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Episode 143: Best Team in the NBA?
59 Plays6 months ago
Alex and Corey discuss the latest happenings with the Cavs and around the NBA. We talk about Mobley's monster game, trade season, NBA All-Star aspirations, and take a look at the up-coming schedule.
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Transcript
Cavs' Magical Season and Record
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey, CAS fans. Welcome to the CAS 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? Hey, man. How are you doing? I'm doing good. The CAS has been rolling. I'm excited. Oh, man. If you're a CAS fan, you are very happy because the magical season is continuing. It's it's almost the end of the year, Alex. We're we're midway through December.
00:00:41
Speaker
And this isn't no fool's go. The Cavs are still the number one team in the NBA. Best record. 23 and four.
LeBron's Return Rumors: Impractical?
00:00:49
Speaker
I mean, this is real. This isn't a dream. It's amazing. It's been great. You know, we're rolling. Everything's been relatively drama free. So I don't know what we're going to talk about tonight, but i hate the feels good the lake the the Lakers even helped us out by shutting down the rumors of like trading LeBron and like, cause I've already seen that stuff kind of creeping up.
00:01:14
Speaker
And of course that always divides the fan base pretty quickly whenever you, you mentioned the King returning back to the Cavs. I did see that. I yeah saw people doing all kinds of like,
00:01:26
Speaker
how they would make the trade and what his role would be, how he would fit with this team, whose minutes he would take. I read quite a bit about it. and if you If you think about it just for a quick second, not that now the how not how that not that this is how I wanted to start the podcast, but just think about the salary he makes okay and what it would take for the Cavs to actually make a trade like, you imagine how many pieces would have to go away? You're not gonna move three rotational pieces out of this roster that's rolling to bring in a 39-year-old ah player to to kind of mess with everything, right? So just kind of silly when you think about it, but hey, LeBron's always, there's always gonna be that. Until the day he retires, there's always gonna be that what if.
00:02:14
Speaker
And it's always fun to kind of spew up during trade chatter time, rumor time, or anytime there's just drama going out in LA is, yeah, he's going to leave and go back to Cleveland and finish his career.
00:02:26
Speaker
I think it's pretty safe to say that he just does not fit on this team. He wouldn't work on this team. No, I don't know how you would how you would even fit him into this team. Just the style that we play up tempo fast up and down the court shooting threes. You know, ya that's the opposite of LeBron, right? LeBron's all slow it down, play a half court game. Yeah.
00:02:49
Speaker
Nying fits in better. in and out and which we're i don't know you're going to get No poster dunks. I would give LeBron Nying's minutes in a heartbeat. There you go. There you go.
Kevin Love's Leadership Amidst Injury
00:03:02
Speaker
There you go. But yeah, no, the Cavs, man, just just an unbelievable start to the season.
00:03:07
Speaker
And, uh, yeah, man, they're just, they're just rolling through teams and it's, it's fun to see. And, um, you know, Alex, since the last time we recorded the Cavs have gone six and one, um, they've only lost one game and, and we can sit here and argue that that it was a scheduled game as well, because it was on the second night of a back to back against, um, the Miami heat of all teams, Kevin love, um, got to see him play again. And, uh, what do you think Kevin love, man? Do you think?
00:03:37
Speaker
you think I know you don't I know you don't pay attention very much or but like when you see him play now which isn't very often and like she's still got a spot is he still got a role in the NBA to you he's still an NBA player you think we were years um i i I think so I think I mean he's he's that's tough I mean he can still shoot the three right and that keeps him pretty relevant you know it's the same thing that you know Vince Carter kind of did as a lot of these players as they get older you know as long as they can shoot the long ball they still got that playmaking ability they can hit those passes they can they can just help be playmakers and
00:04:13
Speaker
And field generals on the court, then you know I think that that that becomes a valuable role. And especially with Kevin Love, he's got that championship pedigree. So I think he's he still got a place.
00:04:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah i think I think he's got a couple more years, but I don't know. I don't think he's i don't think he's even the player they play, so he's 38, 39, or nothing like that. I think he might be done and in and just a couple more years. um It's funny. So we start off talking about LeBron, Kevin Love, and let's just for the hell of it. Hey, Kyrie, how you doing? OK, there you go. got You got the trio, right? Yeah. You got the the the original big three here in ah in Cleveland. but um Alex, one thing I did want to talk about going back to Kevin Love in that game, though. Unfortunately, that was the game where he and Evan Mobley were going for a rebound and Evan Mobley came down, kind of landed on Kevin Love's foot and end up having to leave the game and had missed the next game, if I'm not mistaken.
