Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Rockets Hold Off Cavs Late Flurry

Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Rockets Hold Off Cavs Late Flurry

[Music] Garland in the corner. He’s got it. being snapped with the right hand shakes to the basket and thunders it home. Oh, Mobly throws it down and Allen blocked the shot at the rim. Welcome to Chaseown podcast, part of the Cavs Media family. I’m your host, Justin Ran. The Chaseown is presented by Fubo, the official streaming partner of the Cavs. Watch over 350 channels of live sports and TV, including FanDuel Sports Network without cable. There’s no cost and no commitment. Try for free at fubotv.com/cavs. Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers were short-handed in their matchup against the Houston Rockets, and Houston showed why they are one of the best teams in the league. The Cavs managed to make it a game gave them a ch a run for their money in the fourth quarter, but ultimately Houston was able to pull away. Joining me today to discuss it is my co-host Carter Rodriguez. Carter, how you doing, buddy? Oh, you know, fine and dandy, Justin. I I it felt like a um a just try to stay connected game. Uh the things that the Cavs were missing tonight is all the that uh is is all the stuff you need to make things uh easier against the Rockets who are an awesome team. Big, strong, tough. I I I said uh this summer that I thought they might be the Cavs toughest like a matchup. Um I I don’t think that anymore because the Thunder are murdering everyone uh on a night nightly basis. But um I still think Houston’s a really really good team. They present matchups. They nullify Cavs strengths. You know, a guy like Shingun uh is among the least bothered in the league by the things the Cavs bigs are good at defensively. Uh it was very clear with that one tonight. Uh so I thought it was just going to be a try to stay connected. uh you know be down uh you know 11 to 13 points uh all the way through the game and try to make a late run and hit some threes. Uh they outpaced my expectations there. Um uh they made a real run in the third. Uh got connected uh did a nice job keeping uh Houston off the glass uh as well as anyone can because no one can keep them off the glass. Uh, by the way, a a really uh the other thing about Houston, a peak madmaking recipe uh uh team for Cavs fans because we knew they were going to grab 15 16 offensive boards. That’s exactly what they did. It’s what they do to everyone. But uh with the Cavs, it’s going to feel a little worse. Um uh but the Cavs got reconnected. they they stayed connected pretty much through um and then just kind of ran out of gas late um as uh as you know uh anytime Aaron Holiday uh takes you down uh with 16 fourth quarter points uh you know what are you going to do? That’s that’s the part that kills me, man, because they they did such a great job, right? like the bench lineup with Jared Allen got them back into that game in the third quarter, right? Like that Lonzo Ball, Craig Porter Jr., I think Dean was out there as well. Um, they got them back into the game and did what we like to see earlier in the season where uh, you know, we had that run where Evan got them back into a game and then Donovan closed them out. looked like the same recipe where where Donovan, who did not have a good first three quarters on the offensive end, uh was able to come in with relatively fresh legs. He didn’t have to use all of that energy getting the Cavs back into the game, but for Aaron Holiday to go off and hit those shots, that that was devastating. And um I I thought Craig had an another really nice impactful game off the bench. Uh lost Holiday a couple times off ball. You know, one one of those things that you want to iron out that that transition and one foul. I was like, “What are you doing, Craig?” I think, “What are you doing?” I think that was right after he he left him in the corner the the possession before. But, um, you know, I agree with you. Uh, when you’re this short-handed, the goal should be stay connected, stay connected, and then try to steal it, which is basically what happened with with the Cavs here. Houston is is absolutely that caliber of team, right? like they they are a a contending caliber team even without Fred Vanble Bleet. Uh Kevin Durant’s been having a fantastic season. Shenoon as you mentioned has been really really good. Uh Amen Thompson, I’m a massive fan of his game and I’ve always been a fan of Jabari Smith Jr. That that’s a team that might end up going to the finals, right? Like I I know OKC looks fantastic right now. I think OKC is lined up to probably win multiple championships over the next couple years. Um, but they are Clippers pick, Justin. Pardon me. They have the Clippers pick. That’s I might throw the games against the Clippers just to just to help the odds a little bit. Just to help the odds. I, you know, we all owe that. I I I think everyone in the league should just come together and throw at least one game against the Clippers. That’s fair. Yeah, I I think it is fair and just, but um despite them being that good, I I do think Houston has enough to potentially pull off an upset. I think that they’re someone that, you know, could uh beat the Nuggets in a series potentially. I would still favor both OKC and Denver over them, but this is absolutely one of the best teams in the league. So, with the Cavs who were once again without Darius Garland, um, no Max Strus, of course, no Jaylen Tyson with the concussion, and then no Sam Merrill, uh, with the shooting hand injury. This was a very, very tall task, and I I thought it was very interesting that Kenny Atinson went with Naquin Tomlin in the starting lineup. Um, really cool to see all the hard work that that he’s been putting in kind of pay off in that setting. and against a Houston team that doesn’t play a point guard, at least