Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Cavs Stun Mavs in Comeback Win

Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Cavs Stun Mavs in Comeback Win

A This crowd Rises to its feet Theo slamed it home gar left wing free ball perfect gar the lane lock the boldly p and Allen blocked the shot at The Rim how with the left hand and a foul welcome to chase down podcast part of the C media family I’m your host

Justin Rowan the chase down is presented by fubo the official streaming partner of the Cavs watch over 350 channels of live sports and TV including balet Sports Ohio without cable there’s no cost and no commitment try for free at fubotv.com Cavs the Cleveland Cavaliers have won their two game road trip with a

Big win over Chicago dominant performance start to finish putting them away and then a furious comeback against the Dallas Mavericks it’s a late night edition of the chase down podcast and joining me today is my co-host Carter Rodriguez Carter how you doing buddy woof woof woof these boys got me

Barking Best Bark come on better barks than that in you no I was going for the uh the more understated wolfing uh but nevertheless uh super super geeked um I just I just thought it felt like a loss you know it felt like I was getting

Ready to open this s you know with you know Donovan being a game time decision or you know something what felt close to it and then all the then he’s not playing you almost felt like the team kind of just came out not sharp in like

In a way that’s like H we were kind of hoping to have him back and and and you thought that you know with with how nasty Dallas was playing in that first half like frankly some borderline disrespectful levels of Swag uh from Luca uh early in that game you’re just

Like okay it’s just going to be a rough night and you know maybe Amman will get some run and then they just fought and fought and fought they they CR cross the the mythical Austin car 10-point barrier uh and then lost it again and you’re

Like okay well okay that was a nice run they they made it competitive for a minute and and that’s all you can ask for it and then they kept fighting back they kept fighting back they kept fighting back they kept hitting timely threes they kept getting timely stops

The trapping was really working down the stretch you just got to be so proud of these guys um they’re missing their best three players uh they shouldn’t they shouldn’t have won shouldn’t have won they certainly shouldn’t have won after falling down 20 that should be a death

Nil and the fact that it wasn’t is really cool well I I actually find kind of the second comeback that they had more impressive because on the one hand you know Dallas going out to a big lead stepping on the Cavs throats early as you said L looked a little disjointed I

Didn’t like the soft switching early in games um you know Dean Wade picks up two early fouls on LCA donic and and then you know Coral’s on him but he’s kind of getting whatever matchup he wants with those S switches it’d be one thing for

The Mavericks to go up 20 the C are without Garland bitchell Moy um and Dallas lets them back into it right like we see that all the time in the NBA you go up big the other team’s missing their Stars you you allow a run it happens but then they kind of you

Know made that second run where where it felt like they kind of put the Cavs away they they extended the lead you know from six up to 16 I think the Cavs got to four at one point and they were back up to 13 or 14

Right and and then you know they extend that lead right back out and you usually you would assume okay that’s the point where Dallas kind of got back into the game sometimes it’s tough for teams to get back into the game after they give up that lead after they take their foot

Off the gas but the they had their run and the Cavs weren’t phased by that they didn’t say well we gave it our our best punch you know it was we were just not going to get this one they ended up answering in a big way and Carris Levert

Obviously was massive down the stretch um but the story of this game truly felt like it was the Jared Allen Show yeah I mean they they every second he wasn’t on the floor it was certainly felt like the Jared Allen show right I mean he was he

Was unbelievable in this one um and and you know extending from the Chicago game I mean he had 24 23 and six and I it’s funny I tweeted this just just before uh we went live it kind of felt like watching Derek Lively out there uh who

Has had an awesome start to his rookie year like way better than I thought he was going to be coming out of a pretty up and down year at Duke but you look at Derek Lively and you and he and jerck almost can Spider-Man meme a little bit

You know super similar frames similar kind of hypothetical games and I almost feel like tonight was like Derek Lively maybe learning like oh there’s levels to this this game you know because like you could see the difference between you know a kid that’s in his rookie or that

Shows a lot of promise and a guy who’s been in the league six years um uh Jarrett was you know up quicker and and more decisive on every Rim attack on every short roll floater or layup attempt um boxed him out super well Lively had four boards in his 25 minutes

