With that line up we would be good to go.
@@@Official Cavs thread 2014-2015@@@
- Thread starter gene cisco
- Start date
With that line up we would be good to go.
The Heat really needs to get rid of Rio and replace him with a younger more athletic guard who can hit the three... Rio is like a cancer on the floor, when he is good he is good but when he is bad, he looks lazy slow and uninspired, if the Heat had someone like JR Smith instead of Rio, last year, they would have been much better off..
I like Dang, he is a blue collar roll player type who brings a lot to the plate, he gives the team toughness and professionalism..
The fact that there are 2 pages of Heat discussion in a CAVS thread proves where all of the Heat fans went this season, and why there were only 12 post in the Heat reload thread!!
Celtics-Cavaliers Game 2 Preview
STATS LLC
LeBron James called it nerves and Kevin Love said it was anxiousness, but whatever affected the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first 14 minutes of their playoff opener isn't something they plan to repeat.
What James does seem intent on doing again is making sure Love is a big part of the offense.
The Cavaliers will try to make sure their performance from the final three quarters provided a blueprint for a better beginning in Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Boston Celtics.
Boston shot 57.1 percent in the first quarter Sunday and pushed its four-point lead to eight early in the second quarter before Cleveland settled itself in the first playoff game at Quicken Loans Arena in nearly five years.
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 53-25 over the next 18 minutes en route to their 113-100 win, with Love scoring 14 of his 19 in that stretch after failing to hit the rim on four of his first five shots.
"It's very important that Kev stays involved," James said. "For our ultimate goal, Kevin has to be in the rhythm or at least touching the ball and feel like he's a part of what we're doing, which he is.
"Even with Kev's shot not falling early, I felt like just the rhythm he was in, the aggressive mode he was in will pay off for us later."
Love scored more than 40 percent of his points and took more than 38 percent of his field-goal attempts in the first quarter during the regular season, but did all of his damage after the opening 12 minutes Sunday.
Fellow playoff rookie Kyrie Irving said he was glad to have Game 1 out of the way, but he certainly didn't look like he was bothered by the spotlight. Irving had 20 of his 30 points -- and all five of his 3-pointers -- in the first half. In the 30 minutes he, Love and James were on the floor, Cleveland put up a 127.2 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) while holding Boston to 89.9.
"We are the Big 3," said Irving, who joined James as the only Cavaliers to score 30 in their playoff debuts. "We have really great players on this team, but we set the tone."
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was reintroduced to that notion after Irving sat out both games against Boston earlier this month while James and Love played sparingly.
"They make you pick your poison," he said. "We have to pay attention to LeBron. We have to pay attention to Love and Irving. Your margin is greatly decreased when you're playing a team of this caliber.
"You just have to be great on both ends the whole time. All 48 minutes."
The Celtics need to do better on the glass in Game 2 after getting outrebounded 46-34 while letting the Cavs grab 15 of their own misses. Only Evan Turner (seven) had more than five boards, though he was a minus-18 overall in his 34 minutes while often being hounded by James.
Isaiah Thomas was productive off the bench with 22 points and 10 assists, helping make up for a starting backcourt that only totaled 17 points. Avery Bradley was 3 for 10 from the field while he and Marcus Smart spent much of their energy trying to stay in front of Irving.
"We're still confident," Thomas said. "Coach said we did a lot of really great things and we did some bad things. They kind of evened out, and that's why we ended up losing the game. So we're still confident.
"Guys are ready for Game 2, knowing that good or bad you've got to have a short memory."
The Cavs swept the first two home games in their last four first-round series before James left for Miami.
STATS LLC
LeBron James called it nerves and Kevin Love said it was anxiousness, but whatever affected the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first 14 minutes of their playoff opener isn't something they plan to repeat.
What James does seem intent on doing again is making sure Love is a big part of the offense.
The Cavaliers will try to make sure their performance from the final three quarters provided a blueprint for a better beginning in Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Boston Celtics.
Boston shot 57.1 percent in the first quarter Sunday and pushed its four-point lead to eight early in the second quarter before Cleveland settled itself in the first playoff game at Quicken Loans Arena in nearly five years.
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 53-25 over the next 18 minutes en route to their 113-100 win, with Love scoring 14 of his 19 in that stretch after failing to hit the rim on four of his first five shots.
"It's very important that Kev stays involved," James said. "For our ultimate goal, Kevin has to be in the rhythm or at least touching the ball and feel like he's a part of what we're doing, which he is.
"Even with Kev's shot not falling early, I felt like just the rhythm he was in, the aggressive mode he was in will pay off for us later."
Love scored more than 40 percent of his points and took more than 38 percent of his field-goal attempts in the first quarter during the regular season, but did all of his damage after the opening 12 minutes Sunday.
Fellow playoff rookie Kyrie Irving said he was glad to have Game 1 out of the way, but he certainly didn't look like he was bothered by the spotlight. Irving had 20 of his 30 points -- and all five of his 3-pointers -- in the first half. In the 30 minutes he, Love and James were on the floor, Cleveland put up a 127.2 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) while holding Boston to 89.9.
"We are the Big 3," said Irving, who joined James as the only Cavaliers to score 30 in their playoff debuts. "We have really great players on this team, but we set the tone."
