CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs’ latest win over the Bucks secured their first season sweep since 2008-09. In this episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, hosts Ethan Sands and Chris Fedor break down the victory and examine what sets Cleveland apart from other Eastern Conference contenders.
Takeaways:
- The Cavs (54-10) are on a 14-game winning streak.
- Cavs’ depth is a significant advantage over teams like the Bucks.
- Kenny Atkinson has successfully built trust within the team.
- Cavs’ defense can effectively challenge star players around the league with different schemes to keep them guessing.
- Cavs’ ability to win despite their best showings is a testament to their growth.
- Cleveland is on the verge of breaking more franchise records.
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Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.
Ethan Sands
What up, Cavs Nation? I’m your host, Ethan Sands, and I’m back with another episode of the Wine and Gold Talks podcast. And we are coming to you after the Cavs’ latest win, 112, 100 Milwaukee Bucks. And this is another game where the Cavs came out with a victory. They’re 14th straight. And as I have come of custom,
on this podcast, I’m gonna run through a list of stats that I was able to compile when it comes to tonight’s game, when it comes to NBA and Cleveland Cavaliers history and how it impacts the Cavs going into the rest of the season. So let’s start here. The Cavs are the eighth team in NBA history to win 54 of their first 64 games, five of the other seven to do so when the NBA Finals.
that season. The only two that did not win the title were the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors and the 2015-2016 San Antonio Spurs. And obviously we know that the team that won the championship that year is the same team that we’re talking about, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs became just the seventh team in NBA history to have multiple 14 game win streaks in a season. And Kenny Atkinson has also surpassed David Blatt
for most wins by a Cavs coach in his first year with the team with 54 wins as the Cavs are 54 and 10 through their first 64 games. The Cavs also have 25 road wins, which is the third most in franchise history behind only the 2008, 2009, 27 road wins and 2009, 2010, 26 road wins. Also on top of that,
The Cavs have now tied the NBA record for longest streak of consecutive games, winning and scoring 110 or more points with 14 straight. The last team to do so was the Boston Celtics in the 1985-1986 season. Also, the Cavs have now completed season sweeps over the Bucks, Pelicans, Wolves, Lakers, Hornets, Warriors, Wizards, Nuggets,
Ethan Sands (02:30.761)
Mavericks and Raptors they can still complete sweeps over 12 other Teams obviously we also know that this sweep against the Milwaukee Bucks is the first time they have done so since 2008 2009 and the last stat that I have for you guys is a list of the magic numbers as of March 9th when it comes to the top
four seed in the Eastern Conference. have just one win or their magic number is one. The top two seed, their magic number is five. East number one seed, their magic number is 11. And the NBA number one team in the league, their magic number is 17. Now, Chris Fedor is with us obviously and he is in Milwaukee. This game saw a lot of topsy turvy, but the Cleveland Cavaliers known for their shooting.
came back in the fourth quarter. Well, I don’t want to say come back because the Milwaukee Bucks only led for 21 seconds of this contest. But this team had a little bit of a shakiness when it came to their three point shooting to start outside of Max Bruce and the bench unit came through at an abundance. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were one of seven and one of eight, combining for two of 15 from deep into tonight’s contest.
But Max True came through with five of nine from three, Sam Mero was three of five, and Dean Wade was three of three. Chris, how important has this rotation been for this team all year, and then especially against a team that saw 52 of the 100 points scored by the Milwaukee Bucks come from their stars, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard?
Chris (04:17.824)
Yeah, I mean, I think it just shows the differences between the two teams and how they’re constructed. Milwaukee has a very thin bench, a very unreliable bench and the Cavs depth is their strength and they use it to their advantage. and it’s been wearing teams out throughout the course of the season. It’s been wearing teams out throughout the course of these games. And there’s been a trust that has been built between Kenny Atkinson and the bench and the players.
one through 15, they all trust each other. Like Donovan Mitchell knows that he doesn’t have to be great for the Cavs to consistently win games. They can overcome bad nights from him. Darius Garland understands that the team can overcome bad nights from him. I how many teams in the NBA, where your two best players, your two highest scoring players, combined to have the games that, that Darius and Donovan had tonight.
