February 28, 2023 • 56 mins
John Michael hosts the show tonight and is joined by Chris Fedor of cleveland.com to look ahead to the final part of the season and predict some NBA awards. Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell joins to preview Wednesday's game against Boston.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to CALVS HQ presented by Bet Wade. Thank you
for joining us on the Cavaliers audio verse. Now here
your host Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones, plus some good
evening everyone. This is CALVS h QUE presented by Vet
Way right here on the Cavalier's Audio Verse alongside Jiff
and Jones. This is John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn.
(00:31):
Thanks for spending some time with us here. This seven
name Jimmy. How about the Cavalier is able to bounce
back a CALVS team that had won seventh straight heading
into the All Star Break. They lose the final game
before the break, the Philadelphia they hit the three game slide.
But what a response by this Cavalier team last night
as the Cavs were able to step up and get
back on the winning track. I agree with to John,
(00:53):
what they've found is a way to be resilient and
a lot of times nothing more than just getting the
experience and getting that feeling you're good. This is a game,
This is a must game. We saved hit all through
the season, but nothing could have been more true than
the other night. Cavaliers victorious of the Raptors. A Raptors
team which had beat the Cavaliers three straight times earlier
(01:14):
this season. The Cavs straight ahead head into a Boston
for a meeting with the top team in the Eastern Conference.
And you know, it's been interesting, Jim. The Cavalier has
been winning a lot of games, but the three teams
north of the Cavs, they keep winning two. I mean,
the Celtics staying in the top spot. The Bucks have
won fourteen in a row, the Celtics are still in
(01:34):
first place, and the Sixers have been going at a
really nice clip as well. I think the good thing
for the Cavs, Jim, is during that seven game winning streak,
while they weren't making up a lot of ground on
the three teams in front of them, the teams in
their rear view mirror, maybe more importantly, we're dropping off
as the Cavs, you know. I think originally we're thinking, hey,
if we get a top six spot, we guarantee ourselves
(01:56):
in the playoffs. Wonderful. Now we get a little greedy,
don't we, Jim. We want him to stay top four? Yeah, well,
I was thinking about top three. I'm greedy, John, I mean,
I'm always looking up. You know, when you blow out
a candle, the smoke goes up, you know, you know,
you know, so I'm always looking for three that may
not be attainable, but we've got one more game against
(02:17):
the Sixers, you know, and let's make it worthwhile. Let's
see if we can get back on another wedding stream.
Definitely gonna be fun the rest of the way. Gonna
be fun on this show as well. Straight Ahead, Chris
feed or Beat reporter for Cleveland dot Com. We'll talk
a little bit, Cas. What we're gonna talk mostly NBA
and the awards that are coming up. It's about that
time the voting will start to take place for the
(02:38):
MVP League wid or the NBA should say league wide awards,
and we'll visit with Chris about that. In the second
half of the show, our good friend Corn Brand, Jim,
Cedric Maxwell, we'll be joining us. We'll talk Cavaliers and Celtics.
That's all straight ahead right here on Cal's Age Coopers
in and buy bet way on the Cavaliers audio Verse.
(03:06):
Were welcome you back to Cavs HQ alongside Kalalier Legend,
Jim Jones is John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn
great to have you with us here this evening. Jimmy,
you're ready for our special guest here in the first
half of the show. It's Chris feed Or. Where you're
building him up? You said special guests, John, you know
we've known Christmas he started. In fact, we knew him
(03:26):
before he got married. Then he got married, and now
he's got a new board. So he's the old Chris Feedoor.
But he always has new information. That's what I love.
New responsibility that the family, new information. Chris, welcome, my friend.
Thanks guys, what's going on? We are terrific, Chris. Let's
go national first, right, we talked Calves a lot on
(03:46):
this show, but let's talk national. You have votes, right,
you have media votes and then they spread them around.
MVP Most improved the defensive teams. He had various votes
every season. Let's start with a big one. Let's start MVP.
You know a lot of folks think that Nick Yokis
has an inside track on making this a three peat?
What do you say? I think so too, guys. It's
(04:09):
hard for me. Look, I understand that every single year
there are going to be really good candidates, and this
year there are really good candidates as well, and it's
so difficult because as a voter, you're only allowed to
put five names on your ballot and rank them one
through five, So you're leaving somebody off that obviously deserves
to be on there, and you feel horrible about it.
(04:31):
But that's just part of the gig, right. So for Yokich,
I understand the argument for Embied, I understand the argument
for Jannis, and both of those cases are very very strong.
But Yokich, in terms of every metric that is supposed
to be designed to measure a guy's on court impact
(04:52):
and his value towards winning, Yokich is at the top
of them. And it's hard for me to overlook the
fact that Denver is number one in the Western Conference
and Yokich is doing things that we've never seen before
in NBA history. Yeah, Chris, I agree with you. Quick
follow up here. You know, last season, to me, it
seemed like a two horse race right between Joel and
(05:15):
Nick Yoki and to me, you know, to see what
mbid did with no Ben Simmons and before James Harden
came aboard, he kept that team afloat the entire time
that's said, you can almost make the same argument in
Denver for Yoki because Murray wasn't back yet, they went
long stretches without a supporting cast. I'm curious to me.
(05:36):
I thought embiid had a just the slightest of edges
last season. It was Yokich of course, he won his
second straight. Did you have an MVP vote and who
did you go with last year? I did have an
MVP vote last year, guys, and I went with Yokis
as well. It's interesting because I think, no matter how
you want to define MVP, and I think it's ambiguous
(05:57):
for a reason, it sparks a lot of debate. If
you think gives specific guidelines to voters, it gives them
more flexibility to figure it out on their own and
determine the things that matter most to them. But I
just think evolved the different definitions for MVP that we've
heard in the past, Like Yoki hits every single one
(06:18):
of them. He's the best player on the best team
in the Western Conference. He's putting up gaudy stats on
a nightly basis. So it's just like whatever your definition
of most valuable player is, and if you want to
point to value, like he defines MVP this year, in
every single definition. Yeah, well, I guess the definitions have
(06:39):
really been written out for us from an analytic approach.
And I really didn't want to vote for him. I
really wanted to vote for himbe but the dominance of
his play, man, I don't know how you can say
he's not. I do want to make a reference point,
and that reference point is that his team plays through him,
so he's gonna it. The amount of touch is necessary
(07:01):
to be successful. And we all know that this new
NBA is not dedicated or has a foundation of playing defense,
so it's a different type of game. The only thing
that I have a problem is when they compared to
Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and all those guys, because the
game was totally different. But I guess our fans don't
know that. But Yoki deserves it, he really does. I
(07:23):
had picked Dunchick earlier in the year, then he started
having all these eldest is it hurts and Yoki deserves it.
I watched him play last night, and their style of play,
they could win a championship. Yeah, and they could win
a championship. And I would say that if you look
at the other pieces around him, he's playing with James Harden,
(07:43):
you know what I mean. Yeah, Jamal Murray is probably
the second best player for the Nuggets and he's still
not fully right coming off the injury that he's coming
off of, So Yokis has had carried more of a
load and he's had to be more important for Denver's success.
And Aaron Gordon has had a really good year as well,
and he was getting some All Star consideration. But like,
(08:06):
that's Yoki's team, Like everything runs through him and their success.
The fact that they are the number one seed in
the Western Conference is in large part tied to him,
and if you take him off that team, I just
think the way that they would function offensively and defensively
is so different that you're talking the difference between probably
(08:28):
the top seed in the Western Conference and a team
that would be fighting for a play in tournament spot.
And I just don't have that same kind of feeling
when it comes to the seventy six ers because of
all their high priced players, because of what their other
stars have accomplished in past years and things along those lines. Yeah,
I don't have a problem with his offense, but his
defense a lot to be desired. I guess you can't
(08:50):
have at all. But you know the other thing is
as their bitch. I mean, they've got Reggie Jackson, Thomas Bryant,
who was probably the second best Lake when Davis was out,
and then they messed around and they got to rejuveidated
Jeff Green. I mean, that's a pretty potent bench. That's
why I think they've got a shot is because when
(09:11):
they rest people, you know, they won't get that lag,
you know, that lag where they don't scoring teams catch up.
I just think they're greatly improved. I also think they
have a shot, guys, because the Western Conference is so
wide open, and I understand Phoenix went out at the
trade deadline and they brought in Kevin Durant and the
level of talent that the Sons have with Kad, with Booker,
(09:33):
with Chris Paul, with DeAndre at and it's tough to
deal with that in a seven game series, especially when
we've seen Kad just take over seven game series in
past years. And that's what the Suns are banking on.
But there are questions about how those guys are going
to play together, when Kadi's going to get back healthy,
how effective he's going to be coming off this knee injury,
(09:54):
and I just feel like if you look in the
Western Conference, it's very wide open, and the standing can
fluctuate based on one bad week or one great week.
And when you're talking about the Nuggets and they have
somebody the caliber of Jokis who could be a three
time MVP, a back to back to back MVP, that
(10:14):
team is going to have a shot in a seven
game series against anybody, including Phoenix with all their star power.
