DOWN GOES BOSTON! (It’s Cavalier Podcast), Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics

DOWN GOES BOSTON! (It’s Cavalier Podcast), Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics

[Music] [Music] [Applause] he [Music] man oh man what a [ __ ] what a [ __ ] win welcome to another edition of the it’s Cavalier podcast it’s your boy Mac I can barely contain myself [ __ ] the regular intro I just I got I gota I got to let it go man I got to let it go so many people are at me on my mentions I had to mute my [ __ ] phone because people count this team out way too [ __ ] much so I’m sorry the language is probably G to be all over the place this episode I’m probably gonna be all over the place this episode and I know you will be too Nikki but i s Mac i s Mac we deserve it we deserve it Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics by Way by score of 118 to 94 and we beat these [ __ ] at their own game nck we shot 46% from three-point distance to their 23% I am so [ __ ] proud of these guys man we had a game plan we came in and execute it and after that game one where the Cavaliers sure they got their asses kicked but they did some good things they good they did some good things in game one they they took care of the ball they turned the ball over their fewest time since 2018 a playoff game back then in the final year of the of the LeBron James era there I knew that they could do this man I knew that they could do this it’s not every day that you’ll be able to hold the Juggernaut that is the Boston Celtics to under 25% from three-point distance and just three-point makes right because on the regular season we got to keep it a buck these guys they like to take that three-point shot and that’s another thing right there we we heard in game one that JB wanted to hold them below 40 three-point attempts and they blew past that by the start of the fourth quarter if I’m not mistaken tonight they took just 35 attempts the Cavaliers ran them they ran them off of that three-point line and by virtue of that the rotations were crisp the Closeouts probably the best that we have seen them be all season long or at least up there with some of the best defensive P performances that we’ve had but as we often say as I said in my breakdown as I heard you articulate when I had Jan a couple of weeks ago the Boston Celtics live and die by that three-point shot now we know in game one they shot 18 to 4 which is 39.1% that’s damn good but tonight holding him to eight of 35 that is that is that’s [ __ ] brilliant that is a brilliant defensive performance and you did that without the likes of Dean Wade who is one of the better perimeter or point of attack Defenders out there you did that without Jared Allen who is Bam out of Bio is when he’s able to switch out there I know I’m going on a rant here and I know you cleared you cleared a way for me to do that by way of my ISO here but man I got to toss it off to you what are your initial thoughts just we’ll dive into the game itself but what are your initial thoughts for this win tonight um I think we have to start at JB bigger staff because if this was a loss like every loss we’ve seen over the last year and a half we started JB bicker staff and we deserve to start with him today in a good way um holding the Boston Celtics to 35 threes that is a coaching adjustment getting the confidence in guys to step up in a high pressured game two when literally every single ESPN journalist has counted you out the odds in Vegas have counted you out every single NBA fan outside of Cleveland Ohio counted us out and to get Evan Mobley who has been a non-factor on offense his entire playoff career to step up in a game like this and be the second most important player to get this done tremendous tremendous job by JB bicker staff it was the best coach game of his career his first playoff Road win of his career so as much as we hate as much as people will take the time to take a jab a JB make sure the the praise is just as loud today hey hey he is now one and 10 on the road if I am not mistaken and I damn the record this is the best win of his career against the best damn he has probably played hey one of the things that stuck out to me from JB today was the ATL in the third quarter of tonight’s game if I’m not mistaken when he he he was in his bag for much of tonight but that ATL uh that I can’t remember exactly when it occurred but I know it was in the second half JB he did some good things tonight man I know a lot of people don’t want to give him credit but I thought the rotations were crisp tonight I thought it was you can make what you wanted the neang minutes it is what it is I get it but at the same time the Cavaliers they do not have Dean Wade Marcus Morris is hit and miss with his production out there so you have to turn to to dang at certain points Tristan Thompson bro I thought the inclusion of Tristan Thompson in tonight’s game especially after what you saw uh Luke cornette do in that second unit for Boston in game one where he was able to pull down 10 huge rebounds including six of the offensive variety I thought the inclusion of Tristan Thompson that was pretty big and I thought that was a a ballsy move by uh by JB biger sta to do that huge hell yeah ni win Tristian dominated Tristian dominated it was great to see JB the Cavs still have this struggle with the non-m Mitchell minutes and I think guys like lever got his confidence back a little bit tonight DG I think has more room to grow but had moments today when he got his confidence back so the non- Mitchell minutes is definitely work in progress but JB made a big step today in the non-mo minutes you’re right Moy at some point in the first half you had to save him because you knew how many minutes he was going to play you had to save him you throw in some yangang minutes in the third quarter Moy picks up back-to-back fouls on Luke cornette picks up his fourth halfway through the third Boston’s in in the penalty so your only real true big man is out there with foul trouble and the other teams in the penalty and JB switches him out for that trisan Thompson substitution you mentioned that’s a huge move that’s that’s that’s that’s a gutsy call but he did it and and he managed it very well um not something think we’re accustomed to especially on the road but JB got the recipe right tonight ah man listen we may never see this type of Master Class of a performance on the defensive side of the ball from the Cavaliers again so I’m going to bask in the glory I’m taking this [ __ ] game by game a lot of people they’ve already written the Cavaliers off to win oh or to lose this series rather so I’m going to take I’m going to take a Victory lap here tonight just because I don’t know if we’ll get this opportunity moving forward we hope so but man tonight it should leave a good taste in everybody’s mouths I’ll start with Evan Mobley who was at a point in tonight’s game the focal point of the offense not only that but he looked like the best player out there before Donovan really started to kick things off uh Evan Moby would finish tonight’s game with 21 points 10 rebounds and five assists on a super offici n of 15 from the floor and we saw him attempt two threes tonight and make one of them something he hasn’t quite done since the start of the Magic series and the the defense was hellacious uh one of the things that I saw in that