Game Thread: Cavs @ Jazz (Luol Deng's Debut)

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Cleveland Cavaliers
_C - Anderson Varejao
PF - Tristan Thompson
SF - Luol Deng
SG - C.J. Miles/Dion Waiters
PG - Kyrie Irving

Utah Jazz
_C - Derrick Favors
PF - Marvin Williams
SF - Richard Jefferson
SG - Gordon Hayward
PG - Trey Burke


One of the first tasks for the newly acquired Luol Deng is helping the Cleveland Cavaliers improve their NBA-worst road record. A visit to the Utah Jazz, however, wouldn't seem an ideal way to start.

Cleveland has historically struggled in Salt Lake City and will face a Jazz team that's seeking to add to a season-high win streak at EnergySolutions Arena on Friday night.

Deng is expected to make his debut for Cleveland in the opener to a season-high, five-game road trip. The Cavaliers (12-23) got the forward from Chicago on Monday for Andrew Bynum's cap-friendly contract and draft picks.

Deng, averaging career highs of 19.0 points and 3.7 assists to go with 6.9 rebounds, had played all nine-plus seasons with the Bulls.

"He's a veteran who's still in his prime," coach Mike Brown said. "He adds to the culture of what we're trying to do here. He's definitely a two-way player that can add an amount of professionalism, a maturity, and winning ingredients to any ball club."

Deng will attempt to help Cleveland improve on a 2-15 road record and boost its chances of ending a four-year playoff drought. The Cavaliers are within two games of eighth-place Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference, but they have dropped their last five away from home.

They've lost 10 of 13 overall but have split their last four games. A 111-93 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday marked the first time in five contests that Cleveland scored more than 87 points.

C.J. Miles made a franchise-record 10 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 34 points in that victory. Kyrie Irving had 16 points and eight assists while ending a three-game absence due to a bruised left knee.

"It definitely feels good, especially right before you're about to go on a road trip," Miles said. "It's a big road trip. We're going to play some good teams. It's already hard enough to win on the road and then playing some really good teams. The biggest thing is to take that momentum."

Miles, who played his first seven seasons in Utah, is averaging 22.0 points and shooting 53.1 percent from 3-point range (17 of 32) in four games this month. He was averaging 8.3 points and shooting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc in his first 27 contests.

Even another strong performance from Miles might not help Cleveland end its recent struggles in Utah.

The Cavaliers have dropped four straight and six of seven there, and they're 7-27 all-time in Salt Lake City. They had lost six in a row overall in the series before a 104-101 victory March 6.

Utah also enters with a meager record (12-25) but has won four in a row at home. After beating three straight sub-.500 opponents, the Jazz topped Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City 112-101 on Tuesday.

Gordon Hayward had a career-best 37 points and made 13 of 16 shots to lead the way in Utah's season-high, 58.8-percent performance.

Hayward, who also had 11 rebounds and seven assists, is shooting 60.4 percent (29 of 48) in this month's three games. He was previously shooting 39.7 percent.

"I was in the zone a little bit tonight. It's finally good to be there. It's been a rough season shooting for me," Hayward said.

Hayward is averaging 17.7 points and shooting 47.4 percent in his last three games against Cleveland.

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After Deng's first practice a couple days ago Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said Deng would probably start. This is the beginning of a long Cavaliers western road trip. It'll be interesting to see how it goes. I will definitely be watching this game.

Anthony Bennett is expected to be the back-up PF as of right now while Earl Clark's minutes or severely reduced even though he's one of our best three point shooters on the team. I'm not for or against this, we need to see how Bennett will perform or possible grow with a decent amount of minutes to get a stance on him long-term.

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In reference to what I said about, if Bennett doesn't start at least performing somewhat I do expect him to be out of the rotation almost immediately. It's obviously the Cavaliers are trying to make a push for the playoffs to show their rebuilding is being successful. And if Bennett isn't doing what he needs to I expect Brown to switch the rotation of the bigs around.

From here on out, how Brown coaches and how the team performs is going to be the main reason of what Deng stays or leaves as a rental during the offseason.

[DukeDelonte13]

In reference to what I said about, if Bennett doesn't start at least performing somewhat I do expect him to be out of the rotation almost immediately. It's obviously the Cavaliers are trying to make a push for the playoffs to show their rebuilding is being successful. And if Bennett isn't doing what he needs to I expect Brown to switch the rotation of the bigs around.