It really is going to be interesting. And I don't
think there's any question that the award is Yoga Is
to win this season in terms of MVP. Think too
about Phoenix, guys, they do not have a lot of
time to get this together. You know, you look at
what the Chasidde Madonovan Mitchell. They've had fifty or sixty
(10:37):
games down, We've seen this. It's been expected that it's
gonna take a while for all of this to gel.
Teams that make moves of the Jade deadline don't have
that luxury. And when you look at the injury history
and Phoenix, they're rolling the dice. What's gonna be interesting,
gonna be fun? I agree, Chris, I think it's more
wide open in the West than we've seen in a
long long time. Let's change years. I think in terms
(10:59):
of Rookie of the Year, we'll just touch on this
as I follow bank Hero, I think is Edd and Shorts.
It's a two man race. Ben Matherin is making a
close I think in Andy. But bank Hero has been
just so good in Orlando all season long. He's already
got an NBA ready body after only one season in
the collegiate ranks. Let's talk defensive Player of the Year,
(11:21):
Chris Right, I mean, Rudy Gobert is not in the
running anymore. Marcus Smart is the incumbent. I don't think
it's Smarts award to win this season. And you want
to talk about a wide open race. It's really interesting
in terms of defensive Player of the Year, it really is.
And I think too many voters are overlooking Mobile and
Jared Allen, and I understand, like it's difficult for some
(11:43):
voters to figure out, Okay, are the Calves one of
the best defenses in the NBA because of Evan Mobile?
Are they one of the best defenses in the NBA
because of Jared Allen? Like? Do the two guys take
votes away? From each other. I just think those guys
should not be overlooked because of what they do for
the Cavs defense on a nightly basis and a possession
(12:05):
of possession basis. In saying all of that, Jaren Jackson Jr.
Since coming back from injury from Memphis and Memphis has
the second best defense in the NBA. Boy, it's hard
to overlook his impact and what he's done for that
defense for the Grizzlies. You know, they've been known for
a number of years as a high flying, up tempo,
(12:26):
fast break, offensive minded team. And Jaren Jackson Jr. His steals,
his blocks, the shot alterations that he has when they
come end of game situations, the number of guys that
he can guard in switch situations. He can also protect
the paint. Boy, it's hard to overlook him, even though
he is kind of like fall prone. Yeah. I like Jackson,
(12:49):
I like the brook Lopez is finally getting some you know,
well earned recognition on that end of the floor. You know,
everybody talks about Ice transformed his game. He can shoot
the three offense. Believe mannic you talk about an anchor
of another really really good defense. Brook Lopez is in
the middle I like what you said, Chris about the Calves,
you know, I mean the Calves have been top three
(13:09):
all season long in that department. I do think Mowley
and Allen it's hard to pick for a lot of folks,
particularly people that haven't seen the Cavaliers a lot. Jim,
let me ask you this, like, as a big man,
what is it about Mobley's footwork, or his anticipation, or
his IQ or his instincts on that defensive end that
makes him just this special at the tender age of
(13:33):
twenty one. Yeah, I don't think it's a difficult, John.
I think it comes down to commitment. He's totally commitment
to the defensive side of the ball, even more so
than his offense, which is growing every game. But he's
committed to doing his job on the defensive end, showing
on pigs rotating back into the middle of the floor,
stating guys who participally might drive that they see him.
(13:56):
You know, I haven't seen teams drive to the middle
of the paint and not even look to shoot. They're
looking for the outside man because our bigs are so dominating.
But Mobley is a special player because he's got the
competation of temperament, commitment and tremendous link, tremendous links and
tremendous smarts on his approach to the game. Love a guys, Chris,
(14:18):
you stick around? Yeah? Absolutely, port Chris feedour straight ahead.
We'll be back with a Cav's h Q presented by
Ventway on a Cavaliers audio verse. Here we are back
on TV's a's Q presented by Ventway. John Michael filling
ins for Tim Alcore, joined by Jim Jones and our
(14:38):
featured guest here in the first half, Chris feedour beat
record for Cleveland dot Com. We're talking a little bit
about NBA Awards. Chris is on the committee, if you
will as a vote as one of the esteem media members.
Chris all right, Coach of the Year? Interesting topic coming
into this season. Who do you like in that department?
(14:59):
So I have to it out that's my criteria for
Coach of the Year might be different than other people's criteria,
and that's what I love about voting. But for me,
it's who does more with less. I think you could
look at Joe Missoula for Boston, right, but they have
Jayson Tatum, and they have Jaylen Brown, and they have
Malcolm Brown. That's a loaded roster, and I'm not saying
(15:19):
that anybody could go there and lead them to the
number one seed in the Eastern Conference and forty four
wins at this point in the season. But I think
the job that Joe Missoula has is a little bit
easier than some of these other guys that I'll mention
that I give more consideration too. At this point in time,
I think there is a strong case for Jacques Vaughan
(15:40):
actually of the Brooklyn Nets. He took over for Steve Nash.
He had to manage a bunch of different personalities in
the early going, and now all of a sudden he's
dealing with a completely revamped roster and Brooklyn. He has
kept Brooklyn together at a time that a lot of
people in the NBA thought that the nexts We're going
(16:02):
to completely implode. So he's in the mix, But right
now I think he's behind Mike Brown of the Sacramento
Kings because for the Kings to be number three in
the Western Conference right now, and I know that they
added Sabonis and they've got more talent there, nobody expected
Sacramento to be number three in the West at this
point in the season, ahead of Phoenix, ahead of the Clippers,
(16:25):
ahead of the Mavericks, ahead of the Warriors. And you
want to talk about a great job instilling a culture,
getting more out of that roster than anybody else has
been able to. To me, it's Mike Brown right now. Yeah.
I think Brown's y odds on favorite. You know, the
Vaughn situation is interesting, he said, hold it together at
first was Steve Nash got fired. It was almost like
(16:46):
make him, you know, get him going. I mean, what
was going on? And we still don't know what we're
gonna see out of Brooklyn over the final twenty games
of the season. You bring up Joe Missoula, We're gonna
catch up with Cedric Maxwell nan Us for the Celtics
in the second half. That's straight ahead for the Calves,
Missoula and the Celtics on Wednesday Night. But Jimmy, Mike
(17:07):
Brown has done a whale of a job, man. And
that's a you know, that's a fan base to me
that's been dying for something to root for for decade
and they've been faithful and loyal and everything else. And man,
they got a pretty nice club out there in Sacramento. Yeah. Well,
let me put it like this, there's an NBA team
the Sacramento I mean, I mean once, no, but think
(17:32):
about it. If you know it's it's the Warriors or
it's the Lakers, and it's been that way. Now, all
of a sudden, you've got Brown, who's always been a
solid coach and could always relate to his players. And
I think one of the things that is resume, that
resumeates strong is two things he was with Steve Kerr
(17:52):
and also that he was able to deal with Lebron James.
I think those two things in itself have gotten in
the job. But Mike is always been a student of
the game and he's always had a way with young players,
and I'm so happy for him, and he's my first choice.
My second choice would be Missoula. What all the things
they had going on there in Boston, nobody ever heard
(18:13):
of this kid, and all of a sudden, his strategies
after timeouts have been right on. So I'm excited. And guys,
think about this when you're talking about seeding. I understand
that some people like who poo it every now and then,
but in NBA history, if you're a top three seed
in either conference, you're going to have a shot. And
(18:34):
the Kings are a top three seed right now in
the West. Since two thousand, no team in the NBA
has won the title with a seed lower than third
in NBA history now, only nine teams have ever made
the NBA Finals with a seed lower than third. So
if you're in the top three in either conference, you
(18:56):
elevate yourself into a different kind of stratosphere. Yeah, it's wild,
isn't it. That's fun to think about too when you
look at out wide open this year is you know,
it's one an interesting season. It is in the NBA.
