January 10, 2023 • 37 mins
Hosts Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones are joined by play-by-play announcer John Michael and beat write Joe Gabriele from the road out west. We also hear a snippet of Donovan Mitchell's post game press conference after beating the Suns on Sunday night.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. Thank you
for joining us on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Now here's
your host, Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones. Higain everybody, and
welcome to Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. On the
Cavaliers Audio Verse, Tim L. Corn along with Jim Jones
and Jim we continue along this five game road swing.
(00:30):
The win over Phoenix last night, one and one through
the first two ball games, and three more to come
starting tomorrow night in Utah. But all in all, we're
gonna have an interesting show this week. Donovan Mitchell was
named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, so we'll hear
from Donovan, and a little bit later on in the show,
we're gonna touch base with your good buddy, my friend
to John Michael, who now of course is on the
(00:52):
TV side doing work for Ballys. But a lot to
talk about this week, Yeah, it is, and we're moving
right along over the season. We're at the mid for
another season, so we can see light at the end
of the tunnel. But we also have had a chance
to evaluate this team from training camp up until now.
This This is a greatly improved team with a lot
of potential. Certainly, it's gonna be an interesting night for
(01:14):
Donovan tomorrow night to go to his old stomping grounds.
I'm sure that's gonna be an interesting evening in Salt Lake. Well,
it always is when you get a chance to come
back to where you started. And this kid was such
an imprint on that city and on that team that
it became Donovan's team. So for him to go back,
I know they're going to honor him and well deserved.
(01:36):
Well we'll hear from Donovan in our next segment, as
he talked to the media after the game last night
in Phoenix and again earlier today, was named the Eastern
Conference Player of the Week. So stay with us. Cats
HQ presented by bet Way, continues after this. On the
Cavalier's audio verse, Mitchell line right, sends it up, No good,
(02:06):
rebount put Donovan, Donovan Mitchell follow his own. Mitchell left
wing free good sixty six sixty six per Donovan Mitchell
one forty one thirty Look at Donovan Mitchell's brind Mitchell
(02:29):
out front three ball is bad God sixty nine sixty
nine saying with me sixty nine per Donovan Mitchell. Welcome
Cav's HQ presented by bet Way on the Cavalier's Audio
versus Tim el Corn along with Jim Jones and Jim
some great news for the Cavs. Earlier today it was
(02:50):
announced Donovan Mitchell get Player of the Week award. Well
well deserve it. I guess anyone to score seven one
should be at least Player of the Week, no doubt
about it. So Donovan Mitchell after the game on Sunday
night against Phoenix, had a press conference, and obviously here's
Donovan's thoughts on the game against the Suns and certainly
his upcoming trip to Utah when he'll return to the
(03:12):
floor that he started on for the Utah Jazz. He's
been that spark for us, you know, you know, especially
within myself and Darius going in different ways. Um, he's
been a guy just comes in and doesn't know when
he's gonna get on the floor, doesn't know and to
come in every night. And I can't say I don't
know if you guys can. I can't see him night
where he hasn't been ready, like he's been ready every
single time. And I think that just shows his ma
surety has as a player as his his professionalism, and
(03:33):
you know, I have nothing more positive things to say
about our because he's been that less since I've chirst
met him in the in the in Utah. This is
one of those games where Jimmy said, you know, we
can't mess around and this one we have to just
come home with the win. Sons came back there. But
what did you do in the fourth quarter out scoring
them thirty two to nineteen. Yeah, you know at one
point they only had six, you know, six points. You
know we were we went on that run and you
(03:55):
know the fact, you know, I said it to the
guys like that's that's what we want to be. You
know that too. We're trying to be on a consistent basis,
that level of effort, attention to detail, um, all four quarters.
We did it in spurts, you know, and we let
them come back and were like putting that together on
a continuous basis. You can't mess around with the team
like that. They got. That's even though guys aren't playing.
They got guys, like I said, I've been there continuously
and you know we turned it up to a whole
(04:16):
different level of the front start of the fourth quarter.
You gotta give huge credit to that group that was
in there, d G how carrass mar Isaac have Like
those guys came in and said, basically won the game,
you know, to be honest with you, they came in
and just set that tone, and that's how we got
to play. You know, all of us on different in
different areas, in different ways, and you know we looked like,
you know, really good tonight. We gotta keep it going.
(04:37):
Game this season where you won by at least ten
points leading the NBA in that category, does that mean
something we won by at least ten points, like ten
or more? I didn't know that. Um, you know that
just says that says a lot about you know, just
being able to put teams away. You know, we gota
find ways, and we've had times at the beginning of
the year where we weren't able to do that. You know,
as we talked about letting teams come back, letting teams
(04:58):
go back and even sometimes losing games. Uh So our
growth from was it November's about now you can see
it on a daily basis, and we're still growing. There's
still a lot of things that we can get better at,
but to see it naturally progress, you know, throughout these games.
You know, it's it's it's exciting to see for this game,
especially coming off the general game. Um, what did you
(05:18):
see from you as ap proach coming into this one
and coming in, you know they're gonna be fired up,
you know because we we came in and you know,
did took our home court there. You know, guys who
don't say play as much coming in, Um getting their
chance to you know, really show what they canna do. Um,
they got time to guys. You know, then we didn't
get discouraged. We came out and there was sixteen to ten.
They hit some shots and as the quarter went on
next to you know, it was like sixteen you know
(05:40):
what or whatever it was. Um, just continuously you know,
staying even here, you know, not getting too high, too low.
I had some dumb turnovers that kind of led them
to to to push back, and you know we were
able to recover and fix back. Even the fast breaks
were spreading back, you know, not failing to force and turnovers. Um.
You know, it just speaks to our level of you know,
match was you know continuously you know, throughout the year,
and you know it's it's it's good to see that,
(06:02):
you know, on a consistent basis, guys, especially offensively. Honestly,
it was just like come on, Like, you know, first
when they were up sixteen time, we called that time out. Um,
it's like, come on, you know. He made it a
point to focus on the starters for us to set
that song, and we didn't do a great job without
to start the game, but for us to bounce back
the way we did, it's it's huge. You run the
(06:24):
bench for the start of the fourth for us, and
it's so we watched the team go on in twenty
six to the time. What's it like being an observer
to that man, it's it's one of the best things
to see because it's different guys in different areas. You know,
it's coming from different areas. Like it's all the all defense.
You look at our effort, are intensity, the way we
were able to guard, you know, guys really all one
through five, you know, guards, getting rebounds, biggs getting there,
(06:46):
switching we don't put it again in contest, pushing the pains,
getting the floor, running the flour, getting laps like we
did all the little things necessary to go out there
and win, you know, And I think that's great to
see from the sideline and you know, having continuously giving
guys continuously at the group up no matter who's out there,
that's a sign of the team that's really trying to
you know, excel at the highest level. You know, it
doesn't matter who's on the floor. We're gonna go out
there and continuously you know, play at that level. And
(07:09):
we did it tonight and that was that was great
watching and hits that corner of three, gives them one
of their first leads of the game. And JB calls
the time out and he was pretty meant from where
we were sitting, what was the tone of his message
during that time? We we did that to ourselves. You know,
you look at the intensity right before that shot. You
know he is, he's comfortable. They were all comfortable. Um,
you know, I gap the screen McKale bridge. This was
(07:30):
right hand to will pull up. You know, we go
under a screen or we don't get back on defense
the way and watching it hit the three, then he
hits the corner because he's feeling comfortable. Like all those stuff,
all that led because led up to them being comfortable,
you know, and that as soon as we turn it
around and then even start the fourth like you saw
our intensity just you know, taking another leak um and
that's what we got to do it all four quarters.
You know, it's great that we did it, you know
when it mattered most, but continuously having that mental you know,
(07:53):
four to two will focus on that, you know for
the four forty eight um. That's the level of growth
that we're trying to get to. Now that this is over,
you're heading back to Salt Lake City. What do you
think the response to you coming back should be. Yeah,
I don't know. I mean, you know, we didn't like
I said, we did a lot of great things there.
You know, obviously we didn't accomplish our our end goal.
(08:15):
You know, I don't know what the responsibly. I hope
it's it's cheers. You know, we had, like I said,
I had a lot of positives, you know, despite not
winning the championship. That's not you know, it's not easy.
The only one team that doesn't. You know, we have
five cracks that we and we missed, you know, and
at the end of the day, they're playing well, Laurie's
playing out of his mind. They're at a group group
over there, a great group of coaches, and you know,
for me, just we got to get another one on
(08:36):
the road, you know, understanding that, and obviously there's gonna
be a lot of stuff going on, but we've got
to get another one and God, as a group, your
expectations environment into I don't know, I mean to be honest,
after what really helped me was going back home after
the summer I had so then I kind of was
like an emotional and kind of being able to you know,
(08:56):
I didn't play my best because I was all over
the place, you know, with all that stuff. So now
back to you, I've had time, so like I understand, like, okay,
you know, make it brood and make it cheered. You know,
I've been there for five years. You know, it's gonna
see a lot of familiar faces. There's gonna be people
that we actually know and see. But understanding that, you know,
it's it's a lot of great memories and that's that's it.
