Tag Archives: Cleveland Cavaliers

Kevin Love buyout not in plans

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cavs do not have plans to buy out the veteran forward.

Cavs fans can collectively calm down now. After some rumors surfaced suggesting that the Cavaliers could buy out Kevin Love, they were shot down Wednesday afternoon. A team source told Jason Dumas that there are not plans to buy out Love at this time.

Just as the rumors about buying out Andre Drummond made no sense, buying out Kevin Love also would have been a head scratching move. The Cavs are not in a position where they have to find a way to jettison either player so retaining them for the time being is the best path moving forward. Cleveland can still field calls in regards to trade for Love, Drummond, and even JaVale McGee, the latter being the most realistic buyout candidate if a trade does not materialize.

Cavs should not buy out Andre Drummond

Posted on by
Advertisements

Speculation and rumors are running rampant about the the Cleveland Cavaliers and a possible buyout.

Death, taxes, and people trying to get players out of Cleveland. This is something that always seems to happen with a player who plays for one of the teams in town and people having desires to see them elsewhere. This repetitive logic has reemerged in the form of Andre Drummond and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zach Harper of The Athletic posted about potential buyout candidates and included Drummond on his list. Here is Harper’s reasoning.

Drummond is the most intriguing player on this list outside of maybe Derrick Rose. A couple of league sources mentioned after the Harden trade to Brooklyn that it’s a matter of time before he finds his way into a buyout and joins up to give them help with the interior. Drummond is a difficult player to figure out because of how he wants to fit. He’s obviously better than the Kendrick Perkins option the Thunder once had, but Drummond does require you to waste possessions throughout a game throwing it to him in the post. If you can get Drummond to run the floor, catch lobs, set screens, rebound the hell out of the ball and play defense, he’s a great option for someone like the Nets.

Harper would later add the fowling about a fit with Brooklyn.

However, if he wants to be hyper-involved as a scoring option on a team with KD, Kyrie and Harden, then that’s going to be a problem. He’s better than Jordan at this point, but how much better when you consider how he’ll want to be used? The idea of him in Boston is intriguing, but I’d be shocked if Danny Ainge decided to take that gamble. He doesn’t fit in Milwaukee. Maybe the Clippers would try him in the mix, but those seem like the only options.

At the end of the day it comes down to how does this type of move benefit Cleveland? It doesn’t. A better buyout candidate is JaVale McGee, which is a suggestion made later in Harper’s post. Once McGee is traded or bought out it would clear of the logjam for the Cavs. Well that and potentially moving Kevin Love at some point.

Darius Garland is The Connector

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard is an important player as he connects two vastly different styles of play.

J.B. Bickerstaff has referred to Darius Garland as a unifier. Not to step on his toes or outright steal his term, but another way to deserve Garland is a connector. A much needed bridge between styles of play for the Cavaliers. From here on out he will be referred to as The Connector.

Darius Garland is usually manning backcourt duties with the other half of Sexland, Collin Sexton. Sexton is a fantastic scorer and has shown multiple times this season that he can carry the scoring load when necessary. The one thing that he is not known for is being a distributor of the basketball, but that’s not a bad thing. Sexton is not a point guard and that’s fine, there’s a reason why Cavs drafted Darius Garland to pair with Sexton.

Having a guard that is an excellent passer is a necessity. Darius Garland is a better passer than Sexton and can impact the game without having to shoot the basketball. This impact has been seen with the arrival of Jarrett Allen from Brooklyn as the two have shown tremendous chemistry on the court in only limited minutes.

Additionally, when Cleveland has Darius Garland on the floor and Sexton off they are able to have him run the offense. While Garland is not and may never be the most talented player on the team, it is certainly possible he becomes the most important due to his Connector status. Being able to be an impact player with both the starters and bench players helps reinforce his title as The Connector. Garland connects the styles of play and specific skill sets of all of the players on the team. Having players like Garland make a huge difference over the course a season and eventually the playoffs.

Versatility, flexibility, and connectivity are exactly what the Cavs get with Darius Garland. Being able to mesh styles of play and the strengths of certain players together shows why the second year guard is so crucial to their success. Garland should prove to be a key player for Cleveland as they continue to build their foundation for the future.

Cavaliers fight hard, fall short vs. Lakers

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers put up a tough fight but were just no match for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Absolutely no one will fault the Cleveland Cavaliers and the effort they put forth in their 115-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Monday. Cleveland refused to give up and fought all the way to the end, but were just not able to put together enough to come out victorious.

There were a few times early that is looked like a repeat of Sunday night’s dismal performance could be in the cards, but that was not the case. Instead of rolling over and accepting this loss, the Cavs rallied and pushed the Lakers to the edge. Ultimately, LeBron James was the difference for Los Angeles as he dropped a casual 46 points on the Cavs.

