The NBA has to STOP SLEEPING on the Cleveland Cavaliers + Donovan Mitchell for All-Star Game MVP

The NBA has to STOP SLEEPING on the Cleveland Cavaliers + Donovan Mitchell for All-Star Game MVP

What’s up guys Mikey McNuggets no Jason Lloyd this is not an official ultimate cab show but I did have a couple thoughts I wanted to get off my chest before the All-Star game later tonight before the second half of the season officially begins so it’s not an

Official Cavaliers show but I still want to play the intro song why because I Can’t what’s up guys happy Sunday just wanted to hop on for a few minutes go over a few C thought Cavs thoughts I had in my head as the All-Star Game gets ready to go tonight I got a Donovan Mitchell stat that I think you guys will want to know

Before that game tips off a couple big picture observations for the Cavs as we enter the proverbial second half of the season I want to give JB some kudos for what he’s done with this team not an official Cav show I wish Jason was here he’s out in Sunny Arizona we’re going to

Have some fun anyway and I wanted to start with this in the Eastern conference I think there are like four tiers in the Eastern Conference the top tier is the Boston Celtics and only the Boston Celtics I think they are as of today Sunday the 18th they are the best

Team in the Eastern Conference you can make the case they are the best most complete team in the NBA and and then I think that Cleveland Cavaliers fall into that second tier in the East I would call that tier the if everything goes right they could be in the NBA Finals

Tier I also think Philadelphia is in that tier I think New York the Knicks are in that tier and I think the Milwaukee Buck are also in that tier but I want to go over a couple things in my opinion that separate where Cleveland is versus those other teams and why if you

Had to bet today I think the bet would be on Cleveland to be the second best option to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals as opposed to those other three teams which everything can change down the stretch the Cleveland could certainly Beat

Boston if it comes to it but right now I think Boston’s a clear-cut favor here’s what I do like about this Cleveland Cavaliers team though this is why this team is different than last year’s Cavaliers team finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and the Cavs certainly may finish fourth we’ll see

How the second half of the Season plays out but as of right now they are playing the best basketball in the NBA they’ve won 18 over the last 20 games they have the number two net rating the number two offensive rating and the number two defensive rating in the last 10 days

They are clicking on all cylinders and they’re kind of coming together in a way that we had hoped and envisioned when Donovan Mitchell Darius Garland Evan Mobley and Jared Allen all found themselves on the Court together healthy for really what the first time this season is because earlier in the year

They played guys were in an out now they’re all back and jelling cohesively this team is better than last year they have more depth they have more weapons they have more shooting they have more offensive options and more importantly they’re less predictable offensively now

At the end of the day this is still a pick and roll heavy offense despite the four out one in kind of mock shitu with mock situation there kind of developed when Moy went out and Garland went out but it’s still a pick and roll heavy system they have Shooters in the corners

Now which they hadn’t had last year and give that give a lot of kudos to Isaac aoro who’s shooting damn near 40% on his last 350 three-point attempts over the last season and a half Dean Wade should be coming back George Nang who struggled to shoot lately has legitimate playoff

Chops and he didn’t just forget how to shoot guys he goes through hot hot hot and cold streaks excuse me but that happens with every shooter Sam Merill obviously his shooting Acumen speaks for itself Garland hit the biggest shot of the game against Chicago a few days ago

He is more than capable of playing a more off ball role if that’s what it comes down to and even when Donovan is leading the offense Darius if you leave him open in the corner that is a dangerous preposition for the opposing defense so do that at your own dismay

I’m probably forgetting somebody Caris lever can shoot threes but a kuro’s emergence as a three-point shooter is really allowed the Cavs to have some roster flexibility oh Max stru that’s I’m forgetting Max stru who also hasn’t shot the ball as as well as we’d hope

This season is still a guy who you feel pretty darn good about taking an open three if that opportunity comes to him but as I was saying with Isaac aoro his improvement from Beyond The Arc he’s shooting just under I think it’s 39.7% on his last 353 Point attempts he

Shot eight against Chicago on Wednesday that’s the most he’s ever shot in his career he made four of them his confidence his emergence as a shooter has allowed JB bicker staff to get creative and versatile with his different lineups allowing him to mix and match to find out what fiveman