Jared had 23 um the protection the switching onto Luca I’ll tell you what if Luca donic doesn’t dislike Jared Allen yet he’s going to after a couple more years of getting his water shut off in the fourth quarter on some of these switches I thought Jarrett was so so so

Good on Luca down the stretch and I want to shout out that late trap at the on the final possession of the game and that is excellent coaching and excellent timing from Jarrett because they had Lively in the game so and the Mavs needed a three so very smart to abandon

Lively and go trap but the timing was perfect because if you go too early Lively can just run straight into a a dribble handoff uh you know uh release valve or or to set a pin down for someone but instead wait till there’s about like five or six seconds left on

The clock then Jarrett goes and it short circuits Luca for just that one second he finds uh Curry on the wing but there’s just not enough time for them to do anything with the advantage that comes from that trap I thought that timing was perfect and I I I think you

Give a ton of credit to the coaching staff for that play and you give just as much credit to to Jarrett for a Flawless execution of the scheme when clearly they wanted Luca to get that last shot yeah 100% And terrific defense by maxu as well uh blocking Seth Curry’s uh game

Tying attempt at the end of the game and it was interesting to hear uh d on the broadcast at after halftime saying basically kind of what I already had in my notes were you know I I felt like there was miscommunications the soft switching I I wasn’t a big fan of it and

He said hey we’re playing like just a little bit too passive right like we need to play with more Force we need to be more decisive or at least you know decisive was my interpretation of that uh he because he was saying that they seemed timid in that screen navigation

And I just felt like those halftime adjustments and hearing hey this is a point of emphasis coming out of halftime and then seeing it immediately on the court that to me speaks volumes that that to me it shows a coaching staff with their finger on their pulse and a

Locker room full of guys that are bought in ready to make adjustments ready to listen and I just and a bunch of smart players man the fact that they lit point they completely switched up their defensive strategy in the second half of this game they went from switch

Everything to hard traps at Luca and sending sending help at kind of different times it wasn’t always the second they were not doubling on the catch they were doubling on the go uh as he would start his move and like yeah every now and again they did give up an

Open three to a to a to a Seth Curry or something and there were times late in the game where they did get lucky where he just missed some open looks but more often than not they were doing a really good job on the backend rotations of

Those blitzes and you know getting the ball into derck Jones Jr’s hands and saying hey go attack a four on three off the bounds Derek we know you don’t really want to uh and you you saw them short circuit that offense a few times especially with Kyrie not available this

Is a this is a Mavs team that’s kind of short on secondary creators and even tertiary creators like it’s a lot of play finishers and Luca kind of being the engine I thought they played that really really smartly but like you have to execute that scheme really really

Well and when that wasn’t your plan going into the game the fact that they were able to limit Dallas to 41 second half points is just such a testament to the Buy in from the from the guys and the execution from the guys and then obviously um some balls from the

Coaching staff to make that call yeah totally agree and you know you talk about uh second half points for Dallas Luca had 20 points in the first quarter and had 19 the rest of the game right like it it was kind of funny I I I saw that Lucas’s previous High against the

Cav was only 35 points and historically they’ve done a good job on it I know right he he’s one of those guys where you get to say only about 35 points um but you know having that backline defense as you mentioned Jared Allen has had a history of playing good defense

Down the stretch on Luka donic and you know we had a couple games early on with uh Moy being out where Jared gets in foul trouble and you know that has an impact on the game and just the the Cav’s ability to have a normal rotation already down guys one personal foul in

This game when he switching in he’s you know playing away from the rim as much as he is it’s perhaps the best foul Merchant in the league right now like to me that’s really really damn impressive and you know he’s been playing like an absolute All-Star uh since Garland went

Out he’s averaging 18 points 12 and a half rebounds 3.6 assists uh we’ve been highlighting his playmaking recently and and you know 13 assists in the last two games I I think has been dominant and you look at the wins over Chicago and Dallas there’s some similarities in both

Of them the Cavs outshot both of these teams they took more threes they made more threes than both of them they generated more Second Chance opportunities uh tonight they had 18 offensive rebounds to seven for Dallas you’re when you start winning The Possession ballot uh battle and you’re

