2018 Off-Season Thread

[The 24th Letter]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

You say that as if all four were nothing but sunshine and rainbows. I get what you’re hinting at, but let’s stop pretending like four consecutive championship runs cancel out everything else and are the end-all, be-all to a person’s overall happiness.

Kevin Love took a lot of heat. Sometimes justified, others not. I’m sure there is some sense of relief to be free of the circus.

I get what you're saying, there could very well be some sense of relief there...

I just believe him when he says he let all the outside noise around him go that bothered him initially, just focused on the basketball, and the situation he was fortunate enough to be in. Especially since he had multiple opportunities to leave that situation.

I'm sure theres a give and take on both sides of it, but I dont think we should act as if hes a tortured soul finally getting his freedom either.


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[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I just believe him when he says he let all the outside noise around him go that bothered him initially, just focused on the basketball, and the situation he was fortunate enough to be in. Especially since he had multiple opportunities to leave that situation.

C’mon man, nobody cares what Love thinks/feels. They care about what guys like Stephen A say he thinks/feels. These were hostile situations. I mean it’s not like his coach didn’t just come out and say all of that stuff is made up outside noise, and that he’s the most coachable superstar teammate he’s ever been around. And it’s not like Love just came out and said that he would like to finish his career playing with Bron.




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[areobee401]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I get what you're saying, there could very well be some sense of relief there...

I just believe him when he says he let all the outside noise around him go that bothered him initially, just focused on the basketball, and the situation he was fortunate enough to be in. Especially since he had multiple opportunities to leave that situation.

I'm sure theres a give and take on both sides of it, but I dont think we should act as if hes a tortured soul finally getting his freedom either.


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Never suggested he became some tortured soul because of the experience, lol. Was more of hyperbolic joke if anything. Agree with you on the give and take thing.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Sorry, wasnt trying to make this a thing....glad Love got his loot either way, lol

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[DamnYanks2]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Think Love can be a superstar again?

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[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Think Love can be a superstar again?

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I think Love looked as good as he's ever looked to start last season. I think he was up around that 24/12 per 36 mark before getting injured again, and he's quicker than he was in Minny so while he's not a great defender I think he's become less of a liability when pulled outside, and he's quicker in the half court on offense.

The only issue with him getting back to a "superstar" is that though the losing weight has helped him in a lot of areas I think it actually hurt his post game. In the past he could work his way down low and basically ZBo people inside to get a quick bucket or get his rhythm going. I think not having the weight to throw around has hurt that quite a bit, gets pushed off his spots and leads to a lot of hooks that are falling away from the basket rather than towards it. He does good when he gets the small match (see destroying CJ Miles), but not nearly as good against guys who can match his size.

Sliding back to primarily power forward could help that a lot. But they will really need some big progression from Thompson or Nance to be able to do that. Otherwise I think Lue keeps sticking him at the 5 and trying to push the tempo like he's wanted to be able to do for the last couple of seasons now.

[3304Life]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I don’t think he needs to be. We need him to be a leader who shows these young dudes how to become good players in the NBA. I think he had a short window for superstardom and as soon as he entered that, the chance to play with LeBron came.

I do think he’s gonna thrive with less pressure though. The Cavs are his team now and nobody expects us to win anything. Some people have us down as one of the five worst teams in the league. So while I don’t expect his peak of like 25 and 15, I think he can be a 22 point double double guy, with stats similar to a Jokic or Griffin.

It’s all about the young dudes though for now. Sexton, Clarkson and Osman are the future of the Cavs and getting them to a level they can perform at consistently is key. I think this is why they brought Frye back too. A great vet who seems like a really awesome dude off the court.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I think Love looked as good as he's ever looked to start last season. I think he was up around that 24/12 per 36 mark before getting injured again, and he's quicker than he was in Minny so while he's not a great defender I think he's become less of a liability when pulled outside, and he's quicker in the half court on offense.

The only issue with him getting back to a "superstar" is that though the losing weight has helped him in a lot of areas I think it actually hurt his post game. In the past he could work his way down low and basically ZBo people inside to get a quick bucket or get his rhythm going. I think not having the weight to throw around has hurt that quite a bit, gets pushed off his spots and leads to a lot of hooks that are falling away from the basket rather than towards it. He does good when he gets the small match (see destroying CJ Miles), but not nearly as good against guys who can match his size.

Sliding back to primarily power forward could help that a lot. But they will really need some big progression from Thompson or Nance to be able to do that. Otherwise I think Lue keeps sticking him at the 5 and trying to push the tempo like he's wanted to be able to do for the last couple of seasons now.

I don't think that team will be terrible. And Sexton should be giving plenty of chances to ball out.

