Cavs The Blog Podcast

At the almost midpoint of summer, Nate, Chris, and Eli hopped in the CtB podcast booth to dig deep into the Cavs Summer League so far, opine over the news from around the association, and divine whether Rich Paul and LeBron are scheming to get the King out of L.A. and back to the land of his birth. It's a tight 60 that also features Eli's tour of the Cavs' premises, Chris and Nate fighting over the portent of Jalen Tyson's turnovers, and all of us gushing over Nae'Qwin Tomlin's very high ceiling.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode 317 found us on the first night of free agency (you know, BEFORE the Shamsbombs about Lillard's buyout and Myles Turner becoming Buck). To start it off, Late bemoaned the Cavs' decision to keep Sam Merrill over Ty Jerome (or both), a decision that was originally about money, that became less so when we figured out that Merrill got four 4/38 years instead of Jerome's 3/28. The Cavs' decision to sign Isaac Okoro to a multi-year deal last year ended up backfiring as it made the luxury tax payments very difficult when it came to keeping both. Chris talked me off the ledge with some salient counterpoints, but I still contend that Lonzo Ball isn't going to play any meaningful playoff minutes for the Cavs.Eli Kim joined us for the second session, and we rode my stalking horse for 6/30: a Darius Garland for LeBron James trade before the 2024 fiscal year ended. Obviously that didn't happen, and there was a lot of meditation on LeBron's weirdness and the mess of the Lakers. The gener

Hope you all had a happy Father's Day, Cavalier fans. With the NBA finals in full swing, last week, Nate, Eli, and Chris Francis constructed an impromptu podcast booth in an abandoned culvert underneath I-80, and exorcised the demons of the Cavs' 2025 playoff exit. Full warning, this one might have the worst audio engineering in the history of CtB, and it's almost a week old now. I've been burning it at both ends at work and this was the soonest I could post. So it's Amateur Hour from us as we flexed our dormant podcast muscles. To kick it off we got into why the Cavs lost highlighted by some major criticisms for Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs' perpetually injury mismanagement, the Cavs' lack of punch, and the NBA officials. Up next we got into slop season with no one off the table in our discussion of how to reconstruct this Cavs roster. The conversation revolved around a few key points key points: the Cavs have one last shot to make a major move before the end of June, before they'

The Cavs and their fans find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Up 2-0 on the Heat, the Wine and Gold appear to be on the best side of the talent gap between themselves and the Miami Heat. Not to jinx anyone, but Cleveland has dominated at times against Miami and has pulled out just enough to win at other times. The've looked in complete control at all times. The other unfamiliar territory: being in the thick of NBA awards season.To tip off our coverage of the NBA playoffs, we called on our best 3-on-3 squad: Nate Smith, Chris Francis, and Eli Kim (affectionately .known as "The Korean Channing Frye" around these parts). Our trio broke down the series so far and all the latest Cavalier news: Evan Mobley's Ddefensive Player of the Year award, Kenny Atkinson's Coach of the Year from the NBA Coach's Association, and Payton Pritchard's theft of Ty Jerome's 6th man trophy.The guys got into contract talk a bit: discussing who might be a threat to sign Jerome, and the odds of the guys

Let's face it. The Cleveland Cavaliers were due for a stinker. After flirting with losses to the likes of Portland, Charlotte, and Brookly, the Cavs finally dropped one to the Magic. Donovan Mitchell had a bad game with too much hero ball, Okoro had an horrible eight minutes, Sam Merrill couldn't shoot, Ty Jerome effed around and found out, and no one seemed to want to feed Jarrett Allen in a loss to to the Magic that halted the Cavs' win streak at 16. Elijah Kim and Nate Smith manned the podcast booth to break it down, and lament over the dog days of the NBA season.With 15 games left in the next 26 games, to say the Cavs schedule is "back loaded" would be an understatement. The Cavs kick off a five game road trip in a week and have a compressed schedule to close out the year. Everyone right now from the coaches, to the players, to the fans, just want the Cavs to get through the regular season with their focus in tact, and all their players healthy. If it means dropping some games, I think

