2016-17 Running NBA Thread

Do you think they were supposed to somehow match the Durant acquisition? You know, there was only one guy like that available.

Not sure how much more the Cavs could've done to improve with their cap restrictions. They did blunder by letting Dellavedova go without finding an adequate replacement, and that lack of a decent backup point has been hurting them. But, beyond that, their options were rather limited.

 

No, I don't. But do you think LeBron is supposed to be happy with the team the way it's constructed right now?

They lost to the Pelicans without Anthony Davis on the floor. Kyrie scored 49, LeBron had a triple double, Kevin Love had 22 points and 16 rebounds.... and the bench had 13 points.

If I'm LeBron, I'm all over management to bring someone in. I don't know if there are going to be any decent options. LeBron clearly feels they have no shot with the team they have right now. Is he supposed to just be OK with that?

 

This game was decided at the free throw line. Cavs made 17 of 34. Even James Jones (85% career) missed all three FTAs when fouled shooting a trey. Kings made 19 of 22. If each team shot their usual FT%age, Cavs win by 13.

 

It's not supposed to be a FT shooting contest when the Cavs play the Kings, at home.

 

Well, it sure is easy to say that, but unless you (or Lebron) are willing to give some sort of explanation of the who and how they could've done it, simply saying it doesn't mean anything. I might suggest looking at this link. Notice who's way down at the bottom in the 30th spot, does that suggest they could've spent more last off season on improvements?

It might be fair to criticize some choices for their bargain basement bench spots (for example, signing Deandre Liggins instead of a point guard after losing Dellavedova), but as I understand Lebron's comments, he's going beyond that and is instead angry about them not spending enough money. Which ain't exactly fair when you look at the numbers.

 

Again, I'm not saying they need to do anything. I think they've been screwed by injuries and have really limited options.

But, I have no problem with LeBron pushing for change, and no, I don't expect their star player to give specific explanations of who and how they should make a move when he's doing a postgame interview after a tough loss.

 

They should roll the dice and go get Rondo. What's the worst that could happen?

 

Cavs will be just fine when J.R. Smith returns. No, I can't believe I typed that -- but it's true.

 

One thing that I often think is overlooked by the Spurs' approach to resting players - Beyond saving some miles on the tread, it also forces them to see how their deep bench guys react when given more playing time. I think one of the hardest things to do as an organization is to identify the guys in slots #10 to #15 on the roster who can graduate to rotation roles. It seems like an evaluation that many teams are poor at doing, given how guys like Whiteside and Jeremy Lin go from the back of the roster on multiple teams, to at least solid rotation players when actually given a chance.

When I read Lebron's complaints about his team's depth - when he's surrounded himself with old cronies, or Griffin has enabled this - it kind of reminds me of Jordan on the Wizards, or Kobe on the Lakers. It's not new that dominant stars on teams basically get to populate the back of the bench with guys they're comfortable with.

And, it takes a lot of managerial finesse / nerve to say to one of them, "Hey, you're getting the night off, and we're going to only play you 30 minutes, so that we can get a look at the back of the bench. We need to see how they perform in actual games, and get them experience." Because, hey, you're probably going to lose a good portion of those games, and these guys are REALLY competitive.

 

I see this a lot. So, who exactly are LeBron's "old cronies" that's he's populated the bench with?

I'll spot you James Jones. Other than that?

 

Mike Miller was a complete LeBron vanity project. The Cavs even needed to get The King's OK to trade Miller.

 

OK.

They traded him two years ago and they won a championship since then. Kinda hard to blame that for the current bench situation.