And you know, because like I said, we gotta find
a way to run the road. It's a tough place
(09:17):
to play, you know, it's a tough place clip so
Jim again. A well deserved honor for Donovan Mitchell as
he's named the Eastern Conference Player of the week, and
certainly it just shows the value that he has brought
to this Cavaliers organization. Yeah, he's been fantastic. He has
the ability to take us to the next level. So
this is the most optimistic I've seen this Cavalier team since.
(09:38):
Good stuff for Donovan Mitchell again, congratulations as he earns
the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. We'll take
a quick time out. There's a lot more to come
on Cavin's HQ presented by bet Wait. So stay with
us on the Cavaliers audio Verse. Come fly with me,
(10:06):
Let's fly, Let's fly away if you can use some
exotic booze and there's a bar and far bombay. Come
on and back. Cabs HQ presented by pet Way on
the Cavaliers audio Verse. Great to have you with us
on this Monday night, and great to have joining us.
(10:26):
Joe Gabriel Joe G from Cabs dot Com. Joe, I've
been in the broadcasting business for thirty seven years now.
I've done interviews and all sorts of unique places and
under bizarre situations. I've never done an interview thirty thousand
feet in the air. It is the first for me
to tim I'm I'm looking out at the wing right now.
(10:49):
It's like a twilight zone. Of course, we're on our
way to Salt Lake City Caps and Jazz tomorrow night.
It'll be game three of this five game road swing.
Things opened up on Friday with the loss in Denver,
but Caps possed back last night a nice win against
the Sun's everybody pretty much played and uh, boy, howel
netto off the bench with a great contribution. Yeah, he's
(11:11):
I mean again, Phoenix is glad they don't have to
see him any points here. I mean he but he's
he was great last night. And also I like the
combination of leverert Arius, Garland and Netto, which I think
I don't know if I've seen that they shared, but boy,
and it was a really effective combination. And how is
is really he's making a case to be in the
rotation for the second half of the season pick time. Well,
(11:33):
there's no doubt about that. And I know you as
JB about that combination that you referred to earlier, and
uh in listening to his response in the post game
after the game last night against Phoenix, it sounds like
we could be seen more of that. Yeah, And I mean,
I know him JB. You know, Carrisbert has kind have
been underrated this season. He's like a coach's dream because
you've been able to pop him in anywhere, bring him
(11:55):
off the bench, start up, small forward, guard, ball handler,
play maker. He's been able to do it a little
bit of everything. So I think you can almost put
in with any combination. And last night he was he
was tremendous last night. Again, we're talking with Joe g
as Joe Gabriel from cabs dot Com stops by to
pay us a visit here on cabs HQ and Joe
everybody talking about the fact this is the midway point,
(12:18):
we're halfway home, fourty one games in. So just your
observations of the first half of the season. Well, I mean,
obviously that the big story, especially heading back into Salt
Lake City for the official first STAB of the season,
has been Donovan Mitchell Eastern Conference play in the week. Uh,
all things have gone through him. He's kind of re established,
not re established, established himself kind of as the leader
(12:41):
of the team. Uh, I think, and I think the
biggest takeaway and you heard Ji saying yesterday the team
has not been foll or healthy. Still having a great record,
number four in the East, but I think they've done
really well with a patch work lineup a lot of nights.
I'm looking forward to seeing what is teams when Ricky
gets back to the second half. Joe, it's hard to
(13:02):
believe we're at the halfway point because it seems like
yesterday we were in pre season and training camp. But
looking back to that, j B and Kobe Altman and
really the organization as a whole pretty much holed in
on the fact that this would be a stronger second
half team because guys had to get used to plane
with one another, and Ricky was gonna have to return
(13:23):
in the second half and so forth. So it bodes
very well that they put twenty six wins together and
they haven't had that full allotment as you just alluded
to big time in UNI. I feel not Ricky. I
think he galvanizes this team, and I thought he did
so last year. I thought he was the one factor
that knata this Steven had a win in many ways,
and I think he galvanizes the team. And I also
(13:45):
think I called him the fifth gear and that we're
cruising it along in fourth year. Now we're a month
hit fifth year with Ricky Musmick speaking of cruising along,
We're cruising smoothly at thirty thousand feet as we talked
to Joe Gabriel, a Cat's HQ presented by bed Way, Joe,
I want to switch over to the defensive side of
the ball Caps. Last night, for the second time and
(14:06):
less than a week, held Phoenix to ninety eight points,
their number one in the NBA and holding teams under
one hundred fifteen times this year. They've done it and
when you think back, it was a ball club a
couple of years ago that was near the bottom, sometimes
at the very bottom of the league defensively, it's been
a remarkable turnaround. Who or what player deserves credit for that? Well,
(14:27):
I mean again, you're you. You've got to look at
your big men and the fact that they give you.
They allow guys on the perimeter to make mistakes. It
may have to when you've had those two big guys
in the middle and you can force everything to them,
and you know Jared and Evan are coming. They're a
big time of razors. So when n defense can funnel anybody,
(14:49):
anybody into those two guys, I think that hey making
it tough as the rim is the key to defense.
And obviously, as we look ahead to the next forty
one games and hopefully some games beyond that in postseason,
in the end, it's gonna beat defense that will carry it. Absolutely. Again,
you've seen it during the regular season and especially this season. Guys,
(15:09):
we're scoring like crazy. As the season wears on, especially
once we get the eight foot may point games are
gonna stop. The fun. Time's gonna be over. And hey,
we can put our wee can rest our hand on
the defensive end. And I don't know if I've ever
seen the Keabler's team when they want to shut somebody down.
You saw him last night when they you know, I
(15:31):
mean they held Phoenix to six points where most of
that fourth quarter. When they turn up their defense, that
fuels their offense. And again we always talk about culture,
that's something they can hang their hannah. They're a defensive
deep in the top defensive team to gi Before we
let you go, I mentioned the first time I've ever
done an interview at thirty thousand feet earlier today, the
(15:51):
first time I've ever seen an NBA coach bring a
bunch of guys out to play water poloon and throw
a football around. But it just kind of shows you
that JB knows and the push it yes, and when
to let off a little bit. Absolutely, I mean, and
you know you codis here the expression, the team building exercise,
that's what that was. Man, it was nice. Was Hey,
the guys maybe laying high that the trip can be
(16:12):
a grind. You don't want you don't want to grind
these guys down. Let him have some fun in a
nice water bloon fight. I don't know if you've got
splash throng. Well that's a whole another story for old
other cabs HQ. JAP got so pretty good. I know that. Hey,
I'm glad we didn't any turbulence during this conference, sation said.
So I'll let you get back to your seat. Always
(16:33):
appreciate the time, and we'll see in Salt Lake. So
I'm good, Thank you, alrighty Joe Gabriel of cabs dot
Com joining us here on cabs h Q presented by
Bett Way. We're gonna have a conversation with j Mike.
John Michael will join us right after this on the
Cavaliers Audio vers Wecently, several unexpecting customers found a new
(17:02):
cashier at their register. While they checked out their groceries,
they discovered members of the Cleveland Cavaliers team ringing them
up at Giant Ego. Not only did the players check
out the items, but the team also took care of
the bill, offering an amazing act of kindness right during
the holidays. As part of the annual Supermarket Surprise and Delight,
Calves in the Community is brought to you by Discount
(17:24):
Drug Mart. We'll be back with more Calves HQ presented
by bet Way. Right after this on the Cavaliers Audio Verse,
he has played forty two minutes, has Donovan Mitchell zigzags inside,
(17:45):
close it up and cloaks it in fifty two Now
for Mitchell. Mitchell puls pre bounded by Laverne. Here's Betchell
just blew right past Lavade. Mitchell to the basket. Mitchell
wants it, He gets it. Mitchell steps back Town Look
(18:07):
cook cook Book Book sixties six points. As the Tonovan
Mitchell Show continues, historic all time great performance Here in Town,
Town Pleatland Bat Cavs HQ presented by Betway. On the
Cavaliers Audio Verse, Tammel Corn along with Jim Jones keV
is getting ready to take on the Utah Jazz on
(18:28):
Tuesday night. It'll be game three of this five game
road swing. Cabs have split the first two, losing Friday
night in Denver and then coming back on Sunday night
with a win over the Phoenix Suns. And not only
have Jim Jones and yours truly had the chance to
call those games on the Cabs audio verse, but on
the television side with Bally's John Michael has enjoyed those
(18:48):
first two games as well. So j Mike, first of all,
welcome back to Cabs HQ. And as we size up
this team, we're at the halfway point of the year.