00:05:10
Speaker
Um, that was really the only bad thing I can think of though that has happened in this stretch since the last time we recorded and ah Kevin Love being the class act that he was even though it really wasn't his fault. It was just two players going for Rebound just kind of bad luck where where your feet land sometimes, right? ah But Kevin Love, you know, he's professional class act and after the game He went into the locker room to to check on Moby and even even apologize when he really didn't have to um And that seemed ah to get some more score some more brownie points for ah for Cavs fans I saw a lot of a lot of love for Kevin Love after that happened.
00:05:48
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say it's the only bad thing that's happened is since we just had the, uh, the Coro injury versus that's here. And we're kinda, I haven't heard an announcement as far as how long he's expected to be
Ben Simmons and the Modern NBA Style
00:06:00
Speaker
out. I've just heard that it could be multiple games or even multiple weeks. So waiting for the most recent one that was caused with, I, he ran into, uh, Ben Simmons on a pick and roll freaking Ben Simmons. I'm watching, I'm watching that nets game.
00:06:18
Speaker
And Brad Doherty is doing his thing, pulling stats out of wherever. And you know, it's crazy to me with Ben Simmons and like he's never been a shooter. I'm just amazed he's still able to serve somewhat survive in the league. And many fans would argue that his career is, is dead and gone from kind of the shenanigans he pulled for the last couple of years. But did you know he hasn't taken a three pointer.
00:06:43
Speaker
since the 2022, 2023 season. I heard him say that. Did you hear that? Yeah, yeah, and he said. Yeah, like 25 three-pointers in his yeah entire career. like Yeah, in six or seven seasons, yeah. How does he survive the NBA? Because in today's NBA, it doesn't matter if you're if you're freaking Wembley, you're shooting three-pointers. You know what I mean? He's got a freak athletic build. He's very athletic and all that stuff, but it's just that was just crazy to me.
00:07:10
Speaker
Yeah, he's a good a defensive player. Yeah, yeah, definitely. But it does suck about Akuro. You know, obviously you never want to lose a rotational piece and certainly not for any kind of extended period of time. Luckily for Mobley, you know, like I said, I think he missed, you know, but the rest of that game and and the following game. and And he played in that Nets game last night. So um we didn't lose Mobley for too long.
00:07:36
Speaker
Coro I mean that's a big loss that you know this is the first season I think I feel like I can really say wow we're gonna we're gonna miss a Coro I saw a stat that he's like a top ten three-point shooter in the and NBA right now he's ah he's been killing it yeah he's he's um it's nice Really a lot of places, a lot of pieces are just falling in place with this team right now. So last year or the years prior, you know, we'd be not real hard, but we'd be bashing players like Okoro and Lavert and these other players that you're really expecting to do more because they're playing out of position or there's injuries out the wazoos and all of a sudden
00:08:17
Speaker
you need levert to go out there and give you seventeen points yeah you need occur to give you double digits every night. We're now with the team being healthy and everybody clicking the way they are.
00:08:28
Speaker
It doesn't matter really at the end of the day if a Kuro scores 15 points or gives you three points, because there's just so many other weapons on this team that can go off at any time. And it's just extra extra icing on the cake when someone like an Akuro does go off and starts hitting a couple threes. And he had a nice big slam the other day, a two hand slam against the Nets before he went out and all that stuff. And he's just such an energetic and athletic guy.
00:08:55
Speaker
And I'm really glad the Cavs were able to find a way to to retain him and on a very team-friendly contract. Because he brings a lot of different things to the team. He does. He's that promised 3 and D player that we've been waiting for, really. He's finally cemented himself. Starting to blossom out of that. yeah Yeah, absolutely. He's got a little bit to go. He's got a little bit to go. But I wouldn't put him in no three-point contest or anything like that. you know he's He's not jacking up the same amount of three-pointers as You know, the true shoot, the true three point shooters, and he's not jacking up Steph Curry attempts, right? So that number could be skewed a little bit, but you can definitely see the progression. Think of two, three years ago when he came in, you know, when he first came in the league to where he's at now, you could really tell he's worked on his shot a lot and, uh, and it's really improved there and just starting to understand and learn how to play the game.