Combinations work better together than others while not losing that defensive Bulldog that you lose when Isa auro is not on the court in the playoffs last year against New York before I make this point I do want to preface this making shots in the regular season and making

Shots in the postseason are two completely different situations just because you’re a regular season shooter does not mean you’ll make shots in the postseason and the pressure is different scouting’s different can you make a shot when the other team’s saying we we don’t think you’re a great shooter so we’re

Going to leave you wide ass open it’s up to you to make it last year the Cavs did not come through in those situations Isaac aoro is included in that group so is essentially everyone else on the roster but this season he’s come back and he’s trying to prove a point that

Yeah you got me last year it ain’t gonna happen again and the way he’s shooting the confidence of which he’s shooting and a way you can tell if a Shooter’s confident or not it’s not just in the shooter it’s in the guy’s passing in the

Ball if you go back and watch game four of the Knick Series last year in the postseason there were multiple occasions where the Knicks were leaving Isaac aoro wide open I mean wide ass open in the corner and Donovan drives and he sees him but he knows if he passes Isaac

Wasn’t taking that shot he was going to do something else which puts them behind the eightball with the shot clock tough to get a good secondary look with such few seconds left to go before your possessions up and he just wasn’t making those passes and now and I’m just using

Donovan as an example Darius does this everyone else on the team does I’m just using as an example here now when Donovan’s driving and he sees Isaac in the corner it’s no hesitation he’s doing these wraparound passes giving up decent looks at the rim and for most players

They’re bad looks for Donovan Mitchell there’s no such thing as a bad look he’s such a good finisher he’s finding ways to get the ball to Isaac in the corner and Isaac’s rewarding him by shooting 40% from three with the level of Defense he provides if he shoots 40% on

Standstill Corner threes he he’s like a $20 million a year player that that’s the going rate for a guy of that caliber with his specific skill set on the free agent market today and he’s doing it in a way that we mentioned two weeks ago like I did not foresee that coming like

He’s blown me away this year with how well he’s progressed as an offensive player in this system and it’s been really fun to watch because he’s clearly beloved by his teammates and the one thing when he talked to anyone on the Cavs whether it’s a coach player trainer

They tell you the same thing Donovan’s usually the first guy and the last guy to leave the workouts and Isaac second both to come in and both to leave and that’s a positive sign it’s a testament to his hard work so you got now a guy

Isaac aor who can shoot you got the dean Wades the stues the nangs the merils everyone else and even Moy by the way who’s seven of 12 this this month on three-point attempts I don’t think he ever made Seven threes in a month in his career before this don’t don’t quote me

On that but I’m I’m pretty confident this is the first month where he’s ever made Seven threes if he’s shooting the whole offense opens up and the fact that I’m made a total tangent to make my point the fact that the Cavs have eight or nine guys who On Any Given night can

Score essentially 20 points kill you on the inside kill you on the outside that versatility is something that they have that I just don’t think those other teams Philadelphia New York Milwaukee has when you play Milwaukee it’s the Damon Yannis show and you live with anyone else who wants to shoot you can

Live with that with New York you got to figure out how to stop Jaylen Brunson their whole offense runs through Jaylen Brunson in Philadelphia now they got two of the best guys in the league at this Joel embiid is a monster in his own right he’s by far the best player of

Anyone we’re talking about here Donovan’s great he’s not Joel embiid and Tyrese Maxi is an All-Star and he’s phenomenal his own right but you can figure out a way and maybe it’s aoro taking out Tyrese Maxi you say Isaac that’s your job deal with maxi you know you’re going to get 60

Points from no but do you really trust Tobias Harris and Kelly UB and that kind of caliber of player to kill you in the playoffs just I don’t feel great about it so I do think Boston is the number one seat in the East I think they’re the

Best team their record is the best I think they’re vulnerable especially if Chris DS porzingis ends up getting hurt at some point this season don’t want to wish injury on anybody but his history tells you he hasn’t been hurt yet he very rarely plays full seasons that could certainly be something on the

Horizon without porzingis that Boston Celtics team is compl completely different and maybe if he’s out I would feel a lot better about the Cav’s chances of progressing to the NBA finals but big picture-wise I think the Cavs are right near the top of that second tier in the Eastern Conference and it’s

