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00:00Oh boy, Cavaliers down one game, nothing in the, I call it the Easter Conference semifinals.
00:08Others might call it round two.
00:10Either way, we can all call it a disastrous James Harden performance.
00:14Hello everybody, I'm Anthony Lima, and I am joined alongside my good buddy and from enemy territory live.
00:21It's Matt Derry, Cleveland native, who has to live among those Detroiters who you could hear it in the open.
00:30Great job putting that together, Owen, as Kenny is out today and for the rest of the week.
00:35What an unfortunate set of circumstances.
00:38The Cavs did get back in it, but Matt, the Cavaliers will have to climb out of a 1-0
00:44deficit,
00:44something they did not experience in the opening round against Toronto.
00:48No, and look, Owen just played the clip.
00:51I mean, Kenny Atkinson is talking about they were the aggressor and everything else.
00:56The Cavs were pathetic last night.
00:57They were awful, and yet somehow found a way to be in the game and tied in the fourth quarter.
01:05Yeah, he's right.
01:06The Pistons' energy level was at a 9.
01:08They were at home.
01:09Cavs played with their food in the first round against Scotty Barnes, R.J. Barrett, and the Beachwood JV team,
01:17and had to go seven games and then travel after that, after winning on Sunday.
01:21So I kind of expect a little bit of a lull in game one.
01:24But again, they were right there for some odd reason.
01:27Thank you, Max Struess and a few others, but not a great performance last night.
01:30And if James Harden can't dribble a basketball, Anthony, and Evan Mobley making $47 million a year,
01:37can't rebound a ball, it's going to be a long series.
01:39It's going to be a short series.
01:40It's going to be a long offseason for this team.
01:43Typically, in situations where you have a tie game with four minutes left, and then a team pulls away,
01:50you run the station pole, you put out, who's responsible for this?
01:54I don't have to do that.
01:55I think 100% of Cavs fans are going to be the first words out of their mouth.
01:59Last night, into the day, it's going to be James Harden.
02:03This was the James Harden effort.
02:05I think people were, including me, even somebody who supported the trade, thought the trade made sense.
02:10We've been over that to death.
02:11Even someone like me, I can't reconcile how you have a guy out there that can't dribble the basketball.
02:19And I have a really, really sobering comparison, I told you, before the show.
02:24He looked to me, for the ball knowers that have been around a while,
02:28he looked to me like Carl Malone against the Detroit Pistons when he was wearing a Laker jersey
02:33when he was 40 years old.
02:35You're going back to 2004?
02:37Yes.
02:37You're going back to 2004?
02:39Yes.
02:39Well, let's prop up the Gary Payton, Carl Malone.
02:42Well, Payton was injured, right?
02:43I think Payton was injured, did get to play.
02:45Either way, it was catastrophic in that series, and this was worse.
02:52I just don't understand it, Tone.
02:54I get it that there's going to be the James Harden bashers are going to be around.
02:59You're going to hear them all, series, no matter what.
03:01Well, they were around.
03:02Matt, real quick.
03:02They've been around in the first series when I thought Harden played fine.
03:05I thought he was deferential.
03:08I thought, yeah, he didn't score as much as I think people thought he would,
03:11but I thought he made up for it in other ways, even defensively and rebounding.
03:15Yeah, he had a lot of those numbers yesterday, too,
03:18but it was such a glaring, obvious deficiency out in front of everybody
03:24because everybody's watching that game,
03:26and he could not get by Duncan Robinson in the second and third quarter,
03:31and Cade Cunningham would just go, yoink, my basketball, and then take it the other way
03:36because those turnovers, James Harden turnovers are never just, all right, let's get back,
03:40retreat, get back on defense, and we'll live to see another day.
03:43It's an instant two almost every time.
03:45No, those are runouts, and Dennis Schroeder came in and kind of spelled Harden for a while
03:50and helped to get the Cavs back in the game, which was great to see,
03:53but you can't really, you've got James Harden here to help you win.
03:59Not that Dennis Schroeder doesn't help you win, but James Harden's here for a reason.
04:02They went out and got him at the deadline for a reason.
04:05He does have a history of scoring the basketball and having some elite success at times,
04:11but there are also some times that you see playoff James Harden where the Harden bashers
04:15and some of the national people will come out and say, what a terrible fit, what a disaster,
04:19but the Cavs couldn't stay.
04:21We're not going through the trade deadline stuff again with Darius Garland.
04:24Bottom line is you have to play better, but the basic stuff, dribbling the ball,
04:28not being able to dribble the ball, and Evan Mobley, I'm sorry, but, you know,
04:33I don't want to play the soft card after one game, but if he has to play the five
04:38because Allen's in foul trouble and it's him and Duren, forget it.
04:43Duren's a man out there, and there's just times that Mobley's out on the perimeter
04:48hitting some threes, but you got to do better.
04:50You got to do better.
04:51Well, we'll get to some of the coaching stuff in this game because Jared Allen was in foul trouble
04:56in the first half.
