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00:01Darius Garland had 40 points last night?
00:03No, the other night.
00:04He was awesome.
00:05He had 11 assists, 8 threes.
00:07For a second I go, I thought he was great the other night.
00:09I didn't see.
00:09This is the time of the year where the NBA gets totally buried.
00:12Okay.
00:13Because of the tournament.
00:15So even the NBA fans are watching the tournament too.
00:18So you play these games against, you know, they played against Dallas.
00:21Now, we have found out the hard way you can't take Dallas.
00:24Can't take them for granted.
00:25But they, I mean, Darius is shooting the best he's ever shot in his career.
00:31He's shooting like 50% from three since he's been traded.
00:35Isn't it okay if the trade is a win-win?
00:39Is it not okay if both teams get what they needed out of it?
00:43Darius Garland is a young player.
00:45Now, I worry about his future as far as his health.
00:48I think he's, from everything that anybody says.
00:50I worry about his present because of his health.
00:52Well, everybody says that he's going to struggle with this injury, this toe injury, for the rest of his career.
00:57All right.
00:57If he's struggling with the toe injury the rest of the career, I don't want to root against him for
01:01having 40-point games.
01:02I don't want to root against him for having good games.
01:03I have to focus on what the Cavs did and the trade that the Cavs did.
01:06Because you've pushed your limit that much further when you traded for a 36-year-old basketball player in James
01:12Harden.
01:12Now, James Harden seems to be more rugged, more dependable when it comes to actually playing the game.
01:17He's played in a vast majority of basketball games that people don't realize.
01:20But he's also the better overall player.
01:23Darius can grow into a good player.
01:24It's almost the same argument that we had on Friday when it came to Evan Mobley and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
01:29But it's okay for it to be a win-win.
01:32If this all works out, I have no ill will towards Darius Garland.
01:35It just wasn't working out.
01:37And they were actually able to get somebody who can help them win a championship as soon as possible,
01:42where I didn't think that Darius was that guy.
01:44Now, that's not to say that Darius can't be that guy four years from now for somebody.
01:48But here, it just didn't seem to be the place where it was working.
01:51But I'm fine with it being a win-win if it can become that way.
01:55Well, look, this is all going to be judged on whether the Cavs get out of the second round.
02:00And it was my opinion.
02:04It was growing to be a larger opinion because of the Garland injury.
02:08Remember, it was the other foot that he had a toe.
02:10And then the previous one started flaring up again.
02:13And it's like, oh, both feet are screwed.
02:15Well, now he's playing unbelievably well.
02:17And it's like, well, wait a second.
02:19Did the Cavs just trade somebody who's actually fully healthy and was going to be healthy?
02:24We would have still missed him for a couple of weeks.
02:27But now he's like flying up and down the court and bouncing around and playing his best basketball of the
02:33year.
02:33He's only had six 40-point games in his career, and he just had one of them.
02:37He had his best game of the year as a Clipper.
02:39However, I do think as unpopular, remember, there were a bunch of people that did not like that trade.
02:44He was a fan favorite.
02:45He's somebody they have been able to see since the moment he was drafted that trading for James Harden was
02:52going to be a tough ask for some people to be okay with.
02:55I was okay with it because James Harden's a better player.
02:58Despite what Garland's playing some of the best basketball of his career right now, Harden's better.
03:03Like, he's still an upgrade over Garland.
03:05I know there are people who will argue that with me.
03:07I think the Cavs can have a chance to go far in this playoffs, at least to the Eastern Conference
03:11Finals.
03:12And I did not see that happening at all with Darius Harden.
03:16Now, it could be a difference in how this team is going to be built in the future, talking about
03:20the Clippers.
03:21But I don't think a lot of people are going to be paying attention to that.
03:23If anything, maybe it puts a little bit more on Donovan Mitchell because you can see that Donovan Mitchell is
03:28the driving force behind a lot of this stuff.
03:30While he doesn't want to say it, and I wouldn't want to say it either publicly,
03:33I would feel that, yeah, there has to be complementary basketball players to him.
03:37I don't know how complementary Darius Garland's going to be if they're able to accomplish trying to win a championship
03:42this year.
03:43So I'm not trying to make people out to be nastier than what they might be, but this is the
03:48case.
03:48What I'm nervous about, beyond a Darius versus James Harden comparison, what I'm worried about is James Harden's been the
03:56best Cavalier,
03:56and it's kind of been by a mile since they traded for him.
03:59Yes.
04:00That was not supposed to be part of the calculus.
04:02It was not supposed to be, because James Harden is your best player, is going to have some big-time
04:07limitations.
