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00:00Can James Harden save the Cavs?
00:02Well, Danny Cunningham joins us right now.
00:03He's the host on Locked on Cavs, as well as from Cleveland Magazine,
00:07the inside shot on Substack, as well as 92.3, the fan.
00:10Hello, Danny.
00:12James Harden, the Cavaliers, the defense, there's good things,
00:16there's bad things, there's a problem.
00:17Let's start with the defense.
00:18How concerning is the defense going into the postseason?
00:21Kenny Atkinson seems to be at one of the DEFCON levels right now.
00:26I think it's a little bit more than mildly concerning
00:29because the Cavs right now are not playing anything
00:32that resembles championship-level defense.
00:35But I will say it's the month of March,
00:37and sometimes these things happen throughout the month of March
00:40when a team can see the postseason on the horizon
00:43and maybe doesn't want to put in the required effort
00:45on that end of the floor on a nightly basis.
00:48But the thing with the Cavs is we've not seen this group together
00:52really ever do that because they're brand new.
00:55And I think that adds a little bit more urgency
00:57because we don't know what they can be defensively at their best,
01:01and we don't know if their defensive best is good enough
01:04to be a championship-caliber team.
01:05So I think that there should be more urgency from them
01:09than what we've seen so far.
01:11We know they can be the best offense in basketball, really,
01:15by just rolling the balls out every night
01:17and seeing how they can play
01:18because they're that talented on that end of the floor.
01:21But defensively, Kenny Atkinson's right.
01:23The effort has not been good enough lately.
01:25If they play defense like this in the postseason,
01:28can they win a series depending on who the right opponent is
01:32in the first round?
01:32Sure.
01:33But they're not going anywhere of consequence,
01:35and I think everybody inside that organization knows that.
01:39And that's why I think he was so ticked off last night
01:41because that was an opportunity against a team
01:44on the second night of a back-to-back.
01:46And, you know, sure, they were motivated after being embarrassed
01:49by the Indiana Pacers the night before,
01:51but that was an inexcusable defensive effort.
01:53And they just said, hey, we can outscore you.
01:54It doesn't matter.
01:56And to their credit, they did,
01:57but that's a little bit of fool's gold.
01:59You know, part of it is, I got to say, Danny,
02:02after all the fallout of, you know, the last few years
02:07and losing where they do in the playoffs
02:09and then the injuries they had last year,
02:11it would not surprise me to see a team full of a lot of veterans
02:15not put forth the most amount of effort
02:17when we're all telling them the only thing we care about
02:20is the postseason, get healthy to the postseason.
02:23You know, Jared Allen is someone now all of a sudden
02:25has missed nine games.
02:27I imagine he'll be ready for the playoffs
02:29given knee tendinitis doesn't normally knock you out for two months.
02:33So we have to also not be hypocritical.
02:36We can't tell these guys to go balls to the walls
02:39and then get mad if anybody gets injured getting to the finish
02:42when I don't even want them to improve their seeding.
02:44I want them to be the four seed right now.
02:48I think that's all totally fair,
02:49but I also think it's one thing to expect this team
02:54to flip the switch when they've been there and done that, right?
02:57And this team has never won more than a game
02:59in the second round together.
03:01So I think both of those things are true.
03:03Like, yes, we expect this team to be better in the postseason
03:06and they're going to be judged on what they do primarily
03:09during the month of May.
03:12This May is, I think, one of the biggest months in franchise history
03:16without LeBron on the roster.
03:19So I do think that's all well and fair,
03:22but we've not seen this team again, as they're presently constructed,
03:26do the thing that they need to be able to do
03:28in order to succeed in the month of May.
03:30And I think that everybody would just feel a little bit more reassured
03:33if they could show some glimpses here over these next few games
03:37before the month of April.
03:38And then you start to worry about seeding then.
03:40And I do think that they are in a good spot seeding-wise.
