Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Charging Into Paris

Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: Charging Into Paris

This crowd Rises to its feet Theo slam it home darar left wing free ball perfect Dar run the lane lock the m H and Allen blocked the shot at The Rim how with the left hand and a foul welcome to the chasetown podcast part of the Cavs media family I’m your

Host Justin Rowan the chase down is presented by fubo the official streaming partner of the Cavs watch over 350 channels of live sports and TV including balet Sports Ohio without cable there’s no cost and no commitment drive for free at fubotv.com Cavs the Cleveland Cavaliers are out in France for their

Game against the Brooklyn Nets was fun watching all the photos from that come in excited to see all the activities and whatnot that they get up to over there they are riding a winning streak a three- game winning streak heading into France and we got some major news

Regarding uh Ricky Rubio and joining me today to discuss all of that is my co-host Carter Rodriguez Carter how you doing buddy doing good man fresh off of c and wimy up close and personal uh Cavs win uh and uh it was super duper fun

First Cavs game of the year for your boy I I got to ask before we get into all of this I I need to know what it was like watching wbe live um I remember my first time going to an NBA game in person I

Got to see zrus aalis and sha on the Cavs team actually that was my second game but first time watching the Cavs and I was blown away by the just their height and and just the speed of the NBA game you know as someone that doesn’t

Live in an NBA Market that was more of a novelty seeing wemy has to be like watching a basketball like an NBA player for the first time what what was that like buddy well was funny uh uh got a chance to grab a beer with Bob Thomas uh

Listener of the Pod before the game shout out Bob thank you for the uh for the beer uh friend and great hang great hang great guy great hang and he mentioned me he was with his brother and he said that one of the first games he

Ever went to was to see Kareem at the Richfield Coliseum and he kind of felt like it was kind of Full Circle you know like seeing Kareem near the end of his career and seeing uh and and seeing wmy at the start and I thought that was kind of a a

Cool perspective you know and one that you know one of the reasons I wanted to go to this game in person so bad was to to you know kind of have that kind of perspective have that kind of experience so um he was bananas uh first and

Foremost just you know uh like just the little things would catch catch you off guard like um like he would you’d be watching you know he got knocked over at one point and watching him lay flat with his arms extended was one of know exactly the play you’re talking about

Was one of the funniest visuals I’ve ever seen cuz it just was so it like laid bare how ridiculous his proportions were um uh I found myself um wildly impressed by his ability to control the ball um you know like you know when the ball would be dribbling you know

Bouncing near his shins his ability just to kind of Corral it and you know command the ball and not be clumsy at all uh despite you know cuz you could really especially like live in in the room you could really see how far he was kind of

Going out of his way uh to uh you know uh to do that the kind of thing that we would look really clumsy doing he just didn’t and you know he has a lot more reason to look clumsy than we do given his immense stature um the angles he

Could generate were just bananas um you know there were a few plays and you know it was funny my brother mentioned this every time the Cavs got one over on him you could tell the whole bench was hyped like like it was like oh this is like

They knew it mattered to get one on him as much as uh as much as um uh as maybe the fans did so he was a really special talent uh I don’t think he played particularly well and he was pretty bananas um once that team you know gets

A couple years of development some high draft picks and um and he just gets some functional strength you know it was actually really fun watching trist play against him cuz Tristan was really relishing beating him up I I thought my favorite like wemy adjacent play was going to be Tristan putting the booty

Into him and clearing out the space to sneak that layup up there like that was the one that I was planning on on the highlighting coming into this and then there was the Jared Allen Block which just rightfully you know sucked up all the oxygen and was one of the best plays

Cuz yeah perhaps you should have asked me what it was like to see Jared Allen up close cuz oh my God you know what honestly that’s a great point because Jared has been playing great in a lot of these Premier matchups against centers and wemy was no different but man Jared I I

Just continued to be so impressed by by his play as of late yeah it it was a really really fun game and like even Donovan who had a really really rough game he went seven of 18 and only scored 17 points shot one of 10 from three he’s

Another player like I feel like the the two games we went to um from the playoffs last year like he was you know he varied between like pretty good in game one to you know he had a rough game two or you know he was just quieter in

Game two cuz Darius went nuts um he he had three or four finishes in this one where in person you saw you you you forgot how hard the angle was when you’re watching on TV uh you know one one of the floaters he kind of took from

Uh from from the left from the right Baseline like he made 46 calculations with a live dribble and then somehow had to you know put up a clean shot and you know on TV it just looks like a layup uh you know it’s just it’s a good reminder

That it’s good to get out to the games in person every now and again because you just catch different little idiosyncrasies and it was very very fun yeah I definitely want to get into Donovan’s play as of late as well as Jared Allen both of them had been

Phenomenal but it’s kind of funny um just kind of thinking it’s full circle now because with wemi coming into the league he is kind of one of one we’ve never seen anything like it but the pipeline for international players to enter the NBA I I feel has just been so solidified

Now um it used to be where you know you’d have a Phenom kind of coming up in in the system they get drafted maybe a little bit later because people weren’t sure about them and it takes a while for them to be handed the keys whereas now

Like LCA wemi all these guys um come in and are given a lot of responsibility right off the bat and um I I just think back to you know when Ricky first entered the NBA where um obviously it took him a couple years uh after being

Drafted to to come over and play but just you know the scrutiny that was uh surrounding his game the microscope he was put under um and just the way that he was able to live up to expectations and be you know one of the most entertaining players and uh I don’t know

