- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Well, let's ask Danny Cunningham. He joins us right now. He's the host of Locked On Cavs,
00:05Inside Shot on Substack, Cleveland Magazine, 92.3 The Fan. He was with me last week.
00:12He's all over the place in Cleveland. Hello, Danny.
00:16Good morning, Ken. How are you?
00:18Danny, I'm doing well. The Cavs did well last night. They won.
00:22They were able to hold off Chicago. It was a James Harden night. Donovan had the night off.
00:26We'll get into all the injuries and weirdness and worries about that in a moment.
00:30But, you know, Evan Mobley has been the center of attention.
00:34And we asked Fanna about it earlier. He says they do have a bit of an Evan Mobley problem.
00:38Do you think the Cavs have an Evan Mobley problem?
00:42I think the problem with Evan Mobley right now is that he's not making free throws.
00:45Because I think other than that, he's been fantastic.
00:49With Jared Allen out over these seven games, Evan's averaging, I believe it's like 23 and 10 and a half
00:55right now.
00:56Or 11. And if he were shooting free throws at a respectable rate, he'd be scoring 25 points a night
01:02during that stretch.
01:02So I think the problem with him is that he's missing these free throws.
01:06He went two of six last night.
01:08A couple of those misses were in crunch time.
01:11Now, granted, that game never should have been in crunch time.
01:13But he was fantastic other than the free throws.
01:17And against Milwaukee on Tuesday night, had 27 points.
01:20And he, I believe, only missed two free throws in that game.
01:23But he's been playing, I think, some of the best basketball he's played with the exception of he needs to
01:29be making his free throws.
01:30Because if he continues to shoot free throws like this, and this has been the worst free throw shooting season
01:36of his career so far.
01:39If he continues to shoot free throws like this, I think it makes you uncomfortable down the stretch of some
01:44playoff games.
01:45And he is somebody that you need to have on the floor because of how good he is on both
01:49ends of it.
01:50But he needs to figure out a way.
01:52He needs to figure out what's going on with this free throw shooting thing.
01:55Because that is holding him back from being even better than he has been.
02:00Jared Allen has gotten a lot of grief over the years.
02:04But are we just finding out right now how valuable he really is to this Cavs team?
02:09I think, yes, to some extent.
02:12But I also think, like, he was playing the best basketball he's ever played.
02:16Like, two things can be true at once.
02:17Like, the Cavs are always better when they're healthy.
02:20And I think that's true of just about every team in basketball, right?
02:23Like, when you have your best players available, you're going to be better.
02:26And then also, like, it's accentuated because before this knee injury for Jared Allen, he was playing, I thought, the
02:32best basketball in his career as well.
02:33Like, pairing him with James Harden, I think, did help to take Jared's game to another level.
02:38I do think this started before Harden arrived here in Cleveland.
02:42But I do think that, you know, Jared is a very, very important player to this team.
02:46Because I do think one of the things that doesn't necessarily get talked about a lot, but on the defensive
02:52end of the floor, he is part of the way the Cavs unlock Evan Mobley.
02:57Evan's a really, really good rim protector.
02:59But that's not the thing he does best.
03:01When he has Jared Allen on the floor alongside him, Evan can cause so much more chaos and make life
03:07so much more difficult for opposing offenses.
03:11And, like, it's not rocket science that they go, yes, the Cavs are better defensively when they have both Jared
03:16and Evan on the floor.
03:17That's not breaking news to anybody.
03:20But I think we've really seen that with the way that Evan plays defensively because he's still a really good
03:25defender without Jared.
03:26But I think that having that rim protector on the floor alongside him allows Evan to do so much more.
03:33And then offensively, like what Jared has done with James Harden, and like I said, even a little bit before
03:38James got to Cleveland, has been really, really impressive.
03:41And having that pick-and-roll partnership while not having Evan and Donovan on the floor I think is a
03:47really big boost for this team.
03:48So they've definitely been worse off without him.
03:51We got Danny Cunningham joining us locked on Cavs.
03:54Yeah, it's been amazing where we've gone through this weird evolution with all these players now, Danny, where, you know,
04:01it's Darius Garland.
04:02This team's better with Darius Garland.
04:03No, they're better without Darius Garland.
04:05Darius Garland's gone, but they got the right player.
04:06And then, like, Jared, you know, I think there were times where some fans, a lot, the majority of fans,
04:12if they were going to mess with the core four,
04:13he was out of here on the first thing smoking, and now it's like, boy, you're really seeing how important
04:18he is to this basketball team
04:19and their chances to get to the Eastern Conference Finals and perhaps the NBA Finals.
04:24Yeah, I mean, as over the past couple of off-seasons, I thought it would have made sense at times
04:29to move on from Jared Allen.
04:31Like, as you look at, you know, everything in the NBA and really, I guess, professional sports as a whole
04:36has some sort of expiration date.
04:39And for the core four, I was always of the opinion that that expiration date is going to be okay.