We're exactly at the midpoint, forty one games in just
your overall thoughts on this team halfway through the first
things first, I'll take twenty six wins at the midway
point of the season. I mean, I think you have
(19:10):
to be happy with where this team is, especially considering
Jimmy Bickerstaff was asked the other day, you know what
he anticipates in the second half, and the first thing
out of his mouth he said was health. You know,
he said, this team still hasn't been at full strength.
The Calves are awaiting the return of Ricky Rubio, which
is imminent, which they're hoping will happen during this trip.
But when this team is at full strength, that it's
(19:31):
gonna be exciting to see. But man, they've been able
to navigate a number of different injury situations, particularly in
that backcourt. Is sitting here with twenty six wins the
halfway point, so it's a it's been something special so
far and hopefully it's trending and continuing to trend in
the right direction. Yeah, I have to agree with John.
John one of the things, uh that Donovan Mitchell move
(19:52):
to get Donovan Mitchell talk a little bit about where
that puts us well, I think. I mean, when you
look at last season, come and down the stretch, particularly
after the injury to Jared Allen, Darius Garland was carrying
so much the load and teams were loading up on
Darius and we're able to slow the Cavaliers down. You
can't do that anymore. And Donovan has been not only
(20:13):
as advertised, but to me better than advertised. I mean,
I don't know about you guys, but Jimmy, we always
saw him twice a year in Utah playing for the
Western Conference. Do you think, yeah, he's pretty good scorer,
and it's a nice player. It's an all starting, no
question about it. He gets here and you see him
every day in practice, and it has been something special.
I didn't realize how strong he was. I didn't realize
how committed to team he is, you know. I mean,
(20:36):
he could have come here and said, listen, I'm a
three time All Star. I'm gonna show the city of Cleveland.
I'm gonna show the Eastern Conference that I can average
twenty six points a game that I had averaged for
my five year career. But he came in here and
wanted to win, you know. And even when you look
at the seventy point game, he didn't eleven assists in
that ball game. So I think it's been something that's
that's really been fun to watch. The team concept for
(20:58):
Mitchell and just what he's done with this club. What
does it say about the Calves culture that he has
fit in so well and that he has blended it.
I mean, he made the effort to do that. But
on the flip side, uh, he has blended in beautifully
because he's been accepted. Yeah, one thing that says you
hear this Cavs culture behind us right now. You know
that's around here in practice, just enjoying each other's company.
(21:20):
I think I think culture wise, he fits, you know
what I mean. I think it's a group of selfless individuals,
I really do. And I think it's an authentic chemistry
among these guys what you're hearing right here here in practice,
right now behind us. So yeah, I think the fit
is great. I think, you know, when you look at
the timing in terms of salaries, this is the time
(21:41):
you have to do it. I mean, you have Evan
Mobile under contract during Scarland just got resigned, Jared Allen
was resigned. So if you're going to go forward with
his young core, here's where you make a move. And
that's precisely what the Calves did. You know. It's a
situation where you gotta be right. You know, if you
make a move like that, you gotta get the right guy.
And so far, boy, it appears at the Cavs certainly have.
So speaking of culture in chemistry, we should let Cavs
(22:03):
fans and listeners know that they we're actually sitting outside
here in Arizona today Kelvs brought the guys out. They
actually had a water balloon toss amongst the guys that
are throwing footballs around. But I think that ties into
what we were just talking about the culture of this team, Jim,
that JB knows when to push the pedal and kind
(22:24):
of when to take take a foot off the gas
a little bit. Yeah, I think that's important because each
coach shouldn't know what he has and uh, I don't
know if they could have done this last year, you know,
but you can do it this year. There's different expectations
as different pressures. The thing that I think about this team,
we're aw futality, especially at the guard position. Most teams
(22:47):
only have one defensive guard that may be able to
stay with one of your starters competitively, but he's probably
not a starter, you know. But here we have three
or four and then the resurrection of our netto has
been incredible, So the calves are stacked. They need a
couple of other pieces. But if they don't get those pieces,
(23:08):
still anything can happen. Because no one has really been
definitive in the in the NBA as to be in
a super team. Yet again. We're talking with John Michael
on Calvi's HQ, presented by Bett Wade. Great to have
you with us. We're outdoors here in Arizona. We're near
the Phoenix Airport as well as you hear the planes
go eat over there. I'll tell you what it's nice.
(23:29):
It was really nice being out here right now. Piggyback
in a little bit on what you said, Jim about
coach pickers have knowing what he has and how will
netto You look back to last night's game, right, Jbus
eight players in the first half. As that game wears
on and Phoenix is hanging around, the Calves are looking
for a spark. JB in that second half goes to
(23:49):
two defensive players, Lamar Stevens and Howell Netto and Netto
shut Dwayne Washington's water right off. The former Buckeye who
really was cooking through three quarters, couldn't get any anything going.
And if you look back at that fourth quarter, was
watching some of the tape just today, Nedda was denying
Washington the ball all over the floor. You know, JB
knows that he has those bullets, knows that he has
(24:10):
those players. Goes to players nine and ten in that
second half, and Boyd paid dividends. The cas are all
over the Suns in that fourth quarter and basically ran
him out of the building. Oh, this is gonna be
one of the more interesting Cavs HQ shows we've ever done.
As we sit here on the side, they have turned
the sprinklers on. Now we're not getting wet, but we
(24:31):
are getting a little bit, a little bit sprayed on.
As we continue our conversation with John Michael Jim, are
you still trying? Yeah, I like it out here. I
like it out here, you know, because I see where
most kids that live in the Midwist want to go with.
(24:52):
Let's turn it back to basketball, John, did anything surprise
you about the first half of the year. That's an
interesting question. I'm little surprised at how well this team
has meshed so far. And you knew that they had
the pieces, but you also knew that the learning curve
was going to be at times extreme, but it almost
didn't feel that way in the first half it even
(25:13):
though in the preseason you saw that I think the
Calves had something. Now that said, I think that Garland
Mitchell backcourt still has some fine tuning to do and
moving forward at not you know, not just in terms
of playing with each other, but also when they're on
the floor together, getting the big men involved. So I
think that's something that needs to progress as the second
half continues, and it will. But man, it's been good
(25:34):
to watch. And you know, Jim, what you can say
about the defense. You know, two seasons ago this defense
was ry five. Last season it's skyrocket in the fifth.
Now we're talking about a defense has been one or
two all season long. And you have those two anchors
in the middle and Evan Mowble and Jared Allen, and man,
you want to talk about having a nice backbone for
being able to win ballgames, you rely on that defense,
(25:54):
You're gonna go a long way. Yeah, you know what
they talk about the calves fourth quarter and second half exploits.
I just think they wear teams down, John, because they
challenge you from the first play to the end of
the game. They're switching, they're aggressive, their physical and as
you mentioned earlier, they have some defensive combinations they can
put on the floor. Again, we're talking with John Michael.
(26:15):
He's our guest this week on Cabin's HQ, presented by
That Way. We'll take a quick time out. When we
come back, we'll hear more from j Mike. We may
hear more airplanes. We may hear more sprinklers and guys
throwing footballs around here in Arizona. It's been a fun
show so far, so stay with us coming back after this.
On the Cavaliers Audio Verse mentel lateness shot clock, I
(26:46):
spake something out of nothing, and that's precisely what he does.
That's what he did, that's what he doles. They set
that down and go back to the to the meat
potatoes of attacking this team at the rim. Takes it
toward the bat and found the counter in love and
love rolled it down. JP just echoed that exact mess
(27:07):
measure with the inner runs Laurenderson Hall. Welcome Back Cavs HQ,
presented by bet Way on the Cavaliers Audio versus Tim
Elk Corn along with Jim Jones. Great to have you
with us on this Monday night, Calves in the midst
of a five game road swing. Game three of that
road trip tomorrow night, as the Cabs will be and
you talk to take on the Jazz. Cavs have split
(27:29):
the first two games of the road trip so far,
and we're halfway through the campaign. Cabs at twenty six
and fifteen at the midway point of this season, John,
it's interesting when I watched the games back on valleys, Uh,
to hear the different perspectives of the guys that you
worked with. Of course, you have the coaching perspective of
Mike Fortello. You've got a c who was tremendous in
(27:51):
the backcourt, a great guard in his playing career, and
of course Brad down there in the paint. So each
one offers a little bit of a unique analysis to it. Yeah. Nice,
And to be able to throw different things obviously off
those guys, as you well know, it makes for you know,
not only a good perspective for the fans, but also
for me as well. You know, you learn learn a
little bit every day if you keep your mouth shutting
your ears open being around those guys. So, yeah, without question,
(28:14):
it's been nice. John. We're playing all these West Coast
teams and everybody's talking about the East is tougher, but
it looks like the West is trying to get their
act together. They've got a few shining stars that have
been pretty consistent for the last couple of weeks. Yeah.