About you but when I I saw the news of Ricky Rubio retiring obviously you know uh has agreed to buyout with him um reported details are available but the thing that struck me was just what an impact it already felt like he had made

Uh on on my experience as a Cass fan in such a short period of time and it’s you know it’s sad that it’s over but you hope that you know this is a step towards his healing and finding you know that that greater balance and um as much

As we we focus on basketball there there’s things that are far far more important than that yeah yeah obviously I think first and foremost you just hope he’s doing okay hope he’s doing better you know and you know hope hope you can just take his statement on his word that

He is doing better and he is he is uh you know uh getting better every day um but you know uh seemed like he was going through some really dark stuff which is obviously horrible you know you just hate to see that for anyone um but perhaps especially so you know a bringer

Of of basketball light you know uh you know the the premier Vibes guy the premere both both on Court and off Court by all reports just a a really really great personality uh for the league and you know was a big part of that Cavs Resurgence I mean I think probably that

First two months um where you know of the season after they traded for Ricky I got to think that was my most fun that I’ve had oh my God in the in the post LeBron era um uh you know obviously there have been great times both you

Know since Ricky you know that faithful night where Ricky tore his knee um but that was probably my most fun stretch and he was such a big part of it I mean going eight of eight or whatever it was from three against the Knicks in that

Game and the garden was a blast and just you know he just kind of it just it was a trade where you go how man we really needed a wing and we gave up to torian Prince for a backup one and you just remember like you know basketball is

Such a different sport it is not a it is not just a a 2K uh attribute spreadsheet it is it is so much more and I think Ricky has always kind of exemplified that ever since you know even ever since that gold medal game against the US

Where I feel like we all really watched him for the first time up until now so awesome player uh a really really fun Cavalier obviously I’m sad that um his tenure here and tenure in the NBA ended the way it did but you know ultimately

Doesn’t wash away any of the any of the of the good and the fun over the years yeah and and in looking at his statement and statements from people you know with the Cavs our buddy Jimmy Longo shared a great story on Twitter about you know just running into Ricky at coffee shops

And how personable he was and stuff like that like it just got me thinking about how sometimes we we minimize the difference that we can make in people’s lives especially if we’re only in their lives for a short period of time and um just kind of was a reminder for me that

You know being engaged being present uh you you never know what type of difference you’re making what typee of impact you can make even just a short period of time so obviously wish Ricky nothing but the best and you’re right like that that stretch that was one of

The most fun times that I I’ve had watching this team and you know there’s I I believe it’s a Dan Devine uh saying or he’s repeating it from someone but he said it many times where that first season where you defy expectations and no one expects you to be good that’s

Always going to be the most fun as a fan because I I look at where the cows stand now after this three-game winning streak and they have a record of 21 and 15 after 36 games last year after 36 games it was 22 and 14 they have won one fewer

Game and when you look at just how the way they’re discussed in the media how uh you know fan expectations the pressure when we talk to people other cast fans and whatnot it’s a totally different vibe even though the record is so similar to last year and unlike last

Year we have had much much worse luck from a a health perspective and it just goes to show you know the the way that expectations can shift our perspective and also just the way that we look back on History we we tend to you know uh remember just either the good times or

The bad times we don’t remember all the ups and downs that that flow uh throughout an NBA season yeah absolutely um and you know Ricky was part of the fun the fun part in the end you know it was like and I do think like you know

You can always question you never know uh with basketball if something was really a precipitator or something else or if the team was just talented you know like I think there would be probably maybe some Skeptics that would say you know Ricky just joined a team

That was already ready to take that jump but like uh and and maybe that’s right but that’s doesn’t really align with my basketball belief system I think sometimes you do need that that inciting factor that chaining fry trade uh at the deadline that having veteran that’ll just Empower very talented players that

Just changes The Vibes of who who you are and what you do um I do believe in kind of human interpersonal impact so uh uh kudos to Ricky uh all the respect in the world and just uh you know I hope he is well in the end yeah totally agree um

Obviously you know there there’s going to be Ripple effects from this uh after the buyou uh frees up some flexibility for the Cavs I saw Chris Fedor reported uh that they evaluate the trade options obviously uh this is a front office that tends to do a lot of due diligence and

Looks at options but uh given what the the agreement they were able to come to they felt that this was was the best path forward uh whether that be you know uh to sign a veteran in the future or invert Craig Porter Jr who uh we both remain thrilled by so it’ll be

Interesting to see what see that but you know obviously things have to get figured out oh yeah absolutely and um while we’re waiting for those Ripple effects the Cavs continue to navigate this stretch incredibly well uh going on a three-game winning streak uh we had talked after the first Wizards game

About hey you know they’re probably going to come out with a a sharper Focus they might make the cows work for that one it’s tough to beat the same team twice while Washington made a couple runs throughout that game that was once again a very thorough Beatdown um the

Spurs game I I thought was a good game overall you know they got it felt it felt like a one o00 maea uh to start it off but from from there I felt like the Cavs Cavs had it pretty well in hand the middle you know uh let’s say 42 minutes

But the first six in the last or I guess the you know maybe you know 36 minutes but you know first six last six were low rough bit of a ride um it it was one of those where you’re already like I’m checking my phone towards the end of the

Game you know oh we’s going to the free throw line it is what it is like we’re we’re up so much like I’m I’m jotting down notes uh for for when we we jump on the podcast next and all that and then you look up and it’s wow they’re at the

