December 5, 2023 • 39 mins
Tim Alcorn previews the upcoming Cavs-Magic games by talking to Jake Chapman, the voice of the Orlando Magic. Campy Russell and the VP of Digital, Brandon Jirousek, also join Tim on the show.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to Calves HQ presented by bet Way.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thank you for joining us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audiovers.
Here are your hosts, Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones from
the Cavaliers production studios at Rocket Mortgage field House here
in downtown Cleveland. High again everybody, and indeed, welcome to
Calves HQ. Tim Elcorn working solo this week again, Jim
(00:34):
Jones stepping away for a short time. Hope to have
Jim back in the near future. Well, we've got a
very very busy show this week. Of course for the Cavaliers,
it's not a busy week. They've got a couple of
days off and then they're back in action on Wednesday
night when the Orlando Magic will be at Rocking Mortgage
field House to take on the Calves. But that doesn't
(00:56):
mean we've got a very busy show ahead. We're going
to talk with Cavalier legend and a guy that certainly
keeps his eyes on the Cavaliers throughout the season in
many different ways, Campy Russell. He'll stop by to pay
us a visit. Of course, with two games against Orlando
here in the next week, we'll check in on the
Magic and their radio play by play guy Jake Chapman.
(01:19):
Jake with some Cleveland roots, so it'll be good to
talk to him. And then Brandon Jerrosick, vice President of
Digital for the Calves. We'll stop on buy some special
offers that'll be out there for Calves fans. We want
you to hear about that, so stay with us. We've
got a lot of ground to cover. We'll start things
off with Campy Russell. He's coming up next on cavs
(01:39):
HQ presented by bet Way, and we'll hear from Campy
after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. Here
Scarland out front, driving on Sasser left to the lane,
box it up and in DG with a quick wup
Mitchell into the lane lock Alan Powell smit with the
(02:00):
throat to the fro Truce to the right wing baseline
jumper Kerfect. Here's Allen out front, hands it off to
Donovan Mitchell. Five on the shot clock. Four on the
clock Mitchell long threes God and that should be the
finishing touches and we welcome you back. keVs HQ presented
by Betway. All along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio verst.
(02:23):
Great to have you with us. Nice little highlight montage
there from our dynamic duo, Senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, Technical
director Marty Allen there on the other side of the window,
those calls from the Calves win on Saturday night up
in Detroit when they knocked off a pretty gritty Piston team.
And so the Calves now twenty games in stand at
(02:46):
eleven and nine on the season. And of course, a
guy who keeps his eyes and hopefully his ears as
well on the Cavaliers now joins US Cavaliers, a legend,
one of the all time greats to suit up in
the wy in gold. Can't be Russell stops by to
pay us a visit on this week's edition of Calves HQ.
Can't be great to have you with us. We appreciate
(03:07):
you spending some time with us.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
ATIM anytime, anytime, man, I'm willing to come on your
show and be a part of what you guys got
going on with the Cavs at any point. I look
forward to our conversation today and just take it from there.
But I'm excited about what's going on with the Cavs.
You know, they're trying to make a I'm going to say,
(03:34):
be consistent is what our starts is off of with.
It's just they're trying to become more consistent on both
sides of the ball.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And just to take the point, well, as you said,
let's start there. It's been choppy through the first twenty games.
I alluded to you earlier eleven and nine. Injuries certainly
have played a part in that because to your word, inconsistency,
that's been the rotation and that's been the lineup. So
how do you get to be a consistent basketball team?
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, I think it comes down to Number one is
being healthy, getting all the bodies out there as you
just spoke about. But number two, I think it's got
to be a total commitment from no matter who steps
out there on the floor that they're going to play
within number one themselves within the system and bring energy
and bring effort and bring determination. I think those are
(04:27):
the elements that you're gonna need, whether you're playing offense
or defense, is to be in that type of up
of mode. But when you have guys coming in and
out of the lineup because of injuries or what have you,
you know, that creates definitely a dilemma for the coach,
and now the coaches get called into a position of
(04:50):
making trying to make adjustments on the fly and doing
you know, basically, what his job is is to continue
to try to make this team the best team it
possibly can be, you know, based upon being healthy as
well as based upon guys not being healthy, and you
got guys in and out of atlantup. You know, that's
just the nature of the game. And I think that's
(05:13):
why Coach Bickerstaff has done a good job and out
standing job for the most part of making those adjustments
and dealing.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
With those adjustments. Camping one of the guys who has
been there night in night out. He's played in all
twenty games. Max Struce. Let's talk about his addition and
his value to this Cavalier basketball team. Over fourteen points
per game, leads the team in three balls with fifty eight,
and that heart and that grit that he plays with.
(05:43):
Just your thoughts on what you've seen from Max.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Strus Well, I think coming into here, in coming to Cleveland,
I thought that all those elements that you just talked
about in terms of his heart, his toughness, his ability
to knock down three, ability to play consistent basketball, and
to just to be one of the guys that's just
going to bring that effort every single night.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
The most surprising thing for me is his ability to
rebound the ball and to go get the ball. You know,
I think that is an element that I wasn't aware
of as related to his game. But he has definitely
shown me that he has a lot of grit. He
has a lot of versatility in his game. He can
(06:28):
play the two positions, he can play the small forward position,
and he can rebound those positions as well as defend
those positions as well. So he definitely has brought one
of another element to this cavialty of basketball team. And
I think for the most part, you know, he has
been pretty consistent in terms of what he does out
(06:49):
there on the floor, But his most consistent being, in
my opinion, is his efforts. His efforts to me is
the most consistent thing that he has shown thus far.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
How does toughness and energy and grip, how does that
rub off on a teammate?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Well, I don't know whether it rubs off on them
or not. I think what it does is if you're
sitting there and you are part of a team and
you want to be a part of that team that
you have to be able to put yourself in the
(07:30):
position that is required. And what I mean by that
is you may not be a tough guy at heart,
but you are sitting there watching and looking at what
it's going to be needed for us to be successful
as a team. So you as a player or me
as a player, have to make those adjustments to understand that, Hey,
(07:54):
when I step on this floor, I have to bring toughness.
I have to bring the determination. I have to bring
this will of not backing down. And it's stuff that
you can work on that you can become. It's just
a matter of whether you're going to put in the
necessary I'm gonna say efforts, and generally it just comes
(08:17):
from just efforts and knowing where everybody is on the floor,
knowing what you're trying to do defensively, knowing what your
schemes are on the defensive side of the ball as
well as an offensive side of the ball. So you
can get there. But it's going to require an effort
from a player, and in some cases for the player
(08:39):
to understand within himself. By nature, I'm not that type
of person, but I have to be able to make
that adjustment if I want to be a part of
this team and bring value to this basketball.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Team, was a great insights. Again. Can't be Russell joining
us on this week's edition of Cavs HQ. It's presented
by Betway. We're not through with Campy. He's going to
stick around and joining us for one more segments. So
you do that as well. We'll be back with Campy
Russell after this. On the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse,
(09:11):
Garland weeds his way into the lane left side Strews three,
got it, Max Struce, He's got four threes. Tonight Garland
comes tord of the lane, floats Banks and scores. There
is Garland with a twenty two point Paul game caps
lead facts five DG still on the dribble, right handed dribble,
one of the circle. We'll shoot in and out time
(09:32):
I'm fit in by Jared Allen as nobody foxed out
Allen Welcome back, Cavs HQ, presented by Betway On the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse. Great to have you with
us and great to have joining us on this week's
edition of Cavs HQ. Is Cavalier legend. Can't be Russell. Well,
you heard some great thoughts from Campy during our first segment.
(09:54):
We continue on with Campy and Jamie. I want to
ask you about DG. He struggled early. When he came
back from that injuries, seemed to find his groove. Just
your overall thoughts on DG as if you watch the
season unfold through these first twenty games.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, you know, it's I think one thing is sure.