with the starting lineup, I I thought it actually made some sense and and that starting lineup basically played them to a draw on on the night. Um I believe they lost 24 to 20 uh in their minutes together, which given the circumstances, good enough. I’m I’m pretty comfortable with that. I mean, it definitely helped that uh that I thought they uh they got Evans some good looks in those lineups. And we’ll talk about Evan in this game. Uh they and Hunter had a great game. Uh you know, he had 25 points on 11 shots. Really was the only reason they were in the game at all. And all Oh, by the way, was the only guy who hit his free throws. Uh DeAndre Henry goes eight of eight. Uh the rest of the team goes 12 of 24 from the line. Um uh and we do have to talk about that on the list of things that are frustrating cuz like I mean they lost by 10. and they missed 12 free throws. Like I hate it when people do that cuz like it would be pretty amazing if they went 32 of 32 from the line, but like it didn’t have to be that bad, right? It was the reason I would say it’s the reason the game uh they they were not connected by the end of the game, right? And even if you hit a couple of those, right? Like sure, you know, you could say if they hit all of them, it would erase that deficit, but even when you look at when the Cavs actually took the lead there, right? like if you have one or two maybe even three more points at the free throw line that puts additional pressure on Houston, right? You you erase that deficit just that much quicker. So it there there’s a cascading effect there, right? Like none of this happens in a vacuum, particularly with basketball, which is such a momentum game. And when you have those trips to the line where you come up empty, that’s brutal. Like Evan really struggled at the free throw line. He he started off for six from the free throw line and then missed his next six. I I believe like that that is tough and free throws are among the least interesting thing to talk about because there is no he would have missed his next four by the way. He only had 10 free throw attempts. Oh that’s thank you. Um but there’s no analysis to be had there, right? It’s you got to do a better job of knocking those down like what there’s nothing that you can break down from a coaching standpoint or anything like that. Uh we we’ve seen Evan go, you know, 12 of 12 12 at the free throw line in some games. We’ve seen him shoot free throws better for an entire season and it it’s not, you know, solely on him. Uh Dean missed a number of free throws. They’ve been a poor free throw shooting team this season, but it’s just something that they got to do better because the margin for error has been thinner this season with the guys that they have missing. Leaving free points at the free throw line just makes that that much tougher. Yeah. I mean, you want to say, “Hey, you’re missing some of your best free throw shooters.” And Darius and Max, guys you can really rely on uh when they get to the line to to shoot at a really high clip. Uh but they weren’t really a good free throw shooting team last year. They were like 16th or 17th in the league. They entered this game uh 25th. That’ll certainly uh that I won’t certainly drop, but it probably will. a little bit um you know after a 20 of 32 uh night at the line. So I mean it’s I again there’s nothing to analyze but it is kind of worth watching like it matters. Um uh and uh and it certainly bit them in this game and it it it’s I think especially you feel it more just because they need every easy bucket they can get with all the personnel they’ve been missing. So, it’s like, you know, to have I mean, they had three or four O of two uh uh trips to the free throw line tonight and like those are just so demoralizing when you’re in the middle of a comeback attempt. Yeah. And and especially against a team like Houston that does get so many second chance opportunities. Like that’s frustrating. I I I know defensive rebounds are always going to be a bit of a sore subject uh with the Cavs given what happened three years ago against the Knicks. Um I I thought they’re just never going to be a great defensive rebounding team. I just don’t think that’s who they are. Yeah. And on on the season they’re they’re currently 16th in terms of defensive rebounding percentage. It’s actually up from last year uh where they were 22nd, but it wasn’t a big talking point last year because one, we saw the exact same kind of scenario where they were very good on the defensive glass when both Evan and Jared were out there. They were not good when it’s either Evan or Jared. They were a little bit better than they are this year in the single big minutes, but they still were below the 40th percentile in both of those lineups. But you had a larger margin for error. It wasn’t something that came up in the playoffs. Right? I I’ve mentioned this a million times before, but the Cavs offensive rebound margin against the Pacers was greater than the Knicks against the Cavs all those years ago. Same thing goes for the points in the paint. So, they’re never going to be a great defensive rebounding team, but it is frustrating when you kind of have those jumbo lineups where I almost feel like when they play larger this season, the focus on the defensive glass isn’t the same as when they were playing small last year. When they played small last year, you saw kind of more that collective effort. Whereas to start the game, there were a couple possessions where two guys would box out the same person or someone’s kind of caught watching. You got to find a body in all of those scenarios. So, I I think cleaning that up, cleaning up the the free throws has to be a top priority because you can’t control who’s available to you when when it comes to injuries and health and that sort of thing. But what you can do is make sure that you’re not leaving a whole bunch of