Impact of Recent Trades: Bryant and Schroeder
00:09:45
Speaker
yeah Yeah, you would ah kind of mention that we were sort of heading into trade season a little bit. There's already been a couple deals that have gone down. ah Two of them that and I've been hearing a lot of chatter about was the Pacers getting Thomas Bryant from the Heat for a pick swap. I think that's that's really going to help the Pacers because they needed a big man. they've been They had two big men. They both went down injured. So Thomas Bryant's going to be a good fit for them. He's not really a well-known name, but he's just a a workhorse. He's a big body. He could just do those garbage things that you need to do, which is grab re-rounds, protect the rim.
00:10:24
Speaker
dunk it in your face every once in a while. So that's a good pickup for that. he's He's one of those guys that I think has a lot of potential that just wasn't getting the minutes that he needed with the heat. So I think now that he's with the Pacers, he's he's guaranteed minutes for sure. He's got a spot. he's go to be he's he's I think he's going to be a force on that team.
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah, I heard about that one. What's the other one? i didn't know I didn't hear of anything else. The Warriors got Dennis Schroeder from the Nets. So the Warriors have been struggling a little bit with a lack of guards. So Dennis Schroeder coming in there. Could be quite a benefit for the Warriors. Yeah, I kind of i kind of don't like that trade because yeah Schroeder's a guy that you know he could do some things and going to a team like that will rejuvenate his outlook on this season, especially after leaving a team like the Nets that it kind of just have a hodgepodge of players, really no star player, really no direction, and ultimately still being haunted by the James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie, Irving experience you know experiment that they did.
00:11:37
Speaker
You know, they they don't have a lot of assets and it's funny alex during during the nets game Um at one point they had up Um, you know the trades that I had transpired like the james harden trade and that's when the calves acquired, um, Jared allen the pacers acquired cares the vert And it kind of was funny because it reminded me of what the calves gave up And I don't know if you remember, and I know I don't mean to open up old wounds, because I know you have a soft spot for them. But the Cavs gave up Dante Axum in that deal. And then brought in Karis Lavert a little bit later down the road with the whole, you know, Rubio thing and then bringing Rubio back. Like just what a series of events that trade it. Like that might be one of the, it has to be one of the top five best trades in Cavs history because of all the other domino effects that happen afterwards, considering what you gave out and what you gave, you know, got back.
00:12:31
Speaker
um within a very short time period afterwards. But yeah, trade seasons here, it'll be interesting to see what other teams, you know, make some moves. And as far as the Cavs, I haven't heard a ton Alex, except for what we hear every year, which doesn't help with the whole LeBron chatter is an update at the wing position.
00:12:52
Speaker
but What's your thoughts? do you Do you even buy into that? And where do you kind of stand? like Do the Cavs need to entertain making a trade? I don't think so. I don't have a long answer for this. I think i think they should just stay pat. I like where we're at. We still have Strus, who hasn't played a minute Yeah. So we got more fire power that's going to be coming back to us. We've been, we've been blowing teams out. I mean, these last few games that we've played, ah yeah they're over in the second quarter and they're just not even competitive. The Cavs are just firing on all cylinders. They're rolling through people.
00:13:34
Speaker
And granted, some of these teams aren't elite by any means. you know The Wizards, the Nets, you know they're they'rere they're the bottom half of ah ah ah the league. But yeah, they're they're still rolling through them. And that Nets game was over by halftime. And that's what good teams are supposed to do. Because at any given night, we've said this many times, any team could beat any team in the league. Don't let these bottom feeder teams even think they have a chance. Put them away early. And it's really going to save on the wear and tear late in the game for you.
00:14:03
Speaker
and Yeah, I mean max truce. It's very kind of disappointed because we were kind of teased I don't know if you saw this too, but we were kind of teased that he was gonna come back What was it the Wizards game and it didn't yeah happen? He was ruled out again with the Nets game It feels like though it can be at any point that he's gonna make a return I it feels like he's gonna return before the end of 2024 and And you're right, it's it's kind of like it's kind of like what Ty Jerome has been doing, right? Like we had Ty Jerome on the roster last year, but he didn't play. So it feels very like, wow, it's like we made a trade or made a signing because we... are for the first time seeing him and he's contributing and so on and so forth. Stu's played last year, we know what he's capable of. That's another solid offensive option that can also go off on any given night, gives you more three point shooting and also by the way works his butt off on the other end as well, you know, on the defensive end. So just to add that to the mix here, yeah, man, there's a very high argument for for not doing any kind of move, to be honest with you.