There is a lot that it's expected from DG. You know,
as your point guard, as a person that really kind
of dictates the pace, kind of dictates the flow, kind
of dictate the fact that the ball is going to
be moving. I would think, you know, he has in
some regards, you know, suffered early on, you know, particularly
(10:34):
after he got nicked up. What I'm beginning to see
now is he's coming back to being that person that
we know he can be. And I think it's important
for him to get back on track because it influences
and it's helped this team become much better. So the
way he's playing, I know he's going to get back
(10:54):
to being the guy who can take care of the ball. Yes,
he's been going to He's gone to some stretches where
he has not taken care of the ball as well
as he has the ability to do it. But he's
building back and going back into the right direction in
terms of being more effective out than the floor, being
able to get downhill, more being able to keep our
(11:15):
shooters and our bigs engaged into the game and push
the pace. You know, I think Darius clearly knows what
his duties are, and he also knows his own game
in terms of his ability to knock down the three,
get to the mid range, make plays to the bigs,
make spray the ball to our shooters, and just keep
(11:36):
everybody engaged. So he has gone through a small bump
in the road, but I know his heart, I know
his toughness and his abilities. I truly believe that he
will get back on track completely and continue to help
this Cavalry team continue to grow and move in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
KB. We mentioned twenty games in, but there's sixty two
games to go. That's still a lot of basketball to
be played. But you mentioned uneven play and it's been
kind of bumpy. How do you foresee that coming together?
Is it just a comfort level with guys like Strews
and even him and Donovan somewhat still getting used to
(12:17):
one another and playing with one another. Is it just
playing time together on the floor.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Well, you know, I think as we saw last year,
they played well together. You know, there is and Donovan.
You know, they definitely have the ability to play well together.
You know, there's no question in my mind. And to
the fact that we've only played twenty games, and I
know that is in this regard it's almost quarter of
the season. But at this point, I know that those
(12:44):
two guys can play together and they can be the
dynamic duel that they have been since they've come together.
As it relates to the rest of the guys, I
think between Donovan and DG, those guys still have the
ability to keep everybody in game into the game. But overall,
I think thus far it's been about injuries, you know,
(13:05):
because they both have had small knicks, you know, So
it's about just trying to get those two guys back
on the floor at the same time and then creating
that synergy that we know they both have when they're
both out there on the floor.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Again, we're talking with Cavalier legend Campy Russell as he
joins us on this week's edition of Cavs HQ presented
by betweg Camp. And we've talked a couple of times
about this team becoming more consistent when they reach that level.
What do you foresee, what style? What kind of basketball
team will this team become when they start to click
(13:43):
on all eight cylinders?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Well, I think you know, what we have shown in
this last year or two or three is defense. You know,
when we are solid defensively and we limit second chance
points and we limit you know, uh just uh you know,
given one shot and out, and when we are defending
(14:08):
on the perimeter as well as the paint. You know,
we are one of the top teams in the league defensively,
you know, statistically and what have you. So it's I
think that is the starting points for everything that we do.
Is when we are good defensively, teams have a hard
time trying to beat us. And when we are solid defensively,
(14:31):
we can beat a lot of teams because we can
get our offense going off of our defense. So I
think that is the beauty of this basketball team. But
it's all starts from being and remaining healthy and remaining
having that attitude that it starts on the defensive side
of the ball, and it's about us shutting down these paints,
(14:53):
this painted area. It's about us, you know, putting as
many contested uh defensive contests out there as possible and
take advantage of opportunities that we get when we create turnovers.
Is to make sure we get a basket or three
or or just get a basket and just keep the
pressure on defensively, because I believe who we are is
(15:17):
our defense. It's not so much about can we score
a lot of points, you know, because clearly even in
the games we lost, you know, we have scored enough points, right,
but the defense wasn't at that level that we know
it can be. So for me, when our defense get
(15:38):
to where it can be, that is the area where
we're going to show that we are a very good
basketball team and we have the ability to win games
with our defense and captains off with our offense.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
There you go, what great stuff can't be? Russell joining
us this week on CAVS HSQ presented by Betway can
be as all is a pleasure to chat with you. Your
insights are just fabulous. We appreciate you spending some time
with us and look forward to having many more conversations
as this season unfolds.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Jim, thank you very much for allowing me to be
a part of this today and I'll look forward to
doing it in the future. And I would just say this, Caz,
bring the defense. The offense is going to take care
of itself, win games. Thanks Tim, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
All right, thank you, Campy. It's Kaby Russell joining us
on this week's edition of caves HQ, presented by Betway.
We've got a lot more to come, so stay with us.
We'll have more of caves HQ following this on the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Monsters are hosting their annual
Toy Drive for the Season of Giving, delivered by UPS
at all home games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse from November
thirtieth through December fifteenth. Fans can drop off new and
unwrapped toy at all Calves and Monsters home games, or
purchase a gift right from home by visiting calves dot
com slash Toy Drive. Alternatively, toy bins will be located
(17:09):
at every entrance of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for fans to
drop off their new, unrapped toys. All toys will be
distributed throughout agency partners to support underserved children and families
throughout Northeast Ohio. Calves in the Community is brought to
you by Discount Drug March. We'll be back with the
second half of Calves h Q, presented by Beckway. Right
after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse, Paula's.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Gonna try the elbow jumper.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
That's Cat Gaffer's little slow getting out, and that's Pallo
Bank Carol's money spot.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
And now we get to pickoff.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
That's Jalen Sogs and he.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
Is going to free sixty jam at Dowd.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
Go runway with clear Jalen the picks and the jam.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Bronze is gonna try a three ball from Sogs, got
it the goal.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
Fourth quarter Brouz.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Welcome back Calvs HQ, presented by Betway. On the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse, Tim Melcorn with you great montage
of highlights from Jake Chapman, Yes, the radio play by
play voice of the Orlando Magic, who joins us this
week to talk a little magic basketball. And of course
the Cavaliers and the Magic are going to see quite
(18:21):
a bit of each other here in the next few
days Calves and Magic Wednesday Night at Rocket Mortgage field House,
and then the Cavaliers will head south to take on
the Magic in Orlando on Monday night. So we thought
it would be fun to have Jake stop by and
join us here on Cavs HQ. And Jake before we
talk about Magic basketball. You're a Cleveland guy, Cleveland roots,
(18:43):
so it's good to have you on Cleveland airwaves tonight.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I am Tim. Thanks for thinking of me. I am
a Shardon native. I was originally born in Cleveland Heights
and so shah, this is fun. That Montage got me
fired up. I might have to get my hands on that.
I appreciate it. Thanks for taking of me and this
will be fun. How are you doing.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I'm doing well. We'll see if the dynamic duo of
Marty Allen and Kurt McLoughlin can get that MP three
down to you. And as you said, boys, I'm exciting
Orlando Magic Basketball, Magic and Cavs Wednesday night. Each team
twenty games in Magic at fourteen and six. Boy, a
great start for the Magic. Just talk about the first
(19:22):
twenty games and how this thing has unfolded.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
It's been a lot of fun. I think you obviously
heard that in those calls. We've been one of the
best defensive teams in the league team tim and that's
been sort of Jamal Moseley's mission since being here. But
as you know, when you have a young team, it
can be difficult to get over that hump. So very
encouraging the way we started out. We're still missing two
members of our starting five and Markel Foltson Wendell Carter Junior.
(19:48):
Markel's dealing with tendonitis and so that's just one of
those things like we got to get him right and
he's got to feel comfortable with it, and it's going
to probably be a lingering issue all season. Wendell Carter
Junior broke a finger, so he'll be back, you know,
as soon as that bone heals up, and he'll be
back in the starting lineup. But Googa Batase and Anthony
Black went from the third string to the starting lineup
(20:08):
essentially overnight, and both have been great. It's been fourteen
games now that ab has been in the starting lineup.
He's lost three of them, and so he's been able
to boost the defense, but it's really been Jalen Suggs
who is your defensive ace. I mean he's playing, you know,
he's like the rev ed up Marcus Smart at times.