Winning the math battle that can even so much from a talent standpoint and not to you know harp on what we were saying before about you know implenting the same style and taking lessons from this when you have everybody back but I I just think it really goes to show that

Really th there’s those opportunities there um this is a style that can really really help the team and credit to you know the coaching staff and to the players for for buying in and executing to this level and uh showing the discipline to play the style like when

You have a guy like Isaac okoro take 12 threes in the last two games that’s really encouraging like I was thrilled honestly Chicago I thought was one of the most encouraging shooting games from him because I don’t think he’s ever gone 05 before like usually when he would

Miss the first three I don’t think that fourth attempt is going up for him to go 05 against Chicago and then come out tonight obviously he hit uh three of his first four but four of seven tonight against Dallas like that’s the type of volume and and that willingness to shoot

Is really big I could probably point out five other times where I thought he should have taken a three and didn’t take it tonight I was going to say the same thing it is still a step in the right direction yeah absolutely before just to put a bow on the Jared thing his

Last two games he’s got 43 points 40 boards and 13 assists and four turnovers um my God this guy’s been nuts uh I mean there’s a reason right like we said hey we navigate this stretch if Jared Allen continues to show why he’s the top 10 Center in the league and you

Know it’s funny like there is a level of sacrifice and I I think you know fans look at stat lines like this and they say when like you could be doing this every single night but there really is a level of sacrifice when you play on a

Team that’s as deep as the casses with the top end talent that they have like Garland and Mitchell typically account for 50 points a night and then people want another 20 from Moy you want 18 from Jared you want 15 from streu to to justify that signing then you probably

Want 15 from AOK 42 because you know he’s a promising young player and then you you want Nang to get points like there is a finite number of points and you know the benefit of having a a team with a bunch of stars is maybe you can

Kind of exploit whatever the the matchup dictates like hey you have an advantage in this one area tonight maybe we lean on that a little bit more but having Jared step up in this opportunity I think is just a reminder of how special a player he is and why you know teams

Like Dallas were coveting him reportedly in the offense season right like there’s been a lot of reporting out there about that and it makes sense he’s really damn good yeah he he was really awesome tonight on the okoro point uh I think the two fouls for him just as impressive

Um and I thought he I thought he guarded Luca as well as I’ve seen anyone guard Luca in a long time um again Luca had 39 points uh so like you know you have to understand that there are levels to this and Luc is probably you know a top two

Or top three player in the league right now uh for a reason but I thought the physicality ooro played with without fouling uh getting up into his space and then and then when the you know it was really a killer in this game when Luka was sitting CU I thought he was guarding

Tim harder he was putting Tim Hardaway in Hell uh and and Hardaway hit a couple really tough ones on him um but like I thought I thought ice was really really awesome as a two-way guy in this one um and I think they really really needed

You know every every bit of his 22 points again continuing to get to the line and scoring in all sorts of ways which is really exciting he’s not just you know hit it wasn’t just that he shot well from three tonight you know he he

Also got to the line he also finished in transition he also you know attacked some late close outut yep grabbed grabbed a couple key offensive boards um yeah just a really awesome ice game where you want to go next buddy well I I just want to say with him too I I love

Love seeing him get those ball handling reps above the ark and you know just him attacking in the ways that he doesn’t and utilizing his skills as a playmaker like functionally he’s kind of been the backup point guard uh during this stretch with Donovan Mitchell out and

You know it’s fun to see him averaging nearly 17 points per game over his last three games he’s been more assertive like this is all stuff that you can build off of and you know we talk about him in his role as a backup point guard

Let’s talk about a guy that might be making a case for permanent backup Point guarding Craig Porter Jr because I continue to be so impressed by him uh came up a point and three assist shy of a triple double in this game uh came very close against Chicago as well 1912

Uh 19 or nine points 12 rebounds seven assists for stallis 19 points seven rebounds and eight assists for Chicago and I’m I’m just so impressed by his Poise and the fact that I never feel uncomfortable when the ball’s in his I think you know you see limitations

Sometimes uh with his scoring and the defense will sag off of him and there’s times where I’m like hey you could take this he needs to shoot more I think he I think I think there were plays where they he was driving into four man paints