I was really impressed with Denver and Nick Yokich and
what they did and you know, it's a team that
for a while has been able to trying to surround
(28:37):
him with the right pieces went healthy. That's a tough
looking team. And you know, I don't think Jamal Murray
is a percent yet. I think he's still working his
way back once he gets there. If Michael Porter can
also stay healthy, that's a team. I like some of
the pieces they brought in and Bruce Brown. Their bench
looks a lot better than it used to. Still might
be a you know, I'm not gonna say a week
(28:58):
spob in a spot that people point too if they
don't like Denver, you know, to get out of the West.
But I think they've done a really nice job in
surrounding those players, which isn't easy. Three max guys, they
have three max contracts and try to fill the rest
of the gaps. That is not an easy task. But
I think Denver has done a nice job. That's a
good looking team. Memphis, we haven't seen Memphis yet. We're
(29:18):
gonna see them next week. This is a stretch, by
the way of nine straight games against Western Conference opponents,
which is really rare. I mean, I actually thought about
that just yesterday. We need to look up when's the
last time that hast have played nine straight against Western
Conference opponents. So we're getting a nice look around the league. Uh,
it's it's not the easiest of stretches. Utah is gonna
be fun tomorrow. I mean, right, Donovan Mitchell's back lowry
(29:41):
marketings have an act of his season making a bid
for his first All Star appear. And so there's obviously
some good teams out there and uh in the Western Conference,
and we're getting a sampling of all of them at
the same time here over the next couple of weeks.
And John, you mentioned this run of games against Western
Conference teams and of course not only the Calves but
pretty much everybody at the halfway point of the season,
(30:03):
even if it's not the exact numerical number forty one.
So let's transition to the East. How do you stack
up teams in the Eastern Conference now that we've gone
through half of the campaign. It's interesting. I mean, Brooklyn,
we've seen with Dave done and everybody knows that if Brooklyn,
you know, can get everything off the court together, that
there is a group of terrific talent there. I think
(30:24):
also that Brooklyn has done a nice job putting some
pieces in place around those bigger stars, which makes this
team difficult to handle right now. So that certainly is
a team to watch at the beginning of the season.
I like Milwaukee is my favorite Eastern Conference team. I
still do, even though they've been up and down a
little bit over the last couple of weeks, in big
part because of injury. But I think Milwaukee when healthy
(30:47):
is the deepest and most dangerous team. And obviously Boston
we've seen what they've done, so I mean, they're really
good teams right now at the top of the East.
Don't forget about the Sixers. In the kas rear view mirror.
Another team that went healthy can be really dangerous, and
the Sixers went a long way to improving that. Bet.
You look at Denver. You know Denver, you know they
put some nice pieces in place, but the Sixer bench
(31:10):
was really their downfall over the last couple of seasons.
They go out bringing some defensive minded players and the
Anthony Melton, Daniel House, obviously, Montrez Harrold, p J. Tucker
all right in that same you know, the same type
of player that they needed and to provide some support
to that bench, which was eventually was much maligned over
the last couple of seasons. So those are some dangerous teams.
(31:31):
They don't forget to you know, you look back into
the six and seven spot. Cavs are gonna have to
keep rolling because teams are winning in the Eastern Conference,
so that no time to relax here at the midway
point of the season. They have to keep going. They
want to stay in the top six. Again, great insights
from j Mike John Michael as he joins us here
on Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. John of course,
so the television voice of the Cavaliers with Bally's Jim. Yeah.
(31:54):
One thing John and j B says so many unique things.
And one of the things that he mentioned is the
high scoring. All of a sudden, everybody's scoring one fifteen
to one fifty. Really yes, because and one of the
things that I asked it what was the reason? Again,
he said, this is what the league wanted. It's just
taken two or three years for them to develop this
(32:16):
style of play. Because the players are definitely more skilled
than when I played. They just don't have experience. But John,
they can score. But we're seeing some huge individual games, right,
I mean it's almost every week we're seeing a fifty
playing game and oh yeah, our guy having to get
seven just the other night. So it's it's really been
something to watch and the score. You had a feeling
this was gonna take place with you know, all of
(32:37):
the threes that are now in today's game. And I
love talking to you Jim and a c about how
it's now an offensive players game. They cancel the restriction
of movement. That what was that back ten years ago?
And that's what you did to defend restricting movement like that,
That's how you did it. So yeah, it's it's an
(32:57):
offensive player's game right now and we're seeing and scoring.
I guess, hey, if people like it, that's where the
game's going. But man, there's a lot of talent, a
lot of individual talent around in the league. And it's
this league, like JP said just last night, is in
a really really good place right now. By the way,
before we wrap things up, we were outside doing this
interview with Jay Mike. We mentioned there was a water
balloon toss amongst the players. They were throwing a football around.
(33:20):
We've heard about Donovan Mitchell's great athleticism. He was an
awesome baseball player before he decided to go the basketball round.
I think he could have been a great quarterback. Did
you see the athletic moves and the throws he was making.
Well he is, and you know, in today's game, it
takes that unless you're Donovan is an exceptional athlete. And John,
(33:44):
I'm so happy we have it. What a great fit. Yeah,
he's been terrific. I mean, I can't say enough good things.
His attitude really, more so than anything else. When he
was acquired, you remember that Kobe Altman said, we're not
acquiring Donovan Mitchell with the player, We're acquiring Donovan Mitchell
the person. And that's gone a long way, and that's
been prophetic. I mean, that's how he's been over his
first handful of months. I no doubt J. Mike has
(34:06):
always great to talk to you. I know, we got
a little bit wet out here when the sprinklers went
off and the planes flying overhead. May have been one
of the more unique interviews I've done in my thirty
years of broadcasting. But great to have you on. We
appreciate it. Great job on Valleys and uh, here's to
a fun second half of the season. Always fun guys,
thanks so much. All right, John Michael joining us here
on CAB's HQ presented by Bet Waye. We'll take a
(34:28):
quick time out then we'll put the finishing touches on
this week's show. Following this on the Cavaliers Audiover. That's
gonna do it for this week's edition of CABS HQ
presented by Bet Wayne on the Cavaliers Audio Verse and
(34:50):
Jim before we wrap things up, boys, some great thoughts
there from John Michael. An interesting background to conduct that
interview with j Mike, but some great insights. And of course,
so we heard from Donovan Mitchell earlier on the program.
Congratulations to him on Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
And now we move on to Utah, game three of
this five game road swing and all in all, a
(35:12):
quick look and how you think things have gone on
the first two games? Well, I I said before the
road trip that if our bench had started to improve,
and they had, bench has gotten better, you know, and
when you're playing on the road, especially when you're playing
every other day, fatigue becomes a factory if you do
need your bitch. And so far we found three or
four guys off had a bit very effective I call
(35:34):
it Kevin loves Bitch. Well, he certainly is the leader
of that bench unit. There's no doubt about that, Jim,
looking back on your playing days, I know Donovan and
I talked about this last night during the Man to
man and JB alluded to it a couple of days ago. Uh,
these these road trips are long. But that being said,
it can bond a team, it can draw them together.
(35:56):
Are there instances where you recall that happening where kind
of get with your teammates and it's a US against
the world mentality? Well, you know you're here together, you know,
for at least eighteen out of twenty four hours, so
so matchical. There's going to be somebody. But it's all
about relationships. It's all about playing for your teammate and
he's playing for you. All of it's reinforced and magnfid
(36:18):
when you spend as much's time as we're going to
spend an append spending together without about it. So again,
the road trip continues tomorrow night in Salt Lake as
the Cavaliers will be taking on the Jazz. That game
will tip off at nine o'clock, which means the Huntington
tip off show will come your way at eight thirty
right here on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Well, this has
been a unique show to put together, so all sorts
(36:40):
of people to think. Of course, the dynamic duo back
in the studios of Rocket Mortgage field House, who do
a great job. Our senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, along with
technical director Marty Allen. Huge thank you of course to
John Michael. He knows an awful lot about the radio
side of the Cavalier business. But it was great to
have John on as far as his thoughts and his
perspective as the television voice of the Cavaliers on Valley's
(37:03):
Jim Jones. Great, big thank you to you, and of
course the biggest thanks goes to you the listeners. And
we'll all get back together again on Tuesday the Cabs
and the Jazz in Utah again. That game is going
to tip off at nine o'clock, which means the Huntington
tip Off Show will come your way at eight thirty
along the Cavaliers Audio Verse. So until then, this is
to Melkorn saying once again thank you very much for listening,
(37:27):
and so long everybody
Welcome to Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. Thank you
for joining us on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Now here's
your host, Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones. Higain everybody, and
welcome to Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. On the
Cavaliers Audio Verse, Tim L. Corn along with Jim Jones
and Jim we continue along this five game road swing.