00:15:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean that's that's where I'm at. I don't see us making a move. I know we're 1.7 million over the cap, but this isn't the season to try to stay under the cap. You know, this is the season to go all in. ah We still have, you know, I've been seeing, you know, i the funny thing is I just saw somebody post a ah trade machine, you know, the Cavs getting Jimmy Butler. Like, no, no, you don't, no. This team is like too good to beat. Wasn't it like Garland? It was Garland and, oh, who was the second one? Maybe it was, was it Garland and Strus? It might've been someone like a Strus or Laverde or someone like that. And it's like,
00:15:48
Speaker
Come on now come on. i know Yeah, I think it was garland and lavert. Yeah, and like ago a year ago We'd be like yeah, let's do it right garland struggling lavert's hit or miss We need a hail mary to save the season right this year though. It's like hell. No Don't even come at me with that Why would I trade a younger star player for an older, arguably at and past his prime player, and then also the dynamic of ah of a Jimmy Butler and a Mitchell playing to together? No, there's just too many many things that rattles the cages. and you know I think over the summer, we did too. We were guilty of it as well. like Why aren't the Cavs doing anything? We're watching other all these other teams make deals, and and we kind of beat them up.
00:16:35
Speaker
And we're seeing the results of that and and and at least in me and and hopefully a lot of Cavs fans, that's given you some confidence back in this team, in this organization that they know what they're doing. And if they end up standing pat again during the trade deadline, like have that faith. Again, the Cavs are the best team in the NBA and have been all season long.
00:17:00
Speaker
what more do you want? And you're bringing back strews. That's a mix. So again, there's just, the only thing that I slightly worry about, you said it a little bit ago, it's like, okay, when a team is this hot, that's when you decide to go all in. But that's when you can also screw yourself by making a move and making a tweak and pushing one or two guys out and bringing another guy in that you think is gonna put you over the top and all of a sudden doesn't quite gel right.
00:17:28
Speaker
It just doesn't fit right, you you know what I mean? Or you have an injury come up now or something like that and now you don't have those, that you know, you shift a couple players out, you don't have that depth anymore. um So that's the only thing I'm curious to see if the Cavs, you know, quote unquote, go all in, try to make one more, you know, splash move to try to put them over the top.
Cavs' Roster Strategy: Stand Pat?
00:17:50
Speaker
but I don't think they need it. No, no. Yeah, I don't think so. And and and at this point, you know, I i trust Kobe Altman and Mike Gansi and Kenny Atkinson to, you know, if they do just think that there is a roster change needed that I would trust them to make the right decision. I just don't I just don't see it. hit this Maybe they're finally just going to listen to those articles, Alex, and they're going to say, you know what? Yeah, we're going to trade Evan Mobley for Kevin Durant straight up.
00:18:19
Speaker
We're gonna bring in Durant and we're gonna take you to the Promised Land. Durant, huh? I don't know about that. I don't know. i guess i guess That's the kind of crap that comes up, though, is what I'm trying to say. And it's just like, come on. The Cavs are moving the ball really well right now. I don't want to bring in so ah you know an ego. I don't want a Durant or a Butler. Nope.
00:18:41
Speaker
Nope, exactly. Playing with fire. it's It's drama free. I think Donovan Mitchell has been an exceptional superstar. I can't, you know, to to be fair, um we weren't old enough to to to experience the stars of the past, right? The AC's, the Mark Price's, the Brad Dorn. We just weren't old enough for that, right?
00:19:07
Speaker
um Even even shawn kemp who is still very young didn't really understand the inner workings of ah you didn't just you didn't know you know what i mean so with With ah you know today's world and social media and how much money these guys are making in my opinion donovan mitchell has been an excellent superstar because he doesn't none of this cryptic crap you know what i mean like he he he he he admitted it after everything came out he's like i knew for a long time i wanted to be in cleveland and i believe that he was one of the ones that was you know um lobbying to keep this team together no don't trade away carlin don't trade away alan i can work with these players i can play with these players so like he's been an awesome superstar and it's just so refreshing
00:19:57
Speaker
to have this much success, no egos and and no drama. It's really unbelievable when you think about it. I actually can't really remember what my first impression was when that trade happened that brought Donovan Mitchell to the Cavs. Holy shit. Maybe maybe we should, maybe we should ah yeah, yeah. Should have been your thing. I'm just gonna recap that trade real quick. So the Cavs received Donovan Mitchell and they sent the Jazz, Colin Sexton, Lori Markinen,
00:20:30
Speaker
Ochiyabaji, who is our rookie, and then 25 first round pick, 26 pick swap, 27 first round pick, 28 pick swap, and 29 first round pick.
