Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: August Mailbag

Chase Down Podcast Live, presented by fubo: August Mailbag

Hey, heat. Hey. Hey. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. This crowd rises to its feet. Pakoro slams it home. Darwin left wing free ball. Perfect. Darwin of the lane. Lock the pop and Allen blocked the shot at the rim. How with the left hand and a foul. Welcome to the Chaseown podcast, part of the Cavs Media family. I’m your host Justin Rowan. The Chaseown is presented by Fubo, the official streaming partner of the Cavs. Watch over 350 channels of live sports and TV, including FanDuel Sports Network without cable. There’s no cost and no commitment. Try for free at fubotv.com/cavs. It is August, so that means we are one month closer to Cavs basketball returning. We’ve got some international competition at the end of the month, training camp next month. It’s just around the corner. And what better time to have a mailbag. And my first question of the day is Carter Rodriguez. How you doing, buddy? I’m doing good. I like the shirt. Is this a normal podcast and shirt for you? Were you coming from work? I’m coming from work. This is a work shirt. I I brother man because I’m podcasting, you know, I I undid a button compared to shirt. I’m not I’m not letting it all out when I’m at the office. But yeah, it’s busy day running on the go. So I I I didn’t change into one of my typical podcasting shirts. I’ll tell you what, as I’m getting older, I’m getting increasingly reckless about the amount of buttons I’ve got loose in the wild. You know, I feel like for most people it’s an inverse thing where, you know, they want to get more buttoned up as they get older. I’m getting reckless, brother. I I think that’s just you tapping into your heritage right there a little bit. I think it is. I do think it is. Little bit of that Cuban heritage coming out soon. It’s going to be all the way down to your chest. And you know what? I love that for you, buddy. I You know, let it all hang out. What What What do you got to hide it for? Yeah, absolutely. It’s You know, I have pride. Okay. I actually don’t. But you know, nevertheless, you should listener. Uh, yes, absolutely. And you know what? Speaking of our listeners, you guys should be prideful because every time we call out for mailbag questions, you guys deliver. You guys bring it. And we really, really do appreciate that. So, enough small talk. Let’s kick things off. Project NBA asked Carter, “What two lineup combinations that you both see Kenny actually running with this season do you think will have the highest net ratings next season?” I’m going to kick this off cuz I feel pretty strongly uh about my answer here. My two two lineups. The first is the core four and whatever small four doesn’t start. So, if they start Max, it’s going to be the one with Hunter. If they start Hunter, it’s going to be the one with Max. And the reason for that is whoever’s starting is going to play more high leverage minutes. We saw this last season where the the core four with Max was phenomenal. It had a great net rating. The Hunter one was just a little bit better. I think whoever is starting the inverse lineup is going to be the one that comes in, attacks some second units, and just gets a little bit easier of time. Do you have a candidate that you think is going to be among the Cavs two best net rating lineups next year? Can I eat a little crow real quick first? I read this is what twoman lineup combinations do you think he’ll run? They have the best ever. I’m like Darius and Jared and Donnie and Evan. I don’t know, man. Seems pretty easy. So So whoops. Um I guess cutting corners. I guess we’ll open up with a whoops. Um, uh, you know, I do think, uh, I think Lonzo is going to be a plus minus superstar. Like, and I I, you know, my first instinct was going to be pretty, I think you have a very good answer, first off, so kudos to you, brother. Um, but I still actually think those guys are still going to be playing in too many high leverage minutes. like your net rating leaders don’t tend to be your starters or even your second best lineup. It’s like your third or your fourth most played lineup that is really playing against, you know, where where the world is lined up in a way where you’re just consistently running second units off the floor. Yeah. So, I think it’s going to be like some weirdo lineup like Alonzo, Darius, uh, you know, Larry, Evan, like for summer, something weird like that that’s just going to blow teams out of the water. Like, I mean, do you offhand know what our best lineup was uh last year? It depends kind of like where you’re going with from a minute standpoint. Yeah. And when I say by minutes, to be very clear, I mean like that plays real minutes, you know, uh, you know, if you play at least like 60 70 minutes, like I just pulled it up. The Cavs best fiveman lineup last last year was, uh, Levert, Nyang, Mitchell, Mel, Mobly. They had a plus 34.2 net in their 84 minutes. 84 minutes. Okay. Yeah. I’m I’m trying to think of ones, you know, I’m sure it’s going to be something funky like that. How many lineups for the Cavs played 100 minutes last year? Uh, seven. Three. Oh my god, that’s wild. Yep. I’m trying to think of ones that are going to be used frequently. So, that that’s why I’m thinking, you know, core four. And for for a frame of reference, Justin, sorry to keep interrupting you. That was our fourth most played fiveman unit last year. That’s unbelievable. That is unbelievable. I I think the other one that comes to mind, so I’m I you know, core four with whoever the other small forward is would would be one of my answers. My other answer is I think it’s going to be Donnie with whichever big Kenny ends up pairing him with this season. I I can see him going back to Moy. I I think there’s a case for that with the playmaking. I could see it going back to Jared. Whoever Donnie in that big is along with Lonzo, Max, and Hunter. And the reason for that is we crush teams when we are staggering. Um, you know that it’s one of the the things that makes the Cavs so difficult to play against in the regular season is you’re always having at least two all-star level talents on the court at all times with role players that make a lot of sense. I don’t think the version uh of the staggered lineups that’s going to be as good this year is going to be the Darius one just because when he does come back from that toe surgery, I don’t think you’re going to see 100% Darius right away. I think, you know, they’re going to ease them back into it. I don’t expect that lineup to be as productive. Whereas Donovan’s going to have a lot of opportunities to play with these guys. He’s going to have, you know, a lot of chemistry with this group. We saw a lot of lineup stability with him uh in those staggered units. So, I I think that lineup’s just going to crush where it’s Donnie with Lonzo, Max, Hunter, Mobley, uh, as an example. Nasty lineup, man. That’s a fun fun lineup. And I I think it would be really hard for teams to deal with them on both ends of the court, honestly. Yeah. That is that your five uh that close with Darius out to start the year? Not necessarily. Um, I think I might end up closing with Donnie, Lonzo, Hunter, Mobly Allen. Um, I don’t think I would automatically default to, you know, Hunter at the four. I love the size that you can have with Hunter at the three. Um, I’m also assuming that the Cavs are going to be playing and closing games with the lead more frequently than not. I don’t think they’re going to be chasing. I think that’s my closing with the lead lineup. And then if I need to get buckets in a hurry, I’m downshifting a little bit to Hunter at power forward and max at small forward. Yeah, I think that’s fair. Anyway, sorry that got a soft mailbag, but it jumped out at me. Hey, no, no problem. That’s the thing about mailbags there. It’s always, you know, free flowing thoughts. There’s always other things that we come from it. Uh, next question. Josh says, “I saw a tweet that the Cavs have very little movement slashimpact to their offense.” Um he is referencing a chart uh from uh basketball index that cites both the movement impact