03:44And, you know, I think that if you're a Cavs fan,
03:47you should be pretty happy the New York Knicks got a win last night
03:50over the New Orleans Pelicans.
03:51And I think you should be very happy with where the Cavs are at
03:54in the standings right now because I do think it's setting up
03:57very advantageously for them when the postseason does arrive.
04:01But, again, they need to show that they can do it
04:03on the defensive end of the floor.
04:05And it'd be one thing if they hadn't had more postseason success
04:09to just dismiss this as, you know, it's March.
04:13We know they can do it in the postseason because we don't know
04:15that this team that's presently constructed can be good enough defensively.
04:19So, Danny, what have you noticed defensively?
04:23It'd be one thing if, like, James Harden was replacing a dominant defensive stalwart.
04:29That's not happening.
04:30He's replaced Darius Garland, and I actually think there's still going to be blow-bys.
04:36It's James Harden, but I think he's done a much better job
04:38containing some of the bigger players.
04:40So, what have you seen defensively that is different from last year?
04:44I think there are more miscommunications right now.
04:48And you have to remember about last year.
04:50Yeah, they added DeAndre Hunter, but there was a lot of continuity on that team.
04:54And that was a big reason why that team got off to such a good start is
04:58they didn't change the roster really at all from what the team was the year before
05:03to who they were for the vast majority of last year.
05:06So, I think that they came in with a level of defensive continuity
05:09and a communication standard that had already been set.
05:12And I think that was some of the new pieces because it's not just Keanu Ellis.
05:16It's not just Dennis Schroeder.
05:17It's not just James Harden that's new here.
05:20A lot of this roster is different than what it was the year before.
05:24So, in some senses, considering that they've not all been healthy at the same time,
05:29I think their communication is not where it needs to be.
05:32And I think that guys are going over to double at the wrong time.
05:36Like, Donovan Mitchell set himself as an example last night.
05:40I can think of the play immediately.
05:41It didn't end up hurting them because Desmond Bain missed a wide-open free
05:45from the right wing.
05:46But he goes to double Paolo Bencaro in a completely unnecessary situation.
05:50And it leads to Orlando getting a wide-open free.
05:53Now, Desmond Bain's a good shooter, and he missed that shot
05:55because sometimes guys miss shots.
05:58But you can't count on that being the case.
06:00So, I think a lot of it's communication.
06:02Some of it is they're not good enough right now at the point of attack
06:04on the defensive end of the floor.
06:06And two, another big part of it is Jared Allen being out.
06:10And you don't want to make the personnel excuse
06:11because they still have Evan Mobley.
06:13They've got Kian Ellis, Dean Wade.
06:15I think Sam has become a pretty solid defender, too.
06:19But without Jared Allen on the floor, it really changes the way they can use Evan.
06:24Like, if the Cavs have Jared last night, I think Evan spends a lot more time
06:28defending Paolo Bencaro.
06:29And I think Paolo Bencaro has a far less successful game
06:32when Evan Mobley is defending him than when somebody like Max Struis
06:36or Sam Merrill is spending a lot of time defending him.
06:38So, I do think that's part of it, that their defensive player of the year
06:41is not in the same role that he was in.
06:44Because without Jared Allen at the rim, you need Evan Mobley at the rim.
06:47And if you have Evan Mobley at the rim, Evan can't do the thing that he does best,
06:50which is really cause chaos in a lot of different areas defensively.
06:54Danny Cunningham, Locked on Cavs, joining us on the show.
06:57Jared Allen, when's he coming back?
06:59I would expect that Jared, I would be surprised if he plays tonight.
07:04But I would expect that sometime within the next three games after tonight,
07:08Jared's back on the floor for the Cavs.
07:09I do think he's close.
07:11Kenny Atkinson said yesterday that he's ramping up, that he's doing contact,
07:14that, you know, that type of thing is being done with him behind closed doors.