first quarter from him despite the fact that Boston was collapsing on him and I know you made this point on social media earlier despite the fact that they were collapsing on him and trying to force him to drive and kick to Shooters like Max stru or Isaac auro out there he stuck with it he had his I wanted him to keep his his hands or keep the ball a little bit higher out there because it it constantly seems like when he receives the basketball he always holds that thing super low but he fought through it he fought through the contact and he attacked and he was aggressive and what we often say about Evan Moi is that an aggressive Evan Moy is the best version of Evan Moy out there because we know he has that offensive Talent we know that this dude is brimming with potential but he has to realize it and tonight was a step forward easily in my opinion the best game of his career considering the stakes maybe not from a statistical standpoint because we’ve seen him put up more but considering the impact that he made considering the opponent considering the uh the stakes as I mentioned uh do you consider this to be the best performance that we’ve ever seen from Evan moley yeah [ __ ] the stats this is the best performance we’ve ever seen from Evan Mobley this is 100% the biggest moment that he rose to the occasion for and I thought the biggest adjustment there was a lot of talk today we saw today Brian windhorse really got the the the birds on Twitter chirpin when he talked about how Evan Moy has failed in terms of his offensive development that we expected I hate that statement because there’s so much that goes into the development of a player we look at it from the results we look at M’s not scoring enough M’s not doing this we look at the wins and losses we look at the results but we don’t look enough at the process we don’t look enough at the circumstances of why Moy why I mean think about it he’s been playing the four for most of his career and sharing touches with Jared Allen Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland he missed over 30 games of the regular season this year there’s a lot of re he has JB bicker sta as a coach JB bicker sta his F his Forte is not offensive development you know so overall Mobi has has to go to his own path he has to go through his own path and I thought today he took a step he took an amazing step in his journey I think the biggest adjustment that moobi made is that everything for him was face up everything instead of worrying about get backing people down instead of slowing it down and going to your discomfortable turn around fadeaways you know Al Horford wants you to back him down he wants you to try to outmuscle him Mooby nobody can block you he realized it today he rose every time he got the ball face up game was on point and I’m just gonna say it right now Mac Evan Mooby top three pump fake in the NBA that [ __ ] is vicious that’s a big time statement right there man I love it I love it Evan Moy as we’ve often heard we have people so many critics out there disrespecting this man thing that he is a glorified Derek favers man get that [ __ ] the hell out of here ESPN I know you can save some money bro I know you can save some money ESPN I got you oh man [ __ ] these guys [ __ ] Boston uh I’m sorry if there are any Boston fans in here I’m sorry I got to let loose because y’all been letting me have it people are already writing this Cav team off so let me take my Victory lap Donovan Mitchell Evan Mobley uh Darius Garland at certain points every body really really contributed tonight that’s something you haven’t seen throughout the bulk of this playoffs it’s mostly been it was Jared Allen and Donovan Mitchell for much of the first round Series against the Orlando Magic and we were just sitting here W wondering like when the [ __ ] are these other guys goingon to step up when are we G to see Darius scarland look like the max player that we know that he can be and the stat line is not going to suggest that he did that tonight as he contributed 14 points7 boards four assist but he did some really good things out there and he had that three ball drop four of five from three-point distance but the thing that really stands out to me tonight from this starting unit is all five of these [ __ ] scored in double figures tonight all five of them you have Max stru who has had a pretty rough uh who has had a pretty rough playoff showing thus far 12 points Donovan Mitchell we’ll dig a little bit deeper on him in a moment but he scored 29 Darius we already mentioned 14 Evan Moy we already mentioned 21 Isaac aoro Isaac aoro let me tell you guys he had a horrid firstr series from an offensive standpoint from uh from from many different regards especially from three-point distance this man could not hit a three-point shot to save his life flash forward or fast forward rather into this Boston series and he’s he’s taken a three-point shot like he’s confident again and we knew he passed up so many opportunities during that Magic series that it wasn’t even funny and then you see him go out there and play as confident as he has in these two games and it just completely reiterates the point that this man is clearly a much needed role player on this team and uh I just want to ask you this man of the starting five who are you wanting to see break out the most prior to tonight because we saw a Litany of guys have some Big Time games even off the bench and we’ll get to them I’m sure but who was the guy that you were just waiting to break out to be honest when we say the when we say breakout we really think about scoring we think about a guy who’s going to step up and carry us on the scoreboard but the thing is we’re facing the Boston Celtics and the Boston Celtics is a team that really Prides themselves and their switchability and taking away your biggest strengths so really a big part of it is who they’re going to give up to us they gave up Moy a lot of times in the first two games let’s see if they adjust from that in terms of breakthrough I just want to see guys fulfill their roles and I know I mean Max streu we like to see him hit some more shots I believe the max ju game is coming at some point we’ve seen the Colt streaks of Miami he kept starting and finishing games for Eric sper for a reason even when he was not shooting well he’s bringing that energy Moy scored when he had to aoro stepped up defensively when he had to finishes well at The Rim Darius Garland We the four for five shooting is great I thought there were times when he was still could be more aggressive times when I don’t know why moula ran Tillman and Horford together but he did it and I think there were moments where Garland could have attacked some of those switches more instead of doing his pass and cut you got to be a little bit more selfish but overall overall Darius Garland the number one thing I saw from him today is that he stepped up on defense he JB bicker staff of he really does understand his personnel and maybe sometimes he overestimates them but today he correctly overestimated that or estimated it he trusted Darius Garland to guard Derek white he trusted him and in the very beginning when you know when they went on that 112 run to open the game Derek white was exploiting Darius Garland he was getting he was getting he was breaking him down he was creating the 43 he was getting there right and I was thinking