and movement attack rate for NBA teams. The Cavs are right at the league average line in terms of movement impact but are the second lowest uh in movement attack rate. Uh his question is does that need to change with how good the offense was last year? And looking at this chart, um, you know, I I’m not as familiar with the specifics. You know, when when you have something half court specific and, you know, attack rate and things like that. Obviously, the Cavs are a league average in terms of the efficiency within this metric. But I look at some of the teams around them. Third is the Oklahoma City Thunder. Uh, then right behind them is the Indiana Pacers. And like I I feel like I don’t have to go a full a whole lot longer. That’s the the two teams that were in the NBA finals. The Thunder had a terrific offense this year. The Pacers had a dominant offense once they got going. There’s a lot of movement within their offense, but I I think what this shows is the difference between wasted movement and efficient movement, right? I I think the Cavs obviously still have room to grow off of those types of sets. Um, but you look at this and there’s not really a whole strong correlation in terms of offensive efficiency. So, while I’d like to see more creation from a variety of different ways, I don’t think there necessarily has to be movement for the sake of movement. I I liked how the offense and the cuts felt last season. Yeah. I mean, it just feels like uh they had a real high calorie uh you know, high caloric and like nutritional value movement where like I didn’t watch them and feel like they were a static offense or like a an everyone spots up in and waits. like they don’t run a lot of crazy, you know, Steph style pin down actions where, you know, Darius runs through six screens around and shoots like that’s not really what they do. They still are an offense that, you know, generates their advantages in other ways. That’s probably why they don’t rate crazy high on that metric. But like I don’t think you know it’s just like a lot of a lot of these metrics like high doesn’t always mean like you know the big one that jumped out was is passes per game. You know high doesn’t always mean good. Uh low doesn’t always mean bad. It’s just you know it’s what are you getting out of the passes you make? And in this case what are you getting out of the motion you do have. And I think for the most part in the regular season especially like they they got a lot of juice out of that particular squeeze. Yeah. I totally agree there. Uh, next question, uh, live from the YouTube chat is Drew M, who asks, “Do you guys think Tristan’s push for number 13 in the Raptors is over?” I’m going to presume he means like because is he going to play one more year? Cuz uh, you know, whether you want to uh, have Tristan’s number retired, your mileage may vary on that, but nothing this off season should determine that. Um, I, you know, I got to say the way I feel and like this is not informed in any way. Every day I see the Cavs don’t sign someone else, my percentage of a Tristan Thompson return feels like it goes up a little a little notch, a little okay, you know, just a little. It’s like it’s like a dial and we’re just cranking it up one tick every day as we get closer to camp. Um, you got to expect they’re going to fill this thing by camp, right? Yeah. Yeah, I would assume so. Well, at least one of them. Yeah. So, um you know that obviously Tristan’s still working out really, really hard. Clearly isn’t ready for his NBA journey to be over. And like there’s worse things to do than have that continuity, have that leadership in the locker room and that connection to your title team. Um uh so I’m going to say maybe it’s over. What do you think, Justin? I’m going to, you know, let’s just cover our bases here. Let’s tag team this. you you’re taking it as is his NBA journey over or at least his chapters with the Cavs. I’m I’m going to take it the other way where is he going to continue making a case for it? I think the case for it already existed uh after he left Cleveland the the first time um you know I I think his contributions to the championship team were were you know warrant his number being up in the rafters. I think everything that you hear behind the scenes in terms of what he was as a leader and is as a leader uh with for this team uh that weighs heavily to me and you know every franchise has different standards for retired jerseys. Um but to me I always interpret it as you know is the connection there with the fans. Is this going to be something that’s meaningful? And you know I I think back to the 2016 finals. I think he was the third most impactful player in that series uh with with Kevin Love suffering that concussion. Uh he was reliable. He was that guy that allowed them to neutralize the death lineup, right? To to make the Warriors greatest strength a weakness in that series with his ability to defend Steph to to switch out onto the perimeter and still play with decent size. Uh so I I absolutely think so. And you know, nothing he does, you know, on the court, even if he does return, makes me think like it’s either strengthening or weakening his case. Um, I I think the only thing that could weaken a case uh for a jersey retirement is, you know, something that happens off court, right? And I, you know, there there’s never been any indications uh that that Tristan has been anything other than a leader with this group. But it does tie into a question uh that that Mason had u which I I think we should probably just get to at this point, which is considering the injury histories of Nance, Hunter, Wade, can the Cavs really afford to use a roster spot on someone like Tristan who shouldn’t really be on the court anymore, right? like a it’s kind of the ceremonial role. Carter, what are your thoughts there? Um, I think there is like Yeah, I mean, if you’re going to ask me, are you worried about a big getting hurt? Um, yeah, I am worried about that. Um, and I do think I would like to them to use that 14th spot on someone I’d like to see be able to play uh and feel comfortable playing, you know. And by the way, I felt that way about Tristan two years ago. I thought he gave them really, really good minutes. Last year, less so. Um, you know, saw some more cracks um in the armor last year. Uh, but I do think sometimes people look at like, oh well, uh, you know, oh, they added another injury-prone guy and then, you know, they feel that way. But I’m always like, well, I mean, it’s still like you basically you’re just looking at the aggregate chance of having your rotation meaningfully affected by injury and by having another player that you really like and Larry in the front court like if one of someone gets hurt, you’re still better insulated than you were for your bigs than you were last year. Yeah. The depth chart last year was Moy, Yang, Wade, right? Yeah. Wade was your backup five. Yeah, he he was your backup five and in a lot of cases backup four, right? Like we we’re playing downshifting uh with with Nyang, but I I think when there was injuries, we saw that Wade kind of stepped up in that role to your point. Yeah. So like I I feel like um I feel like people want to like say like that like they’re somehow less uh insulated just because Larry has gotten hurt quite a bit in his career. That’s still not true. You know, they’re more insulated. I think it’d be more true if we moved Wade for Lonzo instead of Okoro, right? Like then I think you you have some front court depth questions there. Yeah. With that said, I still would like a a five. I’d like a pure five uh as as a backup signing, someone who I really trust to play those minutes. Um and uh yeah, so I think it’s a fair question, but I’m not sure the framing is fair. Does that make sense? Yeah, I think so. Right. like it’s I I think the bar like if we’re talking about the 15th man and the 15th roster spot, I think that that would be a bit of a different conversation. But even if you do sign Tristan, you do have the flexibility to to sign someone else. With that being said, even as you know, a diehard Tristan fan here, I I think I’d prefer to see them go another direction. I think Larry