00:20:44
Speaker
So, i I remember thinking we hedged our, totally hedged our future for the next, you know, eight seasons, eight years, you know, to bring Mitchell here. And it's worked out so far, so far so good. Yeah, if he would have left over the summer or didn't opt in or, you know, whatever, um I would argue the season, you know, the trade,
00:21:12
Speaker
most likely probably wouldn't be successful, right? And sure, at any time, any player can, you know, he he has that power, he can demand a trade tomorrow or next year or whatever. And a lot would a lot of folks would argue down the road, well, if you didn't win a championship and you guys gave up all that, it's you guys didn't win the trade.
00:21:31
Speaker
But it's very much looking like, again, just like that James Harden, Jared Allen, Cares, Laverte, Ricky Rubin, like how I said, that's a top five trade in Cavs franchise history. That ton of a Mitchell trade is right there. So is the Kyrie Irving trade where we we got the first round draft pick swap with the Clippers that was unprotected and we landed the number one pick like we'll have to do an episode on that where the best trades and in Cavs history. I don't think we've done that yet.
00:21:59
Speaker
But it's it's funny because a lot of the players that are on this team are a result of the recent excellent moves that this organization has made in the last five five years or so.
00:22:13
Speaker
um, post LeBron leaving the second time, basically. So it's just an awesome time right now to be a Cavs fan and probably one of the most enjoyable seasons I can remember and in a long time. And it was, it was very fun when love was here and Kyrie was here and LeBron was here. But you just also always knew in the back of your mind, like, man,
00:22:34
Speaker
we we we we we We kind of were weary, right? Because LeBron kind of pulled one on us the first time. It's just like is this really going to be the next 10 years. i don't I don't know if I buy that. You know what I mean? and it was yeah Also with that that team, but just thinking back to those days, like I remember them like, It felt like it didn fit out they were, coast well, it always felt like they were kind of coasting too. Like they were like just going through the motions in regular season. Guys were taking nights off. I mean, they were winning a ton of games, right? But at the same time, it just so felt like they were coasting or resting all season just to get to those playoffs. Right. Yeah. Whereas with this team, it feels like, man, they're going hard every night and they're a blast to watch. it's So much fun.
00:23:17
Speaker
yeah Yeah, excellent. and As far as the trade deadline, i'm not really like in years past, i'm I'm glued to my phone. right I'm scrolling, I'm looking i'm looking for that whoge bomb or that sham tweet, anything with the calves. right where This year, I won't be paying attention as closely because, to be honest with you, I'll be pretty surprised if the calves do anything.
00:23:40
Speaker
where I'll be more curious is to see what other teams in the league do. Because every year there's always some team doing a fire sale and there's always some trade or trades that really bump up the stock in in ah in a team, right? And like a Dennis Schroeder trade, that's that's a nice addition for the Warriors, but they'll be a bigger trade. They'll be some other contender or some other team that all of a sudden becomes a contender when they bring in some some star player from whatever team is.
00:24:09
Speaker
you know, okay, we're we're scrapping it, we need to rebuild fire sale. Here's Zach Levine, or here's, you know, I don't know, Demar to Rosen, whoever, take your pick, you know what I mean? Here's, here's whatever. And all of a sudden, you know, okay, it's like, okay, got to be a little bit weary of that team that just brought in, you know, that player. So um trade season is always fun time. But it's just different this year, because I don't think the Cavs are going to be, you know, that, that team, you're going to hear a ton about, I really don't.
00:24:37
Speaker
That's okay. That's okay. Should be and should be a non-event. I guess you know the only thing we need to pay attention to is what's going on with. You know, the team's on the top of the East and and what they're going to do to, to improve, to challenge the Cavs.
Evan Mobley's All-Star Potential
00:24:50
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. So the other thing that's kind of, you know, it got a little bit yet, but it'll be here before we know it too, is, is the all-star game, Alex. And we haven't touched on this yet, but going back to Evan Mobley, you know, his, his career night against the Charlotte Hornets, 41 points, 10 rebounds.
