellis for for a couple games now. Thomas Bryan, who played in some earlier games in the series, didn't get any run in this game. So yeah, he definitely shrunk his his his rotation. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next matchup against Detroit.
00:13:48
Speaker
Another thing i kind of realize kind of noticed was, man, the crowd. The crowd was into it. It was awesome. Did you hear the USA chants? Yeah, USA. That was kind of entertaining considering, like, I don't even know, is there anybody on the Raptors that are even from Canada? Like, don't know. It's just one of those things you don't think about. You just yell it out. I think there is. You can't only a handful, right?
00:14:18
Speaker
Um, but that, that was kind of entertaining and the calves, the calves fans, they always do a good job. Right. But they were very lively, especially in the second half when you're starting to celebrate and you're just, you're just having fun with every basket.
00:14:32
Speaker
Um, Toronto just went ice cold and, and could not get anything going and the fans were loving it. Uh, RJ Barrett is from guy you're from Toronto. Okay. Okay. All right. All right.
00:14:44
Speaker
I knew there was because i I remember the announcer saying something about winning in front of your home crowd. Yeah. I couldn't remember who they were talking about. I'm looking a little bit closer at this box score.
00:14:55
Speaker
And, man, I didn't realize that Strews grabbed eight rebounds, had five assists, along with his 12 points. he He finishes with a plus 20 for the game. So, yeah, Strews had a real good game.
00:15:09
Speaker
Um, Donovan Mitchell, 22 points, James Harden, 18 points. Um, you know, nothing, nothing crazy there. yeah think, I think if they can find a way to, to, to, to have their more normal numbers, 25, 30 points each or whatever, man they're going to be a they're going to be a handful for, for any team.
00:15:29
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, they, they're still struggling on offense. They still struggled to shoot the ball. yeah ah You know, the Raptors are the fifth ranked defense. Yes.
00:15:41
Speaker
Yeah, and and and it was a smart strategy. They put Scotty Barnes on on Donovan Mitchell, who's what got six inches, you know five inches on on Donovan. and So it was hard. Donovan couldn't really shoot over top, and it was hard to get around him because Scotty can also um keep up with you as as well, right?
00:16:01
Speaker
And his length can make up for if you do get by him. Yeah. Um, Donovan actually, you know, he wasn't able ever to actually get comfortable. Um, and that obviously affected his, his play.
00:16:12
Speaker
Um, but hopefully, you know, those guys can figure it out cause we're going to need them. Um, you know, im moving forward here. Yeah. So, uh, Kenny has, has the, uh, roster narrowed down to nine players that he played pretty significantly. He did.
00:16:30
Speaker
Are there any players that you're surprised he didn't play or any that you're surprised that he is giving minutes? Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think my pick would be key on only because again, you know, you don't, it's not that he's not capable of scoring. He can knock down three ball. He can get to the rim. He could do some things.
Cavs' Path to Finals Speculation
00:16:50
Speaker
You don't need to run your offense through him though, obviously.
00:16:53
Speaker
um And just what he brings on the defensive end. I, you know Again, I applauded Max Struess for his effort in this game. Keon's like that every every time he's out there. you know he's He's always out there trying to be pesky and and and give an effort right on the defensive So I was a little bit surprised he he got trimmed from that rotation. If there's anybody that I was surprised got a bunch of minutes or has remained as much in, it's it probably would be Schroeder me.
00:17:25
Speaker
But at the same time, you're limited. like You're not going to probably throw Craig Porter out there. i don't want to do this Donovan Mitchell point guard stuff. I've talked about that. you know i hate I hate the Donovan Mitchell point guard stuff.
00:17:36
Speaker
You really don't have options. And listen, Schroeder arguably helped us win one game, right? Game five. Right. Threw away game six by by making a bonehead you know pass at the end of the game that forced a turnover and gave Toronto the ball back.
00:17:51
Speaker
He's just um he's capable of doing things, but I'm always a little bit nervous because I don't know what version of him going to get, you know. So, yeah. But again, you're limited as far as backup point guard options.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. um Keon Ellis, I would have liked to seen Keon Ellis get some minutes just what he could do because he is such a pesky defender. On the flip side of that, he is a little small compared to, uh, you know, who's he going to, he he can't defend. He's probably gonna be able to defend Scotty Barnes. He's probably not gonna be able to defend RJ Barrett.
00:18:24
Speaker
Um, you know who who Who out there can he really defend? Maybe maybe i'll Shed. Yeah, maybe Shed, who was making some... I mean, Shed had some pretty good, decent games.