The title of this podcast comes from the way the Cavs have been winning lately: the possession game. In their 12 game win streak, the Cavs have outrebounded their opponents in every game, and won the turnover battle in most of them. Rather than having one or two great rebounders (though Jarrett Allen is very good), with the addition of De'Andre Hunter, the Cavs have become a team that recreates great rebounding in the aggregate across all their lineups.Cleveland found a way to win the possession battle and the game again Wednesday night when they notched perhaps their ugliest win of the season. Despite three frustrating turnovers in the last two minutes, Cleveland clung to a 110-107 lead after a Mobley lob and a Hunter floater as the roll man put them up three with 1:20 to go. Tight defense, and exceptional SLOB D (sideline out-of-bounds) forced a Miami timeout, and then a cross court heave to Duncan Robinson who stepped half an inch out of bounds.Nate Smith and Chris Francis broke down this game and the

The CtB hunting party piled into the Canadian Goose Blind to discuss one stalwart in particular, newly acquired forward, De'Andre Hunter. Hunter's upgrade to the backup power forward position was palpable against Toronto as he dropped 18/5/0 and went 4-9 from deep in just 27 minutes. His J was high, quick, and feathery, while his D was long and imposing. Nate, Eli, and Chris all marveled at what an upgrade Hunter is and broke down his strengths, weaknesses, and how the Cavs will use him in the regular season and the playoffs. The CtB hunters all gave Koby an A+ on the trade.After, the guys graded the moves from around the ssociation over the last couple weeks, slung some gossip, wallowed in some buyout slop, and then looked forward to a Cavalier heavy all-star weekend. Finally, with the sun setting over the hunting grounds, the huntsmen went over the post ASB schedule, made some predictions, and tossed out their NBA finals picks. It was a tight 75, and no animals were harmed in the making of this podc

Tough loss, Cavs fans. Cleveland overcame a 20 point first quarter deficit to cut the Boston lead to four about halfway through the fourth quarter, and then after a miraculous four point play by Darius Garland to cut the diff to five, Spida Mitchell pounced on a steal and roared up the court. With a wide open Garland waiting on the right side of the arc, Mitchell went the other way, the Cavs turned it over, and that was the ballgame. Still, a valiant effort by Darius, Donovan, and Jarrett Allen was waged, but alas Cleveland couldn't overcome turnovers, nervous shooting, and Boston offensive rebounds. The Cavs' bench, perhaps in their heads a little too much due to the impending trade deadline, was especially rough with Georges Niang and Caris LeVert joining starter Evan Mobley in putting up some of their worst performances of the season.To document it all, Nate Smith, Eli Kim, and Chris Francis hopped into Ye Olde Podcast Boothe and broke down the game, the impending trade deadline, the team, and the

J.B. Bickerstaff returned to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Monday night to take on Georges Niang and the Cleveland Cavaliers who were coming of a three game losing streak. After the wine and gold broke their losing streak,, Cavs the Braintrust joined their hive mind to podcast about the Cavs recent woes, what they need to do to get back on track, how thankful we all still are that Bickerstaff's gone, and to look at NBA's upcoming slop season. Many intriguing questions were posed: is the Cavs' January defensive swoon just due to injuries and variation, or something to worry about? What do the Cavs have to do to stop playing Georges Niang? How good is Darius Garland? Why in God's name haven't the Cavs grabbed another big? Should Nate be fired for suggesting a trade with Golden State? All these questions and more were answered as Nate, Eli, and Chris broke down the game, the team, and the association.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.