Chris leave us with this. You cover this Cavalier team
every single day. You're there with Jim and I, you know,
(19:17):
at the practical facility at every single game. Anything that
surprised you, anything that just feels a little different about
this Cavalier team, which is you know, oh, you know,
they played some terrific basketball. They're fourteen games over five
at thirty nine and twenty five as we come down
the stretch. Anything that's been a little different this season
(19:38):
that you've seen out of this team as you've covered
this team now for a handful of years. Yeah, guys,
I just think there's a level of belief in what
they're doing. There's a level of belief that they can
and I think when you acquire somebody the caliber of
Donovan Mitchell, he instills that belief in you. But I
also think there's a belief in JP Bickerstaff and the
(19:58):
style and that it's something that can work for this
particular group, with this particular group of personnel, and that
to me matters a lot. You have to believe in
what you're doing. You have to believe that you have
a chance. You have to believe that you can compete
with teams like Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. And it's one
(20:19):
thing to have the talent to do it right. Like
the Cavs core four, a lot of teams around the
NBA would take that core four of Garius Garland Downovan Mitchell,
Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. Yeah, high level talent has increased,
but there's also a different level of belief that they
can that you didn't sense in past years. Christ great job. Hey,
we appreciate the time, and we'll catch up with you
(20:42):
in Boston on Wednesday night. Sounds good, all right, we'll
step away. More Calves as Kee present to buy a
bet way On the Cavaliers audio verse in the second
half said Maxwell, we'll talk Davs Celtics up next. At
(21:03):
last night's game, as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers Black
Heritage Celebration presented by Crown Royal Rigo Apple, the Cavaliers
recognized Trailblazers in the space of Stem last Night's community
Jeff Diffmaker of the Game was Neil Stem Director miss
Ebony the community corner for last night's game showcase Stem
Lab refurbishments in northeast Ohio, and students from Akron Public
(21:25):
Schools and area Cleveland Metropolitan School Districts were present at
the game. Calves in the Community is brought to you
by Discount Drug mart. We'll be back with more Calves
HQ presented by Betwaye. Right after this on the Cavaliers
audio verse in the night on the side, William A
(22:00):
run out here for Taylor Brown all the way through
flushes with the right hand Celtics by eight. Time out,
Dockler Man, that's how you accelerate this time the fast
break opportunity MAXI can't have a shot. Tatum skip pass
Horford for three. He made it Hal Horford his fifth
three of the night, and the Celtics have to lead
(22:22):
by two. Kill them, Kill the the bill game. Kill
ninety seconds left, White in bounds it to Smart on
the run. It's Tatum. Tatum for three in the game,
Dan Sir, with one point three seconds left, no timeouts
for Philadelphia. Welcome back for the second half of calvs
h Q, presented by Bettleigh right here on the Cavalier's
(22:44):
audio verus John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn, joined
by Jim Jones Jim. Second half featured guests Cedric Maxwell
of the Celtics, one of our favorite Cedric. Welcome man,
how you been? I am doing just and Gellman and
naturally sitting here on the street in New York. We're here.
We played it next to night and I can't find
(23:06):
my room. So I'm a person on the street doing
a zoom call with you. So take it. Take some time,
you know, Jim, Jim may tell you you're old man.
You we might need to put some brand crumbs out
to get back home. I'll find it eventually. Max. Let's
talk a little bit about the love of thing to
(23:27):
talk about. But but in particular, are you surprised that
Joe Mazoula and the way that he's handled his team
and gotten him this far. No, I'm really not. I
think he's done a great job. I think because people
don't know who he is and he doesn't smile a lot.
He's not like Doc Riversin' going to be you know,
(23:47):
back and forth with the media. But he understands his players,
and his players love him. And people have been complaining said, well,
you know, Joe Mazoula doesn't call time out then not
out of diagram players. Well, you know, as Philly game,
he called a great play for Jason Tatum last shot
to win the basketball game. So I think he understands
(24:07):
and he understands his players, and he's just not called
up in all the media hype that we're called up
into about do you like me or do I feel
a good good about this? He just wants his players
to win. And what a wonderful show your Celtics and
Sixers put on the other night, What a fantastic game
in front of a national audience. What was it about
(24:28):
Joe at the age of thirty four. You think Cedric
then enable this front office to say, yeah, we trust
this guy in a really really tricky situation that he
had to step into this year. Well, I just feel that,
you know, when when you looked at him, I think
he understood what the game was about, how to play it.
Brad Steve was more convinced about it because he was
(24:50):
with Brad. He's been with Brad for a long time.
So Brad is you know, he's the one, you know,
getting the groceries right now for this team. And he
decided at that time that Missoula was going to be
a really good pick for what he what he was
wanting to do. But this club, you know, Max, when
you look around and you look at the Celtics, they're
almost indefensible. You've got two super players. Talk a little
(25:13):
bit about those two players, Jaylen Brown and who of
course Young Tatum, who's in the running I heard for MVP. Well,
I think if you look at both the guys, what
they are is that they love playing with each other.
At one time, everybody said we'll break these two guys
up there too much alike, But then they came to
each other's defense and said, look, we like each other,
(25:35):
we want to play with each other. We're gonna make
it work. And when they said that, everything kind of
took off. What the players, all the other players, and
everybody in the organization understand that these guys are running
the club. And because of that and the belief and
the belief they have in their their bench and the
(25:55):
players around him, they bought into it. And I think
everybody else is bought into it because they all understand
what those two guys mean for this team corporate. You
mentioned the bench man. You have Malcolm Brogden, Derek White,
Grant Williams all coming off the bench. I mean, what's
your comfort level? Is this the deepest team that, I
mean in the Tatum Brown era that Boston has seen. Absolutely?
(26:20):
I think it is. When you think about Derek White,
who has started for the Celtics for a while and
then he became Player of the Week, I think, what
he what he did, and then now he's back to
the bench. Brogden, who was the Rookie of the Year
at one time, played has played extremely well. He's bought
into what everybody wants to do. And Grant Williams has
(26:41):
really been a guy who's just fuilding all the blanks.
So when you have those guys and you didn't even
talk about Mascala, who is reached sin and who's playing well,
Blake Griffin who can give you quality minutes off the bench.
So you know, just have so many combinations and in
the NBA now you need all those combinations. It's because
of that. You know, this team isn't one dimensional. We
(27:04):
can look at them. You know, they got a bunch
of guys can score. They can put everybody on the
floor to shoot the three. Al Horpford the other day
against Philadelphia, the team seem like they were down and out.
Al Horford hits four three's in the third quarter and
got them back in the game. So it's so many
different pieces. They're young, but then they have veterans and
(27:24):
they have guys who understand what they need to do
to play this game the way it needs to be
playing to win. Yeah, you're all over, corn Bread. They're
my choice, you know, to be world champs at the
end of the year. I think last year was a
tremendous amount of experience, a chance to get some experience.
But do they have any weaknesses? Bread, Do they really
have any weaknesses. I think the biggest weakness is just
(27:47):
them being been healthy. You think about Rob Williams, who
is a valuable part for him. He's been in on
now the line up a lie. You know another guy
you didn't talk about as Marcus mart who to me
is probably one of the best defenders they've had. I
had a huge argument, not the argument, but just going
back and forth and talking to Mark Jackson about this.
(28:08):
I said, Marcus probably the best defender the subjects have
had under six to five maybe ever. And Mark Jackson
come back and hit me, well, well, you know Dennis
Johnson was, you know, a great defender. I said yeah,
but he said, I've played against Dennis. I sat played
with Dennis, and I said, well, he said, Dennis, Dennis,
you know he would put his hands on you. I said,
(28:29):
exactly the point. I said, what would happen that Marcus
Smart was able to use his hands the way they
used it in the eighties and the seventies, he'd be
that much better of a defender. And last year was
player he was Defensive Player of the Year. We'll take
a real quick brand great stuff. Cedric more with Cedric Maxiwell,
right after this on Cavs AND's he presented by that
way right here on the Cavalier's Audio vers. They still
(28:54):
got it to Allan, Allan back to Menchell, back to
stuck that smart on the left side against Darlin, spittings
around Garland shock rejected by Alice Garland at the other
end and on the slim time of admitial So what
a past by d G Dam's by one one fourteen
(29:15):
one thirteen. It'll be smart to pull the trigger over
on the far side. Got it into brown brown, We'll
shoot it overweight, big backstay, taps win, Cavaliers win for
fourteen one thirteen. Welcome back at Davs eights two. John
Michael and Jim Jones. We're joined by Cedric Maxwell and
(29:37):
has a terrific job as the analyst on Boston Celtics Radio.
The Calves and the Celtics set to meet up on
Wednesday night. Cedric, when you take a look at the Cavaliers,
they have that young core, but let's talk that front
core of Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. When you see
that combination, what do you think. We're always interested in
an outsider's perspective, what do you see out of those
(29:59):
two young things? Well, Mobili a guy, I think more
of a score can shoot the basketball. Alan, more of
a defender, and which you have is two great rim protectors.
You get by one, then you gotta start. You gotta
deal with the other one coming towards the rim. And
that that's what makes them really tough. When you have
guards who push up on you and you're able to
(30:19):
attack the rim, but then you have those two shot blockers.
They create situations that make it sometimes a little auntie
for those bags to attack the rim or smaller guys
to go into paint. You know, before the season started,
and you know, you and I were talking about Donovan
Mitchell and you shut me up to no, Jimmy, no,
(30:40):
he could really play. And I said, yeah, no, he
can really play. Talk a little bit about come on,
jim the man's stud over there. You know that that's
what it is. You really didn't give up that much
to get him in that situation, Sexton, nice player, but
Mitchell is man. Mitch to me not only is a
(31:02):
great player, but boy smart as a wick. And if
you sit down, you sat down and talk to him,
he understands the game. It's really funny. Kind of a
connection with him was the fact that his father played
baseball at You and Charlotte back in the day. So
I got to talk to him. I did not know that,
and then somebody told me. So it's just, uh, you know,
(31:24):
he's he's strong, he's athletic, he's determined, and he's a
guy who could have played during the eighties because he
has some of that Asked nine in him. And I
like that, you go, when you go at him, he's
coming back at you. And not only did he you know,
he played that way, but he talks that talk. And
for me, I love guys who are able to back
(31:45):
up what they have to say, and he's the guy
looks like he can do it. SA you anticipate almost
my next question. I'm asking this to you. And Jim,
does he remind you Donovan Mitchell of anybody or any
players in your era? Oh, that's pretty good. He's stronger,
he's quicker. Uh he you know obviously looked at the
range that he shoots on. But I'm I'm trying to
(32:07):
think anybody he reminds me of, which is you know,
he reminds me of um, you know, so far as
taking the ball to the hole. And you guys won't
like this, but he was a former cavalier and uh,
and you guys send him down to um Phoenix. I
think I think you guys had Johnson? Did you not
have Vin? Kevin Johnson a guy who will take that
(32:29):
ball to the cup, attack the rim with dunk on you,
with shooting over you. Man that so he reminds me
of that, and he's so explosive. You know, anytime a
guy walks away, he does almost like he's pigeon toed
run you know something, you tell there's something different about
that dude. Them dudes like that when they're pigeon toed,
(32:49):
or their feet go out like Brian when he's walking,
and of them guys are athletic. His tail and and
if you watch him walk, you're going already yo yo, man,
this kid coming there right now as a so, so
watch out for Sami before we let you go. You know,
Jim mentioned that he likes the Celtics to potentially win
the whole thing this season. It's been phenomenal to me
(33:11):
that the Bucks have won fourteen games in a row
and yet somehow the Celtics have remained on top of
the East. To most folks think that that's you know,
that's gonna be the look in the Eastern Conference finals.
