Posted:
#1
I'm taking the Cavs +3 and hitting it hard.
I know Byron Scott from his Nets coaching days and he is a man of tremendous pride. While most teams have thrown in the towel and want to hit the beaches, Scott is not allowing his team to coast to the finish line with a slew of bad losses (even though they are doing everything it win).
Their last two losses have been particularly bad. A 91-77 no show against the Sixers and then a brutal 96-95 loss to the Heat who rested their top 6.
Scott made the unusual move of running a full practice between a B2B (in between the sixers and heat) because he feels he wants to go out on a positive note.
There's one other biggie. He might be fired. This may very well be Scott's last coaching game of his life and he's going to want all his players to go full throttle. Plus if he does come back next year, it's never a good thing to go out losing 6 in a row.
Here's his quote before ten Heat game:
"I'm not throwing in the towel," Cavaliers coach Scott said. "I mean, just show up for the game? No, this is what we do. Come here, get ready, watch tape. We'll watch tape again tonight. We'll go over our assignments on what we want to do tonight. ... I want them to know the season's not over. We're going to play until the last game, and we're going to continue as coaches to work on things that we're supposed to do as a coach."
Yes they lost that game but it was another freaky ending as the Cavs dominated the first half before letting a big Miami run make it a contest. He was true to his word. They didn't throw in the towel and note that the Heat bench is better than the Cats starters every day of the week.
At 96-95, the Cavs had a chance to win and Kyrie took the inbounds and Cole stole it cleanly to seal it. Like last nights blazer game and the 'on the line 2', an ending you almost never see to get moosed.
Plus Kyrie walked off the court on fan appreciation night when he was supposed to give his jersey and sneakers away. He offered a personal apology from twitter to the fans and i believe he will make up for it tonight even on the road with his fans watching at home. If you have Kyrie at PG, you have a shot when this guy is on the floor.
And it's more than a shot because they are playing the Cats. This is one of the worst 5 starters I've ever seen and I'm amazed they've won 20 games. Truly I am. That 7-5 start really gave them the padding they needed to potentially get out of the #1 lottery spot.
That is the other wrinkle to this game. The bobcats are tied with the magic for the top pick in the draft and are saying they want to avoid it as an 'achievement.' This team needs every ping pong ball imaginable, an ocean full, and I'd see management giving the Head Coach the wink to just let the chips fall where they may, that is, to the guy across the table when he busts you. I'm not saying they will throw it but please, the draft is the only saving grace of this team.
Also, the bobcats played one of their most impressive games of the season against the Knicks B-team, having blown their proverbial load the game before the one we want to take. That win was a good thing. Cats winning two in a row? Yeah. I'll bet against that.
They won't have to throw anything. Cavs will end the season on a winning note. I even like the moneyline here and will put some on that as well. Cats laying points? Sure! I'll take some of that. YOU do not want to spend an offseason on a losing streak having lost the last game to this joke of a franchise.
Remember when you cap games like this at the end of the year you look for motivation, not match ups. All of the above is based on that principle.
This will make up for yet another Blazers debacle....(god help me with that team)
Thank you for reading this regular season and it's been a pleasure...
CAVS +3 OVER THE CATS (with moneyline action)
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