Um and I think he’s got to be more confident than J that but I don’t want to undercut your otherwise great point I’m I’m saying even with all of that stuff it’s amazing that he can still be as effective as he is um as big of a Difference Maker and like

He is feeling like a quality backup at this point like I I I feel good about him being the backup point guard and you know that might be a decision that the front office is going to have to evaluate here on whether or not it’s worthwhile to convert him to a standard

Contract I think he’s making a very strong case for himself but for him to be this good this early on man that is a luxury and frankly like the Cavs just would not be surviving in the stretch if he wasn’t playing at such a high level

No and by the way I think I I ow JB uh some flowers uh cuz I really thought he needed to get Porter Jr back in the game uh at the end of the fourth and JB clearly decided to bank on how big the lineup was in having Levert stru okoro

Uh Allen and was it Wade I think it was way down the stretch um uh and he kind of I think he I think the the trapping and the you know being in rotation as much as he was he probably was like I just I don’t want to have anyone that

Can get picked on from a size perspective um and I I wanted Porter end just to kind of juice the playmaking a little bit turns out didn’t need it uh and you know uh so I got to give JB some some flowers when he went away I

Wouldn’t have gone and it worked out really well um and part of that calculus probably was also you know Craigs out there getting a lot of rebounds Dallas may have intentionally fouled there right because he has been struggling at the free throw line this year and you

Know split his only pair tonight or uh just him being in the bonus like you know him going to the free throw line that’s not as much of a guarantee although George thr at the end game so no things in this world you got to discuss process

Over results there and and George did that just to Showcase how well they’re able to execute on the defensive end at the end of game you know throwing that TR Luka great defense from Max that that’s really what George was trying to do there thanks George um yeah I think I

But you know ultimately I thought CBJ had another awesome game and I really think there was a stretch in the third quarter where I think it was about four minutes left uh he picked up his fourth foul he’d been on the bench and as with

Most of the game when he was on the bench Dallas was you know padding their lead really kind of retaking control and JB put him out there with four fouls you know it’s like hey I need some stabilizing presence down the stretch of this quarter uh and I think he provided

That um you know there were some times where he drove he got he got stonewalled but I think just as much I mean by the way he should had way more than two free throw attempts he was getting hit really hard uh at The Rim you know he was

Getting that two-way rookie uh whistle in my opinion um and and that free throw attempt rate to free goal attempt ratio not match what I was seeing out there but ultimately like he just is a point guard I mean he made some really really Advanced passes in this one uh seven

Assists I’ll bet his potential assists are even higher he he had a a crazy lookoff past to Nang in the corner that Nang just wasn’t able to hit uh in that third quarter he’s just a cool player man he’s really really cool I think he is an elite athlete at at the guard

Position and it’s just it really helps them finish possessions I mean he had eight defensive rebounds today and I would say probably seven of them were contested um uh and he also by doing that gets the Cavs into their offense I remember in the those old OKC Russell

Westbrook teams it was so valuable having him be such a great defensive rebounder because he could just immediately take it and start going like you’re getting into semi- transition every time he gets a defensive rebound and no matter kind of what the opponent’s floor balance was because

He’s just can he can just hit the gas so he’s just a really cool player he opens up things for the team that aren’t open otherwise uh and as as you mentioned they’re they’re just not winning these games without him he’s he is as crucial as any

Cavalier to their success over the last four games like I I would put him up there as he’s as he’s been as important as Jared Allen like Jared Allen’s been better but in terms of like they can’t afford cpj to be like listless or lost like he is so important for them right

Now which is like one a statement of how beat up the roster is especially at the ball handler level but it’s also a statement how good he’s been that he has be become so irreplaceable in this offense he’s been as Irreplaceable for the Cavs as Zoom is for this podcast

Support for this podcast and the f message comes from Zoom half a million businesses Connect using Zoom a single platform for phone chat workspaces events apps and video Zoom enables realtime collaboration for teams around the globe Zoom how the world connects Carter I absolutely do need to bring up

The comparison for Craig Porter Jr that I saw on Twitter uh from Ben from real C fans he compared him to the professor Andre Miller and I like it’s just so fitting he reminds me so much of a young Andre Miller in terms of his ability to