Should that be the case, how do your Celtics match
up with Jannis in the bucks on the Celtics matchup
world with him? I think Celtics can shoot with them,
(33:33):
and obviously trying to contain a guy like Jannis is
going to be a problem for you. But I like
the Celtics chances if they can get there. You know,
I think you look at Yannis right now. He's been
back and forth battling a little bit of n stiffness
in the nights. I don't know what's going on there,
but if both teams are healthy, completely healthy, I like
(33:56):
the Celtics a little bit more because I think they're
a little bit more explode. The books are Cedric. We
always appreciate you, man, thank you so much for joining us.
I continue, thank you, great job. They're on the radio.
We appreciate you. Well. If I just if I can
just found my way back to my damn room, I'd
be okay, guys, thank you, talk to you later. Grabbing
(34:19):
Uber said, just take you figure out where you are. Yeah, well,
he's gonna do what I do. You gotta write the
dumb of your room in the bomb of your head.
I'll tell you what, man. I put the whole envelope
in my pocket, the key out, There's no chance I
can remember the even the floor room we're in. Yeah,
that's gonna be a fun matchup on Wednesday night, Calf Celtics.
(34:42):
You know, Celtics continue to play just some brilliant basketball
right now. Hey, let's not forget two's a two and
oh against Boston this year. A couple of overtime wins
should be a fun one in Boston. Yeah, totally agree
with you. And one of the reasons it is because
we match up with him, you know, as far as
having dominant players or dominant position our back court versus
(35:06):
their wings. You know, we saw the matchup and then
of course the what Horford and Williams do for them
in the paint, it's what our two towers do for us.
So I just think those have been good matchups for us.
They've had problems, John really trying to slow us down. Yeah,
they have, Yeah, cething steam. They goes eight strong. As
we talked about with Cedric Maxwell, certainly a tester for
(35:27):
the Calves coming up on Wednesday night. All right, we're
gonna step away. We'll be back to wrap things up
right here on Calves eight Coopers in and buy that
Way on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Back for our final
segment on Calves each two presented by that Way John
(35:48):
Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn, joined by Jim Jones. Jimmy,
good to be back on the air with you once again.
Also good to see this Cavalier team playing such terrific basketball.
There's thirty nine and twenty five in fourth place in
the Eastern Conference. The backbone gym this season has been defense.
You know, the Cows have been top three all season
(36:11):
long in terms of defensive rating. In terms of what
you've seen out of this Cavalier defense, where does it
start to mean? Obviously, the paint mobile and Alany is
such a wonderful job, but it's more than that, as
this team really has been consistent on that end all
season long. Yeah, they have jigged and when they've become
ultra successful at their defense, quarter at a quarter, you
(36:33):
know they can beat anyone. And I think they believed that. Now,
I didn't think they believed that the first twenty five
or thirty games, but I think they honestly believe. They
look at no matter how fast these teams want to play,
no matter what opportunities we get in transition, we got
to remember that we have to be able to set
our defense. And I think that's finally getting to them
and they understand that this style of play based upon
(36:56):
their personnel is the only way for them to win
and be successful. And you know, Jabs been talking consistency.
You know, that's been his thing. Yeah, no question, And
you know, when you look at the other end, we
knew that the pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland
was going to be one to watch all season. We
also knew that it wasn't something that was going to
happen overnight. And we saw during the seven game winning
(37:20):
streak right before the break that that chemistry and that,
you know, the way that they worked together, not just
with each other, not just scoring, but also feeding their
big men, also getting the ball inside. They were really
starting to find something. And again, there are bumps in
the road, there are some upstairs, some downs there will
continue to be. But here we are about fifty sixty
(37:42):
games now into that partnership games that they've played together,
that is, and I think we're starting to see somebody
or are you seeing the same thing, Jim, Yeah, I
am our bags are playing because they're getting more touches.
You know, when Donovan was out, if we were forced
to give them more touches, because then they really started
double team in garl and then our biggs are fallen
into the pocket. They became decision makers either score or
(38:05):
else find the open man, and it sort of gave
them some confidence, so a real confidence because when Donovan
came back, both guards were trying to find these big guys.
I had to talk with Norm Nixon before the season started,
and he's a guard now. He's telling me, he said,
make sure you get your biggs involved. I said yes,
said yeah, yeah, he said no. He slapped me twice
(38:25):
in the conversation. He said, no, no, Jim, you gotta
get your biggs involved because you guys have had got
a chance to really go fire in the playoffs. If
you can get these guys some touches, and you gotta
give them to them now because if you give it
to them later, they won't have the confidence to perform.
He said, so you gotta give them touches. Oh, as
soon as the season starts. J B said, hey, look it,
(38:47):
I'm not worried about our backcourt. We just gotta make
sure our biggs get touches. So that's been the thing, John.
And if you look at their numbers, both of those kids'
numbers in the last ten, in the twelve games, they're
double doubles almost every night. Yeah, what makes that so
hard to do? Jim? When you talk, I don't know.
When you get out there on the floor, seems so easy, right.
(39:08):
It sounds like when you say that, don't turn the
ball over, right, be careful with the basketball. It seems easier.
It's nice to talk about, but it's not always the
easiest thing to do. When we say, get the big
guys involved, get them in the basketball. What makes that
harder than maybe it seems when you just talk about it.
The main thing, John, is how these kids have learned
the game, and most of them have learned the game
(39:29):
from outside in, not inside out. And what happens is
they look at themselves as being the top priority. So
when they jump on the basketball court, well, let me
get mine first. And then they're running into these roadblocks
and where these teams are building these big defensive walls,
and they can't understand why they can't get to the rim.
Why because they've never established their big players, so they're
(39:52):
not a threat. So the defense just forgets about them
and they can concentrate on slowing your guard play down.
And that's what was happening the first twenty games with us,
and so what happens now is that you have to
get your bigs involved. And that's what your kitchen is about.
That's what Draymond is about. You can run your offense
(40:12):
through your bigs. You almost have to, especially when your
backcourt are shooting guards, not necessarily assist guards, but shooting guards.
If your biggs can play me, if your biggs can
distribute the ball, John and get behind what we call
the secondary part of the defense, where your big gets
the ball, someone slips behind the defense, you threw them
(40:33):
an alley. We call that secondary offense. If you can
get to that level, now you can compete with the
big boys offensively. And we've been doing that more and
more often, letting our bigs become playmakers. There's nothing wrong
with that. Here's a related question, Jim. We've seen the
chemistry between Mobile and Alan and you know you hearken
back to when Mobile was drafted. Folks around the league
(40:55):
were saying, well, wait a second, can Mobili play alongside Alan?
Can two seven footers going exist? Not only because of
his skill? Can exists? They cast through another seven footer
and that starting lineup Margating and all three of those
guys were just fine. What have you seen about the
chemistry of Mowgli and Alan as their time together has progressed,
(41:16):
they're now under their second season. But man oh Man, again,
something that you know doesn't always work. A couple of
seven footers alongside each other, and it's not like ones,
you know, a rangy guy. It's not like Mowbli's out
there shooting threes and hitting threes. Is not like an
inside out type thing where you have a stretch for
a stretch five. They both are big men, but they've
made it work. Why Well, when you're a coach and
(41:40):
you look at them play, the question then becomes can
they play together? Then you put in some offense and
you start talking to them. You try to develop a
strategy offensively and defensively so they could stay out of
each other's way. And they're committed to a job. They
want to play together, and I think that is the denominator.
They want to play together. Jaylen Brown and Tatum they
(42:03):
wanted to play together even though their games are very similar.
Same situation here, and I think it's a credit to
the coaching staff and it's a credit to the kind
of temperament, the kind of players you have to have
in this league who are willing to sacrifice. Jim love
the insight. Always great catching up. Thanks for putting up
with me again for a while. Oh no, John, Hey,
(42:25):
it's always great to hear the best announcer in Cavs history.