Hard to completely erase last year’s postseason collapse from your mind it is and that’s totally fair and and frankly I haven’t even erased it from mine yet but I do think the addition of Max stru who played a ton of postseason minutes crucial games game sevens with the Miami

Heat he played in the finals last year George Nang who’s played in more playoff games than anyone else on the Cavs roster every team he’s been on has made a deep playoff R George Nang and he’s not a star he’s a great role guy has played on more playoff games and more

Playoff minutes than most superstars in the NBA of a similar age this dude just finds ways to get into these big minutes I just found a stain on my sweatshirt sorry that’s what I’m scratching right now but uh yeah those guys I have faith in to make shots in the

Postseason I like the fact that they have that influx of postseason knowledge to help make sure the es and flows of a postseason series don’t take such a toll like they did last year against New York and granted they have to prove it Isaac murl has to make a shot in the playoffs

Evan Mobley has to make it three in the playoffs Jared Allen can’t disappear before our own eyes we can’t have Jared Allen on a milk carton in the first round of a series again and think the Cavs can progress past one of these teams but I also think it’s fair to

Expect them to have a much better playoff showing than they did against the Knicks they got punked last year they weren’t ready for the moment and I just have a hard time believing in the bottom of my heart that after what happened last year this team wouldn’t be

Ready in a different way this year and then you add in streu you add in the Yang you add in guys who have that playoff experience and I just can’t believe they wouldn’t be ready in the same regard that they were last season so I understand if you’re skeptical

That’s fair I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong I have I’m even a little skeptical myself but I think the makeup and the playoff experience they brought in this off season on top of the embarrassment and the fact that they acknowledged how embarrassing it was last season we’ll have them approach

This offseason and this playoff season sorry not the offseason this playoff series and playoff run with a whole different attitude I want to talk for a second about some buyout guys on the market and I saw Chris Fedor of cleveland.com who does a really good job covering the Cavaliers on a nightly

Basis tweeted out that a lot of the buyout guys that Cavs May potentially be looking at aren’t as interested in Cleveland as Cleveland would be in them because of the fact that they don’t have a guaranteed rotation spot for said buyout player and the guys on the buyout

Market obviously are coming from Bad teams they want a chance to play and contribute to a championship team and that wasn’t make Cleveland the most attractive Destin ation you just saw Delon Wright a few days ago signed with the Miami Heat Gallinari went to Milwaukee Kyle Lowry went to

Philadelphia and those guys are all promis contributing roles the Cavs say we like our depth we can’t guarantee you a contributing role and I don’t like that I understand it I I get it I know they like their depth I know JB likes the 10-1 guys they think they can play

And they think all those guys including Tristan Thompson when he comes back from his suspension and maybe even Craig Jun come playoff time can contribute in the playoffs and hold down the fort if needed but guys injuries happen and I’m not saying or predicting the Cavs will

Get hurt or whatever but I like to have that insurance and the Cavs do have uh what should be I know that Craig Porter Jr thing kind of cut into the the contract cut into how much flexibility they had financially but I just think adding depth at this

Point a veteran guy who will be extremely cheap at this point in the season because the buyout Market obviously is a pro-rated rate I’m not sure who the perfect fit is we’ll talk about it on Tuesday in a little more in depth with the list of buyout candidates

Still on the board but I just I just would have liked to see them be a little more aggressive you can never be too sure about depth and there’s a chance just like there is with every team this is not cast specific but there’s a chance someone gets hurt and then who do

You lean to who do you go to and yeah maybe it is you feel conf ident you can still play St Marill in those minutes maybe maybe it’s a backup point guard maybe it’s someone else but I just think a buyout guy for as cheap as he would be

With some more potential playoff experience could be could be something that would help this Cavaliers team down the stretch just in case of emergency and I understand the in case of emergency thing when you’re looking at that as the that’s why we need a guy you probably don’t need him totally valid

But I just know the es and flows of a season there’s still 35 games left about and guys get hurt they get nicked up they get they get banged up and if you bring in a buyout guy now he could take minutes away from whatever position

Group he’s working in with to save their legs for the postseason so I don’t expect the Cavs to sign anyone in the buy up Market I understand the thinking behind their reasoning to not wanting to bring someone in but I think at the end of the