Big game ‘Dre

Andre Drummond led the Cavaliers in points and rebounds with 25 and 17 respectively. Drummond putting together games like this is essentially the expectation this season. The Cavaliers big man has been a consistent source of scoring and rebounding that has made an impact for Cleveland so far this season.

Streaky Cedi

If there is one thing that everyone knows about Cedi Osman is that he is streaky. There are times where Cedi can be red hot and others where he is ice cold, tonight was the former. Osman made 5 of 7 three-point attempts and was instrumental early in the 3rd quarter when the Cavaliers cut into and eventually took the lead. Osman was Cleveland’s second-highest scorer with 20 points.

Spotty Sexton

As per usual, Collin Sexton made some incredible plays and drained a couple three-pointers. The only issue is that this was a volume shooting effort as Sexton went 6-17 from the field. This was tied for Sexton’s worst shooting performance this season which was a loss against the New York Knicks in December. Things should look up for Sexton once his running mate returns to the starting lineup.

Garland rounding into form

This was expected to be the last game that Darius Garland comes off the bench while working back from injury. Garland played 26 minutes and was impressive in his limited minutes. The other half of SexLand finished with 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting and 5 assists. Once Garland is reincorporated back into starting lineup it should make a huge difference for the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers will look to snap their two-game losing streak when they take on the Detroit Pistons Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.

Nets interested in Kevin Love

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Brooklyn Nets have expressed interest in acquiring the Cleveland Cavaliers veteran big man.

There was a new Kevin Love trade rumor that emerged Monday, The Brooklyn Nets have shown interest in acquiring the 32-year old veteran according to Jason Dumas.

This is in addition to already looking into acquiring JaVale McGee. Brooklyn is looking to fill our their roster after making the blockbuster move that resulted in James Harden becoming a Net. McGee would solve some of their defensive issues and Love would not necessarily move the needle all that much in that department.

Kevin Love has missed the majority of the season after a calf strain in Game 2. At this moment in time, Love is still within the re-evaluation window for his injury.

Moving Love would allow the Cavs to distribute minutes to their younger players and allow them to develop properly. One player of note who has stepped up during the absence of Kevin Love has been Larry Nance Jr. Nance has taken the starting role and ran with it, possibly leading to Cleveland exploring trades in involving Love. If Cleveland does trade Love, Nance could go from temporary fill-in to regular starter.

Cavaliers no match for Celtics

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers had no chance against the Boston Celtics Sunday night as they were on the wrong side of a 141-103 blowout.

It was a long night for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they were no match for the Celtics in Boston. Fresh off back-to-back wins against the Brooklyn Nets there was hope for a game that would at least be close. What this game showed is that Brooklyn was a team dealing with a lot of roster turnover and their defense is really bad right now. What Boston showed is that they are a team that was truly ready for the Cavs.

The fact of the matter is that the game was over pretty much from the start. Boston began the game on a 11-2 run and from that point the Cavaliers were pretty much done. The Celtics lead grew to 17 points by the end of the 1st quarter and the rout was on. By halftime Cleveland found themselves down 22 points, leading to what would end up being a second half that was far from competitive.

Cleveland found themselves down 103-62 with 4:41 left to play in the 3rd quarter, their largest deficit of the game. The Cavaliers would cut the deficit down to 25 points, but that was as close as it got for the remainder of the game.

At the end of the day the Celtics are a substantially better team than the Cavaliers and this loss is not necessarily all that surprising. Cleveland is a team that can compete against some of the better teams from time to time, but they will still play games that are far from competitive. Maybe the team was feeling themselves a bit after their two straight wins over Brooklyn. Perhaps they were looking forward to Monday night’s matchup against LeBron and the Lakers. Either way this was a rough game from start to finish.

JaVale McGee on the move to Brooklyn?

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers backup center is drawing interest from the Brooklyn Nets.

It is possible that JaVale McGee could be on the move in the near future. The Cleveland Cavaliers veteran has reportedly drawn interest from the Nets and could make a run at him according to Sam Amico.

If the Cavs do trade McGee to Brooklyn it would be the second trade of the season between the two clubs. The Cavs and Nets were involved in the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn while Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince came to Cleveland.

Speaking of that trade, JaVale McGee has not played in the past two games, the two games that Allen has appeared in. It really seems like the Cavs are intent on continuing to roll with Andre Drummond and Allen at the center position while McGee is relegated to the bench. McGee was never someone that was going to be a long term piece for the Cavs and a midseason trade seemed inevitable. Now that Cleveland has a younger backup center, moving McGee to a contender not only seems logical, but it is the right thing to do.