provides a lot of kind of that locker room leadership and you know we’re kind of at that point too where you know it should be Donovan, it should be Darius, it should be Evan, it should be Kenny, it should be Max, right? Like we have a lot of guys that either have proven to be those types of leaders in the past or have you know um you know should be stepping up into that role that should be empowered into those roles. So, um I I do think trying to find what options are available to you that that can improve your roster the most should be the priority rather than, hey, let’s get a veteran voice in here, right? Like, you know, Darius is turning 26. Donny’s in his prime. Evans, you know, already an AllNBA player, defensive player of the year. Um, you know, I I think the the baton from a leadership standpoint needs to be with the best players. Yeah. And I’m I do think it’s okay to go get a veteran. It’s just a veteran that you are comfortable playing 10 minutes in a playoff game. Yeah, I think that really I think when you’re this good of a team, you kind of can’t have a guy on the roster. You can’t go out of your way to get a guy that you don’t want to give 10 minutes to in a playoff game. Yeah, totally agree. Uh, next question from HJ17. With Larry Nance signing, do you think Kenny starts Hunter or Dean since he now has a reliable option to play backup power forward again? I think the Cavs had the best winning percentage with Dean last regular season. Carter, your thoughts? Uh, it’s a good question. Um, and it’s probably my favorite thing about the Larry signing is that um is that it does make it easier to to give DeAndre minutes at the three. Um what I’m really interested in is if and but I don’t so first I’ll answer the question then I’ll pivot a little bit. answer the question. I don’t think it drives the decision m that much because I don’t think that’s the reason they didn’t start DeAndre last year. Like I don’t think they were like ah we don’t have enough four backup four help like cuz they like Dean last year you know uh and gave Dean a lot of minutes last year. So I don’t think that’s the reason. Um so I don’t think it will be the reason this year even though I would like to see DeAndre start uh this year. Um, I think what is more meaningful is how many minutes DeAndre plays at the three. And I think what drives that more than anything is actually whether the 10th man minutes go to Jaylen Tyson or Dean Wade. Because if if you’re giving Larry Nance, you know, 15 to 20 minutes a game, you’re giving Dean 10 to 15 or 15 to 20 minutes a game, you’ve got you’ve got your 96 minutes of power forward and center spoken for at that point. And basically you’re agreeing that DeAndre Hunter should play all every single minute at the three. Um whether he starts or not, which is what I want and would be the happiest with uh and thus uh you know, so that that kind of feels like a a weirdly important lever for DeAndre Hunter. Normally the normally the ninth and tenth men don’t determine the six man’s usage, but in this case I think it might just by proxy. Yeah. Yeah. No, it makes sense, right? Like there’s ripple effects with any lineup decision that you make, right? And I think we saw that last year that it was basically necessary for them to to play smaller uh for the season because you wanted to have Tai out there with with either Donnie or or DG every time one of them subbed off the court. Um, I I do think, you know, the the point about Wade having the best winning percentage with with him in the regular season, I think it’s worth noting that of the lineup combinations that the Cavs had along with the core four, the Wade one was the least effective, right? Like, uh, Wade got hurt, uh, Okoro subbed into that starting lineup and then when Wade came back, they stuck with Okoro. The the the Okoro starting five outperformed the Dean Wade starting five, right? And um you know I think sometimes people kind of bring out the measuring tape and they just assume okay because he’s 610 that’s going to be the their best defensive lineup when in reality the the Dean Wade lineup was considerably worse on defense compared to the Max Duce lineup. Um it was half as effective from a net rating standpoint. That Max Duce lineup had a 107 defensive rating. Like that’s pretty damn good. that in fact like they had a 107 defensive rating against the Indiana Pacers. Again, that that would be an elite defensive rating for the entire season. So, it’s not like they’re getting cooked on that end. Um, I do think that there is a legitimate, you know, argument for starting DeAndre Hunter. The limited sample that we got with Hunter in the core four, that was their most effective lineup. Um, it was only 73 possessions in the regular season, but that lineup absolutely rocks. So, I I don’t see any scenario where Dean gets the starting nod, but I do think that it could, as you said, have a ripple effect that that What’s that? What if though? That would be wild. That would be pretty wild. Um that that would certainly be a surprise and that would certainly help uh out with the bench scoring. That’s for sure. Um Mike asks, “Do you think keeping Hunter in a bench role may help with uh keeping him healthy? He certainly battled injuries over the years, particularly with his knees, but he was pretty healthy during his time with the Cavs last season. I’m gonna say no. No, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think whether he starts or is off the bench has any material effect on his um on on his health cuz he’s pretty much going to if anything you could argue starting at the three for this team would save him more banging than being a backup four at times last season having to guard you know bigger stronger dudes. So I’m leaning towards an immediate no. But do you have any other thoughts? No, I I don’t think where he starts is going to make a big difference, right? Like when we talked about our rotations, I kind of have DeAndre and Max both penciled in for 28 minutes. I I think that’s what it’s going to be regardless of who’s starting. And honestly, like I don’t think there’s anything magic about minutes per game when it comes to preventing injuries. I think where that comes into effect is, hey, you just played, you know, 38 minutes in or 40 minutes in an overtime game. It was the first night of a backto-back. you’re a little hurt and we’re going to let you play through it the next day. I think that kind of cumulative wear and tear that has way way more impact than does someone average 32 minutes per game versus 34 minutes per game. I think there’s so much more context that goes behind those averages. And I think sometimes we kind of micromanage that um in terms of thinking we have some ability to control whether or not there are wear and tear injuries. If you’re playing, you know, 34 minutes per game and and you’re not playing any back tobacks and and it doesn’t really spike a whole lot more than that and, you know, teams being cautious when you’re banged up, I think you’re fine. So, I I I wouldn’t make lineup decisions based on that with DeAndre Hunter, but if you are going to implement some form of a minute restriction, you may think about what situation you want to prioritize. Do you think it’s more important for him to be with the starting lineup? Do you think it’s more important for him to be with the closing lineup? It is possible to have him do both and still manage those minutes, but then you have to be really conscious about how you’re using him within the the staggered lineups, right? Like when are how much are you playing him with the bench, right? When are those substitutions going to come? So, I don’t think any one starting location kind of, you know, silos him into a specific role in terms of he can only start or close, but I do think that he’s someone that warrants consideration when it comes to how many minutes you’re giving him and when. Yeah, that’s absolutely fair. Going back to the YouTube chat, Joseph Santos says, “The Mavs need to wave someone to sign Dante Exom. Would Dwight Powell be a good third backup center for the Cavs?” I’ll let you answer before I answer cuz I have some wider thoughts about this. This I think