They go on to win, go on to win decisively and trail for a grand total of 21 seconds against the number four team in the Eastern Conference. Now Milwaukee was on the second game of back to back, but the number four team in the conference. And it wasn’t even a competitive game for most of the night. With Donovan being bad and Darius Garland being bad. And in the words of Evan Mobley, why am I talking to you guys tonight? I didn’t do anything.
So Evan felt like he had a substandard game, at least based on the standard that he holds himself to. So it just shows the differences between these two teams, how they’re constructed, and their formula for winning games. know, the Cavs bench has been reliable all season long, and some of the pieces have changed, some of the pieces have been injured at various points, but it’s no matter who Kenny Atkinson goes to.
No matter what lineup he puts out there, majority of the time, these guys are going to come through. They’re going to play to their role. They’re going to accept their role. They’re not going to complain about their role and they’re going to go out there and they’re going to be productive. And that was the case tonight against Milwaukee.
Ethan Sands (06:35.851)
And Chris, I think the biggest thing that we got to mention is outside of the last three minutes of the game, think the bench outscored the Cavs bench outscored Milwaukee’s 38 to nine. And then in the final three minutes, Ryan Rollins just came in and went, went nuclear for the Milwaukee Bucks. So it ended up having the final bench total being 43 for the Cavs and 21 for the Bucks and 10 of those points coming from.
Chris (06:53.056)
Ha ha ha.
Chris (07:04.328)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (07:04.525)
Ry Rollins and who played three minutes and three seconds in tonight’s game. I know Doc Rivers is probably kicking himself. Well, obviously he’s played against other bench guys. anyway, I think when you talk about a team that has consistently found ways to win, the Cavs did had as in Jared Allen’s words after the game, this was one of their most complete wins since the All-Star break.
Chris (07:17.045)
here.
Ethan Sands (07:32.09)
because from start to finish they were in control and outside of those 21 seconds and it just felt like even against a team that again fourth in the Eastern Conference had all of their necessary pieces even adding Kyle Kuzma to that mix and the Cavs having all of their pieces as well except for the two-way players you got to see a potential second round matchup and how they would fare
And I was interested to see how Janis and Dane would showcase themselves in tonight’s matchup. How do you think the cast defended those two guys? Obviously they combined it for 52, but I feel like they still held up pretty well.
Chris (08:14.304)
Well, first thing that I’ll say is if these two teams meet in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, if Milwaukee can get past Indiana, if that’s going to be the first round matchup, and I’m not ready to sit here and say that Milwaukee Bucks can get past Indiana. Well, they can, but I’m not ready to predict that it’s going to happen because I think Indy is more of a complete team than Milwaukee.
But we all know the advantage that Milwaukee could have in a potential seven game series. And it’s the combination of Giannis and Dame. The one thing that I’ll say is, if the Cavs play against the Bucs, like the version of Bucs that the Cavs saw tonight is not going to be the same because Giannis is going to play like 44 to 48 minutes. He’s going to have to. Because they just don’t have enough reliable guys coming off the bench. Obviously Bobby Portis is suspended.
at this point in time. And he was somebody who, you know, was in the sixth man of the year conversation. He was somebody who was having a very good year. He was the source of consistency and stability for the Bucks second unit and pulling that out of the equation. Now, all of sudden you’re asking more of Kevin Porter Jr. You’re asking more of Jericho Sims. You’re asking more of AJ Green, who they call Dairy Bird. It’s just a lot, right? So I think the Bucks understand.
Once they get into the playoffs, Yannis is gonna have to play basically the whole game. He’s not gonna play the whole game, duh, but basically the whole game, just based on the way that they’re constructed. And Dame played, you know, 35 minutes tonight. He’s gonna be around 40, probably more than 40. You know, Kuzma is probably gonna be around 40, probably more than 40, because they just are going to demand more from those guys. They’re going to ask them.
to take on more of a responsibility. And obviously when Janus plays close to the whole game, it becomes a completely different challenge for a team. But the thing that showed up tonight, Ethan, for the Cavs, if you’re just projecting it forward, nobody stops Janus. Everybody understands that he’s gonna get his. There’s no such thing as a Janus stopper. But how many guys do the Cavs have that they can throw at Janus
Chris (10:35.604)
to try and take him out of rhythm, to try and make things difficult, to try and disrupt him as much as possible, to try and wear him down, to try and show him different looks. Jared Allen, Evan Mobley, Dean Wade, Deandre Hunter, probably not Max Struce, but there’s four right there. And they’re all competent, capable defenders. You know what I mean?