04:44They're going to trade Jared Allen at some point because that is the easiest thing to do rather than break
04:51up the backcourt with, like, let's face it,
04:53I think of those four guys, Jared Allen is the least talented of them.
04:56I don't think that that's necessarily a discussion.
04:59But now I do think opinion has changed a little bit on Jared.
05:02And I think that part of the reason it changed is when Evan Mobley exited the lineup at the end
05:09of January with that left calf strain,
05:12his second one of the year, Jared then, I think, really took advantage of that situation where you saw his
05:19numbers instantly increase.
05:21They've always bumped up a little bit when Evan has been out of the lineup.
05:24Evan has been, for the most part, a pretty durable player, though.
05:28But I think that you saw Jared really take advantage of that situation.
05:32You remember that 40-point game that he had against the Portland Trailblazers.
05:36That was pre-James Harden getting to town.
05:38That was on February 1st.
05:39James Harden was still on the Clippers at that point.
05:41So I think that we've seen him just take a step up in a way that has made him more
05:45valuable to this team.
05:47And, of course, there are always surprising things in the NBA because if you would have asked me a year
05:52ago,
05:52I would have said if the Cavs trade someone from the core four, it would have been Jared Allen.
05:56And the fact that it was Darius Garland and not him, I think, says a lot.
06:01And I just think it really does speak to the importance of how Jared Allen makes this team better.
06:07Danny, the health of this basketball team has been an issue since the season began.
06:13It seems like they get one guy back, another guy goes out.
06:17How concerned are you with less than 15 games to go that they're not going to get healthy enough in
06:24time
06:24for what is expected to be a deep playoff run?
06:29Very.
06:30I think that is the most concerning thing with this team right now.
06:34Donovan has been beat up.
06:36Obviously, he's dealing with the eye thing last night.
06:39And I saw him here in Chicago prior to the game just, like, passing the hallway.
06:45And that eye does not look good, man.
06:47I can understand his eye.
06:50His what?
06:52His left eye.
06:53Oh.
06:55I thought you were going to call it his eye.
07:00I can't do that the way you can do that, Ken.
07:02I'm sorry.
07:03I can't do that the way you can do that.
07:04I knew exactly where you were going with that, Ken.
07:06When eye guy calls in, oh, man.
07:10Two days in a row with left eye references, though.
07:12Yeah.
07:13Yesterday, it was Lisa left eye.
07:14Yeah.
07:16And we're hoping that the Cavaliers set the rest of the Eastern Conference on fire.
07:22Danny Cunningham, joining us on the show.
07:24Continue with Donovan's eye, eye, eye.
07:27It's obviously an issue right now.
07:29And to Jalen Tyson last night, who was in the starting lineup for the first time in a couple of
07:36weeks.
07:36I believe the last time he started prior to last night was the game against Detroit at home, in which
07:41they won.
07:42And Jalen has been a much, much better player when he's been in the starting lineup since these trades were
07:47made.
07:47Then when he's coming off the bench, I think figuring out Tyson's role needs to be of the utmost importance.
07:52And he's back in the starting lineup, has 18 points, 8 of 14 shooting, has 11 rebounds, just the best
07:59game that he's played in a month at this point.
08:02And he hurts his toe.
08:03He can't finish the game.
08:04Like, that's why he was not part of the closing lineup.
08:06So, Darrell, you're right.
08:08Like, it does seem like they get one guy back.
08:10Obviously, Max Struess came back and has had, I think, he did not play well last night, but I thought
08:15his first two games were impactful, if nothing else.
08:17So, they need to figure out a way to get healthy, because I think there's a very real chance that
08:23we go through this entire 82-game regular season and do not see the Cavs at full strength for a
08:28single game.
08:28If this does not end the way we all thought, expected, hope, and more so the Cavaliers as an organization
08:40are expecting here,
08:44the Evan Mobley-Yannis conversation just doesn't seem to be going away.
08:50Your thoughts?
08:54I do think that that conversation could spark back up, but I also think that there needs to be a
09:00little bit of pause with any honest conversation.
09:02And I realize how great this guy is, but I think you need to look at what this year was
09:08and that type of trade, especially with what we've seen from Evan lately, too.
09:13Like, I think this has been a reminder, oh, yeah, this guy's still getting better, and he's still really, really
09:17good, even if he's a player that does have some faults still.
09:22But look at Yannis' injury history.
09:24Like, that is an issue.
09:25The fact that he keeps having these soft tissue injuries pop up.
09:30The fact that he's 31 years old at this point.
09:32Like, when you're on that side of 30 and your body has been through what Yannis' body has been through.
09:36I'm not saying don't do it, but I don't think that it's necessarily a no-brainer of a trade the
09:42way that everybody would like to make it sound.
09:44Because, yes, it's Yannis.
09:46It's a two-time MVP.
09:47It's one of the best players in the world when he's healthy.
09:49But he's probably going to wrap up this year playing 36 games, and he's not a guy that is ever
09:56going to sit out just to sit out.
