rusty2 wrote:Mark, this is something you want to listen to. Griffin on last summer and his leaving the Cavs.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=22558174

Wow, that is fascinating rusty! Thanks as always.

Griffin is truly an amazing mind and spirit. He just gets it.

"Communication is always key in sports," James said. "If you have new guys or guys who have been together for years, communication is always key."

And Griffin was clearly a master at this as far as between front office and players.

He did say that they had a number of options planned for Kyrie (for deals) but he points out that is standard procedure. He didn't know if Kyrie would want to leave so he had options in case that happened. But again he communicated with Kyrie's agent. Transparency works for Griffin.

On a funnier note - love that Ainge referred to Griffin as "freak" since he spent absurd amounts of time viewing film.

I know not much to go on yet but ...

CAVS DEFENSIVE RANKS

Opening Night thru Trade Deadline:

Points against 28th
FG% against 29th
3P% against 24th
Forced Turnovers 25th

Trade Deadline thru Today:

Points ag 6th
FG% ag 5th
3P% ag 5th
Forced Turnovers 7th

They are so much more fun to watch now.

They get defensive stops and then get out and run. The athleticism is night and day but mostly it's the energy level.

Then again, you have to have the athleticism to use that energy. Now they do.

Truly I think they have found the formula for surrounding Lebron. Give him young, impressionable, athletic sidekicks who can also shoot and he thrives. So do they.

Guys like Clarkson, Hood, and Nance are great examples. And Hill (that guy's body is siiick) is still young enough to qualify plus he has the experience as well.

Speaking of running ... LeBron, in his 15th season, is still just blowing the doors of guys running down the court. He has an extra gear and when he kicks that in it is fun to watch him just leave guys 10 years younger behind.

Hillbilly wrote:Speaking of running ... LeBron, in his 15th season, is still just blowing the doors of guys running down the court. He has an extra gear and when he kicks that in it is fun to watch him just leave guys 10 years younger behind.

Absolutely, this guy still has a good 3 years left at full or almost full capacity in my view.

Watching Cavs and once again admiring Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance. These guys are good!

Just goes to show the power of $ and cap considerations in the NBA. When Magic Johnson said he hated to trade Clarkson and Nance - this time it wasn't just lip service. They took a hit to free up room for 2 max deals this summer.

Amazing job by Altman finding the absolute perfect situation and match.

As much as JR found himself with the subtraction, Korver is completely lost....

Pop put it on Lue today.........

I was wondering if Korver can fit in with these younger running Cavs. He and Frye made a good combo off the bench and he worked well with the other older guys on the previous second team.

While the trades may be helpful, reality is they are in worse position for playoffs. They have no clutch performers other than Lebron. They young kids arent ready for the big shot. They short arm the shots and George Hill looks lost. Cavs need for the balls to hit correctly next year.

rusty2 wrote:As much as JR found himself with the subtraction, Korver is completely lost....

Pop put it on Lue today.........

Agree - and a team like the Spurs not the best matchup for a team newly learning roles and assignments. They are the most cerebral team in the NBA

I agree about Korver. He is so slow that he literally has to put his head down and start sprinting just to try to hang with the rest of the players in transition. The game before last there was literally 2 turnovers because players tried passing him the ball and he wasn't looking cause he had his head down sprinting. Both looked ridiculous.

I, heck, everyone, loves the guy. But I wonder if he can fit in with new young fast paced unit as well. Not looking good.

Also agree Hill isn't fitting in. Clarkson on the other hand seems to be clicking great with new guys. Time to give him a start and try Hill off bench?

Sooo in tonight's game anyone notice:

1 Larry Nance closed out the game and hit a key jumper
2 Rodney Hood closed it out and hit the game winning jumper
3. Clarkson hit a key 3 late on a pass from George Hill
4. George Hill had the stop of the game trapping D'Angelo Russell to set up the winning shot
5. Hill hits 2 key free throws with 13 seconds left to seal it

Point is that all 4 new guys closed out this game. And Larry Nance has increasingly made TT sweat for a role.

26 - 5 - 3 for George Hill
Nance with 10 and 10

Someone's defense must not been so great; that's a lot of points to allow at home to a team known for not much more than its No. 1 draft pick we get to use.

civ - The Nets are actually Houston East as far as pace of game goes.

They play very up tempo - which is what the Cavs are now trying to preach with the new athleticism.

So recipe for high scoring.

Something has happened with this team.......

I seen a lot of players that were passing up shots and watching Lebron last night. Looked like a bunch of scared Kevin Loves out there.