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was reintroduced to that notion after Irving sat out both games against Boston earlier this month while James and Love played sparingly.
"They make you pick your poison," he said. "We have to pay attention to LeBron. We have to pay attention to Love and Irving. Your margin is greatly decreased when you're playing a team of this caliber.
"You just have to be great on both ends the whole time. All 48 minutes."
The Celtics need to do better on the glass in Game 2 after getting outrebounded 46-34 while letting the Cavs grab 15 of their own misses. Only Evan Turner (seven) had more than five boards, though he was a minus-18 overall in his 34 minutes while often being hounded by James.
Isaiah Thomas was productive off the bench with 22 points and 10 assists, helping make up for a starting backcourt that only totaled 17 points. Avery Bradley was 3 for 10 from the field while he and Marcus Smart spent much of their energy trying to stay in front of Irving.
"We're still confident," Thomas said. "Coach said we did a lot of really great things and we did some bad things. They kind of evened out, and that's why we ended up losing the game. So we're still confident.
"Guys are ready for Game 2, knowing that good or bad you've got to have a short memory."
The Cavs swept the first two home games in their last four first-round series before James left for Miami.
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving take over to hold off C's, give Cavs 2-0 lead
Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- The Celtics wouldn't go away, and then LeBron James showed them the door.
James scored 30 points -- 15 in the fourth quarter -- and Kyrie Irving added 26 as the Cleveland Cavaliers finally shook off Boston for a 99-91 victory Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their opening-round series.
James moved past Hall of Famer Jerry West on the career playoff scoring list and made sure the Cavs didn't slip up at home. He took over the game down the stretch, and he and Irving, playing in just his second postseason game, combined for all of Cleveland's 24 points in the final period and the Cavs' final 28 over the last 17:29.
"I've been in this moment before, and a lot of our guys haven't," James said. "I thought it was important for me to put a stamp on this game."
Timofey Mozgov added 16 points, Kevin Love had 13 and Tristan Thompson had 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which has had a tougher time than expected with a young Boston team.
Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points for the Celtics, who scrapped and clawed until the final minutes. Boston's bench outscored Cleveland's 51-7, but the Celtics couldn't stop James and Irving when it mattered most.
"We made those guys earn everything they got," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, "and that's a step in the right direction. We were in a three-possession game and we shot 38 percent."
Game 3 is Thursday night in Boston, where James had his first stint with Cleveland end with a playoff loss in 2010. James knows the Cavs have to play better -- he had six of the team's 18 turnovers -- or the Celtics will climb their way back into the series.
"The mistakes you make at home, you cannot make those on the road," he said.
Up by one at halftime, and playing as poorly as they have in weeks, the Cavaliers came out energized in the second half and used a 17-4 run to open a 14-point lead.
The spurt included a stunning reverse dunk by Love and was capped with Irving tossing a lob pass to James, who dunked and then swung on the rim like a little kid on a school playground. The Cavs, though, couldn't shake the Celtics, who pulled within 79-77 on a three-point play by Thomas.
However, James, as he has so often done in his brilliant career, made big, clutch shots, none bigger than his driving layup with 1:13 left, giving the Cavs a 97-89 lead. Thompson grabbed three crucial offensive rebounds in the final 3 minutes to keep possessions alive for Cleveland.
"It wasn't perfect, it wasn't pretty," Irving said. "But we got it done."
Hoping to inspire his team, Stevens showed his players a videotape before the game of a runner stricken with muscular dystrophy who ran in Monday's Boston Marathon. Maichel Melamed of Venezuela needed 18 hours to complete the 26-mile event and was the final racer to finish, but he persisted, and Stevens wanted the Celtics to take the same mentality into Game 2.
They had it, but they didn't have James, who added nine rebounds, seven assists and again showed why he might be in a class by himself.
"He's the most physically talented and certainly one of the best mental players in the game," Stevens said. "When you add that together, you've got a heck of a guy, a heck of a player. That's why he's considered one of the all-time best and the best in the game right now."
LOVE'S DUNK
After grabbing an outlet pass from Mozgov, James threw his lob pass from near half court to Love, who caught it with his back to the basket and flushed.
"It surprised all of us the way he finished," James said.
GETTING PHYSICAL
The Celtics went at James on the defensive end, as both Evan Turner and Jae Crowder took turns being rough with him. James wasn't surprised by the rugged treatment and said there's only one way to handle bullies.
"You just try to win," he said. "I've seen it all before."
BALLOT BOX
Stevens was honored to finish fourth in voting for NBA coach of the year but took the acknowledgment with typical humility.
"I'm not big on the postseason stuff," he said. "We all try to do our jobs to the best of our ability. I've learned from all 29 coaches in this league. There's no way you can appropriately rank them."
Told he finished ahead of San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Stevens cracked, "That's bad voting."
TIP-INS
Celtics: Despite the loss, Thomas was encouraged by Boston's performance. "We're right there," he said. "I think we can get the next one." ... Boston went 6-of-22 from 3-point range. ... Stevens canceled the team's morning shootaround in order to get his players extra rest. "I'm big on fresh legs, clear mind," he said.
Cavaliers: Mozgov added five blocks. ... J.R. Smith went just 3-of-12 from the field. He was in foul trouble in Game 1. ... Just as he did during the regular season, James is moving up several career postseason lists. He went past Michael Jordan in assists Sunday, and now that he has passed West (4,457), Karl Malone (4,761) is next on the scoring list. Jordan is first (5,987).
Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- The Celtics wouldn't go away, and then LeBron James showed them the door.
James scored 30 points -- 15 in the fourth quarter -- and Kyrie Irving added 26 as the Cleveland Cavaliers finally shook off Boston for a 99-91 victory Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their opening-round series.
James moved past Hall of Famer Jerry West on the career playoff scoring list and made sure the Cavs didn't slip up at home. He took over the game down the stretch, and he and Irving, playing in just his second postseason game, combined for all of Cleveland's 24 points in the final period and the Cavs' final 28 over the last 17:29.
"I've been in this moment before, and a lot of our guys haven't," James said. "I thought it was important for me to put a stamp on this game."
Timofey Mozgov added 16 points, Kevin Love had 13 and Tristan Thompson had 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which has had a tougher time than expected with a young Boston team.
Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points for the Celtics, who scrapped and clawed until the final minutes. Boston's bench outscored Cleveland's 51-7, but the Celtics couldn't stop James and Irving when it mattered most.
"We made those guys earn everything they got," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, "and that's a step in the right direction. We were in a three-possession game and we shot 38 percent."
Game 3 is Thursday night in Boston, where James had his first stint with Cleveland end with a playoff loss in 2010. James knows the Cavs have to play better -- he had six of the team's 18 turnovers -- or the Celtics will climb their way back into the series.
"The mistakes you make at home, you cannot make those on the road," he said.
Up by one at halftime, and playing as poorly as they have in weeks, the Cavaliers came out energized in the second half and used a 17-4 run to open a 14-point lead.
The spurt included a stunning reverse dunk by Love and was capped with Irving tossing a lob pass to James, who dunked and then swung on the rim like a little kid on a school playground. The Cavs, though, couldn't shake the Celtics, who pulled within 79-77 on a three-point play by Thomas.
However, James, as he has so often done in his brilliant career, made big, clutch shots, none bigger than his driving layup with 1:13 left, giving the Cavs a 97-89 lead. Thompson grabbed three crucial offensive rebounds in the final 3 minutes to keep possessions alive for Cleveland.
"It wasn't perfect, it wasn't pretty," Irving said. "But we got it done."
Hoping to inspire his team, Stevens showed his players a videotape before the game of a runner stricken with muscular dystrophy who ran in Monday's Boston Marathon. Maichel Melamed of Venezuela needed 18 hours to complete the 26-mile event and was the final racer to finish, but he persisted, and Stevens wanted the Celtics to take the same mentality into Game 2.
They had it, but they didn't have James, who added nine rebounds, seven assists and again showed why he might be in a class by himself.
"He's the most physically talented and certainly one of the best mental players in the game," Stevens said. "When you add that together, you've got a heck of a guy, a heck of a player. That's why he's considered one of the all-time best and the best in the game right now."
LOVE'S DUNK
After grabbing an outlet pass from Mozgov, James threw his lob pass from near half court to Love, who caught it with his back to the basket and flushed.
"It surprised all of us the way he finished," James said.
GETTING PHYSICAL
The Celtics went at James on the defensive end, as both Evan Turner and Jae Crowder took turns being rough with him. James wasn't surprised by the rugged treatment and said there's only one way to handle bullies.
"You just try to win," he said. "I've seen it all before."
BALLOT BOX
Stevens was honored to finish fourth in voting for NBA coach of the year but took the acknowledgment with typical humility.
"I'm not big on the postseason stuff," he said. "We all try to do our jobs to the best of our ability. I've learned from all 29 coaches in this league. There's no way you can appropriately rank them."
Told he finished ahead of San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Stevens cracked, "That's bad voting."
TIP-INS
Celtics: Despite the loss, Thomas was encouraged by Boston's performance. "We're right there," he said. "I think we can get the next one." ... Boston went 6-of-22 from 3-point range. ... Stevens canceled the team's morning shootaround in order to get his players extra rest. "I'm big on fresh legs, clear mind," he said.
Cavaliers: Mozgov added five blocks. ... J.R. Smith went just 3-of-12 from the field. He was in foul trouble in Game 1. ... Just as he did during the regular season, James is moving up several career postseason lists. He went past Michael Jordan in assists Sunday, and now that he has passed West (4,457), Karl Malone (4,761) is next on the scoring list. Jordan is first (5,987).
Cavaliers-Celtics Preview
STATS LLC
It's hard to dispute Brad Stevens' credentials as a basketball prodigy, and his fourth-place finish in the NBA's coach of the year voting was just the latest reminder of how much he's accomplished on the sidelines at age 38.
That doesn't mean he has a master plan to shut down LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
His Boston Celtics played well in spurts in their two losses in Cleveland, but Stevens knows his team needs a more complete effort at home Thursday night in Game 3 to overcome the Cavaliers' ability to call on the series' two best players in crunch time.
Two national title game appearances at Butler seemed to prepare Stevens well for his role as the leader of the rebuilding Celtics, who despite their storied history currently share a few similar traits to their coach's Cinderella Bulldog teams.
Boston led in the second quarter of both games at Quicken Loans Arena before Cleveland dropped a pair of devastating runs that bled into the second half, a 53-25 spurt in Game 1 and a 32-9 eruption Tuesday en route to a 99-91 victory.