Thank you again. We appreciate you for Jim Jones. Is
John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn. This has been
each to presented by a vent Way on the Cavaliers
Audio Verse. Thanks for listening. Good night everyone,
Welcome to CALVS HQ presented by Bet Wade. Thank you
for joining us on the Cavaliers audio verse. Now here
your host Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones, plus some good
evening everyone. This is CALVS h QUE presented by Vet
Way right here on the Cavalier's Audio Verse alongside Jiff
and Jones. This is John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn.
(00:31):
Thanks for spending some time with us here. This seven
name Jimmy. How about the Cavalier is able to bounce
back a CALVS team that had won seventh straight heading
into the All Star Break. They lose the final game
before the break, the Philadelphia they hit the three game slide.
But what a response by this Cavalier team last night
as the Cavs were able to step up and get
back on the winning track. I agree with to John,
(00:53):
what they've found is a way to be resilient and
a lot of times nothing more than just getting the
experience and getting that feeling you're good. This is a game,
This is a must game. We saved hit all through
the season, but nothing could have been more true than
the other night. Cavaliers victorious of the Raptors. A Raptors
team which had beat the Cavaliers three straight times earlier
(01:14):
this season. The Cavs straight ahead head into a Boston
for a meeting with the top team in the Eastern Conference.
And you know, it's been interesting, Jim. The Cavalier has
been winning a lot of games, but the three teams
north of the Cavs, they keep winning two. I mean,
the Celtics staying in the top spot. The Bucks have
won fourteen in a row, the Celtics are still in
(01:34):
first place, and the Sixers have been going at a
really nice clip as well. I think the good thing
for the Cavs, Jim, is during that seven game winning streak,
while they weren't making up a lot of ground on
the three teams in front of them, the teams in
their rear view mirror, maybe more importantly, we're dropping off
as the Cavs, you know. I think originally we're thinking, hey,
if we get a top six spot, we guarantee ourselves
(01:56):
in the playoffs. Wonderful. Now we get a little greedy,
don't we, Jim. We want him to stay top four? Yeah, well,
I was thinking about top three. I'm greedy, John, I mean,
I'm always looking up. You know, when you blow out
a candle, the smoke goes up, you know, you know,
you know, so I'm always looking for three that may
not be attainable, but we've got one more game against
(02:17):
the Sixers, you know, and let's make it worthwhile. Let's
see if we can get back on another wedding stream.
Definitely gonna be fun the rest of the way. Gonna
be fun on this show as well. Straight Ahead, Chris
feed or Beat reporter for Cleveland dot Com. We'll talk
a little bit, Cas. What we're gonna talk mostly NBA
and the awards that are coming up. It's about that
time the voting will start to take place for the
(02:38):
MVP League wid or the NBA should say league wide awards,
and we'll visit with Chris about that. In the second
half of the show, our good friend Corn Brand, Jim,
Cedric Maxwell, we'll be joining us. We'll talk Cavaliers and Celtics.
That's all straight ahead right here on Cal's Age Coopers
in and buy bet way on the Cavaliers audio Verse.
(03:06):
Were welcome you back to Cavs HQ alongside Kalalier Legend,
Jim Jones is John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn
great to have you with us here this evening. Jimmy,
you're ready for our special guest here in the first
half of the show. It's Chris feed Or. Where you're
building him up? You said special guests, John, you know
we've known Christmas he started. In fact, we knew him
(03:26):
before he got married. Then he got married, and now
he's got a new board. So he's the old Chris Feedoor.
But he always has new information. That's what I love.
New responsibility that the family, new information. Chris, welcome, my friend.
Thanks guys, what's going on? We are terrific, Chris. Let's
go national first, right, we talked Calves a lot on
(03:46):
this show, but let's talk national. You have votes, right,
you have media votes and then they spread them around.
MVP Most improved the defensive teams. He had various votes
every season. Let's start with a big one. Let's start MVP.
You know a lot of folks think that Nick Yokis
has an inside track on making this a three peat?
What do you say? I think so too, guys. It's
(04:09):
hard for me. Look, I understand that every single year
there are going to be really good candidates, and this
year there are really good candidates as well, and it's
so difficult because as a voter, you're only allowed to
put five names on your ballot and rank them one
through five, So you're leaving somebody off that obviously deserves
to be on there, and you feel horrible about it.
(04:31):
But that's just part of the gig, right. So for Yokich,
I understand the argument for Embied, I understand the argument
for Jannis, and both of those cases are very very strong.
But Yokich, in terms of every metric that is supposed
to be designed to measure a guy's on court impact
(04:52):
and his value towards winning, Yokich is at the top
of them. And it's hard for me to overlook the
fact that Denver is number one in the Western Conference
and Yokich is doing things that we've never seen before
in NBA history. Yeah, Chris, I agree with you. Quick
follow up here. You know, last season, to me, it
seemed like a two horse race right between Joel and
(05:15):
Nick Yoki and to me, you know, to see what
mbid did with no Ben Simmons and before James Harden
came aboard, he kept that team afloat the entire time
that's said, you can almost make the same argument in
Denver for Yoki because Murray wasn't back yet, they went
long stretches without a supporting cast. I'm curious to me.
(05:36):
I thought embiid had a just the slightest of edges
last season. It was Yokich of course, he won his
second straight. Did you have an MVP vote and who
did you go with last year? I did have an
MVP vote last year, guys, and I went with Yokis
as well. It's interesting because I think, no matter how
you want to define MVP, and I think it's ambiguous
(05:57):
for a reason, it sparks a lot of debate. If
you think gives specific guidelines to voters, it gives them
more flexibility to figure it out on their own and
determine the things that matter most to them. But I
just think evolved the different definitions for MVP that we've
heard in the past, Like Yoki hits every single one
(06:18):
of them. He's the best player on the best team
in the Western Conference. He's putting up gaudy stats on
a nightly basis. So it's just like whatever your definition
of most valuable player is, and if you want to
point to value, like he defines MVP this year, in
every single definition. Yeah, well, I guess the definitions have
(06:39):
really been written out for us from an analytic approach.
And I really didn't want to vote for him. I
really wanted to vote for himbe but the dominance of
his play, man, I don't know how you can say
he's not. I do want to make a reference point,
and that reference point is that his team plays through him,
so he's gonna it. The amount of touch is necessary
(07:01):
to be successful. And we all know that this new
NBA is not dedicated or has a foundation of playing defense,
so it's a different type of game. The only thing
that I have a problem is when they compared to
Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and all those guys, because the
game was totally different. But I guess our fans don't
know that. But Yoki deserves it, he really does. I
(07:23):
had picked Dunchick earlier in the year, then he started
having all these eldest is it hurts and Yoki deserves it.
I watched him play last night, and their style of play,
they could win a championship. Yeah, and they could win
a championship. And I would say that if you look
at the other pieces around him, he's playing with James Harden,
(07:43):
you know what I mean. Yeah, Jamal Murray is probably
the second best player for the Nuggets and he's still
not fully right coming off the injury that he's coming
off of, So Yokis has had carried more of a
load and he's had to be more important for Denver's success.
And Aaron Gordon has had a really good year as well,
and he was getting some All Star consideration. But like,
(08:06):
that's Yoki's team, Like everything runs through him and their success.
The fact that they are the number one seed in
the Western Conference is in large part tied to him,
and if you take him off that team, I just
think the way that they would function offensively and defensively
is so different that you're talking the difference between probably
(08:28):
the top seed in the Western Conference and a team
that would be fighting for a play in tournament spot.
And I just don't have that same kind of feeling
when it comes to the seventy six ers because of
all their high priced players, because of what their other
stars have accomplished in past years and things along those lines. Yeah,
I don't have a problem with his offense, but his
defense a lot to be desired. I guess you can't
(08:50):
have at all. But you know the other thing is
as their bitch. I mean, they've got Reggie Jackson, Thomas Bryant,
who was probably the second best Lake when Davis was out,
and then they messed around and they got to rejuveidated
Jeff Green. I mean, that's a pretty potent bench. That's
why I think they've got a shot is because when
(09:11):
they rest people, you know, they won't get that lag,
you know, that lag where they don't scoring teams catch up.
I just think they're greatly improved. I also think they
have a shot, guys, because the Western Conference is so
wide open, and I understand Phoenix went out at the
trade deadline and they brought in Kevin Durant and the
level of talent that the Sons have with Kad, with Booker,
(09:33):
with Chris Paul, with DeAndre at and it's tough to
deal with that in a seven game series, especially when
we've seen Kad just take over seven game series in
past years. And that's what the Suns are banking on.
But there are questions about how those guys are going
to play together, when Kadi's going to get back healthy,
how effective he's going to be coming off this knee injury,
(09:54):
and I just feel like if you look in the
Western Conference, it's very wide open, and the standing can
fluctuate based on one bad week or one great week.
And when you're talking about the Nuggets and they have
somebody the caliber of Jokis who could be a three
time MVP, a back to back to back MVP, that
(10:14):
team is going to have a shot in a seven
game series against anybody, including Phoenix with all their star power.
It really is going to be interesting. And I don't
think there's any question that the award is Yoga Is
to win this season in terms of MVP. Think too
about Phoenix, guys, they do not have a lot of
time to get this together. You know, you look at
what the Chasidde Madonovan Mitchell. They've had fifty or sixty
(10:37):
games down, We've seen this. It's been expected that it's
gonna take a while for all of this to gel.
