Joe Vardon
Appearances
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah. I mean, first of all, they've lost two out of their last three and they were blowouts. And whatever the finals for was, I think it was a 20 point game. It was 42 in the third quarter. I mean, this was a, you know, to pantsing, whatever you want to say. It was awful. There was nothing the Cavs did well. No one really showed up.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Darius was okay in the second quarter, but by then it was already, I think, a 26-point game, really, when Darius kind of joined the fray. So on the one hand, you just kind of crumbled up and throw it away, but... If you look now, they've lost six times, which is not that much, out of 40. But in all six losses, it has come to a team that is bigger and stronger on the perimeter than what they have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
And that is becoming an issue. And it's like, you want to say, well, do you make that big of a deal out of it? Because that kind of defense bothers everybody. The Thunder bother everybody. Lou Dort, who has just wreaked havoc on the Cavs these two games, he certainly bothers everybody.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
But for a team that's otherwise looks pretty deep and looks like they're able to make a long run, they have been cut down the size when they play against teams that are bigger on the perimeter than they are.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
To crumble it up and throw it away. I mean, they weren't impressed. It was a very quiet room. You know, neither Donovan nor Darius... You know, you speak differently when you win or on a game where, like, you really can just shrug your shoulders and say, let's get them next time. This was a national TV game. It was a rematch. You know, there was a lot going into it, and they just laid an egg.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
So... They understand that they have to be better. And, you know, I hate to talk about physicality because I almost think it's a cliche when we're talking about the playoffs. Of course, the level of how you play raises and what the officials allow. goes up, um, in the, in playoff basketball and the Cavs have struggled with that over the last two years for sure.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
But they, they were speaking as though they understood, um, that they cannot be pushed off of their cuts and pushed off the line and not be allowed to get into the paint. You know, all the things they do that have made them the number one offense in the league, um, when they see a Dort and a Caruso in Oklahoma City or Nembhard and Matherin with the Pacers or Daniels and Johnson with the Hawks.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
It hasn't been good. And, you know, they can say that they're just going to be better. And that's great. They need to be. But it is a little bit of a concern because when you think about what has gotten them in the playoffs and then you've seen it in this very small handful of games in the regular season that they actually lose, the reason is the same.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah, you know, they've been, the Cavs were ninth, I think, in defense. And Darius has, you know, Kenny reiterated again before today's game that they are not hiding him the way past Cavs teams used to do that. Like Darius takes on the matchup. He's not going to guard Shea. The Cavs are going to put either a Coro or they use Dean. You didn't see that much of Mowgli there. Maybe you should have.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
But yeah, I mean, point of attack is that that's another concern. You know, Darius told me tonight that he's 25 pounds heavier than he was last year. So that's a good thing. Yeah, that's a good thing that Well, yeah, I mean, and Donovan is thick, too. So strength wise, you feel like they should be better at the point of attack at the point of attack.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
But, you know, Shea Gilgis-Alexander is a bona fide perennial MVP candidate who's averaging like 32 a game or whatever it is. And there's just going to be nights where you're not going to stop him. And tonight was one of those nights like he just was gliding to the rim. And it helps when the Thunder knocked down threes. I think they had 18 threes tonight.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
You know, so it was just a recipe for disaster. Kenny called it an avalanche. And that's what it was.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Yeah, I mean, that's a great point. It's a great question. You know, this is, as I mentioned earlier, they've lost two out of three earlier this year. Those two losses to the Hawks were back to back. So they've been in a situation like this before and bounced back before. The way you do it is you go into Minneapolis on Saturday night.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
I mean, you know, things aren't working out like the Timberwolves had planned, but they're still a very dangerous team. They're at home. And, you know, this is a way for the Cavs to finish off what we knew would be a tough road trip and we knew would be a dangerous week. It's proven to be that. But you can set yourself back on a much better path just by winning Saturday.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
They don't have a ton of assets and their draft capital is, I don't want to say suspect. They have a treasure trove of second round picks, but they don't really have a first round pick that they can move until like 2030 or 2031. So you have to keep that in mind when I say the following, that multiple teams throughout the league have said the Cavs are expressing interest in Cam Johnson.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
they wouldn't be the only team. There are other suitors who potentially could offer more, but the Cavs, uh, do have a combination of players and picks that could match the money, uh, and would give a rebuild rebuilding team in Brooklyn. Um, the kinds of picks that you can use to turn into better picks. Uh, And so, you know, in Cam, I don't have his exact height in front of me, but he's tall.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
He's a perimeter shooter. He's an athlete. You know, he's not the best defender and that's an issue. But but he if you talk about what is the thing that bothers the Cavs, we've spent all this time talking about it tonight. Cam's the answer. And so this is something that has been emerging over the last week, that the Cavs are among the teams who are interested in him.
The Athletic NBA Daily
Thunder strike back | Cavs on the trade market?
Or Horford or anybody. I think this was Evan's worst game of the year.