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A New Day in Believeland: A 2nd 'Season Opener' vs. Kyrie & the Celtics


Video credit: Fox Sports Ohio - The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate LeBron James's 
game-winner vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 7, 2018.  

From the outside looking in, numerous analysts and fans had watched the past month of basketball and made a distinct observation: the 2017-2018 Cleveland Cavaliers (prior to the trade deadline) do not like each other. Wednesday night's victory celebration seemed quite fitting as a farewell party to any spoken or unspoken drama in the locker room.

 As I stated a month ago:

With the trade deadline a month away (February 8th), how the team adjusts or doesn't adjust with IT, TT, DRose, and Shumpert back will help determine if anyone needs to be brought in--and if any of these four players or anyone else ends up getting traded.

 As it turned out, the suspicions many of us had in Believeland were correct: guys needed to get traded in order to adjust the rotation. TT stayed, but IT, DRose, and Shumpert were all traded away. Crowder, Wade, and Frye were also moved to other NBA cities. The Cavs had the oldest roster in the NBA, with several egos battling for supremacy on and off the court. As newcomer George Hill has been quoted as saying about LeBron and the rest of the team: "He's the Batman, so we got to be all Robins."

Coach Tyronn Lue tried his best to help keep harmony in the locker room. He played struggling veterans ahead of hungry younger players, and former star/core veterans ahead of better fitting role players with arguably less overall talent. Players had paid their dues over the years and Coach Lue gave them the benefit of the doubt with any initial struggles. Several people questioned his ability to coach at the NBA level.

 Personally, I didn't buy it--Coach Lue is very good with X's and O's. 

 Coaching a team with LeBron and several other players with past star status and/or from winning programs is much tougher than people want to admit. In essence, Coach Lue knew about the problems ("agendas", he called them) and tried to shift the blame to himself. Hopefully, people will remember some of Coach Lue's key contributions since joining the Cavs as an assistant in 2014:

  • Stopping former Coach David Blatt from picking up a 'no timeouts left' technical foul at the end of Game 4 vs. the Bulls (and Derrick Rose) in 2015--leading to LeBron's game-winner to tie the series, 2-2
  • Staying in charge of coaching the defense in 2015-2016 after taking over as head coach and leading them to a top 10 finish in the regular season, even after losing a top defender via trade (Anderson Varejao)
  • Making several adjustments upon taking over as head coach en route to a championship: 
    • Adjusting how Kevin Love was being used on offense, putting him in position to contribute often and succeed on a daily basis
    • Whipping the team into shape so that they could maximize their offense and keep pace with the Warriors and other teams in a seven-game playoff series
    • Sticking with Timofey Mozgov during the regular season to help develop him while resting other players dealing with nagging midseason injuries, but then sitting Timo when others were playing better in the playoffs
    • Giving key minutes to Richard Jefferson throughout the playoff run despite past claims from analysts as early as 2010-2011 of Jefferson being 'washed up'
    • Swapping in Mo Williams for Matthew Dellavedova during the 2016 Finals as Delly struggled through a sprained ankle suffered in the Conference Finals vs. the Raptors
  • Getting the most out of role players, such as Jefferson, Channing Frye, Dahntay Jones, Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams, Jeff Green, and Jose Calderon


LeBron's farewells from Cleveland in 2010 and Miami in 2014 involved aging rosters with closing championship windows. GM Koby Altman successfully repaired this problem in 2018. 

 Enter: Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, and Rodney Hood.

Of these four players, I have watched a decent amount of games when Nance Jr. and Clarkson played with the Lakers and Hill played with the Spurs, Pacers, Jazz, and Kings. Meanwhile, I saw Hood play live in Utah once and have heard good things about him. With that said:

How will each of them help?

  • All four players have strong versatility:
    • Hill and Clarkson are both combo guards
    • Hood is a swingman who primarily has played shooting guard at the NBA level but can also play small forward
    • Nance Jr. is a combo forward who can play center in the Cavs' rotation
  • Nance Jr., Clarkson, and Hood can play well on both sides of the court in faster-paced play
  • Hill is a seasoned professional who thrives in half-court play
  • Clarkson and Hood are streaky shooters who can score points in bunches
  • Hill was a favorite rising prospect of Coach Gregg Popovich, who ended up having to trade Hill to get former under-the-radar prospect (and now superstar) Kawhi Leonard
  • Hill gained extensive playoff experience helping lead his hometown Indiana Pacers push LeBron's Miami Heat championship-contending teams to the limit
  • Overall, Hill has started 72 of 83 playoff games played
  • Hill and Hood helped the Jazz get back to the playoffs for the first time in five years
  • Hood played in all 11 of the Jazz's playoff games last season
  • Clarkson and Nance Jr. helped the Lakers upset the 2015-2016 Warriors on national television, handing them one of only nine regular-season losses that year--with Clarkson leading all scorers with 25 points 
Photo: Rodney Hood and the Utah Jazz host the Portland
Trail Blazers on November 4, 2015. (I was able to attend
the game while on a business trip.)

Sunday should make for a great game. Each time the Cavs and Celtics have played each other this year, they've been different teams.

 Game 1, October 17, 2017: "NBA Overall Season Opener"

  • The Cavs and Celtics played evenly in the 1st quarter until Gordon Hayward's season-ending ankle injury
  • The Cavs controlled the tempo the rest of the way, blowing a big lead before closing things out at the end
  • Kyrie Irving missed a potential game-tying shot to close out the game
  • Kyrie and the Cavs ran through their line of postgame handshakes for old times' sake
  • Hopes were high for the Cavs while the Celtics looked to quickly regroup

Game 2, January 3, 2018: "A Battle for Eastern Conference Supremacy" / "1st Cancelled Isaiah Thomas Tribute"

  • Isaiah Thomas sat out the back-end of a back-to-back after playing in his first game of the season the night before
  • Thomas asked that the Celtics postpone his video tribute since he wasn't in uniform that night
  • The Celtics won by 14 points, but it never really felt like the Cavs were that close in this game
  • Shaker Heights star Terry Rozier led all scorers with 20 points
  • The Celtics asserted some dominance while the Cavs looked to shake off a bad night

Game 3, February 11, 2018: "Paul Pierce Jersey Retirement Day" / "2nd Cancelled Isaiah Thomas Tribute"

  • Possible bad blood between Paul Pierce and Isaiah Thomas as Thomas rescinded his request for his video tribute to play in respect to Pierce's retirement festivities--after which, Thomas ended up getting traded away 
  • As the Celtics have come back down to earth, they are .002 behind the Raptors for 1st in the Eastern Conference
  • The Cavs have a one-game lead for the #3 seed in the East
  • Coach Lue, LeBron, and the rest of the team open a new chapter in the middle of the season, looking to integrate 4 new players and shape a new rotation

What does the new rotation look like?

 Star players who are core players: F/G LeBron James
Role players who are core players: G/F J.R. Smith, C/F Tristan Thompson, G George Hill, F Jeff Green, G/F Kyle Korver
Role players who are situational players: F/G Cedi Osman, G Jordan Clarkson, G/F Rodney Hood, F/C Larry Nance Jr., G Jose Calderon 
Bench players who are secondary backups: C/F Ante Zizic
Two-way players: G/F John Holland, G London Perrantes
*Injured: F/C Kevin Love


Here is a final recap photo of 'Trade Deadline Thursday' from ESPN's Dave McMenamin:

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