Teams that make moves of the Jade deadline don't have
that luxury. And when you look at the injury history
and Phoenix, they're rolling the dice. What's gonna be interesting,
gonna be fun? I agree, Chris, I think it's more
wide open in the West than we've seen in a
long long time. Let's change years. I think in terms
(10:59):
of Rookie of the Year, we'll just touch on this
as I follow bank Hero, I think is Edd and Shorts.
It's a two man race. Ben Matherin is making a
close I think in Andy. But bank Hero has been
just so good in Orlando all season long. He's already
got an NBA ready body after only one season in
the collegiate ranks. Let's talk defensive Player of the Year,
(11:21):
Chris Right, I mean, Rudy Gobert is not in the
running anymore. Marcus Smart is the incumbent. I don't think
it's Smarts award to win this season. And you want
to talk about a wide open race. It's really interesting
in terms of defensive Player of the Year, it really is.
And I think too many voters are overlooking Mobile and
Jared Allen, and I understand, like it's difficult for some
(11:43):
voters to figure out, Okay, are the Calves one of
the best defenses in the NBA because of Evan Mobile?
Are they one of the best defenses in the NBA
because of Jared Allen? Like? Do the two guys take
votes away? From each other. I just think those guys
should not be overlooked because of what they do for
the Cavs defense on a nightly basis and a possession
(12:05):
of possession basis. In saying all of that, Jaren Jackson Jr.
Since coming back from injury from Memphis and Memphis has
the second best defense in the NBA. Boy, it's hard
to overlook his impact and what he's done for that
defense for the Grizzlies. You know, they've been known for
a number of years as a high flying, up tempo,
(12:26):
fast break, offensive minded team. And Jaren Jackson Jr. His steals,
his blocks, the shot alterations that he has when they
come end of game situations, the number of guys that
he can guard in switch situations. He can also protect
the paint. Boy, it's hard to overlook him, even though
he is kind of like fall prone. Yeah. I like Jackson,
(12:49):
I like the brook Lopez is finally getting some you know,
well earned recognition on that end of the floor. You know,
everybody talks about Ice transformed his game. He can shoot
the three offense. Believe mannic you talk about an anchor
of another really really good defense. Brook Lopez is in
the middle I like what you said, Chris about the Calves,
you know, I mean the Calves have been top three
(13:09):
all season long in that department. I do think Mowley
and Allen it's hard to pick for a lot of folks,
particularly people that haven't seen the Cavaliers a lot. Jim,
let me ask you this, like, as a big man,
what is it about Mobley's footwork, or his anticipation, or
his IQ or his instincts on that defensive end that
makes him just this special at the tender age of
(13:33):
twenty one. Yeah, I don't think it's a difficult, John.
I think it comes down to commitment. He's totally commitment
to the defensive side of the ball, even more so
than his offense, which is growing every game. But he's
committed to doing his job on the defensive end, showing
on pigs rotating back into the middle of the floor,
stating guys who participally might drive that they see him.
(13:56):
You know, I haven't seen teams drive to the middle
of the paint and not even look to shoot. They're
looking for the outside man because our bigs are so dominating.
But Mobley is a special player because he's got the
competation of temperament, commitment and tremendous link, tremendous links and
tremendous smarts on his approach to the game. Love a guys, Chris,
(14:18):
you stick around? Yeah? Absolutely, port Chris feedour straight ahead.
We'll be back with a Cav's h Q presented by
Ventway on a Cavaliers audio verse. Here we are back
on TV's a's Q presented by Ventway. John Michael filling
ins for Tim Alcore, joined by Jim Jones and our
(14:38):
featured guest here in the first half, Chris feedour beat
record for Cleveland dot Com. We're talking a little bit
about NBA Awards. Chris is on the committee, if you
will as a vote as one of the esteem media members.
Chris all right, Coach of the Year? Interesting topic coming
into this season. Who do you like in that department?
(14:59):
So I have to it out that's my criteria for
Coach of the Year might be different than other people's criteria,
and that's what I love about voting. But for me,
it's who does more with less. I think you could
look at Joe Missoula for Boston, right, but they have
Jayson Tatum, and they have Jaylen Brown, and they have
Malcolm Brown. That's a loaded roster, and I'm not saying
(15:19):
that anybody could go there and lead them to the
number one seed in the Eastern Conference and forty four
wins at this point in the season. But I think
the job that Joe Missoula has is a little bit
easier than some of these other guys that I'll mention
that I give more consideration too. At this point in time,
I think there is a strong case for Jacques Vaughan
(15:40):
actually of the Brooklyn Nets. He took over for Steve Nash.
He had to manage a bunch of different personalities in
the early going, and now all of a sudden he's
dealing with a completely revamped roster and Brooklyn. He has
kept Brooklyn together at a time that a lot of
people in the NBA thought that the nexts We're going
(16:02):
to completely implode. So he's in the mix, But right
now I think he's behind Mike Brown of the Sacramento
Kings because for the Kings to be number three in
the Western Conference right now, and I know that they
added Sabonis and they've got more talent there, nobody expected
Sacramento to be number three in the West at this
point in the season, ahead of Phoenix, ahead of the Clippers,
(16:25):
ahead of the Mavericks, ahead of the Warriors. And you
want to talk about a great job instilling a culture,
getting more out of that roster than anybody else has
been able to. To me, it's Mike Brown right now. Yeah.
I think Brown's y odds on favorite. You know, the
Vaughn situation is interesting, he said, hold it together at
first was Steve Nash got fired. It was almost like
(16:46):
make him, you know, get him going. I mean, what
was going on? And we still don't know what we're
gonna see out of Brooklyn over the final twenty games
of the season. You bring up Joe Missoula, We're gonna
catch up with Cedric Maxwell nan Us for the Celtics
in the second half. That's straight ahead for the Calves,
Missoula and the Celtics on Wednesday Night. But Jimmy, Mike
(17:07):
Brown has done a whale of a job, man. And
that's a you know, that's a fan base to me
that's been dying for something to root for for decade
and they've been faithful and loyal and everything else. And man,
they got a pretty nice club out there in Sacramento. Yeah. Well,
let me put it like this, there's an NBA team
the Sacramento I mean, I mean once, no, but think
(17:32):
about it. If you know it's it's the Warriors or
it's the Lakers, and it's been that way. Now, all
of a sudden, you've got Brown, who's always been a
solid coach and could always relate to his players. And
I think one of the things that is resume, that
resumeates strong is two things he was with Steve Kerr
(17:52):
and also that he was able to deal with Lebron James.
I think those two things in itself have gotten in
the job. But Mike is always been a student of
the game and he's always had a way with young players,
and I'm so happy for him, and he's my first choice.
My second choice would be Missoula. What all the things
they had going on there in Boston, nobody ever heard
(18:13):
of this kid, and all of a sudden, his strategies
after timeouts have been right on. So I'm excited. And guys,
think about this when you're talking about seeding. I understand
that some people like who poo it every now and then,
but in NBA history, if you're a top three seed
in either conference, you're going to have a shot. And
(18:34):
the Kings are a top three seed right now in
the West. Since two thousand, no team in the NBA
has won the title with a seed lower than third
in NBA history now, only nine teams have ever made
the NBA Finals with a seed lower than third. So
if you're in the top three in either conference, you
(18:56):
elevate yourself into a different kind of stratosphere. Yeah, it's wild,
isn't it. That's fun to think about too when you
look at out wide open this year is you know,
it's one an interesting season. It is in the NBA.
Chris leave us with this. You cover this Cavalier team
every single day. You're there with Jim and I, you know,
(19:17):
at the practical facility at every single game. Anything that
surprised you, anything that just feels a little different about
this Cavalier team, which is you know, oh, you know,
they played some terrific basketball. They're fourteen games over five
at thirty nine and twenty five as we come down
the stretch. Anything that's been a little different this season
(19:38):
that you've seen out of this team as you've covered
this team now for a handful of years. Yeah, guys,
I just think there's a level of belief in what
they're doing. There's a level of belief that they can
and I think when you acquire somebody the caliber of
Donovan Mitchell, he instills that belief in you. But I
also think there's a belief in JP Bickerstaff and the
(19:58):
style and that it's something that can work for this
particular group, with this particular group of personnel, and that
to me matters a lot. You have to believe in
what you're doing. You have to believe that you have
a chance. You have to believe that you can compete
with teams like Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. And it's one
(20:19):
thing to have the talent to do it right. Like
the Cavs core four, a lot of teams around the
NBA would take that core four of Garius Garland Downovan Mitchell,
Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. Yeah, high level talent has increased,
but there's also a different level of belief that they
can that you didn't sense in past years. Christ great job. Hey,
we appreciate the time, and we'll catch up with you
(20:42):
in Boston on Wednesday night. Sounds good, all right, we'll
step away. More Calves as Kee present to buy a
bet way On the Cavaliers audio verse in the second
half said Maxwell, we'll talk Davs Celtics up next. At
(21:03):
last night's game, as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers Black
Heritage Celebration presented by Crown Royal Rigo Apple, the Cavaliers
recognized Trailblazers in the space of Stem last Night's community
Jeff Diffmaker of the Game was Neil Stem Director miss
Ebony the community corner for last night's game showcase Stem
Lab refurbishments in northeast Ohio, and students from Akron Public
(21:25):
Schools and area Cleveland Metropolitan School Districts were present at
the game. Calves in the Community is brought to you
by Discount Drug mart. We'll be back with more Calves
HQ presented by Betwaye. Right after this on the Cavaliers
audio verse in the night on the side, William A
(22:00):
run out here for Taylor Brown all the way through
flushes with the right hand Celtics by eight. Time out,
Dockler Man, that's how you accelerate this time the fast
break opportunity MAXI can't have a shot. Tatum skip pass
Horford for three. He made it Hal Horford his fifth
three of the night, and the Celtics have to lead
(22:22):
by two. Kill them, Kill the the bill game. Kill
ninety seconds left, White in bounds it to Smart on
the run. It's Tatum. Tatum for three in the game,
Dan Sir, with one point three seconds left, no timeouts
for Philadelphia. Welcome back for the second half of calvs
h Q, presented by Bettleigh right here on the Cavalier's
(22:44):
audio verus John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn, joined
by Jim Jones Jim. Second half featured guests Cedric Maxwell
of the Celtics, one of our favorite Cedric. Welcome man,
how you been? I am doing just and Gellman and
naturally sitting here on the street in New York. We're here.