The difference in Game 2 was that the Celtics didn't go away, pulling within two midway through the fourth. But James and Irving closed it out in a quarter in which they combined for all 24 Cavaliers points.
"We made those guys earn everything they got," Stevens said, "and that's a step in the right direction. We were in a three-possession game and we shot 38 percent."
James had half of his 30 points in the fourth and Irving has averaged 28.0 in the first two, knocking down 8 of 17 3-pointers, but Stevens felt Boston made defensive progress.
"Obviously, they're great players," he said. "I thought we challenged Kyrie a little bit better. ... But he's a really explosive ball handler and scorer. And then when LeBron just puts his shoulder down and wants to get where he wants to go, it's hard to stop him from getting there.
"... But the third quarters killed us both games. We've been fighting from behind from that point on in both games."
One issue James is taking a closer look at heading into Game 3 is his turnovers. He's given it away 11 times in the first two games, including three in the fourth quarter Tuesday.
"The mistakes you make at home, you cannot make those on the road," he said.
Boston last hosted a playoff game in 2013 -- it lost in six to New York in the first round -- but it's been three years since James last stepped on the TD Garden floor in the postseason.
That performance happened to be one of the best of his storied career. As Miami faced elimination in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, James had 45 points and 15 rebounds in keeping alive his first championship season with the Heat.
That was only the third playoff win in Boston for James' teams in 12 tries. He was 1-6 there in his first stint with Cleveland.
James and the Cavaliers starters have outscored the Celtics 176-85 so far, while Boston's bench -- paced by 44 points and 17 assists from Isaiah Thomas -- has a 106-36 edge on Cleveland's reserves.
"They're coming in with a lot of firepower and scoring the ball," Cavs coach David Blatt said Wednesday. "We certainly have to do a better job with that. But at the end of the day, you're giving yourself a chance to win if you're holding your opponent to 91 (points) regardless of who's scoring."
The one Cavaliers starter who has done little offensively has been J.R. Smith, who has totaled 16 points and missed 12 of 15 from 3-point range. Blatt has only one piece of advice for Smith, who led the East in 3-point attempts (336) and makes (131) after coming over from New York.
"Take his good looks and keep shooting," Blatt said.
James' teams have never lost in 13 series after taking a 2-0 lead. They've won Game 3 in eight of those.
STATS LLC
It's hard to dispute Brad Stevens' credentials as a basketball prodigy, and his fourth-place finish in the NBA's coach of the year voting was just the latest reminder of how much he's accomplished on the sidelines at age 38.
That doesn't mean he has a master plan to shut down LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
His Boston Celtics played well in spurts in their two losses in Cleveland, but Stevens knows his team needs a more complete effort at home Thursday night in Game 3 to overcome the Cavaliers' ability to call on the series' two best players in crunch time.
Two national title game appearances at Butler seemed to prepare Stevens well for his role as the leader of the rebuilding Celtics, who despite their storied history currently share a few similar traits to their coach's Cinderella Bulldog teams.
Boston led in the second quarter of both games at Quicken Loans Arena before Cleveland dropped a pair of devastating runs that bled into the second half, a 53-25 spurt in Game 1 and a 32-9 eruption Tuesday en route to a 99-91 victory.
The difference in Game 2 was that the Celtics didn't go away, pulling within two midway through the fourth. But James and Irving closed it out in a quarter in which they combined for all 24 Cavaliers points.
"We made those guys earn everything they got," Stevens said, "and that's a step in the right direction. We were in a three-possession game and we shot 38 percent."
James had half of his 30 points in the fourth and Irving has averaged 28.0 in the first two, knocking down 8 of 17 3-pointers, but Stevens felt Boston made defensive progress.
"Obviously, they're great players," he said. "I thought we challenged Kyrie a little bit better. ... But he's a really explosive ball handler and scorer. And then when LeBron just puts his shoulder down and wants to get where he wants to go, it's hard to stop him from getting there.
"... But the third quarters killed us both games. We've been fighting from behind from that point on in both games."
One issue James is taking a closer look at heading into Game 3 is his turnovers. He's given it away 11 times in the first two games, including three in the fourth quarter Tuesday.
"The mistakes you make at home, you cannot make those on the road," he said.
Boston last hosted a playoff game in 2013 -- it lost in six to New York in the first round -- but it's been three years since James last stepped on the TD Garden floor in the postseason.
That performance happened to be one of the best of his storied career. As Miami faced elimination in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, James had 45 points and 15 rebounds in keeping alive his first championship season with the Heat.
That was only the third playoff win in Boston for James' teams in 12 tries. He was 1-6 there in his first stint with Cleveland.
James and the Cavaliers starters have outscored the Celtics 176-85 so far, while Boston's bench -- paced by 44 points and 17 assists from Isaiah Thomas -- has a 106-36 edge on Cleveland's reserves.
"They're coming in with a lot of firepower and scoring the ball," Cavs coach David Blatt said Wednesday. "We certainly have to do a better job with that. But at the end of the day, you're giving yourself a chance to win if you're holding your opponent to 91 (points) regardless of who's scoring."
