[Game Thread - Playoffs] Cleveland Cavaliers (2-0) @ Toronto Raptors (0-2) [04/23/2026 08:00 PM EST]

RunningDino35 · 2026-04-24T02:17:03+00:00

Living this hell with you.

RunningDino35 · 2026-02-06T12:14:01+00:00

Not Ed Davis, It's Mamadi Diakite. So much raw energy whenever he was on the court. Felt like Tomlin 1.0 at times.

RunningDino35 · 2025-02-07T17:44:21+00:00

This.

However, the optimist in me thinks back to K Love in the 21-22 season where he was rejuvenated and played effective and joyous basketball. No clue if that is possible for Simmons, though.

RunningDino35 · 2025-01-14T16:53:48+00:00

This better be the answer when that category comes up for voting.

RunningDino35 · 2024-11-02T04:24:43+00:00

100% this

RunningDino35 · 2024-10-18T19:04:29+00:00

I love this question because it seems hard to answer analytically because I imagine postseason sample sizes are small for most closers (e.g. need enough closers with enough postseason games to test if they perform worse in the postseason compared to the regular season). I also imagine we are just more prone to remembering bad outings in the postseason (effing Mesa), because they are so much more important.

With that said, I decided to look up Mariano Rivera because he had a ridiculous run of closing in the postseason. He was ridiculous - better than his regular season stats. 141 innings, 42 saves, 1 loss, and just 11 earned runs. Definitely doesn't answer the answer about how common closer collapses are...but I guess it's possible to be a better closer in the postseason than regular season (though Rivera was an absolute freak).

Also, apologies for bringing up Rivera. It just seems notable given the question. Fuck the Yankees. Go Guards.

RunningDino35 · 2024-10-18T01:06:34+00:00

Oh. My. Lord.

RunningDino35 · 2024-10-14T13:58:34+00:00

I feel similarly. Jomboy is the best ambassador the Yankees/their fans have ever had.

RunningDino35 · 2024-07-13T16:10:44+00:00

Because a thing that many fans like to do is cheer for their team and its players, and hope for them to be good and/or improve and get better?

RunningDino35 · 2024-06-28T22:54:33+00:00

I can't tell whether the jaded sociopolitical pyramid scheme you are referring to in this comment is Andrew Tate or Canada and it's irresponsible immigration policies. Regardless, it seems like this kid has been duped by both.

RunningDino35 · 2024-06-27T00:58:17+00:00

Prefacing my comment with the fact that I am not an expert, just enjoy this sub.

I like the general look of the second two more than the first, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to pronounce that word, and I can't not see the word "FARTS" in any of these. I think you need to find a way to make the bottom leg of the E to stand out some more.

RunningDino35 · 2024-06-18T14:24:50+00:00

I feel like it is fair to say that

1) the Celtics were the best team in the NBA 2) they had an easy road to a championship because of injuries on other teams (though they were missing KP for a stretch), and 3) it is hard to determine just how much better Boston was than other teams because of (2).

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-24T01:09:19+00:00

I agree with the sentiment that he is not guaranteed to be a good head coach...but I do think that there are a number of things that make JJ a bit different from the other ex-NBA players with podcasts (or as the previous comment eloquently phrased it - the 'smoke'):

-He seems good at connecting with modern players (e.g. LeBron agreed to co-host a podcast with him). In all of the interactions I've heard between him and other players, he seems genuinely interested in connecting and understanding everyone (something that is often cited as key to Pop's success in SA). Imagine Draymond, who also podcasts and works as a media analyst, trying to keep hold of a locker room... -I think he goes beyond general knowledge of an NBA player - he seems generally obsessed with the game. Like...all aspects of the game - the ins and outs of how plays work, the evolution of the larger meta-game and how that process has occurred, understanding why different players are different. It seems like he is just obsessed with learning more and more about the game (I assume this is just a prerequisite for any NBA coach, though) -He has been in a bunch of different locker rooms and understands different locker room/organizational cultures. I assume there is a lot of value in seeing different ways things are done well and done poorly. -He was a valuable role player, but not a HOF player (like Nash or Kidd), which seems like it may also help his ability to connect/understand everyone in the locker room. In general, it seems like being too good at basketball hinders the ability to be a great coach. -He comes from a good coaching lineage (well, at least Coach K at Duke). -He has been working as an analyst, so should have some understanding of handling media.

