By Cavs: The Podcast
The folks who brought you Cavs: The Blog bring you Cavs: the Podcast. Here you’ll find the most in-depth Cavs analysis in our audacious game recaps. We boast an insightful, clever, and civil commen
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The podcast currently has 278 episodes available.
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.
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.
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 Cavs were drummed out of the playoffs.
The Cavs went through all the rumors around all the guys: Donovan Mitchell's dissatisfaction with his teammates, Darius Garland's purported need of a scenery change, Jarrett Allen's ribs, J.B.'s ineffectiveness, Mobley's desire not to be drafted by Cleveland, and most importantly whether Spida was inclined to sign a contract extension. The CtB boars wallowed into all the muck and mud and garbage and came to conclusions on L.B.J., J.B., D.M., both D.G.s, and J.A - some more concrete than others. It was a fun and cathartic 90 as the gents even got to pitching some cool Akron haunts, some Cinci legends, and a trip down vinyl lane. We think you'll find it to be an entertaining season coda with just enough delicious slop to keep coming back for more.
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.
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 the CtB independent label studios.
After a good bit of cathartic bitching, our Indie Rock trio tried to focus on the now, which is what the Cavs should be doing: no talk of this season, or the summer, or even the series. What do the Cavs have to do to win game 5? Everyone agreed that Darius Garland needs to be shooting more, especially from deep, and that Evan Mobley needs to be shooting a lot less from anywhere other than dunks and threes. So really it's a mix of the glitz and the grind that needs to happen for Cleveland.
What other adjustments in terms of personnel? Well, we all want to fire Georges Niang into the sun, and play a whole lot more Sam Merrill and Max Strus at the four. Do the Cavs have what it takes to hold serve and win this series? Decisions are split, so you'll have to tune in to find out who thinks they have the juice.
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.
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!
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!
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 affect J.B.'s cookies.
Nate and Chris discussed the interim and longer term options for Cleveland, and whether Koby deserves to stay too. They discussed the future of Donovan Mitchell in a Cavs uniform, the struggles of Darius Garland, re-litigate the Lauri Markkanen trade, and try to find some solace in their pod-ending pitches. There isn't a lot of positivity here, but there is entertainment and humor in vitriol.
What a difference a week makes. After a moribund loss to the Kings last Sunday, the Cavs bounced back in a big way, winning three straight. To be fair, two of those wins were against two of the worst teams in the Association: Portland and Detroit, but it all becomes moot when you win against the defending Champions without killing the poor soul doing the Man vs. Nuggets challenge.
Cleveland delivered a convincing victory against Denver Sunday, and most importantly, Jarrett Allen looked healthy and explosive again. JA outplayed Jokic with a 15-5-5 night, and sent Jokic to the bench in the early third. Jarrett was clearing getting under the big man’s skin, and after scoring on Jokic four straight times to start the third, Allen drew two consecutive offensive fouls – one of them flagrant – which earned the Joker five fouls and a seat on the pine. It was great to see JA back to his old self and the big-to-big game was in full effect, starting out with Evan and Allen in a 4-5 pick and roll.
Elated about the win streak and Kevin Love’s and LeBron James’ return to Cleveland this week, Nate, Chris, and Eli piled in the podcast booth to gush over the win and take stock of the week. First up, Max Strus who came into Sunday night’s game leading the NBA in on-off differential, and has been a very solid starter all week. Add to that Mobley who’s averaged 16/11/4 over the last week with two stocks. Darius Garland has similarly turned a corner too, shooting over 40% from deep over the last five games, and is hopefully getting his turnovers down.
The guys discussed the key to the Cavs turning the corner, and many theories were floated. Did the Cavs just need to beat up on some scrubs to get their confidence back? Is it just Garland (26/3/6 Sunday) and Allen getting health? Have the Cavs been winning because Craig Porter Junior and Dean Wade have been supplanting Garland? CPJ was a monster, Sunday: 21/4/4 on an array of moves to the basket and pull-ups. Add three stocks and one turnover in 25 minutes, and Craig looks like a keeper.
Meanwhile, Dean Wade quietly put up a double digit rebounding night, and the Cavs killed Denver on the glass. Everyone seems to be doing their part to rebound, and its showing. Dean wade though has been a huge key: he gobbles up rebounds and hits corner threes. The guys discussed whether Okoro should be in the rotation when he returns, whether that rotation should include Niang, and if Ice can play the four.
Finally, the guys looked ahead to the coming week, which features some Cleveland royalty returning to the shores of Lake Erie. A regular 2015 reunion might be in the offing with TT, LeBron, and Kev all in town within a day of each other. The guys roasted Nate about his wife’s Kevin Love obsession, gave us their favorite thanksgiving food, and picked their MVPs for the week. All-in-all, we have a lot to be thankful for.
The podcast currently has 278 episodes available.