The one Cavaliers starter who has done little offensively has been J.R. Smith, who has totaled 16 points and missed 12 of 15 from 3-point range. Blatt has only one piece of advice for Smith, who led the East in 3-point attempts (336) and makes (131) after coming over from New York.
"Take his good looks and keep shooting," Blatt said.
James' teams have never lost in 13 series after taking a 2-0 lead. They've won Game 3 in eight of those.
Bulls should be ashamed of themselves. Cavs got no Love, didn't have Smith for two games, and Irving is playing on a bum foot and the series is 2-1 on a hail mary buzzer beater.
Now Gasol might be out.
Cavs about to knot this up tomorrow and then take care of business.
Now Gasol might be out.
Cavs about to knot this up tomorrow and then take care of business.
Still in it....... 
Still in it.......
If,the Cavs manage to win the title...the city will go absolutely crazy,for atleast a week..
If Lebron pulls this shit off without Love and Kyrie acting like he 80, he deserves to just drop the mic on everyone. It would be one of the most epic stories in sports history....
I promise you i knew he wouldnt be available when needed for the title run. Knew it.
The guys soft as baby shit.
It's just not about this season at this point. It's about his career.
Cavs 94, Hawks 82; Jason Lloyd's 20 thoughts on defense, unsung heroes and a commanding lead
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) moves past Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) during the first half in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Friday, May 22, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
ATLANTA: Twenty thoughts for the Cavs' biggest lead of the night in what was an awfully impressive 94-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks to give them a commanding 2-0 series lead in the conference finals…
1. There was a quiet belief within the Cavs after the way Game 1 unfolded they could win this series without Kyrie Irving, but they couldn’t sweep it. That may have been incorrect. Following this game, and the way the Cavs killed the Hawks’ spirit in the second half, a series victory is now inevitable and a sweep certainly seems possible.
2. The Cavs limited the Hawks to 33 points on 34 percent shooting in the second half while choking the life out of the top team in the East. They played terrific basketball and LeBron James was spectacular. But something happened to the Hawks in the second half, particularly in the third quarter when they looked resigned to their fate. The Hawks are done and they know it. Well, almost all of them know it. “I still think we’re the better team,” Kent Bazemore said. And then he cried a little inside.
3. This was vintage LeBron, showing everyone yet again why he is still the best player in the game. With stars dropping around him, he attacked the Hawks and DeMarre Carroll’s bad knee in the first quarter, getting into the lane and to the free-throw line to score half of the Cavs’ 26 points. Then he became more of a facilitator, dropping passes to 3-point shooters across the perimeter in piling up nine assists in the second and third quarters. Eight of the nine came on 3-pointers.
4. “I think that LeBron, he sees things ahead of time,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. James has mentioned it, too. In casually chatting with him after one game during the regular season, James knew during one point he would get Timofey Mozgov a lob based on how the opponent defended him on the previous possession. And sure enough, he did.
5. “I have a gift, and that’s why I’m able to keep defenses off guard,” James said Friday. “They say, ‘We’re going to make him score or make him pass.’ They really can’t make me do what I don’t want to do.”
MORE: Cavaliers-Hawks box score
6. One front office executive at the NBA combine last week said for all of the attention James receives, the general public still doesn’t understand how much better he makes the players around him and how many mistakes he can cover. Tonight was further proof.
7. “Not a lot of guys deliver the ball in the shooting pocket seemingly every time. That’s unusual,” Blatt said. “To throw a pass from here over there to that basket is not easy under pressure. To throw it right here where the guy simply catches and in one motion is able to shoot the ball, that’s extraordinary, and he’s got that capability.”
8. Of course, he has to be making passes to guys who can make shots and this time it was Iman Shumpert and James Jones’ turn to come up big. James has now taken role players like Matthew Dellavedova and Shumpert to the podium with him. The Cavs’ ability to withstand so many injuries and keep finding new faces to shine in big moments is a credit to the coaching staff for keeping these guys ready and a credit to the players for following the “next man up” mantra. It’s easy to say it, it’s harder to do.
9. The Hawks left Philips Arena most disappointed in their stagnant offense and the way they let the Cavs break down their defense with dribble penetration. The Hawks managed just 15 assists – although in fairness the Cavs only had 17. But the Hawks seemed to give up quickly on their offensive sets and digress into isolation basketball, which has never been their strength. Floor balance, precision passing and great shooting has carried the Hawks to this point. They have received none of that in the first two losses of this series.
10. “We didn’t play our team ball and that’s what really hurt us,” DeMarre Carroll said. “We’ve got to look at film and get back to playing Atlanta Hawks basketball because we didn’t do that tonight.”
11. The defensive concerns for the Hawks are just as real. Even without Irving, James got into the lane at will and made life miserable on the Hawks.
12. “That’s a big key is trying to keep not just LeBron James, but all of them in front of us,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “When you combine really good perimeter shooting with good penetration, good attack game, that’s when you become very difficult to guard. We’ve got to be better at containing the penetration. We’ve got to be better at keeping people in front of us. And then when they do kick it, we’ve got to be better getting out to shooters.”
13. The Cavs are defending in these playoffs the way they did during that stretch in January that turned the entire season. From Jan. 19 until the All-Star break, the Cavs limited opponents to 41 percent shooting and 95 points per game. Through 12 playoff games now, opponents are shooting 41 percent and averaging just 91.4 points per game. No one who played a postseason game this year allowed fewer points on average.
