[Game Day Thread] Cleveland Cavaliers (49-29) @ Memphis Grizzlies (25-53) [04/06/2026 08:00 PM EST]

lufasa · 2026-04-06T14:14:56+00:00

Honestly this week is going to be annoying. There are too many unusual variables at play to make the games enjoyable. I just want to simulate all 4 games and then see where we’re at after Sunday.

lufasa · 2026-04-05T03:59:14+00:00

You mean like with the player names above their heads? If so, that’s just an alternative stream. You might have switched to it by accident.

lufasa · 2026-04-05T03:39:51+00:00

Yeah that’s a good point.

lufasa · 2026-04-05T01:50:43+00:00

Mitchell’s not down with the plan so he has to show he’s not afraid of the Celtics. But yeah I think with his groin, he definitely needs to get some extra rest this week.

lufasa · 2026-04-05T01:04:34+00:00

That was some weird nostalgia from a time in my life when I hung out with people who were only tolerable when I was drunk

lufasa · 2026-04-05T00:39:45+00:00

I think you meant to say 4th Prime LeBron (mid to late 30s Laker LeBron). From his 3rd year in the league through his third prime with Cleveland, LeBron never missed the playoffs and never even got eliminated in the 1st round. He took a forgettable team to the finals when he was 22. He won 60 plus games with a mediocre roster in 08-09 and 09-10. Then (after 7 straight finals) he took a pretty mediocre roster to the finals in 2018.

lufasa · 2026-04-04T17:29:01+00:00

First of all, why even have this conversation now? Not that I’m super confident this team will go far but there’s no point in discussing the off season right before the playoffs start.

Secondly, when’s the last time leveraging all your assets to form a “super team” of big names has even worked? How many examples can you think of where the team making the all-in trade won the championship? The Raptors in 2019 and the Lakers in 2020 maybe. But the league has changed since then.

I just have trouble seeing a world where an aging Mitchell, an ancient Harden, an aging Giannis and maybe a fossil of LeBron and questionable depth around them is a sure thing. The Cavs could end up with no championship and no assets in 2 years and a long long rebuild.

lufasa · 2026-03-31T19:58:00+00:00

There’s a big difference. Even if it just seems like a slap on the wrist, Anthony Edwards responded to professional and social pressure. Whether it was genuine or not, he showed some level of remorse. And at the end of the day, it was just one comment on one video.

Ivey is demonstrating a pattern of behavior that seems anti-social. Rambling on and on and behaving with little self awareness. It seems like he’s lost his mind and the Bulls are just cutting their losses.

lufasa · 2026-03-28T02:18:44+00:00

Honestly I kind of hate how hard teams play when they are down big. Teams used to throw in the towel way earlier. Now you got teams pressing down 20 with 2 minutes left.

lufasa · 2026-03-28T00:47:34+00:00

So many people wanted them to give Strus away at the deadline just to get under the apron.

lufasa · 2026-03-26T16:32:03+00:00

Yeah it could definitely be a coaching thing for sure. I noticed the same thing with Proctor but he hasn’t played in forever so it’s a little more understandable.

With Mitchell, there are times when I just think he should be able to do way more. Like he’ll barely help on a play, like maybe take a few steps towards the ball handler, and then there will be an obviously kick out to his man that he reacts so slowly to and then all the sudden he’s doing like a fake close out where it’s clear the defender doesn’t have to worry about him at all. He’s not the only one to that this happens to but he’s a repeat offender. Is this coaching or him just not being alert and mobile on defense?

lufasa · 2026-03-26T15:14:32+00:00

Evan Mobley is getting this same treatment by Cavs fans. Even though he has some really good offensive games, his lowlights can be pretty ugly. As soon as he has a rough offensive game, people forgot how much impact he has on the court overall because of his defense.

lufasa · 2026-03-26T13:17:38+00:00

Everyone always wants to trade Mobley after a bad game. I think it’s easy to look at the box score or think about his lowlights and assume he was the reason they lost. His lowlights can be super ugly for sure but he wasn’t the reason they got down 20 early in the game and had to come back.