Like Evan Mobley might be Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s probably going to be Defensive Player of the Year by default. Jared Allen is an all-defensive type player. Dean Wade, the numbers speak for themselves about his impact on the defensive end of the floor. And De’Andre Hunter has been, you know, one of the most impactful defenders from an individual standpoint since the All-Star break, basically. Just in his matchup.
on the defensive end of the floor, he’s consistently winning and he wants the challenge against the opponent’s best player. So I think based on the roster that the Cavs have.
I don’t know if there’s a better team that is equipped to deal with Giannis over the course of a 48 minute game or over the course of a seven game playoff series. And that doesn’t mean that, you know, he’s not going to be great. And it doesn’t mean that he’s not going to win his matchup from time to time. But you know, guys like Jared Allen have a fighting chance against Giannis. Right? Guys like Evan Mobley have a fighting chance against Giannis. Dean Wade.
has a fighting chance against Janus. And if you start with Dean Wade on Janus, then you know what that does? You’re allowed to use Evan Mobley as kind of like the roam defender, the help defender. You’re able to use Jared Allen behind Dean Wade. If you’re using Deandre Hunter, you’re able to use one of those two bigs behind them as well to just try and show Janus a bunch of different bodies, to try and make him play in a crowd. So, you know, I think just…
Chris (12:43.742)
If you’re looking at a seven game series between these two teams, you know, the advantage that Milwaukee would theoretically have, I don’t know that it’s as much of an advantage against the Cavs as it would be against other teams that aren’t as equipped to deal with Yannis.
Ethan Sands (13:07.669)
I that’s a good point. I think I’m glad that you reminded me about Bobby Portis and his suspension because that’s a big piece to their bench obviously, but he’s not able to come back until April 8th, which is like the last week and a half of the season. Their first game that he can play against for the Bucks is against the Minnesota Timberwolves on that Tuesday. And then they played the Pelicans and their last two games of the regular season.
Chris (13:22.527)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (13:37.024)
are against the Detroit Pistons. So I’m interested to see where that all ends up in the standings wise and how important those games are for that team going into the final stretch of the season, especially with Bobby McCord is coming back and trying to acclimate into the system that they have. Obviously he knows the system, he knows Doc, he knows what they’re going to be doing. But obviously there’s a difference between getting the train and actually playing and being in basketball shape.
Chris (13:58.176)
Yeah.
Chris (14:06.334)
Yeah.
Ethan Sands (14:06.85)
It’s a completely different dynamic. And we’ve seen it through course of the NBA season, especially with all the injuries this year. But Chris, I think.
Chris (14:14.44)
Yeah, I mean, I think Milwaukee is going to be a different team in the playoffs, obviously. And it’s a different kind of challenge that any team has to deal with Milwaukee in a seven game series. I don’t think Milwaukee can beat the Cavs four times in seven tries. I don’t. I think there is one team in the Eastern Conference that could beat the Cavs four times in seven tries and it’s Boston. I don’t think New York can do it. I don’t think Milwaukee can do it. I don’t think Indiana can do it. I certainly don’t think Detroit is ready for it. So.
Yeah, dealing with Janus in a seven game series is going to take a toll. And it’s going to challenge you in a bunch of different ways, especially when he also has Dame on his side. But I just, I just don’t think Milwaukee has enough to beat the Cavs. I just don’t think Milwaukee has the pieces and the blueprint to beat the Cavs. I think the Cavs match up really, really well with the Bucks. I think they have people that can guard Dame and make things difficult on Dame.