Day I would like to bring in some sort of Veteran presence mainly a backup point guard a traditional backup point guard Kyle Lowry was a guy I love liked he was too much money he went to Philadelphia but a player of that kind of uh veteran Savvy mold I thought could

Have done some some good for this Cavs team down the stretch but Gotta Give Kobe Alman credit he’s done a hell of a job building this roster JB bicker staff’s done a hell of a job coaching this roster so they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt I just would have

Liked to see them m a little depth if they still may they still May Fedor said that just he doesn’t expect it I agree with what Fedor said knowing what I know how the Cavs operate that that’s why I think it it makes sense that they won’t

But if it was up to me I think I’d go after someone on the buyout Market especially a veteran backup or a backup big in case Tristan Thompson comes back from the suspension isn’t the same Tristan Thompson we saw earlier in this season I do not want to see Damen Jones

In the play Damen James in the playoffs excuse me I do not want to see that his minutes uh you got to find a better option than him if that’s your backup big so we’re hoping Tristan comes back in one P but we’ll see what he looks like after this suspension Donovan

Mitchell plays in the NBA All-Star game tonight he is depending on what sports book you look he’s between a 16 to1 to a 22 to1 favorite to an All-Star game MVP and on Friday’s ultimate Cleveland sports show I said I liked his chances to win the Three-Point Contest better

Than I liked his chances to win the NBA All-Star game MVP but I’m telling you right now guys I have fully talked walk myself into Donovan Mitchell potentially having a not not potentially into legitimately having a case to win the MVP tonight I had forgotten how good he was in the

All-Star game last year do you remember how good he was in the All-Star game last year so Jason Tatum won the MVP Award with an NBA All-Star game record 55 points Donovan Mitchell had 40 points four rebounds 10 assists three steals was 15 of 20 from the floor eight of 17

From three and in most years if you score 40 points and dish out 10 assists in an All-Star Game you’re going to win the MVP and we talked about this on the ultimate cap show earlier this week Donovan Mitchell plays hard every single time he steps out in the court there are

Guys like joic who is the two-time MVP the best player in the NBA right now I don’t even think it’s a debate who does not give a single rat’s ass about the NBA All-Star Game he’ll show up make a couple passes he’ll play 10 minutes he

Wants to sit he wants to rest that is not Donovan Mitchell’s makeup that is not in his DNA and that’s no knock on yic but it is in my opinion a testament to Donovan Mitchell and I think Donovan scored 40 points last year he was shooting and gunning for the MVP award

And got outgunned by Jason Tatum this time around I think Donovan Mitchell is gonna continue to make a point that a I am one of if not the best two guards in basketball and this is this is what I think he’s thinking I’m him I’m on that same level as SGA

And Luca and Steph and the guards who are continually talked about as that tier above me in the NBA there’s no better stage to prove I’m that guy than an All-Star game with those guys on the court as well Donovan’s a streaky shooter when he gets hot he gets red hot

And he makes a couple threes early tonight he can end up with eight nine 10 three like would it shock you if Donovan makes 10 threes in an All-Star game tonight hell he’s going to played 253 minutes he’s done it in every All-Star Game of his career in his three All-Star

Games well in his first one excuse me in 2020 he only played 14 minutes in the last two All-Star games he was in 2021 and 2023 29 and a half minutes 30 and a half minutes he scored for 15 points in 28 and a half minutes in 2021 he scored

40 points in 30 minutes last year Donovan Mitchell is gonna go off I have a feeling it’s in the bottom my bottom my gut he’s gonna score 45 points tonight Don is gonna score 45 points tonight I don’t have any reason to think he’ll do better than he

Did last year other than the fact that he feels like the Cavs have not gotten the national attention they deserve this season he feels like he is being undervalued as an MVP candidate he feels like he is not being talked about in the same class as the other tier one guards

In the NBA and in his mind he’s just as good if not better than all of them and there’s no better place to Showcase that than an allar game with the entire country Watching You Can’t Ignore Donovan Mitchell if he scores 45 points and wins the MVP of the All-Star game

That following day on Monday and in all the conversations leading up to when the Cavs tip off the second half of their season on Thursday or Wednesday or Thursday I believe whatever it is you can’t ignore Donovan Mitchell in those conversations you can’t ignore the Cavs