After a way too long hiatus, Nate Smith and Chris Francis made a pilgrimage to the CtB broadcast booth to bend the knee to North America's incoming emperor, Darius Garland. The slicer of defenses, the scimitar of the pick and roll, conqueror of crunch time, the fracture jaw gladiator, facial contusion magnet, driller of stepbacks, lob wizard, vibes king, humble all-star, first of his name: Darius Garland. Darius Garland as Chris noted in Thursday Night's recap/lt is the best clutch player in the NBA right now, posting an astounding 1.68 points per possession in crunch time (before last night!).The gents gushed more than a little over the last couple games, the season so far, how well Kenny Atkinson is coaching, how the Cavs have Donovan Mitchell and the three most underrated players in the association, and the teambuilding template that the desk of Koby Altman has architected. The emperor's subjects marveled at the beauty and lack of BS in the Oklahoma City matchup, stood in awe one of the best re

Hope you're hungry for more podcast, because Nate Smith, Chris Francis, and Elijah Kim give you an awful lot to chew on in this one. The CtB crew slid into the podcast buffet line to celebrate the Cavs' 13 game winning streak and their assault on the NBA history books. A big topic: the selflessness of this team and how the teams' stars have sacrificed minutes and stats to create an environment where everybody eats. Shorter stints, more aggressive play, and a deeper rotation have come at the expense of Donovan Mitchell's and Jarrett Allen's raw numbers, but have result in a brand of basketball that is as exciting as any we've ever had to start a season.The podcast chefs also recap the Cavs' last two games, discuss surprises around the team and the NBA, and look ahead to the next week and the NBA cup. The gents also perform some pretty exciting internet searches live for you all to experience and take you into the numbers behind this Cavalier win streak. As if that's not all, we

Welcome to the 2024-2025 regular season, Cavs fans! Nate Smith, Chris Francis squeezed into the dusty ole podcast studio and blew the dust off the gear, while Eli Kim joined the guys from Northfield Park to recap the pre-season, preview the regular season, and go around the NBA for some over/unders.The guys went through the Cavs rotation, wondered at their still quizzical roster construction, and made some crazy predictions for how the season will play out while expressing appreciation for Kenny Atkinson and his new pace and space. The consensus was that the Cavs are all business to start the regular season, and that they could give two craps about pre-season since they are no longer a rebuilding team, but a contending one.Stick around for pitches, fat guy jokes, and wondering who on earth would take the over on the Atlanta Hawks. It should be a fun one, just don't count on us to make you (too much) money with our picks.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redc

The Cavs' coaching search saga is over! Exactly one month after the wine and gold fired J.B. Bickerstaff. In his place: Kenny Atkinson, who was primarily hired over James Borrego so that Cleveland wouldn't have a second coach with the same initials. The 57 year old Atkinson brings four seasons of head coaching experience in Brooklyn from 2016-2020, resigning the year that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving came to town. He has been an assistant coach to Steve Kerr in Golden State for the last three seasons, and won a championship ring with them in 2022. The season before that he was on Ty Lue's staff in L.A. Atkinson reportedly won the backing of Dan Gilbert and will join the team before the Wednesday night draft.To process all this, Nate Smith, Eli Kim, and Chris Francis rotated through the CtB podcast Studios in late June fashion (casually). The trio discussed the hiring, why the Cavs passed on other candidates, and who Atkinson may add to the fill out the Cavs' staff. The crew then dug into as

Whelp. It's time to put a coda on the 2024 Cavalier post-season, and all in all, your favorite Cavs: the Blog bloggers were at peace with it. Without Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert, the Cavs dropped games 3, 4, and 5 to the Celtics, but I think all of us here at Cavs: the Blog felt proud of the way the Cavs fought to the end and never gave up in their final series of the season. To take stock of it all, Chris Francis, Elijah Kim, and Nate Smith booked some time in the CtB podcast studios and broke down the series and the players and what went right and what went wrong in the post-season. As is tradition, the post-season was yet another referendum on J.B. Bickerstaff's coaching tenure with the Cavaliers. After a respectful period of time breaking down the series, the gents put their pig noses and ears on and started gorging on some puerile slop that dripped down into the hog trough from the Athletic's Shams Charania, Jason Lloyd, and Joe Vardon no less than 30 minutes after the C

