Indians place Carlos Santana on paternity list, Scott Atchison heads to DL
May 28, 2015Cavs could have Anderson Varejao in NBA Finals
May 29, 2015Leave it to me to finally write one of these the morning of, on a day when there’s no real current events to discuss anyway. Whatever, have a supremely happy weekend. Remember that these are the weekends we live for when it won’t stop torturing us in February. Make the most of it. Don’t take it for granted.
Cavs injuries and their potential in the NBA Finals
Something that’s occurred to me as the Cavaliers get ready for the NBA Finals is how they’re weirdly fortunate with their injuries. Yes, the Cavaliers can be an offensive juggernaut when LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are all playing together. Love is capable of turning the court over in a nanosecond with a rebound and an outlet pass when he and Kyrie aren’t bombing from three. But with those two guys out and hobbled, the Cavaliers were left with probably their best defensive team which has served them well in the playoffs. When teams are planning for the Cavs, it is tougher to plan for a tenacious defensive team, and that’s what the Cavaliers currently are with heavier minutes from Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson.
How that plays out in the NBA Finals is anyone’s guess. The Warriors are a talented and pretty well-rounded team. A friend of mine from college is a San Francisco native and is very confident in the Warriors. He was so confident that he boasted about giving me 2-1 odds in our bet on the series. It’s against my nature to bet on something like this because I’m already invested plenty without putting a dollar value on it. Still, it felt like I didn’t believe in the team if I didn’t take him up on the bet.
Plus, what would LeBron say to me – hypothetically speaking – if I told him someone was willing to give me 2-1 odds on him and I didn’t make the bet?
San Andreas is worth seeing (with a caveat)
San Andreas was perfectly awful and awfully perfect. 3d + dbox seats? Awesome.
— Craig Lyndall (@WFNYCraig) May 29, 2015
San Andreas is a movie starring Dwayne Johnson. You know, The Rock? It’s another movie putting The Rock opposite Carla Gugino. They did a Witch Mountain remake together in 2009 as well. It features Paul Giamatti collecting a paycheck playing a scientist who is obsessed with seismic activity and somehow never interacts with the other stars of the movie for even one second. They didn’t even bother trying to tie all the storylines together to make the actors part of the same outline. All that said, this movie delivered exactly what I wanted and I loved every second of it.
My wife and I went to see it on the big screen, in 3D and also in special seats that rumble, move and shake that are called D-Box seats? You can reserve these seats at the Valley View Cinemark, they cost more money than even a 3D ticket, but for a movie like San Andreas, I think it made all the difference.
San Andreas was a movie that had the audience laughing in spots that they shouldn’t have been laughing based on the dialog. It’s a movie that featured an overly dramatized storyline about The Rock playing a guy with the generic name “Ray” and his soon-to-be ex wife, Carla Gugino as Emma, trying to reunite with their brunette Barbie Doll daughter with the perfect body, Alexandra Daddario as Blake. You might remember Daddario as the impossibly gorgeous naked girl from True Detective as the contrast to Woody Harrelson.
So in the end, I can’t tell you that San Andreas is a good film, but I can tell you I really had a good time watching it. It was like an attraction at Hollywood Studios in Disney, especially with the new D-Box seats. So check it out if you want, but keep those expectations in the proper place or you’ll be sorely disappointed.
Your weekly moment of soccer zen…
Did you know that in May of 2014 the United States came in second place in their bid to host the World Cup in 2022? They lost that bid to Qatar. You might think it’s arrogance to assume that when you lose that someone else cheated, but in the case of FIFA and their process, it didn’t take much of a leap to assume that correctly. Just about one year after taking that loss, the United States Justice Department unsealed a 47-count indictment targeting widespread FIFA corruption.
All of this is a giant mess surrounding a game I love, so I decided to go overboard this week and give you a 25 minute YouTube clip of the best soccer Vines. It’s about the game, after all.
Song of the week “Let Me In” by Grouplove
This isn’t a new song, but it is relatively new to me. It’s not even my type of music, generally speaking, but it’s a really great pop rock song. I love when the male vocals come in at the top of his range and lead to the chorus. Just a really well-constructed and well done song. I didn’t even see the movie that it’s associated with, The Fault in Our Stars, but it feels like a pretty cinematic tune. I bet it works well.
Have a great weekend everyone!