lowhanging fruit for the opponent to pick at. Yeah, I I think that’s fair. And like I I will say against Houston also it’s there were times where I think they did box that well or like did go find a body, but like Houston the pressure goes up like another notch because they’re so strong uh they’re so physical and uh in their front court and then their wings uh especially Aman Thompson who is just a you know a beyond freak of nature attacks the boards with such physicality. So it’s like you have to box out and release and attack the ball uh or they are going to get deflections, they are going to like hoover the ball up uh in ways that like no other team can do. I do think it’s really important to note like while I’ve been grumpy about the offensive uh or the defensive effort on the glass this year, uh this game I was like I kind of just went in and being like that’s what they do cuz they do it to the Thunder, they do it to everyone. Like that is how they run offense is uh if they miss they don’t really care because they’ve got three Bears down there at all times that are just clearing out space. Um, and again, I do think, uh, you know, getting us back on to a bit of a positive thing, I do generally feel like the Cavs process was better offensively today. Uh, strongly agree with that. Even when the results didn’t really align. Obviously, they had a very bad game uh, shooting from three. Again, uh, DeAndre Hunter nonwithstanding. uh without him they went uh seven of 31 from three uh out uh if you don’t count his five of eight from the from distance. Um and but I I felt like they did a nice job uh against I I think this team probably is the second best defensive personnel in the league uh right after right after OKC. They’re amazing. Uh Detroit, we’d probably take some qualms with that as well. But uh I thought you guys moved into open space. Well, Dean had a couple really nice cuts that he wasn’t quite able to convert or got fouled on and then wasn’t able to convert at the line. So like again, you don’t see the results there. I thought even though Donovan did not score because he was just getting blitzed to all hell by this uh Houston team that decided they’d rather not deal with a incendiary Donovan if they didn’t have to given the personnel. I do feel like he got the ball out, got the got Houston in rotation with those blitzes and guys were able to make good choices to kind of keep the blender going like the and you know, maybe it’s not a blender, but it’s like, you know, like the workout uh things that have like the little the little blender ball in them. Like it’s not a full electric one, but we’re at least shaking something, you know? Uh, and like we had so like you’d have Donovan get blitzed and find Tomlin on the wing who could kind of take a a straight line drive, get picked up, do a little like midstream dribble handoff with Evan who then also had a head of steam and then could get a clean look. Like again, this is it doesn’t have to be gorgeous. It just can’t be nothing on the offensive end in terms of how they’re getting to their looks. And like I I think their I thought their process was better. I I totally agree. I thought they were actually pretty prepared for what Houston was going to be doing defensively, right? Like Donovan when he was getting blitzed, he wasn’t picking the ball up and getting trapped. He was getting that ball out right away. He was making the right play and the ball did get back to him a decent number of times in the first half. He just missed his shots, right? Like I I thought he was out there making the right play. Evan Mobley was a really effective outlet for them. uh they were ready for Houston to go into zone defense and they consistently like as soon as Houston went to the zone it was okay what Evan you’re at the top of the key we’re getting it to you. Uh DeAndre you’re at the top of the key we’re getting it to you. Like I I thought that they were really prepared for that. Can I call out one little thing I liked that they did in in those possessions? Um uh on one one of those plays uh Jarrett uh caught the ball. Uh it was kind of it wasn’t quite the middle of the floor but like kind of just a a few you know feet above the left block on one of those zone possessions and Dean just gort screened the hell out of who the low man and Jarrett tried the floater and missed but was able to get right back and get it and yam and I thought that was a really nice little like hey it doesn’t have to be pretty because you know we’ve got a big with touch and athletic athleticism like just clear up get him the ball clear a path. I thought that was a a a cl I think it was Dean who set that screen. I just wanted to shout that out cuz I you don’t often see that kind of Gortat screen where you’re just kind of like blocking the short roll guy uh in the two three. But I thought it worked really well. We we we’ve seen some unconventional screens from the Cavs in the last two games between that one and Thomas Bryant boxing out so Donnie could get the layup. Um, but yeah, I I honestly I feel better about their offensive process in this game than I did against the Bucks, right? Um, sometimes you can learn lessons by the final result. I thought overall their approach to this game was healthier offensively than it was against the Bucks. Um, I thought they had to work harder for it. Yeah. And the effort level was there consistently throughout the night, right? Like I I I thought that they were out there problem solving, trying to find ways to to crack Houston’s defense. They they were the the cuts were done with a purpose, which is really important. The everything that they were doing was with effort, with purpose, right? And I’m going to feel much much better with that, than I will the Memphis game where I thought for three quarters there wasn’t that sense of urgency and and then they turned it on in the fourth. So I