14. “We’ve gotten smarter. We’ve ramped up our communication to a level that at times throughout the season, I didn’t know we could get to,” James said. “And we’re flying around, just helping one another in time of need.”
15. James praised Tristan Thompson recently for the way he’s talking now defensively. Both Byron Scott and Mike Brown pleaded for the bigs to be more vocal, but to no avail. This year, finally, Thompson is more talkative on the back line of the defense and he’s not alone.
16. Thompson, though, has shined in this series and has thoroughly outplayed Paul Millsap. He had seven points, 16 rebounds and two blocks (he had a third taken away on a bad call). Thompson has averaged 13 rebounds through the first two games of this series.
17. This win was so impressive, and so lopsided, it took all of the focus off Irving, which was hard to do. Sitting down with an injury many other guys play through, on the same night Carroll dragged his sprained knee into the game, could’ve opened Irving up to a lot of second-guessing and criticism. Instead the Cavs have full command of this series and you have to wonder if Irving will sit now until June 4 and Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
18. Team personnel insisted throughout the last few days that Irving’s status wouldn’t be determined by the series. In other words, they didn’t rest him Friday because they won Game 1 and they wouldn’t play him Sunday had they lost this game. But the number of days of rest isn’t really what’s going to help Irving. He had eight days between the first two series and six days prior to the start of this one and the first time he turned on the knee it began to hurt again.
19. The Cavs are taking a new approach, per the recommendation of Dr. James Andrews, and it remains to be seen how effective it will be. He visited with Andrews Friday morning and Florida and he’s listed as questionable for Sunday. If Irving doesn’t play again until Game 1 of the Finals, he will have two weeks of rest.
20. James has taken a 2-0 lead in a series 14 times in his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He has won all 14. That isn’t going to change now. Talk to you Sunday from the Q.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) moves past Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) during the first half in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Friday, May 22, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
ATLANTA: Twenty thoughts for the Cavs' biggest lead of the night in what was an awfully impressive 94-82 win over the Atlanta Hawks to give them a commanding 2-0 series lead in the conference finals…
1. There was a quiet belief within the Cavs after the way Game 1 unfolded they could win this series without Kyrie Irving, but they couldn’t sweep it. That may have been incorrect. Following this game, and the way the Cavs killed the Hawks’ spirit in the second half, a series victory is now inevitable and a sweep certainly seems possible.
2. The Cavs limited the Hawks to 33 points on 34 percent shooting in the second half while choking the life out of the top team in the East. They played terrific basketball and LeBron James was spectacular. But something happened to the Hawks in the second half, particularly in the third quarter when they looked resigned to their fate. The Hawks are done and they know it. Well, almost all of them know it. “I still think we’re the better team,” Kent Bazemore said. And then he cried a little inside.
3. This was vintage LeBron, showing everyone yet again why he is still the best player in the game. With stars dropping around him, he attacked the Hawks and DeMarre Carroll’s bad knee in the first quarter, getting into the lane and to the free-throw line to score half of the Cavs’ 26 points. Then he became more of a facilitator, dropping passes to 3-point shooters across the perimeter in piling up nine assists in the second and third quarters. Eight of the nine came on 3-pointers.
4. “I think that LeBron, he sees things ahead of time,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. James has mentioned it, too. In casually chatting with him after one game during the regular season, James knew during one point he would get Timofey Mozgov a lob based on how the opponent defended him on the previous possession. And sure enough, he did.
5. “I have a gift, and that’s why I’m able to keep defenses off guard,” James said Friday. “They say, ‘We’re going to make him score or make him pass.’ They really can’t make me do what I don’t want to do.”
MORE: Cavaliers-Hawks box score
6. One front office executive at the NBA combine last week said for all of the attention James receives, the general public still doesn’t understand how much better he makes the players around him and how many mistakes he can cover. Tonight was further proof.
7. “Not a lot of guys deliver the ball in the shooting pocket seemingly every time. That’s unusual,” Blatt said. “To throw a pass from here over there to that basket is not easy under pressure. To throw it right here where the guy simply catches and in one motion is able to shoot the ball, that’s extraordinary, and he’s got that capability.”
8. Of course, he has to be making passes to guys who can make shots and this time it was Iman Shumpert and James Jones’ turn to come up big. James has now taken role players like Matthew Dellavedova and Shumpert to the podium with him. The Cavs’ ability to withstand so many injuries and keep finding new faces to shine in big moments is a credit to the coaching staff for keeping these guys ready and a credit to the players for following the “next man up” mantra. It’s easy to say it, it’s harder to do.
9. The Hawks left Philips Arena most disappointed in their stagnant offense and the way they let the Cavs break down their defense with dribble penetration. The Hawks managed just 15 assists – although in fairness the Cavs only had 17. But the Hawks seemed to give up quickly on their offensive sets and digress into isolation basketball, which has never been their strength. Floor balance, precision passing and great shooting has carried the Hawks to this point. They have received none of that in the first two losses of this series.
10. “We didn’t play our team ball and that’s what really hurt us,” DeMarre Carroll said. “We’ve got to look at film and get back to playing Atlanta Hawks basketball because we didn’t do that tonight.”