Free throw line again oh that that’s a lot of points with the clock stopping oh God what’s happening what’s happening um it definitely you know you could tell that it was the early start with with how sluggish they look to to start the game I thought they did a great job of

Basically closing out the Spurs and then they took their foot off the gas can I give some quick kudos to people who we who very rarely get kudos go for it NBA schedule makers uh Cavs are playing in Paris it’s going to be an afternoon game

Uh for us here on the East Coast it’s going to be a 2:00 game it’s kind of nice that they G the the game before they go to play a game in European Time Zone they play at roughly the same time for their body clocks thought that was

Kind of a nice little touch I don’t know if it was on purpose but I’m going to say it was yeah who knows and and um when they get back the first two two games I believe are at home as well so it kind of gives you that that

Opportunity to unwind so I think they definitely did right by the Cavs for this stretch it’ll be interesting to see how they do against Brooklyn Brooklyn lost uh their last matchup in overtime uh against the Portland Trailblazers um they’ve been dealing with some injuries that continue that’s another team kind

Of like Washington in some ways where it’s like man all these guys are really good you know support players role guys like every team would want to have these guys but just without that Catalyst to things work uh it’s been a bit of a rough season for them yeah absolutely I

Mean I think I think that’s just a group that needs that needs some help you know they Kellin Johnson I really like but it’s just you know I feel bad for Kellin just watching that game because he’s he was I think their best or second best

Player last year and uh it doesn’t the fit does not feel very good with wom andama like that that that that on court chemistry hasn’t really been there yet uh but Vel manoo I feel like we were right to like that guy pre-draft yeah big big fan of Dev Vel turns out the

Pre-draft video of uh him tweaking his shot mechanics or whatever you want to call that uh didn’t end up are you saying we shouldn’t be making sweeping draft determinations based off of 27 second videos on Twitter I well Carter I I pivoted from that to making sweeping

Uh decisions about what I feel about all these prospects based on uh whatever YouTube videos I’m watching but but now now we we don’t we don’t even have Adam that we can like no no spinella anymore because he’s with the Sixers I I don’t know what we’re

Going to do for draft season that’s going to be tough um but yeah the maybe put a little bit too much stock on that um I I thought overall the Cavs have been doing a good job lately closing games out uh last season that was one of

Their strengths uh when you look at clutch time at home uh they were top five in the NBA uh as we know the road numbers were dramatically different but they’ve done a good job over the last year and a bit closing those games out at home uh I thought you know they

Thought it was over a little sooner than it was and took their foot off the gas but uh considering they were leaving for Paris later that day I I think that’s a classic kind of noon look ahead game uh for the Cavs in that one yeah absolutely

So you know I I thought it was I still thought it was a fun game um still plenty to take away from I mean my goodness Justin the Sam Marl flamethrower oh it might be the greatest I’ve ever seen it is something special um uh he he just continues to play great

Great basketball and like I think something that really shouldn’t go unnoticed is one how much every Cavs role player has a blast screening for him it’s like they’re just all running around the floor looking for Sam to go run a DH with him or to go set a pin

Down for him um and then two they got a lot of buckets in this like he did not score I don’t know if he scored at all in the second half or if he did it wasn’t much um but they got at least eight to 10 points off of the Spurs

Freaking out about someone setting a screen for for Merill or at one point Donovan fakes a dho in semi transition to him and just waltzes to the hoop for a layup cuzz both Defenders went to try to help on Marill like how many free buckets does Donovan Mitchell get a game

Uh ordinarily even been playing with really good players like it’s just rare you know like teams are keyed up to stop him and rightfully so um so like any free buckets you know it reminds me of the the corver run when you know you could run a split split cut and just get

You know four six eight points a game off of teams just panicking and messing up like that goes a long long long way when you look at like the difference in like net rating between like like a pretty good team and a great team it’s normally like two or three points per

100 possessions so four free points like that’s a lot and uh and I he’s just been really really fun man yeah and one of the possessions that obviously jumped out because it was so fun to watch was when Merill came off of a a screen and

When Bama was caught kind of being like should I’m I’m supposed to be in drop but I’m also coming up because God he’s going to get open he’s going to be able to pull and Merill just threw that bounce pass to Tristan Thompson and um obviously like Merl also had those plays

Where he set up Caris because of the gravity that he had like he’s just such a smart player and he plays so well on both ends of the court that I I just continue to be impressed by him um when car when Carris is playing as well as he

Is like I really do like that as a backourt pairing where where Carris is basically taking on those primary ball handling respons responsibilities and Merill gives you that secondary creation he gives you the gravity obviously moving off ball and I I just continue to be impressed by how seamless uh his fit

Is like he can you know we saw in spurts where he hadn’t played for a while and he would come in and hit a couple shots in a five six minute stretch but um with a expanded role you’re not seeing a drop off in Effectiveness you’re actually seeing you know better chemistry o

Overall I would say yeah I thought I thought Carris was unbelievable in this game I mean obviously 23 points on 13 shots with only three free throw attempts yeah you had a great scoring game but I just thought his craft was really really good he continues I I’m telling you

Justin the rest from that tendonitis must have done wonders because he has not looked this vertically explosive his entire time with the Cavaliers I mean he’s had what three straight games with like Po near poster dunks um uh his you know he’s really violently attacking the rim that was

What my brother and I noticed live was like he is really I mean some really physical um you know kind of gritty Rim attacks um super super duper fun to watch and uh I I’m I’ve been really really impressed with him these last couple games and you know they need him