to myself damn do you just have to move him off you just have to like put Garin on a holiday or somebody else who’s gonna maybe not be this lethal off the drive or something but he’s stuck with it and Darius Garland for the rest of the game made Derek white a non-factor he did not get destroyed he kept he stayed with them he showed and recovered and he contested it’s not just the fact that Boston will shoot better the Cav could control how much they shoot and the quality of those shots we know you could funnel against this Boston Celtics team we know you could turn them into into you they could do anything but you could funnel them into shots that are a little bit less ideal Darius Garland’s the weakest link but today he stepped up and gave them shots that were less ideal I think that is eloquently stated now coming off game one victory in which Derek white put up 25 points and make no mistake if guys if you’re not familiar with Derek white you better familiarize yourself with that name because this man he’s been hooping through he hooped through the first round of the series uh first round of the playoffs and he came to play in game one scoring 25 points and knocking down seven triples if I’m not mistaken and many of those attempts did come against Darius Garland and that was the one matchup that I really highlighted in my breakdown because I knew that it could be make or break for this series now we’ll have to see if that’s the case moving forward but I very much enjoyed darus scarland hold his own defensively against drik white tonight and uh when you’re talking about the aggressiveness you know taking advantage of some of those switches out there Boston they have some of the best guard defenders in the league but when you don’t have a Drew holiday and when you don’t have a Derek white out there opposite you you better go in attack out there you better look to get to the rim and we know that Darius Garland is capable of doing that I just I want him to snap out of the deferral mode that he has often in at times and I get it you’re playing with Donovan Mitchell you want Evan mby to get his touches in a game where he has a going but you can still get yours bro and I want you to realize that I want you to understand that moving forward and in this series as you stated Boston is not going to shoot this poorly they’re gonna come back they will come back with a vengeance it’s what they do they’re not gonna you’re not going to be able to hold them to 35 attempts for the rest of this series it may it may happen one or two other times but for the bulk of the series however long it lasts that’s not going to be the case these dudes led the league in three-point attempts this season at 42 and a half half per game and in the three matchups that they played you they’ve gotten up upwards of 39 plus attempts they come they they come to shoot the ball they live and die by that three so having guys that can go out there and go toe-to-toe with them uh is it’s it’s awesome man tonight was just such a a a monumentous win for numerous reasons one to me and I know this is probably going to be a bit of a stretch here but I’m a huge Rocky fan it reminded me of Rocky before at the moment where Rocky punched Ivan Drago and he cut him and it just you seeing that this team is human they’re not machines they’re not going to shoot the lights out every [ __ ] time that they play an opponent we saw Miami take advantage of that in at least one of their games uh when they don’t shoot well that Boston has some real struggles because they they’re not somebody who will go in and and and Destroy You from inside the painted area like the Cavaliers are capable of doing especially when they have both of their bigs but it just totally reminded me of that point in Rocky 4 where he punched Drago and he and he cut him and you could clearly tell that the confidence is there it’s there and I know that might be a far-fetched reference but that’s what it left me feeling like it’s a beautiful metaphor because I think this is a fist fight I think the Cavs need to learn how to punch and take punches and it’s a game of runs that you have to be ready for like we we’ve we’ve been dealt a lot of punches this year the first round for some reason had a lot more punches than we expected can we talk about how [ __ ] physical that first round series was and how it was being officiated versus what this series seems to be officiated like and we’re going to be talking about how it prepared us for this series how we’re ready to punch back when we get punched and the Cavs today took every single punch that the Celtics threw at them and we just delivered Haymaker after Haymaker and honestly Ma I I think one thing that I noticed you you referenced the Miami Heat game the Miami Heat game when they won in game two and a lot of people are comparing it to this game two win for the Cavs these are not the same thing the Miami Heat shot a franchise record 23 threes they shot they shot something that their entire franchise has never done in the playoffs ever okay that was great for them and they had Great Moments there the Cavaliers made 13 threes in this game they shot a higher percentage mostly getting to the paint this is a repeatable performance we are capable of doing this and you’re right Boston did not shoot that well and they’re going to shoot better this is probably their worst shooting game of the Series game one probably going to go down one of their better shooting games in series they’re probably going to have another one like that but I think the big thing that we need to take away from this is that our offense is actually a form of defense against this team the Boston Celtics they treat misses and defensive rebounds as they get it becomes a fast break for them they immediately go down the court pull up they rely on that pace that’s how it gets them going our ability to get to the free throw line our ability to make shots in the paint shots that are repeatable shots that we can get throughout the series is huge it allows us to control pace it allows us to take away shots that they rely on as a steady part of their diet and when you force Jason Tatum to the half court game I’m sorry I’m taking Donovan Mitchell in the half court game over Jason Tatum hey you said it the last time I had you on what did you say you will take Donovan Mitchell in the clutch at 10 times out of 10 over Jason Tatum and I don’t think that’s a slight to Jason and you know I when you when I first heard you say that I’m like bro this man he has made a declarative statement he clearly believes in and tonight Donovan showed that and we haven’t even really [ __ ] talked about Donovan tonight and how crazy is that because we knew you know in that Orlando series especially after Jared Allen went down that Donovan basically had to carry and will the Cavaliers to Victory because there just nobody else really was coming to play outside of maybe Darius Garland for a few games but even him he would go missing at certain points and he would make the head scratching errors that we’ve seen him make constantly during the regular season but but it feels good to not even really reference Donan Mitchell too often in this pod when the the man he he put up a near triple double 29 Points seven boards eight assists pretty efficient too 10 of 19i including five of seven from three-point distance how often does