I was really happy with that. I thought Naqucoin gave them really good minutes. Um, it’s kind of funny that he was out there for as long as he was and only came up with two rebounds. It felt like he had more and it felt zero defensive rebounds. Like it it felt like he was everywhere when he was out there and um he pulled off what could be a dunk contest dunk where it went off the side of the backboard. That that was one of his rebounds. I was going to ask is that not a Doesn’t it have to hit rim? I was about that too. I don’t know if he came down with the ball. That’s the thing cuz you can throw it off the backboard and it’s not a travel if you don’t come down with the ball. I think he came down with the ball. I We’ll have to double We’ll have to check the tape. But I I was like cuz I look I immediately looked over to the Rockets bench to see if they were protesting and they weren’t. So I don’t know. Maybe I maybe uh maybe I just uh don’t know the rules. I I feel like you probably came down with the ball and you might be right. Um but you know the Listen, we’re not here to pick Nets. Yeah, Houston gets away with enough stuff, too. Like I I I’m not going to go in depth on it, but I’m just not a fan of what Shangon does offensively because I think it’s taking advantage of what the league allows defenders to do or doesn’t allow defenders to do. And if you’re going to be the the tough guy that elbows everyone to go into the basket, you shouldn’t also be the guy that flops. But he he is a fantastic player. And I almost get more frustrated when someone as skilled and talented as him uh resorts to that sort of thing. It’s just not a style I like. And you know, I I tweeted this out, but if you’re going to be the guy that elbows everyone in the face going to the basket, that Jared Allen dunk absolutely should have counted. Couldn’t agree more, my friend. That was an amazing Jared play. That was awesome. Yeah. Again, I do think this is like a a a great example of like where people’s priors kind of just determine things. Like I’m seeing a lot of like anti-Jarrett stuff after this game. I’m like I don’t think he played any worse than anyone else on this team. Like like I thought he was perfectly fine. like obviously not a great scoring game for him, but like where are the opportun like he’s just never going to be a self-generated guy and I don’t think they we’re getting a ton of those opportunities created for them. Um the the franchise leader in field goal percentage. He’s allowed to have one game where it doesn’t go down. But I I I thought he did a better job on the glass than Moy. I thought he was really solid defensively. I thought he held his own really well, dropped his feet really well when he got switched on to Kevin Durant a couple times. He did a better job defending out on the perimeter than I think we’ve seen a lot of the time this season. And I’m not surprised that he was out there in the fourth quarter, right? Like that was one of our big conversations, but I they they were behind. I get that. Yeah, but he he got a good number of fourth quarter minutes, too, right? And I I think it makes sense like I I expected him to be playing in the fourth in this game as long as the game was close enough because of the matchup. I I just don’t think like my assumption based on what I’m seeing is that he gets pulled when it’s five out, right? Like that they’re not fully comfortable with him defending on the perimeter. I that’s an assumption. That’s not based in any journalism or anything like that. Um, but that’s kind of how I feel and Houston doesn’t do that, right? Like, so you’re able to to play him in those spots, but I thought he did a really really good job on the perimeter and he would be very low on my list of gripes and grievances in this game. Yeah, I mean, I don’t think he helped them win the game, but I do think he he played uh just as well uh as just about anyone else out there short of DeAndre Hunter, who was pretty electric. Yeah. Yeah, it was nice to see, as I said, it was nice to see Naquin, you know, play well in those minutes. He played confident. Um, took the shots that that were available to him. Like I I know I I saw some comments on him firing up those those corner threes. But you got to take those, man. Like that’s that’s a wide openen look. That that is 100% what you should be taking when you’re out there when it swings to you. Um, and like you said, DeAndre was was terrific and it was nice to see him knock down the shots. still, you know, if we’re picking nets, there were a few lapses on on defense. Uh turn turning his back to KD offball should never be a thing. I just think those are gonna I I think you just kind of I mean I if Kenny shouldn’t live with them, but you know, I think I think as fans like that just part of the equation. I think it’s just part of the game. I thought he was pretty good on Katy on ball for what it’s worth. Um that’s that’s the thing with DeAndre. offer a few brain farts and and that’s why when we’re talking about what this team should be when they’re fully optimized, I like him starting because I I think that there is a little bit more coverage for those kinds of offball lapses with him. Whereas in those single big lineups, I think that’s when it’s really really important to have someone like Max Struce who is ridiculously fundamentally sound on the defensive end. I miss Max. I love Max. I miss Max too. And you know, I as a leader of, you know, the DG propaganda island of the Max cult and all that good stuff, like I I don’t want, you know, to to have people one over to to my side because of stretches like this, right? Like I I would rather people disagree with me and both of those guys are out there for my favorite team. But I I think it does go to show you, right? Like the data with those two say says they do a good job defensively on the perimeter and the counter is usually people