The 2016 Offseason thread

[white men can't jump]

That "block" on LeBron didn't exactly spark the team to success. Prior to that block, the series score between the Cavs and Raps had been 329-346, a pretty evenly played series. After that block the Cavs outscored the Raps 289-213. The block happened right at half time of the 4th game, when the Raps already had a big lead (57-41), and seemed to spark the Cavs into a big comeback (Raps ended up barely holding on to the win) which rolled right into the next two devastating losses.

I find it hard to believe the block was "in their heads" as they went on the smash the Raps into the ground with minimal resistance from that second onwards.

Yeah basketball is a sport where fans/observers really can overrate the value of one play. No one play matters that much. There are far too many plays and the game is far too fluid for that. Just bias in perceptions.

Personally I take physicality over blocks. Physicality you can maintain throughout a game with the right personnel and approach. Blocks are random plays that can even be empty stats (block only matters if you complete the defensive possession).

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[LJ2]

That "block" on LeBron didn't exactly spark the team to success. Prior to that block, the series score between the Cavs and Raps had been 329-346, a pretty evenly played series. After that block the Cavs outscored the Raps 289-213. The block happened right at half time of the 4th game, when the Raps already had a big lead (57-41), and seemed to spark the Cavs into a big comeback (Raps ended up barely holding on to the win) which rolled right into the next two devastating losses.

I find it hard to believe the block was "in their heads" as they went on the smash the Raps into the ground with minimal resistance from that second onwards.

Come on Dan, you know I'm not basing an entire season of his impact into that one play. But it's plays like that which gave us an identity and helped us grind out teams in the reg and post season.

But since you love stats ... do you have access to how the Cav's beat us? Was it by getting hot from the perimeter or did they score just as many points in the paint against us as they did against the other teams they faced in their run through the EC?

[Puffer]

I wouldn't make any assumptions about how one play, three plays or a whole game affects fans perceptions and then equate that in any way shape or form with how it affects a bunch of professionals who have had the experience of playing thousands of games, with hundreds of them being meaningful. What looks like a big play to us may very well (I expect it is) just another play to them.

[DanH]

Come on Dan, you know I'm not basing an entire season of his impact into that one play. But it's plays like that which gave us an identity and helped us grind out teams in the reg and post season.

But since you love stats ... do you have access to how the Cav's beat us? Was it by getting hot from the perimeter or did they score just as many points in the paint against us as they did against the other teams they faced in their run through the EC?

I didn't make any claims about that one play encapsulating his impact. YOU suggested that it must have been a play that got into the Cavs' heads. I was just providing evidence that it did no such thing and your correlation between play style and actual success may be flawed if that is your keystone example.

As for PITP - the Cavs scored 44.2 PITP per 100 possessions against us, and only 37.5 against DET and 29.6 against ATL. They did lots of perimeter damage against those two teams - against us it was more getting inside with little resistance.

[GLF]

Time will tell obviously but I really think I'm right about Biz's impact and how much the loss of him will affect us negatively. I just don't see us making up that toughness and grit and rim protection with the guys that will taking his spot. When JV is on the court we should be fine because he is not much worse than Biz when it comes to rim protection but when JV is on the bench that's when you will see the huge dropoff in that department. And that wasn't the case last year. I guess the only positive about that is it will finally force Casey to play JV big minutes.

[Sinbad]

Time will tell obviously but I really think I'm right about Biz's impact and how much the loss of him will affect us negatively. I just don't see us making up that toughness and grit and rim protection with the guys that will taking his spot. When JV is on the court we should be fine because he is not much worse than Biz when it comes to rim protection but when JV is on the bench that's when you will see the huge dropoff in that department. And that wasn't the case last year. I guess the only positive about that is it will finally force Casey to play JV big minutes.

I think we need to ease up on Biz leaving being the harbinger of the defense falling off a cliff. Everyone will need to step up now that he's not there to bail out initial defenders that get beat and blown-by. It's why I'm more concerned with what sort of defensive scheme we're going to see going forward. They still haven't replaced Greer, though it's starting to feel like they might promote someone internally as opposed to searching for someone new. So long as everyone is held to account and we don't revert to the scrambling rubbish from 2 years ago, the slippage will be manageable. Not having to compensate for Scola will help too.

[Deino]

Speaking of ....Biyombo

Look who I'm sitting with at dinner 👀👍🏾 #Africa #NBA #onelove pic.twitter.com/lPMXLBklmF

— Bismack Biyombo (@bismackbiyombo) August 31, 2016

[ogi]

I think we need to ease up on Biz leaving being the harbinger of the defense falling off a cliff. Everyone will need to step up now that he's not there to bail out initial defenders that get beat and blown-by. It's why I'm more concerned with what sort of defensive scheme we're going to see going forward. They still haven't replaced Greer, though it's starting to feel like they might promote someone internally as opposed to searching for someone new. So long as everyone is held to account and we don't revert to the scrambling rubbish from 2 years ago, the slippage will be manageable. Not having to compensate for Scola will help too.

Agreed. Although biz was definitely a great defender for the raps last season I think the fact that he had a lot of highlight defensive plays makes his impact seem greater than it really was.

[JawsGT]

I think the team will definitely miss Biz, but not to the extent where its the difference between winning or losing a playoff series.

[Deino]

Kyle Lowry’s intro to Jay Wright: ‘Yo, coach, when am I getting offered a scholarship?’ @TheVertical Podcast: https://t.co/JpelgUQMXA

— The Vertical (@TheVertical) August 31, 2016

[Chr1s1anL]

Kyle Lowry’s intro to Jay Wright: ‘Yo, coach, when am I getting offered a scholarship?’ @TheVertical Podcast: https://t.co/JpelgUQMXA

— The Vertical (@TheVertical) August 31, 2016

Listen to it this morning. Good stuff.

[JamesNaismith]

Speaking of ....Biyombo

Look who I'm sitting with at dinner ������ #Africa #NBA #onelove pic.twitter.com/lPMXLBklmF

— Bismack Biyombo (@bismackbiyombo) August 31, 2016

[LJ2]

I think the team will definitely miss Biz, but not to the extent where its the difference between winning or losing a playoff series.

Agreed, but would you say that the monster game he had against Miami was the main reason we won that game, and since it went to 7, did he in fact play a major role in winning that series?

[Chr1s1anL]

May 15, 2016

[rocwell]

May 15, 2016

Oh yeah. This is awesome.