11. The defensive concerns for the Hawks are just as real. Even without Irving, James got into the lane at will and made life miserable on the Hawks.
12. “That’s a big key is trying to keep not just LeBron James, but all of them in front of us,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “When you combine really good perimeter shooting with good penetration, good attack game, that’s when you become very difficult to guard. We’ve got to be better at containing the penetration. We’ve got to be better at keeping people in front of us. And then when they do kick it, we’ve got to be better getting out to shooters.”
13. The Cavs are defending in these playoffs the way they did during that stretch in January that turned the entire season. From Jan. 19 until the All-Star break, the Cavs limited opponents to 41 percent shooting and 95 points per game. Through 12 playoff games now, opponents are shooting 41 percent and averaging just 91.4 points per game. No one who played a postseason game this year allowed fewer points on average.
14. “We’ve gotten smarter. We’ve ramped up our communication to a level that at times throughout the season, I didn’t know we could get to,” James said. “And we’re flying around, just helping one another in time of need.”
15. James praised Tristan Thompson recently for the way he’s talking now defensively. Both Byron Scott and Mike Brown pleaded for the bigs to be more vocal, but to no avail. This year, finally, Thompson is more talkative on the back line of the defense and he’s not alone.
16. Thompson, though, has shined in this series and has thoroughly outplayed Paul Millsap. He had seven points, 16 rebounds and two blocks (he had a third taken away on a bad call). Thompson has averaged 13 rebounds through the first two games of this series.
17. This win was so impressive, and so lopsided, it took all of the focus off Irving, which was hard to do. Sitting down with an injury many other guys play through, on the same night Carroll dragged his sprained knee into the game, could’ve opened Irving up to a lot of second-guessing and criticism. Instead the Cavs have full command of this series and you have to wonder if Irving will sit now until June 4 and Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
18. Team personnel insisted throughout the last few days that Irving’s status wouldn’t be determined by the series. In other words, they didn’t rest him Friday because they won Game 1 and they wouldn’t play him Sunday had they lost this game. But the number of days of rest isn’t really what’s going to help Irving. He had eight days between the first two series and six days prior to the start of this one and the first time he turned on the knee it began to hurt again.
19. The Cavs are taking a new approach, per the recommendation of Dr. James Andrews, and it remains to be seen how effective it will be. He visited with Andrews Friday morning and Florida and he’s listed as questionable for Sunday. If Irving doesn’t play again until Game 1 of the Finals, he will have two weeks of rest.
20. James has taken a 2-0 lead in a series 14 times in his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He has won all 14. That isn’t going to change now. Talk to you Sunday from the Q.
Kyrie was still running around in a "light" practice two days before the game, so he didn't have all the rest he supposedly had. I wonder if the new treatment will include COMPLETE rest.
Kyrie been getting half-assed rest because the staff wouldn't tell him to sit his ass down instead of trying to prove he isn't injury prone.
The Cavs can afford to sit him out the rest of this series. Possibly don't return until game 2 of the finals. The Cavs have enough to finish the Hawks.
Cavs' Thompson: Irving and Dellavedova 'used to f--- each other up' in practice
by Joe Wolfond May 20, 1:53 PM
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
After scoring a team-high 19 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' series-clinching Game 6 win over the Chicago Bulls last Thursday, Matthew Dellavedova seemed a long way from the guy who went undrafted out of St. Mary's in 2013. He seemed like a guy that could hang around the NBA for a while.
At the start of last season, though, Dellavedova was doing whatever he could simply to get noticed and crack a roster. That often meant getting under the skin of now-teammate and fellow point guard Kyrie Irving.
The two have grown close, but there was little love between them during the Cavs' 2013 training camp, when they were matched up against each other every day.
"Yeah, they used to fuck each other up," Cavs power forward Tristan Thompson told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "They used to go after it every day. There would be times when they’d be ready to fight each other."
Irving, for his part, has similar memories of his run-ins with Dellavedova that summer:
I played him in the summer time and he was going into summer league, I was going into my third year and I was like, 'Who the hell is this kid?' I was like, I've never heard of him. I had heard of him, because of St. Mary’s, but I had never played against him. So, I’m coming in and he just basically, every fast break, he was just fouling the shit out of me. I was like, 'OK, well, maybe I’ll see him in training camp.' So, we went through training camp, every single day we went against each other and damn near almost fought every single day.
With the testiness that defined their early days together now turned to a healthy mutual respect, both credit each other for their respective NBA growth.
"It was never (personal)," Dellavedova said. "We were both just playing hard and wanting to win in practice. It’s been great for my development, having to try to guard Kyrie every day in practice.”
Said Irving: "It was just the pride that he had and the pride that I had. You know, I love a guy when he challenges me and I’m not going to back down and he’s not going to back down from me - which I didn’t expect. So, that’s what really drew us a lot closer. ...
"It’s just, he’s going to go out and play hard, it doesn’t matter who he is playing against. He’s going to go out and give 110 percent and that’s what you want.
"I wouldn’t want a different teammate."
by Joe Wolfond May 20, 1:53 PM
Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports
After scoring a team-high 19 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' series-clinching Game 6 win over the Chicago Bulls last Thursday, Matthew Dellavedova seemed a long way from the guy who went undrafted out of St. Mary's in 2013. He seemed like a guy that could hang around the NBA for a while.