09:58Like, he's sitting out because he's had significant calf injuries, a significant groin injury, now a knee hyperextension.
10:04Like, that's a lot of stuff, and that stuff wears on you.
10:07I do believe that Yannis' best days are probably behind him.
10:11I don't know, are the rest of Yannis' days in the NBA better than what the rest of Evan's going
10:18to be?
10:18I'm not so sure about that.
10:20Yannis is obviously a better player right now.
10:22But because of the injuries to him, I don't know how much longer that's going to be true.
10:26And that is a risk that you have to weigh if you're the Cavs, if you even think about being
10:30in those conversations.
10:31Danny, what's a real criticism of Kenny Atkinson?
10:35I shy away from it because I think we found a lot of things with J.B. Bickerstaff, which was
10:42just normal stuff because we felt that he was on his way out.
10:46I think that the Jalen Tyson role conversation is real criticism of Kenny because they have not figured out a
10:52way to get the most out of him.
10:55And they have fluctuated his role quite a bit.
10:57And I think that's a really, really challenging thing for a guy in his second year in the NBA to
11:02figure out.
11:03Now, I will say that Kenny has been dealt a tough hand this year given the injuries.
11:07Like, it's really challenging as a coach to navigate an 82-game season where, like I said, we might go
11:13through this where the Cavs do not have their full roster available a single time this year.
11:19And that's a really, really difficult thing.
11:21And I will always empathize that because I know how challenging it is, especially when you trade your all-star
11:27point guard for another all-star point guard at the trade deadline.
11:31And you trade the guy that you thought was going to be your long-term starting small forward in DeAndre
11:36Hunter for two other role players at the trade deadline.
11:39Like, those are challenges for him.
11:42But I look at how good Jalen Tyson has been this year, where at times he looks like a guy
11:47that can be a future all-star in the NBA.
11:50And they haven't been able to quite figure out the role for him when they're fully healthy.
11:54And I think that for them to be at their best, I'm not saying Jalen's the most important player they
12:00have.
12:00But for them to be at their best, they need Jalen Tyson to be close to his best.
12:04They need him to be impactful.
12:05And the fact that they haven't been able to get that figured out when he's coming off the bench,
12:09or they haven't figured out should he be in the starting lineup ahead of Dean Wade,
12:12I think that's a fair criticism of Kenny.
12:16All right, Danny, I want to ask you a question.
12:19Well, obviously, we're doing an interview here.
12:21Yeah, I'm glad you're doing that.
12:23Yeah.
12:25Dumb.
12:26Dummy.
12:28Lakers beat the Heat last night.
12:30He took 134-126.
12:35And I can't find the damn thing.
12:37There was something that was brought up on ESPN about LeBron James,
12:40about LeBron at his best when he was with the Heat.
12:45Who got the better version of LeBron James, the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers?
12:50The Cleveland Cavaliers.
12:52Why?
12:53Because of what LeBron did that last year in Cleveland.
12:56I think that was the best year of his career.
12:58I think that was the most impressive year of his career.
13:01I think the first Cav stint got the most athletic version of LeBron.
13:08For whatever reason, across my Twitter timeline recently, there have just been these highlights of what LeBron looked like in
13:152009,
13:16and it is something that I have not seen in the NBA since.
13:19Like, he's just this remarkable athletic freak.
13:21And he was an incredible player in Miami, and he was on some incredible teams.
13:26I would argue the best team he played for was the 2012-2013 version of the Miami Heat.
13:32But then to watch what he did in the 2017-18 season, where I think everybody kind of knew that
13:39that was his last one in Cleveland for that stint,
13:42and that he was going somewhere we didn't know it was going to be the Lakers.
13:45I think everybody kind of knew he was going somewhere else.
13:48And to watch him play in all 82 games and be somebody that, obviously, he did not win the MVP.
13:54I believe that was the year James Harden won the MVP, but he was an MVP-type guy at the
14:01age of, at that point,
14:02I think he was 33 or 34, played in all 82 games.
14:06And then the postseason run that he went on, which I think involves that game one of the finals against
14:12the Golden State Warriors,
14:13in which they lost, he had 50-plus points.
14:16I think that has an argument to be the best game that he ever played.
14:20So I do think that that last year in Cleveland was the best year that he played.
14:25Now, he was fantastic those four years in Miami, and I think that you were seeing a very, very high
14:31athletic version of LeBron
14:34as a guy that had learned how to win for the first time.
14:37But I don't think that the drop-off athletically between that and when he was in Cleveland the second time
14:42is all that much.
14:43And I think that by the end of his stint in Cleveland, he had just mastered the game of basketball
14:48in a way that was so impressive to me.
14:51Danny Cunningham, find him on Twitter, at Real D Cunningham.
14:54He's on everything.
14:56Locked on Cavs.
14:56Subscribe to it.
14:57He's a wonderful man.
14:58Danny, thank you very much for the time.
15:00Thank you for having me, guys.
15:02Danny Cunningham on the Make It Right, Call Call, Call It Right hotline.
Comments