47 Comments
Allow me to go on record as being in favor of a weekly moment of Alexandra Daddario zen in the WWW
http://i.imgur.com/d334YO6.gif
I wrote this yesterday in an email to a friend. Since there isn’t much to talk about in the realm of Cleveland sports, I thought I would present this to the class:
The Warriors have been using a 9-man rotation in the playoffs (and I still can’t believe that David Lee is not one of the 9)… I think the Cavs match up better than you would expect:
PG – Steph Curry v. Kyrie Irving – You have to give the matchup edge to the MVP. Irving is playing hurt. Steph is playing a bit hurt. Steph is a better player on both ends of the floor.
SG – Klay Thompson v. Iman Shumpert – Klay Thompson wins this matchup. I knew Shumpert would be a great defender for the Cavs, but he’s also been surprisingly good on offense in the playoffs. He can hit open shots and shoot off of the dribble a little. All of that being said, Klay is a true two-way stud. I think Shumpert will bother him and reduce his effectiveness, but I think Klay will basically render Shumpert useless on the other end.
SF – Harrison Barnes v. LeBron James – I think we can move on. James in a landslide. If the Warriors try to guard James with Barnes, the King will just take Barnes down to the post and abuse him like he did to Jae Crowder, Jimmy Butler, and DeMarre Carroll. If the Warriors use their best defender (Draymond Green) to guard LeBron, Tristan Thompson will terrorize whoever is guarding him on the offensive glass.
PF – Draymond Green v. Tristan Thompson – I think this is a wash. Green is the better defender and can hit an open three. Thompson is an elite rebounder and pick-n-roll finisher (he even had Jeff Van Gundy saying that if he had the choice, he would start Thompson over Kevin Love… that’s a little too far, but shows how good Thompson has been in the playoffs).
C – Andrew Bogut v. Timofey Mozgov – I think this is a wash as well. Bogut is a bit better defensively. Mozgov is a bit better offensively.
Backup PG – Shaun Livingston v. Matthew Dellavedova – Give me Delly. Both are solid defenders, both can run a pick-n-roll, both can pass well, but Livingston can’t hit a three-pointer, Delly is a 40% shooter from there. There’s also that hustle/instigator factor with Delly.
Backup SG – Leandro Barbosa v. J.R. Smith – Not even close. Barbosa can do some good things. Smith has been a complete two-way player in the playoffs who basically guarantees you a win or two in a playoff series when he gets hot.
Backup SF – Andre Iguodala v. James Jones – It’s Iggy. Jones has been excellent with his one true responsibility in the playoffs… hit open threes. He’s even been somewhat serviceable on defense. Iguodala can’t hit open jumpers. However, Iggy wins in every other area… he’s a stat-stuffer and glue guy.
Backup Big – Festus Ezeli v. Kendrick Perkins – Wash. Ezeli is a solid post-presence on offense and pretty good on defense as well. He can’t hit a jumper to save his life. The one thing Perkins can still do is guard post players and grab defensive rebounds. Perkins won’t be able to score on Ezeli because he stinks at everything on offense but setting screens. Ezeli won’t be able to score on Perkins because he only has low-post moves and that’s the one area that Perk still defends well.
Now obviously, you’re going to have a lot of switching of matchups throughout the game, but I think both teams are capable of morphing into whatever they need to be. Both teams can go big, both can go small, both can play fast, both can slow it down, etc. It should be an entertaining chess match.
” It should be an entertaining chess match.”
Totally agree with that. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.
agree with a lot of this. But maybe not:
– Delly over Livingston. I mean, I know Delly’s a righteous folk hero right now, but Livingston has a really well-rounded game, is a glue guy, great size, very high IQ. Can’t think of a GM who if getting to choose either as their back-up PG would go Delly.
– Bogut and Mozgov a wash. Mozgov has been an awfully pleasant surprise. But do you think there’s a universe in which Blatt/Griffin would have chased him if Bogut was also available at that salary for two low first round picks?
Also think there are intangibles at work here beyond match ups. The Cavs have an unusual vibe: an apparent complete absence of stage fright. I’m not sure why everyone seems to be playing their best even with little or no playoff experience. Maybe it’s LeBron’s role-modeling, maybe it’s the team closeness. Maybe it’s the particular individuals on the roster, or maybe (could it be?) that even the coaching plays a small role. All I know is that through 14 games, as the pressure ratchets up, only J.R. has freaked out, and for all we know one freak out is actually the best anyone can reasonably expect from him. Let’s see if GS handles the pressure as well. That may be a huge equalizer.