00:18:35
Speaker
he He didn't do much in Game 7, but he was definitely a factor in some of those games. i like I would have liked to seen Thomas Bryant out there for a few minutes just to grab some rebounds, throw some elbows, throw out the paint.
00:18:51
Speaker
Yeah. As far as ah you know who I'm surprised got... so So many minutes, I would say Jalen Tyson, I guess, just because he is kind of the young, inexperienced guy and he wasn't getting that many minutes towards the end of the regular season.
00:19:08
Speaker
So um'm I'm a little surprised that he, you know, was getting pretty much 20 minutes a game. Yeah, i'm not I'm not disappointed, though, that he's getting the run. um he he he started off slow in this series. You know, had a couple games with foul trouble, but he's he's calmed down a bit. And again, you're never going to run your offense through him. But what I like about Tyson is you know, when he catches that, that pass at the three point line, um, you know, he, he's capable of knocking down that shot. Is he going to hit five, six of them in a game? Probably not, but he's capable of knocking down a jumper for you. Right.
00:19:43
Speaker
Um, and, and, you know, he hasn't been a stellar defender in that series, but we all know that he's capable. Um, he's athletic and we always know that the efforts there too. So,
00:19:54
Speaker
We'll see. We'll see what happens. you know We're moving on to a new series. We'll see if Kenny Tinkers, if if Tyson's minutes continue. Cade Cunningham's waiting for us. i can see i can see Tyson. I can see Strews. I can see Keon all all getting their chance at at Cunningham. And when you want to go big, you throw Dean Wade at him, right?
00:20:15
Speaker
Um, so Kenny's going to have a lot of options and, and again, really just, it just speaks to the depth of this team, to be honest with you. Like there's so many possibilities and combinations.
00:20:26
Speaker
Um, you kind of just at some point have to kind of stick with something you can't experiment forever, but that's the luxury that, that Kenny has right now is that he can sit some of these guys because he has other guys that are also capable.
00:20:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of three point shooting, Sam Merrill, I'm still waiting for Sam Merrill to get hot again. cause Yeah. and i need a Sam Merrill game. Cold all series. I need I need a Sam Merrill game. Five threes. Yeah. Twenty twenty plus points waiting for that as well.
00:20:57
Speaker
um I'm with you there. He hasn't really been able to get going yet. So we'll see. Alex, I don't really want to talk game six, but man, that shot by Barrett was insane. That was ridiculous.
00:21:11
Speaker
You got so lucky. that that That last few minutes of that game, man, it's like... well I don't remember what our timeout situation was. If you only had one left, we have multiple. I wish we would have called a timeout and advanced that ball.
00:21:24
Speaker
So Shooter wasn't put in that position. um Harden kind of gets the ball, kind of holds it for two, three seconds, nonchalant. Okay, Shooter, you got four or five seconds to get you know past half court.
00:21:36
Speaker
And, um you know, if he just would have held on to it for two seconds, three seconds, they would have been forced to foul him. Instead, he kind of dumped it um to an unsuspecting Caz player, you know, goes out of bounds.
00:21:49
Speaker
And, you the rest is history from there. Right. He wasn't across midcourt yet. He just got across when he made that pass. He just got across pretty positive. Pretty positive.
00:22:00
Speaker
um Maybe I'm wrong, but I felt like he just got across. I think that's why he had to pass it, because he was about to yeah get that eight second. ah I can't remember.
00:22:13
Speaker
Either way, they should not have let that game slip away. They should not let that game slip away. They had the lead. There was only a few seconds left. All they needed to do was run out the clock or hold on to the ball. it was I wanted to see them listen it was fun watching that game crowd home crowd all that stuff that's great but I wanted to see them close it out on the road just to prove that they could right they had a couple close I mean all the road games the Cavs were in it you know even the first Even the first road game, yeah, they end up losing that game by double digits, but they were in it until about five minutes left, and then they just let it slip away.
00:22:50
Speaker
The other games are much closer and very winnable games for the Cavs. It would have been great if they would have closed that game out on the road. Would have got a little bit extra rest, but also, again, just prove to themselves that they can do that. Yeah.
00:23:04
Speaker
Um, but Hey, we're at where we're at. And again, we're still alive, so they'll have opportunities. They got, they got two opportunities coming up this week, Alex, yeah try to get a win on the road. So,
Playoff Depth and Strategy
00:23:15
Speaker
um, anything else, Alex, from your perspective, Cavs Raptors series before we move on?
00:23:22
Speaker
I'm trying to think of anything else that happened. Really? There was a, uh, mix up with, um, um, Jared Allen. Jared Allen telling them all to go home. Yeah. Which was funny.
