Minnesota Sports Forum

abevigodalive wrote:It's interesting to see some of the numbers posted by individual players in Cleveland.

One game Love gets 18 shots. But JR Smith hardly shoots.
The game before, Irving takes 26 shots and Love only gets 8.
The game before, Smith, Love and James get looks but Irving only gets 5 shots.

Is this feeding the hot hand? Or, is it feeding egos?

If it's the latter... it's an ongoing chemistry issue that will be a huge issue in the playoffs.

This is why I think a "big 3" is a stupid concept. Three superstars used to be the guy on their respective teams can lead to too many big egos and only one basketball. I hope we can build organically like Atlanta and Golden State. Team chemistry and role players are huge for total team success.

Poor Kevin Love. Fresh off a big win streak and the guy isn't happy. If they are winning then he is being used right. This is what he wanted after all. Make your shots, grab some boards, get your check and actually play in the playoffs. This guy is the biggest diva. So happy we have Wiggins.

TRKO wrote:

abevigodalive wrote:It's interesting to see some of the numbers posted by individual players in Cleveland.

One game Love gets 18 shots. But JR Smith hardly shoots.
The game before, Irving takes 26 shots and Love only gets 8.
The game before, Smith, Love and James get looks but Irving only gets 5 shots.

Is this feeding the hot hand? Or, is it feeding egos?

If it's the latter... it's an ongoing chemistry issue that will be a huge issue in the playoffs.

This is why I think a "big 3" is a stupid concept. Three superstars used to be the guy on their respective teams can lead to too many big egos and only one basketball. I hope we can build organically like Atlanta and Golden State. Team chemistry and role players are huge for total team success.

Well, to be fair, it worked for Miami. But that team was a bit different. At least the Big 3 knew they were the Big 3.

Instead of guys like Mike MIller and Shane Battier, Cleveland has ran with Dion Waiters and JR Smith.



[Note: For the record, I LOVE what is going on in GS and ATL right now. I hope that becomes the norm... ]

abevigodalive wrote:

TRKO wrote:

abevigodalive wrote:It's interesting to see some of the numbers posted by individual players in Cleveland.

One game Love gets 18 shots. But JR Smith hardly shoots.
The game before, Irving takes 26 shots and Love only gets 8.
The game before, Smith, Love and James get looks but Irving only gets 5 shots.

Is this feeding the hot hand? Or, is it feeding egos?

If it's the latter... it's an ongoing chemistry issue that will be a huge issue in the playoffs.

This is why I think a "big 3" is a stupid concept. Three superstars used to be the guy on their respective teams can lead to too many big egos and only one basketball. I hope we can build organically like Atlanta and Golden State. Team chemistry and role players are huge for total team success.

Well, to be fair, it worked for Miami. But that team was a bit different. At least the Big 3 knew they were the Big 3.

Instead of guys like Mike MIller and Shane Battier, Cleveland has ran with Dion Waiters and JR Smith.



[note: for the record, i love what is going on in gs and atl right now. i hope that becomes the norm... ]

It worked. Bosh really showed he puts winning over ego. Wade dumped his ego by letting Lebron be the guy. It can work when the guys set aside ego and numbers. That is pretty rare though especially for younger guys like Irving and Love who are still trying to make a name for themselves. I just perfer the way Atlanta and Golden State are built over the way Miami and Cleveland were. That total team effort leads to better basketball in my opinion.

TRKO wrote:

abevigodalive wrote:

TRKO wrote:

abevigodalive wrote:It's interesting to see some of the numbers posted by individual players in Cleveland.

One game Love gets 18 shots. But JR Smith hardly shoots.
The game before, Irving takes 26 shots and Love only gets 8.
The game before, Smith, Love and James get looks but Irving only gets 5 shots.

Is this feeding the hot hand? Or, is it feeding egos?

If it's the latter... it's an ongoing chemistry issue that will be a huge issue in the playoffs.

This is why I think a "big 3" is a stupid concept. Three superstars used to be the guy on their respective teams can lead to too many big egos and only one basketball. I hope we can build organically like Atlanta and Golden State. Team chemistry and role players are huge for total team success.

Well, to be fair, it worked for Miami. But that team was a bit different. At least the Big 3 knew they were the Big 3.

Instead of guys like Mike MIller and Shane Battier, Cleveland has ran with Dion Waiters and JR Smith.



[note: for the record, i love what is going on in gs and atl right now. i hope that becomes the norm... ]

It worked. Bosh really showed he puts winning over ego. Wade dumped his ego by letting Lebron be the guy. It can work when the guys set aside ego and numbers. That is pretty rare though especially for younger guys like Irving and Love who are still trying to make a name for themselves. I just perfer the way Atlanta and Golden State are built over the way Miami and Cleveland were. That total team effort leads to better basketball in my opinion.

Knowing full well that I might be putting myself at risk of being called a Love apologist... I don't know why Love would blindly embrace his current role in Cleveland. Yes. It puts him in a winning culture for the first time. And he claimed that's his ultimate goal.

But he's also been asked to sacrifice the most among the Big 3 in Cleveland. He's a spot-up shooter for the most part. And that's just not the best part of his game. He looks like a hypocrite for complaining while they're winning.

But if they don't win and he was the one who took the biggest backseat... and arguably the most criticism? That's gonna sting and I wouldn't blame him.

Who says it isn't working for Cleveland? They seem to be trending upward big time and could be fighting it out for the top few seeds by the end of the season. This is in spite of the bitching happening. Talent is always key when you play a sport with 12 people on your team. Cleveland will be right in the mix in the playoffs I suspect. Not a bad turnaround compared to last year.

Agree with your point on Love. Bosh took the same amount of heat. It's almost a no win situation. You sacrifice numbers for the betterment of the team and you get criticized for having a down year. I don't think Love returns to Cleveland. I think he goes to the Lakers.

thedoper wrote:Who says it isn't working for Cleveland? They seem to be trending upward big time and could be fighting it out for the top few seeds by the end of the season. This is in spite of the bitching happening. Talent is always key when you play a sport with 12 people on your team. Cleveland will be right in the mix in the playoffs I suspect. Not a bad turnaround compared to last year.

Not saying it doesn't work. I just like the way the Spurs, Hawks, and Warriors are built as opposed to the Cavs.

Love has been asked to make the most sacrifice because he is the least talented offensively of their big 3. Same as Bosh had to do. Funny how a dose of reality affects someone.

TRKO wrote:

thedoper wrote:Who says it isn't working for Cleveland? They seem to be trending upward big time and could be fighting it out for the top few seeds by the end of the season. This is in spite of the bitching happening. Talent is always key when you play a sport with 12 people on your team. Cleveland will be right in the mix in the playoffs I suspect. Not a bad turnaround compared to last year.

Not saying it doesn't work. I just like the way the Spurs, Hawks, and Warriors are built as opposed to the Cavs.

I think the only problem when you just load on top end talent is the holes it puts on your bench. All these teams have flaws. The Warriors and Hawks play beautiful basketball, but I suspect it may only translate to the regular season a la Nash era Phoenix teams. The Warriors need Bogut to be healthy too, which is a huge question mark for me.

The Spurs built their legacy on Stars, but are totally unique. I hate the idea of buying a championship team. But it does work.