All Out of Love—Cavs vs. Bulls Game 1: Behind the Box Score
May 5, 2015Nine Arguments for Some Tribe Optimism
May 5, 2015Happy Tuesday WFNY!
So yeah, rough game last night for the Cavaliers, eh?
You’re probably going to hear a lot of things today about not panicking and this only being one game. But make no mistake, the Cavaliers are in trouble. In Monday’s game, Kyrie went off for 30 points and Iman Shumpert stepped up for 22 points in filling in for JR Smith. And the Cavaliers still lost. Before the game, I felt those two things had to happen for the Cavaliers to win. Well, they both happened and it still didn’t matter.
It mostly didn’t matter because the Cavaliers’ defense was atrocious. The Bulls were able to manufacture uncontested shots at will, as the Cavs’ defense was chasing to recover off the high screen all night long. The Bulls didn’t change a thing. They ran the exact same set when Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose were in the game. Over and over and over. Gasol came high, set the screen, the Cavs pinched on Rose leaving Gasol wide open for shots he rarely misses. If the Cavaliers rotated someone over to help on Gasol, it seemed like either Butler or Rose would operate a back door cut where they would either get a layup or kick it out to Dunleavy outside or dish it to another cutter.
The Bulls operated their offense with extreme efficiency. 115 points per 100 possessions for the Bulls in a game in which they performed better on the offensive glass than the Cavaliers did. The losses of Kevin Love and JR Smith were brutal, sure. There’s not a doubt in my mind that the Cavaliers would have won this series easily with those two players. But the NBA is about overcoming injuries. This isn’t anything unique to the Cavaliers. They need to find a way to survive and adapt without Love and, for one more game, without JR.
The Cavaliers didn’t really make any defensive adjustments in-game last night. Other than just moving LeBron around and having him defend various players, I suppose. Hopefully the coaching staff and the players can figure out some adjustments today before Game Two tomorrow.
And look, I know. It’s so tempting to say “Well, the Bulls were just hot and the Cavs took some time getting going off the long layoff. Plus, LeBron won’t play that poorly in the 4th quarter again.” There are varying degrees of truth to all of that. But it’s important to understand that, other than maybe Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler’s high arching shot off the glass, the Bulls weren’t making ridiculous shots. They were making wide open shots that were created by the offense. If the Cavaliers do not or can not adjust, the Bulls are just going to keep doing what they did in Game One.
The most surprising thing about Game One, though, is that in many ways you could argue that LeBron James cost the Cavs this game. It seems like a stupid thing to say. Maybe it is. But this was a game in which Kyrie Irving, despite not shooting well from outside, was creating havoc for the Bulls’ defense. Kyrie was dancing with the ball, getting into the lane where he was making insane layups or else making great passes to his big men as they cut to the basket. But down the stretch, LeBron took the ball away from Kyrie, and the Cavs’ offense really started to sputter. Poor shot selection on a couple threes from LeBron, bad turnovers, and no activity off the ball when LeBron had it. This was one of the worst fourth quarter performances we’ve seen from LeBron.
I don’t know if Kyrie can score 30 points every game. I don’t know that Shumpert can have that mind of impact night in and night out. But I do know LeBron can and should play better than he did in this game. If the Cavaliers can sort out their defense and LeBron can protect the ball better and keep the offense flowing a little better, the Cavs can still win this series. But I predicted the Cavs to lose this series before Game One, and unfortunately, I didn’t see too much in that game to make me second guess my prediction. Hopefully the Bulls wear down as this series goes along. That might be the Cavaliers’ best chance.
*****
Following your favorite athletes on social media isn’t always fun
Kyrie Irving is my favorite basketball player. That’s not super surprising to those who read my basketball thoughts over the previous four years. But man, Kyrie isn’t making it easy on me. I follow Kyrie on Instagram, and over the years I’ve really struggled with Kyrie’s friendship with Chris Brown.
Don’t get me wrong. Who Kyrie Irving is friends with is none of my business whatsoever. But the blatant praise and love for Chris Brown on social media without any acknowledgement of the fact that Brown brutally beat Rihanna makes me a little sad.