(00:30):
The win over Phoenix last night, one and one through
the first two ball games, and three more to come
starting tomorrow night in Utah. But all in all, we're
gonna have an interesting show this week. Donovan Mitchell was
named Eastern Conference Player of the Week, so we'll hear
from Donovan, and a little bit later on in the show,
we're gonna touch base with your good buddy, my friend
to John Michael, who now of course is on the
(00:52):
TV side doing work for Ballys. But a lot to
talk about this week, Yeah, it is, and we're moving
right along over the season. We're at the mid for
another season, so we can see light at the end
of the tunnel. But we also have had a chance
to evaluate this team from training camp up until now.
This This is a greatly improved team with a lot
of potential. Certainly, it's gonna be an interesting night for
(01:14):
Donovan tomorrow night to go to his old stomping grounds.
I'm sure that's gonna be an interesting evening in Salt Lake. Well,
it always is when you get a chance to come
back to where you started. And this kid was such
an imprint on that city and on that team that
it became Donovan's team. So for him to go back,
I know they're going to honor him and well deserved.
(01:36):
Well we'll hear from Donovan in our next segment, as
he talked to the media after the game last night
in Phoenix and again earlier today, was named the Eastern
Conference Player of the Week. So stay with us. Cats
HQ presented by bet Way, continues after this. On the
Cavalier's audio verse, Mitchell line right, sends it up, No good,
(02:06):
rebount put Donovan, Donovan Mitchell follow his own. Mitchell left
wing free good sixty six sixty six per Donovan Mitchell
one forty one thirty Look at Donovan Mitchell's brind Mitchell
(02:29):
out front three ball is bad God sixty nine sixty
nine saying with me sixty nine per Donovan Mitchell. Welcome
Cav's HQ presented by bet Way on the Cavalier's Audio
versus Tim el Corn along with Jim Jones and Jim
some great news for the Cavs. Earlier today it was
(02:50):
announced Donovan Mitchell get Player of the Week award. Well
well deserve it. I guess anyone to score seven one
should be at least Player of the Week, no doubt
about it. So Donovan Mitchell after the game on Sunday
night against Phoenix, had a press conference, and obviously here's
Donovan's thoughts on the game against the Suns and certainly
his upcoming trip to Utah when he'll return to the
(03:12):
floor that he started on for the Utah Jazz. He's
been that spark for us, you know, you know, especially
within myself and Darius going in different ways. Um, he's
been a guy just comes in and doesn't know when
he's gonna get on the floor, doesn't know and to
come in every night. And I can't say I don't
know if you guys can. I can't see him night
where he hasn't been ready, like he's been ready every
single time. And I think that just shows his ma
surety has as a player as his his professionalism, and
(03:33):
you know, I have nothing more positive things to say
about our because he's been that less since I've chirst
met him in the in the in Utah. This is
one of those games where Jimmy said, you know, we
can't mess around and this one we have to just
come home with the win. Sons came back there. But
what did you do in the fourth quarter out scoring
them thirty two to nineteen. Yeah, you know at one
point they only had six, you know, six points. You
know we were we went on that run and you
(03:55):
know the fact, you know, I said it to the
guys like that's that's what we want to be. You
know that too. We're trying to be on a consistent basis,
that level of effort, attention to detail, um, all four quarters.
We did it in spurts, you know, and we let
them come back and were like putting that together on
a continuous basis. You can't mess around with the team
like that. They got. That's even though guys aren't playing.
They got guys, like I said, I've been there continuously
and you know we turned it up to a whole
(04:16):
different level of the front start of the fourth quarter.
You gotta give huge credit to that group that was
in there, d G how carrass mar Isaac have Like
those guys came in and said, basically won the game,
you know, to be honest with you, they came in
and just set that tone, and that's how we got
to play. You know, all of us on different in
different areas, in different ways, and you know we looked like,
you know, really good tonight. We gotta keep it going.
(04:37):
Game this season where you won by at least ten
points leading the NBA in that category, does that mean
something we won by at least ten points, like ten
or more? I didn't know that. Um, you know that
just says that says a lot about you know, just
being able to put teams away. You know, we gota
find ways, and we've had times at the beginning of
the year where we weren't able to do that. You know,
as we talked about letting teams come back, letting teams
(04:58):
go back and even sometimes losing games. Uh So our
growth from was it November's about now you can see
it on a daily basis, and we're still growing. There's
still a lot of things that we can get better at,
but to see it naturally progress, you know, throughout these games.
You know, it's it's it's exciting to see for this game,
especially coming off the general game. Um, what did you
(05:18):
see from you as ap proach coming into this one
and coming in, you know they're gonna be fired up,
you know because we we came in and you know,
did took our home court there. You know, guys who
don't say play as much coming in, Um getting their
chance to you know, really show what they canna do. Um,
they got time to guys. You know, then we didn't
get discouraged. We came out and there was sixteen to ten.
They hit some shots and as the quarter went on
next to you know, it was like sixteen you know
(05:40):
what or whatever it was. Um, just continuously you know,
staying even here, you know, not getting too high, too low.
I had some dumb turnovers that kind of led them
to to to push back, and you know we were
able to recover and fix back. Even the fast breaks
were spreading back, you know, not failing to force and turnovers. Um.
You know, it just speaks to our level of you know,
match was you know continuously you know, throughout the year,
and you know it's it's it's good to see that,
(06:02):
you know, on a consistent basis, guys, especially offensively. Honestly,
it was just like come on, Like, you know, first
when they were up sixteen time, we called that time out. Um,
it's like, come on, you know. He made it a
point to focus on the starters for us to set
that song, and we didn't do a great job without
to start the game, but for us to bounce back
the way we did, it's it's huge. You run the
(06:24):
bench for the start of the fourth for us, and
it's so we watched the team go on in twenty
six to the time. What's it like being an observer
to that man, it's it's one of the best things
to see because it's different guys in different areas. You know,
it's coming from different areas. Like it's all the all defense.
You look at our effort, are intensity, the way we
were able to guard, you know, guys really all one
through five, you know, guards, getting rebounds, biggs getting there,
(06:46):
switching we don't put it again in contest, pushing the pains,
getting the floor, running the flour, getting laps like we
did all the little things necessary to go out there
and win, you know, And I think that's great to
see from the sideline and you know, having continuously giving
guys continuously at the group up no matter who's out there,
that's a sign of the team that's really trying to
you know, excel at the highest level. You know, it
doesn't matter who's on the floor. We're gonna go out
there and continuously you know, play at that level. And
(07:09):
we did it tonight and that was that was great
watching and hits that corner of three, gives them one
of their first leads of the game. And JB calls
the time out and he was pretty meant from where
we were sitting, what was the tone of his message
during that time? We we did that to ourselves. You know,
you look at the intensity right before that shot. You
know he is, he's comfortable. They were all comfortable. Um,
you know, I gap the screen McKale bridge. This was
(07:30):
right hand to will pull up. You know, we go
under a screen or we don't get back on defense
the way and watching it hit the three, then he
hits the corner because he's feeling comfortable. Like all those stuff,
all that led because led up to them being comfortable,
you know, and that as soon as we turn it
around and then even start the fourth like you saw
our intensity just you know, taking another leak um and
that's what we got to do it all four quarters.
You know, it's great that we did it, you know
when it mattered most, but continuously having that mental you know,
(07:53):
four to two will focus on that, you know for
the four forty eight um. That's the level of growth
that we're trying to get to. Now that this is over,
you're heading back to Salt Lake City. What do you
think the response to you coming back should be. Yeah,
I don't know. I mean, you know, we didn't like
I said, we did a lot of great things there.
You know, obviously we didn't accomplish our our end goal.
(08:15):
You know, I don't know what the responsibly. I hope
it's it's cheers. You know, we had, like I said,
I had a lot of positives, you know, despite not
winning the championship. That's not you know, it's not easy.
The only one team that doesn't. You know, we have
five cracks that we and we missed, you know, and
at the end of the day, they're playing well, Laurie's
playing out of his mind. They're at a group group
over there, a great group of coaches, and you know,
for me, just we got to get another one on
(08:36):
the road, you know, understanding that, and obviously there's gonna
be a lot of stuff going on, but we've got
to get another one and God, as a group, your
expectations environment into I don't know, I mean to be honest,
after what really helped me was going back home after
the summer I had so then I kind of was
like an emotional and kind of being able to you know,
(08:56):
I didn't play my best because I was all over
the place, you know, with all that stuff. So now
back to you, I've had time, so like I understand, like, okay,
you know, make it brood and make it cheered. You know,
I've been there for five years. You know, it's gonna
see a lot of familiar faces. There's gonna be people
that we actually know and see. But understanding that, you know,
it's it's a lot of great memories and that's that's it.