From here on out, how Brown coaches and how the team performs is going to be the main reason of what Deng stays or leaves as a rental during the offseason.


Now it will be MB's fault if Deng leaves :facepalm . $$$$$ is going to be the main thing for Deng. If Deng leaves it won't be Mike Brown's fault. If anything it would be Chris Grant's fault.

also Earl Clark is not one of the team's best 3 point shooters. He arguably has one of the worst shots on the team. I know what his 3pt% is at but it doesn't tell the whole story. Clark has a ridiculously bad jumper. He is not a tough rebounder. The only thing that makes Clark better than Alonzo Gee is his size. Clark only takes wide open jumpers and bricks the vast majority of them.

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Now it will be MB's fault if Deng leaves :facepalm . $$$$$ is going to be the main thing for Deng. If Deng leaves it won't be Mike Brown's fault. If anything it would be Chris Grant's fault.

also Earl Clark is not one of the team's best 3 point shooters. He arguably has one of the worst shots on the team. I know what his 3pt% is at but it doesn't tell the whole story. Clark has a ridiculously bad jumper. He is not a tough rebounder. The only thing that makes Clark better than Alonzo Gee is his size. Clark only takes wide open jumpers and bricks the vast majority of them.
For me a bunch of things. Obviously money is the issue and I think if the team performs decently well they will give him at LEAST what he's making for right now if not more. The Cavaliers can pay him more than any other team. The struggles of Clark have been recent which is why Bennett is going to get the minutes, but it doesn't change the fact that even though Clark has shot 11% the last 5 games, he still is hitting threes at a 38% clip this year. Like I said, I'm not for or against Bennett getting time because the back-up PF position is in limbo right now. Hell, maybe throw Sims in there.

We'll find out, if the Cavaliers perform alright and offer him more money than any other team then we'll know it's the team and coach he doesn't want to play for and not the money if he leaves

If you're going to sit there and tell me that how a coach guides a team and how a team plays for the coach doesn't influence a decision of a veteran like Deng, then look at the Chris Paul situation where he basically told the Clippers if they didn't get Doc Rivers he wasn't going to be there. Players want to play for coaches who are competent.

You can put some of the blame on Christ Grant or the team playing for Brown and that's fine. I'll agree with that, but there are times this year where Brown seems like he doesn't have a clue of what he's doing even saying "I have no idea what I was doing." to some effect. Or the situation where the team was on a bus ride to their game and basically telling Earl Clark he was going to be playing PF next game, they went over a few things on the bus ride there and after the Cavaliers won that game Clark said he felt like he was a chicken with his head cut off. Obviously Brown didn't go over that much with him.

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Bump, game is in almost 7 hours though. :(

[Element]

people care about luol deng debuting somewhere? slow nba news day...

[HylianNightmare]

23-7-5 cavs W

[DukeDelonte13]

For me a bunch of things. Obviously money is the issue and I think if the team performs decently well they will give him at LEAST what he's making for right now if not more. The Cavaliers can pay him more than any other team. The struggles of Clark have been recent which is why Bennett is going to get the minutes, but it doesn't change the fact that even though Clark has shot 11% the last 5 games, he still is hitting threes at a 38% clip this year. Like I said, I'm not for or against Bennett getting time because the back-up PF position is in limbo right now. Hell, maybe throw Sims in there.

We'll find out, if the Cavaliers perform alright and offer him more money than any other team then we'll know it's the team and coach he doesn't want to play for and not the money if he leaves

If you're going to sit there and tell me that how a coach guides a team and how a team plays for the coach doesn't influence a decision of a veteran like Deng, then look at the Chris Paul situation where he basically told the Clippers if they didn't get Doc Rivers he wasn't going to be there. Players want to play for coaches who are competent.

You can put some of the blame on Christ Grant or the team playing for Brown and that's fine. I'll agree with that, but there are times this year where Brown seems like he doesn't have a clue of what he's doing even saying "I have no idea what I was doing." to some effect. Or the situation where the team was on a bus ride to their game and basically telling Earl Clark he was going to be playing PF next game, they went over a few things on the bus ride there and after the Cavaliers won that game Clark said he felt like he was a chicken with his head cut off. Obviously Brown didn't go over that much with him.


