Game 65: Cavs @ Celtics 3/1/2023

[ijspeelman]

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This and the one on Monday will be our toughest two games the rest of the season. Last two meetings went to OT with Cavs winning both. I'd love to see us winning even just one of these two games.

[ijspeelman]

Well, down by 3 to the Celts at the half I am pretty happy overall. Though, can we please make our freethrows? Would be up if we made'em.

[afarmenian]

Fading against a top tier team yet again. And again I ask what the point of the Mitchell trade was if we can't compete in these games

[toooskies]

Fading against a top tier team yet again. And again I ask what the point of the Mitchell trade was if we can't compete in these games

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

[ijspeelman]

God, that 3rd quarter was awful.

It was combo of allowing open shots and Celts hitting them all and their defense keeping us from shooting many open looks or almost none at the rim (thanks Mitchell for boosting those numbers tho). We also missed, I believe, all of our open ones even if there were very few.

Sadly, knowing my Cavs, this game isn't over so I have to keep watching lol

[ijspeelman]

Side note: I do not like that the ESPN feed seems to feel like a home broadcast for the Celts. I know I'm saying it now after the Celts took a big lead so I'll just seem salty, but its been annoying me all game

[afarmenian]

Fading against a top tier team yet again. And again I ask what the point of the Mitchell trade was if we can't compete in these games

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

[ijspeelman]

I loved the 4th quarter effort, but its been the same story recently against these top teams: too little, too late. I look forward to the rematch on Monday.

This Celtics team is legit and seem to have no flaws. It does help when Horford decides not to miss.

[toooskies]

Fading against a top tier team yet again. And again I ask what the point of the Mitchell trade was if we can't compete in these games

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

My icing is delicious

[ijspeelman]

Also, this shot encapsulates the Celts three point shooting tonight...

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[jbk1234]

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

My icing is delicious

I like you both so consider this an informal warning on my way to mod retirement.

Being critical of the organization, or even a popular player, isn't, in of itself, trolling.

Cupcake is right on the line of a personal attack.

Neither post is designed to lead to constructive discourse.

There's going to be a rookie mod taking over so maybe help him out by not doing this.

[jbk1234]

My personal feelings remain unchanged. If the Cavs cannot put a third reliable shooter on the floor next to Garland and Mitchell, they're going to have a rough go of it. Otherwise, you're asking both Garland and Mitchell to have good shooting nights on the same night which is probably too much to ask four games out of seven.

This is second straight game against an elite Eastern Conference contender where the moment looked a little too big for Mobley. He's a second year player so that is what it is. LeVert plays well against the Celtics and I still think the Cavs are a scary matchup for them. But if this team doesn't get one Okoro or Wade going from outside before the playoffs (I've given up on Cedi ever being reliable from out there), it's just hard to see them beating a team they have no hope of outscoring. You're not holding elite teams below 110 ppg 4 games out of 7 either.

[ijspeelman]

My personal feelings remain unchanged. If the Cavs cannot put a third reliable shooter on the floor next to Garland and Mitchell, they're going to have a rough go of it. Otherwise, you're asking both Garland and Mitchell to have good shooting nights on the same night which is probably too much to ask four games out of seven.

This is second straight game against an elite Eastern Conference contender where the moment looked a little too big for Mobley. He's a second year player so that is what it is. LeVert plays well against the Celtics and I still think the Cavs are a scary matchup for them. But if this team doesn't get one Okoro or Wade going from outside before the playoffs (I've given up on Cedi ever being reliable from out there), it's just hard to see them beating a team they have no hope of outscoring. You're not holding elite teams below 110 ppg 4 games out of 7 either.

Based on our games against contenders this year, this is not the year. Not that I still don't think our peak is the Conference Finals, but beating one of Celtics or Bucks seems unreasonable at the moment and then going further and beating both of them? Insanely unlikely.

Regarding Mobley, I don't think he did anything bad at the defensive end. The Celts had a game plan for him and they used it effectively, however. They were able to negate some of his on-ball defense by being going right into him and taking away some of his jump. He will have to get better at this because for the most part, he did a good job defensively last night and the Celts had to make all sorts of wacky shots around him. Offensively, him and Allen get out-matched by smarter defenses. They are easy double targets, Mobley less so than Allen, but they sometimes get blindsided by help or struggle to make the next move. Its all development pains that will hopefully improve for the better.

I have no real comment for needing a consistent three and D player as we all know its true haha. Wade has been pretty bad on the three part of the deal since he came back from injury and, though he's not unplayable, he's not the guy we need right now.

[jbk1234]

My personal feelings remain unchanged. If the Cavs cannot put a third reliable shooter on the floor next to Garland and Mitchell, they're going to have a rough go of it. Otherwise, you're asking both Garland and Mitchell to have good shooting nights on the same night which is probably too much to ask four games out of seven.

