Game Day: Cavs (56-13) @ Suns (33-37), Fri 3/21/25

[ShelC]

Postgame Quotes and Videos

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[Mori Chu]

I still can't believe we won this game. The transformation in our team over the past 1-2 weeks has been amazing to see. It's crazy how different we look from the hangdog, lethargic, pathetic team we have been for most of the season.

[Cap]

The Cavs bigs are going to feast tonight.

Oh?

They might have played better with a lighter meal before the game.

[bajanguy008]

We're just a bunch of fans across the world who cheer for the Suns but basically all of us diagnosed the team's major issues months ago.......



I'm appreciating the fact that the play has improved but these post game quotes keep puzzling me......
Like where were y'all heads at all along

[ShelC]

Didn't catch the game but seems like this is the team we've been wanting to see all season. I said a few months ago that less is more with this roster and that seems to be holding true. CG, Dunn and Oso aren't the offensive talents that Beal and Allen (and Nurk) are but they provide more of what we need around Book and KD. What's frustrating is they they were showing this earlier in the year but Bud went away from them.

I'll rewatch this one but still not holding out much hope for a postseason run. The Cavs had lost 3 in a row coming in and seem to be losing some steam and/or are tired after running thru the league all season. Maybe we caught them off guard a bit too. And we're also nearing the point where teams will have tape on Dunn, Oso and CG and they'll start showing up on scouting reports so they need to be ready for that. Glad we got the win and are looking like the team we should be but we still need to shake out the roster this offseason and commit to the young guys.

[Mori Chu]

I've seen some folks on here saying that we need to keep Cody Martin next year after his good energetic play lately. I get the sentiment behind that, but in my limited viewing of Martin, he seems like a replacement level energy / hustle / defense guy to me. I do like him, but he makes a decent amount of money, and keeping him next year keeps us in the 2nd apron, which pretty severely limits our roster options. The whole reason we got rid of Nurk was to shed salary and get under the 2nd apron. I doubt they keep Martin around despite the nice energy he has given us. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be a very good shooter, and I think a key component of being a 3-and-D guy is the "3" part.

IMO some of these guys are a bit of fool's gold, looking great because their hustle is such a breath of fresh air compared to the lethargic bums who had been playing. But I don't think we should keep all of them, particularly ones making higher salaries like Martin.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705587

[Cap]

We're just a bunch of fans across the world who cheer for the Suns but basically all of us diagnosed the team's major issues months ago.......



I'm appreciating the fact that the play has improved but these post game quotes keep puzzling me......
Like where were y'all heads at all along

That’s not puzzling. It’s on page 3 of the NBA Book of Stock Answers.

I’m not sure it’s even Book. Could easily be an AI.

[Split T]

I've seen some folks on here saying that we need to keep Cody Martin next year after his good energetic play lately. I get the sentiment behind that, but in my limited viewing of Martin, he seems like a replacement level energy / hustle / defense guy to me. I do like him, but he makes a decent amount of money, and keeping him next year keeps us in the 2nd apron, which pretty severely limits our roster options. The whole reason we got rid of Nurk was to shed salary and get under the 2nd apron. I doubt they keep Martin around despite the nice energy he has given us. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be a very good shooter, and I think a key component of being a 3-and-D guy is the "3" part.

IMO some of these guys are a bit of fool's gold, looking great because their hustle is such a breath of fresh air compared to the lethargic bums who had been playing. But I don't think we should keep all of them, particularly ones making higher salaries like Martin.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705587

I think you restructure the deal. Get that 8 million figure down to 4 or 5.

Also his rebound/steal/block rates are at insane levels right now. He’s not just providing replacement level hustle and defense. It’s been way better than that.

[ShelC]

I've seen some folks on here saying that we need to keep Cody Martin next year after his good energetic play lately. I get the sentiment behind that, but in my limited viewing of Martin, he seems like a replacement level energy / hustle / defense guy to me. I do like him, but he makes a decent amount of money, and keeping him next year keeps us in the 2nd apron, which pretty severely limits our roster options. The whole reason we got rid of Nurk was to shed salary and get under the 2nd apron. I doubt they keep Martin around despite the nice energy he has given us. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be a very good shooter, and I think a key component of being a 3-and-D guy is the "3" part.

IMO some of these guys are a bit of fool's gold, looking great because their hustle is such a breath of fresh air compared to the lethargic bums who had been playing. But I don't think we should keep all of them, particularly ones making higher salaries like Martin.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705587

Agree, really like what he brings and would like to keep him at the right price but durability has also been an issue throughout his career.

[Superbone]

I've seen some folks on here saying that we need to keep Cody Martin next year after his good energetic play lately. I get the sentiment behind that, but in my limited viewing of Martin, he seems like a replacement level energy / hustle / defense guy to me. I do like him, but he makes a decent amount of money, and keeping him next year keeps us in the 2nd apron, which pretty severely limits our roster options. The whole reason we got rid of Nurk was to shed salary and get under the 2nd apron. I doubt they keep Martin around despite the nice energy he has given us. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be a very good shooter, and I think a key component of being a 3-and-D guy is the "3" part.