In a vacuum I agree that Bogut is clearly a better player than Mozgov even including Bogut’s injury history. I think what makes them a wash in this series is LeBron James. Mozgov is a great compliment to the pieces in place and I think is a better bet to make an impact offensively on this Cavs team than Bogut is on that Warriors team. Believe it or not, Mozgov is more mobile than Bogut and a better bet to finish a pick-n-roll play.
I would argue the other way about Livingston. I think we were all so pleasantly surprised at how well he played for those miserable sans-LeBron Cavs teams that we give him too much credit. He’s a good defender because he’s long and can contest shots that most point guards can’t get to. Delly is just a pest and his annoying nature can badger a player into having a bad game (see Jeff Teague in Game 4). He’s also fundamentally solid… moves his feet and stays in front of his man. I could see you saying it’s a wash, but I don’t think Livingston is clearly better. When Livingston is on the floor, he provides no shooting and his man can sag off of him to help. If I’m David Blatt, I have Kyrie Irving hit the bench early and come back in when Livingston is on the floor and try to maximize the amount of time Kyrie can play against Livingston so he can hide Irving on defense.
It’s Friday, I’m bored at work, so why not…I’m having a hard time (for lack of a more appropriate word right now) sexualizing Alexandra Daddario, much in the same way I do with Anna Kendrick. Maybe I’m just showing my age (is 32 even THAT old?) or maybe because I have a daughter now, but with these two, while I certainly find them both extremely attractive, they both have a certain…youthful quality to their looks that made me feel like a creep when I went and googled “Alexandra Daddario True Detective.” I was actually shocked to see that AD is 29, and maybe that’s because I can’t remove her from her role in Percy Jackson.
;D
http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2014-05/enhanced/webdr08/12/15/anigif_enhanced-12807-1399923177-1.gif
The sexualizing of Emma Watson (a.k.a. Hermoine Granger of Harry Potter fame) weirds me out in the same way.
Man, Harv, you’re just never gonna forgive JR for that, are you?
But I agree with the rest of what you said. I actually don’t think the Cavs necessarily matchup as well as @Vindictive_Pat:disqus describes, but thankfully we know it’s more than just one-on-one matchups that determine the outcome.
The sexualizing of the Olsen Twins will never not creep me right the heck out
I almost included her in my comment, as she does fall into that same category. However, maybe it’s because we first saw Emma at such a young age and then saw her grow up that makes it somewhat easier. Like I said with Daddario, she is unfortunately frozen in her first role (even though she was 24 at the time, she was playing a teenager). Emma is more like the Olsen twins (pre drugs) – we grew up with them and waited for them to turn 18 (even though I know EVERYONE was counting down the days, still feels creepy to say out loud now).
Ha, I was just bringing them into the conversation. I think the reason it doesn’t creep me out is because they’re like a girl you grew up with – you were friends with them when they were young, but as you both got older, you could appreciate the maturation.
Agreed, it won’t be a game of isolations… just a good place to start if you want to compare teams.
I can totally understand your point (Christine Lakin from Step By Step is a perfect example for me), but the Olsens were essentially babies when I first started watching them. The Harry Potter girls were tweens and younger when I first saw them. It’s just…weird. Technically, Daddario and Kendrick are about the same age difference from me as the Olsens are, but I didn’t see those two as toddlers like the Olsens–they were already in their 20s by the time I first became aware of them. That makes it more reasonable to me, if that makes sense.
Can’t think of a GM who if getting to choose either as their back-up PG would go Delly.
Livingston has been on 10 teams, so many GMs are willing to let him go. In fact, the 2012/2013 Cleveland Cavaliers had Livingston and Dellavedova replaced him on the roster for the following year.
Wow, Al grew up!
Right?? The years have been very kind.
Very. Completely forgot about her/that show. Not that she has been in anything I have seen, but I definitely wouldn’t have recognized her.
It won’t happen, but I still hold out hope that the WC 2022 decision will be nullified and the U.S. will get to host. Everything about the Qatar host situation makes me genuinely angry.
not a forgiveness thing, an issue of not forgetting what he does (way more than once). I’m all about viewing my teams’ players as objectively as I can.Love what J.R brings, and almost every game I see some individual basketball skill that makes me realize why he was a high first rounder a decade ago. But as a (very very rough) comparison, Randy Moss was a non-distraction only with the Patriots, surrounded by a suffocatingly selfless vibe. I think that’s what’s suffocating J.R. now, but best keep the pillow pressed against his head or the demons will leap out. J.R. is not a kid, he’s J.R. The selfless veterans, the league’s alpha ,the winning are J.R.’s ritalin, but you stiil lhave to watch him.