04:08Why is it right now that James Harden has been clearly better than Donovan Mitchell?
04:14Is it because of the injuries, or is that just an excuse?
04:16Well, but either way, it's a reality, and it makes me nervous.
04:19Well, I mean, when you're playing with an 11-time All-Star, I mean, we can call it what it
04:22is.
04:22Now, I'm not trying to draw conclusions here.
04:24I know Joey likes to make the videos and make me out to be a bastard about this, but let's
04:27call it what it is.
04:28If you have an 11-time All-Star, former MVP, playing for your basketball team,
04:32at 36 years old, he is starting to come out of his prime, obviously,
04:35but you have Donovan Mitchell, like, you could always say you traded for the player that was always better all
04:40along.
04:41That, I can't think it's going to be figured out here on a Monday morning, a month after the trade
04:46just happened.
04:46But when you get ready for the postseason, that might be something that is a conclusion that people draw,
04:51because everybody that's critical about James Harden throughout his playoff series,
04:55or his series of the past, a lot can be said for Donovan Mitchell,
05:00and how he's accomplished even less in the postseason before.
05:03I don't care about anybody else but the Cavs.
05:05I can't afford to care about anybody else but the Cavs, so if you want to blame me,
05:10you go right on ahead and blame me.
05:11You brought up that Boston lost.
05:14I don't think anybody else cares about anything but the Cleveland Cavaliers right now
05:18because of where they're at injury-wise.
05:20I think that people are watching the Darius Garland stuff that you brought up at 620 this morning,
05:25and you can go back and listen to that, by the way, with a free Odyssey app.
05:28You use the Rewind Function anytime with a free Odyssey app powered by Integrated Restoration,
05:32your local experts in water, fire, and storm disaster restoration.
05:37I want to know how they look, how things are getting better without Jared Allen,
05:42because I started to come to a conclusion last week that, man,
05:46Jared Allen might be the most underrated piece on this Cavs team,
05:49and I'll go further.
05:49He might be the most important piece on this Cavs team
05:51because he clears everything out, and I think he knows what he's capable of
05:55and what he's not capable of.
05:57I think Evan Mobley's been drug around in a thousand different directions,
06:00and I think that he doesn't know what's what at times.
06:02So I think that you have a team right now that has things that they've got to get figured out,
06:08and some of that's natural when you made a trade just over a month ago.
06:11You have a team right now that's got to get some things figured out
06:14before they get to the postseason that other teams don't have to figure out.
06:17I've got to focus on Cavs first before I focus on anybody else.
06:20It is something else to see the reaction when,
06:23and admittedly the Cavs were horrendous for three quarters against the Pelicans,
06:29and Zion Williamson was the best player on the floor,
06:31and we had nobody to guard him, okay?
06:33That was a really bad look,
06:35but does the average Cavs fan know that we have a better record over the last 10
06:39than the Boston Celtics?
06:41Does anybody know that?
06:42No.
06:43Does anybody know that the Boston Celtics had the number two offense all year
06:47until Jason Tatum came back?
06:50And since he's come back, they have the number 16 offense.
06:53Does anybody know that?
06:55So why is it that all I'm hearing is how,
06:59ah, typical Cavs, no shot,
07:04couldn't, you know, Donovan Mitchell couldn't get out of the second round,
07:07not going to do it again this year.
07:08Why is that all I hear?
07:10Is it just because you guys aren't watching the rest of the Eastern Conference?
07:13Yes.
07:13Is that it?
07:14That Detroit, Detroit just lost Cade Cunningham.
07:17We don't know when he's going to be back.
07:18Back on March 8th, when you went to Boston and you lost, that's it.
07:23And that's it, yeah.
07:24That's all there is to it.
07:25So when you lose to Boston,
07:26and it's the last time you got swept by Boston for the year,
07:29like, that's it.
07:30That's how people stand with it.
07:31They're not watching, they heard about Cade Cunningham,
07:33they're not watching Dallas,
07:34or they're not watching Detroit without Cade Cunningham.
07:37You had that loss to Dallas, that bad loss to Dallas.
07:39I think people just got a bad taste in their mouths,
07:41they're upset, and that's what they're paying attention to.
07:43That's all there is.
07:43So, here's how it works, everybody.
07:46All right.
07:46There will be an Eastern Conference playoffs.
07:48These teams will all play each other,
07:50and eventually two teams will be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
07:53Whether or not their fan bases feel good about their teams or not,
07:57but I say that knowing that the Cavs are going to win 50 games again,
08:01this has still been a good year despite never having a normal lineup.
08:05They've trotted out 30 different lineups this year.
08:07They've had how many injuries?
08:09Has it just been 30 or has it been 31 now?