IMO some of these guys are a bit of fool's gold, looking great because their hustle is such a breath of fresh air compared to the lethargic bums who had been playing. But I don't think we should keep all of them, particularly ones making higher salaries like Martin.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705587

I think you restructure the deal. Get that 8 million figure down to 4 or 5.

Also his rebound/steal/block rates are at insane levels right now. He’s not just providing replacement level hustle and defense. It’s been way better than that.

Yep, it doesn't all show up in the stats either. I'd keep Martin over Allen to be honest. He just bring more of what we need. Allen hasn't impressed me on the defensive side of the ball and I haven't seen enough hustle and he's not the type to get rebounds like Martin.

[Superbone]

I've seen some folks on here saying that we need to keep Cody Martin next year after his good energetic play lately. I get the sentiment behind that, but in my limited viewing of Martin, he seems like a replacement level energy / hustle / defense guy to me. I do like him, but he makes a decent amount of money, and keeping him next year keeps us in the 2nd apron, which pretty severely limits our roster options. The whole reason we got rid of Nurk was to shed salary and get under the 2nd apron. I doubt they keep Martin around despite the nice energy he has given us. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be a very good shooter, and I think a key component of being a 3-and-D guy is the "3" part.

IMO some of these guys are a bit of fool's gold, looking great because their hustle is such a breath of fresh air compared to the lethargic bums who had been playing. But I don't think we should keep all of them, particularly ones making higher salaries like Martin.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401705587

Agree, really like what he brings and would like to keep him at the right price but durability has also been an issue throughout his career.

Allen hasn't exactly been able to stay on the floor either.

[ShelC]

Allen's played 75 and 72 games the past two seasons and 66 the year prior. Cody hasn't played more than 50 games since 21-22. He might break 50 this year.

I'd still take Cody at 8 over Allen at 15 but it doesn't mean much for us if Cody's playing 30 games.

[Superbone]

I introduce to you all, The Gauchos:

[Carno]

Game Score Predictions Results:

Carno - Suns by 12. Booker leads all scoring with 35.
Suns by 4.
SunsRIt - Suns by 3. Booker with 37.
Maldonado - Suns by 2, Book and KD with 30 points each
Kryptonic - cavs by 5…. Dunn with a 5x5
TOO - Cavs by 11
Superbone - Cavs by 11
LazarusLong - Cavs by 15
Split T - Cavs by 16
JeremyG - Cavs by 20
Mori Chu - Cavs by 23.
SunsSince92 -Cavs by 25

Cavs 112- Suns 123; Suns by 11; Carno, the most optimistic of all, almost nails it and wins easily but Durant leads all scoring with 42.

Woooo!! Got one!

[Split T]

I introduce to you all, The Gauchos:

My dad would have really appreciated this…he passed away a few years ago, but his online user names were usually Gaucho themed haha.

[Split T]

Martin reminds me of a bigger Okogie right now. He had some moments defending Mobley and he also defends guards.

His offense hasn’t been good, but he’s putting up 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block in 16 minutes per game. That’s 10+ rebounds, 4+ steals, and 1.6 blocks per 36

[AmareIsGod]

Martin reminds me of a bigger Okogie right now. He had some moments defending Mobley and he also defends guards.

His offense hasn’t been good, but he’s putting up 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block in 16 minutes per game. That’s 10+ rebounds, 4+ steals, and 1.6 blocks per 36

He also doesn't ever look intimidated or uncomfortable. That goes a long way in avoiding foul calls when you aren't very established and into trouble.

[specialsauce]

Allen's played 75 and 72 games the past two seasons and 66 the year prior. Cody hasn't played more than 50 games since 21-22. He might break 50 this year.

I'd still take Cody at 8 over Allen at 15 but it doesn't mean much for us if Cody's playing 30 games.

To be clear, I'd take a lot over Allen.

He's a good offensive player, but he's a complete traffic cone on defense and not a vertical athlete and therefore not a good fit next to Booker. This team needs defenders.

[ShelC]

Yea there's a reason Allen's on his 4th team already despite his offensive output. I don't think he's terrible defensively and he certainly tries but he's more of a luxury type of player - one that's nice to have for the shooting but not an absolute keeper. We have just have too many players who are similar either in size or skillset. At the same time tho, we can't move to the other extreme and just have athletes/defenders who can't shoot/score.

[Uncle_Gene]

With the exception of the Laker game obviously, I feel good about where this team is right now. They've won four of their last five games and the energy has been there. The defensive energy, the offensive execution, and just overall playing with pace has been there. Totally night and day from what we saw in the middle of the season. I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel. I enjoy watching them play now. Hopefully they'll sneak in and make the play-in tournament or the 6th seed, but I'm just glad to see the Suns play better basketball.