saying well you know sometimes guys are able to shoot over them they don’t have as much length as some other guys. Taking a contested shot over top of a defender that’s connected is always going to be a tougher shot than when you get by someone and you are, you know, getting a free run to the rim or you’re getting an open shot because uh you were able to back cut successfully, right? like and there’s also the elements of the entire defensive integrity holding together when you have those types of guys that stay in front of their man so consistently. So I I have an appreciation for what both of those guys on the do on the defensive end. I think you you obviously feel it on the offensive end, but I I think people have understood their impact on the offensive end um over the years that I think the the drop off on the defensive uh side of the floor is people are being illuminated to it a little bit this season. Yeah. I mean, I I I even think on the offensive end, people uh are are seeing it. You know, I Nate Duncan uh apparent I didn’t hear this directly, but someone in our Discord referenced on their podcast how uh they looked at the numbers from last year even and when the Cavs uh played with Donovan on the floor, but neither Ty Jerome uh nor Darius Garland, the offensive profile looked a lot like this. Not a lot of drives, not a lot of paint pressure, like a lot of threes. Uh yeah, and I think uh I think that we’re really seeing what Darius does for the collective spirit of this team. I will continue to hit on the fact that, you know, uh the the floor, you know, we talked about like whether the floor was higher or lower with these role players this uh this uh this summer. Uh, I think I might have won that argument by saying I think the floor is lower. Uh, because, you know, because the offense can just drop out if uh if uh Donovan’s not out there or not able to consistently put pressure and Evans not consistently able to self-create, which he hasn’t been. Um, again, I still think the ceiling might be higher. It’s just like, you know, things might have to be a little more optimal to reach that ceiling. Yeah. And I think last year too, right? Like they started the year without Max. He didn’t come back until late December. But at that time of year, if the guards are out, you did have Caris Levert out there who was able to put rim pressure, right? And I almost think with everyone that’s currently out of the lineup right now, you’d almost have more value from that Caris archetype than what you’re getting out of DeAndre Hunter. But when because we just don’t have someone that’s getting into the teeth of the defense that can run, pick, and roll at a very high level. But when this team is fully healthy, you want to have a DeAndre Hunter type. That that is what we’ve been missing. Right. So, and he’s felt some of his most unfair with Darius Beck. Right. Right. And it it you know, I don’t in the past I know you’ve kind of compared the offense to like a fine watch, right? Where if the little grain of sand gets in there, it all comes apart. I don’t think it’s necessarily that uh this season, but when you are missing this many parts and you’re missing such a heavy part of your guard rotation, I do think it’s a little easy to get out of sync. And that’s why tools like Zoom workplace are so important to get you back into sync, Carter, because teams move fastest when everyone’s in sync. Zoom workplace keeps meetings, chat, docs, and more together so your workflows like a perfect play. Keep work moving and zoom ahead with Zoom Workplace. Well done, brother. Should we talk about Evans Night? Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, me feeling better about the offensive process in this game probably is most heavily influenced by Evan Mobley’s performance. I I liked his offensive profile way way more this game. I I thought and I I I think it’s interesting, too, because this was a night where Donovan wasn’t able to get inside the paint very frequently at all. Right. like the the with the way that they were blitzing him with the one-on-one defensive pressure that Ahmed Thompson’s able to put on him, Donovan wasn’t able to get in there and get the defense in rotation and get those passes to Moy or Allen, right? But despite that, they found creative ways to manufacture Evan Mobley getting the ball on the move and attacking the basket. It’s very, very effective finishing around the rim in this game. And I just I like the offensive profile from him a whole lot more. Again, you probably feel a lot better about this game if he knocks down his free throws, but I I thought on the offensive end where what he was doing was better and looked better than the final box score for him. Yeah. Um I think that is definitely fair. Uh you know, if he makes his free throws, if he goes eight of 10 from the line, uh you know, all of a sudden that’s a that’s a 22-point game. Um uh if he hits one of his three, you know, like like I I do think process outpaced result in this one. I I just like it when he catches deep and takes a second and figures out how to go like the right angle to go up strong like like he had a few and ones or like you know really nice deep catches where uh Houston was a little helpless. I think he had one uh play where he kind of ran through it was either a Kogi or Aman Thompson. I don’t remember which one, but he really like he hit first and got right to the cup. Like those are the one plays where you go, “Oh, that’s the guy.” You know, and again, uh just more catches on the move uh in this in this game where you still are saying, “Evan, playmake.” Like I feel like the Cavs sometimes it’s like it’s so binary. It’s like either Evan, you are a play finisher who will get catch an easy play while lurking in the in the dunker spot and go up for a dunk or a lob or we are going to start the ball 26 ft out and you have to you have to find a way