00:25:12
Speaker
awesome performance dominance and just just great to see because that's it's like it's like i saw so many reactions online of like there it is that's what we were finally waiting for and he's had other great games don't get me wrong but you know to break the 40 point mark it's like okay finally that's like a milestone in his career right And I saw a lot of posts, a lot of chatter um of Evan Mobley as an All-Star, like this cements him as an All-Star. And I don't know if I would go off of one performance all of a sudden cements him as an All-Star, but I think you'll agree with me that we both feel like Mitchell is an All-Star or should be an All-Star. What do you think about Evan Mobley's stock and ultimately his chances of becoming an All-Star this year?
00:26:03
Speaker
I think his chances are pretty good. He's been, I mean, he's on a winning team, one of the best teams in the NBA right now, and he's he's been playing great, both ends of the court. So I, you know, I don't see, I think people just got to vote. All-Star always comes, it's a popularity contest. It always comes down to vote. So fans, we just got to,
00:26:24
Speaker
Vote for our players, that's all we gotta do. Get out there and vote. What I worry about is, is I don't know if Evan Mobley yet is a household name outside of Cavs fandom. You know what I mean? He's not. That's the way it always is with the Cavs. We're a small market team. It's always, you know, unless we got LeBron James, it's always hard to getting. But like, think about this way though. Yes, but no, like, is Memphis a big market? Everybody knows who John Marant was. Is. And that's before.
00:26:54
Speaker
That's because he was in the news for other things. Yeah, but everybody knew who he was before that is what I'm trying to say. Because he was just, he was just a little guy, he's so explosive, he's dunking on people. Like he's a dynamic and explosive player. Mobley's what in year four, kind of starting to become what we were hoping to be. But again yeah, that's what I worry about. Like is he, is he a household name enough yet for him to get votes outside of of Kaz fans? And I don't know.
00:27:21
Speaker
I don't know I hope so it'll be interesting to see he's definitely a rising star in the league and it'd be awesome to see him make the team this year yeah I don't know I I think it's because he you know he's he's so He's such a quiet guy, and he does a lot of his work on the defensive end. And if you're not scoring buckets, then you're not a household game. Yeah, and and he's not and he's not a highlighter. He's not a every game, every night, a top 10 ESPN highlight. I don't even know if they do that anymore, but he's not.
00:27:52
Speaker
Even to me, he does a lot of things very well. If he was bringing together triple doubles, then yeah, he'd be a household name. Exactly. But it's off and on. It's 40, one night, 20 the next. It'll be interesting. Obviously, we're rooting for Mobley, rooting for Mitchell. I think there could be a case or some arguments for Garland. But I think, again, there's a lot of good point guards in the NBA.
00:28:22
Speaker
He might be a long shot, but what do you think about Atkinson? Would it be kind of cool if he was the coach for the All-Star game? Coach of the Year. And I want him to, yeah, he's on a pathway to be coach of the year, especially if the Cavs stay on this trajectory, which is another whole amazing story in itself for Atkinson to come in and just start the way he did and what a magical season for him as well. But how cool would it be if Atkinson somehow finds his way in the All-Star game?
00:28:55
Speaker
Yeah, that would be awesome. totally i don't I don't see why not. Who's who's there to challenge him, really? I don't know. Doc? I don't know. Yeah. The Bucks started out slow, but they did just win the cup. They did win the cup. Congrats to the Bucks. They're our next opponent, actually, on the Cavs schedule. That's right, Friday.
00:29:16
Speaker
I think we're going to see a different Bucks team than what we did earlier in the year. um but you know Whatever, that's fine. The Cavs just got to continue to play their style ball. and um yeah It'll be an interesting game. Any team, any game with Giannis in it, you know he's he's a good enough player that he can take over a game and single-handedly win a game.
00:29:39
Speaker
But, uh, that'll be a good little challenge for, for the calves here. This is the bucks coming off all high and mighty and built with confidence. The calves can kind of put them back in their place. I like, I like, I like what you're, you're putting down there. I agree.
00:29:55
Speaker
So one, one disappointing thing I will call out, Alex, um we kind of were skipping around here, should have called this out earlier is, you know, Christmas is right around the corner. um It's actually a week away from when we're recording this, right? um Man, talk about bad luck and the Cavs not getting a freaking Christmas Day game.
00:30:17
Speaker
It's been a minute since the Cavs have had one, not saying that they've deserved one in quite a while. But man, if there was ever a year for the Cavs to get in it, this would have been the year and I brought up the Christmas Day schedule. And of course, you know, they have to schedule all this stuff, you know, well in advance, right? um So I get it. But at the same time, looking at some of these games and I'm just like, man,
00:30:39
Speaker
Really? Lakers versus Warriors. Yeah, I mean, yeah. LeBron Curry. We've seen it a million times. Spurs and Knicks. Spurs are only there because of of Wembley.