that [ __ ] happen and you’re not really talking about him how often does that happen and he is not the you know one of the guys who you you really need to reference the most in a victory especially against a team like the Boston Celtics because at halim he had six points at halim our leading scorers were Evan mby and Caris lever other guys stepped up Donovan was able to be decoy and create for others and then the third quarter he said give me Jason Tatum I’m gon make some oh man I can’t wait to clip that one uh especially in that third quarter I believe where Cleveland outscored Boston 36 to 24 and let’s talk about that second half in particular because if I’m not mistaken it was tied heading in to half 5454 but Cleveland outscored Boston 64- 40 if my math is correct in the second half the Cavaliers we know like the third quarter has been the bane of our existence all season long and it’s kind of been that way for the past couple of Seasons or really during the JB picker staff era as a whole but they came out and they made it point of emphasis to attack to run these guys off the three-point line and to be aggressive out there and I just I’m reving in this because again I don’t know if we’ll see another performance I I’m hopeful I believe that this team can get the job done extremely hopeful but we need to see them do this consistently and you know based upon what we saw tonight I think that they can replicate it as you said just 13 mies it’s not something that they it’s not like they shot other worldly or anything like that or they broke any records they were just they they did shoot 46% from T Bo distance but that came on 28 attempts and the big thing that sticks out to me especially after a game one in which they were heavily outrebounded the Cavaliers responded on the glass tonight winning the battle on the boards 44-31 after Boston pulled down 55 if I’m not mistaken rebounds in game one and what do you think what do you think that’s all about how were they able to to overcome the uh the the loss with Jared Allen who has been the third leading rebounder in the playoffs so far how are they able to outrebound Boston tonight um you know what’s funny there’s there’s 90 people 94 people watching this thing and there’s there’s thousands of people who on social media talk about history history it’s this beautiful thing it’s this factual thing but in the World of Sports sometimes it’s a misleading thing sometimes we we reference history and we use it as a as as as just a reason why we think certain things are always going to happen the way think we think think they’re going to happen because they’ve have happened whatever the point is the Cavs in this era of basketball have faced three teams in the playoffs the Knicks the magic and the Celtics the playoffs are about matchups the playoffs are about what you’re up against the Personnel how they’re going to play the Knicks and the magic are very similar they both are dominant in on the glass they both create different mismatch issues the Cavaliers haven’t always been the strongest rebounding team but they’ve always had the personnel and the cap capability of rebounding um and I think in this matchup against the Celtics where we’re able to create better offense more consistently that allows us to make more shots that allows us to get back on defense and be set defensively honestly I would say the number one reason why we got more rebounds especially on the defensive glass today and I i’ i’ i’ I’ve been very critical of JB this was a coaching change this was JB saying we’re going to give them these type of shots we are not going to allow them to have these kind of pull we are not going to allow Derek white to get easy threes we’re going to make Jason Tatum beat us to the mid-range we’re going to make other guys shoot out of rhythm and we’re going to be one and done and close those possessions and that’s what we did today um it’s going to be a battle I bet the rebounding battle will flip from time to time throughout the series but this is the blueprint score on offense shoot a respectable percentage and funnel them to the shots that we can live with on defense and then go one and done man I could not have stated it any better myself Nikki one of the things that this team has struggled with so far in this postseason has been the play of the bench the contributions from the bench tonight you got 30 points total from the Cavalier bench with Caris L vert Leading The Way with 21 we’ll talk about him in just a minute but coming into tonight’s game the Cavaliers bench was contributing just 19.6 points per game in this you know through eight games prior to tonight tonight they come out and they Dro 30 on Boston one of the better benches if not really the best bench from an efficiency standpoint in the NBA when you’re talking about net rating when you’re talking about three-point shooting Caris LeVert in particular we have often seen this man just play like a different player every single night that he’s out there and I believe and there’s this guy in one of my chats that I in Chase he put it very very eloquently he stated that Caris I don’t have the exact tweet but it was something to the effect of Caris plays like he is possessed by the ghost of a different NBA player every single game and I did not I think that is like the most succinct most accurate statement ever because you just do not know which version of Evan Moy well not Evan Moy I’m looking at the chat of Caris oft that you’re going to get from game to game tonight you got one of the very best versions of Caris can you just speak a little bit about what you saw from Caris L tonight whether or not you believe that he can keep that going heading into game three uh we need Caris lever uh the the Boston Celtics Thrive because Derek white is being guarded by the fourth or fifth best defender Carris Levert needs to look at himself and realize he’s being guarded by the third or fourth best defender and he needs to take on that challenge and create we have the spacing there are the driving Lanes you have the size and the handle and you are physical enough and finesse enough to get your own shot and create for others we’ve relied on them all season through the injuries to be that secondary Creator on this stage with the experience that he has being one of the more Savvy vets on the team we need him we need him to be almost like our Derek white but in in in our case more of a playmaker more of an individual scorer but taking advantage of the matchups that he’s getting I will say this many people in this chat and throughout Twitter they did complain about the Nang minutes I understand the Nang minutes I’m I’m it’s hard when you have the injuries that we have to not give Mobi an earlier bre breather so he can play in that second half longer but what was one thing that we noticed during the Nang minutes when he ran in with Morris the cats were five out and Carris L had a breakout second quarter we obviously slipped in that second quarter but Carris got his confidence and his rhythm in that quarter with all those driving Lanes so I think JB needs to replicate that kind of spacing with a lineup that does not fold defensively when Mitchell goes to the bench um in addition to Garland playing off levermore but I think l needs to be with Garland whenever Mitchell is benched and Levert needs to always be attacking that third or