- With the postseason around the corner, Tyronn Lue is facing his toughest challenge since taking over as the Cavaliers‘ head coach. Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer explains.
- Kyle Korver will miss at least the next two games for the Cavaliers. He could miss more time, but he definitely wants to return before the end of the regular season, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal relays. “No, no, I don’t want to do that at all,” Korver said when asked about missing the rest of the season. “I’m hopeful just a few days here to completely shut down and not trying to test it out and see how it feels today. Take a few days and let it totally calm down and see where we’re at.”
The Cavaliers slipped into second place in the East with Monday’s loss in San Antonio, and the disappointing performance by role players is part of the problem, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. He singles out Deron Williams, who signed with the Cavs after being waived by the Mavericks last month, along with J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye. All except Williams have contracts that run beyond this season.
Smith is working his way back from a broken thumb, but Amico contends that he has been ineffective all season. Smith is averaging 8.0 points per game and shooting just 33% from the field after agreeing to a four-year, $57MM deal in October.
There’s more today out of Cleveland:
- Coach Tyronn Lue may be willing to fall farther in the standings if it means getting rest for some of his players before the postseason, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Cleveland is just two games up on third-place Washington and two and a half ahead of fourth-place Toronto. “I know the situation in Boston we had where we was back and forth between the first and second seed and Doc [Rivers] decided to rest [Kevin Garnett], Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce] the last seven games,” said Lue, who was an assistant with the Celtics. “We was the four seed and still went to the Finals. He picked health over seed and that was important to us knowing if he had a healthy team we’d be OK. I kind of feel the same way.” However, Vardon says Lue doesn’t remember the situation accurately as the Celtics’ three veterans barely had their playing time changed.
- The Cavaliers are paying the price for resting their stars earlier in the season rather than trying to win every night, charges Bill Livingston of Cleveland.com.
- Kyle Korver will be held out through Friday to get treatment on his sore left foot, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. He missed Monday’s game in San Antonio, and won’t play Thursday at Chicago or Friday against Philadelphia. Korver will be re-assessed after those games and hopes he won’t miss the rest of the regular season. “I’m hopeful just a few days here to completely shut down and not trying to test it out and see how it feels today,” he said. “Take a few days and let it totally calm down and see where we’re at.”
- Cleveland City Council was scheduled to open debate this morning on a proposed upgrade to Quicken Loans Arena, according to Robert Higgs of Cleveland.com. If approved, the project will combine $88MM in city funds with millions from the county and the team. The Cavs hope to start construction this summer and have it complete in time to host the 2020 All-Star Game.
Check out Sunday’s D-League assignment and recalls:
- The Pistons have recalled Henry Ellenson from their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets. Beard notes that the rookie will be available for Detroit’s matchup with the Knicks on Monday.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Larry Sanders to the Canton Charge, per Sam Amico of Amico Hoops (Twitter link). Sanders has only seen two minutes of action for Cleveland this season.
- The Spurs have assigned Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes to the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. Bertans has appeared in three games for San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, while Forbes has seen action in 18 contests.
- The Mavericks have recalled Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff from the Texas Legends, Earl K. Sneed of Fox Sports tweets. Both players will see their respective 10-day contracts with Dallas expire at the end of the day on Tuesday.
- The Rockets have recalled Chinanu Onuaku, Isaiah Taylor and Troy Williams from their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, per the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Grizzlies have recall Wade Baldwin and Deyonta Davis from the Iowa Energy, according to the team’s website. Baldwin has played in 33 D-League games this season, while Davis has seen action in 11 contests.
- The Pelicans recalled Cheick Diallo from Greensboro, the team announced through a press release. Diallo, who has averaged 22.3 points over his last three D-League games, will be available for tonight’s match-up with Denver.
Coach Tyronn Lue is concerned about Tristan Thompson‘s playing time, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, but the Cavaliers have few other options at center. Thompson is playing 30 minutes per night, his highest total in three years, and Lue is concerned that he might get worn down by playoff time. “We just have to try to figure out ways to get him off the floor like last night, getting his minutes down,” Lue said Saturday. “Then getting him off the floor tonight trying to do the same thing. He’s the only center we have. He has to play right now.” The Cavs thought they solved that problem when they signed Andrew Bogut last month, but a broken leg in his first game took him out of the equation.
There’s more news out of Cleveland:
- Free agent center Larry Sanders, who was signed as a replacement for Bogut, appears far away from being ready to help, Fedor notes in the same piece. Sanders has seen most of his action in the D-League since joining the Cavs March 13th. He has played just two minutes in two games at the NBA level. “Well, we have to try to get him in some better shape. Right now his timing and shape is not good,” Lue said. “That’s why he’s been in the D-League playing and trying to get ready. The guys in the D-League say he’s been great. He’s just trying to work and trying to get to that point.”