to dribble your way all the way to the cup. And like all I want is for them to like set a pin down for him so he flashes up and catches the ball on the curve with like a little bit of space and some some uh some options to make a decision. uh run a run a handoff where he is running towards the ball uh you know 18 feet out and can try to turn the corner with you know his unbelievable length and ideally with a little bit of a head start with the handoff man screening Evans guy or forcing a switch so he can then bury someone deep like I just I think my thing with him has been that I don’t think he’s actually playing a lot I don’t feel like the skill still feels a lot worse. Even though the percentages are a lot worse, I feel like the opportunities are a lot worse. And again, I don’t know whose fault that is. Uh, but tonight it felt a little bit better. Yeah. And I I think when you talk about an empowered Evan Mobley and what we want to see from him, I don’t think it’s ever been creation from a dead stop, right? And I think there’s been too much of that this season. I think that eats into, you know, his energy, his ability to have as much of an impact on the defensive end, uh, his impact to, you know, his ability to impact the game with hustle stats and things like that and even finishing, right? I I feel like too much energy is being expended. I I really like what I think I shouldn’t speak for both of us, but what I wanted to see out of Evan Mobley this season was getting the ball in a lot of the similar spots, but being able to do a little bit more with it, right? Like being able to more confidently attack guys off the dribble when they close out at him at the nail, right? Um being able to make a a play where he wasn’t able to make one with the handle uh off a dribble handoff, right? or or fake the dribble handoff and then take the defender to to the rim. I I wanted to see nuance and growth kind of within the structure of what we’ve already seen with the additional, you know, change of not going away from it when it matters, right? like let’s make sure that when when the game is coming down to the wire, when we’re have crucial possessions that he is involved in the offense um regardless of how the night’s going because that’s important things to build up for the postseason. I haven’t felt that way, but I also haven’t necessarily felt that way for almost anybody. Like it just feels like getting consistent looks within the flow of the offense hasn’t been a thing for Moy, Donovan, DeAndre, whomever, because there hasn’t consistently been a flow of the offense this season, right? How they go about getting their buckets, how they go about scoring on a night toight basis varies. I see nights like tonight and I think, okay, that’s a positive step on the next in the right direction, but you got to build upon that. you and you can’t have as many backsliding games and quarters along the way. There is one distinction I’d like to make to that point, which is Donovan right now is the only person who decides what his shot profile looks like. You know what I mean? And like like I think Donovan um has been pretty freaking exceptional to start this season. He’s been unreal. He’s been the best player in the Eastern Conference for for my money. Oh, I hadn’t even considered that question yet. I think you might be right. Uh uh cuz Kade’s shooting splits are not great, Bob. Um uh it’s Giannis and Maxi in my opinion. I might pick you still cuz he’s amazing. Uh but yeah, I I do think there is uh you know, all we can ask for is the process to look better. I think there is still some room to be a little disappointed cuz like you know, we can sit here and say process looks better. Still 18 points in 36 minutes. you know, when when the team’s missing like five of their uh score and volume meters on the floor, like you do want to see more, you know, I I I think it’s fair to say, Justin, that we all hoped we’d see more 25 26 point outings uh on occasion, like on nights where they’re short-handed, that he would eat that volume and be able to consistently create these good looks. So, uh, that, you know, that is what it is. Um, on the offensive end, I do have a real gripe to hit, though. This man has got to hit the defensive glass. He is averaging a career worst defensive rebounds per 36 right now. He is at 6.5 going into this game, and that’s going to go down because he only had five defensive rebounds tonight, uh, in 36 minutes. Um, I don’t know what’s going on on that end of the floor. like why he’s having so many games where he and some of it I think is playing a little bit more five and getting dragged out a little bit, but some of it I I don’t know. It it’s it’s been weird for me, man. I’m with you. I I don’t even want to put it all on the defensive glass. like that. That’s one of the spots where I’d like to see it improve. But I feel like he’s seen the ball bounce more times this season than he has like in the last two years combined where whether it’s a a loose ball or a defensive rebound opportunity. He kind of has watched the ball hit the floor a couple times without, you know, kind of that give me that attitude, right? Like I I felt like he used to have magnets on his hands where anytime there’s a loose ball, he’s out there picking it up. whe whether it’s going on the sideline, whether it’s the defensive glass, and there just seems to be times where he’s kind of waiting for a teammate to collect it. And I I don’t care if you’re elbowing Dean Wade out of the way. And you know, that’s controversial opinion here because we have two friendly fire injuries already this season. Um, but I I I want to see that kind of mentality, right? like I I want to see him gobble up the ball, get those those loose ball opportunities, get those hustle stats, and I don’t know if if some of it is, hey, he’s doing so much more self-creation. Um I if you know, his mind is on