After a truly epic series against Orlando, we can all thank Elijah Kim for the Cavs winning this series. Eli's live presence for three games of this series clearly tipped the scales for the wine and gold. Eli and Chris Francis got "live" in the podcast booth to break down the series and to look ahead to the Boston series.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Forgive me as I channel one of Ohio's greatest bands: the venerable Guided By Voices, to name this podcast. 1999's Do the Collapse was likely the Band's most commercially appealing album, which for many of their critics and fans, made it not their best, as Rick Ocasek's "glossy production was a departure from the band's lo fi roots. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers, some of whom weren't even alive when GBV frontman Bob Pollard released those songs, are facing their own identity crisis.After taking a commanding 2-0 series, lead, the Cavs have collapsed the past two games in Orlando during the third quarter. Notable issues have been an absence of players understanding their roles, understanding what made them successful, an utter lack of confidence by the team in their leadership, an an inability to deal with success or adversity productively. To break down whether the Cavs need to lo-fi it up, or glam it up by launching threes, Nate Smith, Elijah Kim, and Chris Fancis hopped into

To recap a tumultuous couple weeks in Cavsdom, Nate Smith, Chris Francis, and Elijah Kim donned their best jurists suits and shuffled into the podcast booth. First up? Breaking down the Cavs worst loss of the season, a 121-84 debacle Sunday against the Miami Heat. Then the guys adjudicated the 115-92 get-right victory against the Charlotte Hornets, Monday night. Has the Cavs' season all come down to injuries? Is the Cavs' perpetual injury misfortune worthy of an inquest? Can this coach get this team out of the first round of the playoffs? Will that be enough to keep his job? Who do the Cavs even want to play in the playoffs? Which teams scare you? Have the Cavs done enough to keep Donovan Mitchell? Do the Cavs need to move Darius Garland? Why isn't CPJ playing more? Was Dune 2 worth seeing in the theater? The jurists judge all these things and more in this week's Cav's the Podcast.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chris Francis and Elijah Kim traversed to the CtB Podcast resort studios to touch base after a long winter slumber that saw the Cavs wrap up their best stretch of basketball in the post-LeBron era. The Cavs finally get out of their post-All-Star Break slump to collect an ugly win against the Washington Wizards 114-105, which saw the Cavs come thru in the clutch after a stinky first half. The Korean Brotherhood quick caps the Wizards game, and touch on the Cavs' trade deadline, and the NBA landscape post-ASB in a tight one hour episode. Last but not least, Eli pitches his Cavs' game day fits while Chris plugs for some late-night Chinese food in the Queen City... Go Cavs!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Our 300th Cavs: the Podcast episode celebrates the exploits of unexpected star of the last two Cavs games, Sam Merrill, who has posted 48 points across the last two games on blistering 13-24 shooting from deep. Wednesday's game against the Jazz proved that Monday's was no fluke, as the Cavs' bench mob swarmed the Jazz, led by Caris LeVert and Sam Merrill combining for 48 points.To celebrate, Chris Francis and Elijah Kim took over the podcast studio for a technically deficient Nate Smith, and gushed about the Cavs win. Merrill's blistering shooting, the Cavs' sudden proclivity for the three ball, the Cavs inspired play without their stars were all topics for the guys. Then they got into some trade slop and some retrospective of 300 episodes! Merry Christmas, Cavs fans!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Full of righteous indignation, Nate Smith and Chris Francis trudged into the podcast booth to write a sternly worded letter (podcast) to the Cavalier organization with one conclusion: this team isn't going anywhere with J.B. Bickerstaff as its head coach. The gents detailed their list of grievances: a near decade long inability to coach NBA offense from this millennium, an insistence on giving minutes to and removing competition from players who he seems to like but simply aren't good, a maddening inability to make good tactical and strategic decisions, a penchant for running guys into the ground and playing short rotations, and most damning of late - an inability to get consistent effort from his players. The last one may not be his fault. Eventually, everyone gets tired of the voice in the locker room, and sometimes teams just need a new one. That seems to be the consensus in the podcast booth and the fan base at large as even the most ride-or-die Cavs fans are turning on him. I hope it doesn't