00:23:32
Speaker
That was when he was in beast mode. Yeah. There was that Harden taking out their coach. you see that? Where he like kind of weirdly stumbles forward and just... Right.
00:23:44
Speaker
It doesn't even look like he barely runs into him, but that coach just like, well, it's over the, over like the, the announcer table. And that coach had to be pissed at that point. yeah because the game is done And it's just like adding, in you know, insult to injury, man, just getting knocked down on live tv Yeah. or Coach, man. He, he always, he's always got that really, he's got her BF, man. He always looks, he always looks pissed.
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Well, caves raptors yeah again yeah another Cavs-Raptors series in the books. the The series continues of the Toronto Raptors never winning a playoff game in Cleveland, which that's kind of cool. I kind of like that.
00:24:27
Speaker
And ah yeah, Cavs move on. So the Cavs now match up. Obviously, everybody knows by now against the number one seed. the Detroit Pistons.
00:24:38
Speaker
um The Cavs know the Pistons very well, right, in in the same conference, play them four times every year and and all that stuff. Won't call them a rival or anything like that. um But the Cavs should be familiar with with the Pistons, and I'm sure they've been scouting them all year.
00:24:54
Speaker
But Alex, they do got kind of flip a switch here pretty quickly. But if I'm being honest, at least on the surface, I think it's going to be more of the same. I think they're going to get more of a gritty style opponent because like the Toronto Raptors, the Trey Pistons don't have two, three, you know, multiple superstars waiting on that team over there. It's kind of a, just a group of guys that play well together. They gel well together you They're not household names, but man, you know, they're, they're, they want a lot of basketball games and they're, they're capable of being a solid gritty team.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. That's, and that's what makes those types of teams tough, right? They just play, they just all play well together and it's like, okay, you can guard Cade, Cade Cunningham. And, and who are you, who else are you guarding? Um,
00:25:44
Speaker
But at the same time, it's like, okay, Cade Cunningham is their number one option. Who's really their number two? you know Is it wow Tobias Harris? Is it Duncan Robinson?
00:25:56
Speaker
ah think it's one of those teams where it's somebody different every night. right it could be someone like a Tobias Harris a veteran who's been around for a long time that can still light it up it could be someone like uh Dennis Jenkins who I remember lit us up in one of our regular season games they could just be a random person kind of like how the Cavs are right like it could be Sam Merrill one night it could be Jared Allen another night it could be Donovan Mitchell Jared Allen but I kind of like you calling that out because my guess would be the game plan is is make those other guys beat you right
00:26:29
Speaker
There's definitely not a one-two punch, at least not a consistent one. So the strategy should be pretty simple. Smother Cunningham and make those other guys make those other guys beat you, I would think. right yeah But they do have they they do have some some solid players over there.
00:26:46
Speaker
um Jalen Dernan, a freak of nature as far as like his build and just... Man, 250, just a big... like he Jared Allen will be the undersized big in that matchup. right And and he's he's really kind of blossomed as ah as a nice player for them. He's averaging 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, so double-double guy.
00:27:12
Speaker
Um, you already called out Tobias Harris. Um, I can never say is ah ah Oscar Thompson. man, when we played against them in regular season, he he was solid and and doing some things out there.
00:27:26
Speaker
and then they just have some other glue guys. and And we can't forget about, you know, Karis LeVert and, and Javante green, some, some players that the Cavs are very familiar with as well. I feel like they're little bit deeper of a roster, especially when it comes to experience, experience, being in the NBA, being in playoffs. And some of those guys have been around for a little bit.
00:27:47
Speaker
And then can't forget j b Yeah. JB. We better not lose to JB. Oh man. This is why JB got fired. Yeah. couldn risk as far Yeah.
00:27:59
Speaker
So Alex, from, from your perspective, what do what do you think the Cavs need to do in this series against Detroit? Um, to, to, to, to make it an interesting series and ultimately get past them.
00:28:12
Speaker
I feel pretty good about this matchup. um I know, you know, everything I've read and everything I've seen ah since the matchup was solidified yesterday and that the Cavs are heavy, heavy underdogs here.
Optimism for Cavs' Playoff Journey
00:28:26
Speaker
Detroit's definitely the favorite from everything I've looked at as far as, you know, betting odds. And, ah you know, yeah ESPN, I think, has Detroit at 71%.
00:28:40
Speaker
favorites. Yeah. Yeah. I, you know, I think we're going in. i don't know. I, you know, I don't really know what Detroit thinks about us. Like, do they see us as like a threat or not? But I think we handled them pretty well the last two games that we had against them in the regular season.
