Why do the Cavs suck so much?

[Aidz]

I hardly watch their games, but they've got Kyrie Irving who's supposed to be a superstar.
Andrew Bynum is a legit 7 footer who can at least stand in the lane.
Varajeo is a top rebounder and hustle man.
Jarret Jack is a good combo guard.
They have a few other pieces.

Is this team just waiting/hoping/praying that LeBron signs?
Is Kyrie Irving the worst defender in the league?

[Psycho]

People are catching on to Kyrie's all flash no substance nikka ghetto ball style. He can no longer play efficiently in the NBA, and will never regain his former level of performance.

[outbreak]

It's a conspiracy, cavs play badly this season in a secret deal with Lebron so that when he joins them and they all look great again the media has an example of Lebron making his team mates better and he can now say he has led a "bad" team to a ring. Yeah I'm joking.

[Spaulding]

The problem is that Irving is the teams best player. He is still a newer player to the league and is basically looked to be the leader, which he has never been.

Bynum is not a leader either. Which is a shame because he's the one with two rings.

[RedBlackAttack]

Seems like an odd time to make this thread since the Cavs have won the last two games and just snapped the Nuggets' seven game winning streak last night, winning by double digits and looking the best they have this season, but whatever...

They've struggled out of the gates this year for several reasons, and this is coming from someone who has seen every game.

1. It has taken time for the guys to acclimate to a completely new philosophy, system and coaching staff.

2. There are a lot of new faces on the team playing prominent roles. There has been an adjustment period as they figure each other out and fill their respective roles.

3. Even the team's main guys who were here last year (Irving, Waiters, Varejao) did not spend much time on the court together due to injuries at different stages of the season. Chemistry has been an issue as they work through those kinks.

4. The coaches have spent the first 15 games alternating a lot of guys in and out sporadically as they try to figure out who will play what role and who will be occupying the bench (or be traded). This resulted in guys without much of a rhythm to their games, but it does seem like things are starting to come together in this area.

5. The Cavs have the second youngest roster in the NBA still. These guys are still trying to figure out how to win, especially on the road. The team is actually doing pretty well at home. Problem is, the season started very road heavy. Out of the first 16 games, 10 were on the road I believe. Inconsistency is a trademark of groups with this kind of youth.

6. There is really no veteran presence on the roster at all. The team's best players are Kyrie (21), Bynum (25), Thompson (22) and Waiters (21). Jack and Varejao are really the only true veterans who are major contributors and neither of those guys have the kind of temperament to be team leaders or role models for the younger guys. We could really use a Chancey Billups on the roster to serve as a mentor.

[LilEddyCurry]

Mike Brown's rotations, playing Earl Clark alot especially at the 3, playing that undrafted guy, having Waiters coming off the bench? Also Bynum has been super slow and missing alot of shots.

[MP.Trey]

Season has been a disaster so far but this thread comes after two of the best looking games we've had all year? :biggums:

[RedBlackAttack]

Mike Brown's rotations, playing Earl Clark alot especially at the 3, playing that undrafted guy, having Waiters coming off the bench? Also Bynum has been super slow and missing alot of shots.
Clark has actually been playing the 4 recently, Waiters has been great since being moved to a 6th man role and Bynum has been pretty dominating in the last few games. Delly was only playing out of necessity when CJ Miles was hurt. He's back... Delly is back on the bench.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Seems like an odd time to make this thread since the Cavs have won the last two games and just snapped the Nuggets' seven game winning streak last night, winning by double digits and looking the best they have this season, but whatever...

They've struggled out of the gates this year for several reasons, and this is coming from someone who has seen every game.

1. It has taken time for the guys to acclimate to a completely new philosophy, system and coaching staff.

2. There are a lot of new faces on the team playing prominent roles. There has been an adjustment period as they figure each other out and fill their respective roles.

3. Even the team's main guys who were here last year (Irving, Waiters, Varejao) did not spend much time on the court together due to injuries at different stages of the season. Chemistry has been an issue as they work through those kinks.

4. The coaches have spent the first 15 games alternating a lot of guys in and out sporadically as they try to figure out who will play what role and who will be occupying the bench (or be traded). This resulted in guys without much of a rhythm to their games, but it does seem like things are starting to come together in this area.

5. The Cavs have the second youngest roster in the NBA still. These guys are still trying to figure out how to win, especially on the road. The team is actually doing pretty well at home. Problem is, the season started very road heavy. Out of the first 16 games, 10 were on the road I believe. Inconsistency is a trademark of groups with this kind of youth.

6. There is really no veteran presence on the roster at all. The team's best players are Kyrie (21), Bynum (25), Thompson (22) and Waiters (21). Jack and Varejao are really the only true veterans who are major contributors and neither of those guys have the kind of temperament to be team leaders or role models for the younger guys. We could really use a Chancey Billups on the roster to serve as a mentor.


Los Angelas Lakers, that is all.