other things, you know, if you have a possession that isn’t successful in the offensive end, maybe you’re you’re still kind of thinking about that and how you’re going to attack the next one because that’s the primary focus. But it just seems like that there’s a little bit more watching the basketball that I’m used to seeing with Evan Mobley. Whereas in the past, the ball’s kind of careening out of bound and he has a chance to go for it, he gets you he gets that ball nine out of 10 times. If if there’s a ball coming off the rim, he’s going up and he’s getting it. Not not that he’s ever been an exceptional rebounder, but he’s been a very strong rebounder in the past and I think he needs to get back to that. Yeah, he averaged 8.2 per 36 last year. He’s down to 6.5. Uh Jared Allen, it’s actually a lot worse. Jared averaged uh 9.1 defensive rebounds per 36 last year. He’s down to 7.3. Uh so there is they are worse on the glass this year. Uh I mean you like it’s no there’s no disputing it. Um I’m not sure why that is that both bigs are so far down. It’s something. Again, these are the kind of questions I was like, gosh, if we were local, I would absolutely ask like what’s changed schematically that has these guys um and maybe it is an effort thing. I don’t know. Like I maybe the coach would just be like, “Yeah, they’re doing worse at it, so the numbers are lower.” Like, but like I would love to know if like there’s something they’re seeing schematically like these guys are not in position the way they were last year cuz like I know the personnel is different but and Max is a very good rebounder for his size and but Darius isn’t. Ty Ty Jerome really isn’t. Um so like I and Isaac I would argue Lonzo is a historically much better rebounder than Ooro. Tyson’s a much better rebounder than Ooro. So, uh, like I I don’t know. That was the argument at the start of the season, right? Like it’s, hey, we were better at this when I I know they are better on the defensive glass this year, but they’ve had these games that, see, that’s the funny thing about this season. Like, when we looked at the transition defense, hey, they’re they’re doing just as well, but they’ve had these games where it’s been really poor, right? When we talk about the defensive glass, yeah, the the season long average is better than it was last year, but they’ve had games where I thought you said it was worse than last year. Am I crazy? No, the they are better on the defensive glass this year than they were last year. Oh, yeah. They were 22nd last year. They’re up to 16th this year. Got it. Sorry. But but they’ve just had nights where they fell to 17th already, apparently. I just checked NBA.com. Still still they’ve updated. Yeah, but there there’s just been nights where they haven’t done what they’ve shown they can do, even if you’re just talking about this season, right? Like that I I think their ability to impact the game in those ways has been inconsistent and that’s fair to say. Yeah. So, it’s just again, it’s just been a weird year cuz like there’s some stuff that I can like very clearly point to and then there’s some stuff I don’t think I have good answers for right now. And you know, maybe it is just as simple as uh the effort’s not as high um uh in in this regular season. I mean, I my eyes tell me that the the effort hasn’t been as high, the focus hasn’t been as good. Um I mean, across the board, uh you know, again, they started 15 and0 last year. They they were objectively playing better at basketball. It wasn’t just like more shots went in. Everything was clicking. and I don’t think everything’s clicking. Um, but yeah, I those are the ones where I’m like trying to trying to I’m I’m still in diagnosis mode, I feel. Yeah. And I think what’s fair to say is just that they’ve been less connected this year, right? Like even when it comes to Evan Mobley on the defensive end, I talked about how those one big lineups last year, the rim protection numbers were phenomenal when he was playing without Jared Allen. they they managed to to basically hold steady and that was I in my opinion that was one of the key reasons why he won defensive player of the year. Yeah. You look at the tracking data this year and I can say okay the the lineup data says that the the rim protection with Moy at the five has been poor but then if you look at the the tracking data on basketball index right now his rim protection is at the 97th percentile. Last year was the 95th. Rim disruption is at the 97th percentile. last year was at the 95th. Like the the help defense is at the same level. Basically, the only spot where there’s been a drop off is in post defense. He’s in the 90 the 76th percentile. Well, last year he was in the 96th. So, what that tells me is that when Moy is in position, he’s having the same level of defensive impact overall, but he hasn’t been in position as frequently. And I think a lot of that has to do with what we’ve talked about when it comes to the rebounding that when you allow drive to the basket and the center has to come up and contest the shot, it takes them out of rebounding position. That happened on one of the first possessions of this game where Jared Allen had to come out and contest the shot and Steven Adams goes up and gets the offensive rebound to to open up the game. you’re just I I just feel like the the integrity of the defense has not been as steady. And that’s why despite the fact that the defense overall is performing about the same as it did last year, the breakdowns just feel so much louder and and it doesn’t feel as sustainable. Like I I felt like last year that you they could crank it up and get to a higher level than they even performed at in the regular season. this year it feels like there are just stretches where where it has not been as together as it’s been in the past. Yep. I think that’s that’s very fair. Um so I I don’t know. I I still