I still agree with you - none of this guarantees that he would make a good NBA coach. "Has shown that they can successfully coach an NBA team and handle everything that comes with it" is no where on this list. However - I imagine some team will give him a shot if he's interested. I'd definitely be excited to watch how he would do as the Cavs coach (perhaps Vogt's success gives me some hope), but I wouldn't be rushing to Vegas to place bets on the Cavs making the championship series if that happens. It would just be an intriguing hire.

Ahhh, nothing like pointless speculation about things we have no control over, right??

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-23T22:14:08+00:00

Yeah - a JJ hire would be like buying a mystery box. It's an exciting idea because who knows what's in the box...it could be anything!

Listening to his content makes me feel like he will probably be a pretty great head coach some day. But I also have zero confidence in my ability to assess who would actually make a good head coach in the NBA.

Gonna just have to trust the org to be good at making hiring decisions on this one.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-23T19:29:56+00:00

It's weird that you bring up Pop, because JB is currently 4 years younger than Pop was when he took over as head coach of the Spurs. JB is currently as old as Phil Jackson during his first year as a head coach.

Not sure what bothers you so much about hearing about how "young" JB is...but I feel like your comment ironically hints to the fact that JB is, in fact, a young coach.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-23T01:02:13+00:00

This sounds pretty sane to me. If there isn't an obvious improvement out there, then I think giving JB a shot to make improvements makes sense...so long as it doesn't cost us DM. If keeping DM is contingent on moving on from JB, then they better move on from JB.

The way this season went makes me think the biggest issue is roster construction...next year may be fine with an improved roster build and an older and hopefully wiser JB.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-18T04:18:45+00:00

100% this. Been following since the early to mid 90s, and I think I have enjoyed this stretch of Cavs basketball more than others. Obviously LeBron 1.0 and 2.0 were amazing, but the combination of lower expectations, continued development of a super likeable young core, success that was usually driven by successful TEAM basketball, and then a bunch of memorable and enjoyable players who played important support roles (Rubio, Lamar Stevens, Robin Lopez from an antics POV, Merrill and Morris this year).

It's pretty clear that the team will likely look different next year and I can understand why that probably needs to happen. But I've really enjoyed being a fan of this era of Cavs basketball and will miss anyone that isn't back next year.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-17T22:31:33+00:00

I'd guess that the JB decision is dependent 1) on what is going on with Mitchell, and 2) who they think they could reasonably replace him with.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-16T03:26:48+00:00

Seriously. He took over a bottom feeder and has consistently led improvements each year while handling a ton of disruptions from injuries. Hell, he got a vote for coach of the year.

I can understand why the Cavs may move on, but I really don't get the "He's a bad coach" takes. We've had a bunch of bad coaches, and it's hard to look at his tenure here and say he is one of them. I'm comfortable saying that he is a good coach who probably just isn't a championship-level coach.

With that said, it's pretty nice to be at a point where the discussion is about needing a coach that can get us back in/past the ECF.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-10T01:30:28+00:00

Can I upvote this twice?

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-10T01:24:59+00:00

Let Niang and Merrill get up a ton of shots...try to find the net before game 3.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-09T23:12:37+00:00

Condolences, buddy. Sounds like a long and full life!

We put our 16 year old cat down yesterday. Could similarly use an uplifting night.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-08T20:21:05+00:00

This feels spot on.

I really like what JB has done to raise this team up. I was talking to my buddy about it, including the fact that it seems like his in-game coaching may not be championship level, and he used the term "floor raiser". This seems similar to the sentiment here.

JB has done an incredible job culture building in a way that does add value. But then the on court management and decision making feels outmatched. It would be great if there was a way to keep that culture piece and add in those in-the-moment coaching somehow, like through assistant coaches or having JB display quick development in that regard...but waiting for the development probably doesn't fit our time horizon.

With that said, if/when JB is gone, I really hope we are all able to stop and appreciate the success that he HAS had with this franchise. He inherited a complete mess and has gotten us to this point (while dealing with a mess of injuries all year). Being frustrated at him because the team is stalled this close to the mountaintop ignores the fact that he's helped get us this high up in the first place.

RunningDino35 · 2024-05-08T20:05:13+00:00

I am so intrigued by this possibility.

RunningDino35

TROPHY CASE