And you know, because like I said, we gotta find
a way to run the road. It's a tough place
(09:17):
to play, you know, it's a tough place clip so
Jim again. A well deserved honor for Donovan Mitchell as
he's named the Eastern Conference Player of the week, and
certainly it just shows the value that he has brought
to this Cavaliers organization. Yeah, he's been fantastic. He has
the ability to take us to the next level. So
this is the most optimistic I've seen this Cavalier team since.
(09:38):
Good stuff for Donovan Mitchell again, congratulations as he earns
the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. We'll take
a quick time out. There's a lot more to come
on Cavin's HQ presented by bet Wait. So stay with
us on the Cavaliers audio Verse. Come fly with me,
(10:06):
Let's fly, Let's fly away if you can use some
exotic booze and there's a bar and far bombay. Come
on and back. Cabs HQ presented by pet Way on
the Cavaliers audio Verse. Great to have you with us
on this Monday night, and great to have joining us.
(10:26):
Joe Gabriel Joe G from Cabs dot Com. Joe, I've
been in the broadcasting business for thirty seven years now.
I've done interviews and all sorts of unique places and
under bizarre situations. I've never done an interview thirty thousand
feet in the air. It is the first for me
to tim I'm I'm looking out at the wing right now.
(10:49):
It's like a twilight zone. Of course, we're on our
way to Salt Lake City Caps and Jazz tomorrow night.
It'll be game three of this five game road swing.
Things opened up on Friday with the loss in Denver,
but Caps possed back last night a nice win against
the Sun's everybody pretty much played and uh, boy, howel
netto off the bench with a great contribution. Yeah, he's
(11:11):
I mean again, Phoenix is glad they don't have to
see him any points here. I mean he but he's
he was great last night. And also I like the
combination of leverert Arius, Garland and Netto, which I think
I don't know if I've seen that they shared, but boy,
and it was a really effective combination. And how is
is really he's making a case to be in the
rotation for the second half of the season pick time. Well,
(11:33):
there's no doubt about that. And I know you as
JB about that combination that you referred to earlier, and
uh in listening to his response in the post game
after the game last night against Phoenix, it sounds like
we could be seen more of that. Yeah, And I mean,
I know him JB. You know, Carrisbert has kind have
been underrated this season. He's like a coach's dream because
you've been able to pop him in anywhere, bring him
(11:55):
off the bench, start up, small forward, guard, ball handler,
play maker. He's been able to do it a little
bit of everything. So I think you can almost put
in with any combination. And last night he was he
was tremendous last night. Again, we're talking with Joe g
as Joe Gabriel from cabs dot Com stops by to
pay us a visit here on cabs HQ and Joe
everybody talking about the fact this is the midway point,
(12:18):
we're halfway home, fourty one games in. So just your
observations of the first half of the season. Well, I mean,
obviously that the big story, especially heading back into Salt
Lake City for the official first STAB of the season,
has been Donovan Mitchell Eastern Conference play in the week. Uh,
all things have gone through him. He's kind of re established,
not re established, established himself kind of as the leader
(12:41):
of the team. Uh, I think, and I think the
biggest takeaway and you heard Ji saying yesterday the team
has not been foll or healthy. Still having a great record,
number four in the East, but I think they've done
really well with a patch work lineup a lot of nights.
I'm looking forward to seeing what is teams when Ricky
gets back to the second half. Joe, it's hard to
(13:02):
believe we're at the halfway point because it seems like
yesterday we were in pre season and training camp. But
looking back to that, j B and Kobe Altman and
really the organization as a whole pretty much holed in
on the fact that this would be a stronger second
half team because guys had to get used to plane
with one another, and Ricky was gonna have to return
(13:23):
in the second half and so forth. So it bodes
very well that they put twenty six wins together and
they haven't had that full allotment as you just alluded
to big time in UNI. I feel not Ricky. I
think he galvanizes this team, and I thought he did
so last year. I thought he was the one factor
that knata this Steven had a win in many ways,
and I think he galvanizes the team. And I also
(13:45):
think I called him the fifth gear and that we're
cruising it along in fourth year. Now we're a month
hit fifth year with Ricky Musmick speaking of cruising along,
We're cruising smoothly at thirty thousand feet as we talked
to Joe Gabriel, a Cat's HQ presented by bed Way, Joe,
I want to switch over to the defensive side of
the ball Caps. Last night, for the second time and
(14:06):
less than a week, held Phoenix to ninety eight points,
their number one in the NBA and holding teams under
one hundred fifteen times this year. They've done it and
when you think back, it was a ball club a
couple of years ago that was near the bottom, sometimes
at the very bottom of the league defensively, it's been
a remarkable turnaround. Who or what player deserves credit for that? Well,
(14:27):
I mean again, you're you. You've got to look at
your big men and the fact that they give you.
They allow guys on the perimeter to make mistakes. It
may have to when you've had those two big guys
in the middle and you can force everything to them,
and you know Jared and Evan are coming. They're a
big time of razors. So when n defense can funnel anybody,
(14:49):
anybody into those two guys, I think that hey making
it tough as the rim is the key to defense.
And obviously, as we look ahead to the next forty
one games and hopefully some games beyond that in postseason,
in the end, it's gonna beat defense that will carry it. Absolutely. Again,
you've seen it during the regular season and especially this season. Guys,
(15:09):
we're scoring like crazy. As the season wears on, especially
once we get the eight foot may point games are
gonna stop. The fun. Time's gonna be over. And hey,
we can put our wee can rest our hand on
the defensive end. And I don't know if I've ever
seen the Keabler's team when they want to shut somebody down.
You saw him last night when they you know, I
(15:31):
mean they held Phoenix to six points where most of
that fourth quarter. When they turn up their defense, that
fuels their offense. And again we always talk about culture,
that's something they can hang their hannah. They're a defensive
deep in the top defensive team to gi Before we
let you go, I mentioned the first time I've ever
done an interview at thirty thousand feet earlier today, the
(15:51):
first time I've ever seen an NBA coach bring a
bunch of guys out to play water poloon and throw
a football around. But it just kind of shows you
that JB knows and the push it yes, and when
to let off a little bit. Absolutely, I mean, and
you know you codis here the expression, the team building exercise,
that's what that was. Man, it was nice. Was Hey,
the guys maybe laying high that the trip can be
(16:12):
a grind. You don't want you don't want to grind
these guys down. Let him have some fun in a
nice water bloon fight. I don't know if you've got
splash throng. Well that's a whole another story for old
other cabs HQ. JAP got so pretty good. I know that. Hey,
I'm glad we didn't any turbulence during this conference, sation said.
So I'll let you get back to your seat. Always
(16:33):
appreciate the time, and we'll see in Salt Lake. So
I'm good, Thank you, alrighty Joe Gabriel of cabs dot
Com joining us here on cabs h Q presented by
Bett Way. We're gonna have a conversation with j Mike.
John Michael will join us right after this on the
Cavaliers Audio vers Wecently, several unexpecting customers found a new
(17:02):
cashier at their register. While they checked out their groceries,
they discovered members of the Cleveland Cavaliers team ringing them
up at Giant Ego. Not only did the players check
out the items, but the team also took care of
the bill, offering an amazing act of kindness right during
the holidays. As part of the annual Supermarket Surprise and Delight,
Calves in the Community is brought to you by Discount
(17:24):
Drug Mart. We'll be back with more Calves HQ presented
by bet Way. Right after this on the Cavaliers Audio Verse,
he has played forty two minutes, has Donovan Mitchell zigzags inside,
(17:45):
close it up and cloaks it in fifty two Now
for Mitchell. Mitchell puls pre bounded by Laverne. Here's Betchell
just blew right past Lavade. Mitchell to the basket. Mitchell
wants it, He gets it. Mitchell steps back Town Look
(18:07):
cook cook Book Book sixties six points. As the Tonovan
Mitchell Show continues, historic all time great performance Here in Town,
Town Pleatland Bat Cavs HQ presented by Betway. On the
Cavaliers Audio Verse, Tammel Corn along with Jim Jones keV
is getting ready to take on the Utah Jazz on
(18:28):
Tuesday night. It'll be game three of this five game
road swing. Cabs have split the first two, losing Friday
night in Denver and then coming back on Sunday night
with a win over the Phoenix Suns. And not only
have Jim Jones and yours truly had the chance to
call those games on the Cabs audio verse, but on
the television side with Bally's John Michael has enjoyed those
(18:48):
first two games as well. So j Mike, first of all,
welcome back to Cabs HQ. And as we size up
this team, we're at the halfway point of the year.