feel like this was a step in the positive direction. You know, they’re 10 and six. Um uh they I do feel like I think Kenny said that Darius is getting close to coming back, which boy would that be a shot in the arm for them. Uh, you know, Jaylen Tyson’s missed what, three in a row now? Yeah. Um, with that concussion, obviously, he was a big part of, uh, their, you know, a positive story early on in their in their winning streak, uh, after after a bit of an up and down start. So, I talked about this a little bit when it comes to Tyson because people have been like, “Oh man, like how bad is this?” But if you relate it to football, when you get a concussion, you miss the next game on Sunday, right? like you’re missing seven days and then week two, which is 14 days later, is usually kind of touch and go. Sometimes you’re out for that one, too. Look at CJ Stout. He’s about to miss his third week in a row, right? Basketball, the games come much quicker, right? So, he had it last Monday. He’s missed a week. That’s pretty typical. You’re going to play it safe in those uh scenarios. I actually found it encouraging that he was on the bench tonight, right? Like you you know, sometimes when you’re dealing with that, you don’t want to be in that kind of loud environment. So, I I think that’s a a good sign. Um, but you’re right, like it’s so much of this season is weird because we are grading on a curve. We we understand that so many important pieces are out and that’s going to make things more complicated. And and I think we’re pointing out what’s not working a little more frequently this year. One, because aren’t working. Yeah. There there’s a whole lot more in that category versus last year. And two, we are holding them to the standard of championship contender because I do believe that this roster is a championship contender. I think it’s weird. We’re like grading on two opposite curves. Like on one hand, I’m grading on the curve of like, oh well, they’re missing uh some some really key pieces, playing a bunch of guys that we weren’t expecting to see, etc., etc., etc. Uh so like have to give them some grace on this side, but then the other side’s like, “Hey, you’re supposed to be a title contender and you won 64 games last year. like, “Show me more.” So, I it’s I feel there’s a third curve of this team has used the regular season to prove how good they’ve been for several years and it hasn’t worked out. No one’s impressed and no one’s impressed. And we know that, you know, there’s a different approach to this regular season. They’ve they’ve talked about it consistently. So, that that that’s a third variable here. So, it’s it’s not me being down on the team. It’s me trying to figure out, okay, what can we pull from each of these games, what are things that we can identify so that if they do improve or if they don’t improve, we can have th those subsequent conversations down down the road. And you know, you talked about the disappointment, hoping that with guys out, you’d see a few more high output performances from Evan Mobley. My biggest disappointment on the night is that you get so few of these games in a regular season where you truly get a measuring stick against a team as good as Houston. And I hate that we did not have the opportunity to get a proper one in this game. It’s really really frustrating. You can even say, oh, you know, they they hung around. They took a fourth quarter lead down all those guys. Houston’s going to play differently if the Cavs have everybody. We know that teams always kind of play up or down to their competition in the NBA. That’s just a part of the element. We didn’t learn anything from this game that would be applicable to a potential final series. And that’s just frustrating to me. That’s disappointing because I I do look forward to these games. Yeah, I I agree. It’s uh it’s a bummer. But at the end of the day, uh still feel really really good about um time and like we might just it like this might be one of those choppy years. I mean, and and if you are if you’re someone who is like of the opinion that oh well that means like that they’re screwed. The 2016 Cavs were miserable to watch for much of that regular season. Like they had plenty of ups and downs. Uh in all those years they made the finals and like I’m not saying Kyrie wasn’t good until February that year. Yeah, I mean people people forget like that Spurs game is one of my like favorite regular season games. Part of why it felt so good was because Kyrie hadn’t looked good coming from back from the injury, right? Like he had the Portland game ahead of that one, but that Spurs game was just like finally here it is, right? And I’m going to disagree with you. I’m going to predict that we’re going to feel a good high at some point this year. Um I just I don’t know about a month’s long like crazy extended high like that, but maybe I’m wrong. 1718 was a pretty depressing regular season and we won 15 games in a row at some point in it, right? Like I I think it’s going to happen. I think this team is good enough to to steamroll teams at some point. I’m predicting a high at some point this year. I I’m I’m I’m certainly going to feel one. Uh big thanks to everyone tuning in live on YouTube. Make sure you guys like and subscribe. Click that notification bell so you know when we’re going live. If you’re listening via podcast and you want to support us, leave us a rating, leave a review, subscribe, unsubscribe, resubscribe, and help cook those books. If you want to be part of Chaseown’s exclusive Discord chat, send a screenshot or view to chase [email protected]. However you choose to support us, we really do appreciate it. Make sure you guys are staying safe out there. Until next time, go Cavs. [Music]

Justin and Carter react to the Rockets win against a short-handed Cavaliers team on Wednesday night.

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