this is a really nice thought starter uh for people to pay attention to. But first, I’d like you to answer the actual question. This is a tricky one because I’m looking down at my soundboard and I don’t have one for the Canadian national anthem. Um but yes, I I would sign Dwight Powell. I I would like him uh on the Cavs as a 14th man. Yeah, I I kind of feel like I would just resign Tristan at that point. Uh, yeah. I mean, he only played like, you know, he only played 55 games last year, 10 minutes a game, mop-up duty. You know, he’s getting to a different point in his career. He’s already, this is going to be his age 34 season, which is crazy. Um, so I mean, and I’ve just never been the hugest Dwight Powell fan. Um, so I’m not super into it. Uh, but I, you know, wise minds could disagree. Uh, but the reason I liked the question actually is because it’s an it’s a good opportunity to jump into some roster mechanic stuff when you’re looking at the remaining free agent market and canvasing kind of what might happen. And uh, you know, there are teams that need to cut players just to be roster compliant. Keith Smith wrote up a re friend of the pod, Keith Smith, wrote up a really nice article on spot track where he talked about which teams need to sign players to hit the minimums and which teams need to wave players to uh to to you know be uh you know under the maximum or at the maximum. And so it cuz this kind of helps inform because a lot of teams are going to be happy to sit at at the you know the exact amount of at the 14 rostered spots and just you know put their hands up and be ready to go into the year you know. Uh so uh the three team there are three teams right now that need to wave players per the article that came out two days ago. Some of these might have changed a little bit. The Brooklyn Nets need to wave at least two players. The Charlotte Hornets need to wave at least three players and the Mavericks need to wave at least one. So if you’re looking at uh you know potential options for the Cavs in that 14th spot, yes, you should be looking at the free agency market, but you also might want to be looking at those teams rosters, see who’s at the bottom, who might be the odd man out and see if there’s, you know, maybe an option there that might become available in a minute. Uh then on the other side, you know, because I was looking, there’s still a lot of really good players out there in free agency right now. A lot of interesting names that I would be really happy to see join the Cavs. And so I was say, you want to look at the other side of who has to sign players still. Cavs do. You cannot run into the NBA season with 13 rostered players. The Cavs will make a signing before it’s all said and done. So the Cavs are one of those teams. The Pistons are one of those teams. Uh and then you uh the Sixers are one of those teams. So those are three teams that want to need to sign one player. Then the Knicks have to sign two. So if you’re like looking for a So if you’re like if you’re looking at the top guys left in free agency, you got to be worried about the Knicks cuz they don’t have as much depth as the Cavs do and they got to make two signings. So that’s really interesting. And then Justin, the Golden State Warriors need to sign a whopping five players before the season starts. You know, it it’s funny to see, you know, how our taste changed. We talked about that a little bit at the start of the podcast. Apparently, the same is true for the Golden State Warriors who no longer believe in strength and numbers. I guess not. I mean, obviously there’s a lot of reporting about DeAnthony Melton and Al Horford, uh, you know, being kind of soft pencled in and just waiting for the Kuminga thing to resolve itself before those things finish. But my word, but yeah, I mean, you look at it, there’s only five teams that need to sign people before the start of the season. So, yeah, you’re really not competing in that big of a pool for the, you know, in terms of the teams that must make a transaction. Not to say there aren’t some teams at 14 that won’t happily go to 15. Not everyone operates as the Cavs generally have. But I just want I thought that was a helpful summary just to kind of look at the landscape for the for what remains of free agency before we get into training camp. I I think it is a very helpful summary and I think you know the decision-m goes beyond that as well. Like there are likely going to be some veterans that are bought out as well, right? and the Cavs still have the flexibility to sign a bought out player regardless of what their previous contract was uh in the offseason, right? Like that doesn’t come into effect. That sec second apron restriction is not in effect until the season actually gets going. So, it’s not surprising uh to to see that the Cavs are maybe weighing their options, seeing who gets cut, seeing who gets bought out. I’m sure they’ve talked to free agents, but when you see someone like Chris Buché go to, you know, the Celtics, that was someone that we both really liked. But he might have a chance to start there, right? Like he he or if not started for more than what the Caps can pay, by the way, right? Like he he might at the very least be first off the the bench when it comes to the big. So there’s a lot of variables here. There’s a lot of things to keep track of. And sometimes I struggle to keep track of everything, Carter. That’s why I rely on ZoomAI Companion cuz only you can do your best work. Zoom AAI Companion can help you do the rest like automatically taking notes, answering meeting questions, and helping you respond to your coworker. Available at no additional cost with eligible paid plans. Work happy with Zoom Companion. Rather, that Celtic step chart is dire. I just pulled it up. Like it’s a little funky. It’s White Pritchard. Okay, that’s feeling pretty good. Simon Sh. Calling him White Pritchard. Oh, that’s hilarious. Derek White, Peyton Pritchard, then it’s Anthony Simons, Baylor Shyman, then it’s Jaylen Brown, Sam Howser. Uh, also Sam Hower’s the starting power forward. Uh, with Xavier Tilman, and then it’s Kada Boucher, Garza at the five, you know, to fill out the How many How many wins are they going to have right now? Don’t think too hard about it. 37. I was gonna say it’s hard to imagine a team that starved of like I mean I think they’re going to make moves in the middle of season two, right? Like I I think they might just sell off guys. I think Mark said they were only a couple million away from the first apron and being getting under that like man. I assume they’ll be cautious with Brown’s meniscus too and you know Derek White’s old too. So like there’s just so many variables there. What a wild team. You know, I was just thinking about how I got to set up some of our interviews here to do our kind of offseason contender or, you know, in the past it was always teams in the Cavs kind of sphere, right? Like that we’ll be competing up against. It’s going to be really weird to not do that with the Boston Celtics this year, but there there’s just no reason to have them on. Uh, next question from our buddy Alex. Any chance DeAndre Hunter starts the season as the starting small forward? Uh yeah, I think there’s a really good chance. Um I does am I crazy or does this actually feel like a very rare NBA camp battle? Like yeah, where I just kind of feel like if I’m Kenny, I’m just going to be like whoever plays better gets it. Like like because I think both of them have clear demonstrated strengths with that group. I think they each have some things maybe they’re not so, you know, that may I wouldn’t say they take off the table, but you know, aren’t necessarily strengths. Both of them are pretty high floor players um on average. And it’s just going to be like, well, who’s better? Who’s better? Cuz better might be a a very reasonable thing here. And like, you know, you don’t see a lot of camp battles in the NBA for starting spots. you see them for like rotation minutes or existence on the roster, but like this does feel like a very potential like a real camp battle where it’s like if I’m Kenny, if I’m Kenny, I’m coming in and saying, “Who wants it? Come get it.” You