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah. And ah I think we matched up well against them. And I think that's one of the reasons why we wanted to match up against them in in this playoffs. We kind of positioned ourselves to eventually play against them when the time came. So as far as what we need to do to win, we just need to play Cavs basketball. We need to be the aggressor.
00:29:23
Speaker
We need to dictate, you know, the tempo and the flow of the game. i think that's that's pretty much the key for us. Yeah, and i agree with all that. I'll throw in there, and I'll probably say this every playoff series, especially this year, said it with Toronto.
00:29:42
Speaker
Do not underestimate your opponent. Respect your opponent. Think about what Detroit just went through to get to this matchup against the Cavs. They were down 3-1 against the 8 seed.
00:29:55
Speaker
Came back and win the series, right? So... They're, they're, they're feeling their chests are probably huffing them. They're out there. They're puffing their chest right now. They're full of confidence.
00:30:09
Speaker
They have the home court advantage. They just reminded the NBA of why they're the number one seed in the East. The calves cannot mess around and think that we got this because we, you know, matched up well with them in the regular season or whatever. Um,
00:30:22
Speaker
and They've also had a little bit longer of of rest time and they're at home. right they' They've been waiting for you since since what? They closed up that series on so on Saturday, I think it was. so um and They don't have travel and and all that stuff. They practiced today while you were traveling.
00:30:37
Speaker
So the Cavs just got to be ready, especially with these two games being road games. It'd be huge, in my opinion, if they can if they could split that's that that series, those first two games.
00:30:49
Speaker
Because again, to to win this series, you're going to have to win at least one in Detroit. And if they could do it early, i think it greatly increases the Cavs' chances of of coming out of this series.
00:31:03
Speaker
yeah It's going to fun. It's going fun one. Yeah. Yeah. I'd love to steal one in Detroit. I just don't know if it's going to happen. I would have loved to have gotten one in Toronto and probably never did. Right.
00:31:13
Speaker
Well, if you don't get one in Detroit, you're not winning in this series because you don't have home court advantage. and And really that's the rest of the way. That's the rest of the NBA playoffs for the Cavs. So it almost would have been nice if Orlando would have won because you actually would have held on to home court advantage for the second round as well. But yeah.
00:31:32
Speaker
Cards didn't fall that way. The Cavs get the matchup they want. Now let's see them go prove that that was the right decision. They did it a couple years ago. I got forget who it was where they purposely stayed. You might remember they purposely stayed in the four seed, and it kind of bit them and didn't work out in their favor.
00:31:50
Speaker
But we'll see what happens here. i kind of I'd kind of rather play Detroit than Orlando. Yeah, yeah. Orlando's scrappy. They're little bit more athletic, um younger, right? But every team's going to have high intensity. The Cavs just need to not only match it, but but set set their intensity higher and for once be the one to set the tone, right? Yeah.
00:32:16
Speaker
Yeah, so the Cavs and Detroit, second round. It's funny, Alex, how these first rounds feel like they take forever to happen. There's multiple days in between games. Now we're in the second round. Things are moving a little bit more quickly.
00:32:30
Speaker
um The Cavs play Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday this week. um So we got three games, three Cavs playoff basketball games this week, every other day, basically. So, yeah, we're going to know by this weekend where where things kind of stand before we go into the following week, which is game four on on Monday. it's going to come fast and furious.
00:32:51
Speaker
Cavs probably got some tired legs, but hope they're ready. Yeah, yeah, hope hope so. They better be ready. Yeah, yeah. On top of it, too you know, this is – This is a good opportunity for the Cavs going into the playoffs. A lot of, a lot of people nationally and locally were saying the Cavs potentially have one of the easiest paths to the finals. Right.
00:33:17
Speaker
and what happened over the weekend, Alex? Who got knocked out of the NBA playoffs? Oh, the Boston Celtics got knocked out Boston Celtics lose game seven at home against the 76ers.
00:33:31
Speaker
And then you have even more people saying like, oh, now the Cavs really have to you know make sure they get past you know Detroit and and and and get to the finals. Right.
00:33:43
Speaker
um I think we can admit that the Celtics were the one team we didn't want to have to see until we had to see them. Right. So, so bitter of relief that they're no longer in it. ah That doesn't mean anything though. The Cavs still got to get there and they're going to have a tough team waiting for them if they get past Detroit as well in New York or Boston was the absolute worst team for us to match up against. And they're out now.