04:57In the second half, he was in bench trouble from Kenny Atkinson,
05:00and we'll discuss some of the levers that I thought should have, could have been pulled.
05:06Yesterday, Cavs lose 111-101, obviously front and center in the press conference
05:12yesterday.
05:13The media, including Joe Varden, who we had on the show yesterday,
05:17wasted little time trying to address with James Harden the disastrous turnover situation.
05:22These turnovers are something that are correctable?
05:26Yep, a million percent.
05:28What do you think?
05:30Some of them are, you know, like Dan just said, you look within first
05:35and look at my turnovers, and a lot of them were just on me and nothing they did.
05:41So, you know, which led to, you know, I don't even know how many transition points they have,
05:44but it was way too many.
05:45And, I mean, if I had to put my print on one thing on the game, that's the game right
05:49there.
05:49I mean, how many points they had in transition?
05:52How far turnovers?
05:5320-31.
05:54That's the game.
05:55Like, it's nothing else.
05:57Like we talked about last year, you get a shot on glass, even half of that,
06:00and it's a different ballgame.
06:01So, I've got to be better, and I will be better turning the basketball over,
06:04you know, from turning the basketball over and getting shots up,
06:06and then it gives our defense a chance to get back and get set.
06:09I think we did it.
06:10Other than that, we played a pretty solid game.
06:12Yeah, we'll get to whether or not that is correctable, if it is just on James Harden,
06:17but 31-16 was the difference when it came to points off turnovers.
06:21And, look, we know, Matt, the Cavs are never going to be a fast-break team.
06:25This is not going to be the showtime Lakers.
06:28They play at such a slow pace.
06:29In fact, there was one I even tweeted about it last night.
06:33There was a moment where they got out in transition with Donovan Mitchell,
06:36and two of the Pistons were down by the stanchion.
06:41And so you had an edge, and next thing you know,
06:44it's just Donovan Mitchell harmlessly dribbling back out from the baseline
06:47to the three-point line and allowing the Pistons to reset their defense.
06:51And it's just the one thing I do wonder about the Cavs.
06:54They play so slow.
06:55Their pace is so slow.
06:57They look at it as an advantage, the way that they like to play
07:00with their two half-court, you know, ISO stars and Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
07:06And in the playoffs, you know, that is normally a big part of playoff basketball,
07:10especially in the fourth quarter.
07:11You don't get a lot of fast-break moments where you have a quick-change situation
07:16or cross-matches.
07:18But with that said, like, when you have a chance to run,
07:20you've got to be able to get some easy baskets.
07:23Oh, my God.
07:24I get what the 2025, 2026 NBA is and drive and kick, three-pointers.
07:31But that's the one thing I liked about Struis.
07:33We know Struis is out there mostly to shoot.
07:36He was excellent yesterday.
07:37But he was taking it to the basket.
07:38And sometimes you've got to get a two.
07:41When they got back into the game and tied it at 93, it wasn't just all threes.
07:45They were taking it to the basket.
07:47Schroeder took it to the basket.
07:49I know Jalen Duren's tremendous.
07:50And he's a good rim protector.
07:52And those two buckets that he got from Cade Cunningham where that looked like
07:56the regular season Cade and Duren routine kind of were the backbreakers.
08:00But I know Duren's there protecting the rim.
08:02I know Stewart's there at times to muck it up down there.
08:05But take it to the basket.
08:07That's why the free throw disparity is there.
08:09I don't think anybody should call in this morning and tell us, oh, the roofs.
08:14No.
08:14Cavs weren't aggressive.
08:15Cavs settled for a lot of jumpers.
08:18And they didn't fall.
08:19And by the way, the defense at the end of quarters, guys, you still have to guard.
08:25I know there's three or two or three seconds left.
08:27I know you don't want to foul.
08:28You still got to guard.
08:30The Javante Green three.
08:31Watch the two guys around him just stand there.
08:34Ronald Holland.
08:34Ron Holland got one in there as well.
08:37It's so funny.
08:38They're tied.
08:39Four minutes left.
08:39And all I could think about, even before the James Harden turnovers,
08:43because I knew that was going to be the conversation if they lost.
08:46And they did as the Pistons pulled away late in the fourth.
08:50Those things just kept eating at me.
08:52I'm just like, why?
08:54Why?
08:54Two desperation heaves right before they weren't like half quarters they were in.
09:00And that, to your point, like the Cavaliers could have made them a little more uncomfortable.
09:05Yes.
09:05Because these guys today's league, like they can shoot those relatively easy.
09:10I mean, we've seen Donovan Mitchell hoist shots at the end of quarters, you know,
09:14and every year he's been here from all over the place.
09:17So you know these guys are more than capable of doing it.
09:19It's so funny.
09:20Like, the back in my day on this is, I remember guys, Matt, when I was young, it was,
09:25it was, they were throwing it like a baseball.
09:27Now these guys can shoot, like literally from, Dane Lillard can shoot from eight steps behind
09:32half court, like a normal three-point shot.
09:35Yeah.
09:35I mean, this is what Steph Curry has brought to the game.
09:38And for some people, they love it.