Isaac Okoro has done it throughout the course of his career and even if he’s a low minute player I think Donovan Mitchell can handle that matchup well enough given the way that he has defended this year I also think you know the Cavs like I said they have multiple guys that they can throw at Yanis so if we’re talking about the Cavs chances in the seven game series you know I think I don’t think Milwaukee can beat them four times in seven tries
Ethan Sands (15:39.702)
And Chris, it makes me think back to, and I agree with you, but it makes me think back to the first game of the season between these two teams where Dame and Giannis combined for 75 points and they both played 39 minutes. And I’m like, if that’s their best punch and Donovan Mitchell hits a game winner or, yeah, think, yeah, this is in Milwaukee. Yeah, this is Donovan’s first game winner of the season or of his career actually. And
If that is what it takes, and I think the Cavs can rely on that and also understand that Damon Yonis combining for 75 in a game is astronomical. And they did have Bobby Portis in that game. I believe he had 10 points. But I just think, like you said, I think it’s a system of matchups and there’s too much overwhelming features when it comes to the Cavs bench unit.
And there were even times tonight where I don’t think this is going to be the case in the playoffs, but there were times tonight where both Giannis and Dane were off the floor. And even though I don’t think the cows took as much advantage of it as they could have, they definitely still saw an advantage against their bench unit and said, well, this isn’t, this isn’t what we schemed for, but thank you. We’ll take it and we’ll run with it.
Chris (16:58.834)
Mm-hmm. know, Kenny Atkinson said something after the game, Ethan, about his plan was to finish tonight’s game with Max. The way that Max was playing and just the specific matchup that they were working with. And Kenny said the way that he does it is, you know, right around the start of the fourth quarter, he has conversations with all of his assistants and he has conversations with players on the bench because he needs to know who he’s planning to finish the game.
unless something changes like fall trouble could dictate it or a rotational difference from the other team they put a guy in there that he’s not expecting but he looks at it basically at the start of the fourth quarter because he wants to lay out the other components of his rotation a certain kind of way so he said he was gonna finish with max he felt like that was going to be their best option and it got to a point where
Everything kind of changed within the game and Donovan didn’t have to come back in and Evan Mobley didn’t have to come back in and the Bucks pulled out their starters and then the Cavs pulled out their regulars and Kenny used this lineup that was one of the most bizarre ones that he has used all season long and it works. It’s like, it just feels like
Whatever lineup the Cavs throw out there, as bizarre as it may seem, it’s been working. It’s just, it shows the depth of the team and it shows how, know, whoever they call on is, is going to do their job to the best of their ability. And they’re going to make an impact for the most part. You know, he did not expect to go with.
Jared Allen and Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro and just kind of happened that way and it worked. So it just shows the different kinds of lineups, the different kinds of combinations, the different things that Kenny Atkinson has in his toolbox that a coach like Doc Rivers just doesn’t.
Chris (19:24.256)
You know, he starts getting into his ninth and tenth guys and it’s like, the hell am I going to get from these guys? I have no general idea of what I’m going to get from these guys. You know, at the very least Kenny can go to Isaac Kikoro and he knows that he’s going to bring it on the defensive end of the floor. He knows that he’s going to provide energy. If he goes to Dean Wade, he’s got shooting theoretically, floor spacing.
a defense switch ability. it’s just the luxury that Kenny has is one that he is taking full advantage of. And he is playing it the way that a coach should that has as much reliable depth that he does. But it was just really, really interesting to me the way that he was able to finish that game and the lineup that he was able to use.
And it was so bizarre and yet it worked. And now he has another one that he can consider down the stretcher. Like, you know, the game against Brooklyn coming up, he’s probably going to try it again just to see was that lightning in a bottle? that a one-time situation or is that something that actually works? You know, that’s part of what we’ve talked about the final few games.
of this regular season being about for the Cavs. And what if he found something that he can just unleash in a playoff environment? What if he found a lineup tonight, you know, not by choice, not by planning, but just based on how the game was going that now he may be able to go to when the playoffs roll around, maybe in a series against Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Ethan Sands (21:22.017)
which lineup are you referring to? Because I feel like we’re on the same page, but I don’t want to say something and we’re talking about two different lineups.
Chris (21:31.998)
bizarre one late in the game where it was Jared Allen, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, what else was out there at that point in time?
Evan was not a part of it. Evan Mobley was not a part of it. Was Max a part of it at that point?
trying to pull it up. I wrote it down, but I don’t have the document pulled up right now.
No. Was Sam part of it?
Ethan Sands (22:10.389)
I’m working through it with you on.