Pretty good young nucleus and they technically still have a superstar that apparently wants to be there.

Obviously not in the convo for a title. But they might surprise.



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[DamnYanks2]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

I don’t think he needs to be. We need him to be a leader who shows these young dudes how to become good players in the NBA. I think he had a short window for superstardom and as soon as he entered that, the chance to play with LeBron came.

I do think he’s gonna thrive with less pressure though. The Cavs are his team now and nobody expects us to win anything. Some people have us down as one of the five worst teams in the league. So while I don’t expect his peak of like 25 and 15, I think he can be a 22 point double double guy, with stats similar to a Jokic or Griffin.

It’s all about the young dudes though for now. Sexton, Clarkson and Osman are the future of the Cavs and getting them to a level they can perform at consistently is key. I think this is why they brought Frye back too. A great vet who seems like a really awesome dude off the court.

I think Hood is gonna ball out too. I mean really ball out. He can do it. He's got plenty of room to show what he can do now. Some people think he could be an all star.

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[3304Life]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

As far as pure talent I agree, Hood was probably the third best dude on our roster last season. It’s unlocking that and helping him get over that mental block that is the difference right now. But his potential excites me a lot.

[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

If Hood and Clarkson can shake off whatever the hell they were doing in the playoffs and play like they were when they first landed in Cleveland I think they'll be a team that fights for a playoff spot. If those guys can't play well it could be a really ugly year though. I see them fighting in that 7-9 range though. I don't really think the "pressure" has much impact on guys like Love or Hill, but as soon as the playoffs started it looked like the moment was too big for Hood or Clarkson, everything they did looked panicked and rushed.

Drafting Sexton and seeing the way he handled himself in the summer league would surely have to make any Cavs feel good about their chances to push for the playoffs. He has no back down to him at all, he could statistically being playing bad basketball and come out as a + every night for the way he approaches the game. So I think that was a good get for them since he'll be somewhat running the show and hopefully that type of effort is contagious to Hood and Clarkson. Cedi has that same mentality too, I hope he finally gets some big minutes this season. I was wanting him in the lineup during the playoffs, he just makes a difference.

[cima]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

If Lue can actually be a good coach, which remains to be seen, the Cavs should have no problem making the playoffs in the east. I only consider TOR, BOS, and PHI to be locks. IND, MIL, and WAS seem like they should be locks and they SHOULD improve but we've seen young teams regress before when it looked like they were on the rise (and WAS is just a weird wildcard with all those personalities)

Sexton looks like the real deal. Love is the clear #1 now. Hood should do much better in a system with no pressure.

PG Hill, Sexton
SG JR, Clarkson
SF Hood, Cedi
PF Love, Nance
C Thompson, Frye

No reason that team shouldn't be competing for a 5-8 seed.

[ojandpizza]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

If Lue can actually be a good coach, which remains to be seen, the Cavs should have no problem making the playoffs in the east. I only consider TOR, BOS, and PHI to be locks. IND, MIL, and WAS seem like they should be locks and they SHOULD improve but we've seen young teams regress before when it looked like they were on the rise (and WAS is just a weird wildcard with all those personalities)

Sexton looks like the real deal. Love is the clear #1 now. Hood should do much better in a system with no pressure.

PG Hill, Sexton
SG JR, Clarkson
SF Hood, Cedi
PF Love, Nance
C Thompson, Frye

No reason that team shouldn't be competing for a 5-8 seed.

To me, Indiana and Milwaukee are going to be in the mix with BOS, TOR, and Philly, those are the top 5 and should be all but locked into that in some order. I actually think Indiana can finish as high as 2 or 3, I think they are going to have a big year personally.

Washington has to stay healthy. If they can do that, talent wise, they are up to par with most teams in the East. They should add in as the 6th team with that group of 5, meaning 6 teams ahead of others in some order or another. But being healthy is a big key, I think Dwight with a pg who likes to pass is an instant upgrade over Gortat for them.

Leaves two spots, which I think Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, and possibly Chicago will be fighting for. Chicago should be able to score, a lot will come down to them being healthy and how much better the young guys come back. And can they at least be average defensively.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Cleveland’s current roster right now is the definition of “Meh”.

Not ready to call them a Top 5-8 playoff team just yet, especially considering just a month ago, the roster was trash and only made the playoffs because of Lebron. And even now, it’s pretty much the same outside of guys who have to prove themselves consistently.

[CaVsFaN2273]

Re: 2018 Off-Season Thread

Wow, bad look for the spurs medical staff . . .

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2787651-danny-green-says-he-played-with-groin-injury-tear-undetected-by-spurs?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-league