fourth best defender we need him he needs to be our third leading score honestly because um I’m sure Boston’s going to take away things they’re gonna maybe think make things out harder on Moy you don’t exactly know what you get from Garland every time Levert is that kind of person who’s going to consistently get a Defender that he can attack I think that that is a great point I think you know we’ve seen him especially in last season’s playoffs where they wanted Levert to kind of function as that third option out there especially when they bumped him up to the starting lineup in place of Isaac a coral especially from a spacing standpoint I I I’ve kind of been let down at certain points from Caris LeVert uh you know during this postseason coming into tonight he was struggling but after nine games or so now he’s he’s still just his averages are 8.6 points in he shooting 18.2% from three-point distance the stats can be Mighty deceiving for Mr Levert but the one thing that I can say is that when this man is on when he is attacking when he is finding guys whether at be off of the drive and kick game dump offs or lobs at The Rim whenever he’s doing that and he has engaged offensively we see him lock in on the defensive side of the ball I think that’s important you referenced the five outness with Nang out there I think without Jared Allen especially without Jared Allen out there as an option the Cavaliers have had to lean on small ball more than ever and I know that’s something that you were kind of alluding to prior to uh well even at certain points during uh during the Orlando Series without Jared Allen when he missed the past the the the final couple games of that series you’re really really pointing to the fact that small ball might actually favor the Cavs in particular matchups and tonight you saw the effects of that at certain points with certain rotations that JB put out there um the dang minutes they’re going to be hitting minut but as I said before when you don’t have a Dean Wade available when Marcus Morris isn’t giving you too much from an offensive standpoint and for those of you who didn’t quite catch that Morris only put up four points tonight on uh two4 from the field but niang he was right there he was productive at certain points Four Points three rebounds two four from the field and he does have a sense of gravity about him as we know that he is a volume shooter that’s specifically why he was brought in so that he could balance some of the lineups he could provide an option out of the power Fort position that could actually shoot the floor uh shoot the three ball so I think that he still has a place within the rotation as as much as people despise that idea um I think that he is g to have games where he actually makes an impact outside of the box score that said uh I just I I walked away from this game feeling like it was an absolute master class from JB man and I don’t know how many times we’ve been able to say that um heading into game three which is at home by the way do you feel like we will see a similar performance from JB do you think that this is the rotation to stick with because tonight’s bench rotation was L vert Morris Nang and Thompson which is a little odd right because you got two fours samrow Sam three minutes Sam did play night but it was yeah it was in garbage time so JB basically went with four well three bigs in a guard right you have if you consider Nang and Morris bigs I do but I mean he he essentially went with two fours and a five Off the Bench outside of Caris LeVert do you think that that is the way to go in the series or do you think it’ll be game to game I think it would be game to game I think um I I think the Tristan Thompson minutes were really a result of of M’s foul trouble um and I think there was also something that happened like I thought the five out was definitely new I think just throwing that out it didn’t exactly work but it it’s you have to try these things just to see what you get from it and down the line if more injuries happen or if a matchup comes up like you need everybody needs confidence you you know if you you Nang probably doesn’t have a spot in this rotation once Wade and Allen come back but I understand the dabbling and I understand especially when Mitchell isn’t out there to maximize the spacing to get guys scoring which was working for Levert not so much for Garland and then the defensive lapses were not overall worth it but I I like the experimentation and I definitely think it would be game by game um I could expect I I I still think there will be a saman Maro game he comes back and there’s going to be a Resurgence there um I bet Nang will get a game when he’s needed you know it just really depends on like because Boston’s a very deep team and outside of their fiveman lineup their starting lineup I’m curious how they shift around their bench and what they do differently they may not they may they may stick to the guns fine-tune some things try to make it a conscious effort to shoot more threes guys who get more aggressive stick with their philosophy because it it is the one that got them 60 some wins in the regular season but I I could see a world where JB completely remixes everything again um and just plays differently because that’s what you kind of have to at this point just to see what you can get out of guys I think there’s still some adjustments he can make to unlock Garland and the non- Mitchell minutes for example so um there’s there’s there’s going to be more tiering for sure this is a chess match and this was just this is the second turn yeah I mean I think that is probably the best way you can put it it is the playoffs are all about adjustments I thought JB for what it’s worth made a very very good counter coming into game to we know that adjustments are not his strong suit or at least they haven’t been throughout the duration of his career I mean the playoff record speaks for itself he is but he did win his first road game ever and I thought that a big part of that was the rotations was the adjustments some of the things that we haven’t quite seen from him uh for large stretches out there tonight but I did feel like the players kind of picked him up um I I I just don’t know what else to say man I mean tonight was an awesome victory I I’m going to it it was such a quick turnaround to come into the series Boston got a lot of time off um I’m sure that kind of played a role in it too with Cleveland basically getting just a day really between the two series to really um to to to settle in and and and get a little bit of rest but I do believe that this is something that they can finally put into their uh into their confidence and and let it be a boost and let them see that these guys are are humans after all they’re not robots like I said hearkening back to my uh my Rocky reference these guys can these guys can be beat and I do believe that Cleveland has now find found that out and time will tell if they continue to have that confidence heading home where the home team usually has won in during the duration of this playoffs um if if I had to press you on if I put a gun your head which I would never do that obviously if I put a gun to your head are you taking the Cavaliers man are you taking the Cavaliers in this series I’ve taken the Cavaliers from the beginning I’ve said since February we have the best player in this series we