You know they need him in a way that is uh is hard to explain right now yeah and in the six games since he came back from nend nights the three-point shot has come back too uh he’s shooting 43% from three uh on over six attempts per game

That includes him going over of six against the buck so he he’s really been shooting well outside of those games uh obviously hit two buzzer beaters against Milwaukee and it it’s nice to see you know that you you manage the these injuries uh whether it’s uh NE tendonitis whether it’s the hamstring

Injuries that the C gone through Jared Allen with the the bone bruis in his foot um I I don’t know if he’s still on the minute restriction uh you know some some of these wins in this stretch where he’s been playing so great ain’t got to worry about any minutes restriction the

Last three games buddy he he gets to to sit down and rest I actually kind of liked uh the fact that uh Tristan was thrown out there against wemi uh for quite a few minutes just to kind of weather some of that beating and whatnot and allow Allen to attack those non- wmy

Minutes as well obviously he played great against wemi but I’m I’m just so impressed by the way that he and Donovan have stepped up in these 11 games since Garland’s gone down Jared Allen over that stretch Carter it’s ridiculous 19.4 points per game 13.2 rebounds four assists and two

Steals and obviously being as efficient as always because did you know that Jared Allen is the Cavs all-time leader in field goal percentage uh no but I buy it and it’s by like 10% it’s ridiculous uh I mean that’s no surprise to me like I feel like I frankly I’m

Surprised he’s not averaging 20 uh plus um that actually feels low to me you know and I really think a big by product that are some of these big wins they’ve had um you know like only playing you know he he could have put up a lot more

Against Washington in that 39o win um you know uh and by the way not really getting to the line like a tremendous amount these These are earned buckets for the most part um he’s just been so gritty so Fearless like and I think that’s what I’m most pleased with you

Know I I I think ever since that uh the Knick Series where you know our bigs got punked a little bit they got beat up they got challenged and the Knicks dared them to be assertive and the Cavs bigs failed to do so on the offensive end and

Just the fact that Jarrett has had all of his best games of the Season against the best centers in the league or the best prospects in the league and is under control and not soft you know I think Wy got him once on a floater um but for the most part it was

Get into his chest or pump and then attack um but like there I mean he got 19 shots in this game and 31 minutes like that is not a usual Jared Allen uh volume he’s normally your seven of 10 guy um or your you know your eight of

Eight of 11 guy so I I just think he and I just think he’s shown a real toughness and I’m really I’m frankly proud of the guy because I like him you know he’s a very easy guy to root for um and I just

Feel like I feel like he is he is so giving them what they need and you know it’s him or Donovan you know that obviously it’s a team effort but those two have have really been the standard Bearer and I think it also just the fact

That they’re winning as much as they are as beat up as they are to me at least says that like the talent level on the team is just really really good yeah the the talent level the death uh as he said like Allen’s playing with a ferocity uh

That I don’t think we’ve always seen from him I I think he always plays hard but just the the level of assertiveness isn’t impressive and I like that while he’s playing with so much aggression he’s still playing really under control like we haven’t seen any of those foul

Trouble issues pop up like they they did in those Orlando games um he displaying touch like he’s just playing such controlled basketball the playmaking has obviously been great with with those four assists per game I’m I’m just really really impressed by him and I think he should definitely be getting

All-Star consideration um I I think there there’s not many centers in the East plane better than him although the the tough thing for him is that it’s front Court players not designated Center position so he has to compete against the the tatums Jimmy Butlers of

The world and all those type of it’ll be an uphill battle it it’ll be up pill battle but he definitely deserves to be in that conversation I mean if people want to put Derek white in the MVP conversation just because he plays for Boston I think we can give Jared some

All-Star conversation love I I I want to pull up this fact for you Carter Cavs alltime leaders in two-point fuel goal percentage we actually have four of the top six in Cavs history on on the Cavs team right now do you know who those guys would be all right for the top six

Twoo field goal percentage um obviously won Jarrett um Evan Evan’s number three uh no way Donovan is Donovan’s fourth wow that’s nuts and Tristan NOP I okoro okoro that makes sense actually because he doesn’t take shots he won’t he can’t make yeah okoro and he finishes well at The Rim Yeah she shoots

55.2% from two-point range jarett’s number one Larry n Jr number two Mark West is number five with Mo and um Donnie three and four so a lot of uh efficient finishers uh you know obviously the Cav shot quality that they generate uh their points off of cuts

Actually there’s a great uh stat Chris Fedor dropped on his latest episode of his podcast where points off of cuts per game um Klay Thompson is number one in the NBA but Sam Merill is number two and Max streu is number three in the league that’s nuts it’s a great stat that’s

Insane that is fantastic stat but it’s a healthy offense right now um you know and like I don’t know I you know there’s a billion things to look at but I just think they’re playing much more together I think that um even when they’re not shooting well they can still they’re

They’re generating really clean looks right now um I don’t know how that holds up against a playoff environment I guess we’re not really going to know till we know but I do think they there’re I again I think there’s so much to be taken away from the diversity of the

Offense right now the diversity of the ways they’re trying to have to figure out how to win depending on the Personnel that’s in or out of the lineup On Any Given uh game something I I was doing a little dive on Justin was I was just thinking about like okay how

Impressive is it that the Cavs are currently tied for the four seed uh in the Eastern Conference right now because right now it is quite the glut in the middle of the Eastern Conference Boston is 28- 7 they’re miles ahead of everyone else Milwaukee is a little bit further