08:11I think it's 31.
08:12We thought it was 31.
08:13No, they'll probably find a new combination for every game the rest of the way.
08:15Wait until tomorrow.
08:16We'll have 40 lineups by the end of the year.
08:19And I know nobody wants to say that's an excuse or justification,
08:23whatever you want to call it,
08:24but eventually there will be two teams in this conference,
08:27whether they're fan bases like them or not,
08:29that will play for a chance to go to the NBA Finals.
08:32And I'm telling you today on March 23rd that the Cavs can absolutely be one of them.
08:37So, whether you guys want to use the past against them,
08:39whether you want to discount James Harden coming to the team
08:43and shooting lights out like he has,
08:45he's had one bad game and he's had basically all good games.
08:49And you have seen a level of passing that nobody has seen in this town since LeBron
08:53and outside of LeBron we've never seen.
08:55Understood.
08:56I'm telling you the Cavs have a great shot to do this.
08:59You should probably start to think about jumping on the bandwagon.
09:02That's all I'll say.
09:04Are you pep talking everybody right now?
09:06I don't know why I have to is where I'm at today.
09:09I think they liked them last year.
09:11We loved them last year.
09:13I loved them last year.
09:14When I say this,
09:15I'm on your side,
09:16but I think there's plenty of people out there that they're going to say,
09:19I'm not going to get fooled again.
09:20You have to prove it.
09:21And I get it.
09:21You mentioned all the other team,
09:22all the other fan bases that don't like their own teams.
09:24Boston fans don't like their team right now.
09:26I think Detroit fans are worried about Cade Cunningham.
09:28And when he's going to come back,
09:29I think they're worried about the Celtics.
09:31Knicks fans,
09:32they don't like anybody and they certainly don't like their own team.
09:34And we're just added to that list.
09:35The only difference between last year and this year is that we liked the Cavs
09:38last year.
09:38Nobody likes the Cavs.
09:39They sure they don't trust the Cavs this year and they're waiting for the
09:41other two to drop.
09:42That's where it is.
09:43They play a big Sunday game.
09:45They lose a big Sunday game.
09:46People get upset with them.
09:48That's the way that this has gone.
09:49It's only up to them to change it.
09:51And because of the line,
09:52I mean,
09:52when you're looking at 30 different lineups,
09:54when you're looking at the injuries,
09:55that's enough.
09:55None of those are reasons to trust that this thing's going to go a long way.
09:59Yeah.
10:00Hey,
10:00look,
10:01am I wrong?
10:01Am I right?
10:01I'm right.
10:02Injuries,
10:02obviously,
10:04could derail any team at any point.
10:06I do know that James Harden is a lot more durable than what Darius Garland was.
10:10And I look,
10:11I said previously that I did not expect James Harden to become the best player on the
10:16Cavs since the trade.
10:17He's been that.
10:18I am very worried.
10:19Donovan Mitchell has completely plummeted his efficiency numbers since February 1st.
10:25It is something that I'm not thrilled about,
10:27but that's why you make a Harden deal.
10:30Harden is somebody who can obviously handle this and say what you want about his game
10:36sevens and memorable collapses in huge series.
10:38I know he's going to be available.
10:40I did not know that Darius was going to be available or not.
10:42So they also,
10:44they,
10:44Keon Ellis is part of the rotation.
10:46Dennis Schroeder's look terrible.
10:47I gotta,
10:47I gotta be honest.
10:48The last few weeks he has looked God awful.
10:51So,
10:52you know,
10:52that's another strike against the Cavs,
10:55but I still think that they are in a fine position to make a run at it.
11:00And while all these other teams and their fan bases are feeling bad about their teams,
11:04I think they got a shot with James Harden here to make a very deep run here in the postseason.
11:07But I think that a lot of those teams are because I don't think anybody's playing really great basketball at
11:12the top of the East.
11:13And whether that's a problem with just starting to come down the line of the season or whatever it is,
11:20they're trying to ramp up.
11:21I mean,
11:21you got like what Atlanta's like,
11:23I think what nine and one over their last 10 or something.
11:25I just saw a little bit ago.
11:27That's like one team that's playing really,
11:29really well over this last month.
11:31Everybody else has been about 500 or struggling or just below.
11:33I don't think there's any fan base out there that really fully trusts their team right now.
11:38And so I just think you get added to that mix over the last how many years it's felt like
11:42it's been Camelot.
11:43This year comes with real expectations.
11:45And I think fans are ready to hold their players' feet to the fire,
11:47unlike we've seen in years past,
11:49but like we've seen with a lot of other franchises and their fan bases here over the last five years.
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