We're exactly at the midpoint, forty one games in just
your overall thoughts on this team halfway through the first
things first, I'll take twenty six wins at the midway
point of the season. I mean, I think you have
(19:10):
to be happy with where this team is, especially considering
Jimmy Bickerstaff was asked the other day, you know what
he anticipates in the second half, and the first thing
out of his mouth he said was health. You know,
he said, this team still hasn't been at full strength.
The Calves are awaiting the return of Ricky Rubio, which
is imminent, which they're hoping will happen during this trip.
But when this team is at full strength, that it's
(19:31):
gonna be exciting to see. But man, they've been able
to navigate a number of different injury situations, particularly in
that backcourt. Is sitting here with twenty six wins the
halfway point, so it's a it's been something special so
far and hopefully it's trending and continuing to trend in
the right direction. Yeah, I have to agree with John.
John one of the things, uh that Donovan Mitchell move
(19:52):
to get Donovan Mitchell talk a little bit about where
that puts us well, I think. I mean, when you
look at last season, come and down the stretch, particularly
after the injury to Jared Allen, Darius Garland was carrying
so much the load and teams were loading up on
Darius and we're able to slow the Cavaliers down. You
can't do that anymore. And Donovan has been not only
(20:13):
as advertised, but to me better than advertised. I mean,
I don't know about you guys, but Jimmy, we always
saw him twice a year in Utah playing for the
Western Conference. Do you think, yeah, he's pretty good scorer,
and it's a nice player. It's an all starting, no
question about it. He gets here and you see him
every day in practice, and it has been something special.
I didn't realize how strong he was. I didn't realize
how committed to team he is, you know. I mean,
(20:36):
he could have come here and said, listen, I'm a
three time All Star. I'm gonna show the city of Cleveland.
I'm gonna show the Eastern Conference that I can average
twenty six points a game that I had averaged for
my five year career. But he came in here and
wanted to win, you know. And even when you look
at the seventy point game, he didn't eleven assists in
that ball game. So I think it's been something that's
that's really been fun to watch. The team concept for
(20:58):
Mitchell and just what he's done with this club. What
does it say about the Calves culture that he has
fit in so well and that he has blended it.
I mean, he made the effort to do that. But
on the flip side, uh, he has blended in beautifully
because he's been accepted. Yeah, one thing that says you
hear this Cavs culture behind us right now. You know
that's around here in practice, just enjoying each other's company.
(21:20):
I think I think culture wise, he fits, you know
what I mean. I think it's a group of selfless individuals,
I really do. And I think it's an authentic chemistry
among these guys what you're hearing right here here in practice,
right now behind us. So yeah, I think the fit
is great. I think, you know, when you look at
the timing in terms of salaries, this is the time
(21:41):
you have to do it. I mean, you have Evan
Mobile under contract during Scarland just got resigned, Jared Allen
was resigned. So if you're going to go forward with
his young core, here's where you make a move. And
that's precisely what the Calves did. You know. It's a
situation where you gotta be right. You know, if you
make a move like that, you gotta get the right guy.
And so far, boy, it appears at the Cavs certainly have.
So speaking of culture in chemistry, we should let Cavs
(22:03):
fans and listeners know that they we're actually sitting outside
here in Arizona today Kelvs brought the guys out. They
actually had a water balloon toss amongst the guys that
are throwing footballs around. But I think that ties into
what we were just talking about the culture of this team, Jim,
that JB knows when to push the pedal and kind
(22:24):
of when to take take a foot off the gas
a little bit. Yeah, I think that's important because each
coach shouldn't know what he has and uh, I don't
know if they could have done this last year, you know,
but you can do it this year. There's different expectations
as different pressures. The thing that I think about this team,
we're aw futality, especially at the guard position. Most teams
(22:47):
only have one defensive guard that may be able to
stay with one of your starters competitively, but he's probably
not a starter, you know. But here we have three
or four and then the resurrection of our netto has
been incredible, So the calves are stacked. They need a
couple of other pieces. But if they don't get those pieces,
(23:08):
still anything can happen. Because no one has really been
definitive in the in the NBA as to be in
a super team. Yet again. We're talking with John Michael
on Calvi's HQ, presented by Bett Wade. Great to have
you with us. We're outdoors here in Arizona. We're near
the Phoenix Airport as well as you hear the planes
go eat over there. I'll tell you what it's nice.
(23:29):
It was really nice being out here right now. Piggyback
in a little bit on what you said, Jim about
coach pickers have knowing what he has and how will
netto You look back to last night's game, right, Jbus
eight players in the first half. As that game wears
on and Phoenix is hanging around, the Calves are looking
for a spark. JB in that second half goes to
(23:49):
two defensive players, Lamar Stevens and Howell Netto and Netto
shut Dwayne Washington's water right off. The former Buckeye who
really was cooking through three quarters, couldn't get any anything going.
And if you look back at that fourth quarter, was
watching some of the tape just today, Nedda was denying
Washington the ball all over the floor. You know, JB
knows that he has those bullets, knows that he has
(24:10):
those players. Goes to players nine and ten in that
second half, and Boyd paid dividends. The cas are all
over the Suns in that fourth quarter and basically ran
him out of the building. Oh, this is gonna be
one of the more interesting Cavs HQ shows we've ever done.
As we sit here on the side, they have turned
the sprinklers on. Now we're not getting wet, but we
(24:31):
are getting a little bit, a little bit sprayed on.
As we continue our conversation with John Michael Jim, are
you still trying? Yeah, I like it out here. I
like it out here, you know, because I see where
most kids that live in the Midwist want to go with.
(24:52):
Let's turn it back to basketball, John, did anything surprise
you about the first half of the year. That's an
interesting question. I'm little surprised at how well this team
has meshed so far. And you knew that they had
the pieces, but you also knew that the learning curve
was going to be at times extreme, but it almost
didn't feel that way in the first half it even
(25:13):
though in the preseason you saw that I think the
Calves had something. Now that said, I think that Garland
Mitchell backcourt still has some fine tuning to do and
moving forward at not you know, not just in terms
of playing with each other, but also when they're on
the floor together, getting the big men involved. So I
think that's something that needs to progress as the second
half continues, and it will. But man, it's been good
(25:34):
to watch. And you know, Jim, what you can say
about the defense. You know, two seasons ago this defense
was ry five. Last season it's skyrocket in the fifth.
Now we're talking about a defense has been one or
two all season long. And you have those two anchors
in the middle and Evan Mowble and Jared Allen, and man,
you want to talk about having a nice backbone for
being able to win ballgames, you rely on that defense,
(25:54):
You're gonna go a long way. Yeah, you know what
they talk about the calves fourth quarter and second half exploits.
I just think they wear teams down, John, because they
challenge you from the first play to the end of
the game. They're switching, they're aggressive, their physical and as
you mentioned earlier, they have some defensive combinations they can
put on the floor. Again, we're talking with John Michael.
(26:15):
He's our guest this week on Cabin's HQ, presented by
That Way. We'll take a quick time out. When we
come back, we'll hear more from j Mike. We may
hear more airplanes. We may hear more sprinklers and guys
throwing footballs around here in Arizona. It's been a fun
show so far, so stay with us coming back after this.
On the Cavaliers Audio Verse mentel lateness shot clock, I
(26:46):
spake something out of nothing, and that's precisely what he does.
That's what he did, that's what he doles. They set
that down and go back to the to the meat
potatoes of attacking this team at the rim. Takes it
toward the bat and found the counter in love and
love rolled it down. JP just echoed that exact mess
(27:07):
measure with the inner runs Laurenderson Hall. Welcome Back Cavs HQ,
presented by bet Way on the Cavaliers Audio versus Tim
Elk Corn along with Jim Jones. Great to have you
with us on this Monday night, Calves in the midst
of a five game road swing. Game three of that
road trip tomorrow night, as the Cabs will be and
you talk to take on the Jazz. Cavs have split
(27:29):
the first two games of the road trip so far,
and we're halfway through the campaign. Cabs at twenty six
and fifteen at the midway point of this season, John,
it's interesting when I watched the games back on valleys, Uh,
to hear the different perspectives of the guys that you
worked with. Of course, you have the coaching perspective of
Mike Fortello. You've got a c who was tremendous in
(27:51):
the backcourt, a great guard in his playing career, and
of course Brad down there in the paint. So each
one offers a little bit of a unique analysis to it. Yeah. Nice,
And to be able to throw different things obviously off
those guys, as you well know, it makes for you know,
not only a good perspective for the fans, but also
for me as well. You know, you learn learn a
little bit every day if you keep your mouth shutting
your ears open being around those guys. So, yeah, without question,
(28:14):
it's been nice. John. We're playing all these West Coast
teams and everybody's talking about the East is tougher, but
it looks like the West is trying to get their
act together. They've got a few shining stars that have
been pretty consistent for the last couple of weeks. Yeah.