00:34:08
Speaker
But, you know, we still got to beat Detroit. We'd still have to beat either the 76ers or the Knicks. And, you know, all those teams are good teams. East is wide open. It is. It really is. And the Knicks, um they're they're pounding on the 76ers right now, have a 21-point lead in the third quarter with five minutes left.
00:34:28
Speaker
So they're they're going to come out most likely with a game one victory. And they're probably the favorites right now is my guess. I haven't looked betting odds and all this stuff, but to come out of the East, the Knicks are probably the favorites right now.
00:34:42
Speaker
um So yeah, Cavs still have a long road ahead of them. starts Starts very soon. So I'm excited to see some more Cavs play off basketball. Again, just Cavs got to be ready, man.
00:34:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's going to good. All right. Well, Alex, anything else before we go ahead and wrap up? Well, heard a little bit of news that ah Coach Mosley, the Orlando Magic, was released one day after their loss. What do you think about that?
00:35:16
Speaker
Man, that's fast. That was quick. Like, I guess they must have already. And that was, a you know, a very close series. um Had they won that game seven, I'm sure.
00:35:28
Speaker
you know i You know, I don't know. would Would he have still had his job next season? Probably. did Did his job come down to just winning that one game or not? i don't I don't know. i feel like I feel like maybe the decision was made prior to the playoffs even happening because it basically took you winning a playoff game to even get to the playoffs. right They probably view that they have a once in a generation star on their team in Bancaro, although they've had some pretty good players in their franchise history, but this is like their era's number one star player. We could debate whether we feel he is that or not.
00:36:07
Speaker
um And maybe they felt, you know what, playing for a play in is not good enough right now, if they would have won that game and they're playing in the second round right now, it becomes harder to justify maybe that firing.
00:36:20
Speaker
But maybe they felt like even though, yes, they basically had three successful seasons with making it to the playoffs, they're just not getting over that hump. Right. Like imagine if Kenny loses this series to to Detroit, he's probably on the hot seat by next year. I would imagine. i don't think they would fire him this year, but if again, he comes up short next year in the playoffs again, he he's probably on the hot seat. He's probably on his way out, especially with, with what's waiting next summer, which is, you know,
00:36:50
Speaker
um some decisions, you know, that actually decisions will start this year with Donovan Mitchell, but you know what I mean? Yeah. Three years is, is your window in the NBA. Mitchell and Harden.
00:37:02
Speaker
I remember when, when JB got fired, we kind of felt a little bit like, uh, was that a little bit premature? I mean, we were good. He took a bad team to a good team, but we were kind of just, we were just there existing, right? We were a playoff team, but we weren't getting over that hump.
00:37:19
Speaker
And that's my guess is that's probably how the magic viewed, viewed Mosley currently. Yeah, no. Yeah. I mean, I agree. Like then again, like, I mean, they had injuries all season, right? Like Wagner was out.
00:37:37
Speaker
Suggs was out. Yeah. I don't know. They also have no draft capital. I mean, they they traded what, four draft picks for Bain? Yeah, for Bain. That roster is not not that deep as it is. And then you got two of your best players out.
00:37:53
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know about that Bain move. I don't know that that was a smart move. That was not smart move. He's a good player, but he's not a number one. No, you're not going to have any new blood coming into that team, right? Unless you start moving some of those pieces. So, you know, it'll be, it'll be interesting to see what they do.
00:38:10
Speaker
My guess is they keep it status quo and they just think if they have the right coach, this team performs differently. And if we have some better luck with health calves, we know all about that. We've been there. Right.
00:38:21
Speaker
um So again, it feels, it feels odd right now that the calves have everybody available. Uh, cause we're so used to, to being in that kind of situation where we have a couple of bodies not available and you know, that, that ends in the result of our season being over.
00:38:38
Speaker
Yeah. so I mean, it does worry me a bit that we are healthy. You know, this is the best version of our, of our team and we still struggled against, you know, absolutely. they're Absolutely. Raptors who were, you know, two man, short two man shy. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
00:38:58
Speaker
We'll see what happens, though. Anything can happen in the NBA and in the NBA playoffs. Maybe the Cavs will continue that momentum they had from Game 7 and jump out on the Detroit Pistons in Game 1, Alex.
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah. All right, let's go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll podcast. i want to thank you, Cavs fans, as always, for tuning in and listening. And Alex, let them know they can follow us and connect with us.
00:39:21
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. Click like, subscribe, leave us a rating or review. We'd appreciate it. All right, Cavs fans, there it is. We'll talk to you again soon.
00:39:37
Speaker
Peace out, Cavs fans.