Behind at 25- 11 Philly is 2 and a half games ahead of the Cavs at 23 and 12 then Orlando Cleveland New York Indie and Miami are all between 21 and 15 and 20 and 15 so I was just thinking like okay so the Cavs of obviously been beat

Up we’ve talked about it a billion times how beat up are they relative to you know especially at the top end relative to their peers so I just went ahead and looked at the NBA lineup data just to see how many games each team’s top three had appeared in so the Celtics uh

They’re top three and I and I’m being a little you know I had to make some calls here uh on who the top three are but the Cs uh Tatum Brown and porzingis have played in 24 games the Bucks big three of Giannis Dame and Middleton have played together in 28

Games uh embiid maxian Harris 27 games Suggs banero uh Vagner 30 Games the Pacers of I went with halberton um uh Miles Turner and Bruce Brown uh but mathine for brown is the same which is 25 uh the Knicks before they made their trade of RJ I went with RJ Barett at um

Brunson and Randall was 26 Cavs have had 12 with their big three of of Moy Garland and Donovan the only team that has been less lucky than us yet again are those pesky Relentless Miami Heat who who have had hero uh Butler and adabo together for only eight games this

Year so I’ll tell you what if we if uh you know something as much as we make fun of heat culture you know there was a part of in adding a guy like Max Ru that you kind of wanted to replicate some of that some of that we’re just going to

Figure it out we’re not relyant we can’t we’re not going to be a team that just can’t win if its best players are not available well I guess in this way we’ve already figured it out buddy cuz cuz we’ve got one Pier uh at the top of the

Eastern Conference right now and it’s Miami who are just as much having to figure out ways to win with without their best players consistently available man the you’re completely right like the the togetherness that the cows have had considering the lack of continuity it’s really really impressive like they have

Been there for one another I was watching that game against the Spurs uh with my dad and he was sitting there he’s like you know the Cavs really do seem to have a fun time playing with each other like they’re they’re not he’s like they’re not like jumping around

Mean mugging or or doing anything like they’re just genuinely enjoying each other’s presence and laughing and and just enjoying making the pass he’s like it’s really kind of cool to see that and have that kind of togetherness as a unit and uh know who really appreciates togetherness Carter Zoom bring in the

People together support for this podcast and the following message comes from Zoom half a million businesses Connect using Zoom a single platform for phone chat workspaces events apps and video Zoom enables realtime collaboration for teams around the globe Zoom how the world connects I do really want to give

A shout out though because I I’ve been so impressed over this stretch of how well Donovan Mitchell has been playing and not just the results cuz we know that he he can go out there he can put up points he can put up assists he can

Do everything he can stff a box score I just think that this is a stretch where it would be really easy for Donovan to say all right our second and third leading scores are out I’m going to take over let’s you know we’ll mock up the game defensively we’ll we’ll get it

We’ll make it ugly and I’ll go out there and I’ll be the offense and I really don’t feel like he’s been doing that I feel like we have seen consistently over over this stretch that he has been playing good team basketball I think it started before Darius went down but you

Know since Darius went down he has been acting so much better as a primary uh initiator of the offense I feel like he has been giving the ball up and whether he’s getting it back later in the shot clock with a better look uh he’s just allowing the offense to flow and I’m

Just so impressed he he’s averaging over these 11 games obviously he missed some of them but 26.3 points per game 7.4 assists per game and 14 potential assists per game um so his contexts last year Garland averaged 12.9 uh Garland in his lone ball handling year averaged 16

So he’s kind of splitting the difference there over the stretch and I I just think he’s been playing such great team basketball and as much as we want to credit the coaches for how they’ve navigated the stretch how they managed to um have so much continuity despite the injuries

None of that matters no matter how good you are schematically if your best players aren’t bought in and if they’re not leading by example and I I feel like Donovan is leading with not only his production but the buyin and the style of game that he’s been playing yeah I

Mean he’s I just think he’s playing connected basketball you know um so many plays where I I just sensing him feeling the moment of of of the game and not uh not doing what the comic book character basketball player would do but just reading them room you know like in

That first half when Merill was going nuts against the Spurs you could see Donovan in semi- transition being like where is he where is he where is he where is he I got to feed him again you know like that kind of stuff is just so

Exciting and fun and like I just think it makes him such a more dangerous player you know I think even though he had a pretty rough game as a scorer against the Spurs the nine assists were you know the the offense engine was still running um and you know even in

That first quarter they go down like 12 at one point and I’m like yeah but they’re getting clean looks every possession like I think it was a game where he didn’t shoot well but he played well right like I thought the shot selection was great and his overall game

Was good it just you know the shots didn’t fall and frankly like I wasn’t really checking the box score uh throughout the game I didn’t realize he wasn’t even shooting that well like I I knew obviously he missed some shots but it just didn’t feel like a game where

His shot wasn’t falling and I think there were times earlier in the year that if the shot wasn’t dropping it didn’t feel as great having him on on the court yeah I think that’s fair to say you know and like that’s that should be the case that should be an

Occupational hazard of when you’re a Hyper Elite scorer that it feels worse when you’re not scoring well um but like to your point I do think he is super helpful I and one part of his playmaking in particular I think is worthy of a shout as man has been hitting some skip

Passes uh uh as of late you know uh when when Jared’s playing so darn well that when he gets to on the ball or uh someone Shades down to help uh Jared on the roll he’s doing a really really good job of finding the max trues and the and