have Donovan Mitchell he’s averaging over 30 points to the game Jason Tatum has been a no-show today we made the deliberate deliberate effort to make Tatum beat us we prioritized the shooters that he was kicking out to we said Tatum you can go oneon-one way more often against us he did not deliver I’m sure he’s gonna respond I’m sure it’ll be better but this is the game plan we have guys we trust against Tatum I don’t know who they have who’s going to stop Donovan Mitchell from getting 30 this was a huge sign this was a big game this proved that we could win on the road this proved that other guys in Donovan Mitchell can score this proved that we can make adjustments and take punches and play in a tough environment this proved that we could win this series so I still have Cavs and seven I’m sure Boston’s going to punch back today was big because you know game three and four are not a guarantee we’re undefeated at home but they’re not they’re not a guarantee so we we’ve we’ve bought ourself enough confidence and reason to believe that we can get this to game six in Cleveland if we get this to game I’ve said this to you game six in Cleveland is on our home court I’m taking us in that game and then if you if in a game seven there is no such thing as averages or records or anything it’s a fist fight it does not matter what you think will happen anything can happen in a game seven I am taking Captain s because we have Donovan hey unless you’re Cleveland who had the biggest game seven come back in playoff history uh that said yeah I mean this this team they should have all the confidence rolling now um Jason Tatum coming off a game one in which I believe he only scored 18 points and it was very inefficient I think he was seven of 19 if memory Serv me correctly tonight not the most efficient nine as well he did score 25 but he was just seven of 17 a lot of his points per uction came from the charity sh where he drew a ton of contact something I’m not even G to I’m not even going to doesn’t matter yeah I’m not even going to dig into that tonight it doesn’t matter because we got the win but uh man it just it feels it feels so damn good to be able to say that because a lot of people wrote this team off and I myself you know you you are have been confident since day one in the fact that you believe that this team can go out and beat this ball team in seven games as of late especially after especially after that just really really competitive Series against the Orlando Magic completely different team with a completely different offensive philosopy um and that’s crazy like um when when I was doing the breakdown for this and the one of the biggest things that stuck out to me was the fact is the stark contrast between the way that Orlando operates and the way that Boston operates Orlando takes basically the fewest triples in the league in in Boston takes the most and we know Orlando is basically paint focused they score the bulk of their points within the painted area they draw they they use their incredible drivers and Paulo and fron and Company to get uh to to the rim and draw a ton of contact contact out there Boston is basically a completely different team who who operates with a completely different Focus out there they shoot that three and they will live and die with the results of that and tonight they die right they down goes Boston I hate to say it that way goes Boston that’s exactly what happened um I don’t think you’re G to be able to hold him to to this few attempts moving forward but I think you have the blueprint now I think you you you do have the blueprint um do you feel confident do you still feel confident that they can win the series even without Dean and Jarrett or or are you factoring in their their uh their presences for back of for lack of a better term into your prediction for the series i i i i i factored in their absences into the series I believe I believe that we still have the talent the shooting the defense the capability I think we we do I think um like guys like stru and Levert and aoro they make up a lot of what we lose with Dean Wade these guys are switchable Defenders these guys do do gang rebound like they do buy any of these things the disadvantage of Jared Allen I really wish we had him especially with the mo minutes if we can split them in and and add that even more dangerous of a rim threat that’d be big but there’s advantages to this like Mooby playing the five gives us more space it is creating things for us so um there there there’s there’s reason to believe we could still do this especially because they’re missing christops porzingis and yeah you’re right like compared to the Magic series The Magic series felt like Rainbow Road like you could do it but then uh you know you got to game seven and then suddenly the next series is is Rainbow Road mirrored and it’s just like way harder and completely opposite and just like throws you for a loop in a short turnaround but the Cavs found their balance they got their they got you know they got right side up and and today was a it it just showed focus it showed Focus to come out and dominate in the third quarter which you’ve been struggling with all playoffs it showed Focus to close it out on the road in in in one of the hardest environments in the NBA um yeah it just the Cavs responded that that was the biggest thing and you know I I have a question for you Mac um sure you’re Boston right like we’re playing chess part of playing this is that it’s not just what you’re going to do game to game you come off of a win you have to anticipate what they’re going to do so you’re Boston you’re Joe Missoula you didn’t shoot that well today and the Cass you know for re for reasons what they did and what reasons you didn’t do the shooting the three-point shooting could have been better you could shoot more or what have you but somebody made a good point here in your chat about how Boston doesn’t know what to do if they’re not getting every cheap call or hitting 40% from three so if you’re Joe moula and you’re not shooting 40% from three and they are taking away some of your three-pointers what would you do what would you do if you’re Boston in in a situation like this if this happened again how would you respond honestly I would look to go to the mid-range a little bit more um the three-point line the Cavaliers have have really really tried to emphasize running them all for that like I said they they average upwards of 42 and a half three-point atts per game if you can run them off that three-point line and they’re not getting a ton of penetration which is crazy to me because without Jared Allen out there uh Evan Mobley is your lone line of defense TR truly eim and we know Evan mby is a defensive uh player caliber of the Year type of guy out there but there’s only so much that he can cover up for especially if you’re starting Isaac auro uh you know a a tremendous Defender at his zone right but not a true power forward out there but in in a matchup that does favor him I do think that Jason Tatum Jaylen brown guys like that do have a distinct size advantage over the likes of an aoro the likes of a maxu but to get to put your back to the basket try and get to that mid-range a little bit more I don’t think that the whistle is going to be nearly as friendly as it was tonight cuz I thought it was a little bit more balanced uh balanced tonight especially