And then Paul ben Carroll and Franz Wagner obviously in
(20:28):
the middle of everything. Both have been very efficient this year,
both right around twenty points a game, and the last
few games we went on nine game winning streak. But
the last few we played Charlotte and then we played
two against Washington, and then we got our gorge blowing
off frankly by the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. It
was three games and four nights, and we kind of
got away from that defensive mentality and identity. We've you know,
(20:49):
won a few games one hundred and thirty to five,
and that's just not the way this team was designed.
So you kind of had a feeling that you were
getting a little too far away from from your core.
And then on Saturday night in Brooklyn, you came out,
you were down twenty one points in the first quarter
and mckel Bridges gave you forty two. So it kind
of all came to a head. But now we get
a couple of days off to rest up a little bit,
(21:11):
and it should be a really good test schedules about
to get pretty tough, but seeing the Cavaliers on Wednesday
and then again on Monday back down here should be
a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Jake, you mentioned that's not how this team is designed,
and I think that's perfect wording for the question I
have for you as far as how this team was
constructed and designed. You could see this season coming as
this roster was built. Just talk about how organically the
Magic have been put together with Jeff Weltman and you
(21:40):
alluded to earlier Jamal Mosley, and how it's now coming
to fruition.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
Yeah, organically, sustainably. These are the buzzwords right that Jeff
Weldman in the front office have been delivering. And it
was almost three years ago now that the prior group
of Nikkucevic, Terrence Ross, Evan Fournier, you had obviously young
Jonathan I like Markel Folt, Aaron Gordon. They blew it up.
You sort of reached the ceiling. Steve Clifford was the
(22:06):
head coach. He's a great head coach, but it was,
you know, basically eight seed play in tournament type ceiling
with that group. One trade deadline day, they traded Aaron
to Denver and they traded Nick Buceevich to Chicago and
that really set all.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Of this up.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
You draft Jalen, Sugs and Franz Wagner, and then you
land the top pick the next year in Paula Bankero.
You hit on all three of those picks. Jalen had
a rocky first two years to his career, but it's
all come together for him so far this year. And
so that's what it is like. You've got two young
large forwards who can get to the bucket basically at
Will and Polo and Franz, and that's that's the core
(22:40):
of this team. And so you know, one night it's
going to be one guy, one night it's going to
be another guy. They have a great chemistry together. But
then you have you know, you started five and twenty
last year partially due to injuries. Markel Foltz and Cole
Anthony were both hurt. But then you went twenty nine
and twenty eight the rest of the way and they
were the six rated defense the rest of the way,
and so you had a feat and then everybody came back.
The only changes you made where you add at Anthony
(23:02):
Black and Jet Howard in the draft and and you
brought in Joe Ingles and he's been like a perfect fit.
So you had this level of continuity, and you did
have a belief. You know, I wasn't sure that they
would be a top five defense right off rip in
the first twenty games, but you had a feeling you
could be a pretty good defensive team, and a young
one at that, which, as I said, is kind of
difficult to get over the hump. They've drafted guys who
(23:25):
front and polo defend him and and and it's not
you know, they're asked to do a lot on the
other end. But when you see your best two players defending,
and when you see a guy like Jalen subb hit
in the deck constantly for loose balls and deflections and
all of the hustle stats, it's got that it kind
of permeates the rest of the team. So we had
a six and zero home stand. We were coming off
(23:45):
of a nine game win streak. The vibes are good
right now, but it does. It all starts in the
defensive end, and it starts because you're young players. Your
best players defend and do so every night.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Again, we're talking with Jake Chapman. He's the radio play
by play voice the Orlando Magic, Cavs and Magic twice
in the next week Wednesday Night here in Cleveland, Monday
Night down in Orlando, Jake, we mentioned your Cleveland roots
and background. Well, Magic head coach Jamal Moseley a connection
with the Cavaliers and wait, how much credit does he
(24:18):
get to have the guys buy into this defense first
defense philosophy.
Speaker 6 (24:24):
A lot of it. I mean, I think obviously you
have to go to the front office and talk about
drafting the right guys, and it is it's a very
very easy team tim to to cheer for. I mean,
it's just a really good group of guys. You see
the chemistry. You see it at the end of games
when when the you know, the third string guys are in,
you're getting a full cheering section from the Franz and
(24:46):
Apollos and the Jaylens and Cole Anthony's coy. Anthony cheers
about everything at all times. But but Jamal Mosley has
instilled this level of cool, calm, collectiveness, level headedness, play mentality.
They're just never too high or too low. And I
think that's obviously important over the course of a long season.
(25:07):
But it was really important because of the start last year,
and I think that continuity that we talked about. You know,
this team has a level of humility. I think that
they don't want to go back to that five and
twenty start. They know what it feels like to win
twenty two games, most of them, so kind of you know,
starting from the very very you know, bare bones and
building it up. That's how you get that level of
(25:29):
sustainability and that sort of organic feel to it. And
Jamal Moseley has been at the center of everything.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
He was.
Speaker 6 (25:35):
He was almost relentlessly optimistic for those first two years,
like he just kept on saying, it's going to get better.
We're not skipping steps, We're doing the work. And if
you know, I hate to say trust the process, but
if you if you know that you're doing what needs
to be done, then eventually it's going to come to fruition.
And I think, you know, it's one thing to be
a cheerleader and you know, optimistic, but you also have
(25:58):
to kind of have the trust to be able to
come down on guys at times and to beat that
task master in practice in the film room, et cetera.
And he's been able to strike that balance it's really difficult,
but I do think, you know, as a younger guy,
I think he speaks to the locker room and they
listen maybe a little bit more. There's not really any
sort of sense of tune out. And he's also assembled
(26:21):
a great staff, so it does he's got those Cleveland roots,
he's got those Denver roots. And then obviously he was
in Dallas for a long time with Rick Carlisle. I
think that probably taught him the offensive side of football.
But he's a defense, defense first guy, and that's been
sort of at the core of all of this.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
And it all adds up to a fourteen and six
mark after twenty games. The proofs in the pudding, as
they say, Jake, I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing the
Magic on Wednesday and Monday. It's going to be tough
battles for the Cavaliers. But hey to you. Congratulations on
your success as the voice of the Orlando Magic and
a Cleveland guy doing well at the NBA level. We
(27:00):
appreciate you spending some time with us here on Cavs HQ.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Thank you, Jim. Anytime, that's Jake.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Jackman, the radio play by play voice of the Orlando Magic.
Joining us here on cavs HQ. We'll take a time
out more to come stay with us on the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 5 (27:20):
This is CALVS HQ on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Everything you need to know about the Calves and the NBA.
Here again are Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Welcome back to CALVS HQ. Well, it's been a fun
show so far and one more segment to go. And
there's a lot going on in CALVS world. And one
of the guys that certainly has his fingers in a
lot of pies as far as this Cavalier organization is concerned.
Vice President of Digital Brandon Jerrosa. You now stops by
(27:53):
to pay us a visit. Brandon, First of all, great
to have you here.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Great to be back Tim.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
One of the things that I know launches this week
from the Cavaliers perspective is gold Pass. Now, explain to
Calves fans and listeners what exactly gold passes and the
opportunities that are there.
