Jordan Clarkson was solid in his Cavs' debut on Sunday, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with three 3-pointers, three rebounds, one assist and two steals in 23 minutes.

Clarkson provided a nice spark off the bench with the second unit, and it seems as though he's already endeared himself to LeBron James, so we'd expect his minutes to rise over the coming games. Clarkson only needs minutes in the mid-20s to be effective, and he's going to be getting a lot of wide-open looks whenever he shares the floor with James, so maybe he'll be able to sustain his value in Cleveland.

George Hill looked like a perfect fit with the first unit in his Cavs' debut on Sunday, registering 12 points, two 3-pointers, three rebounds, one assist and three turnovers in 21 minutes.

Hill did an excellent job of staying in front of Kyrie Irving on defense, and he also had a nice two-man game going with LeBron James. The Cavs starting unit of Hill-J.R. Smith-James-Cedi Osman-Tristan Thompson posting a 126.4 offensive rating, and a much improved 93.0 defensive rating for a net rating of 33.4.

He gives the Cavs' a defensive presence at the point that they didn't have before, and his minutes should trend up as he becomes more familiar with the team.

Rodney Hood looked great in his Cleveland debut on Sunday, scoring 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with three 3-pointers, three boards, one steal, one block and one turnover in 19 minutes.

Hood wasn't shy with his shot selection, jacking up five shots within his first six minutes out there, and his minutes should start to trend up as he gets more familiar with the Cavs' system. He finished the game with a 31.1 usage rate, so it looks like Tyronn Lou wants him to be a force with the second unit.

Lol, Jamal Crawford level there.

Don't forget - Cedi has been let loose too and talk about an energy guy???? Missed dunk and all.

Cedi Osman scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in Sunday's blowout win over the Celtics, adding two 3-pointers, five rebounds, one steal, one assist and two turnovers in 29 minutes.

Osman remained in the starting five despite the Cavs' new additions being available, and it'll be interesting to see just how long that lasts with Rodney Hood likely to challenge him for the starting spot at some point. That said, he's played very well over the past two games as a starter with averages of 14.0 points, 2.0 triples, 5.5 boards, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game

Larry Nance was quiet in his Cleveland debut, going 2-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from the line for five points in 21 minutes off the bench.

Nance won't be scoring much in Cleveland, but that's not where his value comes from anyway, and he still came through with four rebounds, three assists, one steal and zero turnovers. He should be able to find minutes in the mid-20s with the Cavs, which is all the amount of time he needs to produce in fantasy hoops.

I like Cedi starting all of the time.

rusty2 wrote:I like Cedi starting all of the time.

I agree really you need a guy like that to do all the dirty work and hustle on a team of talented offensive players.

Shoot this kid was guarding Kyrie!!!

But also he is far from a offensive liability either. Someone did some excellent work scouting this kid out in Turkey.

Yeah, but I wouldn't say he was guarding Kyrie well..

Defense much improved today. We had only held a team to under a hundred points once the last 13 games and that was Atlanta. So nice seeing them hold a good Boston team to 99 today.

Hillbilly wrote:Yeah, but I wouldn't say he was guarding Kyrie well..

who does?

Meanwhile Thomas announced after his first game with the Lakers: "I felt like I got my powers back playing on this team"

Also posted a nice farewell to the Cavs:

"Thank you to the Cleveland Cavaliers organization for granting me the opportunity to rock the wine and gold this season. God bless and see you on the other side." [The other side?]

This incoming 2018 NBA draft class is STACKED

There are seven or so players fighting for the right to be drafted No. 1 overall in a class many are deeming more top-heavy than the star-studded 2017 one.

Texas’ Mo Bamba is a 7’0 Rudy Gobert-type with a 7’9 wingspan. Duke center Marvin Bagley is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. Slovenia’s Luka Doncic is the guard-forward many have been raving about for years. Oklahoma’s Trae Young leads the NCAA is points, assists, and can step back and launch anywhere like Steph Curry. Alabama’s Collin Sexton might be the quickest guard in the country. Arizona’s 7’0 center, DeAndre Ayton, is shooting 35 percent from three.

That’s why the Cavs were so hesitant to part with their Nets pick.

Hard to get over how the Cavs loaded up for a run this season while at the same time keeping that pick and loading up on younger guys for the future.

Finding Jordan Clarkson on a team that desperately wanted more cap space was genius by Altman. And the exact same could be said about Rodney Hood who has huge potential

I think it all has to do if LeBron stays or not. If LeBron stays he will dictate whether Love stays or not ?

Coincidence that news came out the day before the trade deadline that LeBron had no relationship with the front office. Do you think this information was leaked knowing that there was going to be a bloodbath on deadline day ? I do.

rusty2 wrote:I think it all has to do if LeBron stays or not. If LeBron stays he will dictate whether Love stays or not ?

Good point rusty because there IS a role for Love if Lebron goes. He has shown that offense can be run through him.

Well, I am disappointed for Boston because they need offense:

Marco Belinelli Reportedly Plans to Sign with 76ers After Hawks Contract Buyout

Good pickup for Philly and they are obviously dangerous

Cranjis McBasketball @T1m_NBA 50 minutes ago
Hey @MZavagno11 have fun with Clarkson. He's shooting 47% on open catch & shoot 3s this year and shot 47% last season on a full year. He also had a lower ratio of open:guarded C&S 3s this year than any Cavs guard. You grabbed a nice piece.

.

We need to find a way to get him on court with LBJ as much as possible, creating a lot of those open catch and shoot 3's.