Cavs vs. Wolves: Is Anybody Watching?

[Coolbreeze44]

I thought it was a great night for the rookies. Beasley showed up like he always does, but Ants offense and McDaniels defense were a pleasure to watch. At least for a few hours we can feel good about this team.

[Leado01]

Yeah!

[FNG]

I couldn't watch the game, so I really appreciate the GDT tonight...gives a lot of color I didn't get from the box score.

Camden came out of the box with a 40/20 prediction for Drummond and he wasn't far off! With KAT and Reid both out, Davis and a couple skinny rookie PFs had no chance against Andre. Props to the Wolves for overcoming an absurd rebounding deficiency to pull off a surprising win.

Rubio and DLO have not given us what we need this season, but reading ESPN's play by play, it looks like they both showed up in the 4th quarter when we needed them. Let's hope they can both keep it up.

Ryan's starting lineup with 4 SG's and Davis looked ridiculous, but I get why he needed to have Vando and McDaniels on the bench to spell Davis at center. There also wouldn't have been enough scoring punch out of the gate if Ryan had started am offensively-challenged rookie PF next to Davis. When KAT comes back, Ryan will feel comfortable starting Vando or Mcdaniels next to him, and our rebounding and interior defense will be transformed. We need that, because DLO, Beas and Ant are not going to go 14-28 on three's many nights!

Nice win tonight, fellas. It would be great to follow up with another tonight, but it's not likely if KAT and Reid are out again.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We got out rebounded 55 - 34 and still won. That's incredible!

Remarkable for sure. I commented on this somewhere in the thread. Minnesota got killed on the glass, but won the turnover battle forcing 19 to their eight. Those extra possessions proved crucial tonight, but I don't think that's a sustainable recipe for success over the long-term. We absolutely need some size.

Definitely not sustainable!

The good news is there is a glut of quality bigs in the NBA. The demand is less than the supply because of the fact most teams play a big wing or wing-like player at the 4 for at least half the game.

Given KAT's past defensive and foul issues, I expect the strategy of going right at him with these behemoth Centers, both in the PnR and in isolation post ups, to continue when he returns. It always brings up the question as to whether he should really be our starting PF defensively, with a defensive-minded Center next to him that can afford to bang round in the paint and pick up some early fouls. KAT would still play the majority of his minutes at Center, but it starts him off in a less vulnerable position in both halves.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Good win.

- Edwards' best game. Because he did more than score. He was efficient (only 2nd time he made more than 1/2 his shots). He rebounded (5 rebounds were his 2nd highest this season). He passed (4 assists) tied his career high. 0 Turnovers. He didn't shoot every time he touched it which makes me think he's starting to figure out some things. Fun to watch.

- Beasley is a professional gunner. His energy alone offensively gets him a couple of buckets by itself. But he's a legit shooter behind the arc.

- Russell was meh for a long spell... but max players are needed in the 4th. He was the closer tonight with those 3 three pointers.

- There's not a ton there for Vanderbilt and McDaniels offensively. But both are active young energy guys. It'll be nice to watch their development in real (consistent) rotations when they can come in for short spells for jolts of energy and in favorable situations. Eventually, one might pop. In the meantime, they're fun to watch in spurts being all jumpy jumpy.

- Rubio was a very solid or even good backup PG. Although as noted, the finishing remains cringeworthy.

- I feel like we're still in spinning wheels mode though. This team needs Towns back... for so many reasons. We still have no idea if the two best players are a good pairing. Whether the #1 pick fits on the team. Whether more deck furniture arranging is needed. Whether Saunders should be fired. Whether we should demand Rosas hung in effigy. Et al. Hopefully, it's soon.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Just finished watching. Great to see a win. I especially liked some of the chemistry I saw out there. Beasley in particular has been one of the few guys to consistently show vocal support for other guys when they make good plays and demonstrate with his body language that he's dialed in at all times. Edwards starting to feed off that positivity and engagement too.

I'm surprised they didn't pound it in to Drummond and Allen more. They had that advantage in the post from start to finish and didn't take enough advantage of it. Can we pick up an extra big someplace? I know Rosas wants to keep a roster spot open for a potential trade, but is there any way for us not to go into each game with only skinny Ed freakin' Davis as a legit big? When are we expected to get Naz and/or KAT back?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I agree a bit on the "spinning our wheels" statement Abe. After you get past DLO, KAT, and Beasley - guys that obviously are going to get the bulk of shots and minutes when all three are healthy - it's hard for me to tell what the pecking order should be after that. It will be interesting to see what Ryan does as guys get healthy.....or may be we always have enough people hurt or sick that it ends up not being an issue.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

By no means do I want to ruin a good win by mentioning negatives in the game thread, but this talk about Malik Beasley being the most consistent player on the team caught my eye. He's been great at home, no doubt, but he's been very poor on the road. To date, he's only shot above 40-percent from the field in two out of eight away games.

His home/away splits are peculiar. I don't know the reason for it. D'Angelo Russell's splits are almost the exact opposite -- meaning he's performed better on the road than at home this year. We have rarely seen the two of them have great games in the same game. I don't know what to make of that besides maybe they're still figuring out how to play with each other, but it's something to watch.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

By no means do I want to ruin a good win by mentioning negatives in the game thread, but this talk about Malik Beasley being the most consistent player on the team caught my eye. He's been great at home, no doubt, but he's been very poor on the road. To date, he's only shot above 40-percent from the field in two out of eight away games.

His home/away splits are peculiar. I don't know the reason for it. D'Angelo Russell's splits are almost the exact opposite -- meaning he's performed better on the road than at home this year. We have rarely seen the two of them have great games in the same game. I don't know what to make of that besides maybe they're still figuring out how to play with each other, but it's something to watch.

That's a good point Cam. My point about Beasley's consistency was about his engagement, and maybe that's what Cool is referring to as well.

What I wrote was that, "Beasley in particular has been one of the few guys to consistently show vocal support for other guys when they make good plays and demonstrate with his body language that he's dialed in at all times."

I've noticed that's generally true whether he's shooting the ball well or not. Like you, I wish he were more consistent with production, but I actually find it refreshing that he does seem to keep bringing the right attitude and energy even when he's not shooting well.

After this summer, I never would have guessed Beasley would be a positive influence on team chemistry and character, but when you watch the games, it's hard not to see it.