Get get up there get the rebounds get the assists uh his Poise his ability to use the angles his footwork I’m I’m just all in on this kid I I’m I’m such a big fan of his game and I just I continue to be blown away that the Cavs were able to

Find a gym in in him as an undrafted player and then you know someone like ammani Bates at 49 who you know is exciting obviously raw still has a ways to go but it was fun that when Dallas kind of put this game out of hand quote

Unquote early on that ammani came in he took some shots and you know he is following my Mantra which is the wrong decision is better than indecision I am never going to see indecision out of Monty Bates on the basketball court he knows exactly what he wants to do with

The ball some of the shots were a little adventurous but he was out there I thought the playmaking was good I thought he gave them life uh his energy out there just when the cats were looking a little bit lit listless uh I I really thought that he came out and gave

Them a spark Off the Bench and I was actually kind of curious I I had J jot this down in the first half or or early in the third of would we like to see a second stint out of him and you know obviously the the rotation that the C

Went with um was a big contributing factor for them coming back and winning this game but after you know him having positive minutes would you have liked to see him get a run in in the second half or you know go with the veterans and the guys that uh ultimately brought this one

Home no we we won we won the game it’s so easy to answer cuz we won the game running the rot whoa Jesus lost my head easy um yeah we won the game uh with the rotation we ran so no I wouldn’t have wanted to see a second shift but to your

Point I thought he actually gave us really good minutes um I I thought his passing was really really good I didn’t actually think the shots were that adventurous to be honest I thought they were Fair reasonable shots they were quick trigger but like he’s a shooter

That’s what the team asks him to be so you know yeah that’s fair I like I guess the adventurous one I think was the second three-point attemp which was yeah it was very it was like a step or two beyond the line so like that was definitely a little deeper than maybe

You want but like with where the game was I I it didn’t much bother me so yeah I I was actually hoping we’d get to to amanii uh I figured we’d get to him at some point um we have to talk about Caris um who had you know a really

Interesting game you know I mean we were saying uh before we went live is such a first off talk about um kind of exposing how weird plus minus is as a single game stat uh to to play 28 minutes be you know score 29 Points you know

Functionally be the reason you won the game in the fourth quarter I mean like the last six minutes were Caris Caris time and to be three hit to give them the lead I was just I almost leaped out of uh my my bed as I was watching it

Absolutely um so the fact that like I playing that well and then going being minus 16 for the game like just shows like like guys you have to pay closer attention to to what’s happening on the floor um what lineup where what’s contributing to some lineups that are

Not going so well like he certainly had some brain farts early on especially on the defensive end you know strew comes over I actually blamed streu for for this on Twitter I think I was wrong CU streu came to to trap donic and Carris did not rotate up to Seth Curry who hit

A immediate wideopen first pass away three so like there was some stuff I remember that one that that was on Caris yeah there there there were some plays like that where you go but like the shop making was so crucial man the shop making was unbelievable I just think

Carris just feels like a different player when the three-pointer is going you know I I I I always kind of thought that would be the bonus uh but we’d count on the mid-range game but like especially the pull-up three especially with the lineups that the Cavs are

Running right now like they just don’t have that other than than him um and I thought his Rim attacks were really really good down the stretch in the fourth um I thought he really attacked with a lot of violence you know I think if I have a critique of of Caris

Sometimes and some of his Rim attacks it can be a little floaty it’ll be like get an advantage and then kind of do the step back and ride him on your hip but that just leads to really hard finishes that only like guys like Luca can consistently make um I thought he played

Really violent attacking the hoop there he was he was uh you know his hip was going into guys and moving them out of the way to generate clean angles or to force the help to come over so someone like jerett could come clean up the play

Uh he was he was really really awesome in this one seven assists to two turnovers um I I was really really pleased with how Caris played in this one and how could you not be with with the threes he was hitting I really I think he kept them in the game early on

Offense and then won them the game late yeah I I completely agree and you know this is one of those situations you know he’s been sitting out with NE tendonitis the fact that he was able to get a week off I I think it was evident in his

Burst and just how quickly he moved around like when you talk about him like violently finishing through guys and attacking the rim to the same extent having that burst and that explosiveness with your knee is going to make a big difference it’s obviously going to make a big difference with your three-point