Chris (22:14.098)
It might have been Max. Yeah, it was Max. It was Isaac. It was Dean Wade. It was Jared Allen and Darius Garland.
It was that one,
And it worked. I don’t know that it had any, I didn’t, I don’t know that it had any business working, but it worked. It worked offensively well enough and it certainly worked defensively.
Ethan Sands (22:29.471)
Okay, okay. So I’m going to.
Ethan Sands (22:44.429)
Yeah, so I got it pulled up on uh mba.com the jared allen extras dary scarlet dean way that ijake akora will line up For the calves they’ve used it in two games 12 minutes. Uh, has an offensive rating of 139.1 a defensive rating of 79.2 For a net rating of 60 Like that’s insane And I know we were talking
Chris (22:55.616)
That’s great.
Chris (23:00.544)
Hmm
Right. It’s just like…
Chris (23:10.976)
Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously a small sample size, but like when, it has success, even in a small sample size, it’s like, okay, let’s keep trying it. And if we extend the sample size of it, if we give it a longer leash, if it’s still just as effective, let’s try it again.
Ethan Sands (23:14.946)
Yes.
Ethan Sands (23:33.09)
And I think it’s important to kind of pull this all together. The, what we talked about with the Damon, the Yanis, just battle of going up against those two. find it funny that this season, when the Cavs had to go up against the team that had just Dame, they struggled more than going up against a Bucks team with just Yanis. Obviously it has a lot to do with the spacing. but I think it’s interesting.
because you think and you look at the matchup data that there is on nva.com and you think about it, it’s like, well, it feels like the Cavs have more viable options to throw at Damian Lillard, right? Isaac Okoro in three games in 16 and 17 minutes of matchup data. He’s held him to 33.3 % from the field on four of 12 shooting one of seven from deep 14.3%. Then there’s guys like,
Chris (24:05.098)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (24:16.244)
no.
Ethan Sands (24:31.159)
Donovan Mitchell, as you mentioned, one of three in three minutes, four minutes if you round all the way up in three games, 33%. Ty Jerome, two of eight when guarded by Ty Jerome, one of two from deep. Three of seven when guarded
Chris (24:47.058)
Isaac Ikora numbers that you started with, those aren’t an aberration because if you go back to last year in meetings against the Bucks, he held Dame to nine of 34 from the field. So Isaac is somebody who stylistically, he bothers Dame.
Ethan Sands (24:50.445)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (25:01.033)
It was there.
Ethan Sands (25:06.881)
And I think that’s like, I think that’s especially with what has been going on with Max Struce as of late, not saying this game, but like the matchup, the lineup data with him in the core four and how that net rating has been a lot lower than it was to start the season. Obviously not what we.
Chris (25:23.786)
it’s been horrendous in the last three games. I mean, you don’t have to sugarcoat it in any sort of way. The Core 4 plus Max Druse in the last three games before tonight was minus 64.6 in net rating. It was horrendously bad.
Ethan Sands (25:28.205)
100 %
Ethan Sands (25:41.806)
And I think in the last 10 games, was like minus 15, because I was digging into those stats as well. It wasn’t good at all. But so that’s why I was interested to see if Kenny Atkinson was going to stick with that starting unit against the Bucks, who when he knows he has like a cheat code in Isaac Okoro, who can guard him and has been known to bother him. I think just Deandre Hunter, even in 41 seconds of guarding Dame,
Chris (25:45.588)
Yeah, not good. Yeah, not good.
Chris (25:55.808)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (26:10.253)
He’s held him to 0 of 4 from the field, 0 of 1 from deep, which I think is important to note that like even though they might think he can get to the rim against Deandre, it’s not a good choice for anybody. But I just think looking at these matchups and looking at how the Cavs can match up against both of these future Hall of Famers, we can put it that way, I think it’s important to note that this
Chris (26:21.056)
Mm-hmm.
Chris (26:32.778)
Yeah.
Ethan Sands (26:36.361)
is a Cavs team that matches up better with the Bucks, as Chris said, I think than almost anybody else in the Eastern Conference, probably outside of Boston.
Chris (26:50.873)
I mean, I think that’s, that was one of my big takeaways from tonight’s game. And you don’t want to take what you see in a regular season matchup or a regular season series and say, okay, it’s going to predict what happens when spring rolls around. But I just think stylistically Milwaukee is not the kind of team that bothers the Caps. I think stylistically Boston is the kind of team that bothers the Caps.