know, like it’s good. You know, you have to draw a really fine line in a team construct when you’re having like intra teamam competition. Mhm. Uh but it’s a healthy thing sometimes and a little a little edge uh is does not hurt a team and I think this is a good spot to demonstrate that you know quality quality wins. I I think the other variable is how do you balance the lineups and the rotation the best, right? Like we we know when we think back to, you know, the golden age of Spurs basketball, Mano Ginobi was very clearly one of their best players, but he was coming in off the bench because Papovic liked what it did to to balance out the rotation and, you know, have that scoring punch come in off the bench, have someone that can run that second unit. And I I think that there’s a lot of variables to consider when it comes to Hunter versus Struce. I mentioned on the last podcast that I really like the idea of Hunter coming in off the bench because I think those lineups, particularly in the time with DG out um off the bench, are going to need a bit of a scoring punch. I think they’re going to need that to to balance out those lineups. And if you want to be cautious with his minutes, it might make it easier to close with them. But as I said before, just because you start with Hunter doesn’t mean that you can’t close with him and still manage his minutes, right? can still have him with that starting group. You can sub him out right away. Um, and you know, I I think there’s a case for Max, even though he’s not the same scorer as Hunter, playing with the bench because he is someone that gives you that movement shooting. He creates opportunities for other guys. He’s a better playmaker than Hunter. And, you know, I I think he’d be playing primarily as a shooting guard there, maybe with Lonzo and Donnie or uh some other combination like that. And allows you to play bigger. it allows you to have Dean out there. Maybe Dean and Larry along with one of the bigs and and really lean into the defense. So, I think it could go either way and I I’m mostly with you that I I think it should come down to to who whoever earns those minutes, right? It’s the same thing that we feel with with Jaylen Tyson versus Craig Pa Jr. and, you know, Proctor, all of these kind of battles for various spots within the rotation. The only way you can fairly do it on a team with a lot of guys that deserve minutes is to give it to whoever earns them. Yeah, I think that’s very very fair. It’s going to be an interesting battle. I’m I’m I’m excited to see and it’s one of those things where I’m trying to almost work make sure I don’t work myself up to like like almost get too overex. Oh yeah. to invest on a side where it’s like there isn’t really a wrong answer here. Um and and the Cavs will be very good no matter who starts. Uh so it’s really to your point a a big factor of you know just what does the coaching staff believe and what do they want out of like the holistic roster. Yeah. You’re you’re not doing it to solve a problem, right? Like I as I mentioned before that Max Drew lineup 107D rating in the regular season, 107D rating against the Indiana Pacers. Uh with the rest of the core four, uh the defense hasn’t been an issue. You look back to them getting eliminated against the Celtics. Garland, Mitchell, uh Strus and Moy with no Jared Allen to back them up. I think a lot of those minutes even came with George Nyang. Um that lineup outscored the Celtics in that series in a series that we lost. That that hasn’t been an issue. So, you’re choosing between two options that have been very successful for you last season. And, you know, I I I understand where people are coming from. I was in the Hunter camp last year. Uh I saw our our buddy Luca from Real Cavs fans was kind of posting about uh the core four effectiveness and net rating uh particularly in the playoffs the last two years. I understand that that hasn’t been good, but I think a lot of that has been on the offense. We we’ve talked about that pretty extensively. And when I look back at the last two years, I don’t think net rating in situations where Darius, Donovan, and Evan are all playing hurt is has really anything to do with Max. Um, and uh, Luca did have a really good question though, which came with some good stats and research that he did, which is does bench scoring really matter? And you know, I made the case last week that I I wanted Hunter scoring to come in off the bench. And here are the regular season bench scoring ranks by NBA champions. Just a little context before we give our answers. OKC last year 18th, Boston 26th, Denver 19th, Golden State 11th. Shout out strength and numbers. Milwaukee 19th, Lakers 11th, Toronto 17th, Golden State 22nd, Golden State 21st, and Cleveland 28th. Carter, your thoughts. Does bench scoring matter? I don’t know if it matters as much as bench I do think bench impact matters but like in terms of like especially in uh like an era where we just don’t do the thing like there’s not going to be a game that the Cavs are really trying to win that they’re like hey uh DeAndre you’re going to play with four non-scorers we need you like they’re always going to have offensive threats on the for because no one runs fiveman bench units, you know, like so like part of me is just like I don’t know if it matters that much as long as you’ve got punch. I do think like having punch in multiple spots and being balanced and where you can hurt teams matters like you know like I don’t like what the Cavs did to end that series against Indie where it was just the guards trying to generate buckets but does it do I care if it’s you know I I don’t believe in putting a low usage guy in your starting lineup so you can make sure you get bench scoring you know cuz like it’s just So yeah, I think in short I agree with Luca. I don’t think it matters. Yeah, I I mostly agree. I I think what matters is are you able to have functioning lineups for 48? Do your lineups win games? Like you need do you have enough scoring when your starting five isn’t in? And that scoring may still come from a member of the starting five, right? Like I I look at some of those teams, those past NBA champions and those staggered lineups, whether it’s hey, we’re bringing on in Andre Gadella or you know, uh Stevenson or like who whomever, right? Like uh Sean Livingston. Um so so many different guys. I don’t know. You know, I I meant Livingston. Don’t don’t don’t push that. We talk about Lance Stevenson. Hey, you know what? He he brought that punch for Indie coming in off the bench. Don’t don’t you dare question his contributions to the game, my friend. Um he just made up an NBA player like like it was going to be okay. I I meant Livingston. That’s the worst part. My my brain is so fried right now. Um but you know, I I all those guys, they would come in and they would bring something to the table, right? And when I’m talking about having DeAndre Hunter out there with the bench, I’m thinking, okay, these lineups might struggle to score a little bit with with Darius not out there in in some of these iterations. I’d like to see Hunter give them a little bit of a punch. That could be true even if he is a starter and is playing with some of these bench lineups. So then the question becomes, how can you kind of maximize and get him easy looks so that whoever is going to be the play finishers in these bench lineups are put in uh positions to succeed where they don’t have to really kind of basically do what Donovan Mitchell did against the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers. So, I don’t think it really matters, but I I do think having functioning lineups um throughout your rotation, throughout all all the different shift changes that you do is the most important thing. And sometimes you are going to make tradeoffs in order to, you know, have a balanced 48 minutes. But I agree with you. I don’t think you want to have a novel starter out there. um you know just being low usage so that you can have that column that says bench scoring reflect one thing or another. Yep. Absolutely, brother. All right. Next question is from uh Stevenson, Mason Stevenson. Uh are there any particular zone lineups