09:39And other people think, oh my God, it's just, it's way too many threes and guys chucking
09:44up 40 footers.
09:45But defense at the end of quarters has got to, you got to get back and contest.
09:49They were backbreaking, both of them.
09:51And, you know, on the road, when you know that crowd is going to be amped and Detroit
09:56was feeling it, the way that, you know, the Pistons responded in game seven against the
10:00Magic.
10:00And you knew there would be that carryover.
10:02And I don't know, this is certainly not an excuse because you're not going to be able to
10:06use it as one because you play every other day.
10:09But one thing I kind of overlooked, and I don't know if you thought this had any kind
10:13of an impact, was you're dealing with a bunch of veterans.
10:18You know, Donovan is, has been in the league a long time.
10:22Harden's 37 in his 17th year with all the playoff mileage because he's gone every single
10:27year.
10:27Like Jared Allen's been in the league now a long time.
10:30Like you start to add that stuff up and Detroit look to be fresher, even though they had just
10:37been taxed at a game seven.
10:39No, I don't disagree, but this all comes back to, I just, last night, some of it is on the
10:48game six collapse in Toronto.
10:50It just is.
10:51That series should have been over.
10:52And then you would have had some more time to rest.
10:55That's a quick turnaround playing Sunday night and coming back and having to travel.
10:59I know it's a quick trip to Cleveland, to Detroit.
11:01It's not far.
11:02It's two and a half hour drive downtown to downtown, but.
11:04Well, we had one of our guests cancel on us because of the, uh, the transportation issues.
11:08So apparently it was planes and automobiles to get to Detroit, Chris Fedor, who, who knew
11:13the turnpike was that, uh, that much of a bitch, but, uh, the bottom line is, uh, they
11:19just didn't play well.
11:20Look, it's one game.
11:21This series is not over for his again, a tone for as bad as they played and they were not
11:26good.
11:27They were tied at 93 in the fourth quarter.
11:30That's, that's the thing you got to think about.
11:32Harden was brutal.
11:33Mobley was not good.
11:35Jared Allen wasn't even there.
11:36I don't even remember any of the minutes he played.
11:38It was meaningless.
11:40I mean, Donovan Mitchell was not the Donovan Mitchell.
11:41Allen ended up with 18 minutes in the game.
11:44So like coach kept him on the bench.
11:46I get it.
11:46Preemptive foul trouble, all that in the first half, second half.
11:49That's just a coach's option.
11:51I was surprised at the amount of minutes Thomas Bryant was getting in the fourth quarter
11:54and no, no knock on TB, uh, IU Hoosier legend, but, uh, get Jared Allen back out there.
12:01ASA.
12:02I mean, you're right.
12:03There's three, there are three losses away from the season being over.
12:06So I think, I think your best guys out there.
12:08Yeah.
12:08And I, and I want to get to this because Donovan Mitchell played 35 minutes and that was one
12:12of the numbers I circled in my notes last night.
12:15I tweeted about it.
12:16I'm just so used to guys that are considered superstars in this league going 40 in playoff
12:23games.
12:23And I know that Donovan has been somebody who has, has been on fumes at the end of these
12:30playoff series and has had to put teams on his shoulder.
12:33The whole point of this team is you're supposed to be a more complete basketball team.
12:37You have guys that are supposed to take the pressure off of him and to have your superstar
12:42play 35 minutes in a game that was tied late in the fourth quarter.
12:47I think Kenny's got to answer for that.
12:49A little bit.
12:50Yeah.
12:51No, I, I think, I think now that you're down 0, 0, 1 and you've got, you don't have to
12:56get game two.
12:57I mean, it would be nice.
12:59The Mitchell said it all over the weekend and yesterday and on Monday, let's win.
13:04Let's get what you got to get one in clean and Detroit.
13:06We got to get one in Detroit.
13:08All right.
13:08Well, you didn't get the first one.
13:09Now you get the, now you have to get the second one.
13:12Um, he is a max player, a superstar.
13:14Like you said, he's the best player on the team and you're right.
13:1835 minutes.
13:19Well, it was tied for the most on the team with Mobley and Harden.
13:22So you can't go too far with that, but all of them need to just play better.
13:26And, but he's got to, there's got to be some sort of Superman game at some point in this
13:31series from Donovan Mitchell.
13:33And if it comes in game two, that'd be great because other than Struce and Schroeder, I
13:37thought gave them good minutes, but the rest of the guys come off the bench.
13:40Obviously Merrill got hurt.
13:42Tyson didn't score.
13:44Uh, I thought his defense on Cade.
13:46And I think you pointed this out last night on social media was pretty good.
13:49Um, but Detroit, you also got to give them some credit.
13:53Jenkins off the bench was murdered the Cavs last night.
13:56He played great and I guess he kind of, you know, he and Struce kind of cancel each other
14:03out a little bit, I guess, if you want to say it that way, but your superstars have to
14:06be that way.
14:06Cade Cunningham didn't even play a great game yet still put up pretty damn good numbers.
14:11And Dern was, Dern was a beast.
14:12He just was.
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