I was really impressed with Denver and Nick Yokich and
what they did and you know, it's a team that
for a while has been able to trying to surround
(28:37):
him with the right pieces went healthy. That's a tough
looking team. And you know, I don't think Jamal Murray
is a percent yet. I think he's still working his
way back once he gets there. If Michael Porter can
also stay healthy, that's a team. I like some of
the pieces they brought in and Bruce Brown. Their bench
looks a lot better than it used to. Still might
be a you know, I'm not gonna say a week
(28:58):
spob in a spot that people point too if they
don't like Denver, you know, to get out of the West.
But I think they've done a really nice job in
surrounding those players, which isn't easy. Three max guys, they
have three max contracts and try to fill the rest
of the gaps. That is not an easy task. But
I think Denver has done a nice job. That's a
good looking team. Memphis, we haven't seen Memphis yet. We're
(29:18):
gonna see them next week. This is a stretch, by
the way of nine straight games against Western Conference opponents,
which is really rare. I mean, I actually thought about
that just yesterday. We need to look up when's the
last time that hast have played nine straight against Western
Conference opponents. So we're getting a nice look around the league. Uh,
it's it's not the easiest of stretches. Utah is gonna
be fun tomorrow. I mean, right, Donovan Mitchell's back lowry
(29:41):
marketings have an act of his season making a bid
for his first All Star appear. And so there's obviously
some good teams out there and uh in the Western Conference,
and we're getting a sampling of all of them at
the same time here over the next couple of weeks.
And John, you mentioned this run of games against Western
Conference teams and of course not only the Calves but
pretty much everybody at the halfway point of the season,
(30:03):
even if it's not the exact numerical number forty one.
So let's transition to the East. How do you stack
up teams in the Eastern Conference now that we've gone
through half of the campaign. It's interesting. I mean, Brooklyn,
we've seen with Dave done and everybody knows that if Brooklyn,
you know, can get everything off the court together, that
there is a group of terrific talent there. I think
(30:24):
also that Brooklyn has done a nice job putting some
pieces in place around those bigger stars, which makes this
team difficult to handle right now. So that certainly is
a team to watch at the beginning of the season.
I like Milwaukee is my favorite Eastern Conference team. I
still do, even though they've been up and down a
little bit over the last couple of weeks, in big
part because of injury. But I think Milwaukee when healthy
(30:47):
is the deepest and most dangerous team. And obviously Boston
we've seen what they've done, so I mean, they're really
good teams right now at the top of the East.
Don't forget about the Sixers. In the kas rear view mirror.
Another team that went healthy can be really dangerous, and
the Sixers went a long way to improving that. Bet.
You look at Denver. You know Denver, you know they
put some nice pieces in place, but the Sixer bench
(31:10):
was really their downfall over the last couple of seasons.
They go out bringing some defensive minded players and the
Anthony Melton, Daniel House, obviously, Montrez Harrold, p J. Tucker
all right in that same you know, the same type
of player that they needed and to provide some support
to that bench, which was eventually was much maligned over
the last couple of seasons. So those are some dangerous teams.
(31:31):
They don't forget to you know, you look back into
the six and seven spot. Cavs are gonna have to
keep rolling because teams are winning in the Eastern Conference,
so that no time to relax here at the midway
point of the season. They have to keep going. They
want to stay in the top six. Again, great insights
from j Mike John Michael as he joins us here
on Cavs HQ presented by bet Way. John of course,
so the television voice of the Cavaliers with Bally's Jim. Yeah.
(31:54):
One thing John and j B says so many unique things.
And one of the things that he mentioned is the
high scoring. All of a sudden, everybody's scoring one fifteen
to one fifty. Really yes, because and one of the
things that I asked it what was the reason? Again,
he said, this is what the league wanted. It's just
taken two or three years for them to develop this
(32:16):
style of play. Because the players are definitely more skilled
than when I played. They just don't have experience. But John,
they can score. But we're seeing some huge individual games, right,
I mean it's almost every week we're seeing a fifty
playing game and oh yeah, our guy having to get
seven just the other night. So it's it's really been
something to watch and the score. You had a feeling
this was gonna take place with you know, all of
(32:37):
the threes that are now in today's game. And I
love talking to you Jim and a c about how
it's now an offensive players game. They cancel the restriction
of movement. That what was that back ten years ago?
And that's what you did to defend restricting movement like that,
That's how you did it. So yeah, it's it's an
(32:57):
offensive player's game right now and we're seeing and scoring.
I guess, hey, if people like it, that's where the
game's going. But man, there's a lot of talent, a
lot of individual talent around in the league. And it's
this league, like JP said just last night, is in
a really really good place right now. By the way,
before we wrap things up, we were outside doing this
interview with Jay Mike. We mentioned there was a water
balloon toss amongst the players. They were throwing a football around.
(33:20):
We've heard about Donovan Mitchell's great athleticism. He was an
awesome baseball player before he decided to go the basketball round.
I think he could have been a great quarterback. Did
you see the athletic moves and the throws he was making.
Well he is, and you know, in today's game, it
takes that unless you're Donovan is an exceptional athlete. And John,
(33:44):
I'm so happy we have it. What a great fit. Yeah,
he's been terrific. I mean, I can't say enough good things.
His attitude really, more so than anything else. When he
was acquired, you remember that Kobe Altman said, we're not
acquiring Donovan Mitchell with the player, We're acquiring Donovan Mitchell
the person. And that's gone a long way, and that's
been prophetic. I mean, that's how he's been over his
first handful of months. I no doubt J. Mike has
(34:06):
always great to talk to you. I know, we got
a little bit wet out here when the sprinklers went
off and the planes flying overhead. May have been one
of the more unique interviews I've done in my thirty
years of broadcasting. But great to have you on. We
appreciate it. Great job on Valleys and uh, here's to
a fun second half of the season. Always fun guys,
thanks so much. All right, John Michael joining us here
on CAB's HQ presented by Bet Waye. We'll take a
(34:28):
quick time out then we'll put the finishing touches on
this week's show. Following this on the Cavaliers Audiover. That's
gonna do it for this week's edition of CABS HQ
presented by Bet Wayne on the Cavaliers Audio Verse and
(34:50):
Jim before we wrap things up, boys, some great thoughts
there from John Michael. An interesting background to conduct that
interview with j Mike, but some great insights. And of course,
so we heard from Donovan Mitchell earlier on the program.
Congratulations to him on Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
And now we move on to Utah, game three of
this five game road swing and all in all, a
(35:12):
quick look and how you think things have gone on
the first two games? Well, I I said before the
road trip that if our bench had started to improve,
and they had, bench has gotten better, you know, and
when you're playing on the road, especially when you're playing
every other day, fatigue becomes a factory if you do
need your bitch. And so far we found three or
four guys off had a bit very effective I call
(35:34):
it Kevin loves Bitch. Well, he certainly is the leader
of that bench unit. There's no doubt about that, Jim,
looking back on your playing days, I know Donovan and
I talked about this last night during the Man to
man and JB alluded to it a couple of days ago. Uh,
these these road trips are long. But that being said,
it can bond a team, it can draw them together.
(35:56):
Are there instances where you recall that happening where kind
of get with your teammates and it's a US against
the world mentality? Well, you know you're here together, you know,
for at least eighteen out of twenty four hours, so
so matchical. There's going to be somebody. But it's all
about relationships. It's all about playing for your teammate and
he's playing for you. All of it's reinforced and magnfid
(36:18):
when you spend as much's time as we're going to
spend an append spending together without about it. So again,
the road trip continues tomorrow night in Salt Lake as
the Cavaliers will be taking on the Jazz. That game
will tip off at nine o'clock, which means the Huntington
tip off show will come your way at eight thirty
right here on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Well, this has
been a unique show to put together, so all sorts
(36:40):
of people to think. Of course, the dynamic duo back
in the studios of Rocket Mortgage field House, who do
a great job. Our senior producer Kurt McLoughlin, along with
technical director Marty Allen. Huge thank you of course to
John Michael. He knows an awful lot about the radio
side of the Cavalier business. But it was great to
have John on as far as his thoughts and his
perspective as the television voice of the Cavaliers on Valley's
(37:03):
Jim Jones. Great, big thank you to you, and of
course the biggest thanks goes to you the listeners. And
we'll all get back together again on Tuesday the Cabs
and the Jazz in Utah again. That game is going
to tip off at nine o'clock, which means the Huntington
tip Off Show will come your way at eight thirty
along the Cavaliers Audio Verse. So until then, this is
to Melkorn saying once again thank you very much for listening,
(37:27):
and so long everybody
Hosts And Creators
Tim Alcorn
Jim Chones
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