I think stylistically Atlanta before the DeAndre Hunter trade and before the Jalen Johnson injury is the kind of team that bothers the Cavs. just think from a matchup standpoint, the Cavs match up well against the Bucks. And you know, that doesn’t mean that every team in the NBA matches up well against the Bucks because sometimes playoffs, they’re about matchups. You know, two years ago,
the worst possible matchup for the Cavs was the New York Knicks. If they got another team in the first round, they’d probably win that first round playoff series. But from a matchup standpoint, they just couldn’t hang. There were too many deficiencies that they had with that particular matchup. I think Milwaukee has too many deficiencies with this particular matchup against the Cavs. And I think over the course of a seven game series, the Cavs’ depth will completely wear them down.
the Cavs reliable, playable guys off the bench will have a significant advantage that it almost negates the whole Janus-Dame thing. And the other thing is, Ethan, like because the Cavs have enough guys to throw against Janus and throw against Dame, like the advantage that the Bucks theoretically would have with those two guys, I don’t think it’s going to be significant enough for them.
to consistently win games in a seven game series.
Ethan Sands (28:47.349)
I think it’s a good point because you can hone in on two players and say everybody else, you can have your try. But if you’re not going through Yonathan Day, we’re really not worried about it. But then looking at the standings right
Chris (28:59.518)
I mean, at the beginning of the game, Milwaukee didn’t know what to do defensively. was so interesting to me. Like at the beginning of the game, they were trying to load up to take the ball out of the hands of Donovan Mitchell. They were trying to make things as difficult as possible on Darius. They were trying some different defensive coverages instead of just dropping Brooke Lopez over and over and over again. And it’s like they left Evan Mobley unguarded.
and he banged two threes and then there was like kind of this collective feeling from the bucks of aw damn now we gotta deal with that out on the perimeter too all of the things that we were hoping to try and take away from the calves now it’s going to be harder to take those things away because Evan Mobley just banged two threes in our face and then Max Roos
created threes with his movement and some of the two-man game that he was running, setting screens for Donovan Mitchell, and it’s like, well, if Max is going to be the screen setter and we want to keep two on the ball with Donovan Mitchell, like, how do we do that? If Max Struce is going to be the screen setter, and he’s already starting to ignite. you know, stylistically, the things that the Bucks were trying to do defensively, the Cavs made them pay, at least early on in the game.
because of Max Struce’s three point shooting, because of Evan Mobley’s three point shooting, and because Jared Allen was really aggressive and attack minded at the beginning of the game as well. So even though Donovan started as more like a distributor and a creator and trying to get his teammates involved, part of that was because that’s what Milwaukee was more willing to give up and it didn’t work.
And Donovan never caught his rhythm, but like the opportunities for him to get better shots, they increased as the game went on. It’s just, you know, he didn’t capitalize and Darius didn’t capitalize. A majority of the Knights though, you know, those looks that Donovan and Darius continue to get as a result of, you know, how they were attacking at the beginning of the game and how they were forcing Milwaukee to change some things and scramble around defensively.
Chris (31:22.27)
you believe that with those kinds of looks, eventually Donovan and Darius are going to start cooking.
Ethan Sands (31:30.637)
And I mean the Cavs are on a 14 game win streak Chris and I’m not sure when looking at the rest of this schedule for March that I can definitively pick up a team that I’m like, yeah That’s gonna be a challenge for them I don’t feel that like I remember having this discussion of if they’re gonna make the the 16 the 66 win Franchise record they’re gonna beat that and it feels like they only have to they only
can lose five games for them to do that for the remainder of the season, that feels doable. That feels like normal work for this team because you look at the Brooklyn Nets in their next game on Tuesday, then you got the Grizzlies on Friday with after a week of rest, then you got the Magic in the Cavs on Sunday on ABC. And obviously that’s a potential first round.
Chris (32:08.224)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (32:29.461)
Look if everything stays the same in the Eastern Conference standings, which I don’t think it will because there’s so much jumbling to be done in the play-in tournament. I mean, the Hawks are 24 games back. The Magic are 24 and a half games back. The Heat are 24 and a half games back, but the Orlando Magic have the tiebreaker on the Heat right now. So those three spots are going to jumble up and we’ll have to wait and see.