Scapegoat Mike Brown all you want. You can tell me "oh well it seems like he doesn't know what he's doing.." Whatever. You are just looking to place blame on the guy. How much do you really watch the cavs if you are trying to tell me Earl Clark is one of this team's best shooters. Cavs fans should appreciate what he's doing to this team. Don't care what you or what so many other dumb cavs fans think, this team competes a hell of a lot better than it EVER did under byron scott. That's a plain fact. You don't see Mike Brown giving Kyrie's special treatment like Byron did either. You don't see Mike Brown refusing to call time outs when his team is blowing 20 point leads.


typical cleveland fan. Don't blame the players blame the coach. It's Chudzinksi's fault the Browns suck. It's francona's fault the indians can't get over the hump. It's mike browns' fault that the second youngest team in the league won't get 50 wins this year. :rolleyes:

And you really wanna compare a diva coach killer like Chris Paul to a workhorse like Luol Deng? Please.

Sick of the ignorance. The last thing this team needs is another Byron-Scott or other like minded sh*t coach that instills bad habits in young players.

[(e)]

Will the Cavs really offer up Deng 12+ million a year?

Reported he declined a 3 year/30 million extension before being traded.

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people care about luol deng debuting somewhere? slow nba news day...
Yes, he's the biggest player that's been traded since the season began thus far making his debut with a new team when he played for his previous team for almost a decade while he's in his prime right now.

[pegasus]

Good luck with your new team, Deng. Thanks for your service.:applause:

[TylerOO]

Here we go! Deng was the missing piece that is gonna lure LeBron back to Cleveland!!!!

[TheReturn]

I'm expecting Deng to actually have a big influence on the culture in Cleveland. They can be the fourth best team in the east.

[Uncle Drew]

Here we go! Deng was the missing piece that is gonna lure LeBron back to Cleveland!!!!
I am done with Luol Deng

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Scapegoat Mike Brown all you want. You can tell me "oh well it seems like he doesn't know what he's doing.." Whatever. You are just looking to place blame on the guy. How much do you really watch the cavs if you are trying to tell me Earl Clark is one of this team's best shooters. Cavs fans should appreciate what he's doing to this team. Don't care what you or what so many other dumb cavs fans think, this team competes a hell of a lot better than it EVER did under byron scott. That's a plain fact. You don't see Mike Brown giving Kyrie's special treatment like Byron did either. You don't see Mike Brown refusing to call time outs when his team is blowing 20 point leads.
Whatever the case, so far it hasn't translated into success which in the end is wins. We still have the rest of the season to find out. Like I said, before...I was completely blaming Brown. Did you NOT see me type players and Chris Grant out? Don't group me with the ignorance of sub-par Cavalier fans. There's a number of things wrong with the team that have to be improved upon. Brown needs to get the team in gear to work offensively together. Especially at the end of games to keep them moving the ball. You know very well we still see Kyrie playing hero-ball a love and it leading to us losing games. We need to have players being held accountable. I love that Brown is mixing and matching lineups, it shows he isn't afraid of change, but we need to start seeing something from Bennett now since he's getting a bigger role. And Chris Grant has done a perfect thing with adding Deng. He's taking a risk on a one of the best players that can fit this team's identity and holding be a veteran presence in a young locker room where they need some guidance.


And you really wanna compare a diva coach killer like Chris Paul to a workhorse like Luol Deng? Please.

Sick of the ignorance. The last thing this team needs is another Byron-Scott or other like minded sh*t coach that instills bad habits in young players.

I'm just showing you that a head coach is important to keeping important players with the organization. There is a reason the Cavs fired and hired Scott the year LeBron was leaving to try to lure him to stay.

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Will the Cavs really offer up Deng 12+ million a year?

Reported he declined a 3 year/30 million extension before being traded.
My question is why are teams or people expecting him to take less than what he's making now? He's making about $14.5 million and he's putting up career prime numbers right now. He's at LEAST making that much next season and probably more.

[TylerOO]

I am done with Luol Deng

I see you're not done riding my dick tho. :roll:

[Uncle Drew]

I see you're not done riding my dick tho. :roll:
You're the new tazb.

[MP.Trey]

Haven't been this excited for a Cavs game since the opener. :rockon:

[mugiwara]

Deng!

