Browns to interview Kyle Shanahan for offensive coordinator job
January 28, 2014Stephen Colbert takes a jab at the Cleveland Browns
January 29, 2014Are we there yet? Have we hit rock bottom? Are we at the point of inevitable change? Is this season over yet?
The Cavaliers scored 29 points in the first quarter for the second straight game….and for the second straight game they followed that up with a whole lot of nothing. The Cavaliers offense is an absolute nightmare. And when things go bad on offense, they stop playing defense. And when you don’t play offense or defense you get crushed at home in consecutive games.
The Cavaliers went 1-4 on their homestretch after their successful west coast road trip, which is really the most Cavaliers thing ever. I’m not sure what else there really is to say, other than this is a really, really, really bad basketball team and we’re stuck with them for 3 more months. Buckle up!
Lets get into some numbers…
- 15 and 8 – Might as well start with the one bright spot. In the first quarter, with the game still close, Mike Brown decided for some bizarre reason to play Anthony Bennett. The results were about what you’d expect at this point. He shot 1-4 for 2 points. In the second half, though, with the game well out of the Cavs’ grasp, something strange happened. Anthony Bennett came to life. He dunked on one possession and hit a 3 on another, and suddenly a little bit of confidence seemed to come back. Sure, it was garbage time and the game was out of hand, but seeing Bennett calling for the ball on offense and making an impact in some way was such a staggering relief. It’s just one half of one game. Right now it doesn’t mean anything. But it was still nice to see and I hope he can string a couple games like this together.
- 25% vs 63.2% – In the 2nd quarter the Cavaliers shot 25% from the field while letting the Pelicans shoot 63.2%. That’s ridiculous, and I don’t know what else to say about it.
- 18 and 3 – In the first half, Tyler Zeller played 18 minutes and had 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. In the second half he played 3 minutes. Maybe he was hurt or something? Mike Brown, folks.
- 12 of 18 – Anthony Davis was 12 of 18 from the floor for 30 points. He also had 8 blocked shots, but it seemed more like 80. He was everywhere in this game and his presence dominated the play on the court. He looks every bit the part of a superstar. New Orleans has themselves one heck of a player.
- -19 – Luol Deng was -19 on the game. He shot 3-10 from the field for 6 points and had just 2 rebounds and 3 assists. I guess it’s safe to say he’s still struggling to acclimate himself to the Cavaliers non-existent offensive system.
That’s about it. I don’t have anything else to say about this game. The Cavs played terrible and they got their butts handed to them at home again. It is what it is. The Cavs go to New York next to play red hot Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks on national TV. That should be fun.
40 Comments
It scares me that I know more about basketball than the head coach of my favorite team. Might be hyperbole, but I think rehiring Mike Brown might have been the worst hire in the history of Cleveland. You know the guy sucks at offense, and you bring him back without interviewing anyone else.
WHY. Why do you do this to me, Cavs.
It would be typical Cavs if they upset the Knicks at MSG. This team is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get each game.
cannot even rely on bennett being terrible in all circumstances apparently
Probably because the Cavs knew that Phil Jackson wasn’t going to walk into their front office and demand to be the head coach. So they took the best candidate available at the time. Still, I doubt Phil would do any better than Mike right now. Especially with all of our young bloods on the team.
They took the best candidate at the time, a decision they came to after a thorough and vigorous interviewing process, which left no stone unturned.
Indeed. And when they finished their thorough and vigorous interviewing process, which left no stone unturned, they reached the conclusion that Mike Brown was the best candidate available to achieve the goals set forth by the Cavs. Interesting isn’t it?
It’s bad man, really bad
Come clean is this Austin Carr or Jeff Phelps? Nobody but a company man could defend the hire or the process, at this time.
I almost want this whole thing to be blown up…that’s how disappointed and negative I feel.
Best candidate available? Thirteen teams hired new coaches this year. Every single new coach has performed better than Mike Brown. The Cavs interviewed zero of those other candidates.
Will this winter NEVER END? Maybe spring is coming soon… after all, Anthony Bennett came out of his hole last night and didn’t see his shadow.
I may have finally accepted that this team just can’t win games. In spite of having more talent than the teams they face, they can’t figure out how to be consistent enough to win. So once again, I think it’s time to abandon playoff hopes (even in the craptastic East), and focus on player development. If this is the game that ends up kick-starting Anthony Bennett, then that is at least a silver lining. I guess we’ll see.
Mike Brown’s gotta go. The roster is flawed, I’ll give him that, but to be 13 games under .500 in this conference is unacceptable. We’re not a great team by any means, but we’re better than this.
All I keep thinking of when I see that team name is what the great L’il Wayne once said: “I’m flyer than a muhf**kin’ pelican right now.”
I still can’t believe they named the team the Pelicans. It boggles my mind. Losing to a team named the Pelicans should count for three losses.
And who would be Mike Brown’s replacement? John Lucas, perhaps?
I’d go Lionel Hollins over Lucas.
I’d go Lionel Hollins over Lucas.
Acceptance is a huge step trust me.
As of last night, it seems like they’ve even lost Austin Carr. His comments during the game and tweets afterwards were anything but his usual chipper demeanor.
I still say that’s debatable. In his last year with Memphis, his team had one of the best defenses in the league. His offense, not so much. Now I would welcome the thought of Hollins being brought in as an assistant coach to help Mike Brown in reinforcing his defensive philosophy onto the team. But as a head coach, I don’t see him doing any better than Mike Brown with the current team makeup.
Incorrect. Of the 13 teams that hired a new head coach this year, 4 teams are doing worse, and 1 team is doing marginally better than the Cavs. Nice try though.
It’s tough to have a good offense when you have one player in the starting lineup who can hit a 3-point shot… his GM didn’t do him any favors there. Hollins had to play Quincy Pondexter as his starting SF just to get some more shooting on the floor. The strength of the Grizzlies’ roster as it was constructed was its ability to play defense rather than offense, and I think you’ve got to give Hollins credit for effectively hiding Zach Randolph on defense.
It’s tough to have a good offense when you have one player in the starting lineup who can hit a 3-point shot… his GM didn’t do him any favors there. Hollins had to play Quincy Pondexter as his starting SF just to get some more shooting on the floor. The strength of the Grizzlies’ roster as it was constructed was its ability to play defense rather than offense, and I think you’ve got to give Hollins credit for effectively hiding Zach Randolph on defense.
I’m curious, what makes you want to defend Mike Brown? You seem pretty sure that he’s the right man for the job in spite of the way the season has unfolded.
I’m curious, what makes you want to defend Mike Brown? You seem pretty sure that he’s the right man for the job in spite of the way the season has unfolded.
Probably the most frustrated I have been with a cleveland franchise in quite some time. All parties deserve blame but if I had to rank the top 3 culprits:
1. Chris Grant: put together a roster of pieces that don’t fit, drafted the worst #1 pick in history (please let last night be a turning point in AB15’s career, i feel for the kid), & brought in Jack & Clark who sport PER’s of 11.9 & 9.1
2. Dan Gilbert: Promised playoffs despite having the youngest roster in the NBA, young teams historically do not succeed. Being a successful businessman, he should know “underpromise, overdeliver” he did the EXACT opposite
3. Mike Brown: not a single player has improved on his watch, his rotations are maddening and appears to have lost his locker room at halfway point. One other beef: we got screwed on multiple calls last night, specifically a dion drive with a no-call. How does he not lose it and get Td up there? Would love to see more fire there.
Probably the most frustrated I have been with a cleveland franchise in quite some time. All parties deserve blame but if I had to rank the top 3 culprits:
1. Chris Grant: put together a roster of pieces that don’t fit, drafted the worst #1 pick in history (please let last night be a turning point in AB15’s career, i feel for the kid), & brought in Jack & Clark who sport PER’s of 11.9 & 9.1
2. Dan Gilbert: Promised playoffs despite having the youngest roster in the NBA, young teams historically do not succeed. Being a successful businessman, he should know “underpromise, overdeliver” he did the EXACT opposite
3. Mike Brown: not a single player has improved on his watch, his rotations are maddening and appears to have lost his locker room at halfway point. One other beef: we got screwed on multiple calls last night, specifically a dion drive with a no-call. How does he not lose it and get Td up there? Would love to see more fire there.