This is second straight game against an elite Eastern Conference contender where the moment looked a little too big for Mobley. He's a second year player so that is what it is. LeVert plays well against the Celtics and I still think the Cavs are a scary matchup for them. But if this team doesn't get one Okoro or Wade going from outside before the playoffs (I've given up on Cedi ever being reliable from out there), it's just hard to see them beating a team they have no hope of outscoring. You're not holding elite teams below 110 ppg 4 games out of 7 either.

Based on our games against contenders this year, this is not the year. Not that I still don't think our peak is the Conference Finals, but beating one of Celtics or Bucks seems unreasonable at the moment and then going further and beating both of them? Insanely unlikely.

Regarding Mobley, I don't think he did anything bad at the defensive end. The Celts had a game plan for him and they used it effectively, however. They were able to negate some of his on-ball defense by being going right into him and taking away some of his jump. He will have to get better at this because for the most part, he did a good job defensively last night and the Celts had to make all sorts of wacky shots around him. Offensively, him and Allen get out-matched by smarter defenses. They are easy double targets, Mobley less so than Allen, but they sometimes get blindsided by help or struggle to make the next move. Its all development pains that will hopefully improve for the better.

I have no real comment for needing a consistent three and D player as we all know its true haha. Wade has been pretty bad on the three part of the deal since he came back from injury and, though he's not unplayable, he's not the guy we need right now.

As far as Mobley, I meant offensively. He was 6 of 15 which is horrendous efficiency from a big man.

[TheLand13]

Fading against a top tier team yet again. And again I ask what the point of the Mitchell trade was if we can't compete in these games

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

We’re 2-1 against the Celtics this season and you’re asking why we can’t compete in these kinds of games. Of you aren’t trolling then what are you doing because you most certainly aren’t being factual.

[toooskies]

My personal feelings remain unchanged. If the Cavs cannot put a third reliable shooter on the floor next to Garland and Mitchell, they're going to have a rough go of it. Otherwise, you're asking both Garland and Mitchell to have good shooting nights on the same night which is probably too much to ask four games out of seven.

This is second straight game against an elite Eastern Conference contender where the moment looked a little too big for Mobley. He's a second year player so that is what it is. LeVert plays well against the Celtics and I still think the Cavs are a scary matchup for them. But if this team doesn't get one Okoro or Wade going from outside before the playoffs (I've given up on Cedi ever being reliable from out there), it's just hard to see them beating a team they have no hope of outscoring. You're not holding elite teams below 110 ppg 4 games out of 7 either.

Based on our games against contenders this year, this is not the year. Not that I still don't think our peak is the Conference Finals, but beating one of Celtics or Bucks seems unreasonable at the moment and then going further and beating both of them? Insanely unlikely.

Regarding Mobley, I don't think he did anything bad at the defensive end. The Celts had a game plan for him and they used it effectively, however. They were able to negate some of his on-ball defense by being going right into him and taking away some of his jump. He will have to get better at this because for the most part, he did a good job defensively last night and the Celts had to make all sorts of wacky shots around him. Offensively, him and Allen get out-matched by smarter defenses. They are easy double targets, Mobley less so than Allen, but they sometimes get blindsided by help or struggle to make the next move. Its all development pains that will hopefully improve for the better.

I have no real comment for needing a consistent three and D player as we all know its true haha. Wade has been pretty bad on the three part of the deal since he came back from injury and, though he's not unplayable, he's not the guy we need right now.

As far as Mobley, I meant offensively. He was 6 of 15 which is horrendous efficiency from a big man.

6 of 13 from inside the arc, which is closer to mediocre, and we all know it's an unexpected occurrence if he shoots well from 3.

[JonFromVA]

My personal feelings remain unchanged. If the Cavs cannot put a third reliable shooter on the floor next to Garland and Mitchell, they're going to have a rough go of it. Otherwise, you're asking both Garland and Mitchell to have good shooting nights on the same night which is probably too much to ask four games out of seven.

This is second straight game against an elite Eastern Conference contender where the moment looked a little too big for Mobley. He's a second year player so that is what it is. LeVert plays well against the Celtics and I still think the Cavs are a scary matchup for them. But if this team doesn't get one Okoro or Wade going from outside before the playoffs (I've given up on Cedi ever being reliable from out there), it's just hard to see them beating a team they have no hope of outscoring. You're not holding elite teams below 110 ppg 4 games out of 7 either.

They may not be able to do it, but I don't think it's too much to ask. In fact they both shot well .vs. the Celtics, it was just a slew of other things that didn't go so well.

I'd say the most encouraging thing is that Boston's bevy of wings backed by Williams in the paint didn't shut down Garland and Mitchell.