you’re looking forward to like DeAndre or someone else long at the head of the 32 like we saw with Evan in the zone? Do you tend to prefer smaller guys like Sam to be in front or would you prefer for them to be in the back to secure the corner and leave longer guys in front to contain? Carter, your thoughts on the zone? Um, I like it best when you have as big of a lineup as possible out there and as mobile of a lineup as possible out there. I don’t like it when guys are having to to scramble out or get tagged out in weird spots or anything like that. Um, you know, even though clearly clearly the Pacers had figured out that 3-2 uh by uh by the end of that series, I still liked that they did it. I like it as a as a break glass in case of emergency. And I still think that’s the most interesting and unique zone the Cavs can play. Um, you know, and in some cases, part of me wonders if like the reliance on the zone last year was like almost a bit of a crutch, little of a little bit of a band-aid. So where like they’re not guarding well, so let’s try the zone. And sometimes it did work. I don’t want to, you know, I think it it won them some games. I think kind of indisputably it won them some games. Um but I just part of me wonders if that like at the highest level you can’t do that for like an entire quarter. Um so like I think I just kind of want to see less zone because of that general belief system. Obviously, again, reasonable minds can disagree, but if they’re going to play zone, I do like the Moy at the front of the zone the best with Hunter and Allen down at the at the two uh the two pivots. Yeah, I I think I like 3-2 zone with this team um more than I like the two three. In general, you want to have the smaller guys up front, at least in my opinion. Uh especially when we’re talking about, you know, Darius and Donovan in particular or, you know, even Sam. I like having Larry for this purpose because I I think whether it is Hunter or Moy at the top of the 32, having Larry and Allen, uh you know, Wade and Allen, uh even Larry and Wade in some configurations, I think all of that works really well and allows you to be versatile. I think you have guys that can protect the rim, that can defend out in space. I think the Cavs can use more effective zone lineups with more length. So, so getting back to what you said, I like having length if you’re going to go to it. Um, but I I would like to see a little bit more variety in terms of the the looks that they throw. I think everything that they did I liked at times, but it just felt like they stuck in it a little too long. And, you know, you really have to rely on your guys if you’re going to change up, you know, your your coverages and things on the fly. You really have to rely on that defensive communication. Um, so I I would like to see that be an area of growth for the Cavs where all right, we’re going, you know, 3-2 for a couple possessions, now we’re going back to man. Um, they’re they’re show or maybe there’s a specific look you’re looking for from the offense. And when you see that, when you see them start to initiate a set, you you switch into zone. I’d love to be able to see them display that kind of versatility on defense. I just think it comes down to communication. Absolutely, brother. Uh the second half of Mason’s question is any offensive actions you’re hoping to see back in the offense? I personally want to see more double screening action where one big rolls and one pops. I love the horn sets Carter. Uh and you know the one kind of look that I’m looking forward to and maybe this is something that they’re going to get to work on with DG out. I want to see Evan Mobley handling in those situations with either DeAndre or Wade and you know probably Donovan Mitchell. I I want to see, you know, let’s have those two guys as kind of the horns, Moy as the ball handler, have, you know, Donnie step up first to see if they try to pre- switch it and get a small on there, and then maybe have Wade or Hunter come in as the screener, have Mobley attack that mismatch. I I think you kind of confuse the defense in terms of having both the smalls and bigs involved in that. Moy is so versatile as an offensive player and you have to really kind of pick your poison in terms of what he’s going to do. I I would love to see Moy as the ball handler in those types of sets. I think that’s the the one thing I’m really looking forward to. Uh I think uh that’s a great shout and mine is also a Mobly as the lead creator. Uh I want to see and I feel like they kind of didn’t do this as much last year um as compared to uh under JB. I want to see more elbow catches for Moley that flow into big big pick and rolls with Allen. Uh I think they get a I think it breaks a lot of big man defenders brains to have to navigate a pick and roll together. Uh a switch is really easy to slip when you’re that close to the basket for an alleyoop. Um, I think it, you know, if you space well around it, you can you can run a short pick and roll like that without a tremendous amount of uh of help crashing down in the pass because Mobley is in the center of the court. The the angles for passes are easy. Um, I just really like I like those plays. And I feel like it also is like a a straight up like requirement that Moy does something aggressive with the ball like cuz you can’t like you can’t like waltz through a tight quarters pick and roll. Like everything has to be aggressive and decisive to do it. And uh I just think that’s one of their little cheat codes that they went away from at times last year. And I want to see them really like I want that to be like like an entree uh uh in their offense, not a fun dessert every every now and again. I like that answer. I like that answer a lot. Um this next one I combined two questions from Adam and Brian. Uh they were asking about the De’Aran Fox extension. Um, there I guess is some questions or speculation that the extension for Fox with the Spurs is to allow them to go big game hunting in the future might not be a long-term commitment with them. Uh, especially with the rumors of them uh favoring uh pairing WBY with Darius last off season. Uh, do you think the Spurs really intend to stick with Fox longterm or is that a trade chip for later? I will say, you know, obviously last offseason there was a lot of rumors um that the Spurs had interest in Darius. Uh you you listen to the reporting of national guys like Brian Winhorse and whatnot of the offers that they were making and it did seem like they were making lowball offers. Um I think it makes a lot of sense, but I think a lot of things have changed since then. Stfan Castle has really stepped up. Uh Harper, I really like him as a prospect. And when you look at this extension for Fox, it with the Cavs being in the second apron, Fox making a whole lot more than Darius on an annual basis moving forward doesn’t make that feasible for for likely, right? I I think uh from a salary perspective, you’re you’re kind of more in that Donovan Mitchell range and Fox and Darius don’t make any sense together. So, I don’t think that this has anything to do with the Cavs as far as them having other pursuits. you know, we’re we’re not reporters with the Cavs. We certainly aren’t that on on the national level. Uh we’re not well sourced or anything like that. Um so I I could see it. I think anytime you have two, you know, point guards or or guards uh that you’ve drafted with high capital um and certainly high potential. I think that there’s the potential to move off a third guard for having it. But Stfan Castle and Harper are both, you know, 66 67. I think you could pretty feasibly run three guard sets if you want to. So, I think, you know, it made sense for San Antonio, but I I don’t think that their plans have anything to do with the Cavs if I had to guess. I’m sorry. You don’t pay a guy over 30% of the cap as a trade chip, especially a guy like that doesn’t have like no doubt pedigree. Like if anything, it’s a little divisive in terms of I thought this was a wild deal given the other the state of San Antonio’s overall roster for a guy who’s going into his age 29 season. Um I’m blown away by this deal to be honest by the reporting