Speaker 7 (28:13):
So yeah, so our Calves United Gold Pass program is
really you know, for it's a great experience for fans
in terms of it's a golden ticket that unlocks a
lot of different perks, unforgettable experiences and even merch access
that you know comes straight straight from you know, our
organization and kind of opens it up for our die
(28:34):
hard Calves fans. So it's it's a little bit different
than what we offer from a season ticket membership, whether
that's a full season or half season. This is really
a digital collectible that unlocks all these experiences, so you
get a ton of different perks. For example, last season,
you know, we offered up opportunities to win seats down
at you know, Dan Gilbert's tickets that are close to
(28:57):
the floor. You got the opportunity to bring your friends
out to the Calves legion and layer to participate in
a two K tournament. So a lot of different experience
that just bring fans closer not only to our team,
but to our organization as a whole.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So Brandon, how and where do Calves find Calves fans
find this opportunity.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
So if you go to Calves dot com slash Gold Pass,
you'll be able to learn all about these opportunities. So
there's two different tiers that we offer to fans. We
offer the Elite Tier, which gives unlocks up to you know,
the most amount of experiences, perks, and and also merch opportunities,
and then you have a Selectier which is a little
bit lower tier in terms of the number of things
(29:36):
that you'll get, but it's a little bit of a
lower price point. So all of this is going to
launch on Wednesday this week. UH, So fans will have
the opportunity to purchase between these two these two Gold
Pass programs uh and then ultimately from there they'll be
able to select which you know, merch, the merch opportunities
(29:57):
they get, which experiences they want to enter name into
the hat and really unlock a lot of unique experiences
throughout the remainder of this season.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
And you mentioned that this happened last year as well. Correct,
was there one experience or was there something that really
stood out that was popular that you went, Wow, this
really went over huge.
Speaker 7 (30:19):
I would say actually, one of the one of the
experiences that we saw the most amount of feedback that
people were really excited to have the opportunity towards was
actually our broadcast experience. So working with Ryan Bubanks, we
were able to unlock an opportunity for a few fans
to come to a game and really see behind the
scenes of what you all do here, not only from
a radio standpoint, but also on the TV end and
(30:41):
really see you know, we really pulled back that curtain
and you got to see inside the truck with Bally Sports,
you know, them calling the game. You got to meet
some of the people that are involved in the overall
broadcast on both sides of the coin, and really see
that side of the business that not many people really
get to see in any season.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Well, there's a reason there's the phrase faces for radio.
Speaker 6 (31:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Yeah, you may want to keep them away from the perch. No,
I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding. So again, it launches
on Wednesday. Now is it up for a limited time
or how long will it be available?
Speaker 7 (31:16):
Yeah, so it'll essentially be available through January eighth, so
fans have rough a little bit under forty five days
to purchase and start. You know, the great thing is
once you purchase, you can immediately start accessing some of
these perks. So those perks will be for upcoming games,
but then also will unveil more perks throughout the remainder
(31:37):
of the season.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Well that's very cool. So again, it launches on Wednesday.
Gold pass and it's available, as Brandon just said, through
January eighth. Now, of course, so you guys study a
lot of analytics and unfortunately the Calves didn't advance to
the knockout round as far as the n season tournament
was concerned. But this really has generated a lot of
(31:58):
feedback and a lot of across the NBA. Let's delve
into that. And again the numbers are early, but at
least through group play, what have the Cavaliers or the
NBA scene as far as that interest level is concerned.
Speaker 7 (32:13):
Yeah, I would say both. Locally here with our team,
we definitely saw an increase in engagement across our social channels,
across our website, and across our app on games that
were a part of group play. So those four dates
throughout the month of November, we definitely saw those peak
in comparison to the other games throughout the month. Now,
(32:34):
I know November as a whole was a pretty busy
month in terms of total games, but when you look
at the game against Indiana that you know, started this
whole thing, that game came down to the wire and
we saw that reflect in the numbers as well across
our social channels. Same thing with that Philly game, which
was a great overtime win that we had, but we saw,
(32:56):
you know, people going to our website either trying to
understand more at the n season tournament or just get
engaged with those games because they meant more. So we
were seeing it, and then even across the league, the
league just shared some numbers that they saw similar increases,
not whether it was across local TV, whether it was
across the national TV games, and then in general across
(33:19):
their social channels and app engagement, they saw an increase
in video views and just in general engagement from fans
participating in the conversation around those games because they meant more.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
It's interesting because sometimes there can be trepidation when you
go into unchartered waters. This is all new to the
NBA and all the organizations, but it can also be
exciting to see, let's see how this unfolds and let's
see what the reaction is.
Speaker 7 (33:46):
Yeah, I think, you know, we saw a bit of
that unknown kind of early on, with a lot of
questions coming through from fans trying to understand the tournament,
the structure, and how the calves could ultimately move on. Fortunately,
we you know, it came down to point differential for us,
so we didn't quite get there, but fans were trying
to just trying to learn, like we were, how this
(34:09):
could impact the game and really create that competition early
on in the season that maybe sometimes you don't necessarily
see as much where games are coming down to the wire.
There's always i think highlight reels regardless of the game
and the importance of the game. But ultimately what we
were seeing was just an increase in fan participation, whether
(34:30):
it was like I said, trying to learn more about
the game and what they meant, or just excited because
these games meant something in November and they were going
to lead to this tournament that people were trying to understand.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, it definitely added some interest, There's no doubt about that.
Especially that final game, whereas you mentioned that point differential,
all of a sudden, you're doing a lot of scoreboard watching.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Absolutely, I think that was one of the things we saw.
A heightened level of awareness. People were wondering and what
point differential did we need to get to in order
to get us onto the next round, Because I think
it was clear once you as you watch that game,
you know we were gonna win. It was just how
much were we going to win by? As they were
starting to scoreboard watch and look at what the other
(35:15):
teams are doing against their opponents.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Again, we're talking with Brandon Jirosick from Calvs Digital, VP
of Calves Digital. Before we wrap things up with you,
anything else on the horizon on the digital side that
our fans and listeners should be aware of.
Speaker 7 (35:30):
So you know, coming up here middle of this month,
the NBA is going to start their All Star campaign,
so you'll have the opportunity to vote for our cavaliers
to send them to Indiana this year for the All
Star Game. Voting starts on I believe it's December nineteenth
and runs through January twentieth. So we're excited to kick
(35:52):
off that campaign and really highlight our players and hopefully
get them to Indiana in the All Star vote.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
All right, let's finish up where we started again. Quick
reminder about gold Pass.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
Yep, absolutely so. Gold Pass goes on sale this Wednesday
and runs through January eighth. In terms of your buying
period and what Gold Pass will bring to you is
just unlocking a lot of great experiences for how you
experience the Calves and this organization for the remainder of
this season.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Great stuff, great information for our fans and listeners. Brandon,
we appreciate you stopping by. I appreciate you having me alrighty,
Brandon Jurosiic, VP of Calves Digital here at Rocket Mortgage
Field House. We'll take a quick time out. When we
come back, we'll put the finishing touches on this week's show,
so stay with us. Calves HQ presented by Betway. We'll
finish up after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
(36:47):
That's going to do it for this week's edition of
Calves HQ presented by Bedway. Boy, that was a busy show.
Hopefully you enjoyed it. Huge thanks to our guest Campy
Russell for his tremendous insights during the first segment of
the program. Great to hear from Cleveland native Jake Chapman,
now the voice of the Orlando Magic, as he stopped
(37:09):
by to pay us a visit and talk a little
bit about the Calves and the Magic upcoming games Wednesday
here in Cleveland, Monday down in Orlando. And then Brandon Jerosick,
vice President of Digital with the Cavaliers, stopping by to
talk a little bit about the opportunities that await you
the fans as far as gold pass and the like,
(37:29):
So take advantage of that opportunity that is terrific. Again
a reminder, Calves back in action on Wednesday night, Orlando
will be here and then the Calves head out for
four tough road games Friday night in Miami, Monday night
in Orlando, and then a back to back Tuesday in Boston,
a day off in New England, and then Thursday in Boston.
(37:52):
So a rugged stretch upcoming. Hey, I want to thank
the guys on the other side of the window as well,
Senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, Technical director Marty Allen. There's a
reason they call them the Dynamic Duo. And of course
the biggest thanks goes to you, the listeners. Hope you
enjoyed it. Again, Back in Action Wednesday night, Calves and Magic.
That game will tip off at seven. The Huntington tip
(38:15):
Off show will come your way at six point thirty,
all along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. So until then,
this is to Malcorn saying once again, thank you very
much for listening, and so long everybody
Welcome to Calves HQ presented by bet Way.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Thank you for joining us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audiovers.