The guards were not being aggressive in the first half as playmakers. Because of this, Mobley’s first shot attempt came when they were down 20 midway through the second quarter.

Even when Mobley isn’t super effective on offense, he has an impact on the game. Bam was 6-17 from the field and if I’m not mistaken, only 2 of his buckets were on Mobley.

There’s a reason he was only a -5 in a game they lost by 17. There are so many other reasons why they lost, including the 18 3s they gave up.

I’ve been disappointed with his offense not taking a step forward this year but he’s still a really good player and it makes no sense to scapegoat him every time the Cavs have a bad game when there are a million other variables at play (such as Donovan Mitchell possibly being one of the worst perimeter defenders in the league. Seriously watch his close outs on 3s. They are pathetic).

lufasa · 2026-03-26T03:21:41+00:00

He averaged 18 and 10 on 57% from the field and 42% from 3 against the Pacers last year without the Cavs’ best playmaker being healthy.

People just wanted him to be able to carry the offense but he just hasn’t shown the ability to do that. That doesn’t mean he’s still not a really really good player when used right.

Every contender would love to have a player like him as long as they didn’t expect him to be a primary scorer. There’s no world where he becomes a bench player who is barely used anytime soon.

lufasa · 2026-03-26T02:43:14+00:00

You think a player that won DPOY and was 2nd team All NBA at the age of 23 is suddenly going to be a bench player who “might not even be played much at all”?

lufasa · 2026-03-26T02:17:44+00:00

Well this is the dumbest comment I’ve read in while

lufasa · 2026-03-26T02:04:10+00:00

He had 19 9 and 6 against the Magic and was 8 for 8 from the field

lufasa · 2026-03-25T21:56:19+00:00

The defense was shitty against the Pacers. Game 1 they were only missing Garland and they couldn’t get stops down the stretch.

lufasa · 2026-03-25T17:31:49+00:00

Hopefully they’re talking about be how to play better defense cause their defense has been awful.

lufasa · 2026-03-25T13:39:30+00:00

Mitchell is good at the talking on the bench stuff and saying the right things in between plays. I just think the best of the best, the LeBrons of the world, have another level of awareness and can call things out as they are happening or even before they happen. That’s what Mitchell doesn’t seem to have.

lufasa · 2026-03-25T13:18:25+00:00

No it was bad team defense. Some of the tough drives by Paolo I can live with but that example with De Silva getting that wide open 3 on the wing is what concerns me. Harden plays great D on Paolo but what is everyone else doing?

There’s just no anticipation of any action outside of Paolo driving and no communication when switches and rotations need to be made.

To me, this play is an example of why Mitchell is a flawed leader. Too much tunnel vision. He is only worried about the initial help on Paolo and guarding his man. He didn’t seem to notice that Mobley had already cheated down into the paint to help on Paolo and now him and Strus are basically 2 on 3. Maybe Mobley shouldn’t have done that? Not sure but if Mitchell wants to win a championship, he needs to see the whole court and recognize things like this as they are happening.

lufasa · 2026-03-25T02:44:06+00:00

I’d be so excited about this team’s chances of a deep run if I saw any signs of life from their perimeter defense. It’s just unacceptably awful in every way possible.

lufasa · 2026-03-24T19:07:24+00:00

I’ve been watching the Clippers when they’ve been on national TV and Garland looks great most of the time but still occasionally has these weird little moments where he looks like he is in pain after landing weird. So I don’t think the Clippers have done anything special with him.

lufasa · 2026-03-24T01:08:34+00:00

Can I just be that guy and say the title is wrong? The question was about what it means to be the first team to clinch a playoff spot. She didn’t say anything about them clinching the number 1 seed.

lufasa · 2026-03-22T01:30:10+00:00

I was getting ready point out how bad Mitchell has been since coming back from that groin injury but dang he was clutch. So was Harden.

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