after game one game one it felt like everything was being called Boston uh and and even on the even on the fouls that did not result in free throw I felt like if you just breathed on a Celtic it was a foul tonight was not necessarily the case I think that they have the requisite size from a positional standpoint to back some guys down and shoot over them in addition to that I talked about Luke cornette a little bit in that second unit without Chris Chris christops porzingis out there Al Horford has been pressed into the starting unit at that at that uh Center position and what he does best is shoot the three ball he’s coming off the back-to-back Seasons now during the regular season shooting above 40% and what they like to do is operate five out but what I would propo propose if I’m Joe Missoula I’m not going to lean further into shooting more three balls I would emphasize the mid-range game and I would look to attack in the interior without a brim protector out there in Jared Allen I I really honestly would do that now whether or not they have the uh requisite Talent well I’m not going to say talent because clearly they are very talented I’m I don’t know if they have the requisite makeup from an offensive standpoint to truly take advantage of that outside of outside of Jaylen and Jason constantly looking to penetrate and draw contact but that’s what I would do honestly I just don’t know I I don’t know if they have a ton of answers to respond when their their three ball isn’t dropping what would you do no that that was the answer Jaylen and Jaylen and Jason are the answer here’s the thing Jason Tatum has has shown us multiple playoff runs throughout all you look at all the collapses when Boston’s not shooting over from the three when they have to mix in the variety Jason Tatum does not always take the best shots he doesn’t make the shots that he thinks he can make he’s not as consistent in that in between game as we think he’s he’s developed as a play Creator he’s a shooter he can he’s gotten a little bit better at finishing but all in all the Cavs can live with him trying to create in the mid-range and trying to get to the rim and if he’s you know just laying it all in the line just to try to get to the free throw or take hard contested shots you’re right they have the size Advantage but I think we can live with that compared to the the kickout offense where we’re always scrambling and credit to JB JB has did a few switching up today sometimes he did the show and recover sometimes he just straight up switched Mo on the guys and then everybody gang rebound off the Miss like he switched up the coverages on these guys so it wasn’t just always straight up switching or straight up like like trying to recover or try to defend a mismatch like we we threw some different looks at him and if you’re Boston this is why you paid for all these shooters and why you gave Jason Tatum that money why you gave Jaylen Brown that $300 million because when when they take away the threes and when they’re protecting the rim it’s on those guys to create and they did a decent job Tatum got to the line did not shoot nearly well enough though I will say this I told you that I think Donovan Mitchell is better than Jason Tatum I got another one Mac and this isn’t just like like go I can’t wait to hear what kind of shit’s gonna come out of your mouth I can’t wait this is this is the situation that I’m seeing in Boston because Jaylen Brown especially after last year’s playoff run and the $300 million contract he got okay I actually have SE I am actually extremely impressed by Jaylen Brown I think his mid-range game he is exceeded Jason Tatum I think his ability to finish around the rim he has exceeded Jason Tatum he is looking like way more of a complete offensive player truly he really is and I’m starting to get this Vibe I’m not saying that he’s like Jaylen Brunson but what I am saying is sometimes a player never really discovers how great they are when they’re playing next to another player sometimes they have to have their own situation and I think the cold truth I think Boston might want to start running a little bit more of their offense through Jaylen Brown I think when things get tough like this and they need buckets in the midi or they need more downhill penetration I think Jaylen Brown is a better answer than Jason Tatum and I think there could be a world where let’s say the Cavs win this series complete failure for the Boston Celtics and you have to split that duo up because I I really do think there’s a world there’s a world I’m not ready to say fully that Jaylen Brown’s better than Jason Tatum but I don’t think Jason Tatum’s a top 10 player anymore or who whenever he thought we thought he was and I think there’s a world where not that Jaylen Brown’s better but that Jaylen Brown should be the one who’s taking shots at the end of the game Jaylen Brown should be the one who you want to get into those mid-range opportunities when your offense starts to stall I think sometimes they try to play through Tatum and then it’s snow balls because he’s a rhythm player who plays who’s learned how to play with his teammates and everything but in terms of what he can do with the ball by himself I think Jaylen Brown might be the bigger threat than Tatum at this point that is an interesting concept I do have to admit I I don’t know if I’m there yet but I do think that’s an interesting concept and I think I’ve actually heard it referenced on multiple occasions outside of this series even that the brown Tatum uh pairing or Duo rather may not be like a uh may not be able to get you over the hump now they’ve been together for what seven eight years now and they have been to one NBA Finals where they came up short against the Golden State Wars obviously but they have been theyve been involved in the playoffs and they have gone they’ve had deep playoff runs in most every year that those two have shared the court with one another but I don’t know man I I I don’t know if I’m prepared to say that if you look at the stat sheet tonight it’s probably not necessarily gonna it’s probably not necessarily going to uh be the best game to highlight that uh from a statistical standpoint but I do think you have you might be on to something you might be on to something because a lot of the shots that Tatum takes and even some of the ones that he makes they’re not they’re not good shot quality they are just shots that he puts up some of them are highly contested we saw that in game one Cavaliers defended him on some possessions probably the best that you could defend anybody and he’s still made the shot and that’s what good players do nine times out of 10 but when you need to lean on somebody down the stretch maybe you’re on to something maybe maybe Brown is the guy that you want to go to instead uh tonight just to reference his statline 19 points on seven to 17 from the field was Jaylen Brown basically the same as Jason Tatum seven to 17 from the field as well but the difference between the two is that Tatum was able to get to the line he took 11 free throws to Browns five we’ll have to see we will have to see I do know that similar to the Cleveland Cavaliers if the Boston Celtics are to fail with this current roster that they have look for a big change and I think that that would be warranted especially after seven or eight years of this Duo not being able