Who have won 18 of 20 games and this is a chance for Donovan Mitchell to not only put on for himself but put on for his teammates and put on for the city of Cleveland and that Cavaliers team and I fully expect Donovan Mitchell to come

Out guns blazing tonight in the one of the most epic All-Star performances you’ve ever seen and I’ll be surprised that Donovan plays poorly I have a gut feeling that Donovan’s going to be clamoring coach to put him back in the game he’s one of the

Guys who wants to play 25 30 35 minutes in this contest and I think Donovan ends up with 45 points eight assists three Steals and makes 11 threes you heard it here first Donovan Mitchell your 2023 2024 NBA All-Star game MVP last kind of last big picture thought in the cast

Before we wrap up here but uh I mentioned this earlier kudos to Kobe for putting together this roster kudos to JB bicker staff and the one thing and I wish I could pull up the shot chart here I’ll tweet it out right after this goes live but the one thing about JB bicker

Staff that we kind of complained about last year was they just ran a predictable boring offense and their shot selection and their shot profile was that of a 1990s basketball team and if you look at the updated charts the Cavs are taking the majority of their

Shots and I’m G I’m going to pull this up real quick just so I I make I’m I’m looking at it as I talked it but the Cavs this season are taking a ton of Threes from the wings they’re taking almost no almost no mid-range jump shots their

Their best shot attempts are coming from the paint from the rim and from the corners or from the wings excuse me and that is what a modern NBA offense is supposed to look like the Cavs are efficient from the wings they’re an efficient three-point shooting team from the wings

And that is a test to JB allowing these guys to fully execute what their skill sets dictate and allow them to do and I had my my doubts and I’ve been proven wrong just like I was with Isaac aoro JB bicker staff has proven me wrong I

Didn’t think he was incapable of it I just thought his DNA as a coach was old school defense tough we’re gonna play Slow we’re gonna out physical the opponent but no he kind of got his hand forced by the injury and the available players on this roster

And he’s let him flourish and you asked JB and we talked to him after the uh Philadelphia game like do you do you enjoy do you enjoy watching you know 40 42 433s a game and he kind of smirked and he’s like well when we win I don’t

Really care how we win but yeah it’s not the old school basketball I grew up on but I’m not going to complain with what’s working and and JB that’s the perfect answer you may not have to like it you may even secretly hate it but if it works it’s working and there’s no

Reason to go away from it so kudos to ujb for adapting to Modern Times And proving a lot of us wrong and I believe it was Stephen A Smith talking about Carmelo Anthony or Trey young and it was like the apology has to be just as loud

As a disrespect hly ever disrespected JB but I do I want apology been a hell of a job coaching this year this team’s fun to watch this team’s better than we expected heading into this season the Celtics the Bucks and the Sixers that was the big three in the

Eastern Conference everyone else was playing for four five six and seven and you fast forward to the 52 game Mark 53 game Mark and it’s Boston and then it’s Cleveland and nobody saw that coming before the season so shout out to ujb shout out to Donovan Mitchell for being

An absolute pleasure to watch this season I expect 45 and 11 from the Cavs super star and I’m going to leave you with one last stat my favorite stat of the first 50 whatever games of the Season without Dean Wade this season the Cleveland Cavaliers are four and four

Take that however you want I love Dean Wade I love Sam Merill this Cavs team fun and Dean Wade does a lot of things that no one else on this roster can replicate the Cavs are like 32 and 32 and 14 or 33 and 14 without them and

Four and uh with them and 44 and or four scratch that are 33 and 12 with Dean Wade and four and four without him I’m going leave it at that appreciate y’all tuning in hopefully you enjoy this Jason will be potentially on with me Tuesdays out in

Spring training I may bring on a different guest for the ultimate Cav show on Tuesday but we are back tomorrow on the ultimate Cleveland sports show at 11:00 a we’ll see you there peace

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the 2nd best team in the Eastern Conference right now, thanks in large part to Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen’s dominance this season.

But you wouldn’t know much about the team by the way they are viewed nationally. The Cavs haven’t gotten the credit they deserve, and it’s time the NBA stops sleeping on this Eastern Conference giant.

Donovan Mitchell is playing in the league’s All-Star game tonight and McNuggets makes the case why he should be considered a good bet to win MVP.

Plus, will the Cavs sign any buy out guys this season? It’s not looking likely, but you never know.

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