00:30:54
Speaker
Timberwolves and Mavericks. Okay, I'll give you that one. You got Kyrie, you got Donovich, you got Edwards and all that stuff. Nuggets and Suns, okay, I get that one. The one that stings though, and again, you really couldn't have predicted this, is the Celtics and the 76ers, Alex. And the 76ers, they're in the tank this year. I'm pretty sure I saw something again of Evan Mobley going down.
00:31:22
Speaker
um In a recent game. I think it might even been this week and I don't know if he's out again for any significant time, but 76ers at the bottom of the league and it's like man I wish I wish the NBA would figure out a way to get the Cavs in there get the 76ers off that schedule totally lame Cory Totally, it's very lame. I want to see these Sixers. What are they thinking? That's one thing I do miss all those years of watching, you know Cavs Christmas Day games That was that was a good time it made enjoying the whole day of and NBA games. It started at 11 o'clock and they go to 11 o'clock at night. That was fun. I blame Adam Silver.
00:32:01
Speaker
Looks like a skinny bald rat picking the 76ers. Yeah, yeah. you know But lots of good stuff going on for for the calves, Alex. um you know Again, looking at the standings, the calves, are you know they've they've you know they don't have a big gap in between them and the Celtics, but they've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the Celtics at bay you know at that one to one and a half game mark and then there's you know a pretty significant drop after that alex is you know the nicks and the pacers are actually tied for for the three four seed but they're their're six and a half games behind and now that you want the calves to like pull back on anything or all of a sudden you know lose four out of six games or something like that
00:32:50
Speaker
but they have a little bit of wiggle room here too, which is always nice because, again, historically, for these last several years, at least since we've been doing this podcast, I can't recall them ever being in a situation like this. Yeah, yeah. It's awesome. I love it. Yeah, it's it's great.
Cavs' Upcoming Schedule Challenge
00:33:10
Speaker
And if we look at the um the schedule you know moving ahead, the Cavs have had some easy games, last couple of games. you know You have the Nets, you have the Wizards,
00:33:19
Speaker
You know the hornets so again the wizards again you know so their their schedule gets a little bit interesting because we have the box on friday night again we'll see what what the bucks bring and that is at home in cleveland at least um The Cavs then play Alex against the 76ers Saturday night, so you know back-to-back scenario, but another home game um Then we get to see some former Cavs players the Utah Jazz come to town on Monday the 23rd Are you um?
00:33:56
Speaker
You know, do you do you does anything come up to you when you see the jet like Colin Sexton marketing? Does that do anything for you anymore? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That'll be fun. That'll be a fun game. I like seeing those guys play. It's kind of like what the Cavs would have been if we wouldn't have made the Mitchell trade, right?
00:34:11
Speaker
It's almost like an alternate timeline, alternate universe kind of situation. It is, and very bad luck for them because the Jazz are the second worst team, and ah at least in the west you know the Western Conference. They only have five wins this year. so and they're probably miserable out there and yeah it'll be interesting because Utah is one of those franchises to where like you know all the way over here in Cleveland we ain't we ain't gonna stay up or really pay attention anything that's going out in Utah so I haven't been up on the latest news on what's going on with with either of those players and it'll be yeah a little bit weird I kind of wonder if the Cavs fans are like we do we even react to them when they check into the game or
00:34:55
Speaker
You know when they're announced during the starting lineup like is there any claps is there any booze or is it just like nothing? ah Right, right, you know what I mean? So yeah, I mean they got marking insects in Clarkson Clarkson what happened to I mean, I know Bhaji's been playing awesome yeah Why is he not with the jazz? Did they? just he somewhere else grade him i feel i was with I want to see who's with the Hawks was he with the Hawks?
00:35:21
Speaker
It was against a team we recently played, and i don't know and I know we didn't play them recently, and I don't know why I have the Raptors stuck in my head. Oh, that could be. It might be the Raptors. But the jazz did move on from him. I don't know. I don't i don't remember seeing how that happened. Did they make a trade? Did they wave them and a team signed them? I don't know. But he did end up playing a couple minutes, the whatever team he was on here um that we played against. Yeah, he looked great when he was playing against us.