terms. Um I thought you know if and and if they wanted to move him and just you know recoup some value like because by the way they didn’t give up that much value for him like so they wouldn’t need to recoup a lot to be like net neutral. Um it I would argue it’d probably be more movable on his prior expiring than this. Um yeah it seems like they like him. I think I think they just like him and uh they like him more than I think the rest of the league likes him. Um so I I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s like some 40 chess happening here. I think the Spurs traded for a player that they liked and then retained that player that they liked and whether they made a good choice or not, you know, will be borne out by the results. Another question from our Discord. Drew asks, “Is there anyone on the Cavs right now who doesn’t play on opening night will but will be part of the playoff rotation?” My snap answer is no because Kenny plays a pretty deep rotation to begin with. And I just I just don’t real like the only guy that I could see maybe being part of this mix is Proctor, but I just don’t think a rookie is going to play meaningful rotation minutes in the playoffs for a team that has championship aspirations that for a team that’s, you know, the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference next year. I just I don’t realistically see that happening. And you know, I think the the cheat code for this answer too is if Darius isn’t playing to start the year, that opening night rotation is even larger. So, I can say that the top 11 the top 11 are probably going to play in that opening night rotation. That’s a bad faith answer. And uh for for a listener that you often critique for bad being bad faith in our dear friend Drew, how dare you? Fire, baby. How dare you? Uh, I think the answer could be Jaylen Tyson because I don’t think he he is in the rotation to start the year if the whole team’s healthy. I think Dean will be in that spot. I think Larry will be in that spot. I think Sam will be in that spot. Like all those guys I think are ahead of Jaylen on the pecking order right now. Uh, I’d be surprised to see that change to start the year. Uh, it doesn’t mean I’ it can’t happen, but like I guess my answer is whoever is number 11 on the roster when healthy has a good shot at closing the year in the rotation because this team’s pretty deep. And that number 11 will be 10th in the rotation on opening night in all likelihood. And you’re disgusting. Continue. I know. I know. Uh, Alex asks, “What’s the highest possible usage Mobly could have next season? Is higher definitely better or is that too simplistic to think about it this way?” And I want to go to a stat that I love, which is the true usage, which for those that aren’t familiar, measures not only how frequently do possessions end with you, it’s that plus how frequently how many possessions when you’re on the court do you create an assist opportunity for someone else. Is that a basketball index stat? Where’s that? That’s a basketball index. That was developed by Seth Park. Now, okay. Go ahead. So to to make it clear, uh it measures how often does a pos when you’re on the court, how often do possessions end with you taking a shot, turning the ball over, or creating an assist opportunity for someone else. Last year, Moby’s true usage rate was 35.83%. Which was 131st in the NBA. Um if you look among all NBA players, the only ones, you know, relatively close were Carl Anthony Towns at 38.10% 10% which you know he’s mostly a spot up player that doesn’t provide a lot of playmaking and JDub at 45.49%. Uh as a reference point Donnie is at 51% and DG is at 50%. So about 15% higher than Moy. I think that needs to grow. I I I think that type of balanced approach in terms of not only upping his scoring, but how much responsibility he shares in terms of initiating the offense needs to increase. Obviously, this stat is going to favor guards. You’re not going to see a lot of big men that that are up there in this stat. Bam. Anabio is around 38%, right? I think that kind of 38% it would be my starting point. I understand it’s only 3% more, but you know that’s Damonte Sabonis. Anthony Davis is at 43%. If you can kind of get him in that range, I just think it makes the Cavs more versatile offensively. And if we’re talking about Evan Mobley developing into one of the best players in the league, you need to get that usage out of him. You can’t use him, you know, sparingly. We we we need to see exactly what we have to get what what we have in Evan Moley. And I think getting him more overall usage rather than just force-feeding him touches as a score is the most important thing. Uh you’re right uh on all this stuff. Um but I do think I can be a little reductive and say yes it is that simple and yes it is inherently a good thing. Um, and not because it inherently will drive the best results, but because it will give us the best data, the best muscle memory, and the best understanding of where this team needs to go and change and grow um as they continue on this journey. Uh, we kind of know what the ceiling is of the guard offense when things matter, you know. Yep. Um, and see the wear and tear effect on that. Yeah, we see the wear and tear effect. We see how things can gunk up if things if the if the you know I I use the Swiss watch analogy a lot with our offense. Um, you know, beautiful thing, but you get a grain of sand in there, all of a sudden things start to start to chunk up and break. Um, and like you need to find out if this is the road to a more sustainable postseason offense. Yep. And whether you find out it’s not the road or you find out it is, you need to find out because there are a lot of down the line roster implications that come come with having that information. But until you have it, we’re just guessing. So yes, it is inherently good no matter what happens. Even if the offense offensive rating is worse by five points or something this next year because you work too hard to give Mobly more usage. Um I don’t care. You need to know. You know what? I think that’s a very good guess. And you know, speaking of good guesses, our listeners sometimes the the questions they ask are so good they ask us follow-ups without even hearing our answer. Our buddy Soul asks, “How do you guys see Moy’s role expanding next season? Ideally, his usage should increase as we just said, but in what ways do you want to see him use more? Example, not just shooting more. Um, you guys mentioned on the last pod that his usage in the clutch decreased from 23 to 12%. How should the Cavs better utilize him so that he’s involved at the end of games?” Um, I already hit one of them, which is I I want to see more big big pick and rolls. Um, I want to see more elbow touches where he can face up and um, you know, make a read, whether it’s attacking, uh, you know, attacking off the dribble, mashing a post up, uh, or or, you know, just making a decision with the ball while an off ball action happens. Yeah. Um I think that’s there. I think using him as a press breaker more often and challenging his handle. Love that. Um is something I want to see that just inherently kind of gets the ball into his hands and gets him uh you know catching in motion. Um, even uh some, you know, not full-on pendowns like in the more modern uh sense where it’s like he, you know, he’s flaring all the way out to the three-point arc, but like a a short curl off a pin down where he catches the ball on the move coming up from the block to the other elbow or something like that. Like I remember that one of his game his game-winning jumper was kind of one of those plays a couple years ago. Um, so like those are the kinds of usage I’d like to see. Yeah, I want a yes and there. I I think I think everything that you said is accurate. I I’d love to see all of those things. I’d love to see him, you know, operate at the nail more. I I want him basically to go study some Kevin Garnett Minnesota tape because I I think people forget even back in those days KG was getting four or five assists a night. Uh, you know, running offense, uh, facing up guys. I I’d like to see Mobley develop that mid-range jumper. I