Shooting as well right going six of 11 from three I think early in the season he was shooting the ball incredibly well and then as these lower body uh first I believe was hamstring and now you know the the knee tontis as those came up I I

Think the outside shot just hasn’t been there so that’s going to be something that we need to monitor I wouldn’t be surprised you know if you know you don’t play them back to back in situ like that but hopefully this is something that isn’t going to linger too too long but

Um it’s just one of those injuries that uh can be a pain I I hate it I have to deal with KN I far too frequently so I’m if anyone if you ever got a question about a a bulky knee hit up your boy Justin Rowan oh yeah he has a lot of

Experience I’ve I’ve got loose bodies in it right now I can feel it clicking it’s a lot of fun uh but I I think his playmaking often uh gets overlooked it as well you look at the the last four games that he’s played 5 seven four seven again uh tonight like he’s

Providing that supplemental playmaking that’s so important I think when you look at what he did it’s not supplemental right now it is the playmaking well Capital th playmaking yeah it is still supplemental because you got Craig Porter Jr out there you got Jared dropping seven assists as well

Right like their assist to field goal ratio is great and that’s not always an indicator of great offense like I I think people love to see you know um 80% of the field goals were assisted but you look year-over-year that doesn’t necessarily correlate with the best offenses in the league but it definitely

Feels like they’re generating really good opportunities uh I saw a stat that the Cavs actually lead the league in Mor ball attempts which is the number of field goal attempts if you combine field goal attempts at the rim and three-point range uh they’re actually surprised me

That means we’re shooting a ton at The Rim Yeah the Cavs are fifth in terms of Rim frequency and 12th in terms of three-point frequency that may change after tonight’s game um but you know they take high quality shots and they’re not finishing them at a particularly

High clip either for the year that something that you might see more normalization especially as they get more Talent back I I think it’s going to help but um I just feel like the ball is moving really really well and um I I just continue to be impressed

With with just the level of execution and how prepared they look because I don’t think you’re getting anyone’s best punch right now with the guys that are out for the Cavs like that’s just reality um it’s human nature but it’s another thing for the Cavs to come out

As prepared as play as hard as they have and really take advantage of that and and make teams go oh this is this is not exactly what I expected tonight to be I thought this game was particularly cool in so far as like Utah they come out and punch him in the mouth

To start and Utah’s like whoa what just happened same with Chicago but in the in the New Orleans game in between that New Orleans pounced on them and and the cows were just like well we’re missing our top three four guys and uh we’ll see you

Next next game guys you know like it kind of very clearly was like yeah this is just not going to happen for us so the fact that this was kind of the first game where cuz like no you’re not getting team’s best shots but Dallas came out executing super at a super high

Level and when a team is having fun bullying you that is that’s hard to come from a talent perspective because it’s not like because it’s not like Dallas I feel like they completely let go to the string I think I think they they just the Cavs

Took them out of their stuff um and like you know like it could have been a pylon game Dallas is the kind of team that loves to win by 40 you know like you see Dallas did what I want the Cavs to do when they play you know the opponents

That they should beat they came out putting their foot onasty it was me they were demoralizing them and most times in the NBA teams fold after that like the opposing team usually especially on the road they’re going to be out of it it’s not our night it’s 82 Game season it’s a

Marathon it is what it is the Cavs didn’t fold and and you know Dallas I I think you’re on the money I I don’t think that they were taking the Cavs lightly I thought they could they thought that they could put the Cavs away early on and they thought they

Could put the Cavs away several times throughout that game yeah absolutely so I don’t know I’m just I’m just so proud of their resilience man um it was just a really really cool game cuz it’s you know obviously okoro has an unusually efficient and high volume game but

Everyone else like played like within the realm of like reasonability like Caris had a good game for Carris um Jared had a you know jar was freaking awesome Jarrett was freaking awesome but like you know like Dean didn’t go nuts streu did not have a super efficient

Game Nang had an efficient scoring game but I think you know struggled with guarding a I mean it is a really tough match up for him in space and with the and having to do a lot more playmaking than I think he’s really comfortable with um like you know so like I think

Like it wasn’t like they had like a mystical night where everything went right uh they had to work they had to earn this one via scheme via execution I mean there’s that one possession where they had like five offensive rebounds and just kept bricking wide openen threes and you’re like oh maybe it’s

Just not our night so the they just had so many T they just had so many opportunities to to give up turn in and be like well that sucked but they didn’t they they fought and they fought and they fought they change and they changed things up and I just it’s just really

Cool you can tell JB is having a lot of fun by the way listening to his oh my god listen to his postgame presser you can tell he’s really enjoying coaching these guys right now you know like I I I would imagine they’re playing his style they’re taking a ton of Threes they’re

Playing Up Tempo this is jbb I’ve been trying to tell you that this is JB ball well at least it is this year you know this is the stuff he’s been preaching all year and like I think you know ultimately like I I do kind of feel like

If I were the coach of a team that had a ton of expectations with a ton of top end Talent like you can only ever kind of get yelled at like you know like your your problems to solve are just different but like when you’re having to

Figure out how to win with like a scrappy group of guys and the coaches are like what are we going to do at half we’re they’re they’re running us off the floor and you you know like just knowing that you’re going to go to this this

Group of of you know third through 12th through 14th men and be like hey we’re going to have to just figure this out guys you you in and them all you know kind of nodding in unison like that’s how does that not get your your blood

Going if you’re a coach and how how how fun must this be for for JB who you know had you know it been a rough weird year so like to to win four five to win uh three of four down your top three players like it’s just really really

Exciting I I know I’m just speaking in wide truisms at this point but it’s just fun man yeah I I do think it’s a reflection though of the way that they want to play right like I I think it’s important to remember this was the style that they played in preseason this was

What every player on that roster said that they wanted to play this year and I I really I think it’s some proof of concept that hey this was guys being banged up that that really kind of made it tough especially with lower body body injuries like they’re just not able to

Get up threes at the same rate so I’m going to be curious to to see kind of how this evolves as they do get healthy but man like when it was announced that that Mitchell wasn’t going to play against Chicago I got to be honest I

Thought that that was a loss I I looked at the Cavs at 16 and 13 I said man we’re probably going we’re falling to 16 and 16 here like this is going to be a three-game losing streak Chicago I I believe they had won nine of their last

12 they’ve been playing great they’re at home they’re rested I thought that was a loss and the Cavs came out and they won that then they go out and they get this game as well and now you know they’re they’re 5- one in their last six games they’re half

Game back of fourth in the Eastern Conference and like this was the stretch this was the three games here the the you know especially once Mitchell went out the the Chicago Dallas Milwaukee games that was going to be the toughest stretch before it really gets light for

A bit and gets light in the kind of lead up to the return window for Darius Garland and that’s really really exciting I know we have you know we’ve got four games against Milwaukee this month uh so that’s a little less than fun or I should say in the next 30 days

Here um but man outside of that there’s a lot of opportunities for the Cavs to make a move up the standings and the fact that they’ve been making a move up the standings while these guys have been out man I I just I don’t think you can

Give them enough credit right now like I I love this team I love how hard they’re playing this has been so much damn fun yeah I mean really you they they go to 15 and 12 um and you know they they win a gutty game in OT against Houston and

You look at that you you see Donovan go out and you go and then you see Caris go out and you go oh and you look at and I you know you really they really could be looking staring down the barrel of a four game losing streak right now uh

Going into uh you know a home tilt against Milwaukee and all of a sudden you’re down maybe in the bottom end of the play in and instead they’re a half game out of fourth and like these are the kind of stretches that you just if you if you thrive or in in stretches

Where you should just be surviving or otherwise maybe you know taking a hit you just buy yourself more margin for air either to absorb another bad luck cuz by the way bad luck doesn’t just even out out like the casts might just keep getting unlucky you know over the

Course of the year and they might need more margin for erir and it also buys you room to get really really hot during an easy stretch once you are healthier uh and be and and and be higher than you would have been otherwise in the in the

Standing so it’s just a really really important stretch of resilience for this team and I do think it’s a culture stretch you know at once once Donnie and or I’m sorry once Darius and Evan went out I tweeted something along the lines of this is going to be a real test for like