The Sam marls and the George nangs of the world and on the on the opposite Wing or in the opposite corner with like bullet passes like that are hitting in the pocket and you know are easy to convert into points like obviously to your point about the potential assists

They’re not always going to be able to convert them into points but the fact is like process over results process over results process over results and I think his process as a creator has been really really good as of late yeah I I totally agree I think there was a transition

Path that that jumped out to me I believe it was dearo it was either he or stru but um just I I’ve been so impressed with his overall game while we on the subject of playmaking I do want to run something by you because it it’s been something I’ve been mulling over

And um obviously we we’ve talked about the importance of Donovan and Jared developing this chemistry um that seems to be the pairing when when they stagger their core four that that Donovan and Jarrett works so well we know Garland and Moy is fantastic I’m curious though

When the core four is all together would you reallocate some of the playmaking from the big man position to kind of feature Jared more than Moy at this point just because it does seem like he’s a little further along obviously it’s not going to all be a signed to him

And when Mo’s out there as the lone big he’s still going to be doing a lot of that playmaking I I think it’s been one of his areas of growth this season but just given how much success we’ve had with Jared even if it’s just to test

Things out while m is kind of regaining his footing would you reallocate that at all I don’t know if I’d reallocate but what I would do is be a lot choosier about the matchups like if whoever is guarding um Jarrett is someone I would

Like to get out of the paint and out of the way I might choose to run some of that high action with him and put Evan down in the dunp dunker spot or down in the corner like because I think Evan is also a little bit more of a fluid off

Ball player like catching on the move and doing a little dribbling if he has to um and also yeah it’s just a matter of like hey you know something that we felt in in the postseason last year was like H you know Evan kind of has to be

The guy to set the screen uh because Jared isn’t playing particularly well on the ball like you know you you want to be able to you want to be able to pick who you want to take out of the paint you know I thought I think that’s been a

Real value even in that Spurs game you know every time Jarrett was running up high wimy wasn’t down there to bother things um so I I think that’s what you do I don’t know if it’s like a an a concerted effort I would make to just be

Like hey Evan we want you on the ball less I think it’s more just like if we need to win this is what I’m going to do I’m going to just I’m going to attack the scab uh the of the opponent’s defense whenever I can because most

Teams do not have two bigs that want to guard in space like that yeah and I think the way that they do their playmaking is a big difference as well like Jared he’ll catch the ball at the high post and you’re running actions kind of off of him whether it’s the

Dribble handoffs or um you know pin Downs or or whatever the case may be he’s kind of standing there where Evan I feel like he’s already got such great feel as a playmaker on the go like in that short role after he’s put the ball on the floor that big to Big passing

Often comes off a live dribble and and that’s not really something that I see from Jarett so the way that they do their playmaking is different and I I think you’re on the money there it’s going to come down to being able to hunt matchups a little bit more who you want

To get out of the paint who what’s the more advantageous angle obviously there’s still going to be tons of playmaking you’re still going to run a lot of offense through Evan Moy um but it it’s got me thinking just of more wrinkles that the Cavs will be able to

Add their to their offense as a result of this time playing without Moy and Garland absolutely and again I just really really really really want to make sure that and I really hope that the staff make sure that they’re making that they’re giving Jarrett these high post

Opportunities when he is the lone big even after Evan’s return you don’t have to just go to spamming pick and rolls uh cuz you you have a spread out floor like you are generating and yielding really really good results this way and I just you know I don’t want to look that gift

Horse in the mouth yeah especially if you’re talking about you know second second unit minutes where Mitchell’s playing with like Merill or something like that where you don’t have a natural playmaker out there you exploit the gravity that Merill has uh just how well he’s been playing generate

Good looks for Donovan generate good looks for Allen and uh we we sat down and and we talked to Mike gity um just last week dropped the podcast this morning uh if you want to listen to the audio only version uh we do have that available but uh he had nothing but

Praise about Sam merell about amanii Bates about Greg Porter Jr in the development but I really thought um that those uh his comments about Merill and just his dedication it it makes sense like when you see him out there he he’s just such an evolved player so uh we’ll

Be throwing uh to the Mike G interview now um big thanks to everyone that tuned in Live on YouTube and uh if you’re listening on podcast uh we will cut it off here but you can check out the full audio version of the Mike G interview in the chase down

Feed all right guys today we have a very special guest joining us uh Cleveland charge head coach Mike G is making his second appearance on the podcast which means he is now officially a friend of the podcast whether he likes it or not coach thank you so much for joining us

Today how you doing officially a friend of the Pod how about it coach that’s big time I’ve been waiting for that I’m sure you have only took me a few years it’s I’m sure it’s the biggest honor of your career uh we we want to be respectful of

Your time so I I’ve got a million questions here uh about the the charge and how the Cavs have used uh the g-league to develop players and but I I think when people think of the charge this season the first name that comes to mind is ammani Bates there there is so

Much excitement over what he’s done uh fourth in showcase scoring in terms of uh points per game you’ve had some time with him now since the draft uh through you know winning a a championship in summer league and now uh time around the team what has stood out to you whether

It be something that’s surprising or or something that that um you know really stands out about your time with ammani so far I think the one thing that has stood out to me most is just like his thirst to be in the gym and his thirst

To get better I think that is um one of the most exciting things about ammani being that he’s only 19 years old still yet he wants to grow and he wants to learn and he wants to be in this league for a long time and so um he’s really