And IMO, Evan's ability to knock down a 3pter is an "icing on the cake" progression. If we really want to knock off a team like Boston, he has to be ready to do a better job defending the likes of Tatum and Horford ... not to mention Horford is going on 37. Evan's still developing his face up game, but eventually he needs to be able to take advantage of that kind of matchup on the offensive side.

Also JBB was playing with fire again leaving Mitchell in the game after re-tweaking his groin injury. We got lucky this time.

[afarmenian]

I could go find the intro video from Koby Altman saying that this isn't about this year and there's a long runway, but you're trolling so I won't.

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

We’re 2-1 against the Celtics this season and you’re asking why we can’t compete in these kinds of games. Of you aren’t trolling then what are you doing because you most certainly aren’t being factual.

You CANT be serious. People keep parroting those 2 first month overtime wins. Those are literally the only quality wins against contending teams that were semi healthy and they happened months ago.

Are you really that much of a homer that you can't see that the cavs are getting worse not better while ever single top tier team is rounding into form?

4 wins against top 6 teams in the league since then bucks 2x memphis and 76ers. All 4 wins those teams were missing a star or stars . Giannas JJ Adams Maxey and Harden. Even the Celtics wins they were missing Robert Williams

We have some delusional fans who on cue want to label valid criticism as trolling because they can't deal with reality and prefer to be sheep.

Those Celtic win highlights hope you enjoy them not going to do cavs any good in the playoffs when things really tighten up.

[JonFromVA]

I am trolling because I have an opinion different than yours....whatever you say cupcake

We’re 2-1 against the Celtics this season and you’re asking why we can’t compete in these kinds of games. Of you aren’t trolling then what are you doing because you most certainly aren’t being factual.

You CANT be serious. People keep parroting those 2 first month overtime wins. Those are literally the only quality wins against contending teams that were semi healthy and they happened months ago.

Are you really that much of a homer that you can't see that the cavs are getting worse not better while ever single top tier team is rounding into form?

4 wins against top 6 teams in the league since then bucks 2x memphis and 76ers. All 4 wins those teams were missing a star or stars . Giannas JJ Adams Maxey and Harden. Even the Celtics wins they were missing Robert Williams

We have some delusional fans who on cue want to label valid criticism as trolling because they can't deal with reality and prefer to be sheep.

Those Celtic win highlights hope you enjoy them not going to do cavs any good in the playoffs when things really tighten up.

The reason he called you out for trolling is because the Mitchell trade was never about winning it all this year, it was about establishing our core-4 for years to come. Not to mention, but it's not like Mitchell didn't just go off for 44pts in the TD Bank Garden (or whatever they call it) after re-injuring his groin.

[TheLand13]

You CANT be serious. People keep parroting those 2 first month overtime wins. Those are literally the only quality wins against contending teams that were semi healthy and they happened months ago.

Well for one thing, those aren't the only quality wins we have against semi healthy teams, but that's besides the point. You said we can't win the big games. We have and did so twice against Boston. If you're going to complain about how the season has went, again, be factual, because you aren't doing that.

Are you really that much of a homer that you can't see that the cavs are getting worse not better while ever single top tier team is rounding into form?

And what are you basing this off of? A game where we lost by four to a team whose star player went off and in their role playing big went 6/8 from three?

I mean I guess we did lose to... *checks notes*

The best offensive team in the league... by six. The Sixers... by six.

I guess there's the Atlanta game where they quite literally could not miss at all? I'm not sure why you're making a big deal out of that one.

4 wins against top 6 teams in the league since then bucks 2x memphis and 76ers. All 4 wins those teams were missing a star or stars . Giannas JJ Adams Maxey and Harden. Even the Celtics wins they were missing Robert Williams

And how many games did we lose because we were missing key players? How many games did we play against top ranked teams while missing Mitchell where we came up short? I don't buy this idea that we couldn't beat those teams because they were missing a top player, especially when some of those games you mentioned were blow outs. You're stretching the line really thin here and, once again, aren't being factual at all.

We have some delusional fans who on cue want to label valid criticism as trolling because they can't deal with reality and prefer to be sheep.

You just got done implying that getting Mitchell was to win this year and we're the ones who can't deal with reality? You don't even have a basic idea of why the trade happened in the first place correct. Not to mention, with how great Mitchell just played, the question needs to be asked: what game exactly were you watching and what are you basing any of this off of?

And if you've been paying attention to any of my posts, you'd know that most of what you've been saying is something that I've been talking about too: we aren't beating the top ranked teams in the league and when we do, we usually catch a lucky break.

I am calling you out on your faulty logic, that's all there is to it. If you want to complain, feel free. Don't make up obvious bull **** to justify it. It's not necessary.