She’s actually shown up at random in a bunch of stuff over the years, the most extensive being Melissa & Joey (Melissa Joan Hart, another whom the years have treated well. But, Alabama fan, so…). Or, you know, so I’ve heard.
Movement is not quite a fair a barometer of how he’s valued. A lot of his movement has been related to his serious injury, rehabs, and minute limits, and his attempts to try and get as much guaranteed money before his career is over. He’s been almost a boutique player, but his fit with GS is great. His skills are always sought after, but being a highly paid back up in a hard cap sport almost guarantees movement if you’re lucky enough to stretch your career more than a decade.
you guys have issues.
Agree with your thoughts on Delly/Livingston, but Livingston hasn’t been playing to his potential. However, he has that size, and for me, that’s the difference-maker.
I’m willing to call Bogut/Mozgov a wash because Mozgov is better at what he’s being paid to do: play defense.
did anyone hear the D-Wade to Cleveland rumors? Just heard some talk this morning. Would anyone even want him on this team?
there’s movement, then there’s 10 teams in 10 years.
yes, on the positive side, he has been good enough to stick in the league for 10 years. not many can especially considering the injuries that he has endured.
but, his skillset is obviously considered completely replaceable otherwise he would have lasted more than a season in at least one team other than the one that drafted him 4th overall.
and, over the course of the season, Livingston was definitely more valuable. however, in the new defensive identity Cavs postseason, Delly has been just as valuable.
I think it would be best for FIFA, WC, and the USA if Qatar was not the host in 2022, but it did not go to the USA.
I suppose…for Mike Miller money, maybe.
Not the 16.1 million he’s getting ready to turn down.
If it means the competition moves back to summer where it belongs, then that is perfectly acceptable to me.
Not for DWade money for his 35-40 regular season game cameo. But if he wants to take a pay cut and knows his role? I wouldn’t hate it. But I draw the line at Chris Bosh. He needs to stay in Miami. Or go back to Isla Nubar.
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/mtbu.gif
I’d rather have Bosh then Wade heck I’d rather have Aldridge instead of all of them including Kevin Love.
If Love bails, LaMarcus would like to have us, too. 😉
I said it after the Bulls series but the injury to Love might have been a blessing in disguise. I absolutely agree with TT and Mozzy the Cavs frontcourt has become a defensive force. And as well all know Love was a defensive liability.
i want nothing to do with Dwayne Wade. I’d rather have shumpert, JR Smith, and Dellevadova getting those minutes
I don’t believe Love bails because not only would he look bad but he can exercise the last year and make more $$$ with the ECF champions then anyone else. After next year is the new TV deal and the time for guys to cash in not this summer.
Bogut is purely one dimensional these days setting picks and playing defense. Mozgov actually has more to his game like a nice 10-12 foot jumper there just hasn’t been much need for it.
Speaking of which I can’t wait for the new True Detective!
Add in a healthy Andy to that…yeah. 🙂
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/29/report-kevin-love-going-to-look-around-this-summer-as-free-agent-celtics-lakers-rockets-possible/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs
Not asking you to forget, maybe just not inject it into every JR-related comment 🙂 I agree everyone needs to do their best to keep the stick far away from the bear, or the foot away from the dozing dog, or whatever metaphor you prefer. I’m just choosing to focus more on the NBA Jam flames and less on the lone mistake he made, especially seeing as the flames have helped keep us in the playoffs whereas the mistake (thankfully) did not get us knocked out.
http://th05.deviantart.net/fs70/200H/i/2011/042/3/0/guilty_by_platypusluver-d39bl2p.png
ok, you’re right, it’s obnoxious. I’ll try to stop. But only until the next incident. (Made it two seconds! baby steps …)
Not obnoxious, I think I just am relating to JR right now. I made a stupid mistake with my wife a few weeks back (probably not the first mistake I’ve made in our marriage, but the first egregious one) and she is dangling it over my head, ready to whip it out anytime she needs some leverage.
I think it’s likely that we will never see another US world cup because of this.
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