Gravitated to the coaching and uh from the moment he’s step foot um in this building um he’s really given us uh 100% effort and focus and uh we’ve been very very pleased with that obviously his game speaks for himself but when you’re young and you’re coming into this league

You really have to have that growth mindset and understand that there is a there is a learning curve and there is a lot that you still have to learn when you’re a rookie and so the fact that he’s embraced that and been willing to uh be coached and grow um has been

Awesome so far for for us I think you know when you’re reviewing a guy like amman’s college tape you know he he was a guy who dribbled the ball a lot you know he was he was a uh you know the lead on ball creator for both of his

College teams that was kind of his rep through high school and you know in the Reps that most Cavs fans have gotten to see he’s really been an elite catch and shoot guy and a movement shooter was that kind of like a thing where you sat

Down with him at the beginning of the Season said hey we know you’ve got all these skills but we’re really going to we want to help you focus your game like what what’s the approach with with a player like that yeah I think with Amman he’s obviously an incredible score shot

Creator in a number of different ways and um so the conversations that I’ve had um with Coach JB is um you know allowing him to just be himself right and be an efficient scorer and not to take away his shot creation ability but you know really focusing in on just

Making him an efficient offensive player and um I think you see that with all um you know the players at this next level is just their efficiency their their shot selection and making sure that we’re getting um great ones um versus good ones and so um he’s continuing to

Grow obviously when he’s with the charge you know there’s a little bit more responsibility and weight as far as um the defenses that are thrown at him um the plays that are getting run for him at this current moment so um you know he’s finding that balance of um you know

Making and taking shots but um also choosing and selecting the right ones and uh another thing we’ve been very impressed with is his unselfishness and his ability to make plays for his other uh for his teammates and um he’s improving uh game to game in that area

As well with the attention he’s drawing in the G league is there a balancing act for you as a coach you know developing these guys in the G League understanding that their role when playing in the G league is going to be a little bit different than in the NBA where you you

Know some guys may have strengths help you win games at that level but may not necessarily be their role when they make it to the NBA do do you have to kind of balance those you know go-to reps that that help you produce at that level with

Some of those developmental reps as well yeah I think there’s I think they’re definitely is the balance to that and I think you know whether it be for uh ammani or Isaiah for instance of our our two- ways obviously we haven’t seen Craig Porter Porter Jr um he’s been

Doing an incredible job with the Cavs um so far but those two guys that have been been with me up until this point there is that balance because at the end of the day they’re competitors and they want to win games and they’re extremely talented and they can go do it in a

Number of different ways um some of those ways might not be exactly how they’re utilized um with the Cavs ball Club but we want to make sure that um throughout the game and a majority of the games that they’re getting that they are able to settle into those roles and

Find those spots and those shots and you know we’re talking a lot about off def but defense is the is the biggest piece especially for young players trying to find the floor is um can they be up to speed on our defensive system can they contain the basketball and get the ball

Where it’s supposed to go to and are they able to be able to impact the game on that defensive end of the floor to allow them to be able to be who they are on the offensive side yeah uh that that makes perfect sense and it is uh you

Know a balance of you know of uh exceling at the stuff there already good at now and the stuff they need to be great at to get to the next level and a player who has gotten to demonstrate what he’s great at at the next level is

A guy like Sam Merill and uh you know he spent last year uh in the mostly in the G league with the Cavs and you know went pretty nuts and he’s a really interesting guy because you know it’s he’s not a rookie he’s he was around the

League for a long time uh kind of at the end of rotations maybe not getting the chances to to show the breadth of his game can you speak a little bit to how the G League kind of helped Sam Leap Frog into what’s looking like like a potential rotation spot moving forward

Just getting that opportunity to actually get to show what he can do yeah like you said Sam has been around this league for for a while now and um battled some injuries um early on in his NBA career and when we got him he was finally starting to get himself healthy

And uh and be right again and you know the the greatest you know and most exciting time and especially looking back at it now was when we did have that number one pick with the g-league draft and we selected Sam with that number one pick and I just remember watching him on

Film and I thought he would be you know a great fit for our charged team and the pieces that we had last season but we also um as a front office and and staff also saw that the the potential and the opportunity for Sam to be an impact for

The Cavs at some point because he wasn’t a two-way coming into us he was a a draft pi and a roster player for us and um I think the front office as well as the coaching staff you know saw that potential in Sam um and you know

Obviously we acquired U Max and George and you know there’s there’s a whole lot of shooting out there um now but um he really was a piece that we thought could fit and I I can’t speak highly enough of Sam um as far as just a person and and

Character and it’s just no surprise to me that he’s having the success as crazy as that may sound um for him you know being on in the G League last season and you know having the impact that he is having with the Cavs but um I was able

To watch that guy um every single day day in and day out put in the work show up to practice never take a rep off was always paying attention to every single little detail um I I can say in my whole entire season whether it be practice or

Whether it be game I never saw that guy take one playoff and um it’s exactly why um you know he everybody gets you know excited about his shooting ability but um one thing that he is so good at is his defense and just his ability to just

Be physical and to know exactly where he’s supposed to get to the ball get the ball and the spots that he’s supposed to be in so um the great thing about Sam is he’s a two-way player um he can make threes at a ridiculous clip um but also

He is on the defensive and somebody that you can trust every single possession down the floor yeah I’ve been really impressed by by his screen navigation and just the the way that he he competes on that end his positioning like you can just tell he’s someone that thinks the