07:18And I think the Cavs miss him, and I think that there'll be a better team
07:22when he's back on the floor, on both ends of the floor,
07:24even though they've still been a juggernaut offensively.
07:27Should this stretch without him prove to fans just how important he is to this ball club?
07:33I think it should go a long way as far as doing that.
07:36But again, and getting back to the earlier point, it's all going to be about the postseason.
07:40He needs to show up in the playoffs.
07:42And to his credit, I think that he has done that better past two postseasons
07:48than he did his first playoffs run in Cleveland when he gave the infamous,
07:52the lights were too bright comment.
07:54I think he, like, before he got hurt against Orlando a couple years ago,
07:58he was awesome.
07:59I think that he was far from the issue last year against the Indiana Pacers.
08:04So I do think that he's shown how important he is.
08:07And even you saw how good he was when James Harden arrived.
08:11And truthfully, he started playing at that level a little bit before James Harden got here.
08:15So I do think that the Cavs have, like, it's been a big deal that he's been out
08:18for the past nine games now at this point.
08:21Danny Cunningham with us.
08:23All right, we got to give it up to Derry Scarlin.
08:25He's shooting the ball the best he ever has in his career.
08:28He has a hop to his step.
08:30You wouldn't even know that it wasn't just one toe that he was dealing with.
08:34It was another toe on another foot.
08:36And yet he's been playing spectacularly.
08:38I think there's seven and three in the games he's played.
08:41The Cavs are 13 and four in the games James Harden has played.
08:44Is this a win-win for both teams?
08:45Is there such a thing?
08:48I think there one is absolutely such a thing.
08:51And I think so far it has been.
08:52I think the Clippers are pretty happy that they were able to get younger,
08:56that they were able to get a dynamic offensive player the way that Darius Garland is.
09:00And I think that their goals right now are much different than the goals of the Cavs.
09:04And I think that is something that's worth remembering when you're having these conversations.
09:09Like, I believe Kawhi Leonard was asked about this team being competitive.
09:13And this was a couple of weeks ago.
09:15He's like, you know, the season is kind of over.
09:18Like, they're not going on a run.
09:19They're going to be in the play-in.
09:20And I would expect them to probably get through the play-in.
09:24But that's not a team that's beating Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
09:28And the same was true when James Harden was there.
09:31So, like, their future looks brighter than it did a few months ago because Darius Garland is 26
09:38and should be entering the prime of his career.
09:40And the immediate future of the Cavs looks brighter right now with James Harden than it did with Darius Garland.
09:46I think if you ask both teams, if you ask the executives in L.A., if you ask the executives
09:52in Cleveland,
09:52I think both teams right now would say, yeah, we would do that trade again.
09:55Like, they have no regrets for that deal being made.
09:58And I think it's worked out well for everybody involved thus far.
10:01Then Danny Cunningham joining us on the show.
10:03Then are fans just not wanting expectations for their basketball team?
10:07Because, I don't know, maybe I'm just banging the drum for all the negatives to come out, man.
10:12But you talk about this team and it's just, well, they're not going anywhere.
10:15Who cares?
10:16Can he stop talking?
10:17I mean, I was getting people telling me to stop talking about him yesterday.
10:19He taught more Browns.
10:20Swear to God on my kids.
10:23It's like, what?
10:25I think the expectations can be scary for people.
10:30I really do.
10:32And I think that the Cavs have been labeled soft a little bit unfairly.
10:37Like, I don't think they lost last year because they're soft.
10:40And I don't think that the physicality thing has necessarily always been the most fair thing to throw on.
10:46Like, did the Pacers win because they were the more physical team?
10:49No, they won because the Cavs shot like 29% from three-point range in that series.
10:54And the Pacers were awesome, right?
10:56Did the Cavs lose to the Boston Celtics two years ago because they weren't physical enough?
11:00No.
11:01They lost because the Boston Celtics were the best team in basketball.