At the start of last season, though, Dellavedova was doing whatever he could simply to get noticed and crack a roster. That often meant getting under the skin of now-teammate and fellow point guard Kyrie Irving.
The two have grown close, but there was little love between them during the Cavs' 2013 training camp, when they were matched up against each other every day.
"Yeah, they used to fuck each other up," Cavs power forward Tristan Thompson told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "They used to go after it every day. There would be times when they’d be ready to fight each other."
Irving, for his part, has similar memories of his run-ins with Dellavedova that summer:
I played him in the summer time and he was going into summer league, I was going into my third year and I was like, 'Who the hell is this kid?' I was like, I've never heard of him. I had heard of him, because of St. Mary’s, but I had never played against him. So, I’m coming in and he just basically, every fast break, he was just fouling the shit out of me. I was like, 'OK, well, maybe I’ll see him in training camp.' So, we went through training camp, every single day we went against each other and damn near almost fought every single day.
With the testiness that defined their early days together now turned to a healthy mutual respect, both credit each other for their respective NBA growth.
"It was never (personal)," Dellavedova said. "We were both just playing hard and wanting to win in practice. It’s been great for my development, having to try to guard Kyrie every day in practice.”
Said Irving: "It was just the pride that he had and the pride that I had. You know, I love a guy when he challenges me and I’m not going to back down and he’s not going to back down from me - which I didn’t expect. So, that’s what really drew us a lot closer. ...
"It’s just, he’s going to go out and play hard, it doesn’t matter who he is playing against. He’s going to go out and give 110 percent and that’s what you want.
"I wouldn’t want a different teammate."
Winning cures everything
LeBron likens Tristan Thompson to Anderson Varejao
by Joe Wolfond 22m ago
David Richard / USA TODAY Sports
While the Atlanta Hawks are sifting through sympathy cards after the recent spate of injuries that has likely derailed their NBA Finals bid, the Cleveland Cavaliers have somehow continued to motor along, despite playing with a hobbled Kyrie Irving and absent Kevin Love.
The Cavs have also been without their opening night starting center, Anderson Varejao, since December, meaning the Love injury left them especially thin up front. But instead of being the hole that sunk their ship, that frontcourt vacancy has provided room for Tristan Thompson to blossom.
The third-year power forward has grown into arguably the best offensive rebounder in the NBA, and his canny work on the glass has allowed the Cavaliers to play him as the lone big in some very successful small-ball lineups.
When Thompson's on the floor, the Cavs rebound nearly 30 percent of their own misses, about six percent more than when he's on the bench, and their offense subsequently scores 10.9 more points per 100 possessions when he's out there.
When asked to think of another teammate who's brought the same kind of tenacity Thompson is bringing in these playoffs, LeBron James knew just the guy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reporter: “Have you ever played with a guy with a nose for the ball like Tristan?”
LeBron: (chuckle) “Yeah, Andy (Varejao).”</p>— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/602519970937987073">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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by Joe Wolfond 22m ago
David Richard / USA TODAY Sports
While the Atlanta Hawks are sifting through sympathy cards after the recent spate of injuries that has likely derailed their NBA Finals bid, the Cleveland Cavaliers have somehow continued to motor along, despite playing with a hobbled Kyrie Irving and absent Kevin Love.
The Cavs have also been without their opening night starting center, Anderson Varejao, since December, meaning the Love injury left them especially thin up front. But instead of being the hole that sunk their ship, that frontcourt vacancy has provided room for Tristan Thompson to blossom.
The third-year power forward has grown into arguably the best offensive rebounder in the NBA, and his canny work on the glass has allowed the Cavaliers to play him as the lone big in some very successful small-ball lineups.
When Thompson's on the floor, the Cavs rebound nearly 30 percent of their own misses, about six percent more than when he's on the bench, and their offense subsequently scores 10.9 more points per 100 possessions when he's out there.
When asked to think of another teammate who's brought the same kind of tenacity Thompson is bringing in these playoffs, LeBron James knew just the guy.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reporter: “Have you ever played with a guy with a nose for the ball like Tristan?”
LeBron: (chuckle) “Yeah, Andy (Varejao).”</p>— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/602519970937987073">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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y'all just saying stupid shit now.
Report to your Ock thread.
I don't have an ock thread you bitch. If your momma didn't drink during pregnancy you wouldn't be too stupid to see it. You fuckboys will never find my real pictures. I does this internet shit.
Yet you talk shit everywhere but in the ock thread you don't have. Ol' gump ass nigga.
SanHOEfa because you don't deserve the name you gave your self you ol Jimmy Durante looking bitch.
Sorry but I was Drizzy long before the Canada Dry ass Jew boy became a household name. Check my join date SanHOEfa and then find Drake's rise to stardom. Drake should be paying me
!
Look we can argue in another thread. This is for Cavs fans and both of us are being disrespectful with this pissing contest. I am done with you in this thread. My apologies to the Cavs fans.
Nobody wants to physically hurt you. They just like clowning you. Now if people are fucking with your livelihood over some message board beef then that is fucked up. However this shit is just jokes.
Like I said no one gives a fuck about a confrontation with you
. People got lives nigga and bothering you would be counter-productive and a gross waste of time. Internet tough guys.....sheeshSimilar threads