We played it next to night and I can't find
(23:06):
my room. So I'm a person on the street doing
a zoom call with you. So take it. Take some time,
you know, Jim, Jim may tell you you're old man.
You we might need to put some brand crumbs out
to get back home. I'll find it eventually. Max. Let's
talk a little bit about the love of thing to
(23:27):
talk about. But but in particular, are you surprised that
Joe Mazoula and the way that he's handled his team
and gotten him this far. No, I'm really not. I
think he's done a great job. I think because people
don't know who he is and he doesn't smile a lot.
He's not like Doc Riversin' going to be you know,
(23:47):
back and forth with the media. But he understands his players,
and his players love him. And people have been complaining said, well,
you know, Joe Mazoula doesn't call time out then not
out of diagram players. Well, you know, as Philly game,
he called a great play for Jason Tatum last shot
to win the basketball game. So I think he understands
(24:07):
and he understands his players, and he's just not called
up in all the media hype that we're called up
into about do you like me or do I feel
a good good about this? He just wants his players
to win. And what a wonderful show your Celtics and
Sixers put on the other night, What a fantastic game
in front of a national audience. What was it about
(24:28):
Joe at the age of thirty four. You think Cedric
then enable this front office to say, yeah, we trust
this guy in a really really tricky situation that he
had to step into this year. Well, I just feel that,
you know, when when you looked at him, I think
he understood what the game was about, how to play it.
Brad Steve was more convinced about it because he was
(24:50):
with Brad. He's been with Brad for a long time.
So Brad is you know, he's the one, you know,
getting the groceries right now for this team. And he
decided at that time that Missoula was going to be
a really good pick for what he what he was
wanting to do. But this club, you know, Max, when
you look around and you look at the Celtics, they're
almost indefensible. You've got two super players. Talk a little
(25:13):
bit about those two players, Jaylen Brown and who of
course Young Tatum, who's in the running I heard for MVP. Well,
I think if you look at both the guys, what
they are is that they love playing with each other.
At one time, everybody said we'll break these two guys
up there too much alike, But then they came to
each other's defense and said, look, we like each other,
(25:35):
we want to play with each other. We're gonna make
it work. And when they said that, everything kind of
took off. What the players, all the other players, and
everybody in the organization understand that these guys are running
the club. And because of that and the belief and
the belief they have in their their bench and the
(25:55):
players around him, they bought into it. And I think
everybody else is bought into it because they all understand
what those two guys mean for this team corporate. You
mentioned the bench man. You have Malcolm Brogden, Derek White,
Grant Williams all coming off the bench. I mean, what's
your comfort level? Is this the deepest team that, I
mean in the Tatum Brown era that Boston has seen. Absolutely?
(26:20):
I think it is. When you think about Derek White,
who has started for the Celtics for a while and
then he became Player of the Week, I think, what
he what he did, and then now he's back to
the bench. Brogden, who was the Rookie of the Year
at one time, played has played extremely well. He's bought
into what everybody wants to do. And Grant Williams has
(26:41):
really been a guy who's just fuilding all the blanks.
So when you have those guys and you didn't even
talk about Mascala, who is reached sin and who's playing well,
Blake Griffin who can give you quality minutes off the bench.
So you know, just have so many combinations and in
the NBA now you need all those combinations. It's because
of that. You know, this team isn't one dimensional. We
(27:04):
can look at them. You know, they got a bunch
of guys can score. They can put everybody on the
floor to shoot the three. Al Horpford the other day
against Philadelphia, the team seem like they were down and out.
Al Horford hits four three's in the third quarter and
got them back in the game. So it's so many
different pieces. They're young, but then they have veterans and
(27:24):
they have guys who understand what they need to do
to play this game the way it needs to be
playing to win. Yeah, you're all over, corn Bread. They're
my choice, you know, to be world champs at the
end of the year. I think last year was a
tremendous amount of experience, a chance to get some experience.
But do they have any weaknesses? Bread, Do they really
have any weaknesses. I think the biggest weakness is just
(27:47):
them being been healthy. You think about Rob Williams, who
is a valuable part for him. He's been in on
now the line up a lie. You know another guy
you didn't talk about as Marcus mart who to me
is probably one of the best defenders they've had. I
had a huge argument, not the argument, but just going
back and forth and talking to Mark Jackson about this.
(28:08):
I said, Marcus probably the best defender the subjects have
had under six to five maybe ever. And Mark Jackson
come back and hit me, well, well, you know Dennis
Johnson was, you know, a great defender. I said yeah,
but he said, I've played against Dennis. I sat played
with Dennis, and I said, well, he said, Dennis, Dennis,
you know he would put his hands on you. I said,
(28:29):
exactly the point. I said, what would happen that Marcus
Smart was able to use his hands the way they
used it in the eighties and the seventies, he'd be
that much better of a defender. And last year was
player he was Defensive Player of the Year. We'll take
a real quick brand great stuff. Cedric more with Cedric Maxiwell,
right after this on Cavs AND's he presented by that
way right here on the Cavalier's Audio vers. They still
(28:54):
got it to Allan, Allan back to Menchell, back to
stuck that smart on the left side against Darlin, spittings
around Garland shock rejected by Alice Garland at the other
end and on the slim time of admitial So what
a past by d G Dam's by one one fourteen
(29:15):
one thirteen. It'll be smart to pull the trigger over
on the far side. Got it into brown brown, We'll
shoot it overweight, big backstay, taps win, Cavaliers win for
fourteen one thirteen. Welcome back at Davs eights two. John
Michael and Jim Jones. We're joined by Cedric Maxwell and
(29:37):
has a terrific job as the analyst on Boston Celtics Radio.
The Calves and the Celtics set to meet up on
Wednesday night. Cedric, when you take a look at the Cavaliers,
they have that young core, but let's talk that front
core of Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. When you see
that combination, what do you think. We're always interested in
an outsider's perspective, what do you see out of those
(29:59):
two young things? Well, Mobili a guy, I think more
of a score can shoot the basketball. Alan, more of
a defender, and which you have is two great rim protectors.
You get by one, then you gotta start. You gotta
deal with the other one coming towards the rim. And
that that's what makes them really tough. When you have
guards who push up on you and you're able to
(30:19):
attack the rim, but then you have those two shot blockers.
They create situations that make it sometimes a little auntie
for those bags to attack the rim or smaller guys
to go into paint. You know, before the season started,
and you know, you and I were talking about Donovan
Mitchell and you shut me up to no, Jimmy, no,
(30:40):
he could really play. And I said, yeah, no, he
can really play. Talk a little bit about come on,
jim the man's stud over there. You know that that's
what it is. You really didn't give up that much
to get him in that situation, Sexton, nice player, but
Mitchell is man. Mitch to me not only is a
(31:02):
great player, but boy smart as a wick. And if
you sit down, you sat down and talk to him,
he understands the game. It's really funny. Kind of a
connection with him was the fact that his father played
baseball at You and Charlotte back in the day. So
I got to talk to him. I did not know that,
and then somebody told me. So it's just, uh, you know,
(31:24):
he's he's strong, he's athletic, he's determined, and he's a
guy who could have played during the eighties because he
has some of that Asked nine in him. And I
like that, you go, when you go at him, he's
coming back at you. And not only did he you know,
he played that way, but he talks that talk. And
for me, I love guys who are able to back
(31:45):
up what they have to say, and he's the guy
looks like he can do it. SA you anticipate almost
my next question. I'm asking this to you. And Jim,
does he remind you Donovan Mitchell of anybody or any
players in your era? Oh, that's pretty good. He's stronger,
he's quicker. Uh he you know obviously looked at the
range that he shoots on. But I'm I'm trying to
(32:07):
think anybody he reminds me of, which is you know,
he reminds me of um, you know, so far as
taking the ball to the hole. And you guys won't
like this, but he was a former cavalier and uh,
and you guys send him down to um Phoenix. I
think I think you guys had Johnson? Did you not
have Vin? Kevin Johnson a guy who will take that
(32:29):
ball to the cup, attack the rim with dunk on you,
with shooting over you. Man that so he reminds me
of that, and he's so explosive. You know, anytime a
guy walks away, he does almost like he's pigeon toed
run you know something, you tell there's something different about
that dude. Them dudes like that when they're pigeon toed,
(32:49):
or their feet go out like Brian when he's walking,
and of them guys are athletic. His tail and and
if you watch him walk, you're going already yo yo, man,
this kid coming there right now as a so, so
watch out for Sami before we let you go. You know,
Jim mentioned that he likes the Celtics to potentially win
the whole thing this season. It's been phenomenal to me
(33:11):
that the Bucks have won fourteen games in a row
and yet somehow the Celtics have remained on top of
the East. To most folks think that that's you know,
that's gonna be the look in the Eastern Conference finals.