The culture that the Cavs say they have built I think they’ve been passing that test with flying colors yeah I I completely agree and you know one of the things I was thinking about so obviously you know Donovan Mitchell participated in shoot around today um so I think it’s

Fair to conclude that he’s on his way back from you know illness and yeah you know assuming uh I I hope it wasn’t too bad that he had to go through cuz no one likes being sick but if it’s it’s a respiratory illness it makes sense that

You know conditioning might not be there yet um so it’ be great to have him back against Milwaukee but one of the things that kind of came to mind as we were playing Chicago I remember two years ago when Lonzo ball was out for the bulls the bulls rallied they played really

Hard they found ways to win and there was a hope that Lonzo ball was going to come back later in the season and then you look at them the next year uh when Lonzo was ruled out for the season and it just didn’t carry the same Vibes I

Think you know understanding that hey we’re going to get Donovan back at some point we’re you know halfway through the the four-week evaluation period for Darius like that’s a motivating factor for these guys as well and and shows you know there’s a belief that hey we can do something special when we’re fully

Healthy so let’s not throw that opportunity away in this stretch let’s step up let’s let’s make the most of this because we have a belief in what the end goal of this season can be and I think you’re really seeing that reflected in the effort because if there

Was any doubt if there was any questions about this I just don’t think you’re getting this level of buying I don’t think I I think you would see the cracks really start to show in this situation um if there wasn’t a belief in what this

Team can be and what this core can be and you know Cavs as we’re recording this I I was uh doing my normal thing of ignoring you and and scanning Twitter like seeing Donovan Mitchell FaceTiming Darius with with Caris after the game like just taking in win and whatnot like

That’s so much damn fun to see it’s so much fun to see these guys involved to the level that they are and um it’s it’s hard not to to love this team and and it’s it’s surprising that this is kind of the the fun Vibes part that we’ve had

But you know it goes to show you just the weight of expectations where you know when When You’re Expecting this team to you know compete for a top three seed in these Eastern Conference like WIS can feel bad when you’re in a situation like this and the expectations

Are lowered you just you you just appreciate it so much more I find yeah absolutely and that was one thing I was kind of hoping would happen in the wake of the Evan and Darius injuries was like Hey I’ve at a personal level I’m not having as much fun with this season

Because I’m too worked up about macro Trends and I I felt like I was kind of getting away from kind of my own like stated Credo as a fan which is try to have fun with your hobby and like it kind of makes it easier just to have fun

With your hobby when the team is playing this hard playing this together um even if they’d lost tonight obviously I think the the celebratory tone is going to be a little different um but I still think we’re saying most of the same stuff uh and still feeling pretty darn good about

This team so the win is is the cherry on top but but the process and the performance and and the resilience in the culture is what makes it fun yeah I was fully expecting to be like hey they got the one in Chicago that’s the one you needed you split this road trip

That’s a big win now the guys get to head home who knows maybe they can steal one against the Bucks it wouldn’t be the first time that they they’ve stolen a game against the Bucs they’ve played well against them in the past uh so fingers crossed there but and The Vibes

Are are feeling really really damn good right now um so you know after you play Milwaukee you’ve got Toronto on the 1st of of January you you know I’m going to be in a mood you play Washington twice you play San Antonio you play Brooklyn

You play Chicago again this is a this is an important important strke for the Cavs and I’m excited to see if they make the most of this opportunity big thanks to everyone that tuned in and watched us live and stayed up late with us it’s

Been a lot of fun make sure if you’re watching on YouTube you like And subscribe click notification Bell so you know when we’re going live if you’re listening via podcast and you want to support us leave us a rating leave review subscribe unsubscribe subscribe and help cook those books if you want to

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The short-handed Cavaliers stunned the Mavericks with a 31-20 fourth quarter en route to a 113-110 win in Dallas. Justin and Carter react to the team’s resilience, Jarrett Allen’s monster performance, Isaac Okoro’s offensive explosion and Caris LeVert taking over late!

Justin and Carter weigh in on the team’s resilience, Sam Merrill’s outburst against Utah, Isaac Okoro’s stint as a starter and more!

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Please Note: The opinions expressed by The Chase Down podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Cavaliers or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, or partners.