think that would be really important just to make the dribble handoffs more potent to allow him to attack guys that are closing out at him at the nail even more. Um I I just want to see that skill set develop and then also, you know, have that skill set empowered within the offense to to have that be a consistent kind of focal point. And I I think why I really want to see that implemented in the offense is because I I believe strongly that we’re going to be able to run that even with the second unit, right? Like Larry is really good at that kind of stuff. And I think Larry is the perfect type of mentor to to help Evan uh expand his playmaking and the type of reads that that he he he is more than capable of seeing. It’s just, hey, this is, you know, this is kind of the step by step in terms of how you can add this to your game. And when you make mistakes, having that coach on the bench to point that kind of stuff out, I think it’s going to be really invaluable. Yeah, I I couldn’t agree more, man. It’s been fun. It’s fun talking about Moley. You I think I’d be bored with it by now, but I’m not. Yeah, to totally agree. So, uh Josh, final question here. Which players are on the hot seat this year? Like Ice was last season? I think this is a really unfun answer, but when you have championship aspirations, I think kind of everybody is like I I think I I everybody with the exception of Evan Mobley because I I think we are firmly building around Evan Mobley, but I think of the guards. Um you know, Darius has been banged up the last two years in the playoffs. Donovan has had, you know, the recurring calf issues and, you know, kind of lower body ailments. Um if both of them aren’t healthy again in the playoffs for the third year in a row, I think that leads to tough questions. uh if either of them are not healthy, I think that leads to tough questions. I think Jared Allen um you know, not only his own individual play, but if Evan Mobley takes a significant step forward where all of a sudden you feel different about how he can play at, you know, at the center and you have more options to to play at power forward now, maybe that that drives questions. I think there’s pressure on the coaching staff. I think there there’s pressure up and down the lineup. I think there’s pressures for guys like Max Duce and DeAndre Hunter of whether or not they can be the right role player. So, it’s not a fun answer and and maybe it’s a bit of a copout, but I do think that’s part of the game when you become a legitimate title contender. And I think the Cavs coming up short next year just makes the the the seats get a little bit warmer for everybody. Yeah, I think that’s fair. All that’s accurate. Um, if I’m going to almost interpret the question a little bit literally, uh, because I feel like with Ice, he was on the hot seat in so far as like this is his last chance to prove that we think he can even help in a playoff setting. Mhm. Um uh you know because that was because we all kind of understood what Ice was as a helpful regular season player who would have good lineup data and stuff and we were just like is is is his offense going to tank uh in the postseason again and ultimately you know proved to not be able to be something he could overcome at least with the Cavs. Um so to that end I think the answer is Dean. Um, I think Dean is going to start this year in the in the rotation and and if he doesn’t, I would actually argue that probably means that he is the hot seat already burned him, so to speak. You know what I mean? Um, but because I don’t think that’s true and I think he will start the year in the rotation. Uh, I do think this is kind of his last chance to like prove that like, hey, you know, I mean, his playoff splits are bad bad on offense. Um, and uh, you know, they got to be better. Uh, you can be as good of a defender and fundamental player as you want. You can’t shoot the way he shot uh, in the postseason. Uh, particularly being healthy for the first time in the playoffs last year, too, right? Yeah. And still get to play. So, I think if anyone’s on the hot seat in that way, it’s Dean. Yeah, totally agree with that. Uh I see one more question here just from the YouTube chat uh about true usage and I I think this is a good clarifying question. Is true usage a zero sum metric? Meaning that increasing moies means lowering someone else’s to to some extent it is right like anytime you are taking playmaking or scoring reps away from someone you know that’s going to have an impact on their usage. It doesn’t mean that, you know, for a period of time when everyone’s on the court together that the true usage is all going to add up to 100% when you take each person’s true usage because a percentage point that’s Mobil’s playmaking is still going to count within someone being the play finisher, right? Someone’s going to be taking the shot and ending that possession. So, there is going to be some overlap with that. Uh, but it does accurately capture in terms of how much usage when they’re on the court is being taken up by them. And I and I do think that it’s functionally zero sum. Maybe not in a 0 to 100 uh scale, but I do think it’s functionally zero sum. And I don’t care. I’m fine with lowering someone else’s to raise moley’s to totally agree. Right. And I I think it would pay dividends, right? I think taking some obviously we’re going to need to rely on him at the start of the year, but I think taking some playmaking reps or at least ball handling reps out of the hands of Donovan Mitchell is a good thing for him, right? Like let’s get Donovan easier shots. Let’s make him not have to work as hard. I think what teams can do throwing length at Darius and Donovan can be mitigated by using Evan Mobley. We’ve been saying that since this group has been put together. Um, but I I do really like that true usage stat just because I think it gives a more accurate picture. Like you look at Tyrese Halleurn as an example by true just usage percentage. He’s a low usage player. Like he he’s he doesn’t like register in that same way, but obviously he takes up so much of the team’s overall offense, right? Like he is the one that’s creating all these shots for the these guys. And uh I I’m don’t think anyone’s surprised to see, you know, at the top of the true usage charts. It’s Trey Young, it’s LaMelo Ball, guys that that you know dominate all that kind of stuff. And then it’s Shay Gil just Alexander. But Tyrese Halburn’s up there, right? Like he’s the in the top 10 for true usage. A regular usage, he’s barely registers. He he he’s I think he’d be like fifth on the Cavs. Uh which doesn’t capture how much responsibility a guy like that has. Yeah. base usage percentage is a very odd stat to be honest. It really is. Yeah. Like I I think it is telling. Uh I I think you can look at that and maybe like effective field goal percentage to to judge a score or true shooting percentage if you want to win. It’s just your scoring really. Right. Right. Right. So you know I I think sometimes that gets lost in the discourse or you know people that are newer to kind of stats they’ll they’ll look just at that without understanding the context of it. But um that’s that’s one of the reasons why I I like using that stat. So big thanks to everyone that that asked the questions. I you know both the initial questions and the follow-ups, the people hanging out in the chat. We really really do appreciate you guys. It helps give us content at this time of the year and hopefully it was interesting. So big big thanks to you guys. If you’re watching live on YouTube, make sure you like, subscribe, click that notification bell so you know when we’re going live. If you’re listening via podcast and you want to support us, leave us a rating, leave a review, subscribe, unsubscribe, resubscribe, and help cook those books. If you want to be part of Chasetown’s exclusive Discord chat, send a screenshot via [email protected]. However you choose to support us, we really do appreciate it. Make sure you guys are staying safe out there. Until next time, go Cavs.

Justin and Carter crack open an August Mailbag to answer listener questions!

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