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 outside of the "core four" being on the team next season. Mostly, though, it was a celebration of the Cavs playoff run so far, with expectations that the best is yet to come.

Finally, our guys went around the rest of the playoffs and put our spin on each series with some prognostication all the way to the finals. Affter the first sign-off brought, we brought it back for a little bonus as Eli spun the tale of his and and Chris' experience at Cavs vs. Clippers in the player family section and how much fun they had. I know I was pretty touched by how well they repped CtB, and I think you will be too!

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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 we're here for it. To that end, Nate and Eli talked about managing the rest of the season, how they'd like the Eastern Conference playoffs to stack up, and who's in and out of the Cavs' playoff rotation. Finally the guys asked if there were any more bigs to be had in free agency, and didn't find many answers on that front. Mostly, the guys just rubbed their lucky rabbits feet to make sure the Cavs get through the next four weeks healthy and unbored.

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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 last few from the CtB podcast studios where the topics ranged far and wide: the possession battle, Max Strus and Donovan Mitchell's struggles with biofeedback, De'Andre Hunter's sublime offensive and defensive fit, Evan Mobley's defense, Max Strus' gluey-ness, Ty Jerome's sixth-man cred, who scares us in the playoffs, Kenny Atkinson's coaching brilliance, Koby Altman's roster construction, Nate's bowling addiction, shout outs, the SNL 50th, and the Cavs' march to history are just a few of the threads.

Join us as we revel in this season of gravy that is your 2026 Cavaliers.

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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 podcast, with the possible exception of some pissy Raptors. ("They should all be destroyed.") Go Cavs.

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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 news from around the league. After recapping, the guys got into slop season with what they think the Cavs should do, and what they think the Cavs will do with the trade deadline less than 36 hours away. Inspired by Devin Vassell's unorthodox jump shooting form, our intrepid bloggers asked "do the Cavs follow the Medieval tenets of biological warfare, and jettison any of their underperforming players via trade as if they were cadavers launched by trebuchet?"

Did our podcasting yoemen said "yay," or "nay?" Does this team has too many good vibes to mess with right now, or do the Cavs need to make a change to compete for a championship? You'll have to listen to find out, but we all gave some names of guys we think might be able to help, and though we want to see some of the guys on the floor a lot less *cough cough - Georges Niang - cough cough* we'd be heartbroken to say goodbye to any of them and see them depart this special team entirely. We'll see what the next two days hold, and in the mean time, enjoy your favorite CtBers slingin the slop around and making fun of the Mavericks.

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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.

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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 regular season games you'll ever see, and looked forward to the next meeting with OKC.

After breaking down the wins, amazing at the depth, and laughing at the haters, Chris and Nate went around the NBA and pondered the fate of Jimmy Butler. They got into a little slop-talk about who would be sellers, and what the Cavs need to be complete. Nate got nostalgic about the beers he won't drink and why and regaled Chris about going to college in Alaska. Finally, the guys had pitches that were a little foggy at 1:30 in the morning. It was a much welcome return the podcast booth for both, even if it did get a little long in the tooth.

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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 reveal who hasn't washed their underwear since the Cavs started winning and look forward to the Cavs stretch over the next couple weeks including a thanksgiving eve matchup that could feature a CtB reunion. It's a pretty fun 90 minute trip to the all you-can-eat Cavalier content buffet.

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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.

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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 chaotic an NBA draft as any of us have ever seen, with no clear cut number one, or even clear cut top five. It's safe to say that anything could happen Wednesday night (... and Thursday afternoon) as the now two day event unfolds with the Cavs holding onto the 20th pick. The gents broke down who they liked, who they didn't, and some of their theories around old wings, stiff centers, and stupid names. Top that all off with a random tour of Boston, some novel picks, and some gushing over the Guardians, and you've got a pretty good podcast.

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