[RedBlackAttack]

people care about luol deng debuting somewhere? slow nba news day...
He's a freaking 28-year-old All-Star traded mid-season to the second youngest team in the NBA in an attempt to make a major push for the playoffs.

Yes, basketball fans should care. :oldlol:

Apparently you aren't one of those.

[RedBlackAttack]

My question is why are teams or people expecting him to take less than what he's making now? He's making about $14.5 million and he's putting up career prime numbers right now. He's at LEAST making that much next season and probably more.
He's probably going to have to take less, regardless of what he chooses to do. That contract was given to him under the old CBA. The new rules, including things like the repeater tax, have GMs much more aware of how much they're willing to give guys. When a player like Paul Millsap can only scratch together a two year, $9 million contract, you know things have changed.

Iggy received a 4-year, $48 million contract from GSW. I would assume Deng will want something in the same neighborhood and, yes... he'd be worth that. If we could get him at that $12 million multi-year deal, this will have been an incredible move for the organization.

Deng's game should age well and he would have been one of the best available targets for us heading into this offseason. The Cavs basically have given themselves a leg-up on other potential suitors by taking on his contract for the remainder of this season for what amounts to scraps.

Also on the good news side of things...

If we did re-sign Deng in the $12 million range and we let Gee/Clark walk which will surely happen, we'll still have in the neighborhood of $8 million to play with in free agency.

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Deng is going to start. Confirmed. Game starting in a few minutes. Kyrie had a root canal a few days ago. He's starting as well.

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Also on the good news side of things...

If we did re-sign Deng in the $12 million range and we let Gee/Clark walk which will surely happen, we'll still have in the neighborhood of $8 million to play with in free agency.
I think it depends on what they do between now and the the off-season. They could trade Varejao they might not.

[MP.Trey]

Andy hits Deng on a classic backdoor pass for his first bucket. :applause:

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1:02 into the game, and Deng get's his first basket from a loaf past from Varejao to the baseline for a easy under the back lay-in.

[ripthekik]

and scores his second basket with a smooth turnaround shot :pimp:

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Not sure what Varejao was thinking. Drives the ball to the basket with 20+ seconds on the clock.

[Uncle Drew]

Earl f-ing Clark :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

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Tied 26-26 after first. Miles with 9, Deng with 4. Kyrie didn't score a point.

[MP.Trey]

C.J. playing great lately :applause:

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I thought Brown said Bennett would be the backup PF, now Clark is playing and no sign of Bennett. :oldlol:

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Kanter is raping us. And the Jazz bigs in general are outplaying our bigs.

[B-Easy8]

Where's Hayward?

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Where's Hayward?
http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/gordon-hayward-injury-update

Jazz are still winning without their top 2 player.

[MP.Trey]

Waiters nice dish. Cavs looking pretty good this third quarter.

And a deeep three Dion!

[b1imtf]

MP how has Deng looked?

[MP.Trey]

MP how has Deng looked?
Good early. Seems to fit in to his role well, Brown is limiting his minutes slightly but he's 4-8 for 10 points right now. Couple nice drives, mid rangers, playing solid D. Meeting expectations so far.

[MP.Trey]

Kyrie's hot right now.

17 points in the third quarter alone.

[b1imtf]

Good early. Seems to fit in to his role well, Brown is limiting his minutes slightly but he's 4-8 for 10 points right now. Couple nice drives, mid rangers, playing solid D. Meeting expectations so far.
Nice, good to know. I was hoping to see some Kyrie in the playoffs, let's see if Deng helps my cause :D

[MP.Trey]

Great second half effort from the entire team tonight. Feels good to get a road victory for once and with the Deng trade and Bynum's negative energy gone, 2 convincing wins in a row, there seems to be a ton of optimism around the organization and I love it.

We seem to be heading in the right direction. Deng looked pretty good, TT played great, Andy did all the little things, C.J. continued his hot streak, Dion/Kyrie both had explosive stretches in the game. Not much to complain about here. :applause:

[MP.Trey]

Aaand Bennett checks into the game for the first time with 52 seconds left. :lol

[Uncle Drew]

Roadwin :eek: :pimp:

[Meticode]

Good win, everyone played well. Deng was very solid and you see the improvement at that position.

[nathanjizzle]

glad our trash can be your treasure.:cheers: