If we have to be the bad boys of the NBA then f*ck it, we will be. We’ll punch Jae Crowder in the face, dunk on Joakim Noah’s soul, hit game winners in your eye, and call timeouts when we don’t have any. Newsflash to Cavs fans- EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY hates us and wants us to lose. We’re the Villains. We’re the heels of the sporting world and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Embrace it and feed off of the hatred.
As always, special S/O to Zack from CF Smoke who designed these gems
(also before anyone chirps me and says “It was Razor Ramon from WWF not Scott Hall from NWO that said ‘Say hello to the bad guy’ you idiot,” I know this)
Cleveland’s collective reaction watching last night’s game
Not many words can sum up last night’s game better than a good Kramer gif. That game was an ugly all around affair. Both teams couldn’t shoot, both teams played physical, and both teams didn’t get many calls from the refs. But in the end it was a 25 foot bank shot by a guy who’s never made a big shot in his life that did the Cavs in. Can’t even be mad at that. You just have to laugh, tip your cap, and move on.
Let’s look at the game tape
Need LeBron in attack mode all game every game from here on out. The stare down was a nice touch as well.
Alley oops to Russians from halfcourt are my new favorite thing ever
LeBron dunked on Joakim Noah’s soul then Noah proceeded to talk shit to him. Very confusing to say the least. In other news is there a bigger fraud in the NBA than Joakim Noah?
Cardale liked it
I see @JoakimNoah ain't here to block shots, get dunked on chump
Let’s also not forget that the final inbounds play was verrrrrry close (it was) to being over 5 seconds.
Couple quick thoughts
– What a way to lose a ballgame. It’s OK though. The Cavs 2 best players underperformed and it still took a 25 foot bank shot buzzer beater to beat us. This series is farrrr from over but last night was definitely a swift kick right to the nuts.
– Whoever Mark Schwartz is… well, he’s an idiot and Kyrie’s reaction says it all.
– Someone please tell Timofey Mozgov to start playing like he’s the biggest guy on the court. I know the refs weren’t calling anything but he’s gotta be stronger than that.
– Jimmy Butler’s last basket was a travel and if you don’t think so you’re blind.
– Man. I hate typing this but Kyrie was a liability in the fourth quarter. You could tell his foot was bothering him and he just wasn’t himself. If it’s crunch time and the Cavs need a big defensive stop I’m not sure I trust Kyrie on the court with his injured foot. (Feel freely to copy and paste this and rub my face in it if I end up being completely wrong)
#Cavs head coach David Blatt: "we haven't said it but Kyrie has been playing hurt. He's giving us all he has"
– The Bulls had 15 more rebounds and 13 more second-chance points than the Cavs. That’s pretty stunning considering how things went in game 2. Serenity now!
– It sucks that Coach Thibs finally realized Nikola Mirotic should be playing a lot more than he has been.
– We split at home and splitting on the road is considered a victory. We CANNOT go down 3-1. Not even the least bit concerned however.
The Cavs don’t suck. LeBron isn’t over the hill. Coach Blatt does know what he’s doing. The Cavs aren’t “the 2013 Knicks.” We’re not getting swept. We can defend a pick and roll. Joakim Noah IS still ugly.
Needed that one last night and the Cavs came out with a fire lit under their asses from the opening tip. In a game where the Cavs never trailed, LeBron basically did everything a mortal could accomplish on a basketball court; Kyrie Irving dropped a quiet 21 points; DELLY was 1 point and 1 assist away from a double double; James Jones had 17; and Iman Shumpert continued his fantastic run in the playoffs adding 15 and playing tenacious D.
Let’s look at the game tape
The Cavs jumped out to a 38-18 lead after the first quarter.
Maybe the prettiest play of the night. He makes it look so damn easy.
The Bulls DOUBLE TEAMED Tristan Thompson so he couldn’t get an offensive rebound. Interesting strategy by Coach Thibs.
Delly oop. Tristan slam.
Couple quick thoughts:
– Love Coach Blatt’s adjustments this game. Inserting Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup was a helluva call and he had a lot to do with the 38-18 first quarter gallop. Numbers never lie.
– The whole “Derrick Rose kinda stinks on 1 day of rest” thing was in full force last night. Every game till game 7 is on 1 day of rest so let’s hope that theory holds true to form.
– Freaking Delly was 1 assist and 1 point away from a double-double. If Matthew Dellavedova is getting double-doubles in the playoffs then this Cavs team will be very very hard to beat.
– The Cavs skit shown on the humongotron was incredibly dumb. It wasn’t malicious of any sort but it was just stupid and unfunny. I hope no one gets fired because some people were offended on Twitter. Just be less tone deaf and be a little better next time, k guys?
– Man I loved seeing Kevin Love out there. I really miss the guy.
– Aggressive LeBron is the best LeBron. He needs to be in that mode every night if we’re gonna win this damn thing.
– Man I hope Thibs keeps giving Joakim Noah meaningful minutes. The dude has been completely irrelevant so far this series. 4 points in 2 games for Noah is music to my ears.
– I see the people from Chicago are already starting to chirp about Derrick Rose’s lack of free throws. Don’t be surprised to see Rose go to the line a lot in game 3.
– There hasn’t been one single lead change this entire series. Pretty odd.
– Last night’s game was a perfect example of why James Jones is on this team. Don’t expect 17 points from him every game but we’ll need him to hit big shots throughout the playoffs
– I think it’s pretty clear that looking at “PerfectBooties” on Instagram is the recipe for success for this team
Bottlegate 