Here are your hosts, Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones from
the Cavaliers production studios at Rocket Mortgage field House here
in downtown Cleveland. High again everybody, and indeed, welcome to
Calves HQ. Tim Elcorn working solo this week again, Jim
(00:34):
Jones stepping away for a short time. Hope to have
Jim back in the near future. Well, we've got a
very very busy show this week. Of course for the Cavaliers,
it's not a busy week. They've got a couple of
days off and then they're back in action on Wednesday
night when the Orlando Magic will be at Rocking Mortgage
field House to take on the Calves. But that doesn't
(00:56):
mean we've got a very busy show ahead. We're going
to talk with Cavalier legend and a guy that certainly
keeps his eyes on the Cavaliers throughout the season in
many different ways, Campy Russell. He'll stop by to pay
us a visit. Of course, with two games against Orlando
here in the next week, we'll check in on the
Magic and their radio play by play guy Jake Chapman.
(01:19):
Jake with some Cleveland roots, so it'll be good to
talk to him. And then Brandon Jerrosick, vice President of
Digital for the Calves. We'll stop on buy some special
offers that'll be out there for Calves fans. We want
you to hear about that, so stay with us. We've
got a lot of ground to cover. We'll start things
off with Campy Russell. He's coming up next on cavs
(01:39):
HQ presented by bet Way, and we'll hear from Campy
after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. Here
Scarland out front, driving on Sasser left to the lane,
box it up and in DG with a quick wup
Mitchell into the lane lock Alan Powell smit with the
(02:00):
throat to the fro Truce to the right wing baseline
jumper Kerfect. Here's Allen out front, hands it off to
Donovan Mitchell. Five on the shot clock. Four on the
clock Mitchell long threes God and that should be the
finishing touches and we welcome you back. keVs HQ presented
by Betway. All along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio verst.
(02:23):
Great to have you with us. Nice little highlight montage
there from our dynamic duo, Senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, Technical
director Marty Allen there on the other side of the window,
those calls from the Calves win on Saturday night up
in Detroit when they knocked off a pretty gritty Piston team.
And so the Calves now twenty games in stand at
(02:46):
eleven and nine on the season. And of course, a
guy who keeps his eyes and hopefully his ears as
well on the Cavaliers now joins US Cavaliers, a legend,
one of the all time greats to suit up in
the wy in gold. Can't be Russell stops by to
pay us a visit on this week's edition of Calves HQ.
Can't be great to have you with us. We appreciate
(03:07):
you spending some time with us.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
ATIM anytime, anytime, man, I'm willing to come on your
show and be a part of what you guys got
going on with the Cavs at any point. I look
forward to our conversation today and just take it from there.
But I'm excited about what's going on with the Cavs.
You know, they're trying to make a I'm going to say,
(03:34):
be consistent is what our starts is off of with.
It's just they're trying to become more consistent on both
sides of the ball.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And just to take the point, well, as you said,
let's start there. It's been choppy through the first twenty games.
I alluded to you earlier eleven and nine. Injuries certainly
have played a part in that because to your word, inconsistency,
that's been the rotation and that's been the lineup. So
how do you get to be a consistent basketball team?
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Well, I think it comes down to Number one is
being healthy, getting all the bodies out there as you
just spoke about. But number two, I think it's got
to be a total commitment from no matter who steps
out there on the floor that they're going to play
within number one themselves within the system and bring energy
and bring effort and bring determination. I think those are
(04:27):
the elements that you're gonna need, whether you're playing offense
or defense, is to be in that type of up
of mode. But when you have guys coming in and
out of the lineup because of injuries or what have you,
you know, that creates definitely a dilemma for the coach,
and now the coaches get called into a position of
(04:50):
making trying to make adjustments on the fly and doing
you know, basically, what his job is is to continue
to try to make this team the best team it
possibly can be, you know, based upon being healthy as
well as based upon guys not being healthy, and you
got guys in and out of atlantup. You know, that's
just the nature of the game. And I think that's
(05:13):
why Coach Bickerstaff has done a good job and out
standing job for the most part of making those adjustments
and dealing.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
With those adjustments. Camping one of the guys who has
been there night in night out. He's played in all
twenty games. Max Struce. Let's talk about his addition and
his value to this Cavalier basketball team. Over fourteen points
per game, leads the team in three balls with fifty eight,
and that heart and that grit that he plays with.
(05:43):
Just your thoughts on what you've seen from Max.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Strus Well, I think coming into here, in coming to Cleveland,
I thought that all those elements that you just talked
about in terms of his heart, his toughness, his ability
to knock down three, ability to play consistent basketball, and
to just to be one of the guys that's just
going to bring that effort every single night.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
The most surprising thing for me is his ability to
rebound the ball and to go get the ball. You know,
I think that is an element that I wasn't aware
of as related to his game. But he has definitely
shown me that he has a lot of grit. He
has a lot of versatility in his game. He can
(06:28):
play the two positions, he can play the small forward position,
and he can rebound those positions as well as defend
those positions as well. So he definitely has brought one
of another element to this cavialty of basketball team. And
I think for the most part, you know, he has
been pretty consistent in terms of what he does out
(06:49):
there on the floor, But his most consistent being, in
my opinion, is his efforts. His efforts to me is
the most consistent thing that he has shown thus far.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
How does toughness and energy and grip, how does that
rub off on a teammate?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Well, I don't know whether it rubs off on them
or not. I think what it does is if you're
sitting there and you are part of a team and
you want to be a part of that team that
you have to be able to put yourself in the
(07:30):
position that is required. And what I mean by that
is you may not be a tough guy at heart,
but you are sitting there watching and looking at what
it's going to be needed for us to be successful
as a team. So you as a player or me
as a player, have to make those adjustments to understand that, Hey,
(07:54):
when I step on this floor, I have to bring toughness.
I have to bring the determination. I have to bring
this will of not backing down. And it's stuff that
you can work on that you can become. It's just
a matter of whether you're going to put in the
necessary I'm gonna say efforts, and generally it just comes
(08:17):
from just efforts and knowing where everybody is on the floor,
knowing what you're trying to do defensively, knowing what your
schemes are on the defensive side of the ball as
well as an offensive side of the ball. So you
can get there. But it's going to require an effort
from a player, and in some cases for the player
(08:39):
to understand within himself. By nature, I'm not that type
of person, but I have to be able to make
that adjustment if I want to be a part of
this team and bring value to this basketball.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Team, was a great insights. Again. Can't be Russell joining
us on this week's edition of Cavs HQ. It's presented
by Betway. We're not through with Campy. He's going to
stick around and joining us for one more segments. So
you do that as well. We'll be back with Campy
Russell after this. On the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse,
(09:11):
Garland weeds his way into the lane left side Strews three,
got it, Max Struce, He's got four threes. Tonight Garland
comes tord of the lane, floats Banks and scores. There
is Garland with a twenty two point Paul game caps
lead facts five DG still on the dribble, right handed dribble,
one of the circle. We'll shoot in and out time
(09:32):
I'm fit in by Jared Allen as nobody foxed out
Allen Welcome back, Cavs HQ, presented by Betway On the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse. Great to have you with
us and great to have joining us on this week's
edition of Cavs HQ. Is Cavalier legend. Can't be Russell. Well,
you heard some great thoughts from Campy during our first segment.
(09:54):
We continue on with Campy and Jamie. I want to
ask you about DG. He struggled early. When he came
back from that injuries, seemed to find his groove. Just
your overall thoughts on DG as if you watch the
season unfold through these first twenty games.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, you know, it's I think one thing is sure.
There is a lot that it's expected from DG. You know,
as your point guard, as a person that really kind
of dictates the pace, kind of dictates the flow, kind
of dictate the fact that the ball is going to
be moving. I would think, you know, he has in
some regards, you know, suffered early on, you know, particularly
(10:34):
after he got nicked up. What I'm beginning to see
now is he's coming back to being that person that
we know he can be. And I think it's important
for him to get back on track because it influences
and it's helped this team become much better. So the
way he's playing, I know he's going to get back
(10:54):
to being the guy who can take care of the ball. Yes,
he's been going to He's gone to some stretches where
he has not taken care of the ball as well
as he has the ability to do it. But he's
building back and going back into the right direction in
terms of being more effective out than the floor, being
able to get downhill, more being able to keep our
(11:15):
shooters and our bigs engaged into the game and push
the pace. You know, I think Darius clearly knows what
his duties are, and he also knows his own game
in terms of his ability to knock down the three,
get to the mid range, make plays to the bigs,
make spray the ball to our shooters, and just keep
(11:36):
everybody engaged. So he has gone through a small bump
in the road, but I know his heart, I know
his toughness and his abilities. I truly believe that he
will get back on track completely and continue to help
this Cavalry team continue to grow and move in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
KB. We mentioned twenty games in, but there's sixty two
games to go. That's still a lot of basketball to
be played. But you mentioned uneven play and it's been
kind of bumpy. How do you foresee that coming together?
Is it just a comfort level with guys like Strews
and even him and Donovan somewhat still getting used to
(12:17):
one another and playing with one another. Is it just
playing time together on the floor.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
Well, you know, I think as we saw last year,
they played well together. You know, there is and Donovan.
You know, they definitely have the ability to play well together.
You know, there's no question in my mind. And to
the fact that we've only played twenty games, and I
know that is in this regard it's almost quarter of
the season. But at this point, I know that those
(12:44):
two guys can play together and they can be the
dynamic duel that they have been since they've come together.
As it relates to the rest of the guys, I
think between Donovan and DG, those guys still have the
ability to keep everybody in game into the game. But overall,
I think thus far it's been about injuries, you know,
(13:05):
because they both have had small knicks, you know, So
it's about just trying to get those two guys back
on the floor at the same time and then creating
that synergy that we know they both have when they're
both out there on the floor.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Again, we're talking with Cavalier legend Campy Russell as he
joins us on this week's edition of Cavs HQ presented
by betweg Camp. And we've talked a couple of times
about this team becoming more consistent when they reach that level.
What do you foresee, what style? What kind of basketball
team will this team become when they start to click
(13:43):
on all eight cylinders?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Well, I think you know, what we have shown in
this last year or two or three is defense. You know,
when we are solid defensively and we limit second chance
points and we limit you know, uh just uh you know,
given one shot and out, and when we are defending
(14:08):
on the perimeter as well as the paint. You know,
we are one of the top teams in the league defensively,
you know, statistically and what have you. So it's I
think that is the starting points for everything that we do.
Is when we are good defensively, teams have a hard
time trying to beat us. And when we are solid defensively,
(14:31):
we can beat a lot of teams because we can
get our offense going off of our defense. So I
think that is the beauty of this basketball team. But
it's all starts from being and remaining healthy and remaining
having that attitude that it starts on the defensive side
of the ball, and it's about us shutting down these paints,
(14:53):
this painted area. It's about us, you know, putting as
many contested uh defensive contests out there as possible and
take advantage of opportunities that we get when we create turnovers.
Is to make sure we get a basket or three
or or just get a basket and just keep the
pressure on defensively, because I believe who we are is
(15:17):
our defense. It's not so much about can we score
a lot of points, you know, because clearly even in
the games we lost, you know, we have scored enough points, right,
but the defense wasn't at that level that we know
it can be. So for me, when our defense get
(15:38):
to where it can be, that is the area where
we're going to show that we are a very good
basketball team and we have the ability to win games
with our defense and captains off with our offense.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
There you go, what great stuff can't be? Russell joining
us this week on CAVS HSQ presented by Betway can
be as all is a pleasure to chat with you. Your
insights are just fabulous. We appreciate you spending some time
with us and look forward to having many more conversations
as this season unfolds.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Jim, thank you very much for allowing me to be
a part of this today and I'll look forward to
doing it in the future. And I would just say this, Caz,
bring the defense. The offense is going to take care
of itself, win games. Thanks Tim, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
All right, thank you, Campy. It's Kaby Russell joining us
on this week's edition of caves HQ, presented by Betway.
We've got a lot more to come, so stay with us.
We'll have more of caves HQ following this on the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Monsters are hosting their annual
Toy Drive for the Season of Giving, delivered by UPS
at all home games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse from November
thirtieth through December fifteenth. Fans can drop off new and
unwrapped toy at all Calves and Monsters home games, or
purchase a gift right from home by visiting calves dot
com slash Toy Drive. Alternatively, toy bins will be located
(17:09):
at every entrance of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for fans to
drop off their new, unrapped toys. All toys will be
distributed throughout agency partners to support underserved children and families
throughout Northeast Ohio. Calves in the Community is brought to
you by Discount Drug March. We'll be back with the
second half of Calves h Q, presented by Beckway. Right
after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse, Paula's.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Gonna try the elbow jumper.
Speaker 5 (17:40):
That's Cat Gaffer's little slow getting out, and that's Pallo
Bank Carol's money spot.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
And now we get to pickoff.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
That's Jalen Sogs and he.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
Is going to free sixty jam at Dowd.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
Go runway with clear Jalen the picks and the jam.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Bronze is gonna try a three ball from Sogs, got
it the goal.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
Fourth quarter Brouz.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Welcome back Calvs HQ, presented by Betway. On the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse, Tim Melcorn with you great montage
of highlights from Jake Chapman, Yes, the radio play by
play voice of the Orlando Magic, who joins us this
week to talk a little magic basketball. And of course
the Cavaliers and the Magic are going to see quite
(18:21):
a bit of each other here in the next few
days Calves and Magic Wednesday Night at Rocket Mortgage field House,
and then the Cavaliers will head south to take on
the Magic in Orlando on Monday night. So we thought
it would be fun to have Jake stop by and
join us here on Cavs HQ. And Jake before we
talk about Magic basketball. You're a Cleveland guy, Cleveland roots,
(18:43):
so it's good to have you on Cleveland airwaves tonight.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I am Tim. Thanks for thinking of me. I am
a Shardon native. I was originally born in Cleveland Heights
and so shah, this is fun. That Montage got me
fired up. I might have to get my hands on that.
I appreciate it. Thanks for taking of me and this
will be fun. How are you doing.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I'm doing well. We'll see if the dynamic duo of
Marty Allen and Kurt McLoughlin can get that MP three
down to you. And as you said, boys, I'm exciting
Orlando Magic Basketball, Magic and Cavs Wednesday night. Each team
twenty games in Magic at fourteen and six. Boy, a
great start for the Magic. Just talk about the first
(19:22):
twenty games and how this thing has unfolded.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
It's been a lot of fun. I think you obviously
heard that in those calls. We've been one of the
best defensive teams in the league team tim and that's
been sort of Jamal Moseley's mission since being here. But
as you know, when you have a young team, it
can be difficult to get over that hump. So very
encouraging the way we started out. We're still missing two
members of our starting five and Markel Foltson Wendell Carter Junior.
(19:48):
Markel's dealing with tendonitis and so that's just one of
those things like we got to get him right and
he's got to feel comfortable with it, and it's going
to probably be a lingering issue all season. Wendell Carter
Junior broke a finger, so he'll be back, you know,
as soon as that bone heals up, and he'll be
back in the starting lineup. But Googa Batase and Anthony
Black went from the third string to the starting lineup
(20:08):
essentially overnight, and both have been great. It's been fourteen
games now that ab has been in the starting lineup.
He's lost three of them, and so he's been able
to boost the defense, but it's really been Jalen Suggs
who is your defensive ace. I mean he's playing, you know,
he's like the rev ed up Marcus Smart at times.