11:05So, I think that fans want to, obviously, they want to see the Cavs win.
11:10But because of the way this regular season has gone and because of the way the previous postseason has gone,
11:16I think there's a little bit of fear that it's not going to go well.
11:19And I think if you protect yourself by telling yourself, oh, it's not going to go well, you're far less
11:24disappointed at the end.
11:25I think that the Cavs are set up this year to go on a deeper run in the postseason than
11:30they've been on in this era.
11:32Does that mean they get to the finals?
11:33I don't know.
11:34Does that mean they get to the conference finals?
11:36They're going to be favored to do so as long as they avoid the Boston Celtics in the first round
11:41or in the second round, excuse me.
11:43And it very much looks like that's going to be the case so far.
11:46So, I think part of it, and, you know, I don't want to speak for all fans here, but I
11:50think part of it is just trying to protect your own feelings a little bit.
11:55Danny, I have been staring at the standings the last three days.
12:00And I've heard some others say, well, if it's just Detroit that you beat in the second round with the
12:06Cade injury, it's not nearly as big of an accomplishment.
12:09I'm like, I don't care.
12:12Do you think that they need to do some tanking coming up to make sure that they can avoid Boston
12:19to the Knicks in the second round?
12:23I'm not sure that tanking is required, but I do think at a certain point that should become part of
12:30the conversation internally for the Cavs.
12:33And they're never going to go out there and say externally, you know, we want to see Detroit in the
12:36second round.
12:37Like, those things are not going to happen.
12:38They have me to say it for them, Danny.
12:40I'm here to say it.
12:41They have you to be the mouthpiece.
12:42You're right.
12:43They have you to be their mouthpiece, which is a really good thing.
12:46And it's always valuable when you have a guy like Anthony Lima in your corner as an organizational.
12:53But I think that the goal should be the finishing fourth.
12:57I think that that is the most advantageous path forward.
13:00And I don't think the Celtics are some unbeatable juggernaut.
13:04I really don't.
13:05And I think that the Cavs actually match up relatively well with the Knicks.
13:09I know they've been playing well lately, and that was a nice one they got over New Orleans last night.
13:13But I don't think that there is a team in the Eastern Conference that's unbeatable.
13:18And to be fair here, we don't know what this Celtics team is going to look like in the postseason.
13:22We don't know what Jason Tatum is going to look like when the intensity ramps up.
13:26And truthfully, he's not played all that well.
13:29Like, his shooting splits are really bad.
13:30And the Celtics are, I think, 16th in offense since he's returned from that Achilles injury.
13:36And give him a ton of credit for coming back as quick as he did.
13:38But he not looks like Jason Tatum.
13:41And I don't think anybody should have expected him to look like Jason Tatum.
13:44So I don't think that there's a team in the Eastern Conference that is this unbeatable juggernaut that the Cavs
13:49need to avoid.
13:51But, I mean, the fact of the matter is the easiest way to get to the postseason is by playing
13:56whoever finishes fifth,
13:57which could be, like, the difference between a team that finishes fifth and eighth in the Eastern Conference is so
14:03negligible right now.
14:04And then the Pistons are the team the Cavs match up the best with in the second round.
14:08So I think that if you look at it that way, I don't know that you're going to need to
14:12tank because I don't know that you would catch New York anyways.
14:15You're kind of running out of time.
14:16But fourth place would be the best place for the Cavs to finish to.
14:20Danny Cunningham, Locked on Cavs podcast.
14:24He's also on 92.3 The Fan.
14:26He's also on the Inside Shot on Substack.
14:28He's also in Cleveland Magazine.
14:30Danny, thank you for the time.
14:33You got it, guys.
14:34Thanks for having me.
14:34Danny Cunningham on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
14:37Does that bother some people when he says the goal should be to finish fourth?
14:41I think people are going to think that they are playing with their food a little bit if they start
14:45jockeying for position in the wrong way.
14:47All right.
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