Over the weekend, Kyrie posted the following on Instagram:
This is starting to become a pattern of disregard for domestic abuse. But at the same time, writing about this feels weird, too. Superstar culture is such a bizarre thing. We constantly write about people that we don’t know. We project a lot of our own beliefs, feelings, and insecurities onto the people we cover, whether they be athletes, musicians, movie stars, reality stars, or whatever the case may be.
However, there is the golden rule of social media. It’s a rule that applies to all of us, whether we are celebrities or not. What we post on social media represents who we are as people. Even when it doesn’t. To the outside world, to people who don’t know us and how we feel about certain things, the things we post on social media become the only things people think about us. So when Kyrie is constantly posting praise of men who beat women, it reflects back on Kyrie to a certain degree. And as a huge fan of Kyrie and the Cavaliers, this makes me a little sad.
*****
Rooting for college players is a weird thing
Now that the NFL Draft has come and gone, I got to thinking about something over the weekend. As Devin Smith was drafted by the New York Jets, I found myself feeling pretty sad. You see, I hate the Jets. I have a hard time rooting for them to do well. So it’s a bummer to see Smith end up there. Devin Smith was one of my favorite players on last year’s OSU team, and it’s a major bummer to realize that my days of actively rooting for him are over. Same thing with Ryan Shazier going to the Steelers last year (or Mike Vrabel, or Rodney Bailey, or Santonio Holmes, or Thaddeus Gibson, or Doug Worthington, or Cam Heyward, or Mike Adams, or Doran Grant, or HOLY COW WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP DRAFTING SO MANY BUCKEYES, PLEASE, STEELERS?).
College sports are weird like that. You root for these players and develop an attachment to them, but it only lasts for four years at the absolute most. Then they are gone. They move on to the NFL where we only really see them play when it is against the Browns or in a nationally televised game. But we lost that week in and week out attachment to these players. And that’s kind of a bummer.
And that’s only for the guys who go pro in the NFL or NBA. I absolutely loved Jamar Butler at Ohio State. But after his final game with Ohio State, I have no clue what happened to him or where or even if he’s playing now. Same with guys like Terence Dials, and Brian Brown, and Ken Johnson, and Justin Boren, and Jake Stoneburner, and Nathan Williams. So many Buckeyes meant so much to me as a sports fan, only to disappear completely into the ether.
I guess I have no real point here, other than just to note that rooting for college sports teams is a strange thing. Putting so much emotional attachment on 18-22 year olds for a brief moment of time, and then just forgetting about them and moving on to the next batch of players. I don’t know, the draft just put this into focus for me this year. Weird stuff.
*****
The Jennings Basement
Are you watching “The Americans” on FX? If you’re not, you should fix that right now. It’s arguably the best drama on TV right now (if not the best, it’s unquestionably in the top three). They just completed Season Three, so there’s plenty of time now to binge watch and get caught up before Season Four.
The good news is, there’s a really great supplement to the show in the form of a podcast called “The Jennings Basement”. WFNY’s Dave Sterling and his wife Mary Ellen host the podcast and they break down every episode. I’ve tried listening to a couple other podcasts that cover The Americans, and none of them ever stuck. But The Jennings Basement had me hooked from the first episode I listened to.
The podcast is funny, smart, insightful. Every week after I would watch a new episode of The Americans, I would be dying to hear the subsequent episode of The Jennings Basement. I cannot recommend subscribing to this podcast enough. And if you don’t watch The Americans now, the Jennings Basement will be reviewing Season One this summer, giving you a great opportunity to start watching the show and following along with the podcast.
*****
New Music of the Week
FINALLY!
I have complained all year long about what a bad year for music 2015 has been. I’ve struggled to find albums to recommend for this spot every week. So of course this week we have three of my Top 10 albums of the year and two of my Top 3 all released in the same week. I debated spreading these out over the next three weeks, but that’s not holding true to the format.
The three monster albums released this week are:
- My Morning Jacket – “The Waterfall”
- Best Coast – “California Nights”
- Metz – “II”
My Morning Jacket is easily in my Top 10, but I don’t quite like it as much as I do the other two albums.
The new Best Coast album is simply amazing. I’ve always loved Bethany Cosentino’s catchy hooks and simplified imagery. On this album, though, she and guitarist Bobb Bruno punched up their sound and gave their songs more depth. And boy did it work. The first four songs on this album are as good as any opening four tracks I’ve heard on an album in a long time.