And then Paul ben Carroll and Franz Wagner obviously in
(20:28):
the middle of everything. Both have been very efficient this year,
both right around twenty points a game, and the last
few games we went on nine game winning streak. But
the last few we played Charlotte and then we played
two against Washington, and then we got our gorge blowing
off frankly by the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. It
was three games and four nights, and we kind of
got away from that defensive mentality and identity. We've you know,
(20:49):
won a few games one hundred and thirty to five,
and that's just not the way this team was designed.
So you kind of had a feeling that you were
getting a little too far away from from your core.
And then on Saturday night in Brooklyn, you came out,
you were down twenty one points in the first quarter
and mckel Bridges gave you forty two. So it kind
of all came to a head. But now we get
a couple of days off to rest up a little bit,
(21:11):
and it should be a really good test schedules about
to get pretty tough, but seeing the Cavaliers on Wednesday
and then again on Monday back down here should be
a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Jake, you mentioned that's not how this team is designed,
and I think that's perfect wording for the question I
have for you as far as how this team was
constructed and designed. You could see this season coming as
this roster was built. Just talk about how organically the
Magic have been put together with Jeff Weltman and you
(21:40):
alluded to earlier Jamal Mosley, and how it's now coming
to fruition.
Speaker 6 (21:45):
Yeah, organically, sustainably. These are the buzzwords right that Jeff
Weldman in the front office have been delivering. And it
was almost three years ago now that the prior group
of Nikkucevic, Terrence Ross, Evan Fournier, you had obviously young
Jonathan I like Markel Folt, Aaron Gordon. They blew it up.
You sort of reached the ceiling. Steve Clifford was the
(22:06):
head coach. He's a great head coach, but it was,
you know, basically eight seed play in tournament type ceiling
with that group. One trade deadline day, they traded Aaron
to Denver and they traded Nick Buceevich to Chicago and
that really set all.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Of this up.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
You draft Jalen, Sugs and Franz Wagner, and then you
land the top pick the next year in Paula Bankero.
You hit on all three of those picks. Jalen had
a rocky first two years to his career, but it's
all come together for him so far this year. And
so that's what it is like. You've got two young
large forwards who can get to the bucket basically at
Will and Polo and Franz, and that's that's the core
(22:40):
of this team. And so you know, one night it's
going to be one guy, one night it's going to
be another guy. They have a great chemistry together. But
then you have you know, you started five and twenty
last year partially due to injuries. Markel Foltz and Cole
Anthony were both hurt. But then you went twenty nine
and twenty eight the rest of the way and they
were the six rated defense the rest of the way,
and so you had a feat and then everybody came back.
The only changes you made where you add at Anthony
(23:02):
Black and Jet Howard in the draft and and you
brought in Joe Ingles and he's been like a perfect fit.
So you had this level of continuity, and you did
have a belief. You know, I wasn't sure that they
would be a top five defense right off rip in
the first twenty games, but you had a feeling you
could be a pretty good defensive team, and a young
one at that, which, as I said, is kind of
difficult to get over the hump. They've drafted guys who
(23:25):
front and polo defend him and and and it's not
you know, they're asked to do a lot on the
other end. But when you see your best two players defending,
and when you see a guy like Jalen subb hit
in the deck constantly for loose balls and deflections and
all of the hustle stats, it's got that it kind
of permeates the rest of the team. So we had
a six and zero home stand. We were coming off
(23:45):
of a nine game win streak. The vibes are good
right now, but it does. It all starts in the
defensive end, and it starts because you're young players. Your
best players defend and do so every night.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Again, we're talking with Jake Chapman. He's the radio play
by play voice the Orlando Magic, Cavs and Magic twice
in the next week Wednesday Night here in Cleveland, Monday
Night down in Orlando, Jake, we mentioned your Cleveland roots
and background. Well, Magic head coach Jamal Moseley a connection
with the Cavaliers and wait, how much credit does he
(24:18):
get to have the guys buy into this defense first
defense philosophy.
Speaker 6 (24:24):
A lot of it. I mean, I think obviously you
have to go to the front office and talk about
drafting the right guys, and it is it's a very
very easy team tim to to cheer for. I mean,
it's just a really good group of guys. You see
the chemistry. You see it at the end of games
when when the you know, the third string guys are in,
you're getting a full cheering section from the Franz and
(24:46):
Apollos and the Jaylens and Cole Anthony's coy. Anthony cheers
about everything at all times. But but Jamal Mosley has
instilled this level of cool, calm, collectiveness, level headedness, play mentality.
They're just never too high or too low. And I
think that's obviously important over the course of a long season.
(25:07):
But it was really important because of the start last year,
and I think that continuity that we talked about. You know,
this team has a level of humility. I think that
they don't want to go back to that five and
twenty start. They know what it feels like to win
twenty two games, most of them, so kind of you know,
starting from the very very you know, bare bones and
building it up. That's how you get that level of
(25:29):
sustainability and that sort of organic feel to it. And
Jamal Moseley has been at the center of everything.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
He was.
Speaker 6 (25:35):
He was almost relentlessly optimistic for those first two years,
like he just kept on saying, it's going to get better.
We're not skipping steps, We're doing the work. And if
you know, I hate to say trust the process, but
if you if you know that you're doing what needs
to be done, then eventually it's going to come to fruition.
And I think, you know, it's one thing to be
a cheerleader and you know, optimistic, but you also have
(25:58):
to kind of have the trust to be able to
come down on guys at times and to beat that
task master in practice in the film room, et cetera.
And he's been able to strike that balance it's really difficult,
but I do think, you know, as a younger guy,
I think he speaks to the locker room and they
listen maybe a little bit more. There's not really any
sort of sense of tune out. And he's also assembled
(26:21):
a great staff, so it does he's got those Cleveland roots,
he's got those Denver roots. And then obviously he was
in Dallas for a long time with Rick Carlisle. I
think that probably taught him the offensive side of football.
But he's a defense, defense first guy, and that's been
sort of at the core of all of this.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
And it all adds up to a fourteen and six
mark after twenty games. The proofs in the pudding, as
they say, Jake, I'm somewhat looking forward to seeing the
Magic on Wednesday and Monday. It's going to be tough
battles for the Cavaliers. But hey to you. Congratulations on
your success as the voice of the Orlando Magic and
a Cleveland guy doing well at the NBA level. We
(27:00):
appreciate you spending some time with us here on Cavs HQ.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Thank you, Jim. Anytime, that's Jake.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Jackman, the radio play by play voice of the Orlando Magic.
Joining us here on cavs HQ. We'll take a time
out more to come stay with us on the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 5 (27:20):
This is CALVS HQ on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Everything you need to know about the Calves and the NBA.
Here again are Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Welcome back to CALVS HQ. Well, it's been a fun
show so far and one more segment to go. And
there's a lot going on in CALVS world. And one
of the guys that certainly has his fingers in a
lot of pies as far as this Cavalier organization is concerned.
Vice President of Digital Brandon Jerrosa. You now stops by
(27:53):
to pay us a visit. Brandon, First of all, great
to have you here.
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Great to be back Tim.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
One of the things that I know launches this week
from the Cavaliers perspective is gold Pass. Now, explain to
Calves fans and listeners what exactly gold passes and the
opportunities that are there.
Speaker 7 (28:13):
So yeah, so our Calves United Gold Pass program is
really you know, for it's a great experience for fans
in terms of it's a golden ticket that unlocks a
lot of different perks, unforgettable experiences and even merch access
that you know comes straight straight from you know, our
organization and kind of opens it up for our die
(28:34):
hard Calves fans. So it's it's a little bit different
than what we offer from a season ticket membership, whether
that's a full season or half season. This is really
a digital collectible that unlocks all these experiences, so you
get a ton of different perks. For example, last season,
you know, we offered up opportunities to win seats down
at you know, Dan Gilbert's tickets that are close to
(28:57):
the floor. You got the opportunity to bring your friends
out to the Calves legion and layer to participate in
a two K tournament. So a lot of different experience
that just bring fans closer not only to our team,
but to our organization as a whole.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
So Brandon, how and where do Calves find Calves fans
find this opportunity.