Game at a very high level when you get a guy like ammani Bates or or Sam marrell that has like clearly has that NBA level skill uh like that Elite skill like shooting is the biggest hurdle for getting their games to translate to the next level just that understanding of

How to round out their game of where they need to be or what would you say um for people that are looking for indic ators for a guy like Amman uh that he’s ready to take that next step or or signs for growth um throughout this season

With the charge what’s kind of that that thing that you work on the most or emphasize the most about uh rounding out their game to to get that Elite skill to translate to the NBA level yeah I mentioned it earlier but amman’s uh an incredible shot shot maker and shot

Creator and um he’s shooting the three-point shot at um a great percentage and he’s shooting it at a high rate as well so um feel so confident in in him when he gets open shots whether it be in summer league this past year or so far with the charge

And even in his time with the with the Cavs you know he when he gets those open looks I mean you can almost count it so the biggest thing for him as a as a young guy is it’s a it’s a brand new defensive system and um you know at 19

Years old you’re trying to learn a lot that’s coming at you quickly and so the great thing about the the G league and that training ground for him is he gets to go out every single day every single night and be able to put that in play against really good basketball players

At a high level and continue to grow and get better at that um you know for him really understanding the defensive system um and being in his spots on the floor uh the Cavs have a great defensive system and they have you know great RI protectors and Jared Allen and Evan

Mobley and so him really just understanding his spots that he needs to be on the floor and being able to be great at those is really going to give him a great chance uh when he gets back up with the with the Cavs I was actually

Going to Pivot to to Craig Porter Jr because obviously you had some time around him in summer league has it surprised you at all just how quickly he’s adapted to the NBA game so Craig he just really wowed Me In Summer League um and having the chance

To just be around him during training camp and then um and then all the way through um you know training camp with the Cavs this year obviously you know the success he’s having and playing 40 minutes and almost having a triple double one game is uh I’d be lying if I

Just said oh I knew he was going to be playing 40 minutes and and get a triple double but there is no doubt that when um he came into that building and I had a chance to be around him um during that summer that I saw an NBA point guard um

Obviously he was a two-way but um I knew down the line that he was going to be somebody that could impact this Cavaliers organization at a high level and so um you know you just see his size his body his athleticism um all the tools that he has but you know credit to

Our front office for you know um seeing the potential in Craig um and selecting him as a two-way and then um you know our coaching staff uh continue to work with him and develop him this year throughout the uh the season with the Cavs and having him be able to make the

Impact that he has it’s been really cool to see because uh if you get to know Craig he’s a great person um with an awesome personality and just wants to impact winning for the team so uh really need to see the success he’s having yeah

I mean and I think we’d be remiss I know we’re running low on time but we have to ask you about that summer league experience because Summer League is not famous for being a Bastion of great basketball you know like the it’s a it’s a great showcase for a lot of guys but

The the the basketball is not always clean and then the summer league Cavs that you coached were playing this wonderfully together game where no one seemed to have any ego and no one needed to lead the team in scoring everyone was just playing together and really playing

To win like what was that experience coaching that team like cuz it felt very unusual uh from an outside perspective compared to most summer league teams yeah it was a lot it was a lot of fun and credit to our front office for putting together a summer league roster

That they did and they put a ton of Talent around us and they made our job um very easy and fun but JB always talks about it and you guys hear it he talks about being the most competitive team the most selfless Team every time we

Step on the floor and that was our message to the the Cav summer league roster is that’s what we wanted to do and anytime you have um opportunities to play meaningful basketball games and you’re able to have those type of you know players whether it be you know

Craig and ammani and Sam and um Luke Travers you know like the the list goes on um but the fun thing and the cool thing about that group is they really just embraced their roles and and and who they were supposed to be for the

Team and um you could totally see it in just a way that they played together in their connectivity but they shared the game on the offensive end and they played together for each other on the defensive end and um it was really just a a fun experience and super thankful

That uh we all got to be a part of that it was super fun to watch like like Carter said it was amazing to see just the the continuity you know guys like share stepping up in the way that they did it was just it was great to see

Because I I I started tuning in a little bit more watching the charge uh in the playoffs last year and I’ve been watching a ton of them this year so we really really do appreciate your time it’s been a lot of fun following the team um maybe we’ll we’ll do another

Check-in with the charge later on in the season but uh all the best three timer Club let’s let’s not get out of ourselves our friend of the so I’ll see you guys next week yeah of course you’re now part of the gang we we really appreciate it awesome thanks for having

Me guys thank you coach all right big thanks to coach for coming on on the podcast big thanks to our listeners as well remember if you want to support us like And subscribe on YouTube click notification Bell so you know when we’re going live if you’re listening via

Podcast and you want to support us leave us raing leave a review subscribe unsubscribe resubscribe and help cook those books if you want to be part of chased Down’s exclusive Discord chat send a screenshot that review to chased downod gmail.com however you choose to support us we really do appreciate it

Make sure you guys are staying safe out there until next time go cats

The Cavaliers have won their third game in a row after an afternoon win against Wemby and the Spurs! Justin and Carter react to the winning streak, the Eastern Conference standings race and more! Then, Cleveland Charge Mike Gerrity joined the gang to discuss how the team has been developing Emoni Bates, Sam Merrill and Craig Porter Jr.’s emergence and more!

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Please Note: The opinions expressed by The Chase Down podcast are solely their own and do not reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Cavaliers or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, or partners.