Should that be the case, how do your Celtics match
up with Jannis in the bucks on the Celtics matchup
world with him? I think Celtics can shoot with them,
(33:33):
and obviously trying to contain a guy like Jannis is
going to be a problem for you. But I like
the Celtics chances if they can get there. You know,
I think you look at Yannis right now. He's been
back and forth battling a little bit of n stiffness
in the nights. I don't know what's going on there,
but if both teams are healthy, completely healthy, I like
(33:56):
the Celtics a little bit more because I think they're
a little bit more explode. The books are Cedric. We
always appreciate you, man, thank you so much for joining us.
I continue, thank you, great job. They're on the radio.
We appreciate you. Well. If I just if I can
just found my way back to my damn room, I'd
be okay, guys, thank you, talk to you later. Grabbing
(34:19):
Uber said, just take you figure out where you are. Yeah, well,
he's gonna do what I do. You gotta write the
dumb of your room in the bomb of your head.
I'll tell you what, man. I put the whole envelope
in my pocket, the key out, There's no chance I
can remember the even the floor room we're in. Yeah,
that's gonna be a fun matchup on Wednesday night, Calf Celtics.
(34:42):
You know, Celtics continue to play just some brilliant basketball
right now. Hey, let's not forget two's a two and
oh against Boston this year. A couple of overtime wins
should be a fun one in Boston. Yeah, totally agree
with you. And one of the reasons it is because
we match up with him, you know, as far as
having dominant players or dominant position our back court versus
(35:06):
their wings. You know, we saw the matchup and then
of course the what Horford and Williams do for them
in the paint, it's what our two towers do for us.
So I just think those have been good matchups for us.
They've had problems, John really trying to slow us down. Yeah,
they have, Yeah, cething steam. They goes eight strong. As
we talked about with Cedric Maxwell, certainly a tester for
(35:27):
the Calves coming up on Wednesday night. All right, we're
gonna step away. We'll be back to wrap things up
right here on Calves eight Coopers in and buy that
Way on the Cavaliers Audio Verse. Back for our final
segment on Calves each two presented by that Way John
(35:48):
Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn, joined by Jim Jones. Jimmy,
good to be back on the air with you once again.
Also good to see this Cavalier team playing such terrific basketball.
There's thirty nine and twenty five in fourth place in
the Eastern Conference. The backbone gym this season has been defense.
You know, the Cows have been top three all season
(36:11):
long in terms of defensive rating. In terms of what
you've seen out of this Cavalier defense, where does it
start to mean? Obviously, the paint mobile and Alany is
such a wonderful job, but it's more than that, as
this team really has been consistent on that end all
season long. Yeah, they have jigged and when they've become
ultra successful at their defense, quarter at a quarter, you
(36:33):
know they can beat anyone. And I think they believed that. Now,
I didn't think they believed that the first twenty five
or thirty games, but I think they honestly believe. They
look at no matter how fast these teams want to play,
no matter what opportunities we get in transition, we got
to remember that we have to be able to set
our defense. And I think that's finally getting to them
and they understand that this style of play based upon
(36:56):
their personnel is the only way for them to win
and be successful. And you know, Jabs been talking consistency.
You know, that's been his thing. Yeah, no question, And
you know, when you look at the other end, we
knew that the pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland
was going to be one to watch all season. We
also knew that it wasn't something that was going to
happen overnight. And we saw during the seven game winning
(37:20):
streak right before the break that that chemistry and that,
you know, the way that they worked together, not just
with each other, not just scoring, but also feeding their
big men, also getting the ball inside. They were really
starting to find something. And again, there are bumps in
the road, there are some upstairs, some downs there will
continue to be. But here we are about fifty sixty
(37:42):
games now into that partnership games that they've played together,
that is, and I think we're starting to see somebody
or are you seeing the same thing, Jim, Yeah, I
am our bags are playing because they're getting more touches.
You know, when Donovan was out, if we were forced
to give them more touches, because then they really started
double team in garl and then our biggs are fallen
into the pocket. They became decision makers either score or
(38:05):
else find the open man, and it sort of gave
them some confidence, so a real confidence because when Donovan
came back, both guards were trying to find these big guys.
I had to talk with Norm Nixon before the season started,
and he's a guard now. He's telling me, he said,
make sure you get your biggs involved. I said yes,
said yeah, yeah, he said no. He slapped me twice
(38:25):
in the conversation. He said, no, no, Jim, you gotta
get your biggs involved because you guys have had got
a chance to really go fire in the playoffs. If
you can get these guys some touches, and you gotta
give them to them now because if you give it
to them later, they won't have the confidence to perform.
He said, so you gotta give them touches. Oh, as
soon as the season starts. J B said, hey, look it,
(38:47):
I'm not worried about our backcourt. We just gotta make
sure our biggs get touches. So that's been the thing, John.
And if you look at their numbers, both of those kids'
numbers in the last ten, in the twelve games, they're
double doubles almost every night. Yeah, what makes that so
hard to do? Jim? When you talk, I don't know.
When you get out there on the floor, seems so easy, right.
(39:08):
It sounds like when you say that, don't turn the
ball over, right, be careful with the basketball. It seems easier.
It's nice to talk about, but it's not always the
easiest thing to do. When we say, get the big
guys involved, get them in the basketball. What makes that
harder than maybe it seems when you just talk about it.
The main thing, John, is how these kids have learned
the game, and most of them have learned the game
(39:29):
from outside in, not inside out. And what happens is
they look at themselves as being the top priority. So
when they jump on the basketball court, well, let me
get mine first. And then they're running into these roadblocks
and where these teams are building these big defensive walls,
and they can't understand why they can't get to the rim.
Why because they've never established their big players, so they're
(39:52):
not a threat. So the defense just forgets about them
and they can concentrate on slowing your guard play down.
And that's what was happening the first twenty games with us,
and so what happens now is that you have to
get your bigs involved. And that's what your kitchen is about.
That's what Draymond is about. You can run your offense
(40:12):
through your bigs. You almost have to, especially when your
backcourt are shooting guards, not necessarily assist guards, but shooting guards.
If your biggs can play me, if your biggs can
distribute the ball, John and get behind what we call
the secondary part of the defense, where your big gets
the ball, someone slips behind the defense, you threw them
(40:33):
an alley. We call that secondary offense. If you can
get to that level, now you can compete with the
big boys offensively. And we've been doing that more and
more often, letting our bigs become playmakers. There's nothing wrong
with that. Here's a related question, Jim. We've seen the
chemistry between Mobile and Alan and you know you hearken
back to when Mobile was drafted. Folks around the league
(40:55):
were saying, well, wait a second, can Mobili play alongside Alan?
Can two seven footers going exist? Not only because of
his skill? Can exists? They cast through another seven footer
and that starting lineup Margating and all three of those
guys were just fine. What have you seen about the
chemistry of Mowgli and Alan as their time together has progressed,
(41:16):
they're now under their second season. But man oh Man, again,
something that you know doesn't always work. A couple of
seven footers alongside each other, and it's not like ones,
you know, a rangy guy. It's not like Mowbli's out
there shooting threes and hitting threes. Is not like an
inside out type thing where you have a stretch for
a stretch five. They both are big men, but they've
made it work. Why Well, when you're a coach and
(41:40):
you look at them play, the question then becomes can
they play together? Then you put in some offense and
you start talking to them. You try to develop a
strategy offensively and defensively so they could stay out of
each other's way. And they're committed to a job. They
want to play together, and I think that is the denominator.
They want to play together. Jaylen Brown and Tatum they
(42:03):
wanted to play together even though their games are very similar.
Same situation here, and I think it's a credit to
the coaching staff and it's a credit to the kind
of temperament, the kind of players you have to have
in this league who are willing to sacrifice. Jim love
the insight. Always great catching up. Thanks for putting up
with me again for a while. Oh no, John, Hey,
(42:25):
it's always great to hear the best announcer in Cavs history.
Thank you again. We appreciate you for Jim Jones. Is
John Michael filling in for Tim Alcorn. This has been
each to presented by a vent Way on the Cavaliers
Audio Verse. Thanks for listening. Good night everyone,
Hosts And Creators
Tim Alcorn
Jim Chones
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