And then there’s the album’s title track. This is my favorite song of 2015 so far:
To be fair, that song isn’t indicative of the rest of the album. but the swirling dreamy shoegaze effect of this song mixed with the traditional Best Coast catchiness works for me. Big time.
Then there’s Metz. This is probably my favorite album of 2015 so far. It is an absolute monster. Metz, out of Toronto, is one of the most ferocious rock bands around. Blending elements of modern punk and late 80s/early 90s grunge into a sound completely their own, Metz are an absolute tour de force. I was skeptical that they would be able to match the intensity of their phenomenal debut album, but they didn’t just match it. They exceeded and took their sound to a whole new level. This album is pure perfection for fans of rock music in its purest form.
Man, what a week for new music. I hope everyone finds something they enjoy out of those three releases!
*****
And with that, I’m out of here. Peace out, WFNY, enjoy the rest of your week!
13 Comments
ahhh. the weekly music post…or as I call it “a reminder that Im a grumpy old man”
I don’t follow any jocks on Twitter except a couple of retired ones like Bernie, AC, and Price. Guess I’m not interested in their lives that much and sounds like it may be a good idea.
Really appreciate what you said about Kyrie and the social media perception, Andrew. I can’t say that I disagree, but I do think that there is another facet. Social media perception exists in those that perceive, not in those that convey. It is entirely up to us to draw our own conclusions, and if we draw bad or erroneous conclusions, that’s on us. Tweets like Kyrie’s are good examples. The fact that he loves some humans that have done bad things does not necessarily mean that he condones or disregards those bad things. The perception that he does is our perception.
I don’t think anyone should be judged for someone they follow on Twitter I mean really? Aren’t there enough of other reasons to sit in judgement especially with athletes?
After his weekend performance on Twitter (which alternated between Mayweather jock-riding and chest-thumping over personal greatness), I am rooting hard for Terrance West to get what appears to be a much-needed humbling. Good luck to Duke Johnson.
I was lucky to find the Jennings Basement podcast with 4 episodes to go this season and already can’t wait for next season so that I get a chance to hear their review after each episode. I have to say the AfterBuzz TV version of the Americans podcast is good as well, but there’s something more friendly and personal about The Jennings Basement.
It has absolutely nothing to do with who someone follows on Twitter.
Totally agree. I was trying to find a delicate way to state basically the same thing. But even still, you have to be careful with these things. There is a band that I love whose lead singer was charged with domestic abuse. This bothers me to no end. But I still love their music. I wrestle with this issue all the time. And while I may still listen to them from time to time, I certainly am careful not to post praise for them on social media, because I don’t what their image to be projected onto myself. It’s such a fine line with these things.
I seem to follow more former Buckeyes once the playoffs start. I notice a lot of them in the NBA playoffs, but as long as they aren’t steelers or ravens, i root for them. Sometimes if they are on those teams i still root for them, just against the team.
I thought Lebron did not rise to the moment in the 4th. Regardless of all the poor play etc. with 2 or 3 minutes to go, we had a chance to pull this one out. This is the type of game that Jordan always took over and got his team the win. Lebron failed at this. If he wants to be among the alltime greats, he needs to be the closer. Glad he accepted responsibility for this, but he must get 35+ next game and make the big plays at the end.
It’s tough. And nothing tests it like finding out a good friend of yours is guilty of an awful crime (believe me). In this society, those things tend to define who people are, but reality tells you that nobody is defined by a single thing like that. It’s easy to draw black and white lines around people, ignoring the fact that the black and white always cross and mix in all of us.
1 assist from a triple double and guarding every opponents player just isn’t enough LBJ needs to score 40, not miss a shot, post a triple double, defend all the Bulls, call the plays, conduct interviews, drive the team bus and fly the team plane then people will be happy. Winning 53 games, winning the division, making the playoffs, advancing to the second round of the playoffs just isn’t good enough because this is Cleveland where this kind of thing is common!!!
I’ve heard the single “California Nights,” and will need to give the album a listen. And even if The Waterfall isn’t one of your tops whoo for MMJ music!