- Lue said J.R. Smith is going through “training camp” after missing a major part of the season with a fractured right thumb, Fedor relays in a separate piece. Smith, who has shot just 31% from the field in the 10 games since his return, was moved back into the starting lineup Wednesday. “It’s like preseason for him,” Lue said. “Just trying to get these games under his belt to get his rhythm, get his timing, get his legs defensively and lock into what we’re doing. When you miss training camp early in the season and then you get hurt early in the season it’s been tough on him. He’s got to work his way through it and I know he will.”
- Starting Smith has weakened the team’s defense, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic (subscription site). When Iman Shumpert or DeAndre Liggins started, they defended opposing point guards. Since the change, that task has fallen to Kyrie Irving, and the Cavs surrendered a combined 65 points to Kemba Walker and John Wall in back-to-back games.
Kay Felder made an impact in his most recent D-League assignment; scoring 26 points in a match-up with the Maine Red Claws. The 5’9″ Felder raised eyebrows, however, with his decision to dunk at the conclusion of a 110-99 win, when the away team had already conceded the loss. NBA vet Jordan Mickey didn’t appreciate the gesture:
“I take pride in being a professional and not doing anything like that at the end of a game,” Mickey told Glenn Jordan of Amico Hoops. “No NBA team I know of would do that. I know the Celtics wouldn’t do it for sure and I doubt the Cavaliers would do something like that. Guys know better than to do stuff like that. It is what it is, I’ll keep that in the back of my mind if we happen to play these guys again.”
Still riding high from his 26-point showing, Felder praised the Cavs for giving him an opportunity to receive minutes with the Canton Charge.
“I think the Cavs are doing a great job of bringing me down, calling me up, letting me see what Kyrie (Irving) or LeBron (James) is doing and bringing it down here and helping these guys out as well,” Felder said. “It’s not just for me. I can also help these guys as well with what I see up there.”
More from around the Central…
- Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon-Journal was critical of the Cavs‘ defensive effort in a loss to Denver on Wednesday. Ridenour understands that the 32-year-old James needs to conserve energy as the postseason approaches, but pointed out a second quarter sequence in which James stayed downcourt to protest a no-call. LeBron finished the game with a -30 rating, his second-worst plus-minus of the season.
- The Pistons‘ late-season swoon has resulted from “a complicated mosaic of factors,” Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. Specifically, Beard points out poor defense, inconsistencies at point guard, a lack of leadership, and slow starts to must-win games. “[Stan] Van Gundy does much of the talking but the leadership mantle needs to come from the locker room,” Beard writes. “After Wednesday’s loss, the players were saying all the right things about playing better in the last 10 games, but the next step is turning that talk into action — and more importantly, victories.”
- Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com addressed Derrick Williams‘ recent lack of playing time in his latest mailbag. Despite a stellar plus-minus when Williams and James are each on the court, Tyronn Lue has gone with J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver over Williams in the second unit. Vardon points out that if Williams is getting minutes in the postseason, either Iman Shumpert or Richard Jefferson would have to be benched; that’s a move he doesn’t see Lue pulling off.
- The Cavaliers recalled center Larry Sanders from their D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, the team announced on its website. Sanders signed with Cleveland on March 13th after Andrew Bogut suffered a leg fracture. Sanders made a brief appearance in one game with the Cavs last week and also played a game with the Charge before his recall.
- The Thunder assigned forward Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Huestis is averaging 14.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG for the Blue, who play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday.
- The Bulls assigned point guard Cameron Payne to the Windy City Bulls, according to the D-League team’s Twitter feed. Payne played against the Iowa Energy on Thursday and had 14 points and eight assists in 26 minutes.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and forward LeBron James believe the team has shown a lack of toughness in recent weeks, Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The Cavs have fallen to 22nd place in the defensive efficiency ratings and are in dangerous of losing the top seed in the East. Their latest loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday had both of them lamenting about the team’s lack of desire to defend. “It starts with the coaches but the players gotta look at themselves in the mirror, too,” Lue told Vardon and other members of the media. “They gotta be more physical, they gotta bring a physical presence and they’ve got to take pride in guarding their man.” James adds: “It ain’t about a group, it’s about individuals. … You can’t preach toughness, you’ve got to have it.”
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Nuggets have assigned Malik Beasley to their D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to a team press release. This will be Beasley’s sixth assignment this season.
- The Bulls have recalled Cameron Payne from the Windy City Bulls, according to a team press release. Payne played for Chicago’s D-League affiliate on Tuesday, scoring 22 points in 25 minutes.
- The Raptors have recalled Pascal Siakam from their D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Siakam is one of several 2016 first-rounders whom have been sent to the D-League this season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors details.
- The Cavaliers have assigned Kay Felder to the Canton Charge, according to the team’s website. Felder has appeared in nine games for Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, scoring 30.4 points per game.
- The Warriors have assigned Kevon Looney to the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s website. Looney has appeared in three games for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate this season.
- In LeBron James‘ view, the idea of resting healthy players didn’t become a real issue for the NBA until after he sat out a game or two for the Cavaliers. The reigning Finals MVP also suggested to reporters on Tuesday that he disagreed with the notion that team owners should be involved in that decision, as commissioner Adam Silver has requested. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com has the details and the quotes from James.