to get over the proverbial hump we’ve already talked adnasium about Cleveland and what the ramifications of losing in the first or second round could be for this te there’s are bigger they have they have pretty big ramifications themselves a lot of is writing on their post scene as well I don’t think they’re going to clean house or anything like that but there could be at least one big change and maybe that is it but who knows for sure for sure yeah I um and gu says o snap JT being out of top 10 I mean at this point let me just ask you Mac who are you taking Jason Tatum or Donovan Mitchell I gotta right with my guy Don I mean listen Donovan Mitchell has not garnered a ton of playoff success past the second round right we know that Jason Tatum has been to an NBA Finals we know that Jason Tatum has been to an Eastern Conference Finals Donovan Mitchell is still trying to get to that point but in from an individual standpoint Donovan Mitchell is that dude he is that guy Donovan Mitchell Who you gonna take then Jason Tatum or Jaylen Brunson that’s a tough one man I I I think J I’m gonna name 10 players that you would take over Jason Tatum okay as of right now I am taking Jaylen Brunson over Jason Tatum okay let’s talk out the easy ones yic or Tatum joic obviously and beer Tatum andb Luca or Tatum Luca that’s that’s that’s a little bit tougher that’s a little tougher but I’ll take Luca uh what do we got Kevin Durant or Tatum the world is not smiling favorably upon Kevin Durant right now but I would still take Kevin Durant as a as a better overall player than Jason Tatum what else Giannis or Tatum oh that’s Giannis a healthy Giannis for sure what about Jimmy Butler irritate him healthy oh I don’t that might be where I draw the line I like Jimmy but I think Jimmy is aging but I think I still might take Jimmy over Jason over Jimmy Anthony Edwards or Tatum Anthony Edwards no question okay guys help me out anybody else two more only two more and then Tatum’s not in the top 10 two more I’m sure there’s two more LeBron you take I take LeBron over Tatum oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah maybe not for the future but in terms of a talent right now uhuh yep there’s one one more there’s got to be one more would you take Steph Curry Steph Curry or Jason Tatum Steph Curry Steph Curry Shay G Alexander or Jason Tatum SDA for sure SDA for sure I’ve named 11 I’ve named 11 players that we would take over Jason T there’s others that are here truly NPR down here says ad are you taking ad are you taking ad because ad’s got some question marks to him his their points are you taking ad over Jason it’s tough because they play very different roles um I I think that that’s a little bit tough I I could see the world where you do take ad I honestly do um but you know ad has to also stay as claim as a top 10 player overall he’s not really been consistently in this discussion so it’s a little bit hard but like maybe but like maybe right this is an interesting one down here Jamal Murray are you take it I I can’t go I’ll take a playoff jbal I’ll take a playoff Jal have you seen that Minnesota Tiber wol defense is shutting that [ __ ] down I don’t know I still got Fai to the Nuggets though I actually think if there’s any team that can get off the mat here it’s them I think the Minnesota does they make it very hard but I’m I’m not I’m not I’m not ruling out the the Nuggets just yet I’m not out on them oh look at this man pton PR tat George Jason Tatum is crazy I’m taking the G wagon for tonight but that’s the point we named 11 to 12 players that you take over Jason Tatum okay like this is what I’m talking about like and and I’m telling you I don’t even know if overall and listen I’m not aloof I understand Jason Tatum the best guy guards him he faces the most double teams I understand his role in the offense and how he has to be but here’s my point that role on the offense all these guys we mentioned I believe are better than him at that role and if I was the Boston Celtics if I’m Jason if I’m Missoula and it’s the end of the game and I need or or my team is struggling and I need somebody to take over and start to create offense or if I need a last shot give me Jaylen Brown over Jason Tatum at this point Kyrie I think I think Kyrie Kyrie I don’t know how you do in the role either but yeah Big Shot best shot in the NBA history in NBA Finals yeah I’m taking Kyrie over Jason Tatum if I’m especially if the game was on the line but uh yeah man it’s is a a great as gues strange says down here points well made excellent point man that’s what I bring you on you’re always dropping gems on these people always dropping knowledge for tonight at least we can say the Cavaliers have emerge uh emerg Victorious and this is just a monumentous win um we could go on and on and on we’ve already talked for about an hour about this but I’ll just I’ll leave you guys with this consider the fact that many people have counted this team out before the series is has already been written before the the series has already been played people have written this Cavaliers team off almost nobody help nobody in the National media has picked this team to win nobody of any relevance I I I have faith in this team Nikki has faith in this team but many of the National pundits Do Not the Cavaliers have a major opportunity to rewrite a lot of narratives here they they’re on the big stage now they’ve gotten past round one which is huge for their confidence and they have made the big bad in the East the Boston Celtics bleed they punched them in the lip they’ve thrown a huge hay maker and now it’s time to see what the Boston Celtics are made of on our home court it is time to they can come to play and I I feel very very confident that this has now become a series that being said if you want to show support for this podcast one of the things that you can do however small but it is helpful is consider becoming a paid member on patreon for as low as $3 a month you can pledge whatever you want the link will be in the description um if you want to reach out to your boy you know what you can do leave a rating leave a review Send a screenshot of set review to it’s Cavalier 53@gmail.com and I will send you an invite man I just I feel so good I can go to sleep knowing that I don’t have to wake up in the morning in a piss poor mood I can wake up in the morning not having to fight with a ton of people on social media and one of the things that I love the Cavaliers gave me all the am all the ammunition that I need I don’t have to I don’t have to sit here and and and wallow and misery because the Cavaliers won a a huge game tonight any closing thoughts from you my friend for the first time in the 2024 playoffs in the Cavaliers run a road team has finally won a game which means the playoffs have officially started the Cavs can win this it’s going to be hard the odds are still not in our favor but today the world knows that we’re not out of it that we can actually upset the Boston Celtics let’s [ __ ] go that’s the best place to leave it at that that said go Cav and have a good night

Mack is joined by Nikki Goel (Cavs Nation) to discuss the Cleveland Cavaliers dominant victory over the Boston Celtics including Evan Mobley showing out, Donovan Mitchell turning up the heat from range and Cleveland beating Boston at their own game!

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