Cavs drop their first pre-season game 107 – 108 in Atlanta
No moral victories in the reg season, but this is the pre-season
Isaac Okoro shined after being freed of a bad fit as a 3-D wing, kid has the vision and handle to be our 2nd unit’s secondary playmaker and can still lock up on D
Emoni continues to make GMs look bad for believing he can’t play any other way than the star role, give him some time in the g-leauge to gain better vision and add weight and he’s going to be a contributor
Who else stood out?
Cavs are back and it feels so good
[Boxscore](https://www.nba.com/game/cle-vs-atl-0012300015/box-score)
22 comments
Rebounding seems like it’s gonna be an issue
That was a fun watch. So happy basketball is back
Master Bates is gonna be very valuable soon.
I’m kinda bummed that Garland picked right up where he left off
Why am I at -2? Did you guys like seeing another abysmal shooting performance right after the playoffs or something?
I think we even defended the last 2 minutes very well, Hawks just made some very difficult shots. Not too much more we could’ve done defensively I don’t think.
Mobley year
Super excited for this Squad. I genuinely believe Mobley could have a stat line close to 21 ppg 11 rpg 3.5 apg and 2 bpg this season. Shooters are around they just need to start falling. Don and Darius will be alright, they’re too good to be that bad for long. Okoro might be better this year but he fools me every year. And emoni is gonna be super fun to watch develop for the next few years. He needs to put his head down and keep working
This season is over.
Emoni can really shoot
Dean Wade… I know technically he shot the same from 3 as Bates, but in my eyes Wade was not good at all tonight, especially for a full contract forward (our needed spot). 2/5, corners only, airballed 2 of them, isn’t proven yet to be an amazing shooter.
Bates shot 2/5 as a proven deep shooter, volume shooter, and hit what was almost a very clutch stepback 3. He was giving pretty ok defense, in 10 minutes picked up a steal + a block, Great FOR A ROOKIE.
Dean Wade also had 2 turnovers (only one listed, not sure why), one of which was off a simple pass to Okoro, all he had to do was anticipate where he was going, TO THE RIM. He also turnt it over off a rebound, had it in one hand and I guess tipped it to them? And while his defense was good, he just hasn’t shown much for a 26 year old going into his 5th year, seems like this is who he is.
Mobley and okoro both had great outings. Okoro looks better driving and dishing and getting going before shooting. Catch and shooting isnt his specialty and thats fine. Once he gets heated up he can shoot.
Levert and wade looked 100 percent better now that they are healthy.
Niang and strus are shooters and its beautiful to see.
Jones is a good defensive player and can rebound well, his offense isnt good but the most disappointing thing was his free throws. Needs to be better on that end.
Ty jerome is a solid playmaker but i would like to see other options and have ty be more of a scorer
The two way players were my favorite part of tonight. Emoni and craig both played hard and showed they can be something in this league in a year or two.
I was disappointed in Isaiah. He looked a little lost out there
Cooper showed why no team wants him.
Couldn’t care less that we lost. We have a more functional looking offensive. It’s faster and has much more movement. The sloppiness should be cleaned up with time and reps. I’m curious to see how much it changes once JA is back.
We look much deeper. TT is clearly an upgrade from
RoLo. Isaac off the bench with space is scary. Caris and Jerome are both very verisitle. Niang, Merrill, and Emoni are great floor spacers. I’m excited to see how this team does this season.
Okoro is going to turn his haters in believers this year
My notes:
– bench vibes are amazing, feel like our chemistry isn’t talked about enough
– Mobley small ball 5 has a lot potential offensively, his passing was great and the extra spacing was noticeable. I also like how easy it is to DHO right into pick and roll with Don and DG
– I worry about the defense and rebounding in those lineups, even with Mobley. We’re still missing the 3-D wing who can make that lineup elite on both ends. But sadly they’re expensive and rare
– speaking of Mobley his extra size and aggressiveness alone could elevate his offensive game even if the shot still needs time. Better free throw rate and percentage might be the next small step forward
– DG didn’t have his shot tonight but his aggressiveness from 3 can really help to elevate his game
– niang and struss definitely bring the advertised spacing. Max played positionally well on defense it’ll take time but the offensive fit is obvious
– shoutout to Okoro and Wade, both clearly will be losing minutes to the new guys and fell down the rotation but they played well and let it fire from 3 with confidence
– Emoni has that dawg in him, doesn’t seem nba ready yet but I love getting him in round 2
like to see the pace is gonna be faster
JB. :-/. Dude has no offensive skills as a coach. If we have a future with Mitchell long term, I’d bet money JB isn’t there.
Darius also needs to truly hit his open 3s and take more too.
14 mins and 6 assist.. didn’t even get into his scoring bag. Cooper belongs on an NBA roster.
Emoni is a dude
Preseason games shouldn’t be that fun but that was fun to watch
DG shaking the rust off and will be fine
Give Emoni minutes
Okoro breakout year????
We have a lot more shooters than last year, our rookie included. That in itself is exciting enough.
Merril can’t be goin 2-8 on 3’s during the season. I do realize he won’t be putting up 8 of them unless it’s a blowout either way.
you really think Okoro is a ‘playmaker’?