Cavaliers top Nets for second straight game

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 125-113.

It was the second of back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers came out on top yet again. Cleveland won in double-overtime on Wednesday and were able to win this game in regulation. The Nets were without Kevin Durant for this matchup while the Cavs were the healthiest they’ve been in quite some time.

There is on particular area where Cleveland absolutely dominated Brooklyn, points in the paint. The Cavs were able to score 70 in the paint while the Nets scored 46. That is a huge differential and without a doubt led to the Cavaliers victory.

Return of SexLand

While Collin Sexton led the Cavs scoring effort in back-to-back games, (including a career-high 42 on Wednesday), it was the return of Darius Garland which brought some excitement. The Cavaliers backcourt duo better known as SexLand is back in effect and that is very exciting. Sexton set a team record with his 10th straight game with 20 or more points to begin a season.

Meanwhile Garland was able to come back in a limited capacity and show some chemistry with the recently acquired Jarrett Allen. Garland scored 11 points and assisted on 3 baskets in his minutes restricted return.

Allen and Prince step up

Jarrett Allen scored 19 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Allen was able to click with the aforementioned Darius Garland and could be formidable combination moving forward. It seems like any growing pains with the new arrivals may be short lived and possibility non-existent.

Taurean Prince had himself quite the night against his former team finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in 22 minutes. Prince made 3 of 5 shots from the field (2-3 3PT) and made all six free throw attempts. Originally considered a throw-in or afterthought in the grand scheme of the trade, Prince could be a nice piece of the bench moving forward.

Larry Nance Jr. continues to shine

The breakout continues, Larry Nance Jr. has made the transformation from fan favorite hometown hero who comes off the bench to legitimate starter for the Cavaliers. Nance makes an impact in so many facets of the game that he is becoming a better player than anyone could have imagined. The NBA leader in deflections in steals had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Currently this is great to see, but a conversation will be necessary once Kevin Love returns.

A new double-double streak for Andre Drummond?

Andre Drummond saw his double-double streak come to an end last time out, but is getting started on a new one. The Cavaliers starting center scored 19 points and corralled 16 boards en route to his 13th double-double of the season. It really seems like if Drummond is going so are the Cavs. Cleveland has an interesting dynamic at the center position and should consider keeping them together rather than splitting them apart.

The return of Dylan Windler

Dylan Windler made his long awaited return and was fairly impressive in 16 minutes off the bench. Windler made both of his three-point attempts, finishing with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, and 1 steal. With the team moving on from Kevin Porter Jr., Windler becomes a much more important piece for Cleveland. It seems like after a couple of false starts that Windler has the ability to be a productive player for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland has a chance to go two games above .500 Sunday night in Boston.

Cavaliers should keep both Drummond and Allen

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers should keep both centers as they look to build their foundation for the future.

Let’s get weird. The Cleveland Cavaliers should zig while everyone else zags in regards to their big men. Instead of looking to keep only one of their centers, they should retain both Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen, and in turn cornering the market on a rare style of center. That style being one that is not a consistent or even a legitimate threat outside of the paint.

Looking at how teams are building currently this certainly defies convention and might not make much sense in the moment. This current moment in time is not what the focus should be, it should be the future. Just about every team has devalued centers like Drummond and Allen which could make this strategy a bit more feasible. The open market may not be kind which could allow the Cavs to pursue this currently unconventional roster construction.

For teams like the Cavaliers they need to find ways to get an advantage in any way possible. This means when they find one they need to exploit it endlessly. What advantage could that be? Centers that other teams do not appear to value. The Cavs could pair Drummond and Allen as their starting and backup centers resulting in a younger and perhaps better version of what they trotted last season with Drummond and Tristan Thompson.

Will this be the most aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball? Probably not, but caring about that is not something that should be under consideration. Cleveland needs to find any sort of way to get a leg up on the competition and going in the opposite way of the pendulum swing that favors small ball could be just that. Get out ahead of the pendulum swinging back in the other direction and be ahead of everyone else while they try to catch up.

Cavs trade Kevin Porter Jr. to Houston

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded the second year player to the Houston Rockets.

Kevin Porter Jr. is no longer a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have traded the second year player to the Houston Rockets for a protected second round pick.

It was only a matter of time before the Cavs moved on from Kevin Porter Jr. It became known earlier this week that the team planned to move on from the former 1st round pick.

Talent was never an issue for Kevin Porter Jr., the issues were off the court. There was an incident in the offseason that saw Porter arrested on after a single vehicle crash. The more recent incident with Porter was the outburst in the locker room after discovering what used to be his locker occupied by the recently acquired Taurean Prince. It was at that moment that the Cavs decided that it would be best for both parties to go their separate ways resulting in the trade to Houston.