Chris (32:36.145)
Mm-mm.
Ethan Sands (32:58.081)
But again, I think I want to reiterate this because the numbers that are most important for the Cavs, the magic numbers from the top four seed, one game or one, the magic number is one. The top two seed, the magic number is five. The East number one seed is 11. The NBA number one seed is 17. So it feels like there’s so much within the graphs of the Cavs. And as Chris has said,
Chris (33:11.803)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (33:28.041)
on a different podcast, if a record is within reach, this cast team is gonna go get it or go after it as hard as they can. But with all.
Chris (33:38.464)
I think one of the most impressive things, really quick before we get out of here, think one of the most impressive things, Ethan, and one of the scariest things for the rest of the teams around the NBA is during this 14 game winning streak, the Cavs have not played great basketball. I mean, there have certainly been stretches of dominance where they have looked a lot like themselves, but they haven’t been a great team during this 14 game winning streak. They haven’t played their best basketball.
by any stretch of the imagination. You know, the game against Orlando was brilliant. That was just dominance from the opening tip. That looked like a team wanting to send a message. But the Boston game should have lost it. Game against Portland should have lost that one. The game against Chicago, they were on the ropes into the fourth quarter and all of sudden they just flipped it. Should have lost against Miami. Should have lost against Charlotte.
You know, tonight wasn’t one of those games. was basically a 48 minute highlight reel of why the Cavs are all around superior compared to Milwaukee. But I just named five different games that they should have lost during this stretch. And if they didn’t lose those games on a night that they just didn’t have it, they didn’t have their B game, let alone their A game most of those nights.
It just shows how difficult it is to beat these guys. Like, it is so hard to play well enough for 48 minutes to beat these guys. I can’t imagine what the other team goes through, what the other team is thinking. Like, Chicago thought they had it. They were positioned. Charlotte probably thought, hey, like, we got this. Like, we have a real shot at this thing. Are you kidding me?
We’re up nine with less than six minutes to go. But it’s going to take a lot, whether it’s Memphis, whether it’s Orlando, the Clippers. Like it is.
Chris (35:50.088)
It is so hard to deal with everything that the Cavs throw at you. They just come in waves offensively. They have so many great individual defenders. mean, like we talked about on a previous podcast, I don’t think they are going to be the underdog at any point the rest of the way. And that doesn’t mean that they’re going to win every single game, but they can win games.
when they aren’t anywhere close to their best.
Ethan Sands (36:27.147)
And Chris, I there’s still a belief in this organization, there’s still a belief from Kenny Atkinson that they have a different level to tap into, a playoff level, a playoff intensity. And that also includes the Cavs, as we talked about, Giannis and Dane. They’re gonna have their star players play more minutes. Or if they’re not playing to this caliber, Kenny Atkinson can say, well, we’ve tried this lineup a couple of times, get out of there.
Chris (36:36.106)
Right?
Chris (36:40.489)
Yeah.
Thank
Chris (36:47.75)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (36:56.375)
Let’s put the other guys in and here comes the jolt of offense and defense from a fully rested, haven’t played a whole, like, come on. It’s just a machine is how you should describe it. A machine that continues to get better and better and better. And if this isn’t the best of this team, watch out because there’s a lot more coming. But with all that being said.
Chris (37:18.368)
Mm-hmm.
Ethan Sands (37:23.819)
That’ll wrap up today’s episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast. But remember to become a Cavs Insider and interact with Chris, me, and Jimmy by subscribing to Subtext. As we mentioned, there is going to be a little bit of a lull this week in games for the first time in what feels like forever. So we are going to need you guys more than ever. Send in your thoughts, your ideas, what you would like to hear us talk about.
as the season nears its end for this Cleveland Cavaliers regular season. And let’s talk about things that you want to hear about on this podcast. But to do that, you got to sign up for a 14 day free trial or visit cleveland.com slash cabs and click on the blue bar at the top of the page to subscribe for 3.99 a month. If you don’t like it, that’s fine. All you have to do is text the word stop. It’s easy, but we can tell you
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