Speaker 7 (29:15):
So if you go to Calves dot com slash Gold Pass,
you'll be able to learn all about these opportunities. So
there's two different tiers that we offer to fans. We
offer the Elite Tier, which gives unlocks up to you know,
the most amount of experiences, perks, and and also merch opportunities,
and then you have a Selectier which is a little
bit lower tier in terms of the number of things
(29:36):
that you'll get, but it's a little bit of a
lower price point. So all of this is going to
launch on Wednesday this week. UH, So fans will have
the opportunity to purchase between these two these two Gold
Pass programs uh and then ultimately from there they'll be
able to select which you know, merch, the merch opportunities
(29:57):
they get, which experiences they want to enter name into
the hat and really unlock a lot of unique experiences
throughout the remainder of this season.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
And you mentioned that this happened last year as well. Correct,
was there one experience or was there something that really
stood out that was popular that you went, Wow, this
really went over huge.
Speaker 7 (30:19):
I would say actually, one of the one of the
experiences that we saw the most amount of feedback that
people were really excited to have the opportunity towards was
actually our broadcast experience. So working with Ryan Bubanks, we
were able to unlock an opportunity for a few fans
to come to a game and really see behind the
scenes of what you all do here, not only from
a radio standpoint, but also on the TV end and
(30:41):
really see you know, we really pulled back that curtain
and you got to see inside the truck with Bally Sports,
you know, them calling the game. You got to meet
some of the people that are involved in the overall
broadcast on both sides of the coin, and really see
that side of the business that not many people really
get to see in any season.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Well, there's a reason there's the phrase faces for radio.
Speaker 6 (31:06):
You know.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Yeah, you may want to keep them away from the perch. No,
I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding. So again, it launches
on Wednesday. Now is it up for a limited time
or how long will it be available?
Speaker 7 (31:16):
Yeah, so it'll essentially be available through January eighth, so
fans have rough a little bit under forty five days
to purchase and start. You know, the great thing is
once you purchase, you can immediately start accessing some of
these perks. So those perks will be for upcoming games,
but then also will unveil more perks throughout the remainder
(31:37):
of the season.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Well that's very cool. So again, it launches on Wednesday.
Gold pass and it's available, as Brandon just said, through
January eighth. Now, of course, so you guys study a
lot of analytics and unfortunately the Calves didn't advance to
the knockout round as far as the n season tournament
was concerned. But this really has generated a lot of
(31:58):
feedback and a lot of across the NBA. Let's delve
into that. And again the numbers are early, but at
least through group play, what have the Cavaliers or the
NBA scene as far as that interest level is concerned.
Speaker 7 (32:13):
Yeah, I would say both. Locally here with our team,
we definitely saw an increase in engagement across our social channels,
across our website, and across our app on games that
were a part of group play. So those four dates
throughout the month of November, we definitely saw those peak
in comparison to the other games throughout the month. Now,
(32:34):
I know November as a whole was a pretty busy
month in terms of total games, but when you look
at the game against Indiana that you know, started this
whole thing, that game came down to the wire and
we saw that reflect in the numbers as well across
our social channels. Same thing with that Philly game, which
was a great overtime win that we had, but we saw,
(32:56):
you know, people going to our website either trying to
understand more at the n season tournament or just get
engaged with those games because they meant more. So we
were seeing it, and then even across the league, the
league just shared some numbers that they saw similar increases,
not whether it was across local TV, whether it was
across the national TV games, and then in general across
(33:19):
their social channels and app engagement, they saw an increase
in video views and just in general engagement from fans
participating in the conversation around those games because they meant more.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
It's interesting because sometimes there can be trepidation when you
go into unchartered waters. This is all new to the
NBA and all the organizations, but it can also be
exciting to see, let's see how this unfolds and let's
see what the reaction is.
Speaker 7 (33:46):
Yeah, I think, you know, we saw a bit of
that unknown kind of early on, with a lot of
questions coming through from fans trying to understand the tournament,
the structure, and how the calves could ultimately move on. Fortunately,
we you know, it came down to point differential for us,
so we didn't quite get there, but fans were trying
to just trying to learn, like we were, how this
(34:09):
could impact the game and really create that competition early
on in the season that maybe sometimes you don't necessarily
see as much where games are coming down to the wire.
There's always i think highlight reels regardless of the game
and the importance of the game. But ultimately what we
were seeing was just an increase in fan participation, whether
(34:30):
it was like I said, trying to learn more about
the game and what they meant, or just excited because
these games meant something in November and they were going
to lead to this tournament that people were trying to understand.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
Yeah, it definitely added some interest, There's no doubt about that.
Especially that final game, whereas you mentioned that point differential,
all of a sudden, you're doing a lot of scoreboard watching.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:53):
Absolutely, I think that was one of the things we saw.
A heightened level of awareness. People were wondering and what
point differential did we need to get to in order
to get us onto the next round, Because I think
it was clear once you as you watch that game,
you know we were gonna win. It was just how
much were we going to win by? As they were
starting to scoreboard watch and look at what the other
(35:15):
teams are doing against their opponents.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Again, we're talking with Brandon Jirosick from Calvs Digital, VP
of Calves Digital. Before we wrap things up with you,
anything else on the horizon on the digital side that
our fans and listeners should be aware of.
Speaker 7 (35:30):
So you know, coming up here middle of this month,
the NBA is going to start their All Star campaign,
so you'll have the opportunity to vote for our cavaliers
to send them to Indiana this year for the All
Star Game. Voting starts on I believe it's December nineteenth
and runs through January twentieth. So we're excited to kick
(35:52):
off that campaign and really highlight our players and hopefully
get them to Indiana in the All Star vote.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
All right, let's finish up where we started again. Quick
reminder about gold Pass.
Speaker 7 (36:01):
Yep, absolutely so. Gold Pass goes on sale this Wednesday
and runs through January eighth. In terms of your buying
period and what Gold Pass will bring to you is
just unlocking a lot of great experiences for how you
experience the Calves and this organization for the remainder of
this season.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Great stuff, great information for our fans and listeners. Brandon,
we appreciate you stopping by. I appreciate you having me alrighty,
Brandon Jurosiic, VP of Calves Digital here at Rocket Mortgage
Field House. We'll take a quick time out. When we
come back, we'll put the finishing touches on this week's show,
so stay with us. Calves HQ presented by Betway. We'll
finish up after this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
(36:47):
That's going to do it for this week's edition of
Calves HQ presented by Bedway. Boy, that was a busy show.
Hopefully you enjoyed it. Huge thanks to our guest Campy
Russell for his tremendous insights during the first segment of
the program. Great to hear from Cleveland native Jake Chapman,
now the voice of the Orlando Magic, as he stopped
(37:09):
by to pay us a visit and talk a little
bit about the Calves and the Magic upcoming games Wednesday
here in Cleveland, Monday down in Orlando. And then Brandon Jerosick,
vice President of Digital with the Cavaliers, stopping by to
talk a little bit about the opportunities that await you
the fans as far as gold pass and the like,
(37:29):
So take advantage of that opportunity that is terrific. Again
a reminder, Calves back in action on Wednesday night, Orlando
will be here and then the Calves head out for
four tough road games Friday night in Miami, Monday night
in Orlando, and then a back to back Tuesday in Boston,
a day off in New England, and then Thursday in Boston.
(37:52):
So a rugged stretch upcoming. Hey, I want to thank
the guys on the other side of the window as well,
Senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, Technical director Marty Allen. There's a
reason they call them the Dynamic Duo. And of course
the biggest thanks goes to you, the listeners. Hope you
enjoyed it. Again, Back in Action Wednesday night, Calves and Magic.
That game will tip off at seven. The Huntington tip
(38:15):
Off show will come your way at six point thirty,
all along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. So until then,
this is to Malcorn saying once again, thank you very
much for listening, and so long everybody
Hosts And Creators
Tim Alcorn
Jim Chones
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