Not just Brown… Grant as well. Lunch has a special place in his/her heart for awful coaching and insufferable General Management.
So begins the debate… because here is where Lunch has some ground to stand on.
Kyrie didn’t listen to Byron, Kyrie, doesn’t listen to Brown… so who is Kyrie going to listen to?
At some point it becomes the students running the room over the substitute teacher.
Then you look at the man who assembled this mess… Chris Grant.
Selects ball dominant guard in Kyrie, then selects another ball dominant guard in Dion…. his huge FA move last year…. takes another ball dominant guard in Jarrett Jack.
Overall… it’s a mess.
I go here everytime i see that name.
FLY PELICANS! C’MON PELICANS!
1. Patience. I’ve learned in life that good things come to those who wait. So I’m willing to give Mike time to teach his coaching system to the young bloods on this team. Also I’m very curious to see how this team develops over time.
2. History observation. I’m looking at Mike Brown’s entire coaching history, and I’m saying to myself, ok, why is this years team not performing at the same level as previous Mike Brown led teams? Did Brown change his entire coaching philosophy around, was he told to intentionally lose by someone higher up, or are the players still transitioning from Byron Scott’s or some other coaching system, to Mike Brown system? Or could it be the possibility that the players are refusing to listen? My thoughts are on the latter 2 possibilities.
3. Whining and complaining about anything that you have no control over does nothing to improve the situation. So why bother demanding that Chris Grant, and/or Mike Brown, or anyone else should fired, traded, etc. If nobody from the Cavs will listen to you?
4. Other possible factors. The youth of this team is still a concern. Plus I feel the way this team is built and the mentality still revolves around Byron Scott more so than Mike Brown. If true, then that’s a concern.
But overall I’m just giving Mike the benefit of the doubt right now instead of giving up and calling this season a wash. All I expect from this years team is progress. Nothing more.
Besides I have a hard time staying frustrated over sports related things. You win some, you lose some. But regardless, life goes on…
Well isn’t that better than to provide NO better alternatives that can do a better job and are readily available, cmm13?
You see it’s funny you mention “no alternatives” and then also mention “why complain” in another post.
Because as a fan you have 1 alternative and a pretty loud voice to complain with… that voice is excercised when you stop going to the games.
Every owner fears empty seats.
You are absolutely correct in that no matter who you, I or anyone suggest on some blog to replace Brown or Grant will be noticed by the organization.
You see, it’s not my job to provide an alternate, it’s my job to pay for my seat.
I’ll only say that Ive been more pleased with Brown’s rotations than I thought I would be. Are they great? Nope.
But they appear to be better than I remembered them being during the LBJ years.
Maybe AC MADE them take his banner down?
Buh Buh BUM!
I do agree that owners should do everything possible to sell as many seats as possible. But if things go sour. I feel that the owner also has an alternative action to sell the team to someone else. Hopefully not to someone who would move the team out of the city though.
Another thought comes to mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if some owners are willing to accept a loss of revenue just so that they can implement a new strategy that would generate more revenue in the future. Of course if that doesn’t work, they can try something else, or sell the team. Whatever works fir them.
can alot of that credit go to Marc Gasol for playing like 2 ordinary men?
Zach Randolph will abide.
Beyond the fact that my comment wasn’t directed solely at wins and losses, which of those four teams have the talent the Cavs do and/or stated that their goals were to win this season?
Lionel Hollins. That is one better alternative.
The best coach in NBA history couldn’t win with this team ! The players just don’t get it. For starters, there are very few (if any) point guards that we’ve outplayed this year. Despite the hustle of our bigs ( and the hollow double-doubles being posted ), there is no defense at all being played inside, and our so-called shooters never maintain any consistency at all. Our free agents stink, and our draftees are low-level projects.
Speaking of which…Did anyone notice that when Bennett had a jump ball late in game yesterday, he didn’t even know which basket to face ?
There needs to be a brawl or some kind of heavy-duty confrontation with an upcoming opponent that could possibly help to bond this group. Otherwise, this team will not improve as the season goes on.