[RedBlackAttack]

Los Angelas Lakers, that is all.
...explain.

[MiseryCityTexas]

The Cavs are one of the most underrated NBA teams to use on 2k. I surprise a lot of people online whenever I use that team against them. Of course that's just a video game. Waiters and Irving suck in the back court together. Irving should be averaging like 8 assist a game with players like Waiters, Thompson, and Bynum on the team.

[And1AllDay]

A bunch of young guys that haven't played much together and a new coach (new to them). I'd say they're about where they should be. At least for now. Give them until midway through this season, they should pick up.

[RedBlackAttack]

The Cavs are one of the most underrated NBA teams to use on 2k. I surprise a lot of people online whenever I use that team against them. Of course that's just a video game. Waiters and Irving suck in the back court together. Irving should be averaging like 8 assist a game with players like Waiters, Thompson, and Bynum on the team.
Irving has been moved off the ball for much of games now, because he's harder to double team that way we need him to score and do so efficiently. He was getting a ridiculous amount of defensive attention in the first 10 games or so. So much that defenses were throwing double teams and traps at him on almost every possession, packing the rest of the defense in the paint, and daring the rest of the team to beat them from the perimeter. And, it was working.

Now, he's working through screens and attacking from different areas on the floor which are harder to double/trap. As a a result, and after a horrible shooting start to the season, he's putting up 23 points on 43+% shooting in the last eight games. His assists are obviously down because he's not initiating the offense as much.

The biggest problem right now is his shooting touch is still off for whatever reason. He's a career 40% three-point shooter, which is good. However, it just hasn't been there this year. I have to think the law of averages will come back around and he'll start making a majority of them. You don't just forget how to shoot and he's missing wide open looks.

I'm not too worried about Kyrie, tbh.

[0000000]

Didn't watch them much but they do have the worst coach in the NBA. It's an obvious place to start.

[Inferno]

Is Bynum still limited in minutes?

He's not resting on b2b's anymore and played 30 minutes one game, but played a flat 20 last game and if I recall correctly got that 20 by the 2nd half. Is he still limited in minutes?

[RedBlackAttack]

Is Bynum still limited in minutes?

He's not resting on b2b's anymore and played 30 minutes one game, but played a flat 20 last game and if I recall correctly got that 20 by the 2nd half. Is he still limited in minutes?
His minutes are steadily going up. As you said, he's starting to play in the back-to-backs, which he wasn't doing early in the season.

In his first five games, he was averaging a little under 13 minutes per.

In the next five, they went up to a little under 19 minutes a game.

Over the last four games, he's averaging over 22 minutes a game.

Not surprisingly, his impact is also on the rise. He didn't have great shooting numbers against the Nuggets last night, but if you watched the game, he was flat-out bullying Hickson in the paint. That was coming off of a dominant 20/10/6 block game against Noah and the Bulls.

He is starting to look pretty damn good all things considered.

[Inferno]

His minutes are steadily going up. As you said, he's starting to play in the back-to-backs, which he wasn't doing early in the season.

In his first five games, he was averaging a little under 13 minutes per.

In the next five, they went up to a little under 19 minutes a game.

Over the last four games, he's averaging over 22 minutes a game.

Not surprisingly, his impact is also on the rise. He didn't have great shooting numbers against the Nuggets last night, but if you watched the game, he was flat-out bullying Hickson in the paint. That was coming off of a dominant 20/10/6 block game against Noah and the Bulls.

He is starting to look pretty damn good all things considered.

Yeah, he's doing great :applause:

If I were Brown I'd keep him around the 20-25 mark for awhile; you don't want to rush things because of his nice play even if it's tempting :pimp:

And word on how his knees are actually doing and/or holding up?

[RedBlackAttack]

Yeah, he's doing great :applause:

If I were Brown I'd keep him around the 20-25 mark for awhile; you don't want to rush things because of his nice play even if it's tempting :pimp:

And word on how his knees are actually doing and/or holding up?
They're keeping that pretty tightly under wraps and I think it's all on a day-to-day basis, but the fact that his numbers are steadily increasing and he's playing in more games seems to be a sign that they're in better shape than anticipated.

I know I didn't expect this much this soon. There were some people that didn't think we'd even see him on the practice floor until after Christmas.

[I<3NBA]

because without Lebron, Mike Brown is just a coach potato.

[I.R.Beast]

thye uck...waiters has been disappointing..everyone has been disappointing...kyrie tried to be the facilitator but guys arent making shots and teams are just trapping irving like nobody's business..they need irving to score until guys step up..

[chosen_one6]

Is Bynum still limited in minutes?

He's not resting on b2b's anymore and played 30 minutes one game, but played a flat 20 last game and if I recall correctly got that 20 by the 2nd half. Is he still limited in minutes?

Yea he's still on a minutes limit.

Dion Waiters is trash. The Cavs are already looking to shop him. He's a black hole unless he has absolutely no where to go.