00:35:46
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah um But then after that the schedule gets a little bit interesting because then we have the Nuggets the Warriors the Lakers Mavericks um To kind of end the year and the Mavericks is the first game of 2025 so that'll be a man you're gonna see Curry and You're going to see LeBron and you're going to see Kyrie, you know, in that three game stretch. So that'll be interesting and a good little test for the Cavs. And they need that too, right? They can't just always steamroll through teams because, you know, you're not going to get that come playoff time. Right. So that'll be a good, a good test for them. And it'll be interesting to see how the Cavs kind of react to that.
00:36:31
Speaker
Yeah, I like that that all these games that are going to be really fun to watch are happening during winter break too. So I should be able to get to get to watch them all. I can't wait. It's gonna be great. Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's hard. It's hard sometimes to always watch these games live.
00:36:47
Speaker
And you got kids, you got after-school activities, you got just whatever. Christmas shopping, I'm still trying to get done. Come on. But you're right, once- Corey, you are not still doing Christmas shopping. Get out of here. I did some the night I was out and about. Oh my God, you're cutting it. You're cutting it close, man. Oh, you're out fricking mortar shopping? I was going to say online shopping, man. Nothing's getting delivered. You can't rely on Amazon anymore. I've missed my window. It won't be here. It won't be here in time.
00:37:13
Speaker
Yeah, you're way too late there. and i don't think I don't think I've told this story on the podcast, but I've told you several times. I guess I'll just call it out now. It's funny because um usually when I'm out and about, I see Sam Amico a lot.
00:37:28
Speaker
Yeah. remember i told you i tell you several times I've seen him a couple times this year. I'll be like at a Target or at a Walmart or somewhere just dumb like that. And I'm like, there's Sam. I never get the courage to go up to him. Yeah, why don't you ever say hi? I don't know. I don't know. I got to get the courage, I guess, at some point. Trying to show the man some respect, right? He's just a regular dude. Just a regular dude walking around. Hey, Mr. Amico.
00:37:51
Speaker
ah But what's funny is is like I'm out constantly now trying to finish up shopping or or whatever, having seen the dude in months. What the hell? But yeah, I'm still trying to finish up stuff, Alex. so But I'm looking forward to that all kind of being done. And you're right, you know there'll be some good games to watch over break before for kind of returning back to you know work and all that stuff. So looking forward to it for sure.
00:38:20
Speaker
While we're here, are you hoping or asking for any Cavs related gifts this year? Any jerseys? Any Cavs socks? Headbands? You know, Alex, you're always good for something.
00:38:34
Speaker
Some calves pool tables, no. Cabs pool tables for yeah, $3,000. Nothing in particular on the list. Yeah. nothing Nothing that I can think of. The family just usually knows, you know, it's it's i'm not gonna, you know, hey, give me some, they just know. Yeah, anything, any calves peers. Yeah, just say they just know, yeah, yeah.
00:38:57
Speaker
That's cool. Yeah, I do need to like get some memorabilia behind me like you do there. I got to figure out something. What if I can put a bookcase like you do behind me? Yeah, yeah. I don't know. The wall behind me is really far back. Yours is kind of close, so it works really well. Zoom in. I got to figure something out. Got to figure something out. Yeah, and I'd like to- I don't think people want me zooming in here. Well, yeah, yeah. Hang stuff up at the ceiling above you, man.
00:39:22
Speaker
get ah Get a big Cav Shack poster or Ben Wallace or something to put up. I got that flag I could hang up. Yeah, we'll see. I got to figure something out. it It almost looks like one of those fake generic backgrounds from Microsoft Teams, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you got winter break, so do some remodeling down there and in the near future, let's let's see some memorabilia behind you because I know you got stuff. You got to show it off, Alex. like
00:39:51
Speaker
Anything else? Maybe I'll relocate. Yeah, that's always an option too. Next time I'll be recording from the basement bar. Let's try that. There you go. Nice little drink. You got some calves. You probably got some calves, shot glasses or beer glasses or something. Absolutely. yeah i could And I could always use more, family. Yeah. There you go. There you go.
00:40:16
Speaker
Well Alex, I think we should go ahead and wrap up this episode of the Cavs Pick and Roll Podcast. Again, the Cavs are on a tear right now. Hopefully they can keep it going. Been very fun to watch as the first half of the season is, is it's coming, it's coming. um But Alex, you want to let them know where they can follow us and connect with us.
00:40:37
Speaker
Follow